Two Hour Wargames Swordplay 2015: A quick review and battle report

 Swordplay 2015 is a FREE set of introductory fantasy/ancient non-gunpowder era skirmish rules by Two Hour Wargames. If you've never heard of THW, I'd advise you to check out their website and get the scoop there as this is just my review and not an overview of all the rules. I will touch upon some, however, particularly my favorites.

 Swordplay is offered in both PDF format for free and printed version for $5 plus S&H. So you've got no reason not to pick them up and check them out! This is a complete gaming system, not just a teaser. There's also a set of gunpowder/modern/sci-fi rules (Chain Reaction 2015, see above link) as well that is worth checking out and guess what? It's also free in PDF form!

So if you're interested in learning more of how I feel about the game, please read on! (Battle report is after the review if you want to skip on down there.)

Painting unicorns, with a special guest...My wife! :)

 My wife always said she'd never put paint to brush and apply it to miniatures yet here we are, painting unicorns side by side...It could be the beginning of a beautiful thing! ;) Will have another update showing the finished products!

 Also, I wanted to show off my coffee mug...How cool is that?! Wal-Mart photo center for the win. :)

A week's worth of work! Mostly Reaper Bones.

 It's been a long and hot week but I got a lot accomplished both on the miniatures front and scenery for my Song of Blades and Heroes set. Without further delay, here's some of my work this week, enjoy!

Reaper Sir Justin slightly converted rendition of the Ultima VIII Avatar. I saw this figure and knew I had to paint him as the Avatar! :)

I shaved off and filed the shield device cross that was on the shield originally.

Reaper Bones Treasure Chest

Reaper Bones Battleguard (copper)

Reaper Bones Battleguard (Steel)

Reaper Bones Flesh Golem

Another Reaper Bones Flesh Golem

Reaper Bones Stone Golem...I actually did two of these identical to each other. I figure I can use them as terrain as well!

Reaper Bones Zombies...Really looking forward to the Bones 2 wave of zombies!

Let's make it Orky!

 Here we have a Reaper Bones Orc Warrior with a two-handed sword. I decided to forgo the traditional green orc skin (at least, traditional to me as I played Orcs and Goblins as a Warhammer player in my younger years). Pretty happy with how he came out overall. Not so sure about the red but it definitely makes it pop.

 I finished him just in time to lead my evil force in a game of Song of Blades and Heroes by Ganesha Games against my fiancee and her force of good, a mix of humans and dwarfs that I painted up. She was particularly excited to use some of the models I painted for her. Hopefully I'll have a battle report to come!

Barbarian Raiding force for Warrior Heroes: Armies and Adventures

 Hey, bloggers! Well, it's taken a little longer than I thought, what with the holidays and such, but I finally got my Barbarian force by Pendraken ready for my Warrior Heroes: Armies and Adventures games I intend to play soon! This is just the first group of guys from the various armies I've ordered. Very happy with how they turned out, as it was my first attempt at painting 10mm. Luckily I studied some well painted miniatures beforehand and had a plan of attack, which was to make only two layers, shade then highlight. Also, the highlight would be at least two steps above the shade. While a bit garish when viewed closely, it really blends together when on the battlefield. So here they are!

The Barbarian Raiding party in all their splendor!

Swordsmen and hero ready to pillage...

Bison riders from my previous post...

No army is complete without archers!

Spearmen and a Hero...

War without warmachines is no fun!

 With the exception of the Swordsmen, I crafted the shields myself with some Green Stuff. It was my first attempt at sculpting. While pretty simple, I'm very pleased with the results!

 Up next, the Undead!

Julie Guthrie Personalities and a Metal Magic Skeleton!

                              Julie Guthrie's Personalities: Female Paladin

 Here's a really nicely sculpted female paladin. I like the fact that she's almost totally covered in armor whereas today, most female sculpts it seems just have a metal bikini! She's also got a pretty cool stance and looks like she could lead any adventure party to glory. Her face isn't very beautiful but hey, we aren't all lookers, right? She is now re-cast by Mega Miniatures.

                                 Julie Guthrie's Personalities: Female Elf Ranger

  

                          
 Here's another great example of a fully clothed female! At first I thought it was a guy but after further inspection, I saw that it was a woman and my hopes of painting it like Link were dashed. She really does remind me of link but ah well. I stuck with a wood elf sort of theme with her. Her shield is a simple freehand tree, which I'm not entirely happy with but hey, it looks like a tree. I'm sorry the pictures didn't turn out very well on this one! I'll try and retake them another time. Available through Mega Miniatures.

