Warmaster weekend.

The goal for the 2019 will be continuing the Warmaster Weekend efforts. This up coming year will be Samurai, Araby, Romans, Successors, Spanish. These are the mugs to get done. And done they will get. Unlike other New Year goals, I started already.

Samurai WIP

Cartho WIP

Roman WIP

Araby I am pretty happy with the regular arab infantry. The elite purple dudes will most likely end up as place holders until I find a better choice.

Terrain

The fields are kind of busted. Past the end of their life. I will be slowly making them useful again, with a finish date of AdeptiCon. I ripped all the hedging and crap stones of the edges. The fur was cut down to fit the building (old glory) and to extend the walls. The wall pieces are from Terrain Concepts.

Tomb King WIP.

Magnetic warmaster bases

Castle Arts bought by Pendraken

We’ve just bought the Castle Arts 10mm Japanese buildings range, including castles, temples and more! More info on the Pendraken MiniaturesForum: http://www.pendrakenforum.co.uk/index.php/topic,18137.0.html

Did you buy the Castle Arts Japanese miniatures range?
We didn’t buy the miniatures range, only the buildings. Our own range could do with some work so we’ve decided to completely overhaul our Samurai figures with brand new sculpts and more pose variety. This job has been scheduled for April/May/June so the new figures will be coming online around the same time as the last of the buildings comes into production.

Epic IF and BA add ons

Last of the Epic stuff being finished off before breaking out the 30K World Eaters. One more detachment of speeders for the IF army. Every slot in their case is full. The Fists are complete for now. Only thing missing to field every option is the AA platforms.

Metal squares were added to the bottom as a counter weight.

The army as it stands today;

The Blood Angels never see the light of day. They are one of my largest space marine armies. All old school as they were the first army painted? Maybe.
Sadly they rarely get taken out. Mostly due to the list never getting settled. There is some constant fight over the stormraven gunship. Which is exactly what has been sitting on my paint table for years. Now all of them are done.
The BAs need some BA specific objectives and then I can say they are done. Yet somewhere hide is a box of the Italian’s Blood Angel sculpts.

I also got around to finishing the tractor part of the trailer trucks.

10mm Samurai Ashigaru w/ Yari

I got 6 blisters of Ashigaru (spearmen) 30 each. Little to no mold lines. They do come with more flash than you would normally see. Almost like the mold was wearing out. You have to inspect each helmet, flag, sword. Each dude gets his stand sanded. It takes about 20 minutes to clean up 30.

From my initial order

Warmaster GW dudes normally come in strips and those dudes are tightly packed together. This must be due to the original 6 armies being shield wall-ish in design.

With Samurai Warfare; they would be too close together. The terrain and fighting style is more double wide opened rank. The Yari was more of a move and swing, not stand and stab spear. Any available land in Japan was used as rice paddies. Any open area would be rough ground. The romantic lines of European Infantry on an open field never existed for the Samurai.

Shirakawa. Famous ancient Japanese village.

Here 10 Ashigaru sit on a Shogun magnetic base. (standard warmaster 40 x 20mm) The base is full. No more will fit shoulder to shoulder.

Rank distance is too tight for a spear that long. Warmaster stands are double based as standard. So no choice.

The Samurai did not use shields. The upper arm guards acted as a semi-shield? (I can’t find the reference) They fought in open order. The weapon system determines fighting style.
I will place 6 to 7 not 10 per base, and they will not be shoulder to shoulder. Nor in a tight well dressed line. More warband looking.

By using 7 per base, I will save 1 stand plus a dude per unit. Out of the 180 Ashigaru w/ Yari that came, I can get 8 units instead of 6.

21ish individual dudes in open order won’t allow for the GW 2d warmaster paint job. Speed painting and planning is critical or the project will never finish.
I have white glued them to paint stirring stick, 1/2 a stack for easy traveling, all facing the same way, well spaced with the second row offset. This helps in painting the same item all at once and being able to get in-between dudes to reach the backside.

Game ON! All primed with DIY white cheap primer.

20mm Colonial project "Brits"

These lads have been on the paint blocks for months. They never got any love with my warmaster problem. Two weeks ago I started clearing off my painting. Everything have assed and awaiting some love, got it. They were mostly finished last year. I edged the bases, flocked, and sealed them this year.

