Scullmeister's dispatches from the West.

Happy 2012 - may the world end quietly and not wake the baby.

2012-01-05T08:56:00.001-08:00

Well 2012 is upon us so we better all get painting and gaming before the world ends! For me, 2011 has been filled with the challenges of raising a toddler and a baby. Painting and gaming has had to take a back seat, thanks to my friends who have been understanding, especially fellow blogger, Guido, who constantly reassures me that it gets better, eventually.2011, started out so well. I managed to do lots of painting, but it all ended when the baby arrived in April. I did however, still manage to make the odd purchase during the following months and there are now plenty of unpainted miniatures awaiting my return to the painting table. I also managed to write the first draft of a feature film script ,which I hope to get financed this year.So the plan for 2012 is to make more time to game and paint. I am currently feeling the urge to return to the battlefields of the Warhammer 40K universe, thanks to the Christmas presents from Forgeworld that I received. I believe the next edition of the rules will be coming out this year, so perhaps that can wait, but in the mean time I could paint the occasional Space Marine in readiness. On the historical front, I must finish painting my Early Republican Roman Allied Legion and my Early Saxons, maybe even start on my Huns!There, that will probably take care of 2012! Mostly, I know that I will be blogging on this page a whole lot more. So hopefully I will hear from you all, and maybe you might read something vaguely interesting on this blog sometime during the year.Cheers Scullmeister

Holiday

2011-12-15T04:56:00.001-08:00

I'm in the sunny UK for Christmas and New Years, so my daughters can spend time with their Grandparents. Once again I'm looking for advice about what are the best wargames shops to visit while I'm here. Can anyone help?This time I am going to try and make it up to Nottingham and hopefully visit Games Workshop and possibly Wargames Foundry. I can feel some purchases coming up!

Game of Thrones

2011-09-02T07:24:00.000-07:00

Everything begins with small steps. I went out and bought some glue today and started assembling some plastic Warlord, Imperial Roman Auxiliaries. I purchased a pack ages ago and now that Guido has me interested in the Clash of Empires rules, I'm trying to make up the unit

I've discovered that I have about a 1000 point Imperial Roman army, which has been sitting dormant on my shelf for years. I just need to paint one more Cavalryman to meet the minimum number for Cavalry and it is ready for the tabletop. Now I would like to add some variation and the Auxiliaries are a start.

Anyway, have you seen the HBO series Game of Thrones? I throughly enjoyed it, worth a look if you haven't seen it. Here are the opening credits to the series. This is probably the best credit sequence I have ever seen in a TV series, it has been nominated for an Emmy Award.

So, hopefully I will get more time to paint miniatures and play games again... will see.

Red Tails trailer

2011-08-04T05:41:00.000-07:00

I don't know anything about this film, but the aerial combat sequences look amazing. The reality of a P-51 taking down a Me262 could be a little bit of a stretch, but the CGI really shows how good films like Memphis Belle and Top Gun could have been if they were done now.

Spartacus: Vengence - complete first trailer

2011-07-29T22:35:00.001-07:00

Looks Great!

Spartacus: Vengence

2011-07-22T22:11:00.001-07:00

Conan - scene

2011-07-19T20:18:00.000-07:00

OK, this looks like it could be worth a watch.

Samseng

2011-06-29T21:45:00.000-07:00

Here is another short film I made in 2004. It was self financed, shot on Super 16mm film with a predominantly student crew working on the project. The final film went to the St.Kilda Film Festival and many more.

(Warning: film contains occasional course language, mild violence and a sex scene)

White Dragons

2011-06-25T03:42:00.001-07:00

Here's a short documentary I made way back in 1999!

And another

2011-06-23T21:44:00.001-07:00

Here is another scene from Iron Bird.

Iron Bird - bombs loose from Chris Richards-Scully on Vimeo.

More - Iron Bird

2011-06-23T21:24:00.000-07:00

Another scene from you 2006 epic short film, Iron Bird.

Iron Bird - sc.6 from Chris Richards-Scully on Vimeo.

Iron Bird

2011-06-23T07:12:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to archive my past work to one location and have started a Vimeo account.

There is not much there at the moment as I am still working the technology out and trying to get my older work digitised to the correct formats.

Anyway, here is a short scene from my WW2 short film called Iron Bird. I will be posting a few more scenes and if there is enough interest I will think about putting the whole movie up onto the site.

Lack of posts

2011-06-03T02:24:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of new posts everyone. New baby, 8 weeks old... you know the rest!

"I will be back"! ... sounds like a famous quote doesn't it.

Wow!

2011-04-29T23:01:00.001-07:00

We had a little win

2011-04-08T19:28:00.000-07:00

My little short film recently picked up a Special Jury Award at the Canada International Film Festival.

The new Conan

2011-03-31T03:49:00.000-07:00

The poster is awesome, but the teaser trailer is crap (hence I haven't posted it). We'll have to wait and see, but it's going to be difficult out doing Arnie!

The truth about the Zulu war

2011-03-30T07:36:00.000-07:00

I saw a great documentary on the history channel called, Zulu: The True Story. I really enjoyed it, puts the true story forward and not the one Hollywood, or official story that once-upon-a-time British history would like us to hear. It is a story that uncovers an unnecessary war, a royal cover-up and forgotten heroes. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the period.

A commander for my Allied Legion!

2011-03-26T06:09:00.000-07:00

As promised here is newly painted commander for my Allied Legions. The miniature is from Aventine, but given to me by Guido (many thanks). I haven't been gaming so I've been taking my time and just enjoying painting miniatures. This took about a week to paint, but only doing the odd hour here-and-there. I'm happy with the result and now must get back to painting the remaining Cohorts!

