Thursday's minion is ....

Out of the office today travelling. I'll be back at teatime but unlikely to be able to publish posts before then. There are only a few in the pipeline today, so get painting

From MartinN: Wehrmacht staff car, Civilian cars - 60 points

One thing I really love about 3D printing is the possibility to get my grubby mittens on stuff otherwise not commercially available in 28mm. And I can scale it to my own visual preference as well...

These three vehicles were part of a Kickstarter and actually the main reason I jumped in. Civilian or better civilian cars in army service are pretty hard to come by, even in 1/48 let alone 1/56. And if so they're pretty expensive too. Rubicon Models do a Citroen Traction Avant 11CV which admittedly looks a lot nicer than these models but seems to be sold out most of the time... of course not since I backed this Kickstarter though.

Anyway, for gaming models/ terrain pieces these are just perfect and are definitely a lot cheaper than their commercial counterpart. And as I said, you can scale the files to your liking and that's just what I did. Ever since having had a mate put a 1/48 Opel Blitz on the gaming table which towered over both terrain and figures I came to loath all the 1/48 is the "perfect" scale bogus and thought this just the right opportunity to proof my point.

My first test piece was this Mercedes V170 printed to match 1/56 exactly. But admittedly when painted and compared with my figures it looked a little too tiny for my liking. I couldn't really figure how two figures could actually squeeze in the front next to each other. So looks as if I might have been wrong after all...

This BMW 326 was scaled to 1/48 and initially was the one I liked the look of the most. But when checking sources online I realised it was much too high(by about two heads), even if it'd fit quite well width wise with the bulkier wargaming figures.

With both extremes tested I thought I might try something in between and printed this Citroen 11CV in 1/52. Now comparing all three I think this is the one I like the most as it sits nicely in between 1/56 which is actually too narrow for wargaming figures and 1/48 which is too tall.

So what did I take away from this? Well, obviously there's no such thing as the perfect scale for 28mm wargaming figures. As ever it comes down to personal choice. The one prefers his models to actually look as if the figures could actually squeeze in there, while the next (like me) doesn't like it when his toys are too high and too long. If we were totally consistent we would have to field vehicles which were roughly 1/48 in width while just 1/56 in length/ height... and that'd be a rather ungainly sight I bet. Maybe I should still try to print one such abomination, just for reference purposes though.

So, with yet another pet peeve out of the way (there are obviously quite some references to Y-webbing as of late ;-) ) I claim 60 points for three 28mm sized vehicles.

DaveD - Ok then.. scale, scale,scale.. is 28mm a scale or a size description - discuss... - this can indeed go on endlessly in this hobby - but i do think your visual "test" is a great one. I agree the 1/52nd looks best. you have done as usual a great job on bringing them to life. 

I do hoped you have loosened that Y webbing though..the chafing may get rough if the rivets take a while to count ;-)

right with that i am packing in my shift as i have a stoopid silly start time in the morning - so i will leave you to tender mercies of the Thursday rockmeister MartinC. I suspect you will be threatened with a test.

From MarkB - Betsy the camel at Docherty’s Dock- 40 points

Ahoy ship mates! I was all ready to paint a ship and now I see it’s ships of the desert! No problem! Out of the bits box come two ancient camels loaded with arrows and javelins. They will be very helpful as a baggage element for a variety of desert themed DBA armies.

Betsy and Barnaby are both 15mm and based on a 40mm x 40mm base. I hadn’t painted 15mm for about a decade and really enjoyed them as a change from my usual 28mm or ridiculously small 6mm or 2mm figures. It’s funny because you can still use the same techniques and they seem to combine enough detail with a quicker painting time, cost and tabletop footprint. I’m almost a convert!

I guess that’s 30 points for another location completed at Docherty’s Dock and 2 x 4 points for the camels as they basically had the same work as 15mm cavalry.

A total of a cheeky 38 points?

