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Orc

 

Some days, you just feel like painting an orc, or at least I do. And I did, a few days ago. I was looking through my collection of orcs and realized I wasn't really happy with them. There was nothing wrong with the models, just my paint jobs. I had painted all my orcs very dark and very grubby. This might be perfectly appropriate for the Tolkien style of orcs I want, but it just doesn't look that great on the tabletop. So, I wanted to paint one using a bit more colour, and more importantly, a bit more contrast to the colours. 

To start, I went with a white undercoat, which I've never used for orcs before. This made a big difference on the brightness of the chainmail, which ended up contrasting very nicely with the black leather breastplate. I then used a dark yellow for the tunic - its not a nice or overly bright colour, but I think it found that happy medium of colour and grunge at the same time. I added a bit of purple, which gives it some more colour, but still keeps it dark overall. Finally, I gave it some real brightness on the shield, drawing a meaningless rune and giving it a little fire effect. I wanted it to sort/kinda/maybe give the impression of the Eye of Sauron without an actual eye.

Yup, very happy with how this guy came out. I might have to slowly replace my old orc force with this new, slightly more colourful variety.

Hythe Community Games Day!

I'm not technically a boardgame designer, but I will be at the Hythe Community Games Day on Saturday 9 November taking place inside St. Leonard's Church in Kent. I'll mainly be hanging out by the Frostgrave table run by some friends. I expect it to be a small, local affair, but it should be fun, and when else do you get to game above a crypt with an ossuary? So if you'd like to come by and say hi, or get a book signed, or maybe even throw some dice, it should be fun!

 

Cockatrice!

 

Earlier this year, I wrote a set of rules for using cockatrices in all of my games and released it to my Patreon supporters (where you can still get it). At the time though, I didn't own a cockatrice miniature. I just wasn't that fussed with any that I had seen. Then someone pointed out this one, which comes from Anno Domini 1666, a board wargame from Poland. I actually ended up buying the whole game after demoing it a Pyrkon, but I also picked up the little expansion box that had the cockatrice. This doom-chicken is the plastic version, but it painted up really nice. I can definitely see this guy landing in a game of The Silver Bayonet, Frostgrave, and Rangers of Shadow Deep. When you've got a cool model like that - you've got to use it!

(The other figure is also from the Anno Domini 1666 game, though it is metal).

Sam Wilson, Captain America

 

I didn't touch a paint brush all summer. I was just too busy travelling, playing with the kids, going to the beach, etc. But now that the weather has turned, the kids are back in school, and I'm home again, my fingers have gotten itchy. I jumped back into miniature painting with a Marvel: Crisis Protocol figure that's been in my painting queue for awhile: Sam Wilson, Captain America. I must admit, I really like painting super heroes. Bold Colours, heavy contrast, and details big enough for my aging eyes to see! This one was a little trickery than most with the all the stripes, but fun none-the-less!

A Bad Night for the Town Watch...

I painted my first two Anno Domini 1666 figures. These are the metal versions, and I'm delighted with the look and quality - though I will admit the weapons are very slender (the downside to realistically scaled). 

I didn't feel ready to tackle any of the characters, so I went for a couple of town guardsmen to get me started. 

Just for fun, I shot them in front of one of my Tabletop World houses and with a few Reaper giant rats. I like the combined look so much, I'm thinking about running some Rangers of Shadow Deep games with a more 17th century look to it! 

Caphid Attack!

 

It's muskets versus alien bugs on the Deathship!

I'm continuing to paint the aliens figures needed to play Deathship One, and I must admit, enjoying the photo opportunities. These aliens bugs are called the caphids. They are based on camel crickets, which were one of the great fears of my childhood. Whenever I had to go down to the basement, I knew they'd be lurking there. They are completely harmless, but they are about the size of these figures, and when you turned on the light, they would hop all over the place - including straight at you. And these guys were capable of hoping a metre or more at a go! 

Caphids are the least fearsome of the aliens found on the Deathship, but they are fast and tend to show up in greater numbers. Take them down quick if you can!

If you'd like your own caphid models you can order them from Bobby Jackson (including STLs) if you want them in the UK, you can order them through North Star.