Get your own Giants...

In lieu of a better way of doing it, here is a photo of the barcode and other details of the models I used for my Frost Giants.

Good luck hunting them down for conversion or litigation purposes!

A Frosty Welcome

I'm a big fan of toys for fantasy gaming; snobs and purists be damned, the point of fantasy gaming is it can be what you want.  Gamers who refuse to play against unofficial models can get lost frankly.  Sure, I'm not going to use wildly unhistorical miniatures in my fact based forces, but these are never going to be on a table facing Austrian Hussars, US Marines or Roman Legionaries, so none of those concerns apply.

Point being, when I spotted a range of toys in one of the local bargain shops, I was struck with inspiration.  The models looked nicely detailed - well enough to make one presume, correctly, they were copied from/inspired by something else - but pretty averagely painted.

 

Branded as 'Orcs'  they could fulfill only one role in my mind, given their size.  Giants.

 Stan, the standard bearer, for scale...

 There was a fair amount of work to tidy up the models, cleaning the worst mould lines and filling gaps.  As a first stage I based the models on MDF to make it easier to work on  them; each model was taken apart and reassembled with superglue.  A little light conversion was undertaken and an extra weapon was knocked up from the bits box.

Finally the figures were given a good coat of spray undercoat.

 

 Now in the past I have had issues with undercoat on soft plastics, and I thought I would again here.  The models were initially tacky to the touch.  But I put them to one side whilst other projects were completed. A week of monitoring the models revealed the tackiness gradually disappearing, until after about six days it had gone entirely.  So I can conclude the problem in the past has been haste; the oils/chemicals in spray primer takes maybe a week to cure out of the paint, but perhaps painting over it with other paint seals it in and keeps the sticky effect more or less permanently.  Patience is a virtue!

Painting commenced and other than working on much larger models than normal, it was all very simple.  Given the scale of the models I went for five layers of progressive highlights on the flesh and some of the other big areas of detail.  It took a while, but not too long, about the same as a normal unit of 20-24 figures.

It was only natural to finish the models on some wintry basing, given the final paint scheme...

 An army of five

 A clan of Frost Giants from the icy north thus arrived in TML towers.  A few close ups should give the right impression:

 

  

 

 

 I was particularly pleased with the flesh tones, and decided on a generally muted palette for the rest of the figures, so as not to detract from the impact.  A look of cold was carried through into the bases, relying on the old Bicarbonate of Soda trick.  Yes it might yellow with time, but if push comes to shove I can always paint over it!

Finally a a little scale comparison to a WIP Reaper Evil Knight.  He clocks in at a modest 38mm high...

 

Thus, these five models make for a complete 24 point Dragon Rampant army, on the basis of Reduced figure units; Alternately, they could reflect an allied contingent of giants in Kings of War, perhaps worth a 1,000 points.

Either way, at a total sum of £5, I can't really complain.

And so, onto projects new...

A Rebellious Faction

Well, having not painted any for the best part of four and a half years, I finally got back to the Jewish Project and thoroughly enjoyed turning out a couple more units.

Firstly a third unit of 'Heavy' infantry; veterans, well practiced at fighting in close order and with the best - often looted - equipment:

 

These models are an improved mix of poses and equipment, thanks to the introduction of some Victrix Carthaginian spearmen.  More particularly, their set is a supply for a good number of oval shields and different helmets.

 

 Realising that human and animal designs were prohibited in the Jewish faith at this time, I've limited the shields to plant life and inanimate designs, so more accurate I think than the last unit I did.  The Mantles are much better here, with a more natural flow; thanks to the use of olive oil and a plastic rolling board to allow me to get the Greenstuff extra thin.

Next I did a unit of lighter guerrilla's, made only from the Wargames Factory Numidians.  At this point I would note I'm glad I bulk bought a 150 or so of these guys five years ago, as to date their new owner, Warlord Games, has not chosen to re-release them.

 

 These chaps use mostly the javelin arms, with only a couple of large shields, and a bunch of hide covered, wicker shields, I made simply from some etched plasticard.  I tried the classic Arabic head cover, using the mantle, on several models for some variety.

 

 These chaps would not lead the fighting line, but favour skirmishing, though they can support the mainline from the rear.

Whilst into it, I decided to produce a General, based on the Carthaginian Infantry commander in the Victrix set, he looks the part.

