Some Citadel Classics and Other Bits

Until this week my hobby had been left idle. No painting, no construction, nothing. But the mojo strikes when it wants and I guess we are all slaves to that in one form or another.

There was no inspiration or direction for what was finished up for this post, just grabbing random stuff and basically being happy to get them off the unpainted mountain. We start off with these three fellows, a trio of old 80’s Citadel Miniatures. Lovely sculpts and all fun to paint. 

Up first is this Sea Elf. Originally he was the officer of an elven bolt thrower kit. Don’t ask me where the other crew member is or even the bolt thrower itself! Lost to the sands of time… I really like this simple sculpt and it’s decidedly leader-like pointy pose. I decided to make him look less “human” (His ears being covered up by his tall hat and all.) by giving him this decidedly cool grey-tones skin colour. 
 

“Sea Green” elfish dress thing was appropriate I think and the white armour parts like she’ll? No, eh, it’ll do.

Grey skin? That means black hair. Obvious, no?

This next chap is from the old Norse line of figures. Foundry picked these up and still produce most of them to this very day I believe. I think he’s supposed to be some sort of noble and looks the part with his fancy horse hair helmet plume, gold necklace and fur lined jacket.

I like this bloke, his face is all stoic and heroic. Painting his  eyes was a bugger tho as they are so flippin tiny!

This shield design was an off the cuff  effort, think it works out. 

The last of these figs is another from the Norse range who was also sold as a Barbarian too later on. I deliberately kept this paint job clean and simple after originally planning out some tattoos for all that skin. But no, laziness took over and he can stay pale and weird mullet-y. 

For such a naked (with He-Man underpants), he strangely had no nipples sculpted on. So I painted them on instead. I think this was a good choice. 

This terrain piece has been sat unpainted for years so I slapped on some base coats, wash and a simple highlight. Yet to get a coat of varnish, I think it’ll look great on the table. It’s a part of a Reaper Bones set that has a dragon and heroes fighting it and there was other parts to it but… no idea where those got to. 

Semi-naked berserker posing for scale

This second terrain piece is for some natural rough/ hard terrain and is Pretty much what it looks like - rocks and clump foliage glued to an old cd. But it’ll work for games and as these two warrior-models show, sometimes cheap homemade crap can work to.

Varnish coating also needs to be done on this.

Was thinking about adding some flock but I think it would make placing minis atop troublesome so stuck with dirt. 

Last for this post is a simple build pic. Luck was with me before Xmas as my wife’s friend ordered a mini for her husband but for some reason sent it to us instead. She said keep it and so I ended up with this nifty GW Lord of the Rings Eomer set. Put him together just last night and he really does look like Karl Urban’s effort from the films. No idea when I’ll get around to painting him and I’m definitely NOT starting a new army! (He’ll find use in my dnd games eventually)

Really liking the mounted and not versions. He also had helmet and spear options to build him with but my wife liked the helm less and sword versions better so I went with that.

More Odds and Sods

More finished stuff hot off the paint station - a Paladin, the second Jomsviking Bondi mentioned in my last post and a small Burrows and Badgers scatter terrain piece. 

First up is the Paladin, an old early 80’s TSR Dungeons and Dragons Paladin. I named him Rogelio de la Vega (Bonus interwebs points for getting that random reference.) and decided I’d paint him up in colours I don’t normally choose, so it was a fun experiment and I think he came out just fine. I like to think that he is a terrible dandy and an obvious show off, more likely to step in to stop a nefarious act only to bolster his reputation in the eyes of onlookers.

White plate armour? That must mean this guy has some money to spend on enameling!

The crossed keys symbol doesn’t feature in my limited DnD searches online. Guessing it’s from the real life Catholic reference? Or not. Either way, it helped key in (see what I did there?) the purple in his colour scheme beyond his feathers.

Pale pink cloak and darker pink tunic were both applied in craft paints. Rather surprised with how good their finish looks!

This next bloke is a metal mini by Gripping Beast, a Jomsviking Bondi for my Dark Ages project. That fancy helmet and green poncho-cloak-thing combo must have been a nice part of a loot pilefrom a raid in the Mediterranean or some such. I kept the paint job on this one simple so he wouldn’t stand out too much from the others in his unit.

Not sure this feller is all that fearsome like the other  Vikings? Don’t tell him I said that though

Last up for this post is a little resin piece of scatter terrain. I got it for my church terrain (to be featured in a later post) and it’ll add some fun Burrows and Badgers style design elements to the whole affair. Simple painting to look like the stone mausoleum it’s supposed to represent.  

Basic paint job so it looks stone-y. Was going to try for a marble effect but… no, not this time.

Sister Tomasina looks to the scripture whilst next to the  mausoleum of Sir Gorgonzola. Little does she know, his life crumbled about him when pressure was applied.

There’ll be more soon, tho at a bit of a slower progression.

