1/72 Goblin Skirmishers and Elven Heavy Infantry

Fresh off the painting bench are three bases of goblin meat shields... errr... skirmishers.

These are Caesar 1/72 figures and are the last of the goblins! Just in time for a slew of Orcs from Mark on club next Tuesday plus a small order of stuff from the Michigan Toy Soldier Company.

I also did a few Elven heavy infantry. Because of the large number of bow poses in the Caesar elf box, there are relative few infantry poses. It looks a bit like synchronized swimming. Oh well.

I was happy with how the standards turned out.

Up next: On the bench right now are some 15mm Romano Brits. These are coming along quite well. Splintered Light Miniatures does some very nice stuff. Then back to the fantasy stuff (human and elf skirmishers). I'm hoping to get the rest of my 1/72 plastics cleared out to make way for some Orcs. I'm hopeful to have enough figures done to run a game in November.

6mm Baccus German horsemen

In anticipation of a Teutoburg Vald double-header at the club on October 6th, I've finally based up my 6mm Baccus German horsemen. They have been popped off their old bases for awhile now and awaiting my attention.

I used two different conventions (12 men and 9 men) on 80x80mm bases, thereby creating units that could be used together as a single type or could represent light and medium horse. Bases are floor tile, sanded, grassed and flocked. All hail the Future floor wax.

I also based up nine old Heroics Ros celtic chariots. These were among the first 6mm minis I ever painted. They are quiet awful, both as figures and as paint jobs. I thought about stripping them, but then decided I would rather replace them at some point with Baccus or Rapier sculpts and just rebased them with the rest.

Here are the first scenario Scott has planned for October 6th.

And the second.

Next up: With Christmas lights up, window screens down and beets pickled, I'm almost ready to get back at it. I've been picking away at some 15mm Romano-Brits to sell but they are a ways off. And I've also been painting up some more 1/72 fantasy. Should have some goblin skirmishers and elvish heavy infantry done this week.

River!

I've been trying different techniques to make water features for awhile now. With some thoughts of a DBA tourney in my mind, I thought it best if I get down to business.

I created six 12-inches sections of water using vinyl floor tile, tin foil and sand. Here is how it looks on a DBA mat. Sorry about the glare--it is less shiny in person.

The basic technique is cut the floor tile to the size (30cm by 6cm in this case). Then get a piece of tin foil, crumple it, and then smooth it out. Peel the back on the floor tile off and stick the tinfoil down. Trim the excess off.

I then did a couple of washes (green, brown), each being left to dry. I then glued some sand on the edges. When that was dry, I gave everything a coat of Future with some black paint mixed in (which gives the water lots of depth and sheen).

I then drybrushed the sand, glued on static grass and foliage. So far, this looks to be pretty robust terrain. Next up will be some curves and windy pieces. And maybe a small lake or pond.

Up next: Some 1/72 elves and 6mm Germans will get based. Also have some 15mm Romano Brits on the painting table at present.

15mm Medieval Gaming

I trundled out to Bruce's last night for a quick game. Bruce hauled out his 15mm medieval figures and his rules Flower of Chivalry.

I really like these rules because combat is fairly straight forward and you must focus on maintaining the right "heat" level in your troops. Plus you have to roll to determine if the troops follow orders (which affects their heat level).

We played a small, pick-up game. Bruce had terrible dice and action card draws all night.

Eventually the two lines met and I manage to win the game on my left before losing it on my right. A good time for all.

Up next: I have six 12" sections of river on the bench right now. They are drying and need flocking and some shrubs. They are designed for DBA but would work for other games. They need to have some curves and windy sections added but first we'll see if the basic process works.

Also some 15mm Romano-Brits have the flesh done. These might get displaced during a rush to rebase the remainder of the 6mm Germans (who have been stripped from their bases and await redeployment).

1/72 Orc and Goblin Bow

My plan this weekend was to build some rivers. Alas, it was pointed out to me that I had also agreed to build a new bin for the garbage cans behind the garage. Ergo no rivers, although that is my project this week. In the meantime, I did managed to finish up four units of 1/72-scale Orc and Goblin bow.

These are all models by Caesar. As the number of bow poses in both boxes was low, I thought a mixed unit of orcs and goblins would give the most diversity.

Overall, I'm pretty happy. They painted quickly and have balanced up the "good" heavy forces somewhat. When Mark gets me the boxes of Dark Alliance orcs, then I'll have enough to run a game at the club.
Up next: I have a few heavy elf warriors ready to base and a whack of "good" and "bad" skirmishers that are primered. I also have a 15mm Romano-Brit army primered. We'll see which strikes my fancy when I sit down to paint. There is also the matter of the river; the bases are cut. Next up is the water and banks. I expect this will go very fast. And I should likely turn my mind to the Christmas lights pretty soon.

15mm DBA Romans for Sale SOLD!

I have just completed at 15mm DBA Marian Roman army (with all options) and would like to sell it. I'm asking $55 plus $5 postage in Canada or the US. The figures are all Museum Miniatures and have been painted and based by me in a non-smoking, pet-free home.

There are 55 figures on 16 bases. Above you can see the general stand (Bd). Below, you can see an example of the 8 legion stands (Bd).

