Sharpe's Skirmish - Conversions pt. 1

Hello folks,

It's me again, embarking on another project. I have been doing this in fits and spurts between other commitments, but I'm super happy with the result. I've taken a box each of Perry plastic British and French Napoleonic infantry, and prepared them for some skirmishing action a la Sharpe the TV series (and books, I guess).

I have here the eponymous hero:

In a suitably stoic pose. He is simply converted by using pieces from the British box: Sergeants body, Rifleman's Baker rifle, and the bare head from the command sprue. I have since sculpted his cuffs on the right arm, but am considering shaving them off entirely. I'll see how they come up painted.

Secondly, one of the Chosen Men. Let's call him Rifleman Cooper:

Another relatively simple conversion: hat cut off and replaced with forage cap, arm band on the right arm.

I've done some work on Rifleman Tongue, with his bandana, but most of it is all from the box.

I've also got a box of French infantry which don't require much work at all! It's great to just snap off the miniatures and have them ready for painting! My plans are to make another Sharpe in a more swashbuckling pose, but more on that later!

Speaking of inconveniences...

Well, the D&D "Big Game" got canned. Postponed for another time, due to unforseen circumstances and calendar malfunctions. Well, maybe another time.

So, I thought I'd forget the whole fantasy business and go back to what I actually want to do! So here's a list of a few different projects I have running at the moment, and what stage they're at:

Colonial Steamer - have a foam base for it, and I've started the timber decking. I also have some concept drawings which I'll post up tonight (but they're on LAF somewhere, too).

Lost World - I have a decent collection of explorers, African tribesmen, Pygmies, dinosaurs, and some other wild animals. Nothing painted yet, but I also have all the jungle bases I'll ever need!

The Curse of the Black Scarab - The name of the Pulp campaign I've been working on for some time. I have a bunch of adobe buildings waiting to get roofs and some spackling, painting etc. No pictures as yet. I have heaps of Arab raiders (courtesy of Foundry and Empress) as well as a unit of British soldiers in later Palestine kit (from Pulp Figures) and the adventures mentioned above.

Sharpe - I just bought a box of Perry Napoleonic British Line Infantry and have already put together my own version of the eponymous hero, as well as plenty of troops for the South Essex, and on the flip side, some mutinous British. There's suitable parts to make Obadiah Hakeswill... This is primarily an effort to get my Dad to play a couple of games with me, so we'll see how that goes!

Atlantis Campaign - Red Orc and I have been putting together all the material to date as part of a fictional account of the exploration of the long, lost island of Atlantis. I am doing mainly artistic work, such as layouts and maps, but it is a good bit of fun!

So, plenty to do. Time to get back on that horse!

Dungeons and Dragons Miniatures - Orc Barbarian

On the 20th of November my friends and I are having a rather big game of Dungeons and Dragons in an effort to get together the members that have dropped off from the group over the years, and for one day relive the glorious days of adventure and excitement in the DMs living room.

Well, I'm putting together some nice surprises for the day, and here's one of them. An Orc Barbarian from the Chainmail range:

A bit of a dodgy photo, mind you. But, hopefully you like what I've done with him! I'll be putting better pics of him later, when I have more finished!

Lead Adventure Forum: Build Something Contest II

Here are some photos of my entry:

I only recently put together the "work in progress" shot at the top, but in hindsight I should have submitted that for the comp!

There are some fabulous entries to this competition. Having observed the calibre of work (that you come to expect with the LAF crowd!) I thought it was time I pushed my self just a little bit further and sculpted my very first full miniature: the big statue with the mask. So then I sculpted another, and another, and another... well, they didn't all make it to the final cut but it certainly opens up possibilities for future projects.

So, if you're hanging around with not much to do, make sure you drop by LAF, check out some amazing model scenery and get voting!

Mise en abyme

Well, after a hard slog, the cover for the Sydney University Student Anthology is up and ready to go. The books have been printed, the diorama set up in the Co-Op Bookshop window, and the launch will happen in the next couple of days.

What am I going on about? Click here to find out!

My first experiences at a "real" car boot sale...

It was all up in the air, you could say...

Coming out of Sydney at 8am to overcast skies and drizzle was a dubious start to what ended up being a terrific day. Romi and I grabbed some traditional South American fare for breakfast (biscochos... what else!) and headed on down to (what turned out to be) sunny Marulan.

Hurtling down the Hume Highway to hulking, dark grey storm clouds, we arrived to the sale just in time. We grabbed a parking spot in our host's backyard, and unloaded the goodies. News was that there was a storm thrashing our Nation's capital, Canberra, but we were lucky enough not to get a drop. Just a strong wind at the end of the day, when everyone had packed up.

Admittedly, I bought more than I sold. A lot more. So, on to the goodies:

Copplestone: Cavemen (4), Female Archaeologists (4), Deinonychuses (2), and an adventurous looking chap in a spiffing jumper with a backpack from the "Jolly Good Chaps" set for $20.

Foundry Spartan Command set for some small sword and sandal type adventures (possibly over the Christmas holidays using LOTR rules) for $10.

Osprey Books: Queen Victoria's Enemies I and II (Southern Africa and Northern Africa, respectively) and The Indian Mutiny for $12.

Romi got the best deal though, some OOP Citadel Dwarves including: Gyrocopter, Cannon, Ballista and King Khazador for $20.


Oh, and I sold two Lledo cars for $6.

Looking forward to the next one! Chris did a great job hosting us in his yard. It was a really fun atmosphere, very laid back and friendly.

More car boot sales, I say, what?

A little bit about my painting...

This is a miniature I painted for an online painting competition on the Collecting Citadel Miniatures Yahoo! Group. I don't remember which place I got, but I won something very cool. I also had a few friends and family to help me with the voting, but all in all not a bad job:

It's a great miniature by Bob Olley (one of my favourite sculptors) that he sculpted for CCM. All proceeds of sale from the miniatures went to help a young boy in hospital in Australia - hence the kangaroo. At this point in time, he is sitting on my shelf collecting a fair bit of dust!

Secondly is this fine fellow, another of Mr. Olley's fine miniatures:

He is named the Alpha Zorgl, and is based on the villain Ro-Man from the 1950s B-movie "Robot Monster". Unfortunately, he didn't win me a prize: I was outdone by the same tactics that won me votes in the last comp.

However, he now has a permanent spot in the limelight: the East Riding Miniatures website, where you can even buy one for yourself!

'Til next time!
P.S. Here is a poster I made for Alpha Zorgl's next big production:

In the beginning...

Hello folks, thanks for dropping by. This is the beginning of a new blog: a place to put in words and pictures my latest escapades in miniature wargaming and modelling.

So why the obscure title? It's a quote from G.K. Chesterton: "An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered."

So, be sure to watch this space for concept drawings, projects in progress, battle reports and more.