Micro Fantasy

Hi!

As I've been sorting through my unpainted gubbins over the last few days, I found my Horned Folk warband that I started a couple of years back and have been humming and haahing about what to do with it.

A Horde of Horned Folk

I like the round bases but it doesn't really suit itself to massed fantasy games but I did begin wondering if I could use it for skirmishes using Song of Blades or warband level battles using Dragon Rampant.

Small Wartower

I've got an eclectic mix of Heavy infantry and warbeasts at the moment so need to diversify it a bit as well as working on my Grey Elf host to oppose it but as I have all the miniatures, I figure it would fit in well with my aim to start clearing through my lead (and plastic) pile.

Minotaur Legion 

I must admit that I am rather relishing getting on with some small scale stuff after the big guy I am working on at present is finished and I think I could churn out a second Beastkin regiment of four stands in next to no time and with just one Wartower to finish painting, I think that my weekend is set!

Raiders from the Ancient Labyrinths of Aeroth

I figure I can play out a decent game of the likes I've mentioned on the small board I have and just need to put together some more suitable scenics such as ancient forest groves and an entryway into their Barrow City...

Wartower Rampage!

Something else I've been ruminating on is to add a larger wartower or two featuring some arcane ancient tech to give the Horned Folk a nice centrepiece to their army but we shall have to see if I have anything suitable in my bits box that can be converted to use!

A Horned Folk column on the march

I'm also keen to get back to work on the Grey Elves I had started but I must be honest that cleaning and converting Irregular Miniatures is a bit of a chore as I have to remove their small and bendy halberds and replace them with wire spears while the chariots need converting too and lets not even mention the cavalry...

Grey Elves

I have discovered that I still have a 6mm Orc, bits and pieces of a Lizardman and Goblin armies from Irregular but I'm really not liking their strip of figures approach. It's fine for Warmaster type of games but not really ideal for my approach but I may be able to put together some useful bits and pieces from them from time to time without getting completely disheartened with the effort.

In other news, the big guy I've spent most of the last week painting is getting there with only one weapon and his legs to detail. Sadly I don't have a base big enough for him but I don't see that being too much of a problem at the moment and I'll post some pics this weekend of him once he's finally completed!

In the meantime, All the best!

Horned Folk Army Project Part 2

Hi!

I've managed to finish off a second Wartower for my Horned Folk army!

 Horned Folk Wartowers

I've still got one more to finish to get the formation up to strength but I am already thinking about adding some more firepower to my force as the Aeroth setting I am developing is going to be a bit more science-fantasy so my decidedly low tech Horned Folk are in need of some more arcane tech to beef them up a bit!

Warband on the move.

It's rather nice to have finished a paintjob that I started 18 months ago and the force does seem to be slowly coming together! As with the other Wartower, the basis for the wooly rhino is a Irregular Miniatures 15mm scale rhinoceros with a howdah, crew and armour sculpted on. I also extended the horns and built up the bulk of the beast as well.

I'm going to get some more infantry added for my next update and hopefully a somewhat bigger beast too but in the meantime, All the best!

Horned Folk Army Project Part 1

Hi!

Well I've survived my first week back at work and have been pondering on finishing off a project I started some time ago in the form of my Horned Folk army...

Looking back, it's been about 18 months since I touched the project and I have some fun ideas that I want to try out on my 6mm fantasy gubbins so I figured it was high time to have a bash at building up my forces a bit!

 Horned Folk Warband thus far

The backstory of the Horned Folk is that they were one of the first races to inhabit Aeroth but were all but destroyed by the Elves during the Age of Legends and the survivors retreated into their great barrows to sleep away the ages before being re-awoken by The Death.

Now having spent quite a while scribbling notes about the setting of Aeroth, I do want to move the tech level forward a bit so it's not quite so dark ages and more science fantasy so most forces will feature magical or mechanical constructs to do battle and the Horned Folk are currently looking a bit under equipped.

 Horned Folk Warrior regiment

Inkeeping with their Minotaur styling, I am going to post up a background article on them to flesh them out a bit and make them fit in with the setting a bit more but at present, I want to concentrate on rounding out the force a little and looking at what I have, I will finally try and finish off my two remaining small wartowers as well as another four stands of Beastkin which will give me a good basis for a force.

