Ancient Casualty Markers

I used the last two Warbases small dials to rebase two of my original casualty markers that I painted up five or more years ago. I still have a bunch to do with the markers I bought at Partizan.

These will be used for Hail Caesar so I will need quite a few more as our games now have twenty plus units. Matt has already got loads for his army so I am playing catch up.

The figures are from Donnington Miniatures and cost 30p per figure. The dials cost 60p so each one comes in a little under £1 so not too bad given the number required.

Baccus 6mm Macedonian Phalanx Influx

Between doing things with Cath on my week off I managed to get these boys started and finished. I have speeded up a few stages which has really shortened the time scale of getting a unit done.

These are as the title states Baccus and I have by this stage had more than a little experience painting these rather excellent phalangites, I combine AMA01 and AMA03 packs to form two blocksfrom two boxes so that's £6.60 per base. Still cheaper than building a block in 15mm but rather pricey compared with my other 6mm units. However the effect is well worth the outlay and as I don't need large amounts of units it can remain quite an economical project.

Not that I stuck to just one unit as it saves time to paint up a couple together. That's 192 figures it total. Not bad for a few hours work (OK a bit more than a few).

The mix of the two packs means you can build a unit that has real depth and having the two front ranks with pikes pointing forwards gives a far more dramatic look than all at advance. Using 60x60 bases means I can do this without the pikes sticking over the base edge by more than a whisker.

Part of the speeding up of the painting means a quick drybrush of the leather cuirass which on close inspection is a bit hit and miss but still looks fine from a reasonably close distance. Given the planned scale of this project that is perfectly OK with me.

I have added dice holders to the new blocks, these will be great for Hail Caesar which is the rules I am planning on using. The only negative is that due to having to have the figures almost flush with the rear of the base I have had to mount the holders at the front of the units. Like the bases themselves, these great little holders are supplied by Warbases and the smallest size costs £1.00 for 15 which are perfect for the tiny dice I am using.

So that's five units painted up so far, I mentioned above how it could be quite economical, well not in this house baby. I am aiming for 20 of these units by the time I have finished building the army. It's quite possible I will look to increase this if we end up putting on a game sometime ;-)

 That would equate to £136 just for the pike alone. However I think the end result would look stunning. I started this project with no clear aim to game with them, just a vanity project but Lee took up the challenge and has started to build a Roman army. Matt may find himself going down the route of 6mm via his club as well, so they should get some game time after all.

All the pikes are cut down sweeping brush bristles, I picked mine up at a show for about £2.50 and have enough for about 50 units. It would be great to run out LOL. Sticking them to the figures is easier than you would think. I did the two units in about one and a half hours including cutting them to size.

Once I have a few more units finished I am thinking about starting the Persian opposition for these guys to give us more gaming options. The Persians give me a chance to be REALLY colourful. Obviously I am not sticking to 100% accurate colours and finishes for this army, I am more aiming for visual effect.

Plancenoit Church - Building of the Week

This weeks building of the week was a little more involved than a typical single building. Not only was it a focal point in the battle of Waterloo but I have been given instructions by Lee to put it on a hill. Plancenoit was the scene of bitter fighting between the recently defeated Prussians and a mix of Guard and other quality French battalions. The church swapped hands several times as did most of the town. The Prussians showed that losing a battle is not always the same as being defeated as they battled away until Plancenoit was firmly in their hands and the Prussians continued to advance into the French right flank and the rest as they say is history.

So in expectation of another titanic struggle I thought it needed to look presentable. Leven Miniatures have released this building on their site this month so it's a new model (NAP09 £3.50) and is another piece in their excellent Napoleonic range.

The walls are also Leven made, ACC02 Dry Stone Wall Set, actually about one and a third sets to fit round the full base. I have used three of my Warbases, one 3mm thick and the other two 2mm thick. The corners broken off leaving rough edges and the long edges sanded to a slope.

Here the walls are suck in place but the church won't go on till near the end. The actual walls were higher and were more round in shape so I have had to accept a few compromises, none that worry me though.

The usual basing system, though the final touches would only be added once the ground and walls have been painted and the church ready to be glued in place.

I went a lot heavier with the static grass than usual as you would expect almost total grass coverage around the graves. I also added grave stones and floor stones via coffee stirrers though these could be replaced at least in part by metal ones if Perfect Six get them produced in time.

The tree is one of the ones I bought about three months ago and I like the height of the tree to balance the tile. It also helps fill in the rear corner as I did not want equal spread of the graves.

I also added clump foliage to cover some of the worst wall joints but did not want to cover them all and tried to not make them too regular so no pattern built up.

I may yet add a few figures or other furniture to add a bit more interest. The church is to one side of the town so will stand out a bit. We are using about twenty buildings for the town so the church should not stand out on it's own nor disappear into the mass.

