Back to Blognia - "Napoleonic" cavalry and randoms

 And now for something completely different.

It's been a while since I looked at the charming principality of Blognia and its wretched inhabitants. While there has been a Blognian army for time immemorial, its main function has been to fight itself in an endless cycle of banditry and civil war. Now that the Arch-Duchess has effectively declared war on the undead, the army is having to actually do something useful.

The cavalryman here is actually an English Civil War soldier, with a crest added from a Napoleonic helmet. I'm not sure where the sword arm came from, and I sculpted him some suitably grandiose epaulettes. The horse's head is from a medieval knight.

The Blognian Cavalry has a long history. Traditionally, many aristocrats have either gone into the cavalry or some kind of mental institution. Indeed, few people have the skill or patience to put up with the notoriously foul-tempered horses, and it is said that the heavy armour cavalrymen wear is largely to protect them from their noble steeds.

That said, the cavalry is not entirely useless. At the tenth battle of the River Plob, the Grand Imperial Lancers charged a unit of Swedish mercenaries, thus turning the course of the battle. Although the River Plob was in the way, the lancers drowned so spectacularly that the rest of the Blognian army was able to retreat in good order. 

Also joining this rider is an infantryman - well, an infantry person, really. Blognia operates a "don't ask, don't tell" policy as far as the gender of it soldiers goes: not out of equal opportunities but because it's desperate for absolutely anyone to sign up. This particular soldier is either unusually disciplined or hasn't had time to lose bits of her uniform and acquire more confortable kit yet.

Here is the entire army unit, so far. 

And here are some crazy pagans. The woman with the massive sword was inspired by a character from the cancelled computer game Fable Legends, which featured a Lady of the Lake armed with an enormous sword. The legs of this model were from a dark eldar mandrake. The arms and head are Frostgrave, and the body was sculpted by me. Overall, a really enjoyable little project.

The person with the antlers is an odd kitbash. The arms and head are from Frostgrave cultists. The body is a Perry Miniatures Afghan. I think he's some kind of deranged cultist, perhaps about to do magic with his raised hand. 

Well, that was fun!

Violins and Vampires

 Back to the charming land of Blognia this week, for a few more miniatures. First of all is a violin player, made by West Wind Productions for their Victorian gothic range. I've had this chap on my desk for months now, and I've never thought he was a very good model. Eventually, I compelled myself to get on with it and paint the guy. I'm actually really pleased by how he came out!

Music plays an important part in distracting the citizens of Blognia from their drab, miserable lives, and it is considered a poor wedding that doesn't last for several days and fails to include either a good band or a knife-fight. Here we seem a travelling player, ready to serenade his employer of the day, and keeping careful watch in case a blood feud breaks out.

I also painted a minor vampire and a couple more minions, to make a small squad. The vampire (he might be a fancy Captain of Guards instead) is a Privateer Press model called Valachev. Privateer Press models vary hugely in quality, but this is one of the newer, better ones, and I really like all the detail on him.

For some reason, it was almost impossible to get a decent picture of this guy. Strange (and really irritating) how some models just won't show up. I added a bird to his base from a GW model, and put him on a slightly raised bit of plasticard stone to show his higher rank.

I also made a few more minions for this chap. these were based on the Perry Miniatures Afghan models, using the guys with boots instead of sandals and the non-turban-wearing heads. The kneeling guy has a head from a Frostgrave soldier.

The many vampires of Blognia are powerful, but they have weaknesses. Almost any revenant of note will employ minions to guard his property, track down his enemies and carry out business that he cannot deal with in the daylight hours. While many of these men are little more than hired bandits, some clans and families have a tradition of helping the undead. The vampire acquires useful assistants who can freely travel in the world of the living, and its helpers get to loot, plunder and look glamorous compared to the other peasants.

A Load of Conversions

 It's nearly Christmas Day, and what could be more festive than some random models I've made out of various sprues? The answer is "almost anything", but that's not going to stop me.

First up, a couple of jolly fellows from the merry land of Blognia. On the left is a peasant girl, made from the ever-reliable Perry Miniatures Afghan sprue. To make her smaller, and turn the model's coat/shirt into a skirt, I cut the feet off above the ankles (as high as possible), and cut off the bottom of the model's baggy trousers. I then drilled two small holes and glued the legs back into them. Her gun is from the Afghans and her head is from Frostgrave with green stuff hair and a shawl-type thing on her waist. 

The satyr is simply a Frostgrave demon. The demons aren't my favourite Frostgrave models, to be honest. They're a too bulky to mix well with other plastics, and they feel a bit cartoony. I get that Frostgrave isn't a horrific game, but they still look rather goofy to me. Anyhow, he's a satyr.

