“Henry DeLamar Clayton Was A Prominent Alabama Attorney.”

“He also served as a major general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War.”

This 15mm scale plastic Confederate Commander is produced by “Warlord Games” and came free on a sprue accompanying Issue 397 of "Wargames Illustrated". The mounted figure is from the Nottingham-based company's "Epic Battles: American Civil War" range and is actually supplied with a square stand. Nevertheless, as I wanted my officers to stand out a bit more on the tabletop, I decided to glue the single-piece model to a thin-lipped 30mm circular base instead.

The miniature was initially primed with a couple of coats of “Citadel” Abaddon Black, and painted from the hooves up. This meant applying some “Vallejo” Heavy Sienna to the horse, before subsequently shading the animal with a combination of “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade. I also dry-brushed some (additional) “Citadel” Abaddon Black to the horse’s legs, and then used the base paint to tidy up its mane, tail and leather straps.

"Catalyst Game Labs" WIPs - These three different mechs have been primed "Vallejo" Earth

The animal’s saddle-rug was ‘picked out’ using a little “Vallejo” Heavy Blue and “Citadel” Drakenhof Nightshade, whilst the saddle itself with pigmented with “Vallejo” Heavy Brown and “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade. Perhaps unsurprisingly, I applied a tiny amount of “Vallejo” Gunmetal to the stirrups (as well as the rider’s sword), and later darkened these up with a splash of “Citadel” Nuln Oil. 

With the horse finished (at least in my eyes as I like to keep my animals simple), I gave the officer’s trousers a dab of “Vallejo” Steel Grey and “Citadel” Drakenhof Nightshade, and his long coat a healthy dose of “Vallejo” Sombre Grey and "Citadel" Nuln Oil. I did actually consider using "Vallejo" Heavy Blue for the jacket, as I plan for the general to be the commander of my Alabama forces, and they apparently wore "a dark blue frock coat" and "black broad brimmed felt hats at the war's start."

"Brigade Models" WIPs - A Britannic, Warlord and four Mark I Armoured Gun Carriers

However, I thought a blue-jacketed Confederate officer might be a bit confusing during an actual game, so instead plumbed for a semi-stereotypical palette instead. Resultantly, the general’s cuffs and collar with given a lick of “Vallejo” Heavy Ochre and “Citadel” Reikland Fleshshade, whilst his broad-brimmed hat was treated to a layer of “Vallejo” Heavy Brown and some “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade.

With my latest Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge entry completed I have turned my attention towards progressing some British reinforcements for my Weird War Two homebrew rule-set, using some 1:285 scale plastic “Battletech” figures by “Catalyst Game Labs”. In addition, as I’ve currently got my pot of “Vallejo” Earth out, I thought I’d finally tackle some 1/1200th (or “near-as-makes-no-odds” 2mm) British Ironclads by “Brigade Models”. These diminutive-sized war machines have been sat gathering dust for at least a decade or more, and are helping scratch an itch I’ve been recently experiencing to play some large-scale mass battles…

“A Light, Rugged, And Dependable Design…”

“…The Wolfhound made its first appearance in 3028.”

This 1:285 scale plastic model of a Wolfhound is made by “Catalyst Game Labs” and can be bought together with a Blackjack, Jenner, and Panther in the company’s “Battletech: Inner Sphere Striker Lance” boxed set. All the pre-assembled miniatures also come with an assortment of MechWarrior pilot and Alpha Strike cards depicting various colour schemes. But as I plan to use this particular sculpt as a Gotha-class German War Walker for an upcoming Weird War Two campaign utilising some homemade rules, I decided to go with a predominantly blue-grey palette.

Resultantly, the 40mm sized figure was initially primed using two layers of “Vallejo” Luftwaffe Uniform WWII and shaded in “Citadel” Nuln Oil. It was then dry-brushed using (more) “Vallejo” Luftwaffe Uniform WWII with a softly-bristled make-up blusher brush, and had its tiny windows ‘picked out’ with a dab of “Citadel” Abaddon Black.

"Elementals are the trueborn, genetically-engineered infantry of the Clans."

In order to add a bit more interest to the 35 ton Inner Sphere BattleMech, I decided to apply a coat of “Vallejo” Gunmetal to its  Cyclops XII Extended Range Large Laser, Defiance B3M Medium Lasers, the odd leg joint, and some rear-facing panels. These areas were later treated to a wash of “Citadel” Nuln Oil. Lastly, I pulled out a German cross from my collection of “Decal Details”, as well as an interesting insignia from the “Scale Specialities” Me-109E Aircraft in Battle of Britain & Legion Kondor – Spanish Civil War sheet, and managed to apply them onto the vehicle's right shoulder and left elbow.

In addition to my latest Weird War Two walker, I have also recently submitted nine Elemental battle-armoured infantrymen to the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (AHPC). These 6mm scale plastic figures are also by “Catalyst Game Labs” and twenty-five assorted miniatures can be found inside the company’s “Battletech: Clan Elemental Star” boxed set. Having cut them from their hexagonal-shaped bases and glued just three models on a trio of “Citadel” 25mm circular stands, the super-soldiers were initially undercoated with “Vallejo” German Fieldgrey WWII so as to tie-in with the German (Heer) war machines I planned on them accompanying onto the battlefield.

