Frodo's Quest: Black Rider

Some days ago, I finished painting up this mounted Nazgûl, and I used it as my second entry for the Modern Fantasy Painting Party at LAF.

After finishing the base, I realized that I can relatively easy bevel the edges of the upper layer (MDF pill-shaped base from Sarissa Precision) for a less obtrusive base edge, and I shall be doing that from now on (this was my first attempt at this kind of base, And as usual, I learn on the go).

Next up for Frodo's Quest are som members of the Silent Watch, and then I shall have to finish painting some 3D-printed Smials.

Frodo's Quest: Frodo Baggins

Yesterday, I finished painting Frodo, and I used him as my first entry for the Modern Fantasy Painting Party at the LAF.

I am already painting my next entry, and as this particular Painting Club runs for 200 entries, I think I should be able to get another couple of minis done before it closes.

He is part of my 'Contrast Paints Trial', and only the skin and metal (and base) were painted using traditional paints.

I now just have to finish one Black Rider, and paint some 3D-printed Smials, and I shall be ready to test run my planned first scenario of Frodo's Quest (I kinda forgot what rules I was going to use, but I remember the general outlines and shall cook something up).

Napoleonics: French 1er Hussards Trooper

I painted this for the Alliance of the Big Battalions Artistry on LAF (posted it earlier today), and I speeded up the process on this single mini to get it done for the Painting Club, so the rest of the unit will follow later (right now I have to get Lea's SS&SS party on tracks).

The basing is an experiment; I glue two 20mm washers under the integral base to add weight, and possibly use magnetic storage, like for my 28mm stuff.

I do not shade and highlight when painting 1:72 minis, as I only play massed battles in this scale, and it is all about recognizable units, and not individual warriors.

Sharpe's Rifles WIP - Ready for a Lick of Paint!

In between writing an AAR for my first game of Sellswords & Spellslingers, I have been fiddling about with, among others, Sharpe and his Chosen Men of the 95th.

Today I got them primed, and glued to cork handles, so they are now ready for my brushes!

Sharpe's Rifles WIP - Working on the Bases

Got my almost empty, partly dried, filler out and put some on the bases of this group. Only three more rounds of work to do before I can prime them: Fill the holes in the washers, remove excess filler, and final filler build-up of the base tops.

I think I shall have to get some more black primer tomorrow, my last can is nearly empty, and it would nag me to have to prime them over more than one day.

Sharpe's Rifles WIP - All Cleaned Up!

After a couple of weeks with FAR too many real life complications and chores, today I was able to sit down and finish cleaning Sharpe and his Chosen Men.

Later today I may start working on the bases, but I am not sure if that will have to wait until tomorrow.

I still hope to be able to paint at least one of these up for the Big Battalions painting club at the LAF, which seem to have ground to a standstill at the moment, but we shall see...

Sharpe's Rifles Revisited

Another post about this starting with 'Finally'...

Finally, I started prepping my Sharpe and companions minis from Brigade Games:

Kevin, my hitherto newest gaming buddy has expressed interest in playing some Napoleonic skirmish (he even purchased the Black Powder Waterloo Starter Box from Warlord Games, so I assume he is meaning business).

I have also talked to my oldest friend and gaming buddy Michael (with whom I have spent endless hours gaming 1/72 Naps) about it, and he seems interested, too.

We are going to start out with only a handful minis each, playing Song of Drums and Shakos from Ganesha Games, then probably add the odd couple of reinforcements then and again, until our patrols grow too big for SDS and we have to move on to some other rules, like, for instance, Sharp Practice.

The reason I have only gotten three of the minis cleaned and glued onto washes is that I am working on another project parallel to this (talk about going from complete hiatus to overdrive...), and I shall post about it a bit later this evening.

Sharpe's Rifles

Finally, a post about gaming stuff!

I recently purchased two sets of metal minis depicting Sharpe and his chosen men of the 95th from Brigade Games. I plan to get at least one of them painted for the Alliance of the Big Battalions Painting Club at the Lead Adventure Forum (if I can find the time for it, that is...)

Unfortunately, these sculpts are quite tiny, and I wonder how they will scale up against other contemporary 28 mm napoleonics (I fear they may be closer to 25 mm). As I intend to use them for skirmish games, it may not be that big a an issue, but it is a shame if they stick out too much against other minis.

LAF BoB Painting Club: The Dragon Lady

I almost forgot to post this. I finally finished it over six or seven 10-15 minutes sessions yesterday and today (I started her more than a month ago, but she was paused because of my Horisont Blood Eagle project, and I did not get back to her properly, first because of a bit of painting fatigue, and then because of the trouble at work).

