Be it resolved…Jyn of Death

Last month I vowed to myself that I would paint more miniatures and write about it at least once a week. I now find myself standing on the brink of August without having contributed a single word to this Blog. I managed to keep the first promise to myself, having worked on a number of projects in no particular order. 

This week I started to read The Terror, The Shadow of the Guillotine: France 1792-1794 by Graeme Fife. In the text there is a discussion on the development of a killing machine and the Halifax Gibbet. 

"The Halifax Gibbet Law condemned anyone who stole goods above the value of 13 and 1/2 pence in the liberty of Halifax to be beheaded on the gibbet on a  market day on a hill outside of town. " It ceased operation in 1650.

"At Halifax, the Law so sharpe doth deale,
That whoso more than thirteen pence doth steale,
They have a jyn [engine] that wondrous quicke and well
Sends Thieves all headless unto Heav'n or Hell".

                                    

                                          John Taylor, Works (1630)

What does this have to do with my Blog?

I may live in Montreal, but I am from Halifax, Nova Scotia (not the original Halifax of the above tale) and it reminded me that I had my own Engine of Death and Destruction requiring a paint job. 

Games Workshop Trebuchet Cataput Mounted on 60mm x 80mm Base

The model is a Games Workshop piece I picked up in a delete bin a few years ago and it came with a few goblins to act as crew. I plan to add this to my Undead HOTT (15mm on 60mm Bases) Army, of which I have  blogged about in previous posts. My next step is to obtain a crew. I will be placing an order to Irregular Miniatures for some skeleton artillery crew for this purpose.

I really like how the heavy counterweight stone has a face craved into it. With a brown wash I tried to bring out the craved features including the sunk-in eyes, the lower lip and the fangs. I think it looks like it was craved with some Goblin War God in mind.