DBA Agora

Lithuanians are done - next the basing

2012-01-25T05:34:00.001-08:00

Lithuanians are painted up. Later this evening, I will varnish this figures and let dry while I prepare bases and sketch two flags/banners for later. Overall, I was very impressed with the quality of figures, nonetheless painting these took a bit longer as I was continually surprised at newly discovered bits of detail. I would recommend them highly.

I will base and flock these and have them ready for shipping this weekend as I have new figures arriving next week.

I still have some Napoleonic French that need rebasing, Russians are done and I am adding more figures to my SYW British for the conflict in the Americas.

Cheers,

A commission work

2012-01-20T05:11:00.000-08:00

I am painting up a DBA Lithuanian army comprised of Black Hat Miniatures. These were sculpted by Josef Ochmann for Metal Magic Miniatures, but in 2006 are now produced by Black Hat. Lovely castings and you can see the range with photos at Vexellia Ltd.

These figures could certainly fill the ranks of most nomadic armies as they are quite generic. As you can see, I have started with the horses and with the exception of the harness, they are now complete. Next step, I will paint up the foot and use similar tones for the mounted figures. This will give me some time to work on designs for the flags.

I had several years ago my own Lithuanian army modeled for the Battle of the Saule, under the command of King Mindaugas. I shall duplicate the Wolf standard for this army.

Cheers,

Magyars, Wends and Alemanni

2011-12-30T01:28:00.000-08:00

I had postponed selling these until after the Holiday Season as this time last year I experienced long delivery times. So here is the latest offering and more will be following next month.

Any queries please send to timurilank (at) aol (dot) com. With the decending value of the Euro, delivery from the Netherlands as expensive. All prices are expressed in US dollars.

Cheers,

III/1a Wends 580 - 1218 AD

These are all Essex 15mm figures and their painting was covered in a recent postings. If you scroll further down, you may find more photos.

1 x 3Cv(Gen), 2 x 3Cv, 7 x 3Ax, 2 x 2Ps $110
SOLD

III/30b Magyars 896 - 997 AD

These are all Essex 15mm figures and their painting was covered in a recent postings. If you scroll further down, you may find more photos.

1 x 3Cv(Gen), 1 x 3Cv, 5 x 2LH, 3 x 4Sp, 1 x 3Ax, 1 x 2Ps $110

II/72 Alemanni 250 - 506 AD

These are all Old Glory 15mm figures. The bases were redone to bring uniformity to the collection.
1 x 3Cv (Gen), 7 x 4Wb, 3 x 3Bw, 1 x 2Ps $100
SOLD

General information:
Bases are 1.2mm thick triplex board. Groundwork is a mix of glue and sand, painted, drybrushed and flocked to cover about 30% of the base. Standards are fixed to the base and not a figure.

Magyars and Wends

2011-12-07T09:14:00.000-08:00

These are the Wends or DBA list III-1a.
Some cavalry and plenty of auxilia supported by bow and psiloi. I painted tese with less bright colours and used natural colours as these would blend in better among the coastal marshlands of Pomerania or the forest areas about Northern Germany.

These are 15mm Essex and were a pleasure to paint, for highlighting, I used a wet brush technique which worked well with the Magyars. I no longer use Silver or Gold paint but prefer to grey and brown and highlight to achieve that effect. Varnishing the figures will further enhance the metallic items.

Next, I need to base these as I have done with the Magyars in the background. One more army pack to paint up, then back to rebasing 15mm Napoleonic French and Russian.

Cheers,

This past Sunday I started work on two DBA army packs which I purchased a few months ago. I was rather surprised how quickly the Magyars painted up. It must have been all the practice with the Carolingian Franks.

This two packs were purchased to provide opponents for the Eastern Franks. The plan was to use the Carolingian figures to represent the intial Eastern Franks of the split empire. As all four Carolingian armies have been sold, I may be offering these for sale shortly.

First, the basing must be done, the flocking and to finish the army, it will need a suitable standard. I have seen some depiction of Ravens on a rectangular standard, but I shall search further for other options. They did fight the Byzantines and Franks, so perhaps I can draw some similarity shape or pattern.

I should have photos of the Wends tomorrow.

