Somewhere in Time

So my last post was a sneak peak, or hint as to what was coming next. Finally, after a break form the painting table, I finally got round to actually painting him.

Who's him you ask, well, Eddie of course!

This miniature was originally supposed to be part of the Pantheon of Chaos Kickstarter, but he didn't really fit in with the rest, so was sold as a pre-Kickstarter fundraiser. What a novel concept!

I didn't buy into the Kickstarter, as Chaos was never really my thing. But I couldn't pass up on this guy. Eddie and Iron maiden to me just remind me of a time back in the UK when I was playing GW games. So even if he is not really an Oldhammer mini, British Metal is so intertwined with so many themes that are Oldhammer, that he gets an honourary acceptance into the genre.

Now, where to use him. Maybe in my upcoming Frostgrave Chronomancer warband, as Time is on his side. Or Maybe as a cyborg for Rogue stars, or a serial Killer for CS1.

Of course, this is but one incarnation of Eddie. If I were to ask that another was made, well, then Eddie from the cover of the single 'The Trooper' has to be a shoe in (although I did find this conversion someone has done so I am clearly not alone).

Sneak Peak

What am I working on now? Hint...

Now that's what I call Old Skool!

Effincool Minis Halflings

Next up for this winter's challenge, Effincool Minis halflings from their last Kickstarter. Done so as to be able to build a halfling warband for Frostgrave with these guys when they arrive.

These guys were a joy to paint. Full of character. The only change I had to make was change the flagpole for a brass rod, but that was super easy to do. I did think about more freehand on the flag, as it's a nice empty space, so if I'm inspired, I'll go back and add something there.

There's also a couple of cavalry figs and ponies that came with the Kickstarter, but they're not even assembled, as they are no use in Frostgrave, and I'm a long way from using these in any larger scale battle games. Unless I find some opponents to try out Dragon Rampant with.

In the new year, as well as starting off with Rogue Stars, I want to get back into Frostgrave too, and these'll be perfect for the bulk of the soldiers, and my captain.

Frostgrave Archers

I've managed to get enough people interested in Frostgrave at my FLGS to run a campaign. We're now 3 scenarios in to the Thaw of the Liche Lord Campaign, and it's going well.

Since the game requires so very few figures, I have given myself the very humble goal of finishing off 10 minis for my warband as soon as possible. I have painted up plenty of wizards, but I'm lacking in completed soldiers.

I had previously panted one archer, among the first batch of minis for this game, but I never run with just one of these guys, the ranged support they provide really helps in this game where you don't really want to get too close to the other player, you want to get in as close as you need to to get the treasure, at least at low level games. So one archer is never enough. These two will therefore take their place in my warband as more archers. I do run a ranger too, so one of these will proxy as a ranger till I find a more suitable miniature for that (Bad Squiddo Games order already made).

These two are from the same WFB 3rd ed Bretonnian blisters as the previous one, so some real Oldhammer minis here. I think two of them are indeed Perry brothers sculpts. I'm not sure about the other one, as he has much bigger Oldhammer style feet/boots. not the dainty Perry feet.

I'm now at 7 members of the warband fully painted, and two (my captain and second Treasure Hunter) at a pretty advanced stage. I do however need to get better minis for my thief and ranger to complete the band I currently play. I've also ordered a Rangifer, which I intend to run too, as I have passed all the in game requirements. After all that, I'll have plenty of choice of soldiers for my 10-man-band.

I'm trying not to set such grand goals for this year, as I did last year, as can be clearly seen by the frequency of my updates, my painting time has been rather sparse so far this year, but to have 10 minis for Frostgrave is the bare minimum I expect of myself. I'm also planning a couple more, so I can run different soldier types. I'm also trying to get through one or two of the bad guys for the scenarios too, so expect to see a Liche and his allies here soon.

SO like I said, no hard goals as such, like the Khador Caster Challenge of 2015, but a softer more attainable goal to get me to the painting table over the summer months.

As always, the camera picks up a bunch of flaws in the paint jobs, so I'll be going back over the eyes of the first mini, amongst other things, now that I've seen them through the unforgiving lens.

Frostgrave Warband

I've gotten in three games of this now, and there's quite a buzz in the local meta over it too, so we look like we're heading towards a campaign.

With that in mind, I finished off a few of my minis. One of the things I love about this game is that it is the perfect use for my Oldhammer and Reaper minis, that never see the daylight often enough. These go well with the Wizards I have already painted.

Treasure Hunter
The sole recent purchase for this game. This is a Reaper mini, and by that token, a touch taller than the others, with the others being classic Citadel minis, and therefore much nearer to actual 25mm. He is also not on a slotta base, so that too adds a bit of height.
In game, I do like these guys as they are fast, but can also handle themselves in melee.