Johnathan, and a chubby priest!

 I'm not so convinced by his portly pal.  I wanted to do a Jewish Priest, but I certainly hit my sculpting limits here trying to put robes over a Numidian torso.  The finished figure is disappointing, but he'll have to do.  The Perry's can rest easy.

At last this is something like a battle array, with three units of heavy infantry, and two light, plus a commander.  Not a full army by any means, but progress is being made.

 About the size of a Warhammer Ancients army, i.e. too small by far

And a colourful force they are too!  Something I really like.

But now I must decide what to add next, and then do some more sculpting.  I think there is enough heavy infantry for now, bowmen and slingers seem to me to be the next choice.

And now for something completely different

I do not know if the following will ever find a purpose.  They were something of a whim.

One of the very first things I painted three years ago after my hiatus from the hobby, was a batch of Reaper future police from my Bones Kickstarter; a set of models I felt would be good to practice on and were of no particular use to me.  They ended up sold on eBay for a pittance.

Now I've dipped into  the same unending box of toys to paint a handful of new models, with at least a notion they could serve in some of the small scale Sci-fi miniatures games Osprey, among others, seem to have been churning out of late.

Choose your poison!

My general view on Sci-fi warfare remains unchanged; I hope to goodness that in due course it will become an artefact of history, at the very least, technology will surely bring conventional warfare to an end, as the technology becomes terrifyingly autonomous and ever more potent.  Not much of a game really, and one I'd hope wouldn't exist by then*!

However at the human scale of handfuls of individuals, the position may well be different, with the same old lusts for wealth, power and revenge.  Whether 20 minutes into the future, 20 years or 200; these elements may remain unchanged, and perhaps excuse a game.

Consequently, I plucked a set of miniatures out of the horde for a quick paint job, creating a special forces-esque, police or corporate security team:

 The group is led up by a couple of detectives:

   

 I think these may have been meant as Steampunk or modern fantasy models, but I think they painted up suitably together.  Straight out of a futuristic buddy movie.  Only quickie paint jobs, and as a result the male figure looks a little chalky under the flash; but not bad for the limited time invested.

Supporting these are the security team, including a range of heavy weapons:

Sniper, Flamer and Minigun

 As well as more conservatively armed members, including their sergeant:

  

These were done in a bluish green base, a slight variation on one of my favourite colour schemes.  The beauty of these was that a good 90% of the model could be done with this scheme; this being furthered by multiple layered highlights simply over-brushed on, and augmented with contrasts and small details.  If anything I like the security squad the most.

This little collection could fit a variety of narratives, but whether they ever see any service, only time will tell...


*Of course Star Wars does not count as it clearly happened a long time ago in a galaxy far far away.

The Holy Land

I managed to pick up a copy of a book I'd been after for quite a long time on eBay, Peter Connolly's 'The Holy Land'

 

 This book is a real treasure trove of information, but it is an odd creature.  The history is brief and almost simplistic; somewhat at the level of a Readers Digest/Popular History feature; but it distills the key facts in an easy to read form as a result; the use of extensive photographs and illustrations on every page gives the impression of a children's textbook more than anything.

 

Historically, the book begins with Herod the Great, and carries on through to the end of the first Rebellion, so covering about a century of increasing Roman subjugation.  The real strength of this, personally, are the reconstructions in the illustrations, suitable inspiration for my long idle Jewish Rebellion project.

That said, in an effort to make my Jews look unique, I did decide to give them the Mantle, shown in some textbooks,but in few contemporary illustrations - including Connolly's - of Jewish warriors.

 

So, I guess the book worked for me, as I've been busy assembling new miniatures.  Given I've the sprues for some 150 or so infantry it was about time I got back to these guys.  Above are a nascent unit of light infantry, armed with javelins only.

My green stuff skills have taken a step forward here with the use of a plastic palette rubbed down with olive oil to flatten out sheets of it on.  This gave me thin enough strips to get nice folds in, and to allow a more Arabic headdress use of the mantle, as shown in some illustrations to be experimented with.  These warriors, not being part of the well equipped fighting line, have mainly no shields or simple wicker and hide affairs, and only a few helmets; no Roman equipment.  Hopefully I'll get a couple of units created before I get sidetracked or bored!

