Saturday, January 31, 2015

Star Wars: The Bounty Hunters

Just had our 4th change of station since we arrived in Godammitstan.  The internet here is spotty as hell, so its a battle to post anything, and the constant moving around and long hours have conspired to keep me from painting as much as I'd like, but I still manage to get a few things done here and there.  My latest completed project:  The five Bounty Hunters Grenadier made for West End Games' Star Wars Miniatures Battles way back in the mists of time. (A time also known as the 1980s.)
The five pieces here are all nice examples of the line, with lots of nice detail.
 
Here is Dengar, Han Solo's old racing rival...
 
 And the weird insect creature, Zuckuss, who worked for both the Imperium and the Rebel Alliance...
 
 
The original Boxed set did not contain 4 LOM, the Gand-built droid, as the box artwork seemed to promise.  It did contain a number of figures which had nothing to do with bounty hunting:  some rebel figures and such; pieces that Grenadier couldn't think of anything else to do with, I guess.  Disappointing, as 4-LOM would have been a nice mini to have.
Zuckuss hanging out with my personal favorite of the five, the Wookie hunter, Bossk. 

More Bossk...
And mighty Boba Fett.

So...not a super-exciting post, but there it is.  Not much else to tell.  Plan is to start on a squad of Jabba's bodyguards next, but you know...Man plans and the Gods laugh.
'til next time...stay frosty!



Saturday, January 10, 2015

Clan Moulder Attacks!


 A rustling of small, furred bodies, a chorus of tiny voices raised in rusty-hinge screeching, a whisper-like scrabble of innumerable talons rasping upon stone and...the giant rat pack bursts out of the dark. Pouring out of the cave-mouths of the Fleafell like a flood of black bile, a rolling, ravening carpet of mange and louse!  Loping at the rear, robed figures crack long whips, driving their vile charges to ever greater exertions.  "Run-Run! they squeal. Into the fray...Run-Run!"


My second Skaven Regiment and also my Second Clan Moulder Unit...Only 3 Clan Moulder  packmasters left out of the maximum allowed in Warhammer Armies.
The rats were a lot more fun to paint than I thought they would be.  Got lucky with the eyes on this plump fellow here...
I'm not super happy with the handlers - haven't quite worked out a technique for painting Joe-average Skaven types.  If I could change anything about this unit, I think I'd give the handlers some kind of a uniform.  I think Andy Chabers had the right idea when he gave all his Clan Moulder Skaven white cloaks with red cult markings.  I don't know why, but that just looks really good.  Maybe I'll steal that idea for my plague monks or something.

5 figures in the unit are from a pack of TSR AD&D giant rats made I think by Grenadier around 1983.  This standing fellow and the fat yellow rat above are from this pack.  I think they have tons of character, are the perfect proportions, and fit in great with the GW rats.  The # of poses in the Citadel giant rat line was a little limited and these guys really help mix it up and add some variety.
I enjoyed painting the rats a lot more than I thought I would, and I'd like to have more of them in the army.  On the 25mm bases and at a paltry 2 points apiece, they can really bulk the army out.  Plus, they look cool.  The down side with these guys is that adding them only makes your army grow very slowly in terms of points.  Even after I gave the pack handlers light armor, the whole unit-21 models-only adds up to 67.5 points!
Couldn't resist throwing in another shot of my favorite rat. Such a cranky expression! I have a feeling that he's going to be one of those 'lucky' fellows that always comes off last when its time to remove casualties.


"Attack-Attack!"  The Rat-Handlers shoo their charges forward across my DVD player.  It'll be nice when I can get back home and photograph my fresh-painted minis on the big board again...

Sunday, January 4, 2015

Halflings of the Hollow Hills


  Brave Halfling Militia march out to defend their homes in the Hollow Hills. Always loved Tom Meier's old fantasy figures, but they are sadly small compared to Citadel's Warhammer stuff, so there wasn't much I could do with them until I conjured up the convenient excuse an old school Dungeons and Dragons Campaign setting.
They'll fit nicely into skirmishes against the dark hordes from the Caves of Chaos.  Maybe their home in the Hollow Hills will become a way station for an adventuring party.

Troops of keen eyed, wood-crafty archers like these fellows make up the backbone of the Halfling militias.  Their ability to kill the enemy from a distance is appreciated by many local human lords.
  Halfling communities like The Hollow Hills and High Hay are largely wooded and pastoral, with many copses and rocky ridges from which stealthy bowmen can spring deadly ambushes.
 Where the hail of arrows fails to stop the enemy, stout halfling yeomen must step forward and bring down the foe with their hunting spears and long wood-axes.  Halflings dislike this kind of fighting, being smaller than most of their opponents, but sometimes only a brave heart and a sharp axe can keep the wolves from the door of the hobbit-hole.
Young lads like these are strictly forbidden, on pain of a beating, from trying to follow their fathers and older brothers into battle.  But being good lads, they are determined to prove their worth, and sneak out to follow the militia anyway.  Not daring to get too close to the enemy, these brave boys can nonetheless bring a deal of misery to the invader by pestering and harrying their flanks from the shelter of wood and wall.  The young lads are shrewd shots with the slings they use everyday to keep wolves from their flocks.  Some are said to be able to bring down a small bird in flight.
Militia Captains are usually recognizable by their more warlike appearance.  This gentleman, for example, carries actual weapons and gear of war, rather than domestic tools turned to warlike purpose.  He is doubtless a personage of some standing in his community, and elected to the rank of Captain by his fellows.  I tried painting his shield in a checkerboard pattern at first.  I learned some valuable lessons about how not to try to checkerboard in the process.  It looked so bad, I just gave up and quartered the shield.  Sorry, little friend.
The Captain leads his neighbors into battle!  Hopefully they're not facing anything much tougher than Kobolds.
Right now my plan is to get a party of adventurers painted, along with some Treants I've just acquired, and get them into a fun little skirmish against some Tom Meier Orcs, Goblins and evil fighters from the Caves of Chaos.