(Lead) Mountain Musings - "Napoleonics" Mo'Vember 2017

"Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake."

This month's themed attempt to try and reduce my ever-increasing horde of metal, plastic and resin models has been directly influenced by my desire to dedicate part of my hobby time towards miniatures of a 'beardy' nature (in celebration of Mo'Vember), as well as my recent acquisition of Bob Cordery's "The Portable Wargame" and sudden desire to play some Napoleonics. Indeed, my yearning to fill a tabletop with some splendidly coloured 28mm forces from 1803-1815 has led to my purchasing an old hardback copy of "Grand Battery" by Jonathan Sutherland & Diane Canwell and "Song Of Drum And Shakos" by "Gamesha Games".

Fortunately, I am not about to embark upon such a time-consuming adventure completely from scratch, having actually tried to paint some "Victrix" French six years ago for a 'Battle of Marengo' project. That naive undertaking was perhaps always destined to fail, but it did cause me to purchase a considerable number of plastic Napoleonic infantry and cavalry, as well as actually paint sixteen Frenchmen up; albeit I don't seem to have applied any flags to their command stand... 

"Victrix" Napoleonic French WIPs - All of the soldiers' trousers have been painted

As I plan on getting to grips with the rule-set's basics by simply deploying just eight musket-armed infantry units (8 @ 4 SP each = 32 SP; Rated Average), and a Commander (1 @ 6 SP each = 6 SP), this means I already own almost half of the foot-soldiers needed for my first foray into "The Portable Wargame". Of course though, that still means I need to paint another twenty of Napoleon's finest, 'picking out' all their straps, cuffs, water bottles and stowage... and I haven't even mentioned their similarly sized Austrian opposition yet.

Realistically therefore, considering all the other painting projects and models I want to pigment over the next few months, I've decided to set a relatively low-bar of completing just four figures per month, and hope that before my enthusiasm for the project wanes too much I manage to finish enough soldiers off to at least start a few straightforward skirmishes; something which as a rule ordinarily helps reinvigorate my mojo. In addition, once I've completed these initial four Frenchmen I plan to start work on a few of their "oldest and, next to the English, the most persistent" of their "foemen", the white-coated Austrians.

Ronnie Salvage WIPs - The dwarf has had his boots and leg tassels 'picked out'

Sticking with 'beardy' miniatures for Mo'Vember, I have also been slapping a lick of paint onto one of my favourite miniatures from "Rumbleslam" by "TTCombat". Arguably, "the showiest, flashiest and most charismatic dwarf you are ever going to see! Ronnie Salvage is one of the superstars" of the Cornwall-based company's fantasy wrestling rule-set and has clearly been inspired by the late Macho Man Randy Savage.

As a huge fan of the old "World Wrestling Federation", and Randy Mario Poffo in particular, I have been picking up a number of this "fast paced high action" tabletop game's plastic figures since I first bought the "Rumbleslam" Starter Box towards the start of the year; the majority of which have clearly been modelled upon old-time professional wrestlers. So don't be at all surprised to see a few crop up over the next few weeks as I look to (re)assemble The Mega-Powers, The Bushwhackers and Legion Of Doom... 

"The Origin Of The Boromites Goes Back To Ancient Times..."

"...When humans first began to mine and exploit the resources of Antarean space."

These five 28mm metal Gang Fighters are made by "Warlord Games" and can be purchased as the Boromite Gang Fighter boxed set. Arguably detailed to the point of frustration with all the alien miners' lumps, bumps and reflex armour, these armed extra-terrestrials are all the miniatures needed in order for me to field a second Gang Fighter Squad on the tabletop.

Originally primed with "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey, the figures were shaded with "Citadel" Nuln Oil, and subsequently had a layer of Chaos Black applied over all their weaponry and hip-flasks. These metallic areas were then treated to a combination of Ironbreaker and Nuln Oil, whilst those carrying "long-ranged" Mag Guns had their weapons' power lights 'picked out' with "Vallejo" Heavy Khaki and "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green.

"Borom was not a planet but a star surrounded by a rocky asteroid belt..."

I painted all of the Boromites' numerous pouches using "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade, and then turned my attention to their yellow(ish) armour and "separate multi-functional nanite receptor nodes" with some "Vallejo" Heavy Ochre and "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade. The Gang Leader's Lectro Lash was created by applying a coat of "Vallejo" Heavy Khaki across the hand-weapon's orb and later washing it with some "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green.

