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Ratspike: Ian Miller.

June 19, 2019, 2:22 am
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Further on from my last blog update, this the second part of two updates concerning the book 'Ratspike', this time concerning Ian Miller's half of the book.

Ian Miller: what can I say? Anyone familar with the fantasy genre, and Warhammer Fantasy Battle in particular in the 1980's will recognise his artwork. Like John Blanche he was very much a part of the art used at the time (1970's/80's/early 90's). I'm not going to critique or analyse his artwork, I did'nt for John Blanche and I'm not going to here, but I feel I will let the art speak for itself. I will say that I like his artwork. It's full of detail, and can be both bright in colours, yet very dark and brooding in subject matter.

I will consider two things however.
First, I think that his artwork had an influence on the design of the Slaves to Darkness era Chaos Renegades, as some of his artwork and the range look very similar in design (perhaps a post for another day!). Also, I always wondered if  Bob Olley's sculpting style in the Iron Claw ranges was influenced by Ian Miller? Bob Olleys sculpting has the same high level of detail as Ian Miller's artwork, something I cover briefly a little later in the blog post.

Secondly, the following photographs do not really do justice to the depth and feel of his artwork. I am fortunate to own this book so I can see them properly, 'in the real'. Also, I am doubly fortunate enough to have seen many of his original artworks in real life, and actual size, at a gallery viewing a few years ago. I also met Ian Miller, and he is a lovely person.
A link to that blog update is here:
http://goblinlee.blogspot.com/2016/10/meeting-ian-miller-at-corridor-gallery.html

Enjoy :)
The front page of Ian Miller's half of the book.
"My images are the stuff of dreams and apparitions, the tremors that touch the skirt of the day. Unspoken thoughts, stored memories, drawn up to be aired and then twisted by fancy."
'The Vomit Hounds'.
'Spring's Bane'.
Throughout the book there are several pieces of art with a 'British Redcoat' or 'Toy Soldier'  theme. This is because are linked by pieces of text throughout the book taken from a story which Ian Miller wrote entitled 'The Revenge of the Tin Solider'.
There is a link to an interview Ian Miller gave on the subject in 2014 here:
https://talkillustration.com/interview-british-illustrator-ian-miller/
Close up.
It always reminded me of 'The Cure', and their song 'Lullaby'.
'Bill Spring'.
The text at the side reads: " With the death of Kaspar 'the Unwelded' last of the Gottencogs, the Empire known by that name succummed to the wiles of evil men."
'The Chasm'.
The vivdness of the red really stands out.
The small piece of art next to 'The Chasm'.
'Debacle'.
I think a converted (or Bob Olley sculpted) army of miniatures in this style would look pretty good.
Eureka Miniatures produce a nice line of Toy Town Soldier miniatures:
http://www.eurekamin.com.au/index.php?cPath=87_126_716&sort=3a
'Sanctuary'.
I love the deep, nocturnal feeling of the blue.
'Untitled'.
'Captain Scut' .
He is a character from 'The Revenge of the Tin Solider'.
'Death in the Rocking Horse Factory'.
I like how it all looks bright and pleasant, yet otherworldly and unsettling, especially the rocking horses.
'The Reaper'.
'The Nursery', and 'The Beach'.
The cliffs and view in 'The Beach' remind me of a view, looking West, from a place called Saltdean, on the East Sussex coast, not far from where I live in Brighton and Hove. As Ian Miller is based in Brighton and Hove, I wonder if it inspired him?
'Udder Woman, Killer of Cows'.
'Wasp Eye'.
'Maypole'.
Quite a frenetic feel to 'The Maypole', just as you get from dancing around one (which I have done a couple of times).
The text next to 'The Maypole'.
The dead solider, beneath 'The Maypole artwork.
'Angel Butcher'.
There's a passing resemblance to 1980's UK Prime Minister Margret Thatcher.
'Terror of the Lichemaster'.
Famously used in the eponymous Warhammer Fantasy Battle scenario, and on the cover of the  Citadel Journal Spring 1987.
Close up.
I have one the original Lichemaster (and the other Skeleton Characters) to paint, so I might go for this style of paint scheme for them, and the entire army.
'Santa Claus'.
Sweet dreams, hope you've been good, otherwise this Santa Claus will make you pay!
I am sure that Citadel based their LE16 Sanity Claws miniature on this artwork:
http://www.solegends.com/citle1990/numbered/le16sanityclaws/index.htm
Concept sketch of 'Santa Claus'.
Another concept sketch of 'Santa Claus'.
Untitled pair of artworks. However, below her is written:

Playful she turn'd that he might see
The passing smile her cheek put on;
But when she mark'd how mournfully
His eyes met hers, that smile was gone.
                                          Lalla Rookh'Lalla Rookh', is a Poem written by Thomas Moore, and this a except from it.
Concept sketches for 'Lalla Rookh'(?).
'He' from the poem?
Comcept sketches for the male warrior, or at least in his style.
A series of picture entitled 'The Watcher'.
'Edward Hoghead.
'Horn Towers 1'.
The top three pictures of 'Nort Passage'.
The lower picture of 'Nort Passage.
'Emperor Starship'.
I'm struck how much like a fish this looks.
'Champion of Khorne'.
Below this is written:
"With a mighty shout he rose brighter than the sun and more fierce. In his hand he held a rod of  twisted bone, crossed and double crossed to form the sign of his dark Lord, a symbol of his power and fruit of mortal longings well fulfilled."
Double page of two pieces of artwork which are 
both used in the Slaves to Darkness book: 'The Marcher Fortress' (left); and 'Temple of Khorne' (right).
This is used on page 13 of Slaves to Darkness, opposite the text concering 'The Marcher Fortress'.
This can be found on page 171 of Slaves to Darkness, opposite the text concerning 'The Bastion Stair'. Interestingly, this artwork is a mix of reds greys,and blacks, whereas in Slaves to Darkness it is black and white.
Also interestingly (to me anyway), just past Saltdean there is a place called 'The Bastion Stair'.
Untitled.
However this is taken from a double spread of art works entitled 'Warp'.
Another from 'Warp'.
'Vale of Creatures', also used in Slaves to Darkness, page 106.
'Tree of Souls', Slaves to Darkness, page 210.
I always liked the creepy story which accompanied this in Slaves to Darkness.
Close up of the main face of the 'Tree of Souls.
This reminds me of Bob Olleys Goblins, especially a standard bearer which he sculpted, below:
 Front view...
...rear view.
'The Slaanesh Women', and 'Khorne'.
Again, both used in Slaves to Darkness.
'Untitled'.
'Untitled'.
'Winter'.
The text beside is a nursery ryhme and reads:

The North Wind doth blow,
And we shall have snow,
and what will the Robin do then?
Poor thing.

