POITANIAN KNIGHTS

Squeezing one last post into 2015, I have painted up a few more knights as I have an upcoming GAME!!! in early 2016.

To bump up the Aquilonians, we have here some of the knights of Poitan, armed with their trademark 2 handed swords (difficult to use on horseback I should think). Royal Armies of the Hyborian Age states the heraldry of Poitan is a silver leopard on a red field. I used a deeper red to distinguish them from the Nemedians.

There aren't many mounted knights with 2-handed swords around, but these home cast Price August figures fit the bill. I bought these on ebay, but have since got the moulds (the horse is from a skeleton knight mould) as I hope to do a lot more home casting of fantasy figures .

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

CONAN OF THE MONTH DECEMBER 2015

More of an "I'm still alive " post, I painted this figure a long while back. This project is on a bit of a back burner, but I still intend to forge ahead with it.

Here is an early 1980's figure I was sent by Michael at Classic Minatures and I think it's by a company called Texas Miniatures? (correct me if I'm wrong).

CONAN OF THE MONTH MARCH 2015

A somewhat irregular feature, but here we are still in the desert with an offering from Nick Lund's Chronicle Range which appeared in the early 1980's.

By the way, does anyone know why random text on this blog keeps showing as pale grey and so unreadable? I have all the settings correct, but each time I look at the blog a different piece of text has faded out? Most annoying.....I blame Thoth-Amon.

CONAN OF THE MONTH NOVEMBER 2014

It's been a while, but here is a rather nice Conan figure from the Minifigs SS range. I painted him up for a desert theatre of war as we will be taking a look at the Stygians in the next post.

BOSSONIAN ARCHERS AND AQUILONIAN ARMY REVIEW

"...Bossonians from the westerm marches, strongly built men of medium stature in leathern jackets and iron head pieces."

Here we have the Aquilonian missile troops

The Aquilonian army as it stands so far. I will be doubling up the infantry I think as soon as the nice man at Garrison fires up his casting machine after the summer holidays.

GUNDERLAND PIKEMEN

Here are some more bold Aquilonian warriors, the Gunderland Pikemen.

Garrison figures as usual

as far as I remember they are described as having sober homespun clothing and plain steel helms and corselets. Royal Armies of the Hyborian Age also mentions  them as being fair haired, so I have given them blond beards too.

CONAN OF THE MONTH MAY 2014

Here is a nicely animated figure from Minot' Minature Armoury who released a small range of Conanesque figures called Heroic Age, many based on the paintings of Frank Frazetta, although I'm not sure if this fellow is.
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CHIVALRY OF AQUILONIA

Here are the Aquilonian shock troops. The knights and nobles each sporting there own livery. I deliberately made the heraldry simple, mainly because I hate painting heraldic beasts, but also to give the idea of very early heraldry as might be expected in the Hyborian age.

All Garrison, some from the medieval range. I really enjoyed doing these. They reminded me of model knights I saw in glass fronted cabinets as a child. (Not sure where the cabinets were.....in some model shop in Bath I think).

AQUILONIAN INFANTRY

Lets take a look at a unit of Aquilonian footsloggers. These fellows are the rank and file rather than named levies such as the Bossonian archers and Gunderland pikemen.

Figures by Garrison. I may have to get another couple of units of these. I love the helm with  aventail, straight from illustrations in the comics.

THE BLACK DRAGONS

Nobly arrayed behind Conan in the last post were the Black Dragons...the Aquilonian Royal Guard. I have painted 10 mounted and 10 on foot...probably more than I should have in the army but they are nice figures and dead easy to paint

In one of the de Camp/Carter stories it mentions the Black Dragons have white surcoats, but I'm sure Howard says black. Figures by Garrison again.

CONAN OF THE MONTH APRIL 2014

Here we have Conan at the zenith of his career, wearing the Royal harness of Aquilonia

...Conan's armor of black platemail, with the vizored salade and the dark plumes nodding over a wivern crest. Over all they put the silken surcoat with the royal lion worked in gold upon the breast and they girt him with a broad gold buckled belt which supporteda jewel hilted broadsword in a cloth of gold scabbard.' (Conan the Conqueror)

I have posted this figure on another blog before so apologies if you have seen it already, a lovely old Ral Partha miniature from 1976-77.

CONAN OF THE MONTH - MARCH 2014

I hope to post a different Conan figure each month, but suspect I will get sidetracked. With best intentions though, here is an offering from Ral Partha dated 1977. I think he is quite a common figure , in a rather odd pose, squatting slightly and looking constipated, but that's part of the charm of early figures I guess. I have about 6 of this guy waiting for conversion.He has the correct Conan haircut, with a square cut fringe. In fact, the unpainted face looks a bit like James Earl Jones so I might pinch the head off one to make a film Thulsa Doom character (the novel Thulsa Doom has a bare skull for a head).