Wardogs

These have been hanging around on my paint station for a while, and as they would only take a very short time to paint, I decided to get them done before working on some other stuff that has also been outstanding for a while. This is a picture of some Warlord Games wolfhounds from their Celtic range. I have yet to paint their handler...


And here are some heavier dogs; mastiffs. Also from Warlord Games' Celtic range...

I usually use standard sized washers and coins for basing my minis but these mastiffs had to be stuck to larger coins due to the size of their integral bases. As a result, I now have three standard sized skirmish bases for RPG and skirmish gaming; most 28mm human sized figures are mounted on 1p coins, cavalry and large monsters on 38mm washers, but now I have the new size of 2p coins for over-sized 28mm human sized minis. I have a stack of old Citadel eastern style Hobgoblins that should make their way to the paint station next year - these are also too big to go on pennies, so they will need to go onto 2p coins too.

Alex's first HotT stand - Elf Spearmen

Alex finished these off through the week. They are the first stand of elves for his HotT army - I think they are some old Grenadier models. He will be using this army against my orc & goblin and dwarf armies. I will probably also create a barbarian and a standard fantasy human army - these will be my aims for next year.

Alex also started work on his next unit of Bretonnians - Men-at-arms.

Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum...

I have already painted one of these for the blog. The older, 'red' one will be used for fantasy RPG and this 'blue' one, bought off E-Bay recently, will be used as a Behemoth for hotT. I am going to really mix and match the units in HotT so I can get full use of the minis, but the core of each army will be made up of the particular race/species it is meant to represent. So, there'll probably only be one or two 'special' units per army, as mercenary contingents. I may add some more foliage to the stand below as the giant is looking a little lonely on there at the moment.

Here's a real oldie - a 1977 Ral Partha giant. This was quite an easy paint job, just splash on a few colours, shade and varnish. i don't know why it took me so long in the end.

Here he is again, in close-up...

I managed to clean up and glue quite a few minis today, so they will be hitting the blog just as soon as they get a lick of paint. I had a day to use up before Christmas from my annual leave or I'd lose it. So, gaming all the way!

More of Alex's minis

Alex has been a bit more productive than I over the last couple of weeks. He has finished a few minis for LotR, Warhammer and HotT. The fully completed ones are shown below, starting with Glorfindel - the back bone of his Elven army. He has Eladan and Elrohir to finish, a captain and banner bearer, some heavy infantry and some light infantry, including some with bows. I have yet to work out the points values, but as soon as they are all painted and ready for display as a unit I will.

Next up is his rendition of the Green Knight - a Warhammer special character. This picture shows off the shield side...

A view from face on...

And finally a view from the side. Unfortunately the camera doesn't seem to have picked up the intricate green work Alex did on the barding in all its glory.

Alex also finished some Grenadier High Elves for a HotT stand. He has five spearmen nearly completed (they just need basing up) and the command group is almost there. He also completed a Galdhrim Knight for LotR but that won't be photo'd until the whole unit is completed.

Chit-chat

Unfortunately, I was unable to get those giants finished this weekend - they should be done within the next day or two though.

The Tavern Knights of Legend site is now fully updated and all the turns for all 3 games are up...
Knights of Legend website

The drawing in of the evenings has left me with a few problems painting wise. I don't know if it is age or the constant use of a computer at work but my eyesight is suffering. In anything other than full daylight I cannot get any depth of vision, including when wearing my glasses. This is making it very difficult to paint in the evenings after work. I may have to invest in one of those very bright daylight lamps and see if that makes any difference.

On my workbench at the moment though are those two giants (finished except for varnishing and basing), another batch of Harboth's Black Mountain Boys and some 2000AD Judges. I will try to start on a few more units soon so that I can get through more of my lead (and plastic) mountain. I have been very good recently, in that I haven't bought any minis for several months. I will probably put in a big order in the New Year to fill in gaps in my collection but then no more until I have at least got enough finished to start playing some games with them. I have a couple of ideas for some small scale skirmish scenarios, which I will probably plan and play out over Christmas (hopefully). If these games get played, I will photo them and put the write ups onto the blog.

TKoL on new website

Tavern Knights of Legend has now moved lock, stock and (two smoking?) barrel to the new website...

Knights of Legend

I will be updating TKoL on the new website from now on, allowing me to concentrate on miniature gaming stuff on this blog.


Update...

I haven't got much done recently, painting wise, but by next weekend there should be something to put up. I managed to get started on the two giants but I had three very late nights at work this week as well as a trip to watch a rugby match in Manchester (Sale versus Wasps - which was cancelled due to poor pitch conditions) on Friday/Saturday. The trip wound up being just a get together between a few of us - a very nice evening, but a long way to go for just a few pints!

We're off to see the Wizard...

I feel as though it has been a while since adding some more minis to the blog. I've been a bit busy with lots of other things that have taken over from gaming these past few weeks. There was the geophysical survey at Shooter's Hill for Digging Dad's Army that took up a fair bit of time, the usual work commitments and a serious illness in the family (luckily all is well there now though).

