Preening Dandies (January Edition)

January turned out to be Flames of War month with half the entries coming from that system. Worryingly, they're all Axis forces. The many and varied units of the Allied side don't seem to interest our contributors, who I now suspect of spending their spare time marching around in jackboots.

Fallschirmjager HMG Platoon (Flames of War)

I had intended to submit this exact unit but Nosediver pipped me to it. He also stole my colour scheme and basing method. Some say that he developed them independently and before I did but we all know it was some kind of time-traveling shenanigans. As ever, the troopers are gorgeously painted with multiple forms of basing material been used for that authentic springtime in Germany look.

15mm Howitzer (Flames of War)

His name was once a byword for giant piles of unpainted metal but Frogdog has actually started mass-producing painted models. Despite our clear one model/unit policy, he's decided to sneak two other units into his picture and they actually look good. The new style artillery base looks surprisingly appealing here and the gun has a nice scuffed effect along the barrel.

Oiran (Malifaux)

The model itself isn't the focus here rather the basing effort. Everything you see from the banner poles, banner and base itself is Craftfeld's own work. The overall look is a pirate/oriental court effect which I think ties in well with the model itself which seems to be a hooker ninja of some sort?

High Reclaimer (Warmachine)

Lowry sends in the High Reclaimer but also slightly cheats the system to show off one of his Wracks. The blades on his mace are exceptionally nice and the model as a whole looks fluff-perfect. The rust effect where the chains meet the rack and at the joints also look great in the photo. We also note the appearance of small rocks on his usually bare bases. Baby steps, eh.

StuH 42 Platoon (Flames of War)

We have a new entrant this month as Floody sends in a platoon of assault guns/tank hunters. We see the Ambush camouflage claiming another victim. It's so so pretty but I imagine it's soul destroying to paint. I've said a lot about this before so you can pore through the back catalogue for other examples. Some of these tanks seem to be the stubby StuH assault guns so I expect infantry lists are in for an unpleasant surprise at the next few tournaments.

Romano-British Cavalry (Dux Bellorum)

I present a tiny unit of Romano-British cavalry. Their friends are strewn around my workspace, blutacked to lollipop sticks, awaiting some attention. I'm actually quite pleased with my first attempt at horse-flesh. The key is using Devlan Mud to cover all sins, drown them in the stuff.