B is for Black Undercoat

Miniatures. You can't play a miniatures wargame without them. Actually, that's not strictly true; you could use cardboard chits, small glass beads, or chocolate buttons, but let's run with the first assertion. You're going to want to paint your little soldiers so that the dice gods may show favour upon them. Unpainted miniatures (or "minis") just look naff when your opponent  is fielding even the most poorly daubed unfortunates.

To begin with, after you've got rid of mould lines (a thin line around the figure where it has been cast) and flash (rogue bits of metal/resin/plastic), you have to put on an undercoat. On the mini, not yourself. There are several schools of thought on undercoating - brush vs spray vs airbrush, black, white, grey, acrylic, enamel etc etc

Here's my current method: I use car bodywork spray paint from Halfords. It covers really well and is half the price of most hobby brand sprays. For my Dark Eldar army, I have been using a light coat of matt grey to begin with, and when this has dried, I give it a more concentrated coat of matt black. The grey helps the black to adhere and also, when you come to paint the minis, you will find niggly bits the spray missed. You can then go over these with black paint on your brush, which is easier if you have the grey base to work from, rather than bare plastic/metal/resin/sponge cake (one of these may be a lie).

I prefer a black base as it provides easy definition for the separation of different areas of colour and texture. Here's an example:

Already quite a way along, but you get the idea

You can see that the black provides a clear distinction between Amanthas' skin and her... jewellery. Some people dislike black as you either have to use highly pigmented solid layers of paint, or many many thinner layers. I don't mind this as I prefer the high contrast that black provides, and also the discipline of thinning my paints that it necessitates. I may well talk about how white and grey undercoats can provide different effects in a later post.

Here is the finished mini (I painted this way back in 2007):

The finished figure

Her skin took a great deal of time and patience to achieve the luminosity of the highlights and the sheen overall. It probably would have been faster on lighter undercoat but I'm very pleased with the result.

Miniatures for Oriental Adventuring 5

Essex Miniatures - a little long in the tooth, the dumpy 25mm may lead to them looking unintentionally comical. Perhaps they could be a secretive halfling ninja clan?

Foundry have re-released some real classics by Aly Morrison, which some of you may recognise from back in the day.

Privateer Press have the Skorne who could perhaps be some form of oni or bakemono.

As an aside, this should probably be No. 4 in the series of OA mini posts. I seem to have mislaid No. 2...

A Pain in the Neck

Grand painting plans scuppered by torticollis.

Have instead created a painting schedule. How organised.

The Serried Ranks

I have completely reorganised my miniature painting set-up, to physically and mentally de-clutter. Previously the paints were sorted into inks; metallics; everything else in two other boxes. Now everything is in 3 boxes, sorted by manufacturer. All tools (previously in 2 drawers) are now in 1, along with all glues, basing materials etc. Instead of being mixed in together, unpainted minis and loose bits have been separated, so "complete" minis live in one box and I now have a dedicated "bitz box". All the painted minis now live in 1 box, and their semi-painted brethren are now lined up on a shelf as a visual indicator of my progress.

In a fit of determination, my goal is to join the 52 Miniatures in 52 Weeks blog, and set that as a target. Yes, well...

Back in the leaden saddle

I have a small painting area back at home, and have brought out the paints, brushes, minis etc. I've reorganised my paints, and am about to embark on an inventory of the miniatures; then I can sort out what I can finish off painting and what I need to paint for the next D&D adventure and potential skirmish wargames.

So, that's where I am.

Miniature Painting - What I Do

Before launching into this, I'll just make clear that this is what I do, and not necessarily what everyone does or would recommend.


Tools and Materials


A good modelling knife ( I use an X-Acto). Modelling files - available in packs. Fast-acting Superglue (preferably with a way to apply it in small amounts (I use Zap-a-gap). Polystyrene cement (preferably with a brush applicator) if you are putting together plastic minis. PVA Glue - for applying basing. Flock/sand/rubble - your taste as to how you want the base to look.

Brushes


Don't buy GW's brushes - you can get similar brushes from an art shop. Look for sable brushes; you could use synthetic, but I find sable gives more "feedback" to my hands and eye than synthetic brushes do, allowing me to control the brush better. If you want to be fancy, you can look at Windsor & Newton Series 7 brushes, but you don't need them to start off with. They are excellent though.

Paints


Acrylics all the way. They are just much easier than oils and enamels. They dry faster (not always a good thing but see later), are water soluble when wet, and are (in the main) non-toxic. A large variety of manufacturers produce paint these days, and it's one of the few areas in which I go for GW/Citadel. Their Wash range and range are suberb. In fact, you could get away with just buying those two box sets.

Prep


ALWAYS prep - I can't emphasise this enough. The difference it makes to the finished model is aesthetically huge. For plastic minis use your knife to gently scrape away the mould lines. Plastic minis these days have come on leaps and bounds from even 5 years ago, so you still need to take care not to get rid of detail. For metal minis, you can use your knife and a file. I can't speak for the new-fangled plastic-resin or whatever that Mantic and GW are using, but I should imagine that the old techniques still work but you may need to fill in the moulding bubbles with green stuff.