Coming soon...

2011-03-24T07:03:00.000-07:00

I've just finished painting the General for my Allied Legions and now I need to find a suitable base. Not sure if I should use the WAB style single 25mm frontage cavalry base or use a large round base and make it more of a centrepiece? I would use the round base if I was only going to use it for Hail Caesar. Admittedly whenever I have used Romans in WAB the Army General has never actually entered the fray, he has only stood back and in range for units to benefit from his moral for break tests.

I am leaning towards the round base. What do you suggest?

Another clip from - The Eagle

2011-03-22T23:21:00.000-07:00

The Eagle

2011-03-19T02:44:00.000-07:00

For all you Roman Generals out there, here's a really cool image from The Eagle. The film release date was Feb 11, 2011, but I've not seen it come to Australian cinemas yet, has anyone seen the film?

Archers

2011-03-14T05:53:00.000-07:00

Painting has been a little slow in my household, but here is a glimpse at my latest project. WG Foundry Greek archers that I will be using as Cretan archers in support of my Allied Legion.
I'm enjoying painting these because of the simplicity. Everything else in my career seems to take so long to gestate, so it's kind of cathartic to see immediate results. I decided not to use army painter with these miniatures, just old school shading and highlights. They may take a little longer to paint, but at the moment I'm in no hurry.

Wargames Foundry Greek Archer

Finally

2011-03-06T04:18:00.000-08:00

It has taken a long time, but I blame our summer heatwave for stopping all painting. Anyway, here is my latest Cohort of Hastati for my Allied Legion. The unit is made up mainly of Companion miniatures (Thanks Andrey for your help), with Aventine Allied Legion Command.

2nd cohort of Hastati for my Allied Legion

A quick game last night.

2011-02-25T17:07:00.000-08:00

Guido and I had a couple quick games of Blitzkrieg Commander last night. I have never played the rules and Guido has only a couple of times, so we decided to make it easy on ourselves and use only tank. Afrika Korp were pitted against the Aussies, with Guido taking 3 Crusaders and 3 Stuarts against my force of 2 Mark III's and 2 Mark IV's. We randomised the entry points for each unit and gave the objective of capturing the village. It turned out to be a fast game, with the Afrika Korp emerging victorious.

Superbly painted tanks supplied by Guido.

Then we tried an experiment. I took an 88mm gun and would attempt to hold up against the same Allied force. In a good demonstration as to why you don't charge an 88mm on open ground, the Australian armour was cut to shreds. However, one Crusader did make it very close. The lesson learnt was that an 88mm is not invulnerable to a direct assault, but it dice rolling didn't help Guido co-ordinate the attack as well as it should have been.

Starting positions and what my 88mm could see in front if it.

Unfortunately the Crusaders didn't begin their attack until 2 Stuarts were already flaming wrecks!

A lone Crusader almost did the job.

If we were playing the game properly, Guido would have used artillery to take out the gun and probably not have charged up the guts without plenty of smoke, but we imagined this type of game being played on the Eastern Front with a ruthless Russian commander using plenty of T-34's to charge the guns. The tactic might work.

My short film will be screening in Vancouver

2011-02-24T21:47:00.000-08:00

If you are in, or around Vancouver on the 2nd and 3rd of April you have an opportunity to catch my latest short film, Kanowna, screening in competition at the Canada International Film Festival. If you know anyone who lives in Vancouver who you think might enjoy seeing some short films, please pass this information on to them.

Kokoda documentary

2011-02-18T06:04:00.000-08:00

I just watched a great documentary about the Kokoda campaign. Really interesting and informative. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in this particular conflict in WW2.

Costs

2011-02-18T05:58:00.000-08:00

I just ordered a set of Black Powder rules from a website based in the UK. They offer free postage for any item purchased over 10GBP, so in total this will cost me $42AU once you've done the currency conversion. The same item ordered from an equivalent Australian website costs $65AU and then you have to add the cost of postage in Austalia, which I dare say would be around the $10 mark. Go figure that one out!

The Force

2011-02-03T03:28:00.000-08:00

This is so cool!

My short film is nominated for local screen awards

2011-02-02T19:41:00.000-08:00

I'm happy to say that there was a flurry of painting activity last evening and my latest Hastati unit has finally had some more work completed on it. However, along with that inspiring news I was also told this today.

Kanowna has been nominated for 2 Western Australian Screen Awards in the following categories:

Best Director
Best Production Design.

We would like to thank the judges for their recognition and we are humbled by the nominations.

My film has been invited to Warrambeen Film Festival

2011-01-26T21:52:00.000-08:00

My lastest short film staring Dustin Clare, who also appears in the lesser know Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, has been invited to screen in competition at the Warrambeen Film Festival. So if you're in Geelong or Melbourne, head down and take a look on Saturday March 5, 2011.

Prussians vs French, scenario battle

2011-01-26T05:48:00.000-08:00

Continuing our ongoing quest to become masters of the Black Powder rules, 'Whipping Boy' aka Guido and I played a scenario game last evening. Using an old set of generic scenarios for a Red side and a Blue side, once again we dragged out the old 15mm Prussians and French. The scenario we chose had one side fighting a rear-guard action attempting to hold off a larger opponent. Guido took the French and would also fight the rear-guard action.

