Seven Years War Russians in Two Scales

 First, a WIP of my latest big project, a 36 figure Russian regiment in waistcoats from the Foundry 28mm SYW range.   All my Russian infantry to date are in green coats, so this unit will stand out on the table, and the red is a nice look.   If I'm lucky I get a few hours a week to plug away at these guys, and have developed a sort of Zen like attitude towards painting one colour at a time on all 36 figures.

At the same time, I've had a look at these 15mm Russian SYW figures from TundraWorks, a Canadian company based in Ottawa.  I ordered an army pack during their Kickstarter last year and have just gotten around to looking at them.

As others have noted online, these pewter figures seem slim, but people also tend to say that they look good when painted.   I thought I'd give this batch, also in waistcoats a try.

As things get fraught between Canada and our neighbours to the south, it's good to know that there are home grown sources for figures.  Tundraworks has a line of Lace War and Napoleonic figures, which can be ordered from their Kickstarter page, though how one orders seems a little opaque to me.

Cheers and blessings to your brushes,  MP+

Work In Progress: Foundry Ancient Germans

 

From the Foundry Ancients range, 28mm Germanic warriors finished and in the basing queue.   Shocking fellows, terrible manners.

WIP: 15mm AFVs from Darkest Star

Playing a game of Xenos Rampant with my friend James over the holidays has whetted my appetite to work on some recently purchased 15mm figures.  

These are resin models (with some metal bits for the wheeled AFV) from Darkest Star Games, a US (I think) company that makes some very nice models in 15mm and 6mm.   Below are two two 15mm grav (floating) APCs for a Terran force that I am slowly building to fight solitaire battles against my Space Kitties (see previous post).    The paint scheme is for deployments to desert/arid environments, inspired by the Canadian vehicles from the Afghanistan era.  I am used the Sand paint from Foundry tri-tone system, with brown ink lining out over the base coat.

Middle tone:

 And the two vehicles closed to the camera finished with the third and lightest coat for highlights.   When I get back to them, I’ll add some decals saved from various model sets for accents.  

As I envision it, the grav APCs could be dropped from a transport once within a planet’s atmosphere to secure a Landing Zone, whereas the wheeled AFV (can I call it a tank if it has wheels?) would need to b brought down to the planetary surface via heavy shuttle.

More on the project next time.   Cheers and blessings to your brushes!

MP+

WIP: 28mm TAG Janissaries

Hello friends:

As usual, the usual disclaimer about not having posted much here because too busy, real life, etc etc.

I can report some progress on the podcasting front, there is new edition of The Canadian Wargamer Podcast just up, in which we talk mostly about a big Napoleonics kiegspiel we just finished by email.

On the painting front, other than some scale model aircraft, I’ve been working on a unit of 28mm Ottoman Janissaries, metal sculpts from The Assault Group, very nice figures.

I’m totally improvising with the uniforms, just whatever colours strike my fancy.  Someone said on Twitter to me today that blue was a standard Janissary uniform, but the rest (and especially the officers) was whatever took my fancy.  To me the Ottomans are practically an Imaginations army anyway, but they give my Seven Years War Russians an opponent while I work on my SYW Prussian collection, a longer term project.

The blue and red are GW/Citadel contrast paints, the rest are mostly Foundry tritone paints with some AK thrown in.

Hopefully I’ll have this unit fielded by midsummer.

Thanks for looking,  be well and blessings to your brushes!

MP+

 

 

 

 

#Terrain Tuesday: Warbases Prussian Barn WIP

Hello friends:

I’m reviving a feature here which I’ve called Terrain Tuesday.   Here’s a bit of progress on a project carried over from last year, this 28mm Warbases T-Shaped Barn from their Napoleonic Prussia series.   I can use these in a variety of horse and musket settings, and this particular model could possibly be used in a North American setting, assuming the barn was built by settlers of German origin.

I wasn’t happy with the MDF roof, so I ordered some of the Warbases cardboard roof tiles sets and laboriously glued them on.

