Thursday 6 July 2017

Solid support

Yesterday when I got home, my two oldest sons had a gift for me.
Jonathan, my eldest, had seen me using pebbles on my terrain pieces and he and his eldest brother had spend some of their free time at the day-care, where they stay during the school holiday, to search for some rocks.
They presented these to me proudly and asked if I could do 'something' with these.
It's probably unnecessary to say I was moved and a bit surprised. Even though I had talked to them about playing a game, this was the first time they decided to get themselves actually involved in one of my hobbies.
With a day off, I decided to see how far they were prepared to go and we sat around the table building terrain.
It was lovely to see their enthousiasm as they glued rocks together, added sand and flock and painting (under my guidance off course).
In the end I added some final touches and, ...
This is the result:



Not only are these great (and cheap) terrain pieces which models can use as cover or climb upon, they also come with a story and personal touch, which will hopefully help to keep them interested in the game for a long time to come. 

Thanks a lot for reading!

Wouter

Sunday 2 July 2017

Small animals and tall tales, or new beginnings part 2

Time goes fast when one's having fun and I'm currently having a ton of fun building terrain for a game I want to play with my two eldest sons.
I've also been painting as if in a frenzy on the miniatures. Not as a chore, but because I really enjoy painting them.
Another reason why I want it to be as perfect as I can manage is of course the fact I'm playing with children and for kids the visual aspect is a very important element in getting their attention.
The game is called 'Burrows and Badgers', published by Oathsworn games.
 
Why I find the mini's so interesting to paint is easily summed up in three parts:
1. The fact they are all one piece. However, this hasn't stopped the sculpter to put them in interesting poses.
2. I really liked to do some research before starting to paint, it;s a bit like wetting my appetite before a meal. Trying to get the fur of the anthropomorphic animals right was a huge part of the painting experience. Not one is alike as mother nature has provided them with such a wide range of patterns and colours. How dull we humans look, ...
3. For some reason these miniatures seem to suit my painting style almost perfectly.
They reminded me so much of the 'Redwall' and 'Wind in the Willows' books.
After 20 years I even started buying and rereading the Redwall books.
 
As I painted, I also started picturing them in various landscapes and before reason popped in, I bought a bunch of trees and plundered my rather large 'terrain project locker'.
This locker had been unopened for years and was still filled with a large number of items I once had plans/ideas for, time to finally put them to use.
It's all work in progress, but here's a start.
 
 Looks almost cosy, doesn't it :).

The Rogues, ...

 My Shrew/Wildcat (still to add) Wild Beast horde from the far North. These are the only faction I created a story for in my mind, so I hope none of my sons picks them
 One of the miniatures I like very much is this bat necromancer. The sculpter made her so she looks a bit like a female vampire (though she's obviously a western bat) with the gown and all. Even while being a bat she has a sense of sexiness.


 
 
The gaming mat I'm posing everything on is one I bought especially for the game.
In the past I was very pleased on the folding gaming table and mats I bought from gamemat.eu, and their Forgotten Realm mat looked almost exactly what I wanted. That and the fact it looks a bit like a scene from Elder scrolls: Oblivion.
 
Thanks a lot for reading!