(Lead) Mountain Musings - "Wargames Foundry" April 2025

"During the Napoleonic era, bears primarily appear in historical contexts as symbols in art and political cartoons."

With my self-imposed Partially-Painted/Printed Pledge (PPPP) now over, and a number of old half-finished figures tabletop ready as a result, I thought I'd spend this month once again ploughing on with my rather large collection of unpainted 28mm metal Napoleonic figures by "Wargames Foundry". To be honest I'm already quite a way behind with my Black Powder goals for this year, as I've only completed two of the twelve miniatures I promised myself I'd have done at this point in 2025, so dedicating at least four weeks worth of hobby-time to some flintlock-bearing fusiliers should be a good way of getting the long-term project back on track.

To begin with I'm planning on pigmenting at least enough Moscow Militia with Muskets to field a small unit of Narodnoe Opolcheniye (four models), and add them to my Coalition forces. I was actually rather naughty this past October on "eBay" as I splurged on a twenty-eight man Russian Infantry battalion auction I spotted, so really need to start making some in-roads into these Alan Perry sculpts sooner rather than later.

"Alternative Armies" WIPs - This trio of Taranis Runner Drones are almost finished

I'm also blatantly aware that apart from a few 95th Rifles and accompanying officer, my consortium of Napoleon Bonaparte's enemies isn't at all flush of British miniatures. Much of this deficit is largely due to how badly intimidated I am by the formidable palette needed for Redcoats, and an aversion to anything tartan. However, I think I may well now have some basic colour schemes which will help 'get me over this hump', and allow me to get a fair few of King George III's men battle ready.

Furthermore, I still hope to tinker with some of the remaining 15mm science fiction figures I didn't quite finish for my PPPP. These all came from The Ion Age range by "Alternative Armies", and shouldn't take too long to add to my already quite significant (not) Rogue Trader armies. Indeed, I'm actually tempted to dig out a few more of these old(ish) models to help fill out some of my different forces' more specialist units - particularly their characters.

March 2025 - Two new entries have stormed up into the leaderboard

Historically, the last four or so weeks have always been one of my most productive times and this year was absolutely no exception. A good deal of this success was undoubtedly due to my sudden descent into the Dead Man's Hand range of Wild West gunslingers by "Great Escape Games", and determination to work through some more Russian NBC Troopers by "Athena Miniatures" - albeit not anywhere near as many as I had intended. The big surprise though was the blister-load of "Pendraken Miniatures" 10mm Falklands British soldiers I patiently picked away at over time, and I'm rather hoping I can do something similar with the rest of the Army Pack for this month too.

What will be interesting is whether or not my productivity will now nosedive, seeing as I didn't participate in the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (AHPC), and so shouldn't be suffering from any gaming fatigue. Annually, this waning interest in 'applying a brush tip to a model' is always a big disappointment to me, so I am keen to avoid such lethargy this time round, and maybe get a few battles in to help fuel my enthusiasm for the various projects I want to progress...

"The Falklands War Was A Ten-Week Undeclared War..."

 "...Between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982, over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic..." 

These forty 10mm metal British soldiers are by "Pendraken Miniatures" and were bought as part of their Falklands British Army Pack whilst I was visiting "Colours" 2023. Each 30mm x 40mm plastic base is comprised of a single figure from the following codes: FLB20 - Advancing with SLR, helmet, FLB21 - Advancing under fire, helmet, FLB22 - Kneeling, firing SLR, helmet, FLB23 - Standing, firing SLR, helmet, and FLB24 - Standing, firing SMG, helmet.

The models were all originally super-glued onto wooden painting sticks, undercoated with a couple of licks of "Vallejo" Heavy Grey, and drenched in "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. I then dry-brushed them with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Grey, and began the tricky process of 'picking out' all their boots, hands, faces and weapons with a little "Citadel" Abaddon Black.

"...The Falkland Islands and its territorial dependency, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. ."

