Ubique

Ogre - Avast B'Hind, Part 5 of 5

2012-01-26T01:22:00.000Z

Modifications: Hook hand, sword & belly plate anchor detail.

The most obvious mod here is the hook hand, another stock-in-trade for your average buccaneer. The hook was made from a cut down piece of the grappling hook, located into a hole drilled into the arm and glued into place. This proved to be too fragile (i.e. clumsy muggins here kept on breaking it) so I secured it in place with more greenstuff.

And finally, another subtle mod is the anchor detail added to belly plate using three strips of greenstuff to make up the basic shape. Once in place the strips were then trimmed with a scalpel to create the desired look.

This concludes the pirate ogre posts. I hope you've enjoyed reading about them as much as I enjoyed making them. Hopefully you'll agree that by making a few relatively simple modifications you can make your miniatures stand out from the crowd. I still have several more ideas for modifications based on the pirate theme so you may see a couple more pirate ogres in the future.

I haven't yet decided on which project to concentrate on next but it just might be something completely different (again) from anything else seen previously on this blog.

Ogre Standard Bearer - Jolly Roger, Part 4 of 5

2012-01-25T00:57:00.000Z

Modifications: Bandana & sword

The bandana was made from a ball of greenstuff as described in the previous post.

Perhaps the most subtle (and easiest) mod of them all. The end of the sword was simply trimmed to look more like a cutlass with its curved top edge of the blade.

Because Ade had already painted up a jolly nice Jolly Roger style standard I didn't want to create something exactly the same or too different (if that makes sense?). After a brief discussion with Ade, a typical quote sounding like, "Yep I agree, bones are more 'ogre' than swords." we decided on the one shown. The standard itself is based on the historic pirate flag of Henry Avery. Unusually the flag is often shown as red, not the traditional black we normally associate with pirates. As mentioned previously this colour helps tie the figures together.

On the standard itself I added broken ships steering wheels, a pistol with new trigger guard and the set of cannon balls hanging from the crow's next. I painted a treasure map onto the model conveniently located on the back of the crow's nest.

Ogre Musician (Bellower) "Thar he blows!", Part 3 of 5

2012-01-24T01:09:00.001Z

Modifications: False leg, bandana, cup & barrel.

The logic behind this figure is that this is an ogre who has lost his leg but still serves a useful purpose, as a musician. He also carries light refreshments for his ogre chums, a barrel of rum or grog and side order of raw steak.

The classic look of a pirate (Treasure Island etc.) normally shows a poor chap with false leg. Here this was shaped by first removing the left leg to the level of the boot. This saved me from having to re-sculpt the trousers. The leg itself was created using two different sized balls of greenstuff and the plastic inner tube from a pen. This tube was simply cut down then stuck into the top bit making sure it was set at the correct angle. Once the greenstuff began to harden I used the flat edge of a scalpel to flatten and smooth out the top section.

The bandana was made from a ball of greenstuff plopped on top of the model's head and smoothed down. Two strips of greenstuff were added to create the 'tails' of the bandana. Using a metal scribe I made the creases and folds to give it a more realistic look.

Similar to how notches were said to be added to guns (and in a certain nocturnal location!) I cut several notches into the back of the sword to indicate previous victories.

The small cup itself was made from part of the sprue. The body of the cup was hollowed out with a hand drill and scalpel and the handle was made from a thin roll of greenstuff.

The steak was also trimmed down. or more precisely the hook was trimmed so it would sit closer to the body. Also the hair, still attached to the meat, was cut away as it was too close to the ground.

Cap'n Ogre Avery - Champion (Crusher), Part 2 of 5

2012-01-23T01:34:00.001Z

Modifications: Naval style headwear, musket, telescope and parrot.

In order to make this ogre champion stand out I decided to give him a distinguishing head piece. Familiar to anyone who's watched a period British navy film the distinct bicorn hat was made first by giving the figure a basic skull cap made from greenstuff. Once this was cured I made the two halves of the hat by simply making a flat circular disk, dividing it into two equal parts; then moulding it around the skull cap at a jaunty angle. Well he is a pirate champion after all. As a finishing touch, I added a cockade and ribbon.

The musket was taken from the Warhammer Empire Militia set. The hands and arm were removed, then cut and shunted onto the right hand ogre part which was itself a standard piece holding the club (from the ogre box set); the top and bottom parts of the club being simply cut away.

The telescope was from a handful of spares that I 'borrowed' from Ade taken from, I believe, another ogre set. I removed a section of the telescope's barrel and did a 'cut and shunt' job with a spare left ogre hand part.

"This parrot was deceased." (apologies to any Monty Python fans)

The idea for the parrot came very late; I was literally ready to prime all the figures when I saw in a Sunday newspaper a picture of Eddie Izzard starring in a television version of Treasure Island. Sitting on his shoulder was a beautiful multi-coloured parrot. Ping, light bulb moment! All pirate themed ogres should have at least one dodgy looking bird crew member.

I initially contemplated making a bird from scratch but being a lazy bugger I wondered if I could utilise something else. In the dark, dim recesses of my mind I recalled seeing some type of bird being supplied with a set of Games Workshop figures. It took a while to remember where this was but it finally dawned on me. It was in the Warhammer Empire Archers set. However once I'd located the box and had a look, the bird wasn't a hawk or a similarly suitable model, it was a dead pheasant being held aloft by one of the archers, pierced by an arrow. Fudge cakes!

