Standard Bearer

 Just finished converting this figure into my standard bearer for "The Other Partizan" next week. The figure is from warlords Crimean war range an the standard hand usually holds a hat. I previously removed the hat, and attached a pistol. However this came loose in transit somewhere (can't remember where) and on finding the figure in my drawer waiting for fixing I decided to drill out the raise hand and insert a flat.

I free handed the flag (I'm not a great free hand painter) which is a simple union jack design. The pictures are a bit dark as I cannot get into photoshop at the moment to sort out the light levels. But I like how the figure looks, should make for an interesting figure to accompany my force. Luckily the paint job fits with my forces anglo-zulu war paint scheme.

I also finished off some walls for Partizan which I built a while ago using some preprinted textures but never got round to finishing the bases for. Its all go for next week now.

More modern red coats

Well I completed another squad of my modern red coats, and a heavy weapons team. Again these guys are all repaints and I like how they came out. Some of the faces are a bit rough as the build up of paint on them from the earlier (poorer) paint job had covered over a bit much detail. Overall though I think there good to go!

Picture quality is a bit poor as I am working away from home at the moment and don't have access to photoshop to increase the light level.

Heavy weapons team, was fiddly to repaint as its all mounted together on one base, turned out okay though.

For some reason this Artizan figure reminds me of my good friend Mr Ook from GWP, I have no clue why, and unless my memory is playing tricks on me he doesn't have a mustache. So no reason why but for some reason I think he looks like Ook. Also just looking at the picture I've realised I didn't paint the figures buttons. So need to sort that out sharpish!

Just a few more figures to paint up as the command squad and my platoon for Partizan is ready. It will also be the first time in a while I have fielded 30 troops who all look like the same unit. I'm usually distracted by shiny things before I get to the 30!

Modern(ish) Red Coats

 I've not been entirely idle the last couple of weeks. I have painted up 10 more modern red coats for use as the Friends and Rememberers of Rorke's Drift (F.R.R.D) which is my little VBCW force for use at the other Partizan next month. Some of us chaps from GWP are putting on another demo game, same as last year, and earlier this year (Different game each time). I know there are only 9 guys in the picture, one of them is undergoing a bit of surgery as the legs snapped.

Which leads me quite nicely to the paint job quality. There a bit rough around the edges as they are re-paints of figures I painted about 2 years ago. I already had one squad of these guys but I needed another two so hence the re paints. I have another 10 and a command squad and machine gun to paint before 2nd September (no pressure right)

Anyway more to follow, and if your coming to Partizan pop by.

Screaming Eagle

I'm pleased to say I am back to painting, I have a new job in Glasgow where I will be living in a flat for 5 days of the week and going home to Aberdeen at the weekends. As I will be spending most of my week in Glasgow I decided to take the opportunity to do painting. This is the first of 20 Offensive Miniatures 101 Airborne troopers.

I painted this guy up as a colour test to make sure I got the right "look" to the figure. Colours are a mixture of GW and Vallejo. I really like how he turned out, although I botched the face and skin tone slightly due to attempting a new method which didn't quite work, but ultimately turned out okay.

In other news I changed my petrol guzzling Rover 75 for a monstrously powerful Vauxhall Vectra 3.0 Litre V6 CDTI SRI, Its lovely and fast but I get like 450 to 500 miles from the tank. Economy and speed for the win! And even better its in go faster red.

Castle Fraser

The wife and I had a great day out today, Castle Fraser near Inverurie, was having a medieval exhibition event, and as we had nothing else to do we thought we would pop along. The show was really very good, £10 each to get in (I believe there were concessions for the elderly and families) which wasn't to bad.

There was a great jousting display by a group called the Knights of the Dammed who are a professional stunt team, the four riders can be seen above in Irish, Scottish, Welsh and English colours (the black knight was English, on the far right). They put on a really good show with Jousting and single combat involving flaming maces! It was very enjoyable and funny.

We then watched some a small Re-enactment group (who's name I didn't catch) displaying the fighting style of un-armoured Fraser Clan troops from the period. This was again very good, and quite funny. After a slightly expensive lunch from the burger van, and a coffee under a tree while we hid from a seriously heavy rain downpour, we watched a great falconry exhibition.

This was put on by Birds of Prey Displays, and was a very good demonstration, so good in fact I forgot to take pictures of the actual display, it was really good though. When we stopped by the chap who did the displays stand afterwards my wife snapped this picture of one of the birds (which is looking slightly hacked off at having been soaked by the rain!).

There were also some interesting displays of medieval weaponry etc, and an archery display, in addition to some small stalls and a bouncy castle for kids. Although most of the kids seemed to be too busy hitting each other with toy swords to get on the castle!

We really enjoyed this event, which I understand is running again tomorrow (22nd July 2012) from 1100 to 1600 at Fraser Castle, I recommend it as a fun day out for families.

Back in Blighty

Well I'm back from working in Thailand, a little earlier than expected but I am bloody happy to be back. I never thought I would be so happy to step off the plane at Aberdeen and be hit with rain and a chilly breeze!

Anyway I wanted to get back into the swing of painting after 2 months off so picked up these two figures from the lead pile pretty much at random. The first is a WW1 Ottoman Turk officer from Gripping Beasts range, lovely figure like the others from the range which I have painted. I am trying to avoid using inks for shadow,s (which has been my way in the past) and I am very pleased with how this chap turned out. My only annoyance is that the skin tone on the face isn't quite right, and I didn't water the paint down enough so if you look closely you can see its a little rough.

The other figure is one of Eurekas 1980's US soldiers in noddy suits. I've painted some of these before but wanted to try something different after such a break from painting. I opted to paint the jacket as a winter camo and I quite like how it turned out, not sure If ill paint more in this pattern but who knows.

Anyway I'm pleased to be home and back to painting, should be more to follow over the next few days.

Dinosaurs both big and small

Well it's Sunday, my one day off a week. I had lunch at a local bar then went for a walk around lumpini park which is 10 mins or so from the hotel. I think I've mentioned before that the Paris home to some pretty impressive wild lizards.

The first is a picture of a huge 4 to 5 foot long monster that swam past the bench I was sitting on in the park. The second picture is of a little lizard that came and sat in the sun a few feet from where I was sitting.

There's something really exciting about seeing these cool lizards up close in the wild, especially as at home the closest you would get would be in the zoo.