Dearly hope all are well out there,

- Dai 

New Year 2022 odds and sods

 Goodbye 2021, hello 2022. (And bugger you ‘22 for bringing along a sodding beginning of the year head cold!) 

No end of year round up here, I pretty much bumbled along and managed to get up 24 posts - not bad for a year’s worth. My only pledges are to try to get up more posts than that for this year, buy fewer minis and paint more to reduce the Dreaded Lead&Plastic Mountain (And in turn complete a project or two). Should be simple enough, right?

On to the pics! 

A bit of painting done recently. Strayed a little from the Burrows and Badgers kick I have most recently been enjoying and so a mixed bag to show off today. 

First off a late 90’s (I think) Games Workshop offering, this is a Necromunda Ratakins gang Shaman. My very good friend Derek gifted me a small collection of the original Necromunda minis a while back and I got the bug to slap some paint on this fellow last weekend. I thought he’d be pretty straight forward but bow was I wrong… so many (in a typical GW fashion) sculpted details to pick out! Took me ages. Still, the finished effort will work and gives me a place to start off with for the rest of the Ratskin figs in my collection.

I felt a pale skin colour was more logical and less cheesy than the American Indian style studio paint job. The denizens of the Underhives don’t get to see the light, so it doesn’t make sense at all to me that anyone would have tanned skin in those areas with false light and polluted time-and-again-refiltered air. 

With so many sculpted details to pick out, I didn’t have the energy to try to add previously planned tattoos. Seriously, painting this guy was exhausting! 

Second in line is another Burrows and Badgers miniature, the third Holy Mouse I mentioned in my last post, Sister Tomasina. Like her brothers (Both in the cloth and by blood - see last post), she helps maintain and protect the church. Her Holy magics are as potent as her quick temper, woe betide the brigand attempting to thieve from the church coffers!

A grey nun’s habit with white veil. Pretty standard really. I also have her the same green holy book as I’d done for my Mole. I’ll get a pic of her with her brothers together done soon. 

Kept the pages of the book simple. No extravagant lettering , just simple script effects. Works for me.

Appropriate gratuitous mouse bootie shot. Wait! She’s a mouse-woman of the cloth! I’ll burn in hell for typing that…

Last off the paint station is a mini from a long neglected project. After seeing all sorts of great Dark Ages blogposts I decided to grab a couple of my Jomsvikings minis out and get  them done. Well, I only managed to finish one, the other should be finished before the end of the week. It’s a Gripping Beast metal sculpt from their Saga line. I think the official paint job has the animal pelt painted as a wolf, but it looks too small to be a wolf’s pelt so I decided to paint it up as a Scandinavian Red Fox fur instead. 

This one had more detail sculpted into him than the average Gripping Beast metal sculpt that I’m familiar with. Took a bit to get him done but I feel for a rank and file Bondi he looks good enough.

This pic doesn’t show it well but there are at least four layers of shading in all that orange. The lighting messed it up. 

That’s it for now. These three were part of the Paint What You Got challenge ran by Dave Stone on his blog. Not a specific challenge like others I’ve joined, more a “get stuff off your unpainted mountain with the rest of us” effort, which works just fine for me. :)

Hope all are well and safe out there,

- Dai

Heroic Hares and Holy Mice (Burrows and Badgers)

My latest effort to get more of my unpainted mountain done, I managed to get five more of my Burrows and Barrows collection painted up, three Hares and a pair of Mice. All minis are by the creator of the game, Oathsworn Miniatures and were as always a pleasure to paint.

First up is the leader of my recently previewed Village Militia warband, Torvin Estermon one time Captain-of-the-Guard to the local Baron's father until the untimely loss of his foot in a dastardly ambush by Clansbeasts from the north. With a decent severance he bought a rundown Inn and quickly becoming a leadership figure within the village. Once the Red Toothe bandits reared their ugly head and threatened his new home, he knew the village would need a militia so it could try to protect itself and using his veteran's knowledge, hope to repel the predacious efforts of the bandits.

Kept his color scheme for his clothing to be similar to the previously posted town guard. Love the medals that were sculpted onto him, they add that extra "grizzled vet" look to him.

Tried to paint his face and ears to show his advanced age. I think it works out okay.

You might notice that the bases shown here are a bit bland... That's due to my not realising that my basing materials supplies are much lower than I had thought! With Xmas here, that's not going to change any time soon. LOL

Next up is Ruth Pendergast, Hare druidess. A recluse, she rarely comes into settlements unless called upon to apply her natural remedies to their maladies and skills as midwife for those who required it. 

I felt the pink dress would add to her more feminine character.  Also went with pale green eyes for no reason than I feel those with green eyes are suspicious, much like a practitioner of witchcraft!

Added a very simple and subtle edging pattern to her pink dress for some extra interest and because I felt a bit lazy just painting her in plain colours.

Grey cloak on the other hand I left plain as I can't imagine Ruth being wealthy at all and so would have a functional well used cloak.

