Just some of the many positive 'by-products' that I have encountered whilst blogging, are the sharing of ideas and the reading of reviews on different products by like minded souls. I am happy to admit that a good many of my hobby related purchases are as a direct result of what I see and read on the many splendid weblogs that I enjoy following. This, then, is a direct result of two separate posts and I can't thank enough the individuals concerned for their inspiration.
It all started when I read a fabulous set of battle reports by Kobayachimaru, of 'Chroniques du fort Bastiani' fame, entitled 'Song of Blades and Heroes: Prehistoric War'. As the cavemen and women battled across the board for superiority and food, I became transfixed by the quality of the terrain which included, of all things, a Triceratops corpse! Kobayachimaru was kind enough to let me know where he had got it from and a little web based research saw me successfully track down a UK supplier. This 'CollectA' Stegosaurus Corpse is from the same range*and is just perfect as an objective marker or as a bit of additional colour for all those Dinosaur themed games that I've yet to play.
*I have the Triceratops as well!
I wasn't planning on doing much with it until I read another post, this time from Mike C of 'Mike's Random Wargame Meanderings' regarding some 'Little Pests' that he had painted up. These little pests were in fact Compsognathus from the 'The Honourable Lead Boiler Suit Company' and were just what was needed to add another dimension to my beleaguered Stegosaurus. On the matter of bases this particularly fine example was again from the ever reliable 'Warbases' and was actually one of their vehicle bases (155 x 75mm), but the irregular pattern was just what was needed for the more organic feel I was after.
The basing is just the usual mix of pumice gel, gravel and larger stones with the addition of some plastic fish tank plants and the mica flakes. Having painted the Compsognathus, I couldn't decide what to do with the corpse - to paint or not? The overall pre-painted effect was actually quite good, so in the end I settled for a little dry brushing and some work on the bite marks before lashings of gore was applied. A wonderful piece of nonsense, great fun to work on and all because of a couple of chance posts by two splendid chaps - you've got to love this hobby!
