Base clothing colors put on the Vikings

Hey all!

Got the base clothing and armor colors down on my Vikings!

For these guys I am going largely with browns, greys, linen, and a little bit of green... I like a nice, muted tone for these sorts of projects. However, when I do my big boss (and, if I do a bodyguard for him, when I do them...) I will likely do him in slightly brighter colors, to represent the money he would have.

Overall I think they look pretty neat... I am happy with most of the poses (especially the two bezerkers and a few others) and I think that once I finish these guys they will look REALLY really sharp.

As I said with the British, I am amazed how quickly smaller groups of guys paint up, and guys without seventeen belts crisscrossing all over them paint even quicker!

My first ever 28mm Vikings!

Hey all!

Well, I finally got the first few of my 28mm Vikings together!

They are plastics from Wargames Factory... 24 armored Vikings. Overall they are pretty nice figures; nicely realistic, and with good faces and ability to equip as you want. I do wish the sculpts were a bit more natural and flowing... after putting together the Perrys, which are pretty carefully considered, these guys are a bit tough to fit together in a natural, flowing, human way.

I have done ten guys so far. I will have 3 troops of 8 Vikings; this is one done so far. Also I have some unarmored Celts from Fall In this year that I am making into bezerkers, so I'll have three or four of those, and then my big boss from Foundry.

So far I have one guy armed with a bow, and another with a big two handed axe. I put a bow on the back of another guy as well. The two bezerkers are armed with axes; one even has two! I am keeping all of the armored vikings with helmets on... the non-helmet heads will be reserved, I think, for the bezerkers, to help really set them apart.

Good stuff.

Two new Brits finished

Hey all,

Got another two guys done; it is fun to only paint a few at a time!:)

I must say, the Perry Brits paint up FAST... they are very cleanly molded, and there simply isn't much to them! White pants and belts and all of that, a smidge of red, flesh, gun, pack, and they are done. I am honestly enjoying painting them, partially because of the relative ease of painting, and partially because I am only doing a few at a time...

I want to get a few more done (I think I'll tackle the other greenjackets soon) and then I'll put together a few Vikings for fun:) I dipped my first 28mm Confederates as well, and will base them up when they are done too... maybe tonight, if Lost doesn't get in the way.

I think the head swap does look fine now that they are painted... I was a bit worried that the Sergeant had a HUGE melon. Yes, it still looks a touch large, but overall I think it blends in fine.

This is very different, this whole "doing a few figures for fun" instead of "Must... complete... unit..." So far, so good:)

My first ever finished 28mm Napoleonic British

Done!

Dip arrived; dipped, varnished, and grassed, and they are done!

These are my first two 28mm Napoleonic British figures EVER. It is just funny I have painted so many toy soldiers, but never a Brit!

Obviously it is a pair of Perry figures, each with a very minor conversion. The Greenjacket has been given a bare officers head and his normal head was removed from the shako, which was then hollowed out and carefully inserted into his hand (which lost some fingers in the process to form the clenched fist look.

The Sergeant is a standard guy with a head swap from a Wargames Factory set of Danes I got at Fall In. I wanted to make him the grumpy veteran Irish sergeant, so went with a bit of rosacea from all the Irish spirits!

Overall I am very happy with how they turned out. It is funny, learning a new set of kit and the proper colors, but I think I did okay. The dip is dark, but I think it looks good... it is tricky, of course, with white pants (which need a light shade) and the red (which looks best with a dark) but I think the midground is fine.

Anyway... any suggestions, comments, critiques, or even "Good jobs!" you want to share, please do!:)

Huzzah! Long Live the Queen!

Why I Love Neal from the War Store (My Latest Purchases!)

Hey all!

So. I first email Neal from The War Store asking if I can special order a single Wargames Foundry figure from him, thus saving me an INSANE shipping fee. Sure, no problem.

Then I ask if I can add a few other things (glue, vanish) to the order, after it has already gone through. Sure, no problem.

Then I ask if I can add a few MORE things (flock, spray undercoat, dip) to the order, after it has already been changed once. Sure, no problem.

And how long does it take to get here once he ships it? One day.

THAT is why I love Neal:)

Overall I picked up a box of armored Vikings from the Wargames Factory, four things of Gale Force 9 flock, some plastic glue, and some dip, matte varnish, and black spray from Army Painter. I am still waiting on the Foundry figure, but Neal warned that might take a short bit, so he would send along the rest of the order ahead. Good times! I'll dip the two Napoleonic British tonight and varnish them tomorrow and see how they look!

My first ever 28mm Greenjacket!

Two guys done now; it is a remarkably good time, painting one toy soldier at a time instead of having to worry about 30 at a time!:D

Can't wait for the dip to get here... these guys will look AWFUL nice.

First Nappy Brit Painted...

