Flintloque and Deadloque Additions!

Hi!

I actually finished painting these guys late last year but didn't get the bases completed until the other day so I figured it was high time I grabbed some photos of them before they got put into the cabinet!

First up, here's a new Rifle Orc for my 95th Rifles led by Lieutenant Sharke: 

I may have mentioned it before but the figures are cast from tin rather than pewter and as such are a bit of a nightmare to clean the flash off and his sword bayonet is bent and I couldn't get it to straighten out without the danger of breaking it but it kind of works for an unwashed Orc!

Here's the trio thus far:

As I've mentioned previously, the old Flintloque figures are brilliant sculpts with buckets of character and as they're so chunky, they are really pleasing to paint and they're making for a really rewarding little side project for me to pootle away at from time to time.

Finally there's an old Crucible Dwarf Thunderchief that I converted to use in my Deadloque warband:

I sculpted on the mighty Russian style hat to give him a more Flintloque feel and quite like how he turned out. The original figure was a strange combination of a really nice figure with a pretty weird megaphone combined with a blunderbuss but it does the job for a fearless vampire hunting Dwarf in the frozen Witchlands!

In other news, I've also got some bits and bobs for my Planet 28/40k skirmishes which I'll post up in the next couple of days once they're finished and I've also managed to pick up a decent copy of 4th edition 40k for a princely 99p which compared to the silly prices of 1st and 2nd edition is pretty much a bargain!

I'm looking forward to having a good read once it arrives but in the meantime I've got a fair bit of painting on the go, not to mention rummaging through my assorted rulesets for inspiration (worryingly I keep finding more stuff that I want to play or try out or paint up!)

Hopefully I'll have some more stuff to post up in the next day or so but until then, All the best!

A Dwarven Infantry Regiment Arrives

 Hi!

Slightly later than hoped for but here's some pics of my completed Dwarf infantry regiments for my Land Ironclads project!

Constructed from two sheets of EVA foam and scored to give a bit of detail, they are a quick and easy way to give me some really cheap and effective figures for my game!

1st and 2nd Brigades of the 17th Dur Zamor Guard

I need to make at least another regiment of the little guys and add some light artillery to give them some support but I'm quite pleased with the newest additions to my forces and hopefully I'll be able to add some opposing Orc regiments to try and storm the defences of the Great Wall!

Annoyingly I seem to have run out of bases to build any more so I'll need to purchase some more but that will give me the excuse to build more Ironclads, heavy artillery and all manner of other Dwarven inventiveness before they arrive. I've got to start making some Orc warbeasts and I'm also messing about with some Orc warengine concepts so they can get access to some Land Ironclads too, preferably of a super unreliable nature!

I'll add more stuff here as I get them finished so watch this space but in the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown 2.0 Project Log Day 59: Smallhammer Forces

 Hi!

I'm slowly painting my way through my collection of 15mm fantasy and they're starting to look like small regiments are starting to form!

I've made a start on the humans that I've had since 2014ish and will need to find the rest of the figures that I've had lying around for such a long time. I've really enjoyed painting up the little guys and will need to order a few more once I've got this lot finished!

Here's a picture of everything I've got done thus far:

I've put together a bit of a display board using some painfully bright flock that I had lying around. I'd been unsure about using it as it's rather patchy and streaky but looking at the photos, I'm pleasantly surprised by how it looks. I think I'll need to add another layer of flock onto the board to get a smoother finish.

In other news, I've been adding some reinforcements to my Goff Ork and Imperial retinues and will post some photos tomorrow once the bases are finished.

I'm really enjoying just cracking on with painting stuff and it was great to get a game played and speaking of which, I recently backed the Kickstarter for Brutal Quest, a fantasy skirmish by the same author of Planet 28 as it was the princely sum of £8.00 which isn't too bad for a game and I'm looking forward to giving it a try once it arrives in May.

I'll keep working on my assorted gubbins and will try to get another game played in the next day or so once I've got the reinforcements finished but in the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown 2.0 Day 57: Smallhammer Progress

Hi!

Just a quick post today as I'm still working on the large colony building that I started yesterday and am finding it a bit more of an engineering feat than I'd expected!

