Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Wooden Peg Warriors

Because I don't have enough projects on the go, I thought it might be fun to paint up some wooden peg characters. I thought the kids might be into it as well, especially Keira. She is ALL ABOUT making things these days. Every single day she sews or knits something. At times I wonder if they're too intimidated by all the miniatures they've purchased over the last couple years - and not yet painted! Like, maybe they are self-aware enough to realize that there skills aren't at the level to make the miniatures they own look they way they want them to look when they're done? If that makes any sense?! I mean, I'M intimidated by the details on some models, and I've been at this for 35+ years!!

So I ordered some pegs from Amazon. They batch it got was about 60 of them in three different sizes (55mm, 43mm, and 35mm) for about $17CAD (can't go wrong with the price!) - of course then I went out and bought some Milliput to add bits - but that was only about $12 and it will go a long way!

Initially I'd thought these would be fun to use for custom characters in role-playing games - and then making a bunch of very simple generic baddies to oppose them - or maybe some smaller scale skirmish games (like Song of Blades and Heroes). Of course when they arrived and I saw the big bags of them, I suddenly started having delusions of grandeur - entire armies for Dragon/Lion Rampant or any of those other games by Dan Mercy! (Because, y'know, having scores of armies for each of those games in regular ol'28mm metal wasn't enough!?)



Before I'd even ordered them, I'd done a few doodles of ideas in my sketchbook.



Just a few very generic characters - mostly medieval/fantasy... but I was thinking about so many others things as well.

I also found a few web stites and blogs that were very inspirational:

Zen Wood Peg People Page

Funny Little Wars - Molatero

Wooden Warriors

Some great stuff on these pages - varying from very simple/paint only - to very elaborate with either painting detail or adding on bits and bobs of wood or putty...

Here is my first stab at it:



Baron Phillipe do Lapin

(because why have the same character in only one scale/medium)



detail of bunny on back of tabard.



Just gave this guy a belt pouch. Now that I'm thinking about it, I probably should have given him a scabbard as well.

Dungeon crawlers could be given elaborate backpacks festooned with kit and rope and 10' poles...



SUPER simple ninja...



HAvent' decided which size will be standard adult male human. I was thinking the middle one (like the ninja here) so the larger ones could be for larger creatures - big orcs, ogres, trolls, etc... But I could always get some larger ones (I think I saw ones that were 65mm) as these 55mm ones are a nice size for getting details on...



I have a pile of others cluttering the workbench that are in various stages of paint and/or modelling...

I should really just STOP and finish up a few more Necromunda things before the game weekend!!


Coming Soon to Tim's Miniature Wargaming Blog:

Hopefully more Necromunda...

Who am I fooling? It'll probably be loads more wooden peg warriors - at least until I run out of the current batch and have to order more!?

18 comments:

  1. Great start,l really like the lapin figure. Looking forward to seeing what you do next.

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    1. Thanks, Alan! I'M looking forward to see what I do next - I'm all over the place this morning!?

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  2. Uh, well those are just great, and the rounded head really suits the mail coif.

    Sometimes you have to go where the muse takes you... even if you have a game this weekend.

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    1. Yes...

      But sometimes it's also good to STAY ON TARGET!!

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  3. These look great!

    For more inspiration, take a look at Dale's blog:
    https://wooden-warriors.blogspot.com/2019/01/saxon-fyrd-unit-and-entire-wing-of.html

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    1. Thanks Jonathan!

      I had found those! They're wonderful! Got me thinking about doing DBA with these... briefly... but then realized most periods I'd be interested in would require horses... and I wasn't sure how to do those...

      And then I also realized, any of the periods I'm really all that interested in... I ALREADY HAVE armies - in last metal 28mm!? (I am a bit of a moron, at times!)

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  4. Those are wonderful ;) The mail is top notch, but I love the ninja.

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    1. Thanks!

      The Ninja, I have to admit, is a straight copy of one I saw on one of the websites noted above! It is beautiful in it's simplicity, though, isn't it. Minimal brush strokes, but completely conveys what it is meant to be.

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  5. Fun!
    I like the way you painted the baron.

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  6. What a great idea, and they have come up really nicely. Love the chainmail!

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  7. Lovely work on rabbit man! I thought necromunda was the next big thing for you,go away for a couple of days and what on earth is going on?! Great fun though!
    Best Iain

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    1. Still pretty focused on Necromunda! At least for the next few weeks - until the game weekend! After that I hope to play Necromunda a bit more - finish off a campaign by December, start a new one in January - but I won't be SO focused on painting stuff for it (I'm hoping most of it will be DONE in the next two weeks).

      I don't really need to be looking for NEW projects like this, as I have the next two kind of lined up - Hell Boy and Blackstone Fortress - I want to get all the figures for those two painted by the holidaze in December!

      Of course there is no shortage of other things I'd like to work on as well - half dozen 40K armies, forces for each of Dan Mercy's games... etc... etc... So I don't know what brought this one on... but whatever - it'll be a fun little side project.

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  8. Oh my... those do look fantastic, and having an army of peg vikings would be AM-MAZE-ZING! :) These are looking great, nice stuff.

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    1. Thanks Joe! Not sure I'm going to do an entire viking army! (though I did briefly think about making DBA armies - but then realized I pretty much HAVE all the DBA armies I'm ever going to be interested in having in 28mm metal!!)

      I did come up with a relatively smaller project I might be able to use these for, which wouldn't be redoing stuff I already have! More on that in a bit!!!

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