He'll sit in a barn.
And keep himeslf warm,
And hide his head under his wing,
poor thing.
'Death of the Reik'.
Used in the scenario of the same name.
'East Rift'.
I like the more earthy colours he's used, seems unusual for Ian Miller.
'Hollywood Gothic-White Rider'.
'Battle of Hornburg'.
Based on the Battle from the Lord of the Rings, the artwork used in 'A Tolkien Bestiary' by David Day.
'Battle of Pelennor Fields', and from the Lord of the Rings, and used in 'A Tolkien Bestiary' by David Day.
Fish!
This is untitled but there is a section of text from 'The Compleat Angler' adjacent to it.
More fish, also untitled, on the opposite page to the others.
'Mesh Death'.
'Flypaper'.
'Sleep'.
This has all the feeling of something from HP Lovecraft.
'Chaos Knight'.
'Spring cough'.
Untitled, but above it is written 'Debacle'.
These are of course 40k Space Marines, and this was used in the 40k Rogue Trader rulebook.
More untitled Space Marines.
Untitled, but part of a series of artwork on a double page entitled 'The Imperium'.
Artwork on the opposite page to the last piece.
'Iron Lady'.
No prizes for guessing on who this is based.
A different take of the Redcoated Tin Soldiers as well.
'Wargames'.
This is the artwork directly below 'Iron Lady'.
The back cover of the book.

My next blog update will be back to miniatures. :)
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The Terror and the Vengeance of the Lichemaster: Heinrich Kemler, Mikael Jacsen, Ranlac, and Krell.

June 30, 2019, 1:10 pm
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Terror and Vengeance abound!

After my last blog update on Ian Miller's artwork, I re-read Ratspike and looked long and hard at his Terror of the Lichemaster artwork. Looking at it I was really inspired by the bright colours used, so I decided to paint up the central Evil characters in this style.

I am really happy to be back painting again after not really painting anything for a few months (I've been buying things, but more on that in another blog update). I am also really happy to have chosen this paint scheme and style as it is really quite unusual. When I, and I am sure when many others, consider Undead, rusty and dull paint schemes often spring to mind, but the Ian Miller inspired really does look interesting. It may not be the most 'realistic' look, but for a fantasy army it does work.

Now, I find myself sorting out C16/C17 range Skeletons and Undead in order to build at least the bare minimum of the army for the Vengeance Scenario, and with an eye to using this as a core for a full 3,000 point Undead army. I have all the Undead required for the Vengeance scenario, and lots of odds and ends too. They are fun, and quite fast to paint, I painted all the four characters here in four hours (excluding varnishing and basing time).

Enjoy :)
 'The Terror of the Lichemaster' artwork by Ian Miller.
 From left to right: Krell; Heinrich Kemler, The Lichemaster; Mikael Jacsen; and Ranlac.
I am really happy with them, the look and vibrancy of the colour scheme.
For reference, The Lichemaster and Mikael Jacsen are both slotta miniatures, Ranlac and Krell are pre-slotta. The Lichemaster and Mikael Jacsen were made specifically for the scenarios, whilst Ranlac and Krell are from the Citadel C17 Skeleton range, and were designed by the Perry Twins.
The Lichemaster.
I wanted to capture the look and colours of the artwork and looking at it the palette of colours was very simple: Red, orange, white, and yellow, with green for the hat, and a few items gold. .
 The Lichemaster's cloak.
I purposely went for a bold contrast in highlighting to mimic the art. I think that cloak alsmost looks aflame.
Side view.
I love the sculpting of the face, very much with a driven evil intelligence. I'm happy how the white flesh looks. A simple watered down black paint wash helped to give depth.
Mikael Jacsen.
In the Terror of The Lichemaster Mikael Jacsen is the lieutenant of the Zombies. He also has a flaming skull and shrieking piercing shriek.
This character is of course based on the singer Michael Jackson, and the infamous incident which occurred in 1984 when his head was set on fire during the filming of a Pepsi commercial. I think the shrieking alludes more to his singing.
The miniature was great fun to paint, and I copied the orange armour with gold trim.
Rear view.
Ranlac.
Ranlac was the captain of Krell's Guard. The miniature has an oriental look to him, with the flowing robes, the Katana, the Oni or Noh looking face on his shield, and the Samurai looking helmet. It does make one wonder about the life time adventures of Ranlac.
Rear view.
Krell.
Krell was in life a great Chaos hero. He now serves as The Lichemaster's lieutenant.
I like the look of this miniatures, he looks as all good Skeletons heroes should: a hero from an earlier age.
Rear view.
I enjoyed painting the rich coloured cloak. I only used highlights with red, orange, and yellow paint, without ink or contrast paints.


Next blog update will probably be more Skeletons, as I appear to be painting an Undead army now. :)
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Undead Horsemen of the Lichemaster.

July 31, 2019, 11:53 am
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Just a quick update, carrying on from my last blog post, I have painted a few Undead Cavalry. I  painted these in a similar style to the Lichemaster characters from Ian Miller's artwork. They are going to part of a 3rd Edition Warhammer Undead army based on the forces of the Lichemaster. In the Terror of the Lichemaster scenario he was able to Summon Undead Horsemen, so I think they will fit in nicely (well, evilly really, but you get the idea).

Painting wise they were fun to do. I enjoyed trying out the Ian Miller style palette on other Undead miniatures, and keeping to a limited set of colours. Concerning the Undead Steeds, the Warhammer rules state that Undead Cavalry can move through walls at half speed. This got me thinking that perhaps there is something extra magical about Undead Horsemen, conferred from thier steeds. So I thought I would painted the steeds with a more ethereal look to them, rather than just a rotting 'bag 'o bones'. I did'nt do this for the riders as I thought it might make them look too much like a spectre, plus it helps to keep the steeds that extra spooky!