Now I have to decide how to paint the roof.   I was thinking a brown base coat, and then a dry brush of red, as most German roofs I’ve seen in paintings of the period seem to have red roofs.   Any advice?

Blessings to your modelling.  MP+

WIP: British Regulars For My Alt-ACW Project

Hello friends:  

With my new clerical job feeling more under control, and with Twitter becoming more unpleasant and weird, I’m deciding to double down on the Old School and blogging more, so this is a head start on my new year’s resolution.

I’m currently working on a regiment of 28mm British redcoats that were gifted to me by an old friend.  As far as I know, these are Warlord sculpts, I think by Paul Hicks, from their Crimean War range.  I think they’re OOP, the Warlord website shows British Crimean War infantry but in shakos, whereas these fellows wear Kilmarnock pillbox hats so they look the part and are compatible with my Perry figures from their British Intervention Force Range.

About two thirds of the way through the Foundry tri-tone paint method, though the shoulder ruffs and cuffs are done with GW contrast green.  I am not aiming for a specific British regiment, I just liked green.  

Fortunately I’m well equipped with wine corks!

Hoping to have these fellows finished by Christmas.

Cheers and blessings to your brushes!

MP+

Weekend WIP: Victrix Early Imperial Roman Cavalry

In thinking of ways to get me blogging more regularly (is blogging a lost art in the age of social media?  Discuss), I was going to start a regular Weekend Work in Progress Feature, but now it’s Monday evening, so I missed that deadline.  In my defence, it was a bit of a lost weekend, as I started feeling crummy on Saturday morning, By Saturday night I’d shoved the nasty little wand up my nose and gotten my first ever positive COVID test.   Gradually started feeling better today, just not a lot of energy, a dry cough, and a distinct lack of appetite.   Glad I got the jab and the boosters, I’d hate to think what I’d feel like without them.

Here’s a batch of 28mm Victrix Roman Early Imperial cavalry, about half done.   As I think I mentioned in my last post, the SYW get the maximum effort from my brushes, but these chaps will just get wargames standard from the three foot rule.  I do however want to put some work into getting the horses right.

I am realizing how shockingly ignorant I am of Things Romani and keep asking my mate James for help with niggling details like what colour should this officer’s crest be?

I also realize that other than the fight scene at the start of the film Gladiator, I know precious little about Roman cavalry, their organization, tactics and employment.  I know that each legion had an attached group of cavalry, and I imagine they would be engaged in scouting, escorting supply convoys, line of communications stuff, and so on.  I’m sure I’ll learn more as this project progresses and grateful for any pointers in the comments.

Cheers and blessings to your brushes!

MP+

Landscaping the Elven Realm

Just after Christmas I was with Madame Padre at Michael’s, a big box craft store in these parts.  It’s a place where determined looking housewives scout the latest Martha Stewart DIY projects, macrame sets, yarn, or hand painted signs with inspiring slogans such as “This Household Runs On Laughter” or “Dare To Follow Your Dreams”.   Sometimes these women are trailed by sad-eyed, bored men glued to their smart phones.    Not me.  I’m scanning the shelves looking for wargaming terrain ideas.   

Case in point, these plastic flowers plants which I think might do nicely as forest terrain stands for the Elven Woodland Realm.  My idea is to cut up the big thing on the right to make a multitude of small shrubs, and glue them onto these round MDF bases along with the smaller shrubby looking things.

I think the plants on the left look reasonably strange and suitable for fantasy terrain, don’t you?

 

No clear plan yet, just thinking out lood.  More to follow.

Blessings to your terrain making!

MP

Some Women Of Valour

These 28mm igures arrived over Christmas and are now primed and on the painting table.  They are from Bad Squiddo Games, founded by Annie Norman (the Dice Bag Lady) to promote a more realistic kind of female figure and body type for war gamers.  These Dark Ages warriors seemed to me to be useful for my Lord of the Rings Project, where they will serve as Rohirrim.   No doubt a village will be attacked by raiders while the menfolk are away with their lord of the Riddermark, and so these shield wives and maidens will turn out to defend their homes and children

I am hoping to get them painted as an entry for the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge and maybe even attract the attention of the lovely Sarah for her choice of the best female figure of the contest.  A lofty goal, but I have my hopes.

