Warm Ale and Mud

I am a big fan of how things look, but with it being a game there is always that element of playability. I could probably get away with not using movement trays but my wife insists on them. Now the trays themselves I don’t mind too much as I make mine to be fairly unobtrusive: But when the models start being removed then it looks ugly, even when the inside of the tray is painted: So rather than horrible MDF trays showing, I have made some blanks to replace the models with: Much nicer on the eye and helps maintain the suspension of disbelief.:

With my Stirland garrison of Heiligsheld being complete it is time to turn to the enemy, the undead of neighbouring Sylvania. My Undead forces are here: Due to the nature of them I figured they will be quicker to paint than my fleshy human fancy uniformed chaps. This pleases me as my humans take me about 8 hours a model to paint. The zombies have flesh and bone and metal and cloth and they are my biggest unit so they will take longer than the simpler skellibobs. Having left the largest of my human units to last and regretting it, I decided to paint my largest and hardest undead unit first. But I did not pay anywhere as much time on them and this is very clear if you look closely at them. One of the things I wanted to do in terms of their appearance is make them drab. So they have only a few colours, all the hair is black and all the leather/cloth is brown.   This helps make them more of a dull shambling mob of meh. Another thing I wanted to do was make them look like they brin...

I have added an interactive map on my website, it is possibly less user friendly than how the page was done before, but honestly I find this to be a bit more fun, like how the internet used to be! Go to my site and visit the Warm Ale and Mud page, be sure to clear caches and what not if you do not see the above shown mappe!! https://angelbarracks.co.uk/

COUNT HALVEN For a number of generations, the Halven family has lived in the Manor House just outside the village of Heiligsheld. From here the Count commands the garrison which protects not only the village of Heiligsheld but the nearby hamlets. A modest and devout man, the Count lives in a simple manor house with his wife Carmilla and a few servants. The garrison consists of 15 Helblitzen, 10 Erzatsolder and 10 Ambrustschutzen, more than enough to deter bandits, mutants, and the occasional goblin raiding party. Should the need arise, the woodsmen let by Martyn, and the villagers themselves will also rally to defend the village. Here we see the Count in full battle gear, resplendent in its coloured finery. The armour is blessed by Johannes Andreaes prior to each battle as is his mighty Warhammer, “MachtigAver”.

JOHANNES ANDREAES Elementalist and Alchemist Born 2459 IC in Talabecland. Studied religion and alchemy. Travelled a lot after leaving the province due to some minor controversy and has finally settled in Stirland after hearing that Count Halven was mostly unfussed by a persons past, that and his preference for Taal over Sigmar. Spends most of his time studying and practising his crafts and is a practitioner of the elemental magycks. He is the Counts counsel on all matters magyckal. (He also likes a drop of sherry or two, and pipe, ideally filled with Mouldy Leaf tabac from The Worlds Edge Mountains.) Only the Count himself left to do for my Stirland garrison!!  

Finally, the last of my infantry units is done!! The reliquary started off as a flagellant accessory I think, but then I added a back and doors and popped it on a pole with supports then added the tassels, it has turned out quite nice I think. HELBLITZEN The Helblitzen make up the bulk of all the imperial soldiers and Heiligsheld is no exception. These are led by Jurgen Lebowski who is in charge of the day to day running of the garrison. Jurgen grew up with Count Halven and they have been friends since childhood. He is the master of ceremonies and a capable, albeit aging leader. The reliquary carried by Karl Frazetta is from the private chapel to Morr from the Halven manor house. It is said to protect them from a visit from Morr and help keep the soldiers from visiting his kingdom before their time. It is said that this protection is possible thanks to some arcane ritual that the bearer must make with Morr, some sort of deal with death himself, as part of this ritual the bearer, in thi...

Just a quick question. I am nearing the end of my Empire painting queue. I am 2/3rds of the way through my final unit, the Helblitzen. After that, just 2 hero models to do. Then the cannon. But what cannon, I do not want to go newer than 4th edition, and as it happens I really quite like the 4th edition one (except the wheels): But I don’t have one and ebay prices are quite a bit more than say some alternatives from Wargames Foundry: I am struggling to decide which way to go, what would you oldhammerers do, or indeed what did you do? (Next blog post the finished Helblitzen!)