It's a new year, 2017. The time of the year where many miniature painters put forth goals of what they want to get done in the year to come. I also have done this. Now I have realized that since I don't keep up the blog as much as I would like, although I will try to post occasionally. Hopefully my goal is to keep up the blog more regularly. Although I have also said this last year.
My goal for this year is to place another dent into the lead mountain. With GHQ Micro Armour being the first choice currently. I'm working on a Finnish group of troops for the Winter War, to use with Command Decision. At least 6mm paints up much quicker than 28mm calvary ;)
Last year I did meet some of my painting goals to complete at least some of the Samurai army. I'll probably return to that this year sometime. I also need to return to the Persians as well this year. It's a nice change to be painting 6mm instead of 28mm for a change. I feel as though I've burned out of 28mm a little. Although I still hear the siren song calling me back to finish the figures.
Monday, January 2, 2017
Tuesday, November 1, 2016
It's All Greek To Me!
Hi All,
This is another one of my semi-annual blog posts. I had been working on different eras of troops for a while and now decided to finish some of the Greeks which had been sitting un-based for quite awhile. The unfinished figures were sitting there leering at me to finish them, and eventually I caved into their demands.
I have primed another swath of both Persians and Greeks, which means in the future I'll have to finish more of the Persians to give the Greeks something to fight against. The decals were printed on a photo printer on the water transfer decal paper. It did cause the ink to deteriorate, even after the sealer layer was applied. The battle damage on the shields was applied with a metal file, this is another reason I like plastic figures. But I got to where I liked the worn look on the decals, especially on some of the Spartans. They still need a layer of dull coat, but I thought that they were "finished enough" to be photographed.
I tried getting some photos of my civil war figures, but decided to wait on photos until they are based and blackwashed, as the photos came out looking too flat for them. But so far I have painted up about seven regiments of figures for the south. I have 1 regiment of the Louisiana Tigers done, the striped pants were difficult to do but very rewarding in the end.
Mostly what I do is paint, although occasionally I do get in a game on the tabletop. Shocking, I know. Here are some photos from a recent Check Your Six! game that I played with my gaming group. The Japanese camouflage on the Sally's were fun to paint. In this particular encounter, the bombers are trying to inflict as many hits as possible on the airfield, while the American P-40's are trying to defend it and shoot down as many of the bombers as possible. The US planes are my dad's work, while the Japanese planes are mine. We've divided the forces up, so he is painting mainly the Allies, while I paint the Axis.
This is another one of my semi-annual blog posts. I had been working on different eras of troops for a while and now decided to finish some of the Greeks which had been sitting un-based for quite awhile. The unfinished figures were sitting there leering at me to finish them, and eventually I caved into their demands.
I have primed another swath of both Persians and Greeks, which means in the future I'll have to finish more of the Persians to give the Greeks something to fight against. The decals were printed on a photo printer on the water transfer decal paper. It did cause the ink to deteriorate, even after the sealer layer was applied. The battle damage on the shields was applied with a metal file, this is another reason I like plastic figures. But I got to where I liked the worn look on the decals, especially on some of the Spartans. They still need a layer of dull coat, but I thought that they were "finished enough" to be photographed.
I tried getting some photos of my civil war figures, but decided to wait on photos until they are based and blackwashed, as the photos came out looking too flat for them. But so far I have painted up about seven regiments of figures for the south. I have 1 regiment of the Louisiana Tigers done, the striped pants were difficult to do but very rewarding in the end.
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| The Spaaaaartans!!! |
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| More Greeks |
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| The First Persian Unit. |
Until next time!
Enjoy!
Kevin
Monday, August 1, 2016
Miniature Monday's: Into The Grey!
Hi All,
Another issue of Miniature Monday is coming your way!
