Finished lead - Engineer and officer!

I decided to have a short break from painting Northern Nomads, so had a  go at some oddments from the AtR world (heavily inspired by Mortal Engines).
Here we have a member of a London Engineers Guild security team from Mortal Engines and an officer from the Neu-Hansa trade caravans from our AtR setting

AtR: more nomad teaser pics...

Seb came across on Saturday and helped me get some more nomad figures prepped. Add in some painting time and things are coming along quite nicely. All things going to plan I should have the nomads finished long before the display game at Reveillie  (!)

Which is good,  as my brain is wandering about the setting we started building, coming up with all sorts of ideas... The heavily armed trade caravans  of the Neu-Hanseatic League, wandering London Engineers seeking lost archeotech, scavengers, savage tribes, giant subterranean worms (tremors style), landships, mutated dwellers in long lost catacombes, the list keeps going on. From my perspective, I can see masses of scope for steampunkish post-apocalypse adventures, with heavy hints of  Mortal Engines but with everything from Indiana Jones (archetechologist being chased through a ruined sewer system by misshapen troglodytes) to Beowulf (a nomad tribes camp is being plagued by a monster of prodigious capabilities and a wandering hero is in town to help) via His Dark Materials Trilogy (there's got to be space for a mercenary Texan aeronaut!?).  And heavns know what Seb will come up with... (although he has already confessed to being heavily influenced by Darwins World)

Anyway, enough waffle.  On to the  WiPs!

All That Remains Teaser - Northern Nomad WiP shots.....

A few WiP snaps from my desk, showing some of the stuff I'm working on for the ATR display game - please ignore the part painted Valkyrie crew and the horde of  grey-primed dark-ages types on the paint station in the background! Most of the figures are based off either Gripping Beast Jomsvikings or Wargames Foundry Cossacks; and I'm trying to convey the image of a post-apocalypse, nomadic warrior culture. These folks are mammoth (don't ask) and reindeer herders, who trade and raid as the opportunity presents itself. Technology level is black-powder, with occasional bits of scavenged pre-apocalyse technology (such as the Carn's pump action shotgun). I'm hoping that by mixing Rus Vikings, cossacks and generic hair barbarians together I'll get a group that looks unmistakably 'northern warrior', without looking too much like anyone thing....
Inspiration definitely stolen from the World of Mortal Engines books!

If these guys are interesting - please do check out the ATR blog:  http://armiesoftheaftermath.blogspot.co.uk/

-Xander

 From L: A scav/archeotechologist, nomad warrior, Carn Ikea Torsson, a selection of pack mules and part of a hunting dog. The building in the background will be the 'traders hut' in the display game... Yes, it does have a sofa and a washing machine outside it. No... I don't know why either!

From L; Hunting dogs, light cannon 1 (Warlord Frame gun), light cannon 2 (Boot Hill 'come take it' gun), 2 part-converted Warlord gun crew (ECW Scots -> Northern Nomads) & a part built cart as scatter for the village in the display game.
The gun crewman hunched over will be getting a slung shield and will have some GSing done on his coat. The chap leaning forward with the fuse needs some work done on his trousers, and may well get a belt...

Assorted part painted Northern Nomads
(Note: angry northern lady!)

More assorted part painted nomads....

Close-up of Carn Ikea Torsson, my commander for the display game
(Ancestral shotgun for the win!)

Mortal Engines Wargames Musings

The more I think about making a playable game out of the Mortal Engines books the closer I come to 3 effective methods:

I) City on City - tiny scale cities, each about the size of a 1/72nd tank (maybe with big cities up to the size of a 1/35th scale tank) scooting around eating each other, with airships etc out of scale (well, seeing as they are larger, what with being closer to the viewers eye) but present for landings and what not. In terms of game play, it'd be rather like a land version of a Space-ship battle game like Full thrust... infact, FT might not be too bad an idea for a rules set. This is very definitely limited to the later books, as there are actually moving cities. I guess something similar could be achieved with land barges and traction fortresses, maybe evening making them vaguely inter-compatible by doing so in say in 3mm or 6mm. Certainly some of the Epic Ork models would work well.

