Shén, part 7

Finally, the first element of Shén for my Tsolyáni army is done:

These troops are part of the Legion of The City of Chrí, 7th Imperial Shén Auxiliary Heavy Infantry.

The copper trim is a bit of artistic license on my part - it does not look too out of place I believe!

The base might be a bit more green than the others, but it will work out just fine.
 

Two more elements for this unit - one more of pikes similar to this one, and a command element.


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Shén, part 6

Just a quick pic from the painting table:

The figures for the first element of the Legion of the City of Chrí are mounted, and the base is painted awaiting decoration.


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Shén, part 5

Another quick pic:

The start of basing for the first element of Shén for my Tsolyánu forces...  It is too hot here at the moment (record-breaking for Seattle) to do much else.


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Tékumel progress

Although it has been a long time since I posted something specific on my Tékumel miniatures project, I have not been idle!  Here is a quick pic:

On the right, the first element of Shén heavy infantry - the Legion of the City of Chrí - nears completion.  On the left, I have brought out the first element of medium troops representing the Aridáni Legion of Lady Mríssa from storage, and in the middle of the pic are the freshly-primered ladies of the Legion of the Sapphire Kirtle - slingers for my Tsolyáni force.


Slowly, but surely...


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Shén, part 4

Moving along with the first element of the Shén legion:

I use plastic rod for my javelins/spears/pikes, with a different diameter for each type.  For pikes I am using 1/16" (1.6mm) rod from my stash of materials that I have hoarded for just such an occasion.  The price tag on this particular material dates back to 1996!


Step 2 of the process:

Pikes for all, with shields for the rear rank, which is the right-most ones in the above pic!  The pikes are approximately 3"/75mm long.  The hands needed to be drilled out, but the material is soft enough and the hands big enough so the chore was not too difficult.


And lastly:

The miniatures now have a coat of black gesso for primer.  I am going to let the gesso dry for a few days before the next step.


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Legion of Ever Present Glory, part 21

Finally, the process for this legion draws to a finale!  Here is the archer element:

This pic is after sprinkling sand and talus over the base, and a mix of earth and green flock has been, quite literally, dumped over the base.  After it has been allowed to dry, a day or more, this is the result:

Not too green, which is good.  It looks like I missed a spot or two, but I will add a few pieces of coarse flock to help hide them.



And now, the final product:

A few small chunks of coarse flock finished the element.  Next time, I will watch the talus placement a bit more closely, as several pieces seem to have landed on edge, which looks a bit odd.  


And now, for a group pic of my small but growing Tsolyáni army:

Very blue (my lovely wife has taken to calling them the blueberry squad!), but that is typical of Tsolyáni armies I believe.  The next elements will be a little different, as the reptilian Shén have black scales along with their blue armor.


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Shén, part 3

Ah, the joy of a delivery of new miniatures!  Behold:

Bags and bags of Tékumel figures - two warbands and two hordes of Shén + a few others, and a bunch of Sapphire Kirtle skirmishers, along with assorted weapons and shields, and another Sérudla (far right).  I am most interested in the Shén, so they were sorted out first:

Piles of Shén instead of bags now!

The different poses are formed up into files, or maybe conga lines (!), and the first element of Shén poses on a Litko 60mm square base.  This first element of Shén will be representing the Tsolyáni Legion of the City of Chrí, 7th Imperial Shén Auxiliary Heavy Infantry.  This is a bit of an odd unit, with a human commander that dresses like his reptilian Shén troops, and this element of the Legion is armed with pikes.  This unit should be an eye-catcher, with the scales of the Shén being a satin black, and the armor a mix of blue and red-orange.

Here is another pic of the Legion, with a slightly different mix of figures:

This pic is meant to be a mnemonic to help me remember the placement of the figures on the base, as I will surely forget once I finally get this element ready for basing!

And here most of the Shén have been separated into element groups - with a slip of paper identifying the unit - for storage until the first element is done.  This represents two different legions - one is Tsolyáni and one is Yán Kór - with three elements of six figures each.

I have yet to delve into the bags of skirmishers, and there are some other goodies mixed in there also.


