Tag Archives: Games Workshop

September is flying by

Old metal Games Workshop figure of the Gamling with the Rohan standard. It really wasn’t Gamling in the book . . . but don’t get me started.

It’s the middle of the month already, but it’s been a good month . . . sort of. I’ve devoted a lot of time to painting, not a bad thing because the weather in August and September is much cooler and wetter than is typical. On the other hand, my back yard looks like it would in April or May which is not so good.

As promised I’ve been working on mostly Lord of the Rings figures. I have some of my own stash of GW plastics that I’ve been saving for 20 years, and I’ve ordered more from Etsy (of course I have.) The Etsy figures are 3D prints and are very nice looking. They’re also pretty spendy. Six or more dollars for a single foot figure isn’t unusual and I confess to biting the hook pretty hard. However, at the suggestion from my good friend Mark, some of these 3D mini masterpieces can be replaced by much cheaper metal historicals. So, I’ve ordered a mixture of the excellent Footsore Dark Ages figures to become the wildmen of Dunland at likely less than half the cost of the printed variety.

These are plastic Games Workshop figures I’ve had for many years. It was fun to get them painted. They’re my first mounted unit, and there are at least five more to finish. Red shields represent the Westfold.

Because I’m a lover of all things Tolkien (except the Peter Jackson Hobbit movies, bleah) I saw myself having larger and larger ambitions to acquire and paint EVERYTHING. I think my appetite has shrunk to somewhat more manageable size. I am going to go big on my beloved Rohirrim. I’m adding enough Dunland figures to do the scenarios in the War in Rohan book, and I’ll eventually add enough Isengard figures to do whatever Isengard figures do. I’ll resort to GW plastics and metal figures when I can because they cost less, and the fact of the matter is I’m good for now.

This 3D printed guy is Erkenbrand Lord of the Westfold and Captain of Rohan. He’s a great miniature. All my plastics are weighted with washers.

I’ve finished painting my first mounted Rohan unit. They are GW figures from the long ago hoard, and have the red shields of the Westfold. I’ve completed some personality figures included Gamling with his Rohan flag. I’m working on some very nice printed mounted royal guardsmen printed by Forgemaster Miniatures in the UK.

Last week I was able to run my first One Hour Skirmish Warfare game, using my Moro Wars guys. It was a straight up scenario and I enjoyed it very much. The rules are quite simple and invite some scenario specific rules and general common-sense fiddling. In our game the Americans were holding an advanced post and were assaulted by some angry Moro clansmen. The cards prevented Moros from getting their act together to pull together a dynamic charge, so the Americans were able to pick away at them bit by bit. It was a great learning game for me, and I’ll be running the same scenario on the 21st at our annual Fix Bayonets get together.

I’ve also been able to work in couple of other things. I painted six of the Flight Deck 1/300 scale Betty bombers. Very nice stuff. I’m very impressed with their 3D prints. Today, I hope to start masting six Japanese cruisers from the pre-dreadnought era. I’m going to try using the New Times Journal masting jig for the first time, just to see if it makes the job easier.

I’d like to close with just a few random thoughts from a 69 year old miniature gamer. It feels like I have a lot of stuff. I don’t object to having the stuff. I’m kind of addicted to adding to my mob o’ dudes. I love painting and I’ve loved working on and completing my big ol’ pile. It feels better to have purchased and completed my figures than it does to have a bunch of unpainted figures that I know I’m never going to even try to paint. But it really does feel like I’ve maxed out even what I think I might be able to do. I have this great group of friends who always expand their interests, and I think I just have to say, “That’s great, but I’m just gonna have to play along with your figures.” No harm in that. These are the projects I have left to complete. In some cases I already have all the figures, while some need a bit more.

  1. Lord of the Rings (MEBSG) Rohan, Dunland and Isengard. I have elements of all of these and I’ve begun work on all of these.
  2. 28mm Cuban Rebellion, and Spanish American War. Again, I have most of the figures and I’ve worked on all sides. Back to them in October.
  3. SAGA Armies: Vikings, Saracens and Mutatawwi. I have all the figures, just need to get it done.
  4. Guilford Courthouse, Hobkirk’s Hill and Eutaw Springs for Regimental Fire and Fury. Some figures are painted. Some figures are not. Probably need more figures. Yeah.
  5. The Gringo 40’s Indian Wars new guys. Seduced by the new stuff, what can I say. I have some. I need some. More stuff is being released. Help. The newest of the new shiny things. Will begin as a One Hour Skirmish Wargame project, but it has potential for yikes.
  6. ACW ships. I have a bunch of Bay Area Yards resin hulls calling my name. I don’t see to hear them at this time.
  7. 1/300 planes for the Pacific and Vietnam. I do kind of pick at these guys. I just need to devote some real time to getting them done.