Cheers,

15mm Carolingian Franks - for sale

2011-11-29T11:01:00.000-08:00

This is the last of four DBA Carolingian Frankish armies, as the first three have slipped out the back door and are winging their way to the US, Sweden and Italy.

The composition follows the proposed DBA 3.0 lists, which lists an element of bow to the current 2.2 version. With all the options, the army comprises of:

1 x Kn (Gen), 5 x Kn, 4 x Sp, 1 x Ps or Bw, 1 x Ps or Hd or LH or 15 elements.

$120.00 SOLD

All figures are Old Glory 15mm with the horde coming from the peasant and monks pack of the Medieval Crusade series. Good figures as many of the monks are spread through my other collections. The General's banner is the Oriflamme.

The second photo show two Bd elements that can serve as dismounted knights to add interest to non competition games.

$10.00 for the two.

All bases are 1.2mm triplex basswood and covered with sand, stained, dry brushed and flocked with electrostatic grass.

All queries regarding other options, shipping and delivery time from the Netherlands, please send to timurilank at-sign aol dot com.

Cheers,

Love painting horses, Carolingian Light Horse

2011-11-16T23:25:00.000-08:00

The Light Horse were a last minute addition to the Carolingian Franks. Delivery from Old Glory 15s in the US was delayed at Dutch Customs, but they arrived yesterday afternoon and nine cavalry were promptly cleaned and primed. The photos illustrate the process from start to finish.

I tape the plinths so they do not slide on the board as I rotate this to cover all four sides with a fine mist of spray paint.
The box helps contain the spray as in this country there is always a wind. That box has served for my undercoating projects for the past nine years.

With a previous experience of 36 knights painted in less than two days, I moved into high gear and started with the horse and everything else brown or shades thereof. This went fast as in a couple of hours everything was done with the exception of outline and highlighting.

The last photo show the Light Horse complete and ready for varnish. Basing and groundwork, they will be ready to ship to their destinations.

Due to the popularity of the Carolingian Franks (two have been sold) I decided to paint two more. To complete these I need only paint 36 more knights. These have already been cleaned, primed these and should be ready in a week.

However, from now until Sunday, I shall have little free time, so Monday next week I should be starting.

Cheers,

18th c. Jacobites

2011-11-08T10:31:00.000-08:00

Until a month ago, I would not have touched a Jacobite army with its diverse tartans, lack of firearms and artillery. While painting the Carolingian Franks with their diverse shield patters I thought I would give the Scots a try, after all it is not that I have a shortage of WSS armies, but the Scots would make interesting opponents for the British.

Figures are Old Glory 15s and were certainly not new sculpts, but the castings were good. Cleaning and undercoating the figures did not take long and left these overnight to dry. The quandary that confronted me, would basing the collection on historical units be better or would just an abstract collection be a better route? TMP (the miniatures page) supplied the answer as last Saturday, a member queried about the uniformity of Jacobite tartans. Eureka! I had my answer.

Started painting these on Monday and they are now ready for varnishing.

Next step, bases, groundwork, flocking and a few flags and they should be ready to use this weekend.

Cheers,

2011-11-04T01:50:00.001-07:00

Here are photos of two Carolingian Frankish armies and numbers three and four are currently on the work bench.

The proposed DBA 3.0 lists an element of bow to the current 2.2 version, so the army with options is:

1 x Kn (Gen), 5 x Kn, 4 x Sp, 1 x Ps or Bw, 1 x Ps or Hd or LH

All figures are Old Glory 15mm with the horde coming from the peasant and monks pack of the Medieval Crusade series. Good figures and many of the monks are spread through other collections.

Both armies have the Oriflamme with the command element as will number three.

I mentioned I am working on a third and fourth Carolingian army as these two have been SOLD before completion.

In a week or so, I should have the others available for purchase.

Cheers,

Carolingian Shields –

2011-10-26T08:41:00.000-07:00

Next task were the 60 shields for the knights and heavy infantry. In an earlier post, I mentioned I would use six shield patterns and duplicate this for each plinth.

With a second colour, I createe the wedges or blades characteristic of the Frankish shields. That was the easy part. With a dark grey mix, I used a thin brush and outlined the wedges.

