Jagannath's 15mm Desert Fantasy (Bandits! 6/1/19)

[DavyJones]

Amazing.

[Jagannath]

Thanks all!

A really evocative concept which you are realising with brushwork that has me grinding my teeth in envy. Have you settled on a rule-set yet?

I think it'll vary depending on the games I want to play... LotR SBG, Crom and Pulp Alley likely candidates.

My sand tiles to represent a souk or pther narrow desert streets (or the corridors and halls of a desert temple) are almost finished:



They're still a touch glossy but I'll do another matte coat once I've stuck a few moss pads of flock on - I like the final matte coat to help to stick them down. I'm clearly in debt to Matakishi here - no pretending otherwise. There's a couple of chaps on 18mm bases and a camel on a 25mm (unfinished) to give a sense of scale.



On reflection the paving slabs are too big, but I don't think that will matter once I've built up some street furniture and scatter terrain.

[Hobgoblin]

These look terrific - and I wouldn't worry about the slabs being too big. I've run a few D&D sessions recently using 28mm floorplans with 15mm miniatures, and they always look fine. In fact, I reckon they look better than with 28mm figures, somehow, because everything seems less cramped and thus less artificial.

You could get a brilliant city-based game going with some sort of random street generator. I'm sure there is such a thing somewhere, but it would be quite easy to make one, I'm sure. The Vornheim RPG city supplement has some sort of random generator, but I forget how applicable it would be to miniatures games; it might be a bit too abstract. I could see chases and ambushes and much gleeful demolition of souk stalls and angry protestation of merchants ...

[Jagannath]

Thanks very much - what floorplans do you use? I could do with some indoor ones.

I downloaded Vornheim ages ago (I think you told me about it when I first started posting about these), I'll have a look later.

I suspect their first outing will actually be sci-fi - I've got more street furniture. I like the idea that models can use corners as cover too, should make for interesting gun fights. I'm trying to work out the best way to make the larger square next, and what to do about modelling some permanent features on it.

For the fantasy street furniture I'll be building it on some bases with right angles so they slot nicely in to corner etc. My Magister Militum order of Baueda bits arrived today, so all being well I can start on those over the next few evenings.

I need to make some small stalls and maybe a small fountain too.

[Jagannath]

Another post!

Managed to get a matte coat on these 5 civilians for my Souk tiles



I've written a bit more about then on the blog, but I'm really pleased to have them finished. I carried on experimenting with a solely layering method (no washes) as per my current Old West thread, which reaffirms my feeling that the issue with those cowboys is more the sculpts than the painting style choice. These work much better I think.

My Crom's Anvil Crom-funder arrived, so I'll be painting up some Copplestone Picts next I think to accompany the new Crom's anvil minis.

[Hobgoblin]

Thanks very much - what floorplans do you use? I could do with some indoor ones.

I just use some official D&D ones I got over Amazon. They're far from perfect - not least because they have lots of 2D features (fountains, beds, tables, etc.) on one side. But they do the job. I noticed that in guard barracks and the like, the 28mm beds look appropriately sized for 15mm miniatures; maybe not if you look too closely, but no one does. I mix them up with the odd surviving Advanced Heroquest room and the like.

The civilians look great. The layering technique's working well: they look both "clean" and striking.

[Jagannath]

Ah OK - keep meaning to buy some and never know which.

Thanks very much - "clean and striking" is exactly what I'm going for, so I'll take that!

[Captain Blood]

Nice painting Rory 

[Jagannath]

Thank you kindly - hopefully we can compare Picts soon! Do you still need those extra poses? I ended up buying a new pack so I may well have the ones you need now...

[Captain Blood]

Oooh, yes please - if you have those as duplicates. That’d be lovely. How do the Forged In Battle figures compare in terms of size, stature and quality? I was looking at their Celtic villagers pack as possible generic Northern civilians for Hyboria...

[Jagannath]

I'll pop a couple of ancient Germans in with the Picts so you can check them out. I Really like the FiB range - similar height, a little more delicate but really nice. I'll drop you a PM for your address.

[Jagannath]

Hullo folks,

Having asked about ideas for Cylopean ruins in another thread (which I'm definitely going to continue - I suspect Hirst Arts blocks'll be the winner) I decided to pick up some cork block walls I half-bothered started ages ago and did some more work on them. These are scaled to be 'normal' 15mm - though the blocks are quite big - so will just be regular desert ruins;



The floor needs a bit more detailing work and will be finished in a oretty similar style to the desert tiles I've already posted. Lovely amphorae from Baueda btw, great for some simple extra details.

I also just received these 3



who'll populate the cyclopean ruins once I eventually sort them

I love the idea of a ruined desert city complex populated by degenrate men-monsters. I think of them as ape-ish, clambering around and spying on the tiny interlopers from afar. I need a pile of 15mm skulls to decorate them too, and too make them a lair. I'm sort of imagining a combination of the naughty tribe from the Peter Jackson's King Kong, The Cyclops in Sinbad and cavemen, all inhabiting a mix of Old Valyria and desert ruins like this:



but built by 10 foot tall giant.

In my mind there's a sort of exploratory concept to - a huge, complex cyclopean ruined city (with temples, streets, houses, labyrinths etc.) that the desert has reclaimed. Small, human townships have moved in to some areas (perhaps because the ancient city walls are s tall and protective) and squat amongst certain areas. It's almost post apocalypse I suppose.


Anyway - these first ruins aren't that, they're just desert ruins but if nothing else they're a proof of concept for a bigger set.

[Severian]

Looking good - very interested in where you go with all this.

I'm with you on the appeal of lost Cyclopean cities half-buried in desert sands - all those hints in Dunsany, Lovecraft &c &c. Great stuff!

I think I have some of those amphorae somewhere (they got an outing in a game of Crom! a year or two ago, IIRC) and they are indeed very well done. Where are your ladders from?

[Jagannath]

Thanks! The ladders are plastruct HO ladders - I *might* wrap some cotton thread around the corners of the rungs to make them look more old fashioned, but I might just paint them wooden and be happy.

[Oldben1]

That's it.  I'm convinced this would work for the streets of Mos Eisley.

I'm going to start working on it this weekend.