Maggot Breed of Ymir II

From the fallen body of the giant Ymir, the maggots formed the svart alfr. Citadel's miniatures from yesteryear provide a wonderful representation of these little critters and Alan Garner's books a fantastic story setting for them. I have created a warband ready for SoBH and general fantasy RPG gaming. First up are the command figures, a wizardly type and a leader...

This is a netter. I had to put him onto a large washer to fit the net on, but I think it works OK...

Here are three of the warrior svarts, ready to cave in the skulls of any human silly enough to venture out onto Alderley Edge in the darkness of night...

Two more of the little blighters...

Another of those weird happenings with the camera - all the other pictures are in focus, but one with all settings etc exactly the same goes a bit awry...

Finally, a picture of all ten of them together as a warband...

These will work as either very small 28mm goblin types or as 15mm goblins.

Next up should be some Romano-British command to use in Brytenwalda. They just need a few finishing touches and then a final spray of the old matt varnish.

Roman Townsfolk

Roman citizens are back on the scene with this entry today. I am trying to tidy up and finish off a lot of stragglers at the moment that have stayed on the workbench for a while. These are all from Warlord Games range of Roman Citizens and a spare Celtic crone I had lying around.

First up are a merchant and his bodyguard, Brutus. I actually put a lot of work into the casket but I don't think it really shows. I painted it as an ivory casket with a dark wood surround, lined with a rich red silk and filled with gold and silver trinkets with a centre piece having a great green gem. All ripe for the plucking by the not-Conan I painted yesterday. I am not sure if Brutus would be able to stop the barbarian from pilfering from the merchant or whether he would aid him in the heist and join him for a few weeks of wine, women and song in the local taverns of Zamora.

This next couple are a strange pairing. The old crone I have painted before in a different colour scheme, alongside a bunch of Celtic kids. This time she is portrayed alongside a Roman mendicant. The beggar cuts a strange figure in that he sits on a sumptuous cushion, in a white toga, with a gold medallion around his neck, holding out a Samian ware bowl. Yes, he has a stump for one of his legs but I painted him richly to juxtapose his position as a newly made member of the unemployable. It just goes to show how rapidly fortunes could change in Ancient Rome; one minute a well thought of businessman, the next the gutter.

I am hoping to put the finishing touches to the rest of those lesser goblins/svart alfa later on today and do a bit more on a few more of those Brytenwalda troops. I managed to get started on the Splintered Lands figures yesterday too, so they should see light of day in the next week or two as well. Alex has been busy on some more Bretonnians and WH40K stuff.

Some Miscellaneous Fantasy Stuff

I managed to finish up a few fantasy figures that were lingering on my paint station today.

First up is a second Josef Bugman. The first one is on a stand of Dwarfs for HotT that I made up a while back. Thi sone I gave a slightly different colour scheme; more blues than greens.

Next up is a not-Conan from Heroes of the Dark Ages. A friendly little company that produces some very nice one-offs that can be used in all sorts of situations. I have already used some of their stuff as a stand of barbarians for HotT.

Finally, here are a brace of Citadel Demons. The red one doesn't seem to have come out too well in the flash, and is more subtly shaded than the photo shows. These are actually quite small and could be used in either 28mm or 15mm scale gaming.

Next up should be a few more villagers courtesy of Warlord Games and the rest of those Lesser Goblins/Svarts. I have also started to put paint to lead on those Splintered Light Druids Children minis, but after having seen Dunc's latest pics of his, I think I may just not bother as his are so good - are you sure you are not 15mm tall yourself Dunc and are painting them 1:1 size? I just cannot see the detail you are seeing let alone being able to paint it! I also have some more Brytenwalda troops, a handful of fantasy minis and some Nick Lund's Chronicle Kobolds (I love these ranges - I have some of his chunky Hobgoblins to prep soon too) from the early 80s about to see the undercoating spray can - provided the rain holds off.

Dover Castle - 18th August 2011

The wife and I took the kids to Dover Castle yesterday. This prompted me to change the look of the blog with a new photo I took there of the Great Hall (in its newly redecorated format). The last time I went there was when Alex was about two or three years old, but before Amelia was born. A great deal has changed since then.

Due to the boredom thresholds of the kids we managed to get quite a bit done considering; the Anglo-Saxon church, the Roman pharos, the Norman keep and a bit of the grounds. We will be saving the rest of the site for another day. Here are a few photos of the site ...

This is a view from the overspill car park - the castle in its entirety...

Here is a view of the keep from below a quite formidable later battlement...

The central bailey defences and great keep...

The Roman Pharos dated to the First Century AD. It is an empty shell, but it is quite easy to envisage how it would have been used from the stone work that is left...

Here are some internal shots of the new exhibition and the church ...

First up, here is the beautiful santuary altar of the rebuilt Anglo-Saxon church...

This is the newly renovated Great Hall...

Now, I am not sure exactly whose bed this is - I think it is in the Queen's chamber...

And this is the bed in the King's chamber...

I think they have done a splendid job of the renovation. There are reenactors running their roles throughout the castle as well as interactive computerised gadgets for the technically savvy (and kids) to enjoy.

All in all, it was well worth the visit, but the price tag for non-members may be a little steep, especially if they have a family in tow. Due to the price of the cafes we decided to grab fish and chips in a small town nearby and the price to feed the family in a fish and chip restaurant was cheaper than to buy them tea and cakes in the cafes at the castle - and I think they enjoyed the hot meal more sitting on the beach at Walmer watching the people walk past the Henrican castle there listening to their boring dad telling them the story of the ghost ships that appear on the sands off-shore at full moon.