After a deep breath I carefully removed the archer's hand and arm, the arrow and the legs. Feathers were cut back into the plastic using a scribe and a scalpel. The head wasn't in the correct position so I chopped it off, cut the neck at an angle and repositioned it in a more natural looking position. However it still looked like a pheasant. So out came the greenstuff and I tried to bulk out the head and neck. The greenstuff would also help secure the head onto the body. I'm not entirely happy with the final result (I personally think it still looks like a deceased pheasant) but it's close enough.

Dirty Bird

The parrot's legs were replaced with two pieces of brass rod. I used these to pin the parrot into the ogre's shoulder. Once fixed in place, I used greenstuff to fill in any gaps and created claws from thin rolls of greenstuff. All this helped to secure the parrot on to the model.

Ogres, Games Workshop - Part 1 of 5

2012-01-22T09:02:00.001Z

Ahoy there shipmates and me fellow landlubber hearties (sorry, that's enough pirate talk from me), these plastic ogre figures from Games Workshop detailed in this post were made and painted especially for my old shipmate Ade. He has a very entertaining YouTube channel 'WargamingForFun' (does exactly what it says on the tin) which is mainly based on games using Games Workshop's Warhammer Fantasy, although he has plans to expand to cover other gaming systems and manufacturers.

Ogre Avery and his merry band of cut-throat pirates

As I wanted to give Ade something in return for all of his recent hospitality in his man-cave I offered to paint up some figures for him. Making and painting fantasy figures is an ideal opportunity to do something completely different from my usual drawn out historical projects.

If you watch the videos you may notice one of Ade's current favourite army's is that of the Ogre Kingdom. The basic core units of the army are obviously your standard Ogres, these are big figures, literally twice the size of other figures. They are currently £23 for six ogres (£3.83 per figure). Ade had himself recently completed some very impressive figures based on a pirate theme, so with this great idea in mind I decided to have a go myself. Ade handed over two ogres but I suggested a group of four, giving me an ideal base from which to start; the usual three figure command group plus a normal figure to even up the numbers.

Some of the painting and modification ideas were immediately obvious.
Pirate flag - check,
Wooden false leg - check,
Cutlasses - check,
Pistols and muskets - check.

With all this in mind I armed myself to the teeth, proper pirate fashion, with scalpel, plastic cutters, needle files, greenstuff and paintbrushes and went to work. I was in modeling modifying heaven.

Ogres crossing Abbey Road

I've played down the butcher aspect of the ogres and tried to emphasise the more nautical theme. I'll go into more detail on individual posts highlighting the modification on each figure (hence five posts in total).

Regarding the overall 'look' of the figures I used my normal basic technique of block painting, applying the appropriate coloured wash and then finishing with a complimentary highlight to the base colour. As pirates didn't have a standard uniform back in the ye olden days I decided to keep the paint jobs relatively simply. Bog standard Citadel Foundation paints were used straight from the pot, using a different colour for each ogre's clothing; although it may be worth noting that I intentionally used red on each figure to tie them together colour-wise as a group.

Ogres coming back across Abbey Road

The bases were simply covered in sand and painted with Foundry's Base Sand 10A, B and C.

Painting-wise these miniatures are never going to be Golden Demon winners, but that was never the plan. Look closely and you'll see that they are actually quite crude. This isn't false modesty on my behalf or a crude amount to fish for compliments, for instance I don't blend the paints and apply multi-layered highlights. These figures are meant to be handled and played with. In fact they have already survived being dropped several times and the drunken attempts of an pickled painter (i.e. me after an evening of drinking real ale) having a go at them.

I'll be publishing four more posts on these ogres, one every day. So, in the immortal words of Casey Kasem, "Details coming up!"

New Approach for 2012 - Twitter

2012-01-11T19:58:00.002Z

As I'm sure regular readers will agree, I'm fully aware how little I actually post regarding models or miniatures on this site. As the title of this blogspot indicates my interests range far and wide. Consequently the posts may often appear quite random with miniatures featuring less frequently than I'd like. However, believe it or not, I do actually produce a lot more than it may appear.

Obviously I normally tend to 'press the button' only once I'm completely happy that the post is ready to be published. For example I have an eight part (minimum) posting ready to go on the subject of the late medieval Lord Dudley. The only thing preventing me from finishing the painting of the figures is that simple fact that I can't determine exactly how the livery colours are halved. Sad but true.

Another of several reasons for this is due to the fact that I try to get the uniforms and histories as accurate (and readable) as possible before I publish a post. The correct shade of dark blue for US infantry from the War of 1812 anyone? Nope, even after numerous purchases of pots of paint, I'm still looking. I have dozens (and dozens!) of miniatures primed and ready to paint.

Likewise for the ongoing War of 1812 project I can't establish a (relatively) small colour detail for a set of British 19th Dragoons miniatures. It's not the fact I'm concerned that someone might point out the error, it's just that I'd know it might not be correct and it would annoy me endlessly.

Another factor is commission work. I've painted a number of new, unreleased miniatures for companies that I can't post here yet for obvious reasons. These can take up a lot of my painting time and then I just have to wait until the relevant company releases them. For instance, the Scots ECW Dragoons, commissioned by Warlord Games, were completed nearly a year before I could put any images or posts online.