The troopers' skin was pigmented using a dollop or two of "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone, followed by a dash of "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade, and a highlight of (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone. Whilst their guns were simply given some "Vallejo" Gunmetal and sploshed with "Citadel" Nuln Oil. Lastly, I applied a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade to any visible rifle butts, and frankly thought I'd finished them.

However, as I actually intend to use these figures to recreate some battles akin to the old Commodore 64 computer game "Germany 1985" by "Strategic Simulations Incorporated", I thought I'd also give each soldiers' rear ammunition belt a touch of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. This palette might not be historically accurate. But it will help me identify British units if I do indeed go down the route of 'creating' other NATO/Commonwealth forces to thwart their Soviet Opposition - and use more of these "Pendraken Miniatures" sculpts for them too.

"CoolMiniOrNot" WIPs - This riderless Devil Dinosaur has been repaired and undercoated

Perhaps understandably wanting to paint something in a significantly larger scale to all these 10mm shenanigans, I have also started working on a broken 40mm plastic Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur model by "CoolMiniOrNot". This serious handful of a gaming piece is from the manufacturer's now somewhat infamous Marvel United Multiverse Kickstarter, and arrived damaged, so was very kindly gifted to me to do with as I wanted, once an intact replacement had been received.

Resultantly, I have cut off the prehistoric monster's bust rider, green-stuffed the subsequent hole, filed down my repairs, and slapped a basic "Vallejo" Russian Uniform WWII undercoat on the beast. My plan is to simply turn Jack Kirby's comic book creation into a generic Tyrannosaurus Rex, and use the figure for some actual tabletop gaming - as opposed to anything related to the boardgame. In addition, as I actually own a copy of Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur myself, I might paint them up later on for some carnivore verses carnivore action... 

"The Legions Of The Shia Khan Empire..."

"...Are the main fighting force of the Empire."

This trio of 15mm miniatures by "Alternative Armies" come from their "The Ion Age" code IAF019 Legion 2nd Pioneers - Flora Grenade Guns (Pose Seven - Pioneer Discens with Flora, loading, Pose Two - Pioneer Discens with Flora, and Pose Five - Pioneer Discens with Flora, clutching the ground), and are designed to be used with the company’s “Patrol Angis” rule-set. However, I’ve both based and painted them so they can be used as a (proxy) unit of Chaos Space Marines for a home-brew game I've somewhat loosely based within the early Warhammer 30k/40k universe.

The models were initially primed using a couple of coats of "Citadel" Abaddon Black, dry-brushed with "Vallejo" Heavy Charcoal, and shaded using plenty of "Citadel" Nuln Oil. I then base-layered their skull-like face masks with a little "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna, before 'picking them out' using a smear or two of Gold and a dash of "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade.

"Athena Miniatures" WIPs - A pair of British Apocalypse Survivors

I next applied some "Vallejo" Heavy Violet to the figures' partially visible sleeves and trousers, and washed these areas in "Citadel" Druchii Violet. This choice is somewhat different to the Pioneers' official red colour scheme - as seen in the pictures on "The Ion Age" website, as I actually intend to use the miniatures as pseudo Emperor's Children traitor marines, so I felt such a change in their palette would prove much more appropriate.

My original intention was to also just finish each model off by treating their Flora grenade guns to a combination of "Vallejo" Gunmetal and "Citadel" Nuln Oil. But despite this 'flash of metallics', I still felt that the figures looked rather bland - especially from behind. Resultantly, I also applied some "Vallejo" Gunmetal to the pipes and tubing of their breathing apparatus, and a little Heavy Sienna to some ammunition pouches running around their waists. These items were subsequently darkened down using (more) "Citadel" Nuln Oil and Agrax Earthshade respectively.

