“That Smells Good.”

“Halflings have been associated more closely with the culinary arts than the world of professional sport.”

"Felictations sports fans. I'm Jim Maddenberg, and welcome to another Monday Night Football special. This time round we'll be taking a quick look at one of three well-baked balls found within the plastic Greenfield Grasshuggers boxed set, as well as covering the Rusty Buckets second ‘friendly’ game of the season, against the Gravel Gut Sevens. So let’s head straight over to my fellow presenter, Thom Grassyglade…”

"Thanks Jim. This Halfling’s delicious-looking baguette was super-glued onto a 25mm circular base and undercoated using "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna. It was then shaded using some Strong Tone Quickshade by "The Army Painter", and dry-brushed with more "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna. Finally, its lettuce leaves were 'picked out' with “Vallejo” Heavy Grey and “Citadel” Biel-Tan Green. Whilst its tomatoes were treated to a combination of “Vallejo” Heavy Red and “Citadel” Crimson Carroburg.”

The Rusty Buckets kick off against the Gravel Gut Sevens

“Good stuff, Thom. Now ‘lettuce’ turn our attention to the latest game involving the amateur Dwarf club, the Rusty Buckets and their brutal battle against a formidably-sized Ogre team. Boy… Naghag Nightbane’s side really don’t seem to be making this an easy tour, even if the Gravel Gut Sevens were forced to field six Gnoblars throughout the match due to the super-expensive price-tag of the side’s Runt Punter and Blockers.

"Well things certainly seemed to be going the Dwarves' way to begin with, Jim, as their defensive combination of Linemen and Blitzers effectively stopped the incredibly dense Ogres from doing much - apart from succumbing to their own hapless Bone Head trait. Indeed, even a surprising break down one of the flanks by some unruly Gnoblar Linemen following a successful 'Throw Team-mate' play didn't initially appear to be too dangerous."

An Ogre Blocker outmuscles a Dwarf Lineman to make a hole for a Gnoblar

"Unfortunately for Nightbane's brave battlers however, an Ogre Blocker finally put his lack of intelligence to one side so as to put a particularly vulnerable dent in the Rusty Buckets' defensive line, and open up a clear path to the Dwarf End Zone for the one of the subspecies of hill-dwelling Goblins. Needless to say, the tiny, green-skinned Lineman made his way in for the Touchdown, and suddenly the visiting team were a score behind."

The Gravel Gut Sevens score to take an early(ish) lead in the match

"Still, that might not have been too much of a problem, Thom, with the Rusty Buckets bringing on star Runner, Lotgran Whitfoot, just before the kick-off. The diminutive speedster looked to have fully recovered from his previous game's injury, following the stadium's crowd getting their hands on him, and was soon in possession of the ball with the opponent's End Zone in his sights."

"Too right, Jim. The Dwarf side put on an impressive show of grim determination against their much larger opponents, and actually appeared to be holding their own, despite the Gravel Gut Sevens' star-players completely overcoming their Bone-Headedness. Sadly though, all of their bravery ultimately came to naught when Whitfoot strained a leg muscle just inches from making a game equalising score - even though the team had the opportunity to re-roll the failed Rush."

Lotgran Whitfoot pulls up injured just short of the Gravel Gut Sevens' End Zone

"To make matters worse, the short-sized 'speedster' was out for the rest of the match, and momentarily left his club-mates down a player with a group of Gnoblars heading for the ball. Only the Goblin cousins' cowardice prevented the tiny Linemen from taking possession again before the half-time whistle, as they were concerned their agility might let them down and somehow give the spiked pigskin back to their opponents."

The Rusty Buckets batter the Gravel Gut Sevens at the start of the second-half

"Things would certainly take something of a different turn in the second-half, Thom, with the Rusty Buckets offence once again fielding a full seven players, and soon getting the ball to star Blizter, Dozolir Deepgut. In fact, I can't recall a more violent series of clashes between two sides, as the heavily armoured Dwarves literally hurled themselves into the big bellies of the Gravel Gut Sevens, in an effort to breach the Ogres' defensive line."

"Of course. that doesn't mean for a second that Nightbane's team had everything go their own way, Jim. There were a couple of times when the Rusty Bucket players actually fell to the astro-granite senseless having attempted to block one of the Ogres and found their physical skills wanting. Quite a few Dwarf Linemen probably came away from this match eternally grateful for their Thick Skull trait."

