a Load of Old Toby

Wardens of the King The Kings Wardens of Zarkûnbund The Kings Wardens of Zarkûnbund are the latest addition to my burgeoning Dwarven force. I chose the title "Wardens" specifically to distinguish them from the "Dawn Guard", a small homage to the Oblivion series, and because the word carries a certain weight that fits these GW Lord of the Rings models perfectly. The Kings Wardens The Gathering of the Host While the unit is comprised mostly of classic Games Workshop miniatures, I’ve mixed in several other manufacturers to give the unit a unique silhouette. I’ve integrated Oathmark character models for the King, Wizard, and Champion, while a Conquest Models horn-blower completes the front rank. I know mixing manufacturers can be divisive for some hobbyists, but for me, it is the simplest way to make character models truly stand out. It shifts the feel of the army away from a "standard" rule-set look and into something more personal. Since this project is set ...

Southampton City Walls During March I have been conducting a little research project of medieval walls. I wanted to see how walls actually look and feel, what colours there are, and what shapes and sizes come in a standard castle wall. So when the first sunny day of the year arrived I went for a little walk around Sounthampton.  Quay Side Wall - Merchants Bays Now while the castle itself is not still standing, much of the linking city walls do! In the bright crisp spring sunlight it was perfect conditions to get the information I needed. While I know this weeks blog is not miniture painiting in iteself, I thought why lose such great research, so here are some of the best pictures I could take.  One of four still standing Towers Southampton's town walls are a sequence of defensive structures built around the town in southern England. Although earlier Roman and Anglo-Saxon settlements around Southampton had been fortified with walls or ditches, the later walls originate with the...

The Raven Watch The Raven Watch of  Zarkûnbund After the success of last weeks blog this week we elaborate the story of my Dwarfs of Ras Morthil. The short story follows at the end of page, but essentially I am now adding Zarkunbund, or Tor Craban in elvish. A massive pinnacle of isolated rock stack in the sea. There are two units to the Watch. Archers and Warriors all using old Lord of the Rings models from Games Workshop. First above is the Archers led by Fin and Far models. The units again reuse the same flag stone bases as the Dawn Guard. This is a better view of the cork with green stuff on top. I have hand shaped the flagstones and painted them all in muted greys. The backdrops here are all from J ohn Hodgson backdrop book, so thank you to him go buy his work.  Moving onto the Warriors below these are all plastics from GW again, nice champion model with ginger beard that has come out well. As for painting the models themselves I literally have knocked them out asap. It’s...

The Dawn Guard The Dawn Guard of Ras Morthil My blog this week is my own personal ‘forge’, boom boom….. 😂. A place to chronicle the hidden histories of the Dwarves, specifically those who dwell in the shadows of maps and the forgotten folds of far away mountains. I have long been drawn to the rugged, stoic nature of the Naugrim, finding in their heavy, iron-grey beards and calloused hands a narrative depth that demands to be brought into the light.  The Dawn Guard Through my painting, I aim to seek to capture more than just steel and scale; I aim to illustrate the weary duty of these watchers. I will leave us all with a little more story behind this unit below. I hoped the narrative will develop over time, as the army fleshes out. But like the ancient quiet of the deep halls, this army is definitely going to be a long term project that I might revisit bit by bit over time.  So far I only have three or four units, either painted or in my head, or even in my bits box. The rest ...

Cannons & Engineer This week’s blog update features a heavy-hitting addition: two new cannons. I’ve had plenty of bits lying around for a while, but I was waiting on a few "Oldhammer" miniatures to finally arrive in the post. Deep within the soot-choked streets of  Nuln , the rhythmic thunder of the  Imperial Gunnery School  never truly ceases. Known as the "Iron City," Nuln serves as the industrial heart of the Empire, where master smiths and eccentric engineers toil over massive casting pits to forge the finest black powder weapons in the Old World.  Group shot of both Cannons & Engineer Since they turned up a few weeks ago, I’ve been busy working out a cohesive paint scheme and deciding where they fit into the collection. Having already gathered units from various provinces across the Empire, it was time to bolster my missile support and heavy artillery. I’ve started with a Nuln Engineer and a classic artillery crew. All seven models are original 90s scul...

Victory at Sea - Royal Navy This week I am showcasing something a bit different, the Royal Navy starter set from Victory at Sea. Most of my blogs to date have varied in writing style, sometimes I plunge into painting or modelling detail other times I add a bit of fantasy or history fluff. Newly added to the cabinet  I like to bounce around a bit because first and foremost I am not a writer, in fact I have a passionate dislike for English literature as a subject full stop. Gammer nazis are the pinnacle of all things wrong with the subject in my opinion, anyone spending their time judging others for a missed colon or full stop have lost their own minds. Anyway back to my point, one of which is that I don’t really know my own style nor am I very good at the whole blog thing. So I hope that for those of you reading these little logs/blogs/diary entries, that they are good little digests and always fresh and of use, in some instances at least! One SQN of Swordfish Bi-planes On to the to...

Empire Characters  Rieksguard Mounted Knights  Rebased Complete  This week I have the pleasure in presenting most of the characters for my empire army and the completed version of the mounted kneights that have already been previewed on this blog. The latter because they contain as standard two main characters - Ludwig Schwarzhelm and Kurt Helborg. Full unit with both Ludwig and Hurt front and centre Kurt Helborg is the Reiksmarshal of the Empire and Grand Master of the elite Reiksguard Knights, so it is apt that he appears here again within the unit. Born into a wealthy family in the Reikwald, he joined the Reiksguard in his youth and grew up alongside the future Emperor, Karl Franz. As Reiksmarshal, he is the supreme commander of the Empire's military forces, second only to the Emperor in matters of war. He is famously known for his signature large, magnificent mustache and, in lore, is often depicted in polished, mirror-sheen armor and is regarded as perhaps the greate...