"Wargames Foundry" WIPs - These twenty-five year-old Highlanders are finally seeing some paint

Having completed this test base - using three models which have rather embarrassingly been sat upon my hobby table for many a year, I thought I'd tackle some much more recently-arrived sculpts in the guise of two British Apocalypse Survivors by "Athena Miniatures". One of these 28mm metal figures will (hopefully) be transformed into a bearded Bill Savage - so as to lead the King's remaining military forces against the Volgan invasion of the United Kingdom, and the is one of four children I intend to use as clue markers - as I plan to use an adapted version of "The Silver Bayonet" rule-set by "Osprey Games" for my battles.

Lastly, I have been dusting done and plonking a few basic paints on a number of "Wargames Foundry" Napoleonic soldiers I fully intend to work my way through next month, such as these approximately twenty-five year-old Scotsmen from blister B060 Highlander Flank Company Advancing. This project hasn't really got going in 2025 yet, so I thought dedicating April to the 'collar and cuffs' cause might inject it with the energy necessary for me to patiently pigment all the colourfully-dressed combatants...

"The Ned Kelly Gang Were Bushrangers..."

"...Who terrorised the population of the north-eastern district of Victoria, Australia, from 1878 to 1880."

These three 28mm scale metal models are sold by “Great Escape Games", and form part of their DMHG-NED - Kelly Gang five-figure set for Dead Man's Hand. Sculpted by Mark Evans, this box actually contains one more member of the gang than historically existed, and doesn't seemingly identify any specific miniature as representing either Joe Byrne or Steve Hart.

Having been bought a "Salute" 2019, and partially-pigmented around that time, my biggest hurdle with these outlaws was whether I could identify (and match) the colours I originally used on their long coats. In the end I just gave their base layers a good soaking in "Citadel" Nuln Oil or Agrax Earthshade (as appropriate" and then went with whatever "Vallejo" paint I felt would work so as to bring out all the creases, pockets and buttons.

"The Kelly Gang members were declared outlaws, liable to be shot on sight."

As a result, one jacket received a dry-brush of "Vallejo" Sombre Grey, another of Charred Brown, and the third with Desert Yellow. I next painted either their shoes or trousers with a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade, and left the remaining boots and pants pure "Citadel" Abaddon Black. I also took this opportunity to carefully 'pick out' the criminals' hands with some "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone, "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade, and a highlight of (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone.

Lastly, I treated all of the bushranger's infamous 6mm thick iron armour and firearms with a lick of "Vallejo" Gunmetal, and shaded it using "Citadel" Nuln Oil. As with the group's other members, I felt the re-shaped plough mouldboards would look better without any actual highlights, so simply left them all be. Though I did decide to 'catch' all the pistol butts with a smidgeon of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and some "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade.

"Athena Miniatures" WIPS - The last of my Soviet NBC Troopers are on the painting table

With the entire Kelly Gang now completed, I have found the time to continue working on my third plastic bag of 28mm Russian NBC troopers by "Athena Miniatures". Due to already painting eight of these gas-mask wearing Soviet invaders, I thought I'd take the opportunity with this quartet to see if I can speed up my process by not bothering to 'line' around their rubber gloves and boots until after I've base-layered and washed those areas.

I probably now own enough British Squaddies, Spetsnaz, and various Apocalypse Survivors to keep me going until the end of the year, so don't plan on adding anything new to this project until everything - including a Landrover Mark III - is tabletop ready. However, having been in regular contact with company owner John Caboche, and heard of his future plans for this range, I've got my eye on "Colours" 2025 as a particularly optimistic deadline...

"Bubo Was Forged By Hephaestus..."

"...And sent by Athena to aid Perseus in his quest to save the princess Andromeda."

This 28mm scale metal Clockwork Owl is produced by "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio", and was an early bird miniature from their successful "7TV Fantasy Genre Guide" Kickstarter in October last year. Sculpted by Matthew Kent, the figure is clearly inspired by the remote controlled/stop motion model seen in Desmond Davis' 1981 fantasy adventure film "Clash of the Titans".

