Fantasy Hero 25

A solitary dwarf completed in March of this year that was a part of this year's AHPC XV entries. A retro figure from the haydays of Citadel Miniatures with suitably heavy armour and sword. 

The large areas of armour made this a relatively quick figure to paint and after gathering dust for far too many years finally glad he's done. 

Cheers for now

Fantasy Hero 24

Painted a few years back but only just getting round to posting now.

A retro figure from Citadel Miniatures circa 1984 and one of the first additions to a then small collection of figures for roleplaying games.

As there are a lot of Undead on the painting table, might dig a few more old bones out to see the light of day and a new coat of paint. 

Cheers for now

Back to the Brushes 398

Something new, something old and something different. 

Something new - SAGA: Age of Chivalry Hundred Years War from Perry Miniatures. 

Something old - El Cid skirmishers in 28mm from Gripping Beast. 

Something different - 25mm Dwarves for Kings of War including retro Citadel figures at the rear and Ral Partha in the fore; a glutton for punishment. 

 More to follow on these shortly. 

Cheers for now.

Back to the Brushes 396

Already two weeks into 2025 and already behind with painting plans. 

Have more partially painted miniatures on the desk than finished miniatures and more primed than partially painted. To be fair though that's not that unusual. 

As it's the start of another year - it's past time for New Year greetings - here is the beginning of something new. 

A base filler for Kings of War Free Dwarves Ambush force with a Troop of Ironclad Warriors at the rear.

Old Citadel figures for the above Ironclad troop and an Iron breaker at the front will give both units a definite retro look. 

More to follow shortly. 

Cheers for now. 

Back to the Brushes 384

It has been a busy month with a variety other commitments interfering with hobby time. Such is life as the old folks say. 

On the subject of old folks, here are a couple of classic Citadel Hobgoblins from circa 1984.

Using Foundry's Oriental Flesh triad for these Hobgoblins after looking at some classic Japanese artwork for Oni and deciding that brownish reds weren't the colour scheme looked for.

Along side the Hobgoblins are the crew for a canon to be used in Wars of the Roses gaming. The figures are from Perry Miniatures and have their usual detail and excellent sculpting. 

At this stage, haven't decided on retinue colors for them and might go more free flow look to depict a mercenary unit. 

More to follow on these and a few other items shortly. 

Have a good one.

Back to the Brushes 353

 A few of items currently on the painting table at present. 

The second part of Black Guard spearmen for Almorahads in ADLG with first two stands very nearly finished. 

A unit of medium Turkopol cavalry for the Late Crusaders in ADLG

A classic figure from Citadel Miniatures back in the day; a Viking from the Kremlo scenario 

The start of the first unit for Republican Romans in SAGA: Age of Hannibal. Figures from Gripping Beast. 

Some completed figures to follow shortly. 

Cheers for now. 

Fantasy Hero 23

A few retro skeletons recently completed for the AHPC XII 

Think that the figures are from Marauder and Citadel. The shields came from a bitz trader on ebay and are of the more recent plastic style than the original hole in the middle style. 

These will join a few others painted in previous AHPC's for use in Songs of Blades and Heroes or similar skirmish games. 

Hope that you found this interesting. 

Cheers for now

Fantasy Hero 21

Part of the first entry to this years AHPC XII were some retro skeletons from Citadel and possibly Marauder - armoured axe armed skeleton second from the right.

The intention with these was to capture the detailing on the skeleton with as little work as possible. So, out with the rattlecan of Skeleton Bone from Army painter, contrast paint Skeleton Horde and Vallejo Ivory with a dry brush. 

Spray, touch up with the same colour then wash with contrast paint. Finally dry brush with mixes of Skeleton Bone and Ivory. Quick, easy and effective. 

There are another two from this grouping to be completed and then on to the next period for a while. Not going to get stuck in a rut this time by painting too many different things at once - just two or three 😀

 

Cheers for now

Back to the Brushes 310

Still here and still breathing! Always a good thing. 

A quick pic to show the start of the Knights of Gondor for Dragon Rampant and fantasy skirmish in general. 

 

The rider at the back came firmly glued into the saddle!

