Friday 6 March 2015

Epic Command Stands

Hi!

I spent a bit of time yesterday going through my Epic bits boxes and discovered that I had quite a few Chaos gubbins so decided to paint some up for a bit of a change:

 Slaanesh Renegade Command

The problem I have always had with Epic scaled stuff was that it was quite difficult to identify command elements from a distance without a pair of binoculars. 1st and 2nd edition had the right idea by including those little banner poles at the back of stands and I thought I would try something suitably oldschool for my own.

I was so pleased with the result that I went back to my Ultramarine captain and made him a suitably epic banner too!

Heraldry

It's been quite a fun process working through my bits boxes and actually painting my way through my leadpile for the first time in living memory. Added to the fact that I have managed to refrain from buying a single miniature this year, I think I am doing quite well and who knows, I may even eventually finish everything!

On a related note, I have been perusing with interest the FIGHTING FANTASIST as he delves into the entertaining and somewhat unbalanced world of 2nd edition Warhammer 40000. I wish him all the luck in the world collecting himself a force using modern plastics as it sounds like a really good idea! 


Yes the game itself was unbalanced and could be a very one sided affair but it was such great fun to play and I have fond memories of playing it a lot at high school where my Imperial Guard made up from a half dozen companies scraped together by myself from my meagre pocket money would be regularly thrashed by my friend's Chaos, Eldar or Space Marine armies (he was one of those oafs who seemed to have endless amounts of money to spend on miniatures as a teenager and would regularly field lots of unpainted and sometimes unassembled plastic and metal) 

While I would get beaten each time, it didn't matter as I was playing a game that lent itself to small battles where heroes were truly heroic and my Guardsmen would regularly die in droves. Despite moving on to other games, scales, settings, I must admit I have never managed to find a game that evoked such fun. Epic 40k came close but its more of a scaled up version of 40k so I am not sure it counts.

Maybe it was because the game was out in the GW bright period where everything needed to be uber bright. Blood Angels weren't the deep red they are today, they were a gloriously orangey colour. Orks were bright of skin and bright of clothing, even the Goffs! 

It's all got me thinking about the possibility of reliving the glorious fun of playing the game. I do have enough Eldar to create a full force and I do plan on working through my backlog of unpainted stuff...

 Eldar Guardian

Similarly, I do have a fair few Orks kicking around so a Bloodaxe army isn't entirely impossible. Truth be told though, I just don't have it in me to paint large armies anymore. The very thought of painting up endless figures in the same colours leaves me cold so I suppose its just a pipe dream for the moment.

 Bloodaxe Warband

Alas I still find myself like I was back in my teens, unable to afford what I would like to buy, tempted by the Ooh Shiny Syndrome and flitting from army to army without the slightest idea which to settle on, even if I did have enough money for them!

I think I am going to stick with the small scale stuff for the time being as I seem to genuinely be making progress with them, be it fantasy or sci-fi in both 15mm and 6mm scale.

Oh well! Enough navel gazing! I am going to go get some work done so for now, All the best!

4 comments:

  1. :D
    Pretty cool stuff indeed! Those banners rock!
    I'm familiar with the ooh shiny syndrome too :D, sometimes it's really hard to resist!

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  2. "Truth be told though, I just don't have it in me to paint large armies anymore. The very thought of painting up endless figures in the same colours leaves me cold..."

    I know what you mean, and I figure there's nothing wrong with that. I'd much rather paint figures for their individual look than try and fill out units of sameness. You can always make them coherent using the magic of 'counts-as.'

    Love the banners, by the way.

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  3. Your epic scale stuff is great. As an eldar fan, especially in rogue trader I love your Siam Hein colour scheme, really great.
    Your best stuff, I think are your blood axe commandos, at least they are my personal favourite. Another 10 of them accompanied by a dread would be a fun afternoon of rogue trader.
    Whatever you choose to do, I'm sure it will be excellent, and I look forward to it.

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  4. Your command stands with banners are superb. I remember those banner poles from Epic 2nd edition as well, and alway thought it was very striking when someone painted up little 6mm scale banners to go with them.

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