Boobs
Boobies
Breasts
Tits
Bazookas
DDDDDs
Gazongas
Fun bags
No need for comments....this is just an experiment
Oh, I suppose a quick update is in order.
1. I'm not entirely sober
2. I haven't painted since Sunday evening
3. Part 1 of the secret projects has arrived
4. Part 2 has arrived as well, but it's not what I ordered - Update: situation resolved. I'm buying the incorrect model and they are sending me the correct one plus some extras.
About Me
- TamsinP
- London, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
- A mythical beast - a female wargamer! I got back into wargaming in the summer of 2011 after a very, very long break and haven't looked back since. I must admit that I seem to be more of a painter/collector than a gamer, but do hope to correct that at some point in the near future. My gaming interests span the ages, from the "Biblical" era all the way through to the far future. I enjoy games of all sizes, from a handful of figures up to major battles (see my megalomaniacally sized Choson Korean and Russian Seven Years War armies).
Thursday, 28 March 2013
Sunday, 24 March 2013
Sunday Update
With the Challenge over, I decided to take a short break from painting and didn't pick up a brush on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday evening. Yesterday saw me return to painting. I think that 3 months of high output painting has taken it's toll - I'm finding ti hard work to keep at it and need to take more frequent breaks.
So, what's on my workbench?
Donogh's Prize Draw Figures
I actually made a start on one of the figures on Tuesday after submitting my final Challenge entry. I say made a start. Actually, it's pretty damned near finished!
Here's a pic of all 10 together:
Swiss Command Stands
My Swiss will be getting there first run out on Thursday against Seb's Free Companies. Well, some of them will - we're only going to be playing 650 points. I will take all of them with me though, so that I can get some pics of the completed army before Seb arrives.
So, I needed to get some command stands done. And decided to do all of them. I've got most of the painting done now, so they should be ready in time.
So, what's on my workbench?
Donogh's Prize Draw Figures
I actually made a start on one of the figures on Tuesday after submitting my final Challenge entry. I say made a start. Actually, it's pretty damned near finished!
Here's a pic of all 10 together:
Swiss Command Stands
My Swiss will be getting there first run out on Thursday against Seb's Free Companies. Well, some of them will - we're only going to be playing 650 points. I will take all of them with me though, so that I can get some pics of the completed army before Seb arrives.
So, I needed to get some command stands done. And decided to do all of them. I've got most of the painting done now, so they should be ready in time.
Friday, 22 March 2013
Challenge Entry #15 - My Final Entry; Secret Project(s)
My 15th and final entry in the 3rd Analogue Painting Challenge was 48 Swiss skirmishers - 24 each of handgunners and crossbowmen. As the Donnington Swiss range only had 2 variants for each of these, I also ordered a few from the Burgundian, WoTR and 100YW ranges to add a little bit of variety. These were painted up and based up in the last 4 days once the pikemen were completed. I submitted them on the last day, so the photos have been for a few days now.
By the way, those who weren't participating in the Challenge can vote for their favourite entry so please do head on over to Curt's blog, look through all 400 or so entries and then leave a comment on this post by 3pm April 7 (Saskatchewan time).
Back to the Swiss skirmishers - here are the pics:
Handgunners:
Crossbowmen:
Secret Projects
I've set myself 2 secret projects to complete over the next few weeks. They are related to each other. All I'm going to say is that most of what I need has been ordered, the rest I will get over the Easter break.
By the way, those who weren't participating in the Challenge can vote for their favourite entry so please do head on over to Curt's blog, look through all 400 or so entries and then leave a comment on this post by 3pm April 7 (Saskatchewan time).
Back to the Swiss skirmishers - here are the pics:
Handgunners:
Secret Projects
I've set myself 2 secret projects to complete over the next few weeks. They are related to each other. All I'm going to say is that most of what I need has been ordered, the rest I will get over the Easter break.
Thursday, 21 March 2013
All Hail His Most Universal, High and Imperious Kingliness
The votes are cast and we must all bow down to His Most Universal, High and Imperious Kingliness Ray of House Rousell, the Universal High Imperial King of Sandbagging.
The Court Photographer captured some poignant shots:
I hope you don't mind me grabbing those photos guys!
So, the ballot, errmm, poll results:
As voters could select more than one option, I believe that several of those who voted "Yes" or "No" (and perhaps "Don't Care" or "Who is Ray?") also selected "He is the Universal High Imperial King of Sandbagging".
I have already acknowledged that my question was badly worded, as several people have commented that there was nothing sneaky about his sandbagging at all and voted "No".
Well, this bit of silliness is all done and dusted now (or is it? Tune in again on 20/21 April).
ps - does anyone know where Sandbagging is?
The Court Photographer captured some poignant shots:
 |
| Ray on hearing the news of his ascension to the throne |
 |
| Ray's good friend, neighbour and campaign manager, Postie on receiving confirmation that his Stalinist ballot stuffing operation had been successful |
 |
| Co-worker Fran, dejected upon hearing that he will now have to go down on one knee to Ray |
So, the ballot, errmm, poll results:
8 (27%)
|
5 (17%)
|
0 (0%)
|
4 (13%)
|
7 (24%)
|
14 (48%)
|
Votes so far: 29
Poll closed
Poll closed
As voters could select more than one option, I believe that several of those who voted "Yes" or "No" (and perhaps "Don't Care" or "Who is Ray?") also selected "He is the Universal High Imperial King of Sandbagging".
