Tale of Five Gamers- Call of the Brayherd

So my beastmen project is inspired by the original Tale of Four Gamers, with my army choice and colour scheme being shamelessly taken from Paul Sawyers beastmen. 

I was never keen on the children of chaos until I read the tale of gamers and then it was a project I was keen on but never got round to. I’m a bit fan of the original beastmen aesthetic i.e. the goat-man. So expect a lot of that!

Whilst the herdstone model is great and I will do one, I’m also keen to do my own, so we will see how that goes.

I rolled my army at random just like JB, I started with a beast lord and my five choices are:

- Great Bray Shaman

- 10 Gors

- 10 Ungor Raiders

- 3 Bullgors (count as two choices)

I bought a start collecting box and a beast lord which covers most of it, so off we go! Here are the first ten Gors, I’m really pleased with them and love the models, we will see if I still love them once I do more!

Onward on the path to glory!

Tale of Five Gamers: JB's Blades of Khorne

Hi Folks,

Very long time no see! So although the blog has been quiet, we've all been churning out plenty of figures. I'll post some of my backlog up for you guys to see.

Anyway, as Stonedrose said we're doing a Tale of Gamers painting challenge with an aim to play Path to Glory. I had just started my 30K and 40K Daemons army with some Nurgle units, with a view to move onto Khorne next. So this challenge seemed like a great way to kill two birds with one stone #twobirdskullsfortheskullthrone

So I've randomly generated my Warband, the first unit of which is 10 Bloodletters.
I'll be honest with you, they're not my best work however I had a really good time painting them. Not really sure why either to be honest, I just found myself really wanting to do another squad afterwards.

My Warband will continue to grow over the coming months and I'll keep you all in the loop :)

Thanks Folks!
JB

A Tale of Five Gamers

In attempt to reignite community spirit and to reinvigorate the blog, we have decided to do afull on tale of gamers!

Now I’m old and crusty and to me this means Paul “fat bloke” Sawyer and Beastmen, to others it might mean Aaron Dembski-Bowden writing excuses and doing nothing, either way the premise is simple:

1. Everyone picks an army

2. We all regularly assemble and paint a set amount of figures each month.

In our case- 10 infantry/3 cavalry/1 large monster but you can do more if you like.

3. We try to play some games in between- in this case Path To Glory.

4. We end up with a serviceable army which may go on to greater things...

So we have five taking part, myself, JB, Abe, Dave and a new blogger (who hasn’t signed up yet). We will try to post at least monthly with pics as we go.

So without further ado I’ll let everyone introduce themselves and their armies...

Lactivity...

Well, you think you’ve looked away for a minute and life/the blog passes you by....Ferris Bueler was right! Here’s some Necromunda stuff to make up for it:

Apologies for the lack of activity on the blog, it’s not that we’ve given up but sometimes life and toy solider get in the way of writing about toy soldiers!

We’ve been up to quite a few things recently so here’s a list of stuff we can aim to cover to put the pressure on:

- Necromunda

- Titanicus

- New Horus Heresy stuff as eleven club members went to the the Horus Heresy Weekender in February.

- Star Trek ascendency  

- 10mm WWII and the completion of my French army for this

So without further ado, the figures above are from Artel W and they are high quality resin top notch figures, we are using them as arbiters in our campaign. The boss is Judge Anderson style and very nice indeed. I have one more to do but he’s a bit different and for another day. These are pretty pricey but a great paint.

Adeptus Titanicus Reaver Titan

So here’s my favourite Titan, the reaver Titan, I’ve been a fan of this Titan since the tyranids came out for epic and were featured taking down a reaver Titan battle group, which really shows my age!

This is Gyruum Invictus the first of my battlegroul of three titans. I magnetised the arms as I did the warlord but it was a bit more difficult. 

Again the colour scheme is the same colours but hopefully with enough variation in the pattern. Lots of muzzle burn on this Titan using the techniques from the Horus Heresy masterclass book by forgeworld.

A bit of detailing and wearying on the feet with various chipping, dusting and sponging techniques.

Adeptus Titanicus, Second Warlord Titan

So here’s another Warlord Titan, colour scheme reversed a bit, so he fits in, but he is different too!

I really enjoyed painting the warlords, however, the first was a little daunting and there is a lot of detail!

The skeleton of the Titan was airbrushed and then the plates were airbrushed in the sprue, everything was then assembled and the lining and rivets were painted.