One of the models I looked at had greenery creeping up the tower and having success with doing this on a farm tile I thought I would do it again here. Really happy with the result.

So now I have Frichermont and Le Haye to paint up and all the buildings are finished. Frichermont is prepped and ready whilst Le Haye is yet to be made available by Leven. So we are quite close to being ready. Looking at the boards with the various buildings in place, even before all the hills are added really makes the battlefield start to stand out. Really looking forward to showing you images of the boards as they stand and more once they are textured and ready to roll.

Warbases Movement Tray

I was finishing off some figures for this weeks entry into the Challenge (none of these) and thought I would have a go at dressing up one of the movement trays I bought at York from Warbases. The idea being is that I can make changes if I did not like the results.

I used the same system as I would for normal basing as I want it to look as similar as possible. I bluetacked 2p pieces into the holes before applying the masonry paint and prised them out once the sand had been added.

I also needed to use a sharp knife to clean the sand and paint out of the holes once it had dried, this allows the figures to be popped in place without having to force them into the slots risking damage to the figures.

I am pleased with the overall effect and will be doing the same to the other bases I have waiting to be done. These may get double duty as a handy storage base and for any games where we will be using shield walls once we have all of the figures we have painted up. I know one think for certain, I will be needing more of them, they do different sized ones so I have to make my mind up on amount per base.

Warbases Horses

I have finally got round to painting the 28mm Warbases horses that I bought way back and of course they took no time at all to paint up making the delay the more unforgivable. These will allow either the stage coach or the wagon to move in a cowboy game opening up all sorts of possibilities.

These are £2.50 each which I think is a little on the high side but saying this you do get a fair bit of lead and I have to stress that I have not tried comparing them. They go well with the Warbase stage coach so at the end of the day I am not moaning and am happy with the money spent, just not used to 28mm costs I am guessing.

I am fairly sure a set of moving horses are in the pipeline as well as the luggage and crew for the stage coach so I will be getting these as well so you can judge for yourself how the price effects me LOL.

These were painted pre-challenge so do not count towards me score but did get another PLUS off my score board for the lead mountain so got to be good. In fact expect the mountain to sustain a good number of body blows throughout the coming weeks as I rip chunks out of it yep fighting words.

Talking of the challenge I have my first submission in and I have almost finished my second one meaning I will have scored over 100 points in the first week but it is bound to slow down as I have a number of other projects as well as real life to cut into the painting time. However I also have a good number of posts planned so that the next three months will not just be a steady flow of painted figures. Though traffic is down some especially Friday as everyone seemed to be doing painting bingo. Eyes down for a full paint job.

Pioneer Wagon - Warbases

Ok the last of the current run of posts on the wild west is this Warbases Pioneers Wagon kit at £4 and again it's a quick kit to make up as you would expect for it's size and number of pieces.

Nothing much for a paint job just flat brown for a base coat followed by a bit of Iraqi Sand (both Vallejo) drybrushed on to give a bit of depth to the colour.

I added a bit of linen cloth to give it a cover. I may go back to this and paint it off white and if I had thought about it would have stained it with tea at the time.

Like most MDF items it does not stand close inspection but it's fine for street furniture for a fun game. Mainly being for the kids I am not too hot about doing the best finish and it's more about getting things game ready than making them look great. Saying that I am not unhappy with the results.

I think when I took the photos I had not painted the wheel rims as they look rather brown. Action shots later will show I did actually paint them up.

The cowboy collection is really coming along now. We have plenty of figures for a reasonable sized game and still have more buried in the pile, though I cleaned up a few and undercoated them a month or so ago so they will get done in the not too distant future. I will also continue to paint up the buildings and I hope to get another done end part of this week though being away with work a couple of days will put a spanner in the works.

Warbases Stage Coach

I left my glasses at work the other day but was really in the mood to get on with something so I thought I may as well start painting my Warbases Stagecoach. This is a nice kit costing a reasonable £7 and goes together easily, though it would have been that little bit easier if I had the instructions but I did not ask for a set when I bought them at Partizan (no not the one from the other weekend).

Being for the kids collection I wanted it to be a bit bright. The base colour was Vallejo Flat Red but with the wood soaking it up it was a tad dark so I added a thick wash of Scarlet which made the red pop.

The front wheels do swivel which was a surprise as I am not known for my finesse. This is all down to the clever little mechanism you can see under the drivers seat.

I painted up the red quite quickly so without the aid of my glasses tackled the blue, not sure what I was thinking but the etching that Warbases put into the detail made it straightforward with only a small amount of touching up with the Scarlet.

The wheels I painted in Oily Steel and then added Games Workshop Nulin Oil wash to dull it down further. I did the same on the blue boards as they were eye watering bright. If I had taken more time, painted the interior before assembling and used filler where required I could have made this look even better but as it is I am satisfied with the result.

