I’ve always really liked the 2nd edition human Blood Bowl miniatures and as the years have gone by I’ve come to appreciate playing humans as well. I’ve never managed to paint up a team as I’ve never been able to make up my mind whether to paint them up as the mighty Reikland Reavers or the lesser Middenheim Marauders.
Human Blitzer
3-4 years ago I painted these test miniatures and although I was pretty satisfied with the outcome I never got around to painting the rest of the team.
Human Thrower
I’m concentrating on undead right now as I’m playing them in a local league, but someday I’ll definitely do a team of humans. Probably as the Middenheim Marauders.
It’s becoming more and more clear to me how difficult it is to paint black well. I think I will try to use a lighter highlight color on the edges of the black areas on future models.
I recently discovered the wonderful concept of Oldhammer via Orlygg’s amazing blog: Realm of Chaos 80s. I’ve always been a fan of Citadel Miniatures from the late eighties and don’t really bother with any of the newer stuff so this was a nice discovery for me.
Chaos Thug
I have until recently never owned or painted any of the thugs from the Realm of Chaos range, but through a trade with Fuljason from Rogue Heresy I acquired the first few minis.
Chaos Thug
The first guy I’ve painted up is a thug who bears a striking resemblance to The Prodigy frontman Keith Flint and I just had to paint him with green hair and eyeliner.
I’m a huge fan of the board game Blood Bowl which I have been playing on and off since 2nd edition of the game released back in the 80s. The game has evolved a lot over the last 25 years, but the miniatures from back then remain my favorites.
Undead Wight
Regrettably Games Workshop never released a complete undead team during the ‘Golden Age’ and the 3rd edition of the team has never really appealed to me. That means you’ll have to be creative if you want a 2nd edition undead team.
Undead Mummy
Creative is exactly what Steve Mussared was when he created his legendary Golden Demon winning team Nuffle’s Nightmares. Ever since I, as a boy, first saw the team in the book Fantasy Miniatures from 1989 I have wanted a team like that. The wacky color scheme, the excellent choice of miniatures, the subtle conversions and Steve’s extraordinary painting skill all did it for me.
I’ve decided to recreate the team with my own touch and the first two players are ready to take the field.
I never played the game, but I have fallen in love with the range of AD&D figures released by Citadel Miniatures in the mid-eighties. Visit the Stuff of Legends for more information about the figures.
AD&D Bugbear
I painted up this bugbear a couple of years ago and I’m pretty satisfied with how he turned out overall.
AD&D Bugbear
I believe I have all variants of bugbears now – thanks for taking my money eBay!
When I saw the new Flames of War US Rifle Platoon I immediately knew I had to get some of these. They are beautifully sculpted and I really think Evan has outdone himself here.
At the start of a new project I always do a test base/figure and only when I’m happy with the color choices I will move on to the rest of the miniatures in the unit.
This time I decided to document the recipe because as we all know I will get sidetracked by other projects before I finish the whole platoon. So when I return to these miniatures at some point in the future I won’t have to be guessing all the colors I used.
Most of the time I start from a black undercoat and with these guys it was no different.
I start by painting the whole uniform Model Color Russian Uniform WWII (924). I then paint all the recesses with Game Color Cayman Green (067). I mix the highlight color 50/50 between Russian Uniform and Model Color Deck Tan (986). You could probably get away with using Model Color Green Grey (886) for the highlights, but I prefer the look of the mixed color.
I highlight the boots with Model Color USA Olive Drab (889). I know the boots were black, but in the field they don’t stay black for long.
Flames of War Vietnam US rifle team
Helmet Cover
The base color for the helmet covers is Game Color Camouflage Green (31). I paint two or three branches on each cover with Model Color Flat Earth (983). The leaves are painted in Model Color Russian Uniform WWII (924) and Game Color Cayman Green (067) respectively. Finally I add a few spots of Model Color Beige Brown (875).
Flames of War Vietnam US rifle team
Webbing
I don’t believe there’s one right way to do the webbing, and for me the most important thing is that the belts and pouches contrast with the uniform.
The web gear itself is painted Model Color Brown Violet (887) followed by a highlight of Panzer Aces Canvas (314).
The pouches are painted Model Color Khaki (988) followed by a highlight of Panzer Aces Highlight US Tkcr. (322)
For bit of variety I paint stuff like bandoleers with a base of Model Color Green Brown (879) and a highlight of Game Color Khaki (061).
Flames of War Vietnam US rifle team
Armament
I paint equipment like LAWs and grenades Model Color Brown violet (887) followed by highlights of Panzer Aces Canvas (314) and finally Model Color Green Brown (879).
The M16 rifles are highlighted with Model Color German Grey (995) and Model Color Dark Bluegrey (867).
Skin Tones
The four grunts in the pictures all have different skin colors. Three of them are documented here.
Caucasian (Marlboro Man)
Base: Model Color Flat Earth (983) 1st highlight: Game Color Dwarf Skin (041) 2nd highlight: Model Color Basic Skintone (815)
Latino (LAW)
Base: Model Color Flat Earth (983) 1st highlight: Model Color Medium Fleshtone (860) 2nd highlight: Model Color Flat Flesh (955)
African American (M79)
Base: Model Color Leather Brown (871) 1st highlight: 50/50 mix of Leather Brown and Model Color US Field Drab (873) 2nd highlight: US Field Drab
I managed to finish the first rebel regiment today and thought I would share it. It is kind of small, but painting smaller units helps to keep me motivated.
Rebel Command Stand
I went for a ragged and nonuniform look for this regiment which adds to the fun of painting confederate forces I think.
Rebel Regiment
They are not meant to represent any specific unit as I prefer to keep my figures more or less generic so I can use them in any battle I wish. I do plan to paint up some tiger zouaves though at some point in the future.
Rebels Marching
The miniatures are Peter Pig and the flag is GMB. They are based for Regimental Fire & Fury.
Yesterday I finished yet another confederate general. I decided that I would kick off my brigade of rebels with the leader himself.
Confederate Brigadier General
I spent a lot of time looking at images of horses on the Internet for two reasons. First of all I wanted to get the muscles right, but it was equally important to me that the paint job would represent a breed of horse that actually existed in the late 19th century. In this case a Bay.
The Peter Pig miniature was a joy to paint and I’m really starting to like cavalry miniatures where the rider is part of the casting.
A couple of weeks ago I dug out some of my Peter Pig ACW miniatures from under the bed. They have been collecting dust for years, but the moment I saw them again I remembered why I fell in love in the first place. Peter Pig miniatures aren’t particularly realistic and they are a little smaller than most other lines, but they have lots of character. Some people may call them cartoonish, but as far as I’m concerned cartoonish is what works on a gaming table.
Confederate General
The only miniature I managed to finish back when I got these was a mounted confederate general.
The miniature is based for Fire & Fury although I have never actually played the game. I’m more of a painter than a gamer, but the ruleset appeals to me for many reasons so I decided to follow the Fire & Fury basing instructions.
Since then Regimental Fire & Fury has seen the light of day and these rules appeal to me even more so I’ve decided to start basing my ACW miniatures for that system.
I ordered MDF bases from East Riding Miniatures including circular ones for brigade generals like the Peter Pig one in the picture. East Riding Miniatures have great customer service by the way. The first package got lost in the mail for whatever reason, but Tony promptly sent me a replacement after I e-mailed him.
So now I’m ready to start painting the remaining confederate miniatures sitting on my desk.
I started this blog to document the progress and keep me focused.