These five miniatures make up the second of the two planned Gang Fighter Squads I will be fielding as part of my Boromite Scouting Force, and costs 112 points in "Beyond The Gates Of Antares" on account of each member being given Plasma Grenades ("at 2 points per model"). "Warlord Games" have recently updated their Boromite Army list to version 2.0. But fortunately, they've also kindly emailed me a free copy as a Portable Document Format (PDF) and having perused it the points haven't changed for the units I have assembled for my army, so it looks like I'm still on track for a 500 point force.

"Heroclix" Lackey WIPs - The 'converted' gunman needs some facial highlighting and his hat shaded

Having patiently persevered with my latest Boromite infantry unit, I've once again turned to my vast collection of pre-painted plastic "Wizkids" models to give me something far more straightforward to paint for a short while. This converted "Heroclix" Lackey still has a little work left on him to do, but should soon form part of the Riddler's ever-expanding crew for my "Mutants & Death Ray Guns" "Gotham" campaign.

"An Unwelcome Guest."

"As animated corpses, these undead nightmares are slow and shambling, but attack in large numbers..."

This 28mm metal Zombie Gunfighter can be purchased as part of Code OW010 from "Wargames Foundry", and is my sixth and final submission for this year's Zomtober challenge. One of several "dangerous supernatural" creatures who can suddenly take "an interest" in a fight whilst playing "Dracula's America" by "Osprey Games", this brain-chomping cowboy can also make an appearance "in games where you are using the Innocent Bystander rules" and "instead decide to use Zombies".

Rather reminiscent of a rodeo rider, the miniature was primed with "Vallejo" White and actually quickly washed with "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade purely so I could see all the sculpt's intricate detail. His boots, belt and waistcoat were given a simple coat of "Citadel" Abaddon Black, whilst his leather chaparreras were painted using some "Vallejo" Heavy Ochre and Gold, and them washed with more Strong Tone Quickshade.

"Feeling no pain and without fear for their own well-being, Hungry Dead are very difficult to kill."

I then 'picked out' the colourful cadaver's trousers and hat using a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Blue and "Citadel" Drakenhof Nightshade, and treated his neckerchief to a dab of "Vallejo" Heavy Red and some "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson. The putrefying gunslinger's ammunition, pistol and belt buckle were given a layer of Ironbreaker and later shaded with an old pot of Badab Black.

I created my zombies' usual vivid green look by initially using a base-coat of "Vallejo" Iraqi Sand, and subsequently washing it with "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green, Carroburg Crimson and a little Strong Tone Quickshade by "The Army Painter". In addition, I picked out the cowboy's bullet wounds with "Vallejo" Heavy Red, and treated these areas, alongside parts of his tattered white shirt, to a generous wash of more "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson.

Stormcast Eternals WIPs - The bright blue plastic miniatures have been primed with "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna

Having recently purchased "Warhammer Underworlds: Shadespire" by "Games Workshop" I have previously spent some time assembling and priming Garrek's Reavers for my Khorne Bloodbound warband. Disconcertingly however, as I am currently reading the "Black Library" novel "The Gates of Azyr", billed as "the perfect place to start exploring the Age of Sigmar", I have found myself rather drawn to the plight of the Stormcast Eternals, and resultantly, also now assembled the three Liberator figures for their "action-packed combat [board] game" as well.

Sadly, I don't think being produced in bright blue plastic does the sculpts of Angharad Brightshield, Obryn the Bold and their leader Severin Steelheart any particular favours, especially in their official publicity photographs. But now they have been primed with "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna, in preparation for a layer or two of Gold, I think these are some of the best detailed "Age Of Sigmar" miniatures I've seen; and sadly could very well tempt me to turn towards assembling a larger force for Order in the future... 

Song Of Blades And Heroes Report: Gondor Ambushes Isengard

FARAMIR SETS OFF TO LAY A TRAP FOR THE UNSUSPECTING URUK-HAI OF SARUMAN

This game was played using the basic rules of “Song Of Blades And Heroes” by “Ganesha Games”, and is the second in a series of adventures involving the second son of Denethor as he attempts to dissuade the Forces of Mordor from invading Osgiliath. The conflict was based upon the Ambush scenario found within the pages of Andrea Sfiligoi's "fast play fantasy skirmish rules", and resultantly, comprised of a unit of ten Uruk-Hai being 'ambushed' by a slightly smaller sized group of Minas Tirith warriors, whilst the orcs were attempting to traverse across a 36" x 27" tabletop populated with some "Battlefield In A Box" Gothic terrain by “Gale Force Nine”.