Enjoy :)
Three Undead Horsemen.
Left to right: ME72 Deadman of Dunharrow; C21 Undead Cavalry 'Bloodharvest'; and C21 'Doomsmile'.
'Bloodharvest'.
This is probably one of my favourite of the range, the old style helmet and detailed armour, as well as the sycthe, not normally a cavalry weapon. He just has a menacing moodiness about him. He is mounted on the undead horse 'Rotskin'.
Right hand side view showing the lovely armour.
'Doomsmile'.
He is a good, standard Skeleton rider, armed with a halberd. He is riding 'Fallen Flesh'.
ME72 Deadman of Dunharrow.
This is the earlier solid based version. This is a lovely sculpt, with a very mournful air about him.
Side view.
Ian Miller's 'Terror of the Lichemaster'.

Next update will probably be more Undead.
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Early Rogue Trader Squats.

August 15, 2019, 1:09 pm
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I have been collecting and sorting out my 3rd Edition Warhammer Fantasy armies for a little while now, and fancied a little bit of a change. Now one of my great loves is what I consider very early era of Rogue Trader, 1987 to 1988, and one of the key elements to that era were the early release of Squats (Space Dwarfs), before the Iron claw Range, and before the plastic range.

Before the 1989 Squat army list, which many consider the epitome of Rogue Trader Squats, they were more akin to an adjunct to the Imperial Army, so much so that they were an integral part of the Imperial Army list in the 1988 Book of the Astronomican. That is my approach to these. They comprise only miniatures released from the initial releases of Rogue Trader, and I will be basing them on the Hyglar's Hell-Raisers from the 1998 Book of the Astronomican, taking their paint schemes  from that era.

Why? Because I love the look of the early Squats and their green/brown/khaki colours. Also, in the Hyglar list many of the Squats are issued with mesh and flak armour, which I feel befits the miniatures more than just the flak of the later list. Anyway, I have another plastic and metal Squat army to use for the later list.

There is a cavet to all this. I am painting these for fun. I might complete this army or move on. I have a contemporary Astra Militarium army which I am looking to paint, and so many other things to do, but for now, I'm enjoying painting these.

Oh, and I'm painting some Rogue Trader Tyranids as well.

Enjoy :)
White Dwarf 94 release of Squats (Space Dwarfs).
Many of these are in the Rogue Trader rulebook.
Book of the Astronomican Space Dwarfs.

Book of the Astronomican Space Dwarf Command.
Squats!
My camera has broken, so these are taken with my phone!
'Maxim Bang'.
The early Squats/Space Dwarfs were all named, and named after firearms.
He is armed with a las-gun, the same one used by the Space Slann, and many human adventurers, and Judge Dredd miniatures.
By the way, they is a lot of smoking going on amongst the Squats.
Rear view.
'Lewis Gunn' (told you, named after guns!).
His body is the same base torso as 'Maxim Bang's'.
Rear view.
'Mauser von Dreyse'
Again, based on the basic 'Maxim Bang torso. He is armed with a bolter.
Rear view.
'Luger Gerlich'.
He is armed with looks like an Ak-47, but can be used as an Auto-gun. It is later listed (and I am using it here as) a Las-Gun.
Rear view.
'Smoothbore Sten'.
Rear view.
Squats bothering the Orks of the Charadon Empire somewhere in Kolarne system. 
I re-painted my old wrecked car scenery.
My painting table!

What's next? Probably more Squats, I'm having fun painting them. :)
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More Early Rogue Trader Squats... but terrible photographs! :(

August 27, 2019, 1:32 pm
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I've been a busy Goblin. But first of all, an apology.
My camera has broken, and so I have been taking photographs with my phone. Some of them are fine, some blurred. I did try with some several times, but I'm just not getting there. So, here are the Squats. Think of it as bad sub-space comms (been watching DS-9 again  :)  )

Anyway, apart from work and other such nonsense, I have been painting Squats. Lots of them, and they have been fun to paint. After a recent lull in painting, I am quite enjoying painting the early Rogue Trader era Squats. As I mentioned in my last blog update I am loosely basing them on the early release paint schemes, which are a mix of greens and browns, with dashes of colour. When I think of this era of Squats, these paint schemes are that which spring to mind, so why not choose them?

I am basing the army on the Hylgar's Hell-Raisers army list from the 1988 Book of the Astronomican, but ignoring all but the compulsary Human elements, and focusing on the Squats. I have done this because I think that this list better reflects the miniatures, it will also act as an opponent to the Ork list army I have, and I also have enough plastic Squats to create an army from the layer Squat list. I'll detail more on the exact composition of the army in a later blog update.

Enjoy (best you can)  :)
WIP army.
I'm filling the gaps via e-bay, and the army is nearly 'collected'.
The last couple of weeks painting.
'Loader Powl', from the RT9/RT303 Squat Heavy weapon range. He is primilarly designed to accompany heavy weapons carriers. He is armed with a Plasma-Gun, and I intend to use him as a Squat Sergeant-Major in the Hylgar list as he fits the entry nicely.
'Galil Lankhester', a musician miniature from the RT302 Space Dwarf /Squat Command Group range. He is a keyboard player. Synth was big in the 1980's . :)
'Gunner Karl' armed with a Conversion Beamer.
Beamer side.
'Waltha Twelvebore'.
Squat armed with a flamer. I have painted him similar to the artwork in the Rogue Trader rulebook, below.
'Waltha Twelvebore' and 'Colt Stoner', jus' patrollin' downtown.
A blurred photograph of a Bloodbowl Dwarf with a Bazooka.
He is 'Barik Farblast', from about 1988, and is armed with a football launching bazooka. I plan to use him as a missile launcher.
Rear view.
Two versions of 'Gatt Gunslinger'.
I like how a different paint scheme, within the overall theme, can work on the same miniature.
Rear view.
Citadel made two different versions of 'Gatt Gunslinger'. The first one, on the left, had a seperate backpack/jump-pack (the same one used on the 'Roth Bergman' miniature). The second version received a minor resculpt, replacing the seperate backpack, with a cast-on one.
On the left 'Capt. Khyrk', from the RT9 Heavy weapon crew range. I photographed him now, as he is off soon on a 5 year misson. ;)
On the right, 'Koch Wesson', a Squat flamer (the backward cap, also popular in the 1980's).
Rear view.
'Heckler Smith' and 'Lee Hotchkiss'.
Both based on the same base sculpt, they are going to be part of the Assault Squads.
Two 'Lewis Gunn'.
Two 'Maxim Bang'.
On the left 'Luger Gerlich'.
On the right 'Mauser von Dreyse'. Apart from the blot gun, he is the same sculpt as 'Lewis Gunn'. 
I do love the firearms names of the Squats.
'Colt Stoner' and 'Barry Schmeisser'.
Rear view.
The 'Barry Schmeisser' miniature has a backpack, maybe a jump-pack, in a similar style to the original metal Space Marine ones.


