Dwarf Infantry Front Rankers 2 (greens)

Postman delivered a package from John 'Poshgoblin' Pickford with the for the time being last two additions to the core infantry (except for command figures of course) (elites will follow). These are conversions of the two plug in style troopers (you know, these guys), bringing the number of variant bodies up to 4. They can be fitted with halberds, spears/pikes, sword and buckler, handgun or crossbow.

The one to the left is wearing a sallet with raised visor. The spear shown is a slight conversion (addition of the tassle), thus making an extra spear variant, just for the fun of it.

These will be sharing a mastermould with the Landsknecht Goblins.

First Pictures of Landsknecht Goblin Greens

While John is working away on more dwarfish goodness, I couldn't resist the temptation to ask one of my sculpting idols, the great Kev Adams, to do some of his iconic goblins for the range, kitted out in landsknecht gear. And they look pretty fantastic, it looks like Kev really strived to make these some of his finest goblins yet, surpassing all expectations.

There are 4 poses to start with. There are 6 heads that fit all 4 bodies. 3 of the bodies have interchangeable weaponhands (spear, halberd and two swordvariants) and a separate shield. The 4th is armed with a handgun and will receive more options after moulding.

More detailed pictures showing the possible combinations will follow when I have them in hand, but I couldn't wait to show you these pictures Kev sent to me.

The models, assembled with blue-tack:

Unassembled and WIP:

Halberd option added

A very small update, John converted a set of arms from the latest mastercastings to add the halberd option. These should normally be good to go directly in the productionmould without having to pass through mastermoulding first.

Mastercastings of the second dwarf infantry set

Just got the first mastercastings of the latest set from Pete B. at The Mouldmaker.com and they are beautiful. Only a very few very minor issues that need to be addressed before these can be productionmoulded. John's conversions of the original poses blend in very well and the new heads are excellent (even if I say so myself). The spear-arms will be converted to halberd-arms as well.

A closer look at the new heads:

The new poses with the plug-in type weapons. The two bodies will be converted to add more variants.

A couple quick fits (nothing is glued in place here, these are mastercastings intended for use in the productionmould). The gun looks bigger than it is, must be an angle thing. I especially like the sword & buckler combo, it works very well.

Da Vinci's Tank

The other week I got two of Black Army Productions' Da Vinci tanks in the mail and thought I'd take a minute to plug these excellent models. Mastered by Tobsen, the main hull is a solid block of none too heavy resin, with some metal add-ons (gun/cannon barrels). As per Leonardo's original designs, there are no superfluous frills, making them quite simple to paint, but no less striking on the tabletop. These will go well with my landsknecht dwarfs (and a nice, historically based alternative to the GW steamtank). Go check them out, they are good value for money!

Official picture from the BAP site:



Manufacturer Showcase - Part 1 - Historical Landsknechts

Following the example of the pages I worked on on the Colonel Marble's Miniatures Showcase, I will update this blog with a series of posts compiling a list of all suitable figures with a (fantasy) renaissance theme. I will start the first part with a section on historical (and thus human) landsknecht ranges.

1. Wargames Foundry:

Possibly the biggest range to date and all sculpted by the Perry twins, with a few exceptions by Mike Owen. The range has command figures, knights, cannon and crew, handgunners and pikemen.

http://wargamesfoundry.com/

2. Artizan Designs

A relatively recent and growing range of landsknecht figures by Mike Owen. So far, there are command figures, pikemen, handgunners, halberdiers and dopplesoldners.

http://www.artizandesigns.com/

3. Pro Gloria Miniatures

Another new and growing company with a small, but expanding range of excellent figures sculpted by the talented Paul Hicks. So far a hackbut and looting landsknecht.

http://progloriaminiatures.blogspot.com/

4. Eureka Miniatures

Australian miniatures manufacturer with a small Italian Wars range that has some gendarmes (knights) and mounted men-at-arms (unreleased):

http://eurekamin.com.au/

5. The Assault Group

This UK company offers some suitable figures in the renaissance range, including halberdiers and the upcoming gendarmes.

http://www.theassaultgroup.co.uk/


6. Brother Vinni's Miniatures

Russian one-man company producing some very nice Landsknecht figures in 28mm. So far there are handgunners, halberdiers, a sort of hackbut/swivelgun, a sapper and an officer.

http://www.brother-vinni.com/


7. Old Glory Miniatures

American-based manufacturer with a large, though somewhat inconsistent range of figures, covering pikemen, command, handguns, cavalry, dopplesoldners...

