Lockdown Day 8

Hi!

Back to usual service as a new bulb has been procured and here's a few pics of my latest additions to my Lockdown project!

 Warhammer Class Ironclad

The Warhammer is a heavy Dwarven Ironclad and is armed with a medium gun turret, twin fixed barbette guns and small close defence guns. Whilst not the fastest or most powerful tanks in the Dwarven Landfleet, it is one of the most versatile. 

It's low profile and powerful weapons allow it to engage enemy targets at range and it's close defence guns allow it to support infantry and make it a bit of a beast in close combat.  

The Warhammer is made almost entirely from plasticard and greenstuff but the turret is from Brigade Models and it's been sat almost finished for absolutely ages but I was never entirely happy with it. If I was to do it again, I'd probably make a larger turret from scratch like I did with the Battle Forge but you live and learn!

Here's a pic of the Warhammer alongside a pair of Anvil medium Ironclads:

I've also quickly bodged together a trio of Vongola flyers in the form of the Zephyr class bomber:

Vongola Zephyr's bomb a Dwarven formation

The Zephyr is the only air asset that the Vongola currently deploy and operate on Magitechnology that they have "acquired" from the Elves. Using Skystones to defy gravity, these small vessels, although limited in capacity, have the speed and agility to drop their payload just at the right time. Handily they are also capable of transporting a squad of troops which the Vongola have been utilising to raid opposing kingdoms.

I felt that my Vongola needed some air support and put together three small but hopefully annoying little bomber craft to zip around and drop explosive death on their foes.

Style wise, they are a little bit like flying limo's and I quite like the little things and now I'm feeling the urge to add some more Dwarf flyers to oppose them!

In the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown Day 7

Hi!

I was going to post some pics of my additions to my Dwarven landfleet this evening but the light has just gone in my mancave and I have discovered I haven't got a replacement bulb!

Need some Gubbins!

Usually this wouldn't be an issue as I'd just nip down to the shops and pick up replacements but in the state of lockdown, I'm going to have to wait till tomorrow to don my hazmat suit and venture forth.

Hopefully I'll be back up to speed tomorrow but in the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown Day 6

Hi!

As promised, here's the progress I've made on my small Orky mob:

 Plastic Boyz

I went for a far more traditional bright colours for these 2nd edition starter set plastics and I have had so much fun painting them I can hardly believe it! I remember painting them back in the day and finding it an utterly thankless task as they are identical and frankly boring but now I'm wallowing in nostalgia for them and have loved painting up the two I have done so far.

So much so in fact, that I have got another four underway as I type! I doubt I'm going to do the same for the Gretchin that I have still got to paint but these guys have been a blast to paint thus far and I'm a little sad I don't have more.

Saying that, I do have a fair few of the original plastic Orks kicking around and a number of the new ones too so we shall see how I get on with painting them...

Scale Creep

It's not just been 2nd Edition 40k nostalgic waffling today either as I have managed to finally finish the construction of my largest Dwarven Land Ironclad thus far, the mighty Battle Forge:

You can never have too many guns!

It's a bit of a beast and I'm glad that I persevered with it but I think in future I'd make the forward set of tracks longer to make it look a bit more massive. I may also have gone a wee bit over the top with it's weapons as it sports a heavy turret and a fearsome broadside, not to mention a rear facing AA gun and a pair of fixed forward cannon too...

Still, I look forward to painting the beast and will post my progress with it and the rest of my Dwarf Landfleet over the coming week or so.

In the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown Day 5

Hi!

I'm a wee bit late posting todays update but I have been somewhat distracted binge watching Wild Wild Country on Netflix which was rather good tv!

But enough of that! Here's my latest addition to my painted gubbins:

La Spiga 

It's a rather ancient Wood Elf that I picked up back in the day from Macs Models in Edinburgh and painted pretty badly along with her compatriots. She eventually got cleaned and repainted as a Dark Elf for use with Flintloque.

