From The Vault: Wuxia

I've previously posted about my love of Song of Blades and Heroes, so I won't go into that again. This, however, is my second warband for that game – a monastic order based on wuxia and old kung fu movies.

This is a really eclectic mix of figures, featuring miniatures from five different manufacturers. There's a lot of variation in the sculpting (both scale and quality) but, with a relatively unifying paint-job, they all fit together.

The gang does include more options than the average game of SoB&H would normally allow, so I threw in a few spear-armed peasants to help round out the force if there was a point of two going spare. These Redshirts are Foundry Chinese pirates, converted to hold wire spears.

The core of the gang are its fighting monks, and these three all come from Reaper.

Every warband needs some heroes, though, and its first was this monk, again from Reaper. It's officially a half-orc, but I ran it as a demon seeking redemption through meditative contemplation... and kung fu.

The second is a dragon-headed Bruce Lee-style miniature from Hasslefree. This was the last figure painted before the project was pushed to one side, and so he never really got a backstory (or even a statline, if I recall correctly).

One thing that was almost always fielded was this big dire ape (a D&D pre-paint), run as a Yeren ("Chinese Wildman – a bigfoot-like creature). Although mouldlines on fur are always a pain to clean up, I do really like this model.

Leadership (and some magic) was found in the form of these two. The one on the right is another Hasslefree martial artist, fielded as the top student of the temple, while the one on the left is the abbot – it's a model from the now-vanished (I think) Chinatown game from a company called Stone Circle.

Painted around the same time as the above gang, these terracotta warriors are from Renegade. They were painted up really quickly (and shonkily, even by my standards!) for reasons that escape me now. And, no – I have no idea what that is on the chest of the one on the right...

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Disclaimer: All links to third-party sites are solely for the purposes of sourcing the products I have discussed, if anyone is so inclined. I have simply linked to the original manufacturer or the source I used (but feel free to shop around!) and make no money from people clicking through.

From The Vault: A Little Bit of Cyberpunk

I can't remember any particular reason behind buying and painting these figures – perhaps I just fancied doing some Cyberpunk minis.

The borgs in front are from the Urban War game (a spin-off of iKore's Void setting, now carried by Scotia Grendel), the troopers at the back are from East Riding Miniatures.

I do like the borgs – they're nice sculpts, and a doddle to paint, with sharp details and clean lines. Their size is all over the place, though!

Speaking of size, these basic troopers are immense! I really like the aesthetic, with the stubby carbines and the Dredd-style helmets, but they definitely don't mix well with regular 28mm figures. Alongside the larger borgs, they're fine, but they do dwarf the one with the chain-gun arm...

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Disclaimer: All links to third-party sites are solely for the purposes of sourcing the products I have discussed, if anyone is so inclined. I have simply linked to the original manufacturer or the source I used (but feel free to shop around!) and make no money from people clicking through.

From The Vault: VBCW

The Very British Civil War craze from a few years ago was one I really wanted to join in with. I loved the idea of the Abdication Crisis spiraling out of control and into civil war. The figures that were put out for it were incredible, and I couldn't resist buying and painting a few, even though there was absolutely zero chance of ever getting them to the table.

My first unit was repainted Black and Tans from Musketeer Miniatures (now carried by Footsore). I decided to theme the force around my old college – Lincoln – hence the dark and light blue bonnets. These guys were members of the college's UOTC formation – hence the more uniform appearance.

Of course, every college needs staff, and so these Musketeer/Footsore IRA figures were pressed into service as porters, groundskeepers, and the like. Their armbands were painted in the same two-tone blue to tie in with the uniformed chaps above.

Of course, as a college with close ties to the Church, it made sense for Lincoln to side with the Anglican League, which gave rise to this command group. A limited edition (I think – at least it used to be) Foundry figure, flanked by two from Artizan's pulp range.

Long since departed this world, there was also a Hurricane, painted in the same two-tone blue colour scheme (light undercarriage, dark on top), complete with a flight stand made from a coat-hanger. It was a mess, but I did enjoy the brief foray into Airfix kits.

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Disclaimer: All links to third-party sites are solely for the purposes of sourcing the products I have discussed, if anyone is so inclined. I have simply linked to the original manufacturer or the source I used (but feel free to shop around!) and make no money from people clicking through.

From The Vault: Tcho-Tcho

Call of Cthulhu was the first real RPG I played, and for as long as I've been aware of Lovecraft and the Mythos, I've loved the Tcho-Tcho. I don't know why, exactly – perhaps because they are almost always creepy, with the setting's cosmic horror reflected in them in a less overt way than some of the other antagonist options. It's the same with Deep One Hybrids – they're brilliant and creepy, but full-on Deep Ones... meh.