In the meantime, I've got the last of the Dwarf crossbows finished for my Smallhammer project and have made a bit of a start on the Humans:

Painting the little chaps has been a nice distraction but I'm only capable of painting a couple at a time as too much uniformity get me bored. I've got a small Human swordsman unit that will eventually be 20 strong and some human spearmen, bowmen and barbarians still to paint as well as a handful of other odds and ends which I hope to eventually build up into a full sized army.

It's quite a fun project to have a go at as I can collect a good sized army for about £20-£30 which will allow me to put together first an Empire army and then possibly an Orc and Goblin one but we shall see how I get on over the coming weeks as I'm also tempted to try a Vampire Counts force...

Once I have the sci-fi scenery done, I think it's going to be high time that I made some fantasy 15mm scale scenery so I can get a decent game in. I've already got enough stands of trees but could do with some hedges, walls, buildings, roads, rivers and hills to give a more visually pleasing finish to the whole project.

I'll post another update in the morning on building progress but in the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown 2.0 Project Log Day 53: Chaos War Priest and Mordheim Terrain (and Chronopia too!)

Hi!

I've been working on some Mordheim themed stuff today and have finished a few odds and ends in the form of a Chaos War Priest and some terrain!

First up, there's Dieter, a scabrous sort of a fellow and self styled Bishop of the Wizened Hand.

Armed with a stick with a blacked and mummified hand on the end, Dieter is a crotchety old geezer who uses the Wizened Hand to thrash non-believers with. Unsurprisingly he's not a popular sort in the settlements around the ruined city but has recruited a small band of equally unhinged followers of the less salubrious sort and has entered Mordheim in search of his destiny.

Originally a Bishop of Chaos from the Ral Partha Chaos Imperium range, I replaced his original staff with some plastic gubbins as I didn't really like his war crook thingy. I also attempted to go for a really limited palette for him and quite like how he turned out. I do need to do a bit more to his base, possibly adding some slimy gribble to give that really run down look but he'll do for the moment. I think I have a couple more figures from the pack lying around somewhere and will need to get them painted too.

Next up, there's some more terrain in the form of a ubiquitous ruin for Mordheim or any other skirmishy type of game I find appealing:

It was a quick and messy build, more intended to give me some terrain quickly but I quite like how it's turned out. I've got another two primed and ready to paint and will post some pics of them when I've got them finished.

Made from Foamcore and cardboard, it was a bit of a learning experience for me as it's the first time I've used Foamcore and after a bit of fuming about how long PVA was taking to dry I used hot glue which speeded up things considerably. I followed the guidelines from Nigel Stillman's Mordheim architecture article from an old White Dwarf but used mounting board for the base as it's a bit sturdier and less likely to bend when I put a bit of glue on it.

I'm hoping to make a few more odds and ends in the coming days to build up the terrain collection as I go!

In other news, I've rebased my 15mm scale Dwarves and prefer the finish of the browns to the lurid green I had originally. This is something I still don't really like about the original Old/Middlehammer style as I just cannot seem to get it to look right.

Finally, there seems to be some rumblings on Chronopia getting a re-release!

This rather enigmatic post got put up on facebook today and there looks like there's a new logo and some digital sculpts too. Alas there's no information other than there's going to be an announcement in March. 

Now if 2021 is seeing both Warzone and Chronopia making a comeback I'm super excited as both settings and games are fantastic but we shall have to wait and see what further news makes an appearance but I'm finding myself really hoping to be able to get some of my favourite games back into print in some form or the other!

We shall have to see how things develop but in the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown 2.0 Day 52: 15mm Scale Dwarves

 Hi!

I blasted through a bunch of 15mm scale Dwarves that I had lying around for my Crucible/Warhammer/Chronopia/Smallhammer project. I realised I've had them since 2014 and never painted them so it was high time I sorted them out.

I went with the old fashioned green bases over a green coat but I must admit that I don't think it really worked so I'll need to redo the bases and give it a brown base coat, add some more flock and drybrush vigorously to give a finish I'm happier with.

 

I also used traditional metallics for painting the little chaps as I wanted to get them done fairly quickly as they are going to be a used in a more mass battle style of game so laboriously adding NMM wasn't an option I was willing to go for.

