Rebel Troopers, Star Wars: Legion

I had resisted Star Wars: Legion for a good while, frustrated at the initial reports that the miniatures were not compatible with those that I was amassing with Imperial Assault, also by 'Fantasy Flight Games'.  However the idea of playing fully fledged skirmish games in a galaxy far, far away was always going to prove too much of a temptation. 

It wasn’t until Mike, ‘The Dark Templar’ Reynolds succumbed and bought the core box that I finally found my own resolve falter.  Mike has always had a thing for the dark side, and so what better excuse did a chap need to start a rebel force than to halt this evil oppression in its tracks?

The core box was duly ordered for what I thought was a reasonable price only to be told that there were not enough miniatures to field a full army list, really?!  There was nothing for it, but an additional box of troopers had to be ordered!  Assembling was straightforward enough given the designers attention to detail, each arm, leg or torso had a different homing slot to reduce mishaps.  I had been forewarned about the material used and the need to use superglue, so all in all a successful start.  There were one or two gaps at the joins, but these were easily filled with Greenstuff, although I have subsequently found out that matt varnish has the same effect.

When it came to painting them, try as I might, I couldn’t see past the Rebel Commandoes, led by Han Solo in the Return of the Jedi.  Once again the incredibly talented Sorastro came to my rescue with a tutorial that explored creating camouflage patterns, by layering washes on to areas of water, allowing the colours to bleed and run into each other.  It is well documented that my attention span is not of the highest order when it comes to batch painting, but fortunately there was enough variety in the effects used to keep me on track.

Still smarting at the scale discrepancy between the two ranges, I couldn’t bring myself to use the unnecessarily tall bases included in the core box.  I can’t explain why, but I have taken against them, perhaps because I prefer to base my wargames miniatures on a lower profile to fit better with the terrain?  Whatever the reason I made the decision to base my efforts on my usual 25mm MDF disks from ‘Warbases’.  I happen to think that they look better and given that I am unlikely to be entering any tournaments, I am not overly bothered what anyone else thinks!

So with a final coat of varnish my first completed miniatures for Star Wars: Legion, a full three squads of core troopers.

What's that coming over the hill...

...is it a Monster?

Way back in the mists of time, March 2018 to be exact, the entries for final bonus round of the ‘VIII Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge’ were posted.  Monstrous was the theme and wonderful opportunity to present a veritable cornucopia of monstrous beings – the legendary Universal Monsters!

From the silver screen’s infancy there has been a desire to shock and scare the audience out of their seats.  Drawing inspiration from literary greats such as H.G. Wells, Victor Hugo and Mary Shelley, Universal Studios created a stable of monsters that would terrify and delight in equal measure.  Such was their popularity that the long running franchises are still revisited today.

My tribute to this golden age of cinema hail from ‘Studio Miniatures’ and were yet another of their Kickstarters that I supported.  A couple of them required assembly, namely ‘Frank’ and his wife, but the rest were lovely, crisp, single piece castings and an absolute joy to paint; although the preponderance of black did strain my eyes a little!  I had, albeit briefly considered painting these in greyscale, but my experience of this is rather limited and if memory serves me correctly it is a lot harder to pull off than you might imagine.

The question now is what to do with them?  Well these may yet prove the perfect villains for a certain crew of mystery solving teenage detectives, perhaps just the ticket for a 7TV crew?  Either way, I am thrilled to have them completed and were a fitting final theme for last year's challenge.

Guinny & the Grail Seekers

It seems incredulous to believe that these were entered as part of the 'VIII Annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge', particularly as with have just finished the IX Challenge last month!  Still as part of my drive to catch up with the backlog of posts, I am happy to present these here as my submission to the then ‘Musician’ bonus round.

I have to confess that this round had me stumped for a while and I was initially thinking along the lines of tartan clad pipers or drummers in bearskins, but fortunately I happened upon these minstrels and my direction was made clear.  The Medieval Mayhem range by ‘Studio Miniatures’ really are a joy to paint, beautifully sculpted and requiring very little in the way of preparation.  The likenesses are clearly inspired from the celluloid exploits of the Monty Python team and it was very hard, nigh impossible, not to hum the tune to, ‘Brave Sir Robin’!

Of course every band needs a front man, or in this case a front woman; I present the Queen Guinevere.  I had a little accident with her crown and so resorted to filing it down so that it was even, but I feel that her regalness is still preserved. 

Finally, then the Forest Knights, fabulous fun and based so that collectively they look like they are standing in a shrubbery.  I’m not sure how they fit into the band, monosyllabic backing singers perhaps?  So allow me to present Guinny & the Grail Seekers, my submission for the long past Musician bonus round.

