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Awesome.. you must be getting tired of that word. Still awesome though!

Very tired of the word indeed, but in the context of the stuff I do I'll let it slip.


Sicaran's finished!


What do you think, Sirs?

That dread is just great. I want to dip my balls in it, like, all night.*



Missing "awesome" now?

The Sicaran looks fantastic, the red really goes well with the grey.

Dread looks really nice as well, but that axe is amazing, not sure I'd go as far as Wehrkind though

OH, that tank is lovely indeed. Be still my heart!

I would give up a woman with the worlds best gravity defying breasts for model painted by you!

@Wehrkind: Not quite sure. I do have quite the aversion against that word. But I honour your attempt greatly. I will have to meditate about this problem.

@GiraffeX: Thanks muchly. And thanks for not going that far too.

@Gitsplitta, nerdfest09: Okay, okay, cut it out you comedians.


Ulrik! Almost done.


Great to finally paint this sculpt. classic, supergood. I actually got one of those lying around in some box I got in a trade a few years ago, but probably will never get to paint him for myself.


So my favourite podcast (the only one I listen to regularly really), and thus the bestest around, Meeples&Miniatures, recently had its 150th episode. It was a "listeners ask questions" kind of thing. Very entertaining, great stuff. And I get mentioned by name. Here's a link to the episode: https://meeples.wordpress.com/2015/07/16/meeples-miniatures-episode-150-live-q-a/

Nice! That is a cool model, albeit a bit busy. If I had any advice, it would be to dull down all the whites/golds a little to leave the skull helmet as more of a bright focal point. Or the winged skull codpiece... either focal point would do.

@Wehrkind: Thanks for the suggestion!

Here's my review of Operation Squad (2nd edition). Squad-level WW2 skirmish rules which I believe solved the particular challenges of this genre rather well.



http://skirmishwargaming.com/operation-squad-rules-introduction-review/

Hope you enjoy the review!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
...back to the Franks!



This is the current state of things. Saxon Mercs and Franish Warriors are mostly done (well, the famous 80%), horsemen veterans are 30% painted, horses are done. What's left after those? Banner waver and warlord. 4 points, compact group.

Cool, very nice report! I might have to look into picking that one up (and building a crap ton of terrain.) I am often looking for a game to play with my old man, but he is very particular about the eras of games he plays. I would do Napoleonics for him, but I don't know a good Nap' era skirmish game and don't want to buy and paint 10^24 little mens.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Love love love those Franks! GBP again?

@Wehrkind: Cheers, glad you like the review. I hope I could get the idea of the game across. In 2015 so far Operation Squad is the game I played the most, I realized yesterday (as you probably remember, I play lots of different rules all the time). OS is just quick and cheerful.

As far as Naopleonic skirmish games go, there's of course the venerable Sharp Practice ( http://toofatlardies.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6&products_id=18&zenid=da2d3ef486c75bd11e9f5f94df23a6e5 GBP 8.00 for the pdf version, GBP 14.00 for the printed version. A steal.). I do own these rules, but never got to play it so far. Really popular, also in its incarnations for the American Civil War and the War of the Roses. 30-100 figures per side, solid, solid rules (as usual with Lardies stuff).

Then there's Songs of Drums and Shakos (winner of the 2009 Origins award for historical rules and winner of all the other prizes too it seems. Also GBP8.00. http://www.ganeshagames.net/product_info.php?products_id=49). It's much more small-scale, as all games from the Songs of... series are. If you want to know how the rules work, Flying Lead (here's my review: http://www.battlebrushstudios.com/2013/12/rules-review-flying-lead.html uses the same core rules as Songs of Drums and Shakos, just with some different special rules and such.

Both excellent games. Sharp Practice probably gives the more memorable experiences (mostly due to larger table and more minis), but requires more preparation and the book suggests an umpire if I remember correctly (but it's not a prerequisite).

Yeah, about those 10^24 little men.... I got a box from Baccus Games a few days ago...



Yeah, the Franks are all Gripping Beast plastics except for most of the horsemen which are of course based on Conquest Games' Norman Knights with a head swap.

