28 July 2018

Huaxtec, part 10

Another old project gets some much-needed attention:





Here is the first element of my Huaxtec army.  Figures are by Outpost.  The shield uses a slightly modified decal from VVV - the Outpost shields are a little big for the decal, so I extended the lines just a touch.  I tried to represent tattoos on the warriors with some squiggles of black paint, but it is hard to see in some of the pics.

The basing is set for Irregular Wars 2nd edition.  The number of figures on a base will correspond to the Resolve stat in the rules.  In this case, 5 figures will be a unit of warriors with a Resolve of 3.  Better units can have a Resolve up to 5 with either 7 or 8 figures on the base (I have yet to decide on that).  

There is another element of Huaxtec being based up, and then I will need to get to the brushes again, although the heat here is making it difficult to stay at the painting table for long.


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21 July 2018

Scots, part 5

Finally, some finished figures!  Two elements of Islemen, and one element of Scots schiltron:






These fellows put the Scots army at 20% complete (roughly).  I have two more elements of Islemen waiting along with some more schiltron, then a lot of schiltron, some bow, skirmishers, and dismounted knights to order, and several commander/hero types to fill in the gaps.  Then, after that I need their English opponent...

Slowly but surely, this project is coming together.


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18 July 2018

Turkemen, part 1

This is the first new post on an old project of mine that is taking on some new life of late.  The Turkemen, not to be confused with the Ottoman Turks, are from the fictional world of 'Monster Blood Tattoo' or The Foundling's Tale as the series is known in the USA.  MBT is a series of books by D.M. Cornish, following the adventures of a young boy through a dangerous, mythical world.  This mythos would be best described as 'black powder fantasy' with a heavy dose of alchemy and Frankenstein-ish beasts, along with other interesting quirks which will be examined later.

The Turkemen are the northern neighbors and foes of the main european-styled civilization, the Haacobin Empire, and yes they are based on turks but only in a vague sense.  One of the specialties of the Turkemen is the construction of bolbogis - a 'dog of war' after a fashion, although it is not readily apparent that they are related to canines.  (One of the fascinating points of Mr. Cornish's writing style for the series is his habit of turning our usual English words and phrases around to sometimes very different meanings.)  Bolbogis are created/constructed/raised/? by inexplicable means as guard and attack creatures, and although they do not feature prominently in the stories, I am taking liberties to put those few words into gaming miniatures using proxies.



Pictured above are my first attempts to put bolbogis on the table.  On the left are a trio of miniatures from Khurasan Miniatures known as 'sponks'.  Their claws are not glued in, however.  They will be smaller, faster bolbogis.

In the center of the above pic is a Scarab Ogre from Crocodile Games.  They are larger than the average human and much more dangerous.

On the right is an Umber Hulk, a D&D figure.  The original miniature is bent down close to the ground, so I intend to alter the miniatures so they stand more upright.  These figures are plastic, which will make it easier to convert them.


A strange project?  Yes, but one that will be lots of fun, at least for me...


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15 July 2018

Painting table, July 2018

It seems that I have fallen off schedule again with regards to timely posting here, so an easy way to jumpstart the habit is a pic of the hobby table:


Many of the usual suspects are here!  I am, however, making progress on a few projects and they will appear here again soon, along with other shiny toys to distract me.


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Pre-dreadnoughts

A bit too much time away from here, don't you think?  I have not had much desire to work on naval stuff lately, despite having several projects deserving attention.  One has to start someplace so let's go:









Here is my first group of ship models from WTJ.  These are assorted pre-dreadnoughts in 1/1800 scale.  US, Spanish, Japanese, and Russian vessels are pictured as they await some attention with soapy water and a brush.



After that, I need to make masts and figure out how to base them...