ASOIAF, 10mm ACW and some Guards

 I have not had as much time for painting as usual, because of the Easter period, but I still managed to complete some figures. 

First, during the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge I had started on my starter set for A Song of Ice and Fire by CMON games. I really liked Game of Thrones (apart from the finale, that is, obviously), and I have been collecting the figures on and off for the past few years. I had, however, not yet gotten around to painting any. During the Challenge I painted a unit each of Lannister Guardsmen, Stark Sworn Swords, Stark Outriders, and the Umber Berserkers. These are now joined by a unit of Lannister Halbardiers:

I quite like these figures. There is enough variation in the poses, the details are good without being overwhelming, and considering the numbers I still have to paint I am glad that they paint up well. I just hope that I actually like the game, for I have not played it yet!

Next up is a brigade of 10mm Perrin Confederate infantry, based for Altar of Freedom. This is a ruleset by Greg Wagman of Little Wars TV fame, which is meant for 6mm figures. However, I they will work well for 10mm too, and I simply put twenty figures on a base, which in my view gives a pleasing effect. I used speedpaints again, Army Painter Ashen Grey for the tunics and headgear, and Contrast Frostheart for the trousers. I have given these a little more regular look than I usually do.

These were the last of my Perrin infantry. In the UK, they were produced and sold by Magister Militum, which has unfortunately stopped trading. Therefore, I have ordered some Pendraken figures to add to my forces. They are very nice figures, though smaller than the Perrin miniatures. I will paint them up, and I do hope they will go together as long as they are not in the same units. Fortunately, the 10mm Magister Militum ranges have been rescued by Peter Berry and his team from Baccus Miniatures, and are now again available through Tenth Legion.

Finally, I have painted up some 32mm fantasy guards designed by Iain Lovecraft. They are quite clearly based on Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. They are very nice figures, and they can be used in many different games. I plan to use them for  Guards of Traitor's Toll, which I have ordered but not yet received. I have painted numerous fantasy type figures, which will be very suitable for that game I think.

That's all for this month. Today's harvest would have netted me 16x5 = 80 and 20x2 = 40 points, or 120 points in total.

Scores as of April, 2025:

57x 28mm (51f/6m).

16x 15mm (16f)

44x 10mm (20f/24m)

117 figures (459 points)

28mm Anglo-Saxons and Late Romans

 In general, I prefer metal figures to plastic. I like the heft of the metal (less so when having to transport your army, I guess), but more importantly I am not very fond of having to build the plastic figures. I have built some in the past, but not very many. As metal figures are relatively expensive, I bought some boxes of Warlord Anglo-Saxon ceorls to fill out my army. On the plus side, these relatively simple figures can be used for many Dark Ages nations, so are very versatile. I found building them frustrating. It is probably my inexperience, but I found the heads often a bad match, ending up with some very long-necked types. Ah well, they will do.

As far as painting goes, again a simple job. The figures themselves are not particularly good, the details, in so far as they are there, are soft. However, once they are painted and the transfers have been applied to the shields, they look fine enough.

Next, I painted some Gripping Beast late Roman heavy cavalry. Now, these went together much more easily, and I like them a lot better. They are more detailed, and the details are more pronounced than on the Warlord models. I only bought a couple of sprues, so for now these six are all there is. I have not yet equipped them with shields, as I am not sure yet if I will be using them as late Romans or as Arthurian. We’ll see.

Anyway, that’s another 12 foot and six mounted for 120 points.

Total as of  April 2025

41x 28mm (35f/6m).

16x 15mm (16f)

24x 10mm (24m)

81 figures (339 points)

Cowgirls and some fantasy figures

 I really enjoy Dead Man's Hand, the Old West game by Great Escape Games. I have painted up some figures, and built some terrain, mainly Sarissa and some 3D printed buildings. I like the "Hollywood" sillyness of the game and it's simple rules. I also have What a Cowboy by the Two Fat Lardies, but I have not played that yet. 

Here are some 28mm cowgirls. One of them is Calamity Jane, a metal figure by great Escape Games, and the other three are 3d printed figures by Join or Die. They are all fine figures, and painted up nicely. No special paint jobs here, mainly using Contrast or Speedpaint again.

