Adding to the Angelicus Mechanicus

First up a quick welcome to MIK and Dalauppror who help us edge ever closer to the 150 followers mark. Good to have you on board, I hope you find something of interest!

Secondly, stout chap that Loki is, he is running a giveaway on his blog to celebrate smashing the 100K barrier. Well done mate!

OK, here's the latest addition to my slowly expanding home-grown Space Marine chapter - a batch of eight Servitors and a unit of five Terminators. They've "done their time" on the Curt's painting challenge so I can duplicate them here.

First up we have another eight Servitors in the two chapter colours of red and green. I have absolutely no need for these chaps number-wise as I already had four complete. However, I love the models and wanted all sorts of weapon options so they've been painted anyway. I won't be adding any more now though. I hope... :-)

The second set of pics is a unit of Terminators. They're armed with all the usual goodness for shooting up all manner of nasties at both long and short range. We still play 4th edition hence the double heavy weapon load out.

I'm still working my way through a pile of ECW cavalry plus some more Space Marine stuff, hopefully to appear very soon.

Cheers,

Millsy

Space Marine Razorback

This little number is my entry for the vehicle round on the painting challenge. It's nothing special but it is complete and off my workbench :-). There are some amazing entries so head on over and check them out. Don't forget to cast a vote while you're there!

As my Space Marine force is a divergent chapter based on the Adeptus Mechanicus it was important to include some themed detailing to maintain cohesion across all the vehicles. Consequently she sports some metallic reinforced cog-themed armour and a nice big Mechanicus crest on one of the side doors.

The skull is an undead shield motif I had left over and the surrounding cogs cut from plasticard. I've made the top hatch / weapon mount removable so I can use her as either a Razorback or a straight Rhino.

I'm currently still working on more Space Marines and also a pile of ECW cavalry. Stay tuned...

Cheers,

Millsy

Some fine looking rear ends

My vehicle submission for the painting challenge bonus round is on it's way. This means I can move on to another project - two units of Royalist horse for my ECW army. As you can see, things are progressing nicely.

If you thought you might see something else based on the post title, well, that's all down to you. :-)

Cheers,
Millsy

Los Liones de Lustria - WFB Knights

This is the last of the units from my 500 point painting challenge mega-entry.

They're for my Dogs of War army and will be used independently or brigaded with another unit of five depending on how I want to play them I guess. I've named them Los Liones de Lustria in my deliberately bad Lustrian mock-Spanish. Translated into English it is something like The Lions of Lustria.

They're GW plastics from the Empire range with old skool spearmen shields as I wanted the lion motif in relief and also a different shaped shield for variety. They were undercoated in black and then the metallic finished dry brushed and inked before the blue was applied. The banners are all home made using Photoshop and some free clip art.

On a side note, the workbench is currently groaning under the weight of some Space Marines and ECW Royalist cavalry amongst other things.

Cheers,

Millsy

Undead Army of the Cairns Part III - Complete!

Well, I did it. I painted the entire (large!) Oldhammer army in under a month. I even went beyond my original plan and added three extra units just because they were there and I wanted to do it in one go. I'm still kind of shaking my head about the whole thing because I hadn't planned it that way AND I also got a fair chunk of other stuff done too.

If you want to see the whole story you can view the other threads in the project in the right order here:

1. Intro: Heinrich Kemmler's Undead Army of the Cairns
2. Undead Army of the Cairns Part I
3. Undead Army of the Cairns Part II
4. Kemmler, Krell, a Shadow Druid and a Wight King

Here's the remaining units which I completed late last week. Some of you may have already read the descriptive text on Curt's blog. Don't forget to click on the images for the full sized versions.

We start with another unit of 20 Skeleton Warriors armed with spears. These are mostly plastics with a metal command from the Cursed Company Regiment of Renown. These will be one of my standard core regiments in the army list.

Rolling along we have a rare 20 figure unit of Glooms. In the WD article these were represented by Spirit Host miniatures but they are flipping expensive figs to buy so I've used a combination of Empire skirmishers and undead bits instead. With the weapons clipped out and their hands still clutched into fists it looks like some sort of ghostly pub brawl. Awesome! Not sure how much use they will get but hey, they're in the list so they get painted.

Following on we have 10 figure unit of Unquiet Horsemen. These are the older Black Knight miniatures commanded by a Wight King. The Wight Kings is possibly the single most badly cast GW model I've ever built and he required oodles of green stuff to line up the two halves of his steed. Things worked out OK in the end though. They're rubbish stats-wise in the list but I've got 10 and I needed something quick and mobile in the army.

