Book Review#2. - Emperor, The Gates of Rome

Finally I got around to reading Conn Iggulden's first book in the Emperor series; why did I wait so long?

Loved it, wonderfully unashamed, sweeping historical drama for big boys!  I’m sure scholars or the period might have something to say about the historical accuracy of the piece but in this case, who cares.  Provided you approach this as light-hearted entertainment then you will not be disappointed. 

"From the spectacle of gladiatorial combat to the intrigue of the Senate, from the foreign wars that created an empire to the betrayals that almost tore it apart, the Emperor novels tell the remarkable story of the man who would become the greatest Roman of the all: Julius Caesar."

Following Caesar as a young boy to his first, tentative steps into the Forum was absorbing and great fun, coloured as it was with such wonderful characters as Renius, the aging gladiator who is charged with his education in all things martial.  I have absolutely no doubt that the remaining books in the series will have to be purchased at some point, possibly for summer reading.  Definitely worth a look if you like intrigue, violence and a good old fashioned rip roaring story – four crowns!

Not to mention the inspiration for the this little piece!  

At my signal, unleash hell!

Now clearly this miniature has nothing to do with Victorian Warfare but I'd recently got around to reading Conn Iggulden's 'Gates of Rome', the opening story in the much acclaimed 'Emperor' series, and instantly wanted to paint a Roman figure.  When I came across this little gem by Warlord Games I just had to have it! Originally titled,

"Unleash Hell! - Roman General and Warhound"

 it is obviously based on the Russell Crowe's character, Maximus from Ridley Scott's superb 2000 masterpiece, 'Gladiator'.

I know very little about Roman Army uniforms, armour and the the like so I apologise for any glaring errors but this was an unashamed distraction from the project proper and great fun too.  Who knows where this might lead, perhaps there will be a 28mm Roman Warfare!  It did bring about a couple of firsts for me in the way of scenic effects and painting.  With regards to scenic effects this was the first time that i had tried to use snow  I have been desperate to try this having seen MiniMike's wonderful  'snow basing tutorial'  and Finnish troops here.  They really are wonderful and well worth a look.  I managed to pick up some Army Painter snow and whilst it did the job, ultimately I felt it lacked a little something.  The other first was attempting to represent stubble on the figure.  Again something I've seen other painter's do well so using a little watered down grey paint I tried to emulate Russell's five o'clock shadow.  Not unsatisfied with the result but as Gavin pointed out at the Gentlemens Wargames Parlour, I perhaps needed to go a little higher up the cheekbone. 

Book Review#1. - Britain's Forgotten Wars

Colonial Campaigns of the 19th Century by Ian Hernon

"The purpose of this book is not to ape, much less rival, the far more erudite and scholarly volumes published about the military adventures which helped to create and sustain the British Empire.  Rather it is to tell, I hope in the straightforward tone of a reporter, some of the astonishing stories largely forgotten outside academic, specialist and military circles."

Now technically this is actually three volumes republished as one including 'Massacre and Retribution', 'The Savage Empire' and 'Blood in the Sand' and does exactly what the quote from the acknowledgment above says.  I would suggest more of a book for dipping into from time to time or as a starting point for a larger project, that said an invaluable source book to have beside the bed.  Easy to read but ultimately leaves you wanting more; certainly worthy of a three crown rating.

We are not amused

I've recently been mulling over the direction for 28mm Victorian Warfare, primarily it is a painting blog that has given me the opportunity to keep all my thoughts and research in one place whilst documenting the fledging development of my hobby.  The addition of the growing community that ultimately comes with such enterprises has been a welcomed factor and I have relished the opportunities to visit and even follow other blogs and sites.  It is whilst doing this that I often come across great ideas and one that I would particularly like to embrace is that of book or film reviews.  It is not my intention to write reams but I had envisaged some form of rating system.  Stars would be the obvious way to go but felt that I could come up with something a little more bespoke!  After far too long tinkering on the computer I have developed the 'five crown award system', a visual representation of one's reaction to whatever media one was engaged in, ranging from 'We are not amused' to 'Tickled pink'.  Just need to get on and read something now!

    

A Green Hill Far Away

On a recent shopping trip, mentioned in a previous post I was suddenly hit with the desire to pick up some gaming scenery at the local 'Games Workshop' store. The very helpful chap, and he was a helpful chap they are so often wrongfully maligned, informed me that this was indeed something that he could help me with but sadly they were out of stock! This was to become a somewhat fortuitous turn of events as having declined the very kind offer to wait until the delivery arrived I decided that I would give the build a go myself. 

A quick detour on the way home to ‘Wicks’ to pick up some insulating foam board for £5 (‘Space Board’ – 1200mm x 500mm x 52.5mm) I could have got this cheaper if I bought in bulk but the look on the good Mrs. Awdry’s face said, “Don’t even think about it!”  and I was ready to go. I had a basic design sketched out and wanted to create some simple terrain that could form a backdrop to future gaming requirements. In the end I went for a much larger design from two pieces but built in the option to link them together again. All in all I was pretty pleased with the results and by my reckoning saved myself £25!  

1.   Insulating foam board provides the basis for the build. (Still huge amounts left over, but we are not letting Mrs. Awdry know!)

 

 2.

Initial shape cut with a jigsaw and placed on plastcard

 3.

Off cuts & straight edges removed with the Dremel

4.

Sand & stones added with filler for the gaps

5.

Base coated with chocolate brown

6.

Drybrushing for the sides

7.

Flock & tufts added

8.

Two for the price of one!

9.

Just to give a sense of scale.

Gallery Private View

You are cordially invited to attend a private view of the work of Michael Awdry Esq. at the Royal Academy, London.  Well a boy can dream can't he?  This was created by a wonderfully fun piece of software that 'Nevermore' from the Grimsby Wargames Society put me on to.  The basic package is free to use and can be found at Dumpr. Hours of fun to be had by all.  Now back to my acceptance speech for the Turner Prize!

A little larger than 28mm now!

Dinosaurs in a tube!

Having had an incredibly busy month at work, painting and ‘posting’ has taken an inevitable hit so I was rather looking forward to a few days of ‘me’ time recently.  Imagine my horror as I was informed that we were heading into the Sunshine Coast’s mighty metropolis in search of a ball gown for the good lady wife!  As many of you know there are no winners on such a shopping adventure so took every opportunity to sneak off and pick up one or two things that were on my list.  So it was that I found myself in ‘Poundland’.  As the name would suggest this is a shop that sells everything at a pound and is quite frankly the strangest shop in town in so much as the clientele is as varied as the stock list.  I was hoping to pick up some household filler that comes in a handy 330g tube when I came across these. 

For some reason, unbeknownst to my inner child, I found myself heading to the counter with the prehistoric beasties under my arm, convinced that I was going to be able to something with them and I’m sure I will in the fullness of time, perhaps some form of objective marker in a Victorian based adventure game!  They seem to only have the Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus in stock, but what more would you want?  These were the only two dinosaurs I was interested in as a child.

The plastic is a little flimsy and they have been painted with a crackle glaze effect but perhaps a nice coat of varnish might sort them out, but then again what do you expect for a pound!

Just for scale the plucky Victorian lady adventurer is 28mm.