Urban War Triad Boss

So after 2 hours at the pant table, give or take, I've squeaked out another of the minis I wanted to finish off for my Cleaning out the closet challenge for the end of the year. Ideally, I should have dropped the 2016 from the logo I made, as I had originally wanted this to be a winter event, but you live and learn.

This is the Triad Boss for Urban Mammoth's game Urban War. This was a limited edition release that came when you bought one of the original magazines that were the rules for the 1st Edition Urban War (issue number XX). He has his katana in hand, which I always thought a little cooler than the pistol wielding general release version.

In the end, I didn't paint over the cherry blossoms, as I previously planned to, but I do think they are looking a bit better than they were, if still not perfect. He also looks like he's leaning a little, which is kind of annoying, but is down to how he was placed on the scenic base I had already prepared. Good enough to get on the table at the head of a Triad gang for Rogue Stars for sure, though now I like the idea of fielding my Oni class Shogun battle-suit as a big ass robot to stomp on the other side. Either way, my growing Triad force has already gotten too large to be played as a Rogue Stars force, and will have to find another way to make it all on to the table at once.

I'll post a run down of what I have managed to complete for my challenge in the New year, but after finishing off this guy, I based up the last of the Viridians I had previously painted, leaving not so much to complete. 

Anyway, Happy Hogmanay to you all, see you on the flipside!

Triad Boss WIP

In a final push to clean out the closet this year, I've decided to finish my Triad Boss. There's a bit of time left in the year, so I reckon I can do it, but here's a WIP in the meantime. I tried to freehand some cherry blossoms on his kimono, that didn't work, and will be painted over. Otherwise it just feels good to be getting on with this guy.

One of the antlers on his helmet broke, and I had to green stuff him a new one. I'm not particularly happy with the result, but with the paint on him, if you don't look too closely, it's not too bad. A couple of hours this evening should see him done, and based to match the rest of his troops. Then to stat them up for Rogue Stars.

Treasure Markers/Objective Markers

These were originally to be treasure markers for a Chronomancer and crew for Frostgrave, and they still might be, once I paint up that particular warband. They might also work as objective markers for other games. Does Rogue Stars need these kinds of things? To be honest with you, I haven't read through it yet, so I don't know. If it does, I'm ready!

I rattled through the bots box at my FLGS to get a few 40K things, and made them into random bits of tech. I particularly like the trapdoor, which I think is a tank turret door. The coiled rope in the bottom right is actually some string. They were quick to paint too, which is always good, especially as I was low on inspiration for the other models I know I want to finish.

I made a whole bunch of other treasure markers for Frostgrave, with a more canonical theme, but I don't think I ever got round to showing those. I should do that some time!

Early Presents to Myself

Got this package from Amazon earlier in the week. This is my planned gaming for the next few months.

To help me along with this scheme, I started an Osprey Wargames Montreal Group on Facebook, to try to build a local community of like minded gamers. So far it seems to be a success. We already have a growing Frostgrave group who are looking for a new campaign in the New Year, and there is much interest in Rogue Stars. I've also managed to find people interested in Black-Ops, Dragon Rampant and In Her Majesty's Name too.

The whole ethos of playing games with minis I already have appeals not only to my poor stretched wallet, but also allows me to play with so many of the beautiful minis I have that just don't get put down on the gaming table enough, if at all.

Of the three books here, I think finding an opponent for Chosen Men will be the hardest, as the historical gamers are few and far between from what I've seen. Still, I've had one nibble...

Somewhere in Time

So my last post was a sneak peak, or hint as to what was coming next. Finally, after a break form the painting table, I finally got round to actually painting him.

Who's him you ask, well, Eddie of course!

This miniature was originally supposed to be part of the Pantheon of Chaos Kickstarter, but he didn't really fit in with the rest, so was sold as a pre-Kickstarter fundraiser. What a novel concept!