These figures are generally well cast.  The two leaders, the lady with the banner and her companion blowing the horn, are exceptional.  The rest are good to fair. with the worst being the left most one in the bottom row.  I think they’ll paint up well.  They are on the average for 25 to 28mm figures, and should mix well with the primarily GW figures in my LOTR collection.

 Here’s another Woman of Valour.  On Thursday Madame Padre went in for her second chemo treatment, and sported a very appropriate Tshirt from the Canadian Soldier On charity for wounded warriors.   She is indeed a warrior, who has never uttered a word of self-pity and is determined to maintain a positive attitude.   I am very proud of her.   

Blessings to you and those you love, be there for them.

MP+

Pulp Project Work In Progress: The Rockies Ablaze!

Picking up on my last post, here is a preview of where my 1930s Canadian Pulp Project, The Rociies Ablaze, is going.   First, here’s what I’ve done thus far, artfully arranged on top of a roll of Christmas Village snow from the local craft store (Michaels).  It rather looks like dry ice at a rock concert, but it does give an impression of snow and thanks to post Christmas sales, I have rather a lot of it. 

 The Mounties mix well with the Bob Murch Yukon types I’ve painted so far.

“I’m telling you, Sergeant, it were a big balloon, and it passed south over Dead Man’s Pass."

 Here’s the big balloon (sorry, not a balloon, an AIRSHIP - step outside!).   Obviously it’s not to scale, but it will serve as a backdrop over the picturesque Rocky Mountains, if I can devise some sort of stand for it.

 The Zeppelin crew - Bob Murch Zeppelin Troop scrulpts/  They look a little more Imperial than Nazi, but no matter, they are darn cool, and they may need some sort of bridge mocked up for them to hang out in.

 Zeppelin troop landing party complete with oxygen tanks.

 Zeppelin troop landing party in gas masks.  Some sort of gas might be useful to allow them to secure their primary objective, namely capturing a werewolf to take back to the Reich for crossbreeding and research.  If I was tasked with capturing a werewolf, I would want to have lots of sleeping gas on hand.

 More Zeppelin troops in gas masks.  I probably have enough Zeppelin troops now.  There is a question of how they will get to the ground … either fast roping or perhaps some smaller airship that can tether to the zeppelin mother ship, in which case I need to scratch build something.   Perhaps my friend Dan H, the master of scratch building disaster, can help here.  Thoughts?   

 i picked these guys up from a bring and buy table earlier this year.  They are BEF early WW1 signal troops, which appealed to me because the Mounties might need aid to the civil power from the Canadian Army Permanent Force, doubtless Princess Patricia’s Light Infantry from the Calgary garrison.  Certainly a command and signals group would be useful in giving some admin support to the Mounties’ command post.

If I want to flesh this out a bit, I have some suggestions thanks to the stout chaps at LAF, including what look like early WW2 BEF Tommies in greatcoats from Gorgon Miniatures, or some minis from Tiger  Miniatures from their Winter War series, about the 1919 Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War - while slightly primitive sculpts, the troops have greatcoats and fur hats and look like they would fit in with the Pulp Figures stuff.  There is also a pack of late WW1 British infantry in greatcoats from Great War Miniatures which could pass easily for interwar Canadian troops.

 Finally, for no particular reason, but just because I adore Bob Murch sculpts, I felt the need to allow for a canoe chase between a mad trapper who is quite possibly a werewolf ….

 

… and the Mounties.  Note that neither Sgt. Prestown nor his amazing dog Cuddles are wearing flotation devices.  Terrible examples, Bob. 

 

Well, chaps, that’s the project for now, slowly taking shape.   Given that the last months have been pretty rough, I am not sure when I will have something playable, but as long as I have fun.   Now, where did I put my trusty shoeshoes?   <whisltles>  Come along, King, there’s work to do and bad men to catch.  Stay vigilant, chaps!

