Fenris Games triple bill

I've spread my hobby funds around this period and one of the first I knew I wanted to buy from was Fenris Games.

I knew I needed something to use as a Sacred Ground scenery piece for Saga Age of Magic for one or more of the armies I have for it - I spotted the Spiral Glyph Stones set  (4 pieces) and thought this could work superbly for Albainn, but also for Érainn if I don't get a better idea!  When done it will also work well for Broken Legions too, as well as other fantasy games no doubt!

I took a picture with old Flavius from my Broken Legions collection as he was to hand:

I'll arrange these on an MDF base of a suitable size with some ground texturing.  If I'm careful with the tufts/grass choices it could work well-enough in a range of our games.

I know that I want some columns for games like Broken Legions and Mortal Gods so picked up a pack of Scrolltop Doric columns as a taster.  I have no doubt that I'll end up getting more from Fenris' extensive column range!  Flavius again serves as a guide to scale:

Not entirely sure how to approach using these - but I am sure they'll prove useful once I get my thinking cap on!

Finally for this order I added the Rubble City caryatid columns (square) - these are really nice.  I plan to put these on suitable MDF bases and keep them quite simple.  Like the other columns these'll work great for Broken Legions and Mortal Gods - but could have other uses depending on where future projects take me!  Here's Flavius striking a pose with them:

Hmm, think a ruined bit of roof section would make a nice bit of difficult ground to place between the two columns... Fenris stuff always has me thinking!

As these items were all available in stock they came quick - and as you can see only minimal clean up is required.  All of them were great value too, so I can definitely recommend them.

Operation Winter is Coming 2020

Another Autumn, another Operation Winter is Coming! It's a basic idea - winter here is usually wet, fairly cold and not conducive to getting minis and the like ready for painting.  So Autumn is a time for model prep, base dipping and priming!

So, this is what I've got on my radar this time round for prepping as part of Operation (in no order as they will likely move about as inspiration strikes!):

I've got my Mercenary Lochos built but not based - I've still got my Athenians and Spartans to build, then I'll base them all up prior to priming.  I love the minis, but the wrist joins on the metal stuff is killer at times from Footsore.  I've got some scatter scenery from Fenris Games also that I'll share soon - that'll primarily work for Mortal Gods (but also Broken Legions and similar).

I've got an order in with Pendraken to 'finish' (haha) the Irish side of this project - as well as a force of Tudor English to pit them against.  I've also placed an order for suitable scenery from Battlescale that I'm looking forward to doing too.

I've got three armies for this made up of Mierce Miniatures stuff and my mind it turning to the special scenery pieces for each too.  I've got one pretty much planned out and I'm just waiting for suitable MDF bases.

I've asked for Antenocitis Workshop bases for my birthday to finally get my Infinity collection moving! With the release of N4 it's about time I got stuck in properly! The bases will also work for other projects of a Cyberpunk vibe too...

And finally there is a mystery project I've got on order as a little taster...more on that when it arrives!

Poseidon, Neptune, or bloke with a bent trident?

 

I figured the WizKids Fountain would be quite quick to paint up so it jumped up the painting queue a little!

I hit it with a Citadel Nuln Oil wash with a drop of Vallejo Thinner Medium - this seemed to work pretty well and I'm happy enough with the outcome (given the impossible-to-fix trident and the weird squashed bits of the sculpt).

I still can't recommend this range - but at least I've got a usable scenery piece for a variety of games.

WizKids Deep Cuts - Fountain

 

So, as you may have seen, I picked up a second WizKids Deep Cuts piece - this time it was the Fountain:

As standard with this range it is allegedly primed and 'paint ready out of the box'... Well, again let's have a little look:

Well that trident is rather wonky and needs a hot water bend to look at least less bad (don't think it'll ever be quite right).  The rims of the water bowls (there's probably a technical name!) also have a squashed bit you can make out - it's not the worst but it definitely isn't round.  Finally, the pedestal that has been attached to the base isn't straight (not that evident in this picture but it was noticeable as I handled the piece).  But then, as it turns out it hadn't been assembled properly anyway and the pedestal wasn't glued to the base:

(and you can see how the trident is extra wonky from this angle too).  Well, it turns out this wasn't properly attached because some extra plastic was left in the hole in the water effect - I managed to clip it out and have reglued this together which has helped.

I like the design and think it'll be useful for all sorts of games  - Carnevale, Gangs of Rome, Broken Legions and Mortal Gods come to mind in particular. But, and it's a big but, for a product that is sold as ready to go out of the packet this certainly doesn't hit that mark.  I am very unlikely to buy any other WizKids products in the future (never say never though eh?) and based on my experiences I cannot recommend them to other wargamers. Caveat Emptor!

