Throwback Thursday: Low Life

On Sunday my rpg group and I finished off our Low Life campaign, which has been running for about a year. In that time we had a load of silly, flatulent adventures and the group got to meet a broad cast of ridiculous characters.

I had hoped that the Low Life miniatures line, which I bought into on Kickstarter, would be in my hands by the time we started the game. As it turns out, a year later and with the game now finished, I have only received a small portion of miniatures I paid for. I don't think I'm being slowly ripped off, and I'm confident I will get my figures eventually, but it's too late to use them in my game now.

Anyway, here are some of the miniatures I received that fit a slot in the game, and which I* painted up:

From left to right: a Horc, a Werm, and a Cremefillian (*painted by Grace)

Grace played a Cremefillian descended from ancient Snowball stock, and so there wasn't an appropriate miniature for her. Instead, she needle felted one for her Cremefillian and her pet Contanimatronic Minion:

Ma Petite Bonbon and Minion

I'm sorry to see Low Life come to an end, because we had a blast playing it, but I think everybody was pretty much ready to move on to something new. Here's to the memory of MPB, Shae, Rectus, Ribcracka, Xozz, Shitsticks, and Rhinoceloptapus!

Throwback Thursday: The Ol' West

My original intention in starting this blog (or, as I call it, my phlog) was to document the miniatures that I have painted, mainly so I have a record of what's hiding in all those plastic shelf sets in my closet. I haven't felt constrained by that intention at any point - I'm perfectly happy posting battle reports or capsule reviews or whatever, and I have done so.

In keeping with my original motivation, though, I decided to start posting photos of some of the figures that I have painted either before I started this phlog, or that never made it on here for one reason or another - one offs, role-playing figures, and other odds and ends. So I'll aim for one post a week, showcasing some figures I have in reserve.

This week, have two sets of Black Scorpion (I think?) Old West figures. One set is a group of western ladies, and the other set is a bunch of rough, and possibly drunk, cowboy types. I got these figures just to paint them, with no game in mind, and they were a ton of fun.

LAV III In Afghanistan - Finished

After having endured the dirty looks of my LAV model for the last 6 months, I finally got back to the diorama this week and finished it off. There was actually very little to do, at least when viewed against the project as a whole, but I had other things on my mind (as you can see on this phlog).

Here it is, all together at last!

Hadwin Returns

Last night I reprised the Saga scenario I reported on here. This was the last Trumpeter meeting before the convention at the end of March, and I wanted to have one more go at it before I host the game there.

As is normal in Saga, it was a bloodbath. The result was very close - the Picts resigned close to the end of the allotted time, but I think the VPs would have been close to even, despite the casualties.

Vikings mass on one side of the river, Picts on the other.

The first band of Viking Warriors race across the ford and attack the
 Picts in and around the near building, but are rebuffed 
without casualties on either side.

Reinforcements from the neighbouring farm race across the farmstead to engage the Vikings on their left.

More Vikings fight across the river, but the Picts hold fast and prevent them from gaining a foothold on the near bank.

The Viking Warlord enters the ford, while his Berserkers
slog across through the deeper water.

A band of Viking Hearthguard achieve the far side of the bank, but the Pict Warlord and his Hearthguard race forward
on ponies to intercept.

On the other flank, the Vikings have smashed the defending Pict Levy and gained the bank.

The Pict reinforcements race to stop the Vikings.

The Vikings have destroyed a unit of Pict Warriors and surge across the ford, but the Pict Warlord and his Hearthguard
still stand between them and the main building.

The Viking and Pict Warlords face each other at the bank.

The Pict Warlord and his reduced Hearthguard still hold fast on the other side.

The Viking Warlord and his berserkers manage to kill the Pict Warlord.

In the final act of the Saga, the Pict Warlord and the Viking Warlord exchange blows over several activations,
but the Viking eventually manages to slay the Pict and the Picts surrender.

Hospitaller Hearthguard complete, project done!

Last night I put the finishing touches on my 2 units of Hospitaller mounted Hearthguard for Saga: Crescent & Cross, gloss varnished them, matte sprayed them, and took some photos.

As with the standard bearer, I was unsure about adding pennants to the knights' lances, but it serves as a good way to distinguish the Hearthguard from the Warriors - and as a nice visual indicator to my opponent that they are in really big trouble.

I used wire spears on these guys again, and I'm much happier with these than the cast pewter spears that came with the unit. They will be less prone to bending, and they are properly stabby. Don't go reaching for my miniatures without due consideration, or you're likely to end up perforated.



With these guys finished, my 15mm C&C warband is complete. I have figures enough to field any reasonable size force, with good flexibility to refine the composition as I learn the particulars of the force in the game. The Saga rules regarding miniatures are loose enough that I could field any of my figures as Warriors or Hearthguard, depending on how big a unit I want and how many points I want to use up.

Here's a (slightly dark) photo of the whole force together:

From front to back, I have:

- Warlords, a priest, and a trumpeter;
- Two units of mounted Hearthguard and the standard;
- Two units of foot Warriors with spears and one with crossbows;
- Pilgrims and two units of mounted Warriors.