Storm the Saxon Shore!

The first half of the Age of Arthur commission is complete! West Wind Saxons, separate head system, LBM transfers. Romano-Brits to follow, then I'm off on my own!

More at my Displaced Miniatures gallery:
http://displacedminiatures.com/LeadAsbestos2010/gallery/3200/

Merry Christmas all!

Unfinished Tales...

Do you ever actually finish a project? I don't mean adding and changing; I mean take that pile of metal you collected to do this particular thing with, and paint it all, and get it on the table? I never, ever do. There are always a few stragglers, the last of the Mohicans, the escapees...

So next tear, I'm after Completion. Just wrap up the loose ends of a few things and finally call them done. Nothing huge; My Trojans are still an Epic waiting to happen, the Vikings are just out of the gates. Just those nagging little bits, so I can finally say " There. That is done."

The list, as it currently stands, modest in ambition, so as to actually get done!:

The last 1999 mini I need to finish to complete my fully painted, complete (except for the stuff I doubt was ever ACTUALLY released!) collection. She has been like this for YEARS. Almost, but not quite done. My wife said "Why don't you just finish her?" So naïve. This was 7 years ago now?

The last China Town minis, minus the Tyger Lily I keep begging for. Again, these will make me fully painted, nearly fully collected. Then I add the Martial Artists from Hasslefree, and the gangs from North Star, and I'll get some Fistful of Kung Fu! played. I hope...

 Arthurian cavalry. So old I don't recall their maker. The other four in the unit have been done for probably 10 years, and I have another completed unit of 10 from the same frenzied couple weeks of painting them, and then, BAM! Complete stall. Time to correct.

 Oldhammer Forum Warband challenge. Not that old, but it really wasn't that ambitious of a goal. 21 minis? And these, still unpainted, well after the deadline has passed. Sigh...

Nasty Christians burning a Druid at the stake. A nice little set that has been in a holding pattern for wayyy too long. The base is that dusty from being inside a cabinet. Way too long!

A good start! These will help me wrap up some things and clear the way for some bigger goals for the new year. Less buying, more painting, blah, blah, blah...

Wish me luck!

Peace! The charm's wound up...

McDeath has begun! A few painted, some new additions to the old lead, rosters filled with minis from the Horde, even the goddamn cardboard building have been built. All this while working towards finishing the Commission that Wouldn't End!

Some shitbag cell phone pics, but you get the idea! Really enjoying getting a little work in on my project, and moving forward w/ sticking to the plan!

A Challenge to Myself

So I've been off my painting game for a couple months, struggling w/ some sort of eye problem that left me basically unable to focus using my right eye. MRIs, doc's visits, etc. Now I seem to be doing a bit better, still strained so no prolonged sessions, but painting again.

Tonight we had a little craft night at home, with the girls drawing, the wife making a wreath, and me wallowing in self-pity that I never stick to a project, I just buy, trade, sell-off, and repeat, accomplishing nothing. Ever. No finished projects ever in the many, many years I've been doing this.

So here is my challenge, to begin as soon as I finish my gigantic commission, and yes, a few of you have heard me say this before, even if you only started at the beginning of this blog:
MCDEATH!

I need to quit w/ the butterfly routine, and do this project, that has been my dream project for many years, and several failed attempts. This is what I have, plus a few recruits from other lines, and I'm going to paint them, make some cardboard buildings and moss trees, and maybe play at least one scenario. I think I will make the theme of 2015 "Screw your Courage (and your Projects!) to the sticking place!)

Wish me luck!

Reunited, and it feels so good...

Some old friends are coming back to me. No need to hang out on my bumper, thinking about the good ol' days...

Not the EXACT old friends, but new ones I'll be using to get my old gang back together. Very happy...

LeadAsbestos' Top 10 Miniatures of All Time

Great idea, originally stolen from our good pal Axiom, I'm told! Here are my picks, in no particular order, and a bit less Citadel-centric than some others, but there are a few!
Skrag the Slaughterer, Citadel, one of the very few to survive from my youthful collection. Jes Goodwin Ogre, and the best of that excellent lot.

 

Salute06 Arthur v Mordred, Copplestone sculpt, and a set I have been sending out to my very favorite painters to work their magic on. I've got a lovely little collection going. This set could be my favorite mini of all!

Warped Slaine, by Foundry. Cool.

 

Giant, Ral Partha, Tom Meier sculpt. Tiny by today's scale, so I showed him here w/ a teeny Copplestone 15mm Barbarian, to make him feel big again.

Ogre, by Reaper. Don't know why, just love this mini. My 30th birthday gift to myself.

Witch, by Citadel. Great Roman Polanski's Macbeth vibe to her, perfect for my needs.

Hot Chick, by Reaper, Somebody of the Blade or whatever. The first and only mini where I thought "Damn, she is sexy!" Weird, I know, but what can you do...

