Back to the Brushes 399

It's February already; how the ... did that happen! 

A couple of updates on two different things passing across the painting table just now.

Rebased 15mm Alternative Armies Undead for use in Hordes of Things. These are now all on 40mm fronted bases and will be textured, dry brushed and finished - again - shortly.

Above are a couple of very different looking Dwarves. On the left a nod to Conan the Barbarian; a beardless dwarf in a loin cloth.  The other dwarf has a much more Gothic look with armour more suited for the 15th century. 

More to follow shortly. 

Fantasy Hero 20

The last of the Hordes of the Things 15mm Undead army are now finished. The figures are from Alternative Armies range of 15mm Fantasy and have been enjoyable to paint over the last couple of years. 

The mono pose with these figures does cause a little issue when basing as you need to consider both side of the base when positioning the figures or they won't line up correctly. 

It is not the end of the world just a slight pain when gaming with the figures; whenever that maybe will be decided by the powers that be.

There has been a slight issue with the numbering of the "Fantasy Hero" posts and as such this is out of sequence from the previous post in this series. Again, not the end of the world and will revert back to order in the next post. 

Hope that this has been of interest to you. 

Cheers for now

Back to the Brushes 262

With a variety of different items on the painting table at present deciding which to post was an interesting choice. 

Both of the items below are parts of projects that have grown over the years. Firstly the undead cavalry from Alternative Armies are additional units for a Hordes of the Things army that was completed several years back. 

As HOTT offers flexibility on which units can be included in a 24 point army there have always been a few additional packs to paint and these were some of these. The riders have been primed and are waiting on base coats before the everything is washed in the one session. 

There is a difference in the base colour of the horse's chainmail as old faithfully metallic paint has finally passed on to the other side. The central horse of the second stand shows the new choice which is Foundry Chainmail A. This is brighter than the previous colour which could have been an old Citadel or Coats d'Arms paint however as there was no label on the pot who can tell. Whilst not a problem on these figures it is a bit brighter than preferred so will look at several other options in addition to this. 

The next figure will be used for a healer type in SAGA or the Rampant series of games. Not sure of the manufacturer of this one and apologies that the focal point is on the hands not the face; sloppy.

Hope you found this interesting

Stay safe and cheers for now. 

Fantasy Hero 18

Below is the first submission from this year's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge or AHPC IX for short. 

The figures are all from 15mm.co.uk and are a part of a HOTT army that grows yearly. 

One stand of archers and one of crossbows; plus skirmishers  from each.

There will be a few more for this army in the remainder of the challenge which will complete the army for the time being.

All the figures are painted with base, wash and dry brush for a table top standard suitable for this scale.

The composite picture will become a feature in the blog from know on, allowing different angles to be shown together.

Next will be work in progress on a long stalled project.

Cheers for now

Back to the Brushes 208

Hope that everyone had a great time over the festive period and are relaxing in preparation for the New Year. 

Today was the first real painting session for this year's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge and a varied host of Undead have been started. 

The 28mm figures at the back include Mithril Miniatures and Citadel; both from back in the late 80's and early 90's.

In the foreground are more 15mm undead archers from Alternative Armies/15mm co. 

There are a few other figures in the wings that have been started. It's been a in the moment day so moved from one group to the other as the flow went. No worries just going with it and will see what the next session brings. 

Cheers for now. 

Fantasy Hero 12

The last of the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge VIII entries below including some Alternative Armies Ghouls and Dixon Miniatures Ninja. 

Achieving a good tone on the tone black is to say the least a sod and often ends up requiring knocking back the high lights with a black wash or similar. Sort of seems counter productive to highlight then darken the same highlight; yet the finished results are often worth the effort.

Back to the brushes soon after a brief break post challenge and returning to the Ninja to complete the remaining four. 

Cheers for now

Back to the Brushes 156

So the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge has finished for another year and 76 hobbyists have put down their brushes for a while. 

Below are the finished figures and models for this years challenge totalling 306 points just 6 points more than the Challenge Target for the year. Overall a 2% increase in productivity.

Personal favourite for this year's challenge goes to the Pz MKIII shown top left below. 

The Undead Hordes can rest uneasily for a few more aeons although there will be some small additions in the coming months. 

The Lead Mountain thrives in preparation for next year's challenge with the addition of some of Aly Morrison's DL2 Hobgoblins and a random Undead figure in 25/28mm. More on these to follow in the near future too. Some of the unfinished items in the background too.

A beginning is a very difficult time and as one challenge ends so another begins, this one being to maintain a good motivation for painting post challenge. 

Cheers for now.

Fantasy Hero 11

Yet more 15 mm Undead as recently submitted to the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge. The figures are from Alternative Armies except the stand of 6 wraiths from Essex Miniatures.

Cheers for now

Fantasy Hero 10

The forces of Undead continue to grow with the following additions. These will see use for Basic Impetus Fantasticus and HOTT

The Grand Wizard - Major Hero stand

The Champion - Minor Hero Stand

The Knight Captain - Major Hero stand

The backbone of the army - foot protected spear skeletons

 The cutting edge of the army - Heavy Foot protected blades

More work in progress to follow shortly

Cheers for now