DSM Dragon Diorama WIP: Please Don't Make Me Paint More Coins

OK.  This is it.  This post will be the last WIP for the base.  The next will not go up until the base is completely finished and the dragon is ready to be mounted.

All the gold coins have been painted.  Each and every little coin was done by hand.  Though I was tempted (OK, very tempted at the end), I was able to avoid drybrushing.  It took forever but I'm glad I stuck with my original plan.  

All that is left to do now is go back and change a few of the gold coins to silver to break up the monotony of gold.  That shouldn't take me very long.  A good number were already completed at the last WIP post.  Plus I'm keeping the total number of silver coins fairly low.

A bit more work does need to be done to the rest of the base, however.  The stone needs two additional layers of highlighting and then some weathering.  The weapons have only received basecoats so they will need some more work as well.  The gravel will require the most attention though.  I plan to layer up to a rather light brown then attach a significant amount of flock and foliage.

Though I did not take photos, the dragon has also received several basecoats.  Whenever I needed to rest my poor eyes from painting tiny coins I would work on the dragon.  Before I knew it the dragon was prepped, primed, and coated in dark red.  I like it when work gets done without effort.  I just wish that would happen more often.  Once the base is finished I will start working on him full time.  He is MASSIVE!

This project is taking up a large portion of my hobby time but I have not abandoned the rest of my miniatures.  I just completed a hobbit for the LotR SBG and a pirate for LotHS.  I'll post photos of both minis soon.

Thanks for checking in on the WIP and thanks for reading!

DSM Dragon Diorama WIP: Of Bases and Coins

Work continues on the base of my Dark Sword Miniatures Elmore Dragon Diorama.  The work has been tedious and at times rather boring. But I know I'll be happy with the end result when it is finally completed.  Slowly but surely the treasure horde is coming along.

I've kept to my goal of not drybrushing the coins.  Each coin thus far has been painted separately by hand.  I'm glad I have done so.  Though it may be difficult to tell from these low resolution iPhone photos, the coin horde is quite striking to the eye.  I do have to admit however that I am doing it the hard way.  Each coin, or stack of coins, has to be painted from several different angles.  I usually start with the top of the coin, then I hold the base at eye level and rotate it around, brushing on color where needed.  Otherwise the coins would look two dimensional without their sides painted.  Drybrushing the coins first, followed by the stone gray color probably would have solved this problem.  But I truly think the effect would be much less dramatic. 

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, most of the coins are/will be gold in color.  As you can see in the photos, the gold really does contrast nicely with the gray.  However, to break up the mass of gold I decided to add a few silver coins here and there.  The effect is subtle but does the job nicely.  When I finally get around to painting the assorted weapons and armor included in the treasure pile, the golden mass will be broken up even more.

I've dry fitted the dragon to the base.  Wow!  I had forgotten how massive the miniature megature really was.  The vast majority of the base will be covered by his body while the dragon's impressive wingspan will drape most of the treasure hoard in shadow.  These factors lead me to wonder if I am wasting my time by painting all the individual coins, especially when I will be the only person to really appreciate the detail.  What do you think?

I guess I should get back to painting coins.  I estimate that I'm a little over halfway finished.  Hopefully updated photos will be posted soon.

Thanks for reading!

Another Kickstarter from Dark Sword Miniatures

Those that regularly visit this blog know without a doubt that I am a huge fan of Dark Sword Miniatures.  I frequently rave about the quality of the sculpts and great customer service provided by the company.  I also tout the fact that a large portion of their miniatures are inspired by my favorite fantasy artists:  Larry Elmore, Jeff Easley, Clyde Caldwell, and Keith Parkinson - the giants of the golden age of gaming. For those reasons alone, DSM has more than earned my business.  But an additional feature has ensured that my money tends to flow their way more than any other miniature company- the George R. R. Martin line of miniatures. 

My favorite sculpt of the bunch so far.

For some years now, DSM has been producing wonderful sculpts of many of the characters from Martin's epic series A Song of Ice and Fire.  The Starks and Lannisters and every character in between have been beautiful rendered in 28mm metal.  Now Dark Sword Miniatures is further expanding the line with a new Kickstarter.  Eleven new miniatures are being offered at a very reasonable price with plenty of promised stretch goals along the way.  Viserys Targaryan, Ser Barristan Selmy, a mounted Khal Drogo and my favorite of the bunch, Ser Brynden Tully, The Blackfish, are just a few of the upcoming minis.

Finally, a mounted warrior!

If you're a fan of Dark Sword Miniatures and/or A Song of Ice and Fire (or just like well-sculpted miniatures) then help spread the word and let's get this Kickstarter funded!

The Kickstarter page can be found here.

The Dark Sword Miniatures homepage is here.   

As a final note I want to point out that the previous DSM Kickstarter was a pleasure to work with.  The dragon and all of the stretch goals were shipped out almost immediately after the drive ended.  There was no waiting on miniatures for months and months like another Kickstarter I backed that rhymes with Reaper Bones (yes I do realize that they were on an entirely different scale).  The loot comes quick!

