Hurrah! Back to painting figure.

No more scenics for a while. It will be figures for the next few weeks, I think. First up, some characters for What A Cowboy;

I think that these are all Wargames Foundry minis. I was kindly given them by someone at the club because I'd mentioned that my Mexicans were a little bit outgunned. Anyway, these two have what appear to be single shot rifles or carbines, so that is an improvement.

The guy in the middle is clearly a military sort, maybe a former French officer who's wandered north to get away from the madness of the Habsburg Maximilian I imperial experiment.

I hope to see them in action on the table at some point.
 

Here is the second part of my Zanzibari Arab project.

In my last post, I showcased leaders and Baluchis with jezails. Here I have some Zanzibari Arabs with muskets, various Arabs and more Baluchis, this time with with swords and to finish off, two more Arabs with fearsome double-handed swords.

These are all, once again Wargames Foundry figures.

I don't have any immediate plans for using them, but at least they are all now finished and packed safely away for use at some unknown time in the future.

Back in early 2018, I started off a project .....................

.............. but I abandoned it, half painted. Over the years I did a few bits and pieces but it stayed in a box, mostly forgotten.

However, while I've been painting other things this year, I've gone back to the abandoned project while waiting for things to dry and brought my earlier efforts up to a better standard, as much as possible.

The project was going to be a Zanzibari Arab slaver band for Congo, but we stopped playing those rules and I couldn't see much point in carrying on at the time. Now, though, I can see how the figures could be useful for all sorts of things, In Her Majesty's Name, for example, or Pulp games in general. So, without further ado, here are the first few figures out of the completed total.

These figures represent a variety of characters and leaders. I particularly like the two on the left, especially the one in the red turban with a double-barrelled shotgun and also the one-eyed piratical guy on the far-right, with his pet monkey sitting on his shoulder.

Next are two groups of Baluchis (now known as Baloch) with jezails;

I think I overdid the Army Painter strong tone a bit on the two guys in green, but I don't think it really matters.

As far as I have discovered, Baluchi people spread out around the coasts of the Indian Ocean and Arabian Gulf and ended up in East Africa when the Sultanate of Muscat controlled large parts of the East African coast. 

As you can see, I went for a much more colourful palette for the clothing of all these figures, mainly because I wanted a kind of Hollywood style for them, but also because I didn't want to paint up and endless series of figures in white. Yes, I know, I've recently been painting Napoleonic Austrians, but when I started on this in 2018 I was less confident about painting large areas of white.

There are plenty more figures finished off, so I'll post the rest of them over the next week or so.

The last of my Elizabethans - six men with guns

I didn't think I was going to get these done, but happily I did. First, three arquebusiers;

As you can see, these have been painted using my green theme, because I think they ought to look like members of someone's retinue. These certainly look like they are reasonably well-trained in the use of their weapons.

Next, three less regular-looking types, armed with what I am calling blunderbusses, although I am not sure such things were available in the 16th century. Even so, Wargames Foundry think they were a Thing, so I'm happy to go along with it.

As you can see, two out of the three have my alternative blue colour theme.

One point about these chaps; two of them, plus one of the halberdiers were bare-footed, presumably because they are sea dogs, but I didn't want them without shoes. Therefore, I gave the three concerned shoes made from green stuff. After painting and basing, it is almost impossible to tell which ones were originally shoeless.

So, this is my final piece of painting for 2021. I have packed my paints away and will be spending the rest of the year with my partner, our dogs and lots of food and wine.

Six Elizabethan halberdiers

Getting close to completing this little Foundry project. Here are two groups of three men armed with polearms;

The three above have continued the green theme and have a more regular appearance than the second group, I think.

 I particularly like the central figure of the second group. He looks like he's been around a few battles in the past and would be perfect as the Gatekeeper for a household or manor.

The final six figures are all equipped with firearms. I will post them tomorrow.

