Elves Take Battle the Bonefish Band in 1st Game

    Midpoint of the game & the battle of Elves vs. Orcs hangs in the balance, the Elves up 2-0

With the arrival in town of Mick (screen name "Aethelflaeda was Framed") from the Lead Adventure Forum, I offered to host him at a local store for a game. He agreed, and we met at Roundtable Games in Dublin, OH, on a sunny afternoon. I decided it would be a perfect opportunity to christen my Wood Elven army for Dragon Rampant! with its first battle. Keith and Jenny came along and squared off against each other, alongside us with Vikings vs. Fire Giants. I gave Mick the choice of using the Bonefish Band or my newly-painted Elves, and he chose the "orcses filth...". 

    Left wing of the Elves deployed for battle, with intermixed archer and spear units & cavalry

The battlefield was dotted with medium-sized patches of woods, but otherwise had plenty of open areas. Interestingly, the DR! troop types I use for the Bonefish Band (Bellicose Foot, Elite Infantry, and Greater & Lesser Warbeasts) are all more proficient at fighting in the woods than the ones I chose for my Elves! I was fielding four units of "Light Foot: Mixed Weapons," which gives them the ability to shoot out to 12", decent at defending in melee, but slower in woods. They also fought at a slight disadvantage if in woods, too. Instead of hitting on a 4+ on each d6, they hit only on 5+. However, their armor inside the cover of woods would go up from 2 to 3. Hmmm...do I need to rethink how I field these guys? 

    Large wolfpack infests the forest opposite the Elven right wing, howling & eager for battle

My plan was to advance most of my units in the open, with only one making their way through the central woods. Two of the foot units also had Level 1 spellcasters within their ranks, and one had the army general. The other units in my army were one of flying Lesser Warbeasts -- Birds of the Forest (which I gave Weak and Cowardly). It made since that normal sized birds of prey wouldn't hit as hard as wolves or bears or such creatures. The Cowardly ability let them Retreat a full move instead of half, which might keep them alive a little longer. The final unit was Elven cavalry fielded as standard Heavy Riders.

Elven left wing begins to cross open ground towards the woods where 2 units of goblin archers await

Surprisingly, Mick decided to not move after his deployment, and instead await the advance of my Elves. Both his units of goblin archers garrisoned a large woods near his center baseline. The Wolfpack guarded another woods on his left, while the orcs (armored Bellicose Foot) deployed in the gap between the trees. His trolls were initially deployed on his right, but they reversed direction and marched around behind the large woods to where the army general and his bodyguard of Elite infantry were stationed. My Elven host accepted the Bonefish Band's invitation to advance and began to surge forward with my four units of mixed weapon foot -- or tried to do so. My right flank unit refused to advance for three turns (failing to roll a 5+ on 2d6). The other three units struggled to move forward in a coordinated line, too. Not a good start!

    Armored Uruks, hooting and eager, also impatiently await the advance of the Elves in the center

Eventually, I would have to come within his goblin archers' greater 18" range to close within my own 12" one. Plus, I would receive archery fire in the open vs. his goblins in cover of the trees. As I advanced, I shifted to concentrated two units against his right hand goblin archers, ensuring the other unit was at long range while mine were within short of their target unit. Although the Elves took a few losses advancing and during the archery duel, their concentrated fire drove off their target unit of goblins when Mick rolled a very poor Courage test. One unit down! 

    Elven foot on the right are reluctant to advance, despite the support of the Birds of the Forest

Meanwhile, the wolfpack began to edge forward on his left, finally loping out of the woods after seeing my wizard-led foot unit on my right fail to advance multiple times. The central Elven foot unit eventually made its way to the edge of the woods. Measuring the range, I decided to advance some of the lead figures beyond the trees. Most would remain inside the woods, though, so we would be in cover. However, we would fight with the negative modifier in melee. I hoped that the armor increase would be enough to make up for it.

    When they reached the edge of the central woods, the Elves prompted the wild charge of the wolfpack

The wolves caught sight of the Elves, who were within their "wild charge" range, let loose a howl and raced into contact. Each unit inflicted two casualties on the other, which meant the wolves had to withdraw. They backed up only half a move, though, which left them within short range of my right hand foot unit (who had finally advanced). They let loose a volley which caused a casualty or two, and Mick promptly flubbed another Courage test. Two units of the enemy had fled the field -- the Elves were feeling triumphant! In case you think I was being a poor host to Mick with his dice rolls, his failing of morale tests was about done for the game. The momentum was poised to shift, unfortunately.