Giant, by Reaper, Tre Manor sculpt. He is the best sculptor going, if only he could get his head proportions right, and stop sculpting such tiny damn minis! That is why the giant is perfect.

 

 

King Arthur, by Splintered Light. 15mm! The first mini in 15mm that swayed my opinion of tiny scales. Since outdone by Copplestone's Barbarica, but a great mini, and my favorite era and subject.

Demonic Trooper, by Cell Entertainment, for the 1999 game. The perfect faceless menace, and the mini that made me hunt down the whole excellent line.

                                                                                                                                                              
Well, there you have them. All my paintjobs except Arthur v. Mordred, but that is also displayed proudly in the cabinet! Hope you weren't bored, and I'm looking forward to see what other folks come up with!                                          

 

  

RQ Trolls, or How the Uz Should Look, Please!

Like this:

And no other way. I've had my Trollpak for 30-ish years now (!) so the images are firmly lodged in my imagination, and in that time I've found exactly 1 Troll, from Ral Partha, that got the look right. So I'll ask nicely: Please, please make me some proper Gloranthan Uz!

Tyger Lily, the elusive...

Can anyone help a brother out? This is the very last China Town mini I need for a complete collection:

Her name is Tyger Lily, she is a Limited Edition Sword Saint, and I can't find her anywhere! A generous reward will be given, either $$ or loads of old lead or even paintjobs for those interested in such things.

Please help! Spread the word! SOMEONE must have one kicking around...

Cheers!

Tartans vs. Cowhides

Even though I'm painting Dark Ages Scots, my mind is firmly on the plains of Troy, what with all the lovely new Sea People out there, both from Warlord:
http://www.warlordgames.com/new-sea-peoples-chariots/

and North Star:
http://northstarfigures.com/list.php?man=163&page=1

So excited, in fact, that I got myself one of the old Foundry mini-hordes (What the hell were they called? They seem to have disappeared from Foundry's site, small collections of 50 or so models?) of Sea Peoples, The Brazen Sea-Wolves or some such thing, off of eBay for a very nice price. I have a few coming back my way from a friendly trade-for-paint-commission, and I'll be using the entire gang as Sarpedon and Glaucus' Lukka. Rules will be a shameless theft of all the parts I like from SAGA, Dux Brit, and Before the Gates of Troy.
A comp shot for those interested in such things:

BTD, North Star, Foundry, North Star, Crocodile. I think they mix nicely. I'm no button counter, so whatever feels good works for me for this project. Just ask my Minotaur, Centaur, and Medusa, thank you very much!

OldHammer Challenge Update!

Took a wee bit of time between commission work to paint a few more for my OldHammer Challenge Warband, a mix of minis from Dark Ages ranges to fight in the Mcdeath-era East Albion. Various alliances of Norse, Irish-ish, Romano-Brits, and what-have-you:

Archers, also the last 4 minis I needed to have 2 complete starter Warbands for Dux Brit. An actual project complete, at least for starts!

A Norseman, up to no good, a Bard, and one of my very favorite old Citadel Norse, who I have painted and sold off several times before, but no more! This one is mine!

Just a few left, and Challenge complete! No telling when that will be, but what the hell! I'm pleased...

They come from the land of the ice and snow...

Just received my HUGE box of Vikings, bought from a fellow moving to distant shores who needed to lighten his lead/plastic load. I've never, ever bought this many minis in one shot, so needless to say, I'm very pleased with myself!
The boys above are from the excellent TV series, and a set of minis I recently sold for some reason or another. These are to show where I'll be taking this project, but my real inspiration is this:
http://www.twfigurines.de/vikings/vikingmain.htm

From Mr Tom Weiss, a set of Vikings that I've been drooling over for years. I hope to organize and document my own endeavor in a similar manner, and hopefully achieve a level somewhere near this masterpiece. Wish me luck!!

Norse-Gael for SAGA

In my continuing effort to try to not buy every single mini I've ever wanted, I recently took on a few small commissions to paint minis I like, but don't really need. ( At least right now!) The first is now complete, Norse-Gael for SAGA, unfortunately now firmly on my to-buy list! Oh well, so much for plans...

Quick paintjobs for tabletop play, a few shield transfers, and a pretty inexpensive price. They get shipped out tomorrow, so I hope their new Warlord likes them!

A rather mercenary lot...

I've been working on a painting commission, so not much work of my own on my projects, but here are some things that a few of my favorite lads did for me for a few projects of my own.
 For my Celtic Myth project, some Alternative Armies minis: the Sidhe by Dr Falkenhayn from the LAF, and the Fir Bolg, from Rob S on the Oldhammer forum:

After the commissions are done, I'd like to paint the rest of the Milesians I started, which you can see here:
http://displacedminiatures.com/LeadAsbestos2010/gallery/3012/

And then on to the Fomorians, and then I'll be left w/ a complete set of AA Celtic Myth, fully painted, and COMPLETE! (One of the joys of buying into a dead line! Don't talk to me about those crappy Nemedians in the Erin line either...)