She is done now, though, and I can turn my attention elsewhere.

Madame Sung, proprietor of a fine ladies' establishment, and rumoured to have close ties to the Jade Dragon Tong.

I probably need to either build or buy some building complex to house her business...

BoB Painting Club: Private Gideon Jones

I have been strugling with this little bugger since I returned from vacation; I wanted him to match the 'command section' I painted years ago for 'The Secrets of the Hidden Temple', and, of course, I had absolutely only the roughest idea about what colours/paints I used back then.

I also have no idea of the exact compositions of the colours I used on Jones, as I had to mix and match on the fly (using the approach of trial and error), which is not very effective, as the exact shade cannot be discerned before the paint has dried properly, so a highlight that looks right when painted on, actually may be too bright/chalky when dry.

Well - no colour breakdown this time, and I shall definitely NOT use this approach on any further minis from this series!

My First Painted Pirate!

I missed the latest Painting Club at the LAF - the Weird War version - as I lost every trace of inspiration after base-coating a mini.

This time though, I got a mini in as #64 in The Pikes, Muskets, and Flouncy Shirts Painting Club

My entry is this Artizan Designs buccaneer miniature, which, in this incarnation, I have named Benn Etton.



I started painting Tuesday, and only finished him this morning - he actually has a lot of details that need attention.

I am OK pleased with the outcome, and thrilled to be getting back into the habit of painting.

I shall be spending some hobby-time on dressing some of the Uruk-Hai and Rohan/Saxon bases, but in between I shall start painting the next Viking for my 'purist' Blood Eagle warband.

Primer: Black

Hat:

• I think it is C Graveyard Earth mixed with successively more C Bleached Bone, but the pots are from before I started logging my own mixes.

Hat Band, Coat Lining and Facings. Garters:

1. V Black Red + Black
2. C Khorne Red + V Black Red
3. C Mephiston Red

Neck Cloth:

1. Light grey
2. Very light grey
3. White

Skin:

• The darker end of my usual recipe, starting with a mix of C Dwarf Flesh and C Bestial Brown

Hair:

1. C Graveyard Earth +++Black
2. C Graveyard Earth ++Black
3. C Graveyard Earth +Black

Coat:

1. C Orkhide Shade + Black
2. C Orkhide Shade
3. C Orkhide Shade + C Knarloc Green
4. C Knarloc Green

Flouncy Shirt:

1. V Khaki Brown
2. C Ushabti Bone
3. C Ushabti Bone + White
4. C Ushabti Bone ++ White

Baldric:

1. V Beasty Brown
2. C Vermin Brown
3. C Vermin Brown + C Vomit Brown
4. C Vomit Brown

Sword Sheath:

1. C Scorched Brown
2. C Scorched Brown + V Beasty Brown
3. V Beasty Brown

White Metal:

1. C Boltgun Metal
2. C Chainmail
3. C Mithril Silver

Yellow Metal:

1. V Polished Gold+ Black
2. V Polished Gold
3. V Polished Gold + C Mithril Silver

Trousers:

1. C Scorched Brown
2. C Scorched Brown + C Codex Grey
3. C Scorched Brown ++ C Codex Grey

Boots and Pistol Handle:

• F Musket Stock Brown Triad (actually Quartet, as I have mixed a pot of some medium and light tone)

Lead Adventure Forum Painting Clubs - an Explanation.

I have been ranting about this and that LAF Painting Club most of 2014; so, what's it all about?

The series of Painting Clubs started with the Ancients Painting Club in May 2013, and although I was late to the party, just coming out of a real life pressure hobby stupor, it spurred me on to paint again, so I'm quite happy with the concept

Most of the clubs are a joint venture to present a set number of newly painted miniatures (for instance: 99, 100, 200) on a period or genre specific sub-board.

Then - all in good spirits - if you manage to paint and submit one or more minis of the sort in question, before the Painting Club slots are all filled, you get the right to fly a badge in your forum signature.

For me, collecting those badges has become a sport in itself (and getting some minis moved forward in the painting queue that might otherwise get bypassed infinitely is a BIG bonus). and I haven't missed a single one after the APC!

The latest PC is a bit different, in that it doesn't require single minis to be painted, but a long abandoned project to be re-animated and finished. Never the less, I'm on board, as you can read in another post.

These are the badges I sported by the end of 2014:

These are the badges I earned in 2013:

From now on, I'll flash the appropriate badge when showing stuff I finished for a Painting Club - or, in the case of pledge badges, each time I post updates related to the pledge.