As to the Connolly book, it is hard to find, I paid about £15 second hand for my copy, but it is worth it if this is a period of history you are interested in, and if you would like quality reconstructions of the buildings costumes and artifacts of the period.

Suitable inspiration for this wargamer at least.

Austria again...

So far as blogging,  I'm struggling with motivation.  Part of the problem is that I'd like to write more interesting thought pieces, but I don't really want to deal with the negativity I've had from people in the past if I've had the temerity to dislike something.  It seems to me one ought to be able to express ones' point of view, but maybe I'm too sensitive to say f*** it to the inevitable backlash.  There are a lot of things in life trying to bring a brother down, without volunteering to put yourself in the line of fire, yes?

So, in the mean time.  Here's some Insurrection Hussars I did to add to my 15mm Austrians

  

 Such is the distribution of Warrior Miniatures cavalry units, I needed to add an extra commander figure to this regiment, so one of the models is a dashing cavalry captain in Bicorne.  I don't think this looks at all out of place in the unit though.

  

Scratching through the figures I still have for this project, I could add another regiment of Cuirassiers, and a battery of Horse Artillery.  But not much else; I think I may need to order a smattering more models if I get going on these again as 6 Regiments of Infantry and 5/6 of Cavalry doesn't seem quite enough.

Up from the Sewers!

So I had about a month off the blog.

During that time I have done some painting, but not so much gaming; life takes its' own course and other matters arose.  I do have a backlog of games to write up if so inclined as usual of course.  But let's jump forward in time somewhat.

These are the last fantasy models I'm painting for the present, switching to a few historical projects for a change of pace for a while.  Here though, I present the Brothers Grax.

 

A pair of trolls for an elite infantry slot painted to match my Dungeon Delving Kobolds force and its' miscellaneous allies. The brothers Grax are Sewer Trolls from the pallid depths of the Underhive, where at least turning to stone in the sunlight is never an issue for them.

They'll join the Kobolds on raids, even venturing above ground; though it is fair to say they often are happier to fight with each other...

 

Both models are from the Reaper Bones range, and scale up well to other ranges of Trolls.  The painting was pretty straightforward; though at the very end I decided to add a wash to the scales.  This could have been tidier but it seems to do the trick.

The Invasion of Ireland - a Megagame Experience

What is a Megagame?  Imagine if you were able to play a boardgame on a truly grand scale, with a player count in the dozens, scores or even hundreds?  What if you were able to play out a wargames campaign with a full range of interacting commands, their conflicting missions and agendas, and get a conclusion within a day.  What if you didn't need to worry about the bulk of the rules because that was handled for you by an active team of umpires instead.  What if you play huge games with all the uncertainty and hidden information of real life?

This would be a Megagame.

I last played anything like this probably more than 20 years ago, and in that context back then, more of a live role playing experience.  But this was my first experience of a 'professionally' run event, and my first that could be considered a traditional military strategy game.  Some thirty players were gathered for a treatment of the French invasion of Ireland in 1797.  In this game we reflected a more concerted effort by the French to raise rebellion and place a thorn in the side of the British.

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 Myself and my friend James were recruited to part of the French army, as a French general and Aide de camp respectively.  When I arrived James and most of the French command were already in talks about what strategy to adopt, and so I was swiftly dropped in on a half formed plan to land in Bantry Bay and head for Cork.  I wasn't sure if this was the only place our navy (read, the umpires) would permit us to and or if this was the choice of our commander in chief, but it seemed a safe if rather distant location to begin.

Our command tokens on our period map

 With a team of umpires to handle the rules, of a free-kriegsspiel format, the location of the various factions of troop and conflict or communication amongst all of them, it was rules light for the players.  Which meant we could focus on the things that really mattered.  We initially were able to discuss our mission and strategic objectives as a group; agreeing to a column of march on Cork and then further movements to break British control of the south.  To this end each individual commander wrote his orders and passed them the the umpires to execute.

As we set off though, problems began to arise.  Our commander insisted on column of march with each man carrying two muskets, intending to distribute them to local rebels.  This action slowed us to a crawl, and after travelling less than ten miles in two days, we found ourselves dumping the spare arms to a cache, and splitting the army to allow for more 'Napoleonic' parallel movement upon our objectives.  Now we were at range and could only communicate by messages.

I took the opportunity to try to taunt the enemy.  You would, wouldn't you?

