I Think I Might Be a Reptile

Like much of the country, the Washington DC area has been crushed by icy weather delivered directly from the arctic this winter. Bundling up and shivering all day distracted me from anything but the most minimal progress on hobby projects. A few days ago Jack Frost failed his morale check and we got a break in the chill, reaching a delightful "several" degrees above freezing. Like a snake warmed by the summer sun, I've finally shaken off my torpor and gotten back to painting and gaming.

I've got a number of projects underway. I'm about halfway through Henry Hyde's "Wargaming Compendium " and he's as cheerful and enthusiastic in writing as he was on the "View from the Veranda" podcast (R.I.P.).

Building off my SAGA Norman warband, I'm expanding the cavalry with the hopes of eventually having a full Norman 1st Crusade or Italo-Norman army. I might have to press them into service as Riders of Rohan or something before the army is finished though just to get them on the table. The horses have their oil coat drying which will take a few days, so it's on to the riders next.

I also finally dug into my Dwarven Forge dungeon kickstarter. Holy Smokes! So many pieces, much quality, wow. This stuff is great. I've only unpacked a third of my order, but it was enough for my son and I to play Dungeon Crawl Junior for several hours. I've ordered the Pokorny Paints to avoid any frustrations with tackiness or mixing custom colors, and I'm looking forward to getting these painted up.

We're also having friends stay with us next week, and my wife has already planned a game day with them to celebrate their arrival. Not sure what we'll get on the table, but I have a feeling there will be lots of miniatures and dice at some point.

Reaper Bones Kobolds

I polished off a dozen kobolds from the first Reaper Bones kickstarter. Their small size made their details feel even shallower than some of the other Bones figures I've painted up, but the wash helped pull out their features. I still felt like I was guessing when picking out things like their teeth, but they should be serviceable as dungeon chumps for the players to cut down.

I glued them to washers and extended the dungeon floring they were standing on with some milliput sculpted to look like flagstones. I suppose they turned out ok, but I looking forward to getting back to some metal or plastic historicals next.