    Meanwhile, on the left, armored Uruks slam into the Elven general's unit inflicting many casualties

One of the Uruk units wild charged into my general's foot unit. Mick made up for crappy dice rolls and rolled 11 hits (3+) on 12 dice, which took the Elven bodyguard unit down to half strength (they had lost one earlier to goblin missile fire. This was dangerous, as all units in a warband that loses its general take an immediate Courage test. I backed the general into the woods so that the goblins couldn't "dink" them with archery. I probably should have pulled him back even further, as events will show. However, things were still looking up when the Elven cavalry galloped in and drove off the armored Uruks who'd savaged their general's unit. This was probably the high water mark of my army. We had destroyed two enemy units and lost none.

    Down to half strength, the general's unit falls back -- but not far enough, as we shall see...!

The Wolfpack was soon replaced by the Trolls, though, who had been steadily advancing towards the center. In this game, the Trolls did not do their usual "bird watching" trick of failing to advance, and instead continually moved forward and were soon within charge range of my Elves in the forest. I feel that the Trolls were Mick's key unit in this game. Greater Warbeasts fight well in terrain, and they promptly charged the Elven foot unit in the woods and drove them back. This took them within the wild charge range of my Birds of the Forest, who were waiting in the rear for such an opportunity. They would end up charging the Trolls twice, both times failing to do much damage (Trolls are Armor 4, so four hits need to be rolled to cause a single casualty).

    Elven cavalry charge in and drive off the Uruks as the general's band ducks into the woods

Meanwhile, the cavalry had counter-charged another unit of Uruks and driven them back, as well. Both his Uruks were down five figures (which means -5 to Courage tests, but Mick's troops were rallying quickly and avoiding the catastrophic Courage failures that plagued him earlier). Things got worse for me when Mick cleverly charged the Trolls into my general's depleted unit. Mick had yet another amazing roll and shattered the already depleted unit. It promptly failed its Courage test. The most effective unit I had in position on the board at that time -- the cavalry -- were the only ones to fail their Courage test. That meant they had to sit in position and rally, ending up being charged by the Trolls, who were definitely on a roll.

    Elven high water mark - no losses, but 2 enemy units destroyed & 3 down near half strength

My remaining units on the right and center combined on the trolls, driving them down to half strength.  Mick was having no more catastrophic morale rolls, though. Anytime he failed with a unit and it went to Battered status, it promptly rallied on the next turn. When the Orc warlord and his bodyguard advanced into the center and charged the Elven foot unit sheltering there, the game was up. The Bonefish Band is a deadly attacking force, with four units that hit on 3+ on each 1d6 when they charge. The remaining Elven foot were slowly being hammered and their ranks withered by charges of Trolls, Uruks, and the Bodyguard. 

    'You like birds, Trolls? How about these!' Forest birds of prey twice charge into the trolls but do little

The Elves were eventually overwhelmed. While the morale of the orcs, goblins, and trolls held firm, mine slowly faltered, and units peeled off and ran for the board edge. Mick never lost another unit after he was down 2-0. Although Elven archery and cavalry charges caused casualties,  the orc warlord kept an iron grip on his troops and they simply outlasted the Elves. Meanwhile, the Elves -- with their own general gone -- succumbed to morale failures and fled the field in defeat. Despite initial successes, we were unable to maintain the momentum, and our ranks were devastated by deadly charge after charge.

    Cleverly, the orc warlord sends the trolls to kill off the Elven general, causing Elven morale to falter

The failure of the Elves to be able to defend terrain as I have them fielded is a concern for future games. I thumbed through the Dragon Rampant rule book looking for perhaps better troop types to field them as, but found no immediate solution. I will have to ponder it more and see if I can come up with anything. It could simply be they are simply not a good match for the potent Bonefish Band. Keith has lent out an Elven army with mixed weapon light infantry and they are 2-0 under. We shall have to see. If any readers of my blog are Dragon Rampant players, I'd love any suggestions!

    Heroes of the game, the enemy Trolls then follow up and slam into the battered Elven cavalry

Otherwise, it was great getting in a game with Mick. We tentatively made plans to meet again when he comes up next summer. Dragon Rampant is always fun -- I have actually played two games relatively recently that I did not get a chance to write up here on Lead Legionaries. Prior to Historicon, Jenny, Allen, and I did a three warband on three warband game to introduce new players Alex and Eric to the rules. At Historicon itself, I taught my buddy Jason how to play, pitting the Bonefish Band against his Dark Elves in a slaughterfest. DR! is always fun, win or lose!

