Rob’s Minivember

[Rob Dean]

Being the timid fellow that I am, I wanted to be fairly sure that I had a chance of finishing a Minivember challenge before I announced it publicly. 

 

I enter miniatures into my painting log when the final basing and varnish coat are complete, and the “whatever” is ready for play.  I’ve recently resolved to relax and not worry too much about where the Muse(s) lead, as long as I’m getting something done.  So all plans are subject to change.  That said, I’ve had two things on my mind recently.  

 

The first is that I was in a Rangers of Shadowdeep game at Barrage, our local miniatures gaming convention, back in September, and decided that it was time to try to get it on the table.  For fun, I decided that I would fill out my small (1/72) plastic fantasy collection for this.  I looked over the book, and found this was what was called for:

 

 

I got a good start on this on a business trip last month.  I am also working toward “finishing” the army lists I’ve drawn up for my Portable Fantasy campaign:

 

 

But exactly what I’m going to end up painting is a bit unpredictable.

 

 

As posted in the November Speed/Army/Tabletop  goals thread, I’ve also got some vintage Broadsword Miniatures Rangers to round out a unit, and the much-deferred Goblin Carolers for my Winterfeast village.  There are also orcs for the campaign mass battle, some human cavalry, some historical Bronze Age Nubians and some additional giant war trolls.

 

I’ve already finished a couple of medieval(oid) human horse archers. (English and other mounted bowmen did not generally shoot from horseback, so these guys, Strelets plastics I’ve had sitting around since 2005 or so, are probably more at home in a fantasy setting anyway.)

 

 

I also finished the zombies (plus a couple of smaller Reraper Bones 5 monsters):

 

 

 

These were knocked out pretty rapidly with washes and drybrushing, with a deliberate choice to keep them subdued and semi-monochromatic.  I doubt zombies spend much time on hygiene…

 

For the trolls needed for Rangers, I had planned to use the Bones 1 (SKU 77159) Ghast.  As a 1/72 scale figure, they end up being 8 or so feet tall, so look more to me like something a human might stand a chance of fighting than something like a Dark Alliance 12 foot tall War Troll.  But, yesterday was apparently Trollfest, and I finished up the three troll/ghasts, a Dark Alliance War troll, and a Caesar Miniatures “something” from their currently-out-of-production “Adventurers” set.  They are shown here with a Strelets medieval city militiaman from last month, for scale:

 

 

 

That’s 18 figures down, so at least 12 to go.  I’m on vacation with no particular plans this week, and I’m also off the week of Thanksgiving, so that should be achievable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rob Dean]

6 orcs for a Hordes of the Things “blades” stand was today’s project. 
 

 

Basing will be started before I go to sleep.

[KruleBear]

Nice production. I like where your muse took you.

[Rob Dean]

The orc stand ended up being very “busy”, so I decided not to add tufts and/or large rocks to the base.  I had a hard enough time trying to fit everyone so that their weapons didn’t extend over the vertically-projected limits of the base.  That’s always my goal where possible, since it makes it easier to get things into and out of the storage boxes.

 

 

 

 

I haven’t decided what the next task will be…I do have an ice dancing lesson at 3:30, so I might like to finish something small and add some paint to something larger to position for tomorrow.

[Inarah]

That is quite the mob. There's a good sense of chaos and motion to them. Waving weapons around like that someone could get hurt. 

[Rob Dean]

1 hour ago, Inarah said:

That is quite the mob. There's a good sense of chaos and motion to them. Waving weapons around like that someone could get hurt. 

 

That may be the orcish method of promotion.  “Oops, the corporal got hit in the head”.

 

But yes, for mass battle game stands, I do have a preference for poses that are a bit more restrained, and look like they might actually be working together.

 

[Rob Dean]

I have been working on some orc/goblin archers this morning.

 

There’s a good chance they will be based today, which will bring me to 31. Everything after that will be a bonus. 

[Rob Dean]

 

Basing in progress…

[Glitterwolf]

That's a good looking army

[Rob Dean]

1 hour ago, Glitterwolf said:

That's a good looking army

 

Thanks.  I just need to keep chipping away at the stands; according to my plan, I am supposed to paint 25 or so more, so I can’t dwell on any one group. 

 

And they are all flocked and varnished…

 

 

 

On to the next thing.  I think it’s time for a reward stand, so I’m painting a human sorceress and her bodyguards as a Hordes of the Things magician base.  However, we’re off to do a little touristing tomorrow, so they will probably be finished on Saturday.

 

 

 

[Rob Dean]

Sorceress and bodyguards stand shaping up….
 

Edited November 13, 2021 by Rob Dean

[Rob Dean]

I liked the sorceress well enough to post a Show-off topic.  Anyway, I got them based up and varnished before I went to bed last night, but it was too dark to take a picture (without using flash) and I wanted to let the varnish dry completely.

 

 

I’ve finally managed to work out the use of Flow Improver to assist in tiny freehand work.

 

 

 

[Chaoswolf]

Very nice work throughout the thread; your newest additions are wonderful.

 

I'm also getting sorely tempted to start collecting a new scale...

[Rob Dean]

21 hours ago, Chaoswolf said:

 

I'm also getting sorely tempted to start collecting a new scale...

 

Well, I’m a constantly struggling member of “Projects Anonymous”, so I’m not the safest person to ask for advice.  Generally, I try to follow the rule that a new project/period/scale needs to bring something to the table that doesn’t overlap with existing projects.  For me, this one has the advantage of portability.  I could also claim that cost is an advantage, but I buy enough extra stuff to void that argument, and it has the personal advantage of being compatible with my sons’ related projects, which wouldn’t be a factor for anyone else.  

 

The downside of the 1/72 plastic world is the spotty availability of sets.  I generally buy any new set that looks interesting, because there’s no guarantee that  one will be able to find it in a few years when one is actually ready to use it.  (On the other hand, is that really all that different from the uncertainties in the 28/30/32mm market?)

 

Are you familiar with the Plastic Soldier Review site?  They’ve got pictures and reviews of all known historical sets, which overlap into medieval or ancient fantasy.  Unfortunately, they don’t feel that they have a mandate for the fantasy sets being released. 

[malefactus]

2 hours ago, Rob Dean said:

 

 Generally, I try to follow the rule that a new project/period/scale needs to bring something to the table that doesn’t overlap with existing projects.  For me, this one has the advantage of portability.  I could also claim that cost is an advantage, but I buy enough extra stuff to void that argument, and it has the personal advantage of being compatible with my sons’ related projects, which wouldn’t be a factor for anyone else.  

 

 

That brought to my mind memories of Jack Scruby ; i.e., whenever he came up with a new period & accompanying rules. he would introduce a range of minis in a new scale.

When my old group switched from 18th century in 54mm to Napoleonics in 30, there was an influx in his shiny packed-in-saw-dust miniatures. They even went for his rules with the infamous "liberal game move". Those were the days, my friend.