2nd Round of Samurai

I've managed to surprise myself and actually got a second post up today. Managed to get a stack of hobby related shite done, mostly undercoating some Lord of the Rings figures I'll be painting eventually and undercoating another 50 or so samurai that will have to be done for a mate.

Here are some of the samurai I did 3 years ago, the painting quality on them is a marked difference from what I can get now but I'm still happy with them for my first 28mm figures. 

These banners were the 'queen' pieces for the chess set. The Japanese writing was done free-hand copying a few images off google.

Some gun toting samurai that were used as bishops for one side. These guys were the only attempt I made at any sort of uniform among the group. They're Takeda-ish with their red laquered armour 

My favourite figure of the whole bunch was this general's assistant with the gold bell on his back. Such a well sculpted figure and an absolute joy to paint. These sword/naginta guys were the pawn pieces

I've got one last round of Samurai to show off, still didn't manage to get the SS figures photographed today. The light isn't so great during the days now that it's winter so I tend to forget about it until its too late. 

Thanks for looking! Comments and critiques always welcome

The Promised Ones

Finally got these guys uploaded onto the computer and cropped up. My phone wasn't connecting properly the last few times so I'd just given up. But here they are!

12 Wargames Foundry Roman Equites painted up as Legio XIV Gemina around about the invasion of Britain time. The shield transfers are LBMS, they're totally worth it to save heartache trying to freehand all that crap.

The weapons are going to be added by Brett who I'm painting them for as he didn't have them on hand. Anyway I'll let the photos do the talking.

The signifer (guy carrying the pole) and Vexillarius (mini flag bearer)

The centurion

I'm finishing up some more Samurai photos as I speak so I'll try get a second post out today which would be a minor miracle in itself. I've also finished the Warlord SS Charlemagne figs so I'll try take photos of them today too in-between some undercoating and painting up the next mountain of samurai figs for commission. They're to be used for Kings of War I think. I may go insane by the end of this lot though, the Perry samurai are beautifully sculpted but damn they are covered in mold lines and flash.

Samurai sensation

I have been pretty lax on the old blog updates recently, I've been painting the outside of the house and it is just no fun at all. I've been getting things done in the hobby department too though, the Romans have been finished and photographed I just need to crop them and I'll put them up at some stage. Until then here are some of my Perry samurai cavalry that I painted a few years ago as the first things to get back into painting.

I've got a whole bunch of infantry too and I'll show them off at some stage. Stacks more in the works on commission now too. These were originally based for use as chess pieces as I have a giant board and thought it would be a cool idea. I wasn't planning on getting into gaming or anything it was just something to do. 

A general and body guard (was a king piece)

A second general and his bodyguard

Some of the stock knight pieces

Their sword armed counterparts. I really have no idea why the horse's nose came out yellow in the photo, its a flesh colour in reality. Probably shouldn't rush my photos but it's always a last minute consideration for me

I'll try get more stuff up for show at some stage, I'm currently working on the Warlord SS Charlemagne troops. Pea dot and Oakleaf B are a massive bitch

Another Roman WIP and the motherload of LOTR

Haven't worked on these for a week or so as I was in Hong Kong but the riders are done (minus the shields). I'm pretty happy with how they look so far, particularly with the eyes as it's my first attempt at them. I have to say that the sculpting is quite good on the faces which really helped.

Just a couple of nasty photos to show where they are at. I'll be working on the horses over the next week so hopefully they don't take too long and I can move onto something else. Still got the Warlord Games SS Charlemagne figures I've left languishing for the last year that are half finished and there are some Knight Models Batman figures on their way to me for some more comission work.

I recently sold off my Perry Miniatures Samurai as well so I'll put photos of them up in the next few days

Definitely one of the highlights of the trip was a visit to Hong Kong's FLGS to have a quick look. Sitting innocently in a sale box was the motherload of OOP LOTR figures and I snatched up as much as I could grab. I managed to pick up quite a few copies of some rare figures like Eorl the Young (I got 3 NIB and one missing the shields and an arm for $65 AUD!). Needless to say I was pretty chuffed and I plan on using most of them as trades and keeping a single copy for myself

More to come this week as I'm on holidays and should have more time to post.

