If you haven't checked out Terrainaholoic's YouTube Channel, you should. And you should also subscribe to it. Lots of inspiration even if you don't make terrain for your games.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Hordes of the Things Battle Photo
I had a tough battle early this week against the combined forces of the Green Knights and Doctor Who armies. Yes, HotTs can get rather eclectic that way. The mighty Dwarf army was defending a territory that was ultimately lost but the attackers paid a decently steep price for the privilege. Losses were even though I lost the battle and the region. Now those allied forces threaten my capitol even as I am threatening their capitol several regions away.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Hordes of the Things - Dwarf Army (Part Five)
As I said in the opening to part one of this series, I love the flexibility of Hordes of the Things, particularly for building a miniatures army. Wargames Research Group did a great thing revamping their De Bellis Antiquitatis rules, originally to be used for Ancient (and Medieval) wargaming but revised for fantasy battles. The beauty of their rules for me is, in part, being able to pick and choose from across many miniatures lines to build a unique army with its own particular flavor. To that end I am building my Dwarf army.
With most of the bigger Elements already revealed, this time I'll post about one of the two Heroes I have included in this Hordes of the Things Dwarf army build. As I have mentioned, one of the advantages of not being locked into choosing only from one miniatures line is the creativty in how you paint and base each element. There are also creative choices to make in simply choosing the figure, such as what I've done by choosing the cyclops for a Behemoth Element. For one of my Hero Elements I chose an old Heritage Miniatures model of a Frost Giant from their Conan line.
He has a decidely Dwarvish appearance and, taking my cue from Terry Pratchett's "Carrot" character, someone raised by Dwarves and very much believing himself to be a Dwarf despite being Human, I thought it would be humorous if a Frost Giant passed himself off as a Dwarf.
Of course, the Dwarves all think he's just the biggest Dwarf they have ever seen and naturally he rose through the military ranks to become a great Hero in the army.
It's a straightforward paint job, making sure to incorporate some of the blue theme that I have chosen to hold this army's paint scheme together, to anchor the look across the whole army.
I'll do some more with the base once all of the Elements are in place, to ensure they also have a uniform appearance. Maybe I'll even throw a little blod on the axe before it's done.
With most of the bigger Elements already revealed, this time I'll post about one of the two Heroes I have included in this Hordes of the Things Dwarf army build. As I have mentioned, one of the advantages of not being locked into choosing only from one miniatures line is the creativty in how you paint and base each element. There are also creative choices to make in simply choosing the figure, such as what I've done by choosing the cyclops for a Behemoth Element. For one of my Hero Elements I chose an old Heritage Miniatures model of a Frost Giant from their Conan line.
He has a decidely Dwarvish appearance and, taking my cue from Terry Pratchett's "Carrot" character, someone raised by Dwarves and very much believing himself to be a Dwarf despite being Human, I thought it would be humorous if a Frost Giant passed himself off as a Dwarf.
Of course, the Dwarves all think he's just the biggest Dwarf they have ever seen and naturally he rose through the military ranks to become a great Hero in the army.
It's a straightforward paint job, making sure to incorporate some of the blue theme that I have chosen to hold this army's paint scheme together, to anchor the look across the whole army.
I'll do some more with the base once all of the Elements are in place, to ensure they also have a uniform appearance. Maybe I'll even throw a little blod on the axe before it's done.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Hordes of the Things - Dwarf Army (Part Four)
As I said in the opening to part one of this series, I love the flexibility of Hordes of the Things, particularly for building a miniatures army. Wargames Research Group did a great thing revamping their De Bellis Antiquitatis rules, originally to be used for Ancient (and Medieval) wargaming but revised for fantasy battles. The beauty of their rules for me is, in part, being able to pick and choose from across many miniatures lines to build a unique army with its own particular flavor. To that end I am building my Dwarf army.
I've always liked keeping a Dragon on the roster of Elements for a Hordes of the Things army. I don't always use them, but having them as a potential threat and just for the fun of it seems like a good idea. Plus, I like the way they look and their presence just screams "fantasy army" to me. To that end, I made sure to include one on my Dwarf army roster, too. I've had a more than a couple of different dragon figures over the years and have many currently. For this usage, I needed one that would fit fairly well on a 60mm by 80mm base. Often, I have noticed, dragon figures used for HotTs armies tend to overwhelm a base of this size. While I don't like them to sprawl out over the front or sides, I don't mind if the tail prevents other elements from contacting the rear flank, though by the rules they can and certainly if an opponent wished to do so it would happen even if they had to set their own element off a bit to accomplish the combat attack during gameplay.
Nevertheless, I chose from my figures a Reaper Shadow Dragon which I had previously painted up as of the copper variety. I decided for this Dwarf army to repaint it as a gold dragon and do something special with the base.
It took very little effort to slather the figure in gold over the copper (and the undertones worked for the shading), but I stepped it up using a red-gold mix to bring out even more darkness underneath.
