Mouse Wizard!

 He's a wizard... who's also a mouse!

Just a fun little figure I picked up. I like him, he's got style.

The Ghostly Fleet

 Perhaps it's more of a squadron, but nonetheless, the Ghost Fleet is painted!

Four ships is all that I had to paint, of course. Maybe I'll add more some day, and I still need to figure out the bases, but visible progress is always good.

A Ghost! (Ship)

 Recently, Mantic announced a new book expansion for Armada, "Seas of Dread"

https://www.manticgames.com/news/ghosts-and-pirates-new-ways-to-play-armada-seas-of-dread-supplement/

All very exciting stuff, but of course the thing that drew me in the most was the part about ghost ships. Why? Well, I've always had an interest in ghost ships and things like the Bermuda Triangle (I don't nescesarily think that they're real, mind you, I just enjoy the creepiness of the stories). I also, perhaps more importantly thought, "Hey, that should be easy to paint!"

And so I have begun. I've had these brigs hanging around for a while, unpainted, so now they have become ghost brigs.

I still need bases of course, and I've got some grand ideas for them that will probably not come true. We'll see!

A Break for Heroes

 One thing I haven't talked about much on this blog? Hero Quest! And yet, it's a game that my wife and I play almost weekly with my parents. It's a game that, mechanics wise, probably hasn't aged all that well, even with the new version, but that's part of the appeal for my family, I think. My parent's usually aren't in the mood to learn a whole new set of game mechanics after dinner, and my nephews are still a bit too young for the crazy complex games of today. Hero Quest is easy enough to pick up and play for everyone, and just balanced enough in the direction of the players so that kids don't get frustrated.

Last week we managed to finish the final of quest of Kellar's Keep, with some suitably dramatic moments. I'm Zargon most games, and while I personally want my family to win against me, it's nice to have a good challenge for them. And the gargoyle at the end surprised them and gave them some tense action, so all was well.

 

                                                        (Note the druid is a bear now.)

All in all, a good time.

The Orc Horde

 Let no one say that I have too many projects... because I already said it. Just now. I have too many projects! A few months ago I placed an order for some orcs with em4 miniatures. They arrived a couple of weeks ago. And there are a lot of them. 150 to be exact. Only 3 simple sculpts, an archer, a spear orc and a swordsorc, but that's all I was looking for. I have such a weakness for cheap, simple miniatures. Since then, I've been trying to practice my speed painting.

I've got about 60 done, which is honestly far more than I would have expected.

Maybe I can do this after all!

Minotaur Time

 It's been a heck of a year, mostly in not great ways. Health problems! I would advise not having them.

Anyhow! Enough of that. I've managed to aquire and paint up some more minotaurs!

The three at the bottom are the newest ones, two from Reaper and one from those dnd figures. Some variance in size, but that doesn't bother me. I suppose if I wanted to use these guys for KoW that's at least two regiments and a leader for the herd. Either which way, I like 'em. Fun to paint too.

December Updates

 That's a thrilling title right there!

Some good things have happened this December, though. I got some new ogres and the new rulebook for Kings of War, which meant it was time for a game of Ambush! New ogres vs elves, in a nice little pillage skirmish:

A nice, fast paced game that ended in victory for the Elves, thanks in no small part to the regiment of gladestalkers. This is definitely my preferred scale.

I'm still trying to complete the Middle Earth bingo, but I've also accepted that it probably won't happen. It was worth the attempt, anyhow.