Here they are from the back.

There is one stand of 3Ax (below) and one stand of 4Ax (not shown--forgot to take a picture of them).

There are also two stands of Psiloi.
There are three mounted units. An optional mounted general (Cv).
Another 3CV.

And a 2LH.
The static grass is from Games Workshop and matches the new Citadel gaming mat. All are painted with acrylics and sealed. Here is a shot of the whole army (including the missing 4Ax stand).

You can contact me at bob.barnetson@shaw.ca about purchasing these fellows.

Games Night: September 15

We had our first night of gaming in the renovated venue tonight and 11 guys turned out, including newcomers Gerry, Stuart and Randy. This was a good first outing for the fall. Thanks to Dave and Kevin for taking over responsibility for opening and locking up.

Dave C ran a great game of 1/72-scale Basic Impetus, pitting French and English in the battle of Crecy. Mark, Bruce, Chen, Dave P and I played out the action twice.

In game 1, the English bravely came down off the hill to face the French knights in the open. Despite employing fearsome rules lawyers, this didn't work out too well with the French mowing them down. In game two, the English kept the hill and, despite their centre completely disintegrating, managed to pull of a draw by throwing in their reserves right at the end.

Despite Dave P's reservations about the system, he and Chen managed to win once and draw once.

Scott hosted an game of CCA. The battle of Pydna pits Macedonians against Romans in 168 BC. Historically, the Romans crushed the Macedonians, thereby vindicating the legion over the phalanx.

Scott, Chris, Stuart, Randy and Gerry played using my 6mm figures.

Things got off to a contemplative start as rules were learned and careful feinting on the far side of the board began.

Eventually, Stuart and Randy got the Roman elephants in gear and beat the Macedonians 8-5. Taking our lead from the Macedonians, we then retired for pie and coffee.

Next gaming night is Tuesday, October 6th. Up next on my blog is a completed 15mm Marian Roman army for DBA. These are some nice figures and painted up quickly! On the painting table are some 1/72 goblin and orc archers and some 1/72 elven heavy infantry. Also of note is Tim Brown's autumn campaign has moved through autumn of year 1 with the dwarves made vassals of the orcs and their army marching into Valhalla.

War Room Redux

I popped by the War Room this afternoon to find Nick finishing up some last minute renovations before things reopen this weekend. Overall, it looks great. Lots of bits to finish, but the work they have put in is really evident.

I believe there is open gaming the next three weekends in the evening.

The EWG will resume gaming there on Tuesday, September 15th at 7 sharp. Two games are scheduled and there is room for many more.

The place has also changed names. The War Room will hence forth be known as the Warriors of Time Tabletop Gaming Club (or something to that effect).

1/72 Elven Archers and DHBx

With a business trip about to mess up the remainder of my week, I've been keen to finish up a few things on the work bench. This includes four bases of 1/72-scale Elven archers.

Overall, I'm fairly happy with the result. I tried to paint these in a bit more stylized manner than the Rohan horse I just did to see if that conveyed an etherial look to them. Not sure if that was successful, but it was quick! This was enhanced by my decision that the elves would have a uniform style to then--rather than trying to mix up clothing colours like I did with the Rohan.I popped over to Bruce's last night for a game of DBHx. Bruce hauled out some Zulus and some Brits and we had two good games. I was the British in game 1 and, seeing the Zulu deployment (a giant line of some 18 bases), I deployed in column on the extreme right of the 3x2 board. My plan was to drive up the road, break one of the two Zulu commands and then turn 90 degrees to take on the remainder of the horde when it finally got to me.

That mostly worked out, although pips became an issue and the result was a bit more near-run than it needed to be. Should have deployed differently, with the trailing elements in a line that could have been swung into place for a single pip.

Game 2 I was the Zulus. This one lasted nearly 90 minutes, as I carefully pushed forward my horde of warbands using cover to nullify Bruce's shooting. I managed to get the right pincer in place but it just took forever to get the second one in place (should have put it in column and used the road better). By this time, Bruce had managed to defeat one side and redeploy to break the other.

All told, a fun night. Nice to see that there are tactics to be considered even in a mob army. Next time, it will be a different story!

Up next: Well, some 15mm Romans are getting close to done. So likely them. I will also have a look some 1/72 Elfish swordsmen. Maybe these guys will have slightly bolder colours on them.

1/72 Rohan Medium Cavalry

After some fiddling, I completed three of the four bases of Rohan medium cavalry I intend to do. The other base needs to wait for a few more horses to arrive. Although Mark mentioned some Dark Alliance orcs had arrived, so I may jump back to evil for awhile to get them done up.

The figures are Zvezda Russian knights with the crest-shaped shields carved off and extra shields from the Zvezda Viking set glued on.

Overall, this simple conversion went well, with only one really ugly result.

Where the glue had some difficult finding adequate purchase, I let some Future floor wax run into the gap and that seems to have adequately reinforced the bond.

Then I did a quick paint job over a black primer. Washed with future and based. All told, a fairly quick job of cavalry (which I dislike).

Up next: Some 1/72 elven bow and a game of DBHx with Bruce.