Adeptus Titanicus-Legio Atarus Warlord Titan

Hello again everyone.... it’s harder than I thought keeping up regular posting on the blog so thanks to everyone else for keeping things going.

I’ve been absorbed in a few things recently, work, baby daughter, working out....

However, whilst I haven’t kept up with my Heresy painting, I did go all in for titanicus!

So here is my first Warlord Titan, Scion of Flame, of the Legio Atarus!

Hearts of Oak-Painting a Royal Navy Gatling gun

Hearts of Oak-Painting a Royal Navy Gatling Gun

A lovely traditional song to get you into the mood

While today the job of policing the world falls to the United States, back in the victorian era at the height of British Imperial strength, it fell to the Queen's Navy to deal with troublesome regions throughout a world that to today's population is not as alien as it would at first appear. The backbone of the Royal Navy were its' sailors; and it is these sailors i shall be discussing today.

The Gatling Gun and the Navy's use of it

Designed by Richard Gatling during the Civil War in response to how he felt about the inhumane  deaths in that bloody conflict, for most fighting men in that terrible war were more likely to die of infected wounds earned in combat than battle itself (in addition to STDs and poor hygiene in general).

The 19th century will always remembered for amazing facial hair

While this remarkable weapon was hardly used in the Civil War the Gatling Gun would go on to be sold off  not only to the United States but also to various western and developing nations such as the British Empire, France and to Imperial Russia, remaining in use till 1911 (in the case of the United States anyways as us Brits had adopted the Maxim Machine Gun from around 1898 onwards).

It has often been claimed that the Gatling Gun  was initially rejected by use in British Army on the grounds that the weapon was outclassed by the range and accuracy of a disciplined block of British Line Infantrymen. However the navy had a very different view. They wanted a weapon to deal with torpedos and the rapid firing Gatling Gun was prefect for that rule. When Lord Chelmsford spilt his army into three columns from which to invade Zululand with, two gatling guns were utilised in column No.1 under Colonel Charles Pearson; who used the guns in anger against a force of 6,000 zulus arrayed against his steady advance on the Zulu Capital of Ulundi. Crewed by Royal Navy personal, the use of these sophisticated weapons against the hordes proved decisive (although he would choose to withdraw when he was faced with tougher opposition).

So I should probably stop procrastinating and get on with the painting guide right?  

Painting the Gatling Gun and Crew

Like almost everything else in my newly created Zulu War Model collection, this fantastic metal set comes from Perry Miniatures, in this case their Sudan range. After all the Sudan War (or at least Britain's involvement in that conflict) was only 5 years or so later (1884-86)  so using these figures is hardly anachronistic. Also like the rest of the collection, these models were painted using Games Workshop's range of paints

The Gatling Gun 

• The main body of the gun was painted in Retributor Armour. After that i applied a wash of  Reikland Wash over all of the gold. I then did a drybrush of runefang steel all over the golden areas. 

• The wooden areas were painted with XV-88 while the metal was painted using Leadbelcher. After all of this was done I washed these areas with a thinned wash of Nuln Oil.

The Naval Crew

• Most "modern" navies in this period had a very recognisable uniform, all of them following s similar set pattern. While of course the many nations had their own flairs to this set tradition, this guide could also work for a few of the other navies in the last decades of the 19th century. 

• Because i felt it would help the white get applied quicker and with little fuss I sprayed this model with a grey can of paint you can buy at GW for about £12 (because wargaming is never really cheap at all when one thinks about it).

• First i started by painting the uniform and trousers Kantor Blue, a sort of Prussian Blue colour which can easily used for quite a  few different historical projects such as Civil War era Union Infantry or Napoleonic Prussians. After layering it on my Sailors i would apply my usual thinned down wash of Nuln Oil which is by far my favourite GW wash.

• For the light blue jean collar at the top of the uniform i choose the relatively bright colour Temple Guard Blue. I then darkened this fluorescent colour with an older Citadel wash that i bought many years ago, "Asurmen Blue". I love this colour and while it has mostly been relegated to a slightly less important role now that i have started using Nuln Oil for my dark blues, it is still a wash I rate highly. I also attempted a white stripe along the outer square of the blue but I feel it wasn't the best 

•  To get the best possible result for white I first did a basecoat of Celestia Grey followed by my standard Nuln Oil Wash. Then came to the layering, where i applied a few delicate layers of Ulthuan Grey to get a lovely greyish white colour suitable for the era. It could be considered inaccurate to paint the white areas in such a bright configuration considering how arid and dusty the grasslands of Natal and Zululand were and are to this day. 
• I used the same process i used with my British Line Infantry when it came to the skin, ie a few layers of Cadian Fleshtone and a thinned wash of Reikland Fleshshade. Each model has a different hair colour to his counterparts which i felt was slightly more realistic. 