Four grizzled veterans

Here are the last four of my current bunch;

These guys are definitely my idea of how grizzled veterans of many battles, boarding parties and dubious missions into hostile towns and cities might look. They have the air of desperate hard men who might consider anything, so long as the price is right.

I've moved away from the unifying green theme, except for the third one from the left, because I also wanted to use a blue/grey palette to create a second colour theme.

I love the character in these sculpts. There is so much to enjoy when painting figures as good as this. I especially like the figure with his arms folded and with a bandage across one eye. The blob of grey paint under his nose was a mistake I didn't notice until I'd photographed him. I've fixed it since then.

I have six more figures to finish off and that will probably be it for 2021. I am planning to have these all out of the way by Thursday.
 

Today sees four more Elizabethan arrivals

Four solid dependable sorts from Wargames Foundry. First, two well-equipped grizzled veterans;

And now two armed retainers, obviously based upon the same basic armature;

I've used various shades of green as a unifying factor here, because although I don't want this project to look like an army, I do want the figures to have something that brings them together.

All four look like the kind of chaps you would like beside you when things turn nasty, and I think of these as being the core of an armed band who might be deployed as Border Reivers, a nobleman's retinue in the fighting in the Low Countries or against the Spanish or even on Witch finding expeditions.

Four more swashbuckling Elizabethans.

 First, two swashbuckling young ladies;

I see the somewhat dishevelled young gentlewoman on the right as the sister of the dashing swordsman in black, here. The young lady with lilac hair and the blunderbuss is her companion. The Celtic Cross between them is a simple MDF kit from Warbases. It doesn't look much when it arrives, but once glued together and painted it comes alive rather nicely. I decided to give it an aged appearance, which will make it useful for all manner of settings.

   

To gain sufficient expertise and experience with a blade, a young lady needs an expert teacher, so here is her Fencing Master, accompanied on his left by his manservant, a rogue who carries out all manner of nefarious deeds for his master. The fencing master looks like a bit of a rogue himself. He's clearly someone with a chequered past. The pair must have spent some considerable time fighting in the wars in the Low Countries and the German lands, maybe even against the Turks in eastern Europe.

These figures are all, once again from the Foundry Seadogs and Swashbucklers range.

Annoyingly, the photo of these two shows up a couple of small errors, which I may have to correct at some point.

Overall, though, I am really enjoying working on these figures, which I will have completed before the end of next week, because I need to get the dining table cleared and ready for the seasonal festivities.

More Elizabethans

And a bit of a background story. 

Once again, these are Foundry Seadogs and Swashbucklers.

The interesting thing here is that one of these figures is a monk, something quite odd, seeing as there were no religious orders in post-Reformation England.

Anyway, I have decided that the guy in  the robes isn't actually a monk. Instead, he is a scholar, known only as Brother Johannes, a fanatical enemy of all witches, warlocks and members of secret cults, and also a spy who has infiltrated a number of secret Catholic cells operating in England on behalf of the Spanish king and the Papacy. The central figure is Doctor Frans van Helsing, a Hermetic philosopher and alchemist and reputedly a scholar of the Dark Arts, and the figure on the right is Willem Bocq, Doctor van Helsing's manservant and assistant. He is carrying a chest containing various important items that van Helsing might require as part of his investigations into unexplained phenomena. Doctor van Helsing has long been an associate of the famous Doctor John Dee and has also carried out secret work for Sir Francis Walsingham.

I am now thinking about how I might use these characters in games with a supernatural aspect. 

Elizabethan Swashbucklers

I bought these figures about a year ago and put them to one side, having more urgent things to paint.

These are Wargames Foundry figures from their Seadogs and Swashbucklers range. I bought five packs of figures in all, with the aim of putting a couple of bands together for games using the En Garde rules. They hopefully might work for the currently unreleased TooFatLardies sword fighting rules, although I think that those rules are more aimed at the France of Louis XIII and the Three Musketeers.