Anyway, back to the minis - Here are the first of my wizard minis. These have been painted to represent wizards of the element Earth. They are both from Ral Partha's ranges from the late 1970s. The one on the left reminds me of Tim the Enchanter from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, but I decided not to paint him in black to enforce that image.



A bit out of focus this one, but another couple of Ral Partha figures to represent wizards of the element of Air.

Moving onto the element of Fire, here are a couple more mages. The one on the left is an old Citadel female magic user and the one on the right I think is a Greenwood and Ball (?). The right hand figure had very little detail on it, but the folds of the cloak rescued it somewhat. I have decided to go with a snake motif for Fire - don't know why but it seemed right.

The final terrestrial element to be represented is Water. This is a Citadel wizard from the early eighties. As he had fantastic flowing cloaks I decided water would be the best element for him.

Finally, here's a shot of all the wizards together. Ordinarily they wouldn't mix company but they made an exception for this photo shoot. The only element missing was the Fifth Element - The Void. I have yet to strip down another batch of old mage figures, many of which can be used for the five schools of magic.

Hopefully, this week, I'll get back on target and start to paint more of the backlog. Normally I have a fair few half done, but I don't at this moment, so I am not sure what will be next up. I have two giants grinning at me, and a batch of 2000AD Judges ready to go. Perhaps it will be either of those batches of minis, or maybe something else will grab my attention?

Knights of Legend website update

I have updated the new Knights of Legend website. See it here...

Knights of Legend website

The data conversion from the old style website to the new one has been quite a challenge - more boring and long winded than technically difficult. I will be working on Tavern Knights next - Hopefully that will be done within the next couple of weeks and then it will be updated directly there in future.

K-KoL Turn 15 Mid-day Report

Bash the Cleric and Rollo the Barbarian shrouded in white mist, could hear nothing but the crashing of the Coleburn Falls. Communicating in gestures and covered by Strongbow, they cautiously picked their way from one mossy rock to the next until they reached the eastern bank. There, with weapons ready and their eyes honed on the tree line, they waited for the mercenary archer to join them. The feared ambush never came. Judging they were safe, they sought dry wood to kindle a fire.
“Lunch time!” declared Bash, his broad hands rubbing his questionably empty belly.

Xox the Ranger glanced back towards the village of Cragganmore. Goblin warriors frantically searched the buildings and outhouses, overturned wains and barrels, but their quarry had fled. Crouching low and running just off the road, Xox headed north.
The sun was at its zenith when flitting between the tight shadows, Xox the Ranger crept into the ruins of Edradour. He paused, breathing lightly. He heard the clatter of a cooking pot and the lilt of a broken melody playing on unseen lips. Winding between the crumbling walls, he followed the tempting smell of rabbit stew, his feet noiseless on the fallen stones. At last, ahead in a small hollow, he saw Sirrus the cutthroat. His back was turned as he leant, ladle in hand over the pot. The whistling stopped as he raised the stew to his lips. He never tasted his meal, for a bright arrow, whistling its own swift song of death, slammed into his back. Sirrus shuddered and fell, turning the pot over and sending its contents hissing into the fire. Xox swore. He was hungry and that stew would have been a welcome, additional bounty.
Casually Xox walked forward and retrieving the arrow from the dead cutthroat whose purse yielded a single gold coin. Xox pocketed the money and set about the task of pulling rabbit meat from the wet ashes.

Secundus the Mage rested his hand on the ancient, lichen-speckled stone door of the crypt. His fingers traced the worn indentations that were once deep-cut runes. The rumours were true. These markings proclaimed to all those who could decipher their meaning, that this was indeed where, in ages long passed, the Shadowsphere was buried. By whom and why, no one this side of the grave knew, but Secundus the Mage was here now, in sight of Longmorn Pass, to bring it back from its long, uninterrupted sleep.
The cold door yielded to the gentle pressure of his palm. Then, with his staff glowing with magical light, Secundus cautiously stepped into the black maw of the tomb.
Carved deep into the solid rock, the tunnel led down deep into mountain. Secundus walked on. Finally the passage opened into a square-cut chamber. The Mage held his glowing staff forward, casting rays of glittering light on to the low ceiling and solid walls. Only the far end appeared shrouded in darkness. Secondus stepped forward, yet still the blackness held. He then understood, for while the mage’s light penetrated the darkness, in that sepulchral shroud the light stayed, devoured by the all-absorbing artifact that was the Shadowsphere.
Suddenly a shrill scream shattered the silence. From the wall of dead black burst the twisted, near-human forms of snarling goblins, their savage blades shimmering in the magical half-light, their wide eyes burning with rage. Caught off-guard and awestruck, Secundus spat words of power, but the fiends were upon him. The first blade struck, carving deep and crimson. The mage’s staff fell. Its light fled into the hungry void.
The subterranean night closed, granting nothing but pain and screaming death.

T-KoL Turn 14 (Dawn)

T-KoL Turn 13 (Night) Report Omission

An owl screeched. Xox the Ranger stopped, breathed a sigh of relief and slowly crept forward. Cautiously he approached Cragganmore's inn. Bright yellow light shone through the leaded windows. He carefully avoided its beam until he stood pressed to the cold wall next to the closed casement. The ragged sounds of revelry, shrill, inhuman singing and the wanton smashing of bar-room furniture crashed into the night. Xox leaned into the light, peering through the rippled glass. A scowl passed over his illuminated face for the inn was full of cruel, swaggering goblins, who though full of drink and plundered meat were hungry for bloodshed and full of the savage powers of the night. Xox skulked back into the blackness and into the shelter of an abandoned stable.