 Beastkin Regiment

The next step will be to flesh out the force a bit with some arcane tech, larger wartowers and some more high status infantry. I am going to try and sculpt much of the warbeasts myself as I have a pretty specific look that I am trying to achieve but one of the joys of 6mm scale gaming is that you can field truly massive monsters and I look forward to creating some really big beasts to march to war alongside hordes of infantry and cavalry!

 Small Wartower

Games will still be played on a small board, no larger than 3'x3' or possibly 3'x4' and rules wise, I am actually pondering reworking Epic 40k as it's such a slick little system that I think will work well with the sort of game I want to play. I doubt I will be fielding massed formations but it will provide enough space for a decent amount of maneuver before the armies clash!

 Cyclops

Another good thing about the project is that it can be completed on a modest budget as post wedding, the hobby budget is pretty puny. It will also be rather refreshing to actually finish a project for a change as I only need to paint about six bases to complete everything I have!

Fallen Renegade

I will be rummaging around my 6mm stuff to provide enough figures to bump my Beastkin regiment up to 8 bases as well as painting up the last two wartowers but will also be trying to sculpt something a bit bigger which will act as a nice centrepiece to the force so watch this space!

All the best!

A Return to Aeroth?

Hi!

Well another busy day at work is over but I have loads of stuff still to do organising a Harry Potter evening instore for 200 people so I suspect that my hobby time is going to be next to non-existent for the next couple of weeks but I do find myself looking back over some of my Aeroth stuff of the last few years.

Now I have tried time and again to get some warbands put together for the classic wargame, Leviathan but for various reasons I just don't seem to be able to get anywhere. Part of the problem is that the original game was in 28mm scale and required some really vast warbeasts and engines of destruction to play such as this fellow below:

Orc Titanosaur

The game looked amazing if a bit impractical as you needed a vast amount of space to play it properly, not to mention a large selection of equally vast monsters. I've tried it out in 15mm with some success and am slowly working on a selection of 6mm bits and bobs to represent some of the epic battles that take place on the blasted plains of Aeroth but I can't help but wonder what I can do to resurrect the fun I had with the game.

Horned Folk Warband

Now I doubt that I can summon up the time or space to create a mass battle in 28mm scale but I have been wondering about a 28mm skirmish or a 15mm scale mid sized battle sort of  a deal. With that in mind, I am going to do a bit of experimenting to see if I can't put together some bits and bobs.

I don't know how much time I have spare to work on the project but I am rather keen to have a bash and see what I can put together. Hopefully I will have something to post this weekend though!

All the best!

2015 Yearly Review!

Hi!

Well it's almost the end of 2015 and it's been a busy year here with mixed success in my assorted hobby related activities.

I started the year with a selection of 28mm scale gubbins for my alternative 40k project but things quickly stalled and for several months my hobby went absolutely nowhere and I almost despaired of ever getting anything done but eventually I seem to have got back into the swing of things with my Epic Project!

First up, there's my Saim Hann Eldar warhost:

 Eldar!

The warhost is coming together nicely but do need to get their Aspect Warrior and Windriders sorted out as well as a few more Dreadnaughts and Warwalkers to give me some more ranged firepower and they will be ready to do battle against the Imperium.

Next up, there's my Ultramarine detachment:

 Ultramarines

I've not added much to my elite warriors of late but I do think they need some more ranged firepower too as well as getting a squad of assault troops sorted out too. At some point, I want to add a Thunderhawk but we shall see what we can do in the coming year!

Next, there's the Squats:

 Squat Brotherhood

My Squat brotherhood is starting to come together too but I still need to paint a fair few troops to get it up to scratch as well as some heavy hitting vehicles as that's what makes the Squats iconic in Epic. Lots of massive artillery pieces, superheavy tanks and possibly a Gyrocopter or two!

Looking back at some of the older pieces in my collection, I realise I should really finish off my Mercenary combat team too:

 Mercs

I've got lots of vehicles but very few infantry so will by trying to sort them out with a motorised infantry platoon in the new year too as well as a command element. I love the Brigade models vehicles to and wouldn't mind bulking out the force a little and add some more heavy firepower like the assault vehicle I converted by adding a heavy Vulcan cannon to an artillery vehicle.