This is what we call in Dutch, “Monk’s work.”

The figures have been based for and all I lack is a battle standard for these two armies. The overall effect is amazing and when the flags are done, I will set them out in battle array and take photos.
Cheers,

Love painting horses – No Tears method

2011-10-20T10:39:00.000-07:00

Last posting’s photos, mounts for the Frankish knights as a basic coat. As you will note, each plinth had a different pose and a horse of a different colour. With a mix of Codex Grey and Black I applied a thin wash over the mane, tail, muzzle and lower legs. The majority of the horses here are basically brown with a small portion black and dun.

When the wash dried, I use a round brush and dry-brushed with Bleached Bone the lower legs front to back and swept gently upwards to the tail. After the tail, I dry-brushed the name, from head to shoulder and lastly the muzzle to highlight the upper lip and nostril.

With the same brush, I continued the lower body and kept my brush strokes short to pick out muscle and all the harness. The latter are better defined to paint with a small brush.

The overall effect looks like a horse that has done some work.

I don’t use white for the socks, but will dry-brush more Bleached Bone above the hoof as all white socks or legs will quickly become dirty in short time. I should know, I owned a Bay for six years.

Further photos show the progression of the figures becoming knights as the chainmail (same grey/black mix) is painted, cloaks, pennons, harnesses are painted in turn.

The white card illustrates six shield patterns which I shall use. Each plinth will have the same shield pattern, but then a different ground colour.

Hopefully by the weekend, the figures will be based and ready for ground work and flocking.

Cheers,

Note:
One point I forgot to touch one, are blazes or white markings. These I do sparingly and keep as small spots between the eyes or a thin line running the length of the nose, between the straps. I would thin the white so as not to create a sharp contrast between coat and marking.

Back to the Carolingians

2011-10-17T12:55:00.000-07:00

I finished painting spearmen and archers last week and would follow up with the Frankish knight, but last week I had a number of DBA Renaissance sold off which took a bit of time. Thanks again to the gamers who purchased the Polish and Cossack armies.

Knights, in fact 36 of them are pictured on their plinths. I like painting horses, but the trick here to organize your efforts so you don’t dampen your creative juices.

I like Old Glory for their variety of poses per pack and the cavalry are no different. Each pack has riders in four different poses and horses, usually six. This works out perfectly for the quantity that I wanted to do as six horses can be placed on each plinth.

Each plinth therefore, had one unique pose for horse which I place on each plinth. For the next plinth, I shifted the exact sequence by one position on the next plinth and repeated the process, so each horse appeared in a different position. I repeated as best as I could with varying the riders.

There is logic behind this.

After applying a ground coat of grey primer in the evening, I was able to start the following morning with an hour’s worth of painting.

Flesh, spears and half the horses were done essentially with two colours; flesh of course and red brown. I start with hands and face, and then move to the spear for which I mixed the red brown with desert yellow. After all 36 lances were finished, I moved on to the horse.

Perhaps from the photos you can notice I used six colours; each colour is painted on one horse on each plinth, but move up a position each time, so the overall appearance the colours run diagonally across.

Now for the shields and banners or pennons, I used six colours but painted the same colour horizontally across. Painting first, the rear of the shield, painting the front side tidied up the appearance. The array looks nearly complete, but the whole session took less than two hours over two days.

With a break tomorrow, I will resume by painting the chainmail, leg and arm protection, helmet and cloaks. This will be spread out over two sessions while I begin sketching the shield and pennon designs on paper. This helps me organize my time better.

Cheers,

Cossack Army mid 17th century

2011-10-13T05:23:00.000-07:00

These and my Polish are the last of the Renaissance figures that I am offering for sale. The Cossacks are mostly Old Glory Renaissance Cossacks and some Huns. Added to the mix are some Essex Huns which are bare chest, lance or bow armed sporting scalplock riders. All foot figures are Old Glory Renaissance figures. I plan to keep one as an opponent for the Ottoman Turks and WSS Russian.

The commands include a General’s element (Cv), Cossacks (LH), Dragoons (Dgn) and various foot types; muskets (Sh), pike or blade (Pk or Bd) and sharpshooters (Jg) and a horde element (Hd) to round out the command.

