The Grumpy Gnome‘s Fantasy Projects Blog (latest update on page 61)

[Grumpy Gnome]

Thanks for the kind words folks, it really helps motivate me. I suppose I miss the buzz of getting likes on Facebook.

[Grumpy Gnome]

I think I have found our Cave Drake. A very inexpensive EBay win. Once the wings are removed and some greenstuff sculpting done I think it may work.

And I am almost done with the next batch of minis... here is a preview of works in progress....

I took a gamble the Flintloque bandits would work for the Bree area. Some modifications required, such as hiding the maille armor on one of them. I try to make the minis as much as possible “what you see is what you get”.

This GW Bretonnian is one of the only ones I have with no armor or helm. I had to hide his little shield badges though as my wife immediately spotted them and thought they looked like they should have heraldry on them... and therefore looked less like a bandit or ruffian. It was supposed to be a rabbit’s foot to cover the one on his chest but that is one big rabbit, so maybe it is a trophy from a wolf.

[Golgotha]

That dragon certainly has potential. Can't wait to see it revitalised.

[Grumpy Gnome]

I wish my photography skills could do my minis justice. This last batch of Ruffians are some of my best work I think. The Orcs are ok but the Ruffians.... I am really pleased with the conversions, kitbashing, greenstuff and brushwork. Not as good as many of the artists on this forum but I hope you folks like them. As always feedback is welcome!

[Grumpy Gnome]

... and.... I also finished the mounted version of my Black Numenorean converted from a damaged Nazgul mini. I think it will be an upgrade for my Minas Morgul Battle Company leader.

... and...  the wings came off that Dragon much easier than I thought....

.... and I need to get these Ziterdes buildings ready for this weekend. We got them used on eBay for a great price and a lot of the painting work has been done by either Ziterdes or the previous owner but there is a bit still to do. In particular I am not sure about the blue windows. I am thinking yellows and oranges to reflect the idea that they are lit from within. Any one have any suggestions on that?

[CookAndrewB]

Great additions. I'm a big fan of the guy with a missing hand. Seems a simple thing, but somehow I've never considered it before.

Buildings look great too. Frankly, I think the only time you would have windows lit from within would be night, and most gaming boards aren't staged as if the game takes place at night. It is hard to see from the pictures, but if the blue isn't too bright (it doesn't appear to be) then I would either leave it or perhaps paint the window panes in a grey palette as a compromise? Dark grey base with lighter grey/white reflection points, perhaps. 

[Grumpy Gnome]

Thanks mate. I do not think that I would have considered the one hand idea if I had not seen that arm already done like that in my bits box. The nub just looked the part the moment I saw it. I am not sure how it got like that. It looked too smooth to have been cut and filed.

Yeah, fair point on the yellow windows. I have been looking at masses of 28mm painted building photos and it is easy to get yellow windows looking too cartoonish.

[CookAndrewB]

Thanks mate. I do not think that I would have considered the one hand idea if I had not seen that arm already done like that in my bits box. The nub just looked the part the moment I saw it. I am not sure how it got like that. It looked too smooth to have been cut and filed.

Yeah, fair point on the yellow windows. I have been looking at masses of 28mm painted building photos and it is easy to get yellow windows looking too cartoonish.

I have considered the look of interior lit windows as well, and the problem is that the window itself doesn't become yellow, but you see the reflection of light on objects in the room. So a curtain would become backlit, but that would mostly be alternating darker/lighter vertical stripes, right? It is a pretty complex painting compared to a basic idea of reflection on the outside of a window. Something like a candle in a window would mostly be black but for the candle flame, and any nearby surface the candle light would reflect off of. I think it would all look very cool if executed correctly, but I'm not certain I have the painting chops to pull that off.  I am quite capable of making a basic "jewel" painting on a window pane to make it look like it has some depth and reflection.

[Grumpy Gnome]

Our first battle report.... for the first scenario of our first Battle Companies campaign!

A quick scenario held whilst our son napped, it was a learning experience for both me and my wife. Mistakes were made, lessons learned.

If you are curious you can read about it and the house rules we used in our latest blog entry.

https://thegrumpygnome.home.blog/2020/05/02/and-so-it-begins-our-first-battle-companies-campaign/

Basically we did a modified version of the first narrative scenario in the second edition version of the Battle Companies book, replacing Bree with a more generic village. My wife’s Elves were jumped by a band of Ruffians. It did not go as expected...

[Grumpy Gnome]

And we had our second match today, where the Forces of Evil get their shot at the Ruffians of Old Oak... or rather the Ruffians get their shot at our Villains from Minas Morgul!

https://thegrumpygnome.home.blog/2020/05/03/from-minas-morgul/

As usual more info on my blog but happy to discuss things here.

[Golgotha]

I do not know about Grumpy Gnome... I think your a lucky Gnome - what with a wife that wargames and terrain like that...

Particularly like the root looking bare tree in the foreground. keep em coming otherwise I will be grumpy...

[Launets]

This is one of my favourite threads!
And now that you've started with the battle reports it has become even better! Keem 'em coming!

[Grumpy Gnome]

Thanks for the kind words. I was wondering if folks really wanted to read about our continuing project or not since there had been little response to the battle reports here or on the blog. My wife quite liked taking the photos but my taking notes during the games distracts me and the time I take online writing about all this is time I am not painting and building. I do not really want to keep doing it unless people get something out of it. My vanity only goes so far...

[Golgotha]

I share your sentiments. At the end of the day we are here because of modelling and wargaming so painting miniatures should always be the most important priority. Just make sure you share pictures of them with us from time to time...

[Launets]

Thanks for the kind words. I was wondering if folks really wanted to read about our continuing project or not since there had been little response to the battle reports here or on the blog. My wife quite liked taking the photos but my taking notes during the games distracts me and the time I take online writing about all this is time I am not painting and building. I do not really want to keep doing it unless people get something out of it. My vanity only goes so far...

Generally speaking the AARs is what I love the most about wargaming, I usually try to check all of them out here on Lead Adventure, because it's so fun and intriguing to see what different people come up with in terms of scenarios characters and even homebrew rules. It gives me a lot of inspiration, and most of the times it even tells a nice short story. Of course even the minis pictures are always nice and good enough, but I have a really soft spot for the battle reports with pics