Thanks for looking as always!

The rest of the Day of the Rangers Somali/Delta figures

Hi guys,

Some of you seemed interested in the poses of the other figures so I've posted them up for you to have a look at. They haven't been washed or and of the flash stuff taken off but you get the gist of it.

Someone mentioned that the RPG looked a little fat so here it is against an Empress Taliban

I only got one of the Delta packs so these are the other 3 in the pack. I reckon they are pretty good

The last 6 of the Somalis. The guy in the baseball cap and glasses down the bottom left looks pretty sweet

Hope this helps some of you out with deciding whether you like em or not!

Day of the Rangers Kickstarter Review!

So something a little different today and not something that I've really been able to see on the internet so far.

Mid last year I backed the Day of the Rangers kickstarter by the guys over at Radio Dishdash and they arrived for me in the post just a few days ago. So I thought I'd crack a few out of the packets and show you guys what to expect.

When I first saw the campaign I was pretty well sold as I had been buying a ton of the Empress modern figures and these fit the bill quite nicely. I was mostly interested in the Somali figures that they were making as an addition to the empress insurgent figures that I'd picked up.

I backed the $60USD option which gave you 6 sets of 4 figures and then there was a pack thrown in for free as well which was nice. I grabbed all 4 packs (16 figs) of the Somalis, the ranger command, a regular ranger set and a delta set. Postage to Aus from the states was 25 USD which I found out once the figures were ready to post.

I've put up a ton of photos so you get a good idea of what you are looking at including some size comparisons with the Empress figures

The figures themselves are very nicely sculpted, particularly the US figures. There are quite a few mold lines on the Somali figures that I cleaned up (about 5 figures so far) but nothing that is really painful. There certainly isn't as much flash as say a Perry figure which is my industry standard for lots of flash. It is a tad annoying that some of those mold lines run across the faces and heads of the Somalis as the hair loses detail if you have to file it. Sometimes there are 2 mold lines across the face.

Not all the figures have as many mold lines as the ones I cleaned up (I did go and have a look at some of the other ones). The US figures seem to have less flash/mold lines on the whole.

The Somali figures have some really nice looking clothing sculpted onto them, I really like the look of the singlets and rag tag effect that it gives them. One thing that I have noticed is that the Somalis in particular are a bit smaller proportions wise than the US ones. As you'll see in the photos the legs are noticeably thinner than the Empress figures. Some of it will be down to pose and the fact that they aren't wearing as much gear but it is noticeable when viewed from the front. Perhaps its a sculptors choice to represent the malnourished Somali's during the famine? Who knows...

 The hands are small in comparison . Faces have really good detail and are similar to the Empress stuff. Weapon detail is also great. 

A Somali machine gunner

Front on view showing the relatively thin legs

There is some really great character in the poses that adds a real sense of dynamism to the figures

I included this guy just because I thought he looked a tad odd- when i put him up against other standing Somali figures he had massively long legs and just looked a bit off.

Really nice sculpt with the radio

A delta operator

Comparison shot between an Empress US Infantryman and the RPG toting Somali. They have slightly different stances but the heights are pretty consistent. I find that the real difference is in the size of some of the legs and arms- the empress figures are chunkier particularly through the legs. Also if you look at the hands the Somali figures have tiny hands in comparison

The US soldiers tend to be closer in thickness to the Empress stuff, obviously they are wearing more kit but the do look just a bit thicker in proportions

You can really see the leg differences here

and here

I obviously haven't shown you guys all the poses and there are heaps there that look really awesome. To be honest I reckon some of the other poses come closer to the Empress figure sizes, most of these Somali guys are out of a single pack.

All in all I really like these figures and I think that they will make great additions to the collection. I would definitely recommend the figures and I think they will paint up really nicely with all that cloth detail that they have. The Empress figures have probably just a touch more detail when comparing the US troops but to be honest its very little.

Recommended!