Sarissa Precision - Streets of Rome Planter Set

You might remember me posting about an order with Arcane Scenery and Models which included the Sarissa Precision Planter Set from their Streets of Rome range - well, I've assembled and painted them and, I have to say, they are really nice pieces of scatter terrain!

The pack includes 12 planters in different sizes and shapes - they are easy to assemble.  You can make them up so they are either full or empty - as I wanted mine to include plants I made them to be full.  I used my usual basing sand dip to give an soil texture inside the planters before priming them.

I painted them white to keep them as versatile as possible - whilst designed for Gangs of Rome these will also work for Mortal Gods, Broken Legions, Carnevale and wouldn't look out of place in Infinity either.

I added some blue flower tufts that I picked up on a special offer from Serious-Play on a whim - I didn't have a plan for them at the time, but I think they look rather nice in these planters!

To give you an idea of size - here's one next to a random 28mm Warlord Games Samurai I had to hand:

The pack also includes a couple of larger hexagonal planters - perfect for trees.  I bought a pack of Sakura trees a while ago with plans for my Neo-Shinjuku collection - but had some spare and thought they'd look good in these planters:

I had some Sakura scatter that didn't get used on another project (went a different direction, you know how it is!) but thought these could do with a little something to break up the soil around the trees. I think it works alright even though it's slightly different pinks to the trees themselves.

In all - I really like these planters - they provide an interesting scenery option that's a lot more engaging and colourful than just boxes or barrels.  I highly recommend this kit if you play any games with settings that they'd work with.

Five games on my mind right now

Hopefully it is apparent to readers of the blog that I like to mix things up hobby and game wise.  From week to week (sometimes day to day or hour to hour!) the games occupying brain space change and flow - although none ever disappear completely these days, they just go towards the back of the queue for a time!

So, here's 5 games that are on my mind right now!

Dragon Rampant - I have two projects running side by side for this system, one 15mm and one 28mm.  Whether it's the proud armies UNORP against the denizens of the dark woods (or, once lockdown is over the Human Barbarians!) or the clash of Halflings both living and dead, this ruleset will accommodate!  For the fact that I will have three painted armies for this ruleset, with another still to go, this game is never far from my mind these days.

Carnevale - the unique setting of this game and the diverse cast of gangs we have in the collection make me keen to give it a try - however I do want to 'play it painted' so it's got to wait for me to paint up a couple of gangs before it will hit the table.

Mortal Gods - I'm going to chalk this one up to my better half playing (and thoroughly enjoying) Assassin's Creed Odyssey.  The metal minis definitely suffer from the Footsore issue of hand joints (seriously, can we at least have Gripping Beast style pegs on wrists?) so they are finding themselves pushed back on the assembly queue - which at the moment means they won't get primed any time soon either unfortunately. Still, the setting is cool, the miniatures are cool (hand joint gripe aside) so this is on very much still on the brain radar.

Burrows & Badgers - I've had a couple of warbands painted up for this for a while now, but real life has gotten in the way of learning the game and getting a mini-campaign going.  With the purchase of a third, neutral NPC style warband this has bounced back up the queue - and once some suitable terrain is painted up I really hope to get this to the table to start getting to grips with the game.

SAGA - well I finally got round to picking up the Age of Vikings supplement - and the fancy dice - to make use of my Irish and Shieldmaiden armies.  I'm hopeful that the armies shouldn't be too onerous to paint once I get into a groove, so this has bumped its way up the list a little.  However, I find the writing style of SAGA (particularly the 'in character' style of rules clarifications) to jar a little in this day and age with it's 'rarr masculine man' attitude - Mortal Gods has a much better example of 'in character' elements in a rulebook (and even then I personally find it a bit cringey).

Honourable mentions go to Infinity (thanks to the Infinity Army app - seriously, I wish all companies had that kind of approach), Dracula's America (now that I have some Wild West buildings) and Sengoku Monster Hunter (which, as a game, is totally 'me')- maybe next time I do a Five games post they'll have broken into the list!

Sons of Scylla - Heroes

Now, it's all well and good having my companions done for my mercenary Lochos, the Sons of Scylla, but let's be honest, Greek Myths and Legends don't dwell on that third peltast at the back - they are about the heroes!

So, to lead the mercenaries, here's Theasides the First Son:

In the Footsore range he is 'Heavy Lochagos 1'.

His most-trusted second-in-command is Kallikles of Attika:

He can be found as 'Medium Promachos 2'.

Finally there's the certainly murderous Pelegon the Wild:

He's got a rather wicked kopis-style sword - from Footsore he is 'Medium Lochagos 1'.