I could have sworn the pack she originally came in was from Flintloque as La Spiga the infamous bandit but looking online, it appears she is from Harlequin, later Black Tree Design but the face is rather similar to the classic Flintloque Elves so I plan on using her along with her kin as Dark Elves in Catalucia, ready to slit a few Ferach throats!

In other news, I happened across some 2nd edition starter set Orks which are still on their sprues after 27 years!

Orky Boyz

I spent a couple of hours yesterday afternoon removing them from their sprues and cleaning them before priming the lot. I've since finished the first one and must say it was quite the nostalgia trip to work on them and I've really enjoyed the process of working on such simple figures that I fondly remember from my youth!

I'll post some pics of my progress tomorrow in the next stage of my Lockdown but it's got me really hankering after more old figures to work on as whilst the newer stuff is technically more advanced and realistically proportioned, the old stuff is just so much more fun to paint.

There's less detail to worry about and they are very sympathetic to bold paintjobs and look surprisingly good once finished.

We shall see how many I can finish before tomorrow evening but in the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown Day 4

Hi!

Here's the latest addition to my fledgeling Orky kill team:

Ork and Gobbo

He's a bit of a blast from the past in the form of a monopose Gretchin plastic from the 2nd edition 40k box set. While pretty sparse on detail, he does paint up rather well and was great for cleansing my painting palette after the Ork and indeed the teeny Goblins.

I'm not sure I could bring myself to paint up all 40 of the originals that came in the box but can imagine chipping away at a few more over the coming weeks as they are actually rather nice little figures all told.

I recently stumbled over this pic showing some of my old Boyz that I painted a few years back:

Goffs

I think I prefer the newer style paintwork and have a better handle on how I want Ork skin tones to work now and will keep painting the odd Ork or two over the course of my Lockdown staycation so who knows, I may end up with a decent sized mob!

Retro Orks: Everyone needs a backbanner!

I doubt I'll end up with a mighty horde but I am quite enjoying working on something different now and then.

Hopefully my next post will be a bit of a battle report so I can take a break from all this painting but I have to put a few more odds and ends together before I can do that so in the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown Day 3

Hi!

I've managed to get another addition to my 6mm Goblin army in the shape of two regiments of archers:

 Gobbo Archers

I'm quite pleased with the tiny little guys. They are originally Irregular Miniatures lesser Goblins and are really tiny but absolutely ooze character and feature diminutive Goblins armed with short bows and shields. The figures sport a selection of robes, hoods and sport some fancy standards.

I've still got another base for each regiment to make two big regiments of 30 Grots but may eventually build them up to hordes of 60 as what they lack in quality, they make up with in quantity.

Rule wise, I'm not sure what I'm going to use as I may tweak my Song of Blasters rules or play some Dragon Rampant or even simplified Warhammer Fantasy or even Warmaster but we shall have to wait till I've got an opposing force to play against the Goblins.

I do have a load of Irregulars Wood Elves which may do the job so that may be my next 6mm fantasy project once I've got the last of my Goblins finished which is looking like it's going to be done by the weekend!

The only thing that I really need to add to the army is a couple of big blocks of warriors and I'm thinking of adding some teeny fanatics to each regiment. I've also got a base of Ogres to paint as I want to add some heavy hitters to the tiny force.

The Horde so far

I'm going to work on getting the characters done soon and will be adding large banners in the style of my Epic command stands which should give them a readily identifiable look on the table.

I really need to work on some more 6mm fantasy scenics as at present I've only got the few bases of trees at the moment and want to add some hills, rivers, roads and settlements for my tiny forces to fight over and I'm humming and hahing over how to go about doing it.

It's interesting that with all this time dedicated to hobbying, I find myself being drawn to some middlehammer gubbins. I started gaming back in the early 90's and the release of Warhammer Fantasy Battle 4th edition was always fascinating. 