Next update, more Squats.
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Lots more Rogue Trader Squats.

September 10, 2019, 11:23 am
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More early Rogue Trader era Squats, but alas I still have'nt purchased a new camera, so the photographs are a little so-so.

I've been busy. Over the last couple of weeks I have painted 21 Squats and a Thudd Gunn. Well, I've actually painted more than this, but the others are awaiting basing. I am really enjoying painting these miniatures. They are very quick and easy to paint. I've found with the Squat ranges that it is very simple to make the same miniature look different by varying the painting on each of them, whilst still keeping within the overall approach, in this case the early paint schemes used io the inital Rogue Trader Squat miniatures. It does'nt take long to paint two or three of the Squats of an evening after work, so I am making good progress, and having fun whilst doing it. As I am working within the Hylgar's Hell-Raisers army list, I have started targeting which Squats to paint so I could start completing some squads.

Enjoy :)
Some of the couple of weeks painting.
 Seven 'Smoothbore Sten' miniatures.
 Three 'Luger Gerlich'.
 Two 'Gal Von Benko', and one 'Enfield Chambers'.
 From the RT302 Squat Command range, 'Uzi Marakov' (left), and 'Brew Ithica' (right).
These will be used as sergeants.
 Rear view.
  'Barry Schmeisser' and 'Koch Wesson'.
 He's Dead!!!
'Ross Von Dormus'.
The two RT303 Heavy Weapon Squats, 'Gunner Kief' (left), and 'Gunner Karl' (right).
They are armed with the original separate Imperial Heavy Bolter (also used on Ork Dreadnoughts).
'Thudd Gun'.
Well, not strictly speaking, it's actually a Rogue Trader era cannon made in France by AGMAT, who produced miniatures under license. It was also released under the name of 'Imperial Autocannon', and it seems to have been available for a time. I can't recall where I bought mine, but I think it was the late 90's or early 2000's.
 Side view.
 Rear view.
 The gun crew.
It did'nt have a crew with it although it was sometimes supplied with an Imperial Guard crew. I have chosen to used '"Blish" Browning' , and 'Loader Grigg' (from the RT303 Heavy Weapons range). Grigg is carrying a large encased ammo magazine over his shoulder, so I thought he fitted the role nicely.
 The entry for Squat Tactical squads in the Book of the Astronimican (1988), page 73. These are the most lightly armoured of the Squat squads.
 Tactical Squad using mainly 'Smoothbore Sten'.
Tactical squad using a mix of 'Gal Von Benko', 'Enfield Chambers', and 'Luger Gerlich', all the Sqauts armed with the AK-47 looking las-gun.


Next update will be more Squats!!! I have Mole Mortars and more infantry as WIP.
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Squat Mole Mortars.

September 17, 2019, 12:51 pm
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I've been painting more Squats. I have a lot of infantry awaiting basing, but for now some of the  artillery.

One of the two iconic weapons associated with the Squats is the Mole Mortar, the other of course being the Thudd Gun. The Mole Mortar was released with two Squat crewmen. For those of you unaware, the Mole Mortar was a very sneaky weapon, being a Mortar which fired it's projectile underground, bursting up through the ground to explode.

I have three of these. Two have the original crew, the other I have added spare Squats to crew. I have kept the painting broadly in line with the early Rogue Trader look. They, like all the Squats so far, have been fun to paint, and quite quick to do. These took only a couple of hours.
Enjoy :)
 Mole Mortar battery.
 The first of the original crew supplied, the 'Firer'.
 The second of the original crew supplied, the 'Loader', with ammo round. He also has a twin ammo pack on his back.
Replacement crew, '"Blish" Browning' (left), and 'Capt. Khyrk' (right).
I chose "Blish" because he has a handset of somekind, and I chose 'Khryrk'  because he looks pretty cool, he looks like a crewman, and I had one spare!
 Mole Mortars.
I based them on a 40mm round bases.
The original miniatures from the 1980's release advert.

Next blog update, more Squats!
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Squat troopers.

September 25, 2019, 9:27 am
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I've been busy painting a lot more Squats, this time mainly Las-Gun armed Troopers, but also a few others. These are just the ones I have based, I've painted at least this again, and they are just awaiting basing and photographing.

In addition I have been doubly distracted. Firstly there has been talk on the Oldhammer Facebook Group about painting Bob Olley sculpted miniatures, and so I have made a start on, guess what, more Squats! This time his IC501 Iron Claw range. I have found a very quick and easy way of painting them which I think looks good. It gives them a look of Chaos Squats, so the plan is for them to be the army of Warlord Thargrim 'the red', Tratior Squat Commnader, from a quote in the 1989 Squat army list. More on this later as it is more of an on/off side project.

Speaking of Tratiors, my second distraction is to return to sorting out my Rogue Trader Tratior Legions. I started this a few years ago, but after a painting related problem with the Nurgle Marines, I kind of ran out of steam. I have been paint stripping old miniatures, buying up odds and ends, and am preparing to sort them out into their repesctive Legions. However, I will finish the current Squat project first.