Of course every band needs their breakthrough album and so how about some track listings?  Feel free to leave your ideas in the comments below, but to get us started how about the following?

Please Release Me (Tall Tower remix)

I Ni Ni Need you Tonight

Knights in Prestatyn

… and just because I couldn’t resist, I have taken a couple of shots with the various characters reunited with some of the Knights from the previous year.

Bravely bold Sir Robin

Rode forth from Camelot.

He was not afraid to die,

Oh brave Sir Robin.

He was not at all afraid

To be killed in nasty ways.

Brave, brave, brave, brave Sir Robin.

He was not in the least bit scared

To be mashed into a pulp.

Or to have his eyes gouged out,

And his elbows broken.

To have his kneecaps split

And his body burned away,

And his limbs all hacked and mangled

Brave Sir Robin.

His head smashed in

And his heart cut out

And his liver removed

And his bowls unplugged

And his nostrils raped

And his bottom burnt off

And his penis

"That's, that's enough music for now lads, there's dirty work afoot."

Brave Sir Robin ran away.

("No!")

Bravely ran away away.

("I didn't!")

When danger reared it's ugly head,

He bravely turned his tail and fled.

("I never!")

Yes, brave Sir Robin turned about

And gallantly he chickened out.

("You're lying!")

Swiftly taking to his feet,

He beat a very brave retreat.

Bravest of the brave, Sir Robin!

Happy Blogday '28mm Victorian Warfare'...

...8 today!

Well no, technically the anniversary was on the 14th March, but I wasn't prepared to let the Blogday, the eighth to be exact, slip by without recognition, no by Jove!

I was starting to believe that some semblance of normality was returning to my hobby world.  I was enjoying the ‘IX Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge’, posting more regularly and starting to get through the backlog of unpublished work from last year.  Sadly, real life has conspired to throw yet another metaphorical spanner into the works.

Once again, I should stress that we are both physically well, but I expect the months ahead to be demanding of time as we come to terms with what this latest challenge will mean for us as a family. I have noticed that with the onset of years that I have become more hesitant to embrace change, but I think in this instance it is exactly what is needed. So with a 'half glass full' outlook, I am determined to get back to devoting time to this most wholesome of hobbies.

The photograph above shows the paint table on, or about, the Blogday itself.  All manner of curiosities abound as I was trying frantically to get things finished before the Challenge's deadline.  As I write this some, sadly, remain incomplete, but new diversions have kept me busy and I hope to share some of those shortly.  I certainly didn't see myself assembling and painting British Paratroopers at the start of the year, but a wonderful collaboration has seen me contribute, albeit in a small way, to an extraordinary project that is due for completion this June.

So it is very much my intention that '28mm Victorian Warfare' will continue to chart my progress and I look forward to trying to get things back on track over the Easter Break.  Expect some more 'catch up' posts, but also plenty of new material from this Year's Challenge, the subject of which has a distinct Star Wars bias.  I am looking forward to hosting another summer game day here at 'Awdry Towers' and most importantly taking some time to rediscover the many splendid weblogs that I enjoy following.

"Would you like a Jelly Baby?"

Tom Baker, as the fourth incarnation of the alien Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey, was my Doctor. His tenure, lasting longer than any other, ran from 1974 - 1981, was just when young Master Awdry was starting to take an interest in all things Science Fiction. Whilst I wouldn't call myself the most die hard of Whovians, the series did, and still does, hold a special place in my heart. So when it came to conjuring up ideas for the 'Childhood' round, of the 'VIII Annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge', I found myself instantly transported back in space and time.

There is a misconception that we spent the 70s hiding behind the settee, fearful of the monsters that sprang fourth from our television sets, but not I, I would rather be sat, front and centre, best placed to deal with whatever befell the Doctor and I.  This was the premise that I built my submission around and fortunately I had been quietly taking advantage of 'Black Tree Designs' regular sales to build up a small collection of Time Lords. 

With the Doctor and his robotic companion K-9 completed my attention turned to the most iconic of the Time Lord's adversaries, the Daleks!  Relatively simple in principle, I had been advised that using a small tube dipped into paint would speed the process up no end.  Sadly for me, the innards of a Bic biro proved just a little too wide in diameter, but some styrene tubing proved more suitable and so the initial setback was soon forgotten as I raced on to the Cybermen. 

I knew that I wanted to allude to this being an important moment in my childhood and eventually hit upon the idea of having the Time Lord beaming into the front room from the television set.  Ready made doll's house furniture was proving a dead end, either too expensive or just not the right style, but fortunately I happened upon Jane Harrop's retro kits.  I chose a couple of pieces of furniture and an iconic Decca television in 1/24 scale to 'sell' the idea that the miniatures had emanated from the screen.  

