Land Ironclads Ponderings

Hi!

I've been a tad busy with work related shenanigans over the last month or so since my last post but have managed to paint some more 15mm gubbins which I will try and get some pics of in the next week or so once the batch of them are all finished but in the meantime I've been pondering a serious return to my fantasy Land Ironclads project.

 Orc Warbeasts with infantry

I started 2019 with quite a bit of activity around the tiny 2mm scale figures and was really progressing well with them until I hit a bit of a roadblock in the form of the infantry. I had tried making my own from cut down plastic grid and while it looked ok, I wasn't entirely happy with it and the project kind of fizzled out.

 Titanosaur Wartowers

I actually managed to play out several games of Land Ironclads and rather enjoyed it's simplicity and how well it worked with a grand scaled fantasy setting too and as we head towards the end of the year, I find myself once again drawn to it and really want to have a second bash at it, especially as I still have several unpainted models.

With that in mind, I've cracked out the paints and hope to add the level 3 Dwarf Ironclad and several Thunderhammer tank formations to my Dwarf collection as well as the command Titanosaur to my Orcs.

Dwarf Ironclad formation on maneuver

I've got absolutely tons of ideas for adding to the project and refuse to let it sit unloved any longer and have decided to place a small order with Irregular Miniatures to furnish me with infantry, cavalry and artillery for this project. I had swithered about this for some time as fantasy races in Aeroth don't use horses but a mottley array of lizards, boars and other, more peculiar mounts but in 2mm scale, I don't think it will matter too much!

I've been rather inspired by some of the blogging over on WRONGHAMMER and IN A WORLD OF PAINT  for in one case rather impressive collection of 2mm armies and the other constant blogging and some interesting conversions and a rather fun battle report so have pulled myself together and will hopefully get the odd post done over the coming week or two!

In the meantime, All the best!

An Update!

Greetings!

It's been a while since I had chance to update my blog as I've been run off my feet with work which has resulted in me being too tired to spend any time with my hobby but I happened to have today off and noticed that Skelp, the wargame show was on so decided to wander up to Forfar for a peruse and see if anything caught my fancy.

I have to say that it was a really disappointing show with only about half a dozen traders and demos along with a few bits and bobs at the bring and buy and I ended up leaving empty handed, a first for me for a wargame show.

I must admit that I've not been for a few years as I always seem to have work on the day but I remember my last visit having a lot more stuff on the go with over a dozen traders and tons of goodies in the bring and buy but instead of inspiring me to crack on with hobby shenanigans, I found myself really disappointed with the whole experience.

Now I do apologise for being so very negative about my visit but I do have fond memories of picking up all manner of interesting things the last time I was there and that there was considerably more to see as well.

Still, I was also oddly relieved as I had vague ideas of picking up some 28mm gubbins for either 40k or Age of Sigmar and am glad that I didn't give in to temptation as I know from bitter experience that the scale holds no real love for me anymore and smaller stuff is the way to go!

With that in mind, I've been spending a bit of time this evening organising my 15mm leadpile and have discovered that I actually have quite a few nice bits and bobs secreted away that are in need of a lick of paint so in a somewhat odd turn of events, the least inspiring show I've been to has become a bit of an inspiration to revamp my wargaming slump!

Saying that, I am off on holiday in a week to Greece for my 40th so suspect that I'll not be posting much till early November but hope that some classical civilisation will be just what I need to see out 2019!

In the meantime, All the best!

Davion Mechs Sighted!

Hi!

While I've been rummaging my Flintloque stuff, I happened across some of my old Battletech SD sculpts and thought it might be rather fun to finish painting them up!

Davion Light Mechs

I've now got three completed in the form of a pair of Valkyries and a Javelin and am now thinking of finally finishing my lance off with a Centurion that I've had on the drawing board for four years. 

I'm rather fond of the little chaps and we shall have to see what I can cobble together in the coming weeks, once my last Deadloque Undead musketeer is finished obviously!

In the meantime, All the best!

A Return to Flintloque

Hi!

I can't believe it's already half way through August! I've taken a bit of a break from all the 15mm scale gubbins that I've been painting over the last few weeks to crack on with my small Flintloque project.

Grigori Dracsul and Zombie Musketeers

I'm rather enjoying painting the chunky sculpts that I have such fond memories of and must admit that I'm sorely tempted to pick up some more Flintloque gubbins once I've finished painting my way through the Deadloque boxed set that I picked up earlier this year.

Now all my scenery collection consists of 5-15mm scale stuff so playing a game of Flintloque would be a bit of a challenge so I had a rummage through my bits box and found an old Grendel Artillery position and have had a crack at painting up the Mantlet:

Grendel Mantlet and Undead Musketeer

I must say that the Grendel resin scenics pieces are utterly fab! The detail is nice and chunky and it takes very little effort to bring out the best in the kits. This piece was mainly done over the course of an evening with several drybrushes and washes and really looks great now it's finished. The application of some snow effect really made it fit in with the frozen Witchlands aesthetic of Flintloque too.

I still have the spotters position to finish and will post a picture of the complete set once I get the chance but In the meantime, I have also finished an old plastic Darkworld treasure chest for use as a scenario objective:

Chest of Grave Dirt

Game wise, it will be Grigori's daytime retreat for when the sun makes a rare appearance and is full of grave dirt for him to recuperate in. I used black glitter which doesn't really show up too well in the photo but gives quite a nice magical finish in the flesh.

