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.

15mm US Civil War Fire and Fury

A long, long time ago, three of us decided that we wanted to get involved with the ACW period, and we ordered three brigade packs from Stone Mountain Miniatures. Before I knew what was happening bot Charles and Harris had started to paint their "Northern Armies". I was left to defend State's Rights. Other local gamers were playing  Fire & Fury,  the American Civil War in Miniature we based our troops for that system.

Rebel Infantry on the Advance

My infantry, cavalry and artillery we painted before I left Halifax, as was my camp, which is the subject of a previous posting. What my unit lacked was limbers for the artillery. I've had two packs lying around for years and felt it was time to do one of them up. I believe they were by Old Glory 15mm and there were 6 limbers per pack. I painted all six up, even though my army only has four guns.

Example of 15mm Confederate Limber

Limbers in Mass

I dug out the rules to take a look at unit scales, and stand sizes for 15mm figures. The rule book's binding was old and brittle and it fell apart in my hand. I had a supply of Oxford binders and sheet protectors, and with the help of a hole punch the rule book was secured. However my artillery stands did not look right.I had used the wrong size base when they were mounted. I can't believe no one told me, or I didn't notice before.

CSA Battery

2nd CSA Battery

Gun Battery with Limbers

HOTT 15mm Generic Undead Army

Last year when I flew down east (Montreal to Halifax) for my summer vacation I was asked to bring along my 15mm HOTT Undead army. They would see action. It was the first army that I rebased with magnetic bases, but this trip would show that the product used  was not up to the task. Those bases were composites composed of a magnetic bottom layer and a thin cardboard top layer.The heavier miniatures glued to the cardboard, separated from the base when my luggage was handled by the cargo crew. They pulled off the cardboard layer.

 15mm Undead (Old Style Bases) vs Goblins 
Battle over Sacred Site

July 2010 Halifax

I resolved to rebase the army and I managed it in two steps. I placed an order for some figures from Peter Pig and at the same time I ordered pre-cut plastic bases. I already had a supply of Litko self adhesive magnetic bases that I would attach to the plasticard bases. I do not trust the self adhesive tape to hold so I used super glue to insure a solid  fix.

I purchased the beginnings of this army from Irregular Miniatures in the early to mid 1990s.Other figures, mainly characters, were added. Some were 25mm scale but they served a purpose. Additional units were built from the Ral Partha 15mm line of figures produced for the AD&D Battle System. The final group of figures used to build this force are Black Raven Undead units.

Three weeks ago between painting my Nikaian Byzantine DBA army and my Burgundian Ordonnance DBA army I took the time to finish my undead basing project. Last winter I had already taken the time to remove the figures from their old bases and glue them to their new ones. I only had to texture paint and flock the new bases. The end result is my large collection of undead. I am not content to use just the suggested Undead Army list  available in the HOTT rules but have incorporated almost every troop variant available.I am still looking for a suitable undead dragon to add to this army.

1) The Magician General (Three Elements) Majority of figures by Irregular Miniatures. Figure in Red Cloak by Black Raven Miniatures. @ 4AP each

2) Sneakers ( Three Elements) All by Irregular Miniatures @ 3 AP Each

3) Flyers ( Two Elements) by Irregular Miniatures @ 2 AP Each

 

4A) Knights (Skeleton Chariots) One Element Unknown Make @ 2 AP Driver is by Irregular Miniatures

4B) More Knights Ral Partha (Four Elements) ADD Battlesystem Figures @ 2 AP each. Can also be used as Riders

5) Riders Three Elements by ADD Battlesystem Figures and Four Elements by Irregular Miniatures @ 2 AP each.

6) Lurkers ( Three Elements) Irregular Miniatures @ 1 AP each

 

7) Hordes (11 Elements) Mostly Irregular Miniatures some Black Raven Miniatures

 

The Following Troop Types are not on the HOTT Generic Undead Army Lists but I feel that if you read enough stories or watch enough movies, you will find that these troop types are available to certain dark forces.

1) Irregular Miniatures Undead Artillery (Two Elements) @ 3 AP Each. My friend Les, once commented  that these guns are what the Aztecs would have produced if they invented canons.

