Robin Hood Project - More Town Market Pieces

My Nottingham town market needed more pieces.  I purchased 2 market stalls and a wagon from Miniature Building Authority at Siege of Augusta in January, and another wagon and some carts from them at Carolina Conquest, a new convention in Charlotte, in May.  It was a good first con and they will be returning in 2027.  Plan on attending if you're within driving distance!  I thought it would be enough to round out my market area.

First , frequent readers may recall that I posted a photo of this gibbet back in December 2025.  It is now new and improved!  My friend Mike mentioned that it would look good with a skeleton in the cage.  I agreed, remembering that I had a sprue of Wargames Atlantic skeletons tucked away.  They come as separate skull, torso, arms, & legs.  Since I had already glued the gibbet together, it would take some maneuvering.  I glued the skull onto the torso, and painted that and the arms & legs separately.  I was able to squeeze the skull/torso piece through the opening, then had to glue the arms and legs on with tweezers once it was inside.  I think it was worth the time, I'm very happy with the result.

A merchant stall with some trade goods from Miniature Building Authority.

A blacksmith stall. Conveniently I also have a blacksmith on the painting table.

An ox-drawn wagon. The seat was missing but it was easily replaced with a piece of scrap mdf.  I painted the oxen with the darkest brown I have, then drybrushed a not so quite dark brown over that.  I can picture this (and the other wagons) full of taxes collected from the Saxon peasantry.

Horse & wagon. I kept the horse separate for flexibility.

Two small wooden carts.

Robin Hood Project: Town Market

I wanted to be able to set up a medieval town market for my Robin Hood project.  Fortunately enough, Victrix has a Market Stall set.  I purchased one directly from Victrix.  There are 2 market stalls, tables, and a lot of small items in the set. Everything assembled and painted up quickly.  I glued the foods and dishes to the included tables so they wouldn't get lost.  It also made the painting easier..  For some of the more fragile items such as the stools and smallest table, I glued them onto a 25mm round base.

There are a variety of foods, perfect for a market.  Also some beehives (back right) and my favorite part, two chickens in wicker baskets.

More food and some pottery.

Two clay ovens and two cooking fires on 25mm round bases.

The set also comes with a lot of sacks and barrels. Most of them come in two halves, but they fit together well with no gaps.

Recent Purchases & Future Plan

A package of items from Noble Knight arrived today.  Along with the Renedra bases and Deep Cut Studio dirt road were 3 miniatures for my next project.  My original gaming groujp has started playing Dragon Rampant with a mix of new and old armies.  While I no longer live nearby, I have been bitten by the DR bug.

In the early 1990s we played Warhammer 3rd edition.  I still have my Dark Elf army from that era though I haven't looked at it in decades.  I am still working on my Robin Hood project but I've decided that the Elves will be my next project.  

When I took a closer look I noticed that the general and wizard were missing.  They are probably in another box somewhere.  While I was browsing at Noble Knight I found a leader and 2 wizards by Reaper that will be added to the army.  We will see if I can paint them in the same style as 30+ years ago!  I should start in late spring or early summer.  I plan on freshening up the bases (but not rebasing) and limited touching up so hopefuilly a quick turnaround.

Robin Hood Project: 28mm Wolves & Bear

 Work on my Robin Hood Project continues at a good pace. Last week I painted 5 wolves and a bear. Many creatures lurk in the depths of Sherwood Forest. I purchased all of these miniatures in January 2026 at the Siege of Augusta convention. Four of the wolves are metal from Miniature Building Authority. The fifth is from the Reaper Bones line and came in a pack of animals including the bear.

When I paint animals I do two things: do a Google search for images and check my friend Mike's blog to see if he has painted that species. He does an excellent job, much better than I can manage.

Since wolves were hunted to extinction in England in the 17th century, I decided to go with gray wolves. I primed them with white gesso, then a coat of medium gray. Next came a drybrush of light gray all over, a drybrush of off-white heavier on the lower half, and a drybrush of black along the top. To finish them I painted the nose and mouth black, the teeth ivory, and the eyes a pale yellow with a dark brown pupil.

I like that all four of the MBA wolves have different poses.

This wolf is resin. It is slightly smaller than the others but mixes in well. The bear is also resin; both are from Reaper's Bones line. I primed the bear with white gesso, followed by a coat of GW Mournfang Brown, tan on the muzzle, and finished with a dark brown wash. I painted the claws and teeth ivory. The eyes are white with a dark brown pupil.

A view of the entire wolfpack.  Beware wandering alone in Sherwood Forest at night!

SIege of Augusta 2026 Report

 My gaming year always begins with the Siege of Augusta convention in Augusta, Georgia.  Held in mid-January, I was only able to attend on Saturday this year.  On the plus side, that was because all three of my kids wanted to go with me.  It was my youngest's first convention.

We arrived just after 8:00 AM, registered, and were soon playing in games.

My purchases were on the light side this year.  I had made an order with Miniature Building Authority ahead of time to pick up at the con.  These are all items for my Robin Hood project. Starting at the top left: merchant stall, blacksmith stall, pack of 4 wolves, and an ox-drawn wagon.

I also bought two packs of miniatures for Robin Hood and some paint from Time Portal Hobbies, a longtime vendor.  The minis are from Reaper's Bones line.  I am already painting the townsfolk, and the material for these is firmer than the last Bones figs I bought. The animal companions include a wolf, bear, mountain lion, wolverine, & hawk.  Also pictured are a Sherman tank given to my older son for playing in a WW2 game, and a post-apocalypse mini from Bad Goblin.  My sons both played in one of Bad Goblins's games and were each given a miniature.  They had a good time fighting each other.

