Smile when you say that, pardner.

 

     For reasons unknown to me, I've developed a taste for skirmish gaming in what might be called the Old American West. There are still plenty of skirmishes in the modern American West, but they don't interest me. The idea of a limited number of figures all armed with roughly the same weapons interests me. Something like "The Three Musketeers" sword fight gamess or Sardukar vs. Fremen in the Dune sci-fi setting holds some interest for me. So I jumped in with both feet.

Alan Quartermain... not really Wild West but close enough.
My wife insisted. (Copplestone Castings limited edition figure)

A gunfighter I named Billy Stahl
after the good friend who painted the figure for me 25 years ago.

Buffalo Bill Cody is what Reaper Miniatures calls this fellow.
He has the right rough-and-tumble look about him for the game.

Doc Holiday - another Reaper fig
Dapper and deadly.

Trooper Landry - a good start for the US Cavalry part of the game
Another Bill Stahl gift 

Reaper's Lobo Sanchez - 
Sandals, bottle, iguana... what more could I say? (Reaper)

Lobo's best friend in his bottle... I mean, his iguana, Ignatio!

Dusty... one tough guy from Reaper

Malcolm Reynolds or maybe his ancestor (Reaper)

Our lawman, Marshal O'Dowd
I have no idea how long I've had this figure and his knife.

Nameless Lambert... another Reaper figure

Pancho (Manufacturer unknown)
Short but deadly.

Pepperbox Mercer - six barrels of hurt
(Reaper)

Rustler Jake (Reaper)
I think he's a rustler since he has gloves on. He's the only working man!

Shotgun Sally (Reaper)
Beware of sunburn!

Bearpaw, a scout (RAFM figure)

Bearpaw's brother, Ed
RAFM figures come in two's... so we have twins!

Grizzly Jim (Reaper)

Pecos Wil... also from Reaper
No, they're not twins. (They were born 2 years apart.)
Yes, they are the same figure. Paint can do a lot!

Shady Kate (Reaper)
At least these Wild West gunfight females wear a bit more
than many of the D&D females.

Swift Wind (Unknown)
I thought he deserved a checked shirt.

Tall Jizelle (Reaper)
Big gun, big hat, small waist.
(I named her; Reaper called her by another alias.)

Ted the Gun (Reaper)
Very business-like.

The Madam (Reaper)
complete with lever-action Winchester.
The house NEVER loses.

Is it the payroll from the mine?
Is it fabulous documents of great import?
Is it a heart (or gizzard) for Dr. Frankenstein?
You'll have to wait for the next episode!

--From Old Glory's Maori Wars range--
British troops painted as Canadian Militia for the Fenian Raids
Maybe they'll show up at the border of a norther state...

Marshton Reynolds
The Malcom Reynolds figure painted in a variant
More than likely ready to misbehave.

Pulp Miniatures... Sergeants Three...
Probably never to be seen in the American West...
Probably... maybe...

Maeve prepared the photo shoot and approved the entire thing.

I'm looking at a few sets of rules. Simple... direct... fun. I'll let you know.

By the way, I'm back to blogging!

I'm not sure the paint is dry!

 

     Between the pandemic, some work issues (Yes, I'm still working from home during Ontario's lockdown), and teaching a T-Rex to reach 4th position on the trombone, it's been busy. I've discovered that I also like to work on multiple painting projects at the same time. Getting things done takes longer but it's not boring. Not everybody works this way, I know... but I do and I'll continue.

     Here's a few things I've been finishing on the painting table (often with Time Team on the TV in the background.) 

Medieval Irish from Wargames Atlantic
Separate heads, arms, and weapons give you a lot of options.
Many people don't like the "fiddly" nature of such figures, but I like them.
Can't you hear them yell? "Póg mo thóin!"
(Wardogs are included!)

Spanish Civil War Republican Tinzano (improvised armoured vehicle)
3-D printed for me by my good friend, Dr. Martin.
(PCE? Translation - Spanish Communist Party)

More Wargames Atlantic figures
Futuristic Einherjar from their "Death Fields" Range
The box's mythos says they were Viking raiders taken by aliens for their Death Fields sport.
Settled on high gravity worlds, their growth was stunted.
So... Space Dwarves!!

Halfling Rogues by WhizKids
The lighting is poor and I'm using a somewhat paler flesh for Caucasian types,
relying on inking for detail and contrast.

I wish I knew what this guy is. Looks kind of "undead-ish."
You never know when something like this might come in handy.

Allan Quatermain: I may have been overly rude earlier... when I called you a pirate.

Captain Nemo: And I may have been overly charitable... when I said I wasn't. But I try to live in the now... 

where the ghosts of old wrongs do not abide. (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen)

Captain Nemo, captain of the submersible Nautilus

A late Roman armoured legionary by a company I think Warlord Games has absorbed.
Another Medieval Irishman armed with the ol' blackthorne stick or shillelagh.

