On the Horizon for April

The fact that I am late with this monthly feature is indicative of the month thus far.  Business is still brisk and I have had precious few moments for hobbies and blogging.  But as the saying goes, better late than never.  However, by the time I get this posted, half the month will have come and gone and my plans, ambitious even for a full month, will be neigh on impossible to reach.  Oh well...Ad Astra Per Aspera.

Looming work ahead.

First up for this month's projects is my miniature queue.  Though I did get quite a bit of painting completed last month, little if any change was to be noticed in the paint rack.  Many miniatures received my attention but few were completed and thus remained in the rack.  This month is different however.  Although there are several familiar faces in the photo below, I was able to complete several others and move new projects into the queue.

The full painting queue.

Finally some changes in the queue...

The painting rack.

From left to right top to bottom:  Saruman 1 and 2, which are in the exact same state as last month, followed by Strider from The Three Hunters blister.  Since I primed him for the Gesso post I might as well paint him up to join the plethora of other Striders in my collection.  The barkeep next to him is from Reaper's Townsfolk collection.  John Snow from Dark Sword Miniatures is next.  My collection of GRRM minis have been sitting around for quite some time but with the excitement of the looming series on HBO, I definitely foresee more action on this front. Christina the Devout from Reaper rounds out the first row.  I have had her for almost four years now and cannot seem to get started.  She's a great sculpt but inspiration for painting Christina is lacking.  If I do not get to the miniature this month I may take her out of the queue and come back to her later.

On the next row is the poor Cadian test model that has only manged to get a basecoat of flesh and boots. Once again the month of the Cadians has come and gone with little to no progress.  Instead of March of the Cadians, I may find myself looking at November of the Cadians...not quite as catchy is it?   Cyndria Stormcaller from Reaper got a little love last month with some basecoating.  She's certainly not my favorite sculpt but I only have a few female pirates in my collection thus far and would like to get her painted up.  Speaking of favorite sculpts, the next in line from Dark Sword certainly ranks highly with me.  The Young Hedge Knight looks quite striking and clever in his light armor and cloak.  I'm not sure how GRRM would feel about the bow on the back of a knight but the addition is fine with me.  He will make a great miniature to represent a RP character.  Next is a Wilding, also from the Game of Thrones line.  He was added this month to the queue not only due to the general ASoIaF frenzy but also to represent a dark age warrior in a project inspired by these posts over at The Man Cave.  The Governor of Port Antigua (from Black Scorpion) has received a bascoat for his soon to be gold greatcoat and tricorn.  I plan on doing something special with his waistcoat...perhaps a brocade pattern or something similar.  Melisande Wavecutter from Reaper is last on the row.  And yes, for those of you that follow this monthly update, she has not been touched at all.  I'm torn about what to do with the hat so she sits and waits for me to decide

The five minis not mounted yet are Waiting for Shadamehr from the DSM Larry Elmore collection, a male ranger also from DSM, and three unprimed pirate captains from Old Glory.  They will move to painting mounts as soon as I get some dull coat on a few completed miniatures and free up their mounts.

A motley collection of miniatures stand in front of the painting rack and await my attention.  From left to right, top to bottom:  Another pirate captain from Old Glory starts out the top row.  I have yet to paint a single pirate from the Old Glory collection and I am anxious to see the results.  Some painters/gamers love their sculpts while others find them lacking.  I wonder what side of the debate I will land on?  Alidee the Bandit from Reaper is next in line.  She is the first of yet another new project where I plan to select and paint  miniatures to represent the individual members of my LotRO Kinship.  This particular mini will be the miniature version of Myriade Hawkes, our favorite burglar.  The next three minis are all from Reaper's Townsfolk line and will represent some of the less than respectable ladies in Port Antigua in my Legends of the High Seas project.  Another female rounds out the row - Terezinya from Reaper.   I really like her pose but dislike the numerous skulls on her outfit.  I really do not want to worry with a conversion right now (minor as it would be) so I will paint her as is.  Down the road I may purchase another copy and spend the time to remove the features in question.

On the next row is Kurff the Swift from Reaper followed by a pirate with a musket from Black Scorpion.  I have only made little progress on the next mini from Black Cat bases.  Once completed she will join the other strumpets of Port Antigua but beware, she is not so simple as she seems.  Hidden behind the back of that lowered bodice is a sharp dagger.  Next is another female from the Townsfolk range though she is not quite as sketchy as the other lasses.  Autumn Bronzeleaf from Reaper is the last figure on the row and has only received a flesh basecoat at this point.

The last mounted row begins with Klaus Copperthumb and Anirion, both from Reaper.  Since Raistlin miniatures are difficult to find and expensive to obtain, I think Anirion will serve as a proxy Dragonlance mage.  Another pirate from Black Scorpion is next.  Yes, I realize the upper half looks like a statue.  He was/is a test subject for an upcoming experiment and tutorial on graybrushing.  Mason Thornwarden and Ilsa Darkstep are both from Reaper and sport only basecoats, except for the ranger's cloak which is approaching the final highlighting stage.  Finally, below the mounted minis are four Brits awaiting primer for the LotHS project.  They will join these fellows and help man the garrison in Port Antigua.

Unless you're living under a rock, I'm sure any reader is aware of HBO's upcoming adaptation of G.R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series.  I have watched all the trailers and the first fifteen minutes of episode one and am quite pleased with the results.  It seems HBO is willing to remain true to the books (and why not - the books are great as is) and in doing so, renewed my love for Westeros.  To celebrate the upcoming series I am in the process of turning a box of Bretonnians into knights of Westeros.

I am planning on painting the Bretonnians to match some of the great houses of Westeros for an upcoming project that combines roleplaying and small skirmish wargaming.  The idea struck me when I noticed the antlers adorning the helm of one of the mounted knights.  While Robert Baratheon in the books is both fat and a drunkard, at the time he won the throne he was a mighty warrior and in my mind would have looked much like the miniature below.  I have ideas for most of the others but first things first....I have to find where I hid all the shields.  Yikes!

As mentioned above, I have been thinking of starting a dark age miniature campaign and project.  To help in the scenery department I have been building a few more structures for LotR and Age of Blood.  Since Rohan architecture and culture can fit quite nicely with a dark age theme I feel I'm getting a good deal here with my scenery. 

Is this simple home in Engla-lond or Rohan?

Finally, while speaking of LotR, I've pulled my nearly complete Rangers of Gondor out of the darkness and onto a shelf.  I started them several years ago but for some reason never finished.  See the pattern here?  With just a bit of highlighting here and there these guys will be ready to go in short order however.  And with their completion I may actually catch up to where I meant to be this year with my completed miniature count.

Rangers of Gondor await painting orders.

Well, there it is.  My plans for what is left of April.  Is the goal attainable?  I don't know...probably not.  But would goals be as interesting if they were set so low that they were always met?  Plus, just posting what I would like to accomplish at the start of every month is a huge motivating factor.

Do any of you do something similar to help organize your hobby plans?  If so, do you find that the plans help or hinder your projects?