    Knowing victory is at hand, the warlord of the Bonefish Band wades into the seal the Elven defeat

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 210
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 152

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 14
• Terrain painted in 2026: 29

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 34
• Scatter painted in 2026: 62

So, I Lied -- NOT the Last Elves!

    Last of the spear-armed 28mm metal Elves from Warhost -- one more batch & the army is done!

This batch of six Elven spear from the Warhost line was supposed to be the final figures in my Dragon Rampant army. However, when I saw a pack of "Elven Guardians" for sale at Badger Games booth at Historicon, I sighed and picked them up. So, this is the next-to-last group, instead! Despite the week or so layoff from painting for Historicon, they painted up fast enough. These are probably the most heavily-armored of the Warhost Elves that I've painted so far, many having armor covering their forearms in addition to a greaves, hauberk of some sort, helmet, and shoulder armor. Since the armor is a two-step (three really) process, that means these figures take a bit longer. Throw in the shields, too, and the spearmen are easily the most time-consuming infantry in the army.

    Closeup of two of my Elven spear -- these take more time because of the armor & shields

I did these identically to my other Elves -- priming then with Liquitex White Gesso, doing their flesh, then armor, then clothes. The armor gets a base coat of Gunmetal Gray craft paint, then a gold over it (but leaving edge lines of gunmetal). The third step is to take some metallic yellow and hit the highlights of the armor pieces to help produce a gleaming effect. Once the armor was done (or re-done, in the inevitable cases where I missed an armor part), I was on to the tunics and vests. I picked out six lighter greens for the tunics and six darker greens for the long vests. Each gets a dry brush highlight over their base color.

    I really like the variety of shades of green in my Elven army's color scheme -- very woodland!

Thankfully, there isn't as much equipment festooned on these figures -- just a knife blade in a sheath and a pouch. So, this part went relatively quickly compared to the archers who add in a quiver to the items strapped to their bodies. You may have noticed I did not use the 3-D printed, fancy spearpoints that Warhost includes in their packs. I finally decided that it was futile to do so. Too many will break off during games, and that will just saddle me with more repair work on the army which I'd rather not have to do. When spear point breaks on figs with the 3-D tip, I will simply scrape off the remnant of the point and repaint the brass wire as the spear. Yay -- something NOT to look forward to doing...ha, ha!

    I like the subtle varieties of armor style and poses, crouching, thrusting overhand, etc., 

I really like how this batch of shields came out, though. For most of these leaf designs, I added in a second accent color on the leaf's surface, this time. I also varied the colors of the veins in the leaves. The designs themselves were still done with my .005 black micron pen, though. Once the outline is done, I just "color it in" with paint. I also like the colors I picked out for the shield surfaces, too. All in all, this may be my favorite batch of shields for the army. And likely, now that I think of it, probably the last ones I will have to paint! The Elven Guardians carry two-handed halberd-like weapons, so no more shields there!

    Small band of Elven spear defend a bluff inside their woodland realm from invaders

The eyes came out fairly well on some and fairly borderline on a couple others. I honestly feel that the way I do my eyes on my 28mm figures looks nice when I execute it properly. When my depth perception is off a little, though, or the detail isn't as crisp, they are less inspiring. I try to avoid the overly-large "Googly Eyes" that unfortunately appears on many of my older figures. Hey! As I get older, that's one aspect of miniature painting that I think I have consistently improved on! I may not paint stripes, tartans, or checks as well as I used to do, but I think eyes and shields are getting better.

    Another look at the different leaf patterns I did on the shields of this batch (maybe my favorites?)

So, what else is on my painting desk? I have a HUGE batch of medieval stuff on there, combining miniatures, scatter, and another building. They are all coming along very nicely, though, and hopefully I will be following up this post with that one soon. The medieval figs are mostly Reaper Bones civilians, with a couple (I think) Old Glory metal ones, too. They're all "old" figures, so count for my alternating New and Old from the Leadpile. After that, I will doubtless paint the Guardians and REALLY be finished with my Elven DR! army. Stay tuned, more on the way!

    Final look at the one of the last batches to be painted up this army made mostly of Warhost figures

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 210
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 152

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 14
• Terrain painted in 2026: 29

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 34
• Scatter painted in 2026: 62

Elven Cavalry From Warhost (er, mostly...!)

