Do not underestimate the power of the Force

I've had Star Wars Legion for a while (both Empire and Clone Wars sets). I am a Star Wars fan, and specially a fan of the Clone Wars. 

One of the chaps at the club suggested a game as he had the Empire set. As his stuff was painted, I was prompted to splash some paint on my own stuff. 

Here they are. A bit of a mix. First the droids from the Clone Wars set. These guys were a pain to assemble; two-part head, torso, two arms and two legs. I finished them, but with many a muttered sweary-word along the way. 

And the droids beside the Clone troopers. Also in the picture are the droidekas; also a pain to assemble, but looking good once finished. 

Mandalorians for the future. Far easier to assemble these, the Clones and the Stromtroopers. 

And undercoated. At the back right of the tray are some 3d models, some Mandalorians for SWL, but also some Vikings and fantasy stuff.  

First coats of paint. I think I used a sand colour for the battle droids.

These are Stormtroopers from the Empire set. All I can say here is bless the Contrast Paint Apothecary White. 😂  I may add highlights in the future, but at this point they are good enough for a game. 

And the droids done to a reasonable game standard. 

And for the future, I have these (and some more not pictured). I apologise to non-geeks for the next paragraph. 

Left to right there are Madalorians, including Sabine Wren (from Rebels) at the front, Cad Bane (the gunslinger in the hat), at the back a 3D print of Maul, at the front is Anakin, then a part-painted Darth Vader from the Empire set. I used the Contrast Basil Grey here, using more than one coat to get a nice black effect. I'll carry on with that technique to finish the helmet and cloak. And finally at the right, are 3D printed Mandalorians; including some prints of Bo-Katan.  

Next time back to Napoleonics (and maybe more SW geek stuff ...😂)

 

In Glasgow - Wellington statue

I was in Glasgow the other week, and had to take a picture of the statue of the Duke of Wellington in Exchange Square. 

For those not familiar with the statue or the tradition, it is now standard practice for there always to be a red and white traffic cone on his head. Always. 

There's probably now a legend that civilisation will end if there is not a cone on his head ( a bit like ravens at the Tower of London ) 😂

Anyway, a few weeks ago, a woman knitted / crocheted(sp?) a blue and yellow cover for a cone and this was placed on his head. 

No other words, except maybe a tear in the eye for the spirit of Glasgow that can embrace both the silly fun and the serious symbol of this gesture. 

New 3D project - Ancient Egyptians

My 3D printing adventures continue. 

A couple of chaps at the club have started 25/28mm biblical armies for Hail Caesar, so I had a look around the 3D sites. There's not a lot of historical stuff out there compared with fantasy and science fiction, but I did find these and bought the infantry and chariot files. The files were done by a chap called Iain Lovecraft and they are on MyMiniFactory.   

Here's an initial test of what units might look like.  

And the undercoating. 

First splash of paint with Contrast Flesh, then after a touch up of overspills on areas to be white, a coat of the Contrast White. (Apologies, I forget the damn stupid names they give to their paints).  

And this is what they currently look like.

I like the ease of the Contrast Paints and the result. It has allowed me to paint a reasonabe looking force in a short time. I'll do more figures and try to paint a chariot or two next.  

Given the effect of the Contrast Paints, I am now, like many others, looking forward to the Army Painter Speedpaint range. If nothing else, they promise to be 1/2 to 2/3 of the price of the Contrast Paint. And if the effect is the same or better, then I'll move to AP. 

Update on SYW Austrians.

After my last post on the Austrians, a kind blogger commented that I could add a wash effect to the faces of the figures. So I did, and here is the result. They do look a bit better for it and the facial features do look more prominent. Maybe not as big a contrast as some painters do, but better. I will also have to try take a better picture.  

More SYW Austrians

Here's a quick snapshot of more bits n pieces I've done in recent weeks. 

First, the SYW Austrians. I'm trying to progress my 15mm Essex Minis for the SYW. These have been on a tray for a while and I wanted to get them finished. 

The cavalry will be 3 to a base, but to make painting easier, I mount the inner figure on a temporary base while the outer figures are in their final location. 

And now all horses mounted on bases. 

Added the cuirassiers. They were varnished at this point. 

And a bit of flock.

Although I've finished horses for the dragoons, the dragoon figures are still awaiting a final decision on which colour combination to use. 

And then the fate of all toy soldiers; to sleep until their country calls on them.  

In other boxes are the remaining Austrians, Prussians, French and British (and Jacobites). I'll get around to splashing paint on them some time.  

I'll do a separate post on other stuff.  

A unit of highlanders for Muskets and Tomahawks

Following on from some more games of Muskets and Tomahawks, a friend bought a British 'army' pack from North Star. Nice figures and I asked if I could paint the highlanders for him, as I like painting uniforms and the Black Watch are my local regiment. 

I thought at first I would try a contrast paint on the jackets. It was OK, but not the effect I was looking for, so I decided to go with normal acrylics. 

Kilts, bonnets and facings. And, yes, I know the Black Watch initially had buff facings and did not receive 'Royal' status till after Ticonderoga, but I just thought I want blue facings. 

Now, in here, I will say that one thing that annoys me about figure sculptors and manufacturers is that they do not seem to understand the way the folds of a kilt work, or exist, or look. This is not just these figures, but many manufacturers who make highlanders for all periods. Sculptors don't seem to do any research and as a result they seem to think a kilt is like the lower part of a Roman or Greek tunic. Bah humbug! 

The back of a kilt has pleats which should appear like many, many sharp creased folds. As these figures did not have this I decided I'd have to paint them on. A bit of a nuisance but I wanted the effect. 

Painting kilts is not that difficult. Here's a technique I learned from a painter of bigger figures (54/75/90mm) over 40 years ago. 

1. Paint the kilt blue.

2. Paint the green vertical and horizontal strips. Have a careful look at the way the strips appear, so horizontal blue at the hem, green, blue, green, and blue. This is deliberate so that the central front of the kilt is a blue square. 

3. Outline the green strips with a thin coat / semi-wash of black so that they appear a very dark green lines. 

4. Stop at this point if you want. It's usually good enough for smaller figures. For larger figures you can add a thin line of black mid-strip. 

5. Step back and look from 2 or 3 foot away. If it's good enough, then stop. 

Here, things are shaping up with the facings, kilts and bonnets looking better. 

And finally done. Or, more accurately, stopping at this point. I'd left the final basing to my friend. 

It was a lot of fun painting these. I must do more. 

And, almost inevitably, on the highlander's first action on the table top, their side lost. I think it's an unwritten law of the wargaming universe, that newly painted figures will lose their first battle on the tabletop. 

More on AWI and other stuff

We had a good game of the revamped Muskets and Tomahawks at the house of a friend. A fun game that prompted me to start splashing some paint on these chaps. 

Painting has slightly stalled at this point for now, but I will try to get back to it. 

And you know it was a good game when it leads to buying my own set of rules. I chose the Napoleonic supplement and cards because that's a major interest for me and where I'll do some figures. 

It was interesting that this came out around the same time, so was another purchase. A game followed at a friend's house. 

And 3d silliness continues. I spotted these Dark Ages shield maidens and bought the files. Very nice sculpts, though original prints are at a heroic 36mm scale. 

Here are some rescaled shieldmaiden figures beside one of my infamous unfinished Gripping Beast Saxons. They look good, so I'll add them to my unpainted figures and future projects bundles.  

More later...