The Ambush Scenario was also slightly modified from what can be found printed in “Song Of Blades And Heroes” in order to try and create the impression of an impenetrable hulking dark mass of Orcs rushing towards Faramir's men, and the Attackers therefore potentially simply shooting at shadows. As the Defenders, Lurtz's party would still place "markers (of the same size of the models' bases) instead of placing models" and place "two markers per model in his warband." But during play, the Defender would only "reveal whether the marker is real, substituting the marker with a figure, or if just a dummy, removing the marker from play" if "a marker is attacked, or whenever an opponent moves within one Long distance from the marker." A marker would not be revealed "whenever the Defender rolls to activate it" and instead were all assigned with the statistics of Savage Orc Heavy Infantry; Short Move: 75mm Quality 4+ Combat 4.  

THE TABLETOP - OSGILIATH

“The story so far… At the bidding of Sauron, the Lord of Isengard has sent forth Lurtz and some of his Uruk-Hai to clear out the human defences at Osgiliath. However, before the "great soldier-orcs" can launch a devastating attack upon the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Gondor, Faramir plans to spring a trap and ambush them as they pass between the Fallen Angel and Blasted Terrace..."

Situated in the west, and overshadowed by the ruins of the Fallen Angel and Blasted Terrace, Lurtz marshalled his force about him. Saruman's "second-in-command" was treated as an Orc Champion, equipped with a hand-weapon and shield. He was awarded the Savage and Hero traits, which meant he could inflict a gruesome kill just by doubling his opponent's score [as opposed to needing to treble it], and would always roll one automatic success, regardless of his Quality.

LURTZ PREPARES TO LEAD ANOTHER URUK-HAI RAIDING PARTY INTO OSGILIATH

Due to the Uruk-Hai accompanying him all wearing armour and carrying a sword/shield, they were classed as Orc Heavy Infantry, and were therefore also given the Savage skill. In addition, because of their heavy armour, the nine Uruk-Hai could only move a short distance (75mm) per action.

Faramir's part were initially positioned together as if emerging from the east. The four bowmen were treated as Archers, and therefore given the Shooter (Long - 180mm) skill, whilst the quartet of swordsmen were used as Heavy Infantry, and subsequently reduced to moving just a short distance (75mm) per action. Denethor's second son was made a Leader, and thus increased the Quality rolls of any friendly model within Long distance (180mm) by one. In addition, Faramir would force all friendly models to make a Morale roll if he died.

FARAMIR HURRIES HIS MEN FORWARD IN ORDER TO SPRING HIS AMBUSH

The Forces of Saruman won the Initiative but surprisingly failed to show any indication that they were about to emerge from out of the western shadows. As a result the "Prince of Ithilien" seized the opportunity to steal an advantage over his savage opponents and used his Leadership ability to spur his Warriors of Minas Tirith forwards. This caused two archers to speed northwest past the Buried Monument, and the remaining two bowmen rush towards the Blasted Terrace. Behind them, Faramir and his swordsmen headed west a little more slowly and cautiously.
  

Incredibly, there was still no real sign of movement from within the western shadows. Such a lack of haste of the part of Lurtz's troops meant that "J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium" had even more time to get his human forces into position, and before long Gondor's two northern archers had the Uruk-Hai just within their weapons' range and let lose some searching arrows. On this occasion the bowmen were too far away to cause any damage, but their shots did reveal the presence of two actual Orcs amidst the shadows.

THE ARCHERS OF MINAS TIRITH RUSH INTO POSITION AS THE FIRST OF THE URUK-HAI APPEAR

Despite a few of their number becoming enemy targets, the "fighting Uruk-Hai" remained hidden within the shadows of the Fallen Angel and Hidden Terrace [i.e. they failed their turn's first activation for the third time on the trot despite only rolling two dice]. Luckily for Saruman however, all Faramir could muster was for his northern pair of archers to reveal a third Orc by peppering the western morass with more missiles. Cursing, the younger brother of Boromir turned to reprimand his stalled swordsmen and urge them onwards. The Men of Minas Tirith needed to be much closer to their bowmen if they were going to ward off "the Isengarders" from their bowmen once the ambush was properly sprung.

Finally "the servants of Saruman the Wise" started to move east, with a couple of Uruk-Hai breaking formation and fast approaching Faramir's archers in the north. It seemed clear to the man who would 'eventually succeed his father as the Steward of Gondor' that he needed to take matters into his own hand if his trap was to succeed. With a surge he moved west behind one of the walls of the Crumbling Remnants, and literally dragged one of his accompanying swordsmen with him. Emboldened by their leader's evident bravery Faramir's rearguard slowly followed a little way behind.