The real fun part was enhancing the base. Using some crystal gems/diamonds picked up at Hobby Lobby in a large bin, I used the flat mirrored sides to appear as platinum coins and arranged them as a hoard.
I also deconstructed some costume jewelry to garner a number of fake gems to add to the wealth beneath the dragon.
As you can see, the tail sticks out beyond the base but not egregiously so.
It took some time to place all of the individual coins and not have them extend beyond the base but it was worth the effort for the effect, IMO.
I love how this one turned out and I feel it really looks good on the tabletop for play.
I've always liked keeping a Dragon on the roster of Elements for a Hordes of the Things army. I don't always use them, but having them as a potential threat and just for the fun of it seems like a good idea. Plus, I like the way they look and their presence just screams "fantasy army" to me. To that end, I made sure to include one on my Dwarf army roster, too. I've had a more than a couple of different dragon figures over the years and have many currently. For this usage, I needed one that would fit fairly well on a 60mm by 80mm base. Often, I have noticed, dragon figures used for HotTs armies tend to overwhelm a base of this size. While I don't like them to sprawl out over the front or sides, I don't mind if the tail prevents other elements from contacting the rear flank, though by the rules they can and certainly if an opponent wished to do so it would happen even if they had to set their own element off a bit to accomplish the combat attack during gameplay.
Nevertheless, I chose from my figures a Reaper Shadow Dragon which I had previously painted up as of the copper variety. I decided for this Dwarf army to repaint it as a gold dragon and do something special with the base.
It took very little effort to slather the figure in gold over the copper (and the undertones worked for the shading), but I stepped it up using a red-gold mix to bring out even more darkness underneath.
The real fun part was enhancing the base. Using some crystal gems/diamonds picked up at Hobby Lobby in a large bin, I used the flat mirrored sides to appear as platinum coins and arranged them as a hoard.
I also deconstructed some costume jewelry to garner a number of fake gems to add to the wealth beneath the dragon.
As you can see, the tail sticks out beyond the base but not egregiously so.
It took some time to place all of the individual coins and not have them extend beyond the base but it was worth the effort for the effect, IMO.
I love how this one turned out and I feel it really looks good on the tabletop for play.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Games Plus Floyd and his Creations (Part One)
For those who go to the Games Plus gamestore in Mount Prospect, IL, Floyd is likely no stranger. Those who know him also know he is a fine craftsman of terrain and a top-notch miniatures painter. He often puts his creations up for sale in the tall glass display case where staff and customer creations of note are for sale. I took some photos of a recent addition to the display, a watch tower. It's scratch-built and he has told me its core structure is a CD container. It's based well and excellently painted. If you are ever in the store, be sure to check out his work, and pick something up for your own game table while you are there.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Hordes of the Things - Dwarf Army (Part Three)
As I said in the opening to part one of this series, I love the flexibility of Hordes of the Things, particularly for building a miniatures army. Wargames Research Group did a great thing revamping their De Bellis Antiquitatis rules, originally to be used for Ancient (and Medieval) wargaming but revised for fantasy battles. The beauty of their rules for me is, in part, being able to pick and choose from across many miniatures lines to build a unique army with its own particular flavor. To that end I am building my Dwarf army.
I didn't have a Behemoth in my original army build but wanted some extra punch. So after turn three when some adjustments were allowed per the campaign rules developed by Jeff of Games Plus though based on the simple campaign rules in the HotT rule set, I began looking around for a suitable figure. People probably won't find this a coincidence that when I noticed a dusty box with a reduced price on the GP shelves I was drawn toward it. When I discovered just what it was, I couldn't resist buying it.
This one has been around for a while, and though Emperors Choice still make a cyclops , the new one is a very different sculpt from this beauty by John Bager for their Giants of Arduin Series.
As soon as I saw it, I naturally thought of Ray Harryhausen, then I bought it. Thankfully, it had been marked down, since it was a discontinued sculpt. As you can see, it is a good sized mini. I've got it glued to a 60mm x 60mm base, as per the Hordes of the Things rules, so obviously it is over four inches tall, and easily dwarfs (yup, went there) the other figures in the army.
I painted it fairly close to the picture on the box, though with slightly darker skin tones and a lighter horn for contrast.
I'm also very pleased at how the fur on the shoulders and the legs looks too.
I didn't have a Behemoth in my original army build but wanted some extra punch. So after turn three when some adjustments were allowed per the campaign rules developed by Jeff of Games Plus though based on the simple campaign rules in the HotT rule set, I began looking around for a suitable figure. People probably won't find this a coincidence that when I noticed a dusty box with a reduced price on the GP shelves I was drawn toward it. When I discovered just what it was, I couldn't resist buying it.
This one has been around for a while, and though Emperors Choice still make a cyclops , the new one is a very different sculpt from this beauty by John Bager for their Giants of Arduin Series.
