More Ashigaru

I’m having a hard time getting motivated to paint those damn Irish… I don’t know why… it’s not like they’re HARD to paint or anything. Actually I’ve had a few evenings where I just haven’t felt like painting at all!? Kind of tired… maybe it’s the short days…

The last couple nights I did get a bit of painting done and finished up a few more Japanese/Rokuganese…

(Remember: click on the pictures for a bigger version)


A stand of Ashigaru (auxiliary Light Infantry) done up in pseudo Lion Clan-ish colours. The figures are from Old Glory


A single Ashigaru (as above) and a Crane Clan Kenshinzen (from AEG).

Coming soon on Tim’s Miniature Wargaming Blog:

I seem to have a lot of Japanese/Rokuganese crowding the workbench these days… and some Elves (ELVES!? Yep… Elves…). I got it in my head that I want to get rid of the GW Warhammer plastic Elves and Dwarves. I have enough for a HOTT army of each and I figured it would be easier to get rid of complete painted armies than a couple painted stands and a pile of half-painted figures…

Lion Samaurai

It’s been a slow week. Maybe it’s the cold. Maybe it’s been the ridiculous amount of figures arriving – putting me beyond hope of painting more than I’ve purchased this year… and I was doing so good… Anyway, I’ve been doing a lot of prepping and not a lot of finishing up. So all I’ve got for today is the one below and no others looking like they’re going to be done any time soon…


This is a Lion’s Pride Samurai from the Legend of the Five Rings.

The picture was taken indoors as it was -30°C with a windchill of about -45°C for most of the day… Oh, and it’s been dark since about 4PM… so…

More Japanese

..or Rokuganese…

(Remember: click on the pictures for a bigger version)


GAH!!! NOTHING irritates me more (when taking pictures of miniatures) than getting inside, downloading photos only to discovered there’s static grass stuck so someone’s head – Especially when it’s -40°C (because there’s just no way I’m going back out there to do another shoot!)

Anyway these, and the ones immediately below are from Old Glory. The above are from the “Villagers” pack.


Ashigaru - from respective archer and spear packs. The spears are home made from paperclips – hammering one end flat then filing to a point. Woorks pretty nice – better than sticking big chunky cast spear tips on to narrower steel rod…


A Crane Kenshinzen from AEG’s Legend of the Five Rings.


This fellow is a Keltos figure. The sword he came with was of absurd proportions so I replaced it with something a little more "reasonable" from my bitz box... It might be a GW Bit. Hopefully I won't get a C&D letter from their lawyers telling me I must remove the sword from the barbarians had as it is a violation of their intellectual property rights....

Damn... it looks like I forgot to paint a couple of his fingers!? (Almost as annoying as static grass on the head!?)

Coming soon on Tim’s Miniature Wargaming Blog:
Irish… no... really….

Or maybe a battle report from tonight’s game (which will NOT involve Irish…).

The Fightin’ Irish!

Here we go – back to the Dark Ages of Europe! Most of the figures are from Gripping Beast (except for one tucked in the back of one of the Blade Stands which is from Old Glory).

(Remember: click on the pictures for a bigger version)


These are optional two stands of Blade for my Norse Irish DBA army. I’m not sure if they’re Irish that have fashioned themselves after the invaders… or Vikings “gone native”… or just Viking Mercenaries…. Whatever the case theere’s some definite scandahoovian influence there!


Some Spare Norman foot. In this case spare = not-so-useful-for-DBA as all the Norman foot for DBA are Spears or Bow or Psiloi and these guys are none of the above... I kept them aside and based them for individual skirmishers…


A Viking merchant and his wife and child…

Coming soon on Tim’s Miniature Wargaming Blog:

Can I stick to the Dark Ages for a bit…? Finish off the Irish…? We shall see…!

Kuni Witch Hunters

(Remember: click on the pictures for a bigger version)


These are some “Kuni Witch Hunters” from AEG’s Legend of the Five Rings. The Kuni, I believe, are part of the Crab Clan – and so only one is painted in “proper” colours (the one in blue, brown, and red). I’ll probably just use these as generic Monk/Shugenja types in our Savage Saturday campaign.


This is an old Citadel (I think…?) orc that I recently stripped and repainted…

Wow I’m really going to have to step up production over the next couple weeks if I want to reach that goal of painting more than I’ve purchased. I really shot myself in the foot this week when I bid on three lots of Mega Miniatures. To be brutally honest they’re terrible figures… and I don’t REALLY have any need for them… but for about $16 I got 64 metal figures (haven’t even added them to the purchased total yet as they haven’t arrived)!? I’m just a sucker for a “good deal”. I guess I could just melt them down… Or slate them as “gifts” to give away… then they wouldn’t really “count” towards purchases for myself, right…?!

Ugh… I’m such a moron…

I did finish up enough Irish last night to complete the two optional Blade stands – just basing them today – pics tomorrow…. This brings me to six stands (having already completed four Psiloi) and the army is half way to being fieldable - six Auxilia to go. Not “finished”, mind you – I’d need an additional two Auxilia for that! Let’s see if I can finish off these Irish in the next week…. or at least have enough of them for a battle!

Dragon Warrior!

Just one today…

The “purchased” total has been starting to creep up again… faster than I’m painting at the present… doh!!


This is a hero from the Dragon Clan of Rokugan! The figure is a Clan War figure from AEG… or WOTC… or Hasbero…!? Or whoever owned the rights to the Legends of the Five Rings when this was produced…!?

The problem with finishing up single figures is that I end up taking pretty close up pictures – which end up being bigger on the computer screen than they actually are – thus affording me the opportunity to torture myself with observations of all the mistakes I’ve made – that would have otherwise never been noticed by ANYONE!?

