Have a day off today so decided to set up Waterloo using SPI's Napoleon's Last Battles.
Prufrock's Wargaming Blog
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Saturday, May 2, 2015
Camel cataphracts done.
Well, after my little armour disaster (and subsequent repaint) the camel cataphracts are finished. These figures are Essex 15mm and something else (Tabletop?) that all came in a TMP deal, and I thought I would get these done as generic 'heavy camelry' types (+ their scout...) for, perhaps, Commands & Colors: Ancients, or To The Strongest! scenarios. I think these are actually Sassanids or Parthians, but as far as I'm concerned (or until I take the time to read something on the subject!), a camel is a camel and I'll use them as whoever.
These were a little fiddly to paint because I couldn't get the thin Essex bases to sit firmly on either two-sided tape or blu tack and had to keep picking them up individually. Next time I do Essex mounted I think I'll just glue the damned things down to avoid this problem!
Anyway, good to have something more done, and for all my muttering I do actually like the figures, too.
These were a little fiddly to paint because I couldn't get the thin Essex bases to sit firmly on either two-sided tape or blu tack and had to keep picking them up individually. Next time I do Essex mounted I think I'll just glue the damned things down to avoid this problem!
Anyway, good to have something more done, and for all my muttering I do actually like the figures, too.
Stuffing up cataphract armour since 2006...
Well, I've done it again: gone and stuffed up painting cataphracts! You'd think I would have learned by now not to try anything fancy, but I did, and it looked like rubbish, so I'm having to redo part of the armour.
Next time I hope I will remember: dark iron, dry brush with silver and then leave it alone, for goodness' sake!
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
A cluttered paint table is a happy paint table!
Somehow over the last few days the blog has ticked over to 200,000 views. Appropriately enough, this has been my best ever month for blog hits, down largely to a new but deeply committed spam bot fan base in Russia!
Anyway, all joking aside, thanks to those of you that do drop by to take a look here or leave the odd comment. It's much appreciated.
Right, back to the work table.
Paint and game on!
Cheers,
Aaron
Speed Painting results
Here's a bit of a follow up to an earlier post inspired by the very talented Monty, who blogs at 'Twin Cities Gamer', on experimenting with priming troops in a useful undercoat shade.
To recap, I'm painting up thorakitai (who I will also use as eastern levied Roman legionaries when needed) and went with a spray-primed brown - rather than my usual gray or white - as the base colour.
First step post priming was to colour the armour with dark iron and dry brush with silver (figures are Old Glory 15s, for reference).
Next up was flesh (a mixture of peach and raw umber) and then the greening of the bases.
Spear shafts were tidied up, shields drybrushed with both a base and a highlight, and the helmet plumes highlighted. The shields shown here are a muted brown, but others are done in purples, reds, yellows and greens.
It's now time for the finishing touches: spears are tipped with old silver and highlights are applied to tunics.
The lot is given a wash of Klear and Devlan Mud on the shields, tunics and flesh areas.
As a last step the spear support struts are cut off and the figures put onto their bases. A final coat of Klear and matt varnish will follow prior to flocking.
So, how did it go?
Well, I do like the results. I don't know if I saved a huge amount of time with this batch because there was a bit of trial and error - especially with the metallic areas - that I haven't shown in the write up. The key for me (as a very limited painter) is to pick a couple of things to emphasise and try to make them pop with highlights. I chose plumes and tunics for this bunch, and I reckon they came out all right. Another important thing for me is to think about the overall effect. I'm not sure that I got the shields quite right in this respect, but the predominantly white tunics and predominantly red helmet plumes will hopefully do enough to unify the lot as a group.
I was worried over the first wee while that they were looking a bit boring, but once the washes did their job and the highlights were on I was converted; so thoroughly in fact that I quickly sprayed up my next batch of figures in brown before the sun set!
Thanks to Monty for the example, and while I've a fair way to go to match his mastery of the technique I hope to use this method a few more times yet.
To recap, I'm painting up thorakitai (who I will also use as eastern levied Roman legionaries when needed) and went with a spray-primed brown - rather than my usual gray or white - as the base colour.
