Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => The Great War => Topic started by: Plynkes on February 03, 2008, 07:43:15 PM
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Some of you chaps may know that during December I fell into one of those painting troughs. You know the thing. You just don't feel like painting anything at all, and it all seems so tiresome and doesn't resemble fun in the slightest.
Well, you'll be pleased to hear that from late January the drought has officially ended. I haven't exactly been going at the speed of light, but I've been at least getting stuff on the table. And for me at the moment that's the main thing. Anyway, I thought I'd show off some of the stuff I've been up to.
First up, my Feldrabbiner. I was browsing through one of my Ospreys the other day when I noticed one on a colour plate. I was most annoyed at this typical Osprey behavior. They always like to waste colour plates on random and useless peripheral nonsense when they could include something cool like a bloke with a flame-thrower.
Stupid Osprey! Who the hell is going to want the uniform details of a bloody German Army Rabbi? Then suddenly for some unknown reason I had a Damascene conversion (though I didn't go blind) and so I said "Me, that's who!"
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/Rabbi%20and%20tanks/01Rabbi.jpg)
After all, how many other gamers will have got a Rabbi in their Great War German Army? None, that's how many. He's a rare attempt by me at converting a figure. He has the head of one Brigade German plonked on the body of another, with what I imagined as a suitably rabbinical beard to cover the join. I tried sculpting a proper Star of David to go round his neck but after about an hour of frustration I gave up. Instead I opted for a simple medallion with the star inscribed on it. Historically less accurate, but much easier to sculpt.
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/Rabbi%20and%20tanks/02Rabbiback.jpg)
I could have left him with a standard officer's cap, as both that and the broad-brimmed hat were official uniform for Protestant and Catholic chaplains, and also the 30 rabbis that were in the Kaiser's army. But I thought the brimmed hat would make him stand out a bit more in an early war Western Front setting. Osprey says Rabbis wore a plain red cross armband, rather than the one with the violet band that chaplains wore.
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/Rabbi%20and%20tanks/Rabbis.jpg)
But Grrr! Look at this: After painting him I found two pics of rabbis wearing the standard Chaplain's armband! Bloody Osprey got it wrong again! Never mind, eh?
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/Rabbi%20and%20tanks/03Visitingthefrontline.jpg)
So, something I just felt like making for a laugh. Doesn't really have much of a practical gaming use, but I think he'll make an interesting addition to a command section, and he was fun to make. Here we see him tending to the spiritual needs of some of the troops in the front line. Having finished him I get the feeling he could also double as a Jewish Robert E. Lee, if you ever had need of one of those in some kind of alternative universe setting.
But then I had another thought. You could use him in a Great War Horror game. It is Christmas 1914, and our Rabbi teams up with a British padre and a French soldier-priest to fight something that should not be!
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/Rabbi%20and%20tanks/04TerrorontheWesternFront.jpg)
Here we see Feldrabbiner Maxim-Spellcheck (sorry Maks, just clowning around), Rev. Owen T. Davies of the Welsh Guards and Torchwood, and Abbé Gainsbourg-Birkin of the Prieuré de Sion confronting the horror. The massive bombardments have unearthed something that should have stayed, um ... earthed. Can our heroes prevent it from going on a killing spree that would threaten the Christmas truce?
Note Rev. Davies carries two 'flimsies' with him. One contains holy water, the other communion wine.
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/Rabbi%20and%20tanks/05Vampire.jpg)
A close-up of the horror, for Malamute and any other chaps who are into that kind of thing. Put them away, love. Have you no shame?
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Found some old photos while clearing out Great Uncle Plynkes' stuff the other day:
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/Rabbi%20and%20tanks/Copyof06bBethlehemorbust1c.jpg)
Palestine, 1917. The boys of the Heavy Branch, Machine Gun Corps wait in line for the upcoming big show.
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/Rabbi%20and%20tanks/07bBethlehemorbust2c.jpg)
Another view of the same.
Also found some versions that obviously have undergone some kind of early colourisation process:
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/Rabbi%20and%20tanks/Copyof08Bethlehemorbust1.jpg)
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/Rabbi%20and%20tanks/09Bethlehemorbust2a.jpg)
Some closeups of the figures involved:
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/Rabbi%20and%20tanks/10TankCrew1.jpg)
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/Rabbi%20and%20tanks/11TankCrew2.jpg)
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/Rabbi%20and%20tanks/12LocalWomen1.jpg)
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/Rabbi%20and%20tanks/13LocalWomen2.jpg)
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/Rabbi%20and%20tanks/15Neddy.jpg)
This one was painted just before the slump started in late November, but I thought I'd include him. It's Ned Lawrence in the uniform of an Arab Regular. Generously donated to the cause by Helen. Thanks ever so, Helen!
