1st Mordheim Building - Laser-cut "Terror Tower" by Flying Tricycle

A table's worth of Mordheim terrain has long been one of my "some-day" projects tucked in the back of my mind. Then recently there were two unconnected events—finishing painting a long-WIP undead Mordheim gang, and wanting to have a go at a laser-cut building—that let lead me to make one of my signature project detours. I actually finished this detour, though, which is less characteristic. And in less than a month, start to finish (mid-Dec to mid-Jan), which is even less-so.

I picked the OOP "Terror Tower" kit from Flying Tricycle (which was released when Mordheim was in print, I believe) and started right in. And after quite a journey, I finished it:

It's a nice kit, even though there are aspects that are hard to explain, for example too many windows without room for shutters, and what are those balconies for. The railings, if  I was to make a railing from square dowel to go around, would also be too low, (plan to come back and do something about them if/when I think of a good solution—or can you think of one?).

There is more detail, or laser-time invested, than the average kit today, most notably the whole of the outside walls beside the visible timbers has been engraved to make the timbers raised. It's also cut from plywood, which is more expensive than the more common MDF. This is a mixed bag as it's great where the grain of the wood aligns with the grain of the engraved wood planks of pieces that represent wood, but less helpful when the grain cuts across the planks the other way, or is mean to represent daub, brick or stone.

WIP shots:

Seems like a unqualified success, right? The thing is, though, it took me 23 hours 40 minutes. 5 or 6 is closer to what I would have liked. Recording all the time you spend on your hobby has its perils, I warn you.

Part of it can be chalked up to learning something new and experimenting. I went to lengths few would think necessary, such as designing, cutting out and installing a sheet of window frames for the inside walls (no engraving on that side, I'm afraid), texturing the walls with acrylic paste (the kind made from powered marble), and texturing and rescribing all the stone and brickwork.

Love the result (do take a look at the high-res version) and I answered my question, can I make laser-cut brick look the way I think it should, but also confirmed that if there's a next time it will need to use a different method. A big part of the reason I went ahead with this is that I take a very long-term view and I want to get a sense of how much time a full-size Mordheim table would take. This experiment proves I need to go back to drawing board and come up with a faster means. I have a few other less-complex resin ruins in the works too, which so far are less demanding.

Medieval Village Workbench WIP

Here's a medieval village I'm working on at the moment. Have had these for some years but they got to the top of the list as I need them for the D&D campaign. All are Vatican / Hudson & Allen light but sturdy foam except for an Armorcast well and unidentified resin 2-story house. Really fine sculpting and, for the most part, casting. The fortified farm does have air bubble cavities in a few places. The Hudson & Allen line are made by Vatican Enterprises. I have a large (multi-set) Hudson & Allen castle to get to some day as well. I've been tempted by the keep and the watch tower on occasion as well, though I keep telling myself not until I finish the H&A stuff I already have.

Some spray paints/primers will eat holes in the foam and partly because of this I put down a uniform black undercoat of Dupli-Color, which I know to be safe. Next a full coat of Rustoleum flat camo dark brown and then a dusting of the Rustoleum flat camo tan. At this point I can use them in a game in a pinch, and can finish them out at my leisure.

Also on the workbench is a Zvezda wooden palisade fort. The party is at such a fort at the moment, and remains to be seen if I can have it ready (enough) for the next session.

Talisman Druid, Pilgrim and Scout

How about the Druid, Pilgrim and Scout for today's Talisman post.

Talisman Pilgrim

Talisman Pilgrim

Talisman Pilgrim

Talisman Pilgrim

In western Europe in the middle ages it was common for people of all stripes to make pilgrimages at certain points in the their lives or others, and we can imagine it to be similar in the Talisman setting. The Talisman Pilgrim, though, seems to have made it his calling, and there's a more specific term for these individuals: palmer.

I'm reading Edmund Spencer's The Fairie Queene and the palmer character therein is the perfect inspiration for roleplaying this particular figure.He follows a knight called Sir Guyon, and takes it upon himself to guide him on the path of temperance and away from such perils as a group of flirtatious nymphs seeking bathing companions.

In short, wonderful, clear inspiration to bring this miniature to life in games (as a follower, rather than PC)! I can see the GM of my Talisman-inspired games providing the same sort of incessant moral guidance, perhaps in the service of some Monty-Python-esque burlesque.

In terms of painting the painting, we are looking at a limited palette of off-white, brown, gray and flesh. The main base color is P3 Trollblood Highlight, a favorite light neutral of mine. I washed it with faint wine-brown made with P3 Sanquine Base before highlighting up to white.

I don't like how his sign turned out. It's supposed to be a piece of cloth or paper stuck to his staff and depicting a black heard. But the size of the nail leaves a cramped space for the heart beneath, which is made worse by a little notch on the bottom of the sign. In hindsight I should have sliced away the nail and puttied over the notch at the bottom, and maybe even enlarged the sign a bit, then added the nail back much smaller at the top. As it is, it looks almost as much like a fuzzily-rendered spade symbol. Maybe I'll fix it.

Talisman Druid

Talisman Druid

Talisman Druid

Talisman Druid

On to the Druid. Here's a character I've always felt a kinship with. The key to the scheme is the periwinkle  robes, and this is set off by the blue sleeves, red belt, and green mistletoe. Thankfully I have the perfect periwinkle, Vallejo Shadow Grey. This is equivalent to the old Citadel Shadow Gray now made by Coat'd'arms and called Shadow Grey there too. The highlights are warm. I can't remember exactly, but they may be flesh tones.

When it came to painting a white beard, I looked at reference pics as a I usually do and noted in photographs a white beard shows almost no definition or shadows. A white beard is generally brilliantly white. Journeyman painters will often apply the same degree of shadow, mid-tones and highlights to each thing on a figure, and in my view this is a trap that painters will have to grow out of to achieve the next rungs of our craft. Understanding the reflective properties of the different materials one is trying to depict is one of the cornerstones of mastery. To get the beard right here didn't take careful shading, it just took conviction and five extra coats of pure white.

Talisman Scout

Talisman Scout

Talisman Scout

Talisman Scout

The scout was a quick one. I think an old GW Dark Angels Green and P3 Ordic Olive were two main greens I used, among several others. Photo reference is a must for me when I paint feathers.