Vanguard/KoW: Modelling for both systems- A Beardragon14 debacle

SITUATION: So I have 5 Basilean paladins to assemble. The options in the box include two different head options and assembling with a 2 handed sword (A Paladin Defender) or a one handed sword and Mace ( a Paladin Chaplain).

In Vanguard a Paladin Defender is a WARRIOR so can count as a core choice, a Paladin Chaplain is a SPELLCASTER so I can only pick one Spellcaster per 3 core choices. Hmmm.

On top of this if I use the dodgey 50% is enough models for a base my 5 Paladins could give me enough for a single Paladin troop in Kings of War.

I therefore decide to make One Chaplain and 4 defenders, and use the Chaplain as the leader for a KoW troop of  Basilean Paladin Foot Guard.

MODELLING HINTS:  The chaplain goes together a treat however when assembling the defenders ensure you attach the arm with weapon on it first, with the sword’s blade close to horizontal.  I made the error of attaching the supporting arms first and has to adjust the sword arms to fit. It wasn’t a disaster but takes a little more fiddling around (and in one case use of green stuff) .  Again Mantic, for buffoons like myself a quick set of instructions would be grand.

Anyway here are my brave lads.

APOLOGY – No photos as Captain Doofus*, left his final 5 Man-at-Arms and two sargeants  at his place of work abode before bolting for his extended Christmas break. Sorry.

*Captain Doofus MAY be Beardragon14’s secret super hero identity , but of course I can’t tell. Super Powers include snatching failure from the jaws of success and total recall of any fact the split second after it was of any use. *SIGH*

BUILD HINTS CROSSBOW MEN.  The crossbowmen models are 100% better than the old metal plastic hybrids, however, if like me, you like  nice set of instructions, well, work out what pieces you are going to use before you start gluing as there are very definite pairs of arms which should be used together.

Mantic is you read this please put a set of assembly instructions on your website like Warcradle have done, as I am still not 100% certain on how I’d make 5 crossbowmen from the spue… I think I know, but with out clipping all the bits out and trialing it I am not certain.

Next update in an hour as I have completed my 5 paladins and started on the Gur Panthers. See I haven’t been wasting my holidays! Thanks for reading

SITUATION:- So I was taking stock and preparing to construct sargeants when I realised that I didn’t have 3 of the beggars , I had 5 !!! 3 in the kickstarter and 2 extras in the Basilean starter box. Although now excited at being able to start my own sargent’s mess in Basilea , I did need to rethink my plans.

RE-THUNK PLANS:- I decided  to do the kickstarter sargeants first (as refered to earlier I am a card carrying hobby butterfly, too much of the same thing drives me from hobby)

I needed one to lead my Man-at-arms regiment. He was to be kitted out with a spear to match his boys, a helmet (he’s going into battle ffs) and a standard (as every good regiment needs its colours).

The second Sargeant, will be his “Vanguard” equivalent, spear and helmet but with a shield instead… you don’t need a standard on elite secret missions, you know.

The final Sargeant will be in charge of my crossbow troop. As such he will have no helm (all the better to spot the enemy with), a sword (for self defense) and a standard (As crossbowmen need colours too). I have also clipped off a spare crossbow from the Man-at arms sprue and attached it to his rear belt. No point being a crossbowman sargeant if you don’t have a crossbow.

ENDORSEMENT:- Hello, my name is Beardragon14 and I hate PVC… there I got it off my chest. (So much so that I have lots of PVC models in there boxes unlooked at ,  I blame Wizards of the Coast’s D&D prepaints for this …. Lord they were $#!t minis) .

I am prepared to make a confession however, Mantic’s PVC is actually really good, It isn’t sickenly bendy, it holds lots of fine detail and I am deliriously happy with the models. So much so that I broke out the fences set I got from Mantic’s terrain crate kickstarter, and painted it up too as I went along. I really enjoyed both projects …. you could knock me over with a feather.

TUTORIAL BIT- The downside to PVC is that some of the bits may be a little bent out of shape. to fix this I just used the PVC tempering method and , it came back a treat.

Step 1: Stick the bit in hot water  for a couple of second pull it out and straighten if necessary. ( I say this as my two bent spears spang back to straight, through the plastic’s elastic memory and didn’t need straightening)

Step 2 While still soft plunge it into cold water, this hardens up the PVC nicely.

Yes it is a simple tip … but I am a simple man .

Progress:  So I have constructed the first spue of Men-at-arms and let me say this, they are a delight. If you owned the original plastics let me assuage any fears, these rank up and don’t look like break dancing fools.  Paint is currently being applied.

