Flag parties

I finished the various portions of the command elements yesterday.

The figures in peaked caps are my regular forces. The two in fur hats are my bandits. 

Each command section has 2 officers, a flagbearer and a bugler.

Each command section oversees 2x10 man squads and a machine gun.

I need a real break from Chinese but EVENTUALLY I plan on having 10x10 man squads. I currently have 5x10 man squads.

Cracking On

Just a short one today. Me and the boy got in a game last week when his school had a Professional Development (PD) Day.

The trees, river, ponds and embankments in the foreground are by BattleField In A Box

The hills I picked up for peanuts at Hotlead one year./


The buildings and stone walls are by Pegasus and the trenches are from 6Squared Studios.




There they are. The last 20 Chinese infantry. All painted and based. The 4 figures in the front row are going to be incorporated with my bandits. 

On the right are officers, standard bearers, buglers and a Machine gun crew who now have been partially based. Meaning I have 17 bandits and my Chinese force is finished.

More TWD:AOW and AP 2017 progress

This month has been pretty stellar for painting. This tray contains the Miles Behind Us expansion,  Tyreese, Glen, Maggie and Julie & Chris boosters. I've also started another tray this size. Still don't know why I'm doing two projects at once.

But onto more progress for the Lead Adventure Forum Army Painter Competition http://www.lead-adventure.de/index.php?topic=101545.0 Here's the big guy himself, General Lee To Fat. I took the photos immediately after white gluing the grass tufts down so the any white colouration there should now be dried and clear.

Up next are 10 Dare To Die troopers with big swords. These are an elite unit of hand to hand specialists. I'd like to put some tattoos on the bare chested figures but don't want to risk it at the moment.

 I was happy to stop here but I thought I'd see what else I could start. And voila, a machine gun with the front and back profile.

I also painted the mortar. I love the character of the trooper eating his lunch. I don't think I could eat with my back to the enemy though.

Lastly the big gun. I noticed that some superglue lines have stuck to the carriage so I'll have to gently remove them later. I probably should have also laid out some wheel ruts in the ground but whatever.

So there you have it. With two months remaining, I have 20 rank and file troopers, 2 command officers, a flag bearer and bugler to complete and the force is done. I'm going to push myself and try to get my bandits and Chinese troop cavalry started also but I think December might be difficult.

October's Army Painter and The Walking Dead: All Out War

Hey again, it's been a really productive month for me! I'm really pleased with myself. The painting mojo is high and I keep finding little bits of time to plug away. But as the title suggests, I've split my attention. Hopefully I don't regret this...

Here are the next 14 figures. All from Copplestone Castings Back Of Beyond Chinese Warlord range.

There are 10 assault troopers armed with Bergmann SMGs. The figures on the left are from the Command Pack. The flag was colour printed from the website below.

http://majorthomasfoolery.blogspot.ca/2015/01/flags-for-chinese-warlordback-of-beyond.html

Got a little head start on November's entry. 10 Dare-To-Die troopers with big sword, and General Lee To Fat himself. They was also been washed with army painter and the base textured but still needs painting. Only 20 more troopers to go. :) :)



I was fortunate (?) enough to back Mantic Games The Walking Dead: All Out War (TWD:AOW)Kickstarter. I received all the bits and read through the rules quickly, and watched a couple how-tos on Youtube. I wasn't super impressed and it languished on the shelf. I went to Broadsword 4 in Hamilton in August and played a homebrew Cthulu inspired zombie game and decided to steal the basics and improve some of the character stats usingTWD:AOW character cards.


Now I had only ever read the comics as Season 1 of TWD varied so much from the comics I quickly gave it up. But I rather enjoyed Fear The Walking Dead and am in between seasons so I decided to give TWD another shot (thanks Netflix). While I am enjoying TWD, I am a purist at heart and decided to pay the comics an homage and paint in grayscale. WTF!


Here are the first 12 zombies. 6 are from the Walker Booster and 5 from the Prelude To Woodbury set (both retail releases). Which leaves me with about 89 more to paint + scenery packs.

Poor photo but there they are. I really should be using the light box I made...Basically they are drybrushed from dark to light in 3-4 shades of gray. Then black ink washed, then highlighted with previous grays. Really fast and easy.

Here's a better shot of 6 walkers.

And last but not least, the man himself, Brian Blake aka The Governor.

I'll probably have to make a run and buy more shades of gray as skin colours in gray is going to be a nightmare.



