31 March 2018

Marshing into April

No more marsh-y themed minis for March. I'm still working on stripping the paint from those old Marauder trolls, and looking for the remaining two that I still don't have.  In the meantime, I am soaking the other four in some Dawn Power Dissolver, at the recommendation of Blue. My usual go-to, Simple Green, just wasn't cutting it this time.



I did manage to strip, prime and start on the MM41 ogre that finally completes my collection.

While that's all going down, I also, miraculously quick, finished the Westfalia goat knights!


Although I do think I will be turning one of these into a standard bearer at some point. Or maybe I will try to get a few more to create a standard, champion, and musician...

So with Big April coming up, I'm looking forward to...




Giants! (And the above-mentioned ogre.) A bit ambitious, and slightly out of focus it seems. First will be finishing the paint on the Warploque giant. While that's going on, I will prep the other two -- from Heresy and Otherworld.

IF, by some miracle that all gets done, I have more in mind. I would still REALLY like to sculpt my own giant. Given the timing, that's been on my mind again and I think I've got a decent picture in my head of that I want to do. Also, I've got some more giants here, still waiting to be painted. I have several of the Reaper Bones giants from their last KS. These are a bit larger than the older sculpts, and in fact one is a resculpt of one I've previously painted.

I've also got the extra heads from the Otherworld giant. The web site says to select one, but they ended up sending all three. I could try to magnetize them so they're swapable. Or maybe I can work out a way to get an extra giant out of the deal...


...oooooor maybe not.


24 March 2018

Sellswords and Spellslingers


I bought another new set of rules, Sellswords and Spellslingers from Ganesha Games.

I bought the PDF because I've read a lot of good things about it as a solo game recently. After reading the rules I ordered the printed cards. Given my recent problems with space and time (no, not in a metaphysical, Eternal Champion kind of way... gaming space and time to play) I thought it would be worth a try. If it goes well, it might be fun try it as a cooperative game as well. It's a skirmish game, so it won't quite fulfill my quest for more "big battle" games. But it will be something.


It will also be a good excuse to put a bunch of individual and small groups of minis to use. Motivation to paint up some more odds and ends -- individuals and small groups, without worrying about large regiments.  I also like that it's got a built-in campaign system.

Now I'm revved up to build a 36"x36" gaming table. I have a 34"x34" folding table, so I figure I can build a wood frame out to 36" square and either top with plywood or infill with insulation, and give it some texture and paint pretty quickly & inexpensively. That could slide right on top of the folding table.

And... maybe I should try the game out first before getting carried away. Haha.

Grail Found - MM Ogre



I have been searching for this miniature for long years. Finally got one!


"We've been waiting for you..."


Everything on my painting table has now been pushed aside.  I can finally complete my MM Ogre regiment/collection!

19 March 2018

Bog Corpses



Finished ten test subjects. The lighting in the photos doesn't do them justice, unfortunately. I was going to leave the eyes dark, but thought they needed something to contrast with the rest of the dark color scheme. Again, going back to Mr. Saturday's minis, I liked the glowing eyes, so swiped that idea, but I wanted a fiery look to mine. Minis are built from Mantic zombie & ghoul bits.


The inspiration comes from the real world bog bodies (pic By Commander-pirx at de.wikipedia - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11778254). Some of the bodies that have been recovered are suspected of being disposed of intentionally, for a variety of proposed reasons.


At any rate, back to my Fomorians... I will present the background in a better format later, but the gist is to twist the GW Fimir story a bit and not really related (as far as I can tell) to the mythological Fomorians.

The/my Fomorians are ancient, and slow to reproduce. This is due, in part, to the fact that they multiply through ritual sacrifice and primal magics of the elements of earth and water, flesh and blood... More stolen ideas, partially from the background for the goblins in Crucible. Essentially they make a sacrifice, toss it into the bog, and hope that when they come back in a few days the body & spirit have transformed into a new Fomorian. The magic is as unreliable as it is ancient. Failed sacrifices are not a complete loss, however. Many Dirach & Meargh are able to animate (more on that later) these failed sacrifices in times of need, which have been ritually disposed of in the bogs around the Fomirian settlements.

In terms of gaming & rules... without getting into the details, my ideas are sort of undeady, but closer to what are usually classified as ghouls rather than zombies. But not really either of those. Ghouls are going to be my starting point in terms of most gaming rules, though.



17 March 2018

St. Patrick's Day KoW



Played in a three round Kings of War tournament at Recess Games. 2500 points this afternoon.

In keeping with the holiday, I fielded my (Irish myth inspired) Fomorians using the ogre army rules. I had to field 2 giants, the bog demon (as a mammoth), and a unit of allied half-orcs (as humans.) I used the recently painted bog trolls as hunters. So still all themed with the army, just not exactly what I would have liked to field.

Lost all three games & came in dead last. (Further thoughts on my consistent crap performance in KoW in a future update...) But I had a good time & got best painted award. A few pics of my games...


Game 1 vs. Abyssals




Game 2 vs. Undead




Game 3 vs. Abyssal Dwarfs


 

12 March 2018

Marshing On...



I didn't expect to paint the trolls so quickly, so I didn't really have any further plans for the Month of Marsh. So I'm going to jump ahead to something that has been way down low on my list of priorities but came to mind for several reasons...


Animated bog corpses. I've quickly assembled ten for a quick test paint.

I've seen something similar done before (see Mr. Saturday...) Mine will be a bit different in appearance and background.

They should be quick to paint. They can fit with my Fomorians and (possibly) with my undead. I've also realized that I could use more lightweight rank & file for the Fomorians, without resorting to the Shearl idea from the WFB Fimir. As much as I am looking forward to seeing my half-orcs on the gaming table (I've become fond of those minis!) I would have preferred a couple of small units of bog corpses for KoW this weekend.

So I think it will be bog corpses for the remainder of Marsh. Unless I decide to unleash the paint on... Goremaw!


11 March 2018

KoW in a Week


Photo of most of what I plan on fielding for KoW next weekend. Not quite enough Fomorians/Fimir, so I'm using the trolls I just painted, going heavy on the big guys, and (not pictured) a regiment of half orc allies. (Using the KoW ogre list, with human allies for the half-orcs.)


Click photo to enlarge, as usual.




10 March 2018

Six Trolls and Some Bird Boats

Finished the sixth troll. These were so much fun to paint.



Now that I've got these done, I can use them next week in some 2500 pt. Kings of War games. I'm going to (prematurely) field my Fimir Fomorians One-Eyed Swamp Ogres. Using the ogre list, these will act as ogre hunters. I think it works... All my Fimm & Fianna ogres will be straight up ogre Warriors. These bog trolls Hunters will be more lightly armored, and will have the pathfinder and ensnare rules. So they're not "equivalents" to the actual ogre fluff, but the rules sort of make sense. To me, at least.

In addition to the warriors & hunters, I will field some Moor Hounds as red goblin scouts (basic light, fast cavalry), the Bog Demon as a mammoth, and a couple of giants as.... giants! I'll have a couple of characters, and to make up the last bit of points, I will field a regiment of half-orcs using them as humans from the Kingdoms of Men list.

Not an ideal list, but it's what I can field of an army vaguely inspired, once removed, by Irish myth on St. Patrick's Day.

Also wrapped up some high elves for a friend (other than needing to add some snow to the bases)...




05 March 2018

Marsh 2018


Working on bog trolls instead of Fomorians/Fimir for the Month of Marsh 2018. Progress so far...


There is a KoW tournament on St. Patrick's Day. Although it's premature, I am tempted to scrape together a force of everyone's favorite one eyed swamp bastards (plus guests) as a sort of themed army.