Tutorial:  Many people often ask me, gee Mr Beardragon14 , how do you paint shiney metal armour so quickly, given that you are basically a talentless hack??

Here are is the three step process that I came up with earlier in the year to paint Hallowed Knights Stormcast Eternals, and Warriors of Gondor quickly.

Step 1: Spray the models with a gunmetal base.

Step 2. Give a heavy drybrush with a silver paint

Step 3. Give a reasonable wash with Nuln Oil Gloss.

and metal is done … quick and easy , any idiot can do it … (and this idiot  is proof)

THE PLAN.  My  Vanguard Kickstarter Bundle came with 10 hard plastic Men-at-arms and 2 PVC Plastic Sergeants for said Men-at-arms giving me a grand total of 11 minis which can be used to form a regiment (I am not having two sergeants in one regiment….. It’s just not done).

Needless to say this is not enough so I ordered another Basilean Starter Box giving me another 5 Men-at-arms and another sergeant.

My main regiment will be armed with spears it will arranged  in a 3-4-3-4 arrangement and will require 13 Men-at-arms and one sergeant.

The two remainig Men-at-arms will be done as Crossbowmen for Vanguard games initially  but along with one sergeant will be the front rank of a future Crossbowmen troop (3-4)….Hopefully Kings of War Basilean Men-at-arms box gets released soon, so I can finish it.

The remaing sergeant will be done as a swordsman and will be sans troops initially …. maybe one day if  his do is derring……

THE PROBLEM:   So 10 Ironclads and 1 throwing mastiff done.  Now I have to build the base so I don’t have to have a full regiment painted and ….. sigh ….  get the Ironclads to rank up. Yes, I have yet again fallen foul, of getting two minis side by side without them  having a gap between the bases, this first happen to me in 2001 with the original Citadel Plastic Chaos warrior kit, and I am still making this mistake. This is the problem of building minis individually  for skirmish and not thinking about ranking them up later . I didn’t think that one through.

It also occurred to me that I shall have a hole in the base when the mastiff is removed ….

THE  SOLUTION:  I rank the dwarfs up in a pattern that works, but I don’t really want “this dward must go there” so a cut back the extra Ironclads I have to do from 3 to 2 to literally give me more wriggle room.

I construct the two minis, then get a mantic 20mm regiment movement tray, slot in the front rank, glue in an empty 20mm base in the void, I repeat this with the second rank , then the third and finally the fourth. I then quickly and carefully remove the minis in case any “glue creep” is seeking to make them a permenant addition to the regimental base.  The base is then painted and textured and the job’s a good ‘un.

I also paint up a loose filler base with an orc’s head on it to replace the mastiff when he has been deployed. That’s the Ironclads done …on to the Basilean Men-at-arms. *oh boy, oh boy, oh boy*

THE PROBLEM : So in early July, Ieun’s Ironclads have had a few skirmishes, are fully painted, and I look down at my hobby desk , still filled with other interesting projects (I am after all a Twice Illustrious Master of the Order of the Hobby Butterfly) and I see the unused portions of Dwarf Ironclad sprues. “Ah” , I think, ” That’s right I was going to have a go at making a regiment out of them.”

I also saw the Dwarf Throwing Mastiff on the sprue and have to come to a decision about how to use him. I don’t like having pets permantly attached to the regimental bases, so they can be removed once used. I also don’t like have them, flopping about loose as they are easy to lose.

THE SOLUTION: I make a single model , he slowly gets painted, repeat etc. They drop on and off my schedule and by the end of September I have the 2 remaining “vanilla” Ironclads painted.

I reach a decision on the Throwing Mastiff. Careful drooling over, er analysis of the upcoming Mantic Dwarf models shows a Dwarf hero called a “Master of the Hounds” I as yet have no idea what his KoW/V rules are going to be but just in case there are rules for a base of hounds later on, I put my Throwing Mastiff on his own 20mm base so I can drop him in and out of my regimental base and he can be a part of the Hound Master’s pack (if he has one).  It is Mid October, the little fella is assembled , painted and based in a little over an hour…. I was really worried about what to do with him.

Late last week, I got notice that my Vanguard Kickstarter was going to arrive on Tuesday, panic ensues. This is because part of The Order of the Hobby Butterfly Laws stipulate that while you can have multiple projects from multiple systems on the go at once you can’t have two projects from the same system on the go at once. (Obviously this is so one of the projects doesn’t feel neglected and thereby fail to perform when called upon in the heat of battle in the future. …… Yes, I am mad). I really want to get stuck into the Basilean Men-at-arms ( I have waited soooooooooooo long) I quickly assemble the Ironclad Musician and Standard Bearer and finish them Thursday just gone.