Not going to Salute

Yep that's right I am not going to "Salute" show this year. It is just TOO big and TOO expensive. As has become my practice I have made 2 (so far) "NOT GOING TO SALUTE!" orders over the weekend.


Order 1 :

Yes I caved! I caved in and succumbed! Yes I am weak and I have pledged to this Kickstarter. ( LINK ) I only went for the "Heroes" option. as I have more of a use for them. I did look at the Villains very closely but as there was only 3 I would (at this point) use I dismissed it. MAybe in the future I will get the 3 I want from these selection. maybe I will  not.

Most importantly I am also going to get the "stretch goals!"  So for the price of £22 (plus postage) I should get the Heroes and the stretch goals. And to be honest the stretch goals are more to my liking at present than the figures.

Yes I am an awkward cuss!" At present the Ark of the covenant is not in the stretch goals but maybe by the time it closes it will be. (Fingers Crossed).  We  all like a few stretch goals!



Order 2:
As "alternative Armies" was having a sale I splurged and ordered some figures.  ( LINK ) Not a huge order but (I hope) enough 15mm US cavalry to finish an army! We both know that I will still buy some more at a later date. But this should be enough for my 9th or 10th US CAVALRY "Buffalo soldiers!" yes I could have done 7th Cavalry as seen as famous in the films but these are more interesting.

END NOTE
Sorry it is only talking today. I have had a step back and rethink on a project. Enough of a re-think to make me start again but using some existing items.

Ad a special thanks to Ray for getting me back in touch with an old friend. Not that they are old but we had lost touch over the last 23 years. So thanks again Ray I appreciate it!

FSE Mortar crews (and Update).

These are the first figures painted since SELWG show. (Last Sunday).

Two Mortars and crew for my Federal States Europa force. Each consist of 2 crew and an automatic Mortar. Needless to say being sci fi the crews do not need to be on the same base as the mortar moreso they can fire it indirectly and even from inside a vehicle which may be parked over the horizon.  Maybe with the right set up even from Orbit perhaps of another planet.

However if that is the case reloading does become an issue! But as GZG (Link to GZG) sell the mortars with the crew we (at least for now) shall consider the crew close in general terms.

So 1 pack is 2 Mortars and 4 crew. As all my force is mobile I chucked the Engineers out of the fitters truck and re-purposed it to carry these!

here fore 2-4 Mortars and crews can fit in a single vehicle. Although at present I only have 2 mortars.


Following the show I did a small order as you can see in the pic. They arrived very swiftly and shall be assembled this weekend.  The new "Fitters Truck" does need some clutter added to it in the form of Tarps and boxes and the like so it MAY take some time before you see it, but rest assured it is now on the way. So more of this another time. All of which means for now just 3 more posts and I shall have it all done for Gruntz. (Yeah I believe that too... NOT!) There is bound to be more, infract I am already planning terrain wise and figure wise!

I have received another Crimbo Pressie for me and have that squirreled away for now. But at least I know I shall be getting something I want.

I have also opened the 7TV and now know everything is there. This was not really a concern as I could feel from the weight it was not empty, but this does stop me being disappointed!

That's it for today and I plan and hope to get back to normal soon. At least in regard to posting on tis blog.

Thanks for looking and I had better get on with Zombtobet painting as soon as possible.

All the best Clint

Zombtober 18-03 (And SELWG loot)

I was awake at 3:30 am this morning In order to get this single Zed  done! I had a busy morning BEFORE I went to SELWG. But more of the show LATER!

So I fulfilled my quota and did manage to get a zombie  painted before I went. Here he is, based when I got back and Photographed in the  dark! I say this in a feeble excuse to distract shoddy painting and basing and very shoddy basing. Oh well can't be helped now and looks pretty good in real life if not due to my photography. Right self pity over now!

A Mantic "Walker" from the all out war set. Another "walker" for the horde. And he should fit right in. A mature gentleman and dressed only in jeans. he's missing shoes and a shirt but I guess in a zombie apocalypse being well dressed is no longer a priority.  28mm hard plastic part of the starter set.
 