Wow... that's a lotta men!

I will have to check of Song of Drums and Shakos. I don't have the fortitude to paint up 30-100 men for periodic games, but I can handle some fewer. I don't have a particular hatred for Napoleonics, just that there is very little call for them around here.

What's your opinion of Legends of the Old West? I have a copy of that around here, and a handful of models, just never got around to it.

Thank you again for your wisdom sir! And be sure to lift that box of lead with your legs!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Thanks for the link to the Flying Lead review. Looks to use a more detailed version of the rules in Of Gods and Mortals, which is good because those rules are nice and simple, but a little too simple and untested I feel. I will have to get a copy of FL!

They're just 6mm, so not that heavy. Made a booboo on my order though. Say, do you have a use for about 200 Grenadiers with bearskins?

Songs of Drums and Shakos only requires about 8-15 (at best) minis a side. I think the main problem is finding minis which are "animated" enough. I guess packs of "[x] skirmishing" would be best. But I think it's a fun game for in-between. Come to think of it (and if you can stand painting more minis, probably at a small scale though) - isn't there a Napoleonic version of DBA? Maybe it's called DBN or something?

I recently played Legends of the Old West for the first time. Very, very interesting game. Much different to what I expected. It's pretty much the most basic wargame you'll ever play. The core rules, that is. Each weapon and some of the posse lists add the period flavour (and there's a lot of that, especially if you have the supplement books. Very fun stuff in there). It goes without saying that this is one of these games which work really well with playing a campaign. But yeah, it's not bad. Not sure if I think it's great, but it's perfectly fine. Actually, a friend of mine used to run a gaming club (which is a rather rare thing around these parts here) and back in the heyday they used to actually have Legends of the Old West events with 20, 25 people participating. Very hard to conceive these days as (if at all) the "big, tournament" things draw people in.

No problem, I enjoy Flying Lead quite a bit. It's got some really nice ideas to it. I even got the "hearts and minds" supplement for it (actually got it before I got myself Flying Lead even). I don't care too much for the whole Afghanistan thing, but I found the problems the supplement emphasizes really interesting. Having to work with an interpreter, certain regulations concerning when to open fire for Western troops, the huge difference in the level of technology used, mission objectives being very, very different, and so on. It's basically like a Force on Force supplement book (meaning lots of scenarios), PLUS a mini-campaign system, points values for everything and so on. The author, Rich Jones (one of the regulars on the excellent Meeples and Miniatures podcast) also suggests using slightly different ranges than suggested in Flying Lead. Ranges in Flying Lead may look a bit short for anything from 1900 on (estimatedly). So he suggests ideas for more "realistic" ranges (I think basically everything fires one range band farther, but I'm not sure). Very, very interesting stuff. IIRC in that campaign you actually really have to get into the people's hearts and minds to control an area or somesuch. Very interesting and unique stuff.

That's... a lot of bearskin. Maybe make a very small rug? I have a bunch of 15mm Civil war lads from 20 years ago, but the only 6mm I have is Battle Tech. Best cross over ever?

I will eyeball DBN. I like a lot of the Perry 28mm range of skirmishers, if that is what I have sitting downstairs, so I think 8-15 (16-30) for a game is pretty reasonable. I can always mod up Sharpe and the lads for my dad! Someone has to make them though.

Good to hear LotOW is pretty good. I got the base book some 10 years ago but never got around to playing. Of course the source books now are a little harder to get... I have a knack for buying games and model lines just before they go tits up.
It is pretty nuts to imagine 20-25 people showing up for an event for it though! Are these the same folks that dress as Native Americans on weekends? I could totally see other countries' historical things being more popular than one's own. SCA is more popular here than Cowboy Shooting, so far as I know.

Or I'll make me a tiny bear! Actually, I got an email ealier from Peter Berry(?) who runs Baccus minis. He'll let me send back a few packs of the ones I wrongfully ordered and replace them with other codes. All I need to do is send him back the wrong ones (and he charged me some tax-related fee of 4 quid or so). Really, really, really cool.

