Orcish Reinforcements!

 Hi!

I've finally got round to taking some pictures of my slowly expanding Orcish horde with their newest addition, the Butcher!

Orc Butcher

As with the other figures in the warband he comes from the Hall of the Orc King box that I picked up earlier in the year and have slowly been painting my way through and alongside the big spiky chap from my earlier post, he's been the most fun to paint.

The Warband thus far

Of all the figures in the set thus far the Butcher has probably had the most details but was still a pleasure to paint and actually took less time to finish than the archers did. I've got a second one to paint but have been distracted by other mini projects that have struck my fancy over the last week or so.

Butcher, Gorath's Chosen and Brewmaster

I've been quite motivated hobbywide, despite having limited time and have just finished a 54mm scale Viking chappy who will need basing alongside my 10mm Risk stuff and the Longmyre militia who have been done for a while now.

While I've not managed to concentrate on any single project, I do seem to be making up for the lack of focus by just pelting through whatever catches my fancy at present which is keeping me from getting bogged down and losing interest.

I've also rummaged out my Stump conversions and am eying them up alongside the Dark Age Brutal Quest project I started the other year and am footling around with several other bits and bobs which seems to be my method for actually getting anything done. While it means that completing any single project in a timely fashion is not really working out, I am pleased with the fact that I'm blasting through all sorts of bits and bobs that have been sitting for ages!

I'm going to try and get my Longmyre dudes based up alongside my Viking this evening (if I can find a 40mm round base!) and will post pics tomorrow if all goes well but in the meantime, All the best!

Longmyre Progress

 Hi!

I've got the day off work and have managed to get the pics taken of my Orcish raiders that I'd picked up a couple of weeks back.

The miniatures themselves are chunky plastics made from a Restic type material which does take detail quite nicely with the only downside being that the mould lines are a wee bit difficult to clean off as they need carving rather than filing.

Style wise, they're maybe a bit more realistic than the older GW style cartoony Orcs but they will do the job for a low fantasy setting like Longmyre!

The Orc Gladiator is quite a nice piece and the set comes with two identical sculpts so I'll have another one to add a second higher level fighter to encounters.

The spearmen are nice figures and the first I painted of the miniatures in the set. There's enough detail to make for an interesting and satisfying figure to paint without it getting overwhelming. I believe the figures are digitally sculpted and it does showcase the issues with the medium as the spearmen's faces are a bit soft in detail and I feel it's the case of what looks good onscreen doesn't always work too well in physical form, especially with plastic casts.

Saying that, they're still nice additions to the bestiary that will give me some goons for my heroes to do battle with.

The archer is possibly the most intimidating of the figures of the group which is interesting as he seems more physically imposing than the spearmen or gladiator. Again the face has a bit of soft detail around the mouth that gave me pause on what was supposed to be what. With that said, he does look great once painted!

I've played a couple of skirmishes using Brutal Quest with them against some mercenaries and while they've lost both times, I've come to fear the archer as the amount of damage he does when he hits is absolutely brutal (no pun intended!) so think that I'll be limiting how many I'll be featuring in most skirmishes so they don't unbalance encounters.

In other news, I've sent a bunch of games that I've got the PDF of to get printed and bound with the idea of playing some more small simple skirmishes and re-exploring some of the games I played years ago but have fallen by the wayside over the years and plan on posting a wee review of each once they arrive.

Longmyre Frontier Watchtower

The setting of Longmyre continues to grow and I'm looking forward to delving into the project as the months progress and I'm now needing to paint a few hero types to do battle with the marauding Orcs I've painted!

Fingers crossed, I'll get another few Orcs painted over the coming week but in the meantime, All the best!

Tiny Orcs for Leviathan

 Hi!

Its been a while since I've been able to update as its been really busy, not to mention roasting! I have been busy with hobby gubbins for most of the last week though which has been brilliant, especially after the loss of motivation over the last few months.