Due to the mythical, mechanical marvel's diminutive size, as well as my concerns over whether his thin perch would actually survive my usual painting process, I decided to pigment the little fellow a bit differently from how I ordinarily tackle my miniatures, and rely upon "Citadel" Nuln Oil to separate different coloured areas from one another - as opposed to using thin lines of "Citadel" Abaddon Black.

"Athena Miniatures" WIPs - Three (of the four) Russian NBC Troopers currently being worked on

As a result Bubo and his stand were carefully primed with "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna, layered in Gold and washed using "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade. I then gave the entire bird a careful dry-brush of (more) "Vallejo" Gold, before giving the owl's face and chest a light dusting of Gunmetal. These two areas were subsequently darkened down with some "Citadel" Nuln Oil, and re-highlighted using some very carefully placed dabs of (more) "Vallejo" Gunmetal.

Finally, I managed to drop a tiny spot of "Citadel" Abaddon Black into the eye sockets of the model, and later dot them with "Vallejo" Heavy Red. I also decided to simply shade the figure's perch with some "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade, and dry-brush it with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna. I did consider using a metallic paint for the stand. But in the end felt it would easily blend in with the Clockwork Owl, so chose a much less glamourous-looking, somewhat bland colour for it instead.

"Great Escape Games" WIPs - Butch Cassidy, the Scarred Man and John Bridges

Along with my recently received "Kickstarter" goodies from "Crooked Dice Game Design Studio", I have also taken possession of four more 28mm Russian NBC troopers by "Athena Miniatures". I wasn't actually planning on getting any more of these sculpts for a while, as I was planning on focusing my energies upon the company's Spetsnaz models instead. However, as the opportunity arose to make an order with the Swindon-based manufacturer with free postage and packing, I thought I might as well.

Perhaps somewhat unsurprisingly, given my current preoccupation with "Great Escape Games" and their "Dead Man's Hand" range of outlaws, I have also dug out from my extensive backlog a couple more purchases I made way back at "Salute" 2019. These figures of John Bridges and the Scarred Man have been plonked alongside my current 'on-the-go' model of Butch Cassidy, so should now get some much-needed love and attention in quick(ish) succession...

"Men, We Are The First, Last And Often Only Line Of Defence..."

"...The Imperium has against what is out there."

These two 15mm miniatures by "Alternative Armies" come from their "The Ion Age" codes IAF022 Muster First Patrol (Pose Seven - Muster Patrol Trooper, Charlatan IV 22mm Launcher, Standing) and IAF021 Muster 1st Patrol Command (Pose Three - Muster Patrol Trooper, Medic.), and are probably some of the last remaining models from an old order I originally picked up over a decade ago at "Salute 2014". The soldiers are actually designed to be used with the company’s “Patrol Angis” rule-set. But I’ve based them together in order to form a specialist infantry unit for a home-made set of rules loosely based within the early Warhammer 30k/40k universe.

In order to try and replicate the pale(ish) palette of the Imperial Guard way back when "Games Workshop" first released their '"hard plastic" boxed set in January 1989, I primed both figures with two coats of “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey, and washed with them “Citadel” Nuln Oil. The duo then had their body armour, shoulder-pads, boots and weapons pigmented in "Citadel" Abaddon Black, whilst I 'picked out' their cap badges with a dollop of Heavy Red and a dash of "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson.

"Alternative Armies" WIPs - Three Taranis Runner Drones

The trooper carrying the large heavy weapon had his bare hands painted using a combination of “Vallejo” Heavy Skintone and “Citadel” Reikland Fleshshade. However, as I wanted the Medic to stand out a bit more (seeing as I was actually using the figure as a range finder for the launcher rather than a field physician), I decided to give him "Vallejo" Heavy Brown and "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade gloves.