"Warlord Games" WIPs - These Confederates have had their trousers layered

Each sculpt was then shaded in “Citadel” Nuln Oil, dry-brushed using (more) “Vallejo” German Fieldgrey WWII and had their twin-tube short-range missile launchers ‘picked out’ in either “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey or “Vallejo” Sun Yellow. These areas were later shaded using either “Citadel” Nuln Oil or “Citadel” Reikland Fleshshade respectively. I also put some “Vallejo” Sombre Grey onto the Elementals’ smoke trails, before giving them a wash of “Citadel” Nuln Oil and a dry-brush of “Vallejo” Sombre Grey.

Finally, I’ve spent a little bit more time working on (yet) another 15mm plastic strip of American Civil War soldiers by “Warlord Games”. Unlike my previous ten-man strong batch-painting exercises though, these particular Confederates will represent a unit from the state of Florida – so their jackets should be a bit more uniform than the dark blue frock coat wearing Alabamans I’ve pigmented in the past. However, according to "Glory, Hallelujah" this regiment were actually issued with straw hats, so should still uniquely stand out on the tabletop.

“Exchanged And Reorganized With 610 Effectives…”

“…The 1st Alabama Infantry Regiment joined the Army of Tennessee..."

These twenty 15mm scale plastic Confederate soldiers are produced by “Warlord Games” and came free on a sprue accompanying Issue 397 of "Wargames Illustrated". Later released as part of the Nottingham-based company's "Epic Battles: American Civil War" game for its Black Powder rule-set, the two lines of infantrymen are the second of three stands I aim to complete so as to form the 1st Alabama Infantry Regiment.

Due to me trying to ascertain a quick(ish) method of pigmenting so many figures at once, half the soldiers were primed using a double-coat of "Citadel" Abaddon Black and the other half with “Vallejo” Sombre Grey. I then carefully started to ‘pick out’ all the strips’ numerous details from the ground up, applying a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade to the footwear of approximately half a dozen of the miniatures.

"...And served in General Quarles' and Shelley's Brigade."

I subsequently did something similar with the models’ trousers too, as I didn't just want all of them to be marching in the same colour pants. This caused me to pigment several with "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey and "Citadel" Nuln Oil, a few more with Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade, and the remaining Confederates with “Vallejo” Steel Grey and “Citadel” Drakenhof Nightshade.

For the soldiers’ jackets I either went with a mixture of "Vallejo" Sombre Grey and "Citadel" Nuln Oil, "Vallejo" Heavy Blue and "Citadel" Drakenhof Nightshade, or Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade. Such colours might seem a little odd for a Southern unit but the Alabama recruits actually wore "a dark blue frock coat" and "black broad brimmed felt hats at the war's start," so I wanted to capture that uniqueness with my palette choices.

"Catalyst Game Labs" WIPs - This Warhawk has been primed, shaded and dry-brushed

I also gave all the Kepi hats a dash of "Vallejo" Sombre Grey and "Citadel" Nuln Oil, their blanket rolls a smidgeon of either "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna, Heavy Red or White with a wash of "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade, and their belt buckles a touch of "Vallejo" Gold and (more) Strong Tone Quickshade by "The Army Painter". Finally their hands and faces were layered with "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone, shaded in "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade, and later highlighted with extra dabs of "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone.

With my latest Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge entry completed I have turned my attention towards progressing some French reinforcements for my Weird War Two homebrew rule-set, using some 1:285 scale plastic “Battletech” figures by “Catalyst Game Labs”. I actually plan on adding four stands of super-soldier infantry to President Albert Lebrun’s army, but have started with the large-sized model of a Warhawk to use as a Bloch-class war walker first…

“The Standard Against Which All Battle Armour Is Measured.”

“The Elemental battle armour was first introduced in 2868 by Clan Wolf."

These six 1:285 scale plastic Elemental figures are made by “Catalyst Game Labs” and can be found inside the company’s “Battletech: Clan Elemental Star” boxed set. The pre-assembled miniatures are actually supplied in groups of five miniatures on five hexagonal-shaped stands. However, as I plan to use them as power-armour wearing super-soldiers for my upcoming Weird War Two campaign utilising some homemade rules, I decided to rebase them in threes on some “Citadel” 25mm round bases.

Due to wanting all the 6mm sized infantrymen to represent the Polish defenders of Warsaw, they were all primed in “Vallejo” Heavy Brown and subsequently shaded using “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade. I then dry-brushed them with (more) “Vallejo” Heavy Brown and ‘picked out’ their anti-personnel machine gun using a combination of “Vallejo” Gunmetal and “Citadel” Nuln Oil.

"Catalyst Game Labs" WIPs - An Ebon Jaguar and some Elemental battle-suits

I also decided to apply some “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey to their twin-tube short-range missile launchers, shaded them with a splash of “Citadel” Nuln Oil, and later give them a delicate ‘once over’ with a smidgeon more “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey. Lastly, I layered some “Vallejo” Sombre Grey to the super-soldiers’ smoke trails, washed them with “Citadel” Nuln Oil and dry-brushed their jet-streams using some (more) “Vallejo” Sombre Grey and a touch of White too.

