Feralgeist

For the Oldies Holiday Painting Exchange, we each put a mini into the pot, and drew for which of the minis we would paint. I drew a Feralgeist. I won't post any pics of the final mini for the draw here so as not to spoil the surprise, but I would like to post the finished pictures of my own Feralgeist. I painted this first, as a means of testing what I wanted to do, and also as a test for the Testors fluorescent enamels that I wanted to try an use. This was the first time out using enamels since way back in the day when I used humbrol paints to paint up my Airfix aircraft back when I was a kid. Man that was a ling time ago.

Anyway, he seemed to work out alright:

I have since gave him a coat of 'ardcoat, and don't plan to use any dullcoat, as I want him to be a bit shiny. I think it works with the fluorescent paint, and the spectral look.

I'm going to hold off posting the second one until I have handed it back to it's rightful owner. Don't want to be giving away the surprise! However it's not a huge leap from here to imagine what the final exchange mini looks like.

Colore ton Monde: January

The results of the last Colore to Monde of 2013 are out, and the submitted figures can be seen here.

As usual, a great selection of minis and games in show. It seems there are more enrtnts too, which is fun.

The challenge for the month of January is below:

Bonne année !

L'année commence à peine, pleine d'espoir et probablement quelques résolutions en poche. Pour représenter la carte blanche qu'une nouvelle année peut vous offrir, nous en faisons aussi le thème de ce mois. Pour janvier, vous pouvez peindre ce que vous voulez. Tout ce qui importe, c'est de sortir vos pinceaux et mettre de la couleur sur de petits bonhommes.

Happy New Year!

The year starts at last, full of hope and probably with a few resolutions in hand. To represent the carte blanche that a New Year offers, we are making that the theme of the month. For January, you can paint anything you like. All that is important is that you get out your paint brushes and put some paint on some little men.

Well, that should be simple enough. Off to the leadpile we go!

Here's to a great 2014, may all your brushes hold their points!

Dystopian Legions, Kingdom of Britannia: General Conveyor

My New Years gift this year was the General Conveyor. The APC option for a Kingdom of Britannia Infantry Section. I was initially unsure as to whether I would need one of these, but I got one anyway. It will allow me to have the option of greater mobility for one section on the field, and the model goes well with the other armoured options (the Bassets and the Terrier). Also, I was intrigued by the driver options, and I wanted to see them for myself.

As to what was included in the box, here's a run down of the contents:

Activation cards. Two are included, however, since this model is fielded as an add-on option for an existing Infantry Section, there is no need for any to be included. Kudos for Spartan in giving more than we need.

The metal parts of the mini include the turret doors, which are the same doors as you get on the Basset Tankettes, and the Terrier Ironclad. Great job for Spartan, as this means less moulds to make, but also good news for people who like a little uniformity in their forces. As you can see in the picture, I got an extra one. That'll be useful if another one falls off, or just for the bits box. There are also 4 metal treads, which go on top of the resin parts to complete the treads of the APC. These are nicely thought out, and fit really well. There is a little flash on these parts, but nothing that is not very easily rectified.

The crewman comes in two options, one taller than the other. The shorter of the two allows you to have the turret doors closed (there's a gap to allow you to see the back of his helmet if you do). I don't quite see the need for this option, but I am not going to complain, as he will find use somewhere else for sure, maybe for another Basset, if I could ever possibly think of a reason to field four of them. Otherwise, I'm sure there'll be another tank out for the faction at some point that will use him. The other small piece of resin on the right here is the hitch for the APC, which has the tow rule. There is nothing anywhere that says as such, just what I have gathered from the forums. A little more info on this would not be amiss, but taking it as the hitch, there's really only one place to put it.

The front and back of the Conveyor. Nicely detailed, little to no flash, and fit together very well with the other resin parts.

The two sides of the model are the same part included twice. This means there are less parts to cast for each model. There is some small bits of resin flash on one side, but they are on the part of the mini that is covered by the metal treads shown above, so a bit of filing and it's a non-issue.

 The floor of the model. Not symmetrical, but I don't see that it matters which way round it is placed.

Overall, I'm impressed by the simplicity of the design, he lack of work needed to get rid of flash and spare resin, and the way the parts fit together smoothly to make the model. A great kit, if not a little over priced. Not for the kit itself, but for it's worth on the table. It's a pretty chunk of resin for what it does (move a small amount of troops around a little faster and a little safer).

The (almost) finishes results:

The driver and turret door configuration has to be determined, but I like the fact that there are some nice flat spaces on all sides of the APC. This will allow me to personalise it, with some insignia and other markings. This was something I found lacking on the Terrier, as despite it's larger size, it is too busy with sculpting detail to personalise in the way I wanted.

All in all, I give this kit a 8 out of 10, with the Canadian price tag dropping it from a 10. I may put it up to a 9 if I get my moneys-worth out of it on the table. This is a nice model, with crisp, clean casting. The detail is very visible, and not overpowering. This should be easy enough to paint up.

2013: The Year In Review

It's that time again where we look back at the year past, and take stock, before making plans for the year ahead.

This year has most definitely been the year of Dystopian Legions for me. I have painted a little over half of the minis I have for the game, and all the rest have at least a basecoat on.

