The Crone and Cavalry

Title reads like a village pub's name.

But it's at least accurate to this post's content.

Was up late finishing painting this mini for my upcoming Barbarian rpg setting. She's made from pieces of the Games Workshop Corpse Cart driver, a Mantic Ghoul hand and the maggot pile is from the latest Nurgle Plaguebearer kit. I wanted her to look as though she could easily blend in town as some deranged street-dwelling woman, screeching out claims of the End of the World, etc. So this version of her is more her real persona, rising to command small groups of undead to eat her enemies, or to throw filthy hexes about her out of spite.

Added some grey to the skin colour to make her look somewhat pallid. Also some different grey to her hair to hopefully help show her advanced aging.

What took so long to paint was her shawl and cloak. Wanted very similar colours, but subtly different. Think it worked out well enough. 

Spending so much time on the street leaves one's once clean garments somewhat otherwise.

It wasn't until I was editing this picture that I realised that a piece of her hair had snapped! Bugger....

I also FINALLY finished up the dreaded CSA Cavalry regiment! Pics are a bit naff though - seemed no matter how much light or little, how close the camera was to them, I just couldn't get good pics of these things. O well. They are done now and I'm happy for it.

Terrible sculpts, but they do look good all arrayed for war.

All I really need to do now is make and paint a matching pennant for their dismounted version Standard bearer.

I think that by finishing up this Cavalry regiment, I earned back another Joker?

The Last Hirdman (And Group shots)

Here he is, the last of my Viking Hirdmen. Another well armoured fellow with a smashing moustache, so large it droops over his chainmail gorget-hood thingie.

Pretty cool sculpt, though I'm not a fan at all of the nipple tip to his helmet and feel I should have just filed it away to give him a regular conical helmet instead. O well, too late now.

Really like the banded armour pieces on him.

Another yellow-black traditional shield design. Keeping them simple.

And now, the requested group shots! I'll be playing these Hirdmen elite warriors as 6-man Men-at-Arms units in Lion Rampant (My Saxon Thengs will be used likewise.). They hit like a truck and can soak up damage really well in the rules, rather fitting I think looking at them all. (Completing these 12 and the 12 Thegns beforehand definitely earns me a Joker for the 6MMRPC. Not that I'll be buying anything new anytime soon, but it'll cancel out the guilt of one of the Bolt Action WW2 purchases I recently made!)

Fresh off the boat and ready to get raping and pillaging. Vikings are a nasty bunch for sure.

Close-up of the left. 

Close-up of the right.

Another quick group pic of the Saxon Thegns (Previewed previously) who'll be defending their homes against this Viking incursion. 

Battle is about to commence! I really need to invest in some sort of calendar with landscapes or something to use as backdrops for my photos of finished minis.

Next up on the paint table will be the remainder of my much maligned 15mm ACW Confederate Cavalry. There are only 2 bases worth left to get done and then basing for the entire unit (A very simple job) and they'll be done.

Last But One

This is the penultimate Hirdman from my Viking faction and my favourite sculpt by Gripping Beast. He just looks tough and certainly not a bloke to mess with.

Pics were taken before I hit him with DullCote and sorted that bend in his spear.

Close up of his face and his eyes that look rather good if I do say so myself!

I wanted him to stand out from his brothers, some and tried to give him some interesting trousers and a traditional (At least the internet[s] says so.) viking shield design in yellow and black.

Also took time to put together my Bolt Action T34/85 and ZIS-3 Divisional Gun. The plastic tank went together like a dream, the anti-tank-gun not so. I had to walk away from my work table two nights in a row due to frustration at the shitty online instructions and crappy fitted pieces. In the end I just jury-rigged the thing and to hell with it. It'll look fine once painted up and sat behind a wall shooting Krauts.

Some gunnery officers included for scale. Was going to purchase all my tanks at 1/48th scale because they look better next to 28mm troops, but I couldn't pass up the deal I got on the Warlord 1/56th tank. Plans for some tank rider figs and stowage pieces are in the mix.

This gun really did put me through my paces. Looks nice all set up though and should be a breeze to paint. Green + green + more green.

Just one more Hirdman to go and I'll be claiming a Joker earned between these 12 Hirdmen and the 12 Saxon Thegns I've painted already. Then it's on to some regular foot soldiers for my Saxons (Ceorls) and Vikings (Bondi), which I will not be putting half as much energy into in an effort to get them done quicker.

Another Axe to the Face

Another Viking Hirdman for my tally. As you can see, he’s sporting a Danish long-axe and it’s about to ruin someone’s day. (Which is very cool) The sculpt is overall pretty good and way more traditional “Viking” in style than the past few I’ve showcased. The hands are a bit sausage fingered and the chainmail shirt seems more lazily sculpted when compared to others I’ve recently painted up. My biggest beef is that he suffers from yet another case of no discernible eyes and so I’ve left them alone and I’m worried his opponents will see him squinting and just realize he’s short-sighted and fill him full of arrows before he even realizes they are pointing bows at him!