Enjoy :)
Squats!
'Owen Garand' and 'Roth Bergmann'.
A pair of Squats with Bolters. I think I made the varnish a little too strong, but it might be better than them chipping.
Rear view, showing both wearing the original seperate backpacks.
'Sgt.Bylcow' from the Heavy Weapon Crew range, and 'Mauser Von Dreyse'.
Rear views.
'Mauser Von Dreyse' is the same sculpt as the 'Lewis Gunn' miniature, but armed with a Bolt Gun.
'Gatt Gunslinger' (left), and two 'Maxim Bang'.
Again, 'Maxim Bang' is a variant on the 'Lewis Gunn' sculpt.
Five 'Lewis Gunn'.
He seems to be one of the standard basic sculpts from which several of the original Squat releases were sculpted. As an aside, there seems to be a lot of cigar smoking in t he Squat Military! Perhaps that's really why they only have a move of 3", they are all sort of breath!
Heavy Weapon Crew.
On the left  'Gunner Karl' armed with a Rogue Trader Ork Heavy Flamer, which I intend to use as a normal Flamer.
On the right is 'Gunner Keif', with a Conversion Beamer.
Rear views.
I like how the yellow flamer tanks turned out, I painted them to look like old plastic tanks. 
Bob Olley IC501 Iron Claw Squats.
I am painting them as a Chaos Squat Army of Khorne, and so picked a very straight forward red paint scheme, using a limited palette of red, black, gold, and Iron: the colours of Khorne!


Next update will be on the full range of the RT302 Space Dwarf/Squat Command range.
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RT302 Squat Command Group.

October 9, 2019, 12:14 pm
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More early era Squats, this time the RT302 Space Dwarfs/Squat Command groups.

Released in 1988, the Command Group range were sculpted by the Perry Twins. Only the Squats and Space Orks had dedicated Command Group releases. Like their fantasy counterparts, the Command Groups consisted of four elements; the Commander (Leader); Champion; Standard Bearer; and Musician. Also like their fantasy cousins, the command groups were based on four sculpts, with the other miniatures based on an initial sculpt for each of the four.

Sculpting wise they were very close to the initial Squat releases. The style of armour, helmets, and overall look and feel fits in nicely with the early releases. Also, the las-pistols used are the same sculpt as those used by other Imperial forces, notably the Imperial Army. The Bolters and Power Fists too. Interestingly, the one Power Axe used is the same as the Space Ork one. Personally I always liked the fact that a lot of the early equipment, Imperial, or Xenos, was similar or the same. It suggested a series close knit inter-warring groups who used similar tech. It also made the early Tyranids seems more 'out there' with their bio equipment.

I like this range. They had a limited practical use. They didn't really fit too well in the Book of the Astronomican army lists (although I've had a go!). They fit in fine with the later 1989 Squat list as troopers, or alternatives to the Hearthguard models, although I always felt that their armour seemed too heavy looking for just the troopers flak armour.

Enjoy :)
RT302 Squat Command.
Like the other Squat releases, they also seems to have several 'weapon names', such as 'Beretta', 'Ingram', 'Sterling', etc.
The same range, which I have painted.
The Champions.
They are all based on the same sculpt, and have a Power glove on thier right hand/arm.
Vikas Ingram.
He is a quite cybernetic looking. I painted the skull, shoulder pad, armour, backpack, and power fist in a shiney chrome to link them all. 
Rear view.
Ragni Beretta, armed with a power axe.
Rear view.
 Vollmer Adams.
Rear view.
Commanders.
They are all armed with Chainswords and Las-Pistols, but with different headgear and faces.
I like the medals they are wearing as too.
Lorenzi Forsyth.
He seems to be wearing a helmet similar to the Ancient Greek Corinthian helmet, a form of which was used in the late 18th, and early 19th Centuries.
Rear view, with a better view of the helmet.
 Brew Ithaca, with a quiff and cool shades.
 Rear view.
 Uzi Makarov.
He is wearing a plumed version of the 'standard' Squat helmet.
Rear view.
The Standard Bearers.
There is some variety in the details of the standards, and each of the bearers have different heads, but otherwise they are the same.An interesting detail is that they all have the 'Wound stripe' from p162 of Rogue Trader rule book on thier right shoulder pad. A couple of the Commanders also have this on thier helmets.
Hughes Phalanx.
Rear view.
Lisle Sterling.
Rear view.
Garand Steyr.
Again with the Squat cigar smoking! :)
Rear view.
Close-up of Garand's helmet, embossed with 'Kil', in the finest Rogue Trader era tradition.
Muscians.
They all are keyboard players (although they might be vocalists too!).
Grom Atchison.
Rear view.
Mortimer Gast.
It's a great name. :)
Rear view.
(sorry about the blurred photograph).
Galil Lankhester.
Rear view.

Next update will be even more, yet more, oh my God not more, Squats!! I have been painting a lot of them you know. :)
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Squat Assault Troopers

October 16, 2019, 10:11 am
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More Squats, this time a brief update on some Assault Troopers.

The Squat Assault squads in Hylgar's Hell-Raisers are largely armed with Las-Pistols. The early range of Squats didn't have any Squats armed with Las-Pistols, but they did have several armed with what looked like the early Bolt -Pistol. So I have just painted up that pistol in the same grey as I have with the Las-Guns. The army list is flexable, so items can be swapped out, so it wouldn't be too much to have them as bolt pistols.

The pistol armed troopers are based on three sculpts, which themselves are all releated to each other via a basic sculpt. The only difference are the heads are swapped with other heads from Squats in the same range.

Enjoy. :)
 Assault Troopers.
 From left to right:
'Heckler Smith'; 'Lee Hotchkiss'; and 'Krag Jorgenson'.
 Rear view.
 I have also painted some more Flamers, again left to right:
'Nambu Arisaka'; 'Waltha Twelvebore'; and 'Koch Wesson'.
 Rear view.
 'Roth Bergman'.
The Squat Guard Squad also required a unit leader, but one armed with a Power fist. I did'nt have any other Squats armed with one, so I painted his left arm and shoulder pad in a chrome metal to suggest either a Power Fist or Bionic army counting as one.
He didn't have his original backpack to I added an old metal Space Marine one, partly to suggest a power pack for his Power Fist.