Having completed my meagre 1939 Polish force, unless until I can acquire an extra Jenner Inner Sphere BattleMech figure or two, I’ve begun working on some reinforcements for my invading German Heer army. I’ve previously already painted quite a large collection of models to use on the tabletop as the Wehrmacht, but thought that the sculpt of an Ebon Jaguar would mix in well as a slightly heavier, more advanced model of the Stormcrow miniatures I’ve been predominantly using as Heinkel Flugzeugwerke class War Walkers. In addition, the move has given me an excuse to assemble some German super-soldiers too, which I can easily pigment alongside their much larger killing machine, as they’ll all share very similar colour schemes.

"Only two cuirassier regiments were raised during the English Civil War."

Lastly, I have actually found and resultantly repainted a small stand of old Cuirassiers by “Pendraken Miniatures” so that they’re actually fighting for Parliament rather than the King using a dollop of “Vallejo” Heavy Orange and dash of “Citadel” Casandora Yellow. These 10mm English Civil War cavalry models were actually finished over a decade ago, and have been doing little, except gathering dust, in a small box until I recently encountered them.

Somewhat shockingly, I’ve also discovered a rather large contingent of fully-painted Pike and Musket accompanying them, so have spent a little time trying to work out whether I own a useable “Black Powder” army or not. All of the figures, including nine Cuirassiers, all wear the predominantly red colours of the King’s Guard. However, having perused my copy of “To Kill A King” it would seem that only the likes of Lord Essex’s Parliamentarian army of 1943 used the pistol-carrying heavy cavalry units (and then with only a “maximum of one unit in the army” during its early incarnations).

“The Primary Weapons System On The Jenner…”

“…Is four Argra 3L Medium Lasers, two each mounted in directionally variable mountings on either side.”

This 1:285 scale plastic model of a Jenner is made by “Catalyst Game Labs” and can be bought together with a Blackjack, Panther, and Wolfhound in the company’s “Battletech: Inner Sphere Striker Lance” boxed set. All the pre-assembled miniatures also come with an assortment of MechWarrior pilot and Alpha Strike cards depicting various colour schemes. But as I plan to use this particular sculpt as a Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze class Polish War Walker for an upcoming Weird War Two campaign utilising some homemade rules, I decided to go with a predominantly light brown palette.

As a result, the 31mm sized figure was undercoated in “Vallejo” Heavy Brown so as to better replicate the colour scheme used on the PZL P.11 fighter aircraft first introduced in 1934. It was then shaded using “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade, dry-brushed with (more) “Vallejo” Heavy Brown and had its weaponry/air vents ‘picked out’ using a combination of “Vallejo” Gunmetal and “Citadel” Nuln Oil.

"Battletech" WIPs - This Wolfhound is slowly having all its metallic parts 'picked out'

Having spotted that the underside of the actual aeroplane’s “high-mounted and aerodynamically clean” gull wings had been light grey, I applied a mixture of “Vallejo” Heavy Bluegrey and “Citadel” Nuln Oil to the model’s cockpit hatchway. Lastly, I took a couple of Polish Air Force checker-board pattern transfers from the 15 & 20mm Polish Insignia, WW2-Present sheets by “Decal Details” and attached them to its two armoured chest plates.

Alongside my latest submission to the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge, I have also been working on the second of two (more) German Weird War Two killing machines I intend to ‘field’ as part of the Wehrmacht’s Luftwaffe forces. This Wolfhound will be repurposed as a Gotha class walker, and is destined to see some imminent tabletop action, due to it being part of the Third Reich’s opening strike against Poland in 1939…

"Warlord Games" WIPs - All the details on this ACW Cannon are slowly being layered and shaded

In addition, I’ve decided to assemble and paint the 15mm plastic American Civil War (ACW) cannon by “Warlord Games” which came free with Issue 393 of the magazine "Wargames Illustrated". I’ve actually been rather enjoying picking away at some of this range’s other miniatures recently, as they’ve proved very useful in helping me determine how best to tackle “Warlord Games” new range of Napoleonic figures. Indeed, I’ve even spent an hour putting me brush-tip to a strip of British infantrymen.

However, one of the things I have been mulling over is whether to paint all the different cannon teams which come on the Napoleonic sprues as separate assemblies, or simply 'bite the bullet' and base them all together first onto the Nottingham-based manufacturer’s rectangular stands first. To this end, I’ve glued an entire four-man unit of ACW Confederates onto their base, and am slowly navigating my way around the quartet…

“The Nova-class Frigate…”

“…Is a Rapid Strike Vessel utilised by the fleets of most Space Marine Chapters.”

This 40mm long resin space vessel was purchased as part of a £30 pre-painted job lot from my local wargaming store, having been labelled as being Battlefleet Gothic models by “Games Workshop”. However, upon closer examination the entire collection are clearly 3D printed imitations – with there being not a single Aquila in sight on any of them.