Hence the painfully slow post rate. Unfortunately I don't have the time, content or inclination to post everyday (or even every week) here on Blogger. Anyway, back to the point of all this waffle; in a vain attempt to prove I'm not just completely lazy I've decided to use that other great modern time-wasting invention: Twitter. As I have the attention span of a disinterested goldfish, I'm hoping that this will help me maintain a degree of focus. I hope to post (tweet?) on that site on a far more regular basis; almost in a 'Dear Diary' style and use this blog as before, for the completed projects. Well that's the plan anyway.

A link to the site can be found via the page conveniently labelled Twitter or via this link: https://twitter.com/#!/UbiqueMatt

Monnow Bridge, Monmouth

2011-12-30T16:53:00.000Z

Monmouth is a town in the south-east of Wales, probably best known amongst those interested in history as the birthplace of King Henry V (16th September 1386).

Of particular interest is the Monnow bridge. The following info is taken from panels located on or nearby the bridge itself.

"Monnow Bridge built circa 1270, as a town defence is the only surviving medieval bridge in Britain with the gate tower standing on the bridge. The gatehouse has served as a toll-house, guard room, gaol and dwelling house."

"Monnow Bridge was built in about 1272. However, it was not the first bridge at this site. In 1988 construction works for the flood alleviation scheme exposed the remains of an earlier timber bridge. Analysis of the timber dated the construction to about 1140. The remains are preserved below the river bed, under the existing bridge."

More information about the bridge can be found here.

Surprisingly the bridge remained in use as a road bridge until as recently as March 2004 when a new bridge opened just a short distance downstream.

The Millennium Plinth is located nearby. Made from 40 tiles illustrating the town's history, the two below caught my attention detailing aspects from the ECW .

Millennium Plinth detail

The normal toy soldier posting service will be resumed shortly (honest), but until then I'd like to wish all the followers and readers of this blog a very Happy New Year for 2012.

National & Regimental Colours, 4th American Regiment of Infantry, 1812

2011-12-18T11:39:00.002Z

On a recent visit to the fine principality of Wales, we visited the Museum of the Welsh Soldier located within Cardiff Castle. The museum covers the development and history of the modern 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards and The Royal Welsh Regiment.

Sharing a joint interest in the period my brother called my attention to the following display.

Quote from information panel:
"National Colours and (above it) a fragment from the Regimental Colour of the 4th American Regiment of Infantry.

These are extremely rare. The Colours (flags) are the heart of an infantry regiment. The US Army has not lost many. These Colours were surrendered to our 41st Foot after the capture of Fort Detroit on 16 August 1812, during the War of 1812."

National Colour - Detail of Eagle

'The Forth Regiment' detail

Interestingly the US Army didn't use the famous 'Stars & Stripes' during this period.

You are not allowed to use flash photography in the museum and the lighting around the flags are deliberately keep subdued to protect the habit, hence the poor quality of the images (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!).

Due to the low lighting levels I couldn't tell if the Regimental flag was buff, white or yellow, the traditional colours used. Versions of this flag, suitable for 28mm figures, are available from Flags of War - 1812 US Regiment flags.

As far as I'm aware the only other US flags from this period still held in British hands are in the Shropshire Regimental Museum at Shrewbury Castle. These are the flags of the 68th , 85th and the 1st Harford Light Dragoons captured, oddly enough, by the British 85th Light Infantry.

Scots Saker Cannon, Warlord Games

2011-12-09T19:06:00.001Z

Regular readers may remember this particular post showing Scots Dragoons where I mentioned that I had also painted a saker cannon for the same company. Anyway reading about one of the latest releases from Warlord Games, New Alexander Leslie, Lord Leven I scrolled down right down to the very end and noticed these familiar chaps: Scots Saker Cannon (click on the images to enlarge them).

I had actually initially painted the carriage red but around the same time I attended a re-enactment display at Kenilworth castle. Speaking to the interesting crew manning the artillery one fellow mentioned that Scots artillery was 'associated with the colour yellow' as he phased it. I went back home and re-painted the carriage and was reasonably pleased with the results.

I've been temporary distracted by other periods (and shock horror - another scale!) at the moment. but I do have some more ECW pieces on the workbench but these will hopefully feature some time in early 2012. Looks scary when you write that date down, doesn't it? Where has the year gone?

Tenskwatawa, the Shawnee Prophet, Conquest Miniatures

2011-12-03T10:17:00.000Z

Tenskwatawa, (1775 – 1836) was the brother of the famous Tecumseh. Tenskwatawa was himself a religious and political leader of the Shawnee tribe. This figure is from the Eastern Woodland Indians range by Conquest Miniatures, Item Number: 500-012. The two figure set also contains Tecumseh.

Tenskwatawa

Regulars readers may be even more surprised to know I actually plan the colour schemes of these figures such as using predominately reds and blues for the materials. The feathers are painted to represent eagle feathers and the animal skins are painted to represent black bearskin as this species (I believe) inhabit that particular part of the world.

