Witch Elf with Daggers 2 - Citadel 1990'ish

Hello all,

Not sure if I ever got this lovely little Dark Elf uploaded, but now, with her new base, I figured she deserved a bit of spotlight.
She is part of Citadel's second Dark Elven offensive, and although she is described as a "Witch Elf" there are very few similarities to todays psychotic half-nude, big-haired witch elves. Instead, she looks more like an adventurer, full of interesting little bits and pieces and unique weapons and armour. Her twin daggers also makes her look more like a close combat assassinesque elf.

One of theweird things about this mini is her eyes. This mini actually has the pupils sculpted. Gives her a very different appeareance.

Of course, she haas been painted to fit in with my Slaaneshi warband - and for once it poses little problem to devise some kind of background for why a Dark Elf would turn to the pleasure god - so the purple colour has been used freely.

And, just to finish with a flurry, we here have her next to KaYo's Temptress, showing to very different approaches to females in minitures. For me, both approaches has its place and while I would be much more inclined to use the Dark Elf as a player character or similar, the Temptress is much more likely to appear as a mysterious encounter in the woodlands. Good or evil? Noone could be entirely sure...

Hoped you enjoyed the old elf!

All the best,
Kasper

Golgfag - Ogre Chief of the Rutdroggs - Citadel RR8 1983

Hello all,

Another Ebay-buy that was motivated purely because I felt like painting the miniature was this Ogre. Compared to 'modern' ogres, this chap looks more like a (very) large human with a pronounced jaw. But this is none other than Golgfag in his first incarnation from ca. 1983. 

Leader of a Regiment of Renown, the Rutdroggs, Golgfag would be remodeled several times. But this version has always been my favourite. He might not look like someone who could raid Ulthuan, visit Skavenblight or similar, but he does have a very pronounced cunning look:

To emphasize this, I've painted him to look as much like a human as possible - although the purple tones were needed to tie him into the Slaaneshi warband. No idea that would entice an ogre to follow Slaanesh, but I'm sure this particular god would find somthing to tickle Golgfag into following.

One thing I really like about these old minis is that they seem plausible - the mace is a reasonable size and Golgfag's equipment looks like he has looted the best belongings of his victims.

A very nicely detailed mini and I really enjoyed painting him. Wouldn't mind trying some of the other members of this regiment, should they happen to end up on my painting station :-).

 The history of Golgfag's regiment was crafted into a pretty entertaining stoy:

The wars between the Goblins and Dwarfs had just begun when Golgfag and his Ogre band emerged out of the northern darkness. Golgfag was the chief of the Rutdrogg clan, and he saw the impending war as a good opportunity to gather loot and fresh meat. The Rutdroggs shambled out of their mountain homes and straight into the employ of Bogdan Legbreak, the chief of the Goblins of the northern Misty Mountains.

After a limited period of service Golgfag had taken part in several early actions of the war. The Rutdroggs proved themselves to be excellent troops, if somewhat undisciplined. One night after an especially long and intense drinking bout Glogfag and Bogdan, who had never liked each other anyway, fell to arguing. Within moments the whole Regiment was up and blood was flowing freely. 

By morning Golgfag's Regiment had fought its way out of the Goblin compound and taken to the woods.

Golgfag soon found employ again, however, this time fighting for the Dwarfs against his former allies. In this capacity he and his champion Grat'hud led a Dwarf party into the Goblin's stronghold and slew Bogdan in a bitter fight. Golgfag later established himself as one of the most adventurous leaders of the war and collected a great deal of gold, loot and captives before returning to the frozen north. (From http://www.solegends.com/citrr/rr08golgfags.htm)

A nice picture I found on the Internets, showing the evolution of Golgfags. 

I really prefer this, the earliest version; the one from 1985 seems of less quality, the one from 1998 too cartoonish and the 2011 one is far, far too busy for my taste.

Hope you also enjoyed this old mini!

All the best,
Kasper

Golgfag - Ogre Chief of the Rutdroggs - Citadel RR8 1983

Hello all,

Another Ebay-buy that was motivated purely because I felt like painting the miniature was this Ogre. Compared to 'modern' ogres, this chap looks more like a (very) large human with a pronounced jaw. But this is none other than Golgfag in his first incarnation from ca. 1983. 

Leader of a Regiment of Renown, the Rutdroggs, Golgfag would be remodeled several times. But this version has always been my favourite. He might not look like someone who could raid Ulthuan, visit Skavenblight or similar, but he does have a very pronounced cunning look:

To emphasize this, I've painted him to look as much like a human as possible - although the purple tones were needed to tie him into the Slaaneshi warband. No idea that would entice an ogre to follow Slaanesh, but I'm sure this particular god would find somthing to tickle Golgfag into following.