 

2) Undead Heros or Anti-Heros . Even the Forces of Darkness have their champions. Two Elements @ 4AP Each.

These are two of my favorite figures. Both are 25mm. One was a Ral Partha (or RAFM) Figure sold as an Undead Adventurer. The 2nd is an unknown make but is a Dwarf, who heart has been ripped out. I was referred to as a sick twisted ba***rd for having adding that figure to my army. Needless to say that complement was bestowed upon me by a Dwarf fan.

3) Undead Behemoths (Two Elements) @ 4AP Each. Again these figures were 25mm figures that I felt would fit in nicely with a 15mm Army. The figure on the left is of a Ral Partha (or RAFM) Undead Japanese Ogre. I do not know what the 2nd figure is, nor do I do not know the maker of the figure.

This army is totally separate from the Undead Army I have previously blogged about.  This was the original Force of Darkness, in 15mm. The other army consists of 15mm figures on the 25mm HOTT base widths in order to obtain a massive looking army. The Irregular Miniature Undead figures are the oldest presented here. They are rather crude when compared to either the Ral Partha ADD Battlesystem Line or the Black Raven Figures that are shown, such as the Undead Dwarf Anti-Hero standard bearer.

The Irregular Figures of this age are soft and malleable. Because they are skeletons they break off at the legs very easily. I prefer not to use the Irregular Riders for this reason. Some of the figures are in danger of snapping off the stands, as are a number of the Horde Infantry. The Irregular Miniature standard bearers are extremely robust and I advise people using this army to use them to move the horde elements.

This army can still use more troops but in total I can field 85 AP worth of Undead with the figures above.

The Final Element. 

 The Price of Failure.

Undead HOTT Part III

This is just a quick posting on two additions to my HOTT Undead army. The first is it's camp. The camp consists of a resin representation of an open mass grave. Numerous bits of skeletons, skulls and ribcages are exposed to the elements and other, more malevolent powers.

Open Pit Grave, with 25mm Undead (Plastics)

Note: Photo revised Feb 21st

The resin piece is 100mm x 90mm, and is supposed to be for 25mm scale. I have added some broken 15mm Irregular Miniature Undead as well as a number of broken 25mm Plastic Skeletons that I received with a Undead Mammoth, that I have yet to paint. It would appear that the first troops of the next horde are starting to assemble.

The second is two elements of flyers. Both are Bat Swarms (Model 03355) by Reaper Miniatures.

Invasion Earth 2150

Long before Tom Lehrer was introducing children to Silent “E” on the Electric Company, my generation was introduced to the not so silent “E” on Dr. Who. I remember rushing home after I completed my newspaper delivery in Spryfield to follow the adventures of the first two Doctors.

Hopefully the latest adventure would include an encounter those truly nasty metal clad beasts who would expound loudly upon the three “Es”.

“Eliminate! Eradicate!! Exterminate!!! Exterminate!!!”

Recently while reading the HOTT Yahoo Group Digest I came across an interesting posting that suggested that Irregular Miniatures produced in 1/300th scale an Attack Robot (NSF7) that would be perfect to fill the ecological niche occupied by the Daleks.

Photo 1: Command Stand (Centre) with Four Battle Groups

Link: http://www.irregularminiatures.co.uk/

I ordered 20 sets, enough for 40 figures. Irregular Miniatures now accepts Paypal and the figures were in my mailbox at the end of the following week. My plan was to base them for Future Wars Commander. Forty figures would be enough to provide a command stand of four figures and 12 combat stands each with three figures. I decided that I would base them on an AFV/GEV stand, instead of an infantry stand.

I had been thinking of basing them, four or five figures to a stand as infantry, but I changed my mind and figured they are extremely dangerous, but small tankettes. The latest versions of Dr. Who even have them with hover and flying abilities. This is very real improvement from the days when they couldn’t even mount or descend stairs.

Photo 2: Side view

I used a Gale Force 9 base for the Command Stand, while the combat groups are mounted on 40mmx 30mm bases purchased from Robert Knestrick. He advertises his wares on EBay under the name of missiletoe. The bases are a laminated black plastic with heavy magnetic bottom. I decided to leave them untextured and unpainted, to give them a sterile asphalt look. I can always spruce them up later if need be.