I spent most of my time playing 40k or Epic as I couldn't get any opponent interested in fantasy but seeing some of the stirling work that the Oldhammer community has done over the last few years has got me seriously thinking about having a bash at painting up a regiment and seeing how I get on.

I'm going to resist temptation for the time being though as I have enough stuff to keep me entertained for some time to come without starting a new and frankly massive project, especially as I just don't have the space for such a mammoth undertaking!

We shall have to see how I get on over the coming week and I've got some more stuff to post up on over the next few days and will be cracking on with painting some more gubbins today so I have plenty of stuff to entertain me.

More updates to follow but in the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown Day 2

Hi!

As promised, here's the next addition to my Lockdown project in the form of a Goff Nob:

 The Punishork

He's been sat part painted for a while and I've been chipping away at him inbetween painting smaller stuff and have finally finished the surly fellow.

I went for a bit of a hybrid 1st/2nd edition finish rather than just going all out and painting his boots red ala true 2nd edition but as he's a proper Orky Ork Goff, I thought it was suitable.

I was going to add a backbanner to him but it didn't really fit with his existing backpack so I settled for leaving him without. I may yet go back to add some decals as I just found a sheet of them to liven things up a wee bit as he's a tad unadorned at present.

I had picked him up when Shadow War Armageddon was released with vague ideas of putting together a kill team of Ork boyz for some good old fashioned 2nd edition inspired gaming but never got round to it. Saying that I do have a dozen or so other Orks of various ages lying about so who knows what will happen during the Lockdown!

Tomorrows update is pretty much sorted as is the day after with a mixture of scales and games and I am thinking of painting some 2mm gubbins to get all my Vongola and Dwarf forces finished off for the next day.

It's amazing just how much stuff I am getting done hobby wise when I'm stuck at home!

In the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown Day 1

Hi!

Well it looks like the next 21 days are going to involve a UK wide lockdown with me stuck at home as the shop is temporarily closed so instead of moping, I am hoping to use the opportunity to both get the flat in order but to spend some much needed stress relief of hobbytime!

To get the ball rolling, here's the latest additions to my Goblin army in 6mm:

Goblin Boar Carts

Originally from Irregulars Lesser Goblin range, these tiny transports are rather fun to paint and once the initial drybrush is on, the details literally pop. There's a ton of tiny Goblins in the cart waving weapons and in one case a chap looking like he's preparing to leap out of the cart to attack an unsuspecting target.

Game wise, I must admit I'm not sure how to use them but I'm sure I'll come up with something, especially as I have another three of them primed and ready to go.

I am finding painting these tiny chaps quite refreshing and shockingly it looks like if I keep this up, I may actually finish all the figures I have and have a decent little army to play around with too!

Goblin Cavalry Thus Far

I've thus far stuck to working on cavalry but have primed and drybrushed a couple of archer regiments so look forward to adding them to my slowly expanding horde.

In other news, I've finished a new Ironclad for my Vongola City State force:

 The Lancia heavy ironclad

It's another of Brigade Models British Ironclads repurposed to my villainous Vongola landfleet.This is a class 3 Ironclad and armed with a pair of heavy turrets which makes it a bit more flexible than the heavier Capo di Capo due to having a better arc of fire than the fixed broadsides and single turret of the larger vehicle.

Capo di Capo and Lancia Ironclads on maneuver.

While it's all a bit small scale gaming that I've got finished thus far, I am working on finishing an Ork Nob in 28mm and a Chaos chappie who has been on my painting desk for quite some time now. My plan is to post up something every day, be it painted miniatures or battle reports and I have a fairly major Epic project that will be kicking off when I get a restock of bases which will see additions to pretty much all my existing forces and the beginning of several new ones too so watch this space!

In the meantime, stay safe and all the best!

Harlequin and Wolf Chariots!

Hi!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I happened across my old Eldar gubbins and in a moment of madness decided to have a bash at painting them in retro 2nd edition technicolour magnificence!

