Season's Greetings!!! Painting and Gaming Update...

Hi folks. I hope that you are all enjoying your Christmas celebrations and that Santa brought you some cool gifts.

I have been busy over the past few weeks painting Lord of the Rings models, having been inspired by the latest Hobbit film. I know lots of people think the movie is a steaming pile of dingo kidneys, but I loved it! Anyway, I have been busy with completing some High Elf spearmen converted from Guards of the Galadhrim Court. They have been painted in my current 'dip & highlight' style. I like them - they aren't the best GW sculpts, but I think my paint job and the addition of shields has made them look pretty cool...

I have also been working on my evil forces as well, prompted by a chance encounter on EBAY. I had been worrying for a while about the amount of time it is going to take to get enough LoTR models on the table for a game when, quite by chance, I came upon 24 painted Morannon Orcs. They were not cheap, but had been painted in a fairly neat base coat, ink wash and dry brush style. Anyway, I took the chance and clicked 'Buy it Now.' 

This is what they looked like when they arrived...

So, I set to work adding proper highlights and tidying up areas where the dry brushing was dodgy. I also repainted the shields black, Dullcoted and rebased to match the Orcs I had already done. Here are a couple of close-ups after the surgery was completed...

Not too shabby, I think you'll agree!! I have 8 more to do by which time my Orc force will have quadrupled in about 4 evenings painting time...result!!!!

Here are a few 'action shots' of the entire LoTR collection thus far...

Finally for today, just before Christmas, Andy Mac and I reconvened for another play test of the War & Conquest Romano-British and Early Saxon army lists. This time we took 2500pt armies which gave me the chance to try armoured milites and Frankish allies. The game was, as always, a cracker. However, it did expose the fact that well armoured Romano-Brits are pretty well certain to grind out a win against the Saxon Duguth simply by virtue of better saving throws and by being close order infantry. This means they need to be limited in Romano-Brit lists. in fact, I am toying with the idea of forcing the Romano-Brit player to field at least one unit of Pedyt in any army list above 1500pts. The Franks were, predictably, slaughtered when facing foot Gedriht. The KA4 of the Gedriht means that they are invincible in a straight fight (although Welsh Teulu will be their equal when I write their list) and in this game, Andy's unit strolled through the Franks and one unarmoured milites unit. His mounted Gedriht came off distinctly worse against the mounted Romano-Brit Commanipulares, helped by the Equites, whose flank charge was a joy!!

Overall, we had to stop due to running out of time. Andy had killed 2 of my combat units, but I had killed more. However, he achieved his objective whereas I did not. Next, we will use different forces - Andy will try some Geoguth in his army and I will field a Vortigern list with Saxon mercenaries and Pedyt...

Anyway, a few pictures...

Saxon deployment...

Battle lines formed...

View from the other table edge...

View from behind the Saxon horde...

Gedriht showing my Franks how it should be done...ouch...

Arthur charges in...

Chop, slice, stab...

Andy ponders the pending destruction of his mounted Gedriht...

Saxon Duguth about to 'take their medicine' courtesy of Arthur's commanipulares...

I hope you enjoyed the update. Next up, more Elves and orcs, plus news of 2015's big War & Conquest project!