The French were given a set amount of units which Guido divided up into two Brigades:

Brigade 1 -
2 Infantry Battalions
1 Light Infantry
1 Cannon

Brigade 2
2 Infantry Battalions
1 Light Cavarly Regiment
1 Cannon

I chose to divide my given units into 3 Brigades

Prussians Brigade 1
3 Infantry Battalions
1 Light Infantry
1 Cannon

Prussians Brigade 2

3 Infantry Battalions

1 Light Infantry

1 Cannon

Prussians Brigade 2
Two Light Cavalry Regiments
Two Heavy Cavalry Regiments

The French were permitted to deploy north of an imaginary line which stretched between two hills on the French third of the game board. The Prussians would arrive on randomly by one of two roads. (Sorry about the photos, it's always hard for combat photographers to concentrate in the heat of battle).

A Prussian Brigade arrives from the West, along a road through a small village, while the French from a defensive line along the ridge line.

A Prussian infantry brigade was delayed from arriving on the battlefield, so I had to decide if I would wait or press my attack, breaking through as the scenario required. The infantry brigade that arrived, moved to face off with the French brigade on the far hill and the Cavalry brigade moved to the Eastern hill, threatening the flank of the second French brigade. Had my third brigade arrived on time, they would have been supporting the Cavalry.

The Prussian Cavalry

When it became apparent that my third brigade was not arriving any time soon, I decided to press on with the attack and not wait for the support, rather than sit under the French guns, take casualties and lose precious morale. So, I attacked!

Having never played BP with Cavarly before, it was a learning curve for both Guido and myself. Also having only one copy of the rules slowed us down a bit, so I think I'm going to have to purchase some during the next Maelstrom Games sale :)

The Prussian infantry marched up the hill, weathering the hail of French fire and charging into hand-to-hand. I mistakenly sent only one regiment of Hussars to take on the French gun, but they were repulsed by the supporting infantry and retired shaken, but I learnt from that mistake and charged two heavy cavalry regiments the next turn in response.

After a turn of drawn combat, the Prussian infantry smashed through the French line on the North hill and during the same turn the heavy cavalry sent the infantry packing. It was all over. By-the-way, my third infantry brigade did arrive, but spent the game marching down the road.

The 3rd Brigade arrives too late.

Once again, I throughly enjoyed BP (not only because I won), quick, easy and fun, where not everything always goes to plan. What I learnt? I love Heavy Cavalry!

Thanks to Guido for the venue (you gotta check out his new Roman cavalry, they look great... oh, and I took the photo) and also to Mike Jones who made a guest appearance and helped adjudicate a confusing rule.

I think we've decided to do a WW2 game next time :)

Happy Australia Day!

2011-01-25T17:57:00.000-08:00

Spartacus - Gods of the arena, Ep.1

2011-01-22T05:28:00.000-08:00

Just saw Episode 1, awesome! If you liked the first Spartacus series, you'll love this one.

Behind the scenes- Spartacus: Gods of the Arena

2011-01-20T21:42:00.000-08:00

Early War French

2011-01-17T17:26:00.000-08:00

I wanted a little break from painting Ancients and I am feeling the draw of WW2 once again. One of my unfinished projects is an early WW2 French force, which has been sitting on the shelf for some time. I have one squad painted, but more than a dozen miniatures unpainted. I wanted to test AP on something other than an ancient figure and also see how fast I could finish one. So I decided to try and paint one figure as quickly as possible, using AP.

The miniature below was finished in about an hour, allowing for drying time etc... I had to adjust the colours from my existing unit (which are painted quite dark) to a little lighter shade, in order to work with AP shade, but I must admit that I am happy with the result. I reckon I could power through the remaining miniatures pretty quickly if I had the time.

Great photos from the Russian invasion of Afganistan

2011-01-13T20:44:00.000-08:00

I found some fantastic photos from the Russian attempt at subduing Afganistan, some of the photos look all too familiar to ones we're seeing from the current conflict. The photos are mostly personal snaps and there are links to more photos on the bottom of the page (and some other seedier stuff - I'm not recommending those). :)

Battle Los Angeles - trailer 3

2011-01-13T19:32:00.000-08:00

I have to say this does look good, hopefully the film lives up to the trailer!

My first game for 2011 - A victory!

2011-01-13T01:59:00.000-08:00

Guido and I had our first game for 2011 today and we decided to try Black Powder, which is something I have never played. Although we have mostly been focusing on 28mm in recent times, we have a reasonable amount of 15mm Napoleonics that have been sitting on the shelves gathering dust. So the Prussians and French made it onto the table. We used two infantry brigades each, one of two battalions and one with three and one canon per player.

My Prussian brigades

It is the first time I have played Black Powder and found the giving orders and rolling to see if orders are followed phase really good. It adds an element of randomness which simulates the fog of war, confusion in battle, orders not getting through etc... The possibility of your unit performing more than one action in a phase also creates and ebb-and-flow of initiative. To highlight this, Guido's 2nd brigade didn't move on his first turn.

The French eventually assaulted the formed up Prussian lines but faltered centimetres short. The inaccurate fire from the Prussians didn't help their cause and the assault reached its intended target.

The battle then became an arm wrestle between the two forces, but Guido's brigade was outnumbered and unsupported by his other brigade, which was unable to move forward. Eventually weight of numbers broke the French brigade and it was virtually all over from there.

What I learned about Black Powder?

Never advance into battle unsupported.
Pull units that have suffered casualties out of the line and use them as support, if at all possible.
Use Commanders to help units become unshaken
It's FUN

The French brigade retires from the field

Which way to wash?

2011-01-12T16:59:00.000-08:00

I've been experimenting with a three stage painting method using GW washes and here is the first result.

The first photo is of a miniature after having been undercoated with a white primer, then I applied the base colours.

Stage 1

At the next stage I gave the miniature an all over wash, using GW Devlan Mud wash. I was quite liberal in the application, but really tried to ensure it got deep into the crevices.

