The Silver Pinnacle Slayers

I painted this Dwarf Blood Bowl team back around the start of Lockdown, having wanted to start the game for years. I chose Dwarfs as my first team because they are very resilient players who are also well able to dish out damage!

I decided to go with NMM for the metal parts of the figures. I'm very happy with how it turned out. Apologies for the poor quality of the photos. 

A group shot of the whole squad!

My favourite players on the team are the Troll Slayers. These guys are very strong, and are able to hold their own against most other teams. Their main downside is their "Frenzy" special rule, which makes them recklessly pursue their opponents. 

I painted runic tattoos on both of them, although they might not al be visible in the photos. 

Two Blitzers:

The three different poses of Blockers (also referred to as Longbeards). 

Finally, two Runners. These are the "fast" players on the (notoriously slow) Dwarf team. They're great for running into the End Zone for a touchdown. 

I plan on painting up some Star Players and Secret Weapons for this team. Every Dwarf team needs a Deathroller sooner or later! 

Pegaso Ronin Bust

 For my birthday this year, I got a very nice resin bust from Pegaso. Initially I wanted to paint him as Musashi Miyamoto, a samurai of almost legendary renown. I decided against this later on, instead employing a style inspired by the music of Shing02 and artwork from Samurai Champloo.

I tried out some new techniques on this figure. I wanted to create a "Rembrandt lighting" effect. This means that half the face is hit by light, while the other side is in shadow. I'm happy with the result, but I think I should have increased the contrast between the light and dark areas. 

The pattern on the collar represents a bamboo forest under a rising sun, and is repeated around the figure. 

The image on his back was painted in a cartoon style, inspired by the visuals of Samurai Champloo. 

The Averland Adventurers

 These little folk are my new Halfling Blood Bowl team. They're great sculpts with a lot of charm. I did a few conversions on some of the players to make them more unique, and to allow me to use Star Players. Their kit is inspired by FC Barca's Catalan shirt. 

Here's a group photo of the whole squad! 

These two are Hefties, particularly tough Halflings. I like their design, both of them look like they're seasoned fighters (even if they're not exactly great!). I sculpted a scarf for the one on the right and gave him an extra shoulder spike so that he can be used as Puggy Baconbreath. 

These two Hopefuls are posed sprinting up the field. As with all the figures on the team, I really enjoyed painting their faces.

I made stilts for this player. He can be used as a normal Hopeful or as the Star Player Nuddley Verruca. 

This fella looks confident, as if he could be the team captain. 

Two Catchers:

I did a head swap on this Hopeful to make him suitable for Captain Colander. I sculpted a cape for him from Milliput too. Painting chequered clothing is always a challenge, but fun. 

This is another converted Hopeful. I combined two heads from the kit and sculpted some curly hair. He can be used as a standard Hopeful or Big Jobo. 

A fairly normal Hopeful :

Player number 6 is one of my favourites. 

No Halfling team is complete without some Treemen, and I'd like to add some soon. I'm not sure which miniatures I'll use for them, but I might try the Treemen from the Warlords of Erehwon range. The box includes 3 different sculpts, so it's perfect for a Halfling team. 

Kilkenny Witch Trial Chess Set Part 2 : the White Pieces

The Complete Side

 The pawns

These pieces are intentionally nondescript. They represent the many supporters of Bishop Ledrede. 

The Rooks

The rooks are inspired by the round tower at St. Canice's Cathedral. 

The Knights

These represent the agents of the Bishop. 

The Bishops

Since the King on this side has to represent a Bishop, these were made to represent monks. Their design is inspired by the monks' tonsure

The Queen

I found this piece to be the hardest to design. I thought it should represent an ally or second-in-command of the bishop. I decided to carve a person wearing a generic 14th Century hat. The figure represents the children of Alice Kyteler who accused her of several crimes. 

The King

The mighty Bishop Ledrede himself. He was fanatical in his pursuit of Alice and her "witchcraft" 

A picture of the complete set:

Kilkenny Witch Trial Chess Set - the Black Pieces

Background 

In 1324, Kilkenny businesswoman Alice Kyteler was accused of witchcraft after several of her husbands mysteriously died. The local bishop, Richard Ledrede, believed that his diocese was full of heretics and sorcerers. He was determined to assert his authority over the region, and relentlessly pursued Kyteler. The case led to the execution of Petronilla de Meath, the first person in the British Isles to be burned at the stake for witchcraft. Alice Kyteler herself is believed to have escaped to Britain.

The case is among the most famous of stories from Medieval Ireland, and I have been interested in it from a young age. After a visit to Kilkenny's Medieval Museum last year (which I highly recommend!), I was inspired to design these chess pieces. I've spent this week carving the designs into wood. They are made of poplar stained with black. 

My design philosophy was to create a fairly abstract set of pieces. Since this is an event from many centuries ago, we have little idea about the appearances of the different figures in the story. Yet their personalities are clear from the accounts of the time. This inspired me to create simple pieces that illustrated the personalities involved.

I also thought that chess would be a good medium to depict the political struggle of the time. Much like chess, both sides sought to place their opponents' leader in an untenable position.

The Pieces

Here is the complete black side 

The Pawns

The pawns have two points on their tops. These could represent the pointed ears of a black cat or the horns of a demon. 

The Rooks

These represent Petronilla de Meath, Alice's servant. Both Alice and her son William escaped the Bishop's wrath, likely because of their wealth, while Petronilla was executed as a heretic. Several years later, the roof of St. Canice's Cathedral collapsed under its own weight, and some superstitions claim this was an act of revenge by Petronilla. 

