Sabre Toothed Lion

The new Rangers of Shadowdeep expansion “Menagerie” calls for all sorts of beasts including lions and tigers and bears (oh my!).  The scenario actually calls for a tiger, which for some reason doesn’t sit right with my slightly grubby 12th century kind of Fighting Fantasy Allansia vision of the Kingdom of Alladore where the game is set. 

I have no idea why a sabre toothed lion makes more sense to me as an exotic animal to find in the setting,  but it does and here we are 

The figure itself is from Northstar and is a crisp one piece casting that’s a joy to paint.  I had a look at some pictures of real sabre toothed lions and they were quite spotty.  I couldn’t make that work - so I started again. 

Base coat is Vallejo Khaki with a drybrush of GW Screaming Skull.  Any warm off white will do. 

Then I added a couple of coats of old GW Flesh wash to bring out the colour. I concentrated it on the rougher parts of the fur. 

That all done I used GW Wyldwood contrast paint to colour the muzzle, add shadows under the tummy and to defund the musculature a bit.  I edged the “mane” and used the paint thinned with medium to do a gradually darkening colour going towards the end of the tail. The face and muzzle got some highlights with Screaming skull again.  

I through a mix of red and wyldwood contrast paint into the mouth. Then picked the teeth out with screaming skull. Agrax Earthshade at the base of the teeth and then a highlight with whatever white I had to hand. Much the same story with the claws.

All in all, a nice model given a quick paint job.  Pleasant to do and none too demanding. 

A Tower on a distant planet - Cheap Sci Fi Terrain

A Robot, a squat and a blind psychic walk into a bar. 

Stop me if you’ve heard this one. 

The Squat is an old Rogue Trader figure, while the psychic is from the Astropolis Kickstarter.  The Robot is a privately produced model that I picked up via the Oldhammer Facebook group and he is just lovely. 

I picked this up in Lidl for about the price of a pint.  At the price it seemed foolish not to.  I actually picked up two.  With Stargrave just around the corner I’m hoping that I’m going to be able to get some science fiction games in. 

Rangers of Shadowdeep has hit just the right kind of role playing game with miniatures feel that I really like.  I’m hopeful that Stargrave will scratch that itch.  I’m aware it’s more of a competitive skirmish game - but Frostgrave is very easily modded into a semi-RPG,  so I’m cautiously optimistic. 

The kit itself went together in about five minutes and actually scales well with 28mm figures.  To be honest, while it's not perfect - it's actually pretty good even without a lick of paint and wouldn't disgrace any tabletop it was on. 

These guys are old Rogue Trader era Space Marine Scouts painted by my pal, Kriztian Takacs.  I popped them up here to get a sense of scale and they seem to fit right in.  Which reminds me, I must do something to dolly up those bases. 

A long shot

In brief, these were an excellent buy for the money and while I might do something with them in future, they look fine to use as is, for the time being.  I might also need to invest in a new backdrop for my figures.  I can't imagine whatever God forsaken planet this is having blue skies with fluffy white clouds very often. 

Boars & Bears!

This bear is partial to bacon sandwiches

The last few weeks have been packed.  Work has been demanding and family life in lockdown is a bit of a juggling process. Add that I'm doing a course at night and the whole thing is getting a little bit overheated.  My gaming for the past little while has been devoted to producing articles for Miniature Wargames and while that is fun, it's nice to do something that is just for my own amusement. 

Rangers of Shadowdeep has been my casual game of choice for a while now.  The latest expansion for the game "Menagerie" involves the players taking on a sinister caravan of evil animal tamers. 

A grumpy bear in pursuit of a boar

The expansion came with a list of animal figures that were required and I wombled over to Northstar Figures to ordered a few.  These bears and the boar are from their Wild West range, but they work perfectly for Rangers of Shadowdeep.  They are lovely clean castings and the customer service from Nick at Northstar is top notch as always. 

I painted these over a couple of evenings while doing other things and I'm quite happy with them. 

The running bear is a big chunk of pewter that has a pleasing heft in the hand. 

Northstar Bear rearing

These required the minimum of prep and were painted using a mixture of Citadel and Vallejo colours.  I undercoated the bears in white, then gave the figure an all over coat of Citadel Contrast Wyldwood (a dark brown).  They then got a drybrush of Citadel Tallarn Flesh all over concentrating on the top down. I then hit the upper parts with a light drybrush of Vallejo British Uniform Highlight (any cream or off white would do). 

The whole thing then got an all over wash of brown wash.  I used Citadel Flesh wash because it was what I had to hand and my Agrax Earth shade was in the other room and I am the laziest man that ever stood in shoe leather.  I let the wash dry over night, then hit the raised portions again with the Vallejo British Uniform Highlight. Added some Vallejo dark wash to the eyes to darken them up a bit and a dab of Citadel Contrast fleshtearers red to the mouth to lighten it a bit. 