"Gun Mages" from the Warmachine listing.
I don't play the game, but the figures were on the re-sale rack at a local games store.
I thought they'd make a good gang for my Traveller campaign. 
("We am beez lookin' fer dat crazy girl wit' all them personalities. Yez know her, heyna?")

Velociraptors from WhizKids... found in my Christmas stocking.
I love them!
Now... who makes a loose trombone for 25mm figures?

So I'm still painting and I have a battalion of Napoleonic Prussian fusileers, a regiment of ACW Union Zouaves, some WWII Soviet Naval troops, Byzantine infantry, and Napoleonic French cuirassiers in the line. I guess I have a very short attention span!

An Interesting Christmas Gift

    This Christmas, my wife gave me a wonderful gift. It was a book that I didn't know even existed. I'm reading it... slowly. I'd could say "I'm savoring it", but that'd be a lie. I simply read slowly. Well, that's half a lie; I read slowly and I am savoring the book.

    This book, "Letters From Father Christmas" (authored and illustrated by J.R.R.Tolkien) is a compilation of letter from "Father Christmas" to the Professor's children over that space of almost 30 years. Some of the letter are short while a few are longer. Photos of the letters and illustrations are sprinkled throughout the book. Father Christmas is the main writer, although Polar Bear, Father C's main albeit clumsy assistant, writes some with an alphabet and hand that reminds me of dwarfish runes in The Lord of the Rings. (Could there be a connection? I'll leave it to you, gentle reader to decide.)

   The book is a delight and I think it will be part of my pre-Christmas/Advent-of-sorts reading every year. The illustrations are great and match well with Tolkien's illustrations of The Hobbit and LOTR.

   Many of you probably know about this book already. I just wanted to share my joy in it.

An example of Father Christmas' writing

Polar Bear's writing with commentary from Father Christmas on the bottom

Polar Bear broke the North Pole and damaged Father Christmas' house.
The Man in the Moon, a side character*, looks on.
The whole operation had to move to Cliff House seen in the lower illustration.
(* I haven't finished the book yet, so Man in the Moon might be bigger than I expect.)

 

Polar Bear spills the presents in the new house.

Father Christmas and Polar Bear explore the goblin tunnels beneath Cliff House.

I wish my tree looked as good!

The Lord of the Rings --- a different version II

I blogged a blog (The sound of that phrase makes me laugh.) on a Ukrainian version of illustrations of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. (I was mistaken in my previous blog and called the illustrator, Sergie Lukhimov Russian. I realize the difference and own my mistake.) There were so many, I decided to make a second blog to show the rest I'd seen. This is not all there are; these are the ones that reminded me of icons. The selections might be out of "chronological" order.

The Three Walkers meet Gandalf in Fangorn

Orcs fighting half-orcs or wild men in Mordor.
Frodo and Sam are in the lower center, in rock-coloured cloaks.

The Battle of Helm's Deep
Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, and the Ents are visible.
Note the "cannon" in the foreground, delivering the "Fire of Orthanc."

Meeting Merry and Pippin in the ruins of Isengard

Gandalf and Théoden confront Saruman at the Tower of Orchanc.
Grima Wormtongue is there too.
Again the Riders of Rohan are in Eastern European armour with
the White Horse heraldry on their shields.

"Taters"

"The Black Gate Opens."

The Dead Marshes

Frodo and Sam at the Watchers of Cirith Ungol

The witch king leads his army out of Minas Morgul

Mumakil

The Siege of Minas Tirith
The Nazgul appear to be shown as riding a great bird and throwing a grenade(?)

The armies of the dead defeat the Corsairs of Umbar

Gandalf confronts the Witch King
note the rooster opposing the Nazgul's flying mount.

"And in that very moment, away behind in some courtyard of the city, a cock crowed. Shrill and clear he crowed, recking nothing of war nor of wizardry, welcoming only the morning that in the sky far above the shadows of death was coming with the dawn.
And as if in answer there came from far away another note. Horns, horns, horns, in dark Mindolluin's sides they dimly echoed. Great horns of the north wildly blowing. Rohan had come at last.”                         

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

The Death of the Witch King
"I am no man!" - Eowyn, shield maiden of Rohan

Aragorn and Gandalf in the House of Healing

Shelob

Gandalf and the Lords of the West confront the Mouth of Sauron
"Elf cloak, Dwarf coat, blade of the downfallen West"

Frodo, Sam, and Gollum at the Cracks of Doom

Frodo and Sam in Mordor

The Crowning of Aragorn as King Elessar

The Hobbits return to the Shire and face down the Sheriffs

I'm sure I've missed quite a few of these wonderful illustrations. Personally I'd love to see the Charge of the Rohirrim done, but I could not find any such illustration. I hope these were interesting to you and brought you some joy in the strangest of Christmas holiday I've ever had.