Clay Muir

Hello again.

I trust you all had a most merry Christmas and Santa brought you something other than socks and underwear. If not, get yourself out to one of the early 2019 shows for some retail therapy at your favourite figure supplier or log on and fill that void in your life!

It is rather an idle time on the hobby front, but I have managed to complete the subject of this post, a Strath Clotan who shall go by the name of Clay Muir, if only because:

a) It sounds Scottish, I mean, Strath Clotan;
b) He is wielding a two-handed sword not dissimilar to a claymore, so it is a play on words, and:
c) "Wild-looking, tartan-clad ferret with a big chopper" is not really a good name for anyone...

Clay is the latest offering for my fledgling Dun Ringill warband, keen to leave the sunny uplands of Strath Clota (sic) for the rich pickings of a raid into Northymbra as part of the on-going expansion of my forces for "Burrows & Badgers". Until I get my hands on something who looks the part as a leader to fear, he may even take on that mantle himself. In the aforementioned game, and I have not done any particular science on this, I reckon ferrets are possibly the biggest bang for your buck of those creatures who masquerade as "small" or "medium" in game terms. Reasonable stats coupled with the FEARLESS trait means they can take on most things. Adding a suitable skill, a stat update as leader and a two-hander means he can pack a very decent punch.

Further additions to this warband are underway, using conversions and parts from other ranges, but they are unlikely to see the light of day as completed items before the new year dawns. They will be the first figures I have had any hand in making for this project though, so I look forward to getting them done. They will receive their own post(s) in due course.

Finally, I mentioned a trip to a show or a visit online to acquire some figures if you were left short of your miniatures fix by the festive giving. I got what I requested, in the form of a box of Van Saar gang members for "Necromunda". As we have no plans for a show outing with a demo game for the coming year. I am looking to try and plan some activities on the hobby front for 2019, and "Necromunda" is on that agenda. The only trouble is that I have around 24 months of stuff I want to do and 12 months to do it in! Something has to give...

G

What do Witch Hunters hunt?

Witches, of course!

Hello again.

Taking a wee break from the Highland clans theme (although there is no reason why Lagoog cannot actually join the Dun Ringill boys for a scrimash or two), I painted another rat figure I rather like the look of in the form of this Black Rat Witch. Now, we could have her all wrong, and she may well be a healer, soothsayer, midwife or other clean-living type in commune with the good spirits of nature. She may well use the sort of beneficial magic that calms and soothes and prove no threat to anyone other than a bit of plant life she uses in her potions and remedies...

But that would be too easy!

In any case, what sort of high-minded character would have war paint made to look like blood streaming from their eyes? What loyal, law-abiding member of society would have a giant tarantula-esque spider atop her walking staff? What sort of friendly, lovable old dear would see the need for a shimmer cloak to protect her from enemies she would not make in the first place?

But this verminous harridan has all three of the above! Not to mention a bag full of spell ingredients and no doubt a few phials of poison! So Lagoog (with apologies to H. Rider Haggard for the anagram of one of his characters for the name) is anything but wholesome and sweet in my world. She is just the sort of twisted, dangerous, plotting individual that makes you want to go "Mwahahaha" like all good, pantomime villains. She is Abenaazer, the Wicked Witch of the West, Sauron, Nagash and all manner of evil all rolled up into one, handy, rat-shaped, man-sized package. And splashing her with water will not make a blind bit of difference any more than throwing some of her jewellery into a volcano will harm her in any way. The intention is that she is rock hard and dangerous with it!

So, cue some fiddling with the "Burrows & Badgers" rulebook to create something rather nastier and meaner than your average starter mage, with a couple of handy items to make her someone to really watch out for. Without going over the top, of course. This is not the latest incarnation of the bad old days of Warhammer, where every new army made all others largely obsolete, after all! Cue also the makings of a campaign idea or two. All good campaigns need a recurring villain and Lagoog could very well be mine...

And even without the campaign, she will form some nice opposition and point of focus for Rufus and his witch hunting fellowship. All she needs now is some followers/ henchmen/ cannon fodder to accompany her!

G

The Oathsworn Miniature entitled "Black Rat Witch" is the source for Lagoog, with just a paint job to finish her off. I do quite like the evil look in her eye from this angle! Her eye looks almost snake-like.

And who would not want a giant tarantula for a familiar? I see her using her staff as a projector of said venomous beastie which would also give her a ranged attack other than spells!



