Mollie McClobber

Hello again.

My Strath Clotans finally have a leader courtesy of one of Oathsworn's more recent releases, which Nephew Nick obtained for me at my request at a recent show. Who would not want a wildcat with axe and shield? The fact that wildcats are a tough option in the "Burrows & Badgers" game and that she more than adequately fits the bill for Strath Clota given her plaid and bonnet were enough for me! And Oathsworn supremo Michael Lovejoy has stated that there will be more Strath Clotans in the next batch of sculpts, which means the clan can keep growing too.

She was a joy to paint, even the plaid, which, though a little time-consuming, was easy enough with some patience, the right brush and suitably thinned paint to ease its flow, but not so much that it just runs everywhere...

I have more Oathsworn figures left on the to-do list, some of which are even undercoated ready to go, but my most recent activity has seen me add to my Russians for the Crimean War, with more infantry, of which there cannot be too many. I will one day get around to some British infantry to go with the Light Brigade and will finish the Light Brigade too once I have bought the necessary extras required. Again, the absence of a definitive project is seeing me get through bits of numerous different projects, which suits me in my "skirmish" mode,  and might just see me through a couple of the many boxed games I bought with the intention of getting some figures completed. However, numerous projects means I sometimes struggle to decide what to do next, so I might be painting, but I am also a tad adrift. The Crimean War project will be a continuous one for a while yet, especially as 10mm Russians are quick and easy to paint (I hope the British will be too, but doubt it somehow...), but where else should I venture? I have, by way of a quick count, the following boxed games all crying out for attention, in no particular order:

• Necromunda;
• Kill Team;
• Lord of The Rings: Battle of the Pelennor Fields;
• Gorechosen;
• Blood Red Skies;
• Cruel Seas;
• Carnavale;
• Judge Dredd;
• another I bought the other day and will save for a future post - it is big and the contents look amazing!

Still, this post was supposed to be about a certain wildcat, so here she is.

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Mollie McClobber, with the target of one of her raids burning away in the background.

The artists' pens came in very useful again for the motto on the shield and also to draw in the characteristic cat's eye pupils.

The Light Brigade Assembles

Hello again.

After several months of painting anthropomorphic animals almost exclusively, I decided it was high time I included something else in my schedule. My Crimean War project went into winter quarters some time back (for the winter, in fact), but Spring manoeuvres have seen the British reach the lines before Sevastopol, where various Russians have been waiting for a while now.

But what British to do first? I have a Highland Brigade. I have a Guards Brigade. I have some British line infantry in both pork pie hat and Albert shako. I have the Heavy Brigade. And I have the Light Brigade, the ones my now 20-month old Border Collie took a shine to and took into the garden for further investigation last year. They survived the encounter, as did Harry, but, in case he took a further liking to them, the Light Brigade got first dibs.

I say "the Light Brigade", but it is actually only 80% of that formation. The figures are taken straight form the Magister Militum Light Brigade pack, which features 48 cavalry figures and two horse artillery guns with crews. The figures were split into 12 lancers (which obviously had to be the 17th Lancers), 24 Light Dragoons (neatly covering the 4th and 13th Regiments) and 12 Hussars. Hm. I need figures for both the 8th and 11th Regiments for the Light Brigade, so could only do one of them. The 11th got the nod. So, four out of five regiments in the Light Brigade are done, but a visit to either Pendraken or Magister Militum for another pack of Hussars is in order. To add insult to the very minor injury sustained, I do not have a Hussar figure in my British Generals pack, so will have to use a Hussar Officer as Lord Cardigan.

Each regiment of 12 figures also came with a standard bearer included, which was also a tad unfortunate. Being somewhat anal in my pursuit of accuracy, I know that the regiments did not take their flags into battle. Undaunted, I sought images of the four regimental flags required, but came up blank for this era. Undaunted, I uttered those immortal words, "What the heck", and duly set about using a few basic Napoleonic references to base the flags upon. My Italics are intentional. Not only are the flags not copied directly from any sources but they are also rectangular, not of guidon shape with rounded or pointed tails, so DO NOT COPY THEM because they are there merely to occupy the pole! If any of them are correct, it is fluke!!! I used some reference material as stated, so the 17th Lancers get the Death's Head and "Or Glory" motto of their later incarnation, but I cannot verify the accuracy of this image for 1854. You have been warned! In defence of my conjecture/ creativity, 10mm Crimean War is not a popular period for manufacturers or gamers, hence the lack of definitive, easily available details, and I want to be able to tell quite small figures apart from normal distances, so the flags will help with that.