I might be bouncing around between lots of different eras in the near future. This is due to my Confederate troops arriving for the ACW. They are 18mm Blue Moon castings. This is also my first time going smaller than 28mm for figures. I also want to start painting more Persians, as right now my nearly finished Greeks outnumber the finished Persians. Although a number of Persians have been assembled and attached to bases, just awaiting paint. It will soon be time to tip the scales more in the Persians favor. This will push the Saxon figures further back into probably next year sometime. Unless I burn out and want to paint something different.
I think I've realized that I really do enjoy the painting process more than actually getting games in with the miniatures. Because I find it is easier to find time in the evenings and weekends in which to prep and paint miniatures, but it is harder to get my gaming friends to agree on a time and place to actually set up a game. Although I feel that this is a commonality amongst miniature gamers.
Here are some photos of the American Civil War figures which are prepped, mounted to craft sticks, and primed. Now all that is left is to paint them and base them. The frightening thing is that it is just a portion of the entire force, I've not begun prep on any of the artillery, artillerists, cavalry, or commanders yet. And there is still more infantry to base. I think it's around 800 figures for the Gettysburg force, and in total I think it's over 1,000 castings.
Enjoy!
Kevin Meeks
Another issue of Miniature Monday is coming your way!
I might be bouncing around between lots of different eras in the near future. This is due to my Confederate troops arriving for the ACW. They are 18mm Blue Moon castings. This is also my first time going smaller than 28mm for figures. I also want to start painting more Persians, as right now my nearly finished Greeks outnumber the finished Persians. Although a number of Persians have been assembled and attached to bases, just awaiting paint. It will soon be time to tip the scales more in the Persians favor. This will push the Saxon figures further back into probably next year sometime. Unless I burn out and want to paint something different.
I think I've realized that I really do enjoy the painting process more than actually getting games in with the miniatures. Because I find it is easier to find time in the evenings and weekends in which to prep and paint miniatures, but it is harder to get my gaming friends to agree on a time and place to actually set up a game. Although I feel that this is a commonality amongst miniature gamers.
Here are some photos of the American Civil War figures which are prepped, mounted to craft sticks, and primed. Now all that is left is to paint them and base them. The frightening thing is that it is just a portion of the entire force, I've not begun prep on any of the artillery, artillerists, cavalry, or commanders yet. And there is still more infantry to base. I think it's around 800 figures for the Gettysburg force, and in total I think it's over 1,000 castings.
Enjoy!
Kevin Meeks
Monday, July 18, 2016
Another post after a long time.
Greetings Hoplites,
I haven't posted much in the past two months, although I have been busy painting things now that work has slowed down some. I'll have to update the blog with some progress on my Greeks, currently I feel as if I'm burning out on painting the Samurai. Although I have sufficient to get to the table to play a game now, outside of calvary, as I've been painting the "less complex" figures and putting off painting the cavalry units as they are like two figures in one.
On a different note, the lead mountain has grown. I'll be expanding my miniatures hobby into the American Civil War, courtesy of the Blue Moon Miniatures. Both my father and I have an interest in the "Across A Deadly Field" rules. He the North, and me the South. So we've begun reading the rules and have ordered the lead. I'll be working on painting the South when they arrive. I'd better get my drawl ready!
For my ancients, a lot of the Greek Hoplites are assembled, just awaiting basing and paint. Although they've been that way for about half a year now. The same with the Persian infantry, only have about six Persians painted, and will need to get better pictures of them. I'll do a Persian update when I have a bit more of them done. I do know that I'll need more Persian cavalry down the road (Perhaps Warlord games will re-offer the calvary, as they don't seem to be available in their store anymore.) I still have to assemble the Greek Light Troops from the Numidian boxes. As well as get started on my Saxon force. I'm not sure what rules I'll use them with, I more just wanted to have some Viking-like Saxons in my collection. The Greeks at the moment I want to use with the Hail Caesar! rules, and I'm unsure about what rules to use for the Vikings at the moment.
Have a good battle!
Kevin
I haven't posted much in the past two months, although I have been busy painting things now that work has slowed down some. I'll have to update the blog with some progress on my Greeks, currently I feel as if I'm burning out on painting the Samurai. Although I have sufficient to get to the table to play a game now, outside of calvary, as I've been painting the "less complex" figures and putting off painting the cavalry units as they are like two figures in one.
