Cyclopean Beasties

I've been quietly building up some unusual fantasy forces for Dragon Rampant. One is going to be a Cyclopean war band. Main Cyclops models are easy enough to come by, but I wanted to add something a little different; so I dug out some old Games Workshop Squiggs and set to with the green stuff and made the required changes. The painted versions are currently on the basing station and will be ready for photographing soon. 

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Regiment Kronprintz

More WSS Prussians, this time a battalion from the Regiment Kronprintz. The figures are 28mm from Ebor Miniatures and the flags are from Maverick Models.

On another topic I was fortunate to be able to make Partizan last Sunday (no photos, sorry, poorly planned on my part). It was the first time I have attended the Partizan show and it was excellent, very friendly, great games on show, the lighting was superb and the food was good to boot, nothing to dislike; highly recommended.

One the Saturday before I was invited to a friends house for an AWI battle, based on Guilford Courthouse using Honours of War. The game was fun and fast paced, and although I wasn't wholly convinced that HOW worked as is for the AWI (some tweeks needed, but nothing major), I really liked the rule set and am looking forward to using them to play many Seven Years War battles, and will be having another go at the AWI with them as well. It has also spurred me on to rebuilding my AWI forces, so with that in mind I made a few appropriate purchases from the Perry Miniatures range, these will I'm sure be making an appearance on the pages of this blog.

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1866 Austrian Artillery

Reinforcements for my 1866 Austrians, more artillery from NorthStar Miniatures 1866 range. These really are lovely figures to paint. Everything kept simple painting wise, with a gloss finish to match the rest of the collection. 

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Regiment Varennes

I've decided to add a couple more nationalities to my WSS collection, first up are the Prussians and  they will join the forces of the Grand Alliance against the might of Louis XIVs French. The second nationality to be added will be the Dutch. Each force will consist of 5 battalions of foot, 8 squadrons of horse and 2 artillery pieces. Should I stray into the Great Northern War (highly probable), then the Prussians will be commandeered to take the field. I will also be expanding my French forces, and adding a few more units to the British.

The first of my WSS Prussian battalions, the Regiment Varennes. These are 28mm Ebor Miniatures and the flag is from Maverick Models. The regiment were present at the battle of Blenheim 1704. 

I had a slight mishap basing this unit (pictures below), one of the drummers snapped off at the ankles, rather than panic I remained cool under fire and reached for one of the Renedra gabions that I had been assembling and popped it on the base over the remains of the fallen. Problem solved. The casualty was swiftly claimed by my youngest daughter to add to her collection, at least someone was pleased! 

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Successor Cavalry

More 15mm Successor cavalry, figures are from the War and Empire range by Forged in Battle. I really like these figures, a nice level of detail and easy to paint. 

These are the last of the 15mm ancients to leave the painting table, so I'll have to plan another batch soon as there are still plenty left in the box to paint. The good news is that they don't take long to paint up, and I find they make a refreshing change from 28mm. On the topic of 28mm my grand target for this week has been dealt a blow, as I haven't been feeling too well the last couple of days so I haven't made as much progress as I would have liked. Still, I have completed the Seven Years War Prussian Dragoons and they have now joined the backlog of units needing basing. I'm also very close to finishing 12 WSS Prussian cavalry, and I hope to complete them tomorrow. If I'm lucky I'll get at least one other unit done over the weekend.

I've included all the Successor cavalry painted to date in a few group shots.

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Painting World

A bit of a different post, I thought I'd share my current workstation. This is my main painting area, I also have an area set aside for basing. As you can see I haven't had a tidy up for a while, and it's long overdue!

Unlike most posts, which can be several weeks behind actual output (similar to most bloggers I have a several posts written in advance); I thought I'd show something in real time, well from Monday actually. On the bench are various reference sheets, WSS cavalry in this instance (British and Prussian). 

In various stages of painting are 12 Seven Years War Prussian Dragoons (Front Rank), 24 WSS Prussian Dragoons (Ebor Miniatures), 18 WSS Prussian Foot (Ebor Miniatures) and 18 WSS British Foot (Front Rank). These are my intended target for this week and were started on Sunday. This is actually a very good week for me, and I hope to meet my target as I'm finding the Ebor cavalry quicker to paint than the Front Rank; and I've been feeling pretty motivated in the evenings when I get home. 

Also present are 24 Seven Years War Prussian Foot (18mm Blue Moon), ECW limber and gun (Foundry) and my paint brush holder at the moment is a GrandManner Spanish Windmill that I really should finish, just need to find a suitable jar for the brushes. Also lurking is another GrandManner Spanish building, and behind the WSS British cavalry reference material (Lumley, just finished) are 12 Mounted and 12 dismounted ECW Dragoons (Warlord Games).  Out of shot are some 28mm WWII American vehicles that I've painted and need to add decals to and varnish. These pieces are my rolling work in progress, I'll do bits and pieces as I'm waiting for something else to dry, which will probably be WSS related at the moment. I also keep old blister packs handy for dispensing paint and varnish onto as temporary palettes. 

It's worth mentioning that although I've set myself a steep goal for this week, the rolling stock may sit untouched for some months, waiting for patiently for attention. It might seem very busy, but I've found that this approach gives me plenty to work on, and even if I only have a spare half hour there's always something I can do, and I never get bored (if I don't fancy painting WSS, I'll paint ECW....).

I'm itching to paint start my Crimean War lead pile, and some new warbands for SAGA.

So, a little insight into my painting world... 

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