This group will be numbers 3 and 4. Lost the reference, I am pretty sure the uniform are 1898. With the exception the gray dudes, I don’t have any straight pants minis. The tan could represent the Lincolnshire and multiple Reg. wear the grey take your pick of which.

Only some officers and skirmishers are needed.

The grey dudes need wounded markers and a firing line.

These dudes were missing the flag guy. Who knows what happened to the original flag guy? The Egyptian Artillery Officer was badly chipped and needed repainting.

The metal dudes are from the “Flag Dude’s” on sale box. The actual manufacture is unknown. The wounded guy is from Old Glory (15mm) and the die box is Pendraken.

Half the plastic dudes are from this set. The special command British officers are HAT

66 done. The goal is 1000 minis for the year, only 300 from the Colonial project. 234 to go.

Castle Arts 10mm Samurai

Starting off the year buying a store. That will add 1600+ minis to the mountain. It was bought last year. But I had ready close the financial year out. So it is counted this year.

When they said they were closing I contacted the owner and requested to buy all the remaining stock. 10mm Samurai stock. I didn’t take any of the Blood Bowl or giant Japanese temple stuff. Everything came in less then 2 weeks. One huge box.

After kitting out my 10mm Samurai army, I will sell the rest off. Frank will get first pick (asked 1st), then the lads, Facebook group, and the rest off to eBay.

Three white boxes full of terrain, one full of minis, and six army starter boxes. Plus extra terrain that didn’t fit in the white boxes. 1520 minis and 112 terrain pieces. There are at least 3 terrain pieces I will recast, as there is only one. (bridge, straight wall section, etc)

2019 Projects and Goals for the Year

In general paint, play, sell, and stop buying collections.

2019 Projects and Goals

3D printers

Getting the printers up and running again. The filament printer needs a cable created. As the manufacture is chapter 7, a new one is not available. There is a plan. Only time is required. The Resin printer needs only time and effort.

Get the Sudan project on the table.

I have maybe 900 Fuzzy Wuzzys, the Sudanese, and most of the British to complete. Almost all the Cavalry, but I hate painting horse most of all. No supply issues this year. No purchase required. All materials are on hand.
To get them on the table; I will need to focus and identify a few battles. The units required for those battles finished. All the while banging out the Ansar and British forces as fast as possible.

20mm Moderns.

I would like to do one Con game.

Warmaster

Finish the Araby army. Start and finish the Samurai army. Then develop a plan and start a strong effort to complete 2 ancients armies.

HH World Eaters army.

This should be an easy check. 30% is done. I have everything required. I know where everything is and there is another 20% ready started.

Conventions and Gaming.

I am booked for AdeptiCon and Cold Wars. Hopefully I will get HistoriCon, NEEAT, and the Epic World Championship in. This year, step up the effort to build a gaming group here in central PA. I would also like to link up with the NJ group.

Sell off

Continue to sell off the Kickerstarters never started. Liquidate the collections purchased. Sell off the extra 10mm Samurai.

Painting

730 plus dudes painted last year. The goal will be 1000 this year with at least 300 coming from the 20mm Colonial project. With the amount of terrain and 10mm involved it should be an easy score. As long as I stay focused.

Paint stirring sticks, boxes, and spears

I paint while traveling for work. In doing so I drag minis all over the world. Normally a short trip will fit in my traveling GW case. Longer trips a pack a large GW case. This is all well and good if painting 28-15mm dudes. Or if healing too much lead, my carry on is heavy enough to break a Peruvian sherpa.
Once you start packing 10s or dudes mounted to speed painting sticks another container is needed. If not, they all pop off the sticks.

All my old school sticks have metal glued to the bottom and they travel in a plastic lunch box with a magnet sheet in the bottom.

Now that I am gearing up for 10mm ancients, I need a new system. My spears are getting smashed, bent, and broken. I had been using popsicle sticks for 10s and layering them into a small Chessex case. This method bends the crap out of every single spear. It sucks.

The change came about when I went balls deep into 10mm samurai. Castle Arts’ samurai, now out of production. Can’t be replaced. Bent spears and busted off flags can’t happen. How to travel with them?
This time out Home depot special. 10 pack of house paint stirring sticks for 1.99. Plastic small parts box for 1.99. The sticks I snapped in half. Which is the perfect length for the boxes.

The little thingies that hold the dividers squeeze the stir stick just enough that there is zero shifting around in side. Some foam on top stop any abuse from bags getting tossed around while traveling.