September's Entry for Army Painter 2017

Abysmal. I know. I only managed to base 10 figures. But I should be ok for next month. Sucks when real life gets in the way.

There you have it! 30 rank and file troopers. 20 done last month and 10 this month. Progress.

Here's my 1st month's entry for Army Painter 2017 "competition" on Lead Adventure Forum. It's a continuation from last years entry where I painted 1 figure and 1/2 started 19 others...not very good

Here are 20 Copplestone Castings Chinese troops completed. One of them was finished prior but I had used a Brown Wash. I re-washed him in black as I liked the look better.

Here are a couple close-ups of some of the figures. These are done for the purpose of the AP competition, however, I will probably do some highlights later on.

This last photograph shows the entire Army. I actually made some great progress as another 20 are finished minus the bases. As August is going to be hectic, I won't have as much time so I planned ahead.

LAF's Army Painter 2016

Well, I foolishly decided to enter the painting competition. I don't know what possessed me to but I'm in so I might as well try and get 'er done.


Had some ups and downs this month.


Finally found "cheap" washers (about $0.12/each) to base my troops on. Want them magnetized or I would have gone with some plastic or MDF circular bases.


Placed an order from J&M Miniatures for 3 brushes and a can of Army Painter (AP) Uniform Grey spray paint. Hadn't heard anything for a while (what I felt was longer then usual) and no package at the door. Then I received an email refunding me a portion of the order with out any explanation why or what was being refunded.


I was panicked as getting AP Spray is a full day affair and I didn't really have the time available.


My package came a few days later and as I suspected it only contained brushes.


What to do? What to do?


On a whim I tried a much closer local hobby shop. Lo and behold, they had AP spray. BUT they were out of Uniform Grey...and would only place an order once their remaining AP stock was gone. FAIL! But they did have Wolf Grey which is slightly Bluer, more blue, whatever. Executive decision! Wolf Grey it is.


I rushed home semi-victoriously and primed 20 figures. Boo yah. Progress.


I managed to find some time and got a test figure part painted. I used a brown (some GW brand colour) wash on the  now AP Wolf Grey cloth. Looked weird. Dirty almost. I then decided I would dry brush some lighter Wolf Grey highlights to tidy it all up. SO off to GW for some paint. I also decided to wash the Wolf Grey with a blue wash and subsequent figures. Probably will look better.


Then I based it with the new GW texture paint and some brown dry brushing (3 colours, whew!) and I was done. Typically this is all I ever do but what the heck, I'm feeling adventurous (Aaaand, the GW texture paint didn't hide the integral base as well as I had hoped) so I applied an Army Painter tuft of grass.


Boom! Done. I do believe that this is my first very first FULLY painted AND based figure ever! In almost 19 years of miniature war gaming (pathetic, I know).

Anyways, excuse the terrible photos. iPhones aren't the greatest and my camera skills suck.
Am I going to win any prizes? Nope. Do I care? Nope (well, maybe a little). Am I comfortable fielding a full force of these guys? Yep. Can I paint a full force of these guys? Probably.


And I have 5 more days to paint 4 figures to hit the bare minimum for LAF.


Wish me luck.

Oh boy

Where has the time gone? I added the blogger app to my "Smartphone" which added my defunct blog and not this one and I could not for the life of me figure out how to add a second blog or delete the first one, so I gave up...for a bit.


Needless to say lots has happened.


1) Zombicide Black Plague and Wolfsburg expansion with all the Kickstarter exclusives have arrived and I've managed to get several games in with friends.


Pros: New scenarios, weapons and characters in a medieval setting


Cons: Same old zombicide mechanics...starting to get a tad boring.


Also picked up a micro game called Roll With It. Fantastic!


2) Purchased a whack of Copplestone Back of Beyond Chinese when Northstar acquired distribution rights and had nice discount going.



3) My Art Club painted some Reaper Bones Orcs and Skeletons and build rivers and medieval cottages. Some real talent among the group. I've learned that working with youth is both extremely rewarding but can be frustrating too. They don't all have the communication skills to say, I have an exam to study for, I can't make it today.


4) I've painted seven (7) figures since the last post. I'm elated! I have not painted a total of seven figures over the last 3 years.


5) Related to purchasing of item #2 and results of item #4, I've entered an Army Painter "competition". Basically, I'm required to paint 5-30 figures per month for 6 months to complete an army. What am I thinking?