Stage 2

Once this was dry, I then applied highlights to raised areas using the original base colours. If I wanted a little more emphasis I then applied another lighter shade on top of that. Then finally I applied a matt varnish.

Stage 3

I have to say that I am reasonably happy with the result, which is very similar to using an Army Painter Quickshade, but it saves you needing to wash your brush out in Methylated Spirits afterwards.

What would I change? Next I am going to try painting a miniature and doing some basic highlighting before applying the wash. We'll see how that works and then I'll make my decision on how I will treat the entire unit of Hastati.

Keep a look out for the next instalment.

Anyone know who produced this miniature?

2011-01-08T18:30:00.000-08:00

Here is the first figure of my next Allied Legion Hastati cohort. I got the miniature on ebay, but don't know what range it came from. I believe it is a Foundry figure, but possible from a discontinued range perhaps Samnites? I am happy to use it as an Allied Legion unless someone tells me I'm totally off the planet.

Have tried to use GW washes on this miniature instead of AP. I like the test result and might continue throughout the whole unit.

Spartacus - Gods of the arena, Trailer 2

2011-01-07T18:59:00.000-08:00

Things are really hotting up on the promotional front for the series. The USA gets it really soon, I guess the rest of us will have to wait.

Allied Legion - Principes

2011-01-04T01:29:00.000-08:00

They took me a little longer than anticipated, because the festive season just kept getting in the way of the painting table and me, but here is the finished Allied Legion Principes unit. I now have a unit of Velites, Hastati and the Principes (photo to follow in a future post). I am waiting on more figures from Keith at Aventine Miniatures to give me enough figures to complete a unit of Triarii, I will also have another unit of Principes and Velites once these miniatures arrive. Currently on the workbench is a unit of Hastati made up of what I believe to be from an old Wargames Foundry range (not sure, but maybe someone can confirm later), I got these on ebay ages ago.

It's nice to have a new unit ready for the table so soon in 2011, but officially they will have to be credited to 2010 as only the basing was completed this year.

Couldn't help myself

2011-01-01T21:53:00.000-08:00

Well the years not 2 days old and I've already ordered some new items. Firstly more Allied Legion figures from Aventine Miniatures that will enable me to complete my two Legions and join Guido on the battlefield. I'm also going to try a product from back2base-ix that may make things a little easier. Seems to me that it is all about making it easier for the gamer to get miniatures on the table these days, which is a good thing and I'm all for it.
What a great way to start the year!

2010

2010-12-31T21:57:00.000-08:00

Happy New Years everyone. I don't know how you guys can keep accurate records on how many miniatures you paint over the year, I just lose track and forget. Anyway, I've tired to do a tally and came up with the following:

Saxons 8
Late Romans 3
Celts 9
Early Imperial Romans 7 infantry, 1 cavalry
Republican Romans 34 (12 based but bases incomplete)
ECW 1
Italian Hill Tribes 9 (1 based, 8 not)

That would be 72, 28mm miniatures or 1 every 5.06 days. Not bad considering I'm spending most of my time chasing a little, almost two year old around the house!

My note for 2011: Finish an army before moving on to another and don't leave half completed miniatures in convenient hiding places, waiting to be finished. Also, try to make time to game more! I am really looking forward to seeing the Hail Caesar rules, which Wargamer Blue has been blogging about. I also want to check out more WW2 skirmish rules. Does anyone know what the Warlord Games new Operation Squad WWII rule set is like?

Hopefully I get to make more movies this year and you never know I might get to visit the set of Spartacus as well (fingers crossed).

Al Swearengen as Blackbeard the Pirate... cool!

2010-12-13T18:03:00.001-08:00

On the workbench on a 37 degree day!

2010-12-12T05:58:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone,
Sorry about the lack of posts recently, it's been very busy on the work front and the weather has not been the best for painting either. I have been struggling to find the time to finish my Allied Legion Principes unit, but here is a work-in-progress to show you all that I really haven't fallen off the fact of the earth.

On the workbench

I must admit that I did get side-tracked one evening and speed painted an old ECW miniature that I had lying around the place. I have a number of ECW figures and it is encouraging to see that I can paint them fast if needed, but I'm really not playing that period to warrant it yet.

Anyway, I am slowly getting there so hopefully you'll see the finished Principes unit before Christmas (fingers crossed)!

Here comes Spartacus, Gods of the Arena

2010-11-20T21:40:00.001-08:00

Too hot!

2010-11-19T05:44:00.000-08:00

39C today, way too hot to paint. Paint dries on the brush way before you can apply one coat onto a miniature!

Cowboys and Aliens

2010-11-17T18:05:00.000-08:00

I really like the look of this film, although they could have thought of a better title.

Principes Leader

2010-11-15T21:39:00.000-08:00

Here is the leader miniature of my Principes unit, another Aventine mini. This time I didn't use army painter, I just felt like taking my time painting this miniature in the old way.

Allied Legion, Principes unit leader.

Grind to a halt

2010-11-13T04:34:00.000-08:00

This week has become a little less productive because I've caught a severe head cold. I think it began with my Wife and has now spread to my Daughter and I. Anyway, I did manage to put some finishing touches to a Gaul that I have been working on for some time. The Gauls I have were originally intended to be used as enemies for my Imperial Roman army, but that would mean heaps of painting! Perhaps the army will grow to that size one day, but realistically I can paint up enough to be Allies for Guido's Romans. The Gauls are a very colourful army and I am keen to try more patterns on the clothing, but this is my first test figure.

Renegade Miniatures Gaul, I haven't painted his shoes yet.

I am also trying out colour schemes for my Allied Legion Principes, although one colour scheme won't work entirely, because of the variation of armour within the Principe that I have.