Parting words

Well painting these models was quite an enjoyable experience. While i doubt i will be using weapons team very much due to the inherently large points cost in the games i will be playing, the fact i have painted it to look at least bearable for the average wargamer is good enough for me. This has been CommisTzarSmith, wishing you the best in your wargaming endeavours. 

    

Word bearers- librarian

Next up I need an HQ choice for the army. I had an old Severin Loth model from Forgeworld that I never go round to painting.  Given he’s in Mark IV Armour he makes a good Librarian.

I decided to do a nice green fade on his sword, I did this using careful masking and three shades of green over a white undercoat. I’m pleased with the result and the YouTube video I watched really helped too!

Word Bearers- another support squad!

Here’s another support squad. Has to be volkite this time, because what is more Horus Heresy than volkite weaponry?

I decided to go for a purple glow to volkite as all the fiction depicts red lasers, however, in a red army I didn’t think this would looks good and the green glow I’ve given my plasma weapons and power weapons would look confusing if repeated on another class of weapon.

Marching into Zululand

Marching into Zululand

By CommisTzarSmith

On the date of 11^th of May 2018 my first ever debit card purchase arrived. This purchase was the models I needed for an ongoing project made by both me and DaveCo.

Some Jolly good sons of the Isles prepared to police their "beloved"  Empire; What What. One Box of British Infantry, a Gatling Gun with Naval Crew and two boxes of the dashing 17th Lancers

As you can see here, these models, are from the British Model Company Perry Miniatures; which as you are probably already aware provides high quality historical models by two of the greatest miniature sculptors of our time, Michael and Alan Perry. These twins are legends in the wargaming year and it was their models that first got me into the sub-genre of historical miniatures after a long while addicted to only Games Workshop made models (oh what a fool I was in my youth in pre-2016 AD).

As you can see from this British sailor right here (sorry about the blurry photo, this was taken from an old  iPhone), the detail is great. Everything about this model is realistic, with lifelike facial features and a crisp, accurate detailed uniform. While this model is intended for the Sudanese Mahdist wars of 1881-1885, a naval brigade was present in one of the columns that invaded Zululand and to be fair Gatling guns are inheriting an awesome form of weaponry.

 

I already owned a box of British infantry for the Zulu War and an artillery piece (both from Perry). Each box have enough models to make two regiments  however sadly my first regiment ended up being sprayed incorrectly (my first attempt at using upol spray paint failing terribly) and ended up lost in my mother’s move to a new address, leaving me with another regiment that thankfully went much smoothly with painting.

The quality of these models are great, with very little mouldlines that I needed to remove in contrast to the older plastics made by Warlord. The detail is as I have mentioned near unparreled and are easy to paint once you get into the swing of it.

The plastic model boxes comes with long sand colour bases intended to fit up to up to three men on each base, which while great for regimental large scale games does not fit with the skirmish rules me and DaveCo intend to use. Instead we are using square 20x20 bases which can fit one infantry man on each base. The three men at the back of the picture below are intended as the regimental command, carrying the banners of the 24^th regiment of foot proudly into battle against the tribal menace.

I have so far built all of my infantry (three 15 men battalions) in addition to the Gatling Gun and the 9 pounder gun. The two units are at the time of writing (17/05/2018) completely finished (the aforementioned infantry battalion and the artillery piece which I had painted during the snow that came with the “beast of the east”.

What’s next? I am unsure although I do desire some lovely terrain pieces from North Star’s Africa Range such as their wagon models and some African wildlife (I should note my love of animals which will indeed help with my painting efforts).

Word Bearers- support squads

Hello again, I decided to flesh out my troops choices with a flamer squad, good for burning all those monuments to false gods and so on. They’ll need to acquire a ride at some stage to get close enough to bring things.

I think these guys could be quite an interesting squad, they don’t stand out as too powerful but they’re quite cheap. So with close combat weapons and dark channeling they could give my opponent a nasty surprise if they’re ignored. 

More painting to do! Onwards and upwards!

SR

Zulu war Project: Daveco Part 1

Hello folks,

It had to start somewhere, so it starts here.