T-KoL Turn 14 (Dawn) Report

A stair creaked beneath the heavy weight of an armoured boot. Xox the Ranger's eyes flashed open. Again a wooden groan broke the silence. It was no dream. Swiftly Xox sprang to his feet. In a single motion he stood, his short-sword naked in the half-light. Suddenly, the goblins were upon him, their eyes wide; foul, unintelligible curses on their black, curled-back lips. Xox's blade flashed, smashing the goblins' wild strikes aside and forcing a wide gap between them. He plunged forward into the open rift and through the yawning window. Down he fell, landing softly in the soft load of an abandoned haywain. He roiled and in an instant was on his feet again on the hard, wheel-rutted road.

After pocketing the gold, Rollo the Barbarian sheathed his sword and exclaimed "The dust from those cadavers has left a foul taste in my mouth and your magics have left my head reeling. I need a drink. Let's off to the Black Bottle inn where we can purchase a fine flagon of ale and spin some tales of our famous victory."

"Meeeee?" gasped Bash the Cleric with feigned horror, "Me, head towards an inn?" It was not only Strongbow the hireling archer whose eyebrow noticeably raised. "Well," continued the holy man, "since dawn is now breaking, I'm sure we can all benefit from a hearty breakfast. You've convinced me!"

Rollo laughed and slapped his companion firmly on the back. Bash stood up, dusted himself down and led the way.

It was a tiring trek along the steep and winding track of the Linkwood Forest Road. Unable to bear the maiden An Cnoc’s incessant whining, Rollo the Barbarian finally hoister her onto his broad, manly shoulders and carried her, saving her delicate feet from further trauma. Strongbow the hireling archer redoubled his watch, scanning the tightly packed, moss-hung trees crowding their path, wary for any signs of lurking foes. Finally, scouting just ahead, Strongbow silently signaled to the party to halt. Rollo lowered An Cnoc gently to the ground. She thanked him with a coy smile and gentle blush.

Rollo and Bash crept forward. Through the trees ahead they saw the Black Bottle Inn and staring back at them, Cobra the cutthroat, his long, curved dagger drawn. The corners of his mouth curled wickedly. Bash swiftly recited an ancient canticle and a strange stillness descended. The sly smile fell from Cobra’s lips. He frowned and gritted his teeth, yet soon the passing discomfort dissolved. The cutthroat’s eyes gleamed once more and before Strongbow had strung an arrow the morning air clouded before Cobra as a black swarm of blood bats gathered at his command. An Cnoc swooned. Rollo drew his sword and roaring like a bear at bay plunged into the screaming fog, his shimmering blade whirling before him like a stream of liquid silver until drenched in scarlet rain he stood seething before the lone cutthroat. The bats silent, slaughtered and now nothing more than a quivering crimson carpet at the barbarian’s sandaled feet.

Bash rushed forward his quarterstaff raised. With a treacherous sneer, Cobra the cutthroat lunged with his long, curving dagger towards Rollo’s unguarded loins. Swift and agile as a cat, the barbarian thrust the hilt of his heavy sword hard against the flashing blade. The dagger struck hard steel and shivered. The force of the parry threw the cutthroat back, his hand torn beneath his glove. Then Cobra froze. His wide eyes fell in startled amazement to his chest, pain-wracked and transfixed with the quivering arrow of Strongbow the archer. He struggled to curse his killers but only a crimson flood passed his lips and he fell silent to move no more.

An Cnoc was carried to the inn where the patrons cheered their deliverers. Strongbow took the cutthroat’s purse and split its two Gold Pieces evenly between the heroes Bash the Cleric and Rollo the Barbarian.

Knights of Legend sites back up

Hopefully the Knights of Legend site on 110Mb.com is back up again for good now. I didn't get a reply from the Tech Support guys, so hopefully they read my plea and were happy that I was not using the site as a data store and decided to put it back up again. I am glad it is back up as I can now crack on and get the rest of the 2nd story up and running on there, then get to work on moving the third game...

Knights of Legend

I won't have much time during this week to work on figure painting or the web site above, as I am on a geophysical survey on a WW1 / WW2 site in south London. There won't be any photos for that I am afraid as the data will just be of the surveys and not for the public domain - yet. If there is any publishable material, I'll try to put it up as it may be of interest to those gamers whose period is as above.

Latest fantasy and sci-fi figures painted

I should have put these up yesterday, but the battery ran out on the camera. I have since recharged it and present my latest offerings from the painting table. First up is a troll. I cannot remember what make he is - answers on a post card to...

Next up are some Warlord Games Celtic villagers - a crone, a couple of kids and a mangy cur.

Finally, here are some old Citadel Space Farers Imperial Marines. These weren't actually painted by me, but I have rebased and varnished them to bring them up to date with my latest painting style. I only have a very few sci-fi figures - as I mainly hosted fantasy RPG etc back in the day - and I dug them out last weekend. I only have 5 more 25/28mm pre-slotta minis, they are from Dixon's Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy range. They are currently being cleaned up ready for mounting on round bases and undercoating.

