Recent painting — Mid-March

The last four things I finished (and in things go in my log as finished when they have been based and receive the final varnish coat) were from four different projects.

The first up was a stand of 4 Caesar 1/72 Sea Peoples, a single (blade) stand of which is available to a late Bronze Age Libyan DBA army.  It might be a while before my son Norman and I face off in a DBA Bronze Age game, so I’d like to have at least one new army ready. The Libyans are still going to need a command chariot.  I have the pieces set aside for one, but haven’t assembled them yet.

Caesar Sea Peoples stand for the Bronze Age Libyans

As part of my continuing effort to assemble forces of Minifigs Mythical Earth figures as a nostalgia project, I set aside the next unit of orcs and finished up a unit of their opponents, the “official” men of Gondor.  There being relatively little in Tolkien about Gondorian iconography, I decided to borrow some inspiration from the Spartans, and decorated the shields of this unit with the usual Elvish character for “G”.  They are somewhat oddly posed, looking off to one side a bit, and I tried them both shield forward (as finished) and faces forward before gluing them down.  I should check the Gondorian spearmen and consider that question in advance.

Minfig ME44 Gondorian Swordsmen

While Huzzah has not yet been cancelled, I have strong doubts that it will actually happen this year.  Nevertheless, I’m trying to make some progress on painting figures for the 40mm French Revolution project.  This sample Frenchman was built by adding a bicorne head from a Meisterzinn multiple piece mold to a body from a single piece running musketeer, with the neck drilled out to accept the plug in the head casting.  He’ll be part of a unit of troops in relatively fresh regulation uniforms, one of four visually distinct Garde Nationale units I’m hoping to create.

Meisterzinn figure with a head swap as a French Garde Nationale

The latest figure to be entered into the log is a current Iron Wind Metals production copy of a Ral Partha thief, sculpted by Tom Meier sometime in the early 1980s.   Playing Chaos Wars at Cincycon last week has me inspired to work on my Ral Partha collection.  Starting with an individual is not, perhaps, the best way to get the next unit painted, but it was what the Muse offered, and I don’t like to throw inspiration back in the Muse’s face if I can at all avoid it, lest she not come by again....

Ral Partha 01-114 Thief, sculpted by Tom Meier

At least the desk is relatively clear for when I next sit down to paint.