FARAMIR LEADS HIS SWORDSMEN WEST AS MORE URUK-HAI START TO EMERGE

To the north, the two Gondorian archers continued to 'sting' the western shadows with arrows, but revealed no more Uruk-Hai. Whilst the Prince of Ithilien's other two bowmen positioned themselves directly south of the Crumbling Remnants and began notching their weapons. The trap had finally been sprung, but after so many delays would it still work...

"Beasts Of Nurgle Sometimes Feel Left Out Of The Fun..."

"...And so bound forth to join in whenever they can."

This 28mm scale "finely detailed resin cast kit" of a Beast of Nurgle is made by “Games Workshop”, comes as seven separate "Finecast" components, and (still) contains no instructions for assembly whatsoever. Luckily, I have already previously built two such 'truly horrendous aberrations' for my Nurgle Host, so was able to use my earlier models as a steer for the "Gale Force Nine" super-glue...

Having put my "embodiment of mindless decay" together and attached it to a 60mm circular plastic base, I primed it with a generous double-helping of "Vallejo" Heavy Ochre before drowning it in "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade. The "mottled pallid slug" was then dry-brushed with more "Vallejo" Heavy Ochre and had both it's claws and tusks painted in Iraqi Sand. These areas were subsequently also washed with Strong Tone Quickshade.

Garrek's Reavers WIPs - The bright red plastic miniatures have been primed with "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone

In order to make this particular Beast of Nurgle appear noticeably dissimilar in colour to its predecessors, I added some "Citadel" Druchii Violet and Drakenhof Nightshade to different areas of the creature's hide and tried to create the impression of bruised flesh. However, as I still wanted the "grotesquely misshapen" creature to somewhat tie into the rest of my "Age Of Sigmar" Rotbringers, I later 'picked out' some of its pimples with a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Ochre and “Citadel” Reikland Fleshshade.

With this latest addition to my ever-expanding Tallyband of Nurgle finished, I have dived straight into the newest of "Games Workshop" releases based upon the eight Mortal Realms - "Warhammer Underworlds: Shadespire". An "action-packed combat game" set within the deadly ruins of a city which was once full "of wonder and magic", my desire to quickly assemble and prime Garrek's Reavers has been doubly motivated by the release of these renowned Bloodreavers' rules for "Age Of Sigmar"; a diabolical dual-use bonus if ever I saw one.

Garreck's Reavers WIPs - The bright red plastic bases have been primed with "Citadel" Abaddon Black

Disconcertingly however, for a boxed game which boasts its suitability as a 'gateway game for beginners', I actually found a couple of the plastic Khorne miniatures far from "Easy To Build", on account of all their tiny, and oft-times potentially fragile, pieces. Indeed, there were a couple of times when I was either 'snipping' away the components from their sprues, or smoothing them down with a modelling knife/nail file, and felt the vividly red coloured material worryingly flex in my hands; something the sculpts' tiny chains appear particularly prone to do even when carefully handled.

Such issues also definitely made me feel that in difference to "Games Workshop" guidance, glue was an absolute necessity. Albeit, in all fairness the game's "comprehensive, easy to follow construction guide" did make the models' assembly a reasonably straightforward process once the pieces had been identified, separated and cleaned.

"The Dead Do Not Rest Easy In Dracula's America..."

 "Refugees from back East begin to flood the West in ever-greater numbers in a bid to escape the Terror."

These three 28mm metal Zombie Gunfighters can be purchased as Code OW010 from "Wargames Foundry", and are my latest submission for this year's Zomtober challenge. "Hard To Kill" and "Fearsome", enemy models who wish to fight these models whilst playing "Osprey Games" Weird Wild West rule-set, must first "pass a 1 Die Nerve Test or suffer a -1 Die Modifier on its Fight Tests" even when the brain-chomping cowboys are "Down!"

The first of these gun-toting zeds seems to bear a strikingly strong resemblance to the "folk hero of the American Old West" known as "Wild Bill" Hickok, and was primed with "Vallejo" White. His trousers and boots were subsequently painted using Heavy Green and Heavy Sienna respectively, and both of these areas were then treated to a coat of "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade. I 'picked out' his neckerchief with "Vallejo" Heavy Ochre and his battered hat with Charred Brown. Again, these areas were later shaded with "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade.

"Foul and hungry creatures follow in their wake." 

For the one-eyed undead marksman, sporting a fabulously impressive moustache, I pigmented his suit using a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Brown and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade, and highlighted a couple of wriggling maggots found squirming about his head with "Vallejo" Heavy Ochre and a dab of "Citadel" Reikland Fleshade. I also darkened some "Vallejo" Heavy Blue with a touch of "Citadel" Abaddon Black, and carefully highlighted the ghoul's hair with the mix.