Cossack I
Cv (g), Cv, 5 LH, 1 Dgn, 2 Sh, 1 Bd, 1 jg, 1 Hd, 13 elements,
price $115.00 SOLD

Cossack II
Cv (g), Cv, 5 LH, 1 Dgn, 2 Sh, 1 Bd, 1 jg, 1 Hd, 13 elements,
price $115.00 SOLD

All are based on 1.2 mm bass-wood, bases are textured with glue and sand and finished with several colours for ground and flocked with electrostatic grass.
Cheers,

For method of payment, shipping and delivery times, please send your queries to timurilank (at) aol (dot) com.

Polish Army mid 17th century

2011-10-13T05:10:00.000-07:00

These and my Cossacks are the last of the Renaissance figures that I am offering for sale. The Polish are all Essex and each command include some extra stands. The Hussars were not the easiest figures to assemble as the wings and lance were separate from the model. I plan to keep one as an opponent for the Ottoman Turks and WSS Russian.

The commands include a General’s element (Kn/Cv), Winged Hussars (Kn), Pancerni (Cv), Cossacks (LH) and various foot types; muskets (Sh), and/or blade (Bd).

Polish I
Cv (g), 2 Kn, 4 Cv, 2 LH, 2 Sh, 1 Bd. 12 elements,
price $110.00 SOLD

Polish II
Kn (g), 2 Kn, 4 Cv, 1 LH, 3 Sh, 1 Bd. 12 elements,
price $110.00 SOLD

All are based on 1.2 mm bass-wood, bases are textured with glue and sand and finished with several colours for ground and flocked with electrostatic grass.

Cheers,

For method of payment, shipping and delivery times, please send your queries to timurilank (at) aol (dot) com.

A quick update

2011-10-02T09:07:00.001-07:00

Activity at both my blogs have remained still because productivity on the work bench remains at a good steady pace. So why stop?

One photo of the Renaissance Poles rebased for DBA-RRR or HX use. The photo was take about a week ago and since then the Poles ready for another photo or two of them as completed.

Cossacks, Poles and just this weekend I finished another three DBA sized Colonial armies; Sudanese are actually 44 elements strong, so I can have some flexibility with rule sets. I must say, the larger formations of Ansar do look nice with the warband Fuzzy Wuzzy.

Since this re basing for DBA-HX or RRR use has started, I have accumulated 20 WSS, 3 Polish, 4 Cossack, and 3 Sudanese armies with extras for the last two listed. This morning, I can now add another 3 SYW British to that growing list.

More photos will follow at the end of the week showing the Poles, Cossacks and SYW British in their full splendor.

Cheers,

Re-basing Renaissance Poles

Sudanese array

Left flank

Right flank

Cossacks

2011-09-20T08:51:00.000-07:00

I placed a recent order for Dark Age figures from Old Glory; more than enough for two DBA sized armies with extras. While waiting for the order, I will start on a project that has been on the back burner during the summer; re-basing.

This must be one of the least charming aspects of the hobby as you are determined to work with a set of rules and then for various reasons you side step to “next”. In this case the rule set worked fine, the actual problem lay with the amount of figures needed for a decent army. We had experimented with the big battle option for DBA-HX and found the speed of play; smaller playing area and less number of figures totaled a lot of plusses, so on to “next”.

Cossacks from WRG to DBA-RRR II/9 Free Cossacks

The Renaissance period is not new to me as this will mark the third time I have danced this tune. It is however, the first time using the DBA variant which offers many options; cavalry, light or heavily equipped, dragoons, blade, pike, shot, hordes and artillery. As you can see from the photos, the WRG based Cossacks will form five DBA sized armies with sufficient extras for variation. The DBA-RRR lists, Cossacks from the Don, Siberian, Terek, Zaporozhian, Ukrainian and Khelmenitsky’s rebellion of 1648-1657.

The original collection were a mix of Old Glory and Essex figures ranging from Cossacks in kaftans, shirtless and a number in fur; namely the odd Hun type. Actually, Essex Huns are mostly bare shirted with scalp lock.
I shall place a small order on Old Glory to add more shot and artillery.