Lastly we have a 20 figure unit of Barrow Guardians, a kind of elite infantry formation. These were built using Empire state troop torsos and skeleton weapon hands and heads. I've continued the red skull shield theme on these guys too. I will eventually replace these with decent metal figs of some description but they are fine for now and clear another pile of plastics off the paint pile.

All up this represents close to 3,000 points when you add in command upgrades, a few magic items and such. By my count it is 126 miniatures including monsters and the chariot. Here's the complete list:

Lords and Heroes

Heinrich Kemmler, the Lichemaster (550 pts)

Wight King Krell (190pts)

Shadow Druid (70pts)

Barrow King (100pts)

Core

3 x Simulacra (195pts)

3 x Simulacra (195pts)

20 x Skeleton Warriors including command (217pts)

20 x Skeleton Warriors with spears including command (241pts)

1 x Ghost (60pts)

1 x Ghost (60pts)

Special

8 x Embalmed Ones including command (106pts)

10 x Unquiet Horsemen including command (245pts)

20 x Barrow Guardians including command (290pts)

1 x Tomb Stalker (45pts)

Rare

1 x Winged Nightmare (175pts)

20 x Glooms (120pts)

For those of you who saw the original plan (or didn't I guess too), here's the updated version showing everything.

And to finish things off, here's the whole army out on parade.

Certainly one of my crazier projects but hey, it got the job done, I'm chuffed with the finished product and it has significantly shrunk the unpainted lead/plastic pile. What's not to like?

Cheers,
Millsy

ECW Royalist Command Stands

Just a quick post as I'm crazy busy with real life this week. Not much painting going on which isn't going to help my challenge total one little bit I'm afraid.

These are some extra command stands for my Royalist ECW army. I've wanted extras for a while so I can field some units as separate pike blocks and commanded shotte. I've had these sitting about on the workbench for quite a while now so it was rather satisfying to get them complete and out of the way. The miniatures are a mix of Renegade and Wargames Foundry and the flags are all home made.

Also quickly, welcome aboard to our newest followers Chuck and Jacob TS. G'day lads!

Cheers,
Millsy

Kemmler, Krell, a Shadow Druid and a Wight King

No, it's not an undead version of the Fab Four, it's the entire set of lords and heroes from my Oldhammer Army of the Cairns project. These have appeared on the Painting Challenge bonus rounds for 24 hours so I can show them off here too now. Why not pop over there and vote for what you like best? Hint, hint...

As this is the centre piece of the army I've knocked up a quick "Vignette a la Awdry" for the figures on foot. When they're out and about there are drop-in extra grave stones so it can be used as terrain as well.

Remember to click for larger versions of the pics.

First up we have Heinrich Kemmler the Lichemaster, Wight King Krell and a Shadow Druid. Kemmler and Krell are the second generation figs and the nicest of them I think. The Shadow Druid is a Dark Emissary with a head swap and green stuff hoodie as he appeared in WD.

Kemmler is staying true to the first rule of necromancy - accessorize, accessorize, accessorize! Over a stunning purple velvet robe he wears a bespoke orphan-skin kilt, all set off with blood red boots, hat and nail polish. Over that he's thrown a trusty little black cloak, which as we all know goes with *everything* sweeties. But how many can say theirs is lined with the skulls of kittens and bunny rabbits? Not many I think. The verdict? Faaaabulous! (that was just for you Ev).

Krell is as we'd expect him to be, decked out in enameled blood red armour and fist pumping to the beat of Kemmler's drum. He's toting his trusty Black Axe and sporting an over sized horned hat. Jamiroquai eat your heart out.

The Shadow Druid is wearing this year's latest fashion in rotting grey rags and vermin skin over-mantle, just right for a night out in the shadows. He's clutching his invite to Kemmler's next battle after-party and toting a funky witch-wood staff. All this is set off with a set of designer glow stones and a bespoke bronze sacrificial bowl. Stunning!

And finally we have the Wight King in his way wicked Chariot of Spikes 'n Skulls. She's fresh from the chop shop where she had some extra horsepower (um... two), 500-odd spikes and plenty of red paint applied. He's an original wight miniature on a chaos chariot (less the crew who are languishing in my bits box for future use).

I'm nearly done with the project if you can believe it. Less than three weeks from start to finish and over 100 miniatures plus monsters and a chariot. The remaining four units are in the works and nearly complete.