I’ve tried to give this fellow a salmon-pink tunic and rich blue trousers. I think the colour-combo works pretty well and I’ve added a couple extra layers of highlights to both garments seeing as he’s not getting any freehand added to his clothes.

Only two Hirdmen left of my original twelve, including my most favourite sculpt of the lot. (I wonder if by finishing all twelve and therefore the unit, I earn back a Joker?)

I also started work on another rpg character mini – this time an old old old Citadel Miniatures Ninja from the original 1980’s Talisman board game (My fav’ Games Workshop boardgame). Black clothing really doesn’t blend in all that well in a hill/plains setting, so browns it is. Feels very 1980’s Marvel Wolverine to me. 

Over the decades I've owned this fig, that sword hand has snapped off and been glued back on about 15-20 times. Funny thing is, this is the first time I've ever slapped paint onto the poor fellow.

6MMRPC Week 9 Report

Forgive the uninspiring title...

Finished a solitary Viking Hirdman. This fellow is all armoured up and ready to rumble. Looks like he’s wearing spoils of war as his gear doesn’t seem to be what I’d recognize as traditionally Viking-ish?

Gold helmet just to break up all those metals and to make him look like he's earned his treasures!

Very simple freehand on the hems of his tunic, I like the colours though. Complimentary of each other.

Also finished another couple of bases worth of my reviled Confederate cavalry. Only two more to go and then I can base the Regiment en masse and move on to some Infantry.

The rest of the time was spent putting more 28mm WW2 Soviets together. I now have enough for a full Infantry squad, plus a Lieutenant and sniper team. Also I guess I have burned through all my jokers for the challenge and now have the remainder of a full 1000 point Bolt Action force sat waiting to be gotten to, including one of these!

 

The BA-64 Armoured Car was a dinky thing and I was worried about scale issues when I first pulled this lump of resin from it's packaging, but after some research on the internet(s), it seems it's supposed to be flippin tiny. The commander piece in the turret is from the T34/85 tank kit that also arrived and is now being  put together. (He seems to be making a gun sign with his right hand which I find amusing. Perhaps a fan of Bill Cody?)

Nature's Wrath

Last night I got this fellow finished up. He’s the player character fig for the Druid in my Barbarian rpg campaign, a metal sculpt by Reaper Miniatures. I really like the character and detail in this mini and he was fun to paint. My only complaint is that he’s frikken huge (!), like closer to 35 than 28mm. Still that’ll make for an interesting 7-foot player character I guess. J

* He's also got a "Wyrdform" (Druids in Pathfinder can change shape in later levels) that I'm working on and will showcase at a later date.

Tried to give him a sun-blessed skin colour seeing as he's all out-doors-y and all.

Lighting is a little harsh, but he REALLY does have eyes painted - little beady eyes, tinged with madness or something. Maybe he got bitten by a rabid shrew?

I also slapped some paint onto the 4 remaining Viking Hirdmen. Trying to make these elite warriors look like they’ll stand out from the rest of the (upcoming) rank and file Bondi warriors in their brighter (And therefore more expensive) clothing and armour. Still lots to go on these, but they should be done by the weekend.

Paints in the background are arranged so I can remember which colours were used on each chap's clothing. I have a memory like a sieve....

Bland and Bright

Got inspired after attending a tiny Con here in Sac at Randy's House of Games; a small gaming shop with a large warehouse-sized gaming area. Lots of historical games and about 80-100 attendees from what I could tell. Not bad for a 1st years outing. Whilst there, my mate Stew ran a fun 4-man game of Lion Rampant using his Saxons and Vikings and so the inspiration to paint these two.

No eyes on the left as his helmet was so low into his face. Chap on the right is wild eyed and beardless, so I like to think this is his first proper raid.

Lefty is short as far as the others in the range go. I'm cool with this as not all men are equal in size. I felt he would combat this shortcoming by wearing some bright colours. In contrast, longshanks on the right is dressed in some pretty bland colours and a rather fresh looking sheepskin cloak.

Am now working on the last four Hirdmen to make two complete 6 man units. Then it's on to the Bondi (Regular warriors)!

This week I've mostly been working on the Bolt Action Winter Soviet infantry that arrived super fast from Warlord Games. Really good sculpts with lots of variation available in poses and different heads. Just a shame there are mold-lines aplenty that have taken me a fething long time to get rid of. Good thing this is a slow burner project and I've no rush to get them done. (Have also been eyeing a cheeky 1:48 scale Soviet BA-64 Armoured Car to join them too...)

The second month of the 6MMRPC is over and I have to admit, July was a bit pants on the output side of things. A mere five 28mm Dark Ages miniatures, an rpg Bard and Troglodyte Gladiator.
Seven is actually bloody awful considering I added 40 28mm plastic Soviet soldiers. Heh. O well, new month, better progress.

Just the one chart to show my July progress.