Et voila. 

Quite happy with the detail on the face

I'm quite happy with how this bears face turned out.  I wanted to keep the look simple and not too cartoony and I think I succeeded. 

"Rawr!"

A Boar

The boar was a puzzlement.  I had originally intended to go with something quite close to European boar, but they were quite monotone and also this chap had a much pronounced mohawk than his real world contemporaries. 

Ultimately I decided I'd try something a bit starker than with the bears. Again working from a white undercoat I gave all his fur a lash with some Citadel Contrast Goregrunta Fur.  This did the job like a trooper.  I did his snout and other fleshy bits with Citadel Bugman's Glow. His trotters got a quick dab of Citadel Contrast Skeleton Horde and threw some Citadel Flesh Wash over his snout. I then left him to dry overnight. 

He then got a quick drybrush of  Vallejo British Uniform Highlight on the top parts, just to add a little tonality and bring out the mohawk.  There's probably a name for that part of the boar now that I think of it. 

Making a quick getaway

I highlighted the face and snout with Citadel Tanned Flesh and gave his mouth a little Citadel Contrast Fleshtearers Red. I then highlighted the trotters, tusk and teeeth with Vallejo British Uniform Highlight  and declared victory. 

Prussians

In one of my madder moments,  I decided that in my copious amounts of free time I would contribute to a noble project that is taking place under the umbrella of Waterloo Uncovered.  This is the building of a massive Waterloo diorama in 1/72.  My contribution is a measy fifty Prussian Landwehr, but it's nice to be a part of something like this.  So while I was waiting for my bears to dry, I kept knocking off a few Prussian fleshtones and overcoats. 

My contribution is a very small one and there will be tens of thousands of figures used in the diorama. If you want to get a proper sense of the scale of this project, uou can see some pictures here at General Picton's blog. 

Better dead then red

With lockdown and all the challenges that has brought, the only game I’m managing to play regularly at the moment is Rangers of Shadowdeep.  If you’re not familiar with it - it is a co-operative fantasy wargame/role playing game. 

The specifics aren’t important, but the Kingdom is threatened by the Shadowdeep - a sort of land plague that takes over neighbouring kingdoms. All sorts of gribblies come out from the Shadowdeep, but amongst them are men corrupted by its evil who serve it. Sort of like cultists, but not exactly,  there isn’t much in the way of explanation. 

This chap is their leader.  He is one of the official Rangers miniatures from Northstar and he is a lovely sculpt.  Very clean casting which painted up quickly. 

I was pleased with how he turned out.  I primed him, hit him with some red contrast paint from GW and added some highlights.  I added green ink as a wash to the brass face mask to suggest verdigris, but I think the effect was too subtle. 

In retrospect, I have have gone a little overboard with the edge highlighting on this one. 

One of the strengths of the Northstar plastics is that there is a fair range of them and thus far I've found them quite interchangeable.  This figure is a sort of chief henchman sort of character, so I took the arms from the Northstar Frostgrave Soldiers set with the big montante style blade. 

They fit fine and he doesn't look out of place with his fellows. 

These are Temple Guardians.  Metal figures from Northstar's official Rangers of Shadowdeep range.  They painted up relatively quickly and I think they look suitably menacing. 

I might have gone a little overboard with the edge highlighting again, but I also tried to give their bronze face masks a sort of verdigris look by washing them in green ink.  I'm not sure I was bold enough and the effect seems a bit lost. 

Notwithstanding my reservations about my paint job, they do the job and most importantly they are finished!  I'll be using these for Temple of Madness, one of the later Rangers of Shadowdeep scenarios.  

Sometimes you just need a chap in a red hood with a club.  And these are very big and very stompy clubs.  The hats reminded me of Trotsky's pointed hatted armoured train guards - who probably have the coolest looking uniform of any military force of the last 100 years.  Sort of like a cross between Communist chic and the Wizard of Oz.    

Contrast paints did a lot of heavy lifting and they will work well as faceless mooks. 

I did four of them, which is about as many as I'll expect I'll need - given that the players will be attacking them from the get go.  In earlier times, I would have painted the maximum possible number required, but these days I try to be a bit more economical with my painting time. 

Proof, if proof were needed, that the crossbow is a bad guys weapon. 

The scenario actually calls for four Temple Guardians archers, but by long standing convention the bad guys always use crossbows in my games.  These are again from the Cultist box.  I think the crossbow arms might be from something else - but they fit like a glove regardless. 

