Overall, nice figures. Soft plastics that seems to have taken the paint well. Needed a good washing to get the grease off, though.
I intentionally block painted the pants to see how well the wash would work putting in some shadow. I also put together two bases of officers (below). Looks like I forgot to use the gold paint! Will fix that this weekend.
Up next: I have a bunch of 28mm stuff built but some non-gaming stuff has come up so I'll likely not be updating for awhile.
I painted these bases in a vaguely Glengarry Light Infantry colour scheme. The greened turned out a bit darker than I thought.
I also have a second lot drying which is in red jackets with yellow cuffs. These include a couple of bases of generals for the "mobile general" optional rule.
Up next: Some more War of 1812 and then back to 28mm figures. I have a bunch of vikings primed and ready to paint. I also have some 28mm medieval knights on foot to fiddle about with--nice poses from Reaper which vaguely match the GW Bretonnian mounted knights I am using.
Here you can see her gloating with her six banners (to my four). A picture that did not turn out was her rolling three hits on three dice early in the game. Perhaps it is her Hogwart's costume that gives her such luck?
Up next: Two batches of War of 1812 British are almost through basing. I have a game of CCN lined up for Wednesday night with Bruce. Then onto some 28mm figures, I think. Either vikings or knights.
I ran into some difficulty with the rotor assembly--was going to build the shafts and then leave them unfinished so the owner could put some clear discs on. But the shafts are part of the blades--a neat but of casting but problematic for converting. So I have painted both blade assemblies but left them unbuilt for the owner to decide what he wants to do. 
I also painted four more APCs (above) and four trucks (below). I need to do a bit of touch up on the armoured cars I posted Saturday, put on a matt finish and then these fellows are ready to mail.
Up next: Some 1/72 War of 1812 Glengarry Light Infantry followed by some British regulars. Then maybe the last of the goblins and then onto the vikings.
I also completed two flyer units. I suppose they could also be used as beasts.
These are both prepainted plastics from one game system or another. One of the local stores has a bin of 50-cent figures that I very occasionally troll through.
Up next: Some more 10mm Soviet (finished building the helos last night) and some 1/72 War of 1812 British regulars. Both lots are primered and need some paint. I also primed some 28mm vikings--so I guess I just need to get to the painting part!
I received a request for "greener" colours on this batch and have obliged. It is a bit difficult to tell from these pictures but here is a side-by-side of this batch (left) versus the first batch (right). The newer batch is greener.
I spent some time on the web trying to figure out how to assemble the armour cars with rockets on them and I think I got it right.
Up next: I have four goblin warband done and drying. I am building the last of the Soviets--assembling the Hinds is daunting! I also have a bunch of 1/72-scale War of 1812 Brits that I just mounted on paint sticks and the remainder of my 28mm vikings built and awaiting priming.
Dave had a couple of new (to me) models out that I snapped pictures of. The game was still going on when I left but Dave was saying the dice had abandoned him.
Chen, Mark and Justin helped me playtest my MayDay game. As a playtest, it was successful, in that it pointed out some serious playbalance issues. I'm not sure it was that good of a game.
The gestalt was right (see below) but the Varian forces just got whaled. Smaller board, different skeletal troop types and a simpler deployment are the fixes I'll try out again. MayDay registration is also now open!
Up next: Some 28mm goblins, and some 10mm soviet tanks. Then probably the remainder of the Soviets.
There are six of these APCs in this lot. I spent a fair bit of time on the web trying to track down the camo pattern used on the GHQ website (the vehicles are so small it is hard to tell precisely what it looks like). The web is an embarrassment of riches and yielded a dozen possible camo patterns. I chose this one because it seemed close to the GHQ pattern and offered enough contrast to look right (to my eye) at the scale.
The dip really brought out the running gear. There was a fair bit of flash to clean off these figures before I could get the tracks to sit correctly, although these had less flash than the US-manufacturers WW2 minifigs I have assembled. I also almost threw out the ATGMs on the top--they were just blobs of metal in the bag but there were six of these so I figured they must have some use. Eventually I saw the missile shape and cut away 90% of the metal to get at the missiles.
There were two of these ZSU AA tanks. I'm not sure of the radar should be white--if not, I can paint over it. I also have no idea which end is forward. I assembled it as best I could based on the pictures on the web but it is just hard to tell. Finally, there is one scout truck with a monstrous gun on the top.
Up next: There is a club meeting tonight so I need to spend the lunch hour throwing figures into a box and printing off cheat sheets. I also have another 10 of these Soviets assembled and ready to primer if the weather cooperates today. And there are some painted goblins clamouring for their bases. I keep throwing them back into the dungeon but they seem to like that.