I thought I would paint a few indistinct runes on her cloak to show it has some sort of magical power. I am running with the idea of a shimmer cloak currently, so she appears to be somewhat displaced form where she actually stands, making all attacks harder to hit her.

And her eye from this angle looks as though she is giving someone an evil stare ("You're next!"), backed up by the pointing of her sickle, which is surely a poisoned weapon.

Murdo McQueak

Hello again.

Hot on the heels of "Mad" Hedge McHogg comes his sidekick, Murdo. A different tartan, a different species, a hat rather than warpaint, but still a sword and targe, the latter emblazoned with the white thistle emblem of Dun Ringill. Yes, Dun Ringill, a name stolen wholesale from the back catalogue of Jethro Tull. So, will this duo be part of the Dun Ringill Reavers? Or will they cry "Freedom!" for the Dun Ringill Wappinshaw? What about the Dun Ringill Doom Brothers of Dun Ringill Sons of Death? Starting to get a little early 11th Century Ireland with that last one...

So, the Highlanders may be in need of a name for their hairy, shouty collective, but their numbers are growing and set to grow further. Plans are afoot to increase the clansmen numbers and, in due course, acquire them a leader figure too. But I can only paint what I have for the moment and decide on what I have in my current batch of figures that would suit the cause.

As before, Murdo is a standard Oathsworn Miniature, painted by yours truly, and set to join his mate "Mad" Hedge on a muirside (hm, moorside...) somewhere near you fairly soon. I even fancy the idea of a conversion of one figure or other to make a standard bearer sporting either a banner with the white thistle or perhaps the burning cross sent out historically to raise the clans. That would be something different indeed! That donor figure will be out there somewhere...

G

Even the smaller Oathsworn figures have bags of character and are a joy to paint.

The detail is fantastic and simply cries out to the painter to try and bring out the full glory of each model.

The white thistle of Dun Ringill!

But you won't find that tartan in any Victorian tartan pattern book as far as I know!

"Mad" Hedge McHogg

Hello again.

After a brief hiatus caused by poor light and work, I have had something of a quite busy time with the paint brush, with no fewer than three (yes, I know, just three, as in one more than two, but that's what you get when you paint individuals for a skirmish game...) figures on the go, the first of which I completed on Sunday.

Now, some of you may know that I have a small army of Oathsworn Miniatures' finest still in the lead pile, with more still to do than I have so far done. After "finishing" my Witch Hunters and Pirates, I looked around for warband number 3, trying out various options, but none of them were quite what I wanted. In truth, Oathsworn have not yet finished some of the figures that would yield what I need, but I also must take some of the flak because I am choosy about what I want to include in each band. everything has to have a particular feel, you see, to amuse my sense of pedantry and pernickettiness (which probably is not a real word, but sounds like it should be).

So, would number 3 be the martial arm of the Lavender Order? I have enough figures to do a complete band of those, but they are rather close in colour schemes etc to the Witch Hunters, who form part of the same order in my little, creative head. Or perhaps a mercenary band, using some of the wonderful Landsknecht-esque offerings I have from Oathsworn? Hm. I am probably a figure short for that, at least how I want to do it. Then I could do sundry ruffian types, led by Sykes, my wildcat rogue. I have a few various figures that would suit my tastes for this but, again, I may be a figure short of my ideal look. So, I went in another direction.

I have a love of the Ancient Celts and will, one day, actually paint the 28mm army of them I have built up over time. They are what convinced me to build a 15mm Carthaginian army all those years ago when DBM first kicked off. I love all the intricacy of checks and pseudo-tartans, stripes and curly flourishes, even if I sometimes baulk at having to paint them. So, even though I am definitely a figure or two short of a full band, I have gone Celtic and have decided to bring along some quite literally hairy barbarians from north of the border to a table somewhere soon. And when Morag appears in the next batch of Oathsworn offerings, the hairy wildcat with the axe and targe, all scary and fierce, I believe I will be in a position to fulfil the completion of the Wild Raiders of Strath Clota (exact name for this group to be confirmed).

So, first up, I give you "Mad" Hedge McHogg, broadsword aloft, warpaint donned and protected by targe and SPINES, a useful little addition to hedgehog characters which gives them extra protection.

G

"Mad" Hedge McHogg in all his shouty glory.

I think I should have blended the grooves in his sword rather better, but hey ho.

And this is why I long ago purchased a set of fine nib pens from an art shop. Ideal for use on flag detail, for fine lines on figures and for writing suitably Highland messages on shields! Try painting any word on anything and you too will wish you had bought some pens!

Eine kleine shopping trip

Hello again.

