Saga Scots WIP

It says WIP in the title, but the army (7 points of Scots for Saga) is actually completed.  I experimented with a new basing style for this army.  I added static grass last night to a couple bases to see if I liked it; I liked it enough to go ahead and do the entire army at once.  Here is a picture after finishing the bases.  I started them in late August and had the goal of finishing them by my birthday (5 November), but life interfered towards the end.  I'm very pleased with how they turned out though!

I have a game scheduled for Saturday, so they'll see action soon.  I'll take some pictures of the units and post them and maybe some in-game pictures as well.

Finshing Old Projects & Starting a New One

I started out the year well but hit a slump in the late spring and into summer.  In July I picked up the brushes again, then I took a week to demolish our master bath.  Fortunately for everyone involved, a contractor is rebuilding it.  I've also relocated my painting area to an old entertainment center/cabinet as our hobby/guest room is being converted to a bedroom for our third child due in January.  As those projects wind down I hope to start posting more frequently.

I have been trying to finish off everything on my desk.  Tonight I spent 2.5 hours sealing 98x15mm and 12x28mm miniatures.  I use a brush-on coat of black or brown paint mixed with varnish to add shading, then do a final coat of clear varnish or spray after it has dried.  I tend to do this in larger batches, but this one was huge.  Below is a picture.

On the left side, there is a 15mm Axumite DBA army (Feudal Castings).  On the right side, the front group is assorted 15mm Hellenistics (l-r): Egyptian phalangites, thorakitai, and some Asiatic archers and slingers.  The mounted figures are 2 prodromoi.  Behind is most of a Sub-Roman British DBA army (Splintered Light); only the 9 heavy cavalry are missing.  I still to need to add the shield decals.

The 28mm figures on the green board are all for my Doctor Who project: 6 Ogrons in front and 6 human guards behind.  The group of figures in the rear just had some minor repairs done.

Still in progress are a dozen 15mm cavalry, then I will be concentrating on a new project: a 28mm Scots army for Saga.  I've started prepping a unit of 12 levies; I need to glue their javelins on and they will be ready for priming.  I'm looking forward to painting the Scots, it has been a long time since I started on a new rules set.

Jason

2012 Project Update

Just a short update on the progress I've made on my project list.

I have stalled on the Doctor Who guards I mentioned in my previous post; the base colors are finished but the highlights need to be done.

I finished the 16 Romano-British spearman and am happy with how they turned out. I primed a couple of R-B archers and my next batch will include the other 16 spearman.

I've made most progress on the Hellenistic project. I painted 8 Thorakitai and 8 mixed Persian/asiatic light infantry in April. Currently on the painting table are 8 pikemen that I am painting as Egyptians that the Ptolomies raised for the Raphia campaign. I am using Gladiator 'poorly equipped phalangites' so they look different from the regular phalanx. I'm also repainting 3 old figures as Seleucid Persian agema. They are Museum figures and I had to replace their broken spears. As my 5-year-old daughter was watching while I did that, I gave her a quick lesson on why you don't want to get superglue on your fingers.

Game Report - Doctor Who

I've finally downloaded the pictures off my camera of the Doctor Who Miniatures Game scenario I ran at the Siege of Augusta convention on January 20th.

The game featured a joint attack on a coastal UNIT base in Scotland by the Sea Devils and the Master.  It was loosely adapted from one of the scenarios included in the DWMG rulebook.  I had designed it for 6 players, but we squeezed in a 4th UNIT player.

Here is the table just after I set up the terrain.  The Sea Devils entered from the ocean on the left of the table; The Master and a group of hypnotized thugs entered from the far edge; UNIT was spread around the rest of the table.

A shot from the beginning of the game.  The Sea Devils are advancing up the beach and UNIT is moving to hold them.  The Brigadier is leading from the front behind the middle clump of brush, Captain Yates is in the ruined building at bottom right, while Sergeant Benton is observing from atop one of the oil tanks.

The Sea Devils focused their efforts on the flanks.  Here they are moving forward on the left flank while one of the Master's goons attacks the cottage from behind.

At the other end of the table, the Sea Devils are attempting to destroy the storage tanks.  In the distance a Sea Devil is lurking next to one of the houses.

Late in the game, UNIT has fallen back towards the buildings.  The Doctor and Leela spent the whole game in the HQ building working on an invention, which he completed on the last turn.

The Master is captured by UNIT.  He had previously disposed of two soldiers on the ground floor but his luck has run out.

The points ended in a draw; UNIT's heavy losses were balanced by capturing the Master.  Most importantly, the players had a good time and I enjoyed running the game.  Thanks to Crooked Dice (the creators of DWMG) for sending me a bunch of  DWMG/7TV postcards to hand out to players and passersby.

Jason

2012 Project #1 Completed

It took me 6 days after posting my 2012 project list to complete my first project.  I finished the 32 Axumite infantry March 2nd; the 4 mounted & 1 elephant were completed on March 7th.

I wanted to work on my Doctor Who project so I de-flashed 9 miniatures (6 guards and 3 other gunmen, all Copplestone) on Friday, then had to wait until Tuesday afternoon to prime them due to heavy rain and high winds.  I also added a new project to my 2012 list: a 15mm Romano-British army.  My friend Mike and I bought a bunch of Splintered Light Miniatures years ago and split them in half.  They've been patiently waiting for attention ever since.  I picked out 16 armored spearmen, superglued their shields on, and primed them along with the DW miniatures.  So far I've painted the metal areas on the Brits and the base coat of black on the guns/boots for the 28mm.

Jason2012

2012 Projects

Well, January and February have flown by.  I spent most of January preparing the Doctor Who scenario that I ran at Siege of Augusta.  I'll have some pictures of the game in my next post.  After Siege, I started painting an Axumite DBA army that I purchased at the convention from Time Portal Hobbies.  I finished most of it in 1 week, then illness/work/family intervened and I haven't painted a thing since.

I have spent some time thinking about my 2012 plans though.  My first project is to finish the Axumites.  Second, I have more Doctor Who miniatures to paint, either single character figures or small groups of 6.  I'll be doing those in small batches throughout the year with the aim of having them all done in 2012.  Third, I want to fill in some holes in my 15mm Hellenistic collection and already have all of the unpainted lead.  Fourth, I have a 15mm ECW Royalist army that I started on in late 2010 but only finished a few units.  I'd like to make some progress on that as well, but it depend on how quickly I proceed on the other projects.

I'm ready to start painting again and intend to get started this week.  Thanks for reading my ramblings!

Jason