I have nearly finished all the Squats, but I have also have a couple of other things I want to update on, so might break the Squat updating for an update or two whilst I finish them off.  :)
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Unreleased C32 Slann miniature.

October 21, 2019, 1:27 pm
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Recently I purchased a batch (or Spawning?) of 1980's Slann from e-bay. One of the the Slann in the batch is a Slann which I haven't seen before. I have collected several unreleased or rare Slann before, but I have never seen this one before.

He seems to be based on the sculpt of the released C32 Slann 'Zipanzuma' due to several similarities in sculpting. A few years ago, via the Oldhammer Facebook page, I spoke to Trish Carden (formally Morrison) who sculpted this range of Slann, and she stated that there were two reasons for the existence of unreleased Slann miniatures from this era (1985-7). The first was that some Slann miniatures who did'nt make it into production due to casting concerns. The second was that in the later 1980's, about 1988-90, some sculptors in the design studio converted some test pieces based on her original scuplts, with an aim for later Slann releases to revitalise the range. However, these sculpts, and the idea, was put to one side as there were more immediate priorities, namely the massive success and focus on 40k at the time.

As for the sculpt itself I have mixed feelings. I LOVE any 'new' old sculpts of Slann which I can find and buy. I do like that the Slann seems to be wearing a captured Old World/Norse mail coat. This fits into parts of the 2nd and 3rd Edition warhammer Slann background which suggests that some Slann are adpoting some of the new weapons and equipment brought from the Old World.

On the other hand,  I am not sure on the sculpt of the weapon(?). Is it a weapon, or a standard, is it meant to be made of metal, obsidian, or wood? The whole sculpt excellent, as per the era, but the miniature concept itself is ok. It's in the same vein as other miniatures from other ranges which create variants from one basic sculpt. However, unlike some of them it just seems too different be just a 'Zipanzuma' variant, and too similar in some details, such the helmet, to seem a very separate miniature. Still, I do like it and am glad to have it. :)

Enjoy :)

 Unreleased Slann. 
Rear view.
 Tab.
It's a standard tab used on the Slann from this era.
Rear view.
Again, a standard looking tab. It reads G.W 1985.
Both sides of the tab are the same as that which is found on the tab of 'Zipanzuma'.
 The variant and 'Zipanzuma'.
 Next update will probably be some more Squats.
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Gyrinx

November 12, 2019, 1:57 pm
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Quick update. I haven't been painting much in the last couple of weeks, although there are more 40k Squats awaiting photographing. I did however paint a Gyrinx.

The Gyrinx is an alien creature from the Rogue Trader rulebook, resembling a large ginger cat. It bonds with characters, and then had the power to store psi points, and augment shooting, close combat, and initiative by +1. I have added the rules from the rulebook below.  The background to the Gyrinx was that it was some kind of familar-empathic creature which formed a symbotic relationship with it's 'owner'.

Miniature wise, it was released in 1987, but more as a limited edition mail order miniature. I do recall that in 1990 there was a 'sticker sale' in my local GW shop (Brighton) as part of a wider promotion, and there were one or two Gyrinx included in the RT601 Adventures and Pirates packs, as well as Jokaero. Like an idiot I did'nt buy them at the time, and I only managed to purchase my Gyrinx this year.

Sculpting wise, it's a big fluffy cat. The sculpting is good, but there's not much else to say about it. I am not sure who sculpted it, but they did a good job. Painting wise, it's described as a big orange-ginger fluffly cat, with blue eyes, and that's how I painted it. I did take care to tone down the orange with a sand coloured highlight to stop it looking too much like a fox. More contempary takes on the Gyrinx have it blue and white, but I chose the old Rogue Trader look. It will probably end up with my Space Slann.

Enjoy. :)
 Gyrinx.
 Rear view.
 Rules from the Rogue Trader rulebook.
 Rules from the Rogue Trader rulebook (cont.).
The artwork of the Gyrinx from the Rogue Trader rulebook.

Next update will be the last of the Squat miniatures.

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Rogue Trader Squat: Barry Schmeisser

December 31, 2019, 3:41 pm
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This is a little bit of a 'place-holder' update really.
Due to a family bereavement, and my workload of the Xmas period I haven't had the opportunity to do any painting. I have however been e-baying for my fantasy armies, but more on that in the new year.
So here are a few of the Squats I painted last month for the continuing Hyglar's Hellraiser army.

Enjoy :)
A group of the  'Barry Schmeisser' miniature.
 Front view.
Rear view.

In January I plan to finally finish the Hyglar's Hellraisers project, and then move onto Fatansy armies.
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Squat Thudd guns.

January 30, 2020, 11:52 am
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I have finally painted the last part of the Squats of Hylgar's Hellraiser: The Thudd Guns.

They were quick and fun to paint. I have always considered the Thudd Gun to be an iconic Squat weapon, and so they really had to be included, especially as they are allowed in the army list anyway.

In addition to the two Thudd Guns, I have included the alternative Thudd Gun, also released as the Imperial Guard Auto-Cannon. This was produced in France under license from Citadel by AGMAT, and is sometimes known as the AGMAT Gun.

To crew the guns I have added a few of the Squats from the wider early Rogue Trader Squat range as the Thudd Gun was only supplied with one crew, and the AGMAT with none.

Enjoy :)
Thudd Gun battery.
Thudd gun.
I added some of the rust effect to the gun to give it a slightly more battlefield feel.
The AGMAT gun.
The rear track and the wheels are the same as the regular Thudd Gun, but that is all. The overall look is the same, and the chasis looks like a conversion ofthe original, but the addtion of a larger intergral footplate renders it different.
I think it looks fine and fits in nicely, and faintly reminds me of late 19th Century and First World War artillery.
Squat gunner.
This is the Squat supplied with the gun. He has a peg under his foot rather than a slotta base so he can be placed on the Thudd Gun itself. I chose not to do this, and filled in the gaps on the Thudd Guns footplates with greenstuff.
Rear view.
RT301 Squat "Blish" Browning".
I think he makes a good alternative crewman as he is holding a comm unit/control pad.
RT303 Squat 'Loader Grigg'.
He is part of the Squat  Heavy Weapon range, and seems to be designed to be an ammo carrier, which I also thinks works well as an alternate crewman.