Also managed these fellows this week. A few more Frenchmen for the Rommel campaign:
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/Rabbi%20and%20tanks/14PantalonsRouges.jpg)
And this lot was done just before the slump hit:
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/Rabbi%20and%20tanks/16Flynnandco.jpg)
Flynn Patrick O' Flynn, Sebastian 'Bassy' Oldsmith, and Flynn's right-hand-man, Mohammed, with some of Flynn's lads. They've slipped over the Rovuma into German East, to nab some of the Kaiser's elephants. He won't miss a few!
Mohammed is played as a rather timid if shrewd character by Ian Holm (Bilbo!) in the film of "Shout at the Devil." But in the book he is a deserter from the Shutztruppen, a former NCO and pretty handy. So I have chosen to represent him with a figure who looks like he can handle himself.
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/Rabbi%20and%20tanks/17Fleischer.jpg)
But someone is on their tail: Flynn's sworn enemy Fleischer!
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/Rabbi%20and%20tanks/18Askari.jpg)
Note the historically dubious but cool-looking NCO's red neckcloth. (It's in the film and I like it, so it stays).
Well, that's it for now. Actually I have been working on something else, but I'm thinking of saving it for a little story type thing. In fact the mucking about with the tank pics was just a bit of practice to see if I could do the necessary photo-shopping without going mad. But enough of that for now.
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Wow, some good stuff there. Never realised that Tesco and Aldi were Middle Eastern companies! :lol:
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Carrier bags get everywhere!
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cool Stuff :)
Like the Rabbis very much and the Girls are nice too.
What is Tesco ??
where do you get Lawrence ?
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Tesco is a supermarket, not that different to Aldi, really (except that in the UK Aldi sells strange and unfamiliar brands, presumably from Germany, which is what makes it a nice place to shop).
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/Rabbi%20and%20tanks/tesco_1.jpg)
Helen was kind enough to give me the Lawrence of Arabia figure. I think he's made by Battle Honours. I might have remembered it wrong, though.
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happy to see you're back on the painting :) some very nice stuff, mate, those woman with plastic bags are brilliant :lol:
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Ned is BH and was sculpted by myself many many moons ago. I still think he is one of my favs.
Paul
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Too right, he's a lovely little figure. And it doesn't matter if he is dwarfed by today's 28-30mm giants, as the real Ned was quite a short-arse anyway, unlike Peter O' Toole who played him in the film.
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You sure those women weren`t shopping in Aylesbury home of the English Jihadi :D
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All nice stuff, especially the Feldrabbiner
i have to ask where did you get the shopping women?
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Absolutely marvelous, Plynkes! As you know I have something similar in mind but that contra-occult (yes, I persist!) alliance of necessity is fantastic.
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Col. Stone: They're Eureka figures. From the 'Abdul's haberdashery stall' set in the Civilians range.
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/eurekahaberdashery.jpg)
I got them from Fighting 15s, the UK distributor for Eureka.
Just started out painting two of them to see if I could manage the whole black burka thing. I thought they would be difficult to paint, but I'm reasonably pleased with how they turned out. I'd better get and paint the rest of the set. They're quite nice Middle East background figures for a whole range of periods (anachonistic shopping bags notwithstanding). Or even for modern multicultural Britain, as Lowtardog pointed out.
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Ahh i thought i had seen them before, very fitting for all kinds of periods indeed
thanks
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All nice stuff, especially the Feldrabbiner
i have to ask where did you get the shopping women?
Eureka Middle Eastern civilians
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Ahh i thought i had seen them before, very fitting for all kinds of periods indeed
thanks
You are thinking what I am aren`t you Col :D
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Just started out painting two of them to see if I could manage the whole black burka thing. I thought they would be difficult to paint, but I'm reasonably pleased with how they turned out.
Yours definitely look better than mine. I was rather uncareful when I painted mine. Won't do. Black may be slimming but is very unforgiving.