First step post priming was to colour the armour with dark iron and dry brush with silver (figures are Old Glory 15s, for reference).
Next I blocked in the base coats for the tunics (cream here) and the helmet plumes (a darkish red). Other figures in the unit use different colours, but I'm showing this one lot for consistency.
Next up was flesh (a mixture of peach and raw umber) and then the greening of the bases.
After this the scabbards and the baldricks were done and the helmets gone over with bronze and a Devlan Mud wash.
Spear shafts were tidied up, shields drybrushed with both a base and a highlight, and the helmet plumes highlighted. The shields shown here are a muted brown, but others are done in purples, reds, yellows and greens.
It's now time for the finishing touches: spears are tipped with old silver and highlights are applied to tunics.
The lot is given a wash of Klear and Devlan Mud on the shields, tunics and flesh areas.
As a last step the spear support struts are cut off and the figures put onto their bases. A final coat of Klear and matt varnish will follow prior to flocking.
So, how did it go?
Well, I do like the results. I don't know if I saved a huge amount of time with this batch because there was a bit of trial and error - especially with the metallic areas - that I haven't shown in the write up. The key for me (as a very limited painter) is to pick a couple of things to emphasise and try to make them pop with highlights. I chose plumes and tunics for this bunch, and I reckon they came out all right. Another important thing for me is to think about the overall effect. I'm not sure that I got the shields quite right in this respect, but the predominantly white tunics and predominantly red helmet plumes will hopefully do enough to unify the lot as a group.
I was worried over the first wee while that they were looking a bit boring, but once the washes did their job and the highlights were on I was converted; so thoroughly in fact that I quickly sprayed up my next batch of figures in brown before the sun set!
Thanks to Monty for the example, and while I've a fair way to go to match his mastery of the technique I hope to use this method a few more times yet.
Saturday, April 18, 2015
A new job and other carryings on
Well, I've just finished the first week of a new job, and it was great fun.
Late last year, with an eye on the future, I decided to quietly scale back our own business and look to introduce supplementary work so that when the time comes for us to return home to my own country there will be fewer loose ends to tie up.
So this week I started a new job, going to four different elementary schools as an assistant language teacher, meaning that I entertain classes of Japanese school kids in English all day and hope that something sticks. In most cases I also have to come up with the curriculum, so over the course of the year we'll be covering ABCs as well as things like animals, numbers, food, colours, shapes, places around town, occupations, etc.
I'd not really taught large groups of students very much at all (I'm used to smaller classes of 1-6 students), so this week has been quite a change, but a very pleasant one. I didn't realise how much like minor royalty foreign teachers are treated in country area schools. The kids all know your name before you even arrive, want to shake your hand, give you a high five, shout hello or otherwise show their interest in the foreigner.
It does mean that I'm working more hours in the day (I leave home at seven, return at three or four, and then teach classes at our own school until nine), but there's a bit of extra money coming in and, as they say, a change can be as good as a holiday.
Anyway, to celebrate a good week, I've ordered in a final 60 or so figures to properly finish off my Roman Civil War project and am returning to plans I have of sending a batch of Greeks and Macedonians off to Sri Lanka.
But in the meantime, I must stop and pop into class for another lesson!
Late last year, with an eye on the future, I decided to quietly scale back our own business and look to introduce supplementary work so that when the time comes for us to return home to my own country there will be fewer loose ends to tie up.
So this week I started a new job, going to four different elementary schools as an assistant language teacher, meaning that I entertain classes of Japanese school kids in English all day and hope that something sticks. In most cases I also have to come up with the curriculum, so over the course of the year we'll be covering ABCs as well as things like animals, numbers, food, colours, shapes, places around town, occupations, etc.
I'd not really taught large groups of students very much at all (I'm used to smaller classes of 1-6 students), so this week has been quite a change, but a very pleasant one. I didn't realise how much like minor royalty foreign teachers are treated in country area schools. The kids all know your name before you even arrive, want to shake your hand, give you a high five, shout hello or otherwise show their interest in the foreigner.