Finally, I gave both soldiers’ heavy-looking stowage, as well as any side-pockets, a lick of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. Before finishing them off by layering their weapons with some "Vallejo" Gunmetal and plenty of "Citadel" Nuln Oil. I also used this particular colour combination for the (not) Medic's cybernetic eye-piece - all the better to suggest he was able to see trajectory curves and angles whilst assisting the Charlatan IV 22m Launcher to hit its targets.

"Athena Miniatures" WIPs - These two Spetsnaz figures are having all their straps 'picked out'

Somewhat enthused by my recent reintroduction to "The Ion Age", I have perhaps unsurprisingly also begun work on another trio of (significantly) old 15mm figures from the range - this time taken from IAF081 Taranis Runner Drones. These robots apparently act as a screen for Taranis Tanks in "Alternative Armies" rule-set. But I plan to use a single Transmission Jammer Drone with two Field Repair Drones as a close-combat unit for my games, and plan to paint these ones up for my Crimson Fists.

Lastly, I've also made a little bit more progress on the first of twenty-eight 28mm metal Spetsnaz figures I now own by "Athena Miniatures". These fellows are absolutely covered in straps, bullet-proof armour and ammunition pouches, so despite much of their colour scheme being black, I'm still having to take my time slowly making my way up a couple of test pieces so I can work out what is what on the sculpts...

"Daniel Kelly Was An Australian Bushranger And Outlaw."

"The son of an Irish convict, he was the younger brother of the bushranger Ned Kelly."

This 28mm scale metal model is sold by “Great Escape Games", and forms part of their DMHG-NED - Kelly Gang five-figure set for Dead Man's Hand. Sculpted by Mark Evans, I'm not aware of the box specifying a particular miniature to represent Dan, so somewhat arbitrarily decided upon this one. Furthermore, as it's been almost six years since I bought the Australian bushrangers whilst at "Salute" 2019, I also can't find the outlaws' rules card.

Having been partially-painted many moons ago, and seemingly primed using some "Citadel" Abaddon Black, I determined that the crook's long coat had probably been base-layered with "Vallejo" Dark Grey, so resultantly shaded the area with plenty of "Citadel" Nuln. Unsurprisingly, the jacket was then dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" Dark Grey so as to bring out all the creases, pockets and buttons.

"Alternative Armies" WIPs - Three 15mm Legion Pioneers

Due to wanting the Ned Kelly's brother to stand out a bit more on the tabletop, I decided to apply some "Vallejo" Heavy Brown to the desperado's trousers and wash them with "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade. I next dry-brushed the area with (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Brown. However, I really didn't like the rough-looking, streaky highlights this technique produced, so decided to darken them down a bit with a splosh of watered-down "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade.

Lastly, I treated both Dan's 6mm thick iron armour and single firearm to a combination of "Vallejo" Gunmetal and "Citadel" Nuln Oil. As with the gang's infamous leader, I felt the criminal's "homemade armour" would look better without any highlights, and simply left it be. I did though manage to 'pick out' Kelly's pistol butt with a little "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and dash of "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade.

"Athena Miniatures" WIPs - Early days on a trio of Russian Spetsnaz

Alongside my latest Dead Man's Hand model, I've also been working on three 15mm Legion Pioneers by "Alternative Armies", which I recently stumbled upon in one of many wooden drawers I own. I clearly planned for the miniatures to represent a three-man stand of Chaos Space Marines for my ongoing Warhammer 30k/40k project using The Ion Age range, so have continued pigmenting them accordingly; albeit instead of having red clothing with black armour, I now plan on giving them purple and gold uniforms so I can use them to proxy the Pre-Heresy Emperor's Children Legion.

I have also started making some progress on the first of thirteen 28mm metal Spetsnaz figures I bought from "Athena Miniatures" at last year's "Warfare" 2024. I'm actually a 'man down' as the set is supposed to contain fourteen models. However, after a quick dialogue with the Swindon-based firm's owner John Caboche, the missing Russian should soon be winging his way to me - along with some additional (final) reinforcements I have ordered to round off the Apocalypse Survivors project...