Tecumseh, Conquest Miniatures

2011-12-03T00:48:00.002Z

This is figure depicting the famous Shawnee leader Tecumseh (March 1768 – 5th October 1813) from the Eastern Woodland Indians range from Conquest Miniatures, Item Number: 500-012. The two figure set also contains Tenskwatawa. A detailed account of his life can be found on-line at Wikipedia

Tecumseh

Article taken from the Conquest Miniature website, temporary (hopefully) unavailable, covering the appearance of Eastern Woodland Indians by Tim Greene:
Shawnee Tribe
"The Shawnee, meaning “southerners”, were a tribe of wanderers who were often invited by other tribes to live among them because of their reputation as fierce fighters. An Algonquian speaking people closely related to the Sac & Fox they lived from the Great Lakes region to the Carolinas. The Shawnee claim to have prevented the Iroquois from completing their conquest of the Ohio Valley. They certainly resisted white expansion into the Ohio Valley more fiercely than any other tribe. They threw up a great leader in Tecumseh who came very close to creating a pan-Indian confederacy, which might have slowed or even halted the westward expansion of the white frontier.

Shawnee men wore tanned leather breechclout small with short flap in front. Deerskin leggings above the knee gartered below the knee with fringes along the side seams and fastened to a belt with straps. Garments were simple, sometimes decorated with fringes. Other ornamentation was rarely used; when it was arrow, chevron, and zigzag designs were preferred. The roach was rarely worn by the Shawnees. Men shaved the head in front and attached feathers at the back or left the hair long and loose. Some Shawnee wrapped their long finger woven sashes round their heads like turbans. Moccasins were soft-soled one piece with a seam up the front from toe to instep covered by quillwork. Cuffs were small and turned down. Face paint was usually red. Very, very fine lines were sometimes tattooed on the face. In overall appearance the Shawnee were rather simple and plain compared to the other tribes.

By the early nineteenth century all the tribes were wearing a lot of cloth manufactured in England or America, especially calicoes and red or blue strouding. Sashes were often woven around the head like a turban. These five tribes were some of the major players in the Ohio Valley. The next installment will look at the tribes of the Great Lakes region."

Pontiac, Conquest Miniatures

2011-12-02T07:39:00.000Z

This figure of Pontiac (c. 1720 – 20th April 1769) is from the Eastern Woodland Indians by Conquest Miniatures, Item Number: 500-011. A brief account of his life can be found thanks to Wikipedia.

Pontiac

Pontiac - note body tattoos.

I thought I would attempt to depict the figure decorated with tattoos. After a brief Google search which initially resulted in some frankly bizarre and random images I eventually found something more appropriate. These were loosely based on the body art ‘worn’ by the Iroquois character played by Mark Deacascos in the entertaining 2001 French film ‘Brotherhood of the Wolf’.

Following article taken from the Conquest Miniature website, temporary (hopefully) unavailable, covering the appearance of Eastern Woodland Indians by Tim Greene:

Ottawa Tribe
"The Ottawa were too far north for agriculture and their land was poor in the wild rice so abundant in the land of the Dakota and Chippewa. There also was few fur bearing animals in Ottawa country. So the Ottawa became great traders. This honed their diplomatic skill and they eventually produced one of the greatest Native American leaders, Pontiac. The Ottawa had a reputation for cunning, treachery, and cruelty. They were adequate warriors. Very loyal to the French they were the nucleus of anti-British hostility after the French and Indian War.

The French often remarked on the prevalence of nudity among the Ottawa’s. Men usually wore only a robe and moccasins. Sometimes a fitted leather breechclout was worn with flaps in front and back, decorated with quillwork. Leggings, when worn, were thigh length simple tubes of hide, fringed on the outside seams and gartered just below the knees. Among the Ottawa the roach was worn by some men. The head was often shaved except for a central tuft standing high from front to back decreasing in height towards the back and a scalplock hanging from the crown. The hair could be worn in two or four braids sometimes wrapped in fur or thongs. Others allowed the hair to hang loose or shaved it all except for a tuft at the crown. Ottawa moccasins were deerskin and sometimes moosehide one piece soft soled with seam from toe to instep and the sole puckered into it. The seam was often covered with a strip of quillwork. Cuffs were usually attached and could be worn down or up around the ankle fastened with thongs. The sole was later puckered into a U or oval shaped vamp as among the Ojibwa.

Ottawa men were commonly tattooed. Designs included lizards, snakes, and geometrical figures, sometimes covering the entire body. The face and body were painted with red, brown, green, and black."

Black Hawk, Conquest Miniatures

2011-12-01T19:17:00.000Z

Regular readers of this blog may be surprised to see these latest figures but I have actually held a long interest in both the American War of Independence (AWI) and the War of 1812, in the latter Native Americans played a very active roll. My own interest actually dates back to a fondly remembered holiday road trip taken with my brother back in the mid 1990’s and involved driving from Boston to New York via Toronto and Niagara.

Along the way we visited numerous locations associated with these conflicts such as Concord, Lexington, Mohawk Valley, Saratoga, Queenston Heights and several fortifications including Forts George, Niagara and Erie.

Probably one of the least well know theatres of war during the Napoleonic period the War of 1812 helped strengthen both the American and Canadian national identities although it is still largely unknown here in the UK.

Therefore to redress the balance ever so slightly there are the first of many figures I am preparing to represent this period.

I won’t insult anyone’s intelligence by pretending to know much about these historical figures so rather than give a detailed history I thought I’d provide a number of useful links instead. from sites such as Wikipedia.

These figures are from the Eastern Woodland Indians by Conquest Miniatures, Item Number: 500-011. Their website is currently being updated so (without permission) I have included a few notes taken from tribal articles that previously appeared on their site (these appear in italics). Hopefully they’ll re-instate the articles once the website is up and running properly.