What next? Well, I have about half-a-dozen wizard figures half done, the next batch of Harboth's Boys are undercoated and ready to go, as are a couple of giants and a bunch of 2000AD Judges.

KoL sites are all gone!

Oh no! All of my Knights of Legend sites have been removed. Disaster!

Geocities shutdown 2 of my old sites on Monday - I was expecting that - but the new one that I spent nearly two days updating with the old data has also been deleted. I have sent an email to the host asking why and am waiting for a response. I hope it is just a misunderstanding as they stipulate in their T&Cs that if a site is used as a data store then it will be deleted. I am hoping that I have given them a reasonable excuse for the volume of uploaded material - maybe I put on too much too soon? Hopefully their tech support will get back to me with an explanation and with a bit of luck put it back up on the web. If not, I'll have to look around for another host and spend another couple of days uploading the pages again.

Anyway, rant over and back to the miniature figures. I am out of Araldite at the moment, so am a bit stymied on sticking some more minis onto round bases. That should be resolved by the weekend, so I can sort out more minis for basing. I have plenty of undercoated minis to start on, so should have some to photograph and display in my next update. I think the first ones finished should be the last few villagers and another troll. I also have some old sci-fi minis that I will just be rebasing. Alex has been busy painting some 40K Space Marines, so they may be ready by the weekend too. Plenty to come over the next few weeks for sure.

T-KoL Turn 13 (Night)

Rollo the Barbarian ripped his sword free of its scabbard. A yard of shimmering steel glinted in the pale moonlight. An Cnoc cowered behind him, clinging to his broad shoulders, unable to tear her terror-filled eyes from the horror ahead. Gulping back his superstitious unease, Rollo stepped boldly forward, the hard point of his great-sword pointing at the hollow ribcage of the dreadful abomination slowly shambling towards him. He halted. An Cnoc screamed. Unable to further bear the living nightmare, she finally fainted as from the blackness each side of the endarkened path, staggered another clawing, fleshless cadaver. His jaw fixed, his teeth gritted, Rollo swung his bright blade high above his head and rushed forward. There was a blinding flash and the barbarian fell to his knees. His head swimming, he shook free his confusion and stood, raising his blade once more, but he saw no skeletons before him, but a figure that while fully clothed, was by anyone’s measure, clearly not lacking flesh.
“Bash?”
“None other!” replied the Cleric who walked past the dazed barbarian and knelt over the swooned maiden. He mopped her brow and her eyes flashed open. Her waking terror fled as she saw the holy man’s generous features. Grateful for her deliverance, she threw her arms around him and wept.
Rollo stoically shrugged.
Bash turned his head, “You guarded the maiden well Barbarian, but we must now dice for the single Gold Piece worth of treasure my hireling Strongbow has gathered from the piles of bone-dust scattered here about”. Rollo smiled and the two heroes rolled dice. Rollo gleefully pocketed the treasure. Fate and the gods it would seem saw fit to grant him at least some compensation.

Secundus the Mage saw he was surrounded. Calmly he raised his staff above his head as the wind filled with his words of arcane calling. Flames shot from dark earth about him, forming a perfect circle of fire. There he stood, defiant, protected by the scorching blaze as beyond its flickering, orange light the skeleton warriors stood, unceasingly beating their shields.

Orcs versus Dwarfs

I have had a very busy weekend gaming wise, after achieving literally nothing through the week. I have started work on a Knights of Legend replacement website (see details in previous post), a sci-fi website (collating data at the moment) and finished painting a few minis for Hordes of the Things. I have also undercoated a load more minis whilst the weather was still good - some old Citadel 2000AD Judge Dredd minis, a couple of giants, a dragon and some elves for Alex.

Here are the first of the minis I finished today. They are five of the old Asgard Dwarf range. I think they are fantastic figures and have plenty of detail and character - each one is an individual. Luckily I still have another dozen or so to paint up.

Next up are another bunch of Harboth's Black Mountain Boys. These are the second stand for my orc army. I have enough of these minis for one more stand of blades and a stand for Harboth and his standard. Unfortunately, I never got round to getting the musician (EBay?) set like I did with Bugman's Dwarf Rangers.

Finally here's a picture of the old adversaries squaring up in a woodland somewhere in the northern wilderness. I can't wait to get onto more of these figures - they are a joy to paint.

Next up should be some wizards, a troll, a giant and some more orcs. Hopefully I can get onto those 2000AD minis too - I'm really looking forward to those.

This week I shall be busy trying to get the Knights of Legend site up to date. It is a long process as I have to convert every page ready for the new site, but it'll be worthwhile.

Knights of Legend

The Geocities websites for the old Knights of Legend adventures will go offline at midnight tonight, so I have had to create a replacement for them. Here is the link to the new wip site...

http://tkol.110mb.com/

The first story is up and ready for viewing and the other two KoL adventures will be uploaded over the next couple of weeks.