One thing I really like about these old minis is that they seem plausible - the mace is a reasonable size and Golgfag's equipment looks like he has looted the best belongings of his victims.

A very nicely detailed mini and I really enjoyed painting him. Wouldn't mind trying some of the other members of this regiment, should they happen to end up on my painting station :-).

 The history of Golgfag's regiment was crafted into a pretty entertaining stoy:

The wars between the Goblins and Dwarfs had just begun when Golgfag and his Ogre band emerged out of the northern darkness. Golgfag was the chief of the Rutdrogg clan, and he saw the impending war as a good opportunity to gather loot and fresh meat. The Rutdroggs shambled out of their mountain homes and straight into the employ of Bogdan Legbreak, the chief of the Goblins of the northern Misty Mountains.

After a limited period of service Golgfag had taken part in several early actions of the war. The Rutdroggs proved themselves to be excellent troops, if somewhat undisciplined. One night after an especially long and intense drinking bout Glogfag and Bogdan, who had never liked each other anyway, fell to arguing. Within moments the whole Regiment was up and blood was flowing freely. 

By morning Golgfag's Regiment had fought its way out of the Goblin compound and taken to the woods.

Golgfag soon found employ again, however, this time fighting for the Dwarfs against his former allies. In this capacity he and his champion Grat'hud led a Dwarf party into the Goblin's stronghold and slew Bogdan in a bitter fight. Golgfag later established himself as one of the most adventurous leaders of the war and collected a great deal of gold, loot and captives before returning to the frozen north. (From http://www.solegends.com/citrr/rr08golgfags.htm)

A nice picture I found on the Internets, showing the evolution of Golgfags. 

I really prefer this, the earliest version; the one from 1985 seems of less quality, the one from 1998 too cartoonish and the 2011 one is far, far too busy for my taste.

Hope you also enjoyed this old mini!

All the best,
Kasper

M4A3 Sherman Platoon - Flames of War - Urban Platoon (1:100)

Hello all,
Due to weird circumstances I ended up with some Shermans as part of a payment for a lecture I gave on Holy War. Why Shermans? Well, I really love the tank and have a 69% win-rate in it on World of Tanks :-). A rather crappy tank, but immensely fun to flank your opponents with.

So, Flames of War? Hmmm, never seen the models before but they sure look nice on the net :-). They were an absolute treat to put together and I'm quite impressed you get both decals (damn, those are annoying to apply!) and magnets in the box. And the detail of the minis were superb.

I decided to paint these as quickly as possible so I could use them as a gift for a friend so they were painted in one evening. Boy, that is a hard learning curve trying to paint 15mm historical miniatures all of a sudden! I had to figure out which of my greens would be most appropriate through trial and error and while it was really fun putting the models together (easily the best fun) some of the parts were just too small for my clumsy hands - two machineguns broke and I had to give up mounting the belly gun. No way I would ever get those on!

 
But they turned out fairly well - I wouldn't mind fielding them thats for sure :-). Never did figure out how to downtone the shiny nature of the decals.

Now, as you might have noticed, these have a banner. Not historical correct but the recipient of the gift has a thing for the crusades and hence the "Deus Vult" (God wills it) motto and the designation of (pope) Urban platoon :-).
The models could have used a few more hours of finish but I needed them done to present next day - hence the crappy pictures...

Alright, now you may kill me for all the historical incorrect colours, banner, etc :-).

All the best,
Kasper

Dusk Realm Demon painted (Old Chronopia monster-demon)

Hello all,
Faithful readers might remember the big hulk of metal I bought some months ago on Ebay. It was a big blob of black undercoated metal and I had no idea what it was but it only cost a pound or so and looked interesting.
Luckily, Donogh (from apokalypsisrpg), identified it as a Dusk Realm Demon from Chronopia. I've never played Chronopia, nor do I know much about the system and it's world, but it is pretty obvious that Mr. Demon is not a peace-loving hippie. Far from it, the demon emanates violence and a "come to the Chopper"-attitude towards life.

So I've actually been looking forward to painting this beast and it turned out to be quite fun. So, without further ramblings here he is in great company:

 The Dusk Demon, flanked by a couple of old Minotaurs. This should help show the size and immense bulk of this brute. All are mounted on bases from Fenris Games, and have had some pretty-pretty flowers from Army Painter added. They actually demanded the flowers - Slaaneshi gits :-).