As soon as I saw it, I naturally thought of Ray Harryhausen, then I bought it. Thankfully, it had been marked down, since it was a discontinued sculpt. As you can see, it is a good sized mini. I've got it glued to a 60mm x 60mm base, as per the Hordes of the Things rules, so obviously it is over four inches tall, and easily dwarfs (yup, went there) the other figures in the army.
I painted it fairly close to the picture on the box, though with slightly darker skin tones and a lighter horn for contrast.
It's hard to tell in these photos but the eye turned out well with some nice bloodshot lines.
I'm also very pleased at how the fur on the shoulders and the legs looks too.
Admittedly, there was a little more green stuff needed for the gaps than I would normally care to use but it worked out well and the base should come along fine with a few more rocks and some flocking after I spritz it with some matte finish.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Hordes of the Things - Dwarf Army (Part Two)
Allow me to reiterate that I love the flexibility of Hordes of the Things, particularly for building a miniatures army. Wargames Research Group did a great thing revamping their De Bellis Antiquitatis rules, originally to be used for Ancient (and Medieval) wargaming but revised for fantasy battles. The beauty of their rules for me is, in part, being able to pick and choose from across many miniatures lines to build a unique army with its own particular flavor. To that end I am building my Dwarf army.
One of the most creative parts of building an army for HotTs is coming up with a Stronghold idea. Most are representational though you can certainly build one to scale with the army you field, these often coming in the form of a camp. For my Dwarf army, I used some miscellaneous parts attached to a standard 80mm x 120mm base. The idea for it began when I picked up some loose Stratego: Legends (1999) castle game pieces I found. I added some trimmed plant stakes I picked up garage saling.
And the rest of the Stronghold developed as I pieced it all together.
I made a semicircle with the castle pieces.
Then built up a platform in the center with some foamcore board.
I ran some beams across the top, over the foamcore board, so it had a wooden platform, the foamcore acting only as a structural base for the wood pieces.
I added some guard rails aroound the platform.
I lined the back with vertical joists.
Then finished off the structure with some spiky defenses.
I primed the whole thing black and drybrushed the castle pieces with a few descendingly-light gray-toned paints.
Painting the wooden stake-pieces dark brown, which were purchased with green stain already on them, I went over them again with some lighter brown to bring out the natural woodgrain. It's a fairly simple design and while the wooden portions took some time to cut uniformly, it wasn't very difficult. I may add some lichen to dress up the base but it is perfectly playable as is. Just as a contrast, here is an even simpler Stronghold, though not for this army, that I threw together with garage sale finds.
You can't get more simple than this. It's a Christmas tree ornament, a clear plaster church with the blinking lights guts pulled out and the little crossed removed from over the door. That's glued to a five-inch-by-five-inch glass base with a piece of white felt glued underneath to represent snow or ice. It took all of five minutes to construct and the pieces cost maybe two dollars but for all that it looks great. I used it in a Pathfinder game as a marker for a Druid's house that was visited by a party of player characters, just to have something on the table. By contrast, a more intricate Stronghold that serves as a Fortress, essentially a fortified Stronghold with more defensive oomph, is currently under construction for the Dwarf army. I'll blog about the one when it is complete, or closer to it.
One of the most creative parts of building an army for HotTs is coming up with a Stronghold idea. Most are representational though you can certainly build one to scale with the army you field, these often coming in the form of a camp. For my Dwarf army, I used some miscellaneous parts attached to a standard 80mm x 120mm base. The idea for it began when I picked up some loose Stratego: Legends (1999) castle game pieces I found. I added some trimmed plant stakes I picked up garage saling.
And the rest of the Stronghold developed as I pieced it all together.
I made a semicircle with the castle pieces.
Then built up a platform in the center with some foamcore board.
I ran some beams across the top, over the foamcore board, so it had a wooden platform, the foamcore acting only as a structural base for the wood pieces.
I added some guard rails aroound the platform.
I lined the back with vertical joists.
Then finished off the structure with some spiky defenses.
I primed the whole thing black and drybrushed the castle pieces with a few descendingly-light gray-toned paints.
Painting the wooden stake-pieces dark brown, which were purchased with green stain already on them, I went over them again with some lighter brown to bring out the natural woodgrain. It's a fairly simple design and while the wooden portions took some time to cut uniformly, it wasn't very difficult. I may add some lichen to dress up the base but it is perfectly playable as is. Just as a contrast, here is an even simpler Stronghold, though not for this army, that I threw together with garage sale finds.
You can't get more simple than this. It's a Christmas tree ornament, a clear plaster church with the blinking lights guts pulled out and the little crossed removed from over the door. That's glued to a five-inch-by-five-inch glass base with a piece of white felt glued underneath to represent snow or ice. It took all of five minutes to construct and the pieces cost maybe two dollars but for all that it looks great. I used it in a Pathfinder game as a marker for a Druid's house that was visited by a party of player characters, just to have something on the table. By contrast, a more intricate Stronghold that serves as a Fortress, essentially a fortified Stronghold with more defensive oomph, is currently under construction for the Dwarf army. I'll blog about the one when it is complete, or closer to it.
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