Band of Siblings

I managed to get a batch of fantasy fighter figures completed over this last week. The fighters in this picture are a batch of early Citadel and Ral Partha minis. I was pleased with the shield on the figure on the right when I first finished it, but looking at it closely it is not as nice as I first thought. Still, it is freehand and from above the tabletop it looks quite good - which is the effect I am aiming for.

Here are three female fighters. I don't know why, but the sculpting on these is not as good as the male fighters even though they are from the same ranges. The figure on the right must have had a nightmare coming out of the mould as the face is really bizarre.

In the next picture are two fighters from Denizen Miniatures. Another couple of male fighters. One seems to be of Norman descent and the other of Greek. I'll use them as generic fighters but this will always be at the back of my mind. I tried to find an appropriate shield design for the "Greek" fighter but due to the curvature of the shield none of the stickers would adhere properly. I wasn't brave enough to freehand paint anything this time. Maybe next time I get a figure/shield similar to this I will give it a go.

Finally, here's a picture of the whole motley crew. A nice batch of mercenaries if ever I saw one.

Next week should see some more orcs and dwarfs for Hordes of the Things. I also have a few more villagers (a crone, some kids and their mongrel pooch from Warlord Games), another troll and a few other bits and bobs in the pipeline.

Celts and Romans

Well, I finally got round to photographing my completed Roman Century and some of the Celts to fight them. Here's the first of the Celts denying access to a ford somewhere in the wilderness...



Here's the Roman century about to cross. They have fanned into ranks to better repulse the Celtic onslaught about to occur...

Finally, here's the view from behind Roman lines towards the defended ford...

All the photos are a little skewed as the table they are on has lots of junk on it, so all the Roman century cannot be seen in its entirety. I think they look rather impressive ranked up and would certainly put the fear of the gods into any enemy's mind.

T-KoL Turn 12-13 (Evening/Night)

T-KoL Turn 12 (Evening) REPORT

After spending what seemed an eternity waiting for Xox the Ranger to catch him up to see why he was being followed, Rollo the Barbarian slaked his thirst at Dewar's Well before striding on to the Linkwood Forest Road.


T-KoL Turn 13 (Night)

Rollo the Barbarian had not gone far along the Linkwood Forest Road, when up ahead, in the dappled, golden light of sunset, he saw a young woman. His eyes widened with unabashed appreciation of her lissome form as the slanting rays shone through her muslin dress. She stopped, terrified.
“Fear not, pretty maid!” Rollo held out his open palms to reassure her, “I am no footpad or forest thief, but a brave blade in the service of the Laird. I am pledged to bring order and to protect the peoples of his fief!”
Her eyes still wide with terror, An Cnoc the maiden staggered backwards. Too fearful to speak, she merely pointed.
Rollo looked down at himself and saw nothing that had ever inspired such terror. What was it about him that terrified her so?
An Cnoc pointed again, this time frantically stabbing the air.
Finally, concluding he could not be the cause of such unfettered horror, Rollo followed the line of her finger and turned. He gasped, for there in the deepening darkness, following in his very footsteps, shambling and staggering disjointedly behind him was the animated bare bones of a long decayed cadaver. Fleshless fingers clawed the cold, black air. Its jaw fell and in a voice torn from beyond the grave, the skeleton screamed, demanding their very souls.

“So this is Dewar’s Well, at last?” Strongbow, sighed and placed his pack on the floor and looked up to the darkening sky.
“Just a resting-point in our journey, young man,” replied Bash the Cleric, “take a seat, you deserve it.”
Strongbow rested against the wall of the well. There was a crack and he nearly fell as a stone gave way beneath his hand, falling to the ground.
“Are you hurt?” asked the cleric.
“No, only startled.” Strongbow bent down and picked up the stone. He stopped, and began brushing the decayed mortar from the underside of the stone. “Look, there are strange marks on it!” he held the stone out for Bash to see.
“That,” observed the cleric, “is known as writing,” he paused. “Let me have a closer look, it appears to be a quite ancient script!”
Muttering a few words, Bash’s sacred talisman glowed, and by its holy light, he slowly traced the letters with his finger. “It is ancient,” he confirmed, “but it is legible to one as learned as I. It tells of a passage built half way down the wall of this very well. This corridor leads to chamber that houses a shrine mounting the famous ‘Pearl of Wisdom’!”
“Can it be true?” gasped Strongbow.
“Do we have,’ asked Bash, “any reason to doubt?”

Secundus the Mage felt uneasy. Darkness had crept upon him quite suddenly. The crags towering over Longmorn pass crowded the sky, blotting out its feeble light. Staff in hand, he kept walking. Perhaps he would arrive at somewhere less unnerving by midnight. Then he stopped. All around him small stones and pebbles clattered down the endarkened screes. The clamour grew as one skeleton warrior after another pulled itself from its forgotten grave, to stand bold and erect, silent in the cold night air. Then, one by one, with long-rusted blades they began beating their mouldering shields. Thud! Thud! Thud! Each beat louder than the last as yet another dead warrior joined the dire, dreaded rhythm of the decayed.

