As requested, here are some photos of my painted War of the Ring figures. This project has lasted a few months, but to say that I am pleased with the end results would be an understatement.
I went for a very simple approach, aiming to treat the figures as functional playing pieces more than full-blown wargaming miniatures. In summary the technique goes like this:
- Carefully remove flash with Stanley knife.
Wash in warm detergent, rinse and dry.
Bent figures get dunked in near boiling water, reshaped, then dunked in water/ice cubes.
Spray with Games Workshop "Chaos Black", 24 hrs drying, then a second coat.
Paint with Miniature Paints (acrylic) base colour. 24 hrs drying, then second coat. Another 24 hrs to dry.
Dry brush, usually but not always with base colour mixed with white.
Paint the base, grey or blue for Free Peoples, black for shadow.
24 hrs drying, then spray with Games Workshop "Purity Seal" varnish.
24 hrs drying, then bundle back into the box tray - don't bag them.
I'm pretty pleased with the results, but my technique did get better as I went on, so that the Elves for example look significantly better than the Rohirrim. Two mistakes I made with early figures:- Too much paint on brush for base colour, obliterating the black underpainting entirely.
Spraying too close/too long with the varnish, giving a glossy finish.
Here are the Companions and Minions. I gave these a more detailed paint job, still using dry-brushing of lighter colour on top. I think they will look great on the board next time I play!Tag: boardgames
I got the opportunity to visit the Aldershot Game Shop after work yesterday, with money from recent eBay sales burning a hole in my pocket. I had my carefully worked out WishList on the Geek, and that said I "must have" Through the Desert, so I duly put that on the counter. But for my second purchase I found myself passing up my other "Must Have" Age of Steam and even "Love to Haves" like Power Grid, in favour of Settlers of the Stone Age, which just appealed to me on the day. I like the idea of the epic scope combined with Settlers-type simplicity. I think my choice made sense too in terms of balancing my collection, which is weighted in favour of wargames (Europe Engulfed, ASL Starter Kits)and gamer's games (Age of Empires, 1825) and doesn't have enough simple, short, newbie-friendly Euro games. I think yesterday's splurge choices started to redress that.
I introduced Colossal Arena to Gavin, Phil and Katie on Sunday. First time I've played it, though I've been carrying it hopefully to game sessions for a while now. Tricky game to explain - once you've got across the idea of the rounds and the betting and eliminations, you also by rights should go on to explain backers and special powers, but by now your audience is looking pie-eyed and just want to get on with it. However, a couple of card plays dispels the confusion, and it plays smoothly and swiftly with lots of fun along the way. Lived up to my expectations.
I never looked into Power Grid because I was put off by the graphics. The rusty bolts and sewage pipe imagery was an instant turnoff for me. How wrong I was! We played the game last night at Trevor's and I loved it. I like the straightforward mechanics with subtle implications, like the commodity market, which models supply and demand surprisingly well. Half way through the game I pulled off a satisfying coup, stockpiling coal and driving up the price. Les and Trevor panicked and switched to oil-fired power-stations, leaving me with plentiful cheap coal for the rest of the game! I like business games, especially business games with network building - I have spent many happy hours playing 1830 - and Power Grid presses the same buttons for me. 
I finally picked up my copy of Commands and Colors: Ancients from the Post Office yesterday. It looks absolutely marvellous! I've already ordered some blank dice from