Finishing Projects, 5/14/13

   Okay, so I have almost finished the prototype of the British 17th Lancers mounted on a mechanickal dragonfly. Once I get the base painted and flocked, I will take a picture and share. Or maybe not - I could save the group for next years Lead Adventures Lead Painter's League competition. Right now, the only way I am ever going to be able to pariticpate is to paint well ahead of time, since I am in school and painting time is somewhat limited.

 

   I have also just about finished the Prussian Naval Battlegroup for Dystopian Wars. All that remains is the two Geier-class bombers, and they are nearly finished. In addition, I have almost completed (about 90%) a Rhine-class fleet carrier. I just need to zig-zag stripe it and paint the Tiny Flyer tokens for a third Squadron (I already have two squadrons painted up from the battlegroup).

 

   So next up on the painting table of concentration to finish as a unit are the last five German riflemen of the KFG. The KFG, if you recall, is the name I gave to the German secret weapons group. These fellows are all armed with Lichtgewehre (light rifles - lasguns). The figures are GW Mordians. These have been about 50% done for over a year. Time to tick that unit off the list.

 

   One of my goals this year is to be prepared to field at least two 28mm forces for Battles by GASLIGHT on Venus, Earth, and Mars. I have enough Automatons on Mars for one force. I have nearly enough British for Mars, as well. I just need to finish up one or two British infantry to have a basic force, although my eventual plans for that require quite a bit more. I am in the same boat on Venus (which is good, what with the swamps and such). I have enough basic British infantry, but I need some support for them. I still need to add to the Germans. I also want to get the lizardmen finished up. I think one more unit of Gaters (Saurus) and a few Elder Ones (Temple Guard) to lead would be enough for a start. For Earth, anything human and set for Venus can work on Earth, though I want to do some redcoated British on Earth as well. Maybe Home Service uniform. We (my sons and I) have also considered using Eureka's frogs and turtles as Deep Amazonian lost tribes. Maybe I need to sit down and re-organize everything, really hash out the current plans...

 

   One last thought before I go for now...

 

 

 

Bust out the bubbly!

Painted Minis Arrive, Part 1: Gaters

If you have been following this blog for a bit, you may already know that about three months ago I did something I have never done before in my gaming career: I sent minis off to be painted for me. Now, I usually paint my own, and am fairly confident that I can produce a good figure. And I have bought pre-painted before, and been both very pleased and very disappointed. But I've never sent bare lead off to be painted for me. So this is a new one.

I chose to send the figures to White Ape Painting Studio, owned by Cathy Hamaker out of Indiana. Why not one of the big Asian studios? Two reasons: 1) Postage. Way too high for the 40-ish figures I was sending to be painted. 2) The economy. I am trying to promote 'buying American' when possible. The prices were pretty competitive with the Asian guys, especially when you took postage into consideration, and, well, I felt a bit better not having to deal with customs and all of that.

So, on to the reviews. Overall, I am pretty happy with Cathy's work. This first batch I am showing you are what I call Gaters in my VSF universe, but most of you would recognize them as Games Workshop Saurus (the old plastic ones from the boxed set that have been sitting about forever). I sent the mounted figure below as an example of the color scheme I wanted.

And this is what she returned to me today:

Really, not a bad match. You may be looking at the bases and saying to yourself "Uh... what's up with the bases?" That's my fault - I asked that she not do any base work so that I could get everything matching up. Once I do that, and hit it all with a shot of matte varnish, I think this unit of Gaters is pretty much done, although I do need a hero for it. Anyone with a nice metal Saurus hero type - a Temple Guard would work too! - give me a shout.

I'll be posting more - there are three more batches to go. So look for a new posting every day for the next few days.

I've Heard from the Painter

The one that I hired, you know? I expect to see final pictures today or tomorrow of all the minis.

I'll post once I get them. This will get me my British lancers, two units of Gex and one of Gaters. If I get off my duff and get painting Germans, I can play on Venus this summer.

So I've got that going for me.