II) Skirmish 'Gang' warfare inside a city - Effectively Necromunda or combat zone, involving various 'gang' size warbands skirmishing in a multi-level diesel-punk industrial setting. There are quite a few suitable figures out, and games would be along the lines of the Engineers guild try to storm London Museum, or a small band of anti-tractionist terrorists battling with say the crew of a pirate suburb. It could also work for the early period stuff - A small group of London Trained Bandsmen skirmishing with Movement warriors in the outskirts of London, or what have you. No vehicles or suchlike used, with the focus very much on each individual figure.

The final option (III) is really  limited to the Early period (pre-traction) stuff, which is the 'massed battle' game. Although there are possibilities for Battle Mammoths, Campavans, traction bunkers and the like in 28mm, unless one is using a particularly large board, they cannot be used in any real numbers; and certainly for the likes of traction fortresses are really relegated to the role of mobile scenery. To actually be able to deal with a reasonable number (say a few warmachines and a platoon or two of infantry) will require a smaller scale - around 10-15mm. Ruleswise, maybe GASLIGHT, or a varient...

Gaming idea wish list, and musings of a sort

I've been thinking of 'future' gaming projects - things that keep catching my fancy, and so on...

*28mm Malayan Emergency - An evocative period -Counter insurgency, WW2 style. In some respects a colonial war (stalwart planters holding out in jungle outposts whilst the 'natives' are restless) but in many ways one of the first of the post-1945 bush fire wars. Game play it offers quite a few possibilities ranging from CTs (Communist Terrorists) attacking a planters bnungalow, through to high risk arrests, via ambushes and patrols by both sides.  I  had some of the Britannia Malayan War figures, but after Dave H died and the range was discontinued I (reluctantly) decided not to pursue the idea. I (paint) converted some of the figures for African games, and sold the rest. Then, the other month, I saw a lot of 20mm figures for use in the Malayan Emergency (Bare headed VC vs WW2 Chindits). I looked into the possibilities of doing the same, and whilst it is possible, there will be an awful lot of 'making do' and overlooking slight inaccuracies. Based on that, it looks like it might have to be 28mm - especially as the figures are back available, and currently represent the most complete and versatile range lol. The irony is not lost on me! Sides would be comparatively small ~ a platoon of CTs vs a couple of sections of commonwealth troops, a few vehicles and a planters bungalow.  Rules would be Force on Force, probably based of Ambush Valley

*15mm(?) Mortal Engines - With the success of my move to 20mm for my Moderns, It has made me wonder if I might not be better off doing Mortal Engines in 15mm rather tan my planned 28mm. The figures will allow a lot greater substitution (with only paint conversions), the vehicles would be easier to store, and I could get a better game in on the average size table. The downside is that there aren't so many 'steampunk' characters available in the scale, but this might be a nessecary sacrifice. The height of the traction fortress tower would then only come down to 25cm... Still ruddy huge, but a lot more achievable than about 1m! Rules would be GASLIGHT of some form...

*20mm Twilight 2000 (TW2K) - A somewhat inevitable move, given my interest in things Post Apocalypse, especially retro post apocalypse. 20mm simply because by this point I'll have lots of cold war types in the scale. I could equally do it in 28mm using some of my BritApoc stuff. It'll give me chance to use a few more different vehicles, as well s some of the cool post-apoc/zombie survivor figures out there. I'll probably also add in some Dark Future/Mad-max style battle cars too, just for the fun of it. Rules will probably be FoF for larger battles, and Skank for hero/skirmish battles.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

*20mm Russians in Afghanistan - I've not got too much interest in doing 'ultra-modern afghanistan', atleast not in terms of buying for it, but there are some seriously funky afghan models out there which I could quite fancy painting. By the time I've finished my cold war project, I'll have more Russians than one can shake an AK at, and the conclusion suddenly seems obvious. It'll also mean I have some Muslim types that I can contribute to club games. FoF for rules again...

