Empire handgunners, part 1

I started to work on the next piece of the Empire force. The Empire army box came with two boxes of handgunners, with 10 minis in each box. What's in each box? Two sprues (frames?) of plastic parts:





Lots of pieces, although much of it is bits that are not required for the minis. Note that the box comes with enough weapons to field either 10 handgunners or 10 crossbowmen. Also included is a cute little 'powder monkey' (top left of close-up). The mini is actually a monkey dressed up in Empire regalia!

My plan is to modify some of the minis in slight ways, removing bits here (maybe some of the skulls) and adding bits there. I will also modify the standard in a similar fashion to the Army standard bearer so I can use paper flags.

Here is another pic of the handgunner's assembly in progress:


The legs and torso are one piece in this version (7th) of Warhammer minis. In the previous version the legs and torso were separate pieces. While this new approach takes away some of the individuality of each mini, it does make for quicker assembly.



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Some Warlord work

After that bit of hobby unpleasantness, I found some time for my Reptus minis. This is one of my most recent purchases:


That mini is 'Chai-Uut', Reptus captain. For the Warlord system, there are different ranks for your troops, from grunt to warlord. The different ranks are needed to command units, and commanders of differing stature are needed for the point level of the game.

This mini has a great amount of detail, as is typical of Reaper products. The armor and weapons have a lot of filigree work on them. The weapons on this mini are of the 'heroic' variety... i.e. way out of scale. The swords Chai-Uut wields are the thickness of a human's head, making them more akin to fancy clubs than bladed weapons.


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Amazing 40K vehicle blog

Andy at Little Lead Heroes posted a link to an awesome blog- Ultrawerke

Simply amazing detail and craftmanship... useful scratchbuilding tips even if you are not a treadhead.


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Empire mortar, part 2

After yesterday's moaning session, I sat down and actually DID something. The Empire mortar crew was first on my list:



These are being painted to a slightly modified 'Nordland' scheme out of the Empire army book. I still have some work to do yet, but they are coming along nicely - in fact I'm a bit surprised that they look decent!



Paint list: Reaper Pro Paint Breonne Blue (shirt), Reaper Pro Paint Buckskin (trousers), Reaper Hill Giant Brown (vest and cap). The vest, cap, and trousers have a thin wash of Reaper Pro Paint Wood Stain Ink. I like the way the ink has darkened the cap and vest, and they are in their final colors. The trousers will receive another layer of Buckskin for more contrast. The blue sections are not done yet; the Breonne Blue did not spread well over the gesso primer and will need a second coat.

There's nothing like some time at the painting table to chase away the blues!


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My table, September 2007

A brief glimpse of the work area:


Not too messy yet!



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Thoughts

I've been doing some thinking lately, and sometimes that is NOT a good thing.

There is such a selection of gaming products out there right now; it makes my head spin. But, while selection is nice, it can also be frustrating. It can be easy to be led astray onto a new project, and for a slow painter like myself a lack of focus is dangerous. Hardly a day goes by without another gaming idea popping into my brain. All of these ideas make me question the decisions I have already made for projects.

To add fuel to this fire is my lack of a gaming club. A good club can be a stabilising factor, at least in my opinion, especially if the group can pursue projects together. I have been planning, collecting, and painting both sides of any project for a long time, and that can be frustrating with my limited budget. Throw in the constant bombardment of alternate gaming ideas and chaos ensues.

To those of you out there in a gaming club - I salute you!


Fortunately for my projects, a lot of the indecision melts away when I pick up a brush. I have done some painting already this week-end, with the Reptus and the Empire mortar & crew getting some attention. Pics later...


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More blogs...

Yet more blogs to my list:

Skyori szag

A new blog, detailing a collection of minis for a Napoleonic Russian army. I have a soft spot in my heart for Russian armies of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Tim's Wargaming blog

A well-established blog that I have visited many times. Nice game reports, and spiffy hats!


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MMORPG time

In an attempt to live up to the 'Pixel' part of this blog's title, I have decided to post a bit on my MMORPG exploits on the 15th of every month.

There has been a change here; we have gone back to World of Warcraft. We, especially Feawin, have grown tired to some of the very tedious game-play in EQ2, especially crafting. It is just not fun anymore. So, back to WoW we went. We are playing a pair of troll hunters on the Doomhammer realm.




That's my hunter, at Razor Hill. No pet yet, since he is only level 8.


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More Tekumel pics

I briefly inspected some of my new acquisitions for my Tekumel project today. First is General Kettukal:


This is a two-piece mini; his weapon is a separate piece. This is another clean and sharp casting from Eureka.

I also received some Legion of Ever-Present Glory archers:



There are only two different minis for the archers. Unlike the Legion of Serqu offerings, and I believe the initial Yan Kor release, there is no specific female archer mini for the EPG. These minis are nice, but there is a problem with both of them. Notice how the diameter of the bow narrows where the archer is gripping it. That is a potential trouble spot for breakages. Also as shown by this pic:


The bow covers the area where the sword is hung from the belt. A minor problem to be sure, and since all of the archers have separate swords, I will have some extras for the bits box.

Along with taking pics, I actually did a little painting. I have started to dab on some paint:


Just baby steps I know, but it is progress! The darkest ones are Reaper Master Series Tanned Shadow, the lightest Reaper Master Series Tanned Skin, and a 1:1 mix of Tanned Shadow and Tanned Skin on the middle.



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Another interesting blog

I stumbled across this blog on TMP a little while back:

Canada in Khaki

This looks like it will be an interesting blog. Now, The Great War is not your typical gamer's cup of tea, but I think that it is a much underappreciated genre. The blog is focused primarily on one Canadian battalion's struggle during the Battle of the Somme. I'm looking forward to more, although I really do not need the distraction of yet another potential project!


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Another purchase

I received another addition to my Tekumel minis pile on Tuesday... archers! I will post some pics of the troops soon. The command figures are the same as for the spearmen, and there are 3 different archer poses. In addition, I received 4 more Ever-Present Glory spearmen, 1 extra Legion of Serqu spearman, and General Kettukal. The extra spearmen are to complete each unit. The unit sets from Eureka include 2 officers, in a set of 24. I do not intent to have both officers in each unit, hence the replacement spearman. The 4 extra EPG spearmen are for the rear rank, replacing 3 spearmen (and 1 officer) with leveled spears.

I ordered these minis from Eureka Miniatures USA, and received excellent service. The order was placed Friday night, and arrived Tuesday. Highest recommendations! Thank you, Rob!

And, if you look carefully on that website, you will see that their shopping cart is prepped for the next release of Tekumel miniatures from Eureka - the first set of Yan Kor miniatures is soon to appear.


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Blenheim

While sifting through some folders on my computer, I came across some more pics from Enfilade:






These were taken at Enfilade 2004, and show Ian Croxall's Blenheim game in action. What a great looking game.


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Flow-aid problem?

I use Liquitex Flow-Aid as a medium for washes and for diluting paints. As far as I know, I have not had any problems with it. But, at a trip to the local arts store, I noticed some thing odd. Either the formula has changed slightly, or my old (and how old I do not remember) bottle of Flow-Aid has aged, but there is a color difference between 'fresh' Flow-Aid and my venerable stock:


The new bottle is on the right.

So, I made a new batch of Flow-Aid (I dilute it to 5% for use). Will I be able to tell the difference? Probably not!


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