Almost every wargamer collects figures that they take time to get round to painting. This is what is called the 'lead pile'. I am no exception to this rule.
We see articles in magazines, pictures in books and of course, advertisements that tempt us to part with our readies. Sometimes it is one or two figures other times whole units or armies. It could be that collecting things is a form of Obsessives Compulsive Disorder.
Be that as it may.
My pile was static for a long while as I neither bought nor painted figures, everything was in storage for about 4 years as my personal circumstances were in something of a flux. A few years ago I sorted things out and started renewing my gaming but it was a slow affair. Wargaming had not been the mainstay of my 'me time' for too long. Then last year it exploded into a rabid round of buying new figures (Irregular Miniatures, (http://www.irregularminiatures.co.uk/) and painting.
First was the 25mm Sassanian army from Irregular which I had had for a long time. The figures are nicely rendered and look a bit 'rough'. They paint up really well. I am very pleased with how they turned out. Coincidentally, my painting skills seemed to improve when painting these figures. The light cavalry in particular I like.
Then came a succession of the 6mm Irregular ancient armies that I like so much, some of which have pictures on this blog. There were also other armies that I bought to paint and sell to see how well I could do them. Carthaginians in 10mm,
Numidians from Irregular in 6mm which I bought on eBay. This was another army I liked painting.
I also had some Games Workshop (http://www.games-workshop.com/en-GB/Home?_requestid=16063382) Epic armies that I had painted and gamed with for some years. These included the Titan Legions boxed game with lots of Titans and vehicles of mass destruction. These I have now all sold with a few bits and pieces that haven't yet found a buyer.
This has funded my buying, to a degree, of both figures and books. But I still have figures that need painting. Projects long on hold and one or two new ones recently begun.
As pointed out in another posting, the Achaemenid armoured camelry were only completed recently due to finding the right camels for the riders. I have 6mm Napoleonic's, English Civil War and further figures to paint for the 25mm Early Achaemenid Persian army. I also have a few Greek Hoplites to round out the 25mm Greek army. These 25mm are mainly Minifigs (http://www.miniaturefigurines.co.uk/Home.aspx)
Greek Hoplites and Musicians
Greek Light Infantry
Persian Cavalry Officer and Musicians
Various Garrison Persian Infantry
So, lots of things to do to keep me busy. The important thing is that the pile is growing smaller each month if I paint.
That I will buy figures to expand or complete units and armies I have, is something I will be keeping in mind. That I will endeavour to paint more than I purchase is the main priority, especially now that I am actually getting figures on the table more often.
I started a new project that I will keep you informed of from time to time. This was going to be a Samurai army in 6mm. Now, though, it will be 25mm skirmish figures for the game of Ronin by Osprey Wargames (https://ospreypublishing.com/ronin-skirmish-wargames-in-the-age-of-the-samurai). These rules came out over a year ago and I never thought I would do skirmish gaming but have been tempted by the many blogs that do them.
I purchased some 25mm Dixon (http://www.dixon-minis.com/) Ronin figures. The rules state regular Samurai and other special types for the forces with Ronin as additions you can hire. I decided that I would start with 4 Ronin bands and progress from there. The following pictures show the 4 man bands I am starting with and another 2 figures that may become the town/village heads or something. I intend running this as a campaign but it won't be starting anytime soon. I expect it will take around a year to gather the accessories to make it appealing.
We see articles in magazines, pictures in books and of course, advertisements that tempt us to part with our readies. Sometimes it is one or two figures other times whole units or armies. It could be that collecting things is a form of Obsessives Compulsive Disorder.
Be that as it may.
My pile was static for a long while as I neither bought nor painted figures, everything was in storage for about 4 years as my personal circumstances were in something of a flux. A few years ago I sorted things out and started renewing my gaming but it was a slow affair. Wargaming had not been the mainstay of my 'me time' for too long. Then last year it exploded into a rabid round of buying new figures (Irregular Miniatures, (http://www.irregularminiatures.co.uk/) and painting.
First was the 25mm Sassanian army from Irregular which I had had for a long time. The figures are nicely rendered and look a bit 'rough'. They paint up really well. I am very pleased with how they turned out. Coincidentally, my painting skills seemed to improve when painting these figures. The light cavalry in particular I like.
Then came a succession of the 6mm Irregular ancient armies that I like so much, some of which have pictures on this blog. There were also other armies that I bought to paint and sell to see how well I could do them. Carthaginians in 10mm,
and Greek Hoplites in 10mm.
Numidians from Irregular in 6mm which I bought on eBay. This was another army I liked painting.
I also had some Games Workshop (http://www.games-workshop.com/en-GB/Home?_requestid=16063382) Epic armies that I had painted and gamed with for some years. These included the Titan Legions boxed game with lots of Titans and vehicles of mass destruction. These I have now all sold with a few bits and pieces that haven't yet found a buyer.
This has funded my buying, to a degree, of both figures and books. But I still have figures that need painting. Projects long on hold and one or two new ones recently begun.
As pointed out in another posting, the Achaemenid armoured camelry were only completed recently due to finding the right camels for the riders. I have 6mm Napoleonic's, English Civil War and further figures to paint for the 25mm Early Achaemenid Persian army. I also have a few Greek Hoplites to round out the 25mm Greek army. These 25mm are mainly Minifigs (http://www.miniaturefigurines.co.uk/Home.aspx)
Greek Hoplites and Musicians
Greek Light Infantry
Persian Cavalry Officer and Musicians
Various Garrison Persian Infantry
So, lots of things to do to keep me busy. The important thing is that the pile is growing smaller each month if I paint.
That I will buy figures to expand or complete units and armies I have, is something I will be keeping in mind. That I will endeavour to paint more than I purchase is the main priority, especially now that I am actually getting figures on the table more often.
I started a new project that I will keep you informed of from time to time. This was going to be a Samurai army in 6mm. Now, though, it will be 25mm skirmish figures for the game of Ronin by Osprey Wargames (https://ospreypublishing.com/ronin-skirmish-wargames-in-the-age-of-the-samurai). These rules came out over a year ago and I never thought I would do skirmish gaming but have been tempted by the many blogs that do them.
I purchased some 25mm Dixon (http://www.dixon-minis.com/) Ronin figures. The rules state regular Samurai and other special types for the forces with Ronin as additions you can hire. I decided that I would start with 4 Ronin bands and progress from there. The following pictures show the 4 man bands I am starting with and another 2 figures that may become the town/village heads or something. I intend running this as a campaign but it won't be starting anytime soon. I expect it will take around a year to gather the accessories to make it appealing.
I bought the figure pack SCP1, Ronin in various poses, 18 figures in a pack for £19.95 which seems excellent value to me (http://www.dixon-minis.com/shop/samurai-25mm/SCP+1/). You will notice that 3 have an archer and man with a naginata or yari and 2 with katana. That is because I wanted a fair selection for each band. I have yet to buy an archer for the other band but will do so when the painting of these is complete. You may not notice but those with the rain cape and those in the basket type hat are in the same units. This is because I wanted them to have a type to distinguish them easier. I will also have to buy the excellent houses, temples and other accessories that I have seen to make a good visual impact to add to the pleasure of the games. I feel this is a must in skirmish games.
I actually started painting the faces on these first, unusual for me as this is not normally what I start on. I do prefer a white undercoat on the figures as it gives a brighter look to the colours. I know some prefer other colours, normally black, but this is not for me. I paint now using Games Workshop paints which I have used for some years. The water based paints are very versatile and with the new range out gives a lot of variations in colour.
It is good to be gaming and painting regularly again.
No comments:
Post a Comment