Samurai!

 All gamers worth their salt have some Samurai tucked away somewhere. Mine were bought around............2013ish? Whenever the Ronin set was released by Osprey, anyway, built, undercoated, played two games and then left to rot for many years. 

I didn't play Test of Honour when that came out, in spite of it being popular in my group, due to grown up reasons (i.e. full time job, toddler, university studies), so they never got used in that either and were left kicking around doing nothing.

Ironically, I go to Japan every year though and am quite well travelled in the country, so see more samurai stuff, museums and such than the majority of people.

So, after this years visit, I decided that NOW was the time. 

Thus:

All Perry range, except one model, and a nice little force. The terrain and table dressing was a set of seconds from Oshiro that a friend picked up for me at Salute (again, irony, I was in Japan at the time)

Quite happy with the red lacquer effect - more chance than design TBH, which comes from a thicker layer of paint at the end to dry shiny.

Not yet seen the table in anger, but they may one day, they may. Used the family Mon for the back banners, as its a fairly easy one!

Painting Tally - January 2023

8 Uruk Hai Bersekers

1 Troll

4 Uruk Hai Crossbows

2 Uruk Hai Standard Bearers

Witch King (mounted)

Witch King (foot)

36 Morannon Orcs

24 French Napoleonic Infantry

18 1870 Prussian Line Infantry

Month Total: 95

Year Total: 95

Painting Tally - December 2022

40 Uruk Hai (28mm)

2 Uruk Hai Champions (28mm)

Epic 40K Iron Warriors - 23 Bases

Epic 40K Iron Warrior Tanks - 17

Month Total - 82

Year Total: 539

Painting Tally - November 2022

 48 Hundred Year War Men at Arms

1 Rebased Parliament Army

1 Rebased Royalists Army

Month total: 50

Year Total: 457

Painting Tally - September 2022

 1 Hill (well, a big one!)

Monthly Total - 1

Yearly Total - 407

Not the most productive of months..........

ZULU! - Project Complete

 Zulu, the one we all want to do but can't face painting masses of. Well, tartan based armies maybe more so, but Zulu next as you need a fair amount of them!

So, a few years back (7, I think) a fellow gaming yeoman had some money burning a hole in his pocket, and purchased the Warlord Rorkes Drift Set, intention being to paint it all up and play The Drift. Which we did - I bought some Zulu and weighed in with those.

This would be the first six units............

All very enjoyable, but couldn't help feeling that we needed MORE ZULU as it looked a bit light. We had another Zulu based game of Black Powder and one of Men Who Would Be Kings, then it fizzled out and they never really got used again.

However, these projects never really die out completely for me and I couldn't help feeling a bit sorry for painted those 120 and never doing much with them again. So I bought another army box a year or two later.

This would be the next six units...........

This pattern continued for some time, get a spat of interest in 1879, think "right, get some Zulu done" and make an effort to paint some. Some point, I bought a load of sprues to make into skirmishers.

This would be the next couple of units.........

Then Perry released their plastic box, so I bought one of those on the way home of an evening.

The next two units........

Until eventually, lots of my other projects are done and I've a mass of half done, half undercoated, Zulu mournfully sitting in the box. So put a push on to actually get these finished and based, which I had to match to my original ones from 2015 and when I only had a desert table and based accordingly.

Finally, all done. FINALLY. I have no actual idea of how many individual Zulu models I've got, but its 12 units and a mass of skirmishers. Between 280 and 300, I think. I mean, they aren't especially difficult to paint, its just the production line element, which plays to my strengths, but isn't hugely engaging when you know you have so many to do.

Of course, I've still got the British to get on with as well, plus NNC, but the valiant warriors defending their homeland from the aggressive invaders are complete!

Painting Tally - August 2022

Month Off!

Monthly Total - Fat Zero

Yearly Total - 406

Painting Tally - July 2022

 72 Zulu

Month Total - 72

Year Total - 406

Easy!

Painting Tally - June 2022

Wars of the Roses Cannon - 1

HYW Knights - 12

Wars of the Roses Light Cavalry - 24

Landsknect Pikemen - 20

Landksnecht Commander - 2

Medieval Handgunners - 12

Fields Terrain - 6

Month Total - 77

Year Total - 328

Painting Tally - May 2022

 Its amazing how productivity fires up when the muse strikes!

4 x Wars of the Roses Households - 80

Medieval Casualties - 30

HYW French Crossbows - 12

Wars of the Roses Mounted Commanders - 6

Wars of the Roses Cannon - 1

Monthly Total - 129

Year Total - 251

Thats the same amount in one month that I've done for the rest of the year so far.........

Painting Tally - April 2022

 Dwarf Slayers - 16

Slayer Lord - 1

Mordheim Necromancer - 1

Mordheim Dregs - 3

Mordheim Zombies - 4

Month Total - 25 

Year Total - 123

Agema, Captain of the Lachrymose and assorted crew.

For a while, about a decade ago, I was quite the fan of Infinity and played it. Or tried to, as the game was so bastard complex that we gave up in puzzlement and condemned frustration. Then they released a new edition (3rd) which went further down the rabbit hole and we cashed out.

................only, I held on to my models, many of which were unpainted and in blisters (as ever), and I even bought a couple now and then over the years.