Yeah, it's hard to impossible to beat the Perrys when it comes to 28mm. Shouldn't be too hard to make some sort of sharp looking Sharpe and Harper out of some minis. I'm still stuck on finishing Sharpe's Rifles.

Oh yes, those source books are rather hard to find these days. Which is a shame. You may have a point there about other nation's history. But then, this whole fascination with Native Americans really is somehing I don't get. Seems to be a bit less over the past two generations now I think. The choice of periods people wargame seems to be all over the place. I can barely hold on to one thing before being drawn to another. Even stuff I never thought I'd do (particularly ACW and AWI) I even have collections for now, and my ACW stuff is amongst my larger collections even though I never had a particular interest in the whole thing. I still don't quite 'get' the fascination but i'll admit that it looks surprisingly great on the table.

I can't for the life of me figure out what SCA is. A little help maybe?

Ahh, sorry! There' s a lot of overlap tween SCA and historicals folks around here. SCA is a medieval reenacting group. That mostly is not terribly accurate most of the time, but generally a good fit for people who like medieval gak way too much. Plus side, fun full contact armored fighting! Wheeeee. Back when I was young and had more time and energy I was really into that (although pretending my name was something else and all that never really appealed.)

It's funny, here ACW was like ALL you saw for a while it seemed, with WW2 for flavor, but now Revolutionary/Napoleonic era and ancients seem to be pretty popular on the East Coast, with some more medieval than I remember seeing as a lad. Which rustles my jimmies a little, considering that I far preferred the sword and board era games to later period ones. I think in part people in the states are just Civil Warred out, but maybe as the next centennial starts creeping up people will get excited about it again.

I can't complain though, I was all sci-fi all the time for about 7 years and had no more interest in fantasy/historical, then took a hard turn and all I build are people with bows and spears. And the occasional binge on tiny spaceships

Oooh, okay. I thought it was a historical period to play. The closest that came to my mind is SCW (spanish civil war). These days (as I'm old and boring) I can get behind historical fencing and reenactment, but don't find stuff like LARPing too appealing. But then I'm not really a dress-uppy, self-presentation kind of person.

I'm sure ACW will return in time. With pretty much anything you need being available in plastic these days (and pretty to boot! Perry stuff.) and with an ACW supplement for Black Powder around the corner I'm sure it will be back soon. WW2 probably is an evergreen. Cool to hear that AWI and Napoleonics are popular. Horse and Musket era stuff sometimes doesn't resonate as well with the younger ones I think.

Oh yes, never underestimate the anniversaries for firing up wargamers interest in things.



Okay, one last thing I did for the upcoming wargaming weekend - a magnetic base for my Harpies:


I really tried ranking them up, it just didn't work. But I rather like the old paintjob I gave them, so I wanted to bring them along for the ride.

Nicely done Siggy, the unit looks great on the base.

Is it cold in here?

They look great. I like the skin being darker rather than the traditional lighter flesh everyone does. Nice touch.

Those do look nice! The dark skin is a nice touch.

I note that one is missing her nose... and can't help but wonder how she smells...

@Gitsplitta: Cheers. It worked out better than I expected; seems to cover up the tall bases pretty well.

@Solar_lion: Thanks. I thought it gives them a more feral look. I was surprised to see that these minis still are available to buy thought GW.

@Wehrkind: Thank you. Yeah, I'm not quite sure how that happened. Maybe the mini fell on its nose back before I painted her. Maybe she used to be a DElf Lord's pet and he found the nose to be distracting or something.


Well, still painting Franks. Here's a closer look at some of the cavalry:


Still waiting for the decals to arrive. On my own dudes I freehanded the shields, but the client preferred the quicker solution of using LBM decals. These guys must be making the business of their life right now with saga being so popular again all of a sudden.