I didn't buy into the Kickstarter, as Chaos was never really my thing. But I couldn't pass up on this guy. Eddie and Iron maiden to me just remind me of a time back in the UK when I was playing GW games. So even if he is not really an Oldhammer mini, British Metal is so intertwined with so many themes that are Oldhammer, that he gets an honourary acceptance into the genre.

Now, where to use him. Maybe in my upcoming Frostgrave Chronomancer warband, as Time is on his side. Or Maybe as a cyborg for Rogue stars, or a serial Killer for CS1.

Of course, this is but one incarnation of Eddie. If I were to ask that another was made, well, then Eddie from the cover of the single 'The Trooper' has to be a shoe in (although I did find this conversion someone has done so I am clearly not alone).

Sneak Peak

What am I working on now? Hint...

Now that's what I call Old Skool!

Cleaning out the Closet, Part III

So one month in, and I got off to a great start, then stalled as I got dragged in to watching the Walking Dead on Netflix. The minis are lacking, but I'm mostly through season 3 now! That being said, there are a few more paint jobs done, so here's the list as it currently stands.

Frostgrave Ranger: Complete.

Dystopian Legions French Legionnaires: HMG complete, the Legionnaires and Lieutenant to follow.

Urban War Triad Retainers: Complete.

Urban War Viridian Special Forces and Sniper: Complete.

Urban War Triad Boss: Watch this space.

Urban WarKabuki Doll: Complete

Urban War Sumotori: Not yet at the front of the queue.

Urban War Viridian HMG: I stuck some paint on this guy, but the base is not yet complete.

Menoth Army: This has moved down the list for a while. Likely I'll finish the rest then move on to this as the next project, as there's a fair number of minis to repair and finish.

Effincool Halflings: Complete. Ok these guys skipped up the list, but they were looking at me with big cute eyes!

Reaper Halfling Rangers: These guys got a bit of a work over with the other Halflings, but are not there yet. The cloaks look pretty though.

Will I be adding to this list? Yeah,already I got distracted by another mini, and some treasure tokens, so look out for them too!

Dystiopan Legions: French Legionaires HMG Section

Ok, so I was trying to hold off till I had more of these guys painted, but I have yet to get round to the rest, so I'll hold off on the big post, and get these pics out there. This is the HMG for the French Legionnaires for Dystopian Legions. I'm pretty happy with them. Let me know what you think.



Hopefully there'll be more of these guys soon, with the rest of the Unit and the Lieutenant to finish.

Effincool Minis Halflings

Next up for this winter's challenge, Effincool Minis halflings from their last Kickstarter. Done so as to be able to build a halfling warband for Frostgrave with these guys when they arrive.

These guys were a joy to paint. Full of character. The only change I had to make was change the flagpole for a brass rod, but that was super easy to do. I did think about more freehand on the flag, as it's a nice empty space, so if I'm inspired, I'll go back and add something there.

There's also a couple of cavalry figs and ponies that came with the Kickstarter, but they're not even assembled, as they are no use in Frostgrave, and I'm a long way from using these in any larger scale battle games. Unless I find some opponents to try out Dragon Rampant with.

In the new year, as well as starting off with Rogue Stars, I want to get back into Frostgrave too, and these'll be perfect for the bulk of the soldiers, and my captain.

Urban War Triad Kabuki Doll

It may not seem like it from my entries, but I have been painting. Not quite with the gusto of the first week of this challenge,  but the nice thing is I didn't give myself a time limit, apart from 'this winter'.

I have a couple of posts ready to go, and this is the first of them. My Urban War Triad Kabuki Doll.

I'm pretty sure I've tried to finish painting her on three separate occasions over the 10-12 years she's been in my collection, but she's finally there. I think I might want to go back at some point and do something more interesting with the mask, but then the plain white look is kinda creepy too, so maybe not!

I am pretty happy with the hair. Painting black hair is something I am not good at, but this one looks okay from a distance!

She of course can be used in any upcoming Scifi games, and he base reflects this, but she could also be used in other time periods and eras due to the lack of hi-tech weaponry she carries. She would fit rather well into an Asian force for In Her Majesty's Name too.