The third pistol-carrying cadaver, who disconcertingly is not actually advertised by "Wargames Foundry" as being part of their Zombie Gunfighters blister and resultantly 'bumps' the code's contents up to seven miniatures, had his vest painted using "Vallejo" Heavy Blue and "Citadel" Drakenhof Nightshade. In addition, this bowler hat was given a coat of "Vallejo" Charred Brown, whilst his shoes and holster were 'picked out' with Heavy Sienna; all these areas were then washed using "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade.

Conan WIP - The "Frostgrave: Ghost Archipelago" Savage has been primed "Vallejo" Iraqi Sand

I created the vivid green look of all three of the zombies' flesh by initially using a layer of "Vallejo" Iraqi Sand, and subsequently washing it with "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green, Carroburg Crimson and a little Strong Tone Quickshade by "The Army Painter". In addition, I picked out some of the bullet wounds and gashes with "Vallejo" Heavy Red, and treated these areas to a generous wash of more "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson. As a final 'touch' all the living corpses' firearms and ammunition belts were given a coat of Ironbreaker and Nuln Oil.

Sticking with "Osprey Games" rules, my "Frostgrave: Ghost Archipelago" Nickstarter pledge by "North Star Military Figures" has arrived. Amongst the plastic crewmen, large lizard and snapping turtle I bought, I also received the tabletop game's incredible sculpt of a Savage; a barbarian clearly ready "to tread the jewelled thrones of the Earth under his sandaled feet.”

"Sometimes You Have To Play The Role Of A Fool..."

"...To fool the fool who think they're fooling you."

These two 28mm pre-painted plastic “Wizkids” Mime Monsters are both figure number 041 from the New Jersey-based company's “Horrorclix” Nightmares line. However, rather than deploy the pair of 'guardian monsters who rescue victims' for the discontinued "collectable miniatures game" I instead, plan to utilise them as "hand-to-hand specialists" for my Joker gang when playing a Gotham-focused variant of "Mutants And Death Ray Guns" by "Ganesha Games".

Both models were originally undercoated with "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey in order to 'mask' their pre-paints, and had their boots 'picked out' using a combination of Heavy Red and "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson. Their trousers were then simply treated to a layer of Abaddon Black" and I started work carefully following the line of their braces with "Vallejo" Heavy Red. Unfortunately, at this point in the process I encountered a bit of a problem with the softness of one of the Mime Monsters' sculpts, which simply made it impossible in places to trace any sort of detail whatsoever.

"Heroclix" WIPs - The Joker accompanied by lackeys destined for Mister Freeze and the Riddler

As a result, I washed the successfully painted suspenders with "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson and gave the creepy-faced creature's beret a generous dollop of Abaddon Black, and left its counter-part's straps pure Abaddon Black but painted its flat-crowned hat with "Vallejo" Heavy Red and "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson. To finish the "Horrorclix" Nightmares off, I washed both of their grey ribbed shirts with Nuln Oil, and 'picked out' their ghoulish faces with "Vallejo" Dead White and a wash of Pale Grey.

Unsurprisingly, my enthusiasm for re-painting "Wizkids" models is currently rather high, and has been 'fanned' by the arrival of some more "Heroclix" models from "Troll And Toad"; a webstore which "offers one of the Largest selections of Yugioh cards, Pokemon cards, Magic the Gathering cards, and Collectible Miniatures at Great Prices." This has caused me to take a sharp modelling knife to a couple of figures in order to 'create' a second gunman for the Riddler's crew, as well as base and prime an alternative sculpt of the crowned prince of crime armed with a sub-machine gun and maniacal grin.

Zombie Gunfighter WIPs - The corpse is slowly having his decaying detail 'picked out' and washed

In addition, I have finally returned to five DC Comics "Heroclix" Hypertime lackeys I started to paint as the beginnings of a gang for Mister Freeze eighteen months ago. All of these plastic figures were slightly converted so as to give them winter bobble hats as part of the 'Forgotten Heroes' challenge, and courtesy of my renewed fevered fervour for "Gotham" I have already almost finished the first of them.

Delightfully, I've also found myself 'powering through' my meagre collection of Zombie Gunfighters by "Wargames Foundry". With a little bit of luck I am hoping to post at least three brain-chomping cowboys for this week's Zomtober challenge entry, and provide my recently completed Crusaders of the Order with some shambling, but potentially still deadly with a gun, opposition...