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Legion of Ever Present Glory, part 20

And, I'm back on-line...  I was able to get some stuff done during the unscheduled but necessary downtime and the other things that are happening in this household - a little bit more work on the archers for the First Legion of Ever Present Glory:

In this pic, the finished archers are settling into their element basing, with the rear rank already glued down, and front rank waiting.  I have marked the approximate locations of the front rank onto the base, as I will add some filler to the base before gluing them down.

Here, the base has been covered in a thin coating of the paste in the background (found in the bargain bin at the local art store some time ago).

And a coat of paint.  Next step will be to add sand, rocks, and flock to finish the element.


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Legion of Ever Present Glory, part 19

Slow progress, but progress:

A bit blurry, this pic shows the archer cohort for my First Legion of Ever Present Glory troops.  I was able to touch up the last details this morning, and after it dries for a day or two the figures will get a coat of matte varnish, then basing!  I am not too happy with the skin tones on these, but it is OK this time.

Next up for the Thámerü scenario, I might bring out the first unit from my Legion of Sérqu troops, or maybe I will pick up where I left off with the first set of the ladies from The Aridáni Legion of Lady Mríssa...


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Tékumel novel available again!

As per this note from The Tékumel Foundation, M.A.R. Barker's first novel, The Man of Gold, has been re-released in electronic formats:

 - Kindle, 

 - Nook, 

 - Kobo.


Base retail price is US$5.99.  Although I do not usually buy e-books, this will be a very definite exception!  (I use the free Kindle reader for PC)


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Legion of Ever Present Glory, part 18 (and Mríssa too!)

A small measure of progress on the painting table today:

In this not-so-great pic, the archer cohort of my First Legion of Ever Present Glory troops has been visited by the paint-laden brush!  The armor is mostly done, now the bows, quivers, tunics, and other small details need to be finished.

Also in the pic above is the command cohort of my Arídani Legion of Lady Mríssa troops.  Nothing has been done to them for a long time, other than the first dabbings of flesh-colored paint on the first miniature.  I think that these miniatures are going to be among the hardest to paint for my Tsolyáni force, as the details are small and delicate and it will take some careful painting.  I am wondering if I should just paint over the slender chains fastening their skirts with flesh, then go back over the chains with a dark wash and a metallic drybrush.  It might make the process some what faster.


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Agenda and other issues

Well, now that 2015 is rolling along, how about another one of those posts about what might get accomplished in it???

First off, 2015 has been declared the unofficial 'Year of Tékumel', as it was 40 years ago that the RPG Empire of the Petal Throne, by MAR Barker, was printed by TSR.  In honor of that, I am going to continue to work on my Tékumel miniatures, always with an eye to completing the goal of finishing my Ruins of Thámerü scenario, someday.  I have a fair number of Tsolyáni forces waiting for the production of the bulk of their opposition, the Yán Kór, to resume.  In addition to the Thámerü forces (an element-based force), I would like to get some skirmish forces together for Tékumel as well.

Alongside these troops, the Tékumel naval project waits patiently in the background.  

Not to be forgotten is my Mesoamerican project.  This one is going to be a bit slower of a wick to burn, but there are many miniatures to choose from.  Hopefully the budget will hold up to the task.  Some progress has been made, including this:

This is the 2nd edition of Irregular Wars, a rules set based on small unit forces during the Renaissance, including army lists for European, Mesoamerican, Middle Eastern, and Asian armies.  It has only just arrived, so a more detailed review will be forthcoming.

The medieval project, based around the fine miniatures from Claymore Castings, is being put on hold for the time being.  Just too much on my plate right now.  Besides, my lovely wife is more interested in the Mesoamerican stuff...

Speaking of a plate full, I also received this recently:

The latest book from Neil Thomas.  I will flip through the pages with starry eyes, and dream of one day having yet another project to accompany the many fine scenarios listed in it!  I can almost see starting up a 10mm project for the Seven Year's War...



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Prince of Skulls

For some time, I have been wanting a copy of the above-pictured novel, and for various reasons, from complacency to downright laziness, I have never succeeded.  Until yesterday, when my copy of Prince of Skulls by MAR Barker arrived.

Now, I have a complete set of the five published novels on the Tékumel genre!


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The Aridáni Legion of Lady Mríssa, part 3

Just a very brief update:

The first element now has a layer of black gesso primer.  Now comes the hard part - actual painting!

