Sniping Spy and Fishy Guy

When I was placing an order for a gift with TTCombat I took the opportunity to get a couple of individual Carnevale miniatures - mostly to use up the last two resin bases I had in stock!

First, a Venetian Spy to offer some long-range support to the Patricians:

I'd wanted the Spy for a while so was glad to finally add her to the collection.

Finally I opted for the final Hybrid that I didn't have for the Rashaar:

Again, easy to put together and glad to boost the Rashaar without having to go the cultist route (which I'm not so keen on).

Bethany, Nevada keeps growing

I've added to our little town of Bethany, Nevada - first up the Church from Warbases' Cactus Creek range. This kit was simple to make - the porch area was the trickiest to assemble.

I'm really pleased with this kit - I'm certainly considering other pieces from the range, but not sure if I'll have the space...

From TTCombat's Wild West range I chose a couple of two-storey buildings to add further variety to the townscape.  First up, the 'Burlesque House':

As you can see, the building features a balcony, with a staircase on the right hand side.  I sand textured the floor behind the boardwalk and will paint/tuft it the same as I plan for the Dracula's America and Dead Man's Hand collections.

The other two storey building is the Undertakers.  The staircase on this one faces the other way to the Burlesque House, providing further variety:

Again, I sand textured the area around the stairs beyond the boardwalk.

I also picked out the Stable block - I added sand texture to this too, in the yard area in front of the stalls:

Finally I had a bit less luck with a couple of TTCombat kits - first the Windmills kit.  The kit contains two windmills, but one of the blades on one of them snapped off.  Luckily I only really wanted one Windmill, so I'm glad the other remained intact!

I also bought the Shacks kit.  This includes three shacks and an outhouse.  I didn't need the Outhouse as I've got an alternative (will share on the blog soon!), but out of the three shacks I was only able to complete one - the 'pegs' on the MDF of the others just wouldn't co-operate and eventually became impossible to do without significant carving.  Still, I made one shack which gives another dwelling to the collection:

Dwellings suitable for this setting remain something I'd like to see more of - most ranges focus on saloons, stores and the like which I'm all set for pretty much.

That said, I think that'll suffice for now for Bethany - now my mind is turning to a suitable wargaming mat.  I've not found a Wild West (or suitable) mat that I like - lots seems to include too many details like rail tracks and the like which I don't want (I'd add them in 3D if I wanted Bethany to be on the railroad!).  Please get in touch if you happen to have any ideas of sources for a good mat! 

Rounding out the Patricians

To add to the two different starter packs, I also got some individual minis to bolster the Patricians direct from TTCombat (which is a great service if you only want one or two minis rather than a whole other starter box).

First up, a pair of money-grubbing Merchants:

And Colombina (a Gifted character so possible to use with any faction but I intend to align her with the Patricians in our Venice):

Finally, and the only one not direct from TTCombat, is a female Barnabotti that came as a promo freebie with an issue of Miniature Wargames magazine - she'd sat in the baggie waiting for some friends to create some murderous mayhem with so now she's all set!

I think that's likely it for the Patricians (at least for now... I do have a couple of spare resin cobblestone bases that have me wondering what else might work though!)

Patricians Hunting Party

To give more options to our newest menace in Venice I received the Patricians Hunting Party box.  First up the Adventuring Noble - who thanks to his (let's be honest) stolen talismans has some ability with magic:

I think he can also proxy as the Fencing Master that is also available to the Patricians.

Building on the theme of the Patricians being absolutely reprehensible aristocrats, the Party box includes a pair of Syphilitic Nobles:

And finishing off the box another couple of meat shields Household Staff - a cook armed with a rolling pin and a footman firing his pistol:

I would say here that the handles of the rolling pin proved to be a little fragile and needed gluing back on.  I'm not convinced they'll stick but if they do break again I think it'll still look OK.

It's another great box from TTCombat that really complements the starter box I posted previously.

Patricians take to the streets of Venice

I guess my better half thought three forces for Carnevale wasn't enough - so she got me some Patricians!

First up, the Patricians Starter Gang - headed up by the Venetian Noble:

I opted for the dagger in the off-hand as I thought it looked even more arrogant in it's pose!

Backing up the Noble are a couple of Barnabotti - one woman, one man:

I gave the man the pistol option, but the woman is holding a fan and stiletto.

Finally in the box was a pair of Household Staff (aka meat shields) - again, one woman, one man:

I particularly like the pan swinging cook!  The footman is nicely posed too - just drawing his pistol from his jacket.

As with the rest of the Carnevale collection, these are all on the resin cobblestone bases from TTCombat which will help the collection look consistent.

'Sir' Redmond Meadowcreek – Halfling Knight

Not many Halflings are drawn to the life of a Knight - their skill with a bow often sees them better suited to a life as an archer or ranger - but Redmond Meadowcreek has fully embraced a life of chivalry.  It's just a shame that the knightly orders of the Empire wouldn't embrace him.