The Demon was painted to fit with the warband - as a sort of almost transcended, heavily gifted minotaur champion. Or perhaps, as this has been a recurring problem, this is the demonic shape Slaanesh would appear to a Minotaur in. A Minotaur wouldn't care for some pansy little daemonette, but this beast should get the attention of even the baddest chaos-worshipping minotaur out there!

This also meant that it has been painted in the usual colours (purple, bronze) and with 'normal' skin, rather than a demonic flaming hue or something similar. I guess it would have been more appropriate aligned with something more base, such as Khorne, but diversity is inherent in Chaos (unless when it isn't)...

The shield has been a problem. The mini was actually finished some time ago but I couldn't figure out what to do about the shield. In the end I choose a simple, quikly painted Slaaneshi symbol - consider it a placeholder :-).

A rear shot, showing the somewhat weird armour. Looks effective but difficult to move in - but I do love the tiny tail-armour, not something you see everyday!

 Last picture is one we could call "Beauty and the Beast", for obvious reasons :-).

Chronopia-lore describes the demon thusly:
Taking its name from the place that spawned it, the Dusk Realm Demon is a brute in every sense of the word. It exists only to kill and maim and while it is given to fits of blinding rage, it commands a keen intellect. These Demons seem at home in the utter dark of the Under Realms and the sweltering twilight of the deep jungles. So hideous is the presence of a Dusk Realm Demon that it causes abject fear in all who encounter it and like its smaller cousin, is capable of devastating attacks with its horned head. A charging Dusk Realm Demon has been known to be able to withstand the charge of a Bull Myrmadon.

I think it may be unfair to call Mr. Demon 'hideous' but I agree that this guy should at least cause Fear+2 in anyone anywhere nearby :-).

Hope you enjoyed the beast, more Shadow of Brimstone coming shortly, but I needed a break from them minis...

All the best,
Kasper

Dusk Realm Demon painted (Old Chronopia monster-demon)

Hello all,
Faithful readers might remember the big hulk of metal I bought some months ago on Ebay. It was a big blob of black undercoated metal and I had no idea what it was but it only cost a pound or so and looked interesting.
Luckily, Donogh (from apokalypsisrpg), identified it as a Dusk Realm Demon from Chronopia. I've never played Chronopia, nor do I know much about the system and it's world, but it is pretty obvious that Mr. Demon is not a peace-loving hippie. Far from it, the demon emanates violence and a "come to the Chopper"-attitude towards life.

So I've actually been looking forward to painting this beast and it turned out to be quite fun. So, without further ramblings here he is in great company:

 The Dusk Demon, flanked by a couple of old Minotaurs. This should help show the size and immense bulk of this brute. All are mounted on bases from Fenris Games, and have had some pretty-pretty flowers from Army Painter added. They actually demanded the flowers - Slaaneshi gits :-).

The Demon was painted to fit with the warband - as a sort of almost transcended, heavily gifted minotaur champion. Or perhaps, as this has been a recurring problem, this is the demonic shape Slaanesh would appear to a Minotaur in. A Minotaur wouldn't care for some pansy little daemonette, but this beast should get the attention of even the baddest chaos-worshipping minotaur out there!

This also meant that it has been painted in the usual colours (purple, bronze) and with 'normal' skin, rather than a demonic flaming hue or something similar. I guess it would have been more appropriate aligned with something more base, such as Khorne, but diversity is inherent in Chaos (unless when it isn't)...

The shield has been a problem. The mini was actually finished some time ago but I couldn't figure out what to do about the shield. In the end I choose a simple, quikly painted Slaaneshi symbol - consider it a placeholder :-).

A rear shot, showing the somewhat weird armour. Looks effective but difficult to move in - but I do love the tiny tail-armour, not something you see everyday!

 Last picture is one we could call "Beauty and the Beast", for obvious reasons :-).

Chronopia-lore describes the demon thusly:
Taking its name from the place that spawned it, the Dusk Realm Demon is a brute in every sense of the word. It exists only to kill and maim and while it is given to fits of blinding rage, it commands a keen intellect. These Demons seem at home in the utter dark of the Under Realms and the sweltering twilight of the deep jungles. So hideous is the presence of a Dusk Realm Demon that it causes abject fear in all who encounter it and like its smaller cousin, is capable of devastating attacks with its horned head. A charging Dusk Realm Demon has been known to be able to withstand the charge of a Bull Myrmadon.

I think it may be unfair to call Mr. Demon 'hideous' but I agree that this guy should at least cause Fear+2 in anyone anywhere nearby :-).