Dozolir Deepgut scores a Touchdown to level the match

"True enough, Thom. Still, the Rusty Buckets did eventually manage to cajole the Gravel Gut Sevens to predominantly move aside just enough to give Dozolir Deepgut a chance to 'Rush' towards their End Zone. And unlike, Whitfoot, the Dwarf was able to make a successful score without succumbing to a Turn Over enforcing injury beforehand. The game was tied, with plenty of time left for a winning touchdown..."

"Indeed, it was, Jim, as the Ogre team once again decided to utilise their Throw Team-mate skill and lob a ball-carrying Gnoblar towards the Dwarves' End Zone. Admittedly, the throw catastrophically failed, but it still left both an opposing player and the pig-bladder well behind the Rusty Buckets' defensive line. So only a torn ligament on the final dice roll of the game prevented a slender-framed Greenskin from giving the Gravel Gut Sevens a win."

Misfortune strikes as a nameless Gnoblar Lineman pulls up close to the Dwarf End Zone

"Well that disappointingly concludes this report covering the Rusty Buckets' 'friendly' against the Gravel Gut Sevens, which despite ending in a score draw was clearly once again a moral victory for the Dwarf club. In the next broadcast, we'll be covering all the action from the touring amateur club's third game, so we'll both see you then..."

“Terminators Are Space Marine Veterans…”

“…who have earned the right to wear Tactical Dreadnought Armour, better known as Terminator Armour.”

These 6mm scale plastic 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 predominantly found inside my original box of “Space Marine” from 1991. However, I’m pretty sure the elite, First Company veterans were actually acquired second-hand, as some were already primed on the sprue with a thick, black paint, and there weren’t any space marines wearing tactical dreadnought armour in the starter set I owned.

Due to these miniatures’ disconcerting undercoat, I decided to make them a squad of Black Templar terminators, as I feared what soft detail there already was on the sculpts would diminish even more following much more paint being applied to them. This effectively meant all I needed to do was just give them a lick or two of watered-down “Citadel” Abaddon Black, before ‘picking out’ any noticeable details.

"Fortuitously... the German defences were even weaker in this sector of the beach."

The diminutive figures’ shoulder-pads were all treated to a simple layer of “Vallejo” White and a dash of Pale Grey. Whilst, all of their storm bolters were treated to a combination of “Vallejo” Gunmetal and “Citadel” Nuln Oil. I did consider applying some “Vallejo” White to their power-fists too, however, I thought this might then just merge the over-sized, armoured gauntlets into their shoulder-pads.

In addition to my latest Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (AHPC) submission, I have also completed four more plastic 15mm miniatures by “Battlefront Miniatures”. Found inside the company’s “Hit The Beach” starter set for “Flames Of War”, these figures form another of the MG34 and K98 Rifle teams I require for my German Beach Defence Company’s second Panzergrenadier Platoon.

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

As with all my other “FoW” German soldiers, the models 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, with the arrival of my pre-ordered Epic 15mm British Infantry Brigade by “Warlord Games” just around the corner, I have continued practicing my approach to the Nottingham-based company’s plastic strips of infantry by working on another of my (spare) American Civil War stands. I’ve now settled on painting the soldiers’ trousers first over a “Citadel” Abaddon Black prime, and then selectively ‘picking out’ their shoes before working on the much more complicated details of their torsos etc…

“Meet Morrigun…”

“…The seventh warrior.”

This 28mm scale metal model of Morrigun was produced by “Wargames Foundry” and could be bought as code AD13 from their now long out of production (OOP) “2000 A.D.” range. Happily, the Nottingham-based manufacturer gave some advanced notice as to this particular line’s demise, so I managed to purchase the figure just before the sculpt was withdrawn from sale.

“The only female robot member the A.B.C. [Atomic, Bacterial and Chemical] Warriors have ever had ", the waitress on Hekate was undercoated using Grey Surface Primer by "Vallejo", before being layered with "Scalecolor" Blue Alchemy, shaded in Drakenhof Nightshade, and dry-brushed with (more) "Scalecolor" Blue Alchemy. I then picked out all of the automaton's armour and dreadlock-styled hair with "Citadel" Abaddon Black.

"Mongoose Publishing" WIPs - Blackblood is slowly having his details 'picked out'

Morrigun’s formidable looking hand-weapon was predominantly pigmented with “Vallejo” Gunmetal and “Citadel” Nuln Oil. However, the axe-headed flail’s handle was treated to a combination of “Vallejo” Heavy Sienna and some “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade. I also applied some “Vallejo” Heavy Red and “Citadel” Carroburg Crimson to the female android’s disappointingly misaligned lips.

