Zealand WIP 03

My last post of 2011 - With ten models finished, this unit is on track to be finished in the coming week...

Happy New Year! I have a lot of different projects on tap for 2012 and I'll tell you all about them in a few days.

Zealand WIP 02

Lighter coats, six models finished!

Zealand (Sjaellandske) WIP 01

The first recruits of the next battalion in my Danish Brigade:

Now that I see them in a photo, I notice the grey coats turned out a little darker than I wanted so they are in need of another highlight. I was concerned about not having enough contrast between the grey coats and white stockings (which I never bring up to pure white on campaign uniforms), but I think the mud spatter will take care of that anyway! Anyway, as you can see, this unit will be depicted in a gun line. Most of the command figures will be in the second rank as it makes for a more effective presentation with small wargames units if the models are dealing death across the entire face of the battalion.

Now these lads are off to the tailor for some lighter fabric, which they will be sporting in WIP 02!

Danish Foot Guard (Garden til Fods)

I finally had the chance to base my first unit of Warfare Miniatures...

This is also a first look at one of the flag sets we will soon offer through Warfare Miniatures. Details soon...

Merry Christmas!

Bountiful Christmas

Wishing You a Bountiful Christmas and New Year

This was the Christmas Card we sent out this year and I wanted to share it with all of my friends who visit the blog. I also wanted to show off a little - for those who don't know, my wife Sara is also an artist and the picture above is a photograph I took of a painting that she finished last week. It is an acrylic on canvas, 36x27", and will soon hang in our dining room (when I get around to finishing the assembly of the frame).

I want to wish each of you and your families a Merry Christmas!

SAGA News

Yesterday I received my long awaited SAGA dice! I pre-ordered sets for Normans and Vikings months ago. Production problems delayed shipment, but they have arrived just in time for Christmas - hopefully the impetus I need to paint up my Norman warband!

In other news, Gripping Beast has just announced the first supplement for the game is due out in the first quarter of 2012! Northern Fury will give us 4 new factions to lead into battle, and contains the Battleboards and rules needed to play these warbands. It also has new Heroes of Viking Age for these factions plus a specially designed multi-player scenario.

    

The new factions in the Northern Fury supplement are:

• The Bretons - These warriors fought on horseback using javelins and hit and run tactics to disrupt their enemies before dealing that killer blow.
• The Jomsvikings - Pagan warriors who's wrath and ferocity was legendry, historians still argue about their existence, but now you can field them in your games.
• The Scots - Descendants of the Irish migrants established on the western coasts of Caledonia, the Scots whose spears invited death to all who came near.
• The Anglo-Saxons - Sons of Ælfred the Great, they were known for courage and tenacity in battle, the Vikings feared them and rightly so, at the Battle of Brunanburh the seeds of England were sown.

New Artillery Offer from Warfare Miniatures!

Pre-orders for the FIELD GUN and POSITIONAL GUN can now be placed in the League of Augsburg Shop. The guns come with 4 and 6 crew respectively.

The guns are ready but the crews will not be available for a couple of weeks. We are taking preorders now and to make that a little sweet we are offering two added bonuses:

1. any order OVER £40.00 and including a gun will ship free till Jan 15.
2. The first 30 orders for each gun will receive a free limber (as yet unreleased) free with the order. If you order one of each gun and it is within the first 30 you'll get 2 limbers free.

Painted and Photographed by Barry Hilton

There are also two new codes in the shop: WLOA12 and WLOA13; These are the long awaited mixed codes to allow you to add even more variety to your units!

Danish Foot Guard WIP - 03

All of the models are finished. I've decided not to use the washes. It doesn't look bad, but as others pointed out in the earlier post, they don't really need the extra step.

I would like to point out Danish grenadiers probably did not wear fur caps in Ireland (my chosen theater). It would be more accurate to portray them in cloth caps or even floppy hats like the rest of the unit. For the purposes of my wargame unit, I chose these models because their pose matched the advancing posture of the rest of the unit. I'll base these troops properly over the next few days and have the finished unit for display, flags and all!

