Easy Does It

After some time today I managed to finish off Ser Geraint Blondel's retainers, who are remarkably restrained in terms of the clothes they're wearing compared to all the other retainers in both Renly-aligned and Joffrey-aligned warbands:

A slightly fuzzy photo irritatingly, but it shows them all quite nicely. Ser Blondel's actually not got a full suit of plate; his lower legs and back legs are quite exposed. Perhaps House Blondel is on hard times...

I really like the little wooly grey cap the longbowman's wearing

I had to call someone Simple Simon, even if he isn't a pie-man, and the way his face turned out meant the longbowman was the perfect candidate. Jon of Loxby and Careful Tom are the billmen

The padded leather jerkins worn by the billmen, combined with their matching leather satchels and bills, suggests that the House has something resembling a uniform for their men-at-arms

I decided against painting livery badges for the billmen in the end, with just Simple Simon wearing the House's livery on his surcoat. The three golden discs are perhaps coins, or maybe apples. I'm not sure yet. With these chaps done, all that's left now are Dexter Hill's retainers. Dexter Hill is a bastard child (hence the lack of noble title) hoping to use the war to either make his own name or convince his father to grant him title and name. I think his retainers will be dressed in his father's livery, so I need to have a think about what House they're actually from.

Painting Points:
Today: 3
This Week: 3
2025: 392

Loyalty Above All

House Brock is a minor House in the Westerlands, owing fealty to House Lannister. As a result, Ser Aldway Brock brings his retainers to King Joffrey's army, in the process following his House's words. There are some who say he does so more from fear of Lannister reprisal rather than any semblance of actual honour or loyalty - but they, of course, are scurrilous rumourmongers.

The levies of House Brock traditionally all paint their helmets, partly to protect from rust and partly for better recognition on the field

I deliberately highlighted the blues differently to illustrate that the helmets are painted metal, while the cloth is, well, cloth

I really enjoy coming up with names... and really hate painting brigandines

Just like the blues, the whites are different - this time because I used a grey base on the helmets and a cream base on the cloth

Ser Aldway Brock (centre) with his retainers. Ser Brock and Harlow the Red wear their plate "in the white", which is to say without any livery coats over the armour

I've also been reading through the free rules for Never Mind The Billhooks and am thinking of re-basing my old Earl of Warwick's force that I painted up many years ago for A Crown Of Paper, A Coat Of Steel from the Perfect Captain - that's a system I've never played, sadly, but I definitely have opponents for Never Mind The Billhooks. A little maths means I have a company of 12 longbowmen (12 points), a band of six skirmishing archers (6 points), and a company of 12 men-at-arms (24 points) as well as the Earl of Warwick, Richard Neville (5 points), commanding - with a little painting - another company of 12 men-at-arms (24 points). That's 71 points minimum, and, if I upgrade the companies to veterans, that takes it up to 80. Which would mean I'd only need to spend another 20 points to get a full 100 point army - not sure on what, though. Anyway that's for another day.

Painting Points:
Today: 3
This Week: 8
2025: 389 

For The King! No, Not That One - Or That One - No, Not Him Either...

When there's five kings in circulation, sometimes your battle cries can get a bit confusing. Today I worked on the Joffrey-aligned Retinue, cracking out the standard bearer and one of the three characters before doing some basic work on some of the retainers. The standard bearer has a bigger, but similar, banner to House Chulain - but with the addition of the coat of arms of Joffrey I Baratheon. These guys are loyalists, you see, owing fealty to House Lannister.

