A beginning is a very delicate time.

Know then that it is the day before the 6th Analogue Painting Challenge begins and the preparatory work is complete. The brushes are primed and the painters are in the starting blocks. In the picture below lies the target for the next 3 months - a 28mm Basic Impetus Macedonian army.

The army comprises of the following:

15 cavalry figures - 1 x CP 6 Companions, 1 x CM 5 Thessalian and 1 x CL 4 Prodromoi
42 infantry figures - 2 x FP 12 phalangites, 1 x FL 8 hypaspists, 1 x FL 6 peltasts and  2 x  S 2  skirmishers.

The horses for the Companions are not shown here as they are still drying having been re-undercoated last night.

Now, nearly everything is starting off in the traditional black undercoat except that is a some of the peltasts that have been undercoated in a flesh base colour. Not sure how this will work out so will keep you posted on the results of this little experiment and the reasons why throughout the challenge.

In terms of points this lot will total 360 points if completed which is higher than the entry level posted for the challenge. Time will see how this fares.

Thats all for now

Cheers

Roll the bones

The die has been cast and along with a host of other miniature painters hobby energy, time and focus turns towards the 6th Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge. The board is set and the pieces are moving towards the start date of December 20th. Follow the challenge, the side duels and general mayhem of this grand celebration of our hobby here.

There will be more to follow shortly.

Cheers for now

Lest We Forget

DULCE ET DECORUM EST

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, 

Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, 

Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs 

And towards our distant rest began to trudge. 

Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots 

But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind; 

Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots 

Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind.

Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! – An ecstasy of fumbling, 

Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time; 

But someone still was yelling out and stumbling, 

And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime . . . 

Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light, 

As under a green sea, I saw him drowning. 

In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, 

He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning. 

If in some smothering dreams you too could pace 

Behind the wagon that we flung him in, 

And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, 

His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin; 

If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood 

Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, 

Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud  

Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues, 

My friend, you would not tell with such high zest  

To children ardent for some desperate glory, 

The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est 

Pro patria mori.

Wilfred Owen

Back to the Brushes 103

Trying to sort out the painting table this weekend - have both Friday and Monday added to the rest days this weekend - with the aim to be able to return to painting throughout the winter months.

So here is the starting point:

As you can see this has been taken from above to show the full effect of not having any hobby time over the last six months. The idea is to completely tidy the table to bare wood and then move to the fixed table in the study. This will mean less painting time but it will be in a fixed location and hopefully this will allow some time to be spent with some brushwork. Hopefully...

The next picture is one of three stands of Arab/Moor infantry that are waiting on their bases being completed. They are all at the same point and have been at this stage since mid 2014.

They need a good brushing down as they are very dusty but again hopefully these will progress over the next few days. Its time they moved on to prevent any damage being done.

Will attempt to have more regular posting as well in the coming months

Cheers for now

Items for Sale

The Items for sale page has recently been updated. Please let me know if there is anything that interests you via a comment

Cheers for now

And Now for Something Completely Different 27

Another couple of pictures of the last finished painted items from march 2015, this time command stands for Critical Mass with 15mm figures supplied from Ground Zero Games:

Hoping to return to the brushes in the near future and get some painting done in the last quarter of 2015, time will tell on this.

Cheers for now

And Now for Something Completely Different 26

A brief return to the blog this morning with a few pictures of a miniature painted in March. Think this is one of the original LOTR Orcs from the mid eighties. Great figure to paint regardless and here are the pictures:

Hopefully some more finished pictures to follow shortly.

Cheers for now