 LATER:
As you know I went to SELWG. Firstly let me say I had a brilliant time.

And this is what I bought.
4 items missing as they shall be part of my Christmas gift  as no one KNOW what to get me and when I write a list NO ONE still knows what is on the listr as NO ONE in my family speaks wargame-ese.

So this  is what I can show you at this stage! Top to Bottom and Left to right)

• 7TV2e box set (Starter casts are for Crimbo) nothing is opened just yet so It is possible (Although very unlikely) that it is just an empty box.
• 8 Jet bikes from Brigade Games these are for my "scout" unit in 15mm sci fi.
• 1 pot of Dark angels green paint! From Col Bill.
• 2 Paint brushes £1.50 each and I hope they shall be just brilliant) a nessercary evil am told as part of the wargaming hobby.
• 1 Pack of Peter Pig heads. Other parts of the order are to stop blushes and yet others are reserved for Christmas.
• 1 pack of Victorian Policemen with pistols. Best  if you do not ask any questions about them for now!
• 1 Pack of GZG FSE  Mortars again for 15mm sci fi. I meant to buy more but alas the ones I wanted are old stock and need to be mail ordered or picked up at a show.

I forgot to but some vehicle to carry the Mortars Mostly because I was flustered AND I did not want to make a snap decision. However as Tony from Brigade is Local and has an invite to the club I am sur if I want them I can get Brigade models quite easily! If I decide on GZG for the mortar teams I will need to send of to get the other figures so again that is no hardship!

Thanks for looking and more of the SELWG show in a day or two.
all the best Clint.

Red and White spearmen and SELWG plans.

Firstly I have finished my next unit for "Lion Rampant". This time Red and white spearmen. You probably worked all that out from the blog title. Oh yes you did! Anyway these are 28mm Plastic Perry miniatures,  from the box  "Agincourt French Infantry" there is enough in the box for a unit of x bow as as well. And if I buy another spure  a total of 2 crossbow units and 2 spear units can be made. It would be rude not to!


By painting them red and white they can fit into either of the two forces I am building so quite versatile. I will like wise do the same with the Crossbows and then I shall change colours, Perhaps Green and yellow I am not sure yet.

 I  did not paint the faces well, but well enough. I found the spears and helmets were just too much in the way. And I do not regret painting then as I have done.

CHANGE OF SUBJECT

I have several "Plans" for Selwg show. Yes a show report soon and Zombtober entry SHALL be late. Sorry real life and all that. I have started it and HOP to finish today or MAYBE tomorrow but it may need to wait until Monday.

Here are my planned spendz, I wonder how tey shall compare to what I actually buy.

• Crooked Dice. Maybe if I am feeling flush buy 7TVe2 and 2 starting casts.
• GZG I only desire 2 packs from Jon Tuffneys 15mm Stargrunt range. Saying that is one thing but maybe I am looking at a lot more.
• Brigade Games. Again some 15mm Sci fi stuff. IF I do not get it from GZG.
• Peter Pig, the Spanish Civil War rules. and a pack of heads, (All pre-ordered!)
• OPTIONAL
• Tumbling dice, some 1/600th scale aircraft! And maybe a Check you 6 rule book
• Too Fat Lardies. Maybe a "Bag the Hun" rulebook.

Well those are the plans at this stage. but I am sure I shall bet some impulse buys as well.

I was going to meet an old friend, but he cannot get time from work so that shall be a miss.

Thanks for looking. More again soon.
I hope tomorrow with a loot post and Zombtober figure finished!

Take care, hav e fun and paint if you can. All the best Clint

 
 

They came from benethe the waves

As I still have relatives here. Painting has been quiet. So rather than start something new I have been re-painting! These are Crooked Dice "Conch Kin". I have of late gotten back into 7TV and in 2 weeks time shall contenmplate buying the rules again. (2nd Edition, I currently have 1st)

So why re-paint these. Well let us just say "Long term plans". I shall talk (I hope) to Carl at the SELWG show  and with tremendous luck get a game in. Just a small skirmish to re-ignite my interest. If all goes well I shall make a board in which these shall feature.

