Back to the Brushes 375

It's been a few months since the last work in progress pic, so here's something in line with the Orctober theme:

First up is Eeza Ugezod, who will be used as a sub-commander for SAGA: Age of Magic. There are troopers to follow for this Regiment of Renown

The small gent to the left of the above pic is Khurma the Fleshripper; who will be the Warlord of Age of Magic Warband. The figure to the left is a puny human from Foundry's Late Roman range for scale comparison. 

These will also be used in a variety of other fantasy skirmish games. 

Hope to post more shortly.

Cheers for now

Back to the Brushes 368

General Work in progress update

A lot of things on the painting table just now, too many to be honest; concentrated effort this week on those pesky Early Imperial Romans amongst other things. 

Spartan cavalry, dramatic Thracian skirmishers in the background and an UUruk bezerker for Lord of the Rings.

A wee update on the Vikings with the armour blocked in and the start of colours on the clothing.

Roman auxilia in column, Wars of the Roses men at arms and Cultists in the background. The first four stands of the auxilia are now waiting on basing. 

More pics to follow shortly. 

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

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
 

Back to the Brushes 272

Blink and before you know it another month is drawing to and end and this has been an eventful month with a few significant dates happening:

• Reaching the half century
• Celebrating 20 years married
• The young Padawan starting school.

Whilst this has all been good and rewarding in very different ways, there has still been a little time to get some painting done including the following work in progress pics:

The Late Roman archer's horses are already done and these two ponies belong to some undercoated Huns. 

Half of the started Gondorian archers for Dragon Rampant. Been playing about with the base colours for the plate armour with these so there will be some difference in the finished appearance from previous figures in this retinue.  

More Prussian Landwehr moving slowly forward. The blue is taking more time than anticipated for such a large area of colour. The base coat is looking more like a contrast paint and requiring over painting when it shouldn't. 

Hope that this has been of interest to you 

Cheers for now

Back to the Brushes 270

With only one painting session to go until the end of this 30 Days and 30 Miniatures Painting Challenge to go; how close to the finish line are things looking?

Close, very close...

First up is a command stand from Warlord Games Caesarian Roman range. This is the final command stand for this army in ADLG if played at 200 points; not so sure that will happen in 28mm however, never say never.

Next is another command stand from another Roman army; The Late Roman army this time. The standard bearer and the poor bloody infantry man have been painted for this stand, the commander was painted about 18 years ago.

Keeping with the theme of command stands here is another one finished in this challenge; this time for the Wars of the Roses in 15mm.



Whilst on the subject of wars on this fair land, here are two Norman from Wargames Foundry. After over 35 years in production these are still great figures for the Dark Ages in general. There will be more from this range later in the year.



The Anglo Saxons were a Dark Age culture that lived in Middengeard (Old English) which translates to Midgard (Old Norse) and Tolkien adapted this to Middle Earth. Tall and proud in Middle Earth are the Men of Gondor, descendants of the Numenoreans who fought in the Last Alliance of Elves and Men. Now as their strength fades the Men of Gondor fight for survival and here is one of their veterans ready to defend his homeland.



Normally, these pics would be centred on the page however Blogger is having one of its little moods and obviously knows what is required better than I do. Such is life. 

This means that the current total now sits at 22 figures completed in this challenge detailed as below

28mm Infantry: 19 figures
28mm Cavalry: 1 figure
15mm Cavalry: 2 figures

All to paint for now.

Hope that you found this interesting.

Cheers for now

Back to the Brushes 267

A quick update on the 30 Days 30 Miniatures Painting Challenge with the first batch of figures now at the ready stage for this challenge. 

At almost two thirds of the way through its time to up the ante and get figures finished off. Here are the first thirteen figures all from Games Workshops Gondor range. 

These are for the Gondor Rampant retinue that is currently being painted with a view to taking on Mordor, Harad, Khand or Umbar in the future. Thankfully the only figures from the nations mentioned above that are liked from Games Workshop are the Mordor Orcs and there are more than enough of these in the lead mountain. 

There are thirteen here and if you notice there are also a few bent spear shafts here and there. Plastic doesn't suit this weapon type. 

 There will be more completed figures shortly. 

Day 20 - 13 x 28 mm infantry completed. 

Hope that this was of interest to you 

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 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. 

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 260

Second unit for Dragon Rampant is starting to take form in the Gallowglas from Antediluvian Miniatures

These will be used to represent the men of Forlong the Fat from Lord of the Rings - Return of the King, Book Five, Chapter 1 Minas Tirith

Forlong has come,' Bergil answered; 'old Forlong the Fat, the Lord of Lossarnach.... Hurrah! Here he is. Good old Forlong!'

