Victrix Gauls

Saga Age of Hannibal gave me a reason to finally paint naked Gauls in 28mm...bucket list item checked! Seriously, these Victrix plastics are quite lovely.  At the finish line, this warband is 48 warriors, 12 levy archers, and 6 chariots. The LBMS shield transfers make them shine. I couldn't find naked archers so I had to sub in Crusader Miniatures archers in pants. Not being warriors leading a from the front, they're not allowed to be sun clad.  After a year of Age of Hannibal, I can say the Gauls live up to the motto "When in doubt, charge!" 

Republican Romans

These are the first Aventine Miniatures I've ever painted. And I have to ask myself, how is it that I took so long to get on the Aventine Train? They were such a treat to paint that Aventine is now one of my favorite miniature makers. The only thing holding me back from a big spend is they're ruthless about taking down their ranges when they show any mold lines. As a small operation, that means whole ranges are off their site at any time. That's ok. I've got them bookmarked and will swoop in once their Steppe Tribes and Sassanid Persians are back.  

Painted for a Saga campaign but it'd be nice to find a way to use them in a bigger battle. In Saga, I've been running 3-4 points of warriors, 1 point of levy javelin (velites) 1-2 of hearthguard (triarii).  They're another fun board to run with a number of powerful combos.

Don River Cossacks for Bolt Action

While painting my Cossack cavalry, I painted 30 on foot and thought "That's the start of my next project." Cavalry in WW II dismounted before/once shots were fired, so that's the basis of this version. Also, I've never seen a "foot Cossacks" Bolt Action army so I decided to fix that. Different is good!

These are mostly Copplestone Casting Miniatures superbly sculpted by Mark Copplestone. Mixed in are some Siberia Miniatures and Warlord Games Soviet plastics with headswaps.  

I really enjoyed this project greatly and will continue to add a few more units and bits of character to the lot. I'm planning to debut them at a local Bolt Action event next month. Cheers and I hope you're staying warm!  

Cossacks for Bolt Action

Bolt Action has been pushing for my #1 game spot based on a mix of our active community of great players and the many local events.  The Snafu-Bolt Action podcast team hosts an amazing 3 day event each November.  Day 1 was a themed 800 point Recon Rumble that required a transport seat for each infantry/foot sloggers OR a horse. I chose to paint 30 mounted and 30 dismounted Don River Cossacks. Figures are a mix of the superb Copplestone Castings "Back of Beyond" figures and 3D prints too. 

Cavalry in Bolt Action is suboptimal and tricky to run. They're big, hard to hide, they can only fire 6" when mounted and they can't go down to grab cover.  I only got 2 practice games in with them before the game day so my expectations were very low.  Imagine my surprise when I got Major Wins in games 1 and 2. For game 3 table assignments, the TO said I was on playing for a top finish on table 1, Pavlov's House. I briefly panicked, then bought and guzzled a tall Red Bull.  Game 3 was a nailbiter against a superb opponent. The early game was good to me but it started to slip away in the middle game and towards the end. As time expired, I just managed to rush my cavalry off the table to score my 3rd major victory!!! To make it even better, my Cossacks scored "Best Painted" in a large and lovely field of Bolt Action armies.  I was and still remain over the moon about it.  

Pavlov's House table with working streetlights!

My "I can't believe it" face looks surprisingly like El Duce.

I found a Russian company that sells Cossack heads so I put in an order to create an all Cossacks on foot Bolt Action force. I've got the Warlord Game plastic ready and waiting!  And for January, we're planning to start a Stalingrad campaign. My goal over winter break to find, build and paint a ruins table.  It is a great time to be gaming and I hope all is well in your corner of the gaming world! 

 

Victrix Numidians

I finished up my Victrix Numidian warband this weekend.  Like many of my projects, this was not planned.  I got a box of mounted Numidian warriors as part of a trade. After putting them together, I loved the look of them so much I put in an order for a whole warband.  These lads will run under the Saga Age of Hannibal rules.  I've painted Numidians so many times in 15mm.  It was a treat to finally paint them in 28mm.  I'm greatly enjoying painting and playing ancients in this scale! 

The Ellie is from Northstar Miniatures.  I took a Numidian horseman, cut his legs off (sorry!) and used greenstuff to mount him on the elephant's neck.  If you want an Ellie bigger than the Victrix model or one without a Howdah, Northstar is a great alternative. 

Shout out to Little Big Men Stuido shield transfers.  Though pricey, they pop nicely once you paint them in and dull them down with a matte sealer.  I might buy and build the Numidian Shield and Spear infantry to round out this bunch. No project is every quite done, is it?   

Easy Method to Paint White

Recently, I stumbled onto an easy method for painting white.  I have multiple white paints and I've grown to hate them all. They each have issues with coverage. Some are too thick, some too thin, some grainy or crackle after they dry. After reading a positive review on a new US paint, Monument Pro Acrylic, I bought a bottle of their Bold Titanium White and 1 of Coal Black. These come in 22ml jars with a glass agitator.  The agitator is a nice touch but to be clear, the paint itself is very close to the consistency of my Vallejo airbrush paints. It is not thick at all so the agitator is just a nice touch. 

Step 1 is to get a bottle of Monument's Pro Acrylic Bold Titanium White. I haven't been this crazy about a hobby product in a long time. You'll also need a pot of Citadel's Apothecary White contrast. With these in hand, I start with a Zenithal primer over my figures. That's a gray primer all over followed by white primer sprayed directly from above and rocking out just a bit. You're trying to keep some gray intact in the folds & shadows. This does not have to be perfect.  

Step 2, apply the Apothecary White directly into all folds and shadows. I know some people apply it all over but if you can apply it just in the recesses, step 4 goes a little faster. 

Step 3, after Apothecary White dries in the folds, block in your nonwhite colors neatly.  I also do washes here so they don't slop too much onto my nice white coat.   

Step 4, paint white neatly around the Apothecary White in the folds. If you stray, you can always go back and clean up a spot or 2. I also put down a thin line of burnt umber between the tunic and pants, and the white sleeves and skin. The white paint goes down fast, thin, with great coverage and a smooth, matte finish. I've got a bunch of Teutons on the table and I'm quite happy I stumbled on this technique. Let me know what you think. Also, if you have a neat trick for painting white, I'd love to hear it! 

Mutatawwi'a for Saga

Mutts are my Groundhog Day project. I keep painting, selling and repainting them. And usually getting a few reps in playing them as well. Looking back, this is my 4th version. This one started with me reacquiring 16 unpainted mounted Saracens I'd traded away to my buddy Brent years ago. They sat in a box until fate saw them boomerang back to me in another trade. I decided to go for a bright, colorful version. Basically, the opposite of the last version I painted a couple of years ago. Almost all Footsore figures with a few Gripping Beast Western Knights used, Gripping Beast Objective Markers and a warlord on a camel by Warlord Games.  

I decided to hand paint the shields and banner using only black, tan and white to pull the warband together. The shields started out looking quite dull and uninspiring so I slapped down highlights, washes and dirt to raise them up a bit. Overall, I'd count it as a success! 

In Saga, Mutts are a wild and wooly bunch. Really a fun lot to play.  I think they'll make a good opponent for the Teutons I've started painting. 

And to close, here are my prior 3 versions of Mutts!