Hoplites Got Bogged Down

Literally, actually. I am gluing sand to their now black bases - last step before painting!

SS&SS: Bases Done

These three characters now have nice new bases, and all I need to do in order to have my party ready for another game of Sellswords & Spellslingers is painting (and gluing in place) Finghal's new shield.

Sarissa Precision: Pill Bases

I just received a bunch of laser-cut 50mm x 25mm pill shaped 1mm thick greyboard bases that I intend to use for basing cavalry; two 25mm washers fit exactly under one of these, and thus I can get the same magnetic properties in cavalry bases as when using washers for other models.

I promptly glued some washers on to try out the concept. The first models I am going to base this way will be some Riders of Rohan - I have wanted to make a proxy Norman SAGA warband using them for quite some time, and as Victrix are not likely to bring out plastic Norman cavalry within the next couple of years, I may as well start this project.

Plastic Dudes, A.K.A. AHQ Henchmen

I started cleaning and basing my Advanced HeroQuest henchmen a LONG time ago, and never got past these first two.

I think they will do nicely as Armoured Guard adversaries in Sellswords & Spellslingers, and probably also come in handy for other purposes, so now I am going to rebase them onto washers, and then get some more ready for painting over the next couple of weeks.

I also plan to get my Frostgrave Soldiers out, and start building them as bandits and brigands for SS&SS, so I do not seem to be running out of things to do very soon, at least...

More African Critters

As with many others shown over the last couple of month, I have had these chimps for ages.

They were based on too large washers, so I chopped them off, and put them on 20mm ones instead.

I have another seven of them, enough for a family to hunt, I think, and very soon I shall get them onto the prepping station, but I have some plastic Hobbits, and Perry Miniatures French HYW spearmen to get moved along, first (the goal is to steadily reduce the amount of miniatures sitting on the workspace).

The Hoplites Advance!

I have made a bit of progress on my Argonauts warband. They got primed earlier today, and I decided to add a step to my usual modus operandi.

Sometimes the sand I use to texture the bases does not cover completely, leaving very small gaps (mind them!) not easily closed with paint, allowing the primer colour to be seen as dots from specific angles. White primer is the worst, as small dots of a bright colour are impossible to not notice.

Thus, I have decided to re-prime the bases when using white undercoat. I use Humbrol matt black enamel for this, and it now has to dry until tomorrow, before I glue sand on top of the bases.

SS&SS: Lea's Alter Ego

I finally put the last finished touches on Sigga's base today, and with her, the first mini for Lea's Sellswords & Spellslingers party is now ready.

I found this Hasslefree mini quite challenging to paint; Kev White sculpts wonderfully, almost photo-realistic, and it means that one has to be very precise with the brushes, as even the smallest mistake lights up like a Christmas tree.

Well, I am not quite content with her, but I think I managed to make her look all right, after all.

Lea chose the colours, apart form the rawhide boot and arm protector, and it was up to me to try to meet her demands. As I feared (a month ago!), my initial take on the cloak was too light, and I had to repaint it.

I await Lea's verdict when she returns home from school this afternoon.

SS&SS: The Tantalizing Trio

While rummaging through some boxes in search of some Advanced HeroQuest plastic henchmen I assembled quite some time ago, I stumbled on this old bunch of Merry men.

I think they will make an excellent SS&SS party, so I took them out to continue working on them (who knows, maybe I shall even get them painted this time - I first bought them to use as coaching staff for my Oakhill Rangers Blood Bowl team, but as with so many other projects, my Advanced Butterfly Syndrome did not allow me to finish them).

Tally-ho!

SS&SS: More Characters Ready for Painting

Three different minis, three different manufacturers, all possible contestants for a position in a warband for Anna, should she decide to play with Lea and me (and, perhaps, Ulolkish).

The Hedge Witch is from Red Box, Ladgerda from Hasslefree, and the War Dog is from North Star's very useful Frostgrave range (I don't play Frostgrave, but the minis are great for many purposes!).

They are going into the 'primed' box for storage, until it is time to paint one or more of them, as I have plenty of pending projects at the moment.

African Wildlife to be Painted!

I had an old Chaos Black primer working overtime this early afternoon - first the Minas Tirith archers, then these critters, soon to be found in a great many settings and games (they might even appear in games of Sellswords and Spellslingers as random encounters or complications).

I shall paint one when I have finished the first member of Lea's SS&SS warband - I would like to try out Paleo Diet in an African setting ASAP, and I think three ostriches and three baboons is just about enough for 3-4 Zulu warriors to hunt, for starters.

