Topic: The Ankh-Morpork City Watch (Army) - Love is in the Air

[JAK]

This group/army may or may not materialise – as you know I’ve not done much in the past year or more and back then I had been thinking about rebasing the whole of what I had completed of my Discworld army.

With many of the units being from the city of Ankh-Morpork I was considering rebasing them into a more urban/street setting when along came AoS. Although I don’t play the game I have used the rules to ensure that the units I have created are in theory legal from a gaming point of view. When they introduced AoS, GW rewrote the rules of all their existing armies so most of the units I’ve created still remain legal, although a few will need a weapon change or two to the warscrolls – but that can wait. The main advantage to me of AoS is the lifting of base size restrictions.

I have got used to 28-30mm scale figures and don’t want to go to anything larger as this would mean starting again from scratch. (The way the current trend appears to be going we’ll soon be back to the traditional toy soldier scale of 54mm like HG Wells used when he started the hobby (please start a new thread in the correct part of the Forum if you disagree with this statement )).

I have no intention of moving to GW’s preferred 32mm base as traditional fantasy figures fit nicely on 25mm round ones. The little bit of extra space will assist conversions and hopefully avoid the problems trying to rank a unit up.  I also intend to use movement trays even if only for display purposes and at present am looking into the alternatives that are available online, as cutting circles is not something I’m any good at.

For the army itself I have a list of 76 named ‘characters’ from the books who were actually part of or have a very strong connection with the City Watch which at the rate I usually build and paint should be 5-6 years’ work. However I have a base figure for all but 12 of the characters, some were built for other projects and just need a repaint; some need adjustments due to comments in later books, including a sex and a species change; and most of the others have all the parts ready to be built, so it will still take some time.

This is where I’m currently at, and I wouldn’t normally have posted yet – particularly as there is still a chance that I’ll not even get started – but a number of events in the past week have made me take the plunge. I have just started a figure for a painting competition at a local GW store who are also about to start a mini army painting competition between now and June. This basically involves building and painting a leader and two units. As the Watch is a mixture of species, mostly humans and dwarfs a unit of 10 of each and a Captain should be acceptable and doable. If I also join Booah’s fortnightly figure campaign I can set myself a number of targets so that things do actually get finished.

The Painting Comp. is next weekend and their first target date for the Army is to finish the leader by the 26th March so I have some form of incentive to get started.

I have the motivation so if time and circumstances allow there will hopefully be an update before the end of March.

[Mightymatt88]

Great news JAK! I'm glad you're getting back into the hobby.

I'm a big fan of Terry Pratchett, and I think the humour you put into your models is a great testament to him and his work. The City Watch books are probably my favourite, so I'm really excited to see how this progresses, and who you include!

I made my own Sam Vimes a while back for use in Mordheim - he's over on my plog, but I've no doubt yours will be more in keeping with the fiction.

[JAK]

I'm glad you're getting back into the hobby.

Mightmatt – So am I and I hope I can continue to do so – as I don’t expect to have the same problems as last year.

There should be 76 figures at the end so hopefully there will be a few you recognise – I work very slowly and even if I can keep to Booah’s one a fortnight it will take 3 years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Carrot

I am remaking this model of Carrot for the painting competition. He will be on a 40mm dia. base when he becomes part of this army but the competition rules are for a 25mm round base.

The original figure as shown was made for one of my first Discworld units, which was then limited to 13 figures. They will all be reappearing here at some time in the future.

For some time I’ve been wanting to have a standard bearer throwing his flag in the air but have never seen such a model and am not too sure how to do it. My progress so far is to cut Carrot up