Update 28mm Goth Warband

 I managed a fair bit of painting last weekend and completed a few more figures for my Goth and Late Roman Army. The Goth warband has been loads of fun. If you saw the previous update it's comprised of parts from the following plastic sets: Gripping Beast Dark Age warriors, Late Roman Light Cavalry (the heads and shields), Victrix Germanic warriors, Vikings and GB Goth Noble Cavalry (heads and shields again)...oh and a couple of Warlord Celt warriors! I followed Simon MacDowall's advice in a Wargames Illustrated article about Goths having loads of looted Roman equipment etc.

Despite trying to restrain myself with my holiday bonus payment from work, I did have a splurge and bought some Osprey books along with a Warlord Greek Starter Army and some Spartans. Expect some photos in the New Year!

28mm Goth Warband Conversion

 As a continuation of my recent reading about The Huns I started to think about enemies and allies.

I had a dig through some boxes of spare plastic sprues, and came up with the idea of using them for a Goth/Visigoth warband. It comprises of parts from Victrix Vikings, Warlord Celts and some Gripping Beast Late Romans. I've given them an assortment of shields and helmets (some looted I expect). I may add plumes on the helmets using green stuff later. Maybe not 100% accurate but good enough I think!

Late WW2 German Bolt Action Army Ebay Purchase

 

It's been a while. But that's not to say I haven't been spending my time painting like a demon. Both a reduction in working, and my university now being almost entirely online, has meant I could get through a few hobby projects. I've had a fair few customer orders also; a Wars of the Roses commission, some Goth infantry and cavalry, and finishing my mate Steve's BEF.

An addition to my Bolt Action German Army came in the form of a box full of odds and sods I picked up cheap on ebay. It comprised of mainly late war vehicles and infantry with some heavy weapons. The photo below is what it looked like when it arrived...

As you can see, they're kind of half painted, bare metal with some undercoated. The day after this I managed to blast through the first three vehicles (completed picture at the top). A Tiger, a Wirbelwind and a Puma scout car. All done in my usual ambush camo with some weathering. They won't win any prizes for painting but they'll look ok on the table I think. Ideally I'd like to muster a force for an Operation Market Garden game or maybe a late war Russian offensive as the Germans fall back towards the Reich.

The thing I love with these job lot purchases, either from the bring and buy at shows or ebay, is that you don't always know what you're going to get. Also the joy of finding extra parts and broken pieces that you can assemble and eventually put to use.

A Visit to Burrough Hill Iron Age Hillfort, Leicestershire

Last weekend my girlfriend took us to Burrough Hill for a picnic. Having lived nearby for most of my formative years I'd come here quite often both on family and school trips. The latter was quite memorable for an incident which involved a teacher wishing to educate us about the defensive nature of the hillfort by forming us into attackers and defenders. Naturally being a group of rowdy school kids it erupted into a chaotic mass brawl on the earthen ramparts as we envisaged ourselves as bloodthirsty warriors intent on blood and glory.

The recent picnic was a far more relaxed and gentle affair I'll hasten to add. But other than the joyful delight of sitting in the summer sun and marvelling at the view, I also took the opportunity to take a few photos. As with anything like this my mind also starts to gravitate towards wargaming and things like "how would this look as a piece of modelling terrain?" etc etc.

Rather than repeat the history of the site in my rather inadequate way, I'll post the link here to the University of Leicester who have done some sterling work on the fort over the years. It's still astounding to me that excavations have shown occupation of the area going back to the Neolithic period:

Leicester University Burrough Hill Project

Wars of the Roses Yorkist and Lancastrian Armies

Here I prophesy: this brawl today,
Grown to this faction in the Temple Garden,
Shall send, between the red rose and the white
A thousand souls to death and deadly night
(Shakespeare. Henry VI. Act 2 Scene 4)

Somewhere in England...my Wars of the Roses Yorkist and Lancastrian Armies. Edward IV and the Earl of Warwick on the left do battle with the Earl of Northumberland. All figures are Perry Miniatures 28mm.

Still a way to go with more boxes of bow and bill on order plus some bombards. I'll probably make a start on Henry VII and Somerset's retinues next.

28mm Boxer Rebellion British Marines

A quick one today. The last few days has seen me adopt a strategy of 'grab it and paint it'. So, anything that was kicking around in a box for a while was undercoated and went on the painting table. I managed to complete a few Saga units of Vikings and Normans (picked up about three years ago from ebay) and these Boxer Rebellion figures from Victorious Miniatures. Note: I did paint the webbing in white rather than khaki. Just a personal preference.

28mm Anglo Zulu War Figures and 4Ground Building

After being sidetracked by several part finished projects I finally got round to completing a few more of my Anglo Zulu War collection. I'd say this is now 99% done with only another 4Ground building and a handful of Zulus and Brits outstanding.

I'm blaming Wargames Illustrated for this foray into another period. I'd dropped into the WI office before Christmas with some painted buildings for them and before I left James had given me about ten plastic Zulu sprues from Warlord.

Along with the Warlord figures I managed to pick up some Empress models from the Bring and Buy at the Hammerhead show and some unpainted extras from my mate Rob. So in all it's due to folks generosity and an eye for a bargain that I've managed to collect quite a tidy army for both sides. Hopefully when this lockdown is over I'll be able to post up some pictures from our games at the club.