New Stuff from Forge of Ice

Fellow named Alex Bates out of Alaska has started up a new miniatures company. It's still pretty low key, but he has a few items I think are just perfect for Venus: shields made from large turtle shells! I was thinking at least a batch for my elite Gaters, who are going to be made from old GW Saurus Temple Guards when I get around to that project...


Check out the photos below, from his website [http://forum54.oli.us/index.php?topic=5205.msg43690#msg43690] where you can order them. I want to say they are about $1-1.25 per. He has some other very interesting items as well: spears, huts, peacocks (!)...



I sure hope Alex doesn't mind me snagging these photos. It is to help drive some sales for his company, after all...

End of Month Progress Report [ooc]

So, here's the progress on projects this month.

Deathray cavalry: Have received all figures. Three additional lancers, a musician and the unit leader are painted and assembled, just waiting to be mounted on the rays. After these, I have five more to finish, and the units will be done. I say units because I have two. One is the Prince himself, with standard, musician and four guards. I am considering adding three more gun-armed men to this unit to round it out to a full ten. The other unit consists of a captain, musician and eight lancers.

Martian Personalities: I have painted the Incomparable Dejah Thoris, John Carter, a Martian priest, and a Martian king/hero. The butler/assassin is primed, but hardly painted.

Martian swordsmen: Little progress.

Bombardment Sentinel: Purchased Whirlwind for conversion of rockets to Sentinel. Awaiting arrival.

Gunship, 28mm: Received guns, assembled and primed. Currently on painting table. Trying to decide on magnetic attachment option or permanent fixture.

Gunship, 15mm: Main deck cut out. Primary lower hull section built. Mast section assembled but not cut to final length yet. Re-working cabin section design. Forward lower hull needs final desing and assembly. Guns not ordered; considering ERM fittings. Help with 15mm guns would be appreciated.

Parrotman Huts: Prototype finished. Adjustments still to be made for remaining three huts. Back-burner project.

15mm Papal Troops: Two 90% painted as prototypes.

Mordian/German Special Weapons: About 70% painted on lieutenant, sergeant, grenadier, and three riflemen, plus two mortarmen and melta-gunner.

Gex/Gaters: Decided to send to be painted, as I am never going to get around to them. Looking for painting service in US.

That's pretty much everything that's even remotely active for right now. I am hoping to get some projects finished in March, letting me get back to some older projects that have been on hold for a while.

Photostats from Venus!

The first plate here shows a small tribe of hunting gex as they move effortlessly through the underbrush. While much smaller than their gater cousins, gex are just as vicious. Their envenomed bite merely adds to the danger of encountering these primitive brutes.



















On this plate, some of Her Majesty's soldiers, in the Research Platoon, ride upon the back of a large saurian transport. From this secure vantage point, they can avoid smaller carnivorous dinosaurs, the more dangerous flora of the Jungle Planet, and find their main foes, the savage lizardmen of Venus.


















A small herd of Triceratops feeding on the jungle growth. These large creatures are herbivores, but like the Earthly hippopotamus, are large, powerful and very territorial. Extreme caution is advised should a traveler on the surface of Venus find himself confronted by even one of these beasts. If there are young about, I would recommend that you flee the area as quickly as you can without drawing attention from the herd.


















This last photostat shows a gater, mounted on a carnivorous lizard, possibly Deinonychus, as he exits the brush line. These gaters are extremely dangerous, remorselessly bloodthirsty savages. When encountered, I recommend they be treated to volley fire by platoon. Thankfully, most of the gaters encountered thus far on the Planet of Mist are not powerful enough to dominate a mount such as this one. The few that are, however, are even more dangerous than their bretheren.

We are expecting our first photographs of the giant Parrotmen of Venus in the near future, good readers, but were unable to obtain any prior to publishing today. I shall, however, publish portions of a short paper by Doctor Fritz Hammacher and Professor Heinrich Schlemmer, both of the Imperial German Institute for Extra-Terrestrial Study (das Deutsche Kaiserliche Institut fur AuBerirdische Gelehrten), in the very near future, perhaps even this afternoon.