Fortunately though, there are more than enough miniatures to field two rather sizeable Adeptus Astartes fleets, so I have chosen to paint the first half of them as belonging to the Dark Angels Chapter. This particular (not) Space Marine Nova-Class Frigate is 40mm in length and was therefore re-primed using “Vallejo” Dark Green and washed with “Citadel” Nuln Oil.

"The Space Marines had arrived and they are fear incarnate, they are the Lords of Death."

Chiefly used for “patrolling through the domains controlled by a respective Chapter”, the warship was then dry-brushed with (more) “Vallejo” Dark Green and highlighted a layer of Heavy Green. To add some additional colour and interest to the vessel, I also applied a mixture of “Vallejo” Gunmetal and “Citadel” Nuln Oil to its “ultra-heavy directed energy cannon” engines, as well as some “Vallejo” Gold and “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade to its side emblem.

As a penultimate touch I applied a Crusade Icon decal to an area of its armour plating, which was taken from a second-hand sheet of Dark Angels Primaris Space Marines transfers I specially bought for just such a purpose. Lastly, I gave the Frigate’s widget a couple of coats of “Citadel” Abaddon Black too, so as to better hide it on my Deep Space “Hotz” mat. This originally transparent-coloured piece was taken from one of the new “Dropzone Commander” flight-stands, and replaced the broken stem I drilled out before I even started painting…

"Catalyst Game Labs" WIPs - An Ebon Jaguar and some Elemental battle-suits

With my test Battlefleet Gothic piece finished, I have managed to spend some more time on my ongoing Weird War Two project using the 1:285 scale plastic “Battletech” models by “Catalyst Game Labs”. Recently, I was lucky enough to get my hands on a box of fast-selling Battletech: Clan Heavy Battle Star miniatures, and quickly identified the Ebon Jaguar as being a suitable, technological successor to the Stormcrow and Viper mechs I’ve been using to form a German Heer force.

Alongside this Focke-Achgelis class medium war walker, I have also started pigmenting a few bases of Elemental super-soldiers to use as objective-securing ground forces. The 6mm plastic figures actually come on hexagonal bases of five miniatures inside the “BattleTech: Clan Elemental Star” boxed set, but I’ve decided to spread them out a bit more by only attaching three models to every 25mm circular stand.

“The sMG34 Heavy Machine-Guns…”

“…Form a base of fire for the infantry to operate around.”

These three plastic 15mm miniatures are sold by “Battlefront Miniatures” and can be found inside the company’s Code GE784 sMG34 Machine-gun Platoon blister for “Flames Of War”. The models consist of a choice of two different Non-Commissioned Officers (NCO), a Machine-gunner, Reloader and the “German recoil-operated air-cooled machine gun” itself.

Unlike my other “FoW” German soldiers however, the NCO was the only model I initially super-glued onto a wooden strip, as it appeared obvious that both the other two infantrymen would need to be firmly fixed in position upon their actual medium-sized base before I primed them all in “Vallejo” German Fieldgrey WWII. With hindsight this was a particularly good call, as the tiny weapon was actually rather fiddly to attach to the figures surrounding it, and in the end I actually needed to snip away some of the ammunition feed so as to allow the Reloader to lie upon the ground in a somewhat angular position without his feet jutting off the end – something which would have really annoyed me.

"Battletech" WIPs - This Jenner and Elementals are having their details 'picked out'

All three of the models were then shaded using “Citadel” Nuln Oil, and dry-brushed with (more) “Vallejo” German Fieldgrey WWII. Their details were later ‘picked out’ predominantly using “Vallejo” Heavy Sienna, Gunmetal, Buff, German Camouflage Dark Green, Heavy Brown and a series of “Citadel” Shades. Lastly, I pigmented the sMG34 Machine-Gun using a combination of “Vallejo” Gunmetal and “Citadel” Nuln Oil.

With the first of the four sMG34 Machine-gun teams I require for my German Beach Defence Company completed, I have also made some additional progress on the “Battletech” 1:285 scale plastic Jenner by “Catalyst Game Labs” I intend to use as a Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze (PZL) class Polish War Walker. Ideally, I’d like to have Poland be able to ‘field’ more than one of the Weird War Two walkers, but until I find a suitable source for single miniatures (or at least one who isn’t charging almost as much as a full 5-figure box for just the one figure) the Mech will simply be joined on the tabletop by some Element battlesuits.

"Warlord Games" WIPs - These Line Infantrymen have been primed and had their trousers base-coated

In addition, I have made a tentative start on the first strip of ten Napoleonic British line infantry I recently pre-ordered from “Warlord Games”. Having previously practiced on several of the Nottingham-based company’s 15mm plastic American Civil War miniatures, I am optimistically hoping to get approximately three hundred of “Noseys' men” finished during the next year, alongside some cavalry and cannon.