Sticking with the comic book “2000 A.D.” and its A.B.C. Warriors, but moving across to a model originally produced by “Mongoose Publishing”, I have started work on a miniature of General Blackblood. This “most feared of the Volgans' war robots” was actually painted predominantly metallic green in his ‘official’ colour scheme. 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”.

"Warlord Games" WIPs - This Royalist Pikeman has been glued upon a "Citadel" 25mm circular base

In addition, over the next week or so I aim to complete the first four 28mm plastic Pikemen by “Warlord Games” I’ve bought for my slow-burning English Civil War (ECW) project. Despite sticking to my initial plan of just painting a handful of models a month, I have changed my idea to simply stick each quartet of figures on to a single square base.

Instead, I’ve glued them upon “Citadel” 28mm circular stands with the intention of forming them up in blocks of ten using some MDF movement trays by “Warbases”. This system should help me with both the storage and transport of the soldiers, as well as allow me to use some of them for skirmish games (such as Smooth & Rifled by “Dadi & Piombo”)…

“The Bulk Of The Infantry Forces Manning The Fixed Defences…”

“…Were static divisions, comprising two infantry regiments of variable quality...”

These seven plastic 15mm miniatures are sold by “Battlefront Miniatures” and can be found inside the company’s “Hit The Beach” starter set for “Flames Of War”. The figures consist of a Unit Leader MG42 team and a MG34 and K98 Rifle teams. Both of these stands will form the start of a second Panzergrenadier Platoon for my German Beach Defence Company.

As with all my other “FoW” German soldiers, the figures 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.

“…Supported by three attached Ost (East) battalions made up of former Soviet soldiers.”

In addition, I had the opportunity to give one of the infantrymen a foliage-covered helmet, which was initially pigmented with “Vallejo” Heavy Green and shaded using a splash or two of “Citadel” Biel-Tan Green. The leaves were then delicately dry-brushed with (more) “Vallejo” Heavy Green, before being ‘highlighted’ with Heavy Sienna and a smidgeon of Heavy Grey.

With my latest entries for the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (AHPC) ‘in the bag’, I have found some extra hobby time to continue experimenting with my technique as to how to paint the Epic 15mm scale infantry strips by “Warlord Games”. Over the past twelve months I have rather embarrassingly only ever managed to finish just twenty of the Nottingham-based manufacturers America Civil War soldiers, as I have found their diminutive size and maze of straps, belts, pouches and firearms to be real time-consuming obstacles for my brush-tip to overcome.

"Warlord Games" WIPs - These ACW Confederates are slowly having their details 'picked out'

However, having pre-ordered some infantry from their Epic Battles: Waterloo range, including those recently advertised as part of the line’s second wave, I am determined to identify a much simpler method of getting my mass ranks on the tabletop. To that end I have been dallying with a strip of ACW Confederates in the hope that blocking out their main colours before working on their multitude of finer details might provide a faster method of getting them finished.

Sadly, this has actually proved to be the opposite, as it seems much easier to me to simply pick out the odd bit of coloured uniform here and there over a “Citadel” Abaddon Black prime, than it is to carefully trace out all the water bottles and belts later on. In fact, the only thing this current strip of soldiers has confirmed, in my mind at least, is that doing their shoes first and trousers next is definitely the way I’ll be going when my British Line Infantry arrive…

“We Don’t Stand A Chance!”

“We’re surrounded!”

This 28mm scale metal model of Ro-Jaws was produced by “Wargames Foundry” and could be bought as code AD69 from their now long out of production (OOP) “2000 A.D.” range. Luckily, the Nottingham-based manufacturer gave some advanced notice as to this particular line’s demise, so I managed to purchase the figure just before the sculpt was withdrawn from sale.

“Originally named Federal Recycling & Environmental Droid 2-L", the robot was undercoated in "Vallejo" Grey Surface Primer before receiving a double-helping of "Scalecolor" Emerald Alchemy. The ex-municipal sewage droid was then shaded using "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green, Agrax Earthshade and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade, before being subsequently dry-brushed with (more) "Scalecolor" Emerald Alchemy, as well as a little "Vallejo" Gunmetal.

