Medbury Miniatures

 We got our eldest son a 3d printer last year, so naturally I have used this as an excuse to buy some 3d STLs. In fact, I have subscribed to Medbury Miniatures on Patreon. I initially supported the historical tier to get hold of their range of Vendel Era miniatures. However, I have since upgraded to the combined historical + fantasy tier, as Medbury are releasing some 'Ghostly Gauls' which will work perfectly for an Army of the Dead or Spectres in my games of Lord of the Rings. 

The last Vendel release was 12 figures - Horsa mounted and on foot, 4 mounted and 4 foot Jutish Hearthguard with axes, and the monster Grendel and his mother (inspired by the poem Beowulf). I have painted the Hearthguard so far, plus Horsa on foot (I did also finish the mounted version of Horsa, but then the dog got hold of him, so I now need to print out a new version!) and the detail on the figures is absolutely stunning. The sculpts themselves are highly evocative, conveying a real sense of movement and dynamism or quiet purpose and menace. The only slight change I have made is swapping out the resin lance for Horsa (nice but too fragile for my liking) with one made from a broom bristle. The miniature itself comes with an open hand to make such an change easy. 

I struggled to get the exposure right on these pictures, so they don't show the figures at their best, but hopefully enough to let you see just how nice these models are. As always, pictures are taken with a John Hodgson backdrop.

Another benefit of supporting Medbury on Patreon is that you get a 50% off voucher each month for all previous releases, so I will be steadily adding to these over the coming months.

Traitors for Horus Heresy

My work schedule means both hobbying and blogging proceed in fits and starts, as I often have to put things on hold on a regular basis. So these Death Guard models were finished a little while ago, but I have only now got around to taking photos and posting them.

They are all 3d prints upscaled to about 15mm to take account of the fact that they are supposed to be much bigger than humans. I printed these out before GW released their latest version the old Epic Space Marine, called Legions Imperialis, intending to play with an adaptation of the rules for the larger 28-32mm figures by GW. Given the delays and on-going issues with stock at GW, I think I will be sticking with this plan, and if I want to play big battles will probably adapt some other rules for that purpose.

Anyway, first up is a Death Guard Praetor in Cataphractii Terminator armour, carrying a big scythe as befits the sons of Mortarian the Reaper. He is accompanied by a 5-man squad of Grave Wardens, also in Catapractii armour.

Next is a Legion Tactical Squad of 17 Legionnaires in Mk II armour armed with bolters, with a Centurion carrying, of course, a big scythe.

Everyone together. All these pictures are taken in front of an image taken from John Hodgson's Sci-Fi backdrops book.

Painting these was pretty simple. Armour was Army Painter Skeleton Bone spray, GW Contrast Skeleton Horde and drybrush with Vallejo Splinter Camo Base. This gave a muted, slightly grubby look which fits nicely with the Death guard's aesthetic. Shoulder pads were GW Loren Forest (a nice subdued green colour which, when shaded with Agraax Earthshade contrasts nicely with the pale armour) and metal bits were picked out in GW Stormhost Silver. Finally gun casings were picked out in black (tactical Marine Bolters) or GW Leadbelcher (Grave Warden grenade launchers). The odd bit of GW Mephiston Red was used here and there for contrast or to make characters stand out eg on the Preator's cloak.

With lots of small miniatures, moving them all could be pretty labourious in a game, so I had a think about how I could base them in such a way that would still allow individual casualty removal and the flexibility to play smaller games with individually based figures. I initially thought about having some sabot bases made up, but then saw this article on James Morris' blog about making magnetic bases for his forthcoming Midgard rules. I liked this idea; they are very easy to make with magnetic sheets from Coritani Magnetic Displays (who are an absolutely fantastic company to order from with excellent and speedy service) and mdf bases from Warbases (also a brilliant company) and actually work out cheaper than the equivalent sabot base.

This shot shows the bases - all the figures have magnetic sheet stuck to their own bases which is then cut to size with a pair of scissors. I might landcape them a bit, but as space is quite limited with six figures on a base, I might just leave it. All the bases are given a rattlecan basecoat and then different colours (cheap craft acrylic and tester pot colours from B&Q) are dabbed on with a sponge.