Aleena the Cleric

A few months ago (wow, has it really been that long?!) I made a comment about how a miniature I was painting reminded me of a certain NPC cleric of my past.  I thought the mini seen below was based upon Aleena the cleric from the Metzer red box edition of Dungeons and Dragons.  Well, it turns out my memory of the 80s when I was a D&D fanatic is not as I thought it to be.  I was clearly wrong with my assumption.  But in discovering my error, I took a fascinating journey of reminiscence and discovery into the past.  Please allow me to share.

The WIP of the miniature in question

My first introduction to D&D was through a strange mixture of the Moldvay Basic set and AD&D.  As clueless preteens we gleefully mixed the two systems into a loose ruleset that guided our adventures into strange lands.  While I have very fond memories of that first set it was actually the Metzer version of the basic set that I spent the most time playing back in those days.  Ahh, the memories.  How can one forget the awesome and terrifying red dragon painted by Larry Elmore gracing the cover of the fiery red box or the beautiful cleric that befriended a lonsome adventurer in the introductory adventure?  That of course is where Aleena comes in.

For those of you who may have forgotten, we meet the blonde-haired cleric shortly after wounding a goblin in a cave.  As we cautiously pursue the fleeing goblin, we come upon her silently meditating in a corner of a cavern chamber.  She is drawn to our high charisma and invites us to join her for a rest.  After instructing us on several aspects of an adventurer's life, the cleric not only joins our expedition but kindly offers to heal us as well (that 16 charisma really pays off).  Aleena becomes a mentor of sorts as we explore the remainder of the caves together but she can do more than just offer instruction.  She exhibits her skill and power as she uses her clerical abilities once again, this time turning the undead ghouls that block our route.  We are beginning to fall in love with this woman!

But our love affair is not meant to be.  Bargle, the roguish magic-user that has been terrorizing the countryside around Threshold slays the beautiful young cleric with a deadly spell.  She falls in battle and no matter what we do, we cannot alter that fate.  We either kill the evil Bargle after making our saving throw or unwittingly aid him while under a charm spell.  Either way, Aleena the cleric is no more.

With either outcome, we do manage to recover Aleena's body and return her to the local church.  Hearts are broken, both in the game and in real life over the death of the cleric.  No matter how many times we play the scenario or what we do, we cannot save her.  The cleric's fate is preordained.  It is with great remorse for her loss that we begin our adventuring careers in the world of D&D.  But with her loss comes wisdom and the understanding that death is real in the game and the hero does not always win.  We are shown just how dangerous the adventuring life can be.  This would have been a profound lesson to those new to the game and perhaps this is why the Metzer boxed set remains so ingrained in the collective memory of D&D players worldwide.

I was reminded of her sad story as I went back to my worn red box to research what Aleena looked like and it brought back so many pleasant memories.  I wondered if others thought the same. I turned to the internet for answers.  What I found there was surprising.  The memory of her death was a topic much discussed. I discovered that many others felt the same way I did about the poor cleric and that the solo introductory adventure and her death remained with many players for years.

But I also discovered that her death was not in vain.  Aleena's fall galvanized the will of the countryside and thousands upon thousands of players rose up in anger to find and vanquish the evil wizard.  Who knows how many adventuring careers were launched by the memory of her fair face and kind demeanor? 

The anger directed toward Bargle was both in game and in the real world.  I found that many who played that introductory solo adventure retained a hatred of Bargle well after the Metzer red box became a collector's item.  For example, as a nod to the intense dislike that players held for the magic-user, Paizo included an adventure entitled Kill Bargle in the very last print issue of Dungeon Magazine (#150).

Some expressed this 'anger' in a more artistic manner as evidenced by the poster and t-shirt seen below.  Gamers from across the world were united in the memory of Aleena and a desire for vengeance.

Visit here for a short video about the "Kill Bargle" t-shirt.

One of the creators of the shirt

In my research I also found out that Aleena may not have perished after all.  I stopped playing D&D in 1987 when girls and cars became more important than dice and character sheets so I missed the future developments.  Apparently Aleena was sighted again after my departure in several TSR supplements.  In 1987 she was given a description and stats in GAZ1 The Grand Duchy of Karameikos as a 12th level cleric along with a note stating that if it were established that she had died in the solo adventure from the Basic set to change her name to Anielle.  In 1994 she was again found in Karameikos: Kingdom of Adventure with basically the same descritpion but with no mention of a possible earlier death.  Though she may have existed for future players, her death and our failure to save her still sits heavily with those who played the adventure before additional supplement releases.

Is this Elmore's new revised Aleena?

Which brings me full circle with this post.  It was the thought of Aleena the cleric that came to mind when I started painting the miniature.  But my memory of her failed me utterly.  My miniature is the wrong class, has the wrong weapon, the wrong garb, and even the wrong hair color.  Hell, the only thing remotely similar is the helmet.  Maybe that was the memory trigger.  Though the miniature does not resemble Aleena as described by Metzer and illustrated by Elmore, the trip down memory lane was definitely worth the mistake on my part.  And really, as in most things in life, it's the journey that counts...not the final destination.

What memories do you have of Aleena and Bargle and do you have a miniature that aligns more closely with her description? 

Thanks for reading!