But what does 2016 have instore for my ongoing hobby interest?

Well looking at the bits and bobs I've started, there's going to be several new forces making an appearance in the spring.

 Space Wolves

Amongst the several ideas I have for the new year, I want to build an arctic tundra board to play on and that means a new force suited to the frozen hell of such an extreme place and who better than a battle company of Space Wolves to get things going!

 Chaos Renegades

While I have very much re-imagined the imperium for my own setting and Chaos being done away with, I do like the idea of fielding some Renegade marines who have spent rather too much time out on the rim and have gone rogue so expect to see some small detachments too!

Squat Renegades

But there's more! There's my Renegade Squat Oathbreakers who will be forming a small but powerful force as and when I get the chance.

So that's the Sci-fi side of things, now onto the Fantasy forces!

I have slowly been putting together a Horned Folk force for my Aeroth setting and want to continue expanding my fantasy forces into playable levels.

 Horned Folk

At present, I have enough stuff to put together a small force but want to expand both the size of the force, and the choice of units as well as one or two larger warbeasts too. 

 Grey Elves

The Grey Elves are a bit of a slow burn project at present as they are rather time consuming to clean, convert and then paint but I will be persevering with them in the new year.

Dwarven Wargolem

I also want to get my Dwarves started up in the new year too but at present, I only have a few Wargolems so will need to explore picking up some more gubbins as the year progresses. I will also be adding a backbanner to the fellow above to make him more inkeeping with the Leviathan vibe!

Now I have no doubt there will be other projects that will distract me over the next 12 months but I do seem to have found something that I am really getting my teeth stuck into so long may it continue!

So that's how my year has shaped up and hopefully next year will be just as much fun but for the time being, All the best and I hope everyone has a cracking new year!

Richard

Epic Eldar

Hi!

Not only do I have a day off but it's snowing which is rather exciting!

Better yet, I've had a bit of spare time on my hands for the first time in ages and actually sat down and painted something in the form of some reinforcements for my Epic Eldar!

Eldar Detachment

I am never going to have enough space to play a proper game of Epic with the little chaps but have plans of playing some games of Gruntz in 6mm scale which will allow me to field a platoon strength force with some armour assets which is fine by me as the eventual army is going to be more akin to 2nd edition 40k in size rather than an epic warhost.

Upcoming Warbands?

I currently have some Howling Banshee's and a Warlock stand on the painting table which will give me the command and close combat troops that I need and also plan on painting up a couple of support weapons for my Guardian squads before fielding them against my Ultramarines and Squats!

 Ultramarine Veterans 

I don't know what has brought on the sudden urge to paint tiny figures but I am rather enjoying it and suspect that my Alternative Imperium is going to get some more attention soon which will be fun as I have quite a lot of Epic figures which will allow me to field multiple small forces of Eldar, Imperial, Squats, Orks and other assorted riffraff.

Squat Brotherhood

With a bit of work, I think I can get the Eldar finished today and even add a few reinforcements for my other units which will allow me to get some games in the coming week but I do find myself in need of some scenery suitable to the scale so will be rummaging around to see if I can't find some bits and bobs to bodge together!

I've also been inspired to re explore my 6mm fantasy stuff so am aiming to finish off the wartowers for my Horned Folk force and possibly even add a few bits and bobs to my Grey Elves...

 Horned Folk Warband

Looking at what I have, I need to paint up another four stands of Beastmen and two more wartowers and my Horned Folk will be complete for the time being, although I am looking for some larger warbeasts to add a bit of visual punch to the force...

 Wartower

The Elves on the other hand, need quite a bit of work as converting the spearmen is quite time consuming and a bit boring to be honest but I only need a few more before moving onto archers and warbeasts which is handy!

 Grey Elves

I must admit that I really want to get some of the Microworld miniatures as they look so much better than the Irregular fantasy stuff I have at present but my budget won't allow for it at the moment so I suspect that my plans for a Dwarven army will have to wait till next year...

I think that I am going to have enough stuff to keep me going for the remainder of the year though which is good and better yet, it's varied enough to stop me becoming bored!

All the best!