Models that I have completed include:

1 Lieutenant
1 Section of 6 Line Infantry, (+Sgt, Musician & Specialist)
1 Section of 6 KRRC (+Sgt & Musician)
1 Section of 6 91st Infantry
2 HMGs (1 and 2)
2 Basset Tankettes
1 Bertie
The crew for the Armstrong Gun

I have a bunch more to finish off, but they'll have to wait for next year now. I also have an APC I got as a pressie, and have ordered the Light Dragoons to round out my force.

What's more, I have played a whopping 6 games of DL this year. I take pictures of each one, with the intention of writing up battle reports, but that has just not happened. In summary though, my first couple of games were wash-outs. My Britannians are very soft and squishy in melee, and my Hussars take a little getting used to. Once the games started going up above 100 point (Starter Box size) they came more into their own, being able to use their superior firepower at range to lay down enough fire to do some damage before getting trapped in melee.

I'm doing alright against the Prussians, I really love my Terrier and my Field Gun. The Lethal Ability is just wonderful against models with multiple wounds. Against the Empire of the Blazing Sun (Japanese) I'm still struggling to find the best combination of forces.  There are a couple of local players who own FSA armies, but they have yet to throw down against my mighty Britannians.


Anyway, here are some shots of my last game against EotBS.

Facing off

Line Infantry, ready for the push forward

You can't hide...

In other goals, I have tried hard to keep up with the Colore Ton Monde challenges this tear, and have done okay. I dropped the ball in January and October, but managed to get the rest done in time. 

I have tried to update my Gallery, but I seem to have reached the limit if 20 pages. Who knew the interwebs had page limits? I'll have to find a way around that.

For 2014:

First off, I want to finish my Britannians that are more than half painted, as well as the APC (a New Years gift) and Dragoons. (ordered, but not yet arrived)  I was initially tempted to buy into the Antarticans when they come out, but I'm going to hold off on that. One army for a game I don't play regularly enough is more than enough for now.

Other games that I am interested in playing in the coming year include Saga, Muskets and Tomahawks, and The Hobbit. Yes, the Hobbit!. I have just watched the second film, and I am very keen to give the game a try. If only I can find a way to do so without giving GW full Price for their minis. Maybe I'll get some of the first wave of minis in some sales over xmas. I do have some Rohirrim for the LoTR battle game I can paint up (they also double as vikings for SAGA, so win win!).

This is, of course, alongside the games of Warmahordes and WFB (at 500 points) should be more than enough to be getting on with.

Happy New Year to you all, and Happy gaming!

Colore ton Monde: December II

As I mentioned in my last post for this month's challenge, finding minis to paint in a winter theme is not an issue, anfterall I have two warmahordes armies that fit the bill. So here we have some pics of my painted Blackfrost Shard figure. Well, one of the three brothers to start.

The cape came out much better than I expected. I was left wondering how to complete the runes round the cloak edge, but a simple dab or two of Mithril Silver over the runes, then a dark blue wash and they look fine.

The other two members of the unit better jump up to the front of the paint queue before I forget how I did this guy!

Going to have to go back and finish the face, it's looking really crude and unfinished there.

Holiday Painting Challenge

My regular gaming group, the Oldies, is running a painting swap for over the Christmas holidays.

It was somewhat of a challenge to come up with a miniature I wanted someone else to paint. Not because I am under any delusions that my painting is of superior quality, quite the opposite in fact. It was more to do with having a mini that could be painted up in any scheme that the other guy wanted (we didn't put in a request as to what we wanted done with the mini, so it is fully at the discretion of the other guy).

For my part, I settled on Madelyn Corbeau. A mini that I have never put on the table and therefore is rather far down on my list of what to do next. However, it is a mini that I like the look of, so she will see play some time I'm sure. What's more, as a courtesan, she can be done in any colour scheme imaginable, and still fit the bill. Decision made!

As to the mini I was given to paint, I got a Feralgeist. Again, as a minion model, he does not have to fit in with the scheme of the army he plays with. I have my own one of these, and I have been thinking what do do with him, and had thought to use him as a test model for some Testors fluorescent paints I have. i may have to paint up my own first, rather than spoil someone else's mini with paint I don't know how to use, so that's this holiday's painting schedule booked up!

Colore ton Monde: December

I'm a little delayed in posting this month's challenge, but here we are. First off, here are the results of last month's challenge to paint a sub-commander, some great paint jobs as always. My entry has it's own post here, although the pictures don't do him justice, he seems very red when compared to other pics on the Club Chaos site. Still, I can't be an expert in everything!

Moving on to this month, the theme for December is quite an obvious one,

Petite neige féérique, ou maudite marde blanche

Décembre est officiellement le début de l'hiver. Cette année, nous avons eu de la neige tôt, et contrairement à l'habitude pour les bordées hâtives, elle a l'air d'y être pour rester. Pour le mois de décembre, on vous invite à peindre un modèle principalement en blanc, ou avec un thème hivernal.

Pretty fairy dust, or Cursed white sh*t.

December is the official start to winter. This year we had the snow early, and unlike usual early snow-falls, it looks like it's here to stay.For the month of December, we invite you to paint a model in mainly white, or with a winter theme.

Thankfully for me, I have a whole winter themed army (two in fact) in my Legion of Everblight, just waiting to be painted (with Khador being the second).  I have the Blackfrost Shard ready and waiting to go (already started now, after all, it's the 10th already). These are really nice minis, and they're painting up well. Pictures will be posted shortly.