Dark Sword Miniatures Kickstarter Loot

It's been like a Kickstarter Christmas at home lately.  First my Bones shipment finally arrived and now I hear that the Larry Elmore art book I backed will be here in the not too distant future.  And just last week I received a large box from Dark Sword Miniatures.  Yep, my Elmore miniature diorama arrived along with lots of other goodies!

The photo above shows my loot/Kickstarter reward.  Along with the dragon and two associated miniatures for the diorama, I got thirty-five additional metal miniatures for a very reasonable overall price.  The treasure in the box included the following miniatures:

Elmore Masterworks Line
1101 Green Witch
1149 Female Warrior
1168 Evil Female Mage
1177 Female Shaman
1148 Female Magic User
1311 Crouching Female Warrior
1151 Female Dual-Wield Fighter
1114 Female Archer

Easley Masterworks Line
4108 Female Assassin
4109 Male Cleric
4110 Female Bard with Lute
4112 Female Ranger
4114 Female Paladin w/Sword & Shield

GRRM Masterworks Line
5027 Tyrion
5052 Bronn

Visions in Fantasy
7424 Male Dual-Wield Assassin
7404 Female Paladin with Morning Star
7406 Male Dark Elf Warrior w/Double Bladed Sword
7409 Female Ranger w/Falcon & Longsword
7414 Female High Elf Warrior
7415 Female Assassin
7416 Male Warrior w/Bastard Sword
7418 Female Blind Warrior
7419 Female Elven Warrior
7420 Male Wood Elf Archer
7423 Male High Elf Warrior
7427 Male Warrior w/Battle Axe
7436 Female Mage
7517 Thief of Hearts #5
7901 Frog Jester

KSCONV3 Male & Female Mages (alternate sculpts)

A few of the included miniatures are duplicates of ones that I already own or have painted so that does bring down the overall value a bit.  The collector part of me is more than OK with that though. It's always a good idea to have additional copies available for repairs, conversion, or just to have an extra. Plus, I like to try different color themes on the same miniature.

I have already started working on the base.  Just this part of the dragon will take me some time to complete.  As you can see in the photo below, the detail is quite impressive and that means additional painting time.  Near the overhang on the front of the stand is a partially spilled chest of treasure.  It seems that I have tons of little gold and silver coins to paint in my near future.  Tedious indeed!

This will be the largest miniature by far that I have ever attempted to paint.  Before this, the GW Balrog held that distinction.  It took me a month to paint the Balrog.  I have no idea what to expect with this monster of a mini but I will try to post updates now and then as progress is made.

Thanks for reading!

Dark Sword Miniatures Kickstarter - A Big Dang Dragon

OK.  I will not bore you with yet another tale of why I like Dark Sword Miniatures so much.  But I do want to let readers know of an awesome Kickstarter opportunity DSM is offering.  Dark Sword is in the process of raising funds (in fact, they have already more than tripled their goal as of this writing) for a truly epic project. The link is below but before you go, just look at the size of this thing!

The dragon is absolutely gigantic. According to DSM, he stands over twelve inches tall (including the base). He will be cast in resin to keep down the weight while his two adversaries will be in pewter. The price is steep but considering the diorama will probably retail for over $300 once it is released, the opt in price is not so bad after all. And who knows what kind of stretch goal goodies we are likely to see to sweeten the deal along the way. My hobby budget just took a big hit tonight but this baby will be worth it.



I mentioned in my last post about having artwork from my glory days of D&D walk out of a painting and into miniature form. That statement could not be more true in this case.  My memories from the 80's will be flowing when I finally get to paint this beast come this September.

Here is the link to the DSM Kickstarter page.

And if you're new to the excellent products produced by Dark Sword Miniatures, take a look here.

And below is the artwork from Mr. Larry Elmore that inspired the miniatures. It's titled "Teamwork".
You can visit his site here.

Thanks for reading...

Waiting for Shadamehr

I've been threatening to take a break from my Thorin & Company project for some time now. The monotony of painting dwarves over and over was beginning to drain the joy of painting from me.  I guess I really do have miniature A.D.D. and need variety to keep me entertained. Well I've finally put the little squats aside for a short while to tackle a few other projects. First up was completing a great sculpt from Dark Sword Miniatures - Waiting for Shadamehr.

I'm a huge fan of DSM. At last count I have over sixty of their miniatures. All are great sculpts, but the thing that keeps me coming back is the fact that a large portion of their line are adaptations of paintings from many of my favorite fantasy artists. I grew up playing D&D in the 80's and the images that graced the rulebooks, modules, and magazines of the era from artists such as Larry Elmore, Keith Parkinson, Clyde Caldwell, and Jeff Easley really define the fantasy genre for me. I still reminisce about endless hours of making characters and rolling dice when I see those images and recall the fond memories of those days long past.  To be able to actually paint miniatures that seem to have walked from those very pages of my past is a pure joy.

This particular miniature is taken from a Larry Elmore painting titled "Waiting for Shadamehr" (the image can be found at the bottom of this post). In it, a scantily clad female ranger/warrior kneels at the edge of a forest with her gnomish companion, while lands that beckon the adventurous fall away in a valley to the right. I never knew the title of the painting back then but I think it is perfectly named. In my mind, they were indeed waiting for someone, though whether that someone was friend of foe, I knew not. That, I think, was part of the allure of the painting. One could stare at the image for hours and conjure up a thousand different stories that could define Mr. Elmore's effort.

