New Construction In Brewsterville

 Although I have been trundling along at a steady pace with my hobby these past five months, not much time has been dedicated to historical miniatures. I've been painting LoTR figures as well as a bit of SciFi. A game of What A Cowboy inspired me to get back to my small collection of western gaming items. Since I had already built the Perry Brothers' North American Store I picked up their North American Farmhouse and Renedra's North American church for my little western town of Brewsterville.

The farm house is identical to the store with the exception that it has a different front and a brick chimney instead of a porch.

The church is a great model but I found that both Tamiya and AK Interactive plastic glues struggled to get a good weld. I had to let them sit for a looong time before the bond was strong. 

I left the steeple loose so that the roof could come off to place models inside though I did not detail the insides of either building.

As we already have someone in our group who has an extensive collection of western buildings I will probably only add another couple of structures; a stable and another house possibly.

For now, I have the beginnings of a nice little town. 

A Scratch Built Cottage

 When our friend Blue Bear Jeff passed away I inherited his ECW army, his 18th century Blood Axe Miniatures collection and some other items including a small house he had made. I had forgotten all about it but it turned up when I was working in the basement this spring. I decided to enhance it a little with a new roof and textured walls as there were a couple of materials I wanted to try.

Jeff's cottage was a perfectly suitable but straight forward build; a foam core structure with balsa wood trim on a thin card base.

My first addition to it was a thatch roof. In the past I have tried teddy bear fur (which was OK) and dried grass for a south seas hut (which was too coarse) but I wanted to try toweling.

I think this will be my preferred method from now on. Although a little coarse it has a great texture and takes white glue and paint very well. 

I have been using wood filler to texture bases now for a while but I wanted to use it for creating texture on daub walls. For this I used LePages Wood Filler, smeared between the timber framing, textured with both a fine brush and a damp bit of sponge.

I think it requires a little more experimentation. The original colour of the filler was good, but bright and a bit too yellow. When I got to painting it I went little too dark and attempts at lightening it came out with it looking too "painted".

In the end, the finished colour is too orange (lets just say they mixed a lot of ox blood in for colour...). I will have another crack at it but I will try a different wood filler; something a little more creamy or light brown.

Bloody Miniatures: Second Wave Painted

 Finally, after much distraction, I have completed the second wave of Bloody Miniatures ECW figures- packs BM 007 and BM 008:

The first pack from wave 2, BM 006, I painted in October and the fourth pack, BM 009, I painted during last winter's AHPC. Pack BM 007 is The Storming Party:

With buff coats, back and breast plates, these guys are ready to smash their way in.

... and maybe even blow some shit up!

This guy will be first through the breach:

I had another crack at russeted armour; GW's Leadbelcher with a coat of slightly thinned Wyldwood Contrast paint.

Pack BM 008 is The Night Watch:

This pack features some of my favourite faces from the Bloody Miniatures range.

This guy is a bit Ol' Skool, wearing his dad's helmet:

My favourite figure of the pack. I love the casaque and the face is splendid (he looks exactly like an English friend of mine):

Painting these guys has put my mind to working on a nice little scenario; a rescue (or kidnapping, depending on your perspective). It  will require another building or two to be made so I think that may be next in the hobby queue.

Last Entry For The Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge

 My last entry for the AHPC was my first go at some Victrix Miniatures plastics; some Anglo-Saxon Ceorls.

8 warriors with shields and hand weapons (mostly spears), made using the bodies from the Dark Ages Archers  kit with helmeted heads, weapons and shields from the Anglo/Danes kit. 

I was originally going to base them in multiples but I couldn't decide between 40mm square bases or Impetus basing (120mm by 60mm).

This way they are perfectly usable for Saga, Ravenfeast or Lion Rampant. If needed for a larger battle there is always the movement tray option.

These are great kits and the parts from the two are easily interchangeable. Although in the past I have  not enjoyed painting shields I am starting to enjoy it.

With the AHPC over my and spring hitting this island I expect my production to slow down however I plan to slowly pick away at various ranges; I am currently working on another wave of Bloody Miniatures ECW.

More Dark Ages For The Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge

 As I continued to trundle through this winter's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge I added to my Dark Ages project: I painted some more of the Footsore Miniatures Welsh, as well as some Gripping Beast Scots I bought secondhand off of the Lead Adventure Forum. 

Although I do not have much for Scots figures in my collection, these could double as an Irish chieftain and his  hearthguard.

These are wonderful figures to paint. I tried to mark the warlord out with his white cloak; not sure it was the best choice.

If I add another figure I would have a nice bodyguard for my the warlord for games of Lion Rampant.

These Welsh Knifemen are just as wonderful as the archers. 

Characterful sculpts and lovely clean castings.

I imagine this fellow would fit right in as an assassin or thief in an RPG:

I am not sure how I would fit these knifemen into a unit for Saga or Lion Rampant. With 4 other similar figures I suppose they could be bought as Scouts from the Mercenaries section for Saga or I could throw them into a unit of Bidowers for Lion Rampant, even though they are clearly not armed with bows or slings. 

Footsore Miniatures Welsh Archers

My latest entry in the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge is 12 early medieval Welsh archers from Footsore Miniatures.

These were part of a Kickstarter they ran in late 2021, with pledges shipped out early this past autumn.

I got 3 packs of 4 archers, 4 different poses, as I was building units with Lion Rampant and Saga in mind.

The minis feature great faces and hands; very easy and enjoyable to paint.

I have a number of other packs as part of my pledge and they all look as great as these bowmen.