Tiny Horde and Skeletal Reinforcements

Hi!

Well it's been a while since I last updated the blog but I've not been idle. I've been furiously painting my way through all sorts of oddments and seem to be keeping the hobby mojo going well for January!

First up, here's my first infantry brigade for my 2mm Orc Horde:

Orc Yellow Jackets

As previously mentioned, I'd planned on making hair curler armies in true old school style but the times have moved on ant the style of curler is surprisingly difficult to obtain. I'd then thought of just biting the bullet and placing an order with Irregular to get all the bits I needed but I stumbled across an article suggesting Granny Grid (the plastic webbing used for cross stitch) and as I had a few bits of the stuff lying around, and being cheap, I thought I'd give it a bash.

I must admit that my initial reaction wasn't too favourable but once the unit is based and tiny flag added, they seem to all of a sudden work. At 2mm scale, Infantry units are always going to be a bit of a challenge to represent but the impression of ranked troops looks fine from a range of 2 foot which is fine with me!

 Orc Horde on maneuvers

I need to put together a second brigade to make a regiment and give my Orcs some ground troops to take objectives and generally get stomped or blown up so I can see more tiny troops making an appearance soon!

Next up, here's some additions to my Witchlands force for Flintloque:

Vampyre Officer

As already mentioned, I'm finding these chunky figures almost paint themselves and the Vampyre is no exception and he was a real pleasure to work on.

 Zombie Musketeer

Next up, the first of my Zombies. He's great fun and surprisingly expressive for a dead fellow. Again the sculpting is rough and stylised in places (such as his massive hands) but it doesn't matter. In fact it gives the whole thing a charm that more polished sculpts, especially computer based ones, lack.

Militia with Musket

The rather more worn figures for the warband are local militia who have decayed to the point of being skeletal. Again these chaps are great fun to paint and have just enough detail to keep them interesting without being fussy.

Militia with Axe and Pitchfork

The Cossack looking militia is the only one that I had to apply any putty to and that was because his left hand clutching the hatchet was freakishly small...

Hoodie wearing Militia

The last militia is possibly a little boring colour wise, but his pose os great and his grinning skull peeping out from his ragged hood looks fab too!

This leaves me with four more Zombies to paint up, a couple of which need a little tlc as their bayonets have broken off and then I'll be moving onto the Ferach Elves. I do recommend folks take a second look at the Flintloque range as it's surprisingly satisfying to work with. The cartoony proportions add to their charm and I'm really looking forward to finishing off the force!

With all this painting, I'm falling behind in the gaming department with just one game played and now three weeks into the year. On the one hand I really want to get some games played but on the other, my painting mojo is strong so I'm not sure I'll be able to resist painting more gubbins and then seeing about a game or two further down the line.

I also plan on getting to grips with my assorted 6mm and 15mm projects with an aim to get some more painting, sculpting and converting done in the near future so watch this space.

In the meantime, All the best!

Second Titanosaur Sighted

Hi!

Just a quick update this morning before I head out to work. I've managed to finish my second Titanosaur for my 2mm fantasy project and have also finished a trio of skeletons for my Deadloque project too!

Titanosaur Wartower

This gives me a couple of heavier warbeasts for Land Ironclads but looking at the sculpt, I'm thinking I need to make a few more, possibly one with a heavier gun to act as a siege piece for assaulting Dwarven fortifications.

I must admit that I'm finding the whole project rather fascinating to work on as I'm constantly having new ideas for units, forces, warbeasts and all manner of interesting gubbins but I'm trying to keep myself from getting carried away by first concentrating on getting the stuff I have already sculpted finished!

 Titanosaur Unit

 I have found myself looking for Infantry to add to my fledgling force and I'm still swithering about picking up some from Irregular Miniatures but have spotted a few articles from people using hair rollers as the basis for tiny scale infantry. It sounds awful but having taken a peek at the finished article, I must admit that I'm tempted to have a go as in 2mm, the figures are so small that the approach may work! It's also rather in keeping with my budget for the project as a whole.

I suspect I'll need to nip into Boots and pick up a pack and have an experiment and if all else fails, they'll do for interesting conversion fodder.

Orc Warbeast Formation

Last but not least, here's a pic of my skeletal trio for Deadloque:

Dem Bones

It doesn't really show up in the sepia picture, but they've all been an absolute pleasure to work on and I'm looking forward to adding a few zombies as well as the vampire leader of the force in the coming weeks!

Once I've got them all done, I'll post an article on my thoughts on both the figures and the game but in the meantime, All the best!

Little and Large

Hi!

Well my new year seems to be continuing with painting stuff of random scales and sheer enjoyment as I finished another of my 2mm warbeasts, this time a Titanosaur and a 28mm scale Flintloque figure to boot!

First up, here's my Titanosaur:

Titanosaur Wartower

He's one of the earlier of my 2mm sculpts so is actually a bit on the crude side but I had lots of fun painting him up in traditional Orc Horde colours and he makes a good addition to my fledgling force. 

 Titanosaur

I'm now down to just two figures to paint to complete the mini project which has been really great fun to do and I'm looking forward to adding to my tiny force with some much needed infantry and cavalry which I plan on picking up next month from Irregular!