The banner of House Brock, with their words: "Fidelitas Ante Omnis", or "Loyalty Above All"

The sigil of House Brock is, as you would expect, a badger. Note that both men are carrying war axes - a brutal weapon with the ability to spin it round and use the hammer edge to cave in armour plate

Dexter Hill, a noble bastard, who is a mercenary commander bringing his Free Spear to the service of the king for gold and the promise of knighthood, and House Brock's master-at-arms Harlow the Red, named after his hair colour

The Lannister lion and the Baratheon stag joined by marriage, stamping their domination on Westeros

Retainers from House Brock - the one on the left actually has half-plate on his legs which I didn't notice, so I'm going to have to go over that! I decided to give them all painted helmets just for style points

I have definitely got "the bug" as they say, and have been eyeing up the Perry Miniatures' range of late 15th Century Irish to make an Iron Islander raiding force, and the early 15th Century stuff to make a bunch of Northmen - they're referred to in the books as generally poorer and slightly less well equipped, so it makes sense for them to be wearing earlier styles of armour. That would cover four of the five kings - King Renly, King Joffrey, King in the North Robb and King Balon of the Isles and the North - leaving only King Stannis needing representation. Stannis is an interesting one because his core supporter's forces would probably look quite similar to those of his brother Renly and nephew Joffrey, but his army is largely drawn from the Stormlands, which are - particularly in the south - influenced by the Dornish, and bolstered by Lyseni pirates and mercenaries so I might use a mix of Italian and Swiss figures for the Stannis Retinue.

Painting Points:
Today: 2
This Week: 5
2025: 386 

The Sun Shines On Us!

One of the things I'm enjoying about this little Ruckus project in the Song of Ice and Fire setting is coming up with all the House Words - "Aim True", "Green Grows The Wood" and now "The Sun Shines On Us". House Merryweather (properly Chulain-Merryweather) has an interesting and quite colourful coat of arms which was an interesting challenge to put on the longbowman, but I think the end result is quite solid. 

Emmaline Merryweather (second from right) with her retainers - the longbowman's coat is a less fancy version of hers, with only one each of the sigils

This angle shows you the green colour of Merryweather...

...and this angle shows you the red and black of House Chulain

I couldn't fit Emmaline's whole name on her base, so Merryweather it is!

With the completion of Merryweather and her retainers, the whole Renly-aligned retinue of Ser Chulain is complete:

Left to right - House Chulain-Merryweather, House Chulain, House Greenwood. Five longbowmen, four billmen, three minor nobles, a standard bearer and a herald

 Next up, of course, are the dastardly Lannister/Baratheon forces loyal to King Joffrey I Baratheon:

These were originally being painted by an old friend of mine many years ago, so I'll be painting over a bunch of this I think. I don't have a herald for the loyalists, but I do have a standard bearer so I might do a banner that combines Joffrey's arms with the arm of the captain's House Banefort. 

Painting Points:
Today: 3
This Week: 3
2025: 384 

 

 

Green Grows The Wood

Ha! I wasn't sure for a while today that I'd manage to do it, but I sat down and got the Greenwood men finished. I'm quite pleased with them, although the metal studs on the brigandine worn by one of the halberdiers proved a bit of a pain and don't look quite right (primarily because I didn't go through the rigamarole of painting the ones on the yellow half black first).

The helmet on the left-hand billman has a little tree painted on it which I like the look of. The billman on the right doesn't have a tree, because the brigandine doesn't really suit one...

The yellow is because they are a house linked to Baratheon, the black because it looks good next to yellow

Poor old Arnold. He probably doesn't deserve that nickname, but he knows what he did

The metal studs on the yellow really don't stand out - I might have to go back in and fix that one day

With that, I just have to do the Merryweather men next, and then that's the whole Ruckus band done and I can move onto the Lannister force (or the commissions).

 

Painting Points:
Today: 3
This Week: 12
2025: 381 

Loose!

Today I had every intention to paint Parliamentarian cavalrymen. 