Aventine Miniatures Allied Legion Principe

Finally thanks to everyone who has been leaving comments. It is always good to hear from you and lets me know that someone is actually reading my posts.

The Eagle

2010-11-10T20:24:00.000-08:00

OK, so some of my trailer posts aren't exactly related to my hobby, but I believe this one is different.

A film version from one of my favourite novels 'The Eagle of the Ninth'. The book is really good, so let's hope the filmmakers have done it justice.

Latest Sucker Punch trailer

2010-11-10T05:51:00.000-08:00

Looks great!

Allied Legion, Hastati

2010-11-07T04:16:00.000-08:00

Here is my 12 man Hastati unit for my Allied Legion. Once again they are all Aventine Miniatures and I have used Little Big Men shield transfers on some of the unit. However, I have dirtied most of the transfers up a little to match the theme I am going for, of a campaign weary Legion.

Aventine Miniatures, Allied Legion, Hastati.

(rear view)

Now for the Principes! I've got a few work deadlines, so they might take me a little longer to finish.

...more

2010-11-06T02:26:00.000-07:00

As promised, here is the other photo.

Both packs are now available at the Aventine Miniatures online shop.

Senior Officers and cavalryman with a dead horse.

More Aventine Miniatures Republican Romans

2010-11-05T15:53:00.000-07:00

Aventine Miniatures are currently working on a couple new packs of Republican Roman Officers and I have a preview of them both. This one is of a General with lictors and a servant. As always, really nice sculpts, I like the detail on the General's greaves and his determined expression. The bandage over his servant's eye is a cool touch as well. I'm trying desperately hard not to dive into my wallet before I finish painting what I already have!

Keep up the great work guys!

Aventine Miniatures, Republican Roman General with his lictors and a servant

I will post the other pack later... got to go to work now.

Allied Legion!

2010-11-02T07:13:00.000-07:00

Time to tell everyone what I have really been painting. Yes, I have been painting Italian Allies, but not the Volscians I had started ages ago. I really like the Republican Roman period and couldn't resist getting my hands on some Aventine Miniatures that could work as an Italian Allied Legion. I really like the Aventine range and could see myself spending too much money buying their miniatures.

Here is my first unit of Velites. I'm going for a relatively bland colour scheme of off-whites and white, working on the idea that Velites came from the poorer class, so they may not have had the means to afford coloured tunics and this unit was thrown together quickly to face impending threats.

This next miniature is a work in progress, the command figure from my next unit. I'd eventually like to form an Allied Legion to work in tandem with Guido's Republican Romans, while also using my Volscians on a flank.

I'm still here.

2010-11-01T07:22:00.000-07:00

I've been quietly painting away whenever the opportunity presents itself and am getting very close to my next post.

Stay tuned!

Slow progress

2010-10-18T00:38:00.000-07:00

I was very busy last week attending a development workshop for the feature film I am currently working on. It was an extremely valuable workshop, but the filpside was that I didn't have any time for painting. My Volscian's have stalled and now the weather is getting hot again (32C), it's getting difficult to paint.

Anyway, here is a work-in-progress. I am experimenting with Army Painter still and am not totally happy with the finish on these, but the unit is 24 strong so hopefully I'll perfect my method before I get to the last miniature.

Spartacus - Gods of the arena

2010-10-07T21:28:00.000-07:00

Here's a first look at my good mate Dustin Clare as Gannicus in the new series of Spartacus Gods of the Arena.

Conquest Games latest

2010-10-07T05:04:00.000-07:00

Well, now there's plastic Normans.

Musketeer Miniatures: A few of the other new releases....

2010-10-01T00:09:00.000-07:00

Musketeer Miniatures: A few of the other new releases....: "Sudanese Command Sudanese Infantry Sudanese Archers Goth Infantry Command Goth General and Army Standard Bearer Goth Commitat..."

Aventine Volscian Infantry

2010-09-19T05:44:00.000-07:00

I recently made my first purchase from Aventine Miniatures, a unit of Italian Hill Tribes, Volscians. The reason is that Guido is building up a Republican Roman army and I wanted to contribute a couple units to it. We discussed the possibility of me getting a unit of Italian Spearman and a unit of Extraordinarii.

So I started looking at what was out there and I really liked what I saw online of the Aventine range, so I decided to check them out and I purchased a unit from their Italian Hill Tribes range. I have to say these miniatures are lovely, crisp detail, nicely sculpted, with a good range of poses in the unit. I'm very impressed and will definitely be purchasing more from them.

Persians

2010-08-26T02:58:00.000-07:00

Have you seen the first greens from the new Wargames Factory Persians? While I haven't liked any of their previous plastics, the proportions look better in these photos, but I'm probably not going to be purchasing any.

Conan (2011)

2010-08-25T00:38:00.000-07:00

The new Conan, apparently. He has a lot to live up to.

The guy is Jason Momoa from the series Stargate Atlantis.

Strategy

2010-08-24T22:28:00.000-07:00

We're getting ready for a 2000 point WAB2 game this Friday of Republican Roman v's a Pontic army. Anyone got any tips?

Web series ?

2010-08-22T19:32:00.000-07:00

A couple years ago we produced a short trailer for a potential TV series. Although it didn't get picked up, the idea has been floating around in our heads for some time. For those of you not from Australia, it is a satirical look at the formation of a fictional new Australian Rules Football League team, in the gold mining town of Kalgoorlie. Some of the humour is Australian football specific so it may not be understood outside of our shores, but it was a lot of fun doing and we are now revisiting the series and hope to make it into a webseries.

Victrix does Hopolites!

2010-08-17T02:51:00.000-07:00

These look amazing. Very tempting!

This looks great!

