Turnip28 - 5th Deathcap Line Infantry Tester

 It's been quiet on the Mumblings of late. I've been deep in the mud of Cyst, the setting for the eccentric, delightful game; Turnip28. A dystopian Napoleonic body horror wargame with vegetables. 

I've spent the last couple of months assembling a regiment of these curious folk. There's a heavy Jim Henson/Terry Gilliam vibe, which is a big draw for me. The official minis are all 3d prints, which I've combined with various other kits, Perry Napoleonics French and Agincourt sets in particular, to produce my little force of muddy malcontents. 

So, after an epic of sawing, gluing, kit-bashing and green-stuffing, the entire regiment is built and ready for the brush. Below is my first tester for a unit of fodder, private Thomas Buttoncap of the 5th Deathcap Line. 

Thomas is quite gaily attired, as you can see. A lot of the Turnip28 minis you see are doused in mud and grass, which isn't for me. I like the toy soldier aesthetic of Napoleonics, so I've chosen quite a vibrant uniform colour scheme and then weathered it down a bit. Most of the grime comes from his rusty metals. 

I'm painting the next batch of fodder at the moment, and I must say, the T28 minis are great fun to paint. Detailed, but that detail is easy to read and paint. 

More Turnip posts are inbound as the regiment progresses!

You can delve into the greasy world of Turnip 28 yourself by joining Max FitzGerald's Patreon. The rules are free and there are a lot of stls you can  download to print your own troops. you can order physical models at:

Shop: https://finura.dk/vare-kategori/models/turnip28/

UK Shop: https://www.haychdee.com/

MMF: https://www.myminifactory.com/object/3d-print-turnip28-captain-grod-405501

The new kickstarter, The Shattered Lance, starts soon. 

Get in that mud, you maggots.

Undead - Vampire Knight

Today we have a miniature I've been slowly ticking over in between other projects. It's taken months of five minutes here and ten minutes there to complete him. But finally, Stephane Dreux, vampire knight, is finished.

This fellow is a mounted vampire knight by Reaper Miniatures. I picked up the model many years ago. I originally started him to use as my champion in games of Full Tilt (and I still may) but life got in the way and he never got finished. Rather than have him linger in the half-done box, I resolved to just pick away at him when I had a minute. 

He's a metal model, and required a fair bit of clean-up and some lance repair. Colour-wise I used Juan Hidalgo Miniatures' 'Eavy Contrast - Blood Dragon Vampire Lord tutorial (mostly) for the knight's armour. The horses armour I got from the Citadel Colour App for Blood Dragon horse armour. I wanted a darker, more sombre red for the horse armour.

The black horse was a bit tough, as I wanted it to have some reflection to simulate the sheen from a horse's body. The lance I painted as a kind of semi-fossilised bone. The shield is black, but has a few gradiated coats of red glazes. All the tackle, straps and belts etc. are worn brown leather. 

Purple cloth, some aged brass and a vibrant orange jewel for contrast finishes him off. 

Stephane Dreux is another long-serving character in my armies. A former knight of Bretonnia cut down and turned into a Blood Dragon vampire, he amps up the self-pitying anti-hero schtick to eleven. You can read more about Stephane in my old page on the Horde of Dreux. Here's a snippet:

When Stephane grasped the grail it burned him terribly, but he would not release it. His body smoked and blackened as the new-born vampire clung onto the holy object. He wanted to die rather than exist as a perversion of the man he had been only scant hours before. As he burst into flame the lady moved to save him. Aregisel was built over a spring sacred to the Bretonnian deity, and she had sensed the host of men battle valiantly against their enemies. Stephane had defended her shrine until he had been transfixed by his enemies blades, and she resolved that his fate was not to die in agony and failure.

Oh yeah, feel that angst. I bet he broods a lot on cliff edges.

Anyhow, there you go, that's another Mumble in the bag for now!

Sláine 5 - Skull Swords Pack 3

Today we have YET MORE Skull Swords. This time carrying the feared repeater crossbow. These are my third and last pack of Skull Swords for now. Three packs of these murderous ruffians should be plenty for any scenario in the game. They'll be giving it a bit of this in a few weeks:

Now that I have enough troops and a couple of Skull Sword champions, I can start adding some of the more esoteric Drune units. One or two Badb to keep Feg safe might be the next port of call. 

But not right now. I have more than enough troops painted for the Slaine get-together myself and my gaming buddies have planned for March, where nine(!) warbands will clash on the sacred soil of The Land of the Young. Here's the whole warband:

So, that's two packs of Skull Swords with hand weapon and shield, one pack with repeater crossbows, two Skull Swords champions with hand weapon and shield, and Slough Feg. 

Let's take a look at them in a more natural setting eh? Chilling out at one of Drunemeton's many idyllic sacrificial circles.

So, with the Drune warband in the bag (unless I decide to add yet some more champions) it's onward to the next project!

Sláine 5 - Skull Swords Pack 2

The first three miniatures of 2024 come leaping into action! I've returned to my Drunes for Sláine, having neglected them for over a year. I've got a big Sláine  weekend coming up in a March, so it's time for reinforcements. You kind of need a few packs of skull swords for Sláine to hew through, in fairness.

These lay partially painted on my shelf for almost a year, so it's very nice to get them finished. 