In other news, Smartmax are selling off the last minis of their SMOG range at -50% off. It's Victorian dark fantasy stuff, the usual fare. I'm not a big fan of that kind of stuff (mostly because for a while it used to be sickeningly popular, as with everything "steampunk" related), but those minis just look spectacular. I remember looking through the range back when Maelstrom Games was still around and they had them listed on their website. Shame they stop manufacturing them, but I bought a few of them for painting. It's 1/35th scale, so roughly 50mm size, but look at those sculpts and paintjobs.

http://www.smartmaxstore.com/smog-a-victorian-fantasy.htm

Maybe you can still grab yourself a deal and lemme know if you need them painted too.

Dang, just look at that guy:
http://www.smartmaxstore.com/doctor-proteus-treves.htm

Probably my favourite (along with the werewolf). Most of them seem to be painted by Angel Giraldez (yeah, seems like he can paint organic stuff like a champ too. Damn his eyes. ) and Sebastien Picque. They're oh so good. I wish I could paint like that (not fishing for compliments, I wish I could). If I was faster with commissions and less tangled up in my own gaming stuff...

Speaking of being entangled in time robbing stuff - maybe you missed it, but GOG.com's wizards managed to make Chaos Gate work on OSs newer than Win98. And they sell it. The price point is a bit harsh (10€ for Chaos Gate, released in 1998. I think I paid that much when I got it then in a 3-in-1 thing along with Shadow of the Horned Rat and Final Liberation) but I got it either way. And it holds up damn well. I mean maybe I'm biased because it's X-Com crossed with 2nd edition 40k. So pretty much young Sigur's favourite things evar. (and still unhealthily high up on old Sigur's list of favourite things :p ). Good stuff. Great stuff even. In my opinion the best 40k computer game ever made.

Anyway, what's everybody up to this weekend then? Trying to avoid the heat as well?

Update on the Franks:




Earlier today I skimmed Avatars of War's rules for big fantasy battles called Warthrone (really weird logo, try reading it without thinking "What's a Warthbone?"). Anyway, very, very interesting rules. At the very least worth a look. I'm afraid that most of the orders end up being "special abilities" (meh), but still worth a look, maybe a tryout too.

They look great Sigur I'm a bit concerned at the one armed mounted guys, I'm not sure how they ride like that

I downloaded the Warthrone rules the other day in case I don't like the new version of Kings of War, I could end up doing both though because I'm mad. I'd really prefer the paper rule book though as I hate PDF's, although by the time I've painted an army the new edition of the rules has been released which sadly has happened quite a few times too me

Yeah, it tends to happen. I prefer printed rules as well, but if there are rules to grab for free as pdf (unless i'm actually really interested in the rules) I'll happily just skim the pdf for interesting bits. And Warthbone sure has them.

The silly thing is that the Conquest knights are made with maximum incompatibility with any other plastic kits in mind I think. They got their lower arms cast onto the shields, so I have to wait until I do those before I can completely finish them. I usually glue together as much as possible before painting, but I surely won't glue shields to a model prior to painting.

Love them Franks. So much that I am going to spare you the litany of dad jokes and puns!

That's a very special group of warriors you painted up there Siggy... be a great addition to any battlefield.

@Wehrkind: Cheers, I very much appreciate it.

@Gitsplitta: Well... thanks.


My review of Company B's GAZ-AA truck is online now!




http://www.battlebrushstudios.com/2015/07/review-company-b-28mm-gaz-aa-truck.html


Hope you find the review interesting and entertaining!

Okay, back to bizness. Here are WIP shots of the Frankish Warlord:






...and whilst STILL waiting for those decals for the Franks I rushed on into the next project:



This is the polar opposite of the Franks - it's all vikings and all metal. Most of the minis are by Foundry miniatures, but there are some notable additions as well.

Here are some WIPs of the gang!

Veterans with two-handed axes:


Warriors:


Warriors from Saxon Miniatures (very nice sculpts, hands and faces not as nice as on Foundry minis, a bit more delicate maybe, weapons aren't cast onto hands):


Berserkers:


Well, I hope you like them so far!

They are all really nice Sigur, but that horse is just amazing it looks so real.

Vikings!!

The world needs more Vikings.

In miniature anyway!