Tiny Troops- Monty Python and the Holy Grail Edition

 Hi!

I've been working away at expanding my unit of Crusaders into an entire army and for a bit of fun I decided to make some leaders for the warband and settled on none other than Arthur, King of the Britons along with his loyal retainers!

Camelot!

At present, I've got Arthur, Bedevere, Galahad, Lancelot, Robin and Bors to give me a six man unit for Lion or Dragon Rampant but plan on making their squires to make a 'mounted' option.

Royal Retinue

I've also been working on a unit of twelve men at arms to give me some numbers and will post pictures of them when I'm finished but I'm really pleased with the tiny knights as I hope they're relatively easy to identify with their tiny hand painted heraldry.

I must admit that this project is a little bit silly but it's developing a bit of a life of its own as I now need a three headed giant, a black knight and his component pieces, the Knights Who Say Ni, Tim the Enchanter, wedding guests, some obnoxious Frenchmen and a giant wooden rabbit...

I suspect that this project is going to take quite a while to complete but has been such fun, I can't help but keep working on it!

In other news, I've also begun work on making a platoon of Imperial Guard so I can tick off another hobby obsession as I eventually plan on making Tiny Troop versions of every force for 2nd edition 40k and wanted to start with recreating my old Imperial Guard army from back in the day but more on that next time.

In the meantime, All the best!

Aeronef British Dig Squadron

 Hi!

Just a quick update today as I've got a load of things to take pics of and post about but never enough time to get it all done!

I recently picked up some interesting wooden beads from a local craft bank and thought they'd make excellent airships. As per usual, the beads sat in my bits box for a couple of months until I rummaged them out and set to work turning them into dirigibles! 

British Dig Squadron

The basic body is made from an oval wooden bead approximately 25mm long while the nose cone is a plastic rhinestone. The tail assemblies are made from EVA foam and some small beads while the gondola's are also small pieces of EVA foam too.

In keeping with the super cheap hobby vibe I've had going this year, I didn't buy flight stands but used some MDF bases from Warbases (absolutely top company by the way!), a hexagon of thick paper and a small nail to give me some properly sturdy bases as I am rather sick of using the old plastic flight stands which have a tendency of snapping!

The total cost for the three digs, is about 30p and while they look a little high tech for a VSF or Steampunk game such as Aeronef, they'll do the job in a pinch.

I've really enjoyed making the tiny vessels, and have another four in various stages of completion and will post up the entire fleet once it's done!

In the meantime, All the best!

Junker Update and Tiny Troops How to Guide

 Hi!

I've finished my Junkers for the time being and am busily working on and have completed my Exo Armour squad:

Junker Exo Armour Squad

Built from engineering rigs and armed with Grape Guns and Cestus fists, Exo Armour squads are the brutal close combat specialists that the Junker legions deploy into the thickest of combats.

Junker Exo Armour Detail

I'm really pleased with how they turned out and they've painted up really nicely too with just enough of the original vibe to be recognisable as the unit types they're supposed to be!

Junkers of the XVII legion

Here's what they looked like without a coat of paint:

Exo Armour Unpainted

As they only stand about 15mm tall, there's no need to go full on adding lots of little fiddly details, just the basic shapes. Compare the early 3d sprites for computer games compared to now!

Also the coat of paint makes a massive difference as its easy to paint in panel lines, small bits and bobs such as armour plates, etc that bring the models to life. They're going to be viewed at arms length after all so there's quite a few little cheats that can be done during painting .

So without further ado, here's the tutorial!

Supplies you'll need:

Some Sculpey or Fimo clay.

A sheet of EVA foam.

Superglue, Scissors and a knife.

The first step is to make the bodies and heads.

Roll out a block of sculpey and with a sharp knife, cut it into small cubes which will form the main body of all the infantry I make. For the heads, it possible to use beads but I tend to just roll out some sculpey or Fimo into small balls as I prefer not to have to fill the holes that beads tend to have in them.

Once the bodies and heads have been cooked, its time to start construction! I cut a thin piece of EVA foam into long batons about 4-5mm wide then cut them into small rectangles. I tend to just use scissors for this and aren't too particular about making sure everything is perfectly sized.

Once the heads have been glued on I add a small rectangle of EVA foam to the bottom to represent legs. I only use one but its easy enough to use two pieces one on top of the other to make the figure taller. Next add two small pieces of EVA foam to represent shoulders and voila, the figure is pretty much made. After this its just a case of adding details to give the figure definition.

Once the figure has been built, I glue them onto small buttons which have a slip of paper glued over the buttonholes as it makes basing look a bit better.

Small pieces of foam can then be used to add armour, backpacks, helmets, hats and uncounted other bits and bobs to make them look like a proper little person. Guns, swords, shields and whatnot are also made from EVA foam. I had been concerned about the durability of such little fellows, especially as they're made of foam and a bit of glue but I've dropped them repeatedly and they just seem to bounce!

Androsynths

It's very easy to substitute different shaped objects for heads, such as the Androsynths above with their larger cube heads or the knights I've made which have cylinder heads made from cut up sausages of sculpey.

The most important part of the build process it so get the general look and feel of the original figure and with a bit of experimentation and bodging, they are remarkably effective to represent whatever army you want

So there you are! Tiny troops can be made quick, cheaply and very easily for the fraction of a cost of actual miniatures. They've been a bit of a revelation for me as I've really enjoyed making all the tiny figures and am very happy with how they are turning out and indeed what a boon its been for my hobby!

My next unit is built and ready to prime and while I'm meandering through different projects there's a sense of industry and achievement to working on them all, no matter the subject. Hopefully I'll be able to keep up the momentum over the course of the year and build and paint enough bits and bobs to play all manner of interesting games as the weather improves.

Junkers vs Farpoint Salvage

Hopefully, I'll have another update later this week with the next handful of painted odds and ends but in the meantime, All the best!