Tiny Orcs

In my ongoing obsession with Leviathan, I'd decided at making some tiny troop style figures so I can put together an army without spending literally months trying to track down figures, clean and paint them. Coupled with the fact that they cost me pretty much nothing and storage is going to be an awful lot easier than 28mm scale, I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out.

They're made from two pieces of plastic rod and some eva foam strips and while they may not be the most detailed of figures I've ever made, they will suit their purpose to eventually allow me to play some games as they look far better than using counters.

As I had them set up I also realised they would be handy for other games like Five Leagues From the Borderlands or even Rangers of Shadowdeep so they are proving doubly handy and I'm now thinking of making a few adventurer miniatures as well to give them some instant opposition.

I've yet to attempt to make any of the larger stuff for them such as Necrosaurs or even Titanosaurs but I shall experiment a bit to see how they come together as I have a rough plan on using similar techniques to what I did for my 2mm Land Ironclads for the Orcish Wartowers which should translate pretty quickly.

I've also been working on some other odds and ends but I'll save them for another post as I don't want to ramble on too much but I seem to have really got my inspiration back and it seems to be by doing a little bit of this and that rather than solely concentrating on a single project but picking up something and working on it for a bit and swapping out for something else before I get bored.

Needless to say its probably going to result in me taking ages to actually finish anything properly but I am having fun with the process and its getting me motivated to keep going!

I'll try and get another post up in the next couple of days with some more completed figures but until then, All the best!

Assorted Gubbins

Hi!

I've been struck once again with back pain which has meant that painting figures has been rather a challenge so I've spent my spare time working on some assorted sketches for both Planet 28 and Brutal Quest and figured it was high time I updated my blog with some doodles!

First up, there's Gilgamesh Giggles, patriarch of the Giggles clan, an unhinged extended family of tech grafting crazies that inhabit some of the more isolated regions of Farpoint.

Gilgamesh Giggles

Next up there's an assortment of monstrous types that will be making an appearance in future gams of Brutal Quest:

Gutter Runner

Stormvermin 

Skaven slave 

Orc Boy

Orc Warboss

There's been quite a bit of discussion over on the Planet 28 facebook page about how to create characters and folks keen to get some pre-created characters so I'm drawing up a few monsters and stuff to accompany the stats!

I've got most of this week off so will be drawing lots more goodies and if there are any characters, archtypes or monsters folks would like to see for either sci-fi or fantasy, please feel free to drop a comment here and I'll see what I can do!

In the meantime, All the best!

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!

Lockdown 2.0 Project Log Day 27: Flintloque and Inquisitorial Investigators

 Hi!

As promised, I've actually got something finished for my daily update in the form of Sergeant Harpy for my Flintloque project:

Sergeant Harpy

I'm really pleased with how the Bog Orc turned out, with quite a few happy accidents paint wise and he's another figure done for the Flintloque project!

In other news, I've spent a bit of time rummaging my leadpile and getting it into some sort of order and have discovered I have a surprising number of Ork boyz lying around, ranging from Rogue Trader to 2nd Edition and more modern stuff too so I should have plenty of goodies to work on once I have my Eldar out of the way.

I also happened across some random odds and ends whilst sorting through stuff and have decided to paint them all up as an Inquisitorial Investigation team (plus Xenos tech slave!) They should make for an interesting leadership for my orange overalled guardsmen and make for an interesting mini project!

There's a 4A miniatures alien (missing an arm with the replacement being a Grendel Talos arm), A Kryomek trooper, two Warmachine Warcasters minus their weapons (replacements are being put together) and a Warzone Wolfbane Commando. Whilst they are a disparate group, I think they have some real character which will be fun to paint.

Lockdown 2.0 Project Log Day 11

 Hi!

I've spent much of today painting Dwarves so tomorrow should have the first of my Boar Company reinforcements finished which is rather exciting but today also saw the completion of another Leviathan Orc!