T-KoL Turn 11 (Mid-day)

After hearing the news of the battle at Dewar's Well, Rollo downed his flagon of mead in one gulp, let out a mighty belch, wiped his mouth on the back of his hand and strode out into the morning sunlight declaring, "I am off to join the friar on his mission of death-dealing as he seems to be the only man in Glenfiddich capable of putting up a decent fight and thus worthy of my company".
“I for one agree with the barbarian!” declared Xox the Ranger taking up his bow and following Rollo through the still gaping tavern door.

Before Strongbow and the Blue Nun had looked away the rotund silhouette of Bash the Cleric filled the doorway. The bar then filled with his stentorian voice, “Greetings friends!”
“Where did you come from?” asked the Nun, “a couple of heroes just went north in search of you!”
“I was with traders,” he replied taking a seat at the table, “turning wolf-pelts and trinkets into currency!” He placed three gold coins on the table. “So, Strongbow,” Bash smiled, “are you and your weapon for hire?”
“As sure as is my aim master!” he beamed and the deal was struck.

My Hero (and his new mate)

Here's a larger image of my new T-KoL character. Once again Arlo has done a fantastic job.

And here's the replacement for another of the characters killed a few turns back. Just one more to go and we are back to our full fighting strength again.

New T-KoL Heroes

Once again we have a new batch of heroes to fight the good fight and free Glenfiddich from the legions of Kahlua. Let's hope they last the night!

Invaders from the north

These two have been on the almost ready pile for quite some time. The first picture is of Rollo; a barbarian from the frozen north who has popped over the ocean to Glenfiddich in search of adventure and fame. He is to be my next character to replace the ill-fated Esme and Kenny. The environs of Glenfiddich are proving to be a real testing ground for new characters. The mini is an old Citadel fighter/barbarian.



This is an old Ral Partha Storm Giant. I have decided to paint him up in various shades of red and have him represent one of the old Norse Fire Giants.

Here is a picture of Rollo about to be surprised by a fire giant. I hope he turns round in time!

Colours 2009

A bit late but thought I'd report anyway...

Colours 2009 was held at Newbury Race Course over the weekend of 12th/13th September. I took Alex along with me on the Sunday.

I went there with a few goals in mind - to purchase some gaming boards, a building and take part in a participation game.

I achieved all those aims and a few more. I bought some nice scenery boards from Total system scenics and a Roman Watch tower from Grand Manner. These will be used for Hordes of the Things and some Romans v. Celts gaming using LotR:SBG variants I found online.

The participation game I played was put on by MAD Gamers. It was called Achtung Dice and involved playing a WW2 PoW and his attempt to escape from camp. Both Alex and I played along with a few others. We had a great result - Alex won by being first off the board and I finished a turn later. It was great fun and good to see EBob's figures in action.

I also picked up some Perry Miniatures 1st Crusade troops to use as both Normans and fantasy warriors/men-at-arms, a Reaper cleric (I have a severe lack of clerics at the moment) and lots of ideas.

Alex bought some Perry Miniatures' 1st Crusade commanders, a Reaper bandit chieftain mini (very nice - I can't wait to see how he paints him) and a couple of bags of cheap Mirliton Miniatures' High Elves for a proposed HotT Elven army to take on my Dwarfs and Orcs/Goblins.

There was also a re-enactment society there that covered Wars of the Roses/Hundred Years War type period. I saw their show but didn't get a chance to speak to any of them or find out what society (and the show guide doesn't help) they belonged to so I could provide you with a link.

It was a long drive down there but an enjoyable day none-the-less. Both Alex and I enjoyed ourselves and bought plenty to keep us occupied for a while.

T-KoL Turn 10 (Morning)

“You couldn’t just lend a hand could you?” begged Bash the Cleric as he struggled with folds and folds of inked velum.
“Sorry mate,” replied Strongbow the hireling archer picking the meat from between his teeth with a broken chicken bone, “I only work for money.”
“What is it you’ve got there anyway?” asked the Blue Nun leaning forward for a better look.
“It’s a map of the highlands,” sighed Bash, “and it’s damnably enormous!”
“You’re not kidding,” said Strongbow discarding the broken bone, “it’s swamping the table. It’s near two Megs, and they’re not going to be happy if it starts dipping itself into their soup!”
“I take it,” enquired Bash’ “that piece of advice was free?”

Leaving the Inn table straining under the weight of the map, Bash picked up his staff and strode out into the morning sun, leaving the door swinging freely behind him.
The Blue Nun, Strongbow and the Two Megs looked up to see a cloaked figure step in through the same door and without speaking cross the room to a secluded table in the corner.
“Who’s he?” asked the Blue Nun.
“Beats me,” replied Strongbow, “but by his cloak and that bow he’s got across his shoulder, I’d guess he’s a Ranger! Looks a bit scary though.”
“In that case you had better not look now, there’s a savage looking barbarian in the other corner!”

