Legend - Figure WIP

[Cadman]

I received an email on Sunday indicating that the order I placed for additional figures to use in my upcoming "Marquis of Montrose 1644" diorama won't be delivered until around mid-September. That's a bit of a drag cos the project has been in limbo for a couple of weeks now while I wait for that order, but not much point in whining about it. It is what it is.

So with my Conan the Barbarian "Shadows in the Moonlight" diorama now finished, I've been scrambling around trying to decide what to do next.

Well, I recently re-read this one, first published around 34 years ago....

 

 

....and here's the blurb copied & pasted from Amazon UK;

The Legend
Druss, Captain of the Axe: the stories of his life were told everywhere. Instead of the wealth and fame he could have claimed, he had chosen a mountain lair, high in the lonely country bordering on the clouds. There the grizzled old warrior kept company with snow leopards and awaited his old enemy death.

The Fortress
Mighty Dros Delnoch, protected by six outer walls, the only route by which an army could pass through the mountains. It was the stronghold of the Drenai empire. And now it was the last battleground, for all else had fallen before the Nadir hordes.

And hope rested on the skills of that one old man...

 

Now to be honest, it's not great literature and it's difficult not to agree with some of the 1 and 2 star reviews on Amazon -- especially the complaints about how the book ends. But it's not a multi-book series you have to wait twenty years to get the resolution of the story, and in actual fact it's still a cracking good read -- and I do prefer fantasy books that keep the magical stuff to a minimum -- there's not really that much of it occurs in the book. Well, not until the end that is, but I don't want to spoil the book for anyone who's interested in reading it.

In my mind's eye, the Drenai Empire is similar to the Byzantines, and the Nadir are obviously based on the Mongols, (although I reckon that Ottoman troops might work okay as well), and guess what I've had lurking at the back of my stash cupboard for around three years now?

They're all in resin and from a Russian company called Chronos Miniatures.

 

 

 

 

So I immediately jumped onto my favorite figure vendor's website and ordered up a few more figures I think I can use in this new project, albeit they're from a different manufacturer, (and I'll also be ordering three additional figures from my second favorite figure vendor later this afternoon), and then I began prepping those figures from my stash this morning.

Here's the Byzantines/Drenai I'm doing as characters from the book. Virae the Shield Maiden, (which I did a couple of years ago), and Druss the Captain of the Axe are from Draconia Miniatures. Regnak the Earl of Bronze is from Masterclass Models.

 

And here's the Mongols/Nadir;

 

 

I also have three figures from Aeroart St Petersburg that can be used as well;

 

 

So lets see, with what I already have plus what's on order, the Nadir will comprise of;

2 x Mounted Figures

9 x Foot Figures

Although I might just and a couple of Ottoman's in with them.

The Drenai will be;

12 x Foot Figures

 

That's a lot, but I always overcrowd my dioramas anyway.

In addition, I'll never get all those Drenai figures onto the battlements of the scenic piece in these photos -- but I have a cunning plan in mind that should take care of that little issue. Next problem will be finding a suitable base to accommodate all the figures and that scenic piece, but it'll be at least two weeks before the additional figures pop through the letterbox, so I've plenty time to track down something to use as the dio base.

 

Meanwhile, those "Drenai and Nadir" figures I started prepping this morning have been given a squirt of primer and I'll begin getting some color onto them tomorrow.

😎

Cheers

H 

[Cadman]

Well I found another couple of figures sitting in the stash cupboard that I reckon will fit in with this new project. The guy on the left is from El Viejo Dragon Miniatures and is going to be a good replacement for the figure who was originally going to be the Earl of Bronze. The figure on the right is from Pegaso and I'm using a replacement head on him so he can be a member of The Thirty. I'm aware all these names will mean nothing to most viewers, except those who have read the book, but bear with me.

 

 

I've also decided to ditch the idea of using those three Aeroart St Petersburg figures and will use these two Femme Fatale's from Draconia Miniatures instead. These were assembled and painted some time ago and I think they'll work fine in this one.

 

 

 

I'm certainly using a lot of white metal and resin kit figures for this diorama, but working on them ought to keep me out of mischief.

 

 

Here's the furthest I've got so far. Still a lot to do on them of course, and there's also another eleven kits on the way to Far Cathay from the UK via airmail, so they should begin to turn up sometime next week.

I'm going to be busy....

 

 

Cheers

H

 

[stevehnz]

I'm glad you've worked a couple of winsome wench's in there, not that I wouldn't enjoy this without, you understand, I just like it better with.

Steve.

[Cadman]

3 minutes ago, stevehnz said:

I'm glad you've worked a couple of winsome wench's in there, not that I wouldn't enjoy this without, you understand, I just like it better with.

Steve.

Well, seeing as the delightful creatures comprise half the world's population, I've never been adverse to including a few in my dioramas.

The word "delightful" always being subjective, of course....

😲