When the critters are all done, I shall probably start working on some giraffes or cape buffalos I already have in my possession, and I would also like to expand my collection of ostriches, as I have an idea for some special rules regarding the 'hiding' ones...

LotR: Minas Tirith Archers Primed

As mentioned yesterday, not all of these are going to end up in the same unit, as I have a couple of second hand painted models, and am probably going to paint a different model for the unit's sharpshooter.

I shall not start painting them right away; I am still stuck with Lea's SS&SS warband, and I want to paint some hoplites as soon as I get them primed, and also get started on the African wildlife for Paleo Diet (too many projects, too little time...).

Broken Legions: Argonauts WIP (Hoplites)

So, after spending a couple of weeks working my way through the minis that had cluttered up in front of my plastic hoplites, I have now completed assembly of the six models I started last month.

They are only half my planned Argonauts warband, but I shall finish their bases and get them undercoated, before I start working on the next batch, as I really yearn to start painting them.

An Old Troll Getting a Base

The ancient Ral Partha troll is getting some attention.

I pondered long and hard, whether to remove a portion of the very thick integral base, before gluing the mini to the washer, but as it is a bit small as trolls go, I decided to keep the added height.

Tomorrow, I have a lot of tasks scheduled, so I shall probably not get much hobby time in, but as soon as I find an opportunitu to sit down at the prepping station, I shall put quite a large amount of filler on the base to make it look a bit more natural when textured, panted, and flocked.

Baboon Family to Go

The baboon family is now also ready for primer, and I expect to get it sprayed alongside the Minas Tirith archers and the ostriches. I may paint the prey animals in between the characters for Lea's SS&SS party, as the Hasslefree fantasy mini is dragging on, and I need some variation (and to get something finished a bit faster).

LotR: Archer Unit Ready for Painting

My Minas Tirith archer unit is finally ready for some primer (actually,  I have 3 models too many, as the leader and one archer are the second hand painted models rebased earlier, and I should also paint up a special model to use as the unit's sharpshooter (probably a Ranger of Ithilien).

I shall prime them, and some African wildlife for Paleo Diet) one of the next days.

Vacation 2016 - Days 11, 12, and 13

On Day 11, there was a flamenco spectacle at the Camping. Of course my shitty photography skills did not fully capture the atmosphere, but never the less...

Day 12 did not bring much apart from sun and relaxation. And sangria on the rocks.

I can heartily recommend this sangria - the relatively high alcohol percentage does that it actually tastes like an alcoholic beverage, even when thinned by melting ice.

Nothing makes my fatherly heart swell with pride as when my daughters immerse themselves in literature, and Anna was - as always - chewing her way through fantasy novel after fantasy novel, and below you can see she found a spot in the light under the lamp post outside our camping lot.

Day 13 was also pretty uneventful. We packed up a lot of our equipment for leaving the site on the next day, and all of a sudden this appeared on the sky:

Our stay in Malgrat de Mar was drawing to an end, and the next day we were going to drive north to France and Carcassonne in Cathar country (Languedoc).

More Rebasing Progress

The two Sellswords & Spellslingers heroes will soon be ready for another adventure.

I shall be painting their bases along with the green-robed apprentice's, so Lea's stand-in party will be ready at the same time as these, but we shall probably not get any games played, until we have a rainy day, as the local tennis courts have finally been opened (they were damage by the heavy rains last fall, and had to be repaired), so most father-daughter time will most probably be spent there, as long as the sun keeps hammering down from a spotless sky.

Second Hand Rohan Archers: One step Closer to the Gaming Table

Yes, they are still ugly.

I finished rebasing them some days ago, so as soon as I can find a gap for it (mind it!), I shall start touching up the colours (and clean up the occational mold line) so they can get a wash and join my Anglo-Saxon/Rohan SAGA warband.

Galleys and Galleons: Templates Finished

I have not found time for a game, yet, but the quick template mock-up is done, an I am actually all set for playing.

I used two 1mm thick neodyne magnets to fasten the Wind Compass arrow, one guled to the compass, the other to the arrow, and it works a treat!

At some point, I shall make a set of templates using a pair of compasses(!) to mark a circular shape, before laminating and cutting out the templates.

And remember:

Half of all author royalties generated from sales of these rules will be donated to the UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency who protect and assist individuals and families displaced by war and persecution.

Get it HERE

Basing the Baboon

As promised yesterday, here is an update on the basing experiment.

The male Baboon has been glued to the double-base, and some filler has been applied.

Tomorrow, I shall file away the excess filler, and apply some more where needed, and we shall have a final result of the experiment - which already looks promising!

