Latest acquisitions

Well, it's been a quiet old time of it since October, I really haven't got any painting done, but in the meantime I have done a few other things. Had Christmas and got several groovy new gaming-related things - the GASLIGHT Compendium and the Dictionary of Imaginary Places, for starters - and with a bit of spare cash I managed to accumulate, I've ordered and otherwise bought some new minis.

First up, from Baker Company, a company I didn't know anything about until the guys at the Lead Adventure Forum recommended them, come 9 British command figures (from their Zulu War range) - an eight figure command pack, and an Ensign:

These include a Glengarry-wearing officer, who will be joining my UNIT troops as their commander, Captain Yates, allowing me a bit more freedom with what I do with my Commodore Lethbridge-Stewart figure - in GASLIGHT games, he'll probably become a Group Commander, I'd think.

The package arrived extremely quickly, and even got a discount because the original shipping charge was more than the actual postage. Great service from Baker Company!

Next, from the lead-pile of the inestimable Whiskyrat, respected denizen of Lead Adventure Forum, come some minis I've been calling 'Various Victorians and Manly Chaps (Mostly Moustachioed)'. Some are moving slightly into Pulp territory, but I don't care.

 Some will see service as regulars, some civilians, and some, very likely, as militia-types, colonists resisting the counter-attacks of Martian, Venusian or Atlantean natives.

Is it just me, or does the chap in the middle have a tiny head? I may give him a pith-helmet to see what happens, but it does really look small compared to the others. No idea which manufacturer it's from; most of these figures are Foundry I think, but I don't recognise this one.

Also from Whiskyrat is a somewhat amazing Warzone 'mini' - though the term has little meaning for something this size - a 'Mercurian Maculator', also known as 'Giant Gorilla with a Gianter Gun'.

Taking the Various Victorian and the Mustachioed Manly Chap for scale, this gorilla is about 36' (getting on for 12m) tall. Trying to justify this in game terms may be a little tricky, though in some ways the gun is the easiest bit. Obviously, it's been converted from a big gun on an aether-ship. So now I have a size for aether-ship guns - about 13 or 14'. How to stat the model for GASLIGHT however is another question.

Finally, this morning my order from Brigade Games arrived - 10 British Troops in Pith-helmets and Rebreathers, and an Officer for the same with some kind of hand-held Maxim gun, who will be my first unit of Aetherines. No pics of them yet but they're the ones I posted in October as a wish-list. well, now the wish has come true!

Thanks very much to Danny at Baker Company, Whiskyrat, and staff at Brigade Games - you've all made me very happy! 

Of course, now I have to actually paint them... expect sporadic updates!

More Martian Wars troopers

As I'd painted up one of these chaps, I decided to try my hand at a few more; unfortunately, the khaki wasn't quite right, they look a little greenish compared to the chap on the extreme right of this picture,who was the first one painted. I think they're looking rather good, can't wait to get their Astro-Hungarian counterparts painted up so I can maybe get some Martian action in.

I've also been bitten by the Brigade Games bug - they have a  great VSF range, including these gems -

- link to Brigade Games here (check out the 'VSF - GASLIGHT' as well as the 'VSF - Steampunk' range, even more beauties there!)

These guys are proper Pith-Helmeted Victorian British, in breathing gear - just as I was planning for my aetherines (which are still on the modelling table...). Of course, now I'm going to get these rather than faff about building the breathing apparatus and they can go up against my Westwind Prussians-cum-Ruritanians, who also have natty breathing gear. I love it when a plan comes together...

And to inspire myself, I have to post this pic that I found trolling round the web but sadly now can't remember where it came from, otherwise I'd be saying 'hey this is _____'s groovy picture!' with a link to the artist's page and whatnot. It's a German-looking mechanical cavalryman and is most lovely - in a grimey, diesel-y sort of way...

Martian Wars trooper - test scheme

This is one of the Warzone Imperial troopers from Prince August Miniatures (link to the bag of 80 Imperial and Bauhaus minis here), which will be one of a bunch of British Space Empire troopers - slightly later than the usual 1890ish VSFery, these are for an early 20th century project around the 'Fourth Martian War' of around 1910.

Not been a lot of action for the last 2 months or so, partly because of the self-destruction of my old PC, but hopefully that will be changing as of now...

Newly-acquired forces...

Latest additions to the leadpile... quite when I shall paint them, who's to say?

Sherlock Holmes and some London Policemen from Westwind Games

Thanks to the lovely majorsmith at Lead Aventure Forums (who also supplied me with the Ironclad British Line Infantry ages ago that started this whole crazy business) for swapping these minis with me. A bit of a mixed bag here, the Westwind stuff will be perfect for those slightly more normal settings involving consulting detectives, the police, and angry London mobs (perhaps connected with the whole 'Food of the Gods' business).
























Sinister Prussians in Gasmasks from Ironclad Miniatures

The Prussians will of course be pressed into service for my Ruritanian forces, on Mars or some other sector of the Astro-Hungarian Empire. And the Sanwar too look like they'll make an interesting diversion on the Martian highways (or canals possibly). I feel a Martian campaign coming on...























Sinister 'Sanwar', Martian desert dwellers from Ironclad Miniatures

Brass Goggles pt 3

Well, it seems that I can't paint her left eye.

So, she's a bit cross-eyed and I'm going to have to put up with it. I'm quite convinced anything else I do will make it worse.

She even got a battle in last night, along with some Space Marines (whatever they are, for VSF's sake) as I used her as a stand-in for a Space Marine Librarian with Plasma Pistol and Force Weapon in a game of 40k in which my regular opponent, Lyracian, reduced me to one surviving marine and two slightly-functioning vehicles in 5 turns.

When will she see action against Rivets and Whimsy? Not anytime soon, I suspect...

Brass Goggles pt 2

Slowly, ever so slowly, like an Aetheric Leviathan inching into harbour (one really can't say 'centimetring into harbour') I'm managing to get more paint on my Warmachine Victoria Haley (I find it hard not to type 'Jennifer Haley') mini.

Honestly, at some point she'll be finished. Really. And she can join the little gaggle of figures waiting for me to play GASLIGHT with them - as a sky pirate!

She'll probably see service first as a stand in Space Marine Librarian in a 40k game however. Ooops.

My first Brass Goggles...

Sky Pirate Work In Progress shots

The first is the mini (a Warmachine Victoria Haley) when I received it from snow_base_Gaz - he'd done most of the work already!

But there was work on the head - hair, face, goggles - that needed doing so I gave it a go.

My first pair of VSF goggles and I like the way they're looking.

Not so impressed with the hair though - it turned out a bit more purple than I thought it would.

A few bits to touch up on the staff and I really ought to make it clearer she's wearing gloves (I haven't just forgotten to paint her fingers), that might help somewhat. Otherwise, it's just finishing the face; then the base and she's done, the first of my Sky Pirates who will serve as Rivets' and Whimsy's real adversaries...