6) I picked up some triangular shaped Army Painter brushes from Meeple Mart and REALLY seem to like the grip better then the usual round ones. Maybe that has helped me stay motivated?


Hopefully I can stay more regular and keep updating this blog especially with my Army Painter project underway.

Oh boy

Where has the time gone? I added the blogger app to my "Smartphone" which added my defunct blog and not this one and I could not for the life of me figure out how to add a second blog or delete the first one, so I gave up...for a bit.


Needless to say lots has happened.


1) Zombicide Black Plague and Wolfsburg expansion with all the Kickstarter exclusives have arrived and I've managed to get several games in with friends.


Pros: New scenarios, weapons and characters in a medieval setting


Cons: Same old zombicide mechanics...starting to get a tad boring.


Also picked up a micro game called Roll With It. Fantastic!


2) Purchased a whack of Copplestone Back of Beyond Chinese when Northstar acquired distribution rights and had nice discount going.



3) My Art Club painted some Reaper Bones Orcs and Skeletons and build rivers and medieval cottages. Some real talent among the group. I've learned that working with youth is both extremely rewarding but can be frustrating too. They don't all have the communication skills to say, I have an exam to study for, I can't make it today.


4) I've painted seven (7) figures since the last post. I'm elated! I have not painted a total of seven figures over the last 3 years.


5) Related to purchasing of item #2 and results of item #4, I've entered an Army Painter "competition". Basically, I'm required to paint 5-30 figures per month for 6 months to complete an army. What am I thinking?


6) I picked up some triangular shaped Army Painter brushes from Meeple Mart and REALLY seem to like the grip better then the usual round ones. Maybe that has helped me stay motivated?


Hopefully I can stay more regular and keep updating this blog especially with my Army Painter project underway.

What I've been up to...

Since my last post I've been super busy. I've meant to post several times but you know what they say about good intentions. I'll split the 'news' up into 2 posts so I don't fall further behind.

For starters I had to redo the floors on my  1st floor. The guy that I bought this house from (over 4 years ago now) like taking shortcuts. I've trying to fix them one by one. I'm pretty handy so I don't like paying hard earned money for things I can do well myself. So I installed some new hardwood and trim. The laminate that preceded it was buckling in places and there were some critical errors so it was time to go. That and the 3-1/2 yer old ripped up a piece in the middle of the floor! D'oh!

 The floor all ripped up. Just over 300 square feet. I went to Lumber Liquidators and snagged some 3/8x5" "Hand scraped" Log Cabin Birch for $2.69sqft.

That first piece was a true bastard. It took over 1 hour to get it in. The tiles + grout (inside the doorway) were about about 1" tall. The hardwood is only 3/8 tall. I shimmed under the piece to get it level with the tiles but it sits on an angle. It was the best solution without laying new plywood down to build up the subfloor. It looks good but odd at the same time.

The floor took just under 2 days to lay. The living/dining room had the baseboard installed by me approximately 2 weeks later. The hallway is still waiting (eek) nearly 5 weeks later.

The trim I went with:

 I scored some unpainted poplar from my aunt at a local building store for a huge discount! But I had to paint it! That took 2 days.

I coped the inside corners instead of cutting 45 degree bevels. I hate coping. I truly do, but it looks neater in the end.

The finished room:

Unfortunately the door casing was mangled at the bottom (again previous owner taking short cuts). So to salvage them, I had to put plinth blocks on the bottom. I feel it really classes the joint up.

Unfortunately sometime during the installation of the floor(hammering) I loosened the anchors holding a shelf in the basement. This came crashing down resulting in 5 broken beer glasses and chips/cracks in my conflix terrain. I haven't fixed it yet. I'm still too upset.

Hold The Line Convention 

June 20th, 2015.

I was supposed to attend and play some games with my dad but my 3-1/2 year old didn't want me to leave. So instead of not going, I brought him along. 

The convention was a lot busier then next year. It may seem early but it shows the promise of growth.

I wasn't able to play but I got some cool loot. 

Renedra bases and mealie bags and some 4ground Saxon houses for my ongoing SAGA project.

The true find was a vendor with Copplestone Back of Beyond figures. It was a shame (or a blessing on my wallet) that he only accepted cash.

I picked up Chinese Leaders, buglers/flag bearers and infantry. I also got an Austin for my RCW Russians and a motorbike with sidecar for my Chinese bandits. The army/aliens tube was a game given for free to my some from a nice vendor.

 

Well that's all for now.