The term 'Trolling' of course would be anachronistic

 For a couple of hours all was uncertainty.  We did not know where the enemy was, our Irish allies however were pleading for help to the North where an uprising in Limerick was developing; but our commander in chief seemed determined to hug the coast and head east.  In the end an agreement was made for about half our forces to head north.  In the end all but our commander would move in that direction.

Contact was made with the enemy earlier than we assumed, and it transpired that they must hav had forces in the area we landed.  News reached us that the cache of arms was discovered and destroyed.  Not a good start; by this point morale seemed low amongst the French and our commanders' abilities, in doubt.

But intercepted letters from the British gave clear clues to their movements, indicating our move north to Limerick was a wise one.  These gave me my own ideas, and I started seeding my messages with information about a fictional french regiment landing at Wexford.  Our own commanders would know it was false, but if intercepted it could confuse or distract the enemy (unless they were in Wexford at the time).  Whether this worked I have no clue, but hen I found my brigade operating as rearguard in the hinterlands, it kept me entertained.

My Aide de Camp was the first of us to be drawn into battle, having been sent ahead with two of our regiments to support the siege of Limerick.

 

 One feature of the combat system was that you could only know the size of you enemy by contact, scouting them was unlikely to reveal any details, but once encountered you could keep them in range and adjudge what you could expect; shared information with your allies would fill in the picture of what was local to you, friend or foe.

A major engagement at Limerick saw the British heavily defeated, and forced to retire.  But elsewhere smaller engagements had been going their way.  Still French troops marched into the port, and a brigade was sent further north in pursuit of the British.

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 Meanwhile, I was covering our rear with 600 men.  Kicking my heels marching to and fro looking for purported loyalist Irish militias.  Suddenly I was called to battle, realising I would be alone in doing so.  I was facing due south and discovered two brigades with some 3,000 men facing me.  In keeping with the rules I chose to quit the field as soon as it was clear I was massively outnumbered; and dashed north sending messengers ahead to warn of the pursuit.  I met James' portion of our brigade soon after and we briefly stalled the British advance south of Limerick, giving time for our allies to return to the city.

Again we disengaged without a fight, being outnumbered still two to one.  Our commander in chief was somewhere to the south and his letters of command were arriving two or three days later than the operations in the field.  We intercepted the rest of our army outside Limerick and an operational briefing was held.  Aware that now both of our major formations were being pursued by forces that thought they outnumbered us heavily, we were able to pull troops out of the port and make a decent stand.  At last a major engagement for me, and perhaps the most critical battle of the day.

French in Blue, British in Red

 My brigade was the meat in the British sandwich, but this was to allow our other divisions to take the British rears; the formations were moved into the battlefield dependent on their relative positions as judged by the umpires, as it was we surrounded the British, after a fashion.

We had to make some hard choices, one was that James was to bait the British to our right, a single battalion to face a brigade.  This would allow me to take the main force to hit the flank of the other British brigade.  I wished James 'Bonne Chance' and bid him au revoir, fearing it was more likely 'adieu'.  Remarkably though James field orders saw him maneuver clean past the enemy, who clearly never expected him to advance on them (vive la France!).

The glory of France!

 He then went on to fight an extraordinary rearguard action, holding the British at bay for the rest of the day.  The unabashed hero of the day, as his action held up an entire Brigade and allowed the rest of us to exert maximum force on the enemy.

My battalions rolled up the British flanks, my lack of involvement in previous engagements meant that I had the freshest, strongest troops.  This proved critical when I faced the traitorous Irish Grenadiers as the light faded.  A grinding battle saw them fare worse, whilst the British regiments were being forced back and badly mauled.

The sun sets on the British

The sun set and the two forces disengaged, it was also the end of the game as a whole.

The umpires adjudged it a draw, and we had a half hour or so of group debriefing, in which it was confirmed some of our communiques were being intercepted, our rebels had harried the British lines, but equally some of our supposed allies had switched sides.  In the end, the French were desperately short on supplies and wearing their welcome thin with the locals; but the British were fought into the ground, and would have to await reinforcements from England before being able to carry out any further action.

So was it fun, would I recommend Megagaming?

Absolutely.

