Paint An Orc for Orctober

 A 300% Improvement

Beware the mighty Orctober Horde

As it is Orctober, I have managed to paint some orcs, three to be precise which as the mathematically three times as many as one. Which is how many I painted last year (hence the subtitle above). Last year I managed to finish Ugezod and this year it was the turn of his banner bearer and musician (ex-Grenadier Nick Lund Orcs via Fornlorn Hope).  As expected these sculpts fit in very well as the Ugezod's Death Commandos and are a fraction of the price of alternative Citadel ones.  I also managed an odd orc trooper from 1984 Regiment of Renown - Harboth's Black Mountain Boys.

Rob  

Warrior Part 6

 The One with the Barbarian on the Front & 100th Post!

By this stage we were getting the hang of the photoshopped miniatures on a photographed background. Although it was a time consuming processes using MS Paint. 

Doug's Little Wars rolls on towards a big finish.

My favourite Kill Zone scenario, with the Law Enforcers attempting to restore some order to the Kaiser's life.

100th Post

Well this year has whizzed by and somehow I have already posted a 100 articles on my blog. It has been an interesting experience. Which has probably helped to drive my hobby forward this year. Thanks to all those who have viewed my blog, chosen to follow and posted comments.

First of my Halfling militia,  a quick weapon swap. 

Rob 

Thistlewood - Lord Vassago's Heavy Hitters

 Trolls, Wyvern and Uruks

Ugrash-Ka, Trolls & Wyvern

When I found the trolls, I also found the giant hill troll who was with them. He seemed a much better choice for Ugrash-Ka. The one pictured in the White Dwarf article is large ogre / troll ? from Ral Partha (See below). So out goes the Dunderling and in comes the hill troll, Both were painted already so didn't requirement any extra work. 😀

The original Ugrash-Ka

Ready for War!

With the completion of a standard bearer and musician (Nick Lund's Grenadier Orcs from Fornlorn Hope)  for Ugezod's Death Commandos, this finishes the unit of ten needed for the fighting Uruks in Lord Vassago's army.

This will bring me up to 82% for the evil forces. The forces of good are lagging behind on 62%. So I will need to work out what I want to get to finish them off. I am thinking I might convert some beastmen into centaurs (only three needed) so that they could also be used for my Fae and Chaos armies if I don't make them heroic/chaotic/faerie*. 

* delete as appropriate. 

Rob

A Little Bit of Wargaming History

FF54 Wyvern - circa 1981 by Joe Dever

I got my own little bit of wargaming history today  with the arrival of a 1980s Fiend Factory Citadel Wyvern. This is one from the late Joe Dever's collection. Thanks to Springinsfeld (over at  BROADSWORDS AND BEASTS) for helping me out to get this classic. Who will fill a gap in Thistlewood forces.  He is selling them on behalf of Joe's family for charity so if you fancy one for yourself you can find them at: 

Items for sale by malplaquet_miniatures | eBay

He already looks very at home with halfling contingent as he is a more noble looking monster!

Rob 

Defenders of the Three Shires

Halfling Army Progress 

The Whole army with nearly 20 years of painting. 

Finished rebasing the halflings that I wanted keep with their early 2000's paint jobs. They do sport a bit of 'battle' damage  but I hope this just adds to the character. Along with the first of the four rangers. These painted units plus a unit of militia will complete the allied contingent for the moment. 

The New Guys

The rangers were painted in a mixture of dark greens and browns to fit their role. Plus each had couple of minor modifications, mainly weapon swaps. I would have liked to use axes as their standard weapon as I thought this would fit the rustic role. However all the spare plastic axes had previously been used on other models so opted for spears instead. Which also seem appropriate as if you are normally facing taller opponents then anything that levels the fight is bound to be preferred. I still have a couple more rangers to do but these need to have the previous paint removed.  It also does mean they match the rangers of Ithilien for weapons. 

First of the Rangers

Next up, paint stripping on the militia and a couple more rangers. Which will pretty much use up my remaining Grenadier halflings. The militia will get a green / yellow paint scheme similar to some of the 2000's figures  which I quite like and a  nice banner to compliment the Giant Killers.  It is also tempting to get a few more from Mark's - Copplestone Castings. As he has done a few nice militia figures however, they are mixed across multiple packs. 

When I finally get round to doing the paint stripping.