    28mm metal Warhost Elven Cavalry gallop out of the woods, swelling the ranks of the wood elf army

With this batch of Elven cavalry done, I am one final batch of six foot figures away from having my Dragon Rampant army completed! There is always a chance I may add in another pack or two from the Warhost 28mm Elven line. They've added some nice sculpts to the line since I bought my initial batch from Badger Games in the U.S. I have really enjoyed painting the figures for this army, with one exception, though: these Elven mounted!

    I liked the variety of weapons the figures came with, though I had to supply the shields

To be 100% honest, this pack was a major disappointment. First, my box contained only five metal riders instead of the six that were supposed to be in there. I feel it's been too many months since I received it to go back and complain to Badger Games. I should have counted everything when I the order arrived. Perhaps I missed the shortage when I opened the box because of the real reason I'm unhappy with these --the horses are plastic! I know other companies do metal riders on plastic horses, but the whole reason I went with the Warhost Elven line is because they are metal. If I wanted plastic cavalry, I could have bought these much more cheaply from Oathmark, or somewhere else. I searched through my 28mm Dark Ages unpainted figures and found an Ancient German cavalryman who was clean-shaven and wouldn't look ridiculously out of place, in my opinion. His fur cloak would be unique in the army, but hopefully painting him in the same color scheme as the army might make him blend in more. I'm assuming you can pick him out -- what do you think?

    Like with most of this line, there is also a nice variety of armor & helmets, too

The horse sprues include left half of the body, right half, tail, plastic head, and some bizarre horse equipment piece that -- for the life of me -- I could not figure out where it went. Weirdly, it also includes resin horse heads that look like they belong to a more armored horse miniature. The resin heads are noticeably smaller than the plastic ones (which I ended up using). Even then, I felt the plastic ones didn't fit that neatly and the seam between the neck and body was quite visible on a few of the poses. The box also included wire spears for the two riders supposed to be holding spears, and the impractical, fragile plastic tips. This time -- unlike with my foot Elven spear -- I eschewed using the resin tips. Too easy to break!

    I also had to supply a 6th rider - for some reason my box contained only five riders but 6 horses

I also substituted some of my own "pill-shaped" bases instead of the huge round ones included. I decided to glue the riders onto the horses before I began painting. I go back and forth with 28mm figures which way I do this. Yes, it is easier to paint the rider separately. However, I find that gluing them on first makes the whole figure more solid. The paint adds an extra layer to the epoxy bonding the rider to the horse. So, typically, I glue them on first. However, this does make reaching certain areas with a paint brush more of a challenge.

    A shot of the four shielded riders, showing off their leaf pattern shields

The horses painted up okay, other than the seam between the neck and body being a little too visible. The poses are dynamic enough, but nothing spectacular. The riders were also problematic in their own way. There was a flat area on their backsides, facing the horse's tail, with three indentations. It looked almost like an outlet to plug an electric cord into the figures...ha, ha! Perhaps it had something to do with the piece of horse equipment that I couldn't figure out? I tried, but could not come up with a way that the piece (which I didn't use) would have covered this noticeably deformed area on riders. I failed, though. I had to resort to mixing up some green stuff and smoothing that area out. 

I'm sure there is something I missed, and probably should have done some Google or YouTube research before fully assembling everything. Still -- there is a tendency among plastic kit manufacturers to leave out any instructions, and expect everyone to experts at putting together puzzles of the pieces they include. A small piece of paper with black and white diagrams for assembly would not add anything significant to their costs, but few do so. Another reason I prefer metal miniatures -- you usually don't have to puzzle out how to "assemble" your figure...except in the case of this box! The riders also did not include shields, even though their arms are bent in a standard "glue a shield here" position. Luckily, I have a decent sized collection of unused metal shields and picked out ones to use on the poses where it would have looked weird without a shield. 

 Wasn't crazy about the mix of plastic horses & metal riders - plus some parts I couldn't quite figure out

Once horse, rider, weapons, shields, and green stuff were all applied, I did my usual Liquitex White Gesso priming. I went back to my painted 28mm Mongol army for Saga, and picked out six cavalry whose horse colorings I particularly liked and brought them to my painting desk. I used those as models for the horses, which I painted up first. Next, I did the flesh, robes and tunics, and armor. I wasn't crazy about the poses of the metal riders, either. Maybe I am suffering from burnout painting these elves? Either way, I wasn't particularly enthused about this batch as I was working on it. Painting mounted figures is always more of a chore for me, so maybe that was contributing, too?