Sculptor Dennis Mize did a wonderful job capturing the essence of the painting and transferring it to the miniature. The similarities are striking, which is what drew me to the mini in the first place. Most every detail is present and well-executed. In my opinion, only her facial countenance differs. In the painting, she has such a stern expression while the miniature version seems to flash a sly smirk. It's not an unpleasant change by any means (perfect for a mini used for roleplaying) but it is a change nonetheless. Unfortunately her gnomish companion does not seem to be available. Too bad, as the addition of the gnome would make for a great diorama.

I thought of painting the miniature to match the colors of the painting itself. After starting, however, I realized that I had been using quite a bit of blues lately. I wanted to switch up the routine a bit to help shake off the Thorin & Company funk so I changed up the main colors to mainly green and red. Those colors always look good together but one has to be careful or else the final outcome starts looking like a Christmas decoration. By keeping my reds muted and the green bright, hopefully I dodged that fashion faux pas. I rarely paint large flat sections of my miniatures red because I have a hard time creating proper highlighting and shading in those circumstances. I couldn't resist this time, though. To camouflage my lack of skill with shading red, I drew up a nice pattern for the shield's heraldry then tried my luck with a bit of freehand. Not my best effort but certainly not my worst.

Just like many of the DSM models, Waiting for Shadamehr is shipped in multiple pieces (two in this case). Due to the high quality of their products, I rarely encounter problems with assembly. However, the sword arm on this model did not want to play nicely. A large gap was present after assembly and no amount of filing and repositioning would correct the issue. Finally I gave up and used liquid green stuff to fill the gap and sculpt in some of the missing detail. By looking closely at the photo below, you can see my poor attempt at sculpting just below and to the side of the bracer.

For the most part, I'm pleased with the outcome. Even had the miniature not turned out as she did, I still would not complain, though. Just to be painting something different than those blasted dwarves was pleasure enough. I think I'll polish off a few more projects before returning to the dwarves. By then I'll hopefully have renewed vigor to tackle the remaining companions of Thorin Oakenshield.

By the way, I'm really not sure who Shadamehr is. Any Larry Elmore fans out there know?

Thanks for reading...

Elmore Female Wild Elf - NSFW

Larry Elmore has long been one of my favorite fantasy artists.  His images march along hand in hand with my memories of playing D&D back in the 1980's.  In a way, his vision, along with some of my other favorites like Caldwell, Parkinson, and Easley, probably define my very outlook and view on what fantasy worlds, characters, monsters, and scenes should look like. So it should come as no surprise that those very same images still captivate me today.

The sculptors at Dark Sword Miniatures have done a wonderful job bringing the iconic fantasy art from the above mentioned artists to life.  They produce several lines of figures drawn from, and inspired by, the works of Larry Elmore and the others.  I have been a fan of them for some time now and own quite a collection of those miniatures.  Now I have yet another to add to the metal horde.

Pictured above is a Female Wild Elf (DSM1164) from the Elmore Masterworks line.  The sculpt is from Jeff Grace who is quickly becoming one of my favorite miniature sculptors out there.  The mini came to me with excellent detail and required very little prep work before painting.  That's important to me since I absolutely hate spending large amounts of my limited free time prepping a model before I can even start with the fun stuff.  Most of the models I purchase from DSM have been the same with only a few exceptions.

Painting was fairly straightforward as long as you don't mind working with fleshtones.  I used mostly Reaper paints for this model with Tanned Flesh (09044) being the basecoat that I worked from.  I toned the skin down a bit however, from what I normally paint my female miniatures to reflect her time in the sun with little covering.  I had originally envisioned her more as a sea elf variant so I definitely wanted some blues to suggest her association with the water and to create a bit of contrast with the mostly warm colors of the rest of the model.  As for the leather and hair, it was pretty standard stuff.

I actually finished her late last month but have just gotten around to posting the completed project.  The delay had to do with basing issues.  As mentioned above, I wanted to create a sea elf character.  I had a great basing idea set up but unfortunately tropical storm Isaac changed my plans.  There is a little island that sits about a 45min boat ride from me.  On this little deserted island I have found wonderful miniature whelk shells littering the beach.  The size would have been perfect for decorating the sandy base I had created on the mini.  Well, the storm winds did a number on the sand and the heavy rains actually raised the water quite a bit around the island so I couldn't reach my prize.  Finally I gave up, removed the sand, added flock and leaves, and called it a day.  So now I'm back to a wild elf until I get a chance to find some shells....

I've included the original artwork to show how faithful to the details the sculptor was in creating the miniature.  Showcasing this piece does bring up an interesting question that I would like to pose to the few of you that stop by this blog from time to time.  While the sketch above can, without a doubt, be considered art, does the same hold true for miniatures?  Do you consider your finished miniatures art or would you call it something else?  If so, what?  Just wondering.  I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject.

Ghost - The Direwolf of Jon Snow

It should come as no surprise to even occasional visitors to this blog that I am a huge fan of Dark Sword Miniatures.  Frequency of product release, quality of the miniatures, and great customer service are just some of the reasons that place DSM at the top of my list for miniature companies.  Probably the best attribute however is the sculpts of the miniatures themselves.  Action and emotion are both captured in most every pose while the proportions are quite realistic and believable.  There are very few figures on their website that I would not be proud to own and paint.