More Venusian sightings!

These Venusians are starting to pop up their ugly scaled heads all around!

The smaller type - though still quite large - have been popularly named 'gex' [GW's old skinks] in the London Press. They seem to be swarming everywhere. They come in a range of coloration, from green, to red, to blue, and every imaginable shade between. Some even have patterned skins.

The larger type of Venusian, called "Gaters" [GW's old saurus] by my journalistic bretheren from the Republic of Texas are not so numerous, thankfully. They are terrifyingly large and equally fierce. Some have even been seen mounted on a type of carnivorous dinosaur! Truly, not something you would want to meet unprepared in the steaming forests of the Jungle Planet, my friends.

I have recently obtained specimens of the gex. I modified one of them, shown above, by cutting the pole he carries down from the original primitive totem to create a large, menacing club. I am pleased with the result, and plan to continue with this modification in the future.

In other news, work has begun on a new river steamer for the Crown Colony of Mars. It will soon be ready to cruise up and down the canals of the Dying Planet, providing support for Her Brittanic Majesty's troops. As the work progresses, I shall post updates, but for now just one photostat, to whet my readers' appetites.

More soon, I hope.

Venusian Troublemaker...

Chief Slee-Stak of the Viper Tribe is making trouble for me on the paint table. Specifically, his re-paint has taken far too much of my time today, and not much other work has been accomplished.

I know you will find it hard to believe that as dedicated a project worker as I could be distracted by anything, and yet I have allowed just that to happen. Rather than working diligently on the Emerald Legion, I spent hours today trying to finish up a tribe of Pathans and working my first 25/28mm mini of the year, Chief Slee-Stak. He's a large reptilian warrior mounted on an even larger raptor-like creature [GW's Saurus on Cold One]. I bought him via the telephonic web, from a popular auctioning house. He was already painted, by a young child, who did a less than complete job. I am re-painting him completely. Wish I had taken some 'before' shots. I'll post photostats once more work is completed, but he is resplendent in his black and red colors. Truly fearsome, and even larger than his smaller tribelizards [primarily old GW skinks], which come in a variety of colors.

I should get back to the Emerald Legion tomorrow evening or possibly Tuesday. I think that a good dozen could be ready by next Thursday's paint count update.

Colonel Sir Mimsey Popinjay, III

   Having noticed the rather lifeless (not to say dull!) nature of the posts to this journal as of late, I have decided to include today a catalog of names I frequently have found in use on my table when VSF'ing or colonial wargaming. I do hope that this entry meets with higher approval than the last few, or we shall simply have to have the copywriter sacked [ulp!]. Or perhaps put to the question as to why his efforts seem so lackluster and then sacked [double ulp!]. His writing has become about as exciting as an Amish Kama Sutra.

   Nothing against the Amish, naturally, but then, those Luddites would almost assuredly never know I said anything derogatory about their love lives in this format. At any rate, on with the names:

   Popinjay is the main British officer, used many times. Somehow, he has survived repeated military disasters and not been cashiered for incompetence! Influence at the Horse Guards, I am sure.

   He is often bedeviled in the dry hills of Afghanistan and the Northwestern Frontier by the wily Pathan leader Chief Wherda Hecawee, or his twin brother, Hooda.

   Herr Kolonel Waldo von Grossnarbe leads the Imperial Germans.

   Capitaine l'Phideaux leads the French usually.

   Finally tonight, a request of you, my good friends and faithful readers of this sad little chronicle. I am in need of a good Martian name or two and some Venusian names as well for those leaders. Martians are red men as Master Burroughs indicated in his excellent works about the life of his 'uncle,' John Carter. Yet I hate to merely repeat names from those novels. The Venusian lizardman chieftain [GW Saurus on Cold One] needs a grand but lizard-y sounding name. I thought Slee Stak might be good, but haven't decided. I also need a better name for the leader of my yet-to-be-assembled Venusian Highland Parrotmen than P'all Ewannacr'ka.