A Little Ruined Outpost

    Working on a generic ruined outpost to help me get the feel of what I want to build for my goblin fortress. I started it yesterday after a late lunch. I don't generally like to use the white expanded foam but I got a lot of it on my hands.

    Not anything special but as I said earlier, it's really just to help me visualize how and what to build for my goblin fortress.

-Jim

Moss Bushes

    I'm not sure how well this is going to work, but I figured I'd post the progress anyway.

The first test pieces all dry

    Just little pieces of moss covered (literally saturated) with watered down PVA glue. I'm hoping they'll stay green, but if they don't, I can always try spray painting them.

A shot with some terrain

Another shot with some terrain

Some miniatures for scale

 
    I think they came out well. I have a bunch more of this stuff and I already have some interesting plans for it. ie. small trees, shrubs, berry bushes, stuff like that. Next, I plan to get some Moria terrain done. I still haven't come up with an idea for my goblin fortification so if you guys have any ideas please leave a comment below about it. I'm trying to capture the Lord of the Rings feel to it and I just haven't come up with anything yet.

All the other moss I collected

-James

Blog Update...

    It's been too long since my last post. I have been working on some commission work that I thought was worth posting about. I meant to paint at least a couple more miniatures before I posted but my general use miniature paintbrush just went reptilian on me. (I know, I should have more than one general use brush)  Basically, the bristles won't stay in a point any longer and I can't stand painting with a forked brush. Here's some photos of the first couple miniatures.

    After finishing some commission work, I hope, after getting some ideas, to get to work on some Moria terrain. I haven't decided what I'm going to make yet, but I was thinking some sort of goblin fortification or hideout, something other than rocky outcroppings. I really don't know what it's going to be like yet so ideas and comments would be appreciated. 

-James

Citadel Paint Release

       Yes, I know, I was supposed to post Battle Company photos. Haven't finished them yet. Been working on to many projects at once. Seems like every gamer has got that problem. I'll try to finish them so I can show you guys the team. In the meantime I thought I'd talk about the new paints.

    Recently, Citadel replaced all their old 73 colors with 145 new paints. My first impression was, "What the heck! Just repackaging and renaming all the old paints just as an excuse to up the price on us more!" Thankfully, The price is the same and there is some goodness to the new system. You can watch the video on the GW site.

The New Paint Range

   
    After reading the new paint range article on the GW site I am actually rather pleased with the transition. They released a new How to Paint Citadel Miniatures Book and even released a conversion chart from old to new paints. No, none of the paints are the same color. They are all new formulas.

The New Epic Novel

90 Minute Instructional DVD

    Let me know what you guys think. You should read the GW article before you judge this one because this one looks like a point for GW.

-Jim

Converted Goblin Captain

    Awhile back, I got a cheap set of 24 used goblins. I've been meaning to get some work done on them but I kept putting it off (all of you wargamers know how that is). So the other day, a fellow goblin player, called me up asking me if I could get him a cheap Goblin Captain. I told him yes and after some conversion work I came up with this.

    Really simple conversion. Just an arm swap, shield attachment, head swap, and some green stuff mail and shoulder plates. I'm really pleased with how he came out and I really like how the paint pulled this figure together. I like having, for goblins, simple and effective paint schemes. This was just flat colors covered with a wash and a highlight for the armor.

    That's all I got for now. I have been busy working on some new terrain for some gaming this weekend but I did manage to get some work done on my Battle Company. I'll try and post some pics, hopefully by next weekend and keep you guys updated.

-Jim

Battle Companies

    By the gods!


    Some of you may be familiar with the Battle Companies Rules that Games Workshop released a few years ago. For those of you who aren't, here is a sum up of the present issue.
    
    "A few years ago, Games Workshop introduced an entirely new way of playing their popular wargame, The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game. Published and later updated in the White Dwarf, the Battle Companies rules presented players with the opportunity to build a small warband and then watch that group of warriors grow and improve as fate and the tides of battle allowed. Written as a scenario-driven, skirmish-based game, the SBG rules were perfect for this type of gaming. At one time, rumors of a Battle Companies Expansion were being thrown about. I wrote to Jervis Johnson to inquire about this project and he seemed to indicate that something like this might be in the works. However, months have stretched into years and still there has been no movement on this front, especially with the shift towards larger scale games as indicated in the primacy of the War of the Ring ruleset. To compound matters, the Battle Companies rules are no longer available for download, making it very difficult for players to obtain a copy and even if they could, the rules have not been updated in quite some time."
    
    Well anyway, After I lost my copy of the Battle Companies Rules, (I know, I'm a nut) I surfed the internet for awhile. Then I came across this, battlecompanies.wordpress.com. 
    
    "The intent of this blog is to create, playtest and distribute an entirely new and updated version of Battle Companies to players around the globe. The idea is that this will be a living rulebook, open to expansion and revision as needed. Watch this space for developments, and I look forward to receiving your feedback on the project! "
   
    I immediately started converting models for a warband and intend to keep you updated on its  progress in a series of blog posts. I encourage you guys to check it out and consider making your own warband. It's a great game and is really worth trying out.


-Jim


    Just wanted to say thanks to Jonathan Baker for his adaptation of Battle Companies. Your work is appreciated.

The Beginnings of a Goblin Clan

    Thought you guys might want to see some photos. Taking some advice from El Zorro (Follower) about the, if you only have a single monster he's a pincushion problem, I slightly modified my army list. The biggest change was getting rid of the Dweller in the Dark for two more marauders. I figured since I'm going to be fighting Haradrim, it wasn't worth getting a monster at all. Anyway here are some warrior photos.

A few of my favorites

Group photo

    I got around to experimenting with goblin conversions. None of them are pictured here as they are
 not finished yet but I hope to break up some of the monotony of the figures.

    Just a shout out to Jeremy at chefofwar.blogspot.com about his goblin army and goblin conversion posts. Your blog is appreciated.

-Jim

    I decided not to keep the bases grey but I'm going for the GW dirt look they use on their Lord of the Rings Dwarves and Goblins. So if anyone knows how to paint bases with a resemblance to those, your feedback would be appreciated.

I'm going for bases something like this