Men In Boxes

(Click the pictures for a bigger version) This dragon is from Safari Ltd. Its size is 5.5" L x 4" H (14 x 10 cm) and is still available in toy stores that carry the Safari brand as well as at their web store here. Overall, the sculpting is very nice, with the textures all crisply done. It reminds me of the artwork of Rankin-Bass' Flight of Dragons, especially the character design for Gorbash -- from the horns swept back with frills to the avian-like beak. The dragon's mouth is closed and its neck slightly curved. The eyes can also do with some repositioning of the iris because it seems to be looking straight ahead at something at the same level as its head. Some of the detail is very nice. I really liked the irregularity of the teeth. The hide is well marked with scales and this really comes out as visibly reptilian, armored and impervious. The claws are well sculpted but the paint job is rudimentary and can really benefit from washes. The dragon is on all fours but w...

I've been collecting dragon toys and figurines for some time now and using them for wargaming seemed so obvious. As a kid, I got Peter Dickinson's speculative natural history book "flight of Dragons" that theorized how dragons may have actually lived and participated in our world. Then I was the Rankin Bass cartoon based on the book as well as Gordon Dickson's "The Dragon and the George." Needless to say, I was a big fan of Gorbash and Smrgol. From card and paper models to block toys and resin statuettes, I've managed to amass a veritable "flight." Here are the first three I plan to use. Two are from Safari Ltd. and another from an unnamed China manufacturer. All are of a semi-rigid plastic and came prepainted. So, here be dragons!

I'm in one of those painting ruts. Truth be told, the weather here isn't helping, with days and evenings all dreary from rains and monsoon storms. Case in point are two boxes worth of the GW LOTR Men of Gondor plastics. I've finished priming and painting them save for the shields, which look like a pain to paint. The archers are finished with just the base texture awaiting a wash and some grass flocking. The swordsmen and spearmen though have me in a rut. The figures have the tree embossed on the shields but for the life of me,I can't seem to bring out the detail. I'm currently using a technique I found easy and fast to do wth 1/72 plastics but the results with these models left me --in a word-- appalled. The shield faces were first block painted flat black with acrylics. I then applied a white on the tree heraldry. Maybe the problem started here since I wasn't careful in applying the white. I was hoping the next stage would correct the imperfections. This invol...

I found this plastic box while shopping at the local Ace Hardware. It's advertised as a cash box/accessory box and has 5 long compartments inside. I tried to fit in two boxes worth of GW LOTR figures and they fit 3 of the 5 compartments well. If lined with foam, the box culd well be the answer to storing my 1/72 and 28mm armies. I wasn't able to get the actual measurements but the height is suitable for 1/72 spearmen and even 28mm spears ( I tried out the GW 3rd edition elven Spearman and the GW LOTR Men of Gondor-- seen above), albeit lying down. More on this box soon.

Made from various Mageknight figures ripped off from their clicky bases (a feature I never liked) as well as some Heroscape figures:) Repainted and rebased to provide an adversary to the Human Federation troops. The army is still incomplete and will soon have more biomechs added courtesy of some Japanese Gashapon I recently purchased.