Assorted Reinforcements

Hi!

Well I have had a rather nice day off following a rather manic couple of weeks at work and spent most of it driving around the highlands which was fun but did manage to complete a couple of bits and bobs that I've had lying around for a bit:

First off, there's a new addition to my slowly expanding Dwarf army:

 Converted Mantic Dwarf

I actually enjoyed painting this chap and I think it's possibly because I have got the knack of painting the plastics without spending an age on them and I discovered that with a bit of a fresh beard, the Mantic Dwarves actually don't look at all bad.

The figures below illustrate my point:

 A Bearded Trio

The figures on the left and in the centre have new beards sculpted on while the one on the right is the original. Maybe it's because it looks a bit more realistic or more exuberantly hirsute, but I do like them more than the rather sad chappy on the right who seems to be suffering from a touch of beard envy.

 The Unit Thus Far

Now it's not all been Dwarves that I've been working on. I also finally completed a figure that I have been struggling with for some time now in the form of an old D&D Chainmail Half Orc:

 Half Orc Hero

I must admit that I didn't really enjoy painting him as he's just a bit too bland for my liking. Yes he is well detailed but there's nothing to make him stand out or look interesting to be honest. I had the same experience painting up another of Kev White's figures a while ago. They are really well sculpted but just seem to lack life for some reason but maybe it's just me.

Saying that though, he's been languishing primed but unfinished for a couple of years now and I originally picked him up in about 2007 so it's good to actually get him finished as he makes a handy leader for my Half Orc warband that is slowly beginning to come together:

 Half Orcs

Last up, here's a quick shot of a skirmish between my Dwarven troops and an Elven patrol from House Helios:

Elf Versus Dwarf

I have also had a bit of a rummage through my painted figure collection and have discovered that I actually have about half a dozen half formed warbands so want to spend the remainder of the summer occasionally chipping away at my leadpile to add the odd figure to them till I have decent sized forces for some skirmish action!

All the best!