If you look at the chap on the right, you'll see that one of the crossbowmen has a cloth cover covering part of his bow.  Unfortunately due to a mess up while transporting the figures, I managed to break part of his bow and I then, doubly foolishly, lost the piece, so I couldn't reglue it. 

I added a cloth cover with greenstuff as the best way to cover the lack and while it's not the best job, it serves it's purpose. 

These guys will be doing their worst in the Temple of Madness before too long. I hope. 

Snowball Fight

A snowball fight 

This is a much belated Christmas present for Mrs Kinch and her mother.  I had hoped to get them finished for Christmas but things got sear with me. 

These figures are from Replica Toy Soldiers who do a special Christmas set every year.  They were a joy to paint.  There’s something very restful about painting big figures  in simple colours and high gloss. 

Using proper oil based varnish made with asbestos, fruit bats and arsenic which takes days to dry is a key part of the process. 

Can you spot the different regiments in the snowball fight? 

Four get lost in the Asturias

Kinch doing some of his best work

I played an RPG last week, which was a surprise.  I played with one old pal (Mad Padre, who joined late, but will no doubt be taking an active part later) and three new friends from Twitter.  To be honest, if it wasn't for a campaign of constant harassment on the part of Marcus Cribb - it probably wouldn't have happened. 

Weirdly, just having some one keep at me helped things immeasurably because it meant that rather than overthinking things and worrying, we just did it.  The result was a short, lively game played over Google that was very enjoyable and that whizzed by.  We packed a lot of stuff into two hours. 

Proof, if proof were needed, that I do my best work under constant supervision and when cornered like a rat. 

Situation: 

The players are all subalterns in the British army being shipped to Wellington's army in Portugal in January 1810.   They are being transported aboard the HMS Alacrity, a frigate under the command of Captain Stern. 

The HMS Alacrity suffered badly in a storm and was blown badly off course.  Her her water casks got lose in the hold, being badly damaged in the process.  Captain Stern was obliged to put into the nearest land, the French occupied coast of northern Spain. 

Dramatis Personae

Captain Stern

Captain Stern

A distant authority figure who can never be pleased.   Captain Stern is the commander of the HMS Alacrity, a frigate which came to grief in a storm and which had to venture ashore looking for water, somewhere in the Asturias. 

Viewing the players are landsmen, soulless creatures little better than the beasts of the field, Stern took the opportunity to put them ashore and send them off to collect some intelligence from the farmhouse overlooking the bay.  Meanwhile, his sailors took on the proper jobs of repairing casks, finding fresh water and trying to find supplies. 

Midshipman Evans

Midshipman Evans and his party put the players ashore and then settled down to proper work.  He reiterated the Captain's instructions (which the players promptly forgot) that they were to get up to the farmhouse, find out exactly where they were (which they also forgot to do) and find out what the French presence in the area was (if any) and what the state of the country was. 

They were put ashore at 0930 and were to be back by 1230.  If they heard three guns fire, they were to hightail it back to the beach as fast as their feet could carry them.  Evans was absolutely explicit on this point. 

Some farmhouses are further away than they appear. 

But who were the plucky lads sent up to explore strange new bits of Spain, to seek out new friends and allies against the French and to speak English slowly and loudly where no Briton had spoken it before?

They were; 

Ensign Molloy (Right) & Ensign Peterson (Left)

Ensign Molloy

Twenty one year old Ensign Molloy of the 86th is the senior man in the party. He was born to rich landed gentry somewhere in South County Dublin. A handsome youth with polished manners and fine command of French, he is a persuasive speaker and is no doubt putting in a few years in uniform before being pack off to parliament.

Carrying: Sabre, Pistol & Purse of Gold.

Ensign Peterson (played by the Mad Padre)

Seventeen year old Ensign Peterson of the 18th Royal Irish The second eldest son of landed (but not titled) gentry somewhere in Britain or Ireland (we haven't worked out where yet). A pimply young creature, he has the benefits of a classical education and also, crucially, speaks Spanish.

Carrying: Sabre, Fancy Pocket Watch, Caesars Gallic Wars.

Peterson and Molloy are accompanied by two men of the 18th whose names escape me. 

Ensign Egan and CSM O'Brien

Ensign Egan (played by Tom)

Twenty year old the Honourable Ensign Egan of the 18th Royal Irish. The youngest son of the Lord Butler, First Marquess of Ormonde - there are some doubts as to his legitimacy, which might explain why he ended up in the line rather than gracing the ranks of a more fashionable regiment. A youth of average mien, he is a gifted fencer and rather good at sneaking around.  

His enthusiasm for cold steel and ruthless streak have yet to find full expression, but he is already being referred to as "Slasher" Egan around the mess. One can only hope that CSM O'Brien can keep him on the straight and narrow.

Carrying: Sabre, Spyglass, Compass.