*20mm Americans invading somewhere Latin American (Grenada? Panama? Imagineria?) during the 80's - It seems, looking back, that most of the movies of my Childhood/early teens had American Special forces doing dodgy stuff somewhere in Latin America or the Caribbean: Predator, Clear and Present Danger, Commando, Welcome to the Jungle, Romancing the Stone, etc etc etc.Again, between TW2K & CWGH I should have a fair few American troopers. Some of my NATO partisans should be usable as 'natives' and it wouldn't take much to add some soviet and American irregulars (maybe using WW2 & Vietnam cast offs, cubans, etc), and so on. Rules would be Force on Force (again!)

* 20mm(?) Winter of '79 - I'll already have cold war brits and assortment of irregulars. Throw in a couple of red phone boxes and a village pub and we are all go for the Winter of '79. FoF for rules....

Carpathian buildings - scenery ideas

The two settings which really appeal to me for EotD are the dark streets of London, and the more traditional 'Carpathian' horror setting. Both have lots of potential figures available, and scenery for both could be quite striking. I've already got some hills and trees which could be used for rural settings in either the UK or the Carpathians, but not much in the way of suitable buildings for either (well, the old GW expanded-foam-stuff graveyard and a ruined tower, but again neither are exactly 'urban'). I've decided to start on the Carpathians as I'll need fewer buildings ( I can get away with a hamlet, growing into a village and then onto a town as I accumulate more suitable stuff, where as London has to leap pretty much fully formed onto the table, and also would probably be more intensive on extra street clutter and wandering civilians.) 

However, having grown up with a mental image of Carpathian villages looking like the one from Van Helsing, I had a fairly set idea of what I wanted. Steep roofed wooden houses, with onion spired churches. Having been to a historical building park (literally - the Soviet government relocated old buildings from across the country into one place) in the Ukraine, I had seen some 'actual' Carpathian houses, and suffice to say they didn't look like these - instead being quite low buildings, like those traditionally associated with the Russian steppe, etc), so I'll probably include some of those as a nod to realism if I can get some in a similar style.  I'm also thinking that the tall roofed wooden buildings would be used for Quar, and also the streets on Fever Crumbs London.

First up, some pictures of the sort of things I'm looking for, then I'll run through pictures from the commercial manufacturers of some scenery which might be suitable...

Blue Moon Manufacturing have some buildings which are perfect, and almost certainly inspired by Van Helsing. The only problem is, they are 15mm, and so not suitable :-( Still, it sets 'the goal' as to the sort of thing I'm after, and the fact that someone has already made similar things. If I have to end up scratch building scenery, then they can also be used for inspiration. The castle is worth a mention of itself, as they actually do a similar 28mm scale piece I would some day love to own...

http://bluemoonmanufacturing.com/view_product.php?product=EP-100

 But I think castles are a subject for another post in and of itself...

Hovel's Eastern European range is a popular choice for Carpathian buildings, and I can see which. The prices are appealing, the buildings scale well with the likes of West Wind, and they are historically accurate. The only problem is, they aren't what I was thinking of. As I've already said, I'll probably include a few lower buildings as less extravagant dwellings, and thee will almost certainly fit the bill. The church is perfect too.  

4ground does some MDF cut buildings (a cottage and a market hall/town hall/jail) which might have conversion potential - although quite 'Tudor' looking, it shouldn't be too hard to cut wooden boarding detail into the 'wattle and daub' effect regions. the roof's are as steep as I'd like, but that isn't the end of the world. With only two buildings in the range, the cottages would need a bit of conversion work to make them look suitably different.

Some of the Games-Workshop buildings have potential, but again, they have a limited range. being Games-Workshop, they are also a bit skull tastic, and would probably require a bit of work to make them look a little less fantasy. That said, the Observatory is a cracking piece of scenery, and would make a great dwelling place for a mad scientist, warlock or other evil doer. Some of the skulls aren't too out of place either...