"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? We hoped for ten times the number. That will be the new tidings of the black fleet. They are sparing only a tithe of their strength.' "

Great figures with a lot of character and they fit the description better than the GW figures of the same name. Will darken Furlong's helm to a near black later on today.

In game terms these will be a unit of Bellicose Foot with the Shiny armour upgrade.

Hope this has been of interest to you

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.

Back to the Brushes 250

As the year draws to an end a new beginning starts: The Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge X, X Marks the Spot.

Prep for this has been underway for some time and has deliberately not been specific to either scale or period offering a variety of choices throughout the challenge.

The question to be answered is what options are there? Well lets see:

• 6mm Ancient Greeks and Macedonians from Rapier Miniatures
• 15mm Arabs from Essex, Minifigs and Old Glory
• 15mm Spartans from Xyston
• 15mm War of the Roses from Gladiator Miniatures
• 20mm WW2 US vehicles from Frontline and AT guns, support weapons and crew from Platoon 20
• 20mm WW2 DAK from SHQ
• 28mm Gondor infantry and cavalry from Games Workshop
• 28mm Late Romans from Foundry and Gripping Beast
• 28mm Prussians from Calpe, Perry Miniatures and Warlord Games
• 28mm English Civil War from Warlord Games
• 28mm American Civil War from Perry Miniatures
• 28mm Moors from Gripping Beast
• 28mm El Cid Spanish from Gripping Beast
• 28mm Samurai from Perry Miniatures
• 28mm Claymore Casting Gallowglass for the Men of Lossarnach in Lord of the Rings
• 28mm Carthaginians from Gripping Beast

As always this only an indicative list of where painted figures will come from and for some of these there are only four or five figures rather than full units or more. 

Looking for progress over a variety of projects in this year's challenge and think the list above gives that and more.

The start date is December 21st 2019 and looking forward to getting some painting done in this year's challenge; the ninth time of being involved.

Cheers for now

Back to the Brushes 199

Thirteenth day of the 30 days 30 miniatures painting challenge sees two very different items painted and finished.

First up is a generic piece of scatter terrain from the Lord of the Rings skirmish game from Games Workshop.

This will be used as an objective marker in SAGA and there is a second one that will be painted as desert terrain for use in Crusaders SAGA.

Next are six Eboats from Navwar. These are from a long stalled project for General Quarters. Due to the size and limited painting these will count as only one completed figure.

Day 13

Figures completed: 10

Cheers for now

Fantasy Hero 13

These figures were started during last year's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge and never saw the finish line. A year later and several hour or so's painting and here you have them.

Citadel ME25 Rangers of Ithilien

Moving on to the remaining AD&D Ranger figures for mid and high level characters next to complete this warband.

Next up will be more work in progress from the ancient world this time.

Cheers for now

Back to the Brushes 157

First real painting session since the end of the Challenge saw some time spent on a few varied pieces, some un-started some partially painted, some just needing a new base.

During the Challenge a solitary elf was painted, based and finished. The fact is the elf was part of the Citadel High Elves C08 range and the link shows that the elf is far from solitary. 

Strangely enough tucked away in a dusty drawer in the lead mountain there is a full set of these very High Elves and below is the companion figure for the early painted War maid. Some colour to follow shortly for this figure.

A while back a Warband for Songs of Blades and Heroes was started using 'Ranger' type figures and below are two that are so very near completion. These are the original Rangers of Ithilien from Citadel's Lord of the Rings range circa 1985.

These two Foundry figures from the War of the Roses range are being rebased to hex bases as henchmen for some of the fighter types painted last year. These two gents were originally painted over twenty years ago and show some early progress with layering.

Lastly, have been catching up with Vikings on Amazon Prime and as a result these three figures have been dug out for painting. The chap in the buff coat is one of these figures that will be painted because its there, not because of any other reason, not happy with the flesh tones on this one and the coat may well change.

Butterfly painting at present however that helps with keeping the interest levels high before venturing into painting a full base's worth of figures in the one theme.

Cheers for now

Fantasy Heroes 3

Some recently finished Rangers from this year's Analogue Painting Challenge. From left to right, a Citadel Ranger of Ithilien, Lone Wolf and an AD&; ranger. All from the early and mid eighties.

When times allows the remaining figures from the Rangers of Ithilien and AD&D sets will be completed as they are partially painted at present.

Cheers for now