Welcome To Blognia!

 Somewhere in Europe lies the Grand Dutchy of Blognia. Enclosed by the Drabslide mountains and the mighty river Plob, Blognia has always been somewhat cut off. It is not a welcoming place: Pearson's Gazetteer lists the national pastimes as "feuding and banditry". This isolation has resulted in some unusual species developing in the countryside, most of them lethal. The casual traveller, once he has been robbed blind, risks being devoured by giant wolves, gored by giant boars, carried off by colossal hawks, and/or torn to shreds by mustelids of unusual size.

And even after that, there are the vampires. Almost all of the great houses of the Blognian countryside are ruled by the undead, one way or another. Virtually every peasant owes feudal loyalty to a revenant.

Things are changing, though. Inspired by a tour of the Italian and Cornish rivieras, Duchess Louisa the Ninth has recently begun a programme of modernisation. Blognia now has two railways and a gramophone. New laws outlaw incest and blood feuds, and require the wearing of trousers within city limits. Last month, Blognia's first functional water closet was unveiled, blessed and tested in front of a cheering crowd.

The duchess has sent word to the rest of Europe and beyond, seeking expert monster-hunters to clear the countryside of the undead. A wide range of mercenaries, zealots, scholars and eccentrics have flocked to Blognia to break the power of the vampires once and for all. Vampire hunting is both righteous and lucrative - especially if you happen to be a rival vampire.

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Here are a few Blognians. 

This chap - he's a bandit - is made from an old English Civil War musketeer with arms from a Perry Afghan tribesman. I painted him in what I imagine is Blognian peasant dress: stripey trousers and a leather waistcoat.

This lady is also a bandit. She has a body and head from Frostgrave barbarians, and accessorises with Perry Afghan arms (I really like the sabres).

This maniac has a body from plastic French soldier and a head and arms from the Frostgrave female barbarian sprue. I really like the dynamic pose. Some of the Napoleonic plastic soldiers are rather slight, so it makes sense to give them female heads and say that the Blognian army includes a lot of poorly-disguised ladies.

And that's it for now. I'm working on a couple of slightly unusual projects - more details next post!