Wednesday 29 August 2012

Latest Editions

Hi!

Well I've finally finished the bases for my Squats and Ultramarine Commander:

Ultramarine Command Stand

 Squat Warrior Brotherhoods

I have some heavy weapons, bikes and an artillery piece on the painting table for the Squats and another Rhino and converted Razorback in the works for the Ultramarines which will give me a nice mix to keep me going!

I have also finished the bases of a couple of stands of Chaos Squats that I painted a while ago:

 Chaos Squats

They will eventually get a force of their own rather than just being a bunch of underlings for Chaos, especially as I have about half a dozen more stands of the little fellows sitting waiting to be painted!

 Squat V Squat!

I am sorely in need of some decent scenery for 6mm scale as I have a fair amount for 15mm scale but it doesn't always suit the smaller scales, especially the buildings! Hopefully I will get chance to add a couple of small buildings, hills and trees soon!

All the best!

Sunday 26 August 2012

Epic Wanted Page

Hi!

I've added a WANTED PAGE for my Epic project as I am on the lookout for several bits and bobs to allow me to complete my Space Marine forces.

I had hoped to pick some stuff up off eBay but was disgusted at the prices which are even steeper now than when I collected Epic 40k five years ago! In many cases people are asking for more money than the figures are worth, even more so than the stupidly inflated GW price from their specialist store!

Therefore I have decided to see if I can trade my way to victory using some of the bits and bobs I have kicking around here, be it excess Epic stuff, 6mm fantasy, 15mm scifi or 28mm stuff too!

In related news I am preparing to sell off all my 28mm scale stuff and 15mm sci-fi collection as I have far more fun painting stuff that I have sculpted than going and buying anyone elses which is a bit odd but none the less and I have about a dozen figures at various stages of completion and once they are finished I will crack on with getting them cast too!

In the meantime I found this rather awesome Epic Ork vehicle online:

Epic Ork Walker

Its got me thinking about sculpting some of my own both in 6mm and 15mm scales and really is rather fun. Sadly GW never released it...

All the best!

Thursday 23 August 2012

The Stainless Steel Rat

Hi!

I read the other day that Harry Harrison, author of one of my favorite books, the Stainless Steel Rat had passed away. Its a real shame as the many exploits of Slippery Jim diGriz have been a real source of inspiration to me over the years including my first foray into 15mm scale gaming!


Many moons ago I set up a blog called The Special Corps which chronicled my attempts to collect some forces and play some scenarios based on the books.

 Assorted Stalwart Citizens of the Galactic League

 Villains led by Femme Fatale Angelina!
Slippery Jim!

Sadly the project fizzled out due to University workload and the figures have been boxed up for over three years now but I have decided to revisit the project and sculpt both Jim, Angelina and various other folks with the intention of playing a game or two.

It only seems fair as Harry inspirational books are just so good!

All the best!

Wednesday 22 August 2012

Ultramarine Veteran Detachment Completed

Hi!

Well I've finished my first Epic detachment in the form of an Ultramarine veteran unit!

 Detachment plus Landraider support

 Ultramarine Landraider

 Ultramarine armour

An Ultramarine Landraider dispatches its infantry at the mysterious Objective 7

 Ultramarine Veterans

The complete Veteran Detachment

Now I have them finished I am going to try and complete another two Landraiders and a command unit and that will be my Ultramarine force finished for the time being. 

I also got some Squats in the trade for the Epic stuff and have some of them finished too but still in need of basing and will post some pics once they are done too. Alas the sheer cost of getting ahold of Epic Squats makes the idea of expanding the force with the original Land Trains and Cyclopses is just not going to happen but I will be getting to work on some proxies!

All the best!

Monday 20 August 2012

Epic Progress and Satisfaction at Last!

Hi!

Heres the latest additions to my Epic project in the form of the first of the infantry and another Rhino:

 Ultramarines!

Rhino Attack!

Its been a rather productive weekend for me after all my stressing about not enjoying my hobby and I have not only got some painting done but a ton of sculpting too! Most of its commission work but theres a few bits and bobs for myself too and I will post updates as I complete them.

I am also hoping to have enough figures sculpted up over the course of the rest of this month to try my hand at casting a few and also to shove some excess up for sale too so fingers crossed it doesn't all go pear shaped!

My current target is to get another four stands of Ultramarine veterans and another Rhino finished and then move onto some Landraiders to give me some heavy firepower. I am also working on a simple set of skirmish rules to allow me to play smaller games than a full Epic battle as my gaming space is currently quite limited.