USA: http://www.oldgloryminiatures.com/

UK: http://www.oldgloryuk.com/


8. Redoubt Enterprises

Redoubt offers a range of biggish figures that includes pikemen, officers, crossbowmen, handgunners, reiters (pistoliers), knights, artillery and crew, characters ...

http://www.redoubtenterprises.com/



9. Mirliton

Italian manufacturer with a small range of italian wars figures, including a rather nice carriocco (war wagon) and bellwagon.

Italy: http://www.mirliton.it/

UK: http://www.vexillia.ltd.uk/

10. Warrior Miniatures

Uk-based manufacturer of, among other things, a small renaissance range. The figures are a bit dated, but they are cheap as chips (70p each for a footmodel).

http://www.warrioronline.demon.co.uk/
11. Irregular Miniatures

Another oldie. To be honest, they are pretty bad by today's standards.

http://www.irregularminiatures.co.uk/

12. Miniature Figurines (aka Minifigs)

Another company that seems to have been around forever and that do some landsknechts. No pictures though...

http://www.miniaturefigurines.co.uk/

Manufacturer Showcase - Part 2 - Fantasy Landsknecht Humans

The fantasy part of the human renaissance showcase. Some of these figures als feature in the size comparison pages of this blog. Depending on your own preferences, you could include other, more loosely renaissance inspired figures from other manufacturers, but for this showcase, I'm sticking with those that reflect the landsknecht style or are closely inspired by the GW Empire setting.

1. Games Workshop

GW's Empire range needs no introduction obviously. The range includes infantry, cavalry, warmachines, characters, ...

http://www.games-workshop.com/



2. Gamezone Miniatures

Spanish manufacturer of Fantasy miniatures including a Renaissance themed human range called "Imperium". Most of them are Spanish themed, but some are more general, landsknecht themed.

http://gamezoneminiatures.de/



3. Armalion/Das Schwarze Auge

Originally a German range of fantasy figures, including some Renaissance themed ones, now produced by Ral Partha Europe in the UK. There are some male and female characters as well as some nice crossbowmen.

http://www.ralparthaeurope.co.uk/



4. Lead Adventure Miniatures

German manufacturer of a growing range of 28mm Fantasy Landsknechts. They are pretty fantastic looking.

http://www.lead-adventure.com/



5. Freebooter Miniatures

German company doing a fantasy pirate game which includes a range of "Imperials", some of which are female.

http://www.freebooterminiatures.de/


6. Mirliton

Italian company that, among other things, now produces the old Grenadier Fantasy Warriors range. The human faction of that range is on average slightly early to really fit well, but some of the figures, including the knights and characters, work well. They are gorgeous Mark Copplestone sculpts to boot.

Italy: http://www.mirliton.it/
UK: http://www.vexillia.ltd.uk/



7. Mega Miniatures

US-based manufacturer bringing back many old school ranges. Some of the figures are small by today's standards (25mm), but there are some real gems to be found.

http://www.megaminis.com/

8. Victoria Miniatures

Australian based range of figures by Victoria Lamb, with a few interesting items for Empire players.

http://www.victorialamb.com/



9. Avatars of War

Avatars of War (AoW) is a young company located in Spain that designs and manufactures 28mm fantasy miniatures, including a war priest, not unlike the GW ones.

http://www.avatars-of-war.com/



10. Scibor Miniatures

Controversial Polish range including some GW-style Warrior Priests...

http://sciborminiatures.com/

11. Black Scorpion Miniatures

This range of 30-32mm figures includes some GW Empire-style figures in the Desolation Row section.

