Nod Teaplanter and Gloria

Nod Teaplanter (yes, those Teaplanters!) and his mount Gloria (left), join Tubby Tinkerpot and Reginald on my slowly coming together Hairfoot Jousting team! As I came to paint both of them with red shirts, I've decided to name the team 'The Redjackets' after that nasty variety of wasp often seen during the summer, especially in southern parts of the Sod. 

After ten years of writing games, this might be the first time I'll have a bespoke team to put on the field before the game comes out! Maybe... probably... I've got 10 days until the UK release to get one more member of the team painted.

Warrior Priestess

I have finished the first 'hero' for my Dungeon Crawler, a warrior priestess from Reaper Miniatures. This figures is cast in the new Bones USA material, and I've got to say, I was seriously impressed by both the amount of detail and the crispness of the casting. She took me about 50% longer to paint than a normal mini, but I think the effort was worthwhile. Every party needs a cleric, and she looks like she can bring the pain to monsters while providing healing spells for the good guys. 

The Dungeon Grows!

I've finished up a few more pieces of my dungeon. It's not a fast process, but the end results are extremely satisfying. I've got my first small room as well as my first T-junction. Now that I've got a room, I can really see how the doors work. I was a bit worried about how they would sit on the table, but, actually, they are working great. 

The biggest challenge of the project now is trying not to rush it. Keep it slow and steady, adding pieces here and there, trying to make each one as best I can, and enjoying the process. Do a couple of tiles - paint a few minis. Might paint up a hero next!

The Ogre Advances

In the dim light of the pub, the Ogre MkIII advances, while its commander carefully checks the maximum range on the enemy howitzer. 

I was quite excited to get this Steve Jackson classic back on the table. It's just an incredible piece of game design. Really simple, completely asymmetrical, yet finely balanced. My friend (a new player) and I, got in two games. In the first game, I took the defence throwing my army against his gigantic cybertank. I made a couple of mistakes, but I think one lucky turn and I could have stopped him. As it was, the nearly weaponless tank crashed into my command post. In the second game, I took the Ogre. My opponent gambled on my strategy, but guessed wrong, and left me with a relatively easy run to the target, blasting it with one of my few remaining guns.

I didn't take any of my metal Ogres to the pub, as I don't have great transportation for them. I need to look into the that. Still, a lot of fun was had and plenty of lessons were learned!

Skulltoppers

 

I was in a shop called The Range the other day and a found a little bag of 'wooden bobbins' for £1.29. I figured I could pretty easily get my funs worth out of that. Two of those bobbins were used in my 'evil columns' seen here. I glued the bobbin to a Hirst Arts flagstone and then glued a Hirst Arts skull on top. I primed them black, and brushed on a couple of layers of grey. I liked them, but they looked a tad plain, so I painted some 'strange runes' around the rims. Better, but still slightly lacking in visual interest. So, I added a bit of blood, including a bloody hand print. Now, I think they look pretty good. They are generally going to be dungeon dressing, so I don't want them to stand out too much, but I think they'll will really help mark important rooms, and might get some special rules here and there.

I also painted up a skeleton archer to give my undead a bit of ranged threat (though not much, skeletons aren't know for their aim).

I've got several more dungeon tiles in progress as well, so things are moving along!

Tubby Tinkerpot and Reginald!

 

It's true, one of the bonuses of being a game designer is that you get the miniatures early! Here is my first Hairfoot Jouster. I've got two more based and just waiting a low-wind day so I can prime them. Could this be the first time ever that I've had a playable 'force' before the game is even officially out? We'll see...

You can now pre-order all of the miniatures at North Star. They are all sculpted by Bobby Jackson and just bursting with character.

Dungeon Test Paint

 

I couldn't wait to do a test paint of my dungeon tiles - so I didn't. I took the plaster tiles out back and hit them with black spray primer. Then I brushed them down with Warpaint Fanatic - Ash Grey. For the first time ever, I used a make-up foundation brush, and it worked amazingly. The best brush I've ever used for this kind of quick, surface painting. I then gave the tops of the stone borders a light drybrush with Matt White. Finally, I hit all of the paving tiles with a Strong Tone wash. Then I sprayed them with some varnish and called them done! Okay, I did a little more work on the door, but not much. Really quick and easy, but I think it looks pretty spiffy!