From Out of the Jungle

Basic, Better  or Best

Jungle Braves & Scouts

So, I have been looking forward to getting these minis* from Ral Partha Europe (RPE) because while there are some very nice Slann alternatives available from the likes of Diehard Miniatures and the Little Soldier Company. They look like the better / elite units of the Slann army. 

* Pack on order to look at them in the metal 😊

Where as these minis from RPE look like the 'bog' standard troops but still have that Slann vibe. With simple weapons and little / no armour they exactly have the right look for Jungle Braves.  To be honest whilst the levy troops such as Jungle Braves are by definition not very good, they were amongst my favourite units from my original army. 

I don't have any pictures of the unit, but I have managed to find a picture of one of the original unit members (Circled in red). A really simple shield design which I used for the whole unit that  I think just kinda works. 

I think they could also be used make some decent scouts. But I would probably jazz them up a bit with some weapons and equipment off of the Aztec sprue. 

Animal Handlers 

They will /could  also do double (triple) duty as animal handlers.

Some of my previous animal handlers from the mark one army. Any mini with a name was intended as a character. But I don't really remember having such a steady hand or fine enough brush to write all of these names. Obviously old age kicking in. 

Bizarrely there wasn't an official option for giant frog animal handlers in the Slann army, although you could have giant frog monstrous host. 

Nothing says 'Don't Mess with me' like a giant pink scorpion. 

Rob 

Before the Beer

 Men of the North

A definite change of style / technique for these minis as I opted to really make use the zenithal highlighting and further extend this effect with lots of contrast paints. Followed by edge highlighting. 

Now, I know this is a style many people use but it is one I am still working on. It is just too tempting for me to paint using a couple of coats of opaque paints and slap a wash on top. Anyway I think this style really suits these minis. 

As usual painting done on a Friday night, now on to the beer.

Rob 

The Battle for Black Mere Kickstarter

 I Backed a Kickstarter

So I backed my first Kickstarter today which was Diehard Miniatures (Tim Prow's) - Battle for Black Mere! The Eru-Kin Faction. With all my focus on my Slann project lately, it is probably no surprise that I backed Tim's latest Slann Eru-Kin project. It has already been funded with a number of great 'Add on's already added. The only problem is that I have to wait until April to get the minis. 

For those interested there is a link here: The Battle For Black Mere! Eru-Kin Faction. by Tim Prow — Kickstarter

Got a bit of time to finish off the multi-base for the Slann mage, I decided to go with six slots as I have seen some nice looking lizardmen attendants on Etsy. 

Rob

ME-34 Hobbits of the Shire

The Other Other Ringbearer

With Sam Gamgee done, this completes the Oldhammer Lord of the Rings Shire Hobbits set. A very nice companion to Frodo. And as a set they sit very well together. 

“If I take one more step, it will be the furthest away from home I’ve ever been.”

“There’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.”

Sam obviously likes to be prepared and carries a big stick!

Next up the Fighting Uruk-Hai. 

Rob

Hail to the Chief

The Sacred One Must be Properly Attended

The first set  of attendants for Tanqecl-Tlo'ectlutl. Because of jungle foliage, I am thinking I may need a larger base to  fit them all on. 

I decided to paint a second imp to join the wild elves. They have a very 'Hellboy' / Hellgirl? look  to them. 

 Rob 

Champion of the Watcher of Rain

First of the Attendants

First of the mighty  Tanqecl-Tlo'ectlutl's attendants. In this case a slave gladiator. Had a couple of goes at the shield on the gladiator because the black just didn’t stand out on the 1st attempt. 

You will notice there is more foliage on the base as the pictures go on as I tried to make the base more 'jungle-ly'.

Mark 1 shield

Mark 2 shield

Beer time 🍺

Rob

10 Minute Paint Job

 Tell Sam Shelob is About

Had a few spare minutes at lunch and managed to paint him in about 10 minutes. A nice little mini.

Rob 

Lackeys & Hangers On Finished

 Next Group Ready for Painting

Finished off the next group of mostly Slann army figures ready for painting.  I just had to add the spider's victim as I just wanted to paint it. Maybe it could be an objective marker? 

I had great fun with the attendants for mage. And think I will do a few more later as such an important character would have a few more such as scribes, bodyguards, soothsayers and others I haven't yet thought up. 

First is Tanqecl-Tlo'ectlutl's pet and his keeper. The mini started out a fan bearer but the pose looked a bit too dynamic for slave expected to keep his master cool with a  giant fan. So, after look round the bits box I found this old familiar from Reaper Minis. Whilst the cast is ok, the plastic is very soft and the mould lines quite bad. Even with a very sharp blade on the craft knife it took a long time to remove all of the flash on a small mini, I am not sure what the familiar is supposed to be but I thought it had a bit of a magical look about it.  

Looking at the two other humans, I may give him a banner pole as well. 

Next up is holder of the enchanted mace 'Thunder Breaker'. Tanqecl-Tlo'ectlutl's personal weapon when a few enemies need smiting.  Quite a lot of different bits and a couple of attempts were needed to put this together. This is probably the attendant I am most happy with at the moment. 

A group shot of the four attendants. The fourth one is a Brigade mini Fomorian Siren from their Celtos range. Known as simply as Imp, she acts as personal sushi chef. If Tanqecl-Tlo'ectlutl spots something tasty whilst on safari. Imp's job is to shoot and prep it ready for immediate tasting. 

Army list updated with extra minis. 

And finally I removed the odd skeleton's head and added a more suitable halberd. Now on with the beer. 

Rob 

Tanks in Cornwall

While I Was on Holiday...

A couple of years ago. I had to stop when I noticed these tanks parked outside an industrial unit. Another one of those, I found these photos while looking for something else. 

 

Rob

Golden Gobbo Shots of Slann Mage

The 2023 Entry

A bit younger than last year's entry but still over twenty years old. 

I decided the Mage did need a few lackeys and hangers on. So, first of the Mage's attendants - Slave Gladiator. 

Rob

Tanqecl-Tlo'ectlutl- The Watcher of Rain

Sacred Lily Pad Sitter of the Emperor Mazdamundi

A bit of tidying up to do but basically finished. It taken about of  month of painting to finish but he is sort of the army leader. If Malacassa doesn't take over. I did splash out on some laser cut plants which do look good but I am not sure if I have got them just right yet. 

I think he needs some attendants  such as fan bearer or a musician. 

Rob