I've enjoyed working on this guy and his big shield added lots of character!

Now I just need to paint the last two and I'll have a full pack done which is rather exciting and I seem to be getting more gubbins painted than I expected and am slowly but surely working through my lead pile and will keep churning through my collection to see how much I can clear up during lockdown.

I experimented a bit with the base this time round and quite like the muddy brown touch but will need to get some clump foliage or static grass to give it the finish that the other figures in my collection have.

With these guys done, I plan to get some Rusty Robots painted as I've got a fair stack of sculpts sat waiting a lick of paint and I've found some assorted gubbins that I'm keen to get painted and I'm also contemplating some smaller scale stuff that I've got lying around that could do with getting some paint on them.

In the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown 2.0 Project Log Day 5

 Hi!

Here's the next addition to my Flintloque project, Lieutenant Richard Sharke of the 95th Rifles!

He's a really characterful miniature and channels the Sean Bean remarkably for a Half Orc!

I have fond memories of painting him back in the mid 90's and am now really looking forward to painting the rest of his Orcish companions as they ooze character and charm.

In other news, I'm working on finishing a Boar Company banner bearer that I've had sat half done for absolutely ages and once he's finished, I'll get him painted and added to my Somewhere on the Border collection before moving onto something different.

I've also got counters made for an Elven force in Leviathan which I'm hoping to play a new years eve game with to round out 2020 and set myself up for next year but more on that tomorrow!

I'm finding this new lockdown a bit of a strange experience as combined with not being able to go into work or out anywhere, the short days are making for a short painting day but I am approaching lots of old projects and getting things done for them which is rather gratifying.

I may even sneak in my vague plan for Project Azure Aeronautica, a rather fun little side project that I've had sat around on the backburner for several years and which would allow me to play around with plasticard but I'm keen to keep things going and keep the posts going and I may post some ramblings about it and several other partially formed ideas that I've had over the years if folks are interested!

In the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown 2.0 Project Log Day 4

 Hi!

Here's the next of my lockdown projects, a Leviathan Orc from the Grendel range (still available from Scotia Grendel)

He's a hefty beast and I must admit that I had been hesitant to paint him as I'd thought he was an ugly sculpt. However as I primed him, I realised that he's quite.a nice model to work on. He's still ugly but in a good way! 

I quite like the trophies that he's adorned with and leering savagery really helps. I realise he's not painted in the more usual green of an Orc but it fits better with the setting. I plan on adding to the collection with a few sculpts from other companies as the post apocalyptic Aeroth with it's magical fallout can see Orcs mutating in all manner of interesting ways!

Sadly my varnish has given him a bit of a glossy finish in the photos but in person he's got a more matt finish. I've rather enjoyed working on him and will need to paint up some more during the lockdown!

In the meantime, All the best!

Lockdown 2.0 Project Log Day 2

 Hi!

I'd planned to get some photos taken today but ran out of daylight so will need to show the first painted figures of Lockdown 2.0 tomorrow.

In the meantime, I've been rummaging around my leadpile to see what suitable gubbins I can make use of for my lockdown painting queue and have stumbled upon some of the original Leviathan Orcs.

I was very generously donated the chunky fellows along with the resin Elves that I've posted about previously but I've been hesitant to paint any of them as I'd been under the impression that they were pretty poor sculpts but having worked on Flintloque figures over the last couple of days, I decided to give them a bash and as with the resin miniatures, I'm pleasantly surprised by how much fun they are to work on.

I seem to be averaging about 1.5 figures a day at present and hope to keep the progress up during this enforced confinement. I have also got a load of assorted gubbins on the go and will try and get a few shots from the painting table tomorrow along with the completed Elven Voltigeurs and first Orc warrior.

I must admit there is something really pleasing about painting old and somewhat shonky figures as the stylised sculpts and cruder (compared to modern sculpts) style and they don't require much effort to bring out the best in them and the results are so much better than new and technically advanced designs and require a fraction of the time to complete which is proving a real plus for me. Combine this with a wide selection of random gubbins to work on and I think I am going to actually enjoy my lockdown (or at least survive it!)