Despite all of these wonderful accolades, DSM has met its match in at least one catagory....wolves.

Ghost, the direwolf of Jon Snow.

I had been waiting for DSM to release the direwolves to accompany the Stark children....especially Ghost, the faithful companion of Jon Snow.  However, when they were released, I was quite disappointed with Ghost.  I say "they" because two versions were released but neither were exactly what I envisioned from reading the books.  Version one, sculpted by Dave Summers, was too feral for me.  The pose, especially the mouth with teeth bared, suggested active malevolence.  In the books, Ghost was often described as a silent menace and I thought version one went beyond the bounds portrayed by George R. R. Martin in his writings (with that being said, the sculpt is wonderful and would make a great wolf/direwolf for general purposes).  Version two  was just the opposite.  Tom Meier is a wonderfully talented sculptor but his version of Ghost was too domesticated.  I felt like I was looking at an overgrown lapdog.  So I began searching for a better replacement.  That's when I remembered my old miniature stand-by, Reaper, and a blister pack of wolves I purchased a few years ago.

Wolf Pack (02830), sculpted by Geoff Valley, contains three wolves in various poses.  One of the three, presumably the pack leader, stands on a small rise and gazes out towards the landscape.  The wolf seems powerfully built and brimming with the confidence of a top tier predator.  The sculpt was exactly what I was looking for as a stand-in for Ghost. 

Painting was fairly straightforward.  I started with a medium grey basecoat then gradually added white as I worked up to the highlights.  Although Ghost is described as an albino, I elected to leave a fairly good amount of grey visible to enhance the highlights.  Going mostly white would have produced a dull gaming piece in my opinion.

The base is well sculpted but is a bit on the thin side.  I could see the miniature being easy to knock over when handled so I added an oval wooden counter to provide more stability and a bit more room to create scenery. As I mentioned in this post, I decided to avoid using a snowy base to allow the wolf to serve in other roles on the table beyond a wintery battleground.  

Jon Snow from Dark Sword Miniatures along with a wolf from Reaper

Mixing different miniature companies can sometimes lead to issues with scale.  In this case I was quite happy with the results, however.  The size is just about right, although for a direwolf described by George R. R. Martin as being a little "gaunt" when compared to normal wolves, the bulk is a somewhat overbearing.  But for the most part, I'm quite satisfied with this wolf as a replacement.

With that being said, I still plan on purchasing some of the DSM direwolves as general gaming or display pieces.  As I mentioned above, I'm particularly drawn to version one of Ghost but I'm also leaning towards picking up Nymeria and ShaggyDog as well.

Wildings - Painted and Stat Profile

As I mentioned in the post about Alfyn Crowkiller, I've been working on painting up miniatures for a bit of GRRM skirmish warfare between The Night's Watch and Wilding raiders. Warbands on both sides of The Wall have been coming along nicely and I've been slowly replacing LotR rangers and Wargames Factory vikings (which have been serving as proxies) with more appropriate miniatures as they are painted.

Here are two such Wildings that are ready to take their place on the table.  Just like Alfyn, both are from the George R. R. Martin Masterworks line produced by Dark Sword Miniatures.

Of all the Wildings in the line, the Wilding Warrior with Longsword (DSM5015) is my favorite sculpt.  The pose is quite dynamic and just looking at the miniature head on, one can almost get the feeling that this fierce warrior is about to strike a killing blow.  Kinetic energy seems to be bound up in the stance, with devastating power about to be unleashed from the sword arm.  Now that's what good sculpts are all about!

To honor Martin's vision of his fierce northern warriors, I painted the miniature using mostly organic earthy colors. Living off the land as they do, I wanted their garb to reflect their harsh life.  However, being Wilding raiders, they are bound to find, steal, and pillage equipment and arms during raids south of The Wall or take items from vanquished Black Brothers.  To illustrate this fact, I painted the shield and armor in stronger, less natural tones to suggest items foreign to their culture.

Readers familiar with GRRM's works mostly through the excellent HBO series may take issue with the bases of these minis (and the others in the project). In the TV series, everything north of The Wall is depicted almost as an arctic wasteland.  Basically the scenery looks like it was filmed on a glacier.  However, in the books, the lands of the north are not necessarily always covered in thick snow and much of the action takes place in the Haunted Forest.  I chose to base the warbands with the books in mind rather than the television version.  Plus, I'm a huge fan of double-duty miniatures.  Basing the figures on snowy bases makes them much less usable to me for other types of gaming.

Dark Sword Miniatures calls this next figure Wilding Warrior with Great Axe (DSM5016).  I painted this warrior in many of the same colors as the one above to build upon the raider theme.  The garb is different but I wanted to use the same colors to suggest that a successful raid over The Wall garnered the raiders with a couple of bolts of cloth that was later sewn into garb.  Plus, by using the same colors but in different places, the warband looks like they belong together on the table while still looking chaotic enough to suggest a highly irregular force, as opposed to the Night's Watch regimental-like livery.