20 Unmarried Zulu warriors.

The first of 176 Models, This unit is a mix of Warlord and Parry Zulus. They are fairly easy to put together, look great and are more importantly simple to paint. Married Zulus often wore more elaborate head-dresses, their shields were back with white patches and wore Leopard or Cheetah skin bands.

How to paint them:
Primer: Upoll Black Spray
Skin - 
Base Coat: Rhinox Hide
Drybrush: Mournfang Brown

Loin Cloths
Base: XV88, Zandri Dust or Baneblade Brown (I mixed them up, to make them look like differnt aged material)
Leopard Bands: Averland Sunset
Feathers (head): Vallajo Stone Grey
Fur (Arms, Shield tops and Legs: Vallejo Stone Grey
Shields: Abbadon Black with patches of Vallejo Stone Grey. Alternating Stone Grey and black on the shield fasteners where appropriate.
Back of Shields: Gothor Brown
Spear: Shaft - Rhinox Hide - Tip - Leadbelcher

Then apply a wash over the entire model - Agrax Earth-Shade mixed 75% Shade and 25% Air brush thinner.

Almost done! - Once the Wash is Dry;

Drybrush the Feathers, Shield tops and Stone Grey Patches on the Shield with Pallid Wych flesh (painting with detail brush the shield fasteners)

Eyes: (yes eyes need painting too!) Pallid Wych Flesh with a line of black for the eye.

Even 20 Zulus is a striking site, 20.000 must have been terrifying!

Spear points gleaming!

More word bearers- Terminators

Next squad is some cataphractii, I’ve had these lying around for a while after buying six betrayal at calths....

They didn’t fit into my other armies due to legion specific Terminators or a less than terminator friendly aesthetic such as my raven guard.

The colour scheme came from a page in Horus Heresy book five and I started experiepmenting with the scripting transfers. 

I’m happy with how they came out but wonder about adding reaper autocannons as there’s not a lot of range on these guys and they are very slow.

Word bearers are supposed to be one of the most numerous legions, so exp3ct a lot more infantry to come!

Until next time,

SR

Zulu War Project Introductions. Daveco and CommiTzarSmith

It would be fair to say that on this Blog I am the "Historical Guy" despite having 3 Heresy Armies and having a back ground in 40k for the last 20 years. On this blog page I do tend to post up the "other stuff" you see. I have a passion for history as regular readers will know and I enjoy many different time periods. Our newest Blogger CommiTzarSmith is also very passionate about all things history! So we got our heads together and decided on a "NEW PROJECT" The Idea came to me when watching that classic film - Roadhouse. Patrick Swayze's gave me a light bulb moment! ZULU WAR! (Don't know why)

Thank you Dalton, Bars are always safe when you are the Cooler

So I organized with CommiTzarSmith about factions and units we would need.

The First 70, ready to assemble.

Naturally I would need Zulus, CommiTzarSmith would take care of the British. Luckily for me both Warlord Games and Perry Miniatures cover the Zulu war. So I bought sets from both. A Wagon (to plunder) and for some reason some brilliant 28mm Chickens from a company called Warbases. Either way in the next weeks and months Me and CommiTzar will be documenting our progress on the miniatures and eventual battles we will fight. For now know I have 176 Zulus to build and paint...

From the film - Zulu. These Warriors were brave and much feared

What Rules to use? Dont Know.

What Size of Games? Dont Know, but you never see a Handful of Zulus do you? NO you see THOUSANDS OF EM!

Again from the film Zulu. This is what will happen to CommiTzarSmiths lines, completely overrun!

See you later

Word bearers and why the silence

Hello again, we’ve been pretty quiet recently and that probably needs some explaining. Sometimes life gets in the way of toy soldiers....and other times you get challenged to paint 1500pts in a month! So, I decided to work with what I had, which was a few boxes of betrayal at Calth and then I ordered a bit more stuff.....now I have close to 3000pts in two months!

I chose the Word Bearers as I wanted to make a good job of this most evil of legions and also as myself, JB and Ironandblood are going to try to do an armatura campaign at some point this year. I also saw that one of the Figure designers at Forgeworld had done a nice colour scheme on his army at the Horus Heresy Weekender, so I got the method and modified it slightly.

First figures were tactical marines, as they should be. I went for a varied base of dark earth, slate and middenheim tufts for contrast. Next time I’ll explain my painting method but for now, here’s 3 days worth of my first unit of Word Bearers.

Till next time, SR