Undercoat


There is so much variation in how people go about doing this stage. It really depends on what effect you are after, how much time you want to take, and how many models you're painting (see below). There are three main colours for undercoating (well there are lots but to begin with we'll say 3): black, white, grey. I have used all 3 and like the effects they all give.

Black - Pro - gives strong definition of areas of the mini and adds depth of shading (no need to blackline). Con - you need to carefully layer colours on top thinly in order to get strong colours. Suitable for any mini but works well for dark colourschemes or 'sinister' minis.

White - Pro - good strong colours. Con - areas you miss are really obvious! Suitable for any mini but most suitable for colourful ones or 'goodies'.

Grey - Pro - Provides a good base for either type of scheme, especially in combination with a dark wash (black/brown) either before or after applying base colours to areas. Con - I haven't really found any.


Applying the Undercoat


A matter of time/preference. You can either apply by brush or spray. If you're spraying, you need to be seen by a vet. OK, seriously, on the matter of spray - don't buy GW/Citadel's (notice a theme?), get car-body spray. I get all of mine that way and they are cheaper, contain more and give better coverage. Spray outside in low humidity when possible.

Single/Multiple models

Are you wanting to paint an individual model as best you can or are you looking to paint batches of models at the same time to acceptable standard? The same disciplines apply but they require different mindsets. More in another post, perhaps.

Basing


A base completes the model. If you leave the base blank, to me it looks unfinished and ruins the overall effect. Even if it's a coating of flock, at least it's something.

Varnish


Like undercoating, varnish can either be brushed or sprayed. It comes in gloss or matt and most people recommend a first coat of gloss (protects well) followed by a coat of matt (makes it less shiny). You can then either leave the metallic parts and gems shiny or redo them with gloss if you've hit them with matt. Or just leave them matt if you like that effect.

This is a really basic overview, but if people want more information on something, I can post further on specific topics...

Playtest - By This Axe I Rule

By This Axe I Rule!

Playtest 15/01/11

Forces: 



Donaar's Alliance
Wood Elves 1
Wood Elves 2
Elrose the Axe, Wood Elf SuperHero
Halfling Riflemen
Dwarves
Friar Duquesne, Priest-Hero
Donaar K'baab, Dragonman Champion




Forces of Orcus
Madskyllz, Troll
Ho-pe-teh, Giant Toad
Dark Elves 1
Dark Elves 2
Daphid Powy, Dark Elf Champion
Ghouls
Dark Karolina, Vampire Hero

Table set-up: 3ft by 3ft table. Chris placed the terrain, and Jonathan chose which table edge to set-up on. Chris set-up on opposite side. Decided that forces could set up in an area 6” from each table edge on their side. Rolled dice to see who would set up first, and then alternated placing units. If a character was separate to a unit, they counted as a unit for placement.

Time of day: As the dark elves had the darkvision quality, we used a day/night determination method from the game Fantasy Warriors. This came up with the first segment of daytime, so no night-fighting advantage for the drow.

Backstory: In an alternate future of our D&D campaign, only one member of the Heroes of Winterhaven survives, Donaar K’baab, dragonborn paladin of Bahamut. His companions have fallen or in the case of Karolina the bard, been subverted to the cause of the Heroes’ enemy, Orcus, Demon Lord of Undeath. With a ragtag band of followers, and some cross-planar aid from some halflings armed with curious flame rods, Donaar goes to battle Karolina and her warband.

Turn 1
No missile fire (out of range). Moving forward in most cases. Wood Elves stayed in woods but changed facing. Turn phases were met with approval, especially the simultaneous nature of missile fire.

Turn 2
Dark Elves and Wood Elves fire upon one another. Dark Elves eliminate the Dwarves, but Donaar is unscathed (too bad I only had 3 dwarf minis...). Ghouls take casualties. to missile fire. Hobbits move to cut off the Toad and Troll, who are hidden behind the tower. Friar Duquesne hangs at the back, forgetting to use his save power. (Doh)

Turn 3
Hobbits gun down Madskylz, as he emerges from behind the ruined tower. Ho-pe-teh also emerges. Wood Elf Unit 1 loses 3 members and their morale holds. Wood Elf Unit 2 loses 3 members, and fails morale test. Starts to flee. Elrose engages the ghoul unit and destroys them with his mighty axe, before he too is killed.

Turn 4

The hobbits shoot at Ho-pe-teh, but the toad survives, slowly plodding towards the small riflemen. Donaar K’baab, Daphid Powy, Karolina, and Friar Duquesne enter into melee. Daphid and Donaar trade blow for blow (we both kept guessing one another’s moves very accurately), but finally Donaar is felled. Friar Duquesne smashes Karolina round the head and she too is slain. The fleeing Wood Elves are unable to be rallied, as Friar Duquesne is too far away, and thus flee off the table. A victory for the forces of Orcus.

Miniatures for Oriental Adventuring 4

Here we go again with more minis for your delectation!

First up, Dixon Miniatures:

The latter pic is wonderfully titled "Dai Oni in savage mood brandishing mallets". They have an enormous range of figures, both military and civilian, as well as fantasy. The only con is that they are quite squat and stocky compared to more "modern" ranges. Otherwise, this is a real treasure trove of variety.