I knew that the Athenian and Spartan Lochos would have special rules - so to offset that I picked up a couple of the more unusual character types to add to the mercenaries.  First up, a healer - I'll call him Phausius the Iatros:

Finally for the Sons of Scylla, I added a Seer to interpret the omens to assist the Lochos - he can be called Karipos the Mantis:

This mini came with two hand options - the other has a staff.  I first tried to attach that hand but as it wouldn't hold I paid heed to that omen and switched it to the torch instead!

Sons of Scylla - Companions

For my birthday last year I received a whole bunch of Mortal Gods stuff - well I've finally started prepping the minis!

As I mentioned in my post last year, I planned to use the majority of the starter set to form a mercenary Lochos - I've called them the Sons of Scylla to make them sound dangerous...

The bulk of any Lochos in Mortal Gods are the companions; the hoplites and skirmishers form the backbone of the force.

So, here's the light hoplites for the Sons of Scylla - three bases worth:

The 'leader' type guy will potentially be used as a veteran or if I need a lone dude at any point - so the lucky guy gets a name! He can be called Sinon:

I also made up three bases of heavy hoplites (well, proper hoplites I suppose):

The guy in the transverse crested helmet can be the veteran/solo guy when needed - so his name can be Onetas:

Finally for the companions, I went for two bases of peltasts (Athenians are getting archers and Spartans are getting slingers, so the Sons of Scylla get javelins!):

All these are Victrix miniatures - I found them a chore to do to be honest; not because of any issue with them (they are solid sculpts with enough detail to be interesting), just hard work!

Coming soon - the Heroes!

Fenris Games - Walls and Panels

I was so impressed with my last order from Fenris, as soon as funds allowed I placed another order - I knew that I wanted a set of their Drystone Walls so picked up the set and some curved walls:

Straight walls

Connectors - these will allow for all sorts of layouts!

Curved wall sections

These are absolutely phenomenal quality - here's a close up of the stonework so you can see what I mean:

These walls are really versatile - I'll certainly be using them for games like Chosen Men, Frostgrave and The Pikeman's Lament amongst others.

I also spotted the range of panels Fenris offers as part of their Lost Shores scenery range.  These are cast from antique plaster copies of panels from the Temple of Apollo at Bassae!  I picked up two that I intend to use in some way for scenery for Broken Legions and Mortal Gods.

I went for (top) Lapiths versus Centaurs and (bottom) Queen Melanippe and the Truce.  The detail is exquisite in these - I can see myself investing in the others in the range!

Given the situation at the moment with COVID-19 and other issues, if you are minded to buy some Fenris stuff it might be worth buying future you a gift voucher!  Please check out and support Fenris Games if you haven't already - it's truly a gem in the wargaming world.

Mortal Gods - getting started

I had my birthday recently and my wife got me a bundle of Mortal Gods stuff! If you haven't heard about the game, it's from Footsore and is a skirmish game set in ancient Greece. The game uses a mix of metal (or limited resin runs) miniatures from Footsore or the range of Victrix plastics.

Starting with the Core Set:

This has got the rulebook (obviously), dice, cards and the like to get playing - along with a nice selection of plastic Victrix sprues:

16 Mercenary Hoplites
8 Unarmoured Hoplites
8 Peltasts
6 Slingers

Add a Lochagos and a Promarchos and it's a nice Mercenary Hoplites Lochos ready to fight for glory!

But that's not all - I also received both the Spartan and Athenian boxes too!

These each contain a booklet, cards and a selection of miniatures.

In the Spartan box there was:

Meonas the Harvester (Spartan Lochagos) - metal mini
Spartan Hoplite - metal mini
Helot - metal mini
8 Spartan Hoplites
8 Unarmoured Hoplites

The Athenian box has:

Andronikos the Defender (Athenian Lochagos) - metal mini
Athenian Hoplite -metal mini
Light Hoplite - metal mini
8 Athenian Hoplites
8 Unarmoured Hoplites

Both boxes also include 19 metal shields each - the Athenians' shields feature the Owl symbol of their patron goddess, while the Spartans have the famous Lambda.

Add a few more options (I want some Marine Archers for the Athenians and some Krepteia for the Spartans!) and that's another two Lochoi!

But that wasn't all I got - included in the bundle were a couple of metal miniatures - the first I believe to be a Medium Promarchos; he can fit in with the mercenaries I think!

The second definitely has a touch of the Leonidas I about him! He's got a couple of weapon options and some head options too.  I think he's got to go with the Spartan Lochos really doesn't he!

I'm looking forward to working out what I want to pick up to round out each of the three Lochoi I've got minis for!  Footsore are also releasing other factions - Persians are already out and the Thrakians are on their way too.  I might not be able to resist the Persians...