Rob

Thistlewood - The Captains of the Good

 King Amias & Friends

Baron Galen, King Amias & Bishop Milendon

Quick post, as I have finished painting Bishop Milendon. To complete the trio of good heroes at Thistlewood. Since Baron Galen commands the cavalry, I thought he ought to be mounted and I only really have one mounted and unmounted hero. The Swan Knight of Dol Amroth. Which is fine as he looks like a mighty hero. 

I have a bit further to go with the forces of good. With only 56% however, I may have few more tucked away in the far corners of my collection. So it may need not quite as many figures as I am thinking. I may also get some elves instead of using the rangers. Having just finished the halfling regiment, they might also get called up. 

Bishop Milendon has just been finished as part of my prep for Thistlewood. He is the Citadel high level AD&D cleric character. Which seems fitting as he has a weapon skill of 6 and 4 wounds.  Plus the magical mace of the White Lord and a stack of magic.  I was pleased how well the gold colours came out on this model. 

A well prepared bishop

The Kings Army

Character	Numbers	Collection
King Amias	1/1	AD&D Paladin
Baron Galen	1/1	Swan Knight
Bishop Milendon	1/1	AD&D Cleric
Imperial Guard	5/10	Grenadier Knights
Royal Centaurs	0/3	Saw some Cheapside figures
Kings Pike Regiment	8 /15 ?	Men at Arms of Minas Tirith
Kings Sword Regiment	8 /15 ?	Men at Arms of Minas Tirith
Kings Mace Regiment	8 /15 ?	Men at Arms of Minas Tirith
Loyal Half Elves	15/15	LotR Rangers
Loyal Dwarves	10/15	EM4 Dwarves
Galen’s Cavalry	5/20	Grenadier Knights plus maybe Riders of Rohan
Total	62/111	56%

Rob 

Thistlewood - The First Warhammer Scenario

 So the Journey Begins...

Cover by Gary Ward

As is probably apparent from my blog I like to have multiple projects on the go and often have significant gaps between bursts of activity on a project. I came across the Thistlewood scenario in an old White Dwarf  (Issue 45 - September 1983) whilst looking for the Faerie articles in White Dwarf as background reading for my Fae army. As far as I can tell this was the first Warhammer scenario published in White Dwarf and before Tabletop Heroes was introduced (see previous blog article). Written by Joe Dever using Warhammer 1st edition rules. 

A picture of Joe Dever's figures in action
from the WD article. 

The scenario centres around a thief Foro Malas who stole the legendary golden chalice of Landemar  from King Amias. Suitably annoyed, King Amias gives chase with an elite portion of his army. The army catches up with him at Thistlewood but King Amias is not the only one looking for the chalice. So is Lord Vassago, a necromancer of ill repute plus his undead hordes and goblinoid lackeys. So the scene is set with both armies looking for Foro Malas at Thistlewood.

The scenario is set out so that it can be played at three different levels (Skirmish / Engagement  & Mass Battle)  depending on how many figures you have to use.

Before going any further, I must point out that this an attempt to get enough figures on a wargames table as soon as possible using mostly figures I already own to play this scenario. However if you go over to the Broadswords and Beast blog BROADSWORDS AND BEASTS. Springinsfeld has managed to collect all of the miniatures at the mass battle level using only figures available at the time of the article. A great achievement and a really enjoyable read as he charts his progress through a series of articles about collecting and painting these figures from a previous classic age. 

Wight Bodyguard, Ugrash-Ka, Lord Vassago,
N'aarsh & Skeletons

So first up is a quick check of the current collection. I am also happy to make a small number of substitutions. So the ghouls used by Lord Vassago as his bodyguard have been changed to wights (to continue the undead vibe). 

The Forces of Evil 

Character	Numbers	Collection
Lord Vassago	1/1	Marauder Vampire
N’aarsh	1/1	Mighty Zog
Ugrash-Ka	1/1	Dunderling Captain
Wyvern	0/1	TBC?
Trolls	3/3	C20 Trolls
Black Uruks	8/10	Ugezod’s Death Commandos plus support
Vile Rune Orcs	30/40	LotR Orcs plus a few random Uruk-Hai?
Black Sun Goblins	30/40	LotR Goblins
Skeletons	15/20	Skeleton Horde
Ghouls	10/10	Using wights for a suitably undead vibe.
Pack Wolves	18/20	Fae wolves
Total	117/147	80%

Rob