2010-08-15T05:45:00.001-07:00

Game 2

2010-08-14T06:07:00.000-07:00

Last night we gathered at Guido's place to have a game of Successors v's Republican Romans. Youngie kindly supplied a majority of the troops, with my small Century of Romans taking to the field as part of the Roman contingent. For the second time, Guido and I controlled the Romans and Youngie teamed up with Claudo, who we are trying to get interested in playing WAB with us on a regular basis. This was his second attempt and I was told that he had gone out and purchased the rules after our last battle, so it must be working.

The two forces faced off across a relatively open field and both forces totalled around 3000 points each.

The night was great fun, with the forces becoming locked in a slugging match in the centre of the field, with neither side giving way, for most of the game. This was especially good, considering the Roman generals were rolling 'Shitty' dice all night!

The highlights of the battle were: Claude's incredible dice rolling, a stampeding elephant chasing their own best cavalry unit from the board, the swaying of momentum between rounds of combat and Claude's light cavalry driving Guido's from the board in turn 1.

The battle was ended (due to the time of the night), with the Successors in a commanding position, although I still think the Romans would have fought on and given them a very bloodied nose for their efforts.

Next time I think we've agreed to reduce the army sizes a little and attempt to actually finish the game, but we still had a great time and I'm looking forward to the next battle.

My latest writing effort

2010-08-13T18:54:00.001-07:00

Please leave a comment.
Blackheart

New Caesarean Romans finished

2010-08-12T05:57:00.000-07:00

Here are the finished Caesarean reenforcements, with a few random miniatures I have been painting, in the background. One might say that there is a distant sound of thunder.

More Caesarean Romans

2010-08-11T07:20:00.000-07:00

We're playing another big game of WAB on Friday night, which will pit a Republican Roman army of about 3000 points against a Successor force of the same points value. I have one little unit of Caesarean Roman's that I want to add to the mix, but it is only 16 strong. So I have to quickly paint up another two. Once again, Army Painter comes to the rescue and here is a work-in-progress photo. I have yet to matt varnish and base them, but I should be able to get them finished in time.

Western Archers

2010-07-25T22:41:00.000-07:00

Here is my newest unit. A small group of Western Archers to help my EIR army fend off the barbarian hordes. Yes, they are dipped, which is the saviour of my painting at the moment.

Archers on the workbench

2010-07-22T03:01:00.000-07:00

As a reaction to my recent defeat at the hands of Guido's barbarian hordes, I am painting up some Western Archers. Here is the group work-in-progress.

Eimear takes revenge.

2010-07-17T08:26:00.000-07:00

Battle Report: Early Imperial Roman v’s Gaul

Players: Scullmeister – Pius Paganus v's Guido- Shaman Eimear Bunyan

Rules: WAB2

Points: 1000 points each

Eager to take advantage of the defeat of Shaman Eimear, Pius Paganus, Vexillarius of the Twentieth Legion, pressed forward. Taking 2 regular centuries and 1 of enthusiastic raw recruits, two Scorpion bolt throwers and a small contingent of Gaul slingers. Pius advanced into the countryside, hoping to bring Eimear to battle before he could muster another sizable force.

Ridicule had greeted Eimear when he returned to the tribes, but when he conjured up magic enough to show he still held favour with the Gods, the warriors quietly returned to the standards, fearing the wrath of Eimear. Once again he sallied forth to confront the Romans, this time with a unit of fanatics, one of warriors that he commanded to ensure their loyalty didn’t wane, a good number of cavalry and two large units of skirmishes. Eimear was confident that he now had the measure of the Romans.

The initial deployment

The two forces found each other in an open field with a one small area of rough ground just off the centre of the battlefield. Eimear deployed his skirmishers on both flanks with fanatics in the centre and he strode to the front of his warriors, deployed to the left of the fanatics. He cautiously keep his cavalry in reserve to the rear of his battle line, in case the Roman cavalry made another appearance.

Pius deployed his centuries in a line with his raw recruits deployed behind the skirmishes on his left and his remaining two centuries deployed out to the right of them. Using the gaps between the centuries to place his supporting Scorpions.

The Gaul line surged forward with a huge battle cry. The 20 strong skirmish unit on Eimear’s right flank ran forward to seize the rough ground in the centre, while the second unit of skirmishes screened Eimear’s warriors. Seeing that the Roman’s didn’t bring cavalry to the battlefield, the Gallic cavalry began moving to the left flank.

The Romans immediately sent their slingers forward, supported by the newly arrived raw recruits to fight for the rough ground, as they sensed it could play a pivotal part in the battle. The other centuries remained in place awaiting the onslaught. Both Scorpions opened fire and as a sign of things to come, they hit nothing.

Turn two saw the twenty strong unit of Gaul skirmishes on the Eimear’s right flank engaging their traitorous cousins, causing the slingers to up stumps and run for home. The skirmishers continued on their merry way in the next turn, causing 6 fresh faced recruits to their graves, but to the Romans benefit they held firm in their resolve and turned to their right to threaten the flank of the advancing fanatics.

Pius became overly cautious and brought the century in the centre back from its advanced position, to form a battle line at the scorpions. With Eimear’s cavalry now threatening the Roman right flank, Pius reformed the right most century to face both Eimer’s warriors and the new threat. The scorpions continued to miss everything they fired at.

Seeing the value in massed missile fire every Gaul unit hurled their weapons at the Romans, but with little reward. In their haste to get into range, the Gallic cavalry had left themselves exposed to the legions and were charged. Rather than meet the charge of the Legionaries, the cavalry fled from the battlefield to fight another day.