Then I sat down and painted Song of Ice and Fire longbowmen and a herald, because uhhhh they were mostly done and it was easy and it's very hot in the office where I paint and... um... anyway here, some longbowmen (and a herald):

These are all Perry Miniatures WR1 plastics

The sigil on the herald's trumpet is that of House Baratheon of Storm's End; it's Renly's badge

I gave them the sorts of names that people have when you don't have surnames or family names

Painting those damn prancing stags on the flag really tested my freehand capacity

Together with the lord - Ser Padraig Chulain - and the standard bearer, Sally Strongarm, this little block of six figures is the first chunk of the Baratheon-aligned Ruckus warband:

 

House Chulain, a minor noble house, is famed for its longbowmen, seen in the family words, "Aim True"

 

So I guess I'm on a sudden medieval fantasy kick. I really need to pick up a couple of contrast paints and some more Agrax Earthshade I think, in order to do the New Model Army cavalry justice. So I'll try and grab those this week - I really really want to try and get those horse done this month.

 

Painting Points:
Today: 4
This Week: 9

2025: 378 

What A Ruckus

I am nothing if not a massive hobby butterfly. It took about 2.3 seconds of a group chat with my friends C, D, and H, to become convinced to repurpose figures linked to my old attempt at making a conversion for Games Workshop's Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game to play games set in the A Song Of Ice And Fire world (based much more on the books and the Wars of the Roses than the TV series) for the relatively new skirmish game from Mike Peters, Never Mind The Billhooks: Here's The Ruckus (for which there's a lot of free downloads on the Wargames Illustrated website).

A quick rummage in my Pile of Opportunity turned up enough Perry Miniatures' plastics (and a couple of metals) to create a Baratheon-aligned warband and a Lannister-aligned one. The Baratheon-aligned force is meant to represent troops whose lord has backed Renly Baratheon for the Iron Throne, so there's less yellow than one might think. 

A slightly larger than necessary Ruckus warband - the standard bearer and herald/musician is probably entirely un-necessary, but looks very cool

That photo's a bit misleading - the standard bearer was painted today! The others were all either finished already or had their metalwork done today. And speaking of the standard bearer, Sally Strongarm:

Perry Miniatures plastic (wo)man-at-arms with a paper flag

House Chulain's words, 'Verum Petere' - 'Aim True'. It still needs the edges touching up, but it looks really good!

The effect of full harness is quite striking - that's a lot of shiny metal! 

Another view of the banner and the stripy stick

 
The banner started out as me drawing a traditional paper flag, then I remember I was sitting next to my partner, P, who is an illustrator and artist and uses Clip Studio Paint and other strange and arcane tools to do good drawing stuff... which resulted in this:

 

The original version can be seen in the bottom left - everything else is me showing P what I wanted!

And this is the end result! It's so good!

This should - I hope - be a nice quick project, which I can do alongside the ECW cavalry and the spaceship commissions. The end result should be two small Ruckus warbands, one aligned to Renly Baratheon and one aligned to his nephew, Joffrey Baratheon. Ahh medieval civil wars...

Painting Points:
Today: 1
This Week: 5
2025: 374

300!

Oops, 11 days since I last posted. In my defence it has been so stiflingly hot that I have spent most of the time in a dark room with a fan pointed at my face, trying not to succumb to heat exhaustion. I have, however, with a concerted effort of will, maanged to actually complete my goal of painting 300 models from my  before the 17th of July! Neither I nor my partner P thought I'd manage it. Without further ado, here are the four models that got me to the finish line:

Three medieval ladies from an unknown manufacturer. I think Ral Partha but also I'm not sure. Anyway I did them in fairly block colours for ease of tabletop identification

I like the poses and the sculpts, and I think the flow of the dresses really adds a lot of movement to them

There are some surprisingly subtle details on the woman in the middle's belt and hair

The little wicker basket was a lot of fun to paint

So those three got me up to 299 models painted since the beginning of the year from my pile of opportunity, and then I spent a couple of days not doing anything - including updating this blog! - because it was just too damn hot. The deadline, however, was looming, and after P picked which of the minis I had on my table I should use to hit it, I spent a few days painting her up. I finished her off tonight:

 

This is an official Dungeons and Dragons miniature, painted in the style of a traditional Romani dancer with the skin tone of a Sri Lankan person

I really love the gold and purple combinations

Despite the relative crudeness of the sculpt, she painted up really nicely and easily

I love her pose and the flow and sense of motion she has

 

And so, with her complete, I have worked my way through 300 models from my Pile of Opportunity! I started the year with 1,596 models unpainted, and now, in 195 days, I have painted 300 models, which averages out at about 1 and a half minis a day. I don't know if I can keep that pace up for the rest of the year, but I am going to try. I certainly want to try and paint more minis than I get hold of going fowards.