First up is Black Hawk (1767 – 3rd October 1838). This figure comes in a set of two, the other being Pontiac which I will detail in another post.

Black Hawk

Portrait of Chief Black Hawk
by Charles Bird King

The Black Hawk figure is obviously based on this portrait and shows the sculptor’s skill in recreating a historical character.

Following article taken from the Conquest Miniature website, temporary (hopefully) unavailable, covering the appearance of Eastern Woodland Indians by Tim Greene:
Fox Tribe
"The Fox were an Algonquian speaking people who may have originally come from the Michigan Peninsula. They were part of the Fire Nation, a confederacy also containing the Sac, Kickapoo, and Mascouten who were driven into Wisconsin during the invasions of the Great Lakes region by the refugees fleeing from the Iroquois. The Fox were especially formidable fighters. In the 18th Century they unwisely chose to single-handedly oppose the French while simultaneously alienating most of their neighbors. This resulted in the near destruction of the Fox Nation. The remnants were taken in by the Sacs and became the Sauk & Fox Nation.

Fox men wore breechclout and moccasins in summer with thigh length leggings and a shirt added in winter. Leggings were fairly fitted with fringes at the sides and large pointed flaps at the bottom, which covered most of the foot. The leggings were seamed up front and had garters sometimes of fur. Geometric quillwork and later floral and traditional moosehair embroidery decorated garments which were lavishly covered, more so than among the Sauk. Garments could also be painted in bright hues in solids and stripes or figures and designs like the Miami. Among the Fox the roach was almost universal. Men shaved the head with a tuft running from front to back left on and a scalplock left hanging from the crown. The tuft was sometimes shaved leaving the scalplock and roach and the top part of the shaved skull was painted red. Some Fox wore a turban of otter fur. A few sported buffalo horn headdresses captured from enemies like the Sioux and Iowa. Some Fox wore a tuft from side to side rather than front to back on the shaved head. One segment of the tribe wore their hair long and loose. Fox moccasins were soft-soled one piece with a seam up the front from toe to instep covered by quillwork. Flaps or cuffs of men’s moccasins were of exaggerated size and heavily decorated with quillwork or embroidery in geometric patterns, each flap with a different design then reversed on the other moccasin as for the Sauk, Miami, and Potawatomi. Fox warriors used red and black pigments. Some Fox chiefs painted by a European artist had their faces painted blue. Yellow, red, and black stripes could be painted on the lower half of the face. Hands painted on the body meant an enemy killed in hand-to-hand combat."

Scots Dragoons, Warlord Games - Part 2 of 2

2011-10-06T01:02:00.000+01:00

The mounted versions of these dragoons are laden down with loot/provisions including rabbits, chickens, lanterns and bottles of liquid refreshment. I must admit that it took me a while to figure out just what exactly was hanging from the saddle but it is definitely worth trying to highlight these details.

Dragoon with rabbit

Careful planning (or just a bit of forward thinking) is needed when fixing the mounted figures to their horses otherwise some will appear to be sticking their firearms right into their colleagues ear holes - never a good idea.

Mounted dragoons on mass

Dismounted dragoons.

As with the Scots Covenanter infantry I painted the majority with blue bonnets, complete with sprigs of heather and saffron shirts. As regular readers will know I'm a complete muppet and will not be surprised to know I forgot to take any photos of the Covenanter Saker I also painted for Warlord Games.

Scots Dragoons, Warlord Games - Part 1 of 2

2011-10-05T01:11:00.001+01:00

Further to the infantry detailed previously I was also asked by the chaps at Warlord Games to paint up a set of Scots Dragoons that nicely compliment their Covenanter figures.

There are twenty four figures in total, these depict twelve mounted and dismounted versions of the same Dragoon. It's useful to remember this when you are preparing and painting the figures, especially regarding the bonnets as there are definite matching pairs.

Ensign - Mounted and on foot

Ensign

Dragoon officer - mounted and on foot

Dragoon officer

Dragoon officer - rear view

Drummer - Mounted and on foot

Drummer

Drummer - rear view

Next up will be more of the rank and file figures.

Scots Covenanters Warlord Games - Part 2

2011-10-04T07:34:00.000+01:00

Here are a few more individual close up shoots of the Scots Covenanters from Warlord Games. The first are the metal command figures. Typical of WG metal miniatures they are full of detail and reward careful painting. I think if you click on the images you'll get a larger version pop up.

Captain

Ensign

Billy the Piper

Sergeant

Sergeant - Rear View

Pike Block

Musket Block

After a recent chance meeting with those nice chaps from Warlord Games, Messrs Stallard and Sawyer (BANG, CLANG - sorry, that was just the sound of my blatant namedropping), I asked if it was ok to post my own crappy pictures of Scots Covenanters (and several others) on this blog.

I understand that these figures will feature in an upcoming newsletter (i.e. they will have been photographed properly) but with the large volume of new products WG are producing this might not appear for a while.

Scots Covenanters, Warlord Games - Part 1

2011-10-03T18:58:00.002+01:00

A while ago Warlord Games asked me to paint up a set of their Scots Covenanters infantry. The main challenge was attempting to paint Hodden Grey. It's an unusual colour; not exactly grey and not really brown. Take a look at the ceremonial dress of the modern Territorial Army London Scottish Regiment to see what I mean. On reflection most of these figures are too light/grey as I tried to copy the box art (if in doubt - blame someone else, in this case the excellent cover artist Peter Dennis) rather than the browner version seen in some of the figures. Anyway you live and learn.