The sun was warm, but as Bash the Cleric approached Dewar’s Well the air palpably cooled. Grey shadows shifted. The gathering wolves howled. Riding on their backs, their dead, fleshless hands gripping night-black scythes, sat Kahlua’s skeleton cavalry. Frigid witch-fire burning dimly in their naked eye-sockets, glowed brighter as they raised their heads high, hissed dryly and spurred their lupine mounts to charge the lone cleric.
Quickly, but precisely Bash recited an ancient psalm while raising his hand gently holding a sacred amulet. Frosty light swirled from the trinket. Then like a tidal wave it gushed forth, soaking the malevolent, unholy bones with fractured light. Bash winced as his ears filled with deafening screams and the skeletons crumbled to dust, their soulless remains dashed to mere spindrift on the wind. The wolves suddenly without direction, seeking to restore their own feral order, began fighting amongst themselves. Bash’s judgement was swift and unerring, his staff ruthless. He struck with all his strength, crushing their savage skulls.
Breathing heavily, Bash mopped his brow and rested before skinning the wolves and searching the heather for spoils. He found two dusty rings, each worth a gold piece.

Harboth's Black Mountain Boys (HotT)

Another blast from the Citadel past - Harboth's Black Mountain Boys, a Regiment of Renown from the early days of Warhammer. I don't have as many of these as I do of Bugman's Dwarf Rangers, but they will rank up as formiddable enemies for the doughty brewer. I am basing these for HotT as blades - the same as Bugman's Rangers.


I think there are enough to make another 3 bases worth - a 10AP sub-unit for a future orc and goblin army. Hopefully there will be plenty of actual hordes in that army.

I am about to start on the second base of Harboth's Boys and a new unit of Dwarf Blades. I am also hoping to get a few other minis done over the next few days, so hopefully there will be a few more blog entries to come to make up for last weekend's lack.

Bugman's Dwarf Rangers (HotT)

I finally finished 12AP for a HotT Dwarf army. All the minis are Bugman's Dwarf Rangers from the old Citadel Regiments of Renown range. I have based up most for HotT and there are half-a-dozen already blogged based for skirmishing. Below is the command unit: Bugman with his standard bearer and musician. The standard is hand painted - my first ever attempt at doing anything remotely artistic with a paint brush. I am attempting to push my artistic talents with every batch of minis and feel I am improving slightly each time, but I am nowhere near the standard most people can achieve. Still, I am happy with these results...


Here is the entire 12AP force of Bugman's Rangers...

I just need to find another 12AP of dwarfs (which I do have in my To Do box) for a full Hordes army. These will appear over the next few months.

T-KoL Turn 9 (Night)

Onan the Barbarian, Strepos the Ranger and Kenny the Fighter were speechless as the cold, dark hand of doom tightened its unforgiving grip around their naked throats.
The grim horn sounded once more and the wolf-mounted goblins charged screaming, loosing dark arrows as they came. Strepos drew his sword as the skeletons ran mindlessly towards him. The fist arrow slammed into his chest. He gasped bloodily as his body numbed and his sword fell from his nerveless hand. He staggered like a rag doll, barely aware as the rust blunted blades tore into his flesh again and again, until at last he fell lifeless to the cold, damp ground.
“Frigg!” ejaculated Onan as the wild wolves bore down, their jaws wide and slavering. Falling before the leader, he grimly jammed his axe-shaft between its gnashing teeth, holding firm as the wolf struggled to rip it from his hands. The goblin wolf-rider, grinning, leaned forward over the wolf’s grey head and sent a single black shaft slamming cruelly down into the warrior’s muscle-chorded throat. Onan’s head fell back as his life-blood, thick and black in the moonlight, gushed like a torrent from the savage wound. His grip failed and the wolf tore hungrily into his dead remains.
Past him and onward the other wolves charged. Kenny thrust his pitchfork before him and gritted his teeth, but his courage and lust for vengeance stood for naught as an unstoppable wave of slavering fury ripped him from his feet and bore him on to a pitiless death.

Second sight was upon Secundus the Mage who suddenly sat bolt-upright in his straw bed, “Oh no!” he gasped, “They’ve killed Kenny!”

As bloody red sun rose above the dark mountains the news from Grant’s Gibbet reached Glen Fiddich.
The Blue Nun wept.
“Ruddy hilarious Motley!” announced the Laird, “Ruddy hilarious! You are a comic genius! What do you have for us next?”
Beyond the walls of Glen Fiddich a new age of chaos reigned.

Missing entry last Sunday

I missed the entry on Sunday just gone due to a heavy workload and lots going on at home. I was hoping to put an update onto the site at least every Sunday, but at times this may be unrealistic - sometimes gaming will be superceded by work and family matters.

Anyway, I haven't managed to get much done gaming wise recently, so things may be a bit thin on the ground this weekend as I have been on an archaeological excavation this week. It is a very unusual octagonal mid-late Roman bath house in Kent. I have had the privilege of excavating the central plunge pool. I am not sure if I am able to publish any pictures, but if I am I will try to get one or two up on the blog.

Gaming wise, I should get the stragglers of the HotT Bugman's Dwarf Rangers finished along with the first unit of Harboth's Black Mountain Boys. I also have 16 Warlord Games Celtic warriors almost completed and that Ral Partha Giant is begging to be finished. Hopefully all of these should be up soon.

I was a bit naughty this week though - I ordered up a few, well 21 actually, Norman cavalry. I know I promised myself that I wouldn't buy any more minis until I had painted huge swathes of my backlog but I couldn't resist. I will probably get a few Norman footmen soon to go with them - I don't have very many fighter types for my fantasy setting and Norman warriors will fit the bill nicely.