                          Julie Guthrie's Personalities: Champion 2-Handed Sword

 This guy looks a little plain but he's got a really neat stance, in my opinion. You can almost see him charging through a wasteland full of scary creatures. Originally I wanted to go with a darker armor and a wolf skin but I decided to go with a nice steel look and a bear skin, since he doesn't really seem like he's evil or anything. Overall, I'm happy with the way he turned out. He's available through Mega Miniatures. 

                               Skeleton with two-handed sword by Metal Magic

                      

 I decided I needed something for my heroes and adventurers to fight, so here's this guy. I went with a brownish skeleton as opposed to the classic black and white since I wanted a more realistic feel to it (as I tend to do with most of my miniatures). I really liked the way his sword turned out, as it makes it look like he crawled out of a shallow grave with a rusted sword. He can be had by Mega Miniatures.

Knights, a monk, and a halfling from Mega Miniatures.

             Today I've got a number of miniatures that I painted up from last year, all except Taz. I'm hoping to have more pictures up soon as I do some more painting and picture taking. I seem to have a bad habit of learning a new paint technique and then applying it to my older paint jobs! Ahh well, I guess that makes them better, in the long run.



                                             Plumed Knight by ??

 This guy is pretty neat with his giant sword and giant plume to boot. I'm not exactly sure what company released it originally but I think it's Metal Magic. He's got that classic knight look going on for him and a killer goatee! Picked him up at Mega Miniatures.

                                              Champion of Law by Metal Magic

 What else can I say about this guy? He's armored and awesome! Purchased through Mega Miniatures


                                          Julie Guthrie's Personalities Female Halfling

 This little thing (and I do mean little!) was a pretty fun painting experience. It was definitely the smallest 25 mm miniature I've ever painted. I thought she turned out rather well. I'm amazed that back in the late 80's and early 90's they could sculpt them so well this small. Purchased from Mega Miniatures.

                                              Julie Guthrie's Personalities Gulgevar Taz

 This guy was my first experimenting with "dark armor." Turned out fairly well, especially the halberd. He used to be part of the "Lords of Decay" boxed set by Julie Guthrie and is now recast by, you guessed it, Mega Miniatures! I particularly like the dragon face on his shoulder pad for some reason.

                                                                    The Monk

  This is another miniature recast by Mega Miniatures but I'm not entirely sure who originally sculpted it. He's very small and slender but I like his simplicity and pose. I'd imagine him making a pilgrimage to some holy place or maybe just out for a stroll by the abbey.

And so it begins...

 This is my first blog entry! Here at Fantasy Miniature Painter I'll mostly focus on older fantasy miniatures that I've come across in my collecting and that I've painted. I'll occasionally have modern miniatures, so keep a look out. I've been been painting and collecting miniatures since I was about 16 when my parents bought me my first wizard "pewter piece" as I called them back in the old days. Nowadays I'm just a casual painter and collector. A good chunk of my miniatures are purchased through Mega Miniatures for dirt cheap when it comes to miniatures ($1.89 for standard-size!). Without further-ado, here are some pictures! I hope you enjoy!
                                          Bofore Pinenut the Druid by Ral Partha

  I bought this guy off E-Bay after searching years for him. He's part of a three-stage character growth progression with this being the first stage (and coolest looking might I add!). He's also my current favorite paint job, so a rightful place as the first picture.

                                  Julie Guthrie's Personalities Dwarf Fighter by Grenadier 

   Here's another really old guy. If I remember correctly, the original mold was 1987. I picked him up at Mega Miniatures and I just fell in love with the sculpt! He looks like a really early version of a fantasy dwarf. He doesn't even have a mustache, which I think is pretty unique, for a dwarf.


                                   Wizard with staff and pointed hat by Metal Magic

   This guy really reminds me a lot of Gandalf; in fact, I have another version of him painted up just like Gandalf, which I'll post here soon! He's got a great pose and personality going on. The little mushrooms are made of a nail with the sharp end stuck in the base, turned out pretty cool. This guy can be bought at Mega Miniatures as well!


                                     Ranger with Bow and Sword by Metal Magic

      This guy was kind of cool to paint. I wasn't sure what to paint, so I just closed my eyes, stuck my hand in the miniatures bin and I randomly chose him! He reminds me a lot of the old Citadel wood elves. Bought cheap through Mega Miniatures.