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Afghanistan, 1980+ :roll:
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And this lot was done just before the slump hit:
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/Rabbi%20and%20tanks/16Flynnandco.jpg)
Flynn Patrick O' Flynn, Sebastian 'Bassy' Oldsmith, and Flynn's right-hand-man, Mohammed, with some of Flynn's lads. They've slipped over the Rovuma into German East, to nab some of the Kaiser's elephants. He won't miss a few!
Yes, yes, brilliant and all that... But, the big child that I am, I revel in the fact that you made a marker, which I love making, myself, and that it is a great glistening heap of elephant mess at that, which has made my side ache from giggling! Bravo!
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Afghanistan, 1980+ :roll:
:lol: yep
also their Indians would work too
http://www.fighting15sshop.co.uk/index.asp?function=PRODUCTIMAGEWINDOW&closedelay=20000&SRC=/ekmps/shops/fighting15s/images/100civ23.jpg
http://www.fighting15sshop.co.uk/index.asp?function=PRODUCTIMAGEWINDOW&closedelay=20000&SRC=/ekmps/shops/fighting15s/images/100civ24.jpg
http://www.fighting15sshop.co.uk/index.asp?function=PRODUCTIMAGEWINDOW&closedelay=20000&SRC=/ekmps/shops/fighting15s/images/100civ25.jpg
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By the way, this is what those figures are based on:
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/shoutdevil1.jpg)
Couldn't be bothered to shave off Roger Moore's moustache. A real 1913 Roger Moore would have had a moustache anyway.
It's funny how elephant poo always makes people laugh. I have a Warhammer Ancients elephant called Stampy, and he has left a deposit on his base. It is the one thing about him that everyone comments on. He was once quite a sensation.
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Lovely work! Love the tanks and the Tesco and Aldi bags!! :D
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Lowtardog, Col. Stone: Something to bear in mind. In Afghanistan burkas cover the whole face, and are blue.
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/Copyofburkaband.jpg)
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/Copyofburka.jpg)
Also, I'm not sure how common they were in the Soviet/Afghan war period. You might see them out in the sticks, but not in urban areas. It was the Taliban that brought them back with a vengeance.
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Lowtardog, Col. Stone: Something to bear in mind. In Afghanistan burkas cover the whole face, and are blue.
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/Copyofburkaband.jpg)
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/Copyofburka.jpg)
Also, I'm not sure how common they were in the Soviet/Afghan war period. You might see them out in the sticks, but not in urban areas. It was the Taliban that brought them back with a vengeance.
Imagine how stuffy and rank it must get in those synthetic fiber getups. Poor women.
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Didn't know about the blue, thanks,
I think the "hillbillies" would have worn them, all depending on who's in charge in the village/area of course..
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Lowtardog, Col. Stone: Something to bear in mind. In Afghanistan burkas cover the whole face, and are blue.
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/Copyofburkaband.jpg)
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/Copyofburka.jpg)
Also, I'm not sure how common they were in the Soviet/Afghan war period. You might see them out in the sticks, but not in urban areas. It was the Taliban that brought them back with a vengeance.
Thanks Poly I think they are close enough and the indian women would be just as valid for pre-taliban times. From what I have been reading lately there were 7 political parties and 4 were Islamic whilst the others were more tribal so a mish mash would work well as teach of these parties would have commanders with territories under their control and there were 327 in all :D
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Hi Dylan,
Glad to see Lawrence at last in a photo pic and very nicely painted too. I just went to the Ned Lawrence exhibit at the Australian War Memorial where they have on loan from Oxford a number of Ned's Arab garments. I'll be heading back there very soon and will take plenty of Kodak moments and will present photos on forum. There is also a captured flag on display from the 46th Turkish regiment and another flag from the Hidjaz too. There is the jacket and headdress of their commander of the Sharifian regular forces and a number of other items of interest. 8)
Top job on the Rabbi and I love the other figures too. Your not alone with making up figures like the Rabbi and I'm sure there are other folks who view the same way as you do in creating something a little different for the gaming table. In particular, the theme for "Shout at the Devil". I also want to do the German Commissoner and I'll look at him in due time. I've the VHS of the movie and I love watching this from time to time.
I too have had a break from everything and will look to get back into the hobby soon. Too many projects outstanding, but again too many figures awaiting to be released to finish said projects too. However, I do have my craft knife to work on some more conversions. :)
Well done again and my thanks for sharing your story and photos here on this forum.
