THE WORK OF SHAITAN
Monday, 1 March 2021
Citadel Empire Fighter Warband Update - Crossbowman and Dwarf spearman
Sunday, 21 February 2021
The Beginning of a Citadel/Marauder Empire Fighter Warband
With something finally painted and confidence restored, I felt it was the right time to embark on the classic Fighter warband as mentioned at the end of my previous post. So here are the first two members, the Captain and Champion.
Now it's been something I've intended on doing for several years and I've attempted to make a start in the past but I've never quite been satisfied with the colour schemes. The plan is to have the warband made up of Citadel fighters, mainly from the F2 range and Marauder Minuatures, although as you can see here, I've opted for the excellent Smiorgan Baldhead figure from the Eternal Champion personalities range to represent the champion. I can't think of a model more suitable for a grizzled veteran - he was always destined to be part of this project right from the off.
With the warband leader, I've gone for one of the Marauder MM60 Empire fighters; probably my favourite of the range. I've always liked that slightly hawty appearance he has.
I have to say, this project carries a fair amount of inspiration from the superb Averland warband painted by Chris Sabick of Blue's Marauding Miniatures and if by some gross misfortune, you've never had the pleasure of seeing it, it's well worth a look - HERE
So the next plan is to get another three painted and post up in a week or two. The aim will be to end with around a dozen in total with the inclusion of a Marauder Ogre - that is if I can get hold of one!
On a final note, something I have recently invested in, due to my eyes beginning to feel the strain of close up work, is a magnifying visor and I'm delighted to say that it's made a hell of a difference.
Saturday, 13 February 2021
Warhammer Empire Hochland Captain
I've finally gotten around to blogging my first post of 2021 which is due to not getting anything painted in about a month and a half. I had planned to work on quite a bit over Christmas but contracted Covid which laid me up until new year.
It was pretty grim but could have been a lot worse but it did leave me feeling quite mentally ravaged more than anything and when I was functional enough to resume the hobby, I found I was totally at a loss as to what to work on. After several failed attempts at various projects plus a huge lack of confidence, I finally managed to complete something, albeit one solitary figure.
I've gone for something familiar to get me going again - an Empire mercenary captain. I decided on the colours of Hochland, mainly because I fancied working with green which is a colour I've barely used in recent years. The model is originally the excellent standard bearer which has been slightly modified with a hand conversion.
He was painted as a one-off but with the option of adding a retinue if he turned out well so I've lined up several models for that. The important thing was getting something finished and have my confidence return.
Meantime I've managed to gather some ideas for some other projects over the coming weeks/months, in particular a classic Citadel fighter warband which has been something I've wanted to get done for years now. A combination of careful figure selection and deciding on colours for the uniform has always kept this idea stalled but I think I've finally got the green light. The way things are going I should have a couple ready for posting next week.
Thursday, 31 December 2020
2020 Review Time
Well here we are again for the annual review.
It's been a pretty involving one; the Dixon Confederate army has taken up a large percentage of this years' efforts, kicking off last January but not actually blogging anything until February; the second infantry unit and an artillery base.
Thursday, 24 December 2020
Dixon Miniatures American Civil War - Confederate Army group shot
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Tuesday, 15 December 2020
Dixon Miniatures American Civil War - General Robert E. Lee
So I've finally got around to finishing off what will be the centrepiece of my Confederate army, the command base of General Robert E. Lee. I had initially started it back around May or sometime around then before having a break from the whole Civil War thing.
The figure of Lee from the Dixon range has a great deal of charm and was nice to paint up. There are a number of nice officer figures by Dixon which were well suited to what I wanted to achieve here. I think this is probably the first grey horse I can recall painting actually, which is Traveller of course.
A top graduate from West Point, Lee took command of the Army of Northern Virginia from June 1862 following the wounding of General Joseph E. Johnston up until the war's end three years later. He was successful in repelling the Army of the Potomac away from Richmond during the Battles of the Seven Days followed by success at Second Manassas.
Lee's two most notable victories were at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, overcoming enormous odds against superior numbers with tactical mastery. After another invasion of the north, Lee was decisively beaten at Gettysburg, coming under fierce criticism for the doomed frontal assault on the Union centre, Pickett's Charge.
After the war, Lee became President of Washington College in Virginia before passing in 1870.
I've a couple of infantry to round an 18 man unit up to 20 and then I shall organise a group shot of the army so far which I'll aim to post up at the weekend.
Saturday, 21 November 2020
Dixon Miniatures American Civil War - General John Bell Hood
So up next, as planned, is the command base for my Texan Brigade, featuring its commander General John Bell Hood. I had to sculpt the extra long beard with green stuff as the model was sporting fairly modest facial hair that was insufficient to replicate Hood's. Dixon Miniatures feature a couple of nice models waving hats/kepi which I've put to good use here, cheering on their beloved commander.
Arguably one of the best brigade and division commanders in the Confederacy, John Bell Hood was renowned for his bravery and aggression but was prone to recklessness. He was assigned to the Texan Brigade in February 1862, being promoted to Brigadier General the following month. He and his brigade performed well during the 7 Days Battles and featured prominently at Antietam later on in the year.
The following year at Gettysburg, his arm was severely injured as the result of an exploding artillery shell overhead. Avoiding amputation, it was though, rendered permanently useless. Severely wounded again, this time at the Battle of Chickamauga, Hood suffered a fractured femur resulting in his leg being amputated four inches below the hip(!). The surgeon sent the severed leg with Hood in the ambulance assuming he'd want to be buried with it. Against all odds, Hood survived.
Now needing to be strapped to his horse, Hood's reputation was marred during the latter period of the war with notable disasters such as the Battle of Franklin. Working as a cotton broker in Louisiana after the war, he died of yellow fever at the age of 48 in the epidemic of New Orleans in 1879.
So the plan is to continue with the Texan Brigade (most likely the 5th Texas infantry) and mix it up with getting my Genreal Lee command base finished which has been half done and left on the desk for some months. Getting Hood's base wrapped up has given me the momentum to follow suit with the main man's.