The above along with three other horses still to be primed saw some virtual action at the weekend. The game was an introductory session to Dragon Rampant for all involve and as host a huge learning curve as well. 

Running a game through zoom on a tablet is challenging but fun all the same. Can see now why people have invested in web cams to help out with this and if lock down returns then might do the same here. 

Might look at sabot style basing for these as well for Hordes of the Things.

Looking forward to getting moving on these, the first real painting done this month! Is it possible to complete 30 figures in 13 days, we'll see. 

Stay safe and cheers for now

Back to the Brushes 297

Three very scary ladies that are currently gracing the painting table. 

The figures in black undercoat are from the classic range of Citadel pre-slotta CO9 Dark Elves. The central figure comes from Reaper Miniatures Bones range. 

These will make a change from the Ancients that are currently being worked on and give an opportunity for a little trip down memory lane; the Drow have always been a firm favourite from roleplaying games. 

More work in progress to follow shortly. 

Thanks for the visit and stay safe. 

Cheers for now

Back to the Brushes 295

 A few things on the go at the moment for AHPC XI.

Starting at the bottom left there are two C09 Dark Elf Sorceresses from back in the early days of painting miniatures. 

Next is a Norman Crossbowman to complete a srand of crossbowmen for use in ADLG

Then from Footsore Miniatures a Healer for the Spartan Lochas in Mortal Gods. 

On the top row is the start of the riders for two stands of Prodromoi. Looking for a different look to the flesh on these figures than on some other Greeks and Spartans. The base colour here is Vallejo Heavy Flesh; from here not yet sure how to go, most likely washed with Army Painter flesh wash and then layered with either Foundry or Vallejo flesh tones. 

Thanks for looking. 

Cheers for now

30 Days 30 Miniatures Painting Challenge September 2020

 Last months 30 Days 30 Miniatures Painting Challenge was successfully completed as below

Struggled with time to post updates for this challenge over the last few days; so here is a final recap of August's painting: 

• 20 x 20mm D.A.K from SHQ and Battlefield Miniatures (sadly out of production at present)
• 2 x 28mm Citadel Orcs
• 5 x 28mm Gondorian Archers from Gamesworkshop
• 3 x 28mm Late Roman Horse archers from Gripping Beast (Footsore mounts)

Starting another 30 Days 30 Miniatures Painting Challenge tonight, 1st September. As with last month there will be no theme to this, just to paint and complete 30 miniatures regardless of their starting condition. 

The outline of the challenge is detailed below, however the main point being to have fun with your hobby.

• To paint 30 figures of all shapes and sizes in 30 days
• The figures can be partly painted at the start as the main point is to complete figures that have been forgotten
• Basing is not necessary to count as completed
• Any scale is good
• Too have fun
• The end date is set by your start date - 30th September will be the end date of this challenge
• To post updates as often as possible
• Lastly to show a round up post with a group picture of everything.

Hope that you will find this interesting.

Cheers for now

Back to the Brushes 274

Another two figures finished painting and this time it is two Orcs from Citadel. 

The righthand figure is from the champion from Uzegod's Mothercrusher Black Orcs and the other figure is an archer from Citadel's Orcs. Both are part of a long lived project to collect and paint some iconic Orcs for Dragon Rampant and have fitted in nicely to this month's 30 days 30 miniatures painting challenge. 

Day 26

2 x 28mm Infantry

16 x 20mm infantry

18 figures in total

Cheers for now
 

There is Darkness there that never sleeps 2

The second unit for Gondor Rampant is now finished - the Axemen of Lossarnach led by Forlong the Fat or Forlong the Old

Tolkien describes these men as below:

Leading the line there came walking a big thick-limbed horse, and on it sat a man of wide shoulders and huge girth, but old and grey-bearded, yet mail-clad and black-helmed and bearing a long heavy spear. Behind him marched proudly a dusty line of men, well-armed and bearing great battle-axes; grim-faced they were, and shorter and somewhat swarthier than any men that Pippin had yet seen in Gondor.

'Forlong!' men shouted. 'True heart, true friend! Forlong!' But when the men of Lossarnach had passed they muttered: 'So few! Two hundreds, what are they?

Opted for grays on this unit to tie it into the colour scheme of Gondor but also to set it apart as it is not black. When placed against the Gondor swordsmen that have already been completed these fit in well with their own distinctive identity. 