For this month though I am simply focusing upon how far I can go if I allocate twenty-four hours of my precious hobby-time to their batch-painting, so I can subsequently calculate just how much of a commitment such a large-scale project will be. Currently, I’ve only spent a mere twenty minutes applying my brush-tip to the Second Regiment of Foot (The Queen’s Royal), but have got them primed and the base layer of their trousers down…

Top Ten Miniatures Of 2021 - An "Undercoat" Personal Choice

It is with some trepidation that I pen my choice of 2021 top ten miniatures from the Fantorical blog. The excellent top ten already done by Roger had me smiling with the way it was written so the bar has been set very high. This year highlighted to me the incredible variety of miniatures painted and if there is one thing Simon is good at, it is finding the eclectic and quirky stuff out there. One of the reasons I read his blog is to be shown the stuff that doesn’t always hit the mainstream! This was an interesting year for a number of reasons, but in terms of this blog some of the old favourite model ranges were either absent or vastly reduced in numbers and replaced by some very interesting new stuff!

The choice I have made is a personal one and based on a number of factors including, but not exclusive to, the paint job, how cool or quirky the miniature is, and just that wow factor! So without further ado and no more jibber jabber here it is, in reverse order.

No. 10 - Shrieking Wolves by "North Star Military Figures" - April 9th

These minis were metal oriental dog-like creatures from the fantastic Frostgrave game. Firstly, the concept of them intrigued me and the paint scheme just brought them to life. Secondly, the beautiful weathered metal with the superb Verdigris effect deserves a chef’s kiss. I just adore these. Such a great paint job.

No. 9 - The Punisher by "Atomic Mass Games" - January 12th

A character from the Marvel comics brought to life in miniature form for the game Marvel Crisis Protocol. I just like this sculpt. It looks great. However, the paint job really brings him to life. I like the eyes, the stubble on his face and the skull symbol on his top. In a year that saw no hero clix superhero models that I recall, Atomic Mass Games filled that void very nicely.

No. 8 - Human Lineman by "Games Workshop" - May 15th

This old school Blood Bowl player was a blast from the past and proved to be a lovely reminder of the history behind this Games Workshop game. The current range of Blood Bowl teams are some of my favourite minis out there for their character and humour so this chap brought a smile to my face. Proving once again that he is a master of painting metallic, I love the simple colour scheme of this player and really want to see this expanded into a full team in 2022 to go along with the fabulously named Rusty Buckets dwarf team!

No. 7 - Twig Fiend by "Rocket Pig Games" - May 31st

This miniature just came out of left field for me. A quirky sculpt that was 3D printed and just oozed charm and character. Something different that highlighted the variety of miniatures out there if you just dig below the surface. A lovely paint job that I don’t think the main pictures do full justice to. Just revisit the posting and look at the other pictures where the woody menace is fighting the Tin Man to get a fuller picture of what this looks like. A quirky mini brought to life with a great paint job, what more can I say!

No. 6 -  Paladin Annihilator by “Privateer Press” - December 8th

Warcaster: Neo-Mechanika is a relatively new range of miniatures from an established company that is moving their IP away from a fantasy steampunk setting to a very high tech sci-fi universe with some nice sculpts, The Iron Star Alliance faction has been painted up throughout last year but these later additions were tweaked with some blue metallic spot colours that just make them stand out from what went before. I really like these a lot. High tech knights in the far future sound just awesome to me!

No. 5 - MG34 And K98 Rifle Team by "Battlefront Miniatures" - September 4th

Now we enter the historical sphere of wargaming with some 15mm World War 2 German soldiers. A different scale to what I have picked previously but this unit of soldiers looks like a mini diorama as the 4 men move across the battlefield on their base. To be honest it is difficult to pick one entry from the Flames of War postings, so this pick should really encompass the whole year’s work. It is the care that has gone into these that amazes me. Black lining them, camouflage on certain helmets etc. I bet these look stunning set up as a whole force. A great addition to the year’s output.

No. 4 - Tin Construct by "Rocket Pig Games" - May 7th

Another quirky miniature. A mechanical man that has clearly taken inspiration from one of the trio travelling the Yellow Brick Road with Dorothy. Firstly, what a great sculpt! So full of character and with so many uses in fantasy games like Frostgrave or home brew rules that frequently get used in battle reports on this blog! Secondly, what great metallics. The rusted and weathered nature of this model is captured wonderfully with this paint scheme. Another one of those that really stuck in my memory.

No. 3 - Bruce Lee by "Mondo Games" - January 19th

Another set of miniatures I had never heard of that sounds bonkers, yet fun where you can match a famous martial artist off against dinosaurs! This is another one of those where the whole package of sculpt, paint scheme and the quirky nature of the game made me remember this one straight away. Great skin tones, well painted eyes (don’t you just hate having to do them!) and an overall paint scheme that just tells you who this is without reading the blog. I just couldn’t leave this one out of the top three.

No. 2 - Yeti by "Zealot Miniatures" - April 16th

Well, I’ve never seen a yeti that looks like this! (I know they probably aren’t real but I meant in film, miniatures etc! It would be awesome if they are real though!) I don’t think I’ve imagined a yeti ever looking like this – all mouth and white fur. What an incredible design. I think this model is amazing. Once again it comes to life because of the way the fur is painted. Two things I think Simon excels at: painting metals and painting fur. A simple paint scheme that is executed so well. Just superb.

