Maori War Brits and Army Painter

The first figures have been completed! Ok, it is only seven so far but these were test pieces to see if my choice of colours and dip technique would work. I have to say that I am pleased with the results and I am now confident enough to blaze away with the rest of the project.

What follows is a sort of step by step version of the painting process, just three steps you will be pleased to read! The basic paint job, the dip and then the varnished model. Lets start with the British infantry figures. These were easy to paint, the detailing being so crisp and clean, there are even incised lines between the cuff and the sleeve of the jackets (and other areas) to make the job so much easier. The detail is also deep enough that you can clearly see what is what on the figure and be able to get at it with the brush; this makes a huge difference.

So, first the basic paint job. This needs to be as neat as possible but depth coverage on certain areas is not such an issue, the knapsack for example; it is supposed to be rough material anyway. Iffy coverage will actually help the dip give a flat area texture...honest. Not so good on belts though, coverage here must be good. Skin areas can also benefit from slightly less than perfect depth coverage, helps add a little character later.

Don't look great do they? Neat and tidy, yes but dull. I have also added some highlights to some area at this pre dip stage,the trousers and jacket, ammunition pouch etc. Not too much but enough to see. I do not paint faces on figures and definitely do not do eyes...makes the figure look creepy at best. Let the casting and dip do the work.

So now I paint on the Army Painter dip, the Strong Tone in this case. Generous amounts starting with the hat and working my way down the figure. Let the dip build and well up, we need the figure to be well covered, but make sure these areas are cleared before you finish. Just use the tip of the brush to lift the excess out. Practice and personal preference will allow you to get the amounts right.

This is usually the panicky stage....oh my, what have I done! etc etc etc. Even now, I hesitate before applying dip! It still goes against the grain after years of straight forward painting. That said, despite the glare, you can see the effect the dip has had. Some detail is now visible and the figure has a good degree of shading. The faces have really changed and now look a lot better and the detail is very clear without the scary haunted doll look. But, the figures now need the all important anti-shine varnish..painted on for preference...I do not trust spray varnishes. But the effect of the varnish is quite amazing....

The shading is now more subtle and the highlights added before the dip are clear enough to add their effects. All of the detailing is now clearly visible and the benefit of quality figures shows. Empress Miniatures are so easy to paint and the detail allows my dip method to really have an amazing effect for very little work. Damn I love Empress Miniatures....I am ordering more this week!!!!

OK, the Brits have come out well, but what about some of the civilian figures I have; those pesky settlers that will need rescuing?? So far I have just done the ladies, a Mother and two daughters I suppose....that is how I am using them anyway. These needed less work at the basic painting stage given their huge dresses but again the dip allows you to work with such tricky areas.

Once again, basic paint job but with some highlighting.

So, what do you think? I am very happy with the results and I am looking forward to the rest of the project. The Empress figures look great and suit my chosen painting method. There is a lot of detail on the infantry figures so they do take some time to base paint that neatly but this is more than compensated for by the effect the dip has.

I apologise if some of the pics are not great, I just can't get the lighting right some how. Next post I will look at converting Muskets & Tomahawks for the New Zealand wars and my army lists.

Club Open Day

We at the MHWC are to hold our second annual Open Day on Saturday 7th September.

Iwade Village Hall, Ferry Road, Iwade, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME9 8RG

Come one, come all!!

Free entry, free parking, refreshments, the chance to meet the club...even a discount on new memberships taken out at the event!!!

Last years event - Seven Years War using Black Powder

As I am sure you are aware we are only a small club, no more than a dozen members on our books, and so running such an event is a little tricky. We run Broadside of course but a big show is actually a lot easier to run than a small open day; believe it or not. With a big show the members you have available are hovering around with various tasks and duties, one member can cover a lot of ground. With an open day, where the club will run a few demo/participation games (and one or two other stands) the membership numbers are stretched with each given a fairly specific task.

WRG 6th edition, a fun trip down memory lane at last years open day

This year we have three MHWC club games, an ancients bash using 'WRG 6th edition' (ah, memories), a WW2 clash using 'Rapid Fire' and a WW1 skirmish using 'To the Last Man'. Our good friends at the Maidstone Wargames Society will also be running a game and we have some extra features for good measure; a kiddies make and take table and even a small Bring and Buy area. This year we also have a trader, Dispatches Books.

Maidstone Wargames Society joined us and ran a great WW1 naval game set in Africa...a lot of fun!

I would like to run a SAGA game too but numbers will not allow us to run it, We can and probably will lay out a game as a display, allowing people to try it out if nothing else, but it would be nice if it could be played too......I don't suppose there are any readers out there that would fancy coming along and running that for us????? You would be very welcome. Let me know.

So please pass this on to as many gamers and non gamers as you can, we would really appreciate your help....and do not forget to come along yourselves too!!!!!

Operation Squad WW2.....always a good game for a strong discussion!

