Small stumbling blocks...

I seem to running up to some obstacles in my gaming projects.

The first one was paint. I posted a note on the Tekumel Minis Yahoo group about the shade of blue to use on my Tsolyani troops, and they were nice enough to recommend a different shade (darker) than the one I had picked. Encouraged with this information, the wife and I stopped by the nearest Michael's craft store to purchase some. Of all the colors of Delta Ceramcoat available, the one I wanted was out of stock! Feawin suggested grabbing the nearest color lighter in shade and then applying a glazing coat to darken it. She found a bottle of transparent Phthalo Blue which should stain the lighter blue ('Mediterranean' Blue from Delta) into what I want. I will experiment with this soon.

The second obstacle is one that has plagued me for quite some time. I have yet to choose a rule set for my Tekumel fantasy forces. I would like to use multiple-figure basing, but it is not a requirement. It needs to support multi-player scenarios, be reasonably quick playing, and use as few markers on the table as necessary (none would be preferable). I prefer multi-base units. The magic system would need to be simple yet devastating when used.

I also need a rule set for the Renaissance project. I might just fall back on Warhammer ancients for this.


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Empire mortar, part 1

My grandson visited me yesterday, and I recruited him to help me with my Empire gun and crew. I had previously built the mortar:


so my grandson selected the parts and supervised the assembly of the crew.

Here is the result:


The crewman on the left in the pic is supposed to be shouting, but after the assembly was done he looks more like he has an anguished look to his face. Perhaps he is arguing with the gent on the right, while the third crewman rolls his eyes skyward...


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Empire standard bearer, part 2

While my grandson was visiting yesterday, I finished the basics of the Empire army standard bearer.


Brass rod and tubing, and another plastic bit from the GW Knights box. This is the same piece that I used on my general's mount, and should help continue a theme for the army.

Add a bit of glue and it is done:


Now for the standard. I looked through the selections at Warflag - Ian Croxall's marvelous web site - and found some nice Renaissance flags. In particular, I think will use the Holy Roman Empire battle flag. Might need to modify the size a bit though; it is a rather long flag!


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Empire standard bearer, part 1

The General box set comes with enough parts to make a standard bearer, along with a general. But, I do not like the 'Grim Reaper' standard that seems to be the norm, so I thought that I would tinker with the standard bearer a little more than I did with the general.

Here are the parts I chose:



I chose the lance because it was the only other complete right arm available from the box. So, I carefully cut the lance off the hand.



One thing that I have noticed, in my own conversions and in others, is that when new stuff is placed in hands, the parts often do not line up from one side of the grip to the other. I wanted to avoid this, so I decided to drill a hole completely through the hand to pin both halves of the staff together. I would not dream of doing this on a metal figure, but the plastic is easy to work with:



Add a bit of brass rod:


And the brass tubing will fit perfectly, and should be straight!


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Empire general, part 2

Here is my Empire general, fully assembled:


The head and shield are from the Empire Knights box, as I did not like the selections in the General box set. He looks good so far; the true test will be when the paint is dry!



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A brief update...

The Tekumel project has stalled for now. I am undecided about what rules to use. With a little more digging, I am sure to find something suitable. Warmaster could be the one, but a slightly modified C&C:Ancients looks nice also. I am going to start priming the figures, however.

While the Tekumel project is in irons, my itch to get the Renaissance project is increasing. I am re-reading my copy of Taylor's book, and it has me wanting to reach for the mini catalogs. Soon, soon...

I have worked a bit more with the Empire troops; more pics are coming!

And the Tau are slowly acquiring more paint (with slowly being the key word).


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Empire general, part 1

I have finally started to work on that Empire army box, starting with the general.



This box actually has enough parts for a general and a captain/standard bearer, one of which is mounted. There are, of course, numerous choices for weapons and other 'bitz' included in the box.


Weapon choices include: sword, lance, mace, two-handed hammer, and a pistol.

Some of the 'bitz' are a bit strange. The standard seems to be the Grim Reaper with wings and a hammer; I suppose this fits in with the Empire background though. And, on the sprue on the right in the pic, is some sort of mechanical cherub carrying a banner and wearing a skull mask!

The horse has some nice detail:


The barding has a lot of detail, fitting in with the Empire background. On top of the horse's head, though, is another skeleton with a hammer. This is going to be removed, and with the mini being plastic, it will be an easy conversion.


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