Hope you enjoyed the beast, more Shadow of Brimstone coming shortly, but I needed a break from them minis...

All the best,
Kasper

Slashers painted (Shadows of Brimstone 10)

Hello all,

One with the horror show; this time the Slashers. Notice how great Josh has become at lining up monsters.

The slashers are one of two types of medium monsters and actually very difficult to kill. We've had three of these turn up and they are very hard opponents. The idea behind them - a sort of mix between locusts, beetles and something entirely weird - is also cool.

Unfortunately, the models are sort of flat and without details. Perhaps ahd I had an air brush these would be fun but in my case I had more or less given up getting nice results and had settled for quick results. Hence the lack of detail. But, hey, they look great from a distance :-).

And Josh really likes his new pets - just look at him parading them around :-)

All the best,
Kasper

How many horses for an artillery train???

Hello all,

So, one of the advantages of working at a University is that the library service is (usually) excellent. so whenever I notice an interesting book I'll have it on my desk within a few days. Something I very much enjoy. And abuse :-). 

One of these less-than-work-related-reads was a book entitled "The Artillery of the Dukes of Burgundy, 1363-1477" written by Robert Douglas Smith. A great read with a ton of interesting details, highly recommend it.

Now, at the end of this book is an interesting transcript of a contemporary document listing the entire contents of a Burgundian artillery train from 1475. This is fascinating reading; for instance, it had six bombards, three of iron and three of copper alloy, all with mantlets and sleds for these but only twelve shots (stone balls) in total for all. This in contrast to the (smaller) courtaux-guns which each had 200 stone shots included in the train. Also noted are the number of 'crew' needed for such an artillery train; e.g. pioneers (400), millers (4), and miners (50) who travelled along with the guns.

I think you will agree that this document is a wealth of information!

But the single number that stunned me most was the total number of horses needed for the entire train (guns, ammunition, the 4000 dozen bow strings, the 1000 spades, three pavillions and one (large) tent for the Duke himself, etc.).

So, how many horses would you guess a train this size needed just for equipment?

The answer is 5.245 horses, excluding those among the additional 800 aides and workers lucky enough to ride rather than walk. Nearly six thousand horses. Good luck replicating that in 28mm! :-).

Now, if anyone wants the document I have a pdf copy of the transcript - contact me below and I'll email you a copy. It really does contain a ton of information regarding everything from how many crossbow bolts were transported to the wages paid each day.

All the best,

Kasper

Samael - Demon Lord from KaYo Miniatures (almost SFW?)

Hello all,
So I showed the Temptress from KaYo Miniatures earlier in all her beauty, but today it is time to reveal the dark master she serves. Once the Temptress has tempted lone wanderers - enticing them with her amble  talents - it is only a matter of time before they welcome the embrace of Samael, lesser Demon Prince of Slaanesh:

The happy demonic couple

Samael is quite large and imposing. His wings (there were two options supplied by the Kickstarter, these and a more demonic and evil set resembling those of a bat) were difficult to photograph while keeping the demon itself focused, hence the lack of details on these.

A sculpt of great quality but as it was put together from four or five seperate pieces there was quite a few gaps to cover and I wish I had done this more meticulously - the groin area in particular turned out to be a bit rougher than I had thought it would be once paint was applied.

But a nice figure to paint, and the quite calm of the sculpt seems to enhance his bad-ass-ness, in my view.

I really enjoyed painting these two - there is a third miniature to join the party shortly - a priestess - but her face is causing me all kinds of problems due to minuscule details.

Hope you enjoyed them :-).

All the best,
Kasper

Temptress from KaYo Miniatures - Somewhat NSFW?

Hello all,
As a treat - both for the horror of painting the Shadows of Brimstone minis and for it being weekend - here is a nice, foxy Slaaneshi temptress I found stretching in the woods:

She was part of a Kickstarter run by KaYo Miniatures last year. Very nice details and a pleasure to paint. Now, she is quite nude and someone might have a problem with this, but then again I've painted male barbarians with as little clothes on and as the is a Slaaneshi temptress, I myself have no problems with the amount of clothes she has chosen to wear for her little stroll through the woods.

Her 'official' title is the "Mistress" serving the demon Samael - who will be uploaded one of the next days - and the two does make a very nice couple.

Anyways, I enjoyed painting her and I hope you have enjoyed seeing her in the flesh (very much, so to speak). She sure is nicer looking than the recently shown Shadows of Brimstone miniatures.

All the best,
Kasper