Regardless, when these guys came out, I snapped them up!

While I have my doubts about some of the scaling on the firearms, these are incredible little models, and I wish I could remember the manufacturer.

I tried to get a sinister, unnatural complexion on these guys, using green inks on khakis and light browns. It worked better on some than on others (the chap with the kitchen knife looks like he's been to a kids' facepainting party!), but they definitely don't look entirely human.

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Disclaimer: All links to third-party sites are solely for the purposes of sourcing the products I have discussed, if anyone is so inclined. I have simply linked to the original manufacturer or the source I used (but feel free to shop around!) and make no money from people clicking through.

From The Vault: Alien Bounty Hunters

A couple of alien mercenaries/bounty hunters, etc. Pretty sure I just painted these on a whim!

The aliens are from AE-Bounty and the robot is a Copplestone fig. Much as I hate painting white, the Stormtrooper-esque armour does look good, and I aimed for that Star Wars vibe with these figs.

My absolute favourite, though, is the pilot-type in front. I'd clearly been watching Firefly because this guy seems straight out of the Wash playbook – the shorts, the shirt, the paunch – he really looked like a down-on-his-luck smuggler. I leaned into this some more, giving him a Hawaiian shirt.

Minimal effort, really, but it brought the figure to life for me. I'm a ways off doing tartan or embroidered robes, but I should really try more stuff like this – I've fallen in the habit of painting for speed, using plain colours. A spot of flamboyance now and then never hurt anyone...

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Disclaimer: All links to third-party sites are solely for the purposes of sourcing the products I have discussed, if anyone is so inclined. I have simply linked to the original manufacturer or the source I used (but feel free to shop around!) and make no money from people clicking through.

From The Vault: The Reikland Reivers

Ah, Mordheim. One of those games that always seems to offer a good time. Going back nearly ten years, we had an urge to play some Mordheim, and put together a selection of gangs. Joe had Dwarf Treasure Hunters, there was a Skaven mob (I think), and I had my Reiklanders.

All the figures are Vendel border reivers (hence the punny name). I remember nothing about the gang, and everything about their initial skirmish! We were playing a three-way game, and I managed to get my archers and crossbowmen into an elevated position on the balcony of an inn (Reiklanders were the 'shooty' warband, so that was sound tactics). My melee troops rushed out, grabbed a couple of treasure tokens, and drew back to safety with them. All the while, my ranged troops are pummeling the opposition with arrows and bolts (even the occasional pistol ball from my captain). This wouldn't have been so bad, except Joe's Dwarfs were SLOW and were focusing on the other warband, which was similarly focused, so he came under heavy fire for most of the game, while I sat back with most of the treasure and barely a scratch!

I'm particularly proud of this champion – the sleeves were worth the effort. My one niggle? The figures are open-handed, to be armed with a variety of weapons. This guy cried out for a halberd, but his scabbard is empty, meaning that he really should have been given just a sword. Oh well.

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Disclaimer: All links to third-party sites are solely for the purposes of sourcing the products I have discussed, if anyone is so inclined. I have simply linked to the original manufacturer or the source I used (but feel free to shop around!) and make no money from people clicking through.

From The Vault: Cobra!

I'm actually a little surprised that I haven't posted these before... This is my rough-and-ready interpretation of Cobra from the GIJoe comics. I LOVED the action figures as a kid, so it's no real surprise that I'd return to them as a wargamer...

Destro and the Baroness are from Artizan and Wargames Foundry respectively, while the nameless Cobra troopers in the back are from The Assault Group.

Do not ask me why I painted the forestock on the Baroness' MP5s brown. I couldn't tell you.

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Disclaimer: All links to third-party sites are solely for the purposes of sourcing the products I have discussed, if anyone is so inclined. I have simply linked to the original manufacturer or the source I used (but feel free to shop around!) and make no money from people clicking through.

From The Vault: WWWII Germans

Man, what was I thinking? Look at those bases. Why did I think brown edges would look good? This is a very quickly painted Weird World War II German force, with miniatures from a range of sources.

The scientist is an AE-WWII model, and one that I keep painting. This was my first attempt at it, and (base aside), is more polished that my more recent effort. I am especially fond of the bloodstained apron.

I'm pretty sure the gorilla is a conversion – the main body is from AE-WWII, and the arm, I think, is from a Confrontation model. It kinda works.

The scientist and the gorilla are joined by two German officers from Artizan and a dog-handler and his pooches from AE-WWII yet again.

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Disclaimer: All links to third-party sites are solely for the purposes of sourcing the products I have discussed, if anyone is so inclined. I have simply linked to the original manufacturer or the source I used (but feel free to shop around!) and make no money from people clicking through.

