Challenge Day 13 - Almost There

The dragoons and horse grenadiers are very nearly finished. The painting is all done and they have been varnished. I've just popped them off their painting sticks, ready for gluing onto 30x30 bases. Tomorrow evening I'll be adding the basing gunk - if I can get that done early enough, I might even be able to dry-brush the gunk and do the flocking. That will leave me plenty of time to draft the post on Friday, so that Curt can post them on Saturday.

I've also begun work on my "break" figures. I've done two stages this evening, and might manage to get a third in. I should be able to finish them tomorrow night, or Friday, giving me two entries on Saturday.

I'll leave you with a pic of my current workbench (I don't think you'll be able to see what the "break" figures are).

Challenge Day 12 - Somewhat Late

...so it's just as well I've got the morning off work.

Plenty of progress to report, although it does mean I can't post many pics.

Last night, after getting back from the club I touched up the bases to cover bare spots (the gunk shrinks a bit), painted the base edges, dry-brushed to gunk and then tried something on the generals' bases - puddle effects. That was done by pooling gloss varnish into some dips. I had to repeat that stage a couple of times this morning (OK - yesterday morning now that it's 2am on Wednesday!).

This evening I flocked all the bases of generals, artillery and cuirassiers. I then added some flower and grass tufts to the generals' bases. Once all that was done they got photographed. As I was processing the pics, I spotted that I'd missed the edging on part of one of the standards. A quick touch-up and re-photographing and all was well.

Since then I've been working on the dragoons and horse grenadiers. They are pretty much done now, with just touch-ups and some detailing on the drums to do in the morning before I head off to work. In the evening I'll be able to varnish them and hopefully stick them on their bases. Thursday evening should see the bases gunked, then I should get them dry-brushed and flocked on Friday, allowing me to submit the whole batch as one for my Saturday posting slot.

Here's a pic I just took of the dragoons and horse grenadiers.

"Hang on a second - one of those standards was red the other day, now it's green. What's she playing at?"

Give that man a fish! Well spotted indeed. Errmm, well, yes. I had originally intended the horse grenadiers to be the Astrakhanskiy regiment. On checking, I discovered that they didn't actually take part in the European theatre during the Seven Years War.

Tomorrow evening will also see me starting work on my next batch of figures. I did come to a decision, but it wasn't one of the ones I listed the other day. I'll be keeping them under wraps until the big reveal on the Challenge blog though. Needless to say, they aren't the Seven Years War infantry!


Oh, yes. You want to know how the game went last night. My NAC platoon quite convincingly trounced Simon's UNSC platoon, mostly down to some extremely fluky dice my excellent tactical choices.

As I won't be posting many WIP pics over the next few days, I'll try to post an AAR to shut you up keep you drooling.

Challenge Day 56 - Paint Table Saturday #14

It's that time of week again....

Pop on over to Sofie's blog to see all the other participants.


So, what's on my table today?

A spaceship; a mysterious headless 28mm figure with some added greenstuff, surrounded by bits; and a large batch of 15mm figures....

This is a J Peasmold waste reprocessing ship from Ground Zero Games. I like the way the grey wash has dirtied it up. I've still got a couple of bits to do before it's finished and then I can submit it in the Challenge for a few points.

This is my next batch of pirates - 96 figures from Blue Moon, a mixture from the "Pirates and Treasure" and "Europeans Captains and Sailors" packs. These guys have a lot more flesh showing than the pirates from Rebel Minis

I'm on leave from work this week, so I should be able to finish the pirates this week and might even get the next lot (assorted pirate Captains) done as well. I might even start work on another spaceship.

As for the mystery figure, this will be my entry for the "Favourite Character" bonus round and will also be my entry fee. I've still got a few weeks to get it painted up. I'll be keeping him under wraps until he's done though, but you may see him appearing as a small part of painting table shots.

Secret Project Revealed #2

As promised, here are the pics of the Secret Project which I gave to Ray yesterday at Broadside.

 

He seemed to like it!

100K Prize Draw - Day 5

Previous Draws:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4


And so it comes - the 5th and final Prize Draw of my 100K giveaway.

Yes, more plastics from Warlord Games. The lucky winner just needs another 7 packs to have his (or her) very own 300, and also the 20 that the history books and film producers always fail to mention.

The first prize will be drawn on Wednesday evening, so if you are after some 28mm Tommies then you'd better head over and leave a comment on that post.


Secret Project Update

I've very nearly finished it. There is just one step left and a little bit of presentation work to do. That shouldn't take me long to do and means it will be finished in plenty of time for Broadside.

100K Prize Draw - Day 4

Edit to Add: Just a quick "Eeeeks!!"



Don't forget, there is still time to enter the previous draws:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3


So, onto today's draw. There are 3 photos today but all the items together constitute a single prize. I think that Anne and Ray [ :p  ]will be hotly contesting this one!