There is an interesting color rendition (by Jeff Dee no less!) here at The Tékumel Project blog, and there is a concise entry about the Legion in the Tsolyánu army pamphlet.  The Legion is notable in its lack of blue in the uniform.  Reddish orange and white seem to be the main colors listed in the pamphlet; I intend to deviate somewhat from Mr. Dee's version and use the red-orange and blue for trim and white for the main color.  I do like the shield colors he used, and will shamelessly imitate them!


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The Aridáni Legion of Lady Mríssa, part 2

It is still a little warm in my hobby corner, but that did not stop me from doing a little something:

The first set of Lady Mríssa's legion has been cleaned up and ready for primer.  This is the command element, led by Lady Mríssa herself (in the large headdress).  An officer, musician, standard bearer, and one trooper round out the element.  I think that I will try using black gesso as primer on these miniatures - it seems to be working well for the Aztecs.

In the pic above, Lady Mríssa's troops are posed next to my archers from the First Legion of Ever Present Glory.  Both represent one element, but there are differing amount of miniatures used.  Lady Mríssa's legion is rated as medium infantry, while the archers are still rated as heavy infantry.  For my purposes, heavy infantry will have six miniatures per element, while medium infantry will have five.  It is a satisfying mnemonic for me - just glance at the element and know what it is without looking at the rules or a roster.


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Legion of Ever Present Glory, part 17

The slightly cooler temps of late have seen me return to the painting table, if briefly:

These are the archers from the First Legion of Ever Present Glory.  After a base coat of Ceramcoat Ocean Reef Blue, they received a heavy wash of dilute Ceramcoat Phthalo Blue, then the flesh parts were picked out with Reaper Master Series Tanned Flesh.  They are looking a bit messy at the moment, but slowly they will look better as I pick out the details.


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Legion of Ever Present Glory, part 16

This is the next element of my Tsolyáni army:

Archers of the First Legion of Ever Present Glory 

These miniatures are only primed.  The lighter pair have been primed with Vallejo Grey Surface Primer.  After using the product on a few miniatures, I am not very happy with the results, as the finish seems to be very 'slippery' and does not take paint well.  It would not surprise me if I am doing it wrong, but there you go.

The other four have been primed with Liquitex Neutral Grey Gesso.  I have used black gesso on other miniatures in the past, but I have not tried it on my Tsolyáni troops as I am hoping that the lighter primer will help with making the colors of the Tékumel troops that much brighter in turn.  The grey gesso, though, seems to have a shiny finish, and it will be interesting to see how paint goes on to it.

I might just go to using black gesso as a primer for everything, depending on how my Aztecs look...


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Tékumel naval, part 12

Another 'for posterity's sake' pic, to remind me of exactly what sort of damage I did to a miniature (!):

This is the Langton Octeres, just prior to having the bow hacked and slashed.  This ship will be receiving the goblin's head, and a new ram...


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Ahoggyá, part 9

Finally, these are done!

Well, almost.  I see a spot or two of touch-up is needed, and the grey one might need a bit more matte varnish.

I tried to make the base a bit less green this time, as compared to the Ever Present Glory troops:

Partly by design, and partly by the difficulty of getting the adhesive under all of those legs, I think I succeeded.


Another angle:

Right rear flank.  This pic shows the shield design a bit better.  The halberds have a variety of symbols on them; they are mostly random, with the exception of the grey one - I tried to represent the circle of eight which IIRC is symbolic of the Ahoggyá reproductive ceremony.

One last pic:

Rear angle.  Much earlier in the process, I lamented about how I made a mistake when gluing the loose shields onto the left arms of the Ahoggyá, and this shows the problem quite clearly.  The shield face is pointing down, making it difficult to see while playing.

This is number 4 of approximately 27 elements I need for my Tsolyáni army in the Thámerü scenario...


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Ahoggyá, part 8

Painting is just about complete on my first element of Ahoggyá:

These are painted to represent the Legion of Gurúggma, 3rd Imperial Ahoggyá Auxiliary Heavy Infantry (say that 3 times fast!!).


And, now to base them up:

All of those arms and legs will make it a bit tricky; I plan to place one figure on the base at a time.


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