From The Vault: Pulp Cult

Another batch of figs from Pulp Figures (to accompany my cops), these guys reflect my feeling that a cult makes for a cracking villain, no matter the setting.

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Disclaimer: All links to third-party sites are solely for the purposes of sourcing the products I have discussed, if anyone is so inclined. I have simply linked to the original manufacturer or the source I used (but feel free to shop around!) and make no money from people clicking through.

From The Vault: Rebels

I think this little gang spun out of watching Riddick... The base concept was a prison-break from a weird, corporate-owned facility that had been testing on the inmates.

The grunts are Void Viridians (now produced by Scotia Grendel). I typically find the Void stuff a bit too cartoony for my liking, but these... work. Fun and simple to paint, the only bugbear was clipping off the slotta tabs.

The mutants are my standard go-to of plastic pre-paints. The smaller one is, I think, Killer Croc fand the larger one is Abomination (the Tim Roth version from one of the Hulk movies) from one of the many HeroClix sets. The big guy suffered somewhat from spray varnish misting, so is a little... speckled.

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Disclaimer: All links to third-party sites are solely for the purposes of sourcing the products I have discussed, if anyone is so inclined. I have simply linked to the original manufacturer or the source I used (but feel free to shop around!) and make no money from people clicking through.

From The Vault: Pulp Cops

I love The Untouchables – It's easily one of my favourite films. I also love Bob Murch's sculpting for Pulp Figures. You'd think it'd be inevitable that I'd have some gangsters. Nope. I have cops. And no gangsters whatsoever, it seems. Even I thought I had some gangsters...

All the Pulp stuff paints up like a dream. Nice, large details and chunky weapons (a pet peeve of mine is flimsy weaponry – I'll take robustness over realistic proportions any day of the week).

These guys really need a couple of detectives to lead them...

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Disclaimer: All links to third-party sites are solely for the purposes of sourcing the products I have discussed, if anyone is so inclined. I have simply linked to the original manufacturer or the source I used (but feel free to shop around!) and make no money from people clicking through.

From The Vault: Preacher

One preacher, from the Dark Age game, because everyone loves a preacher with a shotgun.

The black on the coat was built up from greys, with several layers of black ink over the top to gradually darken it. It got a hefty coat of varnish... too much, alas, so it's a bit shiny.

I think this sculpt has been replaced with a more modern one, which I will have to pick up in due course...

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Disclaimer: All links to third-party sites are solely for the purposes of sourcing the products I have discussed, if anyone is so inclined. I have simply linked to the original manufacturer or the source I used (but feel free to shop around!) and make no money from people clicking through.

From The Vault: Arabian Nights

Most of the time, the figures I paint never actually see combat on the tabletop. Once in a while, though, a game clicks, and drives a remarkable (for me, anyway) level of productivity. Going back a fair few years, that game was Song of Blades and Heroes from Andrea Sfiligoi and Ganesha Games.

Andrea is a fantastic designer, and I'm really proud to have worked with him on various games – and it all started with SoB&H. It really hit most of my buttons. Use whatever figures you like? Build your units from scratch? Play in a lunchbreak? Yes please and thank-you.

These guys were my first, and most-fielded warband for SoB&H, a nicely Arabian Nights-themed force, consisting of a wicked sorcerer, two guards, two ghuls, an assassin, and an efreet. This line-up definitely reflects my views on warband creation!

Assassin & Guards

The guards and the assassin are all Reaper figures, from one of their themed boxes (Legends of the Sands or something). Nice models, as always!

Efreet

The efreet is a D&D pre-paint, given a new paintjob. It's a cool figure, but I learned a valuable lesson from this model: always cut the figure off the base that it comes with. Almost invariably, the bases are warped to a degree (I've found this to be much more common with larger figures than smaller ones), giving them a tendency to wobble. Much better to slice them off with a scalpel blade and re-base them on a metal washer with superglue and a bit of green stuff.

The Vizier, flanked by two Ghuls

The sorcerer/vizier is another Reaper model, from the same kit as the guards and assassin, while the two ghuls are ghouls from Crocodile Games' Wargods of Aegyptus line. It's rare to see such bestial ghouls as these, and I'd forgotten how much I liked them. Hmm... perhaps a certain cult needs some new recruits...

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Disclaimer: All links to third-party sites are solely for the purposes of sourcing the products I have discussed, if anyone is so inclined. I have simply linked to the original manufacturer or the source I used (but feel free to shop around!) and make no money from people clicking through.

From The Vault: Croc Dude

There's not a lot to be said about this chap. He's a big, humanoid crocodile. He's a repainted D&D pre-paint. He's never been used in a game. He's just got to be useful for something, someday.

I am particularly pleased with his eyes. Turns out, I CAN paint eyes... when they're on 50mm-tall figures.