 Harlequin!

I settled on a NMM finish but using all the old school techniques I had to make the little guy fit the classic imagery of my 2nd edition memories.

I even primed him white (which in hindsight was a total pain in the bum but did result in a pleasingly bright finish that I wouldn't have got with black). There's lots of washes on there too but it doesn't seem to show up too well on the pics but I am quite happy with how he turned out.

 So many jewels!

That's not all though! I also managed to paint my way through a trio of tiny wolf chariots for my 6mm Goblin army:

 Teeny tiny chariots

As with my previous post, the figures were primed black then drybrushed grey which brought out the details and allowed me to quickly paint up the little guys.

 The force so far

With a strong cavalry force now painted, I need to sort out some infantry, monsters and artillery, not to mention characters which need to be worked on to complete the force!

I'm really chuffed with the progress I've made with the little guys and am really enjoying painting the Irregular Miniatures range as while the unpainted metal is rather uninspiring looking, once that first drybrush is on, they really come to life and I'm seriously pondering picking up some Empire proxies for the Gobbos to fight and defend the borders of the Empire from whatever forces that wish to bring it low...

I've mentioned my Song of Blasters rules that I've been working on over the last couple of years and one of my latest addition is to do away with traditional rulers and go for measuring sticks instead.

Here's the movement measuring stick:

 Move!

Infantry generally moves half the length of the stick while infantry the full length while fast cavalry 1.5 or even 2 for very fast units. This seems to work quite well in 2mm, 6mm and 15mm scale with only a few small modifiers.

Next up, here's the shooting stick:

Dakka! Dakka! Dakka!

Unlike movement, shooting has a longer range with short range being one stick, medium 2 and long 3 and individual weapon rules allow for a deal of customisation. For example the Beam option allows the firer to roll to hit any unit the ruler touches which represents things like flamers or grape shot.

The sticks are jumbo lolly sticks and measure 15cm which is very handy when it comes to measuring stuff and I am thinking of making some themed ones for my Goblins and more for my Imperial troops and Vongola ironclads!

It's interesting how simplifying rules down has resulted in a far more pleasing game than making things over granular and complex. I've found myself rather inspired by the likes of Epic 40k which has one of the best systems I've played for years and will continue to post the odd ruminations on the rules as I go so watch this space!

In the meantime, All the best!

Wolf Riders!

Hi!

Just a quick update this evening with a few stands of 6mm Goblin Wolf Riders!

I've been tempted by Warhammer Fantasy Battle and instead of giving into the rather pointless endeavour of trying to collect, let alone paint a 28mm army, I've settled on rummaging out some 6mm goodies instead!

 Fresh from the Worlds Edge Mountains

Ironically they are actually Orcs riding wolves and produced by Irregular Miniatures but in 6mm scale one can get away with playing a bit loose with what figures are supposed to be.

I must admit that the sculpts looked a bit uninspired until I primed them black and then drybrushed them grey and my goodness didn't the detail suddenly appear. They are actually wonderfully detailed little sculpts that ooze character with snarling little faces, gnarled knuckles holding reins and lots of nice little bits and bobs that made them a pleasure to work on!

Better yet, in 6mm scale I can field quite a few for pretty much nothing and an entire army would cost only a few quid so what's not to like!

I was gifted these little fellows about ten years ago by a follower of my Leviathan Blog (I'm so sorry I can't remember who it was!) and it's taken me till now to work on them but hopefully I'm doing the little guys justice.

I've got a few wolf chariots and infantry to paint too so we shall have to see how the whole force looks like once it has been painted but I have to say it is quite a nice way to put together an army quickly and cheaply and it has got me ruminating on painting up some Empire troops to fend off the greenskinned menace.

Looking at what I have, I think I can play a nice wee game of Dragon Rampant using the stuff I have so it might be fun to work towards playing a mini campaign over the summer, especially as it took me a couple of hours to paint a small host of figures!