No. 1 - American Civil War Infantry by "Warlord Games" - December 21st

These miniatures caused something of a stir when they hit the public in late 2020, early 2021. Designed for the Black Powder game in a new epic scale to really convey the massed battle nature that rule set was created to play. Different scale (15mm), different design (a strip of ten men all joined together) and a lot of talking points for the wargaming community which I won’t go into. Now, why did these diminutive Johnny Rebs take the top spot? Partly because I think the miniatures and the concept of how they portray a massed unit of infantry are brilliant. However, the main reason is the detail and care that has gone into them. Once again black lining between the different areas on such a small scale set of minis is madness but looks great; but it is the way the slightly rag tag nature of the Confederate forces has been captured by different coloured uniform elements that blows my mind! The soldiers have different coloured jackets, different coloured trousers, different coloured boots and different coloured hats! On a 15mm strip of soldiers!?! Boom! Mind blown again. Simon himself admits a bit of a dislike for these and to be honest I don’t think you can keep this standard of diversity up for a whole army in this scale as it would probably drive you a bit potty! I think these are incredible and a worthy winner of my top ten.

So that wraps up my top ten picks for 2021. Plenty of cool miniatures were left out but there was a lot to choose from! I hope these provide a small amount of inspiration for anybody reading to pick up a paint brush and do some painting.

"The Panther Is One Of The BattleMechs..."

"...That is most iconic of the Draconis Combine.”

This 1:285 scale plastic model of a Panther is made by “Catalyst Game Labs” and can be bought together with a Blackjack, Jenner, and Wolfhound in the company’s “Battletech: Inner Sphere Striker Lance” boxed set. All the pre-assembled miniatures also come with an assortment of MechWarrior pilot and Alpha Strike cards depicting various colour schemes. But as I plan to use this particular sculpt as an Arado Flugzeugwerke class German War Walker for an upcoming Weird War Two campaign utilising some homemade rules, I decided to go with a predominantly blue-grey palette.

Resultantly, the 40mm sized figure was initially primed using two layers of “Vallejo” Luftwaffe Uniform WWII and shaded in “Citadel” Nuln Oil. It was then dry-brushed using (more) “Vallejo” Luftwaffe Uniform WWII with a softly-bristled make-up blusher brush, and had its tiny windows ‘picked out’ with a dab of “Citadel” Abaddon Black.

"Battletech" WIPs - This Jenner and Elementals have been primed, shaded and dry-brushed

In order to add a bit more interest to a light mech which “has seen over three centuries of continuous use since its introduction”, I decided to apply a coat of “Vallejo” Gunmetal to its Lord's Light Particle Projection Cannon, chest-housed Telos Four-Shot SRM-4 launcher system, the odd leg joint, and its Lexington Lifter jump jets. These areas were later treated to a wash of “Citadel” Nuln Oil.

Finally I pulled out a German cross from my collection of “Decal Details”, as well as a pair of insignia  from the “Scale Specialities” Me-109E Aircraft in Battle of Britain & Legion Kondor – Spanish Civil War sheet, and managed to squeeze them all onto a few flat pieces of armour plating on the sculpt's chest plating and left elbow.

"Warlord Games" WIPs - This Command Stand is slowly having all its details 'picked out'

Staying firmly focused on my Weird War Two project, I have also been working on the campaign’s opening theatre, Poland, by making some fine progress on a Jenner and six Elemental battlesuits (to use as infantry). As with all my other War Walkers I’ve been inspired by the colour schemes adopted by the nation’s air force during the Second World War, and intend to use both the Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze (PZL) class vehicle and its accompanying Wojska Lądowe (Land Forces) as the brave defenders of Warsaw.

Lastly, I’ve managed to spend a little more time working on the 15mm plastic American Civil War Command strip I’m using as a practice piece for my recently-arrived Epic scale Napoleonic British soldiers by “Warlord Games”. Despite repeatedly breaking-off one of the flag poles (as well as one rifle) whilst manoeuvring my brush-tip along the ten-figure line-up, I believe I’m making some good progress in working out how best to adapt my painting style so I can ‘attack’ the seemingly endless numbers needed for a game of Black Powder…

“Robodogs Are Mechanical Canines…”

“…That are often used as attack dogs.”

These 28mm scale metal models of some Robodogs were produced by “Mongoose Publishing” and formed part of my rewards from the company’s 2012 “Judge Dredd Miniatures Game: Block War” Kickstarter. Only one of the now long out of production (OOP) figures formed part of the company’s Renegade Robots boxed set, so I’m not quite sure how I came to own two of the figures – albeit the aforementioned Kickstarter’s infamously long method of dispatching multiple deliveries may well have caused me to be sent a second sculpt in error, or as a freebie (in lieu of my patience across the years).

Seemingly inspired by the classic “Judge Dredd” story “Rabid”, which featured in Issue 289 of the British comic book “2000 A.D.”, and was written by Alan Grant and John Wagner (writing as T. B. Grover), the mechanical killers actually took a little while to assemble due to them being multi-part castings. Once the pair’s separate hind and fore legs were super-glued to each torso though, they were soon primed in "Vallejo" Grey Surface Primer before receiving a double-helping of "Scalecolor" Emerald Alchemy.