Whelp, I got paint on my first EVER 28mm Napoleonic Brit! This tough sergeant is painted fairly basically, at the moment... I will be dipping him, which will make a WORLD of difference! Please note the reddish nose and cheeks; clearly an Irish chap! I have to say, I think he looks very, very cool.

I also put a coat of matte over my 28mm Confederates, so really I've almost finished my first ever 28mm Rebs too... a day of firsts! I do think they turned out nicely, although the dip did coagulate a bit on one pants leg... still, they look fine:)

The Perry British are undercoated and ready to for paint...

Well, I've gotten some British built, and so I thought I would base them up.

I've done 14 line infantry and 4 rifles... enough, I think, for a very small scale skirmish game, which I might play with an old college buddy when he comes to visit.

Overall I think they turned out pretty cool; I am very much looking forward to putting some paint on them! I might actually paint up the sergeant tonight, just to see how he looks... of course, now I have to ask... buff pants, or white? I think I'll go white.

Good times!

My hobby shop going out of business

Ahhh, The Internet!

The internet has, quite frankly, been GREAT for my wargaming hobby.

It has allowed me to look at photos of beautiful games... it has allowed me to buy miniatures, hassle-free, from almost anywhere in the world... it has allowed me to chit chat with fellow wargamers... it has allowed me to look at beautiful figures... and it has allowed me to look at beautiful figures!

Honestly The Internet has been great for almost every aspect of my miniature collecting and wargaming.

The only thing that the internet has hurt, I think, is the physical stores that I buy my toy soldiers at.

Just recently I dropped in at my local hobby shop, Highway Hobby. There used to be two such shops around, but unfortunately Game Master (run by Mr. and Mrs. McCauley) went out of business and was replaced by a shop that seems to sell only card games and Dungeons and Dragons stuff... i.e. no hobby that requires any skill or dedication of time.

Anyway... that left me with Highway Hobby. Now, they were never the BEST possible place... having been around since 1953, they specialized mainly in model trains and cars and the like, but they DID have a decent selection of Games Workshop miniatures, and they did have all the paints, varnishes, flock, glue, and balsa that any good gamer needs. I would drop in once a month, pick up White Dwarf, and browse through the paints, grabbing what I needed. It was just so nice having a local hobby place to browse through.

Well, as I said, I recently dropped in, and found that Highway Hobby is going out of business:(

While I am glad that we have the internet and internet shopping, and I am glad I can have almost any miniature at the touch of a button, there is nothing that will ever replace being able to physically go to a store and wander around the wares, picking up what you need. It is, in a way, a real shame that the age of internet shopping has, sort of, ended the age of personal shopping. I wish that there was a REAL toy soldier shop around here, something that carried historicals and the like, but unfortunately, there is not, and unfortunately the only thing even close is now shutting down.

It is a shame.

Some new 28mm Perry Napoleonic British

Howdy all!

Well, as the wife watched some TV, I put together a few more guys...

I am having fun just doing a few at a time. It has been a bunch of years since I've assembled plastics, so I just want to make sure I am doing a nice job. I like that the Perrys are very carefully constructed in that there are no "random" movements. The twins did a nice job understanding that a Napoleonic soldier would only be in one of a handful of poses... ramming, priming, biting... and they made their figures able to show this.

A few issues, for sure. First, I do wish they were all just marching. While I like the modeling possibilities of the Brits, they really don't fit my collection... every one of my Napoleonic armies are guys marching! Still, I plan to just use these guys for skirmish games, so it is fine. Second, I have had a hard time with the shooting arms... they just never seem to fit nicely on the torsos, and I need to do a lot of trimming. Has anyone else found this, or is it just me?

Anyway... here are two shots of the guys, and third one is one of the different moments of loading (although I reversed priming and loading in the photo, forgive me!)

More to come!

My First Perry British Napoleonics!

Hey all!

Well, I've had a box of Perry British sitting around for some time... they came as a bonus when I got a subscription to Wargames Illustrated from my inlaws.

So, I figured that with the Wargames Factory Vikings on the way, I should get a bit of experience with plastics, since it has been a LONG time since I worked with them!

Above are the four Greenjackets that came with the box... I figured they would be a good place to start, since they are fairly simple... not a lot you can do! I tried to focus on the heads, making sure that they were looking in the best direction, and hopefully adding a bit of life to the figures. I did do a slightly conversion on one chap, having him holding his shako... I figure that I can paint him with some bright blond locks and it will look fairly sharp against the green.

I also have done up two officers... one is a fairly stiff chap, the other, a veteran sergeant, with a bushy moustache and a bald head... clearly a big, beefy fellow you would NOT want to mess with, especially not when he is holding a bit nasty pike! The head is from Wargames Factory and BIT oversized, but I think once it is painted it will look just fine.

Anyway... I might work on a few more, but that is what I have so far!

My Most Recent Purchases

Howdy all!