Finally Progress on the Hoplites



I finally managed to clear the space in front of my WIP plastic hoplites (technically, I have not yet finished cleaning and basing the Minas Tirith standard bearer, but I had to give in to the urge).

In terms of my Broken Legions warband I got the Argonaut Captain and two Argonauts finished (they need som dusting before getting spray primer applied).

A shot from a different angle. I am really looking forward to get them painted - they should make a nice break from all that medieval/fantasy stuff I have been working on the last month.

LotR: Archers Almost Ready for Primer WIP

I have almost cleared the second hand Minas Tirith archers from the prepping station, only the last three are still being worked on, and I have started cleaning up a metal standard bearer for the unit, most of the archers are going to form.

The unit will join my Gondor God of Battles army, but the archers can of course be used for other purposes, for instance LotR:SBG (duh!), and SAGA/AFS.

I shall not start painting them right away, as I have now, finally, just about cleared enough of the prepping station to resume work on my Broken Legions Argonaut warband.

As soon as these and the baboons are moved to the 'Ready for Primer' box, I shall get stuck in with the Greeks - hopefully to have some of them painted, before my Victix order arrives - I think I shall paint some of them in between working on Lea's SS&SS party, as I need to get some stuff finished to keep up my motivation!

Monkey Business

And I mean it!

As part of my preparations for Paleo Diet in Africa, I have been busy prepping the baboon family.

This included sawing off half of the integral bases. to avoid the finished minis to sit on slotta-base like plinths.

The base of the male baboon is so oblongish that it would take a far too large single washer to fit, so I have started an experiment gluing 15mm washers in pairs to cereal packet cardboard; I then intend to cut around them to create a pill shaped base.

I should have the result of the experiment tomorrow.

The baboons should do sterling service as random encounters in all kinds of Colonial and Pulp games, so they will make a welcome addition to my collection!

Another New Base

Rebasing this Ringwraith as part of Operation Cleansweep.

SS&SS has stats for Wraiths, so he might come in handy at a later point.

Some of the paint chipped a bit in the process of liberating him from his slotta-base, so I shall have to repair that - just hope that I can recreate the palette he is painted in...

Galleys and Galleons: Preparing the Game

Last week I purchased Galleys and Galleons form Ganesha Games, as I had seen some pics of games played with the Pirates of the Spanish Main ships, of which I have a shipload(!).

The game uses the well-known Song of Blades and Heroes engine with a few adjustments, but nothing to surprise players of any of the 'Songs' games.

I am preparing a Wind Compass and a Heading Template, printed from the pdf, and I am going to attach the arrow using a pair of 1mm rare earth magnets and some glue.

Like with Paleo Diet

Half of all author royalties generated from sales of these rules will be donated to the UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency who protect and assist individuals and families displaced by war and persecution,

so I would urge all gamers to purchase a copy of the game, be it printed or digital, from Ganesha Games.

I may get a game in tomorrow - depending on how carried away I get with gardening, as this spring is acting like a hot August.

SS&SS: Orcs and Slippery Stones Co-op, Part 3

Got delayed by all this early summer weather, and all the things I have to do outside that were postponed because of the very cold spring we had up until recently.

I forgot the scenario rule that the Goblinoids would retreat if they were outnumbered by the Player Characters, which may actually have been the case somewhen after this point (not sure, cannot see the entire table), but I do not think it would have made much difference, as the heroes were more or less mopping up by now.

Argesïl and Shaggram wiped out the Goblins at the entry point, while Duregar and Ulitari protected Saimon and let Kentosh do the talking.

The lone Goblin was no match for Finghal and Rhagador, and Kentosh quickly slashed his way through his opponents, and moved towards the approaching enemies. Argesïl and Shaggram noticed some Goblins entering the area, and Shaggram started preparing a Spell...

...promptly blasting the Horde to cinders.

Another Horde appeared right away, and the Goblins clearly were aware of the potential threat posed by a Mage, and wanted to take him out as fast as possible.

Kentosh raced to engage the last standing Foes in that far corner of the table, while the rest of the adventurers gleaned wearily over the field of battle.

Argesïl joined Shaggram and helped him dispach the Goblin Horde, while Kentosh cut down the last remaining Monsters. Our heroes c ompleted their mission, and carried the day!

Each party earned 4xp, and the half of an award of 10sp for each Goblin, and 20sp for each Orc slain.

75 Goblins were killed, for a total of 750sp
12 Orcs were killed, for a total of 240sp
All in all 990sp.
On top of that, Shaggram picked up a trinket worth 8sp to be shared.

998sp/2 = 449sp for each party.