Anyway, piccy time so that you know what's on offer - eight fantasy figures from the Reaper Bones line:

Cave Troll, Young Fire Dragon and Ogre Chieftain

Human Warrior Barnabas, Garrick The Bold, Human Ranger Michelle

Fulumbar Ironhand, Elf Archer Lindir

OK, the rulesy-stuff:


1. You must be a public follower of this blog
2. Each draw will be open for 7 days and then the winner will be chosen at random from all entries
3. Every comment on the post will count as 1 entry in the draw (eg 5 comments = 5 entries)
4. Linking to the draw on your own blog will earn you an extra 5 entries for the prize in question
5. You can transfer your prize to someone else if you wish



Secret Project Progress

I've just got one more painting step to do on the bits I made with Milliput. Before I add them to the project, I need to do some touch-ups and highlights of the bits that are already part of it. That's my job for tomorrow.

The whole project will then need some finishing touches, leaving me with just a little bit of artwork to do to declare the project completed.

100k Prize Draw - Day 2

Campaign 2013 Individual Results

I've seen the spreadsheet of individual results from Campaign and I came 32nd out of 38. If I hadn't made a very silly mistake in my last turn of my last game, I might have been 30th. Oh well, lesson learnt (but more than likely forgotten by the next tournament).


Secret Project

I did a little bit of work for the remaining Secret Project last night, playing with Milliput for the first time. I'll say no more and let you keep guessing what it all is. I might get a bit more done on it this evening.


100K Prize Draws

Well, the response to yesterday's prize has been astounding. Clearly that was a good choice of prize as so many of you want it! Remember - there are still 6 days to comment


I was originally planning a single prize for today, but I've realised that I'd forgotten about those followers who like the mass effect of 6mm. So, there are two prizes on offer today.

A) £21 of metal (of your choice) from Ground Zero Games. Rather than offering a specific item (or set of items), the lucky winner can simply email me a list of what products they want and I will order them for delivery to their door.
Now, £21 might not seem much but it will buy an Intro Fleet plus an extra ship or two or enough 15mm figures for a reinforced infantry platoon.

B) a £25 gift voucher for Baccus 6mm (this may be an electronic voucher rather than physical).


For this draw, please indicate which prize(s) you want to be entered for when you comment!

Edit for Clarification
You can, of course, enter for either prize or both, but do make it clear in your comment(s).

Edit to Add


OK, the rulesy-stuff:

1. You must be a public follower of this blog
2. Each draw will be open for 7 days and then the winner will be chosen at random from all entries
3. Every comment on the post will count as 1 entry in the draw (eg 5 comments = 5 entries)
4. Linking to the draw on your own blog will earn you an extra 5 entries for the prize in question
5. You can transfer your prize to someone else if you wish

More Plunder!

I'm really glad I'd booked today off work as I was absolutely knackered after the weekend. After a long lie-in and an hour or so of browsing blogs whilst having a nice cuppa, I headed out to the local Royal Mail delivery office to pick up a package that needed a VAT payment. It could only be one thing - my order from Rebel Minis!

The order was a mix of piratical plunder and some sci-fi bits as well.

Back row: Pirates with melee weapons; Pirates with firearms; skull rock; PyRats; Skeleton Crew
Front Row: Guns and crew; Male pirate captains (plus mermaid); Female pirate captains; native porters (from Pulp range)

Skull rock in close up. This will form the centre-piece of my pirate camp.

Gun Clerics; Black Widow Mercs; Warrior Grav Tank

Sahadeen Militia

So, that leaves just my order with Old Glory UK to come in (which includes my pirate flag ship) then I can determine what else I need to order to complete my army. I think I might get a couple more ships, just because they will look cool, not because I actually need them.

Painting Plans

Now that I've finished the main part of my Korean army, it is time for me to head back to painting a couple of other projects which got put onto the back burner.

First up are Donogh's Hasslefree minis which I'd made a good start on before the Koreans arrived.

Second up is the other outstanding Secret Project. I've still got a few bits of sculpting/modelling to do to add to the overall project and they will need painting. The main part is almost done, with just some details/highlights/touch-ups to do.

After those I think I really should finish off some of the bits for my earlier armies. I still have 60 Sarmatian lancers to paint up (their horses are already done); 12 Scythian cataphracts plus 3 more for the command stand; and a bunch of 30YW bits (limbers, regimental gun markers, casualties for cohesion markers). I'd like to get those done before I start painting the pirates up.

Korean Cavalry On the Workbench

The first batch of cavalry are sooo, sooo, sooo close to being finished that I'm really annoyed with myself for dozing off on the sofa earlier this evening. If I hadn't gone to sleep I might just have finished them tonight.

I started the next batch last night. these are the Singi Guard cavalry and I've decided to be a bit more uniform with these. It will just be the officers and saddle cloths that differ between the units (OK, maybe the mix of horse colours will differ as well).

I've also prepped the figures for the command stands and will be gluing them onto their bases for painting later this evening.