Yesterday saw your humble scribe out Christmas shopping, taking advantage of a day off work and no kids to chaperone to see what he could acquire for sundry individuals. Walsall was my centre of choice for two reasons:

1. I wanted a certain department store, for maximum gift choice options;
2. I fancied a look around Asgard Games. Just a look, you understand...

Having battered the plastic in said department store, I ventured up the hill to Asgard and was greeted with the jaunty ringing of the shop door bell as I entered, followed by a cheery "Hello!" from the proprietor, whose name I believe is Vince.

Asgard Games is an absolute mine of gaming joyfulness.

I went in with the intention of coming out with some Hurricanes (and possibly a corresponding squadron of German stuff) for "Blood Red Skies" and was prepared for a chance purchase or two in addition.

There were no hurricanes in stock.

BUT THERE WAS LOADS OF OTHER STUFF!!!

I have been eying this beauty for a little while now.

 "Strontium Dog". I saw the advert for the game a while back and was enthused. Now, bear with me, as my memory is starting to get suspect in some things (!), but is unusually hot in other areas...I have a very vague memory of a comic called "Star Lords" (I think) back in the late 70's. I have an equally vague memory of a certain Johnny Alpha appearing in that comic, which ran for all of about six issues. That first story saw Johnny shoot some perp and the shot fried all the flesh from the perp's bones, leaving just a skeleton. Johnny then attached a sort of beetle-shaped device to the skeleton and the chap re-appeared for questioning by our hero. Once that was done, Johnny flipped the device off and the perp' became a skeleton again. I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP! I am vague on where I saw the story, but believe my version to be true. Can anyone assist? This story had a massive impact on a kid used to "Look-In", "The Beano" and "Whizzer & Chips"! I should really have graduated from there to "2000AD", but went for "Match Weekly" and sometimes "Shoot!" to pursue my football interests instead...

Anyway, alongside such recent purchases as "Kill Team", "Necromunda", "Lord of The Rings", "WH40K" and various figures for different eras which are taking an age to get through as work and atmospheric conditions conspire against my painting time, Johnny has now joined the queue for brush attention. There are also other miniatures in the box, so I need to factor those into the schedule too.

Now this was always going to be on the cards at some point.

I have not played "Ghost Archipelago" yet, but remain enthused by the idea.

 Not having yet played "Ghost Archipelago", nor even "Frostgrave" for a good while, I am unsure exactly why I keep buying the different books. I like "Frostgrave" but, in truth, would probably have chosen "Ghost Archipelago" instead of it had it come out first. The reason for this is the lost tribes/ Conan Doyle-esque feel and, in gaming terms, lush and verdant is a lot easier and far more common than frozen wastes, so a one size fits all terrain option is a winner in this context.



This anthology of short stories also appealed.

I have not bought or read a short story anthology since picking up a copy of "The Collected Griselda" (as in the "Runequest" heroine and frequenter of "Pavis and the Big Rubble") many years ago. I read a lot of Conan stories even longer ago too, as well as a smidgeon of Lovecraft, but thought I would give this a go.



 



Another thing I like about "Ghost Archipelago" is the different creature options, with sea beasts, lost tribes and these fellows. I simply love the idea of snakemen. What more sinister mutation could a "human" have than to be crossed with a cold-blooded, non-mammalian creature with some seriously nasty inherent traits? Poison bite, anyone???

 

Finally, these were a freebie and I got three sets of them.

Yes, a FREEBIE!!! Vince approached me as I browsed and offered me the three sets free and gratis. They are one foot square terrain tiles, four per pack, so I have enough to do a 4x3 foot table. Now, the detail may be printed on them, but they are double-sided and will happily sit flat and have terrain pieces added onto them. Ideal for games such as "Burrows & Badgers" and "Ghost Archipelago" (though one or more of the various Africa games would fit, alongside numerous other options), they could well replace my two foot square terrain boards in future games of that ilk as they simply give far greater flexibility of use. They are technically for a game called "Golem Arcana", which Vince had in stock, so I may well return to pick up a copy as the artwork at least looks rather attractive...We shall see.

So, Christmas shopping partially done, shopping for myself a most welcome distraction, I shall depart and dodge the mercurial lighting to try and get some more figures completed, about which I will post as and when.

G

Bufo the Magnificent

"I sit here dreaming, eyes agog, gazing at the stars,
A hefty piece of granite rock, perched beneath my ar.."

That's enough poetry for now.

Hello again.