"Warlord Games" WIPs - This Command Stand has had all its soldiers' trousers base-coated

I then shaded the Robodogs using "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green, before dry-brushing them with (more) "Scalecolor" Emerald Alchemy. To somewhat break-up the monotony of their all-green colour scheme, I subsequently decided to ‘pick out’ their tails and teeth with "Vallejo" Gunmetal and “Citadel” Nuln Oil, as well as apply a combination of “Vallejo” Heavy Red and “Citadel” Carroburg Crimson to their eyes.

In addition to my latest entry for the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (AHPC), I’ve spent a little time working on the 15mm plastic American Civil War Command strip which came free with Issue 393 of the magazine "Wargames Illustrated". I wanted to give this particular line of infantry a few layers, so as to help me gauge how best to paint the officers and drummers found on the Epic scale Napoleonic British soldiers I pre-ordered from “Warlord Games”.

"Battletech" WIPs - This Panther is slowly having all its metallic parts 'picked out'

For starters I strongly doubt I’ll be gluing such figures in future straight onto the front of their bases, as I’m finding it quite difficult to apply paint to some of the models without repeatedly catching the upright banner-bearer. This has already caused the pretty fragile pole to partially break a couple of times, and despite some quite copious amounts of plastic glue, I’m not confident I won’t have another accident in the near future. Indeed, I’ve even badly bent one of the end riflemen due to mishandling the base whilst ‘attacking it’ with my brush-tip…

Lastly, I’m working on the first of two (more) German War Walkers using a couple of “Catalyst Game Labs” models. These plastic “Battletech” miniatures will be added to the Luftwaffe force I aim to field for the opening scenario of my Weird War Two campaign using some homebrew card-based rules. This first ‘salvo’ will see a combined British-French expeditionary army trying to bolster Poland in their efforts to hold off both the Soviet and German invasion forces.

“Sssss! You Have Done Well, Soldiers.”

“No-one expects General Blackblood and his Straw Dogs!”

This 28mm scale metal model of General Blackblood was produced by “Mongoose Publishing” and formed part of my rewards from the company’s 2012 “Judge Dredd Miniatures Game: Block War” Kickstarter. The now long out of production (OOP) figure was originally part of the company’s A.B.C. [Atomic, Bacterial and Chemical] Warriors release, but was later also made available by “Warlord Games”.

Taken straight from the pages of the British comic book “2000 A.D.”, “the most feared of the Volgans' war robots” colour scheme was predominantly green according to most of the cover illustrations which he graced. However, having recently used "Scalecolor" Emerald Alchemy on my Ro-Jaws figure, I decided to adopt the metallic silver palette used when artist Bryan Talbot was pencilling the character within the pages of “Nemesis The Warlock: Book Four”.

"The poor weather had lulled the defenders into a false sense of security."

Resultantly, the “sadistic killer with a penchant for drinking the oil of the robots he killed” was therefore undercoated using “Citadel” Abaddon Black before being layered with "Vallejo" Gunmetal, shaded in “Citadel” Nuln Oil, and dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo” Gunmetal. The treacherous automaton's knee-pads and epaulettes were picked out with Vallejo" Heavy Red and "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson, whilst his braid was treated to a combination of “Vallejo” Gold and “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade. Finally, I applied some “Vallejo” Heavy Grey and “Citadel” Biel-Tan Green to his firearm and officer’s cap.

Alongside my latest entry to the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (AHPC), I have also submitted four more plastic 15mm miniatures sold by “Battlefront Miniatures”.  These figures will provide my German Beach Defence Company’s second Panzergrenadier Platoon an additional MG34 and K98 Rifle team, and exclusively used models found within the company’s “Hit The Beach” starter set for “Flames Of War”.

"Warlord Games" WIPs - This Mounted Commander is slowly having all his details 'picked out'

As with all my other “FoW” German soldiers, the sculpts were initially super-glued onto wooden strips, before being primed in “Vallejo” German Fieldgrey WWII, shaded using “Citadel” Nuln Oil, and dry-brushed with (more) “Vallejo” German Fieldgrey WWII. Their details were then ‘picked out’ predominantly using “Vallejo” Heavy Sienna, Gunmetal, Buff, German Camouflage Dark Green, Heavy Brown and a series of “Citadel” Shades.

Lastly, I’ve temporarily stuck the 15mm plastic Mounted Commander which came free with Issue 393 of the magazine "Wargames Illustrated", onto a painting stick, so as to practice my painting technique on the American Civil War officer before I settle down to paint some Epic scale Napoleonic British cavalry miniatures by “Warlord Games”. These American Civil War models are proving tremendously helpful in allowing me to figure out just how it’s best to apply my ‘black line’ method to such diminutive models…

“The Deathwing Is The Elite First Company…”

“…Of The Dark Angels Space Marine Chapter.”

These 6mm scale metal models of five Adeptus Astartes terminators used to be produced by “Games Workshop” as part of their now long out of production (OOP) “Epic” range, and were recently bought second-hand off of “eBay”. The sculpts had all previously been undercoated with a deep blue paint, however, as their details still appeared to be crisp, I figured their tactical dreadnought armour could withstand some more layers in order for me to field them as part of the Deathwing.

