PanzerKaput Goes To Barons’ War

I have finished a collection of villagers from the latest Barons’ War 3 Kickstarter, sculpted by the amazing Paul Hicks. I am using these guys for background set dressing but also to add to me Levy troops too. The character in these are amazing ranging from the leper with his bell and the poacher with a rabbit and pigeons hanging from his belt to the rather lovely vignette named “Ambush” where someone has creped up of a sergeant guard and is stabbing him in the back. But my favourite of them all is the little boy riding his hobby horse.

The Kickstarter has also given me Outlaws to paint, more Sergeants, a wages cart and some more knights. There is also a Liam Neeson looking character from Kingdom(ish) of Heaven(ish) and some amazing Templars. So looking to painting these.

I needed to get some more wicker fencing after my wife accidentally left them on the car after the last gaming night and whoops they were gone, so rather than spending yonks making them with toothpicks and wire, I opted for the easier option and buy ready make ones.

So I had a look at Renedra Ltd website as I knew that they do some rather lovely fences and ordered to frames of them. But I couldn’t help myself and I started to have a look around there website for other things, as you do and remembers that they do some lovely Outbuildings and then came across the Medieval Cottage 1300 – 1700, love the title, from Perry Miniatures but produced by Renedra. So a couple of second later it found it way to the basket and it arrived, with the fencing on my doorstep.

They are quite simple to build but you do need to be careful as they don’t sit flush but for the detail and price they are amazing. They are a dream to paint as the detail on them really helping being it all out was washes and dry brushes.

The wicker fencing is lovely and much better than anything I can do and the detailing on it is amazing. Again they are dream to paint and very simple washes and drybrushing can make it look so good.

A few years ago I had an awful accident a couple of years ago where my entire Greek armies for Mortal Gods, Greeks, Athenians and Spartans came crashing to the floor and scattered into a million pieces. Okay that might be a little bit of an exaggeration but it felt like it at the time. I was very lucky and I didnt lose a single piece and managed to collect them all, put them away in a box, cried a little and year or so later I repaired and repainted them. But lesson learnt.

So I looked into a better way of carried my miniatures, that wasnt foam carrying cases, dont get me wrong I like them and have a ton of them but they are a bugger to store and I personally do not think they offer that much protection. So I had a look at different ways of storing me figures and also for carrying them and sure a few people use Really Useful Boxes and thought that I will give them a go.

I also remembered that Warbases, that wonderful Indie of the Week, did some inserts designed for 9ltr RUB boxes and I got a couple of these to see what they are like. They come in two types either full size insert, designed to fit the whole footprint or half size one and I opted for the half size ones as it meant I can swap them out and around as needed.

They also have tray liners too which though are not needed are useful and stop your figures moving about.

So I tried them out bring my Baron’s War figures to my first game and was impressed with them as they survival the journey there and back intact with no casualties but a couple did pop out loose, so I thought to getting a better system of fitting them in without the chance of bouncing about so I actually went back to the old solution I had used with my Greeks and putting magnetic sheets and magnet to them.

So I have a look around and found the magnetic sheets, .5mm in A4 size from the Magnet Shop and glued them to the base of the inserts and then placed the tray liners on top. I then cut some magnetic sheets and glued them to the bas of the miniatures and these held them but magnet to magnet is not as strong as I hoped and you really have to align the magnets up so the miniatures can really only on in one way.

But after having a discussion with some guys, including the Discord channel and @avernos and they stated that metal sheets is the best way. But it was but as easy of that with metal sheets as it has to be a ferrous metal, so steel or iron and if it is steel is cannot be stainless steel as that’s non magnetic. Trying to find metal, steel, sheeting thats about .2 to .5mm thick, that doesnt cost the earth is difficult to say the least but the Great Heathen Prince came up trumps again, as he always does, and suggested flexible fabric steel, which I also got from the Magnet Shop. God how I wished I had looked around the site first, lol.

Now I know I could of used washers and two pence pieces but I had based all my miniatures and didnt want to rebase them again and didnt just want to stick washers to the bases as it raises them and breaks the aesthetics of the miniatures have a very thick base. So the flexible fabric steel, which is non magnetic but great for sticking to magnetic sheets as the way to go for me.

I have added a couple of new terrain piece to me scenery box for my Barons’ War games in the shape of a high cross and a bee hive. Both pieces are from the latest Barons’ War Kickstarter 3 and are STL files which my good friend printed for me. I have to say they came out very nicely and very clearly and where a dream to paint.

I went with a simple stone paint done on the high cross and wanted it to have that sandy stone look and feel to it which I think I achieved.

The Bee Hive on the table is lovely and I didnt notice until I was painting it that there was little bees in the hive and the table. The table I followed the Gerry Can on new wood and painted the have in a rope colour as that was medieval bee hives, rope or rather straw. Again I think I have done a nice job on it and put it on a base so it can be used as an objective.

A short Video of the Battle of Humerstance and battle report for The Barons’ War: A Medieval Skirmish Game​

Miniatures from Footsore Miniatures & Games​

Mat from Geek Villain Ltd​

Trees from The Last Valley​