All terrain making has ground to a halt due to awaiting a delivery. But the mentioned delivery is but a few days off.  So back to making terrain , I hope< by the weekend.

Meanwhile I am finally reading the rules for Crimson Skies. The old FASA game. Yes I am looking to play some of this game. But I cannot say for sure UNTIL I finish reading the rules.

That's todays update. Not huge I know but relatives have slowed me down no end. All the best Clint.

Spectrum is Green (SIG)

 I have had these hanging around for a while. I also have some Highland cattle that I was actually looking for when I unearthed these. Highland Cattle... best not to ask I am sure they will be along soon.

Anyway here are 4 Crooked Dice "Timelift" security. Any resemblance they may have to any Gerry Anderson Puppet shows is purely coincidental. In fact to show they were not part of the Puppet show I have deliberately selected different colours.

WE Have Captain Tangerine He did start as captain Lemon but my cousin did ask if I would paint one in her favourite colour.
Captain Grey (again it did start as captain Charcoal but it looked better a little lighter.
Captain Tourquise. Maybe from the Indian Sub continent.
And Captain Purple. Of African descent but he could come from anywhere really.

I have no games for these planned, I just wanted to paint them. All finished within 1 day, undercoat to varnish and all because I cannot (at the moment) find the cattle I want to paint.

I am tempted to get some more as they were so easy and so much fun to paint but until I find a use for them I shall not.

That is it for the Bank holiday weekend. Another post on Tuesday.

Have a good weekend all the best Clint

Something nasty in the woodshed!

Yes I finished these early so no blog post tomorrow so the next one on Monday.

so here are two constructs for Frostgrave. They are of course two Corndolls by Crooked Dice 7TV range. Totally suitable for Dr Who or 7TV or Frostgrave or C'thulhu or strange aeons or one of a dozen other games. But if I was not playing Frostgrave I would probably not have got them. But I am happy I did though.

These are my first figures from the SELWG show to get painted, not that I pushed the boat out very far at all. Very few figures purchased. Although I did have a very good chat with a few people including Karl of Crooked dice who does like an idea I have for a zombie scenario and is encouraging me to complete it. There was even the very slim possibility of them making a figure for it..... but that really is VERY unlikely just a pipedream.

 So waffling aside here are 2 28mm horror figures. I did think of painting the bases to be snow covered, but instead went for green grass finish as I do not see scarecrows in the snow where crops do not flourish!

Makes a change from BUF, these two were painted purely for my fun and not for anyone else. And yes I did enjoy them.

That's it for now hope to check in and post an AAR on Monday. Until then remember not all the monsters are in the woodshed some live under your bed!

All the best Clint (yes it is still raining)





















Let's just see if this snap came out better?

SELWG LOOT

Sorry for the lack of posts. They have been because I was doing something I cannot tell you about. Ok OK I'll spill! I was asked to paint a figure for someone and not tell anyone what it might be. As they will receive next weekend I will very likely post pics then or soon thereafter.

Well the picture says it all. Here is what I got. But most importantly the physical side is not as important as the joy of meeting other bloggers and other people in the wargames community. You can expect blogs of the show from the following bloggers, Tamsin (Link to blog!), Ray (Link to Blog) , Big Lee of the sore shins (Link to his blog ) Whispering Al (You guessed it another blog link.) as well as many more as well and I am sure they will do a very good show report.

So what did I buy, from top left to bottom right-

• 4 28mm Collie Dogs. you can never have enough dogs in a game. From Col Bill stand.
• 1 belt fed miniature that I am painting for Louise.... but she wants no pics just yet! Again from Colonel Bills.
• 1 20mm Huey medevac crew from Grubby tanks You may recall that I picked up a spare Huey at the Skirmish show. Now you know what it will be!
• 1 20mm Sampan again for my Vietnam collection as I have no brown water stuff at all (until now) Again from Grubby tanks.
• 2 28mm scare crows from Crooked Dice. Part impulse buy, part frostgrave constructs. I may not have another enchanter!