There are more small scattered things to wrap up, but those are the biggies. It’s why I need to just say no to new things.

Dragon Rampant-Yes!!

Dragon-Rampant-Mock-Up

On December 22nd, Osprey Publishing released the latest of their rules sets, Dragon Rampant.  Built on their, in my view, very successful  and very fun Lion Rampant, this is a set of fantasy rules that keep things quick and simple.

Dragon Rampant is intended to be relatively economical.  Every army will likely have 4-6 units.  They will likely have at their core some 12 figure units of infantry slime, with some six figure units of knights, or elites, or monstrous nasties, maybe even some 1-3 model units of something or another really unpleasant–trolls, ogres, giants, wizards, dragons would fit the bill.  The game allows magic.  Author Daniel Mersey has made allowances for players to experiment with all kinds of unpleasantness.  I love it.

Unfortunately, new rules often mean more purchases-something I’ve pretty fastidiously avoided the last nine months.  It doesn’t mean I haven’t bought anything, I have–ships and planes for Pensacola and the Channel Dash–but no figures to speak of. That’s especially true of fantasy figures.  I try to keep my historical minis to no more than two bucks a throw, more for mounted troops. But fantasy figures are often five bucks a pop or more. And it’s not like I don’t have tons of figures laying around waiting to be painted.

So I’ve turned over every loose rock I have to locate anything that might serve to make a couple of fantasy armies, and tonight I struck paydirt. More about this in a moment.

I’ve decided on a couple of different armies.  The first is a Rohan army.  I love the Rohirrim.  I did long before there were Peter Jackson movies.  I’ve always wanted to do the Battle of the Pelennor Fields in 15mm, and some day I may still do that. I have many of the figures–they just need paint.

But I also have a ton of Rohan figures I bought when Games Workshop was putting out their Lord of the Rings range. I have plastic cavalry and infantry and some metal leaders–a Theoden, Eomer, Eowyn and standard bearer who can form a unit of heroes. But wait, that’s not all folks.  In rummaging through the deepest darkness of my boxes o’lead I also rant across enough old Mithril Rohan figures to build a unit of mounted.  So here is what I think I can do:

  • Rohan heroes (Elite riders)–1 X 4 figures
  • Riders of Rohan (heavy riders–4 X 6 figures Games Workshop, 1 X 6 figures Mithril Miniatures
  • Men of the Westfold (heavy foot)–2 X 12 figures Games Workshop

Of course, every fantasy army needs something truly fantastic, so I will also add a 1 X 6 unit of Eureka centaurs.  I’m not quite sure if they qualify as some sort of cavalry or if they are a unit of warbeasts.  We’ll see.

So I was able to construct an army of Rohirrim of troops I already have. But I want them to have somebody to face.  My first choice is, of course, orcs. But as much as possible I want to minimize the cost. Remember, fantasy figures are spendy, the centaurs are five dollars each.  I have some orcs from the GW LOTR range, but not enough to do a lot with.  I can make one unit of Uruk-Hai pikemen–that’s cool. I also uncovered some Mithril and Ral Partha orcs, enough to make a unit of nasty looking bastards.  I remembered that once upon a time I bought a whole bunch of Alternative Armies orcs and various other nasties, and these went missing for the longest time.  But no more!! Tonight I found them.  There are orcs, some warg riders and even some orc chariots of doom.  Enough nasties to field against the Rohirrim.  If I get desperate, I’ve even dismantled the old HeroQuest game I used to play with my sons twenty years ago and run off with the plastic figures, including goblins, orcs and various other bad guys.  Yes, I have stooped that low. I still don’t know quite what I have or how I’ll organize them.

The difference between beginning Lion Rampant and beginning Dragon Rampant is that my armies for the Hundred Years War were already painted–enough so that I could field seven retinues of English and French. Unfortunately, exactly none of my fantasy figures are painted. So it will be a while until I can actually play, but I’m game.  Anything I can do to usefully employ some figures I’ve just got gathering dust is a good thing.  So Dragon Rampant will be a big project for 2016.

I’ll be sure to share as the project gets rolling.