New Flags from Quindia Studios

This time we've added a selection of French Horse from 1692-93 that fought in the battles of Steenkirk and Neerwinden.

These will be available in the LoA store in a few days! There are more French on the way...

Fellowship Friday - Gimli

Last but not least, Gimli, Son of Gloin!

...and that does it for the Fellowship of the Ring. I'll have to set up an Ambush at Amon Hen game of something similar - I've never used these models on the tabletop. Something about wargaming with them and getting them all killed doesn't appeal to me (oh, Frodo lost his head and the Uruk-Hai have the Ring... shame for Middle Earth).

Imperial Warden WIP

Thought I'd add an update on the progress of my Imperial Warden...

The white carapace really reflects a lot of light and this pic is a little washed out - there is more contrast in the shading on the white armor. I just realized I forgot to add the armored 'hat' and Red Scorpion icon to the left knee so I'm off to do that now. The next step is the first stage of weathering - painting the chips and dings.

More pics in a few days...

Fellowship Friday - Legolas

Legolas was never among my favorite characters from the book - funny how the movie version has become so popular!

I did really like this model, though...

Building the Imperial Warden

As promised here are the steps I took to build the Imperial Warden from the Imperial Knight kit. There are multiple versions of the warden, but the one I had in mind when I set out was the hunchback with the T-Rex arms...

The hardest part to figure out was how to reposition the carapace, but once solved was relatively easy to accomplish. I built the legs and carapace as per the instructions minus the front plate where the head is mounted. Then I cut up the right weapon arm to get this ball joint and glued it to the hips...

I positioned the carapace as far forward as possible, with the open hole in the waste touching the ball joint and marked the spot with a Sharpie. Then I drilled a hole all the way down into the hip at an angle, glued a steel rod down into the hole, and secured the carapace by gluing a length of PVC tube that perfectly fit my wire on the inside. I also added plastic model glue on any parts that touched (ball on the hips to the socket on the torso, etc).

After letting this dry overnight to ensure a solid construction, I added the front plate at an angle to make the head protrude from below the top (now front) armor. You need to have the armor attached to see the position, but I've left it off for the photo so you can see what I did. You can see it actually ends up behind the tabs that would hold it on a standard knight construction. There is an empty gap above the head, but it is impossible to see it without turning the model upside down. For those of you who paint the interiors on your Rhinos, you could certainly fill the space with spare bits, pipes, etc. I didn't bother...

The weapon arms were dead simple. I used the shoulder joints of the knight with the supports removed and glued the cannon assemblies from a Space Marine Stalker tank. I'd like to say these cannons were spare from my bits box, but I bought the kit to get them... Yes, I could have shopped eBay, but I was on a roll and didn't want to wait for mail order! I can always use the extra Rhino anyway...

The missile launcher was made from both missile pods from a Valkyrie kit (yes, these WERE from the bits box). I just glued them together and used one front and back assembly. I THINK the side struts and swivel mount came from the Valkyrie as well, but I'm not positive as they came from my bits box too. I drilled a hole through the missile launcher and used plastic rod to attach the struts. I drilled a hole at the top of the carapace and used another spare bit of plastic tube to help secure it.

So that's it! I need to add the Imperial crest on the carapace and of course I will glue down the leg armor after it's painted. I'm not going to use the shoulder guards to increase the difference in the silhouette of the knight. I wish it was a little shorter, but there was no easy way to shorten the legs.

The base will get the same rubble treatment of my first knight. As I mentioned in the last post, the warden will be mostly white with yellow and black accents to tie it into House Hawkwind. It will probably get the small Red Scorpion emblem on the knee as well. I don't have rules for it yet, but I will probably just use the Stalker cannons as, well... Stalker cannons. I need to glance through my old Adeptus Titanticus stuff to decide for sure.

I'm looking forward to painting this model, but I have another 'normal' knight on the table at the moment so it may be some time before I get to it!

Fellowship Friday - Boromir

Missed a week, but here is Boromir of Gondor.

Edit: Just realized this is my 300th post! Hooray!

Imperial Warden

Never one to leave well enough alone, I've been planning on building an Imperial Warden ever since I first saw the kit. I always loved the hunchbacked model and the concept of a 'retired' knight taking up the mantle of the Warden to defend the homeworld. The fact that there are no rules for the model hasn't put me off in the least since I paint more than I play these days. My friends will let me use the model in games if I come up with rules and point values - we will adjust them between games if necessary.

I'll have more on this later, including construction pics, but I am currently working on a second 'normal' knight for House Hawkshroud. I just wanted to put this pic up. Tradition states that the wardens are painted white with a small area picked out in the house livery.

My plans now are to have two Imperial Knights from House Hawkshroud, the Imperial Warden from House Hawkshroud, and a third knight painted as a Freeblade.