I'm now waiting for my delivery of more 15mm square bases before I can get on with more 15mm scale stuff but my foamcore arrived this morning so I've begun work on putting together a test piece Mordheim style ruin to see how I get on with a new material so will post my progress tomorrow.

In the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown 2.0 Project Log Day 14

 Hi!

So here we are, two full weeks into the lockdown and I've been making the most of it by painting up the first two of my Boar Company reinforcements:

I've rather enjoyed getting back into some much needed hobby time which has given me a great escape from the madness of 2021 and the scattergun approach that I've approached it with seems to have worked as I've been picking up all manner of old projects and getting stuff done!

Tomorrow will see the addition of the first of my Rusty Robots that I've been painting my way through and it's looking like I should have the Black Tribe finished by some point next week. I also need to get back to Flintloque and keep the progress going with that too.

I'm also feeling the need to get some more sculpting done so we shall see what I get done next as I'm avoiding spending on miniatures if at all possible whilst I'm on furlough.

In the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown 2.0 Project Log Day 10

 Hi!

Well it's just been announced that the lockdown here in Scotland is going to be longer than first announced (and one suspects longer still than the Scottish government is willing to admit) which is infuriating that once again I'm not able to get back to work for the foreseeable future. On the plus side, this will give me the chance to get on with some more hobby stuff which is good!

I've just finished the new Boar Company recruits and will spend the next day or two painting them up which I am really looking forward to and will post updates as I go.

I'm also working on a second Leviathan Orc which I hope to get finished over the course of this evening and tomorrow morning so we shall see how things go.

With this new lockdown announcement, I may have to expand my hobby planning to stay sane and it might be a good opportunity to re-explore my love of old and forgotten games. There's so many fascinating games that may have passed folks by it seems like a shame to miss this opportunity to give things like Vor, Void or Kryomek a bit of love too!

I need to get my thinking hat on as I'm as usual veering wildly off on a tangent but I can't help but feel that 2021 may yet mean more painting and posting while we await things returning to normal post lockdown and Covid...

In the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown 2.0 Project Log Day 8

 Hi!

Here's what I've been working on over the last couple of days, a bunch of new recruits for my Boar Company and my Somewhere on the Border project!

Inspired by the Chronopia Dark Tusk's, these little guys are eventually going to be wielding two handed Morning Stars to give the opposition a damn good thrashing! At present, they still need arms, weapons and crests adding but I'm quite pleased with progress thus far.

I'm really enjoying getting some sculpting done and hope to have these chaps ready to paint in the coming week. The guy on the right of the first picture is going to be another character, armed with a sword and boar spear. 

I'm hoping to get some more humans done in the next batch of sculpts which will bulk up my adventuring party retinue before moving onto Marik Goldhelm's renegades and either Barbarians, Horned Folk or Orcs as I really want to add another force to the mix.

As usual, I am drifting off on a tangent but am enjoying myself and that's the main thing during Lockdown but I've not forgotten my other projects as I am slowly painting up another Elven Voltigeur when I'm not sculpting and will need to take another look at my Rusty Robots to give me some sci-fi stuff to work on as well!

In the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown 2.0 Project Log Day 6

 Hi!

Here's my latest addition to the new lockdown project, a Boar Company standard bearer for my Somewhere on the Border project!

I've had this guy half built for at least three years now and spent a bit of time yesterday finishing him off. I'm quite pleased with the little boar banner top and game wise, it's got a spell eater stone built into it to divert the arcane menaces of Marik Goldhelm, the Boar Companies long time menace.

I'll need to get some more of the little guys made as it's rather fun to get on with some sculpting. Hopefully I'll get chance to paint him up tomorrow and he'll be added to the roster for a new year battle report!

Tomorrow being new years day is penned in for a bit of Leviathan gaming and if I get the chance I may paint up a Rusty Robot too!

In the meantime, All the best and here's hoping 2021 is better than 2020!

Lockdown Day 73

Hi!

I've managed to get the last two of my Dwarven Land Ironclads finished at last!

Firestorm Class Rocket Ironclad and Battle Forge Class Command Ironclad

The Firestorm is a development of the Anvil class Ironclad which the Dwarven engineers have developed to give their landfleet a long range support vehicle. Armed with a battery of Firestorm rockets which give the vehicle its name as well as two sponson guns to give it some direct fire defences, the Firestorm is a rare design still undergoing trials but the fearsome amount of devastation it can bring upon its target is making it a popular choice in Dwarven expeditions.

