Song of Blades and Heroes: Special Challenge

My buddy Sky showed me this amazing thread on the Lead Adventure Forum. It was an odd coincidence, because my other buddy Rico and I had just played a test game of SBH on Sunday using my old 1st ed. version of the rules. When I looked the LAF thread a blazing light bulb went off above my head. I immediately sent an e-mail out to a half dozen potentially interested parties in my gaming circle.

What if we got a SBH campaign together, and all of warbands had to come from unpainted figures from our current backlogs? The only restrictions being that the figures be loosely fantasy in nature, and 28mm (or larger for monsters). Well, it didn't take long before I had a half-dozen takers for the project. So I promptly purchased PDF copies of the latest version of SBH and the related fantasy supplements from Ganesha Games.

So last night, after devouring Indian buffet and mowing the lawn, I began pawing through my backlog, looking for a theme. When I came across my previously untouched box of Lord of the Rings Corsairs of Umbar, it hit me. Sinbad! No, not the marginally talented comedian and actor, but rather the awesome Ray Harryhausen fantasy flicks of the 1960's and 1970's! So after selecting some of my favorite Corsair models, I then proceeded to fill out my crew of Arabian adventurers and pirates with some other models. So in the next few weeks I will detail the painting and subsequent games with Siddiq and his motley band.

Here's what they look like in the "raw":




And a closer look at the principals:



Captain Siddiq, dashing leader of the band! GW LotR Corsair of Umbar.




Nimr the Tiger, Siddiq's right-hand man. GW LotR Corsair of Umbar.



Rami and Musab, the crew's best shots! GW LotR Corsairs of Umbar.




Vizier Barakah, master of strange magics! Metal Magic Arab trader.



Ayman and Farid, sailors and swordsmen! Wargames Foundry Afghans.





Prince Kasim, the cursed! I think this is a Eureka minis baboon.



Jasim, Genie of Ophir, reluctant servant of the Vizier! This is an old Grenadier Genie.


Can't wait to get some paint on these guys! In the next post I will talk more about the scene of the battles, and how we'll make so many disparate fantasy themes come together in a neat way.


--Scott

Fang Worm Re-Paint

Another Mage Knight re-paint today; this time it's the Fang Worm, a very cool monster. He'll make an excellent RPG encounter, I think.









--Scott

Mage Knight Re-Purposed

I've always maintained that there are a lot of great, usable figures left over from the CMG boom of the 2000's. Case in point, Mage Knight. This line is a treasure trove of great skirmish and role-play minis in 28mm, and some of the non-human figures are well suited for use in smaller scale games like HOTT. Today I'm showing off two MK figures from a recent batch I got on eBay. These are the Technomancer and the Khamsin Pistoleer. Both will make great NPC's for my Savage Worlds pulp game I am currently running.

Here's what I managed for re-paints on these figures:






























The Technomancer was converted by cutting the staff hand off at the wrist and adding a GW plastic hand with a techno bit in it. He'll also be useful for Dark Heresy.

I've got a lot of MK models sitting around waiting for re-purposing, and I will be sure to share more in future installments!

--Scott

Galactic War I Preview: Mercantile Collective

Another GWI preview gives us a closer look at the Mercantile Collective minis. These guys possess vast resources and have the closest ties to aliens of any of the human factions.



--Scott

They Came From My Backlog!!!

Sounds like a bad horror movie, but no, they're just a few figures I had languishing in my backlog. The first is a little seen, limited release figure from Pinnacle (the folks who did Deadlands and Hell On Earth, and who now do Savage Worlds). When they released Hell On Earth way back in 1998 or so, they had a special offer with a t-shirt and 4 - 6 limited edition miniatures. This is one of those minis, sculpted by the inimitable Bob Naismith!









The pics are a bit blurry, but in the game this figure is a gun-toting rad-mutant, and one of the "iconic" characters for the game. A very cool and dynamic figure that will work well as a PC in any number of Pulp or sci-fi games.

Next up, a lone Shield Drone from the SuperFigs line. This little guys was just sitting in a pile of stuff on my painting desk and I had a spare half hour on Saturday, so I whipped him out and voila, instant automaton companion!









--Scott

More Pulp Goodness

Last post I showed off the Tool Bots from Reaper. This time around I have another Chronoscope figure, Willy Brassbender, and some close-up shots of that Parroom Station Pulp scientist.

Here's Willy:



And here are some shots of the pulp scientist:








This guy has been a player character and an NPC in several pulp RPG's--most recently last night's Savage Worlds game.

--Scott

Tool Bots!

Now for something completely different! I painted these cute little guys up for a Savage Worlds game this weekend. They're the Tool Bots from the Reaper Chronoscope line, and I've had them since they came out more than a year ago, so it felt good to get them painted up.



That's a Parroom Station mini in the background of the above shot. One of the best "steam punk" minis ever made, IMHO.

Galactic War I Preview: Universalists

The Universalists are the most spiritual faction among the five core human armies in the game. They feature powerful psychics who can use their abilities to get around heavily armored opponents.



Next up, the Mercantile Collective.

--Scott

Heavy Gear: Golems (Red Alpha Squad)

The latest addition to my Heavy Gear Edenite forces, I like to call these guys "The Firemen". They're a Veteran Alpha Golem squad, and I have two more to add to the unit to bring them up to a full 6-strong status.


















Two more for this unit, then on to my second unit of Betas.

--Scott