Conflix does a range of pre-painted fantasy buildings, which could be used in a pinch, and for the price probably aren't readily convertible, or very suited for what I have in mind. But hey, other peoples views may be different. 

Pardulon has a lovely range of Fantasy buildings, which whilst not an exact match, certainly have the right sort of 'feel' to them (eccentric, tumble-down and all higgledy-piggledy) . The main drawbacks I can see for these are their price; where one could get a not-s-small village of the hovels buildings for the price of just one or two of these. 

Pegasus do a range of '1/72' Russian buildings, in both pre-painted resin and plastic kit form. Apparently these are too big for 1/72, and are closer to true 25mm than anything else. As such, they are usable with 28mm, although a bit on the small size in terms of overall foot-print. But hey, peasant huts aren't big, and they are very attractively priced (a pack of two of these is about the same as one of the 4ground cottages or hovels izba's.) Certainly they would be good for bulking out a village, or adding some outbuildings to a farm or the like. 

The PMC games buildings are another potential option, as they are fairly generic. Personally I think these suffer from the same affliction as the Conflix buildings - not quite close enough to what I want, and not really cheap enough to justify the conversion work required to give what I do do want...

As an aside, I'll be getting a couple of Citadel Woods as they have a suitably creepy air, which should add to my existing trees (which aren't creepy in the least).

So where does that leave me? There is nothing on the market which exactly suits what I'm looking for, in a price range which I can afford. I'll almost certainly going to  get the Hovels  church, and I'll aim to cover the planked roof with wooden shingles, to bring it closer to the one from the film.I may also get some of their houses, or see if any of the Pegasus ones have planked walls, to use as 'quick' table scenery, so that I can get on and play. I think to get the sort of buildings I want, I'm going to have to scratch build, possibly using the Matakishi cork board method, or something similar, and either carving boarding details in, or cladding with coffee stirrers....

WiPs

Here are the WiPs I promised in my last post - not too many, as I want there to be some surprises (although I'll say that some of them are Victorian types taken from the Early West pile, destined to become more Wolfenjager and some are dark agey types...)

Mob! - These guys will be rioting through the streets of Fever Crumb's London, either toppling the existing government, hunting dapplejacks with the Skinners guild or maybe being used for some hypothetical clashes with the Movement. They should mix well enough with the Brigade Games brawlers I showed in my last post for that sort of thing, although I wouldn't be bale to use them in any other setting. The figures are all GW - 3 converted Imperial Frateris Militia and 2 plastic Empire Free Company. The FM figures were converted back in my =I= 28mm days and then never used; whilst the FC were destined for use with my dissolved Empire army. All have pretty low grade weapons (black-powder pistols, swords, knives, clubs, a hand axe) - just perfect for a rampaging mob!

Cossacks - Of a sort at any rate. A Redoubt Victorian Russian militiaman, a West Wind Cossack character (I've got the same fellow mounted too - although for some reason I didn't think to start base coating him at the same time. I'll have to correct that, even if it does mean painting horses *spits*) and a West wind Hungarian Vampire Hunter. These guys will be used for EotD, almost certainly initially as part of a vampire warband, and then later they may get other roles. I'm hoping to keep the 'feel' of the colours subdued and somewhat realistic, although still fairly colourful at the same time. With any luck, I should also be able to use them as  Northern Nomads in WoME as well...

This is more of a selection pack of 1/48th figures rather than the definitive set. Most of these haven't progressed very far since I last showed them, but after my restful time last week I no longer worry about mucking up doing the shading on their webbing, or on the unit insignia & Russian flags on their shoulders. There are another 3 VDV airbourne figures (like the guy on the left) and 3 Spetsnatz (like the guy in the middle) at a similar stage. The MVD guy on the right is far ahead of his 7 compatriots (although, one has a half painted jacket in the same camo, all the others have only had skin painted ). In the far distance you can just make out one of the CDF troopers who is awaiting the first (terracota) step on his camo - something else I put off due to fatigue...

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)