Battle Forge

The Battle Forge is an old design amongst the Dwarven Landfleet as most of its firepower is concentrated on the vehicles flanks giving a terrifying broadside but only one heavy turret mounted on a turret with a limited traverse means that it often struggles to bring its full weight to bear when in the defensive form of combat the Dwarves tend to rely on. Combined with a traction assembly that is barely able to move the behemoth at much more than a walking pace means that it is only a matter of time before this class is retired for the newer and more advanced designs.

With that being said, the Battle Forge is a venerable design, still popular with its crew so it is expected to be in service for some time to come.

I've had this vehicle for a while in pieces as it just didn't look right being so tall and stubby but I finally decided to get it painted and into a game as a somewhat obsolete design that till trudles around blasting at stuff.

I think the problem is that I should have gone for a 40x60mm base and stretched the thing a bit with longer tracks and a lower hull which I suspect will be how my next heavy hitter will be based once I finalise a design for it!

Here's the Battle Forge compared to the Capo di Capo from the Vongola city state:

Capo di Capo and Battle Forge

Both are older designs which rely on broadside volleys to crush their foes with only a single turret mounting heavy guns with a traverse. Game wise, the Battle Forge will be a bit of a beast with tons of guns and armour but moves at a snailspace.

Speaking of games, here's a few shots of the two full armies in action:

Vongola and Dwarven landfleets engage

I'm going to try out a game of my own devising in the next day or two which takes elements from Song of Blades, Full Thrust and several others to see how the two armies work. I do need to look at putting together some infantry and cavalry but am not too sure how they'd fare against the destructive power of such mighty iron beasts!

Lancia class Ironclads

I'm interested in seeing how a fast but not very well armoured force works against a very heavily armoured but slow one. I suspect that I'm going to have to finish the last two of my Vongola heavy ironclads to even things up a bit as the Dwarves have currently got the advantage in firepower.

I'll also need to get some more scale suitable scenics finished as the two landfleets need some objectives to fight over too!

Dwarven Ironclads and Gyrocopters engage a formation of Lambo class Vongola ironclads.

I have got some small steamtanks for each side and really should get them painted up too but feel it's important to see how the bigger vehicles cope. There's also some more air assets for the two forces needing painted up but I shall get round to that eventually too.

 Dwarven and Vongola heavies steam towards each other

I have also got my Orcs who will play very differently from both of my existing fleets as they use living transport in the form of giant lizards but they need quite a bit of work before they are a suitable fighting force of their own so maybe I should aim to get them done at some point in the coming months.

 Vongola Zephyrs scream towards a lumbering Dwarf dig bomber

Looking at the original forces from Leviathan, I still need to work on designs for the Barbarians and the Elves, not to mention a host of other interesting races and factions who are vying for control of Aeroth too...

Vintage Aerial picture!

In other news, I've finished the papertech versions of the light and medium Mechs from the 3025 tech readout:

Papertech!

Clint, Hermes 2, Vulcan, Whitworth, Blackjack, Hatchetman, Phoenix Hawk

Valkyre, Firestarter, Jenner, Ostscout, Panther, Assassin, Cicada

Locust, Wasp, Stinger, Commando, Javelin, Spider, Urbanmech

I'll try and get the heavy and assault mechs done next so watch this space and they will be added to my Papertech page asap!

In the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown Day 14

Hi!

Here's the smallest additions to my Lockdown project thus far!

 Dwarf Gyrocopters

Made from plasticard, greenstuff and a bit of fuming whilst trying to glue them all together, the Gyrocopters give my Dwarven force some air support which I suspect will spend quite a bit of time blowing up spectacularly as they are one hit wonders!

I see these little flyers as nippy little ground attack flyers designed to navigate the rocky Axeblade mountains and shooting up opposing infantry formations before zipping away before they can respond.

I have got rather a lot of Land Ironclads stuff painted up and really need to finish off the odds and ends I have still got lying around and hopefully getting a game or two in!

In other news, I've painted some Flintloque gubbins today which I'll try to get photos of tomorrow for my next update so watch this space!