Undeterred, Redmond saved up his money and found an armourer willing to make a Halfling-sized suit of plate.  He then took up his sword and set out into the world to fight evildoers, upholding his own chivalric code as he went.  He found himself en route to Mordheim, tales of great villains and heroes from around the world congregating at the ruined city drawing him like a moth to a candle.

Redmond hopes to earn enough from his exploits to actually buy his own steed - but he spends far too much on polish for his armour so that won't happen any time soon!

Redmond here was an exclusive Halfling Lord mini available through the TTCombat Halflings and Fantasy Friends kickstarter.  He's a pain to take a photo off though due to his pose 😅  This actually marks the point where all of the miniatures from that kickstarter are now painted which is a bit of a milestone! (the MDF scenery is merely primed as of time of writing this post)

Wargaming Idea Stew

Like all good hobbyists I have tonnes of ideas reaching far beyond what I already have - I think of it as a kind of wargaming stew on the stove being slow cooked - some of these bubble up to the surface with more regularity than others and are likely to be dished up sooner rather than later (keep stretching that metaphor Alex!).  

Photo by Shikhar Singh from Pexels

Anyway, I thought I'd ramble a bit about the current ideas that just seem to keep popping up!  These are in no particular order, they are just what most commonly comes to mind when I start thinking about that 'next project'.

Germans vs Black's Division (Černý oddí)
A very small BA project to pay tribute to my Romani heritage in some small tabletop way (I have plenty for my Irish side already after all!).  This idea had floated around a little while (largely inspired by the article on Romea.cz - They weren't just victims: Roma, forgotten heroes of the anti-Nazi resistance) and the freebie Winter German sprue that came with an issue of WGI cemented it a little bit more.  So for the German side, I plan on sorting a very small list on Easy Army to guide the purchases to finish that half.  For Black's Division I'm toying with a couple of options - Artizan's Resistance and Partizans range and/or Crusader Miniatures Partisans. I'm going to keep this very small - couple of small squads of Germans and then a Resistance force of equivalent points - around 500 points I think should give a few options each side but not break the bank.

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth vs Ottoman Empire
I spotted the 16th century Polish and Ottoman ranges on Pendraken's site whilst ordering my Tyrone's Rebellion stuff and haven't been able to shift it from my head since. Seriously, it just keeps on popping back into my brain! I think I'll see how I feel painting up my Tyrone's Rebellion stuff - if I take to 10mm, this could shape up to be a decent sized project.

Post-Human Republic
I'd toyed with the idea of starting Dropzone Commander a few months ago, but couldn't quite make the value for the Post-Human Republic work out enough to convince me to take the plunge and I didn't want to 'make do' with one of the others that offered a better value starter.  Well, TTCombat must have been reading my mind or something because they are releasing a PHR Starter Army in a couple of days time that looks a great value starting point! This is definitely on my radar now - might not even need much beyond that starter set... who am I kidding, those walkers all look awesome!

Achaemenid Persians
I mentioned about 6mm catching my eye on Twitter and ended up having a conversation with Trials... about it - he mentioned that he had eyed the Greeks for this scale, which as luck would have it would be a perfect foe for the Achaemenid Persians that had piqued my interest! Not sure what ruleset to use for this project, which is a bit of a sticking point to this moving forward at the moment.

Between all the existing stuff and this little lot I think that should keep me going... yeah right! 😉

Rashaar Reinforcements

 

I was rather pleased when TTCombat took the decision to make their Carnevale range available as single minis - there were some from the Rashaar box set ranges where I knew I didn't need (or want) most of the minis but really wanted one or two!

First, as I had the two-player starter set I didn't need the seperate Rashaar Starter... but I really did want the Aglaope mini that it included, well that was now possible so it was first in the basket!

I had a couple of Hybrids, but thought it might be useful to pick up an extra one from the Deeper Denizens box - I opted for this rather stabby chap:

Finally, I knew I had two more cobblestone bases and decided to pick up the pair of Urchins from the Dagon Fanatics box (I prefer the fishy/hybrid style of Rashaar rather than the Cult-side of things):

The boy Urchin had a hole in the top of his head that needed a spot of liquid green stuff, but nothing major.

The Urchins and Agalope are all single-piece minis, the Hybrid comes in four parts but is an easy build.

For now I think my Carnevale collection is complete (well, gangs-wise anyway... scenery is another matter!) - but if I do get any more minis I'll have to pick up more of the cobblestone bases now!

Queen Skeggjöld's Host - The War-Queen

Queen Skeggjöld stood in front of the gathered Engles and Birnir.  Proud swelled her heart - she knew her Host would give their lives without hesitation if the battles ahead so required it.