2LTCribb

Twenty year old the 2LT Cribb of the 95th Rifles (date of commission equal to your date of birth). You are the middle son of a country clergyman from deepest darkest Kent. A youth of average mien, he is a good shot and scandalises decent opinion by carrying a rifle himself and swanning about in a fancy pelisse. He is a good cross country runner. He is accompanied by his servant and minder, Rifleman Harris, who is not finding this the cushy number he was expecting.

Carrying: Rifle, Sabre, Writing Materials. 

So how did it go? 

There was a quick comparing of commission dates (I used the players birth dates) and it was determined that young Molloy was the senior officer.  He led the party ashore, was given a brief lecture by Midshipman Evans, which he promptly ignored, then had a brief break to get their land legs and then set off inland. 

Looking at the approach to the  farmhouse, the party had two routes - a more direct route which lacked cover, but would be faster and a second more circuitous route which had more cover.   Molloy plumped for the second and soon the lads were scrambling up the escarpment.   

Once they got to the lip of the cliff, Cribb and Harris slithered forward and had a look. 

They saw a farmhouse complex surrounded by hedges and with a fountain in the middle.  They snuck forward and realised that the closest building seemed to be a kitchen and servants quarters.  Ensign Egan told off CSM O'Brien and two men to hunker down by the entrance to the court yard and keep sketch. 

Thankfully this lady was not permanently harmed by her ordeal

Cribb and Egan dived over the window sill and heroically subdued the cook who was boiling a large cauldron of water.  They tied and gagged her, without questioning her, and then everybody hid in the building.  A particularly grumpy looking French squaddie appeared outside the  second house and started smoking.  Meanwhile there were anguished screams coming from the other house.  

Now 15% more dastardly

There was a quick conference and the boys decided that the dastardly French were clearly torturing someone.  This impression was only copper fastened when a second French squaddie appeared and started being heartily sick outside the second building. 

Cribb and Harris took up position overlooking the court yard, while Egan and Molloy waited to rush the French sentries.  The Riflemen fired and while Harris dropped his man, Cribb's piece flashed in the pan.  The surviving French stared agog as Egan and Molloy leaped from cover screaming like maniacs. 

Of course, CSM O'Brien and the boys had fixed bayonets and were charging across the yard too. 

Molloy shot at the sentry with his pistol, winging him, but the man dropped his firelock and managed to run back inside.  The lads chased him through the front door, hard on his heels, so that he kept going until he dived out the back.  Meanwhile more howls and screams echoed through the farmhouse. 

Cribb damning his rifle as he ran, took Harris around the corner to cut the fleeing Frenchman off and ran straight into this. 

The paths of glory...

A Spanish surgeon doing his best to get the ball out of a French Colonel's back.  The surgeon was too busy to bother with what was happening, while the orderlies were too shocked.  The few French infantrymen got themselves together.  Young Cribb pointed his rifle at the closest one, who returned the favour and then both men fired. 

Only to roll double ones!  Both men flashed in the pan, while Harris sent a ball through the other French sentry that was showing fight. 

Do you know who wouldn't have messed up his shot twice in a row? Just saying...

Cribb charged his man, who promptly surrendered. 

Molloy used his excellent French to call on the others to surrender and they soon saw that discretion was the better part of valour.  The bag included three French infantrymen, the colonel and a staff lieutenant named Le Marchant. 

Don Sanchez and his assistant, Manuel

A quick conversation with Don Sanchez through an interpreter, confirmed that moving the Colonel would kill him, so they decided to leave him, but they rounded up the rest of the prisoners.  Le Marchant offered Ensign Molloy his sword, but it was politely returned in exchange for his parole.  It was at this point that CSM O'Brien politely but firmly reminded the young gentlemen, who were a bit giddy with victory, that time was a wasting. 

Ensign Molly is very happy

The lads decided to head back to the ship as quickly as they could, Ensign Egan was complaining that the prisoners were slowing them down.

They moved down the escarpment and made their way onto the beach only to discover that despite the fact that they were fifteen minutes early...the ship was gone. 

And there was no sign of it or any of the rest of the shore party. 

I called the game over there as it was a school night.  I am cautiously optimistic that we might get another session in before Christmas, but we shall see. 

Out for an Ambull

Mummy Ambull with two Bore Wyrms

Not much to say about this one except that I painted this Ambull figure from Blackstone Fortress as set out in the instructions and it worked reasonably well.  The monster is an interpretation of an old monster from the Rogue Trader era and I've always had a soft spot for them. 

I worked quite hard on getting the skin tones right

The "glowing" hive things were tricky, but I'm really pleased with how they turned out. 

The drybrushing on the grey skin worked out well

Cute little clawed horror

They look just like their mummy

Ready to munch some explorers