I am hoping to go for something a bit like Battletech in scale but without all the record keeping so its something like Song of Blades for complexity. I will see how it turns out and if its suitable for some other bits and bobs I have been working on!

All the best!

Friday 17 August 2012

Lack of Progress and Time to Face Facts...

Hi!

Well I have had a rather trying week for various reasons, mostly due to my hobby of all things resulting in me getting to the point of putting all my stuff on ebay and being done with it.

I cant quite explain why this has happened but I just seem to have lost all pleasure in painting again. This is something that afflicted me last year but in recent months I seemed to have got over it, especially as I have managed to complete some decent paint jobs over these last few months, especially in 28mm scale which is quite unusual.

Maybe its because I have it all sat out in front of me but I just dont have any pleasure working on my assorted bits and bobs at present. I think I am going to have to take a break for a bit to be honest as my 28mm projects are boring the life out of me.

To storage we shall go...

I will keep posting my progress with my Epic stuff here though as well as my Leutenant Brittan blog just to keep things ticking over and I also have my business to work on, especially if I am going to get my first range out by the end of the year as I had hoped.

Rhino!

The range will be 15/18mm scale as its the scale I enjoy sculpting and I think that I may be selling some, if not all my 28mm scale stuff to fund its launch as I need to invest in some bits and bobs for my casting machine before I can get it up and running.

As much as I will regret it, I cant help but feel its for the best in the long run as I really enjoy working in the smaller scales far more and want to enjoy my hobby rather than getting stressed by it which is all that is happening at present.

I will be sticking with Oldhammer though! Instead of spending a fortune to collect an army I am going to cheat and sculpt and cast my own in the smaller scale which will allow me to actually play a game!

Remember these guys:

The Boar Company

By using the 20mm round bases I can use them for skirmish games and with some sabot movement bases will also be using them for games like Warhammer.

Being honest with myself, I doubt I will ever manage to have more than a 3x4 or 4x4 board to play on which is ideal for 15mm scale but less so for 28mm. and with 15mm scale figures its still possible to play anything from a small skirmish up to a decent sized battle on that size of board while 28mm stuff tends to look crowded.

Once I look at my gaming budget, which for the last couple of years has shrunk to a pittance I just dont want to spend money on old school figures, especially at the stupidly inflated prices that they seem to be going for at present. On my budget at present I would be only able to afford about 4-5 28mm scale figs a month tops while I could afford to sculpt up an unlimited number of 15mm scale stuff and even cast them for just the cost of materials.

I do apologise to all you folks who have been following my blog for having to put up with my goldfish like attention span and sudden and drastic change in direction but I just need to work on something that I actually enjoy and 28mm scale isn't it any more.

All the best

Richard

Friday 10 August 2012

Basing Conundrum

Hi!

I have come to a bit of an impasse with my miniature projects. The problem is what way should I base my figures.

At present I have been using the new style lipped round bases as I like the look of them better than square bases and it looks more satisfying in a skirmish game. The problem comes when I consider trying to play a mass battle game. Obviously the round bases are impractical for it and even with a decent movement tray, their sheer size of 30mm makes it rather impractical to field them as formed units.

 Curses!

It is forcing me to carefully think about what I want to get from gaming and I have come to the decision that I don't have enough money to do both skirmishes and mass battles in 28mm scale so am going to have to think about the way forward.

At present I am thinking of completing my Dwarf army up to about 1000 points which will allow me to get some games against other Oldhammer players and directing the rest of my energy into skirmish gaming. As people reading this blog may have noticed, I find it rather difficult to stay on one subject and instead bounce around from one to the other on a depressingly regular basis but the skirmish type of game would allow me to complete small projects without driving myself mad by having to paint a large force. At the same time I will be painting up the Dwarves I have in the hopes of eventually completing a Warhammer 3rd edition army too.

I am also doing a little reorganisation of my blog as at present this one skips around between fantasy and sci-fi rather a lot. Instead I have resurrected my old LEUTENANT BRITTAN blog for use as a catch all for my sci-fi stuff. Its the third time I have kicked it back into life and hopefully I can keep it on some sort of track!

I hope to get some actual games played soon both for fantasy and sci-fi as well as getting the host of figures I currently have on the painting table finished and this will hopefully give me the boost that I need!

All the best!

Wednesday 8 August 2012

Somewhere on the Border Campaign

Hi!