Best Wishes.
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Thanks, Helen. Glad you liked what I did with your Lawrence. Sorry I took so long to post that picture. He was painted what seems like ages ago (in November, or maybe even October), I just forgot to put up a pic.
Do you think you could get any photos of those flags you mentioned? I've drawn a bit of a blank on Ottoman flags, and have a standard bearer to paint. I have a black and white pic, but no idea about what colours the various elements should be, so the flag I have prepared is completely speculative.
This is what I'm going with at the moment, something I cooked up with a PC graphics application:
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Plynkes/TurkStandard.jpg)
The original also has some Arabic script on it, but the photo doesn't show it in anything like enough detail to replicate it, so I've chosen to ignore it. I did the star green simply because you can tell in the photo that it is a different colour to the other details, but of course I have no idea what colour. I plumped for green as it is a colour that recurs in Islam, if you know what I mean.
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Hi Poly,
The Turkish regimental colour is all in gold arabic style letters (both sides) on a red damask background.
Now I'm sure you have read "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" and how Lawrence was always asking for supporting weapons (page 283); in particular, when ambushing trains. Just to recap, well he received both Lewis guns and Stokes mortars and now with these lovely pieces of equipment he received two sergeant instructors. One an Australian named Yells and aptly named "Lewis" an also an Englishmen named "Brooke" and was given the nickname "Stokes". Both experience men with their favourite toy and were happy to teach their new class of warriors.
May I suggest to add further character to your brave band of merry folk in the desert that you included these lovely gentlemen.
I'll try to and take a photo of one of my regimental colours as well. The pole I received from Castaway Arts. For my regimental colour I gave them tassels from the Front Rank Napoleonic accessories, but not for my Army Standard.
Here is my Army Standard:
(http://[img]http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s266/HelenBachaus/TurkCommand.jpg)[/img]
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Lovely looking stuff Monsieur Poly :) Very nicely painted figures. I like your painting style and the carrier bags - inspiring :lol:
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I think the thing I like best about your painting and modelling is that it's full of humor. Nobody else would have thought to put Tesco and Aldi logos on the bags of a woman coming from the bazaar, and I think a Feldrabbiner conversion is the last thing on most people's minds.
It's those infectious little jokes that keep bringing people back. If you pay close enough attention to what you've been doing (or gaming, or writing), there are those little rewards. So I'm very glad you shared them with us, and I hope you get or stay un-slumped in the future.
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Thanks for the kind words, fellas.
Malamute, the official title of my style is 'Slapdash', but the committee are considering a name-change to 'Copying the Prof.'
More in hope than expectation, it must be said. :)
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I don't know why I didn't comment yesterday when I saw this post the first time but I really like what you have done with these. The guy in the striped robe is probably my favorite but the Rabbi is pretty unique as well. Nice work!
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Thanks for the kind words, fellas.
Malamute, the official title of my style is 'Slapdash', but the committee are considering a name-change to 'Copying the Prof.'
More in hope than expectation, it must be said. :)
You do yourself an injustice. Its not slapdash. I would be very happy to produce that quality and in the same quantity as you have done in january.
I have been suffering from your pre Christmas slump and haven't picked up a paintbrush in months.
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'Slapdash' describes the method, not always the results. As in 'hasty and careless in execution' or 'In a reckless and haphazard manner.'
Sometimes it all comes together, other times it doesn't. That's the main criticism I have of my own work, I'm inconsistent. Sometimes I'm really impressed with my stuff, and on another day the output won't look so good. It's all down to me because I know I can be lazy and careless, but I don't really want to change my ways. Usually 'getting it on the table' wins over 'must impress those buggers at LAF!'
Also it usually looks brilliant to me until I take a photo of it, and then you notice loads of things you didn't spot before that could have been better. I hate how cameras do that.
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Splendid work there. Like the oil stains on the tankers knees, thats one idea I will steal :)
Shopping bags are a hoot :lol:
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'Slapdash' describes the method, not always the results. As in 'hasty and careless in execution' or 'In a reckless and haphazard manner.'
hammershield Third Law of Miniature Painting: If you a miniature in a bucket and pour no less than ten shades of acrylic paint of which at least one is burnt umber, laws of chance dictate that at least once within the span of eterity a perfect CMoN 10 rated miniature will emerge, subtly shaded and with NMM details. This is certain. Go on and try it, you know you want to.