Another 'Black Army' Regiment finished.

Finally got another Regiment done for the 'Black Army' .

I'm pleased to get this one finished as it was started nearly 6 month ago , lack of casting metal , cold weather and busy doing other things are the reasons for the delay .

The uniform is of Infantry Regt. No 17 a Bavarian unit , here seen mounting guard for the first time and being inspected by the 'Black' army General .

My next task is to cast up some more Uhlans as 'Black' army is sadly lacking in cavalry at the moment. (click on photos to enlarge)

54mm Life Guards

Finished painting  the old hollow cast Britains (?) Life Guards I  tidied up last weekend.

Thought I would photo them outdoors seeing the weather is permitting this afternoon and I do think 54mm figures look better 'al fresco' .

Must admit I'm rather pleased how they have turned out as they did not look to promising to start with but a coat of high gloss varnish helps brighten them up .

The painting has highlighted the difference in the figure variants , but I think this adds to their appeal . These type of figure seems to appear on EBay regularly and relatively cheaply too, its a pity 'Black' army (German) figures don't, so I  will have to cast up my own using the Prince August Lancer mold .

Fruits Of The Morning's Casting - Later.

Starting cleaning up the castings , note size of file - industrial use almost !.

Finished figures , they needed a bit of work with 'greenstuff' around the arms and neck. The heads are from Irregular .

Part 2 of my tasks for today, these are some old hollow cast Lifeguard figures that I  have been collecting over the last year or so . Got them from a collectors fair at the local leisure centre and off EBay , I would guess them to be about 60+ years old at least , probably Britains or copies.

They very in quality this horse has part of its face missing , a couple have broken swords.

A mixed bunch , at least 3 different types.

Repairs to horse , have mounted the smaller figures on extra bases to make them all the same size.

Swords added using pins ( with ends snipped off for safety )

The end results ready for spraying when filler has dried . In some quarters repainting antique figures is a heresy and devalues the figure but these are to be used in wargaming and so will be given a new lease of life when repainted . When I get them painted I will post pictures .

The Fruits Of A Morning's Casting.

Braved the freezing weather to cast up a few more bits and pieces for my 54mm 'Red-Black' Armies . The horses are swines to cast up as the metal half the time doesn't reach the extremities of the mold - ie the hooves , getting the metal temperature right is a factor as well so it flows right . Been saving up off cuts of metal and a few old sample figures I 've had for years to be reborn in the shape of 54mm 'Black' army figures . Having got the what I think is the first signs of frostbite I  retreated indoors to clean and glue up the above components and will photo them when done.

The Not So Lone Ranger.

Got the plastic Game Workshop LOTRs Ranger finished that I undercoated last weekend.

GW plastics have improved a lot since their first sets - about 10 years ago (?)

Copied the colour scheme from one of their LOTRs source books.

Have got the rules out and are re reading them prior to setting up a small trial game to get me back into it again.

Sunday Morning Early .

I got up early this morning - well for a Sunday - the cats wanted feeding and don't take into account that its the weekend . To my surprise it wasn't raining ( it seems to have rained constantly this year so far !), so I  thought - quick get those figures sprayed up out side !.

A strange collection of figures to spray 2 FOW  trucks a selection of 15mm walls and buildings and some LOTR s plastic Rangers.

There- done ! and I know the spray paint should have been Matt but annoyingly our local Halfords had run out of it and I had to make do with Satin - it seems to work okay though . Luckily our neighbours are used to my eccentricities, so the sight of a middle aged man in a dressing gown and Rigger boots (the only thing I  could find at short notice) did not alarm hem to much  I hope. Time to go back to bed with a cup of tea and biscuits and read till a more civilised hour.

More Hobbits and some Gaming Markers.

Still inspired by the forthcoming 'Hobbit' film I have got around to finishing off my remaining Games Workshop figures .

Here atop of my battered copy of The Hobbit are some archers.

Some more Hobbit militia - some slight conversions from the standard figures, additional sticks and added hair.

Another Objective marker - a warning beacon.

Although this photo doesn't make it plain - buried treasure being excavated.

Again a rather poor photo - a campfire and weapons. (click on photos to enlarge) . I hope to have a game soon using my newly painted figures. I have just found some plastic Rangers of the North figure sprues so I will be painting them next . ( one I painted earlier appears above with markers ).

Figures Painted Ths Year.

Just totalled up the number of figures I have painted this year - well last year now ! and have come to the sum of 991 - phew ! . That's an average of  about 2.7 figures a day . A lot I've painted this year has been of a 'Toy Soldier' style which takes less time to paint and of course I  don't paint every day - real life , holidays etc intervene . But it does bring home to me that painting is a large part of my hobby and takes up more time than the actual gaming aspect !, as you might of worked out - I do like painting Wargaming figures .