Maori progress

After an enforced delay due to heat and icky tum my New Zealand Wars project is under way!!

The first batch of figures I received from Empress took just half an hour to clean up and glue to wooden bases; that was for twenty four figures and included the time needed to score hatch marks on the figure bases to ensure better adhesion!! I was very please with that. There was very small areas of flash on closer inspection but so little and so light it was easily missed and came off with very little effort. How many other figures could you clean up and base in such a short period of time? I have now ordered a second batch which should be here this week, enough to give me three units of ten infantry and some extra militia figures, some forty figures in all with what I already have.

All twenty four figures of the first batch are now undercoated and the twenty infantry figures have the coat colour on. The detailing is crisp and deep enough to make life that much easier, it is also good enough to allow me to use the Army painter dip on them confident that judicious use will bring great results. Figures with poor detailing are difficult to use dip with, there just isn't anything to work with and the figure just looks dirty. Good detailing is lifted and highlighted with the dip, faces work really well and with little effort a well detailed figure can look great...faces can be soooo tricky!

I have also begun to consider the issue of terrain more closely. New Zealand has unique flora (and fauna of course) and this is going to be a bit of a bugger to recreate. Charles Darwin wrote that on a visit to the newly settled north island in 1838 he saw some English oak, but these were definitely grown by the settlers as a long term resource; not native and not beyond the settlements area of cultivation. A New Zealand company make some self build plants but aimed at the model railway market at OO/OH scale. I know plants can be a variety of sizes but when you are using 28mm figures you do need something larger, otherwise the games look like battles in local allotments! The owner of the company, Graeme, has had parcels made up and weighed so he could tell me what postage to England would be. Six packs (between eighteen and thirty or so models depending upon species) would cost $NZ15.00, about £8.00, so not too nasty. I have asked whether, as he makes them, the models parts could not be up scaled to better suit wargamer needs. I am awaiting his reply.

Testers needed

Could you be a super-secret game tester for me?

I have designed a game for the MHWC members to play during our Christmas meeting. We usually play one game as a club that will provide a winner who gets a prize...bit of a crimbletide tradition...but I need it to remain a surprise for them until the meeting itself; hence my need for non club members to test it.

The game isn't going to be published commercially, it will end up here as a free download once it has been played at the club, but I would like it to be tested by other games to make sure that it, A - actually works, B - is actually fun, and C- that the few game tools I have designed for it are fit for purpose.

The game can be sent as an email attachment and will need to be printed off. The rules are just a few pages long but there are a number of cards to be cut out too, all very important to the game. It will be sent as a couple of PDF files.

If you think you can help, please get in touch, miltonhundredwargamesclub@googlemail.com Let me know if you would like more info before hand too. I would also ask that it does not appear on any of your own blogs yet either....not saying it would of course!

Thanks in advance

Maori War Brits arrive! - A few anyway...

Whoo-hoooo! My Empress Miniatures order has arrived. So far I have been impressed by the company, ease of ordering/time of dispatch/arrival at my door etc. I also liked their multi buy deal for the British Infantry I bought. The packs of four figures are £7.00 but the multi buy deal is for four packs and works out at just £22.00. This is a really good saving and one of the best I have seen amongst manufacturers...and you don't seem to get dumped with a pile of odd crappy figures either like some companies do (see my Crappy Figure Rant post). So far all fantastic, but what about the figures themselves?

They are bloody brilliant!!!!

Those who know me and follow my blog will be aware of my love of all things Front Rank, fantastic figures, fantastic prices, fantastic company to deal with etc etc etc. I can honestly say that these New Zealand Wars figures are at least as good as the Front Rank pieces, very different in style and heft of course, but they are incredibly clean with no flash whatsoever...they even stand up on the bases! All I had to do was slightly straighten the odd rifled musket, you can go from packet to painting tray straight away! Take a look at some of what arrived...

The firing line poses, two of the four pack value set

As you can see, these figures look great straight from the pack, no clean up at all. This next close up pic gives you a better idea.

Not even a mould line in sight, I especially like the slight lean the figure has in anticipation of the recoil.

This shot is of one of the figures from the other two packs in the value pack, the advancing/skirmishing sets. You can see a spec of flash on the musket butt but that is about it! The detailing is very neat indeed, just look at the face!

This is the Regular Infantry Officer set, some very nice poses I think you will agree. Again, look at the detailing and crispness. The heft of the pieces is nice too, just right.

The Homesteader set, Father, Mother (far right) and two daughters. The set is clearly designed to be used in a defensive scenario and a fantastic job has been made of the sculpting, you can see the panic.

These figures are some of the best I have seen and I cannot wait to get started on them. I have sixteen infantry figures, given that is the most economic way to buy them, but I am going to need more. The Units in Muskets and Tomahawks allow me to make two units out of them but I would like slightly larger units, ten figures each for preferance...ish....I have a thing about numbers in units...don't ask, so I will need to buy more, obviously. My plan is to build a 1:1 ratio force based around a reduced Company of regulars supported by some locals/provincials, so now I need to find some info on how British battalions were organised c.1840 to do this properly. Again, I am a bit OCD when it comes to such things. And then there are those nice naval party figures too of course....

