March 5th, 2009 chicagoterrainfactory Posted in Painting, Saracens, WAB, arab, web sites Comments Off
Wonderful unit of Saracen infantry at Jons Mini Blog. Even if you not into historical figs, you’ll want to check out the brush work. Strong unifying color with individual accents to both bind the unit and keep each figure unique.
I’ll be sure to return to Jons blog when I get back to my own Arab army project this summer.
Photo credit: Jons Mini Blog
August 20th, 2008 chicagoterrainfactory Posted in Gripping Beast, Magister, Miniatures, Navigator, WAB, arab, web sites Comments Off
Reinforcements have arrived! For the second phase of my Arab army I selected Magister Militum miniatures. Customer service was excellent - each of my emails was promptly answered. The order took four days to process and about a week to ship from the UK to the US. All of the figures are well cast with minor flash and mold lines. Sculpting quality is average to above average, although there does seem to be a bit of flattening from the spin casting process.
I believe this line of miniatures used to be called Navigator - I don’t know if Magister purchased the product line, or simply re-sell the product. In any case - the Magister web site is still a work in progress. In the two weeks since I order, prices and packaging methods have changed. Even with the changes - the unit deal (24 figures) still seems the best way to buy in.
The Magister Arabs fit well with my existing Gripping Beast (cast by Old Glory 15). Foot solders match well for height - eye ball to eye ball the figures are the same size. The Magister minis are a bit bigger about the chest and perhaps a bit longer in the arm. I’ll have to mix a few into a unit, but I suspect the size differences will naturally blend as normal human variations.
Magister on the left. Gripping Beast on the right.
The Syrian Heavy cavalry are a more mixed lot. The riders are very upright (side effect of a one piece figure) and sit taller in the saddle than the crouching bowman. Trying to get the riders to fit their mounts will take a bit of pliers work - the legs are either too narrow or too wide.
Magister horses are a bit thin, short in length but stand taller than the Gripping Beast horse.
August 10th, 2008 chicagoterrainfactory Posted in Miniatures, Painting, WAB, arab, archers, spearmen Comments Off
First two units of my Arab WAB army are (mostly) complete. The figures just need to be based - a task I’ll save until I’m truly bored. I’m still not 100% sold on the color scheme - the blues and greens jump out as bold, deep colors rather than the more pastel colors from my research.
23 Spearmen with full command
10 Archers
July 21st, 2008 chicagoterrainfactory Posted in Painting, WAB, arab Comments Off
More test figures - starting to get a feel for the color schemes. Some of the reds in the bottom back might need a dip, but the rest of the figures are ready for the table.
July 12th, 2008 chicagoterrainfactory Posted in Miniatures, Sculpting, WAB, arab, banner, standard Comments Off
The Gripping Beast figures I purchased for my Arab WAB army does not include banners with the standard bearer figures. The model is simply a figure with hands prepared to accept a home made shaft and banner. Time to see what I can come up with.
First, flattened a ball of Procreate between two sheets of plastic taken from a milk jug. (A little bit of water on the plastic & I had zero issues with the putty sticking to the work surface.) Next, cut the shape of the banner with an exacto blade (press the cut - don’t drag the cut). Finally, prop up the banner on a few rods to add the flowing shape.
The standard rod is .052 guage brass rod. The banner is attached using super glue with a strip of paper folded over the joint span. Not only does the paper hide the ugly meeting between banner and rod, but I also hope the superglue infused paper will add a lot of joining strength.
Over all I’m satisfied with the result. The spotty paper should clean up once painted. The banner shaft is a bit short, but I’ll sacrifice height for easy transportation of the model. In the photograph I can see finger prints, but in real life the surface appears clean.
Standard bearer
Standard bearer back