Anyway, I hope you like the brigade so far. I will buy the additions required soon and finish it off, then find some enemy guns to go and assault perhaps...

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The four regiments to date, with 11th Hussars and 17th Lancers leading, the 4th and 13th Light Dragoons n the second line.

11th Hussars. This flag IS based on the Napoleonic example for the regiment, but not entirely so.

17th Lancers, with the Death's Head and blue banner bearing the "Or Glory" motto. Crimean War era? Someone somewhere will know.

4th Light Dragoons, with another flag based on the Napoleonic example, the yellow chosen for the colour of their collars and detail from the aforementioned earlier flag. As with all four flags, however, I have avoided doing the awkward guidon shape.

13th Light Dragoons, based on the Napoleonic example again for the flag coloured buff to match their facings.

Very Handy Reference Material

Hello again.

Perusing a local newsagents recently in search of my usual monthly reading matter, I happened across something that immediately grabbed my attention.

This was just sitting there, crying softly at me with those immortal words, "Buy me! Buy me!"
So, after a few seconds of content checking, to ensure it was not a part work but was actually the real deal, and not chockfull of stats rather than nice piccies, I duly bought it. I was not disappointed!

Just look at the sort of thing you get for your £7.99!!!

A random opening of the book for photographic purposes and I got this spread of Merlin-engine Spitfires.

Now, it has been a very long time since I put together a good, old Airfix kit, and even longer since I did a plane, so my memory of colours and markings is not quite what it was. I do not intend to build any kits anytime soon either, so why bother?

Well, just think of the uses this book can be put to.

1. The book covers EVERY propeller-engine fighter class of the Second Word War the RAF used, even down to the Bell Airacobra. There are numerous Spitfires (both engine types, Merlin and Griffon), Hurricanes, Warhawk/ Tomahawk/ Kitty Hawk, Typhoons and Tempests, Gladiators, Blenheims, Beaufighters, Whirlwinds, Mosquitoes, Boulton Paul Defiants...even Mustangs and Airacobras!
2. Even if you are not an aeroplane modeller, the number of games you can use this for to fill out your forces is enviable. "Blood Red Skies" is an obvious one. I have just bought "Cruel Seas" and note that Beaufighters are available to the British forces in that game. The Desert War players can have their Hurricanes, Hawks and others. Those who prefer Normandy can go tank-busting with the Typhoons. Etc.
3. Who could go wrong with those colour spreads covering every single featured aircraft type? The header proclaims "More than 280 highly detailed colour profiles" and it is not wrong!
4. You even get a colour chart in the back of the book!
5. Most handily of all, perhaps, is the advert on the inner rear cover showing other titles in the series, with "Luftwaffe Fighters", "Pacific War" and "Allied Fighters" all covered to tempt you further.

"Absolute bargain" is what I call it. I would also throw in "essential purchase" and "eminently usable".

Published by Mortons Media Group Ltd, check out WHSmith and other newsagents or go to www.classicmagazines.co.uk/thebookshelf if you want to look at the whole range of stuff.

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Options, Options...

Hello again.

As I strive to work my way through my Oathsworn Miniatures lead pimple, in lieu of enlarging the pimple in due course to more of a boil or carbuncle with yet more acquisitions, I am still very much in the realms of those figures who have so far not fitted quite in to existing projects. One such figure is the fellow highlighted here.

Now, for me, this is a great figure, full of purpose, experienced in his art and. judging by his eye patch, has suffered for that art too. Looking at him, I would say the word "Veteran" was most appropriate. He painted up well as do all the Oathsworn range and could have been done far more simply with just fur and armour (brown and metal as it were), but I had to enhance it further for my own tastes.

He is obviously a warrior, quite possibly a knight, but he is not sporting the lily of the Lavender Order, nor is he a woodland dweller, so is hardly likely to feature in the newly-founded Nutkin Wood Neighbourhood Watch. He certainly has no Dickensian qualities about him, so the Dickens Street Runners will not be using him, even if he wanted to be associated with a bunch of backstreet criminals. The Witch Hunters could use him, but exactly why they would when the Lavender Order knights are allied to the witch hunter cadre, being two arms of the same order, is open to debate. And pirate he most certainly ain't any more than he is Strath Clotan highlander!