These were my least favourite figures from this set but painted up reasonably well.
I also converted a plastic Heroscape figure into a lurker or, depending on your mood, a behemoth.
Up next: Club night is Tuesday and I have 9 10mm Soviet vehicles drying downstairs--need a bit of detail painting on the missiles yet. There after, more Soviet stuff and some Goblin warband.
Today I finished 20 spear. These are old Grenadier (I think) sculpts now sold in plastic by em-4. I got them in a job lot--they may have had shields originally but none came with them.
For 20-year old sculpts, they seem pretty good. I was trying to convey a fairly undisciplined army with the paint job--rusted mail and weapons--despite the uniform poses and ranks.
I also McGyverized a purple Heroclix hell dog of some sort with an old BattleMaster goblin to create a rider or mounted hero of some sort. 
Up next: I have a bunch of goblin archers drying plus a lurker. Tuesday is club night so I hope to have some pictures of that. Then I'll be switching projects to finish up some Soviet 10mm armour for a friend. Nine are built and primered and I hope to finish these off in three lots.
It was nice to use the entire box of 1/72 figures instead of having 10 or 15% being basically useless as gaming pieces. This box looked clearly designed for gamers--good on HaT!
There are 24 figures here. I painted them in an early war summer uniform. The blue is a bit too light but the wash and the colour shift made it acceptable (to me, anyhow) in the end. Interesting how the braiding on the hats came up with no effort.
I think I have enough woodsmen figures from the Imex AWI sets to put together some skirmishers. Just need some cannons and maybe a few dragoons and the Americans are done. 
Then onto the British which will require some figure purchases. It is a shame Imex is missing the window for releasing their promised War of 1812 sets.
Up next: I have made a start on some 28mm goblins. If time permits this weekend, I hope to get at least five bases of spearmen done and perhaps a hero on some sort of beast. I also need to get my club game organized for Tuesday.
In the first game (pictured below) I spent some time bringing the British into a decent formation and felt pretty good, especially with some lucky rolls against some French probes. 
Then, suddenly, Bruce had crushed my left wing and I was forced to take the offensive in the middle and right. I won but it was very close run (6-4?).
We switched sides for a second game and I romped to a 6-0 victory. I had great cards which I played competently. But the dice simply rolled my way with three attacks resulting in units disintegrating. I also managed to snag a general on one of those attacks. Bruce took it well (better than I would have!).
Bruce also hauled out some Napoleonic ships he has been painting and rigging. After struggle with string, he switched to cutting lengths of wire, painting them black and gluing them into place. A much better and faster way to get the same effect.
Up next: I have 24 more War of 1812 guys finished and then there are a bunch of goblins that I need to get to. Perhaps I will start today at lunch!
These are HaT 1/72 Belgium and somethingorother infantry. They have plain uniforms which seems right from what I can tell. The lack of good source materials has frustrated me several times. I finally bought two books by Stuart Asquith on gaming the War of 1812. 
There is the hardback War of 1812: Campaign Guide To The War With America which contains lots of nice colour plates, including re-enactors. Then there is the softcover Scenarios for the War of 1812-1815 with scenarios and many of the same plates, but smaller. I was a bit annoyed by how much of the text from the campaign book appears in the scenario book. And also how vague and general the scenarios were.
Anyhow, using the colour plates I painted up two batches of American troops. There was so much change and diversity in uniforms, I decided to do two schemes, both early war. These fellows are done in a winter of 1812/13 scheme. The coat is actually a bit bluer than the figures show. The next batch (maybe posted Friday?) has a summer scheme with a bluer coat, white pants and slightly different shakos.
Overall, I'm happy enough with these fellows. I could use some skirmishers, dragoons and cannon, but the core of the army is done. Now onto the British!
Up next: A game tonight with Bruce. And then the rest of the War of 1812 guys. Then a hundred odd 28mm goblins are milling about on the painting desk.
We've previously played some Battelore so Battle Cry was pretty easy to explain. As you can see, Stonewall is not much for troop discipline (her room is also messy) and I figured I would have a good shot at avenging my three (!!!) losses to her at Battlelore.
We eventually managed to get the centres into contact after she totally cleaned me out of my left flank. We'd lost an equal number of units at this point but lots of her units were down two figures so victory was within reach.
One of the mechanics I like at Borg systems is that, as the game goes on, your hands "craps up" with useless cards. To me, this simulates the growing confusion as a battle rages onward. 
Up next: I have a big batch of 1/72 War of 1812 Americans painted and the bases drying. I also have a game booked with Bruce on Wednesday and have hauled out a bunch of 28mm goblins to have a go at finishing. Then the club on March 15 and one of my mega-trades just came through so there are two huge boxes of sprues to sort out.
