Oni Villains for 'Hametsu'

Back to my Hametsu project. Here are five Oni demons to pit as villains against our intrepid heroes. This is the the first group of five.

I wanted a motley bunch of rogues for the Oni, thinking they should all be unique in their overall look. Thankfully, there are a load of Oni models available on Myminifactory, so I was fairly spoiled for choice.

I printed these at 40mm to make them more opposing when set against the character figures which are around 30-35mm. The red edge on the base is to denote their 180 degree field of vision in the game.

Thanks for popping in. I hope you have a great weekend!

- Curt

10mm Warhammer Fantasy Goblins

For the past few years our local gaming group has been using a fantasy variant of  'To the Strongest' for our 'Old World' of Warhammer games. We've been enjoying a hotly contested map campaign since last spring which is now drawing to its nail-biting conclusion. The hustle-bustle of the campaign has encouraged us to add units to our existing forces, and as a result here we have the Goblins benefitting from this surge in industry on my part. All the models are from Green Skin Miniatures.

In our campaign the Goblins are the spoiler force, run by the GM (me) to add a bit of friction to the players' plans. The little blighters invariably get creamed, but its always fun to see them in action. 

Any self-respecting Goblin commander knows that he needs hordes of infantry, so here we have two fresh mobs of Night Goblins to bolster the Greenskin line of battle.

The combination of 10mm figures and larger bases allowed me to have a little fun in composing the units. As Night Goblins like to imbibe on trippy mushrooms from time to time (meaning ALL the time), I thought a cluster here and there of narcotic fungi would be apropos. 

The next Night Goblin regiment is benefitting from the enthusiastic support of a Snotling Pump Wagon. (If 'support' means getting crushed into red paste by a huge spiked roller.) With friends like these, who needs... Well, nevermind.

So, if one Snotling Pump Wagon is good then a whole unit must be the cat's pyjamas.  Toot! Toot! Parp! Parp!

A battery of Bolt Throwers keen to miss everything they aim at and perhaps hit something they didn't.

Goblin wolf riders doing, you know, wolfy and ridery things.

A horde of hungry Squigs being cajoled and chivied along by their Night Goblin overseers. I had a bit of fun printing squigs in various scales to give the unit more of a unformed look.

And finally, a Goblin commander proudly watching his horde (just before it breaks down into internecine bickering and complete chaos).   

Thanks for popping by!

- Curt

Japanese terrain for 'Hametsu'

I figure a new game requires new terrain, so here are some tabletop additions for our ongoing 'Hametsu' adventures.

First up is a Japanese family grave. I understand from my reading that these grave markers are called Haka. In doing a bit of research I found that they often are adorned with flowers, incense, and sometimes have these long, elegant wood planks called sotōba. These boards would be inscribed with the names of the deceased and set beside the formal stone markers. I've done a somewhat crude facsimile of sotōba using thick paper, scribed with ersatz kanji, stained and then glued into place.  3d models from Terratribe Scenery.

These bamboo barriers are from Village Hope Miniatures. I thought they'd add a bit of colour and texture to our miniature streets and alleyways. I used this picture I found online as a reference for painting.

I really liked the look of this whimsical little tea 'cart' from CobraMode. 

I thought it would serve nicely as a 'Loot Marker', or perhaps just as an interesting little accent for the tabletop. 

Several of the scenarios in 'Hametsu' are set within built-up urban environments, so I figured that some formal walls were in order. These are 3d prints from Making Tlon which I've scaled to fit my figures. These were started prior to the Challenge but now benefit from a few extra sections, a good highlight and some cleaning up, so I'll claim them as my 'Overdue & Returns' entry. I decided not to glue the wall sections together as they look alright separately, and it allows me to store them away more easily (I think I can go out on a limb and say storage is a going concern for many of us in the hobby).

Thanks for dropping by!

- Curt

Fantasy figures for 'Forbidden Psalm'

Hi All,

We had a rollicking game of 'Forbidden Psalm' this past Friday for which I blitzed a few figures for the scenario. Being jazzed on the fun I managed to get a couple extra done this weekend.

First up are three 'Disembowelled Ghouls'. These marvellously manky mooks are from Knucklebone Miniatures. I regret to say that no fancy lotions or skin serums are going to help these lads.

Three 'Sock Goblins' from Westphalia Miniatures. I particularly like the guy with the dirty sock pulled over his honker, taking a big snort.

A group of poor deaduns from Vae Victus Miniatures. An admittedly fast and choppy paintjob. *cringes* In my defence, I figure they're dead and aren't really meant to look their best.

Three doughty adventurers ready to go dungeon traipsing. We have: 'Tim the Torchbearer', 'Cathcart the Cat Catcher' and 'Gundalf the Fire Wizard' (with his trusty 'Wand of .45 Magic Missiles'). I really enjoyed working on all these figures, especially the pink boa for Gundalf (I envision him as a fearless, fashion-forward kind of guy). Tim and Gundalf are Knucklebone designs, while Cathcart is from Collective Studio.

And finally the big punchline to last Friday's adventure: 'The Corpse Collector'! His jam is that after he slaps you around for a bit, he swipes you up and impales you up on his Thule Corpse Rack (TM). This way he keeps you fresh for future road nibbles. I know, eewww! This big boy is from PrintYourMonsters.

Thanks for popping in for a peak!

- Curt

Characters from 'The School of Strength'

Here is my last trio of heroes for 'Hametsu'. These are the archetypes from the 'School of Strength': the Gaijin, the Sumo and the iconic masterless Ronin.

Similar to most of my other figures for this project, these are 3d prints that I sourced from MyMiniFactory and Thingiverse.

I really enjoyed working on all three of these models as they are so evocative of the period and very well designed. My hat's off to the sculptors. 

The Gaijin ('outsider' or 'foreigner) is based from a Renaissance Spanish rodelero which I thought would work nicely since the Portuguese were the first Europeans to make contact with the Japanese in the 16th century. 

I was thinking of what kind of colours to do him in and found some great images of the Papal Swiss Guard in their red, buff and blue livery which I thought that was perfect. I imagine him a lost Guardsman, perhaps the bodyguard of a Jesuit, or perhaps a Prince of the Church, stranded in Japan and making the best of his lot.  

For a bit of fun I added a Japanese lamellar spaulder to protect his right shoulder. I was thinking of giving him the distinctive leg faulds as well, but didn't want to hide his fancy European trousers (it's all about cutting a dash, right.). Model by PeculiarCompanions.

The Sumo was fun to do as well. I wanted to make sure I did a decent job on his skin as, um, there's a lot of it being that he's a big boi! I also really wanted to give him a tattoo, but wasn't confident on my freehand bush skills to do a dragon, so I used two rose decals from an old Sisters of Battle sheet, which give a close approximation to chrysanthemums. Done. 

There is an armoured version of the Sumo which I may do later to reflect the progression of the character - but that will be for another day. Figure by The Dragon Trappers Lodge.

The Ronin is one of my favourite figures of the series. Such a wonderfully dynamic pose, with him giving his all with his terrifying nodachi two-hander. Somebody's going to have a real bad day with this fella in front of them. 

I also really like the texture of the sculpt, with the deep folds in his trousers, his sinewy musculature and the spikiness of his hair and beard. A ferocious character to be sure.

And to close, here is the wrap up shot of all nine characters for the heroes.

Thanks for dropping in for a look!

- Curt