Cue Stargrave coming along. Perfect - I always knew a stash of sci fi models would be handy at some point. 

So here we are - the crew of the Lachrymose, commanded by Agema. Essentially yr hardened vets who didn't return to society after a decade killing people on order of their government, so decided to do the same as guns for hire and make full use of the skills and equipment they had developed.

Satisfyingly easy to paint - enamel washes really do a lot of the heavy lifting for me nowadays, as I'm enjoying painting to order rather than being on the production line (I've broken the back of my collection, as its about 80% fully painted now).

Used them once and did very respectable business, but not the biggest sci fi person around, so it'll be a month or two before they see table again. Still, nice to be done after many years in the undercoat of shame.

New Table, New Location

 DOOM BE UPON YOU! DARE YE ENTER THIS HELLHOLE??

So, a new table to play on. More for skirmish (its only a 2X3)  but one I'm quite happy with, being just the kind of horror show that appeals to me. This is the first run, so more detail and such will be added as we go.

Even my dearly beloved passed comment as she wandered by. "THAT LOOKS HORRIBLE. I WOULDN'T LIVE THERE", which I think was a compliment. I think.

Painting Tally - March 2022

1870 Prussian Line Infantry - 20

Rocky Outcrops - 4

Dead Trees - 9

Ruined Buildings - 4

Stargrave Crew - 13

Vampire Lord - 1

Month Total - 51

Year Total - 98

Napoleonic British - Project Complete

FINALLY! PROGRESS!

Napoleonics.............wonderful, but by god its a long road to paint and get them done. I don't think I can face painting any more white (well, except on the French), so a good blocker for any project urges that involve painting more white (18th Century, I'm looking at you!)

I bought the first box of these in 2014, so a good 7 1/2 years of on and off working on these, but finally can call them done. All my Napoleonic stuff has been a real monkey on the back, as no matter how much progress I made on other projects, there was always that call of "yes, but the Napoleonics isn't done, is it? and theres a fuckload of those in that box over there!"

So, at least I can relax on that account......................although in truth, I do still have some odds and ends kicking about, but nothing really major.

Does seem as though these are one that my group has been waiting for, as now everyones started putting in orders for their own brigades of French and British stuff. Although, why not do that a year ago and get painting, so its finishing around the same time for them, I don't know?

On to the pictures!

First up, the cavalry. We're looking at a Light Dragoon, Hussar, Scots Greys, Household (I think, its been so long that my memory of the Household/Life Guard uniforms has blanked)

Artillery. Nice line of cannon, with a supporting howitzer and some rockets. Plus the limbers to get them shifting about.

Finally, the infantry. Plenty of them! I've used a simple code to aid the gaming on the table top. Grey trousers for all the line regiments who aren't in a kilt, and white trousers for Guard regiments. A simple idea which hugely helps in the middle of the game and seeing who is what and where. 

Think theres 9 x units of 24 models, plus some 95th Rifles dotted about the place.

The whole lot all in one shot.

..............and some nice close ups of the ranks.

God, I even hand painted the banners. I never want to paint a union jack again. QUIET, Zulu British! You'll get one in time!

I feel tired now, just looking at all that work.

So whats next? Oh, yes................the French

Painting Tally - January 2022

 24 French Napoleonic Line Infantry

Month Total - 24

Year Total - 24

Chaotic Restoration - Characters! Project Complete!

 To the end - characters. Ages of these range between my having had them since the mid 90s through to converting one last year.

V nice to just sit and paint out 4 character models of an evening though. Especially, as being in mainly red armour, the undercoat does most of the work!

First up - ye olde Warhammer Quest Chaos Warrior of Massive Axe.

Not a jot of paint for 25 years. 

Ye Obligatory Classic Realm of Chaos Chap. 

Ebay job, from around 2008ish. Back when such could be bought for 99p free post and there was none of this OOP OLDHAMMER RARE fishing happening. Not painting until now, although I suspect he'd been stripped in the past before I purchased.

Ye Properly Used And Loved Model.

This fellow we've seen before, so won't linger.

Ye New Boy

Plastic! Knocked this up as a conversion last summer in a fit of NON KHORNE WEAKNESS, before seeing the error of my ways and embarking on this entire army restore as penance. The idea of a chaos champion of another god crossing the floor to join Khorne is a nice one though, so his background is sorted.

Group shot. Need to think of names for three of them, but time being what it is............

AND WITH THAT..............project complete! I might tidy up my demons at some point as well, but I think thats enough WFB painting for now. 

Next step? FIGHT THEM AGAINST SOMETHING.

Chaotic Restoration - Chariots

 Chariots and what was a Warshrine at the time of building, but will just be a chariot now (6th FTW!)

Enjoyed these, and knocked them out over the course of two evenings........so an hour each, then. 

God knows what I was thinking with the placement of the drivers back in the day, but thats how they were pinned and thats how they remain! Photos don't show it, but Mnsr Halberd is staring straight into the back of Mnsr Whip

Warshrine was an odd one - I woke up one morning with a flash of inspiration, got set to building and within an hour or so, I ended up with a carriage of SKULLS AND HEADS. Its been a bit battered and broken campaigned since then, never saw table use and never got any paint, so its nice to finally see it in a finished state.