Looking at my progress, I have a single Zombie musketeer to paint but he's going to need a bit of tlc as he's got quite a bit of flash and mould slippage going on which will see me doing a bit of carving to clean him up and then the whole Undead force will be finished!

 Grigori and Musketeers

I find it fascinating that I'm more than happy to paint up these chunky fellows while more modern 28mm sculpts leave me dreading picking up a brush. I suspect the forgiving nature of the sculpts appeals to me as it's awfully easy to bring out the best in them and get a finish that is deeply satisfying.

Stalinov and Skeletal Militia

As already mentioned, I've been looking back fondly on the old sculpts and I'm rather tempted to pick up one or two more for the Peninsular campaign with Wheelingturn's Orcs but I'm trying to restrain myself as I still have the Elven survivor miniatures to paint from the Deadloque box but I do recommend folks give them a try as once you get past the slightly crude and cartoony sculpts, they are rather good fun to work on!

Hopefully I'll have the Undead finished by the end of the month and hope to finish off one or two odds and ends that have been sat partly painted on my shelves for quite some time so watch this space!

All the best!

Steampowered Infantry

Hi!

I've just finished a squad of steampowered infantry for my ongoing VSF/Steampunk/Weird West project!

1st Texan Ironclad Infantry 

Constructed from plastic gubbins with some wire and putty to make rifles and a bit of cotton for their smokestacks, I'm quite pleased with how they have turned out and they will make a good addition to my no longer fledgeling force!

Ironclad Infantry are the marvel of the age with their miniaturised boilers allowing them full mobility for a full thirty minutes before needing stoking again, their thick iron plate making them nigh invulnerable to small arms fire and allowing the brave crewman to wade into the thick of the action before unleashing a barrage of lead from his heavy shotgun.

Scale Shot

I imagine these little chaps clanking forward towards their enemy, occasionally exploding spectacularly but I do love a steampunk suit, no matter how unsuited to actual combat it may be!

My next task will be to add some more contraptions for my Texans to field so watch this space!

Cowboys vs Aliens

Hi!

It's been a bit quiet here on my blog but I have been quietly beavering away with my ongoing Peter Pig Weird West mini project and have finished a second unit of 12 rifles!

Riflemen

The figures are almost entirely comprised of Peter Pig's rather good 15mm Wild West range apart from a singly Laserburn hunter after I realised that I was short a figure for a nice 12 man unit!

I went for lots of browns, greys and blues again with the colour scheme and rather like how they turned out, even if they are possibly not too historically accurate and unlike the pistol unit, they have  a bit more interesting of a selection of poses as there's a few shotgun toting types amidst the unit.

This gives me two full units for my Weird West force which is rather surprising and I seem to be almost putting together a full army without meaning to!

Here's the full force as it stands:

A Posse of the Rootinist, Tootinist Varmints this side of the Rio Grande!

I must admit that I've really enjoyed working on the little guys and look forward to adding some more mounted units before adding some character figures into the mix. Having had these chaps for an absolute age (as best as I can remember, I got them in 2006-7) I am overjoyed to actually have them painted up and am constantly pleased and surprised by the little details the Peter Pig figures have. 

While they are mostly going to be seeing action somewhere in the West, I do plan on using them as disgruntled settlers or Grox herders for my Alternative 40k setting too. Sadly they are true 15mm scale so some of my other figures kind of loom a bit over them but I'm looking forward to working on more of them and dare I say it, pick up the remaining units to complete an actual factual army!

 Grox Herders defend a promethium store on Farpoint

In order to keep the painting mojo going, I've been mixing all manner of other figures into the paint queue to stop me getting bored and I've managed to complete the first two of my Boglin figures:

Boglins

They are from a set of soft rubber toy figures I picked up from Tesco a few years ago as they looked suitable for 15mm sci-fi gaming and I've finally managed to paint a couple of the bounders!

The soft rubber meant that I couldn't clean off the mould lines and I never bothered stripping off the original paint and just primed over the top. I was pleasantly surprised by the sharp details they had lurking about them as their teeth and beady eyes really came out well. A good coat of varnish has firmed them up enough for use and I hope to paint the remaining four over the next week or two!

I've no idea who made them but am rather sad that I didn't pick up a couple more packs when they were available as they are rather fun. Mounted on 25mm bases they are a lot bulkier than an average 15mm scale figure but they do the job as some foul mutant from the depths or a toxically inclined alien for the good guys to shoot at in small skirmishes which is fine with me.

Hopefully I'll finish the last of my Salvage Crew this weekend too and will be able to post some pics of them next time along with a few random figures I've been working on over the last couple of weeks so watch this space.

In the meantime, All the best!

Weird West Cowboys

Hi!

Last week I previewed some 15mm scale Cowboys I've been painting and I've managed to finish a unit of 12 of the little chaps.

Cowboys

I've had the little chaps for at least 10-15 years now and some were painted (badly) as colonial militia for my old Stainless Steel Rat project and I figured it was high time that I did something with them rather than having them just languish in a box.

After a bit of pondering, I decided to base them up with a mixture of individual and group bases with the vague idea of using them as a Weird West force as I've got enough to form 3-4 units all told and with a bit of bodging, I can easily add some more unusual elements such as zombie gunfighters or warwagons...

I've now got the first half of a rifle unit painted and hope to get it finished for the weekend before moving onto some mounted troops. I've also got some sci-fi salvage team done which will be getting photographed too as time permits!

I seem to have really got into 15mm painting again after almost six months of working on all sorts of other scales so we shall have to see how I get on but in the meantime, all the best!