Rogue Stars Nickstarter now online

The eagerly awaited Rogue Stars took one step closer to being in the hands of gamers yesterday with the launch of the North Star Games Nickstarter for the book and miniature line. For those of you who have not yet been involved in a Nickstarter, this is not a crowdsourcing event, but a pre-order system, with a 10% discount for those that sign up before November the 8th.

As a means of getting hold of the wonderful Mark Copplestone minis for this game at a discount rate, this is well worth it. Not so much for the human characters, but for the aliens and robots, which I think look really good. I'm also looking forward to painting some outlandish skin-tones on some of those alien models for fun!

Any local players who want to get in on this with me to save shipping, let me know!

Cleaning out the Closet, Part II

My challenge to myself this winter is to clean up the huge backlog of minis I have to paint, finish painting or base properly. To this end I created the Cleaning out the Closet Challenge.

I quickly boshed together a logo for this too that you can see above, so if anyone wants to join in with this challenge, you are more than welcome. I find that one of the best things about the painting/gaming community is how these challenges to ourselves and others can act as inspiration to get things finished.

After quite a productive week of this challenge, the list is currently as follows:

Frostgrave Ranger: Complete.

Dystopian Legions French Legionnaires: HMG complete and will be posted soon, with the Legionnaires to follow.

Urban War Triad Retainers: Complete.

Urban War Viridian Special Forces and Sniper: Complete.

Urban War Triad Boss and Kabuki Doll: To be continued...

Urban War Sumotori: Not yet at the front of the queue.

Urban War Viridian HMG: I stuck some paint on this guy, but he is not yet complete.

Menoth Army: Ok, as this one approaches, I really will have to break it down into some component parts. That will be a post unto itself.

As winter moves on, I'll be sure to need to add to this list. I don't need to go deep into my closet to find things that are half painted and looking for some love. So, to continue the list and keep things rolling:

Effincool Halflings.

I backed the Effincool Kickstarter for Classic Oldhammer Halflings. They arrived quite quickly after the Kickstarter was funded, and I started painting them straight away, then I got sidetracked. I have since then backed the Midlam Miniatures Kickstarter for Halfling Wizards and Apprentices, so I suppose I'd better get one batch finished before starting another. This lot carries into the next...

Reaper Halfling Rangers

When I got the above Halflings in the post, I picked up a couple of Reaper ranger/thief type Halflings to go with them. Added to the Wizards mentioned above, it doesn't take a genius to see this all goes together to make a nice Warband for Frostgrave, or the startings of a Dragon Rampant army.

Rogue Stars Video

Wargames Illustrated have released this 'Unboxing Video' for Rogue Stars. It give a little more insight into how the game works.

Yup, that looks like a lot of fun. Count me in!

Urban War: Triad Retainers

The third batch of minis from the list I have made myself is now complete.

I've recently finished off two 'units' of Urban War Triad Retainers. I hesitate to call them units, as in Urban War all figures are individuals, but the paint scheme certainly splits them into two definite groups, as do the paint jobs. The first, the red and white, were initially painted in 2004 (with the details being finished recently), and the second group, the green and orange, being painted in 2016.

These miniatures were originally released in 2004/5 (I know because it said so on the tabs, not because I could actually recall when I bought them) by Urban Mammoth, and are now available from Scotia Grendel. I bought these guys from Urban Mammoth's brick and mortar store in Edinburgh, and they finally made the trip over here a couple of years ago.

As you can see, the shading technique I used on the first batch was very rudimentary. The 2016 group has some quick and dirty 2 brush blending, so looks a bit smoother, I think.

The bases are the ones that I spoke of earlier, with the last two that I painted in this batch being put aside for the Triad Boss and a Kabuki doll, both of whom have languished in a half painted state for about as long as these guys.

As much as I would like to use these guys in a game of Urban War, it is more likely that these will go with the Viridians I have also finally put some finishing touches to (i.e. based) to be played with in some of the SciFi games I am trying to get set up.