FANTASY BATTLES

The Musa Izly Cantina: Emulsion Paint Layer

2013-04-24T11:14:00.002+01:00

With the papier-mache layers completed, the next step was to cover the structure with a layer of emulsion paint.

The Musa Izly Cantina: Papier Mache Layers Done

2013-04-22T09:04:00.002+01:00

Good progress on the Musa Izly Cantina, with the papier-mache layers almost complete. The newsprint layers are finished, and all that remains to be done is a bit of touching up with some tissue paper.

Making A Lid for a 28mm Scale Holemouth Jar

2013-04-21T19:49:00.000+01:00

Once you have made your holemouth jar, it is quite a simple matter to make a little lid for it. To do this, it would be best to save a little of the polymer clay that you used for the jar itself, so that the lid and jar will both have the same colour.

The Musa Izly Cantina: First Layers of Papier-Mache

2013-04-17T17:13:00.000+01:00

Work continues apace on our papier-mache adobe house. Two layers of papier-mache so far, and fortunately the house is yet to show any sign of crumbling.

Making a Miniature Bed for 28-32mm Scale

2013-04-15T12:22:00.000+01:00

It is very easy to make a miniature bed for use inside your buildings. All you need is some coffee-stirrers and ice-cream sticks, wood glue, some styrofoam and some scrap cloth.

Making a Papier Mache Adobe House (WIP)

2013-04-14T19:34:00.003+01:00

My wife never ceases to amaze me. I had been casting around for ideas about how to build the frame for my hobbit house project, and she came up with this brilliant suggestion - papier-mache. Light, cheap and easy to make. We are not entirely certain if this will work, so, to test out the method, we have started a new project - an Arab style house made of papier-mache (which should prove to be useful , as my main army is a Zamoran force, using Perry Miniatures Saracens).

Miniature Holemouth Jars for 28-32mm Scale

2013-04-03T12:55:00.003+01:00

Ancient Israelite Holemouth Jar

Holemouth Jars were widely used for storage in ancient times. It is thought that they were used to hold things like grain, olive oil and dried fruit. Many such vessels have been found in archaeological sites in the Middle East dating to the biblical period.

These jars are especially easy to make in miniature because, unlike other storage jars, they do not have narrow necks but only a wide opening (which is where the name hole-mouth comes from). In some cases, the opening can even be as wide across as the body of the jar itself.

Jack the Giant Slayer Movie Review

2013-04-01T22:54:00.001+01:00

So we finally went to watch this last night, and were both very pleasantly surprised to find that it was a lot better than expected. Perhaps it was because we had been so badly disappointed by the last fairy-tale adaptation we had watched (ruined primarily by Kristen Stewart's truly awful acting). But Jack the Giant-Slayer turned out to be an engaging and enjoyable film with likeable characters, a remarkably well-played secondary villain and eye-catching special effects.

Fag End: a Bookshelf for Drongo

2013-03-26T16:23:00.000Z

Although our friend Drongo can hardly be described as an intellectual, he still does own a few old books, and so I thought it would be nice to make him a little bookshelf.

Gamezone Boar

2013-03-02T23:03:00.000Z

As mentioned in an earlier post, the wife is building an orc army to fight against my Perry Miniature Saracens. Most of these are Gamezone Orcs, although she does also have the Orc Shaman from Avatars of War.

So now she has finally made a start on painting her miniatures.

Fag End: Drongo's Room (WIP)

2012-12-29T17:29:00.000Z

Our hobbit friend Drongo Faggins, whose front garden we took a look at the last time, spends a lot of his time lounging around in this room. Although, like all hobbits, Drongo does enjoy reading, he is not quite as intellectual as his distant cousin Bilbo, and his reading matter does not consist of scholarly treatises or great works of literature. Instead, Drongo prefers the livelier pamphlets that are circulated in his neighbourhood, many of which can be found strewn around his little hobbit-hole.

Drongo's Room

Some Additional Thoughts on the Hobbit Movie

2012-12-15T12:46:00.003Z

Tolkien

The release of the new Hobbit movie has led to a great deal of angst on the internet about its “serious” deviations from the storyline in Tolkien’s book. Purists seem to be especially unhappy with the appearance of the orc-chieftain Azog, who is supposed to have been killed long before the events described in the book take place. Much of this complaining, however, as I shall demonstrate, is based on a simplistic reading of Tolkien. It is also the result of a failure to think in depth about the nature of Tolkien’s work, and, in particular, about the role of the narrator in it.

The Hobbit Movie Review

2012-12-13T16:08:00.001Z

Go and watch this film! Do it now! Do not wait for payday. Do not wait to read anymore reviews before going. And do not worry about all the whingeing and complaining there has been about it in the media.