Calamity Jane is on the right

I have backed a lot of Kickstarters for 3d printed figures and terrain, and two of my favourite designers are Evan Carrothers and Iain Lovecraft. The two Egyptian style figures below are from Evan Carrother's Empire of  Scorching Sands, whereas the warrior monk is from Iain Lovecraft's second Robin Hood set. I do  not really have a particular use for any of these figures, but I quite liked painting them up. They are all "heroic" scale miniatires, more or less 32mm.

In AHPC terms these are 7x 28mm foot @5 = 35 points

Totals:

23 x 28mm

16x 15mm

24x 10mm

63 figures painted in April 2025 (219 points)

BOFA Warg Riders and 15mm Crimean War British

 I am a massive Tolkien fan. So, when Games Workshop brought out a 10mm set for The Battle of Five Armies, more than twenty years ago now, I of course had to buy one. Two even, but I have since given one away to a good friend. As it has been almost two decades before I finally started painting the first set, the chances that I will be painting two of them are quite remote.

However, a few years back I actually started working on them. It really is a nice set, containing the forces of Good and Evil, some terrain, and a rulebook based on the excellent Warmaster rules.

I had  some warg riders languishing on my painting desk, and I finally managed to finish them. The figures are fairly crude by today’s standards; the detail is nice enough, but the warg riders in particular suffer from lumps of excess plastic, especially between the forearms. However, bear in mind that they are small figures, so it will not be too visible in gameplay.

Next I painted some Irregular Miniatures 15mm British Guardsmen for the Crimean War. These are based for Volley and Bayonet. Another long time project, started in the early nineties. The figures I have are mainly MiniFigs, and a few years ago I bought some Irregular to try them out and see if they would match. They are okay, not the best and they had quite some flash (some of which I only discovered during painting), but they will do. I think they will go together alright, although the Irregular are a bit stockier and a bit taller. Blood Angels red for the tunics, Leviadon Blue for the trousers. The black is Black Templar, facings are Ultramarine Blue. Musket stocks are Gor-Grunta Fur, barrels Army Painter speedpaint Enchanted Steel. I must find some flags for them yet.

In the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge terms these are:

24x 10mm mounted @3 points = 72

16x 15mm foot @2 points= 32 

Total so far:

16 x 28mm

16x 15mm

24x 10mm

56 figures painted in April 2025

A new step

 For the last five years, I have been taking part in the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge. This is a friendly painting "competion", organized by my Canadian friend Curt, in which miniature painters and wargamers from all over the globe come together online during the winter months to paint and show their miniatures. Each participant sets himself (or herself, occasionally) a points target to reach, and each miniature or model has a certain points value. Whenever a particpant has completed something, he writes a blog post with some photos to show his work and gather the points. It is not a real competition, but simply a way to meet likeminded enthusiasts, share our passion for the hobby, and get some painting done.

I always very much enjoy participating, and this year I decided to try keeping my painting mojo flowing by continuing documenting my painting through a blog. So here is the first instalment of my painting journey throughout the year. I do not plan to bind myself to a regular schedule, nor am I certain that I will continue this experiment forever, but I see this blog as a convenient way to record what I painted and how I painted it. I am not a very good painter, nor am I a fast one, so we will have to see where we go with this!

One of the firm rules of the Challenge is that you should paint any figures you submit from start to finish during the Challenge. However, I still had some models in varying stages of completion on my painting desk when the Challenge began. So, after the Challenge had finished, I decided to finish these first.

First up are some 28mm early WWI French infantry. I have been slowly putting together a small force for the Blood and Valor rules by Firelock games, and this is my second section of French infantry, and the command squad. They are Wargames Foundry miniatures, and I like them a lot. I mainly used Contrast paints, Leviadon Blue for the coats and Blood Angels Red for the trousers, and finished with a wash of "Marine Juice", an equal mix of Agrax Earthshade, Reikland Flesh and medium.

In Challenge terms, these are 16x 28mm foot @ 5 points = 80 points.