Next rebasing project, 17th century Poles.

DBA Later Crusader Army with extras

2011-09-01T06:18:00.000-07:00

Book IV
IV/17 Later Crusader:
1 x 3Kn (Gen), 2 x 3Kn, 1 x 3Cv, 5 x 4Sp, 2 x 4Cb, 1 x 3Bw
$105.00 SOLD

These were seen earlier as a work in progress. All figures are Essex 15s and as an extra there are three elements (1 x PS, 2 x Aux) which can be used as an Armenian contingent. Bases are 1.2mm thick Bass wood (triplex), covered with glue and sand, then flocked with electrostatic grass and dry brushed. Standards (Labarum) are fixed to the base to avoid breakage.

Please send your email reponses to timurilank (at) aol (dot) com. For postage rates please note where the package must be delivered to.

Regards,

Civilians or Militia

2011-08-25T09:56:00.000-07:00

There had been a query at TMP recently concerning civilians and militia for the 18th century. Spanish Guerillas from Battle Honors (true 15mm) work rather well. These have a variety of headgear, but are clothed in breeches and vests that make them clearly Spanish. Blue Moon offer a nice selection of American setlers in a variety of poses. These will mix well with Old Glory (closer to 17/18mm) that would Battle Honors.

My civilians, I selected from OG15 Austrian Napoleonic listing, the Tyrolean Guerillas. The figures have a variety of weapons, farm implements and firearms. The best looking with firearms I made gamekeepers and added Mastiffs from Museum Miniatures. Not a group you would want to meet in a woods. The remainder at based as a mob or rural militia. The only thing missing is Herr Baron in an out of date uniform. These clearly fit in with the European style of clothing.

The Spanish Guerillas found employment in South America, or the Audencia de Caracas. With these, I added Llaneros and from the Church, those who ask questions.

His Holiness (conversion)

Militant Monks (Essex)

Militia (Battle Honors)

Cheers,

More DBA barbarian armies

2011-08-20T11:49:00.000-07:00

II-71 Gepid:
4 x 3Kn (Gen), 4 x 4Wb, 4 x 2Ps $90.00 SOLD

II-72b Alemanni:
1 x 3Cv(Gen), 7 x 4Wb, 3 x 3Bw, 1 x 2Ps $90.00 SOLD

All ancient armies are 15mm Old Glory miniatures. Painted, highlighted and varnished, these are based on 1.2mm thick Bass wood (triplex), covered with glue and sand, then flocked with electrostatic grass and dry brushed. Standards (Labarum) are fixed to the base to avoid breakage.

Please send your email reponses to timurilank (at) aol (dot) com. For postage rates please note where the package must be delivered to.

Regards,

Various DBA barbarian armies for sale

2011-08-20T11:40:00.000-07:00

II/65 Early Visigoths
2 x 3Kn, 1 x 2LH, 8 x 4Wb (Gen), 1 x 2Ps $90.00 SOLD

II-72b Alemanni:
1 x 3Cv(Gen), 7 x 4Wb, 3 x 3Bw, 1 x 2Ps $90.00

All ancient armies are 15mm Old Glory miniatures. Painted, highlighted and varnished, these are based on 1.2mm thick Bass wood (triplex), covered with glue and sand, then flocked with electrostatic grass and dry brushed. Standards (Labarum) are fixed to the base to avoid breakage.

Please send your email reponses to timurilank (at) aol (dot) com. For postage rates please note where the package must be delivered to.

Regards,

Filling in the ranks.

2011-06-24T07:56:00.000-07:00

During the past several years I have sold nearly 80 DBA and HOTT armies. With requests for extra elements or changes, I have a number of DBA armies to sell, but are under strength. I do not like to sell partial collections, so I have made a number of small purchases to fill out four Barbarian armies. These should be ready by next week including the Later Crusader army of 15 elements.

The downside of filling in these collections, my painting skills style have changed and consequently, the original elements will need to be enhanced.

The photos show the last stages for my Barbarian cavalry. Next step, dry-brushing the armour, leather equipment for both rider and horse and a few designs for a number of shields.