I have already acknowledged that my question was badly worded, as several people have commented that there was nothing sneaky about his sandbagging at all and voted "No".
Well, this bit of silliness is all done and dusted now (or is it? Tune in again on 20/21 April).
ps - does anyone know where Sandbagging is?
Wednesday, 20 March 2013
The "Is Ray A Sneaky Sandbagger?" Poll
In response to the comments on my previous post, I've added a poll for you to decide whether or not Ray is a sneaky sandbagger. You'll find it at the top of the left hand sidebar.
This is just for fun, and I know Ray will be hoping to get his revenge when he and Fran get round to doing their "Introductions" to the Honorary Rejects.
Edit to Add:
It may not be obvious, but you can select more than one option in this poll.
This is just for fun, and I know Ray will be hoping to get his revenge when he and Fran get round to doing their "Introductions" to the Honorary Rejects.
Edit to Add:
It may not be obvious, but you can select more than one option in this poll.
Curt's Third Analogue Painting Challenge is Finally Over
....and it's a great relief!
Here is Curt's closing post. It's just as well that he booked the day off work as he had to put up 27 posts yesterday.
As we all suspected would be the case, Ray indulged in a bit of sandbagging again - just shy of 1200 points submitted in the closing hours, taking him to a stupendous 2722 points and sitting him safely in the #3 spot at the end. Of course, he claims that he wasn't sandbagging, but I will point out that over 40% of his final score was submitted on the last day. I'll let you decide whether he was or wasn't. Hmmm, should I do a poll on that?
Even more stupendous were the final scores of ChrisP (4076) and JamesB (3761) in the top 2 places. For those of you who haven't been following the Challenge or don't know the scoring scheme, 4076 points would be 2038 foot figures in 15mm or 815 foot figures in 28mm. Painted. And based. In 3 months.
My final score was a quite respectable 1970 points. 1970? Oooh, that's appropriate as that is.......n't my year of birth. Of course it isn't - I'm a lady so naturally I'm only 21 *lol*. I only made that connection just now as I was typing this.
That was enough to put me in 7th place overall. When you consider that I went into the Challenge with a target of 800 points - which I thought would be a huge stretch to achieve - my output has absolutely shocked me.
It has been a great motivator to get projects finished, some of which have been sat around waiting for me to pull my finger out for months. My entries have been quite varied - 15mm ancients, 15mm medieval, 15mm 30YW, and 28mm Dark Ages. My painting tally is in the right hand sidebar, just below the Followers box.
A Huge Thanks....
....to Curt
I can't thank Curt enough for all his hard work over the past 3 months (not to mention yesterday's heroic efforts) getting all our submissions posted promptly.
....to my fellow Ronin
Your entries have been inspirational, both in terms of quality and of quantity. Where else would you get to see such a wide range of periods, scales and painting styles all in one place?
The banter in the comments section of the posts has been good fun, as has the rivalry for positions on the table. It was particularly nail-biting watching the battle between JamesB and ChrisP for the top spot at the very end. Rivalry for the next few places in the top 5 was almost as intense, but we all knew that Ray would drop sandbags on us and take one of them. I'm still waiting to see the 1:1 Roman legion in 6mm that I'm sure he must have been painting up, but not quite finished in time, as his final sandbag to clinch the #1 spot *grin*
....to Sarah
For putting up with us loonies taking Curt away from domestic duties and for keeping him (relatively) sane over the past 3 months.
So, What Now?
I'm going to ease up for a bit. I've started painting up Donogh's prize draw minis and will continue to do so over the next week or two.
I also need to paint up the command stands for my Swiss army - I've got 3 people from the club who want to give them a blooding on the table.
And then there are the Koreans which I'm hoping will arrive in the next week or so. Once they arrive, the figure I need for the army I'll take to Campaign in May will jump to the head of the painting queue.
Here is Curt's closing post. It's just as well that he booked the day off work as he had to put up 27 posts yesterday.
As we all suspected would be the case, Ray indulged in a bit of sandbagging again - just shy of 1200 points submitted in the closing hours, taking him to a stupendous 2722 points and sitting him safely in the #3 spot at the end. Of course, he claims that he wasn't sandbagging, but I will point out that over 40% of his final score was submitted on the last day. I'll let you decide whether he was or wasn't. Hmmm, should I do a poll on that?
Even more stupendous were the final scores of ChrisP (4076) and JamesB (3761) in the top 2 places. For those of you who haven't been following the Challenge or don't know the scoring scheme, 4076 points would be 2038 foot figures in 15mm or 815 foot figures in 28mm. Painted. And based. In 3 months.
My final score was a quite respectable 1970 points. 1970? Oooh, that's appropriate as that is.......n't my year of birth. Of course it isn't - I'm a lady so naturally I'm only 21 *lol*. I only made that connection just now as I was typing this.