Blessings,

MP+

Meanwhile, in Canada -1

Here are five stalwart Canucks from another stalwart syrup-sucker, Bob Murch, two-fisted sculptor and CEO of Pulp Figures.  These figures are part of his Yukon Peril series and are intended for my Rockies Ablaze project.  I write that with more than a twinge of regret as much of northern Alberta, a province I have called home and much love, is itself ablaze.

Here are some of the rough yet good-hearted who will aid the Mounties as they comb the high Rockies for werewolves and Nazi aeronauts: from left to right,  Laing Jock Laing, Jake Montana, and Leo O’Rourke,  Laing Jock has ‘nae much to say, and is a gruff fellow, but a good enough neighbour.  Jake has wandered from Fairbanks Alaska to Frobisher Bay, and can smell the weather changing.  Leo came home from Passchendaele touched by the war, but still wears his CEF greatcoat.  He drinks to forget, but the liquor doesn’t help.

Since Bob has sculpted these fellows in cold weather gear, I decided that I would use a winter theme for this project.   I used Woodland Scenics snow for the basing, and tried to add some details to emphasize the idea of fallen snow.  I found that the final spray of dullcote tended to stain the snow basing a faint yellow, so added some more snow afterwards.

Rufus Quant and old Frenchy Lamoureux.  Neither fellow gets out of the bush much.  They don’t take kindly to claim jumpers, tax men, or Nazis.  Rufus reminds me somewhat of Captain Haddock from the Tintin comics, which may be why I painted his coat blue.  Hmm, I see a little white paint on his trousers that needs fixing.

 I also made a start on some scenery for the project.  This was a proof of concept: two stands of Busch HO scale conifers found in a model railroad store, brushed heavily with watered down white carpenter’s glue and then dusted liberally with Woodland Scenics snow.  I am rather pleased with the result.  I will need a lot more of these to supplement the slightly cheesy looking Christmas village trees I found in a craft store.

Here’s a sneak preview of where the project is going next.   I was giddy with glee to come home from Hot Lead in March having met Bob Murch himself and having purchased one his Great Canadian Moose castings (as opposed to the other moose castings, which you can find in any forest in Newfoundland).   Peter Douglas, one of my blog readers, knows about me and mooses.  It’s a huge casting, and I think is absolutely necessary for this project.  I am thinking that the noble great moose will turn out to be a mortal foe of the werewolf and perhaps a great friend of the good guys, if they can manage not to shoot and eat him.

Besides paint, he needs a name.  I am thinking Justin, after Canada’s new young Prime Minister.  Any other ideas?

 

Currently on the painting desk: Mounties.   These are also from Pulp Figures.    It’s my first time painting red coats, so I am going slowly to try and get it right.

 

Fortunately, I’ve found a painting guide for mooses and mounties.  Seems legit.

 

These figures bring my 2016 totals to:

28mm:  Foot Figures: 38; Mounted Figures: 3; Buildings: 2; Terrain Features: 4

6mm:  Mounted figures:  36;  Buildings:  2

Paint Table Saturday

This weekend I’m trying to get the rest of my 28mm Union Iron Brigade figures from Forgotten and Glorious done.   About half way there.   These fellows will be mustered in as the 24th Michigan.

Terrific figures to paint, I’m a fan of F&G.

Blessings to your brushes!

MP+

Paint Table Saturday

On the painting desk today - a six figure 28mm ACW command group from French minis maker Forgotten and Glorious, from their Iron Brigade line.  In the back are some Weird War figures ready to go to the basing shop - more on them anon.

 These fellows will lead the 24th Michigan, the third regiment for my Iron Brigade project.  They are lovely sculpts, very well researched.  The quality of the gear and the accoutrements are first rate.

Blessings to your paint brushes!