Next up, here's a better pic of my Necrosaurs:

 Necrosaur Formation

I've reworked the bases a bit so they aren't quite a featureless and have given them some small scrubby patches to break up the base a bit. I'm still not quite happy with the finish but I can always go back to it in the future to tinker with once the whole force is completed.

Next up here's a slightly blurry scale shot of the whole force thus far:

 Orc Horde Building!

I'm really loving the epic scale of the little fellows and am also turning my attention to some of the other inhabitants of Aeroth for inspiration and possible addition to my micro madness!

Finally, here's a quick pic of Stalinov the Lich:

Greetings Mortals!

I picked up Deadloque from Alternative Armies for a bit of a bargain on Ebay a while back and have decided to paint my way through its contents and was overjoyed to find that the figures were an absolute pleasure to work on.

I owned pretty much all the miniatures from Flintloque and it's associated rules back in the day and had painted most of them before moving and getting rid of the lot. I had very fond memories of painting them though and thought that they might fill the 28mm niche that I've been hankering after for the last couple of years.

Their chunky but characterful sculpts are an absolute joy to paint and it's a crying shame that the studio paintjobs shown on Alternative Armies website really don't do them any justice at all. I highly recommend folks pick up a pack and try painting them as they're great fun. It's also worth noting that they are pretty huge too. Stalinov stands just over 40mm tall from the bottoms of his boney feet to the top of his impressive hat.

I've got a second skeletal Witchlander almost finished and will get some pics taken once he's finished but I seem to be really enjoying all things hobby related this year so hopefully 2019 will be a bit of a golden year for painting and gaming!

All the best!

2mm Necrosaur Detachment

Hi!

Here's some pics of the first stuff I've painted for 2019 in the form of a trio of 2mm Necrosaurs:

 Necrosaur Detachment

Mounted on 40mm bases for use with Wessex Games Land Ironclads rules, these are possibly the smallest figures I've ever sculpted but I've really enjoyed the process and hope to have a full force by the end of the month!

 A Column of Necrosaurs on Maneuver

I had originally thought of using the typical fine sand for basing but I decided to slightly texture the bases with a bit of Das Clay and then painting them with a mixture of drybrushing and washes to give the effect of an arid desert. I may yet add small vegetation patches to finish them off but I'm rather keen on the effect.

After stumbling on this project while playing a game of Leviathan and thinking it would be easier to play on an epic sort of a scale, I seem to have really got my teeth into things and find myself planning on expanding the force into something a bit bigger...

Working in 2mm scale is proving to be an interesting process that allows be to explore sculpts, units and scenics that wouldn't usually be possible in larger scale. As an example, here's the 28mm scale Necrosaur that I painted a few years back:

Classic Necrosaur Wartower

I've got plans for adding some Aerial elements to my force and have been putting together some tiny scenery to give my games a bit more impressive a scale. What I am in need of at the moment though is infantry and cavalry models so I'm thinking of placing a small order with Irregular Miniatures to give me a selection of gubbins.

At present I'm not sure if I should pick up Ancient/Medieval or Horse and Musket as although I'm going for the fantasy styling, I've moved the action forward to the age of Black Powder so having large ranked up blocks of musket armed weapons would probably suit better than spears or bows...

Needless to say I'll update things when I get chance and hope to add some pics of the scenics I've been working on too and who knows, I may even get in a game or two in the next few months! 

In the meantime, All the best!

Looking Forward

Hi!

Well here we are in 2019!

I've got some assorted gubbins on the go for the coming months, both with existing projects and some new ones I've got planned.

First off, I've been working on some Orc warbeasts in 2mm scale to have a go at a fantasy version of Wessex Games' Land Ironclads:

 Mighty Titanosaur 

I've been heavily inspired by the old Grendel game, Leviathan but I just don't have the space for an 8'x4' board and loads of 28mm figures so I've decided to go to the other extreme and make everything tiny which will in turn allow me to play an epic scale battle with fleets of tiny tanks and lumbering warbeasts smashing up equally tiny infantry regiments!

Mighty Titanosaur 2

Thus far I've finished the Mighty Titanosaur, a Class 2 Warbeast and have also got a pair of smaller Class 3 Titanosaurs underway with hopes of getting a trio of Necrosaurs (Class 4 Warbeasts!) and a squadron of Carnosaur cavalry by the end of the week.

 Wartower Formation

Titanosaur Guntowers

In order to keep the hobby goodies going throughout the year, I've decided to adopt Rob Hawkins rather inspired Wargame Hobby Bingo:

It's a brilliant idea to inspire folks to push forwards with their hobby and try out new gaming related gubbins!

I've got lots of 2mm, 6mm and 15mm stuff to work on over the coming months but I've also been flirting with the idea of going back to a game I really enjoyed back in the late 90's, Flintloque:

I have really fond memories of painting Sharkes Rifles and a host of other Napoleonic inspired fantasy gubbins back in the day having picked up at first a pack, then a box and finally a mountain of gubbins from Macs Models, subscribed to the Orcs in the Hills magazine and everything but sadly having sold the lot for a pittance back when I headed off to uni in 2008.

Skip forward ten years and I find myself drawn to the rather chunky and characterful sculpts and may pick up a pack to see how I get on...

Needless to say, we shall have to see how we go but I am looking forward to 2019 and the hobby possibilities it provides!

In the meantime, All the best!