Then, moving to space, we've got a maniac and a sniper. The maniac is a Wargames Atlantic Chinese Boxer soldier body with Frostgrave Cultists 2 head and arms. The Cultists 2 sprue is great, by the way. The sniper has a Bolt Action USMC body, a Stargrave head, and Perry Afghan arms. 

These next two are female soldiers from the Stargrave Mercenaries 2 frame, with arms from the Bolt Action USMC sprue. I really like how they've come out, especially on the random authority figure on the right.

Here are two noir-style private eyes, who I have named Laura Norder and Polly Sofficer. The bodies are Wargames Atlantic Gorgnards, with GW arms. I think the hats came from a Civil War sprue.

And finally, we've got a mystic leader for a Stargrave crew. This guy is an old metal Gates of Antares miniature, with a Stargrave Scavenger head. While Antares never seemed to take off, and the models weren't very exciting, a few of them are really nice. 

And that's it for now! I hope you have a very Merry Christmas, and get all the models you hoped for. Thanks for reading and see you soon!

Two More Monks!

 Following on from last week's post, here are two more Westwind Productions monks with torches, painted with object source lighting. Despite a lot of mould lines in annoying places, they were very enjoyable to paint, and I even started to like doing the OSL, against my better judgment. 

Monk squad assemble!

Two Monks - Experimenting with Object Source Lighting

 A quick post, this time. Ages ago I bought a load of Westwind figures off ebay, and I've been slowly painting them over the last year or two. I had four monks, each of them equipped with a torch and hand weapon. The models are decent enough but old-fashioned and have a lot of flash on them, so I thought that I'd use them as a chance to test out a new technique: object source lighting.

This is something that I find pretty hard. The main trick seems to be to paint the model as usual and then to drybrush on a dark yellow/ochre colour, to show where the light would catch on the miniature. Then, you paint on the OSL bits, using the drybrush as a guide. At least, in theory. It's quite cumbersome and I'd be interested to know if there's an easier way of doing it. It's also hard to work out where to finish the light effect, and of course painting over your earlier work is daunting.

Anyhow, here are the first two monks. I think they've come out fairly well, although I can't help but think that something is "missing". I'm not sure what, though.

Three More Yokels

 A quick post as - very gradually - I chip into the mountain of unpainted stuff (probably just prior to buying some more). Here are a few more citizens of Blognia.

The man on the left is an old man with a dog. He's from Black Scorpion's Wild West line, although I think he could be a farmer from pretty much any time at all. I really like the model, especially the dog (even if it does look a bit worried). He was very difficult to photograph, and looks much better in the flesh.

The lady in the middle is a hedge wizard, wearing traditional Blognian dress. Actually, she's an apprentice from Frostgrave. She is reading out a spell from her book - I managed to paint a small star in the book, but it's probably impossible to see.

The taller woman on the right is... well, she's a pirate, from Black Scorpion. I think she's meant not to be wearing any trousers, but that looked utterly ridiculous, so now she's got some britches. While I really like the sculpting of Black Scorpion models, they often seem to have a very slightly rough texture, that might be to do with the way that they're cast (this is pure speculation). 

That's it for this week. I'm very slowly chipping away at some cars for Dark Future/Gaslands, but more of that later. I'll save those up for one big post.

Back to Blognia - Peasants and Vampires

 Right then, more Blognians!

The great majority of Blognians are part of the rural peasantry. Despite the modernising efforts of the Duchess, most of the population remains in the countryside. The peasantry remain friendly and welcoming - provided you are also a peasant, and preferably a blood relation of marriable age.

Many peasants are the retainers and bondsmen of their liege lords and, even if not literally owned by them anymore, remain touchingly and stupidly loyal to their feudal masters. As well as the traditional crafts of moustache-growing and vendetta, the peasants also help the undead with tasks that cannot be carried out by creatures who avoid the sun and have no reflection. That said, in these tumultuous times, some peasants have banded together to overthrow their vampiric masters. Vampire-hunting is big business in modern Blognia, and the peasants want a stake in it.

Here are three peasant fighters. They're made from Frostgrave Ghost Archipelago crewmen. I cut the hand of the bearded man and turned it a little, to open the model out a bit, but otherwise they're unconverted.

And this is an old metal GW Strigoi vampire model. It's got weirdly little feet and is in a slightly strange position, but the face is cool and I like this rather feral style of vampire.

And here is a whole unit of peasants, or possibly brigands, equipped for some kind of uprising. I'm surprised how colourful they are: that wasn't my original plan, but what the heck. I rather like it.

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.

*

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!