Cheers,
Millsy

Plans for 2014

So... with 2013 fading quickly into the past it's about time I set some goals and milestones for the new year.

Firstly, some general guidelines and ideas I'll try to stick to...

Buy a minimum of new models / paint models I already own
This should not be too hard to be honest. Most of the projects I want to tackle for this year involve stuff I already have in my collection, or require little in the way of additions to complete. In fact (and this is kind of a weird feeling for me) there is very little I have on my list of wants right now.

Become a better painter
I think this is happening as a matter of course simply through practice. It never hurts to actively focus on something you really want to get better at though, like really *think* about what you're painting. One area in particular I want to improve is my blending. Right now it's OK but certainly not up to the level I'd like it to be. I've never tried a wet palette or used the airbrush I've had for two years now either. Time to try both of those I reckon.

Make more quality terrain
I cannot believe that after all these years my terrain collection still has large holes where it definitely should not. If I'm not buying more lead/plastic I should be able to divert some shekels in this direction to do things properly.

Now how about some specific projects and targets?

"Recycled" from 2013

• A division of Saxons in 15mm for my Napoleonic army
• The remaining grenadier platoons for my Flames of War 15mm MW German Grenadiers
• A very large number (200+) 28mm imagi-nation troops for both Evan and myself

New for 2014

• Complete my Warhammer 40K Space Marine chapter
• Paint two 28mm Royalist ECW cavalry regiments and a small Scots foote regiment
• Make some 28mm terrain - grassed hills, proper roads and rivers
• Make some small scale terrain - islands and coastline for 1:1200 naval, paint remaining resin buildings
• Continue my Warhammer Fantasy Dogs of War
• Finish my Necromunda gangs - paint the last 5 Cawdor, repaint my recently stripped Delaque and Pit Slaves, paint the last 10 or so Ratskins

I think that's about it. More than enough to keep me occupied, especially given I'll wander off the path inevitably more than once! Heck, I'll probably decide to paint another entire army or two in the middle of all that. Stay tuned to see how I go...

Cheers,

Millsy

Dystopian Wars Kingdom of Britannia Force Complete

With the Painting Challenge pushing me along I'm cranking completed stuff out a cracking pace. As a consequence I'm happy to report I've finished my Kingdom of Britannia Force for Dystopian Wars. Not bad considering I started about two weeks ago. :-)

In total the force now stands at around 1250 game points which is more than enough til the rest of the lads catch up. The last stuff to be added was a dreadnought...

...and an Eagle Class War Rotor, two Doncaster Bombers and two Scout Class War Rotors.

Roll over and play dead.

You can view the rest of the force here.

Just quickly before I finish up, everyone here at C&G wishes our friends and their families all the best for 2014. Happy New Year folks.

Cheers,
Millsy

Goodbye 2013, Hello 2014

Time for another yearly round-up as we see off 2013 and welcome 2014. This has been a bumper year for the blog, more than quadrupling our followers and adding another 77 posts which is 18 more than the previous year. Maybe with a little help we'll crack the 100 per annum?

So did things go according to Glorious Plan Millsy in 2013? I think you already know the answer is a resounding NO! Here's what I had planned...

• Some more ECW, mostly command stands plus a unit of dragoons

• A division of Saxons in 15mm for my Napoleonic force

• The remaining grenadier platoons for my Flames of War MW German Grenadiers

• About 30 or so 28mm Napoleonics for Cory and I for skirmish games

• and finally...

• A very large number (200+) 28mm imagi-nation troops for both Evan and myself

ECW command stands worked out well but the dragoons were a total write-off. In fact I sold the Warlord miniatures and haven't replaced them as Renegade are not shipping at present. Best we don't mention the Napoleonic Saxons at all. Or the Grenadiers for that matter. The 28mm Napoleonics got a fair bit of love but there are more to go. The 28mm imagination troops did get a decent look in but there are piles more of those to do also.

So if I didn't complete even half my intended projects what DID get done? Here's a quick pictorial review...

It's fair to say I've knocked off a LOT of stuff, not least a sizable unplanned 40K Space Marine force, the best part of a Dystopian Wars Kingdom of Britannia fleet, almost all of an Oldhammer Undead army, an entire 28mm dark age village, a complete Necromunda Cawdor gang and a slew (is that the right word?) of seemingly random stuff. Almost all of which WASN'T in the plan. I even wrote the darn thing down to help! Oh well ;-)

Stay tuned for Glorious Plan Millsy 2014. Guaranteed it won't survive contact with the enemy either...

Cheers,

Millsy