The painting of the two forces is not the only facet of the project getting attention.  I've been slowly experimenting and tweaking the LotR skirmish rules to use with my Westeros wargaming.  Most of the rules are just fine as is, but the magic and hero systems definitely need work.

Profiles are taking a bit of time as well.  Getting the right numbers to balance the forces and do justice to the individual heroes is not a matter to be taken lightly.  Special rules are also worthy  of deliberation.  They are a major part of the game and definitely important to the overall flavor and theme of the participants.  With time and additional battles, I'll be able to zero in on the right mix. 

I'm fairly happy with the profile for Wilding warriors/raiders however.  It's a solid stat block that fits well with the description of the Wildings given in the books.

              F      S    D    A    W    C
       3/5+   3    3     1      1     3

            Special Rule:  North of the Wall
            Wildings are at home in the harsh climates north of The Wall and are masters of ambush tactics.  As such, any Wilding warrior may move through difficult terrain without penalty when fighting on home terrain.

I'll be posting more stat profiles as additional miniatures are painted and added to the character list.  I'll also try to get a battle report up as soon as I work out the remaining bugs and kinks.

On The Horizon - June 2012

It's the start of another month and that means another On The Horizon post.  Well, actually it's already a week into June but the idea is still the same.....to showcase some of the projects I'll be working on this month.  For this column in the past, I've basically showcased my entire workbench of current models.  At any given time though, I have over 50 miniatures in some stage of completion and at my glacial painting speed, there is actually little change from one month to the next.  Many of the same minis are visible each month, some with little to no progress.  The lack of change makes for a fairly uninteresting monthly column (which also explains why it has been so sporadic). So this month I'll be doing the column a bit differently and only showcasing the miniatures that I keep directly in front of me....my so called "imminent completion" models.  They are the ones that get the most attention and therefore may actually change from month to month.

Here is a quick peek at the first six miniatures:

Harald Hardradda (HVA03) is the top left miniature.  He is part of the Heroes of the Viking Age line produced by Gripping Beast Miniatures.  Harald will be serving as a warband leader for much of my Dark Age gaming.

To the right of Harald is another great sculpt from the Elmore Masterworks line by Dark Sword Miniatures.  She is titled Female Wild Elf (DSM1164). I grew up with the fantasy imagery of Larry Elmore and love being able to paint those images Dark Sword has brought to life in 3D.

On the far right of the upper row is a Barwench (HFV001) from Hasslefree Miniatures.  She is another useful model found in their Villagers line.  She will be serving as yet another female inhabitant of Port Largo in my Legends of the High Seas campaign.

Looking quite dashing and fierce on the bottom left is Damian Helthorne, a bandit from Reaper Miniatures (03201).  I usually avoid the big "cartoony" looking figures but this particular sculpt caught my eye right away.  All the features in the mini are very pronounced and I thought he might be a pleasure to paint.  So far I was correct.

Saruman stands in the center of the bottom row.  He, along with a second version, have been in the queue since sometime last year. I finally finished one and this version is nearing completion as well.  All that remains to finish are his flowing robes.

James St. Johnson rounds out the bottom row.  He too is from Reaper (02663) but unlike Damian, his features are quite a bit more realistic and much more to my liking.


And here are the final seven:

The first in line is the Governor from Black Scorpion Miniatures.  Just a few more details and highlights are all that's keeping this chap from joining the other citizens of Port Largo.

Autumn Bronzeleaf (03492) is next.  She is another Reaper miniature.  Although the name suggests otherwise, I've decided to paint her in very spring-like colors.  Her intricate sandals are giving me a bit of a fit though so she'll remain in the queue for some time.

One of my favorite miniatures from this round is third from the left.  Alejandra (CMN0020) is from Coolminiornot.  She is a wonderfully simple but alluring sculpt from Steve Buddle of Spyglass and Eolith Miniatures fame.  She originally came with a giant scythe but I thought the dimensions looked all wrong so I did a very minor conversion and changed the weapon into a magical staff. 

Speaking of Spyglass, next to Alejandra is Shae (SGM003).  She is another simple but elegant sculpt and I very much look forward to painting her.

Just in front and to the side of Shae is a mini I will be using as a merchant captain in my Legends of the High Seas campaign.  He is from the Pirate Captains (OGP-01) collection by Old Glory Miniatures.  I've had this fellow since Christmas 2010 and it's definitely time for him to make his way from the bench to the table.

I found the next miniature completely by chance.  It's from a Spanish company called Tercio Creativo.  The mini is listed as Mochilero, a rogue warrior, but since my Spanish is terrible I can't be sure I'm reading the label correctly.  Anyhow, I simply loved the sculpt and had to give the company a try.  I can't wait to see how the little halfling-looking guy turns out.

Finally, I have another mini from Black Scorpion to round out the queue.  He is from the Privateers 2 blister.  Just like the Governor and Merchant Captain, he too is destined to walk the streets of Port Largo.

So that's my plan for the next month.  Hopefully when July rolls around I'll not be taking photos of the exact same miniatures.  Doing so would not really honor the meaning of the phrase "imminent completion".