That was enough to put me in 7th place overall. When you consider that I went into the Challenge with a target of 800 points - which I thought would be a huge stretch to achieve - my output has absolutely shocked me.
It has been a great motivator to get projects finished, some of which have been sat around waiting for me to pull my finger out for months. My entries have been quite varied - 15mm ancients, 15mm medieval, 15mm 30YW, and 28mm Dark Ages. My painting tally is in the right hand sidebar, just below the Followers box.
A Huge Thanks....
....to Curt
I can't thank Curt enough for all his hard work over the past 3 months (not to mention yesterday's heroic efforts) getting all our submissions posted promptly.
....to my fellow Ronin
Your entries have been inspirational, both in terms of quality and of quantity. Where else would you get to see such a wide range of periods, scales and painting styles all in one place?
The banter in the comments section of the posts has been good fun, as has the rivalry for positions on the table. It was particularly nail-biting watching the battle between JamesB and ChrisP for the top spot at the very end. Rivalry for the next few places in the top 5 was almost as intense, but we all knew that Ray would drop sandbags on us and take one of them. I'm still waiting to see the 1:1 Roman legion in 6mm that I'm sure he must have been painting up, but not quite finished in time, as his final sandbag to clinch the #1 spot *grin*
....to Sarah
For putting up with us loonies taking Curt away from domestic duties and for keeping him (relatively) sane over the past 3 months.
So, What Now?
I'm going to ease up for a bit. I've started painting up Donogh's prize draw minis and will continue to do so over the next week or two.
I also need to paint up the command stands for my Swiss army - I've got 3 people from the club who want to give them a blooding on the table.
And then there are the Koreans which I'm hoping will arrive in the next week or so. Once they arrive, the figure I need for the army I'll take to Campaign in May will jump to the head of the painting queue.
Tuesday, 19 March 2013
Challenge Entry #14
Swiss Skirmishers Update
Getting soaked to the skin twice yesterday combined with the mild cold I had and made it really bad, so I've been off work sick today. This meant that I managed to finish off the skirmishers a little earlier than expected and the photos have been sent off to Curt.
Unfortunately, I don't have enough time to paint up and base enough figures to take me past the magic 2000 points marker, but my final score will still be very impressive.
Challenge Entry #14 - 256 Swiss Pikemen
These were posted on Curt's blog a couple of days ago, so it's time to post them here. Enjoy!
16 ranks by 16 files:
8 ranks by 32 files:
And some 4 ranks by 16 files:
Getting soaked to the skin twice yesterday combined with the mild cold I had and made it really bad, so I've been off work sick today. This meant that I managed to finish off the skirmishers a little earlier than expected and the photos have been sent off to Curt.
Unfortunately, I don't have enough time to paint up and base enough figures to take me past the magic 2000 points marker, but my final score will still be very impressive.
Challenge Entry #14 - 256 Swiss Pikemen
These were posted on Curt's blog a couple of days ago, so it's time to post them here. Enjoy!
16 ranks by 16 files:
8 ranks by 32 files:
And some 4 ranks by 16 files:
Swiss Skirmishers Update
Just a quick update on the Swiss handgunners and crossbowmen. I finished painting them last night and gave them their Klear/ink coat. This evening, after popping along to the club for a chat and to hand over some Viking sprues to someone there, I did the basing. Tomorrow evening when I get home from work will be a frantic session to get the gunk dry-brushed, spray them with matt varnish, add tufts and flock them in time to photograph them and send them in as my 15th and final entry in the Challenge.
From the sounds of Ian's birthday post he's going to be submitting something else so will knock me down a place on the table.
And then there are the great bromantics - Fran and Ray - to take into account. Fran hasn't submitted anything for a couple of weeks now, so he's clearly been working on another big batch of figures. Ray has submitted a number of smaller entries over the last couple of weeks, but we all suspect he's going to clobber us all with a repeat of last year's sandbagging.
This all means that the best I can hope for is to finish in 6th place, although Ray could drop me to 7th if he is sandbagging.
Anyway, here's a WIP pic of the skirmishers:
From the sounds of Ian's birthday post he's going to be submitting something else so will knock me down a place on the table.
And then there are the great bromantics - Fran and Ray - to take into account. Fran hasn't submitted anything for a couple of weeks now, so he's clearly been working on another big batch of figures. Ray has submitted a number of smaller entries over the last couple of weeks, but we all suspect he's going to clobber us all with a repeat of last year's sandbagging.
This all means that the best I can hope for is to finish in 6th place, although Ray could drop me to 7th if he is sandbagging.
Anyway, here's a WIP pic of the skirmishers:
Saturday, 16 March 2013
Swiss Pikemen; Next Up; Salute 2013
Curt has posted the Swiss nutters, I mean pikemen on his blog today - a whopping 512 points have leapfrogged me into 4th place on the table, 37 points ahead of Fran. I suspect that he'll be submitting some another big entry before the end of the Challenge so I'll almost certainly drop to 5th place, but could still be knocked off that spot by Ian (quite easily) or by Ray or John if they submit big entries.