Confederate Infantry Going on E-bay?

Close up Time

After five days of giveaway posts I thought I should do a post with some figures in it. This lot was supposed to be a quick set of points in the challenge but ended up taking as long as any of the Napoleonic figures I have recently done. Seems if you want a quick dash best stick to the Union.

Formation 1

These are four units of 24 figures each, I have mixed them up a little with pale blue trousers for most with the odd brown or grey pair thrown in.

Formation 2

The flags and figures are Baccus and were for the most part really crisp, I can fully recommend them as the vast majority need next to no prep work.

Formation 3.

These are destined for e-bay either on Saturday or Sunday unless someone here want's them. I was given the figures by Matt for painting up some of his figures and figured I could do a reasonable job on them and turn a few coins. 

Formation 4.

All are based on 30x60mm bases (Warbases to be exact), and based to the new system which all new armies will have from this point on. 

Formation 5.

I will be putting them on e-bay for £20 a formation for 1-3 and £5 each for the skirmish screens plus actual cost of postage. Typically £18 is the going rate but that tends to be a worse job with the painting OK and basing a little below this standard but the flags tend to be just stuck on like starched undies. It takes a little more effort to get the wind swept look but I think it makes all the difference. I think I beat the £10 guys in all categories so hope to get £20 at least. However anyone here want any of them, I will offer them up for £18 for 1-3 and 4-5 at £4 per formation. All plus postage at cost. 

If you want any just leave a comment to that effect stating which you would like. First come first serve. I will either post them on E-bay sometime tomorrow or Sunday depending on how much time I have to spare.

Warbase Commission

I have been using the excellent Warbase casualty counter for my Sniper Reminders ever since discovering them in a Wargames Illustrated. This was great news as I have been using Warbases normal bases since coming back to wargameing. But I was asked ages ago if I could do something a little different. Problem is the base just is not big enough to allow you much scope. The idea was for it to be more urban. I mocked up a base but it was clearly not a great finish but the idea itself was sound. So at Donnington I too my mock up and asked for a quote, bracing myself for the answer.

 

The Original base, score marks are all down to me.

The basic counter is 60p each, I have ordered well over 100 of these over the past year and will again be grabbing a fair few more in the coming months.

 

The Special Commission Base.

The new base is square and quite a bit larger. My start off order being just ten pieces but the price was a bit of a surprise. Just £1.20 each. The base being square allows for more use to be made of it and now I can really go to town. Over the last few months I have been buying brick moulds, barbed wire and other battlefield furniture.

 

Figure added for scale comparison.

So in the next few weeks I hope to start building the four bases that I have already in mind, just got to hope the guys who will be getting these are happy with the results.

 

A big thank you to Warbases for their typically fast and friendly service, I really like what they are doing with the hobby.

Bases Arrive!!

I received an e-mail a few days ago informing me that my order had been dispatched from Warbases, which I think is a rather nice touch. I had already been waiting impatiently as per above so it was good to know it had been dispatched and that I could have one day off waiting by the letter box.

So fast forward two days and I am back in position (think less cute than a dog but higher on the dribbling and you got me). Finally he arrives with the goods. A rather imposing and none too light package which is very neatly wrapped. Rather exciting to say all it is, is bits of MDF but such is my life these days. Off with the paper covering and now a sealed box that did not withstand my efforts very long but provides excellent storage of them for the short period they await deployment. Overall my imprecation is rather positive, well very positive to be honest. Well packaged and a printed sticky address label so it has the lowest chance of getting lost in the post. So due props to the guys at Warbases. However I have one thing above all that tends to send my vision red and that's postage cost. Too many times have I suffered postage costs far greater than the item has actually cost to post and the stock answers of Handling or Packing Materials (usually a second hand jiffy), so looking at the printed stamp what do I see? Cost of postage of £4.41 and I paid 10% of order, something around £2.50. What a class act! They are at Derby in just under two weeks time and I am sure to pop onto their stand, thank them for the service and hand over more coinage for more bases, what more can be said?

Inside the box. that's a lot of bases. I only had enough sent to base my Prussian and French (yes more than I need but I plan on getting more French!) and have not ordered any for my Ancients as unsure what size bases to use as awaiting contact with some of my old playing pals.

The bases are all uniformly cut and dust free so can be used straight from the box. I have already based up 26 units, more on this later and very happy with the look and feel. I will never go back to cardboard again and for the price it really makes sense to go this route. The time saved alone is worth the cost. Now all I need to do is base up over 100 Prussian units and finish painting and base about 60 French and all before Derby. Well I will settle for half that.

Yes it's a deep box as well! Whilst waiting for the bases to arrive I started painting the French Lancers, I had 5 Regiments for some reason, well I won't be getting any more for awhile whilst I catch up with all the others. More again to follow on a later post.