Wednesday 26 October 2011

Goblin Standard Bearer

Hi!

Well I have finished painting up the Goblin standard bearer for my warband!

Goblin Standard Bearer

I must admit he was a bit of a nightmare to paint as there was a miscast section on one side of his face which I didn't notice when I was cleaning the miniature. It was so bad I ended up masking the mess by painting it as a burn. It actually turned out as a plus as it gives the little chap some character and a back story!

Heres a picture of the progress I have made thus far with the warband:

Goblin Warband

I now need to crack on with the rest of the members of the group but I have to get ready for the MCM Anime convention in London on Friday followed by my graduation next week!

Needless to say I have plenty to keep me busy for the next few weeks!

All the best!

Tuesday 25 October 2011

Leviathan Rulebook Free Download!

Hi!

The chaps over at Scotia Grendel have put the Leviathan Rulebook up on their site as a FREE PDF!

Leviathan Rulebook

I highly recommend nipping over and downloading a copy as its a really good read and its also a free ruleset to boot!

All the best!

Friday 21 October 2011

Dwarven Steamtanks!

Hi!

I just spotted that BLACK HAT MINIATURES have released a couple of really nice tracked steamtanks in 15mm scale!

Light Tank

Heavy Steamtank

They would make perfect Dwarven Steamtanks in 15mm scale! The lighter one would be ideal for either the Thunderhammer, Iron Drake or Rapier battletanks (with minor conversion) while the larger one would make a good Ironclad!

At £6 each they are a bit pricy but look great!

All the best!

Thursday 20 October 2011

Goblin Re-enforcements and Villains!

Hi!

I have found a bit of a gem of a gaming store in TN Books and Wargames in Gosport. Alas they don't have a website but they are well worth a visit as they have loads of boxes of bits to rummage through containing some brilliant old school miniatures!

For example I managed to swag myself a couple of new Goblins for my warband. I got two of the old Regiments of Renown plastic Goblin archers, one of which is getting used as is while the other is providing conversion fodder for another nice little find, a Gnobler body. Wielding a metal bound club hes going to make a brilliant addition to my warband once he has a head!

I also have a wolf rider which will be getting a mount at some point but the real find was several pieces of larger models which, when combined will form some much needed muscle for my Goblins. I will be posting some pictures once I get the conversions done!

I also found some old Chronopia Devout miniatures which will be forming the core of an evil force. When I add the mid 90s Chaos sorcerer and some mutated hounds, I think I will have a decent little force!

As ever I will post pictures when I get chance!

All the best!

Goblin Sneak

Hi!

Heres a quick pic of the goblin I painted the other day:

Goblin Sneak

I have no idea as to who manufactured him as I picked him up in a lot some years ago. He had a really bad paint job and instead of stripping him I decided to just paint over it and he turned out rather nicely. I especially like his expression!

Apologies for the slightly poor photo. I will try and get a better one taken of him once his base is completed!

All the best!

Monday 17 October 2011

Rebel Goblin Chieftain

Hi!

Heres a quick pic of the Harlequin Miniatures Goblin that I painted yesterday!

Goblin Chieftain

I still need to finish his base and in hindsight I should have sculpted it a bit to look like the high deserts of the Axeblade Mountains but its nice to actually paint a 28mm scale figure that turned out alright for a change!

I am off to paint up another now!

All the best!

Sunday 16 October 2011

More Demonworld Releases!

Hi!

RAL PARTHA EUROPE has released the first of the Ice Lords of Isthak!


Isthak has an interesting combination of dark elves, beastmen and undead so theres plenty of interesting additions for the 15mm scale fantasy market!

Theres also more releases for the Empire and Orcs!

All the best!

Oh No!

Hi!

Well I was going through my 28mm scale bits and bobs in preparation for putting them on Ebay and I made the mistake of picking up one of the Harlequin Goblins I bought from Colours earlier this year.

He was such a fun looking miniature sculpted by Kev Adams that I suddenly felt the urge to paint him between sculpting work and lo and behold I found that painting him was both fun and rewarding! I will post a picture of the little chap in the morning once I get chance and he may well be joined by a few more bits and bobs soon after!

I still plan on selling off the vast majority of my large scale miniatures, including all my large scale Leviathan stuff I painted a while back as I just don't have the space to game with or even store them any more. The vast majority of my gaming is going to be aimed at 15mm scale skirmishes but I do think I will continue collecting and painting the occasional old school miniatures I find cheaply!

I doubt I will do much gaming with them as I will simply be painting them up for the sheer pleasure of it! They will all be themed around Leviathan and the races of Aeroth so its all going to be suitable for my never ending interest in the game world!

All the best!

Saturday 15 October 2011

Post Apocalyptic Fantasy: Dragonmech

Hi!

I recently picked up a copy of Dragonmech secondhand and thought it might be handy for fleshing out some of the ideas I have had for the Leviathan setting.

Dragonmech

Its originally a RPG based on D&D but where the world has been almost destroyed by the moon somehow being dragged towards the earth and showering the surface with debris. To survive the remaining populations sought shelter in the underdark and awaited the bombardment to end.

