Frostgrave White Gorilla

Every once in a great while, and truthfully it doesn't happen very often, I actually paint a model that I'm incredibly happy with. Well, this is one of those rare models. 

I picked this model up by North Star miniatures years ago as originally I had this grandiose idea for a Jonny Quest Arctic game with several Yetis and possibly a monastery like in the old cartoon episode "Monster In The Monastery".

In my continued attempt to get through old models I grabbed this figure from a box and got him primed. Obviously it's not a difficult model to paint,  but I think that it's the subtle use of the black paint in the recessed areas of the fur that make the model pop.

I actually painted the recessed areas themselves as opposed to throwing a wash over the entire model and I think that is what is making the difference visually. 

A short quick post 🙂

Until next time, thanks for looking!

Ivor

Congo 28mm Porters and Bearers

In an effort to continue to complete models that have sat in boxes for years I finally finished up this line of porters and bearers that would fit into any pulpy dark Africa scenario. 

I'm fairly certain that all the models are from Northstar, but I could be wrong. 

They just scream that old classic movie King Solomon's Mines with Stewart Granger.

Or even the more pulpy, and completely campy, Indiana Jones rip-off Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold/ King Solomon's Mines with Richard Chamberlain and a very young Sharon Stone.

I've always had this idea in my head for a game involving a long column like this being ambushed by native warriors.  

Somewhere in a box I've got a fantastic set of native models from the game Congo that could work perfectly for that.

That looks terribly uncomfortable, especially after an hour or so.

As always, thanks for looking! Until next time, when hopefully I will have sorted how I want to finish the roof upgrade of the 4ground Nanhai trading post I completed a few years ago and get those final results posted - which I'm extremely excited to show as I think I really nailed improving the kit with my upgrades. 

Ivor

You Meet In A Tavern...

That's pretty much how every D&D adventure starts right? I'm continuing to slowly build up a pretty large adventuring collection and this next group are from Northstar Miniatures, and were originally designed for the game Frostgrave. While getting these guys based up I realized a couple of things  - first, it literally is all guys!? I definitely need to get some female adventures into the mix. Second, I'm really heavy on the rogue/thief/assassin type of models - I'm sure that's probably because way back in the day when I played D&D (though I ran games way more than actually played) I had a thief/acrobat character. I'd always imagined him like a combination of Catwoman and Robin from the Batman comics 😃

This figure would probably be the closest to what I could have imagined my character like in miniature form. Back in the day there would never be a figure this cool to put on the tabletop, there would only be a blob of lead in a blister pack from TSR that said "thief".

I guess one can never have too many weapons in hand as an assassin.

Variations on a theme, though his weapons are longer. One of the challenges with the clear bases is if a figure doesn't have both feet flat - this was a perfect example of that. To fix the problem I took a little resin skull and sanded it down until it fit under his foot, and I think it looks the business now 😃

Fighter/Barbarian number one, desperately in search of a tree he can chop down.

More thiefy/trap finder goodness. I do think NorthStar did a fantastic job with the sculpts from this line, lots of great detail in the accessories and accoutrements, and this guy is loaded with them.

This figure is a perfect example of the accoutrements I mentioned - I love that little potion bottle on his hip.

Fighter/Barbarian number two in his hippie pants.

As I mentioned above, some female adventures need purchased - I found some pretty nice sculpts with a company called Dark Sword Miniatures, but at $10.00 and up per figure I think I need to look elsewhere. Any leads would be greatly appreciated 🙂

Until next time, thanks for looking!
Ivor

More Pirates Too? Sure, Why Not

I've somehow managed to get more pirates finished and newly based with the next and final iteration of the quest to find the perfect clear base - more on than later.

Here is the group of 20, mostly from Northstar - though honestly, I have the hardest time trying to remember manufacturers anymore, mostly because stuff was bought ages ago.

I particularly like this group because it has Captain Jack Sparrow and Smee from Peter Pan.

Figures like the one looking through the spyglass are ones I absolutely love - I really like a pose that tells a bit of a story. What's he looking at? A ship in pursuit, or perhaps one he's after. Maybe it's some kind of sea monster on the horizon or perhaps the island with buried treasure on it :)

Someone needs to get Ms. Boney an undershirt.

The figure on the left really stands out as he has some manacles on his ankles - again, telling a bit of a story of a recent escape, and that necklace is just boss!

And the final four. The lady on the far right has a bit of a resemblance to Eleanor Guthrie from Black Sails, which is quite neat.

As mentioned above, I'm sure you've noticed the bases on this group is completely different from what I'd been doing clear base wise for the last year and a half. The new bases were created with a circle punch and the plastic is from the packaging from model railroad buildings.

I've now gone to an ultra thin clear base and I think I've finally found the look I've been after since trying the clear base - these new bases equate out to 20mm or 3/4 of an inch. The figure on the left has the 25mm Litko 1.5mm thick base and as you can see the difference is just huge. I initially had hesitations about going to 20mm as I thought they would be too small to handle the figures - I couldn't have been more wrong!

I've read on different forums and threads in the past that those who use clear bases are "lazy" and that's why they use them. The photo above is why I use them and will always use them going forward for skirmish game figures. Traditional basing in this instance would just look odd. With a clear base, no matter where that figure is (on a road, in a building, in a dungeon, on a boat, in the desert, etc. etc. etc.) on the table it's never going to look out of place, like here.

And just as another quick comparison shot, you can see how much better the new base looks compared to the old Litko one.

Here is the entire group on my sloop (yet to be finished - apologies lol!) from Blood and Plunder. I could easily get another 8 figures on the boat even with all the cannons added - that's almost 30 figures!!?? And all because of the type of base I'm using.

Penny pinching time - I managed to score a whole bunch of clearance hobby stuff. If you have a Hobby Lobby anywhere close to you I highly recommend getting out there as quickly as you can to see what you can pick up.  This lot in the photo I found between two stores - I hit one other one but they were cleaned out. This is a total of 23 items retailing at $269.77 that I got for only $67.77!!?? Madness.

I'd wanted to get this out before Wednesday but wasn't able to so I could wish all those going to Historicon a great time and all the best to those running games as well (Miles, David, Kalissa, Joe). I really wish I could have been there - especially when I found out that 4Ground were going to be at the event for the first time ever!?!? That one was really crushing for me, I would have loved for the guys to have seen the conversions I've done with there kits in person :(

I've got a Kickstarter post coming up as I've had three backings come in over the last several weeks - the Fog Monster from Real Game FX is one of the coolest things ever gotten my hands on for sure!

Until next time, thanks for looking!
Ivor