Frostgrave Ghost Archipelago: Scenery

OK, so it's been a while since I updated my Frostgrave Ghost Archipelago project, but I have not been neglecting it! I have painted some new models, bringing my crew up to the maximum 10. I'm still going to add a few more in case I want to change the composition at any point, but in terms of required figures I'm done. I don't know if I've posted this archer and pearl diver before, but anyway these are two of them. I don't have a photo I like of the Heritor, but oh well.

I ordered some cheap plastic palm trees off Aliexpress, and they finally arrived. They're a bit rough, but at something like a dozen for £2 I am happy with them. I drybrushed the trunks and fronds right on to the plastic and they look not too bad. I am mounting on them bases for stability; here's the completed first one.

As you can see, I've added some beachfront real estate to my islands/hills by buying some sandy-coloured felt from Hobbycraft. It's 55p a sheet, and I just cut it to make irregular shapes that I can use as sand bars, beaches and so on for the islands. It adds some verticality to the terrain, which is nice, and I'm going to make more.

The water is just turquoise crushed velvet. I got enough to cover my table on eBay for about £4. It'll form a shallow-water base, while the islands and beaches are connected by a network of docks, stepping stones, reefs, bridges, and so on. The fallen tree in this shot comes from a kids' playset I got at a car boot sale and actually holds up a figure pretty well.

The coffee-stirrer walkways need a little weathering, but they didn't take long and I can make more of them easily, so I'm happy with them.

And of course, I've been collecting relevant bits since forever, so lots of things get reused. I do like these Lord of the Rings ladders, which actually hold up a plastic miniature pretty well.

So yeah: warband finished, terrain coming along nicely. I think I'm about ready to start playing!

Project Update: Frostgrave Ghost Archipelago

In an earlier post, I kicked off my Frostgrave: Ghost Archipelago project. My goal was to get a crew and some scenery ready for this game, largely by using models and things I already had, with the goal of keeping the budget low and getting it done quickly. So how's it going?

Well, so far so good.

My current model count stands at 6 models painted out of my 10-model crew. So far, I've got three crew members, an archer, a mercenary, and my Warden done.

They're a mix of the plastic FGA crew models, Statuesque minis heads, a Reaper Bones model for the Warden, and a GZG dungeon adventurer (I'm told) for the Mercenary. I'm pretty pleased with them: the paint jobs are quick and dirty, as are the assemblies, but the colour scheme works and the overall effect is good. 

I've got some cheap terrain bits in the post and am hoping to be able to take some photos of them by Thursday, so stand by for further updates. 

New project: Frostgrave Ghost Archipelago

Having wrapped up the Armies on Parade project that has been dominating my painting table for two months, I'm finally free to embark on a new thing. The Nickstarter for Frostgrave: Ghost Archipelago arrived recently, so I think I'm going to strike while the iron is hot.

I really like the crew creation system in Ghost Archipelago, which I think is simpler than the one in Frostgrave while still providing a lot of variety. I dithered a bit, but ultimately I decided that I wanted to put together a crew that balanced mobility and heavy attack, with a Heritor who was a bit of a brute.

I settled on a warden with a staff, a Heritor with heavy armour and a two-handed weapon, two archers, a pearl diver, a mercenary, and four normal crewmen. The pearl diver is one of the bonus figures from the Nickstarter until I find something more appropriate, the mercenary is an old fantasy model I had lying around, and the Heritor and Warden are both Reaper Bones models. The Heritor got a headswap from the Crewmen kit, a practice I recommend.

Here they all are, aseembled, based, and primed. The goal is to do them in a primarily tan and white colour scheme with brightly coloured sashes, turbans and so on. I'm going to do the crewmen pretty quickly and concentrate mainly on more detailed paint jobs for the special models. I'm more interested in a cohesive whole than having any one model be brilliant.

I'm going to try to keep this blog updated with my progress as a way of staying motivated. Next time: terrain!