"Wargames Foundry" WIPs - Morrigun has been primed, shaded and dry-brushed

Ro-Jaws’ large uni-wheel was initially treated to a layer of “Citadel” Abaddon Black, followed by a dry-brush of “Vallejo” Heavy Charcoal and a generous splash of “Citadel” Nuln Oil. Lastly, his teeth were ‘picked out’ using a combination of “Vallejo” Gunmetal and “Citadel” Nuln Oil, whilst his ‘Tax badge’ was simply given a splodge of “Vallejo” Heavy Red and dash of “Citadel” Carroburg Crimson.

Alongside my latest entry into both the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge (AHPC) and Dave Stone’s Paint What You’ve Got Challenge, I have also been making some strong progress on another A.B.C. Warrior previously produced by “Wargames Foundry”. Like Ro-Jaws, I have decided to use the figure of Morrigun as an opportunity to test out another paint in the “Scalecolor” range; albeit I have used some small amounts of Blue Alchemy on three Paladin Annihilator by “Privateer Press” in the past.

"Warlord Games" WIPs - These ACW Confederates have had their shoes and trousers finished

Moving across to the smaller scale of 15mm I am still finding myself thoroughly enthused by the (hopefully) imminent arrival of my Epic Battles: Waterloo pre-order from “Warlord Games”. This fervour has been maintained through a healthy mixture of watching plenty of YouTube previews by various wargamers who have been fortunate enough to have been sent some advance sprues and listening to “The Waterloo Collection” by “Pen and Sword Books Ltd”.

As a result I have been continuing with my experiment on a line of similarly-sized plastic American Civil War infantry to establish how I can best paint numerous rows of troops. My intention, having blocked in all the base colours previously was to work my way around the strip picking out all its details, but I have already reverted back to my usual method of working from foot to bottom on the models – hence both the figures’ shoes and trousers being finished first…

“Hydra Has Emerged The Incontestable Victor!”

“Now, nothing can stop us!”

This 28mm scale plastic model of a Hydra Infiltrator is produced by “Wizkids” and is miniature number 015a from their Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Marvel “Heroclix” range. Rather embarrassingly I discovered it buried away inside my basing grit box, having presumably been lost there for quite some time, and as I haven’t pigmented any of the company’s pre-painted super-hero figures for over a year, I thought I’d give it some much-needed attention.

Due to the miniature having already been popped off of its famous 'clicky base', the terrorist was quickly given a couple of coats of "Vallejo" Heavy Grey and washed with "Citadel" Biel-Tan Green. Disconcertingly, the sculpting on this figure was incredibly soft, predominantly due to the thick pre-paint I was working over-the-top of, so I settled upon a simple dry-brush of (more) "Vallejo" Heavy Grey so as to do the folds in the villain's costume some justice.

"Warlord Games" WIPs - These confederates have had their base colours blocked in

Sadly, I wasn’t so lucky with the figure’s face and hands, as there really wasn’t much detail left at all once I had applied a combination of "Vallejo" Heavy Skintone and "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade to these areas. Resultantly, I painted in a few fingers on the chap's balled fists and blended them with a second, quite heavily watered-down application of “Citadel” Reikland Fleshshade. Somewhat confusingly, the model did seem to have at least one ear potentially poking out through its hair. However, having looked at all the ‘official’ pictures of the gaming piece, none appeared to have ever been ‘picked out’, so I left well enough alone.

Like so many wargamers currently, I have been paying quite a bit of attention to “Warlord Games” and the imminent release of their Epic Battles: Waterloo line in 15mm plastic. This really is an historical period I thoroughly enjoy, yet have repeatedly failed to successfully paint over the years despite many attempts across different scales. Hopefully that won’t be the case this time round.

"Warlord Games" WIPs - These confederates have had their base colours blocked in

Somewhat worryingly though, I have previously struggled to paint the Nottingham-based company’s figure strips in the past, with my attempt to get just a single stand of Alabama-grown Confederate soldiers finished taking almost a year. This has largely been because I find working on ten figures simultaneously, no matter how small, rather discouraging, and struggle to apply the heavily-disciplined ‘sausage factory’ mentality needed to make such a painting process work.

Luckily, I still have a little time left before my pre-order arrives and I’m somewhat swamped with British Infantrymen, so I thought I’d use the opportunity to identify and practice some ‘quick win’ approaches using a few of my previously-purchased spare American Civil War sprues. In the past, I’ve painted these figures over a “Citadel” Abaddon Black undercoat, so thought I’d start by seeing if it was less time consuming to use a lighter prime, in this case “Vallejo” Sombre Grey, and then block in the base colours before applying any black separation to the figures’ different areas/details…

“The Dwarfs’ Reputation For Flamboyant Illegality…”

“…[Is what] makes them such a big hit with the fans..”