We shall see if this hobby enthusiasm will keep going for the next three weeks, or however long it may be before I get back to work but I seem to be off to a good start!

In the meantime, All the best!

Land Ironclads

Hi!

I managed to play a quick game of Land Ironclads this morning with my rather outnumbered Dwarven steamtanks giving the numerically superior Orcs a bloody nose.

I must admit that I rather enjoyed the game as it lasted all of half an hour and saw two brigades of Orc infantry trying to take a settlement while their Warbeasts took on the Dwarven machines.

It ended with the Dwarves having successfully defended the outpost but at a terrible cost with most of their Ironclads destroyed or badly damaged. The Orcs lost both infantry brigades and quite a few warbeasts but didn't manage to quite push the Dwarves away from the objective they were holding.

Sadly I didn't manage to get any pictures this time round but once I get a bit of spare time, I will be painting up my criminally bare Dwarven Ironclads and will get a proper battle report posted.

The Orcish Infantry supported by Necrosaur Wartowers

Looking at how things went with this, my second attempt at playing the game, I think I need to make some markers to show when units have fired as I kept forgetting and I'm keenly aware that my Dwarves need some infantry of their own as the Dwarves only succeeded in holding their objective due to some really bad activations from the Orcs.

Titanosaur Wartowers

In Land Ironclads, infantry and cavalry activate pretty normally but the larger warmachines require to roll for successful activation due to the number of technical gubbins that can go wrong with such complex machines and I used the same rules for the Orc Warbeasts, imagining it was their brutish nature not to want to do what they were ordered. Subsequently, the Titanosaurs and Mighty Titanosaur spent considerable time doing nothing much while the Dwarves were much more fortunate. 

The ensuing shelling saw two small Dwarf Ironclads decimate the Orcs infantry and Necrosaur formation while the remaining Ironclad and Cruiser shot up the larger Orc Warbeasts before they managed to get their act together.

I'm needing to get some more stuff made for the game as I really enjoyed the small skirmish I played out and enjoyed the climatic action which saw the two small Dwarven Ironclads first shell and then assault the attacking Orc infantry destroying them utterly!

Hopefully this will give me the motivation to paint my Dwarves up and add some new gubbins that I've been pondering on for a while but in the meantime, All the best!

Ironclads, Infantry and Undead. Oh My!

Hi!

It's been a while since I updated the blog but I've been rather busy with work and hobby related stuff so without further ado, here's some pics of what I've been getting up to:

First up, here's the second brigade of my 2mm Orc Horde:

 Tiny Troops

I've had these chaps almost finished for a while but adding the flags and giving the base a bit of a polish seems to really make the stand of Yellowjackets pop.

I need to add a third brigade to finish my Orcish infantry for the time being but putting the bases together is rather tedious so I've been procrastinating!

 Orc Infantry supported by Necrosaur Wartowers

Saying that, I'm really liking how the army is slowly but surely coming together with the horde of infantry looking suitably tiny next to the towering warbeasts.

Here's a scale pic showing the original Leviathan Necrosaur Wartower in 28mm scale next to a 2mm one made by me:

Little and Large

The Old Leviathan range has some stunning pieces in it that ooze charm and I highly recommend folks give them a look. That being said, the moulds are starting to show their age a bit and there's a fair amount of excess resin to clean up with the range but the effort is worth it, especially if you're looking to add an old school beastie to your army!

Speaking of which, here's a pic of the beast in action alongside Necrodon cavalry which I painted last year:

 Fyreslayers take on a posse of warbeasts. What could go wrong?

Here's a pic of the Necrodon by itself. It's a great model, even if it does show the limitations to the one piece moulds that Scotia use:

Necrodon

I've also been busy working on some terrain suitable to 2mm gaming and have put together some patches of vegetation to give my infantry something to hide in:

 Shrubbery!