Jon Snow - Dark Sword Miniatures

I'm a big fan of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series.  I love the gritty "fantastic reality" the story portrays and his reluctance to color his world in only black and white and good and evil.  I'm also a huge fan of Dark Sword Miniatures.  Looking back through this blog, it's easy to see how true that statement is.  So I guess it's only natural that I'm a double big fan of Dark Sword Miniatures George R. R. Martin Masterworks line that came out a few years ago.  I started collecting the miniatures right away but it has taken until now for me to finally paint one.  And what better way to start than Jon Snow?

In the novels, Jon Snow is one of the characters that you absolutely love or absolutely hate.  He is one of the few that remain firmly on the "good guy" side and seems to have a strong moral compass.  Unfortunately, in Martin's extremely brutal and morally ambiguous world, those very traits are what makes him such a polarizing personality.  Detractors say he doesn't fit the theme Martin created while others cling to him as one of the only shinning points of the light in the entire series.  Though this post is not intended to start a debate about Jon Snow the character, I will say that I'm firmly on the "like" side of the argument and look forward to more of his story arc.  Thus it was natural to me to paint him first.

When I began to plan out the miniature, I was thinking how easy it would be to paint.  After all, I was choosing to paint him as he would have looked after he joined the Night's Watch.  The colors would be easy...black, black, and maybe some more black to paint his set of blacks traditionally worn by the Night's Watch, along with a bit of metallic for the maile.  Well, as I quickly learned, to get any kind of contrast with an all black miniature you have to blend several different types of "black".  So in reality, after blending several different versions of gray-blacks and brown-blacks, and choosing where to place them so as to provide some type of contrast from the black next to it, the miniature became quite difficult to paint.  In fact, it became so difficult that my plan to paint up an entire group of rangers for a bit of Night's Watch gaming is undergoing serious rethinking.  Ha!

Despite my personal difficulty with the blacks, I very much admire this miniature.  The sculpt is absolutely wonderful.  Though he may differ from the Kit Harrington version of the character, I feel Tom Meier not only truly captured the essence of Lord Snow the character, but also the very personality of Martin's version of a ranger/warrior of the Night's Watch.  The pose definitely creates a a sense of movement with the miniature that to me embodies the style and tactics of the Watch itself.  It speaks of stealthy quick movements that the Watch has had to develop over the decades of long decline just to perform their duty and to survive.

In fact, I like the sculpt so much that I plan on purchasing and painting at least two more.  For one version I'd like to paint Jon as he might have appeared when he was still at Winterfell.  I'll have to reread A Game of Thrones to see if he was ever described as wearing the livery of House Stark to paint him that way or I could just paint him in those colors anyhow and let others argue over the question of a bastard being allowed to wear the device of a noble house.  For the second version, I would like to paint up the miniature as just another fantasy-type ranger.  I think the sculpt would look wonderful with a bit of color!

By the way, I'm also a fan of the HBO series.  Even though I started with the books, and that is where my allegiance lies, I really have no qualms about the television version. For the most part, the show stays very near to the novels and only takes creative licensing when needed to adapt the extremely complex books to something even remotely viewable for television.  Casting for the show was mostly spot on for what I had in my mind for each character....except for maybe Catelyn Stark.  I pictured her as a bit younger in looks.

As for characters, I think Tyrion is wonderful and Sir Jorah (though depicted quite differently than the novels) makes a great knight.  However, it's Arrya that not only stole the show but my heart as well.  I'm definitely looking forward to Season 2!

Edit 10July2012:  Jon Snow now has his faithful companion painted up to join him.

On The Horizon - February 2012

As you can see, I have a beautiful chaotic mess awaiting me this month. I know that it's unreasonable to expect to finish it all, or even half for that matter, but seeing the work queue all lined up before me certainly helps with motivation.  Hopefully next month's On The Horizon post will not look exactly like this one!

I have half finished miniatures and scenery projects everywhere...not to mention the ones I have not even started. I've tried to arrange the queue to move those projects most likely to see attention closer to the main work area in hopes of forcing action upon them.  The ones that are out of reach when I'm sitting tend to escape notice and sometimes drop out of thought until some random bit of inspiration strikes me and causes them to be moved up in the queue.

Farthest away, both in actual distance and in priority right now are some of my scenery projects.  You can see them precariously perched upon the high spaces of the work area. Just to the left of center on top of the filing bins sit several buildings for the Port Antigua project.  They are textured and primed on the outside and now await painting and detailing.  I've also been stuck thinking about how to add shutters that would still allow a view of the interior (and shooting from inside) while being able to close off certain access areas .  Near the far left, on top of the clear display boxes sits a watch tower for LotR Rohan and Dark Age gaming.  I still need to finish the railing and paint the tower to run a few games I have in mind.  I think both sets will have to wait a few weeks though.  Most of the workload for this month deals with painting miniatures rather than scenery work but I have not forgotten them.

Sections 2 and 3

Row upon row of minis await some type of work in sections 2 and 3.  These will see some progress this month, but continuing with my scheme of distance versus attention, I do not expect any of these to find their way to completion.  I'll cover this batch in detail a little later. 

Section 1 sits front and center to my reach, and thus my attention

The miniatures that live right in front of the GW paints are the ones likely to be completed this month.  Due to their proximity, they will receive priority during the paint sessions.  I'll review this section first.

