Plaid Warrior

Here's a fun Reaper classic... one that I have painted numerous times over the years.

It's interesting to try working on the same exact figure every now and then, as you can try out new colors and techniques, or even see how long it took you to paint it.  That makes it more of a controlled experiment!

Every so often, I try out a new tartan pattern on him, or a different type of foliage.  I actually prepped all of them at the same time years ago, when I was attempting to set up a Slaine RPG group.

That was definitely a very interesting universe, and a truly unique kind of RPG!  None of the super weapons you see in most games, yet very lethal. It was also devoid of the alignment mechanic which tends to make RPG's very boring for me.  There really is no "good and evil" in that system.  You just exist... but probably not for very long!!  ;-)

Keep on Truckin'

As you already know, my focus with the French army has geared itself towards transports.  Chief among these are the Laffly series, which proved to be quite the all purpose vehicle.  They hauled troops, guns, and more!

I already have a few of the official Bolt Action Laffly trucks, but when I saw the array of vehicles available from Mad Bob's Miniatures (yes, you read that correctly)  I just had to dive in and get some for my own French army!

This is the typical Laffly S20TL.  These have already served me quite well, so adding on with the Mad Bob's versions will add just a tiny bit of variety, making them easier to distinguish from one another on the battlefield.

This W15TCC Tank Hunter was even more vital, as Mad Bob is the only manufacturer I know who is producing it in this scale.  I first learned about the effectiveness of these in Flames of War.

Obviously there are differences between the two systems, but the mobility of a medium anti-tank gun for not so many points is significant to say the least!

I also got a standard set piece 47mm anti-tank gun, but our games have shown how easily that anchored gun is placed at a disadvantage quite often.

While I can use the Laffly trucks as a tow for my artillery, I like the idea of having an anti-tank gun which can move 24 inches on a road and still shoot!

Oh, and let's not forget how nice these are.  Prepping them was very easy, and they have proved to be resilient and strong.

These are just the first to arrive from Mad Bob's vehicle factory.  More will certainly be added.

I also have the Citroen Kegresse P19 VDP, which will make an interesting command vehicle. 

I think I mentioned in my last Bolt Action post about how much I am enjoying trucks in general.  While the tanks are fantastic, and lots of fun, there is a certain sense of realism here.  I have seen tanks on bases and in museums, but not generally driving down my street.

I see trucks of all kinds every day, so this factor makes these more near and dear to me. :-)

This shot has a few of my French troops to give you a sense of the scale, which is the same as the Bolt Action version.

Here is Mad Bob's webstore, showing not just the other French vehicles, but everything else too!!

http://www.madbobminiatures.co.uk/shop/4587330661/France

Rumble in the Jungle!

Let's get back to the Jungle with another wonderful figure from the Lizardman team that RN Estudios sent to me.  The figures were sculpted by Txarli Miniatures.

Here's another Saurus, done in that traditional turquoise color scheme.

This was done with a lot of glazing and tinting over an very light teal color.  Even the darkest purple areas were done by repeated glazes of the Reaper Clear paints... mixing the blue and purple together.

The Reaper clear paints make a fantastic glaze, as you can thin them down with water without worrying that they will break up in consistency... and they dry to a wonderful matte finish.  They also have a lot of pigment, so they leave behind a wonderful tint.

There are a number of colors in that set of clear paints... red. magenta, blue, green, yellow and purple.  I really love them!

I even mix them with other glaze colors from Vallejo and Secret Weapon.

Here's a link to the RN Estudios website, with all of the INCREDIBLE teams to see.  I definitely have to get some more of these!

http://rnestudio.webs.com/

Commanding Presence

I know it's been a while since you have seen some Victoria Miniatures here.  That's been a product of playing other games besides 40k... and not because I don't LOVE these fantastic miniatures.

This one was introduced at Adepticon, and I have wanted to paint it ever since.

I could not resist putting the light next to her, in order to provide a little warm back light to all the muted, cooler colors of the uniform.

The pose is one of my favorites.  Very stern, very much in charge... but still relaxed.  Not every figure needs to be scurrying around with its hair on fire. :-)

Check out more of her fantastic figures right on her website:

http://victoriaminiatures.highwire.com/

She's also here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/322173139480?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649

The Mystery Elf

I have no idea where I got this figure... or even who produces it.  I do know that I really liked it, and it was a joy to paint!!

As you can see, I had a lot of fun balancing out the various green hues, trying to work in some reddish browns as well to break that block of green up into more manageable chunks for the viewer :-)

And yes, another Green Stuff World texture roller base!  I had originally thought of doing a forest base for this figure, but there are those times when an adventurer just has to step indoors... into that dungeon or ruined temple!

He's also here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/222168106094?

Passer Rating

Sukubus studios has created a number of really spectacular female blood bowl teams over the last few years... starting with the Succubus team!

This thrower figure is one of my favorites.  What amazed me was not only the highly detailed sculpts, but how solid they were for something that appears so dainty.

Incredibly, they were almost all one piece sculpts!  They were very dynamic poses, and there was a touch of humor and whimsy about each one.

A Solid Foundation

I thought you might like to see a few quick images of the Green Stuff World texture roller bases with some paint on them!

I didn't have to do anything very fancy, as I tried to let the texture itself do all the work :-)

The bases were painted with a few simple light to medium light tones, and then shaded, tinted and weathered with a variety of glazes.

Again, the texture created by the rollers has so much depth and interest, it was a lot of fun to simply let the glazes go where they wanted to.  As you might have seen already... I have a few articles posted on how I used those rollers.

This is an example of the new Mosaic tile roller:

http://wappellious.blogspot.com/2016/06/ancient-history.html

Here's the first miniature that I used with these texture bases.  Nothing like a runic base for a dwarf character!

These are all available from the Green Stuff World home page.

http://www.greenstuffworld.com/en/103-textures-and-molds