For a variety of reasons this Squat project has taken more time than expected to complete, and my blogging has been very low key. It was, however, fun to paint them, and in the manner and 'feel' of the early Rogue Trader era from which they derive.

My plan now is to switch focus to what I have been doing in the background for over a year.
I have been sorting through my Warhammer Fantasy collections and organising them in 3,000 point armys based on the army list from the 1988 Warhammer Armies book. By and large this has meant sorting a LOT of miniatures into boxes, and so over the next few weeks I will be writing army lists for them. There is a lot of unpainted lead (and a little plastic) at the moment, but once sorted I can then focus on painting again, and then blogging the progress. :)
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Gnome hero on Giant Shrew.

February 29, 2020, 10:36 am
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A little conversion and paint job (if you excuse the pun!) .

I had a spare Citadel Gnome miniature from the C33 Mounted Adventurers range, but with no pony for him to ride. So, I tried him out on a Giant Frog miniature, a spare Gimli's pony from Citadels Lord of the Rings range, and even the Citadel C22 Giant Snail. However, he seemed to fit nicely on another C22 Creature; the Giant Shrew.

The Gnome fitted nicely on top once I had added a small greenstuff saddle. I placed the Giant Shrew on a 25mm base as a 20mm was too small, and the 40mm seemed too large. Painting wise he was quick and easy to paint. Also, I wanted to try out the famous shield painting guide in White Dwarf #101 from 1988. It has sort of worked , it does'nt look too bad, I think I need a little more practice, maybe on a much bigger shield!

Gnomes are one of those Warhammer races who seem to be overlooked. They are only present in the Warhammer Armies book in the Dwarf army list, and to be honest, they are not great, with thier T2 being a bit low. So with many other things to choose from in the Dwarf army, and the limited miniatures range not being easy to come by, they are not often seen, which fits in nicely with their Bestiary entry in the rulebook of a dwindling, rarely seen race.  Still, I like them, and I have been buying the odd one or two here and there in order to build a little regiment of C11 range Gnomes, of which I now have 20 plus the Giant Shrew riding hero.

Enjoy :)
Gnome Hero, riding a Giant Shrew.
Left-side view, showing the shield face.
Rear view, with a purple roll-up blanket.
Right-hand side view, with club in hand.
Pre painting.

I am currently very busy with a whole range on non-miniature releated things. However, in my spare time, I am sorting out ALL of my Citadel 1980's era fantasy miniatures into 3,000 point armies. I have been planning a lot of conversions and organisations of Regiments with a view to a major series of blog updates when finished.
In the meantime I am painting random things, and trying out new techniques for painting and modelling.
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Hot and cold climate C28 Giants.

March 26, 2020, 12:24 pm
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For a while I have been sorting out my various miniatures into their respective armies. It has been a long process, and far from finished, but it has brought to light several miniatures which had sliped my mind, and also presented me with ideas for where to place and how to paint certain miniatures. Two of those are a pair of C28 Giants.

Now the early pre-slotta C-series C28 Giants range, from where these two Giants came, were a multi part range, with each Giant consisting of one body, one head, and one weapon. These were often supplied randomly, which could result in a wide range of Giants. A year or two (maybe three) ago I decided I wanted to collect a few parts to create two specific Giants for two particular armies: one for a Norse Army; and one for my Southlands Army. This I managed to do, and then I bagged them both up for later painting. 

Couple of weeks ago, as I was sorting my way through boxes of miniatures I found them again, and decided to paint them. I have lots of ideas for miniatures, regiments, armies, etc, and I thought it would be good to create a couple of them.

The first of the Giants is for my Norse Army. I have based him on the idea of Frost Giants, and painted him with a frosty blue skin tone and white beard. In his right hand he is holding a ball, which originally in 1st Edition Warhammer was meant to be a lead ball, something which Giants could throw according to the rules. I thought, being a Frost Giant, I would paint it as a snowball, as in 3rd Edition Warhammer they can still throw things! I gave him a snowy base too, as will the rest of the Norse army.

The second Giant is for my Southlands army. Both he, and the army, are based on the background story from 'The Bowmen of Oreon' RR7 Regiment of Renown. In the story it states that Oreon joined the Sea-Elf Lord Staleor in his Southlands campaign, where they encountered a Giant whom they killed in a maybe less than honourable manner. Anyway, I thought I would try to give the Giant a more 'Fantasy African' feel, so I painted his skin tone darker, and gave him a scrubland looking base to give that warmer climate feel to the miniature.

The background to Oreon's Regiment can be found here: http://www.solegends.com/citrr/1rr07oreons/index.htm
Incidentally, I also have a pre-slotta C08 Elf army, including the pre-slotta Oroen's Bowmen, to oppose the Southlands army.

Enjoy :)
The two Giants.
Both are mounted on 50mm square bases.
Norse Frost Giant.
I painted the eyes to give the impression he is taking aim.
Rear view.
Side view.
I gave him a hammer as it seemed a Norse thing to equip him with.
The Southlands Giant.
Rear View.
The early C28 Giants range.


I am still sorting through miniatures, and painted random things, so not sure what will be next. As I am a key worker I have been somewhat busy over the last couple of weeks and so have'nt painted much.

Take care. :)
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Middle-aged 'Snow White'.

March 31, 2020, 3:18 pm
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"I used to be Snow White, but I drifted"-May West.

So Imagine that the Fairytale ending did'nt quite go according to plan. The Prince turned out to be dull or something, or perhaps they just got bored when the magic wore off? So, in middle-age, a little plumper, a little grey-er, and a little wiser,  'Snow White' decided to return to the mountains and catch up with some old contacts in the Dwarf community.

In truth, I had a spare 'FS44-2 Seductive Wench' from Citadels early 1980's Fantasy Series-Fantasy Specials range. So, I painted her up as an older version of Snow White. I plan to use her as the Contingent Commander for a Dwarf Ally or Mercenary Contingent for one of my 3rd Edition Warhammer Fantasy Armies.

Enjoy :)
 Front view.
I gave her a slightly more flushed look to her face, and slightly greying hair.
Rear view, with dagger, or fruit knife, for cutting rosy red apples!


