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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Huaxtec, part 9

A little bit more progress with the Mesoamerican project:

Another 21 Huaxtec warriors awaiting primer, with another 17 awaiting their turn under the knife and file.




One issue that is bothering me at the moment is the final look of the base.  I have some ideas bouncing around at the moment - here is one:

This is just flock and rocks.  I am considering tufts, but have not really made a decision yet.


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Huaxtec, part 8 - Outpost

I am slowly going through the bags of new figures that I received from Outpost, and first up are the suit wearers (tlahuiztli):

This batch includes a Huaxtec nobleman, first figure from the left, who is destined to be my force's main leader.  Most, but not all, of these fellows are fitted with back braces to wear banners, but I do not want to have all of my tlahuiztli wearing them.  Some will be modified to remove the braces, which is going to be difficult to hide after the fact.  Hopefully some judicious application of paint will help!  The banners shown are from Outpost's Mayan range, which are commonly supplied for the Huaxtec, and makes sense as the Huaxtec are more closely related to the Late Mayans and not the Mexica invaders from the north.

This pic is of the other tlahuiztli in the Outpost range:

Most figures from Outpost are supplied open-handed, so a variety of weapons can be fitted.

Overall, I like the Outpost figures.  They are well-cast and have a variety of poses, and the variety of weapons is a nice touch.  But, there is one problem:

Outpost, Eureka, Lucid Eye, Outpost

In this pic, one can see the effect of differing decades of figure sculpting - both the Eureka and Lucid Eye miniatures are much taller than their older Outpost companions.  The thick bases of the Outpost figures do not make up for it, although the banners will help divert attention away from the short Outpost figures.  And the two Outpost figures in the above pic are the ones standing up straight; others are in short appearing positions that will only exacerbate the effect.  The shields are very similar in size, thankfully.

I am going to stay with the Outpost figures, for both my Huaxtec and Tlaxcala forces.


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New arrivals

Believe it or not, things are happening here but I do not have much for pics, so here are a few:

Reinforcements for the Huaxtec, courtesy of Outpost.  Lots of warriors and archers; I'll have more pics later.


And, I received these from a give-away:

Arjun over at the blog   Cor blog me!   had a give-away for these 1/72 figures and I was the lucky recipient.  Although they are for WW2, I intend to swap out the heads for some of a more SCW style from Minairons. 

As I am not in a position to have my own give-away to pass the thought along, I made a small donation to a local group called Seal Sitters.  And they gave me this in return:

A nice new button for the show hat!


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Huaxtec, part 7

A few more Huaxtec warriors completed, except basing (Potentially NSFW):

These warriors have an assortment of weapons, but the same plain shields as the first set, with the exception of the red rims on the shields.

It is not visible at this angle, but some of the ink used for the tattoos and weapon decorations lifted off during the varnishing phase.  Nothing serious, but it is giving me second thoughts about the Winsor & Newton inks.

As I am slowly painting up these figures, I am contemplating an order for some more Huaxtec, this time from Outpost.  More warriors are needed, especially bowmen, some more suit wearers, and a few high command types.


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Huaxtecs, part 6

(Potentially NSFW!)   

It has been a busy time here, but slow progress has been made.  Here are the first two Huaxtec, complete except for basing:

I am glad to see that the ink used for the tattoos did not run during the varnish stage!


And, a view of the hobby table:

Base colors for more Huaxtec shields in the lower left, more slow progress on the Shén in the upper left, and the rest of my stuff waiting patiently...


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Huaxtecs, part 5

Slow progress to be sure, but the miniatures are starting to look good - here are some pics (possibly NSFW):

Here are some of the warriors wearing the tlahuiztli war suit, with 'hawk scratches' that are very characteristic of Huaxtec suit-wearers.  I have tried to introduce some variation in the fellows by having the hair and forehead feather fillet in different colors.  If I had thought more before starting, I would have switched some of the weapons around with some of the other figures, especially a maquahuitl or two.

Here are the other warriors, with a variety of weapons and tattoos.  



There are a lot of details that are not yet done, and the leader and his shamen are barely started, but it should not be too much longer...


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Huaxtecs, part 4

(This might be a bit NSFW, fair warning!)



A little more progress on the Mesoamerican project, with the Huaxtec pictured below:

The bases on all of them have been started, just smoothing out the base mostly.  Weapons are getting closer to completion, and the coloration of the hair is just about done, although for those that I am leaving as black (instead of dyed), I am not quite happy with the highlighting or the lack thereof.  I am not certain how far I will pursue it, as I am willing to bet that they will look different once the figures are coated with matte sealer.

The big item of the week has been putting tattoos on the fellas.  The Huaxtec were reputed to be heavily tattooed, so I am giving it a try.  So far, I am just using simple lines and designs, which should look OK from table-top gaming distances.  I will need to research some more complex designs, as well as the possibility of face/body painting...


