Santa Clause 2016 Outgoing

Obviously I will not be doing a Secret Santa Outgoing post LOL but this one I can. Last year my target got a really good present so I knew I had to put in some effort but that's cool.

I did the usual reading of my targets blog until I found something I thought I could do. Gary is working on a Napoleonic French army using AB Miniatures so a look on their site brought up a set of six ADC figures and I thought that would make a good choice.

I now know that AB produce some rather fine highly detailed figures and the ADC's certanly are no exception. 

They were not too difficult to clean up though the mould lines were rather prominent. Still prep time was not too long and I primed them in black.

I used a file of ADC images to paint these up so they are reasonably accurate. I have also left the bases plain brown so Gary can base them up as he see's fit. I don't know if he will use them with command figures or as just table furniture.

I was trying to paint these up to match Gary's style though in the end they were mostly how I would do them so was rather unsuccessful in that.

They were a challenge to paint as my Napoleonic painting has all been 6mm except a few 10mm and 20mm figures a few years ago. 

You will have to forgive the photo's as I only had the one shot at them as I needed to get them into the post and the winters sun was making it interesting.

I'm just glad I don't have a whole army to paint as they rival many a 28 for detail and it seems a chime not to paint it in. 

This ones one of my favourite  and was one of the first I painted. I painted them one at a time and mostly did not repeat colours to try and keep them looking that bit different from each other.

Typically they were a lot of fun to paint, though towards the end I was starting to clock watch as the days ticked by as I wanted then to arrive before the real Christmas rush set in.

Fortunately I managed to get them done in time and had just enough spare time to really enjoy the finish.

So another fun Santa Clause for me and I am already looking forward to next years event were not even out of 2015 yet.

Talking of which, I hope you all have a great New Year which brings you just the right amount of painting and gaming.

A Little Reading Top Up

Christmas has been good to me on the reading front too. I have to admit to having picked Incomparable, To War With Wellington and Kursk for Cath but she picked the Iain Gale novels as I am close to finishing the Sharpe books and am almost up to bate with the Uthred books.

The surprise of them all was Death Before Glory, my nephew bought this for ma, it's about the Napoleonic period but covers the British in the West Indies and as such something I know very little about. It looks to be fascinating and will be next up after Incomparable. So well done James  for a star find and it looks to be a very pleasant few months of new books to work through.

Incoming Secret Santa 2015

My Secret Santa present has something in common with my Santa Clause. This being the present can and will be used with my kids. Both my son and daughter both rather like our cowboy games and these wonderful gifts will add that bit more to our games.

I received a rather splendid privy by 4Ground but to really add an extra level of fun I also received a man to sit on said toilet! No doubt my daughter will make all the right disgusted noises when someone (most likely The Boy) discovers the busy cowboy.

I also have a general purpose wagon that will sit along side the one I have already from Warbases. This is very welcome as having multiple wagons will really set the scene so much better. It will hopefully also get me to make up the other buildings I have in hand as well.

The wagon can be left unloaded allowing the odd target to climb into the wagon or I can use these crates and barrels etc to fill them. 

Last up was a Belt Fed miniatures lady, something I hope to paint up for the challenge as my lady entry perhaps? It's a nice casting so I will be looking forward to getting some paint on her.

So as you can tell I did rather better than all right, indeed I have to say I am very happy. Items I would not have got myself any time soon but all of which I am so much better for having which is exactly what I like about Secret Santa. And just like last year I plan to get all these presents assembled and painted sooner rather than later and then it's out with the figures and another fun packed game. The only question is will it be this or Saga first?

Santa Clause 2016 Incoming

I have to say that I am really pleased with my gifts both for Secret Santa and Santa Clause, both excelled this year. Tonight I will post about my Santa Clause painted gift and hopefully tomorrow regarding my Secret Santa. Sorry for the delay but I was back at work Boxing Day till 6pm so was too tired to post yesterday.

Rusty has a four part series (more to be added) regarding the construction and painting of these figures which is great for me as it shows the conversion work he has done. You can find his blog Blackriver Wargames Society here. Not sure how to follow as the blog does not seem to have the typical follow button or follow by email.

As you can see the detail painting is fabulous and even has colour in the eyes! Certainly an upgrade on my painting standard and my Saga army will be lead by these great figures in the future.

The detail is just wonderful, I really like the crisp pattern to the tunic whilst the pointy guy happens to be a little more subtle in decoration but no less impressive.

I also love the detail of the severed head, it's not over the top with the gore and the pale flesh just looks perfect. I can't exaggerate how happy I was to open such a great looking base on Christmas day. So a big thank you to you Rusty.

Happy Christmas To You All.

My old Christmas Dwarf

By the time you read this I am assuming I will have watched the kids open their presents and in turn have opened mine including the much awaited Santa Clause and Secret Santa items. I really love the whole concept and I can't wait to see the reactions of not just my targets but of others who also have taken part this year.

Of course I may well have other hobby related items though most of the rest I will have had more of an hand in so probably no real surprises. Not that I will be on my computer much (if at all) on the big day as I am back to work on Boxing Day so will be spending much of the day playing with the kids. Indeed more or less a rerun of Christmas Eve but with new toys :-)

So whatever you are doing (or did) I hope it's a most pleasant day for you and yours.

Persian Command Stand

With me playing a little more Hail Caesar recently and the increase in the number of units I decided I really needed another command stand. The other three have served me well for more years than I care to think about.

As such I thought it would be a great first entry in this years Analogue Painting Challenge. Rather than sticking with the other heavily cloaked versions I have gone for a more heavily armoured type given that I have a number of such cavalry units within my collection.

Most feedback from the post for the challenge has been about how bright they are. I guess playing with Loki and Kev is starting to rub off on me. It was not a concious effort nor was I overly perceptive to the end result. Still I like the look of them so may well try the same style before the challenge ends.

The figures are the good old Chariot Miniatures as supplied by Magister Militum, I have another three possible command stands to paint up at some point, two Seleucid and one Macedonian. Only the latter is not Chariot and I also have rather a lot of Greek Hoplites and Persian Heavy Cavalry so you will be seeing more of this supplier over the coming months.

Clearing up the Table

I wanted to get my painting table cleared of half painted mini's before the challenge started, not that I tend to have many half painted figures as I normally just paint to completion but I did have a few.

This is another figure for use in roleplaying with the kids but this ones for Cath. Her only instruction at the start was that the inside of the cloak had to be a bright red, well put a tick in that box!

Later Cath mentioned that she now wanted the main colour to be a form of blue which I kind of went for but with grey being the main influence. In the end she rather likes it which is good enough for me. I really liked how the colours came together in the end.

The figure is a Reaper model cast in metal and was a joy to work on. I painted the sword up black as I wanted it to seem like it's magically enhanced so as not to show in the dark.