Alex's 1st Crusade

When we were at Colours a few years back, Alex bought some of Perry Miniatures's 1st Crusade figures. He bought the leader pack and then a bit later on he bought some Hospitallers. Over the last week or so he has put some paint onto them ...

He put them onto large 50mm shouldered round bases as he thought they would look good when placed next to some of his other cavalry figures. He wasn't sure what he wanted to use them for, but now we have heard that the forthcoming Saga rules by Gripping Beast uses larger bases for commanders it looks like he may have made a wise choice.

Maggot Breed of Ymir

"They stood about three feet high and were man shaped, with thin, wiry bodies and limbs, and broad, flat feet and hands. Their heads were large, having pointed ears, rounded saucer eyes, and gaping mouths which showed teeth. Some had pug-noses, others thin snouts reaching to their chins. Their hides were generally a fish white colour, though some were black, and all were practically hairless. Some held coils of black rope, while out of one of the caves advanced a group carrying a net woven in the shape of a spider's web."

This is a direct quote from Alan Garner's The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, one of my favourite books from yesteryear. I really liked the description he gave of the Svarts and thought that the Citadel lesser goblin miniatures from the 1980s fitted the description nicely, albeit not exactly. I had quite a few of these hanging around, so decided to base up a few for Hordes of the Things as a horde, and kept a goodly amount back for individual basing for use in Songs of Blades and Heroes or RPG gaming.

These will be a welcome addition to my orc and goblin army which is growing very slowly but surely alongside my dwarf one. Both are about half-way there. I have a couple of box sets of GW goblins and night goblins to make up a few more bases for the orcs/goblins and a stack of old Citadel metal minis for my dwarf army. I will get onto these as soon as I get a few more other bits and bobs off my paint station.

Warhammer 40K - Elites and Command

Here are the last of the Space Marines that Alex finished over the last few days. First up is Captain Sicarius, a metal kit ...

Here is a plastic kit sergeant ...

And finally a couple of metal Tyrannid Hunters ...

He got a couple more kits for his birthday which he is busy working on at the moment. The box set I was most concerned about was the Vanguard Veterans as they are produced in the new Citadel Finecast resin. I have heard many bad stories about these on the internet, but his seem to have escaped the majority of issues (miscasts abound apparently).

As and when he completes them, I will get them photographed and up here on the blog as usual. These may be a little while though, as next week he is off to the child minders for a week, so he won't have access to the paints like he has had for the last couple of weeks. That said, he has almost finished some historical miniatures and one or two more Bretonnians, so will no doubt have a few more entries on here very soon!

Warhammer 40K - Light Attack Vehicles

Alex was busy too yesterday; he managed to finish off an Attack Bike and a Ternminator. I have classed these both as light vehicles as they are not standard Space Marine suits. Alex bought the Attack Bike a few years ago when we went on holiday to the Lake District, and the Terminator was a freebie on the front cover of a White Dwarf magazine a year or two back.

The Ultramarine symbol on the Terminator was done freehand - I don't think he needs to use the water slide decals that come with the models any more.

Hopefully there should be another entry later on today, as Alex has more space marines and I have some other minor bits and bobs finished and ready to go up on the blog.

Elemental Heroes

My internet connection went down last night, so I was unable to post these. Following are five old Citadel Chaos Fighters (I think). They are all based on the same pose with subtle differences, but they work well for my visions of the four elements plus the Void in my fantasy gaming world.

First up is the Elemental Warrior of Air...

Elemental Warrior of Earth...

Elemental Warrior of Fire...

Elemental Warrior of Water...

Elemental Warrior of the Void...

I have painted them with the same palettes as the Elemental Wizards from earlier on the blog. Somehow they have managed to be less bright and therefore more 'realistic' looking, especially the fire warrior. I am especially pleased with the Earth and Water Warriors - I used a coloured wash on their metals that matched their element.

Space Marine Tactical Squad

These are the other seven members of the Tactical Squad that Alex painted. The other three are Black Templars (see previous post) and these are Ultramarines. Alex's force is going to be an Ultramarine force but he is going to include the occasional unit from other chapters to make up the numbers (and because he wants to paint Marines other than those of Ultramar.

Here are the final two from the squad...

Next up should be his officers and a few other specialist troops.

For his birthday, he got a squad of Vanguard Veterans from me, and he has used some of his birthday money to get himself a Razorback. I daresay these will be painted up in record time.

The Vanguard Veterans are the first of the new Citadel Finecast miniatures that we have bought. We have heard some rumours about how widely differing the finishing on these is (with many miscasts), but it looks like there was only one minor air-blister that put a bit of a dent in a shoulder pad of just one of the marines - easily remedied with a bit of green stuff. The improved quality of the resin does make a difference to the look of the minis, but I am not sure, personally, whether that justifies the extra cost. Still, Alex loves them and that's what matters in the end.

Black Templars

I should have put these up yesterday afternoon, but a bout of insomnia has left me at a loose end this Monday morning (02:45 local time!).

Alex has finished off a stack of Space Marines over the last week or so, and I will be showing them off as and when I get them photographed and cropped for inclusion on this site.

These come from a Tactical Squad set of plastics. He painted the other seven up as Ultramarines, but got bored with all that blue and decided for a bit of change by painting these as Black Templars.

A shot to show off his free-hand shoulder designs...

And from the other side...

I will try to get the rest of the squad up on the blog later on today.

Meanwhile, I started on those Splintered Light minis and finished off a handful of old Citadel Chaos Fighters. Hopefully these will be up on the blog in the not too distant future.