After a full day of gaming we headed home Saturday night.  Games played included post-apocalypse, chariot racing, WWII, Viking Naval, & OGRE miniatures.

My next convention in 2026 will probably be Carolina CONquest, a new convention in Charlotte, NC May 8-9.

Robin Hood Project: Buildings & Terrain

 My new project is a set of skirmish games based on Robin Hood.  Crooked Dice recently released a Robin Hood supplement for their 7TV rules and also has a line of miniatures for the personalities.  While I waited for them to arrive, I started brainstorming possible scenarios.  I also made a list of what I already had & what I would need.

First on my 'need' list were archery targets.  There are several Robin Hood stories which include an archery contest.  I found some on Etsy from Majestic Miniatures that looked right to me.  I had gotten part of my Stargate from them and was happy with the quality.  I also saw an item that would really add to the atmosphere of a town scenario, a Prisoner in Stocks.  This poor man is being unjustly punished by the Sheriff of Nottingham. The base and posts were one piece and the prisoner and stocks another.  It has some nice wood grain that I primed Black, then drybrushed Howard Hues Wood, HH Colonial Khaki, & Ral Partha Gray.

       

Archery Targets

They were having a Black Friday sale so I browsed Majestic's product list and found a Pig Sty.  The 3d-printed building came in three pieces: stone section, wooden crossbeam/post, & the roof.  Each of the three fence sections and four posts came in two halves.  Everything superglued together easily.  Then I based it on a piece of styrene and primed it black.  Painting the wood sections was the same as the stocks and the stones received two coats of gray.  The pigs are a separate piece and are painted as the English heritage breed Gloucester Old Spot.

I already have a few Saxon & Viking buildings and a large church that I could use, but wanted a couple of larger buildings for Nottingham.  During Sarissa's Black Friday sale I found some that I really liked and ordered them.  It has been a long time since I assembled any mdf buildings, but as with all the Sarissa products I've bought they assembled easily.

The Norman Manor House will be the Sheriff's headquarters.  I painted the outside with Vallejo Yellow Ochre, added patches of brown, then drybrushed with several coats of Army Painter Skeleton Bone.  The inside uses several old Polly S colors, British Dark Earth and Panzer Red-Brown, wbile the wood is AP Hardened Wood.  I still have a fair number of Polly S paints and am trying to use them up.

The Market Hall is painted simiilarly to the manor.  The hardest part was painting all the timber framing at the end.  I plan on having some market stalls around it

As soon as I saw this Gibbet I wanted it.  Who will be the Sheriff of Nottingham's next victim?  The wood is painted the same as the stocks, while the cage got a coat of Ral Partha Steel, a coat of Army Painter Gunmetal, and a black wash.

What is coming next in this project?  I already have 18 Merry Men about half painted, a dozen character miniatures primed, and some soldiers for the Sheriff are being assembled.  More updates to follow.

Plague Zombies

I wasn't planning on painting any more zombies, but while I was making an order with Noble Knight at the end of August did some browsing and a pack of Copplestone Plague Zombies caught my eye.  Many zombie rules require some distinctive zombies and these would fit the bill. They are pretty disheveled with a lot of wounds, bite marks, and a bullet hole or two.  While I am working on some larger projects, I quickly slipped these into the painting queue.

As I mentioned, I wanted these to be visually distinct from my other zombies.  My friend Mike has been adding bricks to some of his bases recently and I liked the way they looked.  Since I don't have any ready-made, 3d-printed bricks, I cut up a piece of mdf from the leftover frame of a building and they were close enough for me when painted.

I painted the skin with GW rotted flesh, then applied a thin wash of AP Alien Purple.  This gives some detail to the skin, pools in the numerous wounds, and gives a bruised look to some areas.  I added a thin coat of Ral Partha Blood Red to the wounds to make them look more disgusting.  They were very quick to paint up.

I think the tall one with the long hair on the left resembles Neil from The Young Ones.

        

I really like the various wounds they have, these zombies aren't easy to kill.

Stargate Project: The Stargate

 You can't have a Stargate game without a Stargate.  I have seen many versions over the years, including one where you can insert a cellphone to get the gate effect.  I ran across this one on eBay while buying a 3d-printed paint holder. The center is removable, but fits so tightly that I try to move it as little as possible to avoid scratching the paint.  I painted the event horizon with successively lighter shades of blue in smaller areas with some silver mixed in the center.

It didn't come with a DHD, the device used to activate the gate.  I bought this 3D-printed one on Etsy from Majestic Miniatures.  They also make some gate versions.  I think it would be fun to run a scenario with 2 boards and a stargate on each one so I may buy one from them in the future.

I have 2 versions of the MALP, the robotic vehicles used to perform recon and carry equipment.  The one on the left is a scratchbuilt version that I bought secondhand, repainted, and added a missile.  The tracks are metal and the rest is made of card.  The missile came with the right-hand version from Ainsty Castings which is made of resin.

Last are two firepits from Bad Goblin Games who have a variety of cool terrain accessories.  I am going to use them as temple fires in the Great Temple from my previous post.  They come with a small light and battery, though the lights are not on in these photos.  I gave the flames a red wash to tone down the orange.

A photo to show the scale.  Off to explore the universe!