It has been a funny old week, after the joys of three weeks off at Christmas and then the very slow build back to normal pace at work, things suddenly got busy all round. I had finished painting both the wolves above and the skeletal steeds below last weekend so just needed to varnish and base to add a mighty 12 more figures to my log for the month. There’s also half the remaining Riflemen on the go, but the highlight on the painting front was that an idea I floated on Lead Adventure Forum, to paint other people’s figures for them, landed me a dozen Cheyenne warriors to play with.  Work in progress below.  If you are reading this and might be  interested in passing over some figures you’d like painted but can’t see yourself getting around to any time soon, here’s the idea -  https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=147945.0 Meanwhile on the gaming front, Guard’s of Traitors Toll is coming along really well.  I’ve seen the rulebook, the cards and the...

  Someone asked me if I paint in batches.  Not only do I like to have a bunch of stuff on the go at one time, I quite enjoy having a bunch of different things.   This weekend is a good example.  So not only have I finished another batch of the riflemen (see above - there are 10 but I’m saving one for the final reveal) but also a pair of skeleton chariots from a Wargames Atlantic kit (the infantry from the same kit are already on the Dernland page). I based the component parts individually so that I can use the ‘horses’ as part of a cavalry unit when wanted. While on the workbench are more riflemen, the  rest of the unit of skeleton cavalry from that same box, and a bunch of wolves (North Star Oathmark Goblin Wolf Riders actually but I need the wolves on their own first for TVSSB). So, yeah, I do batches, despite my need to paraphase Blazing Saddles for the title hahahahaha. Oh and as far as keeping the figure log, each chariot counts a 5 (the chariot, two horses...

  In my round up of 2024 I mentioned my joy working with hard plastic kits, and while working my way through the box of British Riflemen for my The Very Sharpe Silver Bayonet (TVSSB) campaign I thought I’d talk through why, and my process for dealing with them. The picture above may not look particularly interesting until you realise that none of them are actually straight off the sprue, and that’s not something you can do with metal or a resin print.  The Rifles box enables 32 figures, but only has 4 different bodies, and yet with the mix of arms and heads there’s a lot of different poses available.  Then on top of that, with a little imagination and work, you can push things beyond the sprue. So first up the tools you’ll need.  I really suggest investing in a decent pair of side snips for removing parts from sprues.  Like these for example, but of course other brands and indeed non-branded ones are available! Also essential are a few different shapes of mini f...

  My wife got me these for Christmas from Morgue Miniatures.  They have so much character, I love them!  Just not sure what I am going to actually use them for, consequently I can’t decide how I want to base them yet.   Had no idea how many minis I worked on last year, so this year I have started a log.  The first 7 therefore.

Sydford has reported packs of Gnolls prowling around and the settlement of Skirkeld is asking for additional forces before they hunt down one of these packs and send these Gnolls a message that they aren’t wanted here.  Only Magnhild and a unit of Missile troops could be spared from Dernkirk but with the scout Svend and a Skirmish unit at the fort, and Captain Sten with Shields and Fanatics from Skirkeld, hopefully that would be enough. The various forces meet at Skirkeld without incident, but when they came across the Gnolls they saw they were outnumbered, so the only hope was to trap them between the hill and the rough ground.   Turn 1 - The Dernland forces prepare to meet the oncoming wave of Gnolls.   Turn 2 - First blood is drawn as the Viking Skirmishers wound a Gnoll Skirmisher.   Turn 3   The Gnoll Scout takes a shot at Magnhild but misses, and she charges in and wounds it. The Gnoll Skirmishers turn out to be very handy with their slings, scoring 4 hits...