Where to next? I think it’s time to send up the smoke signals for another plundered location and call forth Sarah’s balloon for a second airborne journey... but where to? I feel the Snowlord’s peak is beckoning!

From DaveD - about time I had camels on hump days.. and even better at ones own location.. perfect ships of the desert! - lets call that 40 points

From JamieM - GW Ogres (90 points)

Some massive slabs of muscle from me this post.  Larger than the most 'roided up body builder, these ogres will cause nothing but trouble to wherever they go.

The trousers were all sewn in the middle, so I had some fun with lots of different colours as I figure they just get captives to make them things like clothes out of whatever they've pillaged.

And I refuse to call the "Ogors", which GW have rebranded them as in a bid to protect IP..... either that or confuse ebay searches!

Couple of banners and a couple of totems, the chap bellowing counts as a musician!

Lots of tattoos on them too, which were fun to do.  The front of the torsos were a little cramped, but the shoulders and backs provided ample canvas for them.

12 40mm figures makes 84 points I believe?  Now it's off to work more on the colosseum unless something else dis.... Ooooo look, a Squirrel!  

From Daved - Oh now there is a nice bit entertainment for you all, a lovely bunch of ogres , with nice tattoos - lets call that 90 points

From AlexandroL: 1/35 BA-64 Wargames. (30 Points)

Play wargames in 1/35. Absolutely crazy? Possibly but I have joined fellow Club Dragon in this adventure of playing a skirmish game with 54mm figures.

My first contribution is this Armored Car BA-64. As I have already mentioned, I am a fan of Armored cars of the Second World War.

 
It is a plastic model of the Vision model brand. It is very defined and there are very few pieces, the final result is beautiful and robust, perfect for playing wargames.

Comparison of scales 1/100; 1/56; 1/35

Pictures of a Sunday morning game.

 

From DaveD. - That is a fine bit of work - yes it is indeed a madness to game a 54mm , but a beautiful one!

From SimonM: "Wizkids" Trapper (5 Points)

This 45mm square pre-painted plastic model of an Earth Elemental is produced by “Wizkids” and is miniature number 031 their Volo's and Mordenkainen's Foes range of "Dungeons & Dragons" figures. A "large sheet-like monster that disguises itself as a floor or ceiling", the rare creature made its first appearance in December 1975 within the pages of "The Strategic Review".

"Resistant to both fire and cold damage" the amorphous form was initially primed using a double-layer of “Vallejo” Dark Grey, positively drowned in “Citadel" Nuln Oil and dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo Dark Grey. I then applied a couple of even coats of "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey to the 'flat body the fiend conforms to the floor surface of its lair' and washed that with (more) "Citadel" Nuln Oil.

As "Trappers are 95% likely to appear as a normal stone floor when tested by any normal means", I dry-brushed this upper surface with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey, just as if I were painting the paving tiles of a dungeon. This process actually made a bit of a mess of some of my earlier work with the "Vallejo" Dark Grey, so as a final touch I simply went back and tidied the monster's edges up.

From DaveD - YAY the "Nuln Oil" kid strikes again..that is every so slightly creepy! good job!

from RayR - O'Grady's Gulch - For Joshua 65 pts

Its Challenge Island time again, even though I've not completed my evil Snowlord Challenge!!

Fancy wanting me to actually play a game with the figures I've spent the last 5 years painting up and boring you lot to death with????

I dunno how he does it?

Anyway I leave Snowlords peak and trundle down the slope to O'Gardy's Gulch!

"Over the years I have enjoyed seeing others paint and donate models for others. It inspired me to do the same and it was most enjoyable. So, paint a miniature or piece of terrain for a friend (does not have to be a fellow Challenger)."

So I thought I'd do one last 10mm unit for James and his brilliant For Joshua Project.

These are Romano-British Horse Archers from Kallistra

They painted up pretty easy to be honest

There are 16 figures so should earn me 32 points plus another 30 for the Challenge Island  entry.