Oh, and for proof, here's a screenshot of my Pile of Opportunity spreadsheet totals page:

 

 So there we have it! Next, I'm going back to my commissions...

Painting Points:
Today: 1
This Week: 4
2025: 373

A Man Out Of Space

Sort of, anyway. This is a Thirty Years' War puritan preacher from Warlord Games, repurposed as a preacher of Morr or similar. Some sort of Warhammer Fantasy sort anyway, perfect for games of Mordheim or Guards of Traitors Toll. 

My kingdom for a lightbox. The figure's head is at an odd angle, as he's looking at his book and declaiming from its text, but the quality of photos I can get with my current set up is variable at best...

I like the little golden button on the back of his jacket, and the red hat band. Both signify that despite his attire he isn't quite a puritan from our world... a man out of space, perhaps, if not time

Just the one mini today, and none yesterday, mainly because of the heat and the fact I'm getting ready for Death Unto Darkness event 11: Heretek, which is this weekend. My Sister of Battle, Sister Superior Humility, has had her armour cleaned and the paint touched up, her soft kit has been washed, and she is ready to go and purify the unbelievers with sword and bolt pistol in the name of the Divine Emperor. Much to the dismay of all the other non-Sisters players, I expect. It should be a huge lark and I am extremely looking forwards to it!

Painting Points:
Today: 1
This Week: 5
2025: 369

What Happened To Those Space Wolves Again?

Well, today I managed to semi-sort the internet AND I moved downstairs to where it was marginally cooler, so I was able to crack on with some painting of my own things to get myself back to a headspace where I can work on commissions. So that involved finishing off the Necron Immortals and the Pariahs, and looking at the Space Wolves and going "mmm, not in the mood at the moment". What I was in the mood for, apparently, was a repaint/fix-up of some medieval peasant types I bought way back in the very late 1990s, and which I think I can now repurpose for stuff like Mordheim: Empire In Flames, Guards of Traitors Toll, or even just basic RPG games.

The last five Immortals for the squad. These Necrons are tough and mean and carry Gauss Blasters rather than the Warrior's Gauss Flayers. 24" range, S5, AP4, Assault 2  - brutal weapons that'll turn anyone wearing anything lighter than Power Armour to mince

They're pretty brutal looking from the rear honestly - wide and intimidating

Pariahs - eventually there'll be another five. These are technically meant to be Lychguard in modern parlance but pah, fie upon that, I say

They're bulkier than the Warriors but slimmer than the Immortals and I deliberately painted them to have a little more in common with the Necron Lord I have

And from robot skeletons from the depths of time and space to random medieval types. I thought these were Redoubt Enterprises, but I can't see them in their catalogue. Then I thought maybe they were Gripping Beast, but also no. I'm at a loss! I remember buying them as a very young teenager at, I think, Warfare in Reading. Although it may have been Salute! or possibly even Attack! in Devizes... All I can now remember is painting them in these colours (not as neatly) sitting at my then best friend's kitchen table in about 1999. Anyone who happens to know who made these, please let me know. 

L-R: A wealthy sort, a stallholder, a leper, and a drunk in the stocks

I particularly like the colours young me chose, all those years ago - all I did here was clean them up and paint them a bit more carefully

Tomorrow I'll crack on with the commissions, and maybe some more peasants and civilians. I'm rapidly coming up on the 300 miniatures painted from the Pile of Opportunity before July the 17th, which I honestly wasn't sure I'd do, so I'm very pleased with that. Just four more to do!

Painting Points:
Today: 4
This Week: 4 (+ those 10 Necrons above that I finished last week that I didn't get a chance to post about)
2025: 368