The kits themselves are exquisite in their detail and the materials used, a real treat to assemble although fiddly in places - I even had to glue the buttons on to the television!

Once completed the miniatures were suitably arranged on a 'Warbases' disc that I had covered in strips of felt to add to the lurid colour scheme of the decade and all was set, just in time, to sit back and enjoy another piece of surgery confectionary!

"Would you like a Jelly Baby?"

I am claiming a square on my Bingo card with this post: 'Paint a model for an army that you don't already collect and play'.

Also added to the 'Command Stand' page.

Non Playing Characters and Livestock

As a final piece of set dressing, I was keen to furnish the Witchfinder game board with some non-playing characters and livestock.  Now, I have form for being distracted, the slightest whim often leading to the abandonment of full blown and even well established ideas.  However, given the immediacy of the game, this was a luxury that I couldn’t afford to indulge in.  So it was that I found myself dipping within an inch of my life in a bid to get things finished and on the board. 

It made no difference, whether it be bovine, buxom beauty or Blacksmith’s boy all were bound for the dip.  In my haste I wasn’t as careful as I should have been and allowed the staining substance to build up and pool, which had the adverse effect of making everything appear dirty.  Some of this was remedied in the highlighting stage, but nonetheless it was an important lesson learnt.

So a final selection, destined to breathe life into the 'Vale of Muchwhinging'.  We have cattle and sheep from 'Warlord Games', with Musket Men and villagers from 'Redoubt Enterprises'.  There should have been more, but here then, hangs a tale.  I placed an order with Redoubt back in June 2018.  I was surprised to see that ownership had passed to Mr. Andy Grubb, but happy in the knowledge that one of my favoured collections of miniatures was still going to be available for purchase.  Given the logistical difficulties involved in the transfer of the operation Mr. Grubb had very sensibly posted a polite notice forewarning customers to an inevitable delay.  All of this is perfectly reasonable, not to mention understandable.  Whilst disappointed that my order wasn’t ready for the game some weeks later, it wasn’t the end of the world, but I was starting to be troubled by the delay.  I wrote, and continued to write, but to no avail; I may as well have been shouting in the wind.

The amount concerned was not so much that I was overly worried, but the principle of the thing was starting to bother me so, now some six months later, I decided that one last push was in order.  I had read on one of the many online forums that Mr. Grubb was a splendid chap, but that there had been definite issues arising over the change of ownership.  One gentlemen suggesting that a simple email would normally resolve any issue, he even supplied the email address.  As I looked closer, I could see that this was a different address to the one on the invoice that I had been using and decided to give it a go.

Within hours I received a reply that could not have been more apologetic and within days the missing items arrived safely here at Awdry Towers, with yet more apologies and some bonus miniatures.  So thank you Mr. Grubb and here’s to a long and profitable tenure as proprietor of a such a wonderful range of miniatures.

Windmills of your mind.

I have noticed, over the years, that hobby related gifts from The Saintly Mrs. Awdry depend very much on her understanding, or enjoyment of, the individual piece concerned.  For example a pack of ‘cute’ African animals is a surefire winner, but not so a limber for a 9lb Field Gun.  Imagine my delight then when the proud sails of '4 Grounds' European Windmill burst forth from the exquisitely wrapped, not to mention exceedingly generous, birthday present.

Whilst slightly anachronistic for my Witchfinder world, it is such a lovely kit and I thoroughly enjoyed assembling it, although the glazed windows proved to be a frustration as I was instantly transported back to my youth and the glue smeared cockpit of a hapless Airfix model.

Safely constructed and standing proud on the tabletop, I felt that it warranted more gravitas and started to consider the possibility of a small hillock, or suchlike, to raise the sails above the treeline.  As luck would have it, I had recently seen such a build by the oh so talented James on his Jimbibblyblog blog.  This build called for a couple of new techniques and I was keen to give them a go.

Plaster was poured onto a crumpled carrier bag* and when dried broken into chunks. These would form an interesting rocky outcrop that could be sloped down to the base, allowing access to the mill. Using a piece of 2mm MDF as a base, I loosely placed the pieces of plaster to form the rocks, bolstered by off cuts of insulation from to give me the basic structure.

*next time I might try crumpled aluminium foil.

These were then covered by a new product to me, Scuptamold.  This has a consistency of Papier-mâché, which you add water to.  It can be manipulated like clay and as it starts to dry can be smoothed to give a nice finish.  Once dry it is light weight and durable and can even be sanded making it a very versatile product for the budding hobbyist.  Once completely dried it was painted and flocked in my usual manner to tie in with my existing terrain and miniatures.  I have to say that I was delighted with the final outcome and need to once again thank James for the inspirational build that gave me the confidence to try my own.