http://www.blackscorpionminiatures.com/

12. Tertio Creativo

Spanish manufacturer of an Alatriste-like fantasy range with some figures that can crossover into a GW inspired Empire setting.

http://terciocreativo.blogspot.com/

Manufacturer Showcase - Part 3 - Renaissance dwarfs

1. Marauder MiniaturesThey've been OOP for close to two decades now, but the Marauder dwarfs still remain some of the best Renaissance style dwarfs out there. Ebay is a good source.

http://www.solegends.com/marauder/index.htm

2. Wargames Foundry:

Foundry does a small range of Landsknechts dwarfs.

http://wargamesfoundry.com/

3. Fenryll Miniatures

French manufacturer of resin fantasy figures, including a nice dwarf cannon. Only downside is they are a bit on the large side.

http://www.fenryll.com/

 

4. Bronze Age Miniatures

US-based company making 32mm dwarfs, including landsknecht dopplesoldners and civilians.

http://www.bronzeagemin.com/

5. Black Hat Miniatures

Black Hat took over the small fantasy range from Crusader Miniatures. They are not full-on landsknecht dwarfs, but have a distinct renaissance vibe. The range includes command, handgunners, halberdiers, axemen, a cannon...

http://www.blackhat.co.uk/


6. Alionas Miniatures

A German manufacturer offering figures with old school charm, including some Marauder-esque dwarfs. They aren't quite landsknecht style, but still look interesting.

http://www.alionas.de/

7. The Battleforge

Uk-based manufacturer of characterful fantasy figures, including some dwarfs with renaissance influences. For some reason, the newer releases are only availaible through their ebay store.

Website: http://www.thebattleforge.co.uk/
Ebay store: http://stores.ebay.co.uk/fromfireandflame

8. WK Dwarfs

Not a commercial range, but my personal privately commissioned (and growing) landsknecht dwarf range that you can find to the left of this post. :)

9. Beaumont Miniatures

Sold through Armorcast, this small ecclectic range has a dwarf "gong farmer" sculpted by Brad Shier. For when your privies need cleaning...

http://www.beaumontminiatures.com/

10. Ilyad Games

OOP French fantasy range including some suitable dwarfs. Hard to find now. Image taken from Stunties.

11. QT Models/Amazon Miniatures

An older, but relatively extensive range of renaissance styled dwarfs, of the tall and slim variety. Image was taken from Stunties (as the Amazon site is down).

http://www.amazonminiatures.com/

http://www.stunties.com/wiki/index.php/QT_Models

12. RAFM Miniatures

This American company does (or did, I couldn't locate them) a small range of conquistador dwarves, also of the tall and slim variety. Image is taken from Stunties.

http://www.rafm.com/

13. Renegade Miniatures

Renegade apparently have a small range of landsknecht style dwarfs that is as of yet unreleased. Picture is taken from Stunties.

http://www.renegademiniatures.com/

Manufacturer Showcase - Part 4 - Renaissance Elves

Not many companies currently produce Elves in Renaissance outfits, but there are a few around nonetheless.


1. Foundry Miniatures

The Foundry has a small range of "revenant" elves who may be used as either Imperial Elves or Vampires, depending on how they are painted. They come with cherubs that might also be useful. I belive these were sculpted by Mark Copplestone.

http://wargamesfoundry.com/


2. Mirliton
This Italian manufacturer bought the old Grenadier Fantasy Warriors moulds when Nemo Miniatures went out of business. The range includes some Renaissance themed Dark Elves, sculpted by the talented Mark Copplestone. There are spearelves, crossbowelves, swords and bucklers, boltthrowers, cavalry, condor riders...

http://www.mirliton.it/


3. Terrain Warehouse

This UK-based company also produces the aforementioned Grenadier Dark Elves and while their back catalogue seems less extensive than Mirliton, they do offer a chance to buy single figures if you don't want to commit to whole packs.

There seems to be some dispute as to who really holds the right to the UK Grenadier-moulds since these would appear to be claimed by EM-4 (who does however not currently produce the figures).

http://www.terrainwarehouse.co.uk/