The remainder are foot and archers, which will need some detailing and rebasing.
Cheers,

Later Crusade complete

2011-06-15T02:56:00.001-07:00

My brushes have not been idle for the past few weeks and I would like to show how the Later Crusaders have turned out.

The weather has been very warm these past few weeks, so I decided to add a bit more water to the paints as some were starting to harden. While doing this, I decided to clear out the interior of the caps, as this serves as a nice palette for mixing small quantities of paint. In truth, I do not have a large range of paints, but at most a dozen acrylics and inks. I use metal paints sparingly, so you will see dark grey highlighted with lighter shades or white to represent armour and beiges, oranges lighter browns for gold, as with the three lions on Richard’s banner and barding.

I debated about whom the General should represent, the King of Jerusalem or Richard the Lionhearted. I chose the latter as I could vary the flags and shield emblems. I am inclined to think; the King of Jerusalem should have the various Military Orders present which would give the army a uniform look. This is Richard’s army, straight off the boat and marching on to Jerusalem.

Enjoy the photos.
Cheers,

Latest work in progress

2011-05-31T04:39:00.000-07:00

This is to be a Later Crusader army with four elements of knights and cavalry with plenty of spear and crossbow. The photo shows the foot figures are complete and horse are prepared for the last stage; the painting of shields and heraldry. After some consideration, my original idea was to divide the elements into three military orders; Templar, Hospitaler and a king’s body guard. The majority of foot do not have jupons which would give ample room to paint crosses and such. Shields are vary diverse, so I shall keep the Military Order to the three element of knights and paint the remainder as men at arms.

These are quite a rough and ready collection of Essex medieval figures. I believe there are some Scots with long spears, a number that would serve well in Italy and others with round shields. I will leave this sit for a day and paint the shields tomorrow.

Cheers,

Two More 15mm Renaissance armies

2011-05-26T23:35:00.000-07:00

These last two Landsknecht armies differ in the mounted arm, the latter exchanging knights for pistol armed reiters.

I-7a German Minor States up to 1543 $110,00 SOLD
1 x Kn (Gen), 2 x Kn, 2 x LH, 1 x art., 4 x Pk, 1 x Sh, 1 x Sk

I-7b German Minor States post 1543 $110,00 SOLD
1 x Cv Reiter (Gen), 2 x Cv Reiter, 2 x LH, 1 x art., 4 x Pk, 1 x Sh, 1 x Sk

All figures are 15mm Essex painted with acrylics, dry brushed and highlighted. Photos of the painting project were posted to the Agora blog and can be seen here. Flags are hand painted and bases are covered with sand and glue, painted with several colours to add depth and dry brushed. Electrostatic grass covers less than 50% of the base to expose earth tones.

2011-05-23T21:24:00.000-07:00

DBA-RRR

I-7a German Minor States up to 1543 $110,00 SOLD
1 x Kn (Gen), 2 x Kn, 2 x LH, 1 x art., 4 x Pk, 1 x Sh, 1 x Sk

I-21 Austrian Habsburg $110,00 SOLD
1 x Kn (Gen), 1 x Cv Reiter, 1 x art., 4 x Pk, 1 x Bd, 3 x Sh, 1 x Sk

All figures are 15mm Essex painted with acrylics, dry brushed and highlighted. Photos of the painting project were posted to the Agora blog and can be seen here. Flags are hand painted and bases are covered with sand and glue, painted with several colours to add depth and dry brushed. Electrostatic grass covers less than 50% of the base to expose earth tones.

Cheers,

DBA Early Medieval Russians

2011-04-27T14:40:00.000-07:00

Bases are textured, and flocked. Flags (7) added to their staffs, the Russians are ready for battle. I enjoyed painting these as I was able to experiment with colours and shading technique, ideas that I shall later apply to my own Moghul and Hindi armies.

