A few more Welshmen

So this weekend I managed to get some paint on the last of the prepped Welsh figures I have for the Barons war. I do have a few more figures left and even managed to get them prepped today and hopefully get some paint on them next week. These 5 figures are all from Footsore miniatures, a foot knight and 4 archers.

As I mentioned in the last post I had a pair of foxes from Warbases to finish off. I quickly got these done and then decided to make a den for them. A few stones from the garden, a bit of modelling putty and it was done. It didn't actually take very long to do and will look good hidden in the woods for the game at Border Reiver.

With just 2 weeks to Border Reiver, I am just about ready. Just need to sort some display bits and pieces out and we'll be ready to go.

A little progress

In preparation for our game at Border Reiver I needed a few more trees. These are a little different to the others as I was looking for a solution to hold the flock better. The last batch had shed quite a bit. These have slightly thicker flock, which was actually worse. I then decided to brush on some watered down paint like I did for the 15mm hedges I did for Marston Moor. It sort of worked a bit, but they were too bright. Finally I gave them a spray coat of grass green, which seems to be working. I think I'll always lose a little flock through usage.

I think I'll go back over the other 7 and give them a quick spray. The other item I did was another small field. This was my last base from Warbase and some left over coir mat and Renedra fencing. Took about 10 minutes to put together and only slightly longer to paint up.

I did actually manage to complete another 5 more figures, They are still taking too long to get anything done. Hopefully when the rain actually stops this year I may get some enthusiasm back. There are 3 more Welsh spearmen and a couple of extra archers.

On Thursday night at the club, we gave the scenario another run through, no pictures as Thom brought along the Keep that he had finished for the game. It is superb and it is modular. He even has the STLs to add extra walls and towers.

Additional scenery

While I still have no real enthusiasm for painting miniatures, I muster up a bit of energy for a few scenic bases. I decided on these just to give me a few options to change the layout of the table. First up was a pair of outbuildings from Renedra, the crates and barrels are from the plastic Wargames Atlantic sprue. Once again a simple paint scheme, just simple dry-brushing for a nice rustic effect.

I was also provided with a coir mat from Andy to allow me to make a couple of fields. I just used a couple of off cuts added to bases from Warbase. For one of them I added some spare pieces of wattle fencing and a piece of hedging.

I think I should have enough options now for creating villages. Robbo has picked up some various animals from Warbase to add some character to wooded areas, such as deer and wild boar. I hope to try and get them painted up.

The struggle continues

So I finally managed to push through and complete another 6 figures for my Welsh faction. It's taken nearly 3 weeks to get these done. Nowhere near my best work, but good enough to get on the table, a shame as they are nice figures. I still need to add some tufts to the bases once they arrive.

The shields could definitely do with a bit more work, but will do for now. The padded jerkins came out a bit too grey, but will help differentiate them from the English. The only other thing I worked on was a simple log pile, which will come in handy as battlefield clutter. They are simple modelling sticks cut down to about 2-3 cm. I may try and make a few more as nice and easy to do.

The logs were coated in a light brown wash with some bits of flock added to look like a bit of moss.

Output down, Mojo gone

So after a very productive 2025 on the painting front, it was bound to happen. My mojo has just got up and left the building. So far 2026 has been a bit of a shocker, on a personal level we unexpectedly lost our beloved family dog. To say we are not happy with the vets or the insurance company is an understatement. I've lost track of the number of phone calls, appointments and bills all to no avail. As a family we are slowly trying to move on.

To compound things I've come down with a rather severe case of flu which has floored me this week. I've literally no energy for anything, even had my first day off work today for the first time in over 10 years. So after 438 days in January it can well and truly f#*k off.

I did manage to finish 2 pieces for the upcoming Barons War display game. They had been painted earlier in the week, just needed basing, which I forced myself to do today. They are the 'Tax collectors' cart from warbases and a resin camp fire from Debris of war.

The horse on the cart was already painted, just needed adding to the base before basing. I did try to pick up a paint brush earlier on a couple of Welsh Spearmen, that lasted about 10 minutes. Hopefully things will begin to pick up.

Baron's War bits and pieces

With the upcoming Border Reiver show in March I have a planned run through of the 4 player scenario at the club next week. I did a quick set up this week which gave me an idea of what else I needed for the game. The first thing was some extra trees and shrubs for the wooded areas. I set to work on more of the 3d printed trees from Thom, 6 more added to the collection to bring me up to 7. I also created 3 small bases to act as undergrowth in the woods.

New woodland

shrubs/undergrowth

A figure for size

The trees are quite substantial, but that does help reduce the number needed as they cover a good area. I/ve got 4 more that I need to start work on. The next items on the list were some gravestones for the churchyard and a couple of benches to give the village that lived in feel. The gravestones are from Debris of war and the benches were donated by Andy, I believe they are from Wargames Atlantic.

The gravestones are probably too late for this period, but they add a little character to the table. I also spent some time organising the 4 forces to be involved. Each force is around 600 points. 

Current table layout

The 'Lady' and her escort

'The Lover' and retinue

'The Lord' awaiting his lady

'The Rogue' and his rascals

I did manage to get a few figures painted as well. A new Baron and his bannerman to command my Welsh forces. They are both from Footsore miniatures. The heraldry is loosely based on one of the shields from here Nobles of North Wales. I'm quite happy with the results. I also completed two more archers for my outlaws.

'Welsh' Baron

A pair of Outlaws

Hopefully I can get some more figures done as my output is well down at the start of the year, I've only done 7 so far, I normally aim for around 100 per month.

Finished tree and a cottage

Following on from yesterday's post. I finally got the tree finished. I gave the whole model a quick dry brush of a grey followed by a cream to add a bit of depth to the branches. Once it was all dry I gave the upper branches a good covering of carpet adhesive (nice and strong bond) and simply added plenty of flock before shaking off the excess, I did a second coat to cover areas that I missed. The base was just my normal sand sealed with wood varnish with some static grass added. I even picked out a couple of stones. I'm very happy with the model and put an order in with Thom to print some more.

First coat of flock added

A finished tree

With thoughts on the upcoming Border Reiver show, I needed a few more cottages to replace the Dark age buildings I've been using. This first model is a plastic kit from Tabletop Workshop, it literally took a few minutes to put together. For painting it was a simple chocolate brown undercoat followed by a grey  then cream dry brush. The roof had a light yellow dry brush. The daub was picked out with a couple of coats of white with some weathering powder added to complete.

Alongside the tree for a height comparison

By my reckoning I probably only need 2 or 3 more cottages and will try and pick up the one from Perry miniatures after Christmas as I don't want them all looking the same.