Back to the Brushes 14

Another Dwarf for Songs of Blades and Heroes was completed this morning before venturing out to an in-service training day. There are thankfully no pictures of the training day but here are a few of the dwarf.

These old Citadel figures are good to paint and still have character, in some ways more than that of their modern contemporaries. The next figures from this range will include some characterful swordsmen and crossbowmen. This will complete the basic warband though there will be plenty of opportunity and figures to make changes in the future.

Next up are some work in progress pictures of a Mycenaean spearman in full Dendra panoply and a few SHQ support weapon crewmen for Disposable Heroes.

The Mycenaean spearman unit for Impetus is moving along at a slow pace at present and the above figure is one of the more completed figures; which is by no means there yet.

The crew below are for an MG 42 and 120mm Mortar to add some extra punch to the platoon if needed.

To be fair the pictures don't really show that much, but the base colour for the smock has changed from the last group painted. This will hopefully not have the mauve hint on the finished figures.

Lastly, there are three very quick pictures of the Hirdmen being painted for SAGA as the first point of a four point warband. These are fairly old figures from Gripping Beast's Viking range and when compared to their more recent releases show how far they have progressed as a miniature company.vWhen completed these will hopefully be shown on the Analogue Hobbies competition blogspot.

Apologies for the pictures as these have been quickly taken under artificial lighting and are not the best.

Hopefully there will be better to follow later this week.

Cheers for now.

Analogue Hobbies Painting Competition 9

Well here at last are the finished pictures of Hector's Chariot:

 All figures are from Redoubt Enterprises and completing the chariot brings to mind the following from the end of film:

If they every tell my story, let them say I walked with giants. Men rise and fall like the winter wheat but these names will never die. Let them say I lived in the time of Hektor tamer of horses; let them say I lived in the time of Achilles.

Not sure if these come from the Illiad itself but thought them worthy of adding here.

The next few pictures are of a 75mm IG for the Waffen SS force for Disposable Heroes that have been loitering around the painting table for way too long now. The gun it self comes from Skytrex whilst the crew are SHQ figures:

That's all for now but there will be some work in progress pictures very soon.

Cheers

Back to the Brushes 13

A new start has been made this evening with the first figure of a Viking Hirdmen unit for SAGA being nearly completed.

Some more progress has been made on the Mycenaean Heavy Foot and archers that have been on the painting table for some time; which have been inspired by watching Troy yet again. For a film that isn't rated that highly, its viewing figures here are high; not nearly as good as the classic Helen of Troy which to be honest along with the 300 Spartans and Burton's Alexander the Great have a lot to answer for.

Here are a few pictures of the 20mm trenches that were completed early this week:

These resin castings are available from Iron Clad Miniatures and come highly recommended.

Rather looking forward to using these to stop the Commie Hordes advancing into the Fatherland in the future so even though they scored no points in the Analogue painting Competition there is no regret in spending the time on them.

Thats all for now

Back to the Brushes 12

Not that much has happened over the last few days as motivation and inspiration for painting has diminished greatly. At times like these dry brushing larger pieces of scenery help to regain the impetus for other more taxing projects is helpful. As such 5 sections of a 20mm trench system are nearly complete now and are just waiting on their final flocking in the next few days. This has also spurred the completion of Hector's chariot which waits for the final pictures to be taken alongside the 75mm infantry gun for the 20mm WW2 Germans who will be defending the previously mentioned trench system.

Lastly, like many others SAGA has finally bitten so there will be a fair amount of single mounted Vikings and Normans in the near future as well.

Pictures of all of these and a few work in progress shots of the Mycenaeans to follow shortly.

Thats all for now.

Cheers

Back to the Brushes 11

Here are a few more work in progress pictures of Hector's Chariot and some 20mm WW2 German Artillery crew. These were taken late at night so apologies for the yellow casts to the pictures:

The crew are now glued  in place with the 75mm IG and waiting on the final basing being done; all being well they will be completed this week.

The broken bow from the archer on the left has gone astray so it will have to be replaced with wire. These also are now waiting on basing and should be ready at the end of the week. The chariot runner with green tunic shows some of the poorer quality that has been encountered in the casting of these figure's faces. In this case the decision has been made to go with the figure as he was a part of a trade through a gaming forum some years back. As such he will be behind the main figure of the base being the chariot and Hector himself.

All of the crew, horses and the chariot are now fully completed. This means that the final positioning has to be decided on before texturing the base and finishing. Again hoping to have this complete this weekend.

Thats all for now.

Cheers

Analogue Hobbies Painting Competition Update 8

The next entries to the above competition were sent off a few days ago and have been posted on the host's blog. Its now time to show them on their home site and first up are a few stands of AB Figures 20mm WW2 British Infantry:

These figures are a part of a set of entrenched bases that have been very slowly painted over the last few years. This, however, is them now completed and overall the figures look well, especially when seen with more scenic terrain surrounding them. The AB Figures are excellent quality and clean casts which hold their detail well.

The following pictures are of the first base of javelin armed light infantry for the Mycenaean Impetus Army that is currently in work in progress.

Detailing the hide shield covering 

The pictures were taken in two sets with two different lighting conditions. The first set - pictures one through four - with strong natural light from one side and the other set with more subtle artificial lighting conditions. Each has its own merit and yet neither are the conditions sought. More work on acquiring the correct lighting conditions for the next set of finished pictures.

Next up will see some more work in progress on Mycenaean archers, chariot and heavy infantry unit alongside some more dwarves for Songs of Blades and Heroes and 20mm SHQ German artillery crew.

Lastly a warm welcome to:

• Vasiliy Levashov
• Andrew

Hopefully both of you will find something of interest here.

Thats all for now.

Cheers

Back to the Brushes 10

Some days you just need a change and this morning was one of them. The prospect of some serious painting was just not on the cards so a wee change was called for:

The first of the Opel Blitz required for the Flames of War SS Infantry force that has been gathering dust over the last few years.

The natural lighting is too strong today, so there are some heavy shadows on the backdrop, but hopefully the pictures will give the general impression of the models.

There has been a lot of talk over the last few months about playing Flames of War more often but at lower point levels around the seven hundred mark, so these will provide the transport for the first infantry platoons when needed.

Progress on the Mycenaeans continues with the light infantry unit completed and the archers well on their way. Layering paint just wasn't the thing this morning so no new pictures there.

Lastly, a warm welcome to two new followers:

• Alex Mayer
• EinarOlafson

Hopefully you will both enjoy this blog and for those of you who haven't visited EinarOlafson's own blog its well worth the visit. There are some stunning Trojan War figures there.

Thats all for now.

Cheers