Another round of javelin fire saw the Roman ranks whittled down even further as the Roman right flank broke and ran from the field. What a disgrace to the reputation of the legion and surely a severe punishment awaited anyone who made it back to the Roman base.

Finally the fanatics charged to contact with Pius’ century and a fierce fight ensued, with both sides suffering casualties, but the Romans got the upper hand when the raw recruits charged into the flank of the fanatics. It was a close run thing and the moral of the fanatics wavered for a moment, before they stood firm to continue the fight. If they had broken, then perhaps the Romans could have won the day, but with the fanatics moral intact and with help from a charge by the games MVP, the 20 skirmishes, the Romans were cut down to a man.

Eimear’s legend would grow and warriors would flock to his banner, for he had smashed the might of the Roman army!

Eimear proudly held aloft the Roman Army Standard and two Standards of the Centuries he had slaughtered. He basked in the glory.

NB: I wrote this battle report rather fast, so I apologise in advance for typos and grammatical errors.

Gauls v Romans - Battle 2

2010-07-16T06:39:00.000-07:00

Guido and I had another battle using WAB2 today. Here is a photo of the opposing forces after deployment. The Battle report will be following in the next couple days.

Roma Victor!

2010-07-12T07:20:00.000-07:00

Battle Report: Early Imperial Roman v’s Gaul

Players: Scullmeister – Pius Paganus

Guido- Shaman Eimear Bunyan

Rules: WAB2

Points: 1000 points each

Pius Paganus, Vexillarius of the Twentieth Legion, sallied forward with two Centuries and light support units, in an effort to bring the Gauls to battle. For weeks now the Twentieth had tried to engage the enemy, but it almost seemed like it was winter holiday in Gaul. Would today would prove different?

The infamous Shaman Eimear Bunyan was tired of the inter-tribal bickering and decided to take action. He inspired a small force warriors and fanatics to follow his lead. If they could give the Romans a bloodied nose, then perhaps others would rally to his banner and they might rid Gaul of the Roman curse, once and for all.

The two relatively small forces found each other in an open field with a small steep, forested hill the only feature of terrain of any note. The forces formed, Pius choosing to anchor his left flank at the small hill. This would allow him to place his Scorpio on high ground in support of the Roman advance.

The opening shots from the Scorpio proved it to be a sound tactic as 4 Gaul’s fell to it's first bolt. The Scorpio continued to reduce the ranks of the Eimear’s warriors on right flank, with Pius’ Gallic slingers being relatively ineffective. Both cavalry forces stayed out on the flank, cautiously staring at each other.

The Gauls couldn’t resist the temptation for Roman blood and charged en-mass and the battle was truly begun.

Pius and his veterans stood firm against their fearful opponents and took a harsh toll upon Eimear’s finest. At the same time the veterans also held their own against the fanatics in the centre, with Pius’ second Century holding steady against the onslaught to his right.

The resultant combined combat forced the Gauls had to test moral right across their line, which they failed. Eimear’s frantic annunciations could not stop the disintegration of the Gallic line as it attempted to flee, only to be ruthlessly cut them down by the men of the Twentieth.

Wow! Roma Victor

Rules note: We are not entirely convinced about the ruling for combined unit combat, but interpreted the WAB2 rules as closely as we could. If we were correct, it means that a Roman army in a solid line will be a very difficult force to dislodge.

Here come the Celts

2010-07-10T00:59:00.000-07:00

Here is my very first unit of Celts. A unit of slinger skirmishers to use in support of Legion XX.

I have used mixed painting techniques in this unit, with some being highlighted using traditional techniques and a couple using Army Painter. I wanted to compare them in a unit and also, I just don't have time to do everything the way I used to. I think they turned out ok.

Let me know what you think?

Vexillarius

2010-07-08T22:15:00.000-07:00

I really liked the Warlord Games, Imperial Roman Vexillarius miniature, so I had to get it. Keeping in the theme of the way I am now painting my Imperial Roman army. This miniature has partial use of painted highlights, mainly on the wolf pelt and then finised off with Army Painter. I have been experimenting with the half and half technique on my Gauls and will show the results very soon, but here it the Legion's Vexillarius from Legio vigesima Valeria Victrix (Twentieth Victorious Valerian Legion), which is the Legion I have decided to dedicate my little army to.

A good friend of mine has just scored a role in Spartacus

2010-07-03T02:57:00.001-07:00

What's on the painting table?

2010-06-30T07:36:00.000-07:00

Celts

Just a small unit of slingers at the moment, but the Barbarian Warbands are gathering. I really like these miniatures from Renegade Miniatures. Big in stature and build, although probably more comparable to other manufacturers fantasy barbarians, I still like them.

As you can see there are also Roman Cavalry in the background and just edging into the top right of frame is a Saxon. Lots to paint... so little time.

Republican Roman

2010-06-25T23:33:00.000-07:00

I am currently contemplating whether I should sell my small band of Caesarean Roman and instead, get some Republican Romans? Guido is looking at making a Republican purchase and I agree with him that there are more varied enemies for Republicans to fight. The Caesarean are too close to my Early Imperials and they seem to fight similar opponents, mainly warbands like Gauls, Germans and Brits. I do like the look of the Caesarean's but I also like the latest Republicans.

Thoughts anyone?

Early Imperial Romans

2010-06-21T22:03:00.000-07:00

1000 points doesn't go very far, especially when you're Roman. Here is the first photo of my 1000 point Early Imperial Roman army. I have since thought about how I could vary the make up of the force, but that means painting more miniatures.

I am looking forward to trying out this particular list first, but I will probably be painting new units as well.

I'm back

2010-06-20T19:06:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts recently. As you are probably aware, I have been busy finishing my latest short film and if you're not please visit www.kanownathefilm.com and take a look.