Coming soon on Tim’s Miniature Wargaming Blog:

Slowly chugging away on some Irish and more L5R/Samurai stuff… I should actually get to have a decent painting night tonight – for the first time in a week…? Or two…? It seems like it!

Wow… December… I have almost a hundred figures to paint to keep the purchased versus painted totals at least even… assuming I purchase no more figures this year… which, given the spree I’ve been on the last week or two seems unlikely. In fact I know there’s at least another 21 foot and 30 mounted on the way – and a few more that I’m bidding on!? Yikes!!

Campaign for Kümer – Year Four Autumn

The Map

In the south the army of the Sapphic League of Unity and Togetherness Finally having subdued the Isle of Anasterele sailed across to Dyladele. They had less trouble with this crossing but were unable to subdue the Island before the chill of winter forced them to return to their warm southern homes…

The Armies of Ronarok held in their newly captured stronghold of Wienglenn content to loot and pillage therein for the balance of the year.

The Dwarves retired to their capitol of Ghillebrae, expecting that the Ronarokings would come. But they did not.

The Army of Valishog retired to their capitol of Brashog for one final stand against the elves which pursued hot on their heels…

The Battle of Brasog

(Remember; click on the pics to see a bigger version)


The Elves advance towards the fortress of Brashog.


And advance….


…and advance…


Finally close enough for shooting the elves darken the skies above the orcish line.


Vladimead and his bodyguard are driven back, the unit of archers annihilated…


The lines clash!


The Orc heavy infantry is driven back!


Then things started to go south for the Elves…. Vladimead returned to the battle and wiped out a unot of Elvish archers and the Orc General’s unit destroyed the Elvish infantry to their front!


The the elite Elvish outriders – distinguished so many times in this campaign - made a desperate bid to capture the orcs stronghold behind them.


…and were never heard from again…


Orcs were thrown back in the main line and the battle became a confused melee


Expliting the hole in the center Vladimead and the orc general poured into the game and turned the exposed flanks of the Elves


It worked out for Vadimead and his guard. They destroyed another unit of Archers.

Not so much for the Orc General – his host was driven back and destroyed in the confusion… not that it mattered much the wearied Elves were obliged to retire and begin their long march back to the sea and their home…


…and that’s it! We’re calling it quits! Just about everyone seems sick of the campaign (including me) so now is as good a place as any to stop…. I would have liked it if the Elves could have wiped out the orcs to have SOME sort of conclusion in terms of the narrative (sorry Vlad)… but it just weren’t in the dice, so to speak.

I think that’s it for email campaigns on the whole. It was fun for a bit… then it dragged… people started losing interest… I had to hassle people to get them to send in movement orders… There were some problems with the rules… meh….

I had thought I’d compile all the diplomatic messages that went back and forth and post them, but that seems like it’d be more work than I care to do at the moment… maybe over the holidaze.

On the bright side, for a good chunk of the fall I had a few guys showing up regularly enough to play these battles that I got to thinking I might just run a campaign on Tuesday evenings involving them in the New Year.

I am also still pretty stoked about the Dark Ages DBA Campaign in February (though the date my yet change and be the first weekend in March…) and running a second HOTT Summer Campaign in June. Stay tuned for more info about those in the coming weeks.



Country: Tria Nomina (Vassal of the Ilferien)
Race: Humans
Head(s) of State: Aculeo Bibaculus Mediocrito, Imperator of Tria Nomina
Commander of the Field Army:
Capitol: Praenomen
Other Cities: Nomen, Agnomen
Location of Field Army: Praenomen
Prestige Points: 11
Army Size: 24AP

Country: The Sapphic League of Unity and Togetherness
Race: Mixed – WOMEN!!
Head(s) of State: Myrah the Mighty, Chairperson of the Council of Empowerment of the Sapphic League of Unity and Togetherness.
Commander of the Field Army: General Libby
Capitol: Thatcherton
Other Cities: Bhutto, Beauvoir, Otisburg, Marrow, Crudd, Anasterele
Location of Field Army: Anasterele
Prestige Points: 24
Army Size: 12AP

Country: The Ilferien
Race: Ilferien (Elves)
Head(s) of State: Consul Rhalasa
Commander of the Field Army: Consul Sundiasen
Capitol: Melitele
Other Cities: Wynstrele, Dyladele, Cognomen,
Location of Field Army: Dolj
Prestige Points: 16
Army Size: 8AP

Country: Toctland (Vassal of The Ilferien)
Race: Dwarves
Head(s) of State: King Malaius MacDoogleg
Commander of the Field Army: General Gilgidi MacAuslin
Capitol: Ghillebrae
Other Cities: Toctglenn, Dolj
Location of Field Army: Toctglenn
Prestige Points: 2
Army Size: 10AP

Country: Ronarok
Race: Humans
Head(s) of State: King Claudius Hrosskellsen
Commander of the Field Army: Jarl Thorvald Skardsen
Capitol: Ludharn
Other Cities: Skohln, Marhan, Weinglenn,
Location of Field Army: Weinglenn
Prestige Points: 14
Army Size: 22AP

Country: Transil-Valishog-Atania
Race: Orcs
Head(s) of State: Vladimeag Votostogish (Vlad the Kinslayer)
Commander of the Field Army:
Capitol: Brasog
Other Cities: Gorj,
Location of Field Army: Retiring to Brasog
Prestige Points: 12
Army Size: 8AP

Country: Grummsh
Race: Orcs
Head of State: Bolg Skullcrusher
Capitol:
Other Cities:
Location of Field Army: Disbanded
Prestige Points: 8
Army Size: Disbanded