Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Medieval Adventures => Topic started by: Timbor on 20 August 2012, 04:32:18 AM
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Having not yet tried my brush with any historical miniatures, I decided to jump on the boat with the Dux Britanniarum pre-order. I was even fortunate enough to get a free Arthur figure! After having read the rules, I am keen to give it a try, but alas, I have no opponents at the moment ;D
What would be the best way to attract new players? My thought exactly - have two painted armies! Thus my quest begins. I have set myself a lofty goal to paint up a Romano-British and a Saxon force by mid-October. Doable? Perhaps, though I will really have to buckle down. So far I have completed one unit of 6 Milites, and a unit of 6 Comanipulares. The Comanipulares do not yet have shields, as I am awaiting the LBM transfers before I get them finished.
On to the pictures!
For the Milites, I had received a lot of GB late romans that I felt would fit the bill. The had already been painted (poorly) and for these I decided to try and paint over them. While it turned out OK, I am not entirely happy with the results and for my other unit the models have already been stripped and reprimed. The sculpts themselves are not too stellar IMO, which means they need a bit more TLC to make shine. Seeing as I am on a deadline, I settled for something closer to tabletop standard.
(http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n187/Timbor/Historical%20Miniatures/DSC04428.jpg)
(http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n187/Timbor/Historical%20Miniatures/DSC04429.jpg)
(http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n187/Timbor/Historical%20Miniatures/DSC04430.jpg)
Next, my Comanipulares, are BTD armoured late romans which I acquired in their latest 50% off everything sale :D. They painted up quite nicely, and for the price I say the detail is great. The faces are quite expressive, and take to painting pretty well! Its definitely easier to get a nicer result when you aren't painting over a sub-par paintjob!
(http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n187/Timbor/Historical%20Miniatures/DSC04431.jpg)
(http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n187/Timbor/Historical%20Miniatures/DSC04432.jpg)
(http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n187/Timbor/Historical%20Miniatures/DSC04433.jpg)
All in all they were pretty easy to paint, and I look forward to starting on the rest of them. I have about 8 weeks to paint 70 more figures, so here's to hoping it just gets easier from this point forward! ;)
I will have these pictures up on my blog (http://mylifeinmm.blogspot.ca/) soon enough as well, along with some more discussion about the game. All in due time!
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Great start, i'll be following this thread
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Nice work. Like max I have set this thread for notification. 8)
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I've been painting BTD Trojans, and I feel the same way about them. Great poses, and they seem to love being painted! ::) Great results!
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Nice work!
Joining the bandwagon and following your progress, too.
Best of luck!
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What would be the best way to attract new players?
Great work, I think that if the quality of your painting alone will be enough to attract an opponent
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Fine work.
Nothing wrong with your paint overs.
They look great.
Look forward to see how you progress.
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Thanks guys, I hope the next batch turn out even better :D
Now, just to wait for the rest of my transfers and shields and bases/trays to arrive in the mail!
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Looking fab! I really like what you have done with the faces, and looking forward to seeing the shields on those comanipulares.
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It has been a while, but please rest assured, I have been productive in my absence! lol (Though perhaps not as productive as I would have wanted...)
My Romano-British army is coming along well. The Milites, Comanipulares, and about half of the levy are finished (save for a few spears on the levy). Some photographic evidence is neccessary, I would presume?
(http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n187/Timbor/Historical%20Miniatures/DSC04490.jpg)
(http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n187/Timbor/Historical%20Miniatures/DSC04484.jpg)
(http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n187/Timbor/Historical%20Miniatures/DSC04485.jpg)
(http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n187/Timbor/Historical%20Miniatures/DSC04487.jpg)
The levy were pretty fun to paint - the are West Wind miniatures that I got in their recent sales. While I found West Wind's communications and their shipping policies to be lacking, the miniatures arrived ok. My main concern was that the flash was rather heavy, and there are a few of the poses that have horrible splotches of miscast areas about 5mm wide. These are around the left hand and belt area, safely hidden behind the shield. Still disconcerting though when you are trying to prepare them for painting. On the plus side the heads look great, and give a nice finish! With the heads being separate, it allows for more options if not making the assembly more fiddly.
(http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n187/Timbor/Historical%20Miniatures/DSC04489.jpg)
(http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n187/Timbor/Historical%20Miniatures/DSC04488.jpg)
There are also a couple Crusader (I think) arthurians in there for good measure.
Movement trays are from Warbases. They also have silly shipping policies where they were charging me 50% or more of my order for international shipping. They were kind enough to refund the difference/overcharge, but it is certainly a put-off when compared to 4ground, from whom I ordered some of my other basing needs and have more reasonable shipping charges. In fact, if they had the movement trays I wanted, I would have ordered everything from them.
Here is a group shot:
(http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n187/Timbor/Historical%20Miniatures/DSC04492.jpg)
I have a few more pics and discussion on my blog (http://mylifeinmm.blogspot.ca/) if you care to stop by. Hopefully the rest of the levy will be done soon!
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Very nice :-*
The basing is very effective and does look like parts of unkempt England 8)
cheers
James
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Goodly work 8) 8) 8)
Darrell.