Covenanter Regiment

Command Group detail

Note the damaged flag complete with bullet and cannonball holes. Don't tell anyone but it wasn't my initial plan to use this particular flag (also provided with the box set). I cocked up and ruined the undamaged version so replaced it with the one shown.

Command Group

Part of the brief was that the the command group and the four of the pikemen were to be based individually. This is a practical method which would enable them to be photographed. Easy peasy for the command group as least. However the position of the separate pikeman had to planned because if I had positioned them all centrally then there is no way the bases would have lined up. Therefore the rear placed pikemen were offset to their right and the front pikemen were offset slightly to their left. Hopefully this makes sense when you look at the photos above.

The blue bonnets complete with sprigs of heather and saffron shirts are all quite subtle but really do make these distinctive figures stand out but also make gives the unit a cohesive look.

Dwarfs, Mantic Games

2011-09-30T01:31:00.000+01:00

These little fellas are taken from the (dungeon crawling) board game 'Dwarf King's Hold: Dead Rising' from Mantic Games. They will eventually face the Undead Skeleton Troop when I get a chance to play the game. The miniatures are a mixture of Ironclad Warriors and Shieldbreakers apparently (I must admit I haven't clue as to which are which).

Some of the figures required a small amount of (very simple) assembly but they go together without any of the problems that I experienced with some the skeletons.

This green and yellow chap comes as one piece

This Arm & Hammer dwarf figure simply
needs the hammerhead gluing into position.

This black and white figure is another that only
needs the hammerhead gluing into position.

Dwarf taking a power nap.

The miniatures were painted with a mixture of both Citadel and Foundry paint. The figures themselves don't appear as shiny as they do in real life, thankfully. There is one final dwarf left to paint (or repaint) and numerous bits and pieces such as the Dwarf dog. The various sprues come with lots of nice extras, something that Games Workshop often do, which I'll detail on the next relevant posting.

Empire Greatswords, Games Workshop (aka Renaissance Landsknechts)

2011-09-05T07:44:00.000+01:00

"And now for something else completely different...."

Empire Greatswords

When I first started this blog many years ago I mentioned that one of the reasons I got back into modeling and painting was a reaction against computer gaming. Wasting hours in front of a computer monitor struck me as being a pretty soul destroying, and ultimately pointless. experience. At least playing games with figures I would have something tangible to show for it. Admittedly not that many people are impressed by a box full of toy soldiers but it keeps me occupied.

As my mates over at WargamingForFun seemed to be having far too much fun playing the Warhammer Fantasy rules I thumbed through the rule book. What caught my eye was the Empire army. It seems obvious that they are based on late medieval/early renaissance period continental armies. This time period has been a long time interest of mine and was recently renewed after I read about Martin Schwartz, the German mercenary who fought at the Battle of Stoke Field in June 1487 (an excellent book on the subject, ‘Stoke Field - The Last battle of the Wars of the Roses’ by David Baldwin is worth tracking down). I have even convinced myself I could combine the figures with my Perry WotR miniatures (another long term project). After all, it’s always more fun to play with someone else than play on your own (insert your own puns here).

Champion

The original greatswords, the German Landsknechts, would have used the massive Zweihander swords (literally ‘two hander’, they were also called Bidenhander - 'both hander') to lop of the heads of the enemies pikes rendering them into useless overlong broom handles.

Musician

The quality of the figures is naturally first-rate, as you’d expect. The figures offer multi-optional poses allowing you to create unique units and being plastic they are very easy to modify. These Greatswords are £25.50 for a box of ten figures (blimey missus, £2.55 per figure). Of course you can always pick up some bargains on eBay. A friend recently bought a complete dwarf box set at 40% off the list price. We assume the purchaser opened the box, realised you had to assembly and paint the figures yourself and put the entire lot straight up for sale - bargain.

The first job is to clean up the figures and remove all the moulded skulls and comets that crop up all over these miniatures. This is easier said than done; sword guards, pommels, finials, hats etc. you name it GW will stick a skull on it!

Once this was done the hardest part then is deciding what colours you want to paint them. The uniform seen here isn't based on one of Game Workshop's Empire province armies. It is however based on the very real Papal Swiss Guard. The Guard is one of the oldest, and smallest, standing armies in the world. The guards can often be seen in their ceremonial uniform on duty in the Vatican. They certainly look distinctive and leave a lasting impression. The blue, yellow and red uniform of the Guard is based on the family colours of both Pope Julius II and Pope Leo X.

Standard Bearer

In keeping with the righteous theme the banner is based on the evangelist symbol of St Luke, the winged bull. It was going to be St. Matthew (for obvious reasons) but I can't paint angels. Apart from the removal of the skulls and comets the only other noticeable modification I made was to the figure carrying the axe. Here I simply cut off the hand holding the axe and rotated it to give a more natural looking position.

The figures are all based individually as is normally required when using Games Workshop rules.

Undead Skeleton Troop, Mantic Games

2011-09-01T00:30:00.000+01:00

“And now for something completely different.”

These are the first four (of twenty two I think) skeleton figures that I've painted taken from the Mantic Games board game, Dwarf King’s Hold: Dead Rising. I pretty sure (my memory is shockingly bad) these are the first fantasy figures that I've ever painted and it makes a refreshing change to paint something other than (hopefully) historically accurate models.