Last of the trio and final Hare in my collection is the new warrior sculpt just released by Oathsworn, I loved the pose so much I had to add him to my collection. 

This is Martigan, warrior hero of the people. Known for his famously vicious and unpredictable temper, some might call him "mad", though few have done so and survived the experience without injury or worse.

Icy blue eye for a more crazy look. I think he looks like he'll  mess up anyone who steps up, regardless of their size or reputation.

The official paint job on the Oathsworn website has chequers on his shoulder pauldrons and I thought I'd do similar. Mine are a bit shitty in comparison though.

Last for this post are a pair of Mice, both friars or monks. Tobias and Terrence are brothers, in the cloth and also by blood. They care for the local Church, using the holy magics of their faith to protect it from the evils of the world. (There will be one more member of the church denizens coming up, but she'll be in the next post.)

Tobias the elder brother is a scribe and tasks himself with putting down the histories of the area so that others in the future might know what has transpired.

Terrance the younger brother is somewhat of a simpleton, but no-one can  argue his devotion to his religion. When he is not offering words and moments of prayer, he tasks himself to keep the church and it's grounds clean and in good order.

Really? Building this chapel on a cardboard box? 

And that's it for this post. Next up my Burrows and Badgers focus continues. I'm having so much fun painting these, it'd be silly to stop. 

Stay safe and well out there,

- Dai

Scarponi, Keith and Molly (Burrows and Badgers)

 More additions to my Burrows and Badgers collection painted up in te last couple of days, a Cat duelist, Mole Blacksmith and Shrew baker. All minis are produced by the game’s creators Oathsworn Miniatures and are white metal with no or extremely few mild lines. As always, I’m very happy with the quality and design of this lot.  I think all three are from the last Kickstarter I backed.

Photos in this post are a little dark, which is rubbish. I’ll make sure to post up the full team in better lighting once completed.

Along with Kirt and McRadish from my previous post, these characters will comprise a new warband for my Burrows and Badgers setting representing the “Village Militia” for the settlement in question. (I thought that would be a fun concept?)

Up first is Giacomo Scarponi, duelist from a foreign land and former Church agent. Originally tasked by the cardinals to hunt down and assassinate a high profile enemy of the Pope, Scarponi soon realized he was to be the fall-guy in that situation and so disappeared into the setting’s village and fast becoming the local Inn Keeper’s closest friend. 

Tried to give the idea of whiskers on his  muzzle by painting stripes. Am hoping the colours chosen make him look a little seasoned!

Feathers in his hat we’re going to be white, but I felt a more tropical look would fit better to add to his look of veterancy?

Next up is Keith. No one really knows much about Keith other than the fact that he’s a damned fine blacksmith and a mole who doesn’t idly waste words and keeps very much to himself. The fact that he stepped up to join the village militia with large hammer in hand was a surprise to all. 

Really this image of a dark and broody character fits Keith perfectly, so with this mini at least I’m not worried about the lighting in the pic too much! Lol

Gratuitous mole bootie shot. Seems he needs to do more mole-squats to fill out those lime-green mole-trousers

Molly is a fiery shrewess and the village baker. It’s common knowledge that she’s a little on the… shall we say, nutty side?  With a reputation for a personality that exists in extremes, Molly is both the most fearsome friend of any who call her such and an absolute headcase when facing those who don’t match her ideas of “decent folk”.

Molly is a bit shouty. I imagine all Shrews in my setting have aggressive Northern Ireland accents and furry personalities! 

To show better her unpredictable outbursts, I felt tiny pupils in all white eyes was best.

That dress has some sort of floral pattern. So small, really only will offend folks if they look too closely, but on the tabletop it’ll work fine.

Last to add in for this warband is the “Captain”. I’ll hopefully have this mini painted up and posted in the next couple days.

Hope all are well and safe,

- Dai 

Warhammer Chapel

 Being off work for these past weeks has finally allowed me to set up the temporary hobby station and get some painting going.

With my wish to try to get a solo game of Burrows and Badgers played sometime soon, I knew my fantasy terrain needed a few additions to help have some choices for different scenarios. (And also for other rules sets games in the future.)

That meant that this little building moved to the front of the queue. It’s a now out of print Games Workshop fantasy Chapel that I’ve had sat primed since I first received it maybe 8 or so years ago. About time it got some colour really!

Decided turquoise tiles and off-white walls were my primary scheme. The wife suggested darker masonry to complete the scheme and I feel she was right!

The kit had so many typical GW overthetop skulls EVERYWHERE! So I remember pulling out the green stuff to fill in all sorts of alcoves, etc to tone that silliness down.

Here’s cleric Horace pointing out that this chapel is heresy as it’s dedicated to the wrong god, which of course is not his god. 

Dunno where the leafy vine came from but it makes for a nice spot colour.

Still a few skulls about the building including the one on the door painted red, but a few are acceptable.  

Currently working on a Burrows and Badgers mini to add to my Rogues team and then on to something else, maybe even more Burrows and Badgers?