On a different note, the lead mountain has grown. I'll be expanding my miniatures hobby into the American Civil War, courtesy of the Blue Moon Miniatures. Both my father and I have an interest in the "Across A Deadly Field" rules. He the North, and me the South. So we've begun reading the rules and have ordered the lead. I'll be working on painting the South when they arrive. I'd better get my drawl ready!
For my ancients, a lot of the Greek Hoplites are assembled, just awaiting basing and paint. Although they've been that way for about half a year now. The same with the Persian infantry, only have about six Persians painted, and will need to get better pictures of them. I'll do a Persian update when I have a bit more of them done. I do know that I'll need more Persian cavalry down the road (Perhaps Warlord games will re-offer the calvary, as they don't seem to be available in their store anymore.) I still have to assemble the Greek Light Troops from the Numidian boxes. As well as get started on my Saxon force. I'm not sure what rules I'll use them with, I more just wanted to have some Viking-like Saxons in my collection. The Greeks at the moment I want to use with the Hail Caesar! rules, and I'm unsure about what rules to use for the Vikings at the moment.
Have a good battle!
Kevin
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| Greeks Awaiting Shield Decals |
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| Greeks Awaiting Paint Detail |
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| These are Spaaaaaartans! |
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| Not quite 300 yet ... 294 more to go! |
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| Decided to have some fun with one shield ... |
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| Future Project |
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| Will become Greek Light Troops |
Saturday, May 28, 2016
Samurai Status Currently
Hi everyone!
This post is to inform where I am currently at in the samurai progress. I didn't have too much progress earlier in the year because I was finishing my masters at DeVry. Although now that that is complete I am enjoying getting time to work on painting some more miniatures. I look forward to getting more painting done over this Memorial Day break.
If I field the units in 4-figure infantry units and 2-figure cavalry units. Then these are the strengths of the forces currently.
Takeda Force (78 figures finished)
5 Samurai units (20 figures)
8 Calvary units (16 figures)
5 Ashigaru units (20 figures)
5.5 Archer units (22 figures)
Tokugawa/ Oda Force (88 figures finished)
5.5 Samurai units (22 figures)
8 Calvary units (16 figures)
5 Ashigaru units (20 figures)
7.5 Archer units (30 figures)
This is at least enough to start testing some different rules out with the figures. The figures are all based individually on metal bases of 1''x1'' for infantry and 1''x2'' for calvary. Then when I form up a unit, I'll cut magnetic vinyl to make the bases act as a whole unit. This will give the flexibility to use the figures for skirmish games such as Ronin, without having to have two separate armies. It was nice to see that Warlord Games will be releasing the Wargames Factory Samurai under the Pike & Shotte line of figures. At least if I need to flesh out the armies more, I can still do so.
And now for pictures (the whole reason you are here reading this post), I finally own a macro lens and look forward to using it the next time my gaming buddies set up a game, these are tests to see how the lens works on small objects such as miniatures. It is safe to say that I like the results I get from the lens. I can't wait to see the sea of banners on the gaming table, once I get all the figures finished. The back banners were one the main draw to this era for me. Eventually, I'll have to do some tests to figure out what I can realistically field on whatever size table I wind up using for the battle of Mikatagahara. Although my next step will probably be to push some of the units around on an empty table to learn the ruleset before attempting this undertaking.
This post is to inform where I am currently at in the samurai progress. I didn't have too much progress earlier in the year because I was finishing my masters at DeVry. Although now that that is complete I am enjoying getting time to work on painting some more miniatures. I look forward to getting more painting done over this Memorial Day break.
If I field the units in 4-figure infantry units and 2-figure cavalry units. Then these are the strengths of the forces currently.