So, what is he? He could be the head or a member of a new military order, perhaps a foreign one, whose emblem is the golden chalice as depicted on his armour. He could be a simple knight leading a disparate group of followers against marauding bands of one sort or another. He could be the leader of a mercenary band, perhaps the second son in a world of primogeniture, who eschewed the church for the life of a mercenary a la Medieval Italy, Sir John Hawkwood sort of character. I quite like this latter idea, as that would give me a good excuse to paint up the Landsknecht-inspired otter, hedgehog and mouse figures I have had undercoated for a while! Give them a border keep to garrison and they can be mercenaries as well as defending the locals from raids! The ideas keep forming, which, as I have said before in various posts, is one of the best things about "Burrows & Badgers" and its associated miniatures from Oathsworn. What I name him will ultimately depend on where he is from and what role I give him. Matthias von Hase is first choice for a foreign mercenary given the likely Landsknecht feel of his band ("Hase" being the German word for "hare", you see, if my memory serves me correctly), but he could become a member of the De Leveret family like Sir Robert, who featured in these posts earlier this year as a member of the Lavender Order. Options indeed!

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The addition of some colour to his armour adds that extra something to what could have been quite a plain figure, in my opinion. Displaying his colours and badge in this way already starts to create a backstory for him, which interests me. Depicting the armour with a few dents and other damage, as I have tried to, also enhances his veteran status I feel. This guy does NOT stay at home polishing his armour, but wears it and wears it with purpose!

As "Burrows & Badgers" is a points based game, having that sword as either a one- or two-hander gives me some flexibility in how I construct his associates. I prefer a two-hander for him, especially given his heavy armour, as they rock in melee! I also think there is something a little bit Samurai about his armour, specifically the shoulder plates on this right shoulder. Perhaps he has been abroad and perhaps even dabbled with some oriental magic or other darker art...

I love this face! Again, I have tried to depict him as a little more advanced in years than some of my other figures, which not only enhances the experience levels I feel he has, but also plays strongly to the backstory and to his authority as a figure and a likely leader of others.

The Nutkin Wood Neighbourhood Watch

Hello again.

Happy April Fool's Day! Please be advised that I will not be trying to con, mislead, cajole or otherwise partake of the day's events during the writing and publication of this post.

One of the things I like so much about "Burrows & Badgers", as I have written before, is the seed it has sown in my creativity and imagination, things I had long thought at best dormant. As I trawl through the remaining score or so of figures I have yet to paint for this project, whilst contemplating adding more to the pile following Oathsworn's most recent Kickstarter, I am confronted by figures which have not yet made it to the painting station and, as with the Dickens Street Runners, I ponder why. The realisation in my head that the Wildcat with axe and top hat was a ringer for Bill Sykes and the Siamese Cat sorceress would do very well for Nancy/ Nan-Si led me to Victorian East London and its criminal underbelly, hence the Dickens Street Runners.

One such figure that I previously struggled to fit into what I already had is the subject of this piece. He is a knight, as you will see from the photos below perhaps (or at least a warrior of some standing given his heavy armour), but he bears no particular connection to the previously painted Knights of the Order of The Lavender Garden, having no lily motif anywhere to be seen and sporting neither surcoat nor coif. In fact, the poleaxe, plate armour, plumed helmet and cloak are things which set this fellow apart from his colleagues within the Order, as none of them sport any of those things. So, what to do with him?

Enter stage left the Nutkin Wood Neighbourhood Watch!

What exactly do the weaker folk in Northymbran society do for protection? How do they fend off the ravages of the darker side of life? Who bands them together and leads them when rats and foxes come a-calling? Well, Sir Tawny de Russet could do so! Squirrels might not be the Tiger tank of the "B&B" world, but give them some clout with a poleaxe and some plate armour and they might make a Panzer II! Perhaps even the Luchs version!!! Throw in some militia types in the form of mice, moles, shrews and similar small fry and we might actually get above six models for our starting warband! And for those particularly troublesome enemies, we can always hire some mercenaries. They have made it to the painting table, by the way, sitting resplendent in their black undercoats as I type!

So, in the absence of any other member of the Watch, I can at least offer Sir Tawny for your delectation and comment.

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Sir Tawny de Russet in full plate. I would like to see him gather nuts in that get up!

I like the dynamic of this figure, with his tail erupting in one direction, his cloak in the opposite direction and the poleaxe almost perpendicular to both. The figure has a great sense of movement for one so small and from the weaker side of the Northymbran faunal catalogue.

I may repaint this eye. The right one looks reasonably determined (see picture one), but this one looks a bit startled! It took me about five or six shades of yellow and blue respectively to get the depth of highlight on the plume and cloak, but I am glad I put in the effort. The cloak especially had to be done to emphasise the movement inherent within the figure.