Either way, it felt like work getting through these six mounted miniatures. I was happy to be done with them and close to completing the army. After this experience with mixed plastic and metal figures, I will be more careful in purchasing mounted minis. In the future, I will attempt to avoid these hybrids, though I understand fans of Games Workshop have been happily painting up this type of combination for years. Yet another reason to avoid all things GW (besides their prices)...ha, ha! I also don't enjoy their very cartoonish look, with leering expressions or exaggerated features. The Warhost line has been the opposite and many have commented on the line's "Tolkien-like" appearance. 

More stuff is on the way soon, so stay tuned! I have been very busy with the release of Surviving 'Nam -- and apparently it has paid off! Check out the snapshot of the Bestseller list from Wargame Vault! I don't think any of my rules before this made it to #2 on the leaderboard. Thanks to everyone who bought copies! By the way, print on demand copies are now available on Lulu, besides the PDF downloads on Ganesha Games and Wargame Vault.

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 179
  
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 141

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 12
  
• Terrain painted in 2026: 28

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 21
  
• Scatter painted in 2026: 59

 

 

 

 

Wizards & Spellcasters -- Bending My Own Rules!

    Six 28mm Wizards, 3 for the Elves under the sky, and three for mortal men doomed to die...

Since I already have a Reaper Bones Elven Wizard painted up, I decided to paint just three more for potential spellcasters for my Dragon Rampant Elven army. At only 1 Army Point apiece, Level 1 spellcasters are a great deal in the rules. And sometimes, their magic might be the perfect counterpoint to an opponent's troop choices or special abilities. However, three is an awful small batch of figures, so my next decision was to assemble three additional sorcerors from the Frostgrave Wizards sprue I bought from Firelands Games last November. Six foot figures is a proper batch size for my temperament.

    3 Female Elven Wizards -- Bad Squiddo's 'Morgana the Forest Healer' & two 'May Queens'

That's when I decided to get cheesy and rules lawyer my vow to alternate painting a batch of figures purchased this year with one purchased in previous years. Why not count these six figures as two separate batches -- even though I painting them simultaneously? Genius...ha, ha! The three female Elven spellcasters are all from Bad Squiddo Games. Two are the May Queens pack and the the third is Morgana, the Forest Healer. Links are to the Badger Games site for them, which is who I bought them from. All three look Elven enough to pass, even though I imagine that none are meant to be elves. So, the Frostgrave Wizards would be the male counterpart to these three. I used the head and arms of one to be a Gandalf clone, another to be a "dark monk"-looking figure with a staff, and the third another hooded and robed figure holding a scroll. Or perhaps an early rules lawyer holding up the tome and saying, "No, you're wrong -- you can't do that under these rules!"

    Though probably the simplest of the three Elves, she may be my favorite because of her face & dress

Anyway, after priming all six with Liquitex White Gesso, I started off with their flesh. I decided to go with basic human Caucasian flesh tone for the male wizards as two of my sorcerers that I have painted up are Middle Eastern. The elves I used a lighter flesh tone as the base coat, following it up with my darker orange-toned wash. Once that stage was done for all six, it was time to decide on robe colors. For one of the May Queens, I went with a light sea-foam green, hoping she didn't end up looking like a bridesmaid. The other one was done in a dark blue-green color that I really like. The third, being a guardian of the forest and all, was done in a somewhat bright Leaf green. The male wizards got a Wedgewood grayish-blue for non-Gandalf, cherry brown for the dark monk, and a khaki/tan combo for the rules lawyer.

    My favorite pattern of the wizards - the clusters of light green dots - is also repeated on her dress hem

Naturally, I dry-brushed each set of robes the next session, and then went to work on details. Rather than do all of their hair, all of their belts, etc. like I normal batch, I would pick up one figure and do four or five details on it before moving on to the next. I was careful to paint the elves first because, you know, the last batch was previously painted miniatures...ha, ha! I promise...last time I mention that on this particular blog entry!! Anyway, I made good progress and in just a couple days of painting, all six were fairly far along. However, Origins Game Fair intervened, and there was a five day gap between painting sessions. Otherwise, these figures might have been completed in as little as a week.