Fag End: a Not-so-Posh Hobbit Hole (WIP)

2012-12-12T11:50:00.000Z

So with all the excitement about the new Hobbit movie over the last few months, I decided to have a go at building my own little hobbit hole in 28mm scale. Unfortunately, progress has not exactly been rapid in the construction of Fag End, due to numerous constraints, and only the front entrance, mounted on an MDF base, has been completed so far.

Fag End

Printable Miniature Pamphlets

2012-12-11T23:27:00.000Z

Like greeting cards, pamphlets are another set of items that would fit nicely in a hobbit-hole, as hobbits are comparatively well-read creatures. One can easily imagine an educated hobbit like Bilbo Baggins, for example, reading and chuckling over a well-written pamphlet.

Pamphlet 1


Pamphlet 2

Raging Heroes Blood Vestals Review

2012-09-15T12:22:00.002+01:00

Raging Heroes are a new company making 28mm scale miniatures using 3D computer technology. Most of their figures are designed to be used in place of official Games Workshop miniatures. The Blood Vestals discussed in this post, for example, are clearly meant to represent Witch Elves from the Warhammer universe. Similarly, their flagship Asharah figure is supplied with three different heads that allow her to be used as a heroine for either a Dark Elf, Vampire Counts or Chaos army. Other Raging Heroes figures that are obviously designed as alternatives for Warhammer include their Mantis Warriors (Chaos Daemonettes) and a Dark Elf Sorceress.

CYCLADES: DEVELOPMENT Expansion for the Age of Conan Board Game

2012-09-12T17:00:00.000+01:00

This is an expansion for the Age of Conan Strategy Board Game that introduces a new set of game components, represented by tokens and cards from the Cyclades Board Game. The tokens are used to represent buildings and a metropolis. The cards represent priests and philosophers.

The Age of Conan board game actually consists of three mini-games incorporated into an overall game. This expansion adds more complexity to the game, and involves developing players’ home provinces.

Miniature Ceramic Bowls for 28-32mm Scale

2012-07-31T10:23:00.002+01:00

As I discussed here, clay pottery was used for a variety of purposes in pre-modern societies, and adding miniature ceramic objects like bowls and jars is a great way to make your dioramas more realistic.

This is my girlfriend's method for making a miniature bowl and it is very easy. You only need some appropriately coloured polymer clay and a craft instrument with a rounded tip. The bowl will be formed around the tip, so get an instrument that is appropriately sized.

Lord of the Rings Lego!!

2012-07-16T11:44:00.001+01:00

A great way to introduce your kids to fantasy miniatures!!!

Printable Miniature Greeting Cards

2012-07-15T12:00:00.003+01:00

The nice thing about designing a Hobbit hole diorama is that you can include little things that might appear out of place and even a little anachronistic in most other fantasy-medieval settings. Take greeting cards, for example. One would not expect to see these in a medieval castle, or even an elven haven. But we all know, of course, that hobbits celebrate their birthdays by throwing parties, and like giving away presents. We also know that they take great pride in writing letters to their friends and relatives. So it only seems natural that they would send each other birthday cards as well, although these may not be printed but hand-drawn.

Greeting Card 1

Hand-drawn Card


Greeting Card 2

Printable Miniature Hobbit-Hole Paintings

2012-06-30T20:30:00.003+01:00

These two are circular because they were designed for use in my forthcoming hobbit-hole diorama.

I have circular frames for these, cut from random plastic items and painted to look like circular frames of wood, so that they can be fitted around these two to make circular paintings for hanging up on the walls.

Hedgehog Birthday

2012-04-11T21:02:00.000+01:00

So my girlfriend made this hedgehog cake for my birthday because... well, I had made a hedgehog house in a vain attempt to attract hedgehogs into our garden, but the bloody cat hijacked the hedgehog house instead.

Wrath of the Titans Movie Review

2012-04-05T11:33:00.010+01:00

So we went to watch the Wrath of the Titans this weekend, and really, it was dire.

CYCLADES: MYTHOLOGY Expansion for the Age of Conan Board Game

2012-03-14T23:18:00.004Z

This expansion for the Age of Conan Strategy Board Game introduces a new set of game components, represented by miniatures from the Cyclades Board Game. These miniatures are used to represent four unique Mythological Creatures.

The Age of Conan game, although it may appear at first to be a war game like Risk, does place a lot of emphasis on players taking control of Conan in the game and guiding him on his adventures. This expansion builds on this aspect of game play, providing four Epic Quests for Conan to go on, and making his adventures an even more important part of the game.

Game Concept Explanations for the RAVENLOFT Expansion for Age of Conan

2012-03-14T00:07:00.024Z

Why were Alissa and Kat chosen for this expansion instead of the other heroes?
The Hyborian world does not contain Elves and Dwarves like the Middle Earth of Tolkien. This makes the two human characters from Castle Ravenloft the most suitable for use in the Age of Conan game.