LOST IN LIMBO

There will be some painted figures appearing soon I hope. Progress (albeit very slow) is being made on restoring some of Joe Dever's units to full strength. In the meantime let me show you this wonderful piece of art I acquired recently, just back from the framers.

An original preliminary sketch in charcoal by Rodney Matthews of Elric, for his painting Elric Lost in Limbo. 

I've been a devotee of Rodney Matthews' work since my early teenage years, collecting his calendars in my youth and then cutting them up to stick all over my bedroom wall, so I was thrilled to obtain an original sketch by him. It will be hung on the stairs which lead up the the attic/mancave/growlery.

PICTURES ADDED

 I've just added a photos of most of the Hinchliffe Fantasy range to the bespoke page on this blog, so please pop over and have a look. More pics to follow soon and hopefully some posts of painted figures here.

MINIFIGS KNIGHTS

 I think this may have been one of Joe Dever's oldest and perhaps favourite units. Originally 20 strong these red Minifigs knights appear in the battle covered on the Project Aon site, and also in a picture from Thistlewood, battling a wyvern in the distance. They were depleted to 14 when I took command of them and I'm going to get them back to strength. I just need 5 knights, either like the unpainted one shown, or the one with the horns which have been snipped off in Joe's unit. If anyone has these Minifigs AX knights in the UK, please get in touch.

I just love the simplicity of these Minifigs medievals and the way they are painted in enamels, possibly gloss enamel rather than being varnished.

Details of the foil pennants

Here they are in action battling a wyvern in the distance in White Dwarf 45

and fighting Chaos warriors about 1986 

and arrayed for battle in Joe's games room about 1986 with full complement of 20 Knights

on the right hand side.

I'm on the lookout for 5 more like this or with horns.

I've got horses for them ready and waiting

so if anyone can help,drop me a comment below please and help these aged knights get back into battle.

HOBGOBLINS

 Hope you're all having a jolly Christmas/Yule/Saturday etc. In the true spirit of the ghost of Christmas to come giving a salutory warning against the perils of leadrot, I thought I'd post pics of a unit that came into my possession recently from the collection of the late and very wonderful Joe Dever. 

The green Hobgoblins in action in one of Joe's battles about 1986. 

The remaining survivors of theft and Nurgle's rot.

The diseased and crumbling victims .

Poor Throgg has a nasty skin condition.

More leprous goblinoids waiting to be replaced.

I've got replacement figures ready to be painted to match the survivors (which are done inks I think) so hopefully they will be able to take the field again at full strength which is about 50 figures.

Enjoy the rest of the day.

CASTLE OF YORE

 

A few weeks ago my older brother rang me to tell me he was moving house, having a clearout and to ask if I wanted this wonderful wooden castle our Dad made for him before I was born. I used to play with it all the time in my youth (he's 10 years older than me), setting up my Deetail and Timpo knights in it, so I was absolutely delighted to be able to play with it again. I guess it must have been made in the early 1960s, and as you can see has stood the test of time remarkably well. It's mainly made of plywood and hardboard, most of the pieces being screwed together with brass flat head screws.

Much as I was tempted to, I didn't want to start a new collection of 1/32 toy knights, so I thought I'd try my Toyhammer figures out for size, and they work perfectly...better than 1/32 ones really.  

King Lodwick rides out to do battle.

Archers man the battlements while Merkin gives his familiar instructions.

An archer in a lofty tower....which was made from a rolling pin apparently.

This little archway was always my favourite part of the castle when I was playing with it in the early 1970s.

The main towers are a bit deep for 28mm figures to see over the battlements, but I will make some slot in wooden blocks for them to stand on.

The rear wall forms a formidable obstacle to 2 scouts from the forces of evil.

Knights of the Purple Pim ride out on a quest over the working drawbridge.

The portcullis is lowered (this was added by my Dad in the 70's). The climax of my battles always ended with the chief baddie being trapped underneath it.

The drawbridge raised.

The castle comes apart. Note the storage vault under the green slope that leads up to the drawbridge.

and the pieces pack away into the base.

I'm so excited to be able to play with this again and envisage many battles and sieges taking place in the near future.

TOYHAMMER - THE BADDIES

 I've recently been painting some Toyhammer figures as a palette cleanser. They are great for picking up and splashing paint on when I have a few minutes here and there ( usually about 3.30am). So far I'd only painted good guys, so it was about time to do some opposition.

Some skellies, summoned by a bone faced necromancer.

Thuggish evil knights.

Some infernal demons.

More heavy infantry.

and more.

Some light archers. The late 80s saw some truly dreadful figures, but they were fun to paint.

I had so much fun block painting over a white undercoat I am seriously thinking about doing more figures in this style. With these cheap plastic figures above it doesn't seem so sacrilegious, but on valuable old lead I have been thinking twice about it.

THE EVIL BRAIN EATERS

 Here's a little force of gribbly aliens I knocked up to fight my youngest son's Space Marines...The Evil Brain Eaters. All Reaper Bones minis with some minor conversion. Unfortunately they have gone all tacky after varnishing.. presumably a reaction of the varnish with the soft plastic these figures are made of.

The hive masters

The soldiers

The drones

Good fun to paint. Wash of contrast paints over white undercoat and finished. The hives are old flower arranging items I've had in my bits box for decades.....