Samurai Catalogue

Now The Assault Group:

Another large range, with a great mix of nationalities (including different Chinese dynasties - perhaps a way for you Kara Tur fans to distinguish Shou Lung and T'u Lung?). TAG have free worldwide postage as well, I think.

Medieval Asia range

Miniatures for Oriental Adventuring 3

Thanks to Jagatai and Lowell Francis for the great links in comments to the last post! I should try to compile all of the links into one post. In the meantime, here's a great fantasy range, with oni, kitsune and other folkloric beings:

Bushido - the Game

Sorry, a brief post today. More cold, and filling in job application!

Good gaming, chaps.

Miniatures for Oriental Adventuring 2

Ming Chinese from Cavalcade

I've been doing some more research into manufacturers as well as looking up US distributors, as so many of the mini companies making the stand-out collections are small companies based in the UK.

Hasslefree Miniatures - Scroll down for US distributors list

West Wind Productions - - their box sets look pretty good value but I haven't seen a US distributor yet, although they do ship to you colonials

Museum Miniatures (another UK company) -  make a fun little range of 28mm samurai and ashigaru, including a taiko drummer and a lord with war fan - again they ship to the US

Cavalcade Wargames - a Seattle based company with several great ranges including samurai goblins, samurai Minotaurs, samurai dwarves, Ming Chinese, Wako, and Kingsford Miniatures' range

Get your game face on

Just got back from a session of Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition, a game I've been playing since its release 3 years ago, and am still not bored of yet :D

Usually I'm the DM; for some readers I'll clarify this as Dungeon Master, analogous to a referee. Today, however, I was a player, controlling an elf warlord (elves are not the fairy kind but more like those of Tolkien, and a warlord is a type of character who acts like a commander and cheerleader for the other players' characters). I came in as a 'guest star' portraying the long unseen older half-brother of the group's half-elf ranger. So we had plenty of good banter.

What made it even more fun is that I got to be a character in the continuing world I'd been running. It was interesting and amusing to see and hear Rev Rosey's take on the setting and the various creatures we encountered. Here's how we left things at the end of play: our heroes are investigating the disappearance of a dark elf trade caravan, but now find themselves confronting said dark elves (who are actually being mind controlled)...

Riders of the Black Temple - Warband Rosters

Here are the rosters for the two forces in the Riders of the Black Temple skirmish. Admittedly, if one doesn't know Song of Blade and Heroes, it won't mean much. I'm going to try to make some notes on the setup and scenario. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to play it in the near future!

The Heroes

Ran Tan Kani (Korobokuru Barbarian)
Points 30	Quality 3+	Combat 3
Special Rules	Forester, Short Move

Shinko (Shugenja) - Personality
Points 80	Quality 3+	Combat 2
Special Rules	Cleric, Leader

Uchai (Wu Jen) - Personality
Points 46	Quality 3+	Combat 1
Special Rules	Fearless, Magic-User

Mamoru (Ninja) - Personality
Points 64	Quality 3+	Combat 2
Special Rules	Assassin, Shooter: Medium, Stealth

Daidoji Yorinaga (Samurai) - Personality
Points 106	Quality 3+	Combat 4
Special Rules	Fearless, Hero, Leader

Jiro (Monk)
Points 42	Quality 3+	Combat 3
Special Rules	Free Disengage, Steadfast

Tenko (Shinko's Dog)
Points 11	Quality 4+	Combat 2
Special Rules	Animal

Riders of the Black Temple

Sohei Points 52 Quality 3+ Combat 2 Special Rules Long Move, Mounted

Sohei Points 52 Quality 3+ Combat 2 Special Rules Long Move, Mounted

Sohei Points 52 Quality 3+ Combat 2 Special Rules Long Move, Mounted

Sohei Points 52 Quality 3+ Combat 2 Special Rules Long Move, Mounted

Sohei Points 52 Quality 3+ Combat 2 Special Rules Long Move, Mounted

Sohei Points 52 Quality 3+ Combat 2 Special Rules Long Move, Mounted

Sohei Points 52 Quality 3+ Combat 2 Special Rules Long Move, Mounted

Sohei Points 52 Quality 3+ Combat 2 Special Rules Long Move, Mounted

Sohei Points 52 Quality 3+ Combat 2 Special Rules Long Move, Mounted

Sohei Points 52 Quality 3+ Combat 2 Special Rules Long Move, Mounted

Sohei Points 52 Quality 3+ Combat 2 Special Rules Long Move, Mounted

Sohei Points 52 Quality 3+ Combat 2 Special Rules Long Move, Mounted

Sohei Points 52 Quality 3+ Combat 2 Special Rules Long Move, Mounted

Sohei Points 52 Quality 3+ Combat 2 Special Rules Long Move, Mounted

Sohei Points 52 Quality 3+ Combat 2 Special Rules Long Move, Mounted

Sohei Leader - Personality Points 92 Quality 3+ Combat 3 Special Rules Leader, Long Move, Mounted