Next Up
With just over 3 days left on the Challenge, I've made a start today on another batch of Swiss. Not more pikemen thank goodness - 24 handgunners and 24 crossbowmen. So far I've done the following:
Yellow Ochre undercoat on clothing that will be in cantonal colours
Black undercoat on metalwork (armour, gun barrels, crossbows)
Oily Steel dry-brush on metalwork
Mix of browns on the leather jacks of 6 figures
Flesh
I should get the wood of the gun barrels and crossbows done this evening and things are looking good for me being able to finish them tomorrow.
That will give me another 96 points, leaving me just shy of 2000 points overall. I wish I had a little more time so I could get a few more done and make that mark, but such is life.
Salute 2013
My ticket arrived in the post yesterday. I've already marked up the floor plan with the games and traders I particularly want to visit. Having learnt my lesson after last year, my plan is to do my photo tour of all the games first, then do the shopping. Well, there's one possible exception to that - Gripping Beast will be releasing their unarmoured dark ages warriors at Salute and I imagine they'll be selling like hot cakes so I will pop their first before touring the games.
I haven't written a shopping list yet, but there are a few things that are buzzing in my brain to buy.
I imagine that after the success of last year's meet-up of bloggers that there will be a repeat this year.
Friday, 15 March 2013
Painting Swiss Pikemen Day 12
Today I have:
dry-brushed the gunk on the rank 4 bases
sprayed ranks 3 and 4 with matt varnish
tufted, gravelled and flocked the rank 3 and 4 bases
taken a lot of photos of the whole bleedin' lot; resized them (and cropped a couple) then selected a number of them to send to Curt
written a blurb to accompany the pics
sent the selected pics and the blurb to Curt
When I decided to start these 3 weeks ago I thought I'd be pushing things to get them finished before the end of the Challenge. Well here I am having finished them and I still have 4 days left to get something else painted and sent off to Curt. The problem is that all I've got that's ready to paint are some more bloody Swiss! Can I face doing some more of them?
dry-brushed the gunk on the rank 4 bases
sprayed ranks 3 and 4 with matt varnish
tufted, gravelled and flocked the rank 3 and 4 bases
taken a lot of photos of the whole bleedin' lot; resized them (and cropped a couple) then selected a number of them to send to Curt
written a blurb to accompany the pics
sent the selected pics and the blurb to Curt
When I decided to start these 3 weeks ago I thought I'd be pushing things to get them finished before the end of the Challenge. Well here I am having finished them and I still have 4 days left to get something else painted and sent off to Curt. The problem is that all I've got that's ready to paint are some more bloody Swiss! Can I face doing some more of them?
Painting Swiss Pikemen Day 11
 |
| Left = rank 4 based (gunk drying); Right = rank 3 based and gunk dry-brushed |
That just leaves me with the following steps for the 3rd and 4th rank figures:
spray with matt varnish
add tufts, gravel and flock
take pics of the whole lot and send them to Curt!
IanW, JohnM and Ray have leapfrogged me into 5th, 6th and 7th places on the table in the last couple of days dropping me to 8th. However, this entry of 256 15mm pikemen will get me 512 points and would shoot me into 4th place ahead of fran - unless he submits some more stuff in the next couple of days.
With 5 days left in the Challenge I could still manage to get something else entered. I guess I could do the handgunners and/or crossbowmen (there are 24 of each) in that time.
Thursday, 14 March 2013
One Year Ago
Thanks Phil B for yet another meme!
So, the basic idea is that you look back through your blog to a year ago and link to the post(s) nearest to that date.
Well, I took a look yesterday and there was a post on the correct day. However, as it was a "part 1" I have waited until today so that both parts can be linked to.
On Tuesday 13 March 2012 I posted "Rum, Sodomy and the Lash - Part 1"
On Thursday 15 March 2012 I posted twice:
"Quick Update" (a pretty short and boring post)
"Rum, Sodomy and the Lash - Part 2"
Looking back to my blog around that time has made me realise a couple of things and start to feel guilty about them. Around that time I was doing my "Equine Development Facility" project to get all the horses done for my Sarmatian army. Sixty of those horses are still sitting in a drawer on my painting table, painted but riderless - I really ought to get those riders prepped, primed and painted.
I was also just starting to paint my Chumbondas. Those were the last sci-fi figures I painted (not counting the NAC as futuristic British colonial forces I did a while back as test figures). I really must get some of my sci-fi forces done this year.
So, the basic idea is that you look back through your blog to a year ago and link to the post(s) nearest to that date.
Well, I took a look yesterday and there was a post on the correct day. However, as it was a "part 1" I have waited until today so that both parts can be linked to.
On Tuesday 13 March 2012 I posted "Rum, Sodomy and the Lash - Part 1"
On Thursday 15 March 2012 I posted twice:
"Quick Update" (a pretty short and boring post)
"Rum, Sodomy and the Lash - Part 2"
Looking back to my blog around that time has made me realise a couple of things and start to feel guilty about them. Around that time I was doing my "Equine Development Facility" project to get all the horses done for my Sarmatian army. Sixty of those horses are still sitting in a drawer on my painting table, painted but riderless - I really ought to get those riders prepped, primed and painted.