    The staff is the coolest part of this pose - I like the bunny at her feet & magpie on shoulder, too

I tried to vary the colors of the wood tones I used in each spellcaster's staff, as well as giving them different decorative patterns. My favorite, but probably the most subtle, is the repeating pattern of bright green dots on the blue-green robe of one of the May Queens. All of them looked nice to me, though, and I was very pleased with how they were looking as they progressed towards the end. For their flowered head dresses, I thought it might be neat to put in colored flocking as flowers in their hair. My first idea was to trim flower tufts up and use tweezers to put them among the greenery in their hair. However, a friend at Origins handed me a bag of Woodland Scenics Autumn clump foliage he bought but decided he didn't want. I thought it would be MUCH easier to tear off tiny bits of the clump foliage and glue then in place. After they were in place and the figure had its first clear coat, I went back and used tweezers to tear off bits of some of the pieces to make them even smaller.

    Much as I dislike plastic kit figs, I have to say I really like the look of these Frostgrave Wizards

Prior to that, while I was doing the brown wash on the flesh and tan colors, I had the idea to add an animal familiar to a couple of the bases of the Elven wizards. I have a nice selection of unpainted woodland animals, so pulled out a rabbit out of a drawer for one and a fox for the other. Morgana has a bird on her shoulder already, which I painted as a magpie. I was really happy with how it came out. For the other animal familiars, I did my usual and looked up Google images of the creatures to get their colors as correct as possible.

    How many times do you think I said, "You shall not pass!" as I painted this Not-Gandalf fig??

All six bases got my usual treatment for flocking. I decided for one of the May Queens to try gluing on a couple of the little resin scenery pieces I bought for basing my Vietnam figures. It was very fiddly to get the vegetation pieces to stand up while the glue dried. I also have the feeling they will be fragile, considering how thin the vegetation stalks appear to be.  I have also tempted to start doing some "adventurer" type miniatures with stone pavement basing, considering that the setting for my Fantasy cooperative games will be a ruined medieval town. However, I hate to have wildly different basing systems for figures on the tabletop together. So, I will probably keep sticking to my usual outdoor wilderness flocking method.

    I love the hand position in this 'dark monk' looking fig - he appears to be casting a spell right now

What else is on my painting desk? Well, that 3-D printed Huey helicopter is still sitting there at the same stage it has been for two weeks or so. I really do need to find the drive to finish it off. I'm fairly close -- except for door gunners, which I plan on attaching via magnets anyway (and I, umm,  haven't purchased any door gunners, yet...!). I also pulled out my six Warhost Elven cavalry figures...only to find one rider missing! I had six (plastic!) horses and five metal riders in my box. No shields either, even though more than half the poses are in an obvious bent arm "shield holding" posture. This was the first disappointment from the Warhost line. Why plastic, assemble your own horses for a line of metal miniatures?? If I wanted plastic horses I would have just bought a plastic kit! Anyway, I dug through my Dark Ages miniatures and found a rider that I felt will substitute in okay. I prepped them for painting and they will likely be my next batch after the chopper.

I used my smallest nib micron pen to scribble some mystic symbols & runes on this wizard's scroll

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 179
  
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 133

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 12
  
• Terrain painted in 2026: 26

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 21
  
• Scatter painted in 2026: 59

Birds of Prey: 'Lesser Warbeasts' for my Elven Army

    Birds of prey as 'Lesser Warbeasts' for my 28mm Elven army -- from a variety of sources

I have to be honest and upfront -- I am unable to identify where most of these figures came from. Most are likely from "Companion packs" by various manufacturers. Some are metal, though, and some are plastic. I believe the one of the elf with a hawk on her arm is a game piece from some board game that I've never played. I think a friend gave it to me because I definitely don't remember buying it! I did have to convert that figure, lopping off her rifle-carrying hand and substituting one carrying a sword. So, if anyone recognizes these miniatures (other than the Bad Squiddo Ravens, which I know), please speak up in the comments!

    Bird whisperer? Bird mistress? Plastic fig from a board game - I cut off her rifle & gave her a sword

 As I sat down to base these birds (or as Gollum would say, "birdses..."), my first thought was that I wanted to elevate them off the ground. For some I took wooden dowels and sliced them to a height I liked. Next, I shaved their sides with a hobby knife to look more like a wooden trunk. I used my pin vice to drill a couple holes and then inserted bent pieces of brass wire to become scraggly branches. For others, I used a large rock and epoxied the bird directly onto that. The clever among you may have noticed that Lesser Warbeasts in Dragon Rampant require six figures, but I am painting up seven. I was hedging against being less than thrilled with how one came out. The unlucky one will be relegated it to my box of animals!