So as you can see quite a small haul. But after paying for fuel entrance and food and drinks (OK fizzy pop and sweets!) not much change from £45.

I did not take many pics of the day, but will put them up tomorrow.
Cheers for now Clint

The Girls Team

Disclaimer: This has been re-written since it originally appeared on Curt's Analogue Painting Challenge. Ant supposed reference to any bloggers alive, dead, undead or never lived is purely coincidental and is in no way intended to reflect in ANY way on members of the wargames and figure painting Blogger community. Honest Guv!

The Team of St Searles is a mixed and varied lot. As a team they have many faults and yet at the same time will support each other despite all being individuals.

Starting from left to right.

 "Little" Leeza Hadley. The Little title seems to be a reverse nickname. She is commonly identified by the others as the Rich Girl a title she disclaims and yet it somehow persists to be used to identify her. One of her more distressing features is that it is claimed by the other girls that her bottom burps could be weaponised!

Andrea Saunders. Has an interest in alternative Religious studies. Particularly Norse mythology. Indeed she has been heard muttering about sacrificing Virgins to a giant spider goddess. Needless to Say Virginia in year 9 is particularly fearful. While she has a rebellious appearance she does do the most home work and does have the most house points of all these girls.

 Anne O' Leery is a foreign exchange student. Very glamorous and with an eye for detail she is by far the most feminine of the squad. She is very good with her make up and her work is always very neat and tidy. She also likes ruby slippers for some reason, maybe it has to do with her being an exchange student!

Francesca Lee is a team player but does suffer from anger management issues.  While she is best friends with Rachel that does not stop them fighting like cat and dog. Francesca does have an accent but she hardly ever mentions her past. While you seldom see her smile she does have a sense of humour. Commonly of a very dour demeanour she presents a formidable appearance.  She also carries two bottles in her pack which she claims are to clean up Rachel's mess. One bottle has a strong smell of "Detol". This is perhaps linked to her interest in chemistry and it has been suggested that she is the girl most likely to be able to make a viable explosive device. She also likes films and despite being very opinionated does tend to hit the nub of truth in her diagnosis.

Rachel Rousell is the history buff in the group she is particularly drawn to the periods where lots of lace was worn. Indeed she takes it far enough to want to wear lace underwear at all occasions especially a rather bright blue pair covered in budgie feathers! the other girls especially "Tammy" tease her about a pair of Falsies which they call sandbags! Also it is best not to mention anything about her ..... erhm.... badger!

Also in the Team Miss Campbell, she is the head girl, at least that is what it says on the wall of the loos of the local boys school. She is definitely in charge and keeps all the others in check by awarding house points. In earlier years she had long flowing hair but at present they are trimmed and tidy.

Finally we Have Tammy. She is a total tomboy. A very hard worker with many diverse interests. Despite the picture she has read hair and the pink satchel always contains her trusty lighter and half a packet of cigarettes. She does tease the other girls especially Rachel but she has a kind heart and does make up for the teasing on occasion with small hand crafted gifts.

Well those are my St Searles Girls this year. I hope you like the team, they are all great characters and usually up for a laugh.

That's it for today. I hope you have found it fun and not too serious after all we play games and games should be fun.

All the best Clint./

Nom Nom Nom

In space No one can hear you Nom Nom Nom.

"Barbara to Beagle One can you hear me."

"Beagle One receiving Barbara go ahead you are loud and clear"

"We see movement Beagle base, Moving closer"

"Roger that Barbara We have no energy readings in that sector Probably just some space junk!"

"It's a man in an atmosphere suit Beagle Base, seems to be holding something, moving closer Beagle Base"

"Keep us informed Barbara. Still no energy readings are you sure it's a space suit? Confirm it's not a trick of the light and be prepared to see Doc when you get back inside. I say again no energy sources in your sector"

"Listen Yusef It's definitely a man. He's turning round I can make out the maple leaf patch on his left arm. Check the instruments again there must be an energy source it's a man I tell you."

