200th Anniversary of Waterloo

This weekend marked the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo.  I have not been painting much in the right genre to post any miniatures for the period, nor have I been able to game much in that tie either recently, but it would be remiss of me to let this historic even pass without comment. A friend of mine posted this quote on facebook, that I liked, and thought I would share with you all.

From a memoir of Brussels just before Waterloo, by an English military officer on furlough from his regiment in Ceylon (source):

"This city is filled with British and Hanoverian troops. Their conduct is exemplary, nor is any complaint made against them. The Highland regiments are however the favourites of the Bruxellois, and the inhabitants give them the preference as lodgers. They are extremely well behaved (they say, when speaking of the Highlanders) and they cheerfully assist the different families on whom they are quartered in their household labour. This reflects a good deal of credit on the gallant sons of Caledonia. Their superior morality to those of the same class either in England or in Ireland must strike every observer, and must, in spite of all that the Obscuranten or Chevaliers de l'Eteignoir and others who wish to check the progress of the human mind may urge to the contrary, be mainly attributed to the general prevalence of education a la portée de tout le monde. Wherever the people are enlightened there is less crime; ignorance was never yet the safeguard of virtue. As for myself I honour and esteem the Scottish nation and I must say that I have found more liberal ideas and more sound philosophy among individuals of that nation than among those of any other, and it is a tribute I owe to them loudly to proclaim my sentiments; for though personal gratitude may seem to influence me a little on this subject, yet I should never think of putting forth my opinion in public, were it not founded on an impartial observation of the character of this enterprising and persevering people. A woman who had some Highlanders quartered in her house told me in speaking of them: "Monsieur, ce sont de si bonnes gens; ils sont doux comme des agneaux." "Ils n'en seront pas moins des lions an jour du combat," was my reply."

In other Waterloo related news, I thought this article was fun. I want one of those 2,5 euro coins now! 

Eiryss, Magehunter of Ios

Eiryss was one of the first Warmachine miniatures I bought, back with my manhuter and Khador box set. She has sat in a sad state of being semi-painted for the last 10 years or so. In an attempt to get through my WM minis, I brought her right to the front of the queue. That was helped by the fact that she is still a great mini to bring to the table, still very competitive after all these years. So here we go, the 4th widowmaker.

Gamer's Vault has decided to resurect Colore ton Monde, as the snappily titled "GV Monthly Painting Challenge". Maybe they're going to work on the name. Anyhow, since the month was already underway when the challenge was issued, this month we just have to finish something already started. Since Eiryss was started back in about 2003, I think she counts.

Khador Caster Challenge, Irusk update

This is not a full post for the Khador Caster Challenge, but just a quick update with a final version of Irusk. I was initially unsure what to do with his base, however, I found some trench bases I had made way back for Strakov and his Assault Kommandos, and appropriated one for Irusk. The thing with Irusk, however, is once he plants his feet somehere, he's all but inpossible to displace. He was so well stuck onto the base he was on, I had to hack the base to bits with my wirecutters to get him off. Fortunately, any damage to his feet during that process, and the subsequent pinning, were completely hidden by the trenchworks.

Initially I had a yellow leaf stuck to the trench mud as well as the red one, picking out colours from his scheme, but the yellow one seems to have fallen off along the way.

Speaking of Strakov, here's a quick WIP of him, as I started him for the June entry in my challenge. The eyes seemed a little cartoonish, but my fix seems more like my brush slipped. I'm  going to have to go back over his face.

Khador Caster Challenge, May: Kommander Orsus Zoktavir

Kommander Orsus Zoktavir, or eButcher took a little longer than I had planned. Indeed, I thought I was finished, at the end of the month, but had forgotten to do his boots. Always the last part to paint but now they are done and dusted.

I now have my camera fixed, so no longer camera phone images, which were coming out a little striated. However, it has taken me so long to take these pictures, the mini has become chipped, and is already in need of repairs.

 

That now leaves the running total at:

Casters Painted: 7
Old Witch and Scrapjack
Zerkova
pVlad (Variant)
pButcher
pIrusk
eButcher

Casters to Paint: 5
eIrusk
pSorscha
eSorscha
Strakov
eVlad


Next up on the painting table is Strakov.

VASA: Major Kali

May was an okay month for painting,  ut a crap month for getting the posts out with what I've been doing. I think I may be stretched a little with the number of blogs I'm trying to cover on top of all the usual life stuff that insists on getting in the way of painting and blogging. May was also the second instalment of the WM/H league at my FLGS. I managed to play two games in total and painted up two minis for that. That aside, I have been distracted some very old minis I dug out for Void.

In part because of the Viridian Wars blog, and in part just because they are beautiful, and yet simple figures, these are what have been taking up my painting time.My post on Kali on that blog can be read here. It goes into different details that just the painting, so go check it out.

I am very happy with the way she has turned out, especially the two brush blending on the purple, and the way her hair is in the same colours, but clearly separate. I was uninspired by the base she is on, so I have prepped another, and will try to re-base her shortly.