I had meant to copy the colour scheme for the figures directly from the company’s website i.e. blue ‘uniform’ and blue/red shield. I later realised that I had reversed the colours on the shield so that they now match the livery of Edward IV, although I think this is because I've recently been playing another board game, Richard III from Columbia Games.

The figures themselves are nicely detailed. There is no flash and minimum mould lines. I was a little surprised that the figures are supplied with neither bases nor shield transfers, unlike the normal plastic sets apparently. I have deliberately left the integral (male - to use an engineering term.) bases of the figure plain so that if I ever by the appropriate female style bases I can simply plug them in and texture the base. They are available from the Mantic website 10 for £1.

Regarding the shields I utilised a set of transfers from Citadel which have been lying around patiently in my spares box for about twenty five years (literally). Seeing as they are manky skeletons I also applied several various shades of brown washes to dirty their appearance.

Highlander Hero, Warlord Games

2011-08-10T00:22:00.000+01:00

This miniature is from the Warlord Games Highlanders range. The miniature looks slightly too muscular in my opinion but then he does stand out a hero figure.

I normally first apply Windsor & Newton Matt Varnish by brush. This is more of a satin finish as seen below. I still need to apply a spray matt varnish to the miniature. I use Citadel's Purity Seal (which they actually describe as having a semi-matt or satin finish) to remove the glossy look.

If you think the sword looks too big, take a look at the picture below.

Two-handed 'Highland' claymore
(Edinburgh Castle)

Note the size of the original claymore compared to that of a later basket-hilted sword on either side (which are normally referred to as claymores). This style of weapon is based on early Scottish medieval swords.

Montrose Irish, Warlord Games - Part 2

2011-08-09T00:41:00.002+01:00

I've finally managed to take pictures of the Warlord Games Montrose Irish command group. I actually finished painting these figures a few weeks ago but I've been on my hols. The main group can be seen in this previous post: Montrose Irish part 1.

Commander

Drummer

The flags supplied in the box set are, I believe, all conjectural. Seeing as they are Irish and not wishing to waste the opportunity for a cliché my brother opted for the green flag.

Ensign

The ensign originally carried an integral moulded metal flagstaff. I think Warlord must have realised that this pole was too flimsy as the box contains five metal pike although there are only four pikemen in the set. After removing the soft metal flagstaff I drilled out a hole though the figure’s hand and replaced the flagstaff with a cut down metal pike. I can understand why Warlord provided the figure complete with flagpole as the majority of people purchasing the set probably don’t to want to mess around cutting, carving and gluing metal models but I think it’s worth the effort (there’s nothing worse than having a droopy flagpole).

Warlord print their free flags on the relatively thick paper of the information leaflet that comes with the box set. Whenever I've tried to make the flags appear windswept I've found the papers creases and the white paper shows through the printing. In order to cover up these I paint, or use a wash, to fill in the cracks.

I also paint the edges of the flag with the appropriate colour so that the white line of the paper is no longer visible.

Sergeant

I've just returned from a holiday up north (Carlisle, Edinburgh, Newcastle and York) where we saw numerous sites and artefacts associated with the Marquis of Montrose himself. I hope to post a separate article detailing these soon.

I recently purchased the Warlord miniatures of Alasdair 'The Devastator' MacColla and the Highland hero which I'll add as and when they're painted (but don't hold your breath).

Charles I and the Isle of Wight

2011-07-16T13:22:00.001+01:00

My brother and myself recently returned from the sunny Isle of Wight. One of the main historical attractions there is Carisbrooke Castle. The most famous resident of the castle was, of course Charles I. The onsite museum contains Civil War armour and more interestingly several personal possessions of King Charles I.The majority of the notes below are taken verbatim from the information panels at the castle

“Defeated in the English Civil War which had raged since 1642, King Charles I was under house arrest at Carisbrooke for 10 months in 1647-1648.

At first he had the freedom of the island but early in 1648 John Burley of Newport tried to free him, failed and was hanged. Afterwards Charles was confined to the castle. Still he could walk and play bowels on a green made for him."

View of Carisbrooke Castle from the gatehouse looking towards the motte. Charles’s bedroom was located in the central building behind the ten paneled window in the middle of the picture. The large glazed window replaced a much smaller one. The second attempt was from ruined buildings to the left

Aided by his page, Henry Firebrace, the king tried to escape twice more. In the first attempt he climbed through a window in his bedchamber but he got stuck in the bars."

King Charles slept here (although not in this bed)

Medieval fireplace, King Charles I's bedroom

“This room was the king’s bedroom during his first five months at the castle, from November 1647 to April 1648.

At first he was treated as a quest, but in January he became a prisoner, and guards were place on his bedroom doors. Charles attempted to escape from a small window in this room on the night of 20th March1648, assisted by his loyal servant Henry Firebrace.

There are many later additions here, but the king would have been familiar with the large medieval fireplace, and the medieval chapel window and squint (to the right of the bed).

The bed and chests are reproductions in the style of the 17th century. They have been installed to suggest the style of furniture brought here from Hampton Court in 1647.”

Ruined kitchen and bedroom block

Brother acting as money grabbing guard under the escape window

"The second attempt was made in this area, where kitchens and bedrooms had been built by George Carey 60years before. Charles tried to climb out of the window above... but he was betrayed by two guards. They had taken money to let him escape but then cruelly turned him in.”