Alex and I will be attending Colours 2009 in Newbury this weekend. Mostly just to look around but I may buy some buildings and scenery - I have a distinct lack of this kind of stuff. I will try to get Alex onto a participation game and see what the next period will tempt me after I have completed my Roman and Celtic armies. Not sure if it will be historical or fantasy or sci-fi yet, but there are plenty of periods to choose from.

Hopefully things should get back to normal next week and entries should be a little more regular.

T-KoL Turn 8 (Evening)

With every strand of his soul screaming for vengeance, Kenny the fighter left the unwelcoming villagers of Cragganmore behind and strode, teeth clenched, towards Grant’s Gibbet. With his heart crying for retribution he failed to notice that Secundus the Mage was not with him.

“Hello big boy,” gushed a fur-coated Cragganmore wench, “is that a magic staff in your hands or are you just pleased to see me?”

“Look!” Onan the Barbarian pointed to a lone figure approaching along the Gragganmore road.
“A sturdy looking fellow,” observed Strepos the ranger, ”and by the way he is carrying that pitch-fork he appears intent on doing someone some mischief!”
Onan spat.
“Hail warriors of Neame!” shouted the stranger.
“Hail to you also!” replied Strepos, “but be kind to tell me who hails us, for we are hard at work killing monsters this day!”
“I am Kenny the fighter, brother of Esme the mage, cruelly slain on this very field. I come to reap vengeance upon Black Tusk the boar!”
“Well met then young man, for in your task you are not alone!”
The three bravoes shook hands by their own customs and together began scouring the heather for the foul boar. Slowly the shadows began to lengthen.
Suddenly like a dark, screeching cloud, the blood bats rose, swirling like smoke before plunging down like a striking snake enveloping the three adventurers in a swarm of spite. Swiftly the men tore forth their weapons, stabbing and slicing, carving crimson swathes in the fluttering darkness as all around them the stricken bats fell like autumn leaves. Yet onwards they came, oblivious to the steel doom that awaited them, swarming, screeching, until finally the air cleared and splattered with feral gore Onan, Strepos and Kenny surveyed their twitching crimson harvest littering the heather all around them. They had triumphed, but where was Black Tusk?

As the angry sun set behind the twisted mountain peaks the chill air cracked, split by the torturing scream of a hunting horn, it’s tone was inhuman, like nothing the three had ever heard. Involuntarily they drew together.
Then a bestial cheer, a war-cry, echoed through the deepening blackness, joined by the howling of wild wolves as over the rise came riding a blood-crazed band of goblin archers, each astride a ravenous wolf, each with a straining bow raised, poised to fill the night air with venomous shafts.
Then as the full moon peeked through the eastern pass and struck the gibbet with frigid light, a cruel laugh, loaded with vitriol, pierced the darkness and the gibbet cage began to rattle and sway as the moldering bones of its eternal captive began to stir, its skull aglow with spectral flames of sapphire. All around the thin earth began to wrack and rupture as sword-bearing fists of bone punched through the thin mountain clay and tumbled the loose stones of forgotten cairns from beneath as Grant’s slain warriors answered his call to rise.
It was only then that the adventurers saw, swathed in moonlight, the dark tower to the west, the same tower whose image scarred the goblins’ savage shields. It was clear the goblins had waited and now at the bidding of their unseen overlord, under the foul reign of night, they had sprung their trap.

“Thank all that is Holy that you are safe!” gasped the Blue Nun as Bash the cleric closed the door of the inn behind him, shutting out the darkness.
“I hear,” continued the nun, “that Kahlua’s dread cavalry are about this night!” She turned to Strongbow the archer, who nodded his agreement.
“But that is not all,” pitched in the bowman, “for I hear a shepherd’s boy stumbled upon a strange, concealed door in the hillside near Longmorn Pass.
Bash’s brow knotted.
“And from the reports and by own studies”, the nun added before pausing, blushing modestly, “I believe that behind that door is the very crypt where was laid the very Shadowsphere!” “My, my!” exclaimed Bash heaving his baggage off his back and on to the table, “but before I consider an expedition, I need to find a worthy fell monger who will convert these heavy wolf-pelts to ready gold!”

Alex's Bretonnian Archer unit

With the arrival of the spray varnish Alex was also able to finish off one of his units - a Bretonnian archer regiment. As mentioned previously, the painting is all his own work; I just do the gluing (he has only just turned 10 years old, so I won't let him touch the stuff), cutting from sprues and the final spray varnish.

Here's the command unit...


Here are the archers themselves...



And finally here is the whole regiment...

He is now working on a unit of Men-at-arms and some knights.

Here come the girls...

On Saturday, the long awaited varnish arrived, so today was spent spraying a few units/minis to finish them off. Below are some Gripping Beast women. They will be used as villagers in a forthcoming fantasy RPG to go with the rest of the villager types already displyed previously on this blog.

The next picture should be X rated. Both minis will be used as dancing girls for a fantasy tavern setting. The one on the left is an old Ral Partha mini from the late seventies and the one on the right is a Denizen mini.