"Sorry Barbara no readings at all."

"Are you sure it's turned on Yusef!"

"Of course it's bloody well turned on. I am tracking you and I am telling you there is nothing else out there.!"

"HE's turning round, I can see the visor is up and he's carrying the old type 17 issue laser rifle!"

"Stop pulling my leg Barbara now I know you are taking the piss those are antiques. You had me going there, nice one I was just about to call a tech to check the systems again!"

"Beagle Base seriously I am not kidding.  I can just about see his face now..... Oh my God..."

"Barbara, come in Barbara! Talk to me Barbara, Beagle Base to lieutenant Kopaks come in Barbara!"

"Dave, Barbara is not responding .... Barbara.... lieutenant Kopaks ... come in Barbara....."

Non Combatants

 Christmas Eve, ahhh and relax. Well not quite, I will continue to paint and potter about, I have sent Curt my next entry to the challenge. In the meantime before he publishes them here is what I entered into the "Non-Combatant" bonus round.
The other entries can be found here (LINK) and I am the first to admit there are some exceptional entries. So good that I am staggered by the quality. Treat yourself and have a look you will not be disappointed!



Still I am sure they will be covered on their blogs and as you are good enough to be reading mine here is my entry. As you can see they are 3 Astronauts by Crooked Dice Miniatures. These three are unarmed and now having completed them I would be happy to paint some armed Astronauts. I think I have 6 or 9 hidden away in a box somewhere.







The base boards and buggies have appeared on my blog previously so I won't need to discuss them at this stage. If you want to know how to make the boards Click for link. Let's assume you don't want to know how to make a huge messy white elephant of a terrain board. But at least if you do want to know it is now in a handy place.









Anyway I decided to paint these three in white suits. I am not saying it was a mistake to do so but it did lead to a lot of photography issues. The white kept bleeding out into the background if a flash was used and was out of focus if no flash due to long exposure times. Still here are the best of the bunch. In the end I used a brown cardboard box as a background not glamorous but it did do the job.

I have put American flags on the sleeves (no not all the stripes and stars as my brushes and eyesight is not that good). If I do the armed ones I will introduce a few other nations as well. I will go for the most easy ones to paint just for simplicity but am open to suggestions.

I do find it interesting that one astronaut has removed her helmet while on the moon. I don't want you all to point out any "Capricorn One" conspiracy theories, I just went with how the figures were. So nothing underhand is implied.




I have used 4 colours of off white/grey and a highlight of pure white in order to get the correct feel to the fabric. Less layers just did not look right, I know others would have used more tones and some less this is just the level I was happy with. Black boots and Packs are very different from NASA who's are white, but white boots packs and belts did not look dramatic enough for the wargames table. Again the belts were not noticed if painted white so a nice dark red was used to make them pop out. The helmets might also have been white but I wanted yellow to contrast the blue of the visors.







Overall I am happy with how they have come out despite the issues mentioned with photography and will be willing to do the armed versions in the same way.  If you want me to paint the armed ones up as part of the challenge let me know and I will try to make it happen/fit them in. I make no garantees of course, but it is an option as I already have the figures. So making it happen is not too daunting a task , it will just mean a later start of another game idea.





 That is it for today, thanks for looking. I strongly hope that Santa brings you something that you want and that you and your family stay safe and warm. Take care all the best Clint

Seasons greetings

I would like to wish all the blog members as well as casual Browsers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year. I would like to extend that greeting to all who are close to you as well.

The Picture to the right made me chuckle so I hope it puts a smile on your face as well. And let's all hope this does not happen to Santa!

Right That's the non wargaming bit done, now onto the important stuff. I am still painting away for Curt's Challenge and will be sending a few pics in today for his "Non Combatants" bonus round in the desperate attempt to get an extra 50 points. Needless to say until he publishes them on his blog I am reluctant to put any piccies up here.