I was also just starting to paint my Chumbondas. Those were the last sci-fi figures I painted (not counting the NAC as futuristic British colonial forces I did a while back as test figures). I really must get some of my sci-fi forces done this year.
Tuesday, 12 March 2013
Painting Swiss Pikemen Day 9
Progress has slowed on painting the last batch of pikemen. I'm not sure if it is down to the drop in temperature (I really wish the weather would make it's bleedin' mind up - one day it's hot and sunny, the next we find the arctic has decided to visit), end of project blues, feeling generally tired, picked up a bug or a combination of these.
Anyway, I'm almost finished with painting them now.Here's the current status:
Ranks 1 & 2 - completely finished (Yay! Halfway there!)
Rank 3 - based and basing gunk dry-brushed. Waiting for a slightly warmer day to spray with matt varnish, then I can gravel, tuft and flock them. (Yay! Nearly three-quarters of the way there!)
Rank 4 - just the belts, scabbards, metalwork and touch-ups to do, then it's Klear/ink and basing time.
I'll definitely have got them to Klear/ink stage tomorrow evening and might even have based them.
What's Next?
To be honest, I think this will be my last entry for the Challenge. I need a break from the Swiss and that is all that I currently have primed and ready to go, apart from Donogh's prize figures - I might make a start on those.
Anyway, I'm almost finished with painting them now.Here's the current status:
Ranks 1 & 2 - completely finished (Yay! Halfway there!)
Rank 3 - based and basing gunk dry-brushed. Waiting for a slightly warmer day to spray with matt varnish, then I can gravel, tuft and flock them. (Yay! Nearly three-quarters of the way there!)
Rank 4 - just the belts, scabbards, metalwork and touch-ups to do, then it's Klear/ink and basing time.
I'll definitely have got them to Klear/ink stage tomorrow evening and might even have based them.
What's Next?
To be honest, I think this will be my last entry for the Challenge. I need a break from the Swiss and that is all that I currently have primed and ready to go, apart from Donogh's prize figures - I might make a start on those.
Sunday, 10 March 2013
Painting Swiss Pikemen Day 7
I haven't got quite as much done as I'd wanted today.
Rank 2 - sprayed with matt varnish; gravelled, tufted and flocked
Rank 3 - removed from painting sticks ready for basing
Rank 4 - canton colours painted
Here's a pic of things as they are right now:
And a sneak peak of the pikemen I've finished so far:
Well, it's back to work tomorrow, so I'll only have the evenings for painting etc. I've got a bit more time this evening, but I haven't decided what to do yet - I might base up the rank 3 figures or I might do some more work on rank 4. I'll see what I feel like doing after having a bath.
Rank 2 - sprayed with matt varnish; gravelled, tufted and flocked
Rank 3 - removed from painting sticks ready for basing
Rank 4 - canton colours painted
Here's a pic of things as they are right now:
 |
| Rank 4 in the foreground, back left are the rank 3 figures and what's that on the back right? That looks like a big pike block.... |
And a sneak peak of the pikemen I've finished so far:
 |
| Feeling scared yet? |
Well, it's back to work tomorrow, so I'll only have the evenings for painting etc. I've got a bit more time this evening, but I haven't decided what to do yet - I might base up the rank 3 figures or I might do some more work on rank 4. I'll see what I feel like doing after having a bath.
Saturday, 9 March 2013
Painting Swiss Pikemen Day 6; Challenge Entry #13
Swiss Pikemen
Rank 1 - sprayed with matt varnish; gravelled, tufted and flocked.
Phew! That's a quarter of them finished!
Rank 2 - have now been based. Should get matt spray, gravel, tufts and flock tomorrow.
Rank 3 - painting finished; received Klear/ink coat. Should get based tomorrow.
Rank 4 - will start painting these tomorrow* and might manage to get them to the Klear/ink stage, but probably not.
These are coming along even quicker than I'd expected.
* The next step is to do the canton colours which would take me past midnight. Instead I'm going to settle down to watch "Foyle's War" and read the last ever issue of Battlegames as a stand-alone magazine.
Challenge Entry #13: Swiss Artillery
My 13th entry for the Challenge was 4 bases of Swiss artillery. The figures, guns and "bits" are all 15mm from Donnington.
I knocked these out last weekend while I was waiting for the gesso to cure on the pikemen. I'll only be able to use 2 bases at a time when playing FoG as that's all the army list permits. However, having 4 bases done means that I can "mix and match" when I do so.
OK, here are the pics:
These netted me 48 points, which helped to turn up the pressure on Ray.
Rank 1 - sprayed with matt varnish; gravelled, tufted and flocked.
Phew! That's a quarter of them finished!
Rank 2 - have now been based. Should get matt spray, gravel, tufts and flock tomorrow.
Rank 3 - painting finished; received Klear/ink coat. Should get based tomorrow.
Rank 4 - will start painting these tomorrow* and might manage to get them to the Klear/ink stage, but probably not.
These are coming along even quicker than I'd expected.
* The next step is to do the canton colours which would take me past midnight. Instead I'm going to settle down to watch "Foyle's War" and read the last ever issue of Battlegames as a stand-alone magazine.