Wizards and magic have so far been absent from the odd couple of games of "Burrows & Badgers" played so far, but I have at least four wizardy types in my collection and this is the second of those to meet and greet the paint brush.

Bufo is a toad and, in "B&B" terms, toads make very decent wizards. You see, wizards spend so much time reading and studying that they tend to be weaklings, earning themselves the WEAK characteristic for every spell you start them with in the game. What this means is that you subtract one from the result of any combat or shooting attacks, thereby making them weaker than they might have been.

But toads get STRONG (1) as a starting characteristic, so they effectively have a point of advantage to lose before they move into negative numbers. WEAK cancels out STRONG, and vice versa. They are also very good at concealment, so can stay hidden a lot, have TOUGH (2), which means they can reduce the strength of attack results by 2, thereby taking less damage, and are NATURAL HUNTERS, which means they are not so hot in ranged combat, but he is a wizard, right, so you don't give him a bow or sling or whatever. Finally, they have good inherent FORTITUDE and PRESENCE scores, which are used when dealing with spells, so why wouldn't you employ a toad for your fireworks?

So here is Bufo, sitting on his rock, staring up at the sky, pondering the mysteries of the universe and snatching the odd juicy insect from the air from time to time with his sticky tongue. What more would you want from life???

The only criticism I have of this figure is the size of his base. Toads are mounted on 30mm diameter bases in "B&B", so there is not a lot of room in his case for texturing or being creative. I tried to make the putty I used for the rock effect seamless with the smoothness of his base, but there was very little to work with. I wanted to give him some height and add to his presence, but it was tricky without getting putty all over the figure.

G

Bufo the Magnificent

With his neat, little man-bag full of spell ingredients, spare underwear, knife and fork...His base is simply a lollipop stick broken into relevant sized pieces, glued together to gain height and covered in a skim of modelling putty for texture.

And a final shot of Bufo's backside, on which he likes to squat...

A Chance Buy For The Autumn Gloom

Hello again.

Even with a south-facing conservatory for a mancave, there are times, especially at this period of the year, when it is just too gloomy to see anything properly to be able to paint. Natural light is my preference, but there is not much around at the moment! So, I went on a recce for Christmas presents for the brood with my wife last weekend and we ended up in a place called "The Range", a sort of Hobbycraft and similar outlet if you do not know it. We were not looking for anything for me, but needless to say, I found a few things!

 

 

For the princely sum of £4, I bought these two Christmas decoration kits, which, as you can see stand around four to five inches high when built. I think you are supposed to build them, paint them, and then either hang them on your Christmas tree or put a tea light in them. BUT WE DON'T WANT TO DO THAT, DO WE!?!?!?

 

I did at least build one, but those awful tags had to come off...

...so off they came!

 At this point, you will obviously have gathered my reasoning. For that paltry £4 outlay, I wanted to investigate whether I could add to my terrain pool something unique after finishing my initial purchase of Sarissa Precision kits for "Burrows & Badgers" that I got from the Chillcon show last month.

So, with stage one complete, what now? Well, I could have drawn a plan of what I wanted to do, but that would be too technical! So I winged it.

Stage Two saw the building of an entrance lobby, a simple lean-to affair and I added one of the doors from the Doors Pack from Sarissa that I bought at Chillcon. We will overlook the fact that I had already added a floor at roof level to give added structure to the piece BEFORE I thought to glaze the upper windows...D'oh!

Stage Three saw me build up the living space. I decided on a sort of wrap around lower storey, knowing full well that the subsequent roof angles could be a total pain...

The end wall features another of the Sarissa Precision doors. I will add a shuttered window on that side too in the near future.

Stage Four saw the need to roof the lower storey. With some careful measuring from which I cut out paper templates, I was able to fit a pretty decent roof.

Et voila!

Stage Five saw me needing a chimney stack, which I fabricated from a scrap of 3mm MDF. The same material was used, along with some 2mm mounting card, to build the actual stack above roof level, topped off with some plastic tubes pots.

So that is the basic build.

 

It has taken me around four man hours to get this far, which is probably longer than the equivalent kit would have taken, but you obviously have to fabricate parts yourself without a kit. However, a self-built thing is unique.

I still have to tile the rooves and finish the body of the building with timber framing, rendering, brickwork, window sills and whatever, but the structure is built and sound in that it is not going to fall over any time soon. I will also base it for added stability and the idea of a vegetable garden is one I think I will pursue for this dwelling. I will finish this one as and when work, light and time allow. Then there is the little matter of the second building and what to do with that one...

G