MP+

Paint Table Saturday

On the painting desk this Saturday is another sprue of GW LOTR figures, in this case same nasty orcses to give those brand new Men of Gondor some chopping practice.  After just finishing a dozen Perry Bros federal ACW infantry (currently in the basing shop), these fellows are a little more challenging, in that I’m searching for the right mix of drag, scungy fabrics that one would expect an Orc QM sergeant to issue.  I was able to get the last lot of LOTR figs off the sprue after painting with some minimal touchup required, so I’m experimenting with the on the sprue technique again with these fellows.  Also experimenting with some rust effects on the chain mail - I figure the QM would issue stuff belonging to at least several deceased owners. 

 

Well, that’s that and a happy Saturday to you.  I’m off to a local gaming event in nearby Cambridge (Ontario, not the nice one - nearby in Ontario is Paris, Stratford, and London - not to be confused with the nice ones as well).  Hope to see some chums and see if there’s any more LOTR stuff at the Bring and Buy, because it’s getting hard to find now.  Not that there aren’t attractive substitutes to be had - more on that anon.

Blessings to your brushes!

MP+

Paint Table Saturday

On the painting desk this Saturday are some Perry Brothers plastic ACW infantry, getting painted up as generic Union troops from the armies of the west, in plain black slouch hats.  I think I heard Col. Von Daniken in the mess saying he needed more boys since the damned rebs were so well fixed for artillery.  Mixed in is the remaining Perry artillerist fro missed from the last sprue I did of that lot.  Hopefully they’ll be done by this time next week.  There may be a warg rider running around in the background.

We move outside to see the other paint table in operation today.   Via the Too Fat Lardies yahoo list, I came across this tutorial by US gamer Mark Luther on how he sets up his amazing 6mm tables.   Mark’s games always make me think a flight to Atlanta might be worth the chance to get in on one.   I wanted to do something similar for my 6mm Napoleonics figures.  Borrowing slightly from Mark’s SOP, I took an old Queen sized bed sheet that we were discarding during our move.  Using painter’s tape to mark off the fields and some craft store acrylic paint, I tried to create a bunch of colours that would suggest an agricultural region.  My inspiration was seeing fields in southern Germany during a train trip this summer.

 I am now almost 3/4 done and hope to be finished soon, if blessed with some more good fall weather.   Once it’s done, I intend to work on it with artist’s pastel crayons to give the fields a little more colour and texture.  I can either draw roads on it in pastel, or lay the roads out with play sand if I wish.  Hopefully it will provide a colourful backdrop for my Naps battles.  The paint has left it rather stiff and I need to find a way to soften it a bit so it lies flat on the table and can drape over styrofoam hills. Also, since it looks rather like the table mats made by Hotz and other companies, I suppose I could use it for WW1 dogfight games, should I ever feel the urge to buy some plains.  Or, I could use it as a quilt in the guest room.

So that’s it for this week.  Blessings to your brushes!

MP+

Saturday Painting Table

Good evening gentlefolk.   I’ve had time for a little painting since we got back from Europe.    The ACW artillery in my last Saturday Painting Table post are done and will be featured shortly.  Today my GW Gondorian infantry are almost done and ready to come off the sprue.   Nothing terribly imaginative with these fellows, pretty much done as per the films.   They’re like ACW Union infantry, fairly easy to mass produce.  Orcs, however, are like Confederates - they need to be done in a motley of drab colours that tales time and imagination.

Blessings to your brushes!

MP+

Back To The Brushes

A big accomplishment  this long weekend, other than sawing the box spring of our spare bed in half (long story), was getting my painting desk set up in the back corner of the basement.  Hurrah!  I’m hoping it won’t be too cold in the winter.  The advantage of the narrow space is that it certainly focuses my attention.

There are a lot of half-finished projects to unpack, but I thought I’d start with the first thing that came out of the box, these Perry Brothers 28mm figures from their American Civil War artillery set.   Very inexpensive compared to their equivalent lead figures.  I’m painting these as Confederates, even if that means gritting my teeth and using as many different colours (shades of gray and butternut)  as possible for the uniforms.  Nice to have the artillery cassions, as well.

 

Blessings to your brushes!

MP+