In other news, I have rummaged out my Eldar and begun work on one of them and have almost finished an Ork in 28mm as well as a sinister Chaos chappy. The scattergun approach once again seems to be working quite well for me as I plow through all manner of random stuff and continue to enjoy myself immensely whilst actually starting to reduce my unpainted pile.

We shall have to see how I get on over the weekend with my assorted bits and bobs but I'll post updates as I get the chance but for now, All the best!

2nd Edition Eldar

Hi!

I've been busily painting my way through my unpainted small scale stuff in the form of several stands of 6mm Gobbo wolf riders but whilst having a rummage through my leadpile, I happened across my unpainted Eldar gubbins.

While I doubt I'd have much use for them game wise as I move towards 15mm scale, I do find myself tempted to paint what I have for a bit of retro enjoyment!

While the temptation is there to go for a classic Rogue Trader sort of mini project, I think I am going to paint them as 2nd edition Eldar in all their technicolour glory!

Remember when armies were pretty small and the biggest thing one could expect on the board was usually a dreadnought or a Rhino?

Armies were universally brightly coloured and usually sported backbanners and fought over lush green battlefields rather than the Grimdark that later editions developed.

Last time I discovered them, I painted up a handful as Saim-Hann Wild Riders but am tempted to go for something else this time round as I'm not sure how much bright red I can cope with painting.

Looking at what I have got, there's about a dozen Guardians of a mixture of Rogue Trader era and 2nd edition metal with plastic arms sorts, a couple of Dark Reapers, a surprising number of Harlequins and a fair few walkers of various sorts.

I think I'm going to have to prime up a couple and see how I go with a test paint scheme or two but I'm quite interested to see if I can replicate some of the classic 2nd edition bright era finish that I have such fond memories of.

We shall see what progress I make in the coming week but I'm quite keen to see what I can accomplish.

Thinking about it, I also have a few more odds and ends soaking in dettol at the moment which could do with being cleaned up and put to good use rather than lying unloved in a box or tub...

Progress pics to follow along with further ponderings, ramblings and so on!

In the meantime, All the best!

Vongola Command Ironclad

Hi!

I've managed to finish another of my Vongola City State Land Ironclads in the form of the Capo di Capo Command Ironclad:

Capo di Capo

Armed with a heavy gun turret and a fearsome broadside, the Capo di Capo is the largest of the Vongola's landfleet and is the city states proudest achievement. 

The Capo di Capo is also equipped with a supercharged quad boiler which can allow it to put on an impressive head of steam when least expected. 

As all things Vongola, it is somewhat temperamental though and prone to exploding at inconvenient times. This is not seen as too much of a hinderance though as it has allowed the mighty machine an advantage in combat, be it getting into a position that will allow it to bring its full armament to bear or speed out of the way of a battering from enemy ironclads.

Originally a Sovereign class from the Brigade Models range, I reworked the broadside as it was slightly miscast and added more super structure and a new smokestack. It took a surprising amount of work to paint it but I am quite pleased with how it turned out.

I've already put it through its paces in a quick throwdown game between Vongola and Dwarven Ironclad landfleets and despite losing the game (Lambo class Ironclads explode very easily when trying to attack larger Dwarven vehicles!) it did quite a bit of damage to the Dwarven command Ironclad and if I'd managed to play a few more turns, I suspect it would have made mincemeat of my Anvil class Ironclads who were defending the Black Water facility from the rapacious Vongola!

Capo di Capo and Lambo class Ironclads

I have been reworking my Song of Blasters game to work with 2mm and am quite pleased with how it has thus far turned out and I am looking forward to playing more games with more fleshed out Landfleets duking it out in the near future!

I'm also seriously pondering the foolishness of trying to put together a Middlehammer force in 28mm scale for some retro nonsense which I fervently hope to talk myself out of as it is a very silly idea but than again...

Anyhoo, enough of my ramblings! 

All the best!