Challenge Entry #13: Swiss Artillery
My 13th entry for the Challenge was 4 bases of Swiss artillery. The figures, guns and "bits" are all 15mm from Donnington.
I knocked these out last weekend while I was waiting for the gesso to cure on the pikemen. I'll only be able to use 2 bases at a time when playing FoG as that's all the army list permits. However, having 4 bases done means that I can "mix and match" when I do so.
OK, here are the pics:
These netted me 48 points, which helped to turn up the pressure on Ray.
Friday, 8 March 2013
Painting Swiss Pikemen Day 5
My Swiss artillery went up on Curt's blog last night - here's the link. I'll post pics here tomorrow.
Swiss Pikemen
Rank 1 - based and basing gunk dry-brushed. Weather was crap, so I didn't get round to spraying them with matt varnish today. Hopefully I'll get that done tomorrow, then I can add some gravel, tufts and flock to them.
Rank 2 - I'll be doing the basing on these tomorrow.
Rank 3 -
Not much painting left to do on these:
hair on the 9 figures where it is visible
boots
"ground" on figure bases
belts and scabbards
touch up armour
sword hilts and pike tips
Klear/ink
They should be finished tomorrow, based on Sunday, matt-sprayed and flocked etc on Monday.
Rank 4 - I might be able to make a start on these tomorrow, but Sunday looks more likely. I'm back at work next week, which only leaves me the evenings to do painting so I expect that they'll be finished on Wednesday or Thursday.
That will actually leave me 5 clear days before the Challenge ends to paint up something else. That might be enough time to do the 40 Swiss handgunners and crossbowmen that I've got primed and ready to go.
Swiss Pikemen
Rank 1 - based and basing gunk dry-brushed. Weather was crap, so I didn't get round to spraying them with matt varnish today. Hopefully I'll get that done tomorrow, then I can add some gravel, tufts and flock to them.
Rank 2 - I'll be doing the basing on these tomorrow.
Rank 3 -
Not much painting left to do on these:
hair on the 9 figures where it is visible
boots
"ground" on figure bases
belts and scabbards
touch up armour
sword hilts and pike tips
Klear/ink
They should be finished tomorrow, based on Sunday, matt-sprayed and flocked etc on Monday.
Rank 4 - I might be able to make a start on these tomorrow, but Sunday looks more likely. I'm back at work next week, which only leaves me the evenings to do painting so I expect that they'll be finished on Wednesday or Thursday.
That will actually leave me 5 clear days before the Challenge ends to paint up something else. That might be enough time to do the 40 Swiss handgunners and crossbowmen that I've got primed and ready to go.
Thursday, 7 March 2013
Painting Swiss Pikemen Day 4; Past Projects Re-Activated
And the second rank are finished! Well, the painting is - I'll be giving them their Klear/ink coat shortly. I would have finished them earlier and started on the next batch, but I had to break my leave to sit as a panel member on a grievance at work. Oh well, such is the life of a union rep.
So, here's a pic before they get all glossy:
I was going to do the basing for the first two ranks together, but have concluded that it would be a nightmare for em to try to base up 128 figures in one go. Instead I'll base up the front rank this evening, then do the second rank tomorrow.
Tomorrow I'll crack on with the third rank figures. Assuming I don't get any more interruptions to my leave, I should manage to get them all the way to the Klear/ink stage leaving me to do the rear rank over the weekend.
Past Projects Re-Activated
Some of you may recall that last year I was contemplating getting myself a Koryo Korean army, but didn't take it forward. Well, with my Sarmatians/Alans, 30YW, Swiss and Saga stuff you can't really blame me for putting this idea on the back burner. However....
"And it came to pass that the theme periods for the FoG:AM team competition at Campaign 2013 were announced.
"Lo, it came to pass that one of those periods was to be the Mongol Conquest of China.
"And the FoG:AM players at Central London did wail and gnash over who should be in which team and they did wail and gnash more over who in those teams should take which theme period."
Yup, I'm going to be doing a Koryo Korean army up for Campaign 2013. Which is in May. Oooooo-Kaaaayyy.
I ordered the figures this morning from Old Glory 15s. I've just got to hope that they get shipped quickly. And that they don't get held up for too long by Customs and Royal Mail.
With any luck they will arrive before the end of the month and I can crack on immediately with painting them. The army I'll be taking will consist of about 80 cavalry and 100 infantry plus commanders but I've ordered more foot than that to give me options for later on.
I guess it's just as well I've been doing these Swiss pikemen en masse as it has given me the practice I'll need to paint up an army in time for Campaign!
So, here's a pic before they get all glossy:
I was going to do the basing for the first two ranks together, but have concluded that it would be a nightmare for em to try to base up 128 figures in one go. Instead I'll base up the front rank this evening, then do the second rank tomorrow.
Tomorrow I'll crack on with the third rank figures. Assuming I don't get any more interruptions to my leave, I should manage to get them all the way to the Klear/ink stage leaving me to do the rear rank over the weekend.
Past Projects Re-Activated
Some of you may recall that last year I was contemplating getting myself a Koryo Korean army, but didn't take it forward. Well, with my Sarmatians/Alans, 30YW, Swiss and Saga stuff you can't really blame me for putting this idea on the back burner. However....