    Left hand hawk is a raven from Bad Squiddo, but I have no idea of the metal bird on right

All were based on normal sized circular bases from Litko with heavy duty magnetic material underneath. Well, the elf bird-whisperer was on her own plastic base, so all I needed to do was put a magnet beneath her. Once all of the feathered Elf friends were securely epoxied to their base or perch, I primed everything with white Liquitex Gesso. Then they sat there for several days while I pondered how to paint them. On a day trip my friend Tom had organized, we stopped by Cedar Bog -- a wetlands nature park in Ohio. In their gift shop, they had laminated plastic cards of birds of prey that can be found in Ohio. I took a quick photo of it and then did Google Image searches on the species whose coloring I liked best. I chose only six because the seventh miniature was obviously a vulture of some sort. So, I picked the breeds with a color combinations that I liked. I numbered each base #1 - #7 so I could keep track of them. Perhaps I will mark on the underside of the base which each one is...? Or maybe not. Keith will likely look at them and say, "That's not a Northern Goshawk...!" Sigh. Some gaming groups have uniform experts who may critique every miniature. We have Keith who...well, according to him, knows everything! Ha, ha!!

    Right hand fig is another soft plastic fig, while left on the skull is metal, once again unsure of origin

From that point on, I would go down the list, pull up the table I'd saved with images of that species, and paint a color or two on it. I would then move on to the next, then the next, and so on. Of course, I was painting the Elven bird mistress at the same time. Why did I choose a green dress when all of the other figures in the army are pretty much green? Well, would YOU wear a different color if everyone else was wearing the one color? Ha, ha! I figured she would want concealment, too, as she stalked through the woodlands with her flock of attack birds. It took me a couple days to get the various plumage heads, beaks, eyes, and feet for all seven birds completed. One most of the birds, I did a brown wash to blend all the various brush strokes together. 

    Vulture (yes, not a bird of prey) perched across scratch-built tree stump & another Squiddo raven

I flocked the bases to match the rest of the army, with the exception of adding some clump foliage to the dead tree stumps. We are in the time of the year here in Ohio when the weather can make me wait several days or more to get a chance to spray coat my figures once they're painted. Some days, the humidity is too high even if the temperature isn't too hot. Other days, the humidity is too much even if the temperature is within the recommended rage for the Krylon matte clear coat that I use. I know, I know. My gaming buddy Mike S tells me at least once every couple months, "Why haven't you built a spray box for your house? It's easy!" Well, if I did, what would I have left to gripe about??

    Final look at the birds -- I like how the tree stump perches turned out...which one is odd bird out??

Tossing this in here because I didn't want to do a post just about measuring sticks. My friend Rich from RRB Minis & More handed these four sticks after I bought my last buildings. They are literally made to look like sticks (or branches? Trunks?) with wood grain and all. He asked if I preferred the 6" or 8" measuring stick, and of course I responded bigger is better! Rich 3-D printed them in a brown filament, but you know me -- I had to fancy them up! I spray painted them black and then brushed my premised 50/50 water and acrylic black paint over them. After that, it was my normal wood style recipe. Dark brown wet brush, Camo Brown dry brush, then Khaki highlight on alternating sections so it would be easier to see. I liked the alternating lighter and darker brown shades on the sticks. The final step was to paint the recessed notches between each one inch section black again to cover up stray dry brushing. So, now I have four measuring stick sticks...ha, ha!

    Measuring sticks painted as...sticks! Or branches or trunks, whichever you prefer. From RRB Minis

So, what else is on my painting desk? Right now, two 3-D printed medieval houses are racing the birds to be completed first. Yes, quite a sight to see a bird racing a house! Anyway, after that, I have nothing primed up, believe it or not. I guess I'd better get cracking! Since this was a batch of "old" figures, the next batch can be new, so that means another batch for my Elven army. I have the six mounted figures, six spearmen, and three (or so) wizards. Sayyy...I could be really clever and put together three of those Frostgrave wizards from the sprue I bought from Fireland Games. And combine the batch into a three of new and three of old? That sounds like a genius plan to me -- otherwise a batch of three figures may not seem like much. As for terrain, I don't know what is next for that, either. I could do another of the 3-D printed medieval houses -- maybe a two story, medium sized one? We'll see...

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 179
  
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 125

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 12
  
• Terrain painted in 2026: 26

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 21
  
• Scatter painted in 2026: 59  

 

 

Last of the Elven Archers

    Final batch of 28mm Warhost Elven archers -- still have more Elves to go, but the archers all done!