I have put a little bit more thought into how I am going to get a campaign going and have decided to develop my background setting a little.

I've mentioned before that I am not too keen on the whole western Europe during the middle ages type of setting and am going for something a little different.

The result is the Four Realms, a setting I have been developing for Andy of FOUR A MINIATURES. The idea we came up with was for a setting that could be used to incorporate several small companies miniatures ranges into a new and interesting world and I am hoping to get a bit of a campaign going using it as the basis.

The Eastern Realm

At present the action is based in the Eastern Realm where the Dwarves have been driven from their mountain homes by accidentally unleashing the Fallen into the mortal planes. Now they live a nomadic life on the mighty Slate Plains but must face incursions of evil types from the Mountains of Melancholia and raids from the coast living Goblins who have moved into the Debatable Lands. 

Andy produces some really nice figures (some of which I will be reviewing at a later date) and I will be using both this blog to cover some of the action but I will also be including all manner of other figures to represent other forces, creatures and characters too. 

As time permits I will cover the Western, Northern and Southern Realms too and eventually the Lost Lands as well but want to get the ball rolling by giving a bit of information on the Eastern Realm!

Background

Long ago the ancestors of the Dwarves lived underground in the mountains to the west in a land of subterranean wonder. Their tunnels, halls and mines were one of the wonders of the world but it was all to come to a bloody end. A team of miners digging for Mithril uncovered a mighty cavern deep in the bowels of the mountain. Within this cavern stood a massive stone tablet covered in a text so ancient not even the most aged and wise of the Dwarves could decipher it and in their ignorance the Dwarves decided to destroy it, thinking that it was the hiding place of some ancient dragons horde. 

If only this had been the case but the tablet was a great seal constructed by the very gods themselves that held the monstrous forces of the Fallen in their shadowy realms for untold eons. The seal was cracked and broken asunder and with a roar the terrifying beasts broke free and wrought a bloody ruin on the unfortunate Dwarves.

Fighting broke out throughout the hold with bands of Dwarven warriors desperately trying to stem the tide of darkness that had burst upon their home. As mighty as the Dwarven army was, it was no match for the ancient beings and their minons who craved freedom to once more dominate the world and slowly but surely the Dwarves were pushed back to the upper levels of their once mighty home. 

Seeing the inevitable outcome and possible extinction of the Dwarven race, the Dwarf elders ordered an evacuation of all their remaining Kin and the battered and defeated remnants of the Dwarven civilisation emerged for the first time into the daylight, homeless and despondent. Forever afterwards their mountain homeland would be called the Mountains of Melancholia.

Fortunately the Dwarves are a doughty and practical race and they migrated down onto the great plain and the remaining elders organised the Great Council where the future of the Dwarven race was to be decided. During a long night of heated arguments and debate the elders decided the best way to ensure the survival of at least some of their people, the Dwarves would need to split up and so the great clans were formed. 

Each clan would move in a different compass direction and hope to find some new home to settle in. The following morning the clans bid each other farewell and set off on their quest. 

200 years later they still search in vain. Some clans fell, others vanished but most still live a nomadic existence roaming the plains and forests of the Eastern Realm. They have developed a new culture and in typical Dwarven manner stoically accept their lot but they have never forgotten the terrible loss of their home and have a deep and abiding hatred of the Fallen and their mortal followers and still yearn to someday reclaim the lost hold of Dum Morak.

These Dwarven pioneers have not found the land uninhabited, tribes of humans live amongst the foothills of the mountains and on the plains themselves, Goblins occupy the coastal regions and all manner of monstrous creatures abound in the land. On top of all this the insidious forces of the Fallen march forth from their dreadful keep in the mountains to enslave and despoil all they find. 

Knowing their duty, the Dwarves attempt to atone for the doom they unleashed upon the world and each clan sends powerful regiments to hold the passes down out of the mountains to try and contain the evil ones. Each of the great passes out of the mountains, the Axebite, Breakheart and Rolling Rock are fortified and garrisoned by doughty Dwarven warriors and are constant scenes of skirmishes and siege as Dwarven steel meets Abyss forged iron. 

The Slate Plains

The Slate Plains

The Slate Plains are a large expanse of grasslands lying to the East of the Mountains of Melancholia. Punctuated by rocky hillsides, stunted stands of trees and streams, they are a somewhat forbidding place but the Dwarves have learned how to survive and thrive despite the hardship. Each clan has a large armoured caravan consisting of several hundred massive armoured wagons. These can be linked together to form a sort of fortress which forms a base camp for the clan to send out hunting parties for food, mining teams for ore or war parties to deal with threats. 