Takeda Force (78 figures finished)
5 Samurai units (20 figures)
8 Calvary units (16 figures)
5 Ashigaru units (20 figures)
5.5 Archer units (22 figures)
Tokugawa/ Oda Force (88 figures finished)
5.5 Samurai units (22 figures)
8 Calvary units (16 figures)
5 Ashigaru units (20 figures)
7.5 Archer units (30 figures)
This is at least enough to start testing some different rules out with the figures. The figures are all based individually on metal bases of 1''x1'' for infantry and 1''x2'' for calvary. Then when I form up a unit, I'll cut magnetic vinyl to make the bases act as a whole unit. This will give the flexibility to use the figures for skirmish games such as Ronin, without having to have two separate armies. It was nice to see that Warlord Games will be releasing the Wargames Factory Samurai under the Pike & Shotte line of figures. At least if I need to flesh out the armies more, I can still do so.
And now for pictures (the whole reason you are here reading this post), I finally own a macro lens and look forward to using it the next time my gaming buddies set up a game, these are tests to see how the lens works on small objects such as miniatures. It is safe to say that I like the results I get from the lens. I can't wait to see the sea of banners on the gaming table, once I get all the figures finished. The back banners were one the main draw to this era for me. Eventually, I'll have to do some tests to figure out what I can realistically field on whatever size table I wind up using for the battle of Mikatagahara. Although my next step will probably be to push some of the units around on an empty table to learn the ruleset before attempting this undertaking.
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| I decided to paint these four Takeda calvary like the four horsemen of the apocalypse |
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| Takeda Ashiragu |
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| Takeda Shingen troops |
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| Takeda Archers |
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| Nobunaga Archers |
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| Tokugawa Troops |
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| Tokugawa and Nobunaga Troops |
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| Nobunaga Ashiragu |
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| Tokugawa and Nobunaga |
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| Tokugawa Archers |
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| Tokugawa and Nobunaga Troops Here are shots of the group as a whole in the boxes which I store them in currently.   Have a great battle. Kevin. |
Saturday, December 26, 2015
2015 In Retrospect
During this past year of 2015 I've worked through the pile of unpainted plastic and managed to paint a bit of it. I feel as if I've made a dent in my collection. Although lead and plastic mountain seems to grow with other eras of interest, namely ancients and medieval. Although those will be a future project. The most sizable increase in the hobby was the completion of a portion of my 28 mm samurai army, which if it goes as expected I should see it hit the gaming table in the early part of next year *fingers crossed.* The white and red flagged portions are of the Takeda Clans (Takeda Shingen and Takeda Katsuyori), while the yellow flags are Tokugawa Ieyasu. I almost have some Oda Nobunaga units complete, they should be completed within the next week or so.
Calvary for the samurai armies have been mostly assembled this year, I still have a few boxes to finish assembling, and then will come the fun of painting the rest of them. They take substantially more time because the cavalry are the most detailed of the Wargames Factory samurai figures. In the bottom box are some archers for Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa clans which still need decals and basing.
Some of the unpainted but assembled warriors which are the ashigaru foot soldiers, archers, and samurai for the clans.
This next photo is what is currently on my painting table at the moment. Some samurai for the Oda Nobunaga clan, and Tokugawa clans. These should be finished painting within the next week or so. The yellow and white paint are difficult to get even coats on the flags. In the back right of the photo is what might become a command stand with the big nobori flags, taiko drummer, and conch blower.
One of my goals this December was to clean up some room at my hobby area. I was looking at my painting table yesterday and noticed that I've had these zombie figures sitting around half finished for about the last year. I finished them up last night with a sepia wash. I'm not sure what to do with the basing on them, but I'll know more when I finish assembling the box, as this is about half the box. I can't recall if I've shown pictures before of these walkers. They are originally Dust Tactics walkers which I intend to us for In Her Majesty's Name to try out the walker rules.
And finally I've finished a few tokens for Osprey's Ronin system. Since you can take the heads of your fallen opponents I thought it would be fun to make some decapitated head tokens.
Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Kevin
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Update on samurai progress
*BEGIN TRANSMISSION*
Hi All,
This post is basically a picture dump of the finished samurai so far. Right now I have two different clans under Takeda for the battle of Mikatagahara. I still need to paint up Tokugawa and Nobunaga, and the rest of Takeda, and all the cavalry which will take some time as i'm finding out. The decals were printed myself on waterslide decal paper and sealed with the decal sealing solution. So far it has been good printing out blacks. The inkjet has trouble getting very red reds however. It's sort of difficult getting good photos of miniatures, because my current lens has a very narrow focusing depth when its up close.
Have a good battle
Kevin
*END TRANSMISSION*
Hi All,
This post is basically a picture dump of the finished samurai so far. Right now I have two different clans under Takeda for the battle of Mikatagahara. I still need to paint up Tokugawa and Nobunaga, and the rest of Takeda, and all the cavalry which will take some time as i'm finding out. The decals were printed myself on waterslide decal paper and sealed with the decal sealing solution. So far it has been good printing out blacks. The inkjet has trouble getting very red reds however. It's sort of difficult getting good photos of miniatures, because my current lens has a very narrow focusing depth when its up close.
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| Ashiragu |
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| Archers |
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| Samurai |
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| Archers |
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| Back row in focus |
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| Front row in focus |
Have a good battle
Kevin
*END TRANSMISSION*
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Check Your Six! Finnish Aircraft
Check Your Six! was my first foray into painting miniatures. If you haven't checked it out it is available from SkirmishCampaigns. It is a fast playing WW2 simulation of air combat in 3d. They also have a second version which is jet combat. Throughout my time painting some of the CY6 aircraft I've painted some Japanese and Finland planes. Although I haven't painted any aircraft in quite some time, I noticed these pictures on my computer and wanted to upload a post about them
The Continuation War for the Finns was a matter of defending their homeland against Soviet Invaders. Some good resources I found on the air war between the Fins and Russians are Osprey's "Lentolaivue 24," and "Finnish Aces of WW2." The book on Llv 24 (as the squadron will be known from this point forward) has a wealth of information about the pilots and missions they flew. The Finnish Pilots were very effective with their aircraft in both the winter war and the continuation war.
And now on to the miniatures. These are 1/300 scale Buffalos from Raiden. Its fun to paint their squat shape in the black and green of the Finnish air force. Here are some photos of them, my personal favorites are the winter camouflaged ones.
I'd like to find other books focusing on the other Finnish air units from the flying regiment 1 (recon) and flying regiment 4 (bomber). I've found a book in Finnish on ler4. If I can find some other books, they will be of great use as I continue to paint up my Finns for Check Your Six! If anyone knows of such books, drop a comment below. Eventually I'll get back to painting aircraft when I tire of my current ancients kick. I still have quite a lead mountain of German, Italian, and Japanese aircraft. Although most of what I wanted to complete for the Finns is done.
Until next time,
Kevin
The Continuation War for the Finns was a matter of defending their homeland against Soviet Invaders. Some good resources I found on the air war between the Fins and Russians are Osprey's "Lentolaivue 24," and "Finnish Aces of WW2." The book on Llv 24 (as the squadron will be known from this point forward) has a wealth of information about the pilots and missions they flew. The Finnish Pilots were very effective with their aircraft in both the winter war and the continuation war.
And now on to the miniatures. These are 1/300 scale Buffalos from Raiden. Its fun to paint their squat shape in the black and green of the Finnish air force. Here are some photos of them, my personal favorites are the winter camouflaged ones.
I'd like to find other books focusing on the other Finnish air units from the flying regiment 1 (recon) and flying regiment 4 (bomber). I've found a book in Finnish on ler4. If I can find some other books, they will be of great use as I continue to paint up my Finns for Check Your Six! If anyone knows of such books, drop a comment below. Eventually I'll get back to painting aircraft when I tire of my current ancients kick. I still have quite a lead mountain of German, Italian, and Japanese aircraft. Although most of what I wanted to complete for the Finns is done.
Until next time,
Kevin
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