Its been tough taking the brush back up. From being a painting fury I suddenly stopped, a bit like Forrest Gump when he stopped running. There was no reason, well none that I would admit to, but I stopped.
I'm still not my prolific self but at least I have slapped a bit of colour about and actually feel motivated enough to want to. I don't view myself as some radical environmentalist, in fact the urge to set about a few oil protestors comes over me now and again. Its probably my age. Anyway, as followers will notice I like old figure ranges and did enjoy building my two ECW armies.
So looking at my burgeoning Persian army and following a few bloggers who think the same I decided to revamp my Persians, replacing my Victrix figures with old and I mean old ranges, especially Garrison, Lamming, Hinchliffe and Mini Figs.
Personally I'm happy buying up old and badly painted stuff and going from there. I like the challenge and somehow feel it speeds up the process of getting them on the table. Accuracy? Maybe, although the Mini Fig PB ranges were designed using the original Wargames Research Group books and that'll do for me. No doubt if I turned up at the Ancient Societies bash there may be a few tuts but hey ho.
Re-reading the best article that has surfaced in the Wargames Illustrated recently regarding nostalgic collections etc I was inspired to replace any ancient Persians that were created after 2000.
A base of Mini Figs, PB ancient Persian archers, best viewed from a couple of feet away. I did enjoy giving them a bit of attention, but obviously not to everyone's taste.
Can I say I still love the beauty of a lot of new figures, especially Ebor Figures, Antediluvian Miniatures, the Perry brothers etc. etc. but beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and just think how much I am contributing towards saving the planet for the next generation of wargamers.
This week John and I had a great game using his wonderful Warlord Epic ECW armies, painted as 30 Years War protagonists. We opted for a set of rules I used to enjoy, Baroque. I had forgotten just how good they are and although it was a struggle getting my head around a few issues about when to roll high or low, not that mattered. I always roll the wrong way. The rules really allowed the game to flow and for me gave a great period feel to the battle. Oh and the Epic figures looked brilliant.
Great to see old figures getting some paint
ReplyDeleteThanks Neil. I appreciate that there are some brilliant figure sculptors about and I love painting them but the charm of the old stuff somehow resonates with me.
DeleteGorgeous units with fantastic colors...Impressive!
ReplyDeleteThanks Phil, Ive always opted for bright unhistorical colours and actually envy painters who can produce muted tones.
DeleteI enjoy seeing your old, brightly painted collections. Baroque and Impetvs are terrific rulesets. Outside of my own games, I rarely see them played.
ReplyDeleteI had forgotten how good Baroque are, yes they can be taxing but you feel like you've actually been making decisions as opposed to simply throwing dice etc.
DeleteWhat’s not to love about those classic shiny toys…
ReplyDeleteAll the best. Aly
Hope you are feeling better Aly.
DeleteThe figures are great and you have done them proud with your paintbrush! There is much satisfaction to be had from breathing new life into old castings.
ReplyDeleteGiven your beautiful armies you should know, thanks.
DeleteGosh, I do like the Assyrians but having just acquired lots of old Hinchliffe for my Battle of Dara shiny nostalgia project I really can't allow myself to get carried away. I have only been refurbishing old figures for about five years now but like you I find it much easier to start, persevere with, and finish, 'refurb' jobs than painting new castings.
ReplyDeleteLook at it as saving the planet. It makes the task far more pleasurable.
DeleteGreat stuff, really good to see some of the classic figures getting a breath of new life, very nice work on them. I love seeing older ranges being used, I have an old school SYW project going on using Minifigs, Garrison and Hinchliffe but also have a SYW project going on that has Minden, Crann Tara etc. I do find myself getting more and more into using older figures though and reading your post makes me want to do more. Cracking figures and lovely painting, superb!
ReplyDeleteSeven Years War? I really should field my large German state Hinchliffe SYW army. The Hinchliffe range although small is still a wonderful one full of character. I do have a few Cran Tara and Minden though, and they are beautiful. But my favourites are still the old Pax Brittanica/ RSM ranges, check them out at the Dayton Painting Company.
DeleteAs I get older I find that I'm appreciating the older, more simple sculpting style that would have been cutting edge when I was a teenager. Of course nowadays with digital sculpting the level of detail that can be achieved is incredible, but for me less is more. Nice work on those figures BTW:).
ReplyDeleteI honestly think we regress as we get older. Certainly my childish behaviour has got worse as my wife will testify to, but every range of figures have real merits whether modern or old. I just love all toy soldiers really.
DeleteA most enjoyable post. I particularly liked the cavary figures.
ReplyDeleteThe Assyrian shields on the infantry having a distinctive and pleasing shape too.
Thanks
Stephen
My pleasure. In reality, not a nice nation but they knew how to dress.
DeleteAs always you have slapped paint about to great effect Robbie.
ReplyDeleteSlap? More like carefully placed using a large brush David. I cant match your skill and enthusiasm but I try.
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