Oh Ok just one and not one I will be sending him then.

It's a wide shot so you can't see any detail at all really. But at least you will get some strange idea. The buggy and the landscape have both been seen on this blog before so we are only really looking at the 2 Crooked Dice Astronauts in the foreground. They were a joy to paint and I thoroughly enjoyed doing them even if it was mostly shades of off white. (5 in all, but you can't tell with my photography!) In fact I must say they were a right pain to photograph as the white tended to bleed out no matter what type of background I put them on.
Elsewhere on the painting table I have some more 10mm Samurai figures which just need basing. No Pictures of them until they are ready but I will try to get them finished and set out to Curt by this time tomorrow. Only 32 this time, but it is still a substantial amount of points......well 32 points to be fair.

After that I am not sure what I will tackle next, Maybe some Arabs but not totally sure. Talking of Arabs lest time I posted I mentioned a hankering for some colonial wargaming. Well it would make sense to me to use these Arabs and do some Rif War or Earlier Beau Jest type colonial wargaming. I have already got the terrain in both 1/300th and 1/72nd scale so it kind of makes sense to me. Still enough of this waffling on the brushes are calling. So until next time, take care and see you all soon.

Best wishes Clint

Update:6 TAR7AN Board.

It has been a couple of months since I last worked on the TAR7AN board. The reasons for the delay were two fold. Firstly as I originally wanted it for a show and that deadline passed I was not inclined get it done after the show. The second reason was that I was not happy with the position of the waterfall and was not sure how to rectify it.

But let me come to the waterfall in a while. As you can see I have now finished the water. It was all done with different layers of yacht varnish from Wilkinson's. I deliberately put it on thick and used a disposable brush to encourage it into the cracks, gullies and edges. You can get about 12 "Artist" brushes in the 99p store which are ideal for this. Small enough and cheap enough so you don't have to worry about them. I am happy with the result. The water is finished, but I will add some reeds (tufts) later, when I add the foliage to all the board.

OK the waterfall. To me and I am sure some of you it did not look right. It cascaded far to far from the cliff face. I therefore took it off and re shaped it. I also lost about 12mm from the bottom. This 12mm has made a lot of difference it has moved plummeting water closer to the cliff face my about 55mm. It did leave a "scar" on the board. This scar was both in colour under the varnish but also a ridge of varnish which had formed as I dripped the waterfall each day to build up a texture. The simple solution was to sit a large rock (Slate from the garden) over the top of the scar. Again more varnish was applied to build up the water level, but also to "glue" the rock into position. The bottom of the waterfall was painted white and light blue to represent the splash of water falling into water. Again more varnish was dripped on.  And with that I have settled on the final look of the waterfall. You know me by now when I say final look I don't mean it! like the still water foliage needs to be added and pebbles added to the top to seat the waterfall into the landscape better. At present it just sits on the top and a better solution will be found.

This rock that I mentioned above has a nice flat top and is very suitable for perching a figure on top. We both know that someone will and I like the idea of a more dangerous entry point onto the board. So by keeping the ideas open and fluid it has helped. If I had planned it from the start there is very little chance it would have come out this way. So I have created a better solution from what was a set back. Big thumbs up to me, I'm very happy with how that part has evolved.

The remaining pictures show slightly different views of the waterfall and water around the stepping stone rocks. Nothing is perfect but this board is now coming together. As mentioned above Foliage is the next step and that could either make or break the board so I will be proceeding with caution. For now though I will put the board into storage wrapped in cling-film to keep the dust of as I start gathering materials for the Broadside game 2014. The idea for that is now set and I hope to start painting a couple of sample figures between now and the weekend as it would be nice to take a sample to the club on Sunday.

Anyway that is a future project and I will be starting it very soon, both the figures and the terrain. But that is another blog post on another day. So until next time, thanks for looking and I should have some painted figures (maybe not the samples) ready in two days time.

All the best Clint