Cheers,

Medieval Russians – part three

2011-04-26T13:19:00.001-07:00

Figures are now based and ready for their ground work. Here, I use sand mixed with white glue. This will dry overnight, so I can apply thin washes of ground colour. After drying, I dry brush with two colours to pick out the ground and then the incidental stones. The electro-static grass will cover only 30 to 40% of the ground, so this offers a nice balance

I prefer to paint my own flags, as I can play with the dimensions and colours. These were rather easy to do and while painting these I also finished flags for my own Moghul and Hindi armies (18th c.). About the flags, I place these on brass wire staffs which are glued to the base and not a figure. As my flags are not scaled, they will usually not fit stantard bearer's staff. Secondly, I avoid handing the figures as the element can be picked up by the staff. For this particualr army, flags/banners are supplied to all Cv and Sp elements.

Medieval Russians – part three

2011-04-15T23:56:00.000-07:00

After the basic colours for face, armour, spear, belts and boots this left only the clothing and shields. Both clothing and shields I will paint white, so colour will stand out better, as I like to use thin coats of paint. Starting with the lighter colours first; breeches for one, shirt for another I will add another colour to my pallet and create a different tone or shade for the next figures. Keep in mind, as you are doing this, the colours for shirt and breeches should complement one another and not distract the eye.

About the horses, when dry brushing the horses. I use GW Bleached Bone.

Begin with the hooves as these will pick up dust first, then let your brush strokes move from the bottom up. With this method you will pick out leg, chest and back muscle, plus hair in the mane and tail rather easily.

Lastly, if you want to paint a white sock here and there, use a thin coat of white and apply this as a touch up. White socks or legs did not remain white, but turned nearly gray from dirt, dust and mud.
Gray horses, substitute white for bleached bone. With a gray undercoat, black wash and white dry brush, this technique makes painting horses a breeze.

Next, shields, flags and banners

Cheers,

Medieval Russians - part 2

2011-04-12T07:00:00.001-07:00

Painting figures need not be intimidating, especially when the collection depicts a less than well known army. I usually find, researching shield patterns, clothing colours, helmets and armour demands more time than the actual painting, but all that time spent searching does unlock some gems.

This posting is not meant as a tutorial, but rather a guide line for organizing your time. Most often a nice collection can be completed quickly by devoting an hour or less on a daily basis. In this example, one or two colours each day, over a few days and the Russians are now prepared for their clothing and details.

Up to this point, I have painted only the basic; face and hands, boots, armour, and spears. Shields have been painted white to accept some vibrant colour for a later. At this point, I have applied an ink wash on the leather armour and dry brushed the metal armour. I do this so as not to overlook the straps and buckles which I will paint last. There is a surprising amount of detail on these figures.

Horses. I love painting horses, but I do not spend a lot of time on them. With the mid-gray undercoating I can apply a thin coat over the entire horse. As I finish the last horse, I will apply a thin wash of black mixed with a bit of brown to cover the tail and mane. After this step, with the same thin mix, I will give all the horses socks and darken their nose, up to the bridle. You will immediately notice the muscles are better defined as are the nostrils and mouth. I need only dry brush (bleached bone) the horse to pick out muscle, tail and mane and they are done. This step will also highlight the leather harness for later painting.

Clothing and Shields – next posting

The Russians are coming

2011-04-07T07:13:00.000-07:00

On occaission, I do commission work, but restrict this to certain periods and of course 15mm scale. This most recent project are Medieval Russians DBA III/78. These are Old Glory figures, which were added to their catalogue some years back. Detailing is crisp and the mounted figures have a variety of helmet and shield types.

The figures have been cleaned and undercoated and are ready for their first colours.

The bags, located at the upper right hand corner of each photo are for my next 18th c. army - Indians (Hindu, Muslim, Moghul). These will be started during the May vacation period. These will make a nice, but temporary, addition to my "unpainted lead" collection, seen here.

HOTT painted army and flotilla

2011-03-07T12:41:00.001-08:00

One 15mm HOTT army for sale:

Sven the Magnificent and shield wall of blades.
11 x Blades, 2 x Shooters. $70.00

Figures are based per HOTT specifications. Basing material is 1.2 mm basswood, covered with white glue and sand, washed, dry-brushed and flocked with electrostatic grass.

Unique:
Gobbo Flotilla with 15mm crew.

You cannot leave Amsterdam without buying some miniature wooden shoes and while helping some tourists out, I decided to paint these up for a Gobbo Flotilla. The poop deck has sufficient room for the 3 Gobbo crew. Not pictured, these are 15mm Shadow Corps (Reaper) miniatures based to fit.