I'm still using mostly Contrast paints over Wraithbone spray for these, as that's how I painted the others. The way I use Contrast has evolved a bit since I started my Sláine project, but I want these to stay consistent, so I'm sticking to the original technique for now.

This new pack of skull swords gives me nine Drunes in the warband, which is 62 points. Enough for a middling size game. I'm planning on another pack with repeater crossbows and then a couple of Babd to keep Feg safe. I'd like to have about 100 points to play with eventually, for a few options.

For Crom Cruach!

Silver Bayonet - Baba Zoya

This dark Winter's eve I bring you Baba Zoya, grandmother to all the lost souls of Morozov's command.

A devoted sister to the great mother, Baba Yaga, Zoya is nonetheless a powerful witch in her own right. The souls of the dead vie to light her way to the Sabbath, such is their love of Baba Zoya, for she makes the crops ripen and the cows give milk, and her wrath can wither the flesh from the bones of the impudent and the unfaithful.

Baba Zoya travels with Morozov and tends to the souls of his retinue. Her soft whispers and potent salves can bring precious relief to the damned, and they would no more offer her disrespect than a man would curse his own family. She is as the bones of the land, and so from the highest vampire to the lowliest walking corpse, they defer to her in all things, and would shield her from harm with the last scrap of their withered flesh.

Baba Zoya is, for now, the final member of my Silver Bayonet squad. She was a bit of a tricky mini to paint, and despite her small size, required me to paint her in three pieces, her arms and cloak being painted separately. She is a Reaper Bones mini, and the detail was soft in places, requiring a little improvisation, but she came out well I think.

There are quite a few doodahs under that cloak. A bird, some manner of banjo(?), what looked like mathematical instruments, and other bits. None of which you can see now, once the cloak was glued in. I spent a great deal of time on her face, which I enjoyed immensely. She's a creepy looking gal. I can't but think of Hellboy when I see any Baba Yaga reference.

So that's that! I'm looking forward to playing some more games with a full squad. I may come back to paint a mounted undead Cossack in time, if the whim strikes me, but for now, Morozov and his creaky crew are ready to take to the haunted fields of 19th century Europe, and at the rate the expansions are coming out, far beyond.

Silver Bayonet - Serzhant Ursov's Bearform

On this most appropriate evening, I present Serzant Ursov's cadaverous were-form, the undead Russian bear. Amazing what niche rabbit holes you end of going down in this hobby.

The stinky giant is from Diehard Miniatures. He's a great sculpt, and has been lounging about morosely on my painting desk for months. He's big enough too, sitting on a 50mm base. I resolved to get him finished for Halloween, and lo, here he is.

Ursov's fur is drybrushing and thinned contrast paints, which is a very pleasant way to paint. Ratling Grime contrast makes for a great recess wash for mid-browns. Lots of red, purple and green washes on the flesh over a Rakharth Flesh basecoat, a Rakharth Flesh highlight, and the soggy bear flesh was done. The old exposed muscle was Khorne Red with purple, dark brown and red washes, highlighted with Khorne Red and a little Corax White. The usual bone recipe, some maggots and claws, and that was about it.

This fellow wraps up my my minimum required minis for my Russian Silver Bayonet squad. Huzzah! I have one more character I want to add for now though, and she'll be along presently.

Silver Bayonet - Serzhant Ursov

Good day to you all, I trust you're well? This day I have a strange fellow for you. Serzhant Ursov, undead shapechanger and hard-nosed (it's made of bone) sergeant. 

Ursov is a were-bear, and as soon as I read about this entry in the Silver Bayonet Russian list, I knew this was my guy. Technically an undead dogman from Flintloque's 666th foot box, he's just the ticket for my particularly eccentric unit. 

Trudging up the snow-laden hillside, the jerky, ungainly infantry were having a hard time of it. Though indefatigable, they were making slow progress as they stumbled and occasionally fell, vanishing into the white drifts with undignified puffs of snow.

Morozov would have been hugely entertained if it wasn't costing them so much time. They'd never make it to the forest by dawn at this rate. 

Near the base of the rise, Ursov sighed heavily as he righted a groaning private and barked orders at the flailing soldiers nearby. It was taking too long. Far too long. Desperate measures were called for. Handing his rifle and sword to his ensign, a sudden ripping sound exclaimed his drastic solution. 

Morozov's eyebrows raised slightly as he beheld the huge cadaverous bear bounding up the hillside, several zombified line infantry gripping it's flanks or simply riding on its back. A novel solution to be sure, but one that would see them make the cover of the forest eaves with time to spare. As the huge Ursa thundered past, Morozov was certain he heard one of the privates make a 'Wooo!' noise. 

Just the wind, he reassured himself.

The sculpt is surprisingly detailed, so took me EVEN LONGER than normal to paint. It does suffer from Bob Olley syndrome (and I love Olley sculpts) of wondering, is that bit a fold of cloth, or flesh, or billowing smoke. Or all three? I acquired a new love for the Contrast paint Garaghak's Sewer painting Ursov. Duly thinned with medium it makes for a fine weathering wash.

Finishing Ursov gives me, finally, a full unit. Almost. I still need the bear form for Ursov. 'Where will you get an undead bear, eh Dave?' Hah I would say to you. HAH. In this age of miniature abundance, undead bears are no challenge. It is on the painting desk as we speak. But, here is the final unit for your interwebby judgement.

Do svidaniya!