Back of beyond in 15mm

[Etranger]

AS I've said elsewhere Sukhe - stunning work as always. More please! 

[sukhe_bator]

Some simple conversions I've done over the last year or so
Siberian Rifles (FER) with the distinctive shaggy caps

White Siberians

Col. Kazagrandi in Circassian cloak

Still to come, Siberian cavalry, Ngolok Tibetan and Tungan cavalry converted from SYW, Crimean and other Cossacks...

[dodge]

Excellent stuff

How do you find 15mm to work with?

dodge

[sukhe_bator]

Tricky but rewarding. 15mm's have had a bad press over the years but there really are some excellent figures out there nowadays to work with. If you want to recreate impressive scenery or a massed cavalry charge there's no better scale i.m.h.o. Plus you only need a tiny amount of green stuff to make a big difference. Head swaps are simple, spear and lance conversions quick with a pin-vice or mini drill. My largest conversion to date has been making the Yak caravan from an ox team. That used a lot of green stuff!
Perhaps my biggest challenge yet will be the planned Ngolok and Tungan conversions. I'm okay adding with green stuff and the clothing etc is quite baggy, but will have to whittle off the rather profuse cossack beards with a scalpel and still leave a recognisable face at the end of it. No radical nose jobs allowed!

[dodge]

That sounds really trickky to do good luck

dodge

[sukhe_bator]

First shots of initial work in progress. You need so little green stuff at this scale. A piece half the size of a matchstick will do several complete figures!
From L to R. The original Minifigs Crimean period Caucasian Cossack figure, green, sans mostache and with Tibetan 'chupa' coat and floppy fur hat, next with a variant fur cap, with a substitute head and added length of hair at the end. The bipod rests for the matchlocks are small lengths of plastic rod. Crude looking a.t.m., but I think once painted will cover a multitude of sins...

[mikeygees]

    Freakin Awesome!

[sukhe_bator]

Thanks,
They look pretty gruesome close up and are certainly quick bodges compared to some of the sculpting talent I've seen on this forum but will paint up okay. Its just so fiddly - I'm trying to think of ways to do ammo belts for the Mosin-Nagant a.t.m. - the 5 round clips - but I worked out I've got to model them about 3mm x 2mm in size! aarrgh!

[sukhe_bator]

For the sake of completeness I'm including a couple of pics of the set pieces for the campaign. A Chinese fortress based on descriptions of Khovd (W Mongolia)


Mongolian monastery

Caravansarai/Han/wayside inn

Isolated railway on Chinese Mongolian border

And Siberian village buildings

[Bravo Six]

Wow sb, that is indeed nice work.  I've been doing Vietnam and Moderns in 15mm and no matter what other scales I work in aside from 15mm, I love coming back to and working in the "wee scale". I find I can get alot more completed and more on the table in the scale.

Your stuff is very inspirational. Keep up the excellent work. 

-Todd

[The Hooded Claw]

Amazing stuff, indeed. I am tempted to try doing BOB in 15mm, myself.

-Eli

[answer_is_42]

Amazing stuff, indeed. I am tempted to try doing BOB in 15mm, myself.

-Eli

As am I. In fact, I may just do that...

[The Hooded Claw]

What rules are you using for your games?

-Eli

[fastolfrus]

As am I. In fact, I may just do that...

ditto

[sukhe_bator]

I'm using 'Triumph of the Will' by Two Fat Lardies
http://toofatlardies.co.uk/
That ruleset ticks all the boxes for me, though in truth I haven't blooded my figures yet in a big game. It has taken me over a year to assemble the figures, do conversions and build all the scenery, and I still have lots to do, but in a way that makes it all the more rewarding. Don't let the lack of ready made stuff put you off. In 15mm you can achieve good results with less materials and it takes up far less space so you can make much more (at least that's what I keep telling my wife!)
You can assemble most of the figures you need ready made with a little ingenuity which leaves you time to concentrate on tinkering figures to make the 'exotics'.