Hello...I am still here!

It has been too long since my last post. There have been a number of reasons for that- I have been finishing off my African scenery: I have been rather unwell with a nasty stomach bug; I have been painting for the Lead Painters League. The Lead painters League (LPL) is a painting competition ran by Lead Adventure Forum. I have entered the last two years and really enjoyed it. The basic idea is that you have to submit a new entry each week for ten weeks. Each entry must comprise of a 'team' of at least five figures. Exactly what constitutes a team is quite open, as long as there is an obvious theme running through them. Additionally there are three bonus rounds where there is a extra points if you can produce a team that matches the theme for that round. This year the bonus rounds are Old Lead (any figures older than 1991), Tolkien and Maritime.


The LPL is a great way of making a bit of progress on the many half finished projects I have kicking around, as well as upping my game when it comes to painting miniatures. This year I am looking to do some more Saxons, some Old School Citadel, some stuff form my African adventures, some VBCW and defiantly some KKBB.



This year there is a restriction on the number of entries, and as part of the rules changes we have to submit three 'teams' by the end of February, hence me being rather busy getting my entries ready. Because of the rules of the competition, I can't show my figures on the Blog until after the competition has started, so February might not see to many post with new figures, but you will still be treated to a few bits and bobs, along with some scenery.

I had a nice parcel in the post yesterday form The Assault Group with my African militia men. I have been shopping about on the Internet trying to find some nice modern African 28mm to go with my shanty town scenery. Basically it seemed to boil down to two UK manufacturers, Britannia and The Assault Group (TAG). I ordered a few testers from both companies, and was impressed by the customer service from both.

A Britannia Somalian and a TAG African Militiaman

Here is a picture of a couple of miniatures from these companies. Scale wise, as you can see, they are very compatible, and the weapons are a good scale match too. While being defiantly 'Heroic' proportioned 28mm miniatures, they work well together. The Britannia miniatures are dynamic, while TAG tend to be more statically posed. Cost wise, there is not a lot in it, with both manufactures minis averaging about £1.45 each, if you buy 30+ minis at a time.

I have decided to opt for the TAG for the bulk of my force because I prefer the sculpt. The lines and styling reminds me of Mark Coppletone's work, although I don't know it he did the sculpts. They certainly would not look out of place mixed in with Copplestone miniatures. That said, Britannia do a fantastic range of resin and metal vehicles that will be prefect for my needs, including the ubiquitous 'Technical'- a Toyota pick-up with a .50cal HMG on the back. I am sure to be getting some of those to build up my force soon enough.