Warfare Miniature Personalities

The sculptor's brief was to portray Patrick Sarsfield as a true hero in the Irish tradition - fearless, cavalier, full of dash and derring do. I think this is captured perfectly in this absolutely beautiful piece of work. I can't wait to get my hands on this model!

You can see the other three personality models in the League of Augsburg gallery, including King William III, King James II, and Marquis de St Ruhe (Ruth)!

Games Workshop Washes

I am experimenting with using Citadel washes from Games Workshop to unify the colors and add depth to my models. The concept works along the same lines as the Army Painter Quickshade dips with several differences. The Games Workshop washes have a high degree of transparency, but maintain a strong color even when watered down, which means I can simply apply the wash to the entire model AFTER I've finished all of my other painting. They dry flat and thus require a much lighter coat of varnish to seal. These washes are also water soluble so I don't need to keep turpentine around and I can use my normal brushes to apply it. Of course, the Citadel washes are much more costly than Army Painter since they come in a little bitty jar...

Here is one of the models I painted for the uniform guide in Beneath the Lily Banners.

The model on the left is finished in my normal painting style, simple layers, sans washes. In the photo on the right a simple wash of Gryphonne Sepia has been applied to the entire model, though I was careful not to let any areas 'puddle up' by removing the excess with a clean, dry brush (works like a sponge). The wash seems to add a richer tone and a generally smoother finish with the only sacrifice being an extra two minutes.

In the end, it may not even be necessary. Opinions would be appreciated...

Danish Foot Guard - WIP 02

One stand worth of minis finished, though not in their final grouping. The right hand base will consist of four foot and two grenadiers. The central stand will be an officer, two ensigns, a drummer, and one foot (but will count as six models for game purposes). The third stand will be five foot and a sergeant...

Danish Foot Guard (Garden til Fods) - WIP 01

I have finally gotten around to digging into my Warfare Miniatures pile and sorted out the models for four battalions of foot, destined for a Danish brigade for the campaign In Ireland 1690. Of course these units will be based for Beneath the Lily Banners which means I will need units of 15-18 models (3 stands of 5-6 models). The rules are quite liberal as far as frontage goes - anything from 15-20mm per model will work fine. I've opted for 50x50mm bases because I like the way they looked with my AWI units.

Here are my first two dashing lads from the Danish Foot Guard or Garden til Fods. These models are from the WOLA4 Musketeer Advancing pack which make up the rank and file. I removed the fixed plug bayonets, but that left me with empty scabbards on their belts. I simply cut down the blade of the bayonet to serve as the plug and glued the tiny contraption to the coat above the scabbard (you can see this clearly on the right hand model).

I want this army to have a very hard, campaign look so they'll normally be sporting scruffy chins and muddy boots. The coats and trousers were painted with Foundry Boneyard A and highlighted with Foundry Boneyard B. The cuffs, waistcoat, and stockings were painted with Vallejo Red (70926), Flat Red (70957), and final highlights of Scarlet (817).

I'll post these 'real time' as I finish them (and as I get the chance to take photos) for a running Work in Progress series.

Warfare Miniatures US Agent

Warfare Miniatures has concluded an agreement to sell products through an agent in the United States of America.

From January 2012, Triangle Miniatures in Raleigh, North Carolina will carry the full range of Warfare Miniatures products. Triangle already sells Republic to Empire and Beneath the Lily Banners. Triangle Miniatures has a great reputation for service is run by Buddy Hoch who has over 30 years experience in the hobby and is well known. This will mean quick and service and of course nice and cheap postal rates if you are a North American customer.

In the UK and for other markets the arrangements remain the same with The League of Augsburg (which will have a shop upgrade over the Christmas break) and Northstar Military Figures handling web sales. Warfare Miniatures will also continue to be available at shows through Mr Dave Thomas.