On 29th November 1648 Charles was transferred across the Solent to Hurst Castle and then on to London for his trial and eventual execution 30th January 1649.

The isle wasn’t a happy place for the Stuart family.

Parliament was anxious that the children of King Charles could not be used any Royalist plot to restore the Monarchy. Princess Elizabeth and Henry Duke of Gloucester were moved to the Isle of Wight when their brother Charles II arrived in Scotland. It was determined that the Royal children should be imprisoned in Carisbrooke Castle. They arrived at Cowes on 13th August 1650.

Never blessed with strong health Elizabeth died, aged 14, on 8th September 1650 probably from pneumonia and was later buried in St. Thomas Church, Newport.

The church fell into disrepair and the princess’s grave was forgotten until 1793 when it was rediscovered by accident. When Queen Victoria and Prince Albert made the Isle of Wight their family home they felt the final resting place of one of the forebears needed a decent memorial hence the sculptured monument that marks Princess Elizabeth’s final resting place.

18th Century nameplate

Sculpture by Carlo Marochetti
St. Thomas's Church in Newport, Isle of Wight

Henry Duke of Gloucester was allowed to move to the Continent where he fought against the Spanish. Shortly after the Restoration he died from smallpox, 18th September 1660, aged 20.

TV Celebrity Manhandles My Miniatures

2011-07-14T01:13:00.000+01:00

After a inside tip-off I was recommended to watch the recent History Cold Case programme where "Professor Sue Black and her team use forensic science to shed light on the past. They look at two skeletons discovered among 113 bodies in a mass grave outside York."

After 20 minutes into 'The York 113' episode, featuring a certain Dr. Xanthe Mallett, I was quite taken aback to recognise several miniatures I had painted for Warlord Games. Mine are the Covenanter infantry and dragoons (they're all the ones with the blue bonnets). Hopefully I will be able to detail more of these figures quite soon.

I believe the programme may only be available in the UK (i.e. to B.B.C. licence payers) and can only be viewed over the next few days. It's a interesting programme which indeed challenged a number of my pre-conceptions about this historic time period.

Dr. Xanthe Mallett is now my favourite forensic anthropologist (if only for the pulp fiction name). Admittedly that's quite a narrow field of interest but she is definitely now my favourite television expert.

Montrose Irish, Warlord Games - Part 1

2011-06-15T00:10:00.000+01:00

The Montrose Irish boxed set from Warlord Games contains four metal pike, four metal command and sixteen metal musket figures. I won’t repeat the history of the unit that these figures represent as that is all contained on the colour leaflet supplied with the box. And there’s more info readily available on the t’internet about James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose himself. I did notice from the notes that Montrose was actually associated with Newcastles Whitecoats during the war, which is a nice coincidence figure-wise.

The only instance of any Irish regulars serving in the midlands that I know of is that of soldiers that formed part of the Lord Loughborough’s garrison during the siege of Ashby de la Zouch castle in 1644.

I restricted the use of faux tartan to the blankets, although I think I still may have got carried away when it came to painting some the plaid. The leaflet in the box says that these soldiers wouldn’t have carried chocolate box style tartan. Naturally I followed this advice and chose instead to go for a shortbread tin style tartan look. Even then I had to tone down (well ok, completely repaint) a few of the patterns as some of the figures started to look like members of a flamboyant ‘Bay City Rollers’ tribute act.

It seems that for many miniature painters (that’s people who paint miniatures, not tiny painters) tartan is a dirty word and is too much of an effort to even attempt. However following this very useful guide I find painting a tartan effect relatively easy. The only trick or tip I believe is being able to paint in straight lines. I would not recommend using tins of shortbread as a colour reference (even though it may appear that I did). With the godsend that is ‘Google images’ it’s always easier to copy from a real image than trying to rely on just your imagination.

A number of these miniatures have been sculpted to represent war weary campaign soldiers with raggedy trousers and bare feet. A couple even are about to chuck a great big stone at the enemy. These are probably how a great deal of veteran Irish, Scottish and indeed English Royalist troops looked like towards the end of the wars. I’ve read an account that described how highlander soldiers (who you would imagine would have been highly distinctive) were only recognizable as such because they were the only ones who could cope with the squalid conditions whilst they were being held captive inside a cathedral.

As usual these metal figures from Warlord paint up very nicely. The majority of them have been painted with the distinctive white trousers associated with the Irish, an ‘interesting fact’ new to me. Using the excellent Peter Dennis box art as a guide, I painted the uniforms of the soldiers in various colours. There are at least four different shades of green/olive drab and a few with my special version of Hodden grey (IT ISN’T GREY!), made out of a secret blend of 11 shades and colours of acrylic paint, ok it’s actually only three different colours but it’s still a bugger to prepare.

I also adopted a simpler method of finishing the faces on a number of the figures as they appear to have a bit of a squint. Rather than painting the whites of the eye I simply used a technical pen to create the pupil. This is probably a more realistic approach as it avoids the startled ‘Blimey, I’ve just been given a wedgie!’ look.

All the miniatures are based individually as I intend to use these in the same way as highland Scottish figures, as a rabble or skirmish line. If I ever feel the need to use the figures in a larger group I’ll simply attach them using Blu-Tack to a normal 40 x 40mm base.

Part 2 of this topic will detail the four command figures (well, it will do after I've actually finished painting them).