Carts, Wagons, and Horses

Sometime ago, Wargames Atlantic sent me three boxes of some of their models to take a look at (perhaps to appear in the finished pictures I include at the end of my videos)… one of which was this box of horses:

Now, the models from the first two boxes have already featured in a few episodes, but at the time, I didn’t really have anything suitable that I could include the horses in… until now that is. Because, if you have been following my Discord/Community posts, then you’ll know that I’ve been working on some carts and wagons recently… the video for which has just gone live:

 

And, as you can see, these horses are the perfect fit for this latest episode.

So, since I’ve now had time to put a few together, and splash on some paint – I thought I’d share my thoughts. 

* * *

First up, here’s a picture of the sprue (there are 6 of these in the box)…

 ...and while that might seem a bit limiting to begin with, any left half of the torso can be stuck to any right half – making for a nice variety of poses (plus, you can also swap the heads and tails around for even more variation).

And, as for the assembly itself, they go together really well – I really like how the reins around the neck hide that particular join… in fact the only join that’s mildly visible is on the rump – and even then I just gave it a light sanding… and now it’s all but gone (i.e. I didn’t do any greenstuff work on these at all).

Now, I will admit, that I’ve only ever painted a couple of horses before (as I generally prefer painting human-sized infantry miniatures) – but I have to say, I enjoyed painting these (which was a bit of a surprise to be sure)…

 ...I mean, as you can see, I didn’t attempt anything particularly complicated (i.e. I wasn’t brave enough to try any fancy markings or anything like that) – but I’m pretty pleased with the results (I especially like how the white one has turned out).

However, I should point out that you have to provide your own bases (they do have a small integral base – but I mounted mine on some 2mm mdf ovals that I have, for a more consistent look) – but aside from that, it’s another great set!

And if you’re wondering about their actual size – then here’s a pic on my cutting matt:

(note that the squares are 1cm, but I’ve added a few rulers so you can see the imperial measurements too)

So yeah, if you can’t tell, I rather like them – I mean I’m no horse expert, but they look fine to me, they go together easily, and they paint up well – so there’s not much more to say really. 

I suppose if I really wanted to be a bit nit-picky, then I might have preferred it if each sprue ditched the fourth (spare) head, and included some baggage instead (to make a couple of pack horses) – but that’s just me wanting to tailor the sprue to my own specific needs. 

But, like I say, these are nice models, and are a perfect accompaniment to my new carts and wagons!

 

Miniatures Painted This Year (February)

I'm a day late posting this (as it's been a busy/stressful week) - but, as I mentioned in my previous miniatures related post, I am going to try and keep track of how many miniatures I paint this year, and compare that to how many I end up buying (with the aim of trying to paint more than I buy).

So, with that in mind, here's February's update:

OK then, so the first things I splashed some paint on were these Wizkids hyena models - and (as I might have mentioned previously) the main aim for this year is to just get stuff done - so they've just been baescoated and washed - and then had their bases decorated with some 'base ready' stuff from Geek Gaming Scenics.

I also had some Wizkids gnolls to go with them...

...which have received a similar treatment.

And since I was painting gnolls, I figured it was a good time to get some paint on some Reaper Bones models too...

...which are quite a bit bigger than the wizkids ones - so in D&D they could maybe represent Flinds or something like that maybe.

In fact, here's a size comparison of one of these, a wizkids model, and a frostgrave gnoll that I painted last year:

Anyway, those were the models that I speed painted (not using speedpaint - painting speedily is what I mean), the rest of what I got done I spent a bit more time on - the first of these being this guy:

He's another Reaper Bones model (one I got in a kickstarter a few years back), and he'll be used as one of the auxiliary companions in the Blood Moon scenario for Rangers of Shadow Deep (as it's the closest thing I have to an aristocratic swordsman).

And finally, I've also been painting some horses this week...

...which is mainly due to the fact that in the next Print & Paste video I'll be making some carts and wagons - and those carts and wagons aren't going to pull themselves :)

However, despite painting 13 models, I have (coincidentally) 'fallen off the wagon' (so to speak), and bought some new models... 10 in fact.

But even so, that's 35 models painted this year, and only 10 bought - so I don't think I'm doing so bad (at least so far :) ).