At long last, I've also got a few Land Ironclads for my Dwarves which I hope to be able to get some paint on over the course of the weekend:

Dwarf Ironclads

It's been a fascinating process working with plasticard rather than putty but I'm rather pleased with the results as they've turned out rather nicely and it's got me thinking about trying to make some larger scale ones next for 15mm!

Finally I've managed to finish another Zombie Musketeer for my Flintloque project:

Brains...

He was another great figure to paint and the warband as a whole is really starting to come together now and I'm looking forward to finishing the Undead and starting on the Elves!

Lastly, here's a pic of my Vampyre officer with a couple of underlings:

I've come to drink your blood!

It's fascinating how my projects are meandering along so well this year as I'm painting lots of gubbins and really enjoying the eclectic nature of what I'm working on at and given moment.

The only thing missing thus far is 15mm sci-fi but I hope to work on some bits and bobs soon so watch this space!

In the meantime, All the best!

Tiny Horde and Skeletal Reinforcements

Hi!

Well it's been a while since I last updated the blog but I've not been idle. I've been furiously painting my way through all sorts of oddments and seem to be keeping the hobby mojo going well for January!

First up, here's my first infantry brigade for my 2mm Orc Horde:

Orc Yellow Jackets

As previously mentioned, I'd planned on making hair curler armies in true old school style but the times have moved on ant the style of curler is surprisingly difficult to obtain. I'd then thought of just biting the bullet and placing an order with Irregular to get all the bits I needed but I stumbled across an article suggesting Granny Grid (the plastic webbing used for cross stitch) and as I had a few bits of the stuff lying around, and being cheap, I thought I'd give it a bash.

I must admit that my initial reaction wasn't too favourable but once the unit is based and tiny flag added, they seem to all of a sudden work. At 2mm scale, Infantry units are always going to be a bit of a challenge to represent but the impression of ranked troops looks fine from a range of 2 foot which is fine with me!

 Orc Horde on maneuvers

I need to put together a second brigade to make a regiment and give my Orcs some ground troops to take objectives and generally get stomped or blown up so I can see more tiny troops making an appearance soon!

Next up, here's some additions to my Witchlands force for Flintloque:

Vampyre Officer

As already mentioned, I'm finding these chunky figures almost paint themselves and the Vampyre is no exception and he was a real pleasure to work on.

 Zombie Musketeer

Next up, the first of my Zombies. He's great fun and surprisingly expressive for a dead fellow. Again the sculpting is rough and stylised in places (such as his massive hands) but it doesn't matter. In fact it gives the whole thing a charm that more polished sculpts, especially computer based ones, lack.

Militia with Musket

The rather more worn figures for the warband are local militia who have decayed to the point of being skeletal. Again these chaps are great fun to paint and have just enough detail to keep them interesting without being fussy.

Militia with Axe and Pitchfork

The Cossack looking militia is the only one that I had to apply any putty to and that was because his left hand clutching the hatchet was freakishly small...

Hoodie wearing Militia

The last militia is possibly a little boring colour wise, but his pose os great and his grinning skull peeping out from his ragged hood looks fab too!

This leaves me with four more Zombies to paint up, a couple of which need a little tlc as their bayonets have broken off and then I'll be moving onto the Ferach Elves. I do recommend folks take a second look at the Flintloque range as it's surprisingly satisfying to work with. The cartoony proportions add to their charm and I'm really looking forward to finishing off the force!

With all this painting, I'm falling behind in the gaming department with just one game played and now three weeks into the year. On the one hand I really want to get some games played but on the other, my painting mojo is strong so I'm not sure I'll be able to resist painting more gubbins and then seeing about a game or two further down the line.

I also plan on getting to grips with my assorted 6mm and 15mm projects with an aim to get some more painting, sculpting and converting done in the near future so watch this space.

In the meantime, All the best!