"And it came to pass that the theme periods for the FoG:AM team competition at Campaign 2013 were announced.
"Lo, it came to pass that one of those periods was to be the Mongol Conquest of China.
"And the FoG:AM players at Central London did wail and gnash over who should be in which team and they did wail and gnash more over who in those teams should take which theme period."
Yup, I'm going to be doing a Koryo Korean army up for Campaign 2013. Which is in May. Oooooo-Kaaaayyy.
I ordered the figures this morning from Old Glory 15s. I've just got to hope that they get shipped quickly. And that they don't get held up for too long by Customs and Royal Mail.
With any luck they will arrive before the end of the month and I can crack on immediately with painting them. The army I'll be taking will consist of about 80 cavalry and 100 infantry plus commanders but I've ordered more foot than that to give me options for later on.
I guess it's just as well I've been doing these Swiss pikemen en masse as it has given me the practice I'll need to paint up an army in time for Campaign!
Wednesday, 6 March 2013
75k!; Painting Swiss Pikemen Day 3
Well, this li'l ole blog o' mine has just passed 75,000 hits. I'm flabbergasted that so many people have liked it enough to reach that milestone. i wonder how long it will take to reach 100k page views?
Swiss Pikemen
I got a fair bit done yesterday despite heading into town for a few hours. I decided that it would be easier on me to break the mob up into smaller batches now that the initial bulk-painting steps were done. The logical split was by rank, so that's what I did.
Starting with the front rank, I got most of the way towards finishing them by the time I put the brushes down last night. They only needed a couple of hours this afternoon to complete the painting. I'll be giving them a Klear/ink coat later on.
I've made a good start on the second rank figures, with cantonal colours done on all 64 figures. I might even be able to finish painting them tonight.
Once these two ranks are both finished, I'll get them based. After that it is on to the rear two ranks. At this rate, I will definitely have them finished before the Challenge ends.
Swiss Pikemen
I got a fair bit done yesterday despite heading into town for a few hours. I decided that it would be easier on me to break the mob up into smaller batches now that the initial bulk-painting steps were done. The logical split was by rank, so that's what I did.
Starting with the front rank, I got most of the way towards finishing them by the time I put the brushes down last night. They only needed a couple of hours this afternoon to complete the painting. I'll be giving them a Klear/ink coat later on.
I've made a good start on the second rank figures, with cantonal colours done on all 64 figures. I might even be able to finish painting them tonight.
Once these two ranks are both finished, I'll get them based. After that it is on to the rear two ranks. At this rate, I will definitely have them finished before the Challenge ends.
Monday, 4 March 2013
Painting Swiss Pikemen Day 1
Well, I've had a pretty productive day all told.
Swiss Artillery
I was going to wait until this morning to do the basing, but an episode of Hornblower came on the TV, so I did the basing while watching that. This morning I dry-brushed the gunk, sprayed them with matt varnish then did the tufting and flocking. Curt has been sent the photos, so they should be up on his blog soon. That should wind up Ray a bit! *evil grin*
Swiss Pikemen
Pics of current state:
Today I have managed to do the following:
Yellow Ochre base coat on clothing that will be in cantonal colours (I do this as it provides a great base for the white, yellow and red)
Black base coat on armour and helmets
Dry-brushed armour and helmets with Oily Steel
Gambesons on 32 figures painted with either Iraqi Sand, Tan Yellow or Tan Earth
The next job, which I will do tonight, is to paint the pike shafts. I'll be using a mix of 4 colours for these - Cork Brown, Light Brown, Burnt Umber and Mahogany Brown.
Tomorrow I'll be doing the flesh and hair where it is visible. Once that is done, I'll make a start on doing the cantonal colours.
These are painting up amazingly quickly. I'm actually considering painting up some other small batches of figures to give myself a break from the pikemen (not to mention that they will help me maintain my lead over Ray!).
Swiss Artillery
I was going to wait until this morning to do the basing, but an episode of Hornblower came on the TV, so I did the basing while watching that. This morning I dry-brushed the gunk, sprayed them with matt varnish then did the tufting and flocking. Curt has been sent the photos, so they should be up on his blog soon. That should wind up Ray a bit! *evil grin*
Swiss Pikemen
Pics of current state:
Today I have managed to do the following:
Yellow Ochre base coat on clothing that will be in cantonal colours (I do this as it provides a great base for the white, yellow and red)
Black base coat on armour and helmets
Dry-brushed armour and helmets with Oily Steel
Gambesons on 32 figures painted with either Iraqi Sand, Tan Yellow or Tan Earth
The next job, which I will do tonight, is to paint the pike shafts. I'll be using a mix of 4 colours for these - Cork Brown, Light Brown, Burnt Umber and Mahogany Brown.
Tomorrow I'll be doing the flesh and hair where it is visible. Once that is done, I'll make a start on doing the cantonal colours.
These are painting up amazingly quickly. I'm actually considering painting up some other small batches of figures to give myself a break from the pikemen (not to mention that they will help me maintain my lead over Ray!).