Anyway, as it is a couple of days since my last post, here are some pics to stop you all moaning.


All the cavalry:

The Kwang Gun/Singi Gun Cavalry

The Singi Guard Cavalry

Before I forget - I've also finished the Korean camp Secret Project. However, you'll have to wait until I return from Campaign for pics of it as I don't want to spoil the surprise.

Back From Salute - A Secret Project Revealed!

Well, what a fabulous day it has been. Warm, sunny and Salute 2013.

I'm going to split up the day into a number of posts. As I know you are all shivering with anticip..............
............
............
............
ation, I'll start with the revelation of one of the Secret Projects. To begin with, this Secret Project is approved, endorsed and blah-di-blahed by our esteemed Brush Daimyo, Curt.

The big reveal (and presentation) was done at the bloggers' meetup at lunchtime. After folks had been given a chance for chinwagging and comparing swag, I called for quiet, made a brief speech and presented the secret project to Ray, the Universal High Imperial King of Sandbagging. Here are some pics:

Ray pretends to be pleased with his award

"Not more photos?!?!?!"

Faster than a speeding bullet, Ray rips open the package

"My word, they are full size sandbags!"

Taken last night to show the label

Yes, a pack of 5 hessian sandbags - I was pretty sure he must have run out and would need some more for next year's Challenge!

Next Post: My Swag

I should have known better

Oh well, as the title says, I should have known better. When I came up with the idea for my Secret Projects I worked out how much time they should take and thought I had plenty of time to do them before Salute. What I forgot to take into account was work.

Yup, that mean and nasty 4-letter word.

At the moment I've got a rather big project on which for all of this week and next has got me running around between buildings at different ends of the campus to check on progress, identify any problems or issues then back to my office to try and get them sorted. It will be similar (but less frenetic) for a week or two after that.

So, how does that affect my Secret Projects? Well, it's left me physically and mentally knackered just about every evening this week. I did make a good start on one project on Monday, with a bit more work on Wednesday, but there simply wasn't going to be time to get it finished for tomorrow especially with me falling  asleep on the sofa for a couple of hours this evening.

However, the other original project is much simpler and I will be able to finish that this evening. The other project will have to wait until Broadside for the big reveal (which gives me plenty of time to add some extra touches to it).

It also means that I'm behind schedule on getting my Koreans painted. Hopefully I'll be able to get the levy troops finished over the weekend, then it will be onto the cavalry. I'll also need to get my regular infantry and command groups prepped and ready to go once the cavalry are done. I might end up not finishing the basing on the cavalry, regular infantry and commanders before Campaign and just leave them on plain bases.

She's Such a Tease

Having received a number of complaints about the size, darkness and "blurriness" of the teaser pic yesterday, I've taken another pic but this time under light, closer up and with the subject in the centre rather than at the edge. Here you go:

Monday Blurb

Haha! I've spent a couple of hours on one of the Secret Projects this evening and made pretty good progress. A couple more sessions should see it completed.

Korean Levy Troops WIP Pic

I haven't done any more painting on these since last night.

Incoming Prize

When I got home from work, there was a small packet waiting for me. It contained the Mordheim figures I won in Carl's blog-birthday draw. The figures are gorgeous and when I finally get time to paint them, they should be really nice to do.

And a Teaser Pic

Sunday Update; Koreans - first 2 units finished

I know, I know - I haven't posted anything since Thursday. I guess it's Sunday Update time then.

Koreans WIP

I've made a good start on the next lot of Koreans today - 16 bases (48 figures) of Levy troops. I should be able to get them finished in a couple of evenings. I've also made a start on the camp, but I won't be posting any pics of that until I come back from Campaign (yes, yet another secret project).

Secret Projects

I've started one of the Secret Projects today - the other one won't take a great deal of work. I'm really hoping that I will be able to get them both done in time for Salute.

Society of Ancients Battle Day - Chalons 451 (aka Battle of Campus Mauriacus)

Yesterday morning saw me get up very early to catch an early train to Bletchley. I was one of 4 members from Central London putting on FoG:AM V2 games for Battle Day.

For those that don't know, Chalons was where a confederation of Romans, Alans and Visigoths under Aetius took on and defeated Atilla after he had turned his attentions to the Western Roman Empire (having bled the Eastern Empire within raiding distance dry) and gone on a rampage across France with an army of Huns, Gepids and Ostrogoths.

We managed to get 2 games in, switching sides for the 2nd game. I was partnered with Gordon and we both had utterly atrocious dice luck in both games.

I took loads of pics of the first game, not so many of the second. I'll get them sorted and posted here soon.


Finished Koreans - Light Foot and Light Horse (and some Leitzinen for use with my Swiss)

This afternoon I got these sprayed with matt varnish and flocked them. Here's the Eye Candy:

Leitzinen:

These are available from Donnington

Kwang Gun Light Foot Archers:

Military Academy Light Horse Archers: