More from the painting desk...

I just thought I'd update folks with some of the stuff I've been working on since getting back from my Holiday trip a fortnight and a bit ago. As usual, they are all awaiting basing, but there is a real mix here this time. I actually finished a few figures for the FoF game on Sunday, which I've since put away so didn't get around to photographing, so you'll have to excuse those. With Danny now deciding to use my BritApoc background, I've been thinking about it a lot more and this has resulted in a few finished figures and lots with just flesh coats done. Additionally,  I'll be going up to visit at the end of the month, and some retro post-apoc gaming is definitely on the menu, so it seems like a good opportunity/inspiration to get some more  figures painted...

Starting the figures off are a few yobbos; one converted from a Foundry skin-head, the other two straight out of the pack from Urban Beat/North Star... I've got a few more of these guys, and I'm hoping to get a couple more finished to make a decent enough gang (or a tleast to give my generic raiders a suitable feel)

I've painted several versions of this (Foundry) figure over the years for different projcts as I think he's cracking... but I've never ended up with an end result that I'm actually happy with. This version isn't perfect, but I can't think what else to do to him. He's just a generic civilian, trying to get by. That said, he is well armed by the setting's levels, so maybe he's of some import in his community, or maybe the captain of the militia.

These 2 Design 28 Policemen have been done as fantasy pieces, to help police the streets of my not-very-specific Central European city for EotD. Again, more to come!

More Wulfen Jager (2 West Wind, 1 Foundry) - ready to help keep the world safe from supernatural nasties. The guy with the crutch will either be fielded as a replacement when a character gets injured, or more likely, just as another club member.

A pair of Cossack Wars Ladies. I've an idea that perhaps a Hetman's wife has been killed (or turned?) by a vampire, and as such he's brought his family west to the mountains in an attempt for revenge (using the Gentleman's club list. Given the number of swords, they might count as Zendarians). The more full bodied lady might be the Wife's maid, whilst the stroppy looking one in red either a rather butch daughter or younger sister of the wife?

The Hetman's children have also joined the struggle (Foundry & Cossack Wars). I may go back and add embroidery to some of these coats to make them look a bit more luxuriant/richer... I'm not sure yet. 

A couple of Oddsies. I'm planning on writing rules for the use of anarchist 'mercenaries' in EotD (alongside boxers, doctors, local guides ,etc - you know the routine from games like Mordhiem, LotOW & Necromunda), so here's a figure to represent one. The lady will probably join a mob, although she might become a faction member - I'm not sure yet. I've tried to paint her as if she is slightly greying, and given her clothes, she may very well have taken up arms to defend her shop from the monsters, or to avenge a lost son/family member. (Design 28 & Foundry) 

A faithful retainer for my Hetman, and a boy who has got his fathers rifle and his grand-dad's hat (mob member - I know the mobs are only 'supposed' to be able to throw stones,  but I'm not sure how accurate this laddie would be anyway!) figures are Foundry & Conquest.

A pair of settlers/Filibusters/goodness-knows-what for my Early West games, painted up in my current enthusiasm for all things Victorian-y... (Foundry)

And finally a scale comparison & sneak peak of what else is to come from my painting desk. from thel eft they are:

TAG, Foundry Victorian, West wind EotD, Foundry Cossack, LAM, West wind GH, Foundry Ripper (on a piece of plastic-card), Design 28's & artizan. I can also say (but alas, not show as they have gone away for my Birthday) that the North Star 1866, Eureka Tyrolean's & Blue Moon Romanians are all of similar sizes to these...   

Some finished stuff (awaiting basing!)

Here's a round-up of the last couple of weeks painting (a WiP thread will follow shortly) - as usual, these quick snaps are all before basing, and I'm not sure when I'll get around to actually doing the basing as I've a few different sorts (Arid grassland, Carpathian, Scrubby grass) to get on with...

Saxon Fyrd (Spear element) - Fairly standard selection of low-to-middle class (the swordsmen with the red trimmed cyrtle) warriors. The figure lunging forwards has just hurled a javelin at the opposing shieldwall

Upper Class Saxon Warriors/Thegns (Blade) - A bit of a hodge-podge of figures. The helmets with cheek pieces are from the 7th-8th Century, whilst the long chain Byrnie is a later edition (late 900's; whilst the addition of a slit in the Byrnie is later still) 

Assorted retro-types - The guys in suits will probably end up in Africa; the brown suited guy as a hostage/diplomat/general-objective-marker and the black suited gunman as either a Tangan Intelligence operative, police bodyguard or something of that ilk. The leather  jacketed older guy will be joining one of my BritApoc warbands (Not well enough equipped to be a trader's guard, this guy will probably be a village militia-man or possibly an aged raider) 

Mortal Engines: Pre-traction era Nothern Nomads - These figures are all flights of fancy. The figures with the Red-starred shields are 'Rus' (a people that only vague reference is made to, and no details given). The green painted helmets and red-star-on-green-background are both references, of course, to the USSR; as is the brown leather armour (although it is somewhat less obvious). I imagine that these will be low grade warriors, probably formed up into large units (and possible supported by a few arquebuses/muskets and crossbows as either integrated support - ECW style - or as separate units. I was thinking of using some of the new Empire plastic hand gunners to provide the firearms) and thrown against the enemy's warriors whilst the main power will be Druhuzina style heavy cavalry. Or something like that anyway. The chap with the carbine has been done as some sort of north-country trader/old-tech scavenger (hence the grenade), who will probably be used as a independent character.   

Frontiersman - a Boot Hill miniatures frontiersmen (mounted and dismounted). not too much to say about this chap, although I guess he could be used in the WoME as well as on the Old Western Frontier.

Uniformed Mercenaries - A selection of conversions of Warlord games USMC with MoFo heads, and a Britannia figure with M2 carbine. These guys are a bit of a hodge-podge, with bits painted at different times, and so don't gel as well as they could have  done. The bazooka team is mentioned  in Mike Hoare's 'Congo Mercenary', and I thought my guys might need a bit of extra firepower....

NaPa Gunman - Another masked thug, although this guy looks a bit higher up the echelons. He's a converted HLBS Kampfschwimmer (the last of the set), with and added face scarf. His MP5 has been bought off the black market, as has his generic webbing. the trousers  are civilian, whilst his combat jacket used to belong to a Russian invader...

Chernarus Statue - Not much to say about this. It started out as not very detailed and only moderately authentic Anglo-Saxon Huscarl. I added the moustache as with that addition, the rest of the details could pass as Rus. He's been painted as the sort of patriotic/nationalisitc statue which seems popular in Eastern Europe (certainly they were popular in Kyiv - there was no shortage of statues of city founders, cossack hetmen and long dead Russian saints).I added an information board (with portrait and map as well as text), and a concrete base.

London Mob - I originally started these figures with the thought of using them in WoME as thugs working for Ted Swiney or maybe as Skinners, then EotD took my interest and I thought they'd have potential for that as well. All the figures are from Brigade Games, and I had originally purchased them for use with my early west stuff (being intended for the 1840's 'Gangs of New York' type games) but decided that they looked far to 'urban' to be facing Injuns and Mexicans out west.

A few bits to start feeding my EotD interests - The chap in the green coat started life as West Wind Sleep Hollow Militiaman, and I've tried to update him a bit by cutting off the frilly cuffs and pony-tail. I've tried to make him look like a Ruitanian/Zendarian/Transylvanian/etc Wolfenjager, with a muzzle loader (easier to make silver shot of the right calibre and load it up) and slightly old fashioned clothes (which should bring him inline with the 'proper' West Wind Wolfenjager). The Plague Revenant (zombie) is a conversion of a CFM 'Jim Bowie' figure, with his knife removed and replaced with a GW zombie hand. It's too big, but after a little work hopefully it doesn't show too badly. I tried to make it look like he'd been bitten on his side, then returned home to rest/heal before succumbing to the disease as he tried to finish himself (hence the pistol and lack of dress)

Desk clearing.....

It's amazing how productive I can be if I pull my finger out, crack down and actually get part painted figures finished! These guys are the product of 2hrs Saturday morning. They were all 'almost done', and had been hanging around for ages. No longer! (I need the space for some of the 1/48ths I'm working on...)

A selection of 'organised' Mercenaries for any 'not-congo' games - The sikh is inspired by a character from Farcry 2 (no idea if any Indians etc were with the mercenaries in the congo - I've never read anything to indicate it one way or the other) and is an Artizan figure, the radioman is a Warlord chindit with this SMLE swapped for a TAG SLR, the ex-marine .30cal gunner is a headswap from a Warlord Pacific Us Marine and the ex-para is a Mongrel/Badger congo merc...

Foundry Old West figures - 2 'eastern' indians, a Scotch mountain man & his squaw and a chap who looks a bit odd without the pack mule he's supposed to be leading....

A range of photos, and a few musings...

The Mrs. has gone to bed early, and so after a little bit of figure prep I thought I'd post an update... First of all, a view of my desk and paint-station - as you can see, I keep it fairly busy! My completed work next: Foundry Mexican & Mountain man for the Early West... Alternative armies Wyvern, painted un as a White Draca (dragon) for my Saxon HoTT army (so it can fight the red dragon of the Britons :) ) The figure for scale is a part-finished Foundry Indian Squaw.. TAG Modern Russian MVD, painted up in a mix of camo schemes ala Chechnya. Mainly done as a colour test, some of the actual patterns have been/will be further refined before use on 1/48th figures... TAG Modern Militia, done as a continuation of my camo scheme colour tests, including a version of the swiss 'Alpenflage' scheme. I always wanted to do a force in this after seeing the resistance fighters in Operation flashpoint/OF: Resistance in it...