This shot just shows a base with three of the figures removed.

Another bonus is they make storing the figures very easy and offers a degree of protection as the base stops the figures from sliding around.

 

Gods and Giants

Like any wargamer worth their salt, I have several projects on the go at any one time, in various stages of (in)completion. This one came about when I was browsing James Morris' blog, looking for ideas/inspiration for my El Cid army. I have long been an admirer of James Morris' historical armies, ever since I came across an article in Wargames Illustrated which showcased his El Cid figures (check out his blog Mogsymakes - it is full of inspiring stuff!) but what caught my eye this time was a post about Norse myth wargaming. Now, I have always enjoyed Norse mythology (which probably explains my affinity for The Rout in Horus Heresy), but have never considered it a prospect for wargaming - all that changed as I read James' blog! He is writing a set of rules called Midgard, a set designed for bigger battles of 10+ units a side (although you can go much bigger!). One of his battle reports/playtests was of a mixed Viking and Dwarf army, led by various Norse gods such as Thor taking on a Frost Giant army led by Loki. Now I have some Vikings already, plus lots of GW Orcs for Lord of the Rings, and I have always wanted to get some Dwarfs, so I thought this would make a fun new project that (hopefully!) won't need too many new purchases.

The Frost Giants were easy - I ordered the Reaper Bones Frost Giant Princess, Frost Giant Bodyguard and Frost Giant Heroine.

These are lovely models and because they are made out of plastic, very reasonably priced. I got mine from Mighty Lancer Games, who were very prompt indeed in dispatching the models. The only thing is priming them - they are marketed as ready to paint without priming, but because I wanted to use Contrast Paints, I need some sort of basecoat. Apparently, the usual rattlecan primer doesn't work with them, so I brushed on Army Painter Skeleton Bone as a base colour/primer to work from.

The Norse Gods proved slightly trickier at first. James Morris uses figures from a boardgame as well as a Lucid Eye miniature for Loki, but I fancied something a bit different. One of the joys of 3d printing is the ability to upscale the miniatures, and I wanted my Thor to look suitably beefy, so I did a search for 3d Norse god miniatures. Unsurprisingly, there were lots of figures based on the Marvel movies, but while I quite liked the look of Loki, I wanted something more 'Dark Ages' for Thor. Eventually, I settled on this figure:

I went for the helmeted version and asked for him to be upscaled so that he stands about 60mm tall - suitably imposing!

The Loki figure is very much inspired by his appearance in the Marvel movies, with his horned helmet and spear. Loki is supposed to be of Frost Giant lineage, many of whom have horned helmets, so this was a nice subtle way of linking the Frost Giants with Loki himself. He is also a 3d printed miniature:

The detail on the miniatures is excellent, even down to the knotwork engraved on the head of Mjolnir. The only problem was I dropped Thor and so the wings on his helmet are partially snapped off - resin makes for beautifully detailed, but brittle, miniatures!

 Here they are photographed on a rare bright day in front of a John Hodgson backdrop. 

Grend Whitehair, bodyguard to Princess Elvar

Vol, Frost Giant Heroine, and Grend

Princess Elvar joins Vol and Grend

Loki, the Horned God & Trickster, and Elvar

Thor, God of Thunder and Protector of Humankind

Thor and Grend face off! You can see the intricate detail on the head of the 3d print of Mjolnir 

And just to give an idea of how big these giants are compared to a normal 28mm figure, here's a shot of Vol with a model of Aragorn (my favourite version - the one from the Breaking of the Fellowship set) from Games Workshop that I finished at the same time, again front of a John Hodgson backdrop:

I am very happy with how they have turned out, with the Contrast Paints working a treat to give a very naturalistic feel to the Frost Giants. The only slight concern is that Loki's aesthetic is very different to that of the Frost Giants - obviously the preening god is a bit too concerned about his appearance! At some point I might source a different figure, but for now they are all good to go.