This event reflected elements that a single battle would never manage, and tackled the most interesting elements of a campaign in a tight format.  We had fog of war, communication issues, logistics and all the rest to tackle, all enabled by a team of umpires with a god like view of what was really going on.  forces operated in little teams and the communication between them, negotiation and the issuing of orders felt authentic and evocative of the confusion in the field one might expect.  No plan withstands contact with the enemy.

It cannot be as granular as a full campaign, but it is probably a lot better than many simple narrative campaigns people sit down to, and the interactivity feels much greater and more immediate.  I would certainly recommend you consider one some time.

There are many providers of such events nationally and around the world, with themes varying from military to political or social, historical, fantasy and sci-fi.  Pennine Megagames were this events' organisers and did a good job of it.

A day well spent.

Here be Gerblins...

I've been working on another batch of Reaper miniatures recently, with a view to expanding my retro-dungeon and Dragon Rampant forces in parallel.  The most recent output is the squadron of Pathfinder Goblins:

 These have a distinct look compared to the more traditional goblinoid appearance with shades of somebody familiar...

To this end I'm dubbing mine 'Gerblins' as a sub-species.

As models, I really did not enjoy the process of painting these, something about the details did not appeal.  One criticism of the Reaper Bones plastic is that the detail can be ill defined compared to the metal originals, a great many of the models were made in metal first and not everything works in the transfer to different materials.  There is a lot of layering of details here and I don't think they all pay off, they do ensure a fairly tiresome job of painting and retouching, endlessly...

Nevertheless the finished result looks alright.

UK Games Expo 2017

So I had a nice weekend away.

Just one part of the main hall 

The UK Games Expo is the largest event of it's kind in the UK, I suppose if you are pedantic, and some wargamers surely are, you might argue Salute is bigger, I can't say other than that as I understand it Salute is a Wargames show.  Expo is Boardgames and Roleplaying games first and foremost, with Wargames a distant, but present, third.

The Forgeworld stand 

I've said in the past about how when I go to a wargames show, it is all about eye candy and shopping, and is generally an exercise in getting through the throng as quickly as possible.  Two or three hours is generally enough, and i will not play demonstration games (unless I'm running them!).

Rumbleslam fantasy wrestling 

I find in my limited experience the opposite is true at boardgame shows; I want to hang around all day, and I'm actively looking for new games to play.  There are two strong reasons for this: firstly you can learn the game in the most effective way possible, in the hands of someone who really understands how it works, and so can teach it well; and secondly, if you like the game, you can almost certainly buy it there and then and take the whole thing home.  Play a wargame and enjoy it, likely to be an entirely different commitment to get your own version up and running, and if what appeals is the sumptuous scenery and figures of the team running the demo, well it may not even be more than a pipe dream

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One of many open gaming halls 

Even then I didn't play a huge number of games 5 or 6 over two days, but the pace and leisure of the expo is very different to most wargames shows.  Here was an even that on its' Saturday ran from 9 to 6pm in its' main hall followed by talks and open gaming until after midnight.  For those who want it there were also many tournaments (including Saga, Infinity and Fields of Glory), interactive games, reenactors, cosplayers, bring and buys....

 Rune Wars 

 The Walking Dead Miniatures Game

I think the real difference, is that on top of the ability to shop, board game shows strike me as more social and more welcoming experiences.  Wargames shows in the UK could learn much from the approach, but at the same time the audience has much crossover, but remains distinct in many ways.  Small events can be very like this in wargaming, but Salute aside would it ever be possible for a wargaming show in the UK to have 15-20 thousand individual attendees over a weekend?

Early Sunday in the  main hall

Well, anyway, musing aside, if you are at all a board gaming fan I would heartily recommend a visit, if you are solely a wargamer there may still be enough to interest you; but at least give something different a try to see what our biggest wargames shows should perhaps aspire to learn from.

As to my shopping, obviously mainly I picked up board and card games, though with a few miniatures oddments in there too (more baggage from Warbases for example).

My swag

Of interest to the wargamer crowd here is most likely to be The Grizzled, a cooperative card game for 2-5 players set in WWI.  Players represent a group of friends enrolled in the French army, trying to get through the war alive together.  It is well regarded and I look forward to playing it.  Also bordering on a conflict system I guess is Superstar Showdown, picked up for all of six quid!  A 'better than it has any right to be' card driven combat game.

Additionally I had some other positive outcomes of meetings and sessions I had at the weekend, but more on that in due course....