In the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown Day 9

Hi!

Just a quick update this evening. I found that with all the 28mm, 6mm and 2mm painting that I've done over the last few weeks I had been neglecting 15mm scale so have remedied this with a quick and easy addition to my 15mm Dwarf force!

Dwarven Guard Dog

I have a couple of these little plastic Dwarven dogs from Mantic Games lying around and had based the first one a while back but have finally got round to painting it.

He's not the best sculpt but does make for a pleasingly ferocious Guard Dog for my Dwarves to hunt down some Goblins with in 15mm scale!

Tomorrow I will have something considerably larger to showcase which has been taking up quite a bit of painting time and I just need to get its base done before taking photos and putting it up on my blog so watch this space!

In the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown Day 8

Hi!

Back to usual service as a new bulb has been procured and here's a few pics of my latest additions to my Lockdown project!

 Warhammer Class Ironclad

The Warhammer is a heavy Dwarven Ironclad and is armed with a medium gun turret, twin fixed barbette guns and small close defence guns. Whilst not the fastest or most powerful tanks in the Dwarven Landfleet, it is one of the most versatile. 

It's low profile and powerful weapons allow it to engage enemy targets at range and it's close defence guns allow it to support infantry and make it a bit of a beast in close combat.  

The Warhammer is made almost entirely from plasticard and greenstuff but the turret is from Brigade Models and it's been sat almost finished for absolutely ages but I was never entirely happy with it. If I was to do it again, I'd probably make a larger turret from scratch like I did with the Battle Forge but you live and learn!

Here's a pic of the Warhammer alongside a pair of Anvil medium Ironclads:

I've also quickly bodged together a trio of Vongola flyers in the form of the Zephyr class bomber:

Vongola Zephyr's bomb a Dwarven formation

The Zephyr is the only air asset that the Vongola currently deploy and operate on Magitechnology that they have "acquired" from the Elves. Using Skystones to defy gravity, these small vessels, although limited in capacity, have the speed and agility to drop their payload just at the right time. Handily they are also capable of transporting a squad of troops which the Vongola have been utilising to raid opposing kingdoms.

I felt that my Vongola needed some air support and put together three small but hopefully annoying little bomber craft to zip around and drop explosive death on their foes.

Style wise, they are a little bit like flying limo's and I quite like the little things and now I'm feeling the urge to add some more Dwarf flyers to oppose them!

In the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown Day 6

Hi!

As promised, here's the progress I've made on my small Orky mob:

 Plastic Boyz

I went for a far more traditional bright colours for these 2nd edition starter set plastics and I have had so much fun painting them I can hardly believe it! I remember painting them back in the day and finding it an utterly thankless task as they are identical and frankly boring but now I'm wallowing in nostalgia for them and have loved painting up the two I have done so far.

So much so in fact, that I have got another four underway as I type! I doubt I'm going to do the same for the Gretchin that I have still got to paint but these guys have been a blast to paint thus far and I'm a little sad I don't have more.

Saying that, I do have a fair few of the original plastic Orks kicking around and a number of the new ones too so we shall see how I get on with painting them...

Scale Creep

It's not just been 2nd Edition 40k nostalgic waffling today either as I have managed to finally finish the construction of my largest Dwarven Land Ironclad thus far, the mighty Battle Forge:

You can never have too many guns!

It's a bit of a beast and I'm glad that I persevered with it but I think in future I'd make the forward set of tracks longer to make it look a bit more massive. I may also have gone a wee bit over the top with it's weapons as it sports a heavy turret and a fearsome broadside, not to mention a rear facing AA gun and a pair of fixed forward cannon too...

Still, I look forward to painting the beast and will post my progress with it and the rest of my Dwarf Landfleet over the coming week or so.

In the meantime, All the best!

Spring Hobbytime Ponderings

Hi!

Well we're almost two months into 2020 and I seem to be achieving more with my scattergun approach to my hobby than I ever did with trying to focus.

Thus far I've painted 32 things ranging from large 28mm to teeny 2mm and pretty much everything inbetween and I must admit that whilst it's a bit frustrating not getting one project done and dusted, I cannot help but feel that this approach seems to be working for me!