The inspiration for the floral image on the standard and shield comes from two sources, firstly the Vale of Flowers is another name for Lossarnach and the Wood Lily or Trillium  Both were hand painted in the finishing stages of this unit. 

So far this year, these are the favourite of all that has been painted. Truly great figures and far more fitting for this unit in Dragon Rampant than the GW versions that are still available.

Hope that you found this interesting. 

Cheers for now

Fantasy Hero 21

Another small post with a few pieces that have been lingering around for too long. 

First up is an old figure from Citadel or Marauder Miniatures back in the day. Always liked this figure and painted this one too match some skeletons from a previous AHPC.

Next up are a two pieces of scatter terrain from Games Workshop's Lord of the Rings SBG. These have been painted with an arid climate in mind and as a result only one has some additional scenic material added. 

These will see a fair amount of use when gaming is able to start again in the future and will included games such as Mortal Gods and the Rampant series. 

Both of these started as a base colour of Dheneb Stone and have been washed with Army Painter strong tone and worked up to almost white in places.  

The will be some more versatile items to show shortly. 

Hope that you found this interesting

Cheers for now

Back to the Brushes 263

As a slight diversion from Gondorians being painted in black and silver these have been dusted down and they were thick with stour to the point of being almost grey in colour. 

Looking to paint these in the same fashion as the first members of this Mordheim warband painted about 15 years ago. 

Easier said than done as the jade green has dried to a crisp...

Hope that you find this interesting

Stay safe and cheers for now 

Back to the Brushes 261

As the Axemen of Lossarnach are nearly completed have made a start on the next unit for Gondor Rampant.

This unit will represent the back bone of the warband; spear armed heavy foot. There are another seven that are only primed at this time.

Boromir is included because he is there not because he is a part of the unit. 

Also started are two pieces of scatter terrain. 

The well is generic and will be used for all 28mm skirmish games. This is a 3D printed item that was picked up at Carronade 2019. 

The statue is from Games Workshop and has been gathering dust for as long as the Gondorian infantry. 

Both items have been mounted on 70mm rounds from Warbases and textured with ready mix plaster and sand. Finding this works better for larger bases than sand alone.

Hoping to make good progress with these this weekend when the weather changes. 

Hope you found something of interest. 

Stay safe

Cheers for now

There is Darkness there that never sleeps.

Here is the first of a new series of posts relating solely to the painting of warbands for use in Dragon Rampant set in Middle Earth. The title is from Tolkien and said by Boromir during the Council of Elrond. 

The first post show the first unit of swordsmen for a Gondorian warband that is currently being painted.

The swordsmen were originally purchased not long after the release of the Return of the King film in 2003/4 so they have waited a long time to see the business end of a brush.

Also included are a Captain, Denethor Steward of Gondor, a Standard Bearer and a veteran swordsman just behind the captain 

At this point the sabots have no scenic grass or tufts added however this will change to break up the black edges you can see on the figures as the sabots are not deep enough. (3mm needed not 2mm).

In game terms for Dragon Rampant these will be classed as Heavy Foot with no ability to form a wall of spears. If Denethor was with the unit they would be classed as Elite Heavy Foot.

Have enjoyed painting these figures and there will be more of the same during the coming weeks along with a few other things from here and there.

Stay safe.

Cheers for now

Back to the Brushes 259

Something new from something old; Men of Gondor for Dragon Rampant.

The test figure for the first group of swordsmen is nearly completed. With the bulk of the detail lying in the armour have opted to paint this as follows:

• Base coat - Citadel Chainmail
• Wash - Nuln Oil
• First highlight - Citadel Chainmail
• Second highlight - Chainmail and Foundry Spearpoint C Silver mix
• Final highlight - Foundry Spearpoint Silver C. 

The whole group as work in progress including Denethor, a Captain and the standard bearer above.

Cheers for now.

Fantasy Hero 19

Recently completed retro figures from the C06 Northern Dwarfs range by Citadel circa 1984.

Purchased back in the day this is their most recent colouring in and the last time too.

Great figures full of character and in these guys cases a lot of memories of MERP too.

Cheers for now.