2013 Painting Elf Exchange

The Painting Elf Exchange 2013 held at my FLGS was completed last week, and we all got together to give back our models. All the pics are up on facebook here.There are some really nice minis and paint jobs there, I especially like the Prussian Luftlancer for DL, they are really nice minis, and the paint job on that one is really well executed.


I'm especially happy with the mini I received, and quite satisfied with the one I painted, even though it doesn't look finished with the base being as nude as it is. Here are the pics Tonio took on the night. Much better than my camera phone shots!

Painted by me for Tonio

I'm quite happy with the way the colours came out on this. The enamel paints really help with the ethereal look of the model. I would use them again, but it'd have to be for the right project, not just for any model.

Painted by G for me

The colours chosen for my Madelyn Corbeau by G, (who's blog can be found here) match exactly with my Llaelese Mercenary army, and I was especially happy with the extra cool base he put the mini on, that was not something I supplied (I really should have re-based the Feralgeist, now I really seem cheap!). What is extra cool is the freehand on the back of the mini. I am very jealous of his painting there, as the Llaelese army really shouts out for a little heraldry, and I have tried and failed to do something similar.

With that paint job, she really will be finding her way into my army after all.

Colore Ton Monde January: Results

Here's my submission for January's Colore ton Monde, who's theme was, there is no theme. For that, I just finished off another of my Dystopian Legion KoB figures, why not start off the year as I mean to go on, as I'm on a roll with these guys. 

I went with a simple enough variation on my colour schemes, I chose to make him match my Artillery/Engineers sections rather than have another redcoat. I think the red collars and cuffs are enough to keep him in with the general scheme for the army.

 

I also added some detailing to his base that I'm carrying on with my Armstrong Gun. I like the way he turned out. As usual, the crisp details on these larger 32mm figs really make painting them fun!

Forgotten and Glorious Mini

I had a little surprise in the post this evening. A free mini from the Forgotten and Glorious Company of Art miniatures, a French company that I have been keeping one eye on. They do beautiful miniatures, but just not in any time periods where I have a direct interest, however, when I heard back in December they were doing a give-away of a free mini, where all you had to do was say which of their lines you would like to have a sample of, well, how could I refuse.

Painted mini from here.

I chose to have a sample from their 1916 French Army range, which were the first minis of theirs I saw that caught my attention, and also, If I were ever to get a French Army for Dystopian Legions, would stand me in good stead. I was very pleased to see that the mini I received today was the bugler from this range.

The mini is in 28mm heroic scale, and comes in three parts. The body, the head, and the gun with attached hand. This makes conversions very easy, as I can give the fig whatever head or weapon I want (in fact, there are three troop types that can be made from this basic body with the heads supplied by the company, normal troops, Chasseurs or Tirailleurs).

The sculpt is very clean, with no flash at all, and very little in the way of mould lines to deal with. The sculpt itself is very clean, with nice crisp lines that make the details pop out, and should be a pleasure to paint. If I were to put a unit of these together, I'm sure they'd be a joy to work with.

The mini as it arrived, no flash to be removed

Close up of the detail on the face.

Front Rank, Reaper, F&G, Spartan Games, Privateer Press

Here is the mini pictured with other brands for scale comparison. As you can see, it fits nicely into the 28mm Heroic scale category, and wouldn't be too out of pace with the 32mm Spartan minis.

So, with just one mini,  and a bunch of pics from their site to go on, if you're in the market for either 1916 French, 1806 Prussians or ACW minis in 28mm, I would urge you to go check these guys out. They are very nice minis. One thing to watch when you make an order though, is that you have to order the heads separately, as they are not included in the bodies you chose. I don't think of this as much of a bug, but more of a feature!

Dystopian Legions: Kingdom of Britannia The Knightly Order Light Dragoons

I finally received my Light Dragoons (their full name of Knightly Order Light Dragoons is a bit of a mouthful, so I'll keep referring to the shorter version here). These have been released since December, but only made their way over to Canada at the start of this month. I got round to taking them out of the box to photograph and assemble last night, so here we are with my thoughts on these minis.

There are three Dragoons in the box. Two normal troopers and a specialist. These models come in multiple parts, with the main body of the troopers armoured suit, or walker, being in resin, and all other parts being in metal. The bodies of the troopers are one piece, with two arms to attach to each. The walkers come as resin main body, two legs and a gun to be mounted on the shoulder.

Box Contents

In terms of flash, the resin parts were very clean, with no mold lines, and just a little nub on each to clean off, that removed itself with ease. The metal parts had more flash than I have come to expect from Spartan Games, but none that was hard to remove, and there are next to no mould lines to worry about,

The box also included one activation card and one unit card. I have read on the forums that some people have received two cards for this unit. In mine I only had one, suggesting the others were a mispack.

I had two problems with this box. One was that I was missing one of the guns for the normal troopers, and the second was that one of the arms was miscast, leaving a break in the lever it was holding. I suppose I could remodel this with some wire easily enough, but since there was another part missing, i have sent off to Spartan for the parts. My previous experience with this has been positive, so I expect the bits to arrive shortly.

I was disappointed not to be able to build the unit as I had planned, so I went ahead and bought another box, and there were no mispacks in that one, so the assembly I talk about here is of the second box (although of course I can build two of the tree minis from the first box too). Having two boxes also means I can swap out one of the normal troopers for the specialist if i really need to save those two points. Furthermore, I can run two sections of these in a game, if I so desire. I doubt I will do this, as I have become rather attached to the Hussars that they would replace

Assembly

There is a bit of trial and error when building these models to see which set of legs goes with which trooper, as there is only one right way. A little more explanation as to which legs go with which body would be very helpful. The most fiddly part of the assembly is attaching the lower arms. Due to the nature of the minis, it's extremely hard to dry-fit the arms with the body in the exoskeleton. I have heard that some people have pinned these which a job of work as the arms, like most of Spartan's 32mm minis, are very thin. I tried to pin one, then gave up and used greenstuff to weld the join the elbow. This seems to be holding, but even then requires patience.

All in all, I am happy with these guys. The flash is easily removed, leaving not patching required, and the mold lines are minimal. The assembly required is not negligible, and requires patience. I won't count the mispack/miscast against them, as Spartan seem to be quick to rectify these matters.

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.