The officer set is great but I could really do with more of the sergeant figure, one of the downsides of wanting such stupid things as a perfect 1:1 ratio is that getting hold of enough of certain figures can be a real pain. The contents of the figure sets is dictated by the moulds so securing enough of certain figures could be a problem....or very expensive! I will need another of the great value four pack sets, that will then give me three units of ten figures and a couple over that I can turn into sargeants etc. Final unit size will be set by the historical numbers for section/platoon/company. Then some Provincial troops, some militia....perhaps a naval party.....this could become a tad expensive you know and I havn't even looked at the Maori yet!! Bloody hell....I wonder if I offered to sweep up and make the tea at Empress I could exchange my services for figures? I would bring cake too of course.....smacks a bit of drug fuelled desperation....

I leave you with this last thought regarding skirmish games in New Zealand...terrain is going to be a pig...not many european trees down there you know. There is a solution though, a Kiwi company makes stuff for railway layouts, a tad small for 28mm but who can argue. Seen many of these at your local model shop? Another order form to complete....sigh.

Maori Wars - a descent into madness?

Here we go again. I lasted until Sunday evening but the writing was on the wall long before then. I have now ordered my first batch of figures for the Maori thing. I tried to resist, I really did, but I am just a weak willed wargames nerd; what chance did I realistically have?

On the other hand, I can qualify the purchase and the project reasonably well and for once it does not hang on pretty figures like these Maori warriors by Empress Miniatures...

....or these homesteaders ....

.....oh no. There is actually a logical explanation for once.

When Muskets & Tomahawks first came on the scene I was immediately impressed; I have a thing for quirky rules that also provide a solid framework. I have always been interested in the AWI and skirmish level games and so here seemed an ideal opportunity. I planned games based upon Lexington and Concorde, drew up figure and unit lists and everything....I even bought some figures; and therein lay the rub. Given the skirmish nature of the game I decided on using the magnificent Front Rank 40mm figures, and they truly are magnificent too. The trouble was that I had miscalculated in my eagerness and love of the figures; 40mm is a bit of a bugger when it comes to terrain. Skirmish games are terrain heavy of course and so my plans and enthusiasm sadly and slowly dwindled, psychologically hoisted by my own petard.

Then, thanks to Andy and Roly (see previous Maori post) the answer dawned to my Muskets & Tomahawks problem, use a different period and theatre for the rules. The New Zealand Wars, as all conflicts in that country are now known, provide all the possible scenario types that the rules were designed for; irregular native forces, local militias, Imperial troops, settlers, naval landing parties etc etc. The wars were generally large scale skirmishes, raids, flag pole chopping, just the sort of thing that the rules were meant for. There are a great deal of similarity between the French Indian war and these 'Fires in the Fern' of New Zealand. The weapons are similar enough to make things easy for adaptation as are the troop types. I can use a variety of readily available buildings, a mix of AWI and even some Western Gunfight buildings are perfect for such a frontier colony that was New Zealand in the mid 19th Century.

So, in fact, I have not actually started a new project at all...I have progressed  in a new and exciting direction that will afford me new enthusiasm and an achievable end.....so there....and you cannot say otherwise....la la la la la I'mnotlistening la la la la la

40K Necron Warriors

I know, I know.....don't hear from me in weeks and two posts turn up in as many days.

I am not a big fan of warhammer stuff but my kids dabbled when they were younger and now my young Nephew has been introduced to 40K by a teacher at his school in Nairobi, Kenya. The club will start properly in the new school year in a couple of months but he did enjoy his first go.

Being a nice uncle I decided to help young Luke out and start his collection off. I bought him a box of figures (got a great 25% off deal from Andrea at Nickel Books) and painted them up so could have a good start. That way, all he needed to do was turn up with his unit and join in.

The idea is this, if Luke enjoys his games and would like to take things further then great; I can help get him started and offer encouragement and advice etc. His poor mum was a bit freaked when I told her what the hobby could eventually turn into and some of the costs involved but, I also balanced this with the positives...reading skills, maths, quiet painting time and social connectivity...and look how well I turned out! Of course that last bit didn't quite help as much.

To continue my helpfulness I have also made a point of saying to Luke that he does not have to get involved in the hobby at all. If after a few games he decides that this isn't for him after all then no problem. The whole idea was for him to try something new and there is no pressure. If he likes it, great; we can build from there. If he doesn't, equally as great; he tried and experienced something and can now move on. I do try and be a good uncle and offer support, guidance and Chinese knuckle haircuts where possible. I will also draw on his face with a felt tip whenever I find him asleep somewhere....it never did my kids any harm and at least reminded them who was in charge no matter how clever they thought they were.