So a total of 62 points.

From DaveD - Yay more stuff for the project - cheers Ray! that's 65 points for you

Sarah's Balloon again from PeteF - Shieldmaiden Slingers (25 points)

Although I've already had the pleasure of an aerial journey across Challenge Island, I feel the need to once again take to the skies - this time to leave the Path of Imagination and to embark upon The Path of the New Shiny at its start point: Awdry's Atoll.

These shieldmaiden slingers are from Bad Squiddo, part of their shieldmaiden kickstarter in 2018. I'm slowly getting them all painted with the goal of having an all female Viking warband for SAGA (both Dark Ages and Age of Magic).

SAGA is a great game for two players to get a skirmish band of toys on the table and enjoy some banter while the toys engage in a rapid slaughter. It's more gamey than simulation but it's unique system of battleboard activation does introduce something in the way of national traits and historical-ish tactics.

The Vikings in SAGA adopt a strategy of getting stuck right in, resulting in much mayhem and removal of casualties. Apparently real Vikings might have been a bit more circumspect - but it's a fun game.

They were a lot of fun to paint. I departed from the usual Dark Ages palette of subdued tones to give them something a little more vibrant. I figured they'd want a little more in the way of embroidery and had fun with the patterns.

Four foot figures for 20 points.

From DaveD - some very nice work there Pete - the attention to to detail on the patterns is great , so I am topping you up to 25 !

Rock lobbing orcs at Cooke’s Crevasse by MarkB - 40pts

The looting rioting adventures continue across the island to Cook’s Crevasse. This time more Orcs (because let’s face it you can never have enough!?) so please welcome Scabs and Snotwangle. Scabs is a Maurauder Miniature from about 1989. He is a scabby and poorly clothed beast of burden clearly labouring with his heavy rock. This is his favourite rock called Betty. He always collects her after a battle to reuse her again. Scabs loves Betty because she always makes such a mess of the Stunties or the poncey pointy eared Elves.

Scabs 💕 Betty

Unfortunately for Scabs he is forced to work very hard by a rather brutal Orc called Snotwangle. Snotwangle takes delight in telling Scabs to work faster loading the catapult. I’m afraid the Man Mangler catapult was already painted before the challenge but I thought you’d enjoy seeing Scabs, Betty and Snotwangle in action!

This is Snotwangle. He is a Citadel Orc champion from about 1987. He likes to drink from his bottle of triple X Snotspike booze as he barks instructions. He is a nasty Orc!🤪

 

At the end of a long hard day of shooting rocks at Stunties Scabs and Snotwangle like to relax. Scabs likes to polish Betty. Snotwangle likes to drink more grog.

 

Cook’s Crevasse completes with a rock themed figure= 30 points

2 x 28mm figures = 10 points

Total = 40 points

Now we shall head to the coast to Docherty’s Dock where more mischief is planned!

From DaveD. Oh Martin will be pleased - he may even ask questions on the kind of rock! - prepare for your Thursday test! 40 points it is

From MartinC More Troops for Joshua - Dwarf Infantry (80pts)

Painting has been very slow for a couple of weeks - work has been so rubbish they had to pay me to go.
I have finished my final batch of troops for Joshua, for now. We have been testing out a quick play participation game using TtS rules as the collection will get it's 1st outing at the hammerhead show in a couple of weeks

Dwarf infantry and hero types

Hero - used for rerolling missed hits

General - used for rerolling failed activations

Dwarf spearmen. The standard is the top cut off from 28mm Gaul standard - Boar

Armoured dwarf infanty - Horse standard

Dwarf infantry with big hammers and swords - another horsey

basing these is tricky as somehave very thick bases and some almost no bases at all

Scores on the doors

75 10mm infantry

 

From DaveD - Good to see you have these completed my friend - I look forward to seeing them in action very shortly at the Hammerhead show - the forces of good needed a top up of basic infantry! so it 80points with the charity top up!