Resultantly, all of the miniatures were given a couple of coats of “Vallejo” White, before being shaded using some heavily-watered down “Citadel” Reikland Fleshshade. They were then dry-brushed with (more) “Vallejo” White, before I treated their storm bolters to a combination of “Vallejo” Gunmetal and “Citadel” Nuln Oil.

A second-hand collection of non-official vessels for "Battlefleet Gothic"

With my latest submission to the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (AHPC) completed, I have spent some time sorting through a box of second-hand 1:20000 scale spaceships I found on one of the shelves of my local wargaming store. I did initially believe I had bought two official large-sized Imperial Fleets for “Battlefleet Gothic”. However, having subsequently scrutinised the vessels much more closely, they would appear to actually be 3D-printed resin models, as opposed to something historically produced by “Forge World” or “Games Workshop”.

Fortunately, the detail on these miniatures is absolutely insane, with the craft more than favourably matching up with their genuine cousins, such as the Space Marine Battlebarge or Strike Cruiser. Indeed, apart from the models’ material, it is only the complete absence of an Aquila anywhere on the vessels which really gives away that they’re not the genuine article. Perhaps therefore my only frustration with my thirty pound purchase is that I can’t locate who actually produces the models so I can potentially add to the fleets in the future.

"Battlefleet Gothic" WIPs - Several of the spaceships have snapped off their resin stands

Due to owning two identical spacefaring forces, I thought the best thing to do with them was to re-paint them as two different Space Marine Chapters – thus I could pit one against another (due to some misunderstanding) or combine the two against an even larger threat should I ever decide to expand my collection. To this end I have taken one of the smallest ships – a Nova Class Frigate, whose resin base had already snapped off, and started to paint it as a Dark Angels Chapter vessel.

In addition, I have drilled out the rest of the broken stem from its underbelly – which was easier said than done – and superglued one of the widgets produced for the new “Dropzone Commander” flying stands in its place. Once I’ve finished pigmenting the Frigate, I then intend to paint the widget “Citadel” Abaddon Black, so it should become partially lost from sight when the spaceship is being used on my Deep Space “Hotz” mat…

(Lead) Mountain Musings - "Battletech” February 2022

"We Beat 'Em Before... We'll Beat 'Em Again!"

With the sudden release of several new “Battletech” miniature box sets by “Catalyst Game Labs” I thought it would prudent to dedicate the majority of this month's hobby time to painting the quite sizeable backlog of 1:285 scale plastic models I already own from the range. This should not only mean that my hobby table is significantly clearer (at least temporarily), but would also mean that the vast majority of the mechanical figures would be eligible for both the Twelfth Annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (AHPC) and Dave Stone’s Paint What You’ve Got Challenge too.

In addition, I already own enough finished models to finally start gaming my Weird War Two campaign, so hope to include a handful of Battle Reports covering the initial Invasion of Poland in 1939, featuring a combined British-French force of war walkers taking on the Germans and Russians. Such battles may well encourage me to pigment the odd Polish giant vehicle or two, as well as finally start working on some the jet-packed infantry figures which “Catalyst Game Labs” also produce…

"Warlord Games" WIPs - These ACW Confederates have had all their main colours blocked in

Ideally, alongside these monstrous mechanical mechs, I would also be beavering away at some of the Epic 15mm Napoleonic British Infantry miniatures I recently received by “Warlord Games”. However, I’m still currently experimenting away on some plastic American Civil War strips I own, which came free with Issue 393 of the magazine "Wargames Illustrated".

Long-time followers (sufferers) of my hobby postings will know that I am not a particular fan of putting a brush-tip to the range’s ranked ten-man stands, as I am not a fan of batch-painting and resultantly don’t feel I’ve actually accomplished much until the entire base of twenty models is finally finished – something which actually took me almost an entire year to achieve in 2021. This time though, I’ve been pottering on my remaining ACW sprues to identify any ‘quick wins’ I can achieve with various painting techniques, and hope to then use this experience to ‘motor on’ through my Napoleonic soldiers in a month or two’s time.

January 2022 - "Games Workshop" dominates my hobby time due to Blood Bowl and Epic

Perhaps unsurprisingly, considering I am once again waist-deep in the AHPC, the past month saw me almost double my output in comparison to this time last year. Disappointingly though, I still didn’t paint anywhere near as many models as I probably should have done, and much of this is probably down to me spreading my hobby time somewhat thinly across several scales/projects rather than just focusing upon one or two – albeit I did complete a “Games Workshop” Dwarf Blood Bowl Sevens side, and add some additional infantry teams to my ever-increasing “Flames Of War” German Beach Defence company.

Over the next few weeks I’m actually hoping to continue building up my 15mm World War Two force by “Battlefront Miniatures” by completing even more Panzergrenadier Infantry bases, as well as a sMG34 Machine-Gun Platoon. I’m also hoping to get at least one more Blood Bowl Sevens team completed, using long Out Of Production (OOP) second/third edition 28mm metal figures…