Linky!

The Stark battle group is done!  Well, at least, the painting is.  I still need to base them.  Patience, friends, pictures to follow soon.

In the meantime, check out this awesome example of a Game of Thrones conversion based on the TV show for Lannister guards using Lord of the Rings figures from games workshop.  The creator did an awesome job, although I personally am not a fan of the TV show "look," so I will most likely continue on my own path with those as my next project.  After the Lannisters have their own battle group, it will be time to take them for a spin!

Round Two

Here are some photos of the next set of Stark men.  I have 12 total, including a lord.  After these are done, it will be on to Lannister men, I think.  With 12 men per side, it should be enough for a brisk skirmish action.  On this set I toned down the white a little bit and simplified the painting process, shading a little later.  Also, this is my first attempt at doing the gambesons in a color other than white or brown.  I was a little hesitant at first, but it seems to work in blue as well; something to note for later.  Still trying to figure out how to base them all.  Details to follow...

Painting tests!

So, here are the first three test figures I've run.  Overall, I'm pretty pleased.  Still need to cross the hurdle of actually basing the fellows, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.  General observations on my part:

* Shield bosses get in the way of large designs.  This means having the boss in the middle of your design, or painting around it, which has its own set of problems (lots of open space).  I've compensated for this with some simple knotwork to avoid leaving open spaces.  The art I've taken from this article on how to free-hand Space Wolves designs. 

* The white could probably use some work.  It's not bad per se, but I feel the gradation from the 3rd highlight to pure white is too stark.

* The green stuff seems to be holding its own.

* P3 Armour Wash works just as well on brown as well as other colors, thereby negating the need for a seperate face-and-hands brown/flesh wash.

* Although House Stark's colors are grey, these guys came out a tad bluer that I would have liked.  Nevertheless, I think it works.  If/when I do house Arryn and Knights of the Vale, I will probably use a richer, darker blue and a warmer white.

Enjoy!

Updates on Models

So, here we go.  I currently have this batch of doughty fellows marinading in their (grey) primer, but I thought I would start off by showing the unprimed figures to give an idea of what I've done.  Here goes.  Photo quality is not the best, but that's what happens when your best camera is mounted on a cell phone.

 On the left we have the arms and body of a Fireforge Games Foot Sergeant with a Wargames Factory Viking head and a Gripping Beast round shield.  On the right, the same only the head is from the Perry Brothers War of the Roses set, with a green-stuff fur mantle.

The lord of the force (perhaps Eddard Stark himself?) in two views.  Body and arms are from the Perry Brothers command sprue, the cloak and matle is green stuff fastened with a green stuff brooch, and the head is a metal Dacian head from the Warlord Games Dacian Warriors range, although the crest has been shaved off and filed down.  I mounted him on a round base to make him easier to identify.

 Four retinue.  All have bodies from the foot sergeants box.  On the left a Perry Bros head with green stuff mustache, second from left Perry Bros bowmen arms and head with a green stuff beard.  Second from right we have the same set-up, with a foot sergeants sword strapped to his back, and ont he right we have a Warlord Games Gaulish head with green stuffed side-locks and a Perry Bros man-at-arms poleaxe arm set.

 Again, all Fireforge bodies.  All three heads are Gauls, with green-stuffed fur trim on the helm, a green stuff wolf tail on the spear haft, and green stuff fur cuffs.  Polearms are again from Perry Bros.

And lastly, two fellows with no green stuff.  Both Gaulish heads, the man on the left has Perry Bros arms and the one on the right is all sergeant except for his head and shield.

More to follow, once they are primed and the first few layers of paint are down!

Links

And while we are at it, why not take a look at a few other blogs around the web that are trying similar projects?

The Dilettante Gamer, trying his hand at making up factions via Dux Brittanicum by Too Fat Lardies

Franktactica, who gives us not only his blog and its awesome paint jobs, but also SAGA battle boards for the Starks and Lannisters!

FINiatures, who is hard at work on doing a Westeros army (armies?) for Impetus!

A Homage to Westeros, with an excellent Tyrion conversion!

More to follow as I uncover more goodies!

Inspiration From the Series

Here are a few images of what the Stark household guards look like in the series.  The helmets are 14th century open-faced bascinet types, with camails underneath.  The armour consists of round shields and fantasy-styled brigandines.  Certainly as good a place as any to start off.

Miniatures!

A good starting point from which I drew my initial inspiration: the Lead Adventure forum.  This modeler has used the Perry Brothers 15th century pikemen and has obviously subbed in various viking heads from other plastic manufacturers (I believe in this case Wargames Factory, although the original link says Gripping Best).  Overall, a good impression and I like the color scheme, although I'm not super fond of the way some guys have viking heads and some don't.  Although the color scheme ties it all together, I find the effect sort of jarring.  Sadly, no more photos to be had.

On Heraldry

As part of my research and inspiration for this blog, I stumbled across this effort at "branding" the various houses of Westeros by a Nike designer.  While I'm not overly fond of all of them, it is certainly an interesting concept, and worth a look.  Who knows?  Perhaps someone will find inspiration here for shield designs, banners, or other heraldry.  Take a look at the full list here.

Introduction

This blog represents a foray into wargaming the world of Westeros from George R.R. Martin's series Game of Thrones.  While immensely popular, this series appears more or less untouched by the wargaming community.  As such, I will attempt to rectify this sitution as I work on various Westeros-themed projects in 28mm (mostly), and chronicle my attempts to bring more attention to this theater of play.