The bases are 1.2 mm Basswood and painted Sea Blue. $50.00

Send your email response to timurilank at aol dot com.
Multiple requests will be honoured in the order of receipt.

Cheers,

For Sale: 10th century Eastern European castle/fort (BUA)

2011-02-23T02:43:00.001-08:00

This item was modeled some years back while I had large collections of DBA armies centered on the 10th and 11th century. It is Eastern European in style and fits the BUA specifications for 15mm. The figures near the front gate are 15mm Wood Elves from Black Raven, these are not included in the sale.

The base is triplex bass wood and the castle walls and tower are of balsa wood, reinforced with plinths. Base is covered with white glue and sand.
Unique model can also be used as BUA or Stronghold for 28mm scale HOTT.

Asking $45.00 SOLD!

Email address is timurilank at aol dot com
Cheers,

Landsknechts nearly done.

2011-02-23T01:15:00.000-08:00

This project has taken longer than I expected. Nonetheless, painting a colour a day, has moved the project steadily forward to the finish line. I am pleased with the results and the last step is to base the figures. I should have 40 elements, clearly enough for three DBA-RRR armies, but which ones?

And that is the next step. I have some options as what I have now painted can easily represent the Imperial armies, from the 1500’s to the end of the century. In addition, the Minor German states would also have much the same composition. For any of these options to be complete for eventual sale, I would need to add Harquebusiers and an artillery piece, neither would pose a painting problem.

The photos show 32 Essex Landsknecht pikemen, 8 light horse with crossbow and 6 Generals and staff.

I have added an extra photo to show the extent of the colleciton. Originally, I planned 3 DBA-Renaissance armies, but with the additional shot and skirmish figures, I actually need 2 Light Horse with arguebus to offer a fourth army. Now the waiting game as these figures will come from England. The peculiarities of the Royal Mail system near Essex, require small parcels (value less that 30 GPD) should be brought at the end of the week. So during that time I can start looking at appropriate flags for these armies. I will have flags for, not only the generals, but for the knights, landsknecht pike, arguebus and artillery or 5 or 6 flags per army.

Cheers,

Latest project on the work bench.

2011-01-04T05:28:00.001-08:00

Christmas vacation is a great time to sort out boxes and reorganize things. Opening some moving boxes I had not touched in years, I discovered several Essex Renaissance Army packs; Landsknechts, Gendarmes, Reiters, etc. I have no idea when I bought them, but most likely in Paris during one the European Championships. As I had some time for the holiday vacation, I will paint these up and offer them when completed. Checking the most common army lists, DBR, DBA-RRR and the DBA-HX these will be offered as Renaissance armies of the later 16th century. These would do very well as an Empire army for HOTT. Options enough.

The photos are just a taste to whet the appetite and let you see the style of painting and detail. Unfortunately, I don’t have a lens that will allow nice close ups, but this surpass any ancient armies I have painted.

One final batch to paint and base, plus the odd number of packs needed to fill the armies out with cannon and harquebusiers/musketeers. Flags will be hand painted and I am thinking about 2/3rds of the elements in each army will have them.

As the Postal problems seem to have subsided, I shall be shortly offering other armies and terrain/BUA pieces.

Cheers,

Any comments, please send to my email address: timurilank_at_aol_dot_com

BUA's

2009-09-04T06:45:00.001-07:00

BUA's and camps

I am building a new series of villages, to include Chinese, Mediterranean, and Melnibonéan, so I need to clear these out to make room.

These villages (BUA) are hand made from foam board, covered with paper and painted with acrylics and pen. The roofing comes from the embossed model railroad brick and tile sheets (Faller/Noch) and mounted together with trees to a floor tile cut to size for DBA use or any other similar rule set.

Attention: 03-12-2010 All BUA's have been SOLD!!

Late Medieval village one $35

Late Medieval village two $35

Spanish rural village $35

Convent $35

Biblical era town $35

Middle Eastern walled town $35

If someone would like to take all six BUA’s, then I shall add two palisade camps as a bonus.

If interested, then please email me at timurilank- at- aol- dot- com

Cheers,