Knight
This is another old skool Warhammer mini, from a pack of knights. I'm not sure if they were originally labelled as Bretonnians, or something else, as I bought them a good 20 years ago, if not more. I've had a look for him on the various Citadel collectors sites, but I can't find him, so if anyone has any more info, I'd be happy to hear it!

This guy is the tank of the group. With a shield spell on him, he really can take a beating, although he takes his time to get where he needs to go.

Archer
This one is a Bretonnian. As a Perry brothers sculpt, it would of course work for Medieval armies too. Perfect for Frostgrave and WFB too of course! I may have to go over the face again, as the white of the right eye seems to be smudged. Bloody cameras! As you can see, he is from teh same retinue as the Knight above, although I do not really intend for the whole warband to have one colour scheme, it does help if I want to field them in other games later.

I have two of these guys in my warband for now, and they have a magic bow each now, so they'll be sticking around for the forseeable.

Terror of the Lichmaster

In a recent trip to my FLGS, not particularly known for its second hand stock, I was very intrigued to see some old Citadel stuff sitting on a shelf. I had a rummage through, and came out with this beauty in my hands.

This is an unprecedented find here in Montreal, but when I talked to the owner of the store as to where it came from, I was less surprised to know that I knew who had been downsizing their collection, it's not that big a town after all.

This does not mean that I will be looking to buying up the miniatures for this campaign. Not at all. If I were based in the UK, maybe, but shipping to this continent, coupled with the comparative rarity of these miniatures on these shores puts this possibility well out of my budget.

If nothing else, this gives me something to look at when building Frostgrave campaigns and scenarios, as well as coupling nicely with the Lichmaster campaign I have for WFRP.

Frostgrave Wizards

In the build up to some games of Frostgrave, I dug out some of my old Warhammer minis, as they fit in perfectly with the theme of the game. I'll post more on how the system plays once I get a couple of games in, but there seems to be quite a few local players who are interested. Enough to make it work, as it relies as much on the campaign side of the game as it does on the one-off scenarios.

The first of the minis I have completed with Frostgrave in mind was painted up as a shamen/warlock in the browns. The autumn leaves on the base just seemed to bring this out better.

When it came to the second of these two, I went with a more winter theme, fitting in with the Frostgrave esthetic. I especially like his staff, it has a real Oldhammer look to it. Just comical enough.

The theme continues if we place these two wizened gentleman next to another completed miniature, who isn't strictly Oldhammer, but was pained up with a Bretonnian army in mind. When the three are placed together, we have Summer, Autumn and Winter. I have already selected a great mini to be Spring, and that will also do as an apprentice for Frostgrave, as these minis are all far to old to still be apprentices!

These minis may have taken me away from this years goal fo completing my Khador casters, but at least they got me back into painting after a 6 month hiatus. Back with more minis for this game soon.

Colore ton Monde: March, the Green Lady

I'm on a roll thi month, three minis done and posted, and more to follow. Here's my mini for this month's Colore ton monde painting challenge, which was to paint something green, for spring.

This is a Reaper mini, and was bought to act as a sorceress for my fledgling Bretonnian army. It is a beautiful Werner Klocke mini, and deserves a better paint job than this one, but it will do for now. I'd like to go over the eyes again, as the close up of the photography as always makes them look scrappy.

 

Traditional Oldhammer Goblin Green for the base, but with some very modern flowers, in-keeping with the spring theme.

Warhammer Fantasy: Wood Elf Wardancers

Continuing this week's theme of showing off my early works, I stay with the Wood Elves again, but thsi time we have some Wardancers. The Wood Elf Wardancers were without a doubt my favourite unit for any Warhammer Army. Maybe of any army of any system, well at least back in the 90s they were. I was also a big fan of their incarnation in WFRP, and had a couple of Elven characters I wanted to advance to this career, but unfortunately that never transpired.
These particular Wardancers were painted to go more with a High Elf Army, as a Sea Elf allied contingent. The Wardancers in this case were the first over the side in a landing party or boarding action. The marines of the Warhammer world.

Three of these guys have shields, all done with freehand. Something which I rarely attempt these days, but I think I should start looking at again, as some of these are alright. I especially like the eye.

Compare these to my more recent attempt at painting a wardancer, and you can see how my painting has evolved over time.

There's at least one more post of Wood Elves to follow, at least of my painted minis from back in the 90s. There are a bunch more Oldhammer minis that I brought back, but none are painted. Some will be though, as these old minis are really working as an inspiration to me to get me going on them.

As to the old painted minis, I don't know yet if I want to repaint them, but they will certainly be rebased. Maybe I'll just go over them with the odd ink or two, just to help them pop a little more.