Because of the limited space, supplies and materials these survivors found themselves in constant combat and for reasons best known to the writer, set about creating large steam, magic and even man powered mechs to beat the stuffing out of each other. This continued even after they venture back to the surface of the world, especially as weird lunar creatures have been drawn to the surface too.

Now I must admit the mechs are rather OTT, especially as some of them are the size of titans and essentially contain an entire city within their bodies but theres some rather nice elements to the setting, especially useful for the Dwarves.




Assorted Steam, Magic and Human Powered Mechs!

In Aeroth, the Dwarves have reached the industrial age and often use black powder weaponry and steam driven machines so its not too out there to imagine them sending settlers out from their holds in some sort of armoured settlement, be it tracked or even a walker of some ingenious design.

While many of the other races also use similar tech in Dragontech, the Elves have magically fused the remains of their sacred forests into living constructs which they are using to defend their lands, this could make for a very interesting force but is unsuitable for the dark hearted Elves of Aeroth but some of their Grey kin could use something similar by channelling Earhthpower into some new form.

As for the other races, Dragonmech has some interesting ideas as faith in the existing religions has all but ceased due to the apocalyptic happenings. The humans are a militaristic culture lead by a charismatic demagogue and intent on wiping all non humans from the land while the Orcs are pretty much unchanged apart from being equipped with an assortment of mechs of their own...

I am hoping to spend a little time reading through it for inspiration but theres plenty to grab ones interest, even if its a tad ridiculous. I especially like the idea of a Lunar deity with unknown motivations gathering its own cult of followers and having access to all sorts of weird creatures!

Lunar Dragon

The prospect of bringing a new, almost Lovecroftian force to the table is an interesting one and deserves investigation. In Leviathan, the moon is sister to Aeroth, the Earthmother, but what if she had a dark side, possibly caused by the unleashing of so much wild magic? Could such a goddess be worshipped by the dispirited survivors of the death?

The Children of the Moon are a case in point, they worship the moon and their curse stems from their connection to the lunar cycle. Could they be merely worshipping a lighter aspect of the moon while some of the other races worship this darker element?

Needless to say it will be giving me loads of inspiration for some sculpting!

More interestingly it gives me more idea for what a post apocalyptic fantasy world could be like and possibly how Aeroth could be developed.

All the best!

Sunday 9 October 2011

The Stainless Steel Rat Returns!

Hi!

Well I finally managed to pick up a copy of the new Stainless Steel Rat book!

The Stainless Steel Rat Returns

Its been ten years since the last book and I must admit I was excited to hear Harry Harrison was working on a new Slippery Jim novel and have been trying to find a copy for some time.

I have got about fifty pages in and its proving to be an interesting read but seems to be missing some of the fizz of his earlier escapades. Saying that its early on in the book so hopefully it will pick up a bit but even though its not his finest novel it still contains some great ideas for a campaign, especially as it features a herd of porcuswine and the country bumpkin diGriz clan!

All the best!

Wednesday 5 October 2011

McSwineys Anyone?

Hi!

Well at long last I have got a new addition to the Stainless Steel Rat project in the form of a McSwineys delivery van!

McSwineys Delivery Van

Purveyor of the galaxies finest Porcuswine burgers, McSwineys is a constant in the Stainless Steel Rat books, in fact Jim at one point spent several weeks avoiding the long arm of the law by hiding in one of McSwineys automated burger restaurants so I felt it was fitting that the game should have a homage to them too!

The van originated as a Hotwheels paper van but with a shiny new paint scheme and hand painted golden M, it fits the bill as a delivery vehicle in 15mm scale. Not only that, it will no doubt find use a getaway car in the not too distant future! Once I get chance I will make a small burger bar to go along with it!

All the best!

The Magnificent Sven Sculpting Progress

Hi!

Well I have finally finished the first Slann sculpt for my attempt at recreating the Warhammer scenario, The Mighty Sven:

Slann Brave

I still need to get a couple more variants done of him and then I will cast up a full regiment and crack on with painting them! I hope to be able to show a couple more sculpts in the near future so keep your eyes peeled!

All the best

Sunday 2 October 2011

Monstrous Denizens

Hi!

Just a quick update with some new beast for my forces to do battle with!

Firstly theres a wild Earth Elemental:

Wild Earth Elemental

Secondly theres a giant rat!

A Lone Orc Faces the Giant Rat!

Background wise, Aeroth is a shattered realm where wild magic has run amok which sometimes results in Eathpower forming untamed elementals, such as the earth elemental here which often occupy mountains and cause trouble for the nearby inhabitants.

Another side effect of wild magic has been the mutation of previously existing creatures, such as the rat. Huge packs of them have been found in some of the Dwarf Holds, devouring stores at a voracious rate and now spreading throughout the labyrinthine passageways. These swarms, often many hundred strong have been reported devouring entire Dwarven families.

I hope to get hold of some more rats soon so I can unleash a horde of the foul creatures as part of a Boar Company dungeon delve as they are recruited to destroy these foul vermin!

All the best!