Section 1

Section 1 miniatures.  These minis are likely to see completion this month.

Starting on the back row and moving from left to right we have The Mistress of Port Antigua.  That is my name for this mini from Reaper's Townsfolk III package (02655).  She is destined to star as the matron of a house of ill repute in both fantasy and pirate gaming.  Next is Autumn Bronzeleaf (03492), also from Reaper, who is in the process of getting a spring-like color scheme instead of the warm colors her name suggests.  Harald Hardradda (HVA03) stands next to her.  He is from the Heroes of the Viking Age range from Gripping Beast.  A pirate captain from Old Glory's Pirate Captains package keeps the viking company.  Once completed, he will play the role of a prominent merchant captain in Port Antigua, though I have not decided on which side of the law he will support.  To finish off this row is another wench for Port Antigua.  She can be found in the Fenryll Miniatures Female Villagers pack (FA151).

The front row of section 1 consists of a test mini for a Warhammer High Elf unit that I'm converting to represent Tolkien's First Age elves from The Silmarillion.  Next in line is another little miss to join the other Ladies of Port Antigua.  She is from the Hasslefree Miniatures Villagers line (Barwench HFV001).  Two models from Dark Sword Miniatures are next.  The first is a ranger (DSM7403) that may possibly become the representative for his class in the Legends of the Fall project while the next is Alfyn Crowkiller (DSM5021) from the George R. R. Martin Masterworks line.  Mason Thornwarden (03500), from Reaper is next followed by Halbarad from Games Workshop.

Section 2

Section 2 miniatures.  These will see attention this month and some may even be completed.

Once again, starting in the back row and on the left we have a pirate from the Old Glory captains package.  Next to him is Anwyn, a female bard from Reaper (03080).  I think she will be the representative of her class in the Legends of the Fall project.  Two pirates from Black Scorpion (Rogues 1 & Privateers 2 blister packs) stand next to her and a ranger/thief from Reaper called Kurff the Swift (02034) rounds out the back row.

Row two starts with Druss Darkblighter (03136) from Reaper who will be competing against Anwyn for the bard spot in Legends of the Fall.  Another Old Glory pirate is next followed by a "Crouching Female Fighter with Sword" (DSM1137) from the Larry Elmore Masterworks line by Dark Sword Miniatures. The mini is based off Elmore's painting called "Waiting for Shadamehr".   A serving wench for Port Antigua is next, from Reaper's Townsfolk I pack (02583), while the Governor's Daughter from Black Scorpion sits on the end.

Two Wildings (DSM5015 & DSM 5016) from DSM's George Martin Masterworks line start out the third row.  They are both likely to see action in the Dark Age gaming arena.  Though the photo may suggest otherwise, I'm sure the pirate from Black Scorpion (Pirates 2 blister pack) standing next to the Wildings does not truly wish to shoot the lovely miniature next to him... Jolie, a female scribe from Reaper (65051).  Two more wenches for Port Antigua finish up the row.  The first is from Hasselfree Miniatures (Strumpet HFV003) the second is from the same pack of Fenryll villagers as the one above (FA151).

Section 3

Section 3 miniatures.  Hopefully these will move forward in the queue by the end of the month.

Some of the miniatures in this rack have been sitting in the same stage of completion for many months.  I'll try to move some of these figures off during February though.  The top two rows are all figures from Black Scorpion and will represent the British authority in and around Port Antigua (Royal Navy Marines packs 2 & 3 along with a Navy Captain and Royal Naval Officer).  The only exception is the lone Brettonian sitting by himself on the far left.  He is part of my Knights of Westeros project that unfortunately got pushed to the side during the hectic pirate days of last year.  He is not forgotten however and might see some love this month.

The third row from the top starts out with the two Sarumans.  While I have done a bit of flesh work on them over the last few months, they have largely sat in the same spot.  I'm determined to start highlighting the robes and move these guys farther along in the queue.  Aragorn, from GW's The Three Hunters pack is next.  A barkeep from Reaper's Townsfolk (65086) is beside Strider.  I need to hurry him up a bit so that he'll be available for the upcoming pirate games.  John Snow (DSM5001) and a Reaper cleric (Christina the Devout 02475) sit on the end and await completion.

Finally, the last row consists of minis that are the most likely in Section 3 to see significant painting this month.  Three Cadian test models start out the row.  I could actually have these finished in a day or so but I simply can't decide which color scheme I like the best.  Perhaps I should post them here and let other decide for me since I seem to be stuck.  Cyndria Stormcaller (02956) from Reaper is fourth from the left.  She may take a bit more time than the others in this row since I will be trying to paint sheer cloth for the first time.  The Governor of Port Antigua (Black Scorpion's Governor) is next accompanied by a young Hedge Knight (DSM5026) from Dark Sword Miniatures that looks more like a ranger to me than a knight.

So there it is.  Planning ahead like this helps me visualize what I would like to accomplish and motivates me to paint.  Though I have to be honest.  While I do have a plan, it's easy for me to get sidetracked.  It doesn't take much for me to take off on some new direction and throw the best laid plans to the wind.  So don't be surprised to see some of these models in the same spot come next month.

Just out of curiosity, do any of you plan out your hobby work/tasks like this on a monthly basis or do you just wing it?