Trying to turn things around

Well, with first seven months behind us, it is safe to say that 2016 shapes out to be a really slow wargaming year for me! This in itself is a bit of a paradox – after all, I’ve managed to finish the “basic” setup for ‘Charlie don’t surf’ earlier this year. Funnily enough, after just two games, I seem to have run out of steam (or interest) in regard of Vietnam and can’t be bothered to set up another game! Rest easy though, I just need a breather and more fun in the jungle will surely commence in a couple of months or so…

Meanwhile, over last couple of months my focus shifted almost exclusively to my bunch of jolly Dannish imigrants preparing for their first ‘Dux Britaniarum’ tour of British shores. Just to recapitulate – last time I reported about this project, I was done with all of the rabble, eh… common warriors. Next in cue were the chaps arranging the whole trip as well as their closest buddies, aka hearthguard. In other worlds, I had to work my way through a pile of figures in chainmail and with spangenhelms. Some hangarounders with bows and arrows also managed to get some paint on them and voila, second project of the year is completed!

For those interested – this lot is a mix of minis from Footsore Miniatures, Westwind Productions and Gripping Beast. They all mix together rather well, with Footsore Miniatures and Gripping Beast being very similar in size and ‘heft’. Minis from Westwind are a rad chunkier, but once placed on the table with the the rest of their brethren, it’s impossible to see the difference from a meter apart. All minis were fun and easy to work with. I must however give the honorable gold star to sculptor from Footsore Miniatures – his stuff has definitely most ‘character’.

Last couple of pictures are ‘graduation snapshots’ for the whole lot just before their first trip to the ‘other side’. I must confess that I’m quite stoked over whole bunch, but that’s hardly a surprise, is it?

Finally a couple of words about the banner of my raiding party. It’s a simple thing – I found the boar shape on the Interwebs and gave it a quick once-over in Photoshop. Not the quality of Little Big Men Studio, but it will do. If you feel like using it, you can grab it at the bottom of this post.

Early Saxons, 2nd batch

Well, spring is aproaching and appropriately enough, last weekend I finally finished the second batch of my early Saxon migrants intended for ‘Dux Britaniarum’.

This time around, it’s a mix of miniatures from West Wind Productions and Footsore Miniatures. As can be seen in the pictures, it is quite impossible to distinguish which figure comes from what company, the two ranges mesh together perfectly both bulk- and height-wise. At the same time I have to admit that I do prefered to work with miniatures from Footsore, simply because the sculpts from that company are absolute blast to paint. Sculptor’s attention to small details and choice of poses make painting them a lot of fun. Having said that, I must add that the grand total of sixteen exchangable heads available for West Wind’s Early Saxon range was very appreciated. I strongly recommend getting the extra sets of heads if you’re buying Early Saxons from West Wind Producers.

Next up, the final batch of Saxons; another group of heavies (this time around from Gripping Beast), leaders and archers. With the pace I’ve been holdning over last couple of months I should be done with them some time around Christmas!

Call of the Kickstarter sirens

Normally I am very sceptical to Kickstarter ventures, but I must admit that every once and again there is an announcement of a new venture that manages to bypass even my jadedness. And it must be said, West Wind’s Productions offering to produce a whole shedload of 15/18mm armies for “ancients” if financial backing is provided beforehand is very hard resis; after all, “ancients” has always been my “first love” and those test minis look soooo sweet!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/832150598/war-and-empire-the-miniatures-game-of-ancient-warf

Bits and pieces for my Romano-British army

It’s a bit ironic – just as I’m starting to be convinced that  our Warhamer campaign has reached its premature grave after a single game (probably together with our interest in Warhammer Historical), I’ve also completed painting final figures for my Romano-British army. Since there wasn’t much activity on this blogg during last month, I decided to have a bit of fun with my camera and grab some pictures of those late-comers.

Mounted figures are from the RB01-blister from West Wind Productions, while the priest is from Gripping Beast. The cross that the priest is equipped were made by yours truly. I’ve cut it out of thick cardboard, added the endings made of green stuff and stiffened everything up with couple of layers of undiluted white glue. Once dry (took it about a week or so), the entire contraption was hard enough to be painted and glued into place. In retrospect, it may be over dimensioned, but I’m quite pleased with the end result nonetheless.

The walking stick is just a roll of green stuff.