Lookout Rock near the source of the Ironlode


From time to time smaller caravans will venture out, either to trade with some of the trusted human tribes, explore new regions or provide supplies for the fighting in the mountains. These small expeditions will also be formed up into a small version of the great mobile fortresses of the clans providing protection from the many marauding beasts and raiding Goblins that inhabit the land.

 Vocanic Eruption in the Mountains of Melancholia 

It is here that I will be starting the campaign as the Boar Clan of the Dwarves hear disturbing reports that the Fallen have found a new route out of the mountains and are sending raiding parties out into the plains themselves. To begin with the campaign will rotate around some small skirmishes using Song of Blades and using the figures I have before building up to larger battles as I get chance to paint more stuff!

There will be Abyss worshipping deviants, stout Dwarves, cowardly Gobbos, aquatic menaces and even some humans and if I can rummage out my 15mm scale bits and bobs, I will be able to play some games this week but I will also be trying to get some of my 28mm scale stuff going too!

At the same time I have a vague idea of getting a sci-fi campaign going too featuring both 28mm, 15mm and 6mm scale but more on that later!

All the best!

Tuesday 7 August 2012

Campaigning Season

Hi!

Well the Bloodbath at Orcs Drift has finally run to its cataclysmic final battle and what a great read its been!

Oldhammer Classic

Over the course of the last couple of years Thantsants has brought us all sorts of old school fun culminating in the great battle report of Orcs Drift. Its got me thinking of doing something similar on a smaller scale with my own gaming. Could I use the figures I have to create a fun narrative campaign that could expand from a series of small skirmishes up to small and medium sized battles and on up to a massive fight as a finale?

I really enjoyed the fact that the armies were so mismatched which made a real difference from the usual equal points value forces that folks have become used to over the last few years and I want to try doing something similar!

At present, looking at the figures and rules that I have, I can field some small warbands for Fantasy Battle, namely Dwarves and Chaos types and for the sci-fi side of things, I have enough for some decent sized Epic games but only enough 28mm scale stuff to play either Necromunda or one of its descendants or possibly some Rogue Trader rather than 2nd edition.

I am in two minds over which to go for or if I should attempt something else that I have been working on instead...

I shall have to do quite a bit of development on it but I have been thinking about it for some time and will have to see if I can get some sculpts put together!

More to follow....

Saturday 4 August 2012

Post Claymore Round Up!

Hi!

Well I payed a very brief visit to Claymore today and despite having the princely sum of £10 in my pocket to spend I still managed to pick up roughly 20 Marauder Dwarves, including a unit of ten Longbeards and a further 20+ of the identical plastic Dwarves from 4th edition of Fantasy Battle!

This now allows me to field two 20 Dwarf strong regiments with champions and standard bearers and a unit of 10 Longbeards with a champion and standard too! Thats plenty to form the basis of a Dwarf army but I am a tad short on ranged firepower as I only have 3 crossbowmen and one pistolier!

To top it off with I also managed to fulfil one item from my wish list in the form of Epic 2nd edition which I got as part of a trade with all round good sort John! Not only do I now have the box set but also Armies of the Imperium, Ork and Squat warlords and Renegades too as well as a load of miniatures too!

It was great to meet a few fellow gamers and put faces to names as well as having a good chat with Andy of Four A Miniatures and surprised myself by my unexpected interest in the Spartan Games range and can imagine using them as the basis for an upscaled version of Man o' War as the quality was fantastic and there some nice bits and bobs in the range.

Sadly they only had the Dystopian wars stuff on sale but if they are any indication of the quality, they have some excellent stuff which bears keeping an eye on!

I plan on spending a little time tomorrow getting some figures painted up both for my Chaos types and even some Dwarves and possibly a stand or two of Epic goodness and will try and get some pics added over the next couple of days.

All the best!

Thursday 2 August 2012

Why No Oldhammer Forum?

Hi!

I've been pondering the possibility of getting a forum set up for folks to discuss Oldhammer and other old games such as Rogue Trader, Man o War and so on.

Theres some great forums out there but not a single one that all us Oldhammer fans can congregate on and I was wondering what the other fans of the older GW stuff think?

All the best!

Wednesday 1 August 2012

The Lure of Old Stuff

Hi!

Well I have finally found my paint but not had chance to actually put it to use yet but hopefully I will be able to get a chance to put it to use this weekend but I have been ruminating on the oddness of my hobby. What is it that keeps luring me towards games that are out of production?