"Hello Blood Bowl fans, and welcome to an extra-long special edition of Monday Night Football. I'm Jim Maddenberg, and alongside retired Elven Thrower Thom Grassyglade, I’ll be telling you all about Blood Bowl Sevens’ most recent signing - Dozolir Deepgut.”

“The Dwarf Blitzer has agreed to join amateur side, the Rusty Buckets, for a whopping 80,000 copper pieces, and was painted in precisely the same manner as the rest of his diminutive team-mates. This colour scheme predominantly contained the likes of “Vallejo” Heavy Sienna and Heavy Brown, some Gunmetal dry-brushing, as well as plenty of “Citadel” Agrax Earthshade and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade.”

The Rusty Buckets kick off against the Poked Eye

“Yeah. Yeah. Now you’ve got the boring stuff out of the way Jim, let’s turn our attention over to the Rusty Buckets first ‘friendly’ game of the season, against the Poked Eye. The Dwarves really picked a tough team to face at the start of their tour, especially as the Orcs appeared to do their level best to repeatedly misinterpret or forget certain rules of the game.”

“Well the match certainly started badly for Naghag Nightbane’s side, Thom, despite the weather conditions being perfect for a game. The Rusty Buckets’ kick-off went straight out of bounds, presenting the Orcs with possession right near the line of scrimmage. And boy, when those Greenskins got close to the second edition 28mm Dwarves on the pitch, they absolutely towered over them.”

An Orc Blitzer conveniently 'forgets' to roll for Rushing & successfully reaches the Dwarf End Zone for a score

“Very true, Jim. If it wasn’t for the solid armour value of the Dwarves’ protective clothing, there could easily have been a massacre straight from the referee’s whistle. But as it was, both Deepgut and Nightbane survived their early encounters against the Orc players, with Dozolir even managing to make something of a defensive move when a Greenskin Blitzer powered past him down the wing whilst carrying the ball.”

“Perhaps unsurprisingly though, it was at this stage of the game when the Orc’s sunk as low as you can go by forgetting to roll for their Rushing and subsequently scoring a Touchdown. An utterly despicable manoeuvre by the Greenskins’ coach in what was supposed to be a sociable, non-competitive exhibition match. Boo the Poked Eye!!”

A final look at the Rusty Buckets' Runner before the game's overly-excited crowd 'murdered' him

“Boo indeed, Thom. But things then went from bad to worse for the Rusty Buckets with Lotgran Whitfoot picking up the ball during the restart, and almost immediately being bundled into the baying crowd, courtesy of a shove from one of the Orc players.”

“Needless to say, the Dwarf Runner did not appear again for some considerable time, and when his battered body was recovered, it was clear the fans’ frenzied frustrations had physically taken their toll upon him. Still I hear that Whitfoot should be medically cleared in time for the Rusty Buckets’ second game next week.”

The Second-half starts with a number of Orcs getting beaten up near the line of scrimmage

“Plus, the Rusty Buckets currently have an eight Dwarf-strong roster, so were able to weather the loss somewhat leading into the second-half… And this was when the team’s universal Block skill really came to the fore, as Nightbane lead his club into a no-holds barred, toe-to-toe battle with the Poked Eye players.”

“Absolutely, Thom. Before you could say Old World Brutality, the Orc’s Big Un was down at the feet of the Dwarf Captain following a devastating ‘Pow!’. Then, one big boot from Naghag later, and an already semi-conscious prone Black Orc was heading back to the Locker Room, with the Poked Eye being down to just six players on the pitch."

With the Orc' Big Un injured, Throfog Anvildelver heads for a Dwarf Touchdown

"Luckily, the Referee didn’t see anything either, right Thom..? And Dwarf Lineman Throfog Anvildelver was able to squeeze through the resultant gap in the Poked Eye's defensive line to make an incredible run almost half the length of the pitch to the Orcs' End Zone.”

"Too right, Jim. Almost the entire Greenskin roster went down like so many skittles during Anvildelver's sensational scoring sprint, with many an Orc player suffering from either a fall or stun, courtesy of some rock solid Dwarf blocking."

"Well that sadly concludes this report covering the Rusty Buckets' opening game, which despite ending in a score draw was clearly a moral victory for the Dwarf players. Next time round we'll be covering all the action from the touring amateur club's second match, so please tune in for that..."