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Looking good! I'm just about to sit down and get my 2 forces figured out. This should provide the incentive I need!
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Thanks guys! The figures are pretty nice to paint up, nice and straightforward. I just gotta keep the momentum going so I can actually finish both armies for once :D
The Saxons are a mix of GB and foundry, but I think I might have to spring for some of the new Saxon hero sulpts from Musketeer miniatures.
Very nice :-*
The basing is very effective and does look like parts of unkempt England 8)
cheers
James
Nice to hear that, James. I have never been to England, so I am glad my basing fits the image.
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Nice to hear that, James. I have never been to England, so I am glad my basing fits the image.
I'm originally from the Lake District and there are several places that your basing reminds me of 8)
cheers
James
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Looking very good indeed!!! I also really like West Wind figures and have several in my Dux Brit levy units (and my WAB Arthurian armies in general)
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It has been a little while, but my hands have not been completely idle. Fall brings with it hunting season here, and that eats up much of my brush time (not that I really mind ;))
I have finished most of my arthurian force. Just have my archers and commanders to paint up. Here is a group shot of the levy:
(http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n187/Timbor/Historical%20Miniatures/DSC04550.jpg)
and a closeup of the leading figures from each unit:
(http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n187/Timbor/Historical%20Miniatures/DSC04554.jpg)
I am quite behind schedule on getting both armies up and painted, but really, what hobby plan ever gets done on time? I do have my Saxons mounted on bases, so perhaps November will see more progress?
There are some more pictures and closeups on my blog if you care to take a look: http://mylifeinmm.blogspot.ca/
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Well, I did not forget about this project. In fact, I had some Saxons painted before Christmas. I just didn't bother posting them until I had some more to show!
I have painted 3 groups of Saxon warriors - a mix of Foundry and GB metals, with the odd GB drunken viking snuck in for good measure.
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VckSkBTfbhw/UT6WlCz27XI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/T40pVCDUhlA/s1600/Saxon+group.JPG)
A closeup of the 3 groups:
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dQPDRItypXQ/UT6WljqmV_I/AAAAAAAAAIc/kPE_RJYA9VA/s1600/Saxon+u1.JPG)
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IQk_CPGY_s0/UT6Wl8vtl7I/AAAAAAAAAIk/bIZrBT-fpXI/s1600/Saxon+u2.JPG)
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-h0UZcKV_ZRQ/UT6WmEnUt1I/AAAAAAAAAIs/1CAqSP62VJI/s1600/Saxon+u3.JPG)
I am quite happy with how they turned out - painting time was roughly an hour or less per miniature. I don't measure that closely, and sometimes I lapse into prolonged periods of staring at my painting desk while doing nothing. lol
I have decided to try my Saxons and Arthurians out using SAGA rules first, as I think they will be easier to teach newcomers (so far nobody in my direct area is too interested in historical gaming... they all want their warmahordes and 40k-mobiles). Any suggestions on which battleboard I should use for the Arthurians and which I should use for the Saxons? (I have all the expansions. so 12 boards to choose from)
Also, I have some closeups of a few of my favourite models on my blog if you care to take a look!
http://mylifeinmm.blogspot.ca/
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Cool looking armies, well done! 8)
Regarding SAGA, we played Romans with the Anglo-Saxon battle board and their Germanic opponents with the original Viking one. Worked well enough. Haven't seen Raven's Shadow yet, possibly another option in there.
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Nice update. They are really looking good. How close are you to finishing out your starter armies?
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Thanks!
For the Romans, I have to finish the 4 skirmishers and the warlord and his 3 champions.
For the Saxons, I have to finish the 4 skirmishers, the warlord and his 3 champions, and the two units of 6 hearthguard.
If I want to use them as 4pt SAGA warbands, I just need to paint both warlords.
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Good deal. The movement bases are very nice. Did you make or buy them?
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Thanks! I bought them from warbases in the UK, but will likely make my own in the future - their shipping costs were somewhat ridiculous, and they gave you no discount for large orders. 4ground supplements the shipping costs on large orders, and their stuff is really cheap. They just don't make skirmish trays for this size. I got my mdf bases from 4ground.
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:o
This project is really starting to come together.
Both armies look fantastic and the bases are indeed superb!
:-* :-* :-*
Looking forward to the next update.
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Lovely figures Timbor!
I really need to look at the West Wind figures again for my levies. Did you solely use the Rmano British ones or are there a few Irish figures in there as well?
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Thanks! The levy are all the Romano-British from West Wind, with about 3 Crusader figures mixed in the lot. The West Wind figures are nice, but there was a good amount of flash that needed clearing during assembly. There were a couple spots that were miscast/the flash obscured detail, but that was on the belt behind the shield, so it doesn't really affect the presentation of the figure. The separate heads are nice, but a tad fiddly. If I were to do a full army, I might do some with separate heads, but for the rest single pose is a bit more convenient, IMO.
I do have some of the West Wind Irish spearmen, but have not done anything with them yet. I have a bunch of Crusader Irish with whom I plan to make a warband, so the West Wind Irish will likely not see action for a while yet. Funny that the website does not have pictures for them. Perhaps I should post some up in the future...