As so many folks in the Oldhammer community have posted their wishlists of figures I thought I would cover some of my much wished for stuff but unlike other folk I am more interested in the big boxes that date from the early to mid 90s!

Man O War

Games Workshops Best Game?

Often hailed as the best game that Games Workshop ever produced, the game itself was quite a departure for them at the time but was also brilliant fun and came with literally hundreds of tokens, templates and ship cards, so many so that despite the fact the game called for a 6x4 board, the playing area was actually 4x4 with the remaining space taken up with record keeping.

Despite this the game ran smoothly and without bogging down at all. Sadly I had two copies of the game but sold them both in times of hardship and now I once again hanker after fantasy naval battles.

The miniatures were characterful but are fearfully expensive to get hold of these days and have been plagued by villainous types recasting them making them largely suspect. If I do manage to collect the game box, Sea of Blood and Plague Fleet, I will be more than happy as I will be either proxying the ships or sculpting my own entirely!

Epic Spacemarine 2nd Edition

Epic!

Another game I loved the concept for, even more so because of the artwork and paint schemes used by the studio. Remember this was the third big game for Games Workshop up until the mid to late 90s?

Originally intended to cover battles fought during the Horus Heresy, it had a rather intuitive system which worked really well and some of the figures are truly iconic such as the mighty Titans and the brick like Thunderhawk gunships or the characterful Orkish war engines!

I used to have a huge Squat force but it too went the way of ebay but I live in hope of getting hold of the game and form there its not too difficult to begin work collecting some small forces to get on with and once again theres plenty of companies that I can get proxies or even second hand figures without breaking the bank.

Warhammer 40000 2nd Edition

40k Goodness!

Without a doubt this is one of the big games of my teenage years. The rules were great fun and the painting and models of the era had a real character of their own. Back in the day my impoverished Imperial Guard regularly got thrashed by Eldar and Chaos armies but it doesn't matter. It was my first experience of proper wargaming and as such will always have a special place for me!

I have actually managed to get hold of the templates, army books and rulebooks and even a few of the figures but its one of the few games I actually have a wishlist of miniatures for and here they are in no particular order:

Commissar Yarrick

Yarrick is one of the great figures that marked the early release of 2nd edition of 40k and unlike the newer version, he has buckets of character, especially as he is festooned with looted Ork gear and one unfortunate victim of Yarrik has been incorporated into his Storm Bolter! Needless to say he was one of the few individuals of the Imperial Guard who could hold his own in close combat and was lots of fun to paint.

Classic Marine Chapter Captains

Before Games Workshop became obsessed with purity seals and plastic tat, they produced some lovely Space Marine Captains which were rather heavily influenced by historical sources and not the newer grimdark priest types seen by the arrival of later editions.



Ork Nobs and Warbosses

The pic of the old Ork nobs and warbosses are absolutely brilliant figures that blow the space apes of the new editions out of the water. The Badmoon is a particular favorite of mine and I would love to get hold of one!

 Eldar Walkers

The old Eldar walkers are some of the most iconic designs in 40k and the Vampire Spirit Walker is one of the less often seen but fondly remembered of them. Along side him theres the most excellent War Walker and Dreadnaught which are also on my watch list for possible future addition!

Eldar Ghost Warriors

Back in the day, Citadel gave these little fellows away free in each blister packed Dreadnoughts and they are also great models too. They would make excellent light mechs in small scale skirmishes where a full on Dread would be overkill. I'd love to get one or two of them to act as bodyguards for an Eldar leader.

 Blood Slaughterer

This fellow actually predates 2nd edition but I remember him because he featured in the first White Dwarf I ever bought and he is rather a fun figure too.

Chaos Dreadnought

The Chaos Dread is one of the best figures I have ever seen for 40k and was far better than the big box they currently have. Overgrown with organic weirdness but still recognisably a Dreadnought, its a lovely piece of kit and some of the old White Dwarf mags show some lovely painted examples with the classic giant banners that mark the period!

Deathwing

Remember when the Dark Angels Deathwing were based on native Americans and not warrior priests? These cracking models were festooned with feathers and lots of nice little details that really worked well once they were painted in the bone white that the elite of the chapter wore. 

There are literally dozens of others which I would dearly love to get but purely from a painters view the ones I have mentioned are worth noting as I far prefer something thats interesting to paint than a game winning or tough unit!

All the best!