These are the first three I've photographed and I am really pleased with how they have turned out. The sculpts and casts are excellent, with loads of crisp detail. I am generally pretty pleased with how they have turned out, although, typically, the photos show up a few tiny mistakes which are annoying, but won't really show up on the table.

I really like the guy in the middle a lot. He has something about him that says "swaggering swordsman", and his companions also look like formidable characters. Perhaps they might be veterans of wars in the Low Countries or privateering voyages against the Spanish? The chap on the left looks like one of those Elizabethan gentlemen of letters, equally capable of knocking out a sonnet or two or running through a few ne'er do wells in a seedy tavern brawl.

I've got another nine ready for varnishing and photographing, so I'll post them in separate posts later on.

Since finishing these, I am now thinking how I might use them for supernatural settings, with Master Hieronymus and Red Samuel as adversaries. I'm sure I'll think something up.

I haven't got names for these three Flashing Blades yet, but I can work on a backstory later, once my ideas are all worked out.

All Quiet On The Blogging Front

I haven't really been doing much wargaming related stuff for the last couple of weeks or so, although I have started prepping up figures for some early 2021 projects, including my Bad Squiddo Onna Bugeisha minis which I have had sitting around for ages and ages. I felt guilty every time I saw them in the box where I keep my (supposed) priority To Do stuff. Anyway, they are now glued onto 2.5cm round MDF bases and primed in Halford's matt grey undercoat spray.

I have also started to prep up another project, this time in 15mm, which I shall keep secret for a while, because it is something of a personal trip down memory lane, in many ways, but it did require me to get onto eBay and buy some old rulebooks from more than two decades ago.

I also took advantage of the Foundry Christmas price reduction offer and bought some minis from their Seadogs and Swashbucklers range. A few of us from the club put in a single order, to maximise the discount, which was nice. The plan is for these to make up bands for Osprey's En Garde rules, or anything else that seems suitable, for that matter.

I also bought a couple of Geek Villain wargaming mats in the Black Friday sale, the first time I've ever done such a thing. I got a grassy one, which is useful for everything, pretty much, and a cobblestone one, which will be good for all manner of urban settings. I am primarily thinking of In Her Majesty's Name here, but Frostgrave seems another possibility too. I have the Frostgrave 2nd edition book on my Christmas list too, so I am looking forward to that.

Anyway, it is the run-in to Christmas now, so I am going to be pretty busy with getting the food and wine ready, getting out the Christmas tablecloth and table mats and other festive bits 'n' pieces. Tomorrow, I'll be off to the butcher for the meat , which means boning, stuffing and tying up the chicken, poaching a bacon joint (for glazing on Boxing Day), making stock from the chicken carcass and making a chocolate and lime baked cheesecake ready for Christmas dessert. and then it will be Christmas eve. when I must go to the baker to get our bread order collected, and also get whatever I have forgotten about until now.

Wargames Foundry "Lord Of Chaos"

I bought the Wargames Foundry "Lord Of Chaos" figure at Colours in Newbury last year, undercoated it and promptly left it sitting around for months and months as other things leapfrogged up the painting list. Also, I really had no idea how I wanted to paint it. I simply couldn't think of a colour palette that worked for me.

However, I really wanted to get it finished off, because it is an amazing piece of work. I am thinking that I might use it as a Major Demon in Frostgrave, but it will just as easily work in Cthulhu games. I mean, all those tentacles! I can see it working in 7TV games too, and there must be other ways of getting it onto the table. 

I think that this colour scheme works OK. I'm not sure if it is 100% perfect, but it has turned out better than my original idea, which had to be painted over because it was just too garish.

Some extra firepower for Congo

I bought these Wargames Foundry figures a while ago, at the Colours show at Newbury Racecourse, but only recently got round to finishing them off. Both sets are intended to feature as Soldiers under the Congo rules, but will also be suitable for other 19th century adventure and skirmish games.