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Disclaimer: All links to third-party sites are solely for the purposes of sourcing the products I have discussed, if anyone is so inclined. I have simply linked to the original manufacturer or the source I used (but feel free to shop around!) and make no money from people clicking through.

From The Vault: The Prussians

This was an abortive attempt to do some VSF gaming! I managed to paint up five models before getting distracted by something else. Still, they're nice models, and I really wish that I'd done more. They aren't so old, and are probably consistent enough with my current style that I could revisit them. All they'd probably need are some basic infantry/guards...

This walker is actually the second incarnation of a Warzone Bahaus mech that I have painted. The original, metal model found a home in my Neo-Soviet force. This is a plastic model from... somewhere. Maybe the short-lived Warzone CMG? It's ridiculous, but it does fit perfectly.

The other members of the gang are mostly Privateer Press Warmachine figures (a Khador mechanic and some Cryx mecha-zombies or something), but the ratty little guy on the right is from the AE-WWII range of Weird World War II figures. He's a lovely little figure, and this isn't the first time I've painted him.

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Disclaimer: All links to third-party sites are solely for the purposes of sourcing the products I have discussed, if anyone is so inclined. I have simply linked to the original manufacturer or the source I used (but feel free to shop around!) and make no money from people clicking through.

From The Vault: The Giant

This miniature was to be used as a proxy for a slave giant in an Ogre Kingdoms army. I'm pretty sure it pre-dates my move down south, so I must have painted it at least 12 years ago, if not more. It might, therefore, be the oldest figure I still have in my 'to-hand' collection (I suspect there might be older stashed away somewhere at my folks' place).

It was from Vendel, who are no more, and I have no idea who, if anyone, has acquired the range. It's a big old lump of resin, really nicely detailed, and I much prefer it's simplicity to more over-the-top giants.

The basing was a mix of flock and kitty litter. I really liked the end result, but hated using and painting it.

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Disclaimer: All links to third-party sites are solely for the purposes of sourcing the products I have discussed, if anyone is so inclined. I have simply linked to the original manufacturer or the source I used (but feel free to shop around!) and make no money from people clicking through.

From The Vault: Neo-Soviets

Joe got my nostalgia all a-quiver with his recent blog post about some of our past wargaming exploits. I dug out some figures I must have painted about a decade ago that I still had knocking around in a box somewhere at home. While I was shocked at how I used to paint (it's so bright!), it did galvanize me into taking some new snaps of some old figures, so here begins an irregular series of wargaming retrospectives: From The Vault.

First up, Neo-Soviets...

I think these saw a single gaming outing (not unusual – I tend to paint more than I play), a game of Savage Worlds Showdown, if memory serves, probably Weird War II or something. They're nearly all Copplestone Castings, which are an absolute joy to paint.

The Command Group

The command group includes one of my favourite SF figures – the commissar-type aiming the pistol (at left in the photo above). This is the third time I'd painted the figure – I have the (vastly inferior) second iteration knocking around somewhere, but the first has long since gone AWOL. The flag is a bit of printer paper, torn rather than cut to appear a bit ragged. Looking at it now, I wish I'd used scissors...

The Infantry

I'm sure I had every intention of painting more infantry, and cannot remember why I didn't, but here we have four basic infantry. I do love the SFed AK-type assault rifles.

The Support Weapons

Two LMGs and two tankhunters to accompany four infantry is a cracking ratio, and made for two incredibly potent four-man fireteams.

The Snipers

Ah, the snipers. These were my favourite part of the whole force, thanks solely to the ghillie suit effect I achieved by gluing static grass to them. It was a pretty terrifying prospect, having painted the minis to what I deemed at the time to be a decent standard, but I'm still pleased that I overcame my last-minute nerves and slapped on the PVA. The one on the left has an overall-style suit, while the one on the right has a cape.

The Mech

This is the only piece in the force that isn't Copplestone – it's an old Warzone Bahaus walker of some description with a Soviet Head from... somewhere. Looking at it now, I see I missed one helluva mouldline on the gatling gun. Oh well.

The Yetis

I cannot recall why these appeared in the force, but there they are. More Copplestone figs, and my favourite 'hairy hominid' miniatures, bar none.

So there we have it. An odd little force, but one that I did enjoy painting. This might also be the first force for which I used polyfilla for the basing – it's certainly one of my early efforts (I moved away from the dirty grey basing to a more generic brown – I can't remember why exactly, but I do like the contrast it offers).

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Disclaimer: All links to third-party sites are solely for the purposes of sourcing the products I have discussed, if anyone is so inclined. I have simply linked to the original manufacturer or the source I used (but feel free to shop around!) and make no money from people clicking through.