As I mentioned earlier, I did go ahead and make a small purchase from Neal over at The War Store (they have EVERYTHING) so I thought I would share!

First up; Vikings! Yeah yeah, I know... I have almost NOTHING sword and shield here, what's up with that? Well, I've always loved vikings, and in particular one viking figure, and I finally decided it was time to spring for them... maybe work up some modifications to the GW LOTR rules to do a little skirmish with them.

Anyway, the set that pushed me to purchase them was the new Wargames Factory armored huscarls... they are really nice looking figures, and cheap, sooo...

And then I also picked up the figure that has been my favorite viking since the day he was released; Miniatures Foundry Gundrek:) I LOVE this figure... such a big, tough looking SOB, and I love the nod to Odin sitting on his shoulder. I cannot WAIT to paint him; simply cannot wait, and I plan to really go a bit berserk (hah!) with his basing!

So! That is part 1 of the purchase. I also got some unarmored Celts (I believe) at Fall In this year, which originally I had no use for (they were going to get their arms donated to an ACW surgeon) but now I think I'll actually use them as beserkers... unarmored, covered in warpaint... it will give me just enough interesting diversity, I think, in my tiny warband!

I did pick up a few more things from Neal... I needed a can of dip, so I got a think of the medium shade from Army Painter. I needed some grass, so picked up four tubs of the Gale Force 9 green... I pray to GOD that it will match the Games Workshop green. Does anyone know how well they match? I also picked up some plastic glue, to put the vikings together.

Anyway... good times! Can't wait for it all to get here... I haven't bought anything toy soldier in a long time!

Latest Update on the 28mm ACW figures...

Hey all!

Ahh! Unfortunately the game got canceled due to unforseen circumstances! Booo! However, I still got some painting in last night, so here is what I've got!

AMAZINGLY, these are my FIRST EVER 28mm Confederates! Yep, 20 years of painting ACW figures, and I've never done 28mm Rebs before. I think they look good so far... however, I am out of my regular dip, so fooled around with a lighter shade... and promptly decided I'd wait for the darker shade... should be about a week from Neal and Joe over at the WarStore, as I special ordered a figure as well that might take a while to come in. Anyway, hence the shiny nature of a few guys, and the lack of a final silver highlight and eyeballs.

Now, I was wondering if I should take these six Rebs and just do another group and get my first unit done, but I figured I'd stick with the officers... that way when the game is finally played I can contribute these troops. Anyway... I think these guys are about done for now (at least until the dip comes in) so... there you go!

Next up... either my purchase from the WarStore, or a story about a closing hobby shop.

Tonight's 28mm ACW Progress

Hey all!

Whelp, got a few hours of painting in tonight, and got most of the base colors and their highlights down on all the Confederates... I am dipping these guys, so it doesn't take much. Still need to do the bags and belts, and the faces, and the guns, and then some touch up, but honestly I think these guys will be done quickly!

Then, on to the Federals!

An Emergency Painting Session

Ahhh!

While I do not get the chance to game very often, as I don't really have a group of friends who happen to be gamers, I AM lucky enough to have been allowed to play a few games with the North Jersey Miniature Gaming Society, who are nice enough to let me come along a few times a year to game (and even once to paint!) They are a very nice group of chaps who have known each other a long time, which does make me very much an outsider, but still, it is nice to know a few gaming chaps.

So, talk got around to a playtest of Sam Mustafa's newest game system, and some 28mm ACW generals were needed. Stupid me, I said "Sure, I can paint some up!" in the day and a half before the game. Yep; the guy who hasn't painted A SINGLE FIGURE IN SIX MONTHS said "Sure, no prob."

Yeah. Well, here goes nothing.

I went into my Sash and Saber collection that I purchased a year or so ago and pulled all of my officers. I have to paint a Federal Commander on horseback and three infantrymen, and two confederate officers on horseback and six infantrymen... 9 infantry, and 3 cav... I can do that, right?

Right now they are in the basement with the first half of the undercoat drying... in a short bit I'll do the rest, and hopefully get somewhere tonight!

I'll post pictures as I go:)

Thanks all for sticking around through an AWFUL quiet period!

Back To Toy Soldiers... FINALLY!!

Hello all!

Good LORD it has been a LOOONNNNGGG time! I am so sorry that I've allowed The House of War to gather a bit of dust... work, and a few computer game projects, have taken up a LOT of time!

However, finally, it is back to toy soldiering. I've got a few painting projects to catch up on (including one in which I will embarrass myself into finishing a project by showing you all some toys that have sat, half painted, for almost a year) some new purchases to talk about, an upcoming 28mm ACW game to post photos of, and a hobby shop that is closing after 20+ years to discuss!

So! Stick around, and in the next day or two I'll start in on my upcoming painting projects!

Thanks for your patience, everyone!!