First, I have eight British infantry in colonial uniform. Yes, I know a group of Soldiers for Congo is only four figures strong, but the blister pack had eight miniatures, so I painted the lot, intending to give me some flexibility as to what games I can use them for, and also maybe for some non-standard games using Congo rules where, more than one group of Soldiers could be allowed. They would be great in other 19th and early 20th century settings. Who knows? They could even be the basis for a small force for Sharp Practice if and when the rules get extended beyond the Black Powder era into colonial times.

My second set are from Foundry's "Egyptian Adventurers" range, which has some terrific miniatures. These are described as being "French Foreign Freebooters", which I take to mean that they are either former Legionnaires or deserters.

In any case, I've tried to make them true to the look of Legionnaires, but not stick that closely to real uniforms. I especially like the character with the keffiyeh-type headgear. He will play the role of a Retired Officer in my Congo games. I had originally planned to give these guys dark blue tunics, but a test painting revealed that it simply didn't look right, so they have khaki tunics, such as were issued to  the Foreign Legion in West Africa towards the end of the 19th century. I used Vallejo Green Ochre for these, because I think it looks closer to the uniform colour in most illustrations of the period than any other shade I possess. I also took some liberties with the colour of the puttees, mainly to break up the overall whiteness of the uniforms, but also to give them more of a feel of former Legionnaires and mercenaries rather than serving troops.

More recruits for my Congo expedition

I've been working to get the rest of my Congo figures painted before Sunday, because I am playing a game with them. The good news is that I've finally finished them and here they are. First, here is the expedition's Kirangozi or guide, with two bearers.

And now some armed figures to protect the expedition and fight off other explorers. First, there are four trained Askaris with rifles. These have been given a basic uniform;

Next, some more Askaris, equipped with muskets and locally-recruited. These guys have less training and a less uniform appearance;

Now for the rest of the expedition's troops. First some Ruga Ruga, mercenary fighters who are little better than bandits, once again equipped with muskets;

And finally, five young tribal warriors, armed with assegais and shields. I could also use three of these as scouts if required.

These last two groups feature in other columns and expeditionary lists, such as the Zanzibari one that I will be working on next. I also have some other figures that I will be painting up, but I'm keeping those secret for now.

Some 28mm figures for Congo

I've had some figures for Congo for a while now, but painting them has been a slow activity. I made a start a while ago, but then bought a load more figures at Colours in Newbury the other week.

Still, the first elevn figures are now complete. They are all Wargames Foundry 28mm figures from their Darkest Africa range, some of which I bought as a Congo "White Man's Expedition" box set, and the rest in a blister pack at Colours, described as "Deadlier Than The Male".

These are three Stout Chaps, ready to brave the perils of the Dark Continent.

And not to be outdone by the men, here are three Liberated Ladies, to accompany the chaps and make sure they stick to the task in hand. I am not sure about the fourth figure. She clearly went to the Wrong Sort Of School and appears to have gone native.

Finally, here are four more Ladies, who will no doubt feature in all sorts of games. I can see the young woman with the book perhaps being some kind of investigator of suspicious supernatural goings-on. The one with the pistol clearly isn't going to put up with any funny business and the fashionable lady-about-town with her prim elderly companion may well end up in the jungle in some capacity.

Unhappily, after I'd photographed them, I noticed that there were a few bits of extraneous fibre stuck randomly to a couple of the figures. This has now been removed, but I couldn't be bothered with photographing them again.

These could also be used in some Sharp Practice scenarios set in a slightly later period than the current rules.

I have a whole load more Foundry minis to paint now; Askaris, Ruga-Ruga, tribal warriors with assegais and shields, Zanzibaris, Baluchis, a few British infantry and a few French freebooters who look like deserters from La Légion Étrangère, who will be perfect as soldiers in an expedition of some kind. This is beginning to look like an excellent project.