Anyway, Guido and I managed to have a game a couple Friday nights ago. We played the new WAB rules for the first time, which was really great. It was only a 1000 point a side game, just to get a feel for the changes. I really enjoyed it and thought that 1000 armies are not so difficult to muster and possible a good beginning point for future endeavours. That said, I then went home to count up what points value my Imperial Romans were at.

The background to this is that I began collecting and painting an Imperial Roman army after I saw Gladiator. Yes, that was a long time ago. This force has sat on my shelf for some time and elements of it have seen the table top. I discovered that I only needed to paint 6 miniatures to be able to field a 1000 point army!

So, inspired by this. I have now almost painted the necessary miniatures, but it has also inspired me to paint a small Allied contingent of Gauls. Wow, a painting frenzy has ensued!

Hopefully we will have a game again this Friday, where my Imperial Romans will get onto the tabletop as a complete force for the very first time.

Pictures will follow.

Teaser trailer

2010-06-06T06:21:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone

Sorry for the lack of posts recently, I've been on holiday in Thailand and have been finishing my short film.

Anyway, the teaser trailer for my film is now available on the website www.kanownathefilm.com

Centurion review

2010-04-14T02:34:00.001-07:00

Sounds like it might be good.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/film-reviews/centurion-film-review-1004075749.story

Film Trailers by Filmtrailer.com

Back behind the brush

2010-04-11T07:11:00.000-07:00

After a long hiatus I have finally found the time to pick up a brush again. I've been so busy with my film and life in general, that is has been very difficult. I must say that playing a WAB game with my mates Guido and Beccas, did get me motivated again. Admittedly I am painting really slowly, but at least I'm back behind the brush.

I finished off a West Wind Productions, Early Saxon which was half painted and completed a Muscian from the same manufacturer. I spent quite a long time on the musician, enjoying the process of painting the miniature. I think painting is as important to me than playing is. I know when the figures are in big units on the gaming table, they get lost in the mass, but I enjoy painting each individual to a good standard. Currently I am attempting to finish my Early Saxon Gedriht unit and I am a third of the way through.

I will post more pictures when I have completed enough to be worth showing.

My film's website goes live

2010-03-14T07:39:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to let you all know that my film's website has finally gone live. Please check it out at: www.kanownathefilm.com

Please check it out, send the link to all of your friends, add me to your favourite bookmarks and keep visiting to check on the progress of my little film.

Gripping Beast plastic Vikings

2010-03-10T02:04:00.000-08:00

These Gripping Beast plastics look fantastic. I am really looking forward to their release and also to see what other ranges they will be producing.

Nearly there

2010-03-05T00:21:00.000-08:00

The Los Angeles trip is going fine. Have had plenty of meetings, seen lots of LA and start the final Dubb tomorrow morning, then I fly out that evening and should be home in sunny Australia by Sunday afternoon.

If you want to know more about how things have been going, click on the link in the side menu.

LA LA Land

2010-02-18T22:18:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone, sorry for the lack of updates at the moment, but I am preparing to go to Los Angeles next week to do the sound mix on my short film.

Can anybody suggest any cool places to go while I am there? I will be busy on the mix and doing 'meetings' but hopefully will have a little spare time to check if there is a gamers scene over there.

Centurion Review

2010-02-13T18:08:00.001-08:00

Centurion Review

Posted using ShareThis

Arthurians

2010-02-05T22:38:00.000-08:00

Here is sum of my painting efforts over the past couple weeks. I've had a couple big deadlines to meet so painting has slowed a little. My Saxons are suffering because of this little diversion into Roman Britain, but it all is in the same period and theatre so I'm not worried.

The shield is hand painted and I did a lot of work on the cloak for the figure at the front, which is a West Wind Productions, Arthurian Character.

Gripping plastics

2010-02-05T06:13:00.000-08:00

Gripping Beast will soon be venturing into plastic 28mm. Here is a sneak peak at a resin 'three up' used in development of the plastics. Apparently Viking Hirdmen will be the first box. Why is every company doing the same thing? The figure looks excellent and probably the best of the plastics I've seen, but the marketplace is saturated.

Looking forward to seeing what else they plan on releasing.

Traier 1

2010-02-04T19:45:00.001-08:00

Trailer

The Pacific - Trailer 3

2010-02-04T19:42:00.001-08:00

Trailer

My first Late Roman

2010-01-24T23:41:00.000-08:00

I was going through my unpainted miniatures, which there are many and I found this Late Roman miniature that I really liked. I have no idea which manufacturer made this miniature, but if this is anything to go by, then I'd be very interested in purchasing more. Can anybody identify the maker? - (Thanks Guido for identifying the miniature as part of the GB, Arthurian Personalities set)

He was part of a whole bunch of Dark Ages stuff (Saxons, Vikings, Romano-Brit) that I purchased from ebay, probably more than a year ago. I had no idea of the correct colours and no army for him to be a part of, but I just felt like painting the poor lonely guy.

I have been painting

2010-01-24T05:40:00.000-08:00

Just to assure everyone that I have been painting and not wasting all of my time trying to make movies, I have put up a photo of the last two Gripping Beast miniatures I am using in my Saxon army.

I have also been painting a Romano-British miniature, but the basing isn't finished so I decided not to post a photo of it yet. Yes, I am getting sucked in to the Late Roman/Arthurian period. I have always liked the Late Roman armies and just the variety of miniatures and different armies to game with, in that time period is excellent.

Check back soon for my 1st Late Roman!

The Red Baron

2010-01-21T22:48:00.000-08:00

The Red Baron, a film with so much potential, but so disappointing. Flying sequences were great though.