But she also knew every Engel that fell, ever Birnir that dies, takes both races closer to their ends.  She vowed to all the gods that she would make the vile Necromancer pay for each of her Host that falls in battle.

Skeggjöld raised her magickal axe Issbita high and gave an ancient warcry of her people - it was taken up by the other Engels, making their voices one.  Even the giant Birnir offered up roars to the heavens alongside their allies.

"Yes," the War-Queen thought, "we will make the Necromancer pay...".

Skeggjöld addresses her Host

This is the Shield Maiden Queen from TTCombat's Fantasy Heroes line.  I got it as part of my Kickstarter pledge - I decided early on to give her a magical effect on her weapon.

This marks the end of the painting stage of the Of Halflings Living and Dead project for Dragon Rampant - when I've got some suitable scenery painted up they'll definitely be hitting the table!

Queen Skeggjöld's Host - the gentle Peace-Queen

The Engels have two Queens - although only one claims the title at any time.  In times of conflict and danger, the War-Queen is the peerless warrior Skeggjöld - but in peace-time it is the gentle Sigrdrifr who rules.  Beloved by all of the Engels, Sigrdrifr is a healer and spiritual leader - caring and fair to all who petition her.

However in the direst of times Sigrdrifr the Peace-Queen will accompany Skeggjöld to battle - acting as wise counsel yes, but she is as brave as her counterpart; wielding powerful holy magic to strike at the enemies of the Engels.

With the near-annihilation of the Merrivale by the vile Necromancer Kemmler, and the Engels descending to answer the desperate prayers of Halflings, once more Sigrdrifr directs her magical powers in service of the War-Queen.

Sigrdrifr channels holy energy as she prepares to cast a spell

This is TTCombat's Shieldmaiden Sorceress - I really like this sculpt; the pose, the little details - it adds up to one of my all-time top 10 favourite miniatures!

Queen Skeggjöld's Host - The Engels did not come alone

When they answered the prayers of the Halflings the Engels knew they would need to muster their allies to the cause - answering the ancient pacts came the Birnir, fierce warriors all.  To the Halflings of the Merrivale they seem to be large bears, clad in heavy steel armour.  The citizens of Oldburgh that have seen the Birnir think them trained beasts of war at most.

The truth is somewhat different - the Birnir are an intelligent species, capable of communicating telepathically with higher beings such as Engels, Elves and Dragons.  They have a long history interwoven with the Engels in particular - one of the reasons why the Engels adopted symbols of the Birnir in honour of their long friendship and alliance.  The Birnir are few in number, but gladly lend their strength to the Engels' cause.

The Birnir bring strength, claw and fury.

These warbears are from TTCombat - part of their new Shieldmaidens range.

TTCombat - General Store and Bank

I've now finished the remaining town buildings from TTCombat for Bethany, Nevada, which I intend to be the setting for our games of Dracula's America.

First up, the General Store - a pretty useful addition to ease the lives of the good folk of Bethany I think!

Like the other Wild West TTCombat buildings I've shared here before this is an older kit so instructions weren't available - but that's no problem as it's straight forward to assemble. Again the MDF sheets included some interior detailing which I left out (I want to keep these simple with people either being inside taking cover and shooting out or outside shooting at people inside - didn't want to worry about shelves and counters and the like!).

Finally for now is the Bank - sure to become a site of interest to the more criminally minded gangs!

This one is slightly different to the other three - it has an interior wall separating where the tellers (and all the money!) would be.  Again, it included some other detailing (a safe in this case).

Now that the whole Town Buildings and Gallows set is assembled I can confirm that this covers the essentials of a Wild West scenery set in a single, great value, pack.  I'm really happy with the purchase and plan to pick up a couple more kits from the range as funds allow - a double-floored building or two and the Blacksmith certainly leap out, as does the pack of smaller shacks.

TTCombat - Saloon and Sheriff Office

I've been keeping on with the scenery for Dracula's America - recently completing a couple of buildings I would go as far as to say are absolutely vital for any self-respecting stereotypical Wild West town - the Saloon and the Sheriff Office!

All of the four town buildings I got in the bundle share a similar basic box-like design - but with different detailing and signage to keep things interesting.  First up the Saloon:

One thing I particularly like about this building range is the boardwalk with rails that each features.  Of course, a highlight of the Saloon are the famous type of door! The MDF sheets included some detail elements (table, bottles, counter etc) - which I chose not to do (you are probably noting a pattern here with my scenery...).

Next up the Sheriff Office:

This also features some interior detailing on the sheets that I opted not to build.  This kit is a little different from its cousins however in that it features a small jail cell extension at the back - here's a bird's eye view so you can see what I mean:

Both these kits are great value for money - if you are after some classic Wild West scenery you can't go wrong with these.