It does mean that I'm working more hours in the day (I leave home at seven, return at three or four, and then teach classes at our own school until nine), but there's a bit of extra money coming in and, as they say, a change can be as good as a holiday.
Anyway, to celebrate a good week, I've ordered in a final 60 or so figures to properly finish off my Roman Civil War project and am returning to plans I have of sending a batch of Greeks and Macedonians off to Sri Lanka.
But in the meantime, I must stop and pop into class for another lesson!
Saturday, April 11, 2015
Roman progress
Well, it's been more than the week originally envisaged, but we're starting to see a bit of progress on the Roman Civil War figures.
It's a bit of a tricky project, because most of the figures were purchased off ebay some time ago, but the paint jobs are of quite wildly varying colours and quality, which means that to standardize the look I'm having to repaint everything on those figures except for flesh and armour. I've also expanded the project by around 200 figures, so these have had to be painted and integrated into the units as well.
On top of this, I settled on a basing scheme which sees each unit comprised of 18 figures (2 or 3 of these being command) arranged in two 40x30 bases (6 figures each) and 2 40x15 bases (3 figures each). This may seem like a pointless exercise, but there is reason behind it: I like my Romans to be in at least two ranks, and this way I can play Lost Battles scenarios with veteran units of 12 figures and non-veterans of 18. Thus it will be easy to see at a glance which units are which, while still having the smaller units look decent. One thing I don't like about the look of Lost Battles when played with my DBx basing is that the 8 man veteran units just don't look like they could stand up against Geoffrey Boycott's old mum, much less a 32 figure block of levy phalangites!
The basing shouldn't be a problem in a larger sense either: these armies will be fairly self-contained, only really fighting each other, or my Gauls, who are based quite similarly.
And what's left to do? I still need to finish off painting the command figures, and then bring the remained 80 or so painted types into line with my own standards and style. Then it will be get all the shields looking more or less compatible, do some unifying highlights, dip where necessary, give a couple of coats of Klear, spray varnish, and then flock.
There's still a bit to do, but we're getting there - and it's feeling good to see progress.
We're trying to go to this:
From this:
There were some figures that were rather easier to get sorted. These ones were sent over by Simon "To the Strongest!" Miller, and are 'Roman Argyraspides' from the Isaurus line, I believe, with command figures and artillery from Donnington. All I've had to do to these is green their stands.
These likely lads will come into play as eastern recruits.
It's a bit of a tricky project, because most of the figures were purchased off ebay some time ago, but the paint jobs are of quite wildly varying colours and quality, which means that to standardize the look I'm having to repaint everything on those figures except for flesh and armour. I've also expanded the project by around 200 figures, so these have had to be painted and integrated into the units as well.
On top of this, I settled on a basing scheme which sees each unit comprised of 18 figures (2 or 3 of these being command) arranged in two 40x30 bases (6 figures each) and 2 40x15 bases (3 figures each). This may seem like a pointless exercise, but there is reason behind it: I like my Romans to be in at least two ranks, and this way I can play Lost Battles scenarios with veteran units of 12 figures and non-veterans of 18. Thus it will be easy to see at a glance which units are which, while still having the smaller units look decent. One thing I don't like about the look of Lost Battles when played with my DBx basing is that the 8 man veteran units just don't look like they could stand up against Geoffrey Boycott's old mum, much less a 32 figure block of levy phalangites!
The basing shouldn't be a problem in a larger sense either: these armies will be fairly self-contained, only really fighting each other, or my Gauls, who are based quite similarly.
And what's left to do? I still need to finish off painting the command figures, and then bring the remained 80 or so painted types into line with my own standards and style. Then it will be get all the shields looking more or less compatible, do some unifying highlights, dip where necessary, give a couple of coats of Klear, spray varnish, and then flock.
There's still a bit to do, but we're getting there - and it's feeling good to see progress.
We're trying to go to this:
From this:
There were some figures that were rather easier to get sorted. These ones were sent over by Simon "To the Strongest!" Miller, and are 'Roman Argyraspides' from the Isaurus line, I believe, with command figures and artillery from Donnington. All I've had to do to these is green their stands.
These likely lads will come into play as eastern recruits.
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