Here is a close-up of some of the tattoos:

I am using Winsor & Newton black ink for the designs, which is why they are quite glossy.  The designs are fairly random, and I am trying to mix it up a bit for variation.  This pic also shows some of the very minor differences that I tried to have in poses, with the three that are armed with a wooden bladed weapon that I can not find the appropriate word for at the moment (!) showing where I have bent the figure.  Once I can order some more Huaxtec from Outpost, to supplement these from Lucid Eye, there will be much more variety in the troops!

A few more examples:

As I was trying to come up with more designs, it occurred to me that if I was painting these up for some purely Pulp gaming instead of attempting something remotely historical, it would be great if the tattoos were mathematical formulas instead of just random patterns...


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Huaxtecs, part 3

And... a small amount of progress on the Huaxtecs:

I am slowly working on more small details - hair color options will be first.  I am going with a variety of colors, as the Huaxtecs are reputed to have dyed their hair.  Next will be weapons.

To help with the hair colors, and hopefully tattoos also, I found some of this:

The local art store had a few jars of these inks, and having read of their use at Big Lee's blog, I'll give them a whirl.


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End of June Table

Finally cleared up the hobby table a bit, and immediately put more stuff on it!  As the pic shows:

Old and new projects there, with the Huaxtecs dominating, and those archers from the First Legion of Ever Present Glory, resplendent in blue, are on the left.  Along with those troops is the return of some Boschenberg musketeers from my Monster Blood Tattoo project and, making a table appearance after a very long absence, are some Reptus warriors.

The Huaxtecs have a fairly good coating of paint for their skin (close-ups at a later point).  Some will get tattoos, and their clothing and weapons need to be finished.  Then, there is the matter of their shields...

The Ever Present Glory archers are getting close to being finished also, with just some detail work and skin shading left to do.

The Boschenberg musketeers just need detailing also.  I am wondering if I should consolidate the posts from my usual Monster Blood Tattoo blog (link here) to this blog.

The Reptus miniatures are for an old fantasy skirmish project, and they will need to be stripped and restarted anew.  I have orcs, humans, and Reptus, while my lovely wife has elves, and I am slowly getting around to doing some actual work on them.  I feel a little more confident about my usually poor painting technique and I am willing to give it another go.  Of course another driving factor is the hobby budget, which is getting tight once again and new purchases are being directed into just one or maybe two projects.


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First steps on basing

My second (or is it the 3rd?) order from Warbases arrived a while back, but of course the pics and post are slow to be produced.

Above are the three basic sabot base sizes that I will be using for Irregular Wars.  Unit casualties are tracked by Resolve, and a typical unit will have a Resolve from 3 to 5.  Figure removal will be an easy way to track the loss of Resolve.  Although the base sizes are irregular, they do have a similar width, which was a key to my plan.

Here is an example, using some unfinished (!) Huaxtecs.  The miniatures are on 25mm round bases, and they fit into the sabots very nicely, not too snug which will allow for some of the space to be taken up by a thin coating of paint.  Mesoamerican units will range from 3 to 5 Resolve, while most Spanish Conquistador units have a Resolve of 4.

These sabot bases will work very well for regular foot troops, but I have yet to figure out how I want to represent the small handful of Conquistador cavalry units, and artillery.  Base width once again will be the issue, and might require a bit of deviation from the plan for 1 figure = 1 Resolve that is set up for the infantry.


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Huaxtecs, part 2

Some small progress on my Meso-American project - here are the Huaxtecs, among others:

Shown here with some Scots, Aztecs, and a few fantasy figures, the Huaxtecs are getting their base flesh color - I am using P3 Khardic Flesh.

Here is a closer pic - may be slightly NSFW:

All of the Huaxtec warriors are mounted onto 25mm round bases from Warbases.

Here is a pic with some flesh shading experimentation:

It is not a very good pic unfortunately  -  it shows the neat Khardic Flesh base on the right, and on the left is the aftermath of a heavy wash of P3 Idrian Flesh over the Khardic base.  P3 paints are on the satin side, which is not a bad thing but my picture taking skills just are not showing the contrast.


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Huaxtecs, part 1

After a hiatus of about 6 years, I have made a purchase off of eBay:

And an impressive purchase it is:  Xachoti's Huaxtec Warband, from the skilled sculptings of Steve Saleh and his Lucid Eye range, which, sadly seems to have gone quiet recently.

The warband is a group of 24 miniatures - one leader and a random assortment of others in the range.  The variety is quite good, with 7 different sculpts along with the leader, and a nice mix of weapons.

The castings, with the exception of one, are fairly free from flash and are well-cast.  I will say that for the most part these chaps are bent over a bit, as readying a final blow to a downed opponent.

The close-ups show the detail, especially in the faces.  Surprisingly, a few remind me of Celts with their upswept hair!

By comparison, they should mix well with my Eureka miniatures, although the Lucid Eye miniatures will be a bit taller - in the pic above the Eureka miniatures are mounted on washers.



I'm looking forward to getting some paint on these fellows!


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