A time to cast...

To paraphrase, for everything there is a season; a time to cast and a time to paint ...

I had the opportunity today to finish some things that have been pending. The company of infantry for Schluesselbrett got a spray coat in the relatively cool dry weather this morning.





The Bones test figures, pending further investigation of a suggestion that they might not be compatible with Krylon, got a brush varnish coat.





I then set up the melting pot and set out to make up for the lack of cavalry last week. Without an assistant, I found that cycling through four molds kept things warm between casts.



I expected a fair amount of time on venting issues, and that turned out to be the case, so production was slower than it might have been. I also worked with the Prince August 40mm dog and fox mold:


Commanders may now be accompanied by favorite hounds.

I had some limited success with hussar mold 52. I also cast some carbine cavalry on both poses, a few classic 11s, and some officers, for a total of about 30.

After that I broke out the 25mm ancient and fantasy molds, for a try at some Dux Bellorum armies. In the process of sorting through the fantasy molds looking for the barbarians, I also ended up casting a handful of orcs, from some old single figure molds. These were my first introduction to casting, and I thought it might be fun to try painting a few with my current techniques.




Overall, I ended up with the dogs, about 30 NQSYW cavalry, half a dozen 25mm fantasy/Dark Ages cavalry, and about 80 assorted 25mm foot. If I get in another session this season, I'll try to work toward stocking up on castings for Dux Bellorum armies. If I don't, this long afternoon will still provide enough work to keep me painting for many sessions.