I'm enjoying painting all manner of bits and bobs and my leadpile is shrinking for the most part faster than I have added to it and whilst games are running a bit sparse on the ground, I am slowly making progress towards having enough stuff painted to cover several different projects that have stalled badly over the last couple of years.

My 2mm Land Ironclads project is gathering steam and I've recently added a Dig Bomber to my Dwarven force:

Dwarven engineering at it's finest

I've also picked up some of Brigade Models Land Ironclads as a trade over on Facebook and have stripped some with the intention of adding them to my Dwarf force but as soon as I looked at them an entirely new army came to mind! I've since painted the first two of my Vongola Famiglia Land Ironclads (bonus points if you get the reference!) who will be giving me some city dwelling humans to brawl with my Dwarves and Orcs, or they may yet inhabit another world entirely but we shall see...

Speaking of repainting an old model, I have also recently completed this chap for my Leviathan project:

Earth Elemental

He's an old soft plastic Elemental Wall or some such from D&D but has made for a great addition to my Barbarian warband!

I'm also working on an Earthbound Dragon for Leviathan which I will post up as a project log at some point but that's for another day.

At present I find myself pulled towards the tiny and keep finding new ideas filling my head which is both great and annoying as I really want to finish my Dwarves, paint up some more stuff for 15mm, round out my Epic stuff, add my Witches of Selene to my SD warbands, play games and generally potter around but with the approach I am taking, it may take the whole year to do it but I think I can keep all the projects bubbling on even if it's a somewhat circuitous route.

We shall have to see if I can keep this enthusiasm going moving forward but I must admit that I am finding it heartening just how much fun I am having being so scatterbrained!

In the meantime, All the best!

Anvil Class Land Ironclad

Hi!

Just a quick post this evening as I've finished a new Land Ironclad for my Dwarves in the form of the Anvil:

Anvil Class Land Ironclad

The Anvil personifies the Dwarves defensive choice of warfare. It is heavily armed and armoured and rather slow moving but capable of taking on much heavier foes due to it's heavy guns. It has been designed as an infantry tank and as such it's designers have constructed it like a mobile fortification with a blocky structure and good defensive as well as offensive weapons. 

Following early clashes with fast moving foes such as the Elves who often outmaneuvered the first Ironclads, The Anvil has rear and flank firing light guns to stave off attacks from unexpected quarters. It's broad tracks and two boilers ensure that it can cross even the toughest of terrain and whilst one of the slower of the Dwarven vehicles, it has proven to be a firm favourite with it's crews and the infantry it supports.

Ironclad and Anvil

As with all my Land Ironclad stuff, the Anvil is scratch built from some plasticard, paper and greenstuff and will be the standard medium contraption of the Dwarven Holds. I've got two more to paint and then I am going to move onto something bigger...

I must admit that I am surprising myself with just how productive 2020 has been on the hobby front and I seem to be happily pootling along in several scales at once. Better yet, I have a week of holidays starting tomorrow so hope to get more stuff painted and at least a couple of battle reports too so watch this space.

In the meantime, All the best!

Tiny Infantry

Hi!

Here's a quick update showing my tiny Dwarven infantry brigade for Land Ironclads, Aeroth:

Dwarf Infantry on maneuvers with Land Ironclad support

I actually painted these little guys last month but hadn't had chance to get any pics till now. I'm quite pleased with how they turned out but need to paint a second brigade with command stands to give me a full regiment but I am really chuffed with the little guys and want to crack on with some Land Ironclads gaming soon but really need to finish work on the assorted gubbins I have first!

Speaking of which, here's a quick preview of my L4 Dwarven Ironclad formation:

L5 Ironclad's in front of 2 L4 Anvil's and a L4 Thunderdrake

The new Anvil class is somewhat bigger and more heavily armed than the basic Ironclad with a single heavy gun mounted in a turret and side sponsons with forward firing medium guns and rear firing light guns. Intended as an infantry support tank, they are slow moving but very hard to stop. 

The specialist tank is a Thunderdrake, an artillery modification to the normal Anvil which replaces it's turret with a rocket battery giving the formation a fearsome long range punch.

Hopefully I'll get the little vehicles painted alongside my Thunderhammer tank squadrons that I made last year and then I will need to build a L3 command tank to loom over the battlefield...

In the meantime, All the best!