Next update will probably be a Dragon as I have been meaning to paint one for a while.
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Ice Dragon.

April 23, 2020, 2:41 pm
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It might be St.George's day, but it's a coincidence that I have painted a Dragon, although there is no Knight to go with it!

The Dragon itself is an old Citadel one. It is the DG4 Black Dragon, sculpted by Tom Meier and released in 1984, also released as a Brass Dragon by Ral Partha. I decided not to follow either it's name nor the Rolling Stones and paint it black, instead opting for an Ice Dragon approach. This is because I intend to use the Dragon as as part of a bound host in my 3rd Edition Warhammer Fantasy Norse Dwarf army (probably as a bound Winged Dragon 2). Also I think that in painting it black, it would lose some of the textured detail of the scales.

The Dragon was really fun to paint and was quite simple. Black undercoat, light blue base coat, mix of light blue and white, and then progressively highlighting to white. It's gaping maw was a mix of purple, a darker blue, and pink in varying ways to avoid that bright pink look of some painted mouths. I mounted the Dragon on a Citadel 90mm x 52mm oval base, which I think quite suits the model, the model itself being 70mm long and 70mm tall.

Enjoy :)
The left side.
Right side.
The gaping maw!!!

Next update will be another Dragon!
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DG1 Oriental Dragon

April 29, 2020, 3:05 am
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Another Dragon. Another old Citadel/Ral Partha Dragon. Another Blue Dragon in fact. Indeed another great old Tom Meier sculpt from the 1980's.

This is the DG1 Oriental Dragon from Citadel, originally released in 1984 as a C-Series C14 Dragon. It was also released by Ral Partha as the 01-129 Celestial Dragon, and is still available from Ral Partha in the USA, but sadly not from Ral Partha Europe (this is one of the old 1980's ones though). I have painted it to be a Bound Host Dragon for my 3rd Edition Warhammer Fantasy Battle Cathay army. Cathay is loosley based on a fantasy China, but was never really expanded on in the 1st to 3rd Editions of Warhammer, and received scant regard afterwards. My plan for the army is to use a mix of the various old C01 Fighters and the various Oriental Heroes/Samurai ranges as a basis, with this Dragon present as well.

Painting the Dragon was easy. Like the Ice Dragon I detailed in my last blog update, I started off with the blue base coat on a black undercoat. For a base coat I used Citadels Caledor Blue, then highlighted a mix of that with a quarter white, then another 50-50. I then gave it a wash of Citadels Technical Nighthaunt Gloom to give a slighty more ethereal and cloud feel. Once dry, a highlight of Citadel Alaitoc blue, then progressive mixes of two-thirds, 50/50/ one-third of Alaitoc blue and white, until I was at the stage to give pure white highlighting to the Dragon's beard, teeth, horns, and 'flowing bits'. The I gave the Dragon red eyes.

The Dragon was fun and quick to paint. I love the face, real personality. I chose the colour blue to give an overall feel of a cloud Dragon, and also in keeping with 1980's Games Workshop in-jokes, as a reference to the  'Blue Dragon' range of Chinese food stuffs.

Enjoy :)
Left hand side.
Right hand side.
Look at that face. :)
'Tail-end'!

I am currently working on a Dwarven diorama. I have also been painting a third Dragon, and am mostly part through a couple of random miniatures. Still, I am sorting out all my 'Oldhammer' era fantasy miniatures into 3,000 point armies, and there are quite a few. This why I have ended up painting random oddments and Dragons from my collection at the moment rather than full armies, but once sorted, I will be tackling the amries.
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Misumena vatia Tyranids

May 21, 2020, 10:15 am
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A bit of a random update on some random painting...

I was gardening the other day, not my natural forte I might add, when I saw a lovely and odd looking spidery thing on a white lily bush. Now my first thought was 'that looks like a tiny Tyranid!', how cute.
As it turns out, it was a something named a Crab Spider, common in Southern England, with the Latin name Misumena vatia. I did take a photograph on it, but I seem to have accidently deleted it when I whilst I was having computer trouble. However, there is a picture of the Spider at the bottom of this blog update, not of course at the top, just in case people are adverse to Spiders. I'm not a great fan of them, I was bitten by a False Widow a couple of years ago, and was very ill. The False Widows pop up in the garden now and again, so I kill them on sight!

All this spidery nonsense got me thinking about Rogue Trder era Tyranids. I had painted mine a long, long time ago in the classic blue/purple Genestealer colours (with green Zoats), but had paint stripped them ready for a repaint which never came. So as an aside I tried out a paint scheme based on the spider on a few test models.

The painting was simple. Black undercoat, based coat of Vallejo Stone Grey, highlight of white, a very very very thin wash of Vallejo Lemon Yellow, and then a final white light highlight. The Genestealer Magus received a very very very thin wash of Citadel Xereus Purple twice. The Zoat and Hunter-Slayer guns/equipment are a thined Vallejo German Field Grey. I gloss varnished the Screamer-Killers/Carnifexes to give a shiny carapace look, matt varnish to the other to avoid that same look.

They were fun to paint, and I am happy with how they look. They are test models, and I don't intend painting the army anytime soon. I have another project I wish to do.

Enjoy :)
 Genestealer Hyrid Magus.
I love this miniature, great detail, and full of menace.
Rear view.
Screamer-Killers/Carnifexes!
I mounted these on 50mm round bases to look a lot better. I find it's always odd to consider that many of the larger old Rogue Trader miniatures were confined to 40mm square bases at the time.
It was these miniatures which sprang to mind when I was looking at the spider.
I was never a great fan of these miniatures, nor the paint scheme they were released in. However with a little re-posing of the body and arms, and a different paint scheme I think they look a lot more terrifying.
The other one.
Rear view.
Probably the best view from which to shoot at it!
 Zoat.
I like the old Zoats, and I have about a dozen 40k ones. I think they look a lot better on the Citadel Oval 60x35mm bases.
 Hunter-Slayer.
 Misumena vatia, the Crab Spider.
The next update will be on the little Dwarf diarama which I am finishing this evening. The after that I am going to tackle a 40k Squat project.
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