away with the Faeries...

right... a larger whole with a couple of small bits... first off, a Fairy Fort - ok, so the term is Irish, but I like it and it fits the job. Bit of a bugger to photograph, but somewhere in there is a corner of a long forgotten Iron Age hill fort, eroded and overgrown and too big to photograph properly sadly...

a simple enough construction, a block of old polystyrene shaped - it started off as a simple hill with smooth sides, but then thought about roughing it up a bit to make it more interesting. This eventually triggered a memory of the Fairy Forts and a few broken rings and ditches were made, with a well worn path to the top.

At the top I've made a round recess to take the old mini-discs I'm using for some basing so I can swap out what is at the summit. First up is a Fairy Ring, a natural circular growth of mushrooms.

I had been meaning to do one of these for a while, but getting the 'shrooms right was a pig as they never had that strong enough a join to the base. I ended up supergluing a ring of really thin plasticard to the disc, and then using poly cement added some plastic rod of varying heights - I had planned on adding discs for the mushroom caps, but then realised they'd be far too big, so just painted the tips of the exposed rods white and darkened down the rod with Devlan Mud. With the static grass added and a few clumps (as the mushrooms usually promote luxuriant grass growth as well), the rod pretty much is hidden and you just see the blobby tops in brilliant white. Job done.

Next up was a suggestion from LAF, a beacon. As they tended to be placed on prominent locations, the top of the fort seemed a good spot, so that was in mind when the hill fort was being built. I picked up a GW Bretonian Archer brazier, cut the top off and added it to a length of brass rod. The ladder was made from plasicard and plastic rod and made as rickety looking as possible. The bucket is from the Redoubt female villager who got turned into a ghoul.

the paintjob was a bit of a problem though. Bare metal didn't look right, so it had to be blackened ironwork - which then posed a problem with the coals in the brazier. I didn't want it lit or glowy and I had considered wood, but the shapes were too irregular. Not 100% with the difference between the coal and the ironwork, but it will do for now. 

of course, by a lucky coincidence, the gibbet is also on an old mini-disc and is also something that would have been placed prominently, so that made another option for the summit.

As I said, hard to photograph, but you get the idea.

A Field In England

 

England : 1648 AD

A small group of deserters flee from a raging battle through an overgrown field. They are captured by two men: O'Neil and Cutler.

O'Neil (Michael Smiley), an alchemist, forces the group to aid him in his search to find a hidden treasure that he believes is buried in the field.

Crossing a vast mushroom circle, which provides their first meal, the group quickly descend into a chaos of arguments, fighting and paranoia, and, as it becomes clear that the treasure might be something other than gold, they slowly become victim to the terrifying energies trapped inside the field.

 

Don't normally do this sort of thing, but I'm really looking forward to this film for obvious reasons. and that is a great retro poster. My only worry is the possiblity that it won't be an evil force, but just a bad trip from the 'shrooms.

 

As for normal updates, a big bit of scenery is almost done and should even have a fairy ring as well...

Judge Minty by Dwartist

obviously pending a base (and for all I know not finished paint wise - talented git that he is), this one is from Dwartist... really can't wait for mine...

Judge Minty by Kevin Dallimore

Just a slight nudge for the Frother's Charity mini thingy... Kevin Dallimore has finished one of the masters and it's stunning... the base and sign are his own and not the ones available to the big bidders, but even still a thing of beauty...

Check the Frother's Charity mini tags to see who to get one, as some are still available...

the Nine Sisters

a Salute purchase, a resin stone circle from the Square... on the face of it, a stone circle is easy enough to make yourself, but for £4 it's a hell of a lot less effort...

I added a base to the resin cast, just to help even out a slight kink (hey £4), and to give the entrance to the circle a more gradual slope...

base was textured, painted to match the other groundwork I have... I tend to go grey for stones, but wanted something different here to make it stand out (and many stone circles tended to have travelled some distance), so went with GW Karak Stone, drybrushed with GW whatever it's called now Bone... bit of dark tone wash and job done... grass, grass tufts and then flowers... may be over done for some, but I wanted an effect similar to the Rohirrim burial mounds in Lord of the Rings...

it's a generic, unscaled item on the Square's website, but works well for a small circle in 28mm...

Frothers 4th semi-annual charity mini...

UPDATE: Donations open now...

and it's a humdinger...

Dags over on Frothers wrote:

The official start of the Frothers' Charity thingy isn't until early next week but, as it's already on the web, here's the green for the next figure (sculpted by Kev White of Hasslefree Miniatures)...

For those interested in the background to the mini have a look here: http://www.judgeminty.com/

I'll post how you can get a copy once we go live.

But there is a Facebook page for those not FBphobic (or Frotherphobic!)...

https://www.facebook.com/The4thSemiAnnualFrothersCharityThingy

I've been following the Judge Minty blog for a while (scroll down and look right somewhere), so am salivating at the anticipation of such a cracking mini... spread the word, it's for a good cause...

UPDATE:

Dags over on Frothers wrote:

This year’s Charity mini is a sculpt of the eponymous hero of the forthcoming Fan Film Judge Minty sculpted by Kev White of Hasslefree Miniatures based on the character written by John Wagner that introduced The Long Walk in 1980.

 
There will be approximately 400 Judge Mintys cast – 200 in Metal and 200 in Trollcast.

As always, there are numerous people that deserve huge thanks for getting this project off the ground….

The cast and crew of Judge Minty, in particular, Steven Sterlacchini, Steve Green, Daniel Carey-George and, Minty himself, Edmund Dehn – without them it would not be happening.

Matt Sprange from Mongoose Publishing and the guys at Rebellion for allowing us to infringe on Mongoose’s license and 2000AD’s IP. Again, without Matt’s help this would not be happening.

Kev White for the sculpting (and Sally for letting him do it!)

Pete Brown and Ed Fortae for the casting

Ian ‘Geronimo’ Brumby for the bases

So how do you get your Judge Minty mini?

Easy…. Make a donation to one or both of the Just Giving Sites:

MS Society - http://www.justgiving.com/CharityMinty1

Cancer Research - http://www.justgiving.com/CharityMinty2

Then, and this is the important bit because it’s changed from past years, send an e-mail to charitymini AT gmail DOT com with;

1. Your Name
2. The address you want the mini sent to
3. Your Just Giving reference number
4. Your preference as to Metal or Trollcast or both

You won’t get an instant reply but will get an e-mail informing you of dispatch

There is no minimum donation per se. I've always hated telling people what they should give; it should be what you can afford but if you would like multiple copies I'd suggest £15 per mini – all money is going to the charity of your choice.

However, to shamelessly cash in on the Kickstarter fever that appears to be gripping most at the moment, the more you donate, the more you’ll get…. The first extra will be an exclusive Frothcity 1 base designed and cast by Ian (Fenris Games) Brumby (assuming he’s still alive and hasn't died of pleurisy!) that will go to everyone donating £25 or more. There’ll be more, hopefully to follow. 

Postage is being covered by a mystery Frother but, especially if you’re outside the UK, take that into account when making your donation and add in a little extra J

When will you get your miniatures?
Even though we’re a bit more organised than usual these things take time especially as everyone is doing this in their spare time around their usual work.

Firstly Grey Matter will be moulding and casting a few in resin. Then he'll be of to Pete for Master moulding & master casting. Those masters are then shipped off to Ed in the States. Production moulding and casting and return shipping all takes time especially with the holiday season approaching. Hopefully they’ll be going out in late February.

Lastly, a huge thank you to you guys; without your generosity we’d never be able to continue.