I have depicted her wearing a round cap. She wears her hair in a plait. This piece was especially difficult to research, as there isn't much information on the dress of poor servants. 

The Knights

The knights are the most traditional pieces in this set in terms of design. I have sculpted them as horses. They represent the agents of Seneschal Arnold le Poer, who argued against Bishop Ledrede's prosecution of Alice. Le Poer even had Ledrede imprisoned, but nothing would stop him. 

The Bishops

Ledrede's witnesses claimed the devil had sent Alice Kyteler a Familiar in the form of a shadowy man named Robin Artison. He was said to also appear in the form of a black cat. 

The design of the bishops is very similar to the pawns. Again, the two points on Artison's head could represent horns or cat ears. 

The Queen

The "Queen" in this set is William Outlaw, Alice's son from her first marriage. He was accused of taking the riches of Alice's murdered husbands. Owing to his friendship with Arnold le Poer and his wealth, he escaped execution. He was instead ordered to perform penance and feed the poor. Outlaw also purchased a new lead roof for Canice's Cathedral as a display of repentance. 

He is depicted wearing a conical helmet in the Norman style. 

The King

The "King" of the black pieces is Alice Kyteler, a Kilkenny merchant of Flemish ancestry. She was married four times, and each of her husbands died of strange illnesses. This led to the Bishop's suspicion that she was a witch.

 Some historians believe she may really have poisoned her husbands, so that William could financially benefit. She escaped to England, and there is no further mention of her after the trial. 

In this set, Kyteler is depicted wearing a stereotypical "witch's hat". 

I'm still working on the white pieces, which will represent Bishop Ledrede and his followers. Hopefully I'll have them completed soon. 

"Chill Out" - The KLF Album Review

The KLF are notorious for their aggressive performance at the BRITs in 1992, burning a million pounds (while making a movie out of it) and subsequently all but disappearing. But there's a lot more to the duo than "art terrorism" and rave music.

In 1990, the two men (Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond) met at their studio and created one of the best ambient albums of all time in just one night. That album was "Chill Out".
Chill Out sounds as fresh today as when it was released. It's a concept album, depicting a nighttime journey across the US. Each piece segues into the next, and it's sometimes hard to tell where one ends and the next begins. This only serves to make the album all the more immersive.

The KLF's penchant for sampling is evident throughout the record. Ambient synths are interwoven with moaning slide guitars. Radio transmissions babble as cars zoom past. Elvis makes an appearance.  Everyone from Fleetwood Mac to 808 State are sampled, creating a fascinating collage of sounds. Who'd have thought Tuvan throat singing and sheep baa-ing would work musically?

I think "Chill Out" is an inaccurate title for this album. There is so much more to it than just calm sounds. "Chill Out" is in fact a very moving work of music.

I believe "Chill Out" is criminally underrated. This is perhaps owing to its availability, as The KLF infamously deleted their entire back catalogue. It's available on YouTube though.  https://youtu.be/5S_lktstwrs

"Chill Out" is an amazing album. I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in ambient or experimental music. This of course means that it's not the most accessible, and I think most people wouldn't find it interesting, but if you enjoy ambient music, it's an absolute must.

Banners for my 6mm Goblin Army

My friends and I are big fans of DBA, and recently I've wanted to start playing Hordes of the Things (HOTT). I love greenskins so I ordered a Goblin Army from Baccus 6mm. Some of the figures have banner poles, which I find a lot of fun! Painting flags and banners can add a lot of character to an army, as well as provide an interesting challenge.
The banner poles are very thin, and I'm impressed that Baccus were able to cast them so thin. Some of them were broken when I got them, however. This wasn't really a problem. I replaced any broken spears or banner poles by taking a guitar string (a low E string works best), stripping the outer wrapping and supergluing it into the figure's hand. The result is very durable!
So, here's how I made the banners.

First of all, I decided how big I wanted my banners to be. Then I sketched them onto normal paper using a very sharp pencil, a ruler and a lot of patience. I drew two "halves" to each banner so that they can wrap around the poles. It was a lot of fun thinking up designs for the banners. I decided I wanted lots of pennants (long, triangular flags). The left hand design is inspired by old Games Workshop Orcs and Goblins, with "Bad Moons" and checkered patterns. The middle is the White Hand of Isengard from the Lord of the Rings. The right hand banner is a meteor or fireball shooting forward.

Once I was happy with the designs, I went over them with a black ballpoint pen. I left the ink to dry for a little while, just to be sure (sometimes it can take quite a while to dry fully). Then I coated the banners with acrylic matt varnish. This might seem a little bit odd, but it makes a nicer surface for painting and gives the paper strength.

At this point, it was time to paint the banners. There's not a lot to be said here, as each banner will be painted differently by different people. It took a lot of time and patience to get the banners right. It's very important to try to keep your hands as steady as possible. It can be hard to fix mistakes on images this small. Needless to say, a very small brush will save you a lot of stress!

This banner was especially fun to paint. I used watered down paint to try to transition smoothly between colours (as you can see, I didn't do a great job!). 

To attach the banners, I carefully cut them out with a small nail scissors. Then I folded them in the middle, and superglued them to the flagpole, as you can see in this picture.

Then I used some PVA glue to join the two halves of the banner together. This allows the banner to be shaped slightly, so that it appears to be blowing in the wind. 

And with that, the banners were done!