The Gallowglass

The first of the Irish Pike have arrived to continue the fight against the foreigners and secure victory for Irelands various and fractured Gaelic Kings and sub Kings. DISCLAIMER: This is the first time I have ever used putty and green stuff to convert a miniature and it reminded me of learning to ride a bike, it cant be learned without just doing it, and it wont be pretty at first. Despite falling off many times and scraping metaphorical knees to bits I pushed ahead and put together my first conversions. Dont judge too harshly. We have the original Eureka Miniatures 16th Century Portugese Colonial and the same mini converted to Gaelic Pikeman in Aketon and trews with Morion helmet.  I do hope that when primed and painted it papers over the rudimentary conversion and brings the miniature closer to feeling like a 16th Century Irish pikeman. Here again the original Eureka and my conversion, this time with greenstuff. I wanted to try my hand using both materials and...

I have just received my order of Portugese colonials from Eureka miniatures and in the coming days I will begin converting them to Irish pikemen. While I waited for the Eureka miniatures I had a go at adding a Morion helmet to some Perry Miniatures Kerns with handguns. I also revised my painting schemenin favour of a more toned down and more earthy approach. I made the mistake with the saffron leine on previous figures of applying thin layers of yellow which gave an unintended glaze, rather than building up layers of highlight as I had intended. Compare the above with previously painted examples below, I will leave it to you to decide.

I decided to take a break from painting Kerns with bows and handguns and have a go at sculpting with putty and greenstuff. I have never sculpted or used putty before. I decided to take the leap and just do it. If I ruin my minis or are not happy I can buy replacements and chalk it up to learning. This one above has a simple shot bag sculpted on. Moderately happy with the shields. Not so happy with the flag, but I suppose it was a useful piece of learning and I enjoyed it.

"The Traitor and the Xenos are many, and we are few. I know what you are thinking brother, they stand not a chance against us". Captain Viriatos, 1st company, Marines Errant Adeptus Astartes. A change of direction from my Gaelic Irish project. I wanted to show off my Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine chapter. I began my hobbying in the 1990's as a 10 year old with Games Workshop's Fantasy, Necromunda and 40,000 games. I collected and played many armies, but never had the chance to do a Space Marine chapter. A number of mo ths ago I started a new army. So here are the Canon chapter, the Marines Errant. The Marines Errant are a successor of a successor chapter, which in the lore is not that common. Their predecessor chapter are the Eagle Warriors who are a second founding chapter of the Ultramarines. They are a fleet based crusading chapter with a notable history, particularly their involvement in the Badab war. In future posts I will go into more lore detail...

I have completed the first unit of Gallowglass, ten in all, the six Perry miniatures and the two Antideluvian. I intend to add two more in the future to make a unit of ten. As you can see I have based them on individual circular bases. This is because I am not collecting specifically for any existing tabletop system or rules and do not plan on wargaming yet. I am however working on my own set of rules for the period which works with circular bases. More on that in a future entry though! Above are the three wearing aketons. I painted the Antideluvian on the right differently to try and introduce some variety and personality. Maybe a little unorthodox, however I quite like it. Those with mail above.  I will be back next time hopefully with the beginnings of the Command unit including(maybe) a milliput sculpted banner for my standard bearer.

I have made a start on my Kerns with handguns, as well as some with bows. These are all Perry's. I am fairly happy with the result, although I am not too pleased with the eyes. I have invested in some finer detail brushes and will re do them. I am also for the next batch going to tone down the glossiness. This was due to the application of numerous watered down lairs which I did to achieve layers of contrast for the saffron leine garments most Kerns wear. I hope to bring you some more Gaelic units soon. I will also be showcasing the beginnings of my Marines Errant Chapter of Adeptus Astartes for those of you interested in Warhammer 40k soon.

I have a small number of Galloglaigh which I am currently working on. The one with the bow and the one on the far right with spear are both from Antideluvian miniatures and are fom their Albrecht Duhrer woodcut set, which are a set of four miniatures based on the contemporary woodcut by Duhrer which illustrates Irish mercenaries on the Continent. The other two are from Perry. I have a further number from the same range I am currently painting. After I finish the other Perry Galloglaigh I will continue adding more Ceitherne, also from Perry. Once they are done I will move on to Cavalry and Pike, and that will require some creative thinking and lots of milliput.