After being a bit disappointed at how long it took me to finish the previous batch, I set out to get this group of 28mm Warhost Elves done more quickly. Thankfully, I was successful in cranking them out in just over a week or so. These are the final archers for the army, which means I'm close to getting the whole army completed -- yay! I have honestly enjoyed painting these elves...and the orcs and goblins before them. I am planning on taking a breather before I do another army for Dragon Rampant, though. Wait...what was that advertisement? Warhost is making 28mm metal dwarves...? Nooooooo!!!

    Close up of two of the metal archers -- I like how the greens look as if they'll blend into the woods

Anyway, I have painting these guys down to a routine, by now. Weirdly, though, I tend to do the steps in a slightly different order with each batch. Luckily, with the archers, I get to skip the "assembly" step! After cleaning up the minimal flash on these Hobday and Hicks sculpts, I primed them, did their flesh, and then lined all eight of them up on my desk. I plopped a bottle of green paint behind each one to note which color their lighter, inner tunics would be. After painting that on, I did the armor base coat. I remembered to use the craft paint Gun Metal this time instead of Iron Wind Steel. These two packs of four had fewer guys with helmets or leg greaves, so that step went faster. Then, I realized I'd forgotten to dry brush the tunics before going on to the armor. No biggie, since I would be following that up with the bright gold color for the armor, which would likely cover up any stray swipes.

    These two packs of four had considerably more bare-headed as opposed to helmet wearing Elves

After the armor and tunics were complete, they were put back on parade. I picked out which darker green shade I would do the long vests in and placed the bottle behind the figure. Typically, this takes a bit time since I want the two greens to go together well. The vests were painted, and the next day I highlighted them. I stuck the elves back on parade and picked out a border color for each one's vest. I don't stick with green here, but I am hoping for the color combinations to be more muted and less contrasting than my first batch or two. Then it was time for the dots! My go-to for making a border or item of clothing look like it has a pattern or decoration is usually dots. These can be in a row or a pattern, giving the effect of an intricate design without actually having to do it. My friend Eric is a big proponent of all things dotted. Check out his blog here, which he has begun to update more often now that he has finally retired from teaching. 

    I have been consistently happy with these Warhost sculpts -- especially the variety of poses

I pulled out the same four shades of yellow I've been using for Elven hair next. I set two figures next to each bottle, hoping to give as much variety as possible. I dry brushed them the next day -- lighter yellow for the medium blonds, white for the lightest, and dun for the darkest. Moving on, I decided this time to do all the various sheaths, quivers, and pouches at once. Since I am going with a brown or tan tone for the equipment, I hoped it might save time. I pulled out five different brownish colors, unscrewed the caps, and laid them out before me. I know some say you shouldn't do it, but I usually shake my paint and use the paint inside the caps to dip my brush into. I've heard this causes the paint to dry up more quickly, but I honestly have never noticed that in my decades of painting this way. So, I continue to do it. Once that step was done, I went back the next day and applied a quick dry brush to each color I used. 

     Not sure why, but I wasn't as happy with my photos this time -- I feel the figs looks better in person

The figs were getting close, but still had some details to do. Next, was their waist sash or belts, shoes, arrows inside the quivers, feather fletching on the arrows, and so on. Eventually, they were done. With virtually ever color applied getting its own highlighting in a lighter shade, it does take longer to paint "my way" than some who have mastered the new breed of Contrast Paints. I would be interested in trying them out some day, but probably for a specific project. I don't want to have to re-purchase all of my paints. As you've probably noticed with this Elven project, I have more than a dozen greens alone!

    Sunlight through the trees -- final look at the final batch of Elven archers

So, what's next? Of course, my 2026 rules is for it to be a batch of figures acquired last year or earlier. Luckily, they will still be for my Elven army. I have seven birds of prey sitting on my desk which I have begun work on. They came from various source -- Fantasy Familiars or other packs from different manufacturers. They're mostly metal figs, but there are some plastic or Reaper Bones ones. I'm getting some more scenery ready to go, too. This includes not only two more medieval houses (smaller homes this time), but also a 28mm 3-D printed Huey helicopter. I would like the chopper (or all four) to be ready to use in a "Hot LZ" scenario when I run my Vietnam game at Origins Game Fair this June 17-21 here in Columbus. Lots more in the works, so stay tuned!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 179
  
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 118

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 12
  
• Terrain painted in 2026: 26

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 21
  
• Scatter painted in 2026: 59