Sunday, 3 March 2013
Sunday Update
This will be the last "Sunday Update" for a week or two. There's a good reason for that - I'll be posting progress updates every day or two on painting the Swiss pikemen. As that is the only work I'll be doing after tomorrow, there won't be any reason for me to do a "Sunday Update" until after they are completed.
So, on with the updates.
Swiss Pikemen
No progress as the gesso is still curing. I'll be starting work on these tomorrow. That's going to be a big, boring job - doing black undercoat on armour, yellow ochre undercoat on clothing, dry-brushing the armour with Oily Steel. Depending on how long that takes me, I might also get round to doing the pike shafts and flesh.
For the unarmoured pikemen, I'm thinking of doing a mix of how much clothing is in Canton colours - some will be tunics and leggings, some just tunics, some just leggings.
Swiss Artillery
I've finished painting these and will be doing the Klear/ink coat after posting. In the morning* (I've taken this week off work!) I'll do the basing on these before I begin work on the pikemen. I might even be able to get the matt varnish spray and flocking/tufting done to give me a break from doing undercoats on 256 pikemen!
* when on leave, my definition of morning is occasionally known to stretch to 2pm
Donogh's Prize Painting
The figures have been prepped, washed and stuck onto slotta bases for painting. I've also attached arms etc where the figure needed that doing. There was one figure where I had to go back and clean off the epoxy glue as it wasn't working for holding the separate hand onto the arm. This meant I had to do some pinning - a first for me.
This evening I primed them with white Vallejo urethane primer. When that was dry, I did some pre-shading with diluted inks. The detail on the sculpts is fantastic, but somewhat "soft" on some of them - I'll have to find some way to get definition where that is the case.
So, on with the updates.
Swiss Pikemen
No progress as the gesso is still curing. I'll be starting work on these tomorrow. That's going to be a big, boring job - doing black undercoat on armour, yellow ochre undercoat on clothing, dry-brushing the armour with Oily Steel. Depending on how long that takes me, I might also get round to doing the pike shafts and flesh.
For the unarmoured pikemen, I'm thinking of doing a mix of how much clothing is in Canton colours - some will be tunics and leggings, some just tunics, some just leggings.
Swiss Artillery
I've finished painting these and will be doing the Klear/ink coat after posting. In the morning* (I've taken this week off work!) I'll do the basing on these before I begin work on the pikemen. I might even be able to get the matt varnish spray and flocking/tufting done to give me a break from doing undercoats on 256 pikemen!
* when on leave, my definition of morning is occasionally known to stretch to 2pm
Donogh's Prize Painting
The figures have been prepped, washed and stuck onto slotta bases for painting. I've also attached arms etc where the figure needed that doing. There was one figure where I had to go back and clean off the epoxy glue as it wasn't working for holding the separate hand onto the arm. This meant I had to do some pinning - a first for me.
This evening I primed them with white Vallejo urethane primer. When that was dry, I did some pre-shading with diluted inks. The detail on the sculpts is fantastic, but somewhat "soft" on some of them - I'll have to find some way to get definition where that is the case.
Saturday, 2 March 2013
On The Workbench: Swiss Pikemen
So here they are, prepped and primed. The two boards at the back have the 256 pikemen; the front board has the figures for the command stands and some medieval civilians for a supply camp/diorama.
As the gesso needs at least 24 hours to cure, I won't be able to start painting the pikemen until Monday. I the meantime I've decided to do the following to keep me occupied:
1) Prep and prime the figures Donogh sent me for to paint up as his prize from my Blog birthday draw. These will be very different to what you are used to seeing me paint - a bunch of 10 modern/post-apocalypse figures including some darned meddling, pesky kids (and their dog). The sculpts look great and I think I'm going to have fun painting them once the 256 pikemen are done and dusted.
2) Paint up the Swiss artillery.
Friday, 1 March 2013
I've been ever so naughty....
 |
| Guilty Kitty looks guilty |
....and bought X-Wing! After work I popped into Orcs Nest and purr-chased the following:
2 core sets; 1 each of the A-Wing, Y-Wing, TIE Advanced and TIE Interceptor expansion packs. Oh, and a YT-1300 expansion pack for good measure.
"A YT-1300? What on Earth is that?" I hear (some of) you say. It's actually a well known vessel in the Star Wars universe. One example is currently owned by a former officer of the Imperial Navy accompanied by the prisoner he rescued from execution (which rescue led to him being a former officer of the Imperial Navy). what? You still haven't got it? OK, another clue - a 10-century bird of prey. Got it now? Good.
Yes, I forked out £25 for the Millenium Falcon expansion pack.
Unfortunately they didn't have the X-Wing and basic TIE fighter expansion packs, so I'll need to pick one each of those up at some point. And maybe a Slave 1 expansion pack too, just to complete the set.
Once the Challenge is over, I will try to get a couple of games in at the club.
Swiss Pikemen Prep
I'm almost there on prepping the pikemen - just 30 more hands to drill. I should have all the prep done tomorrow evening and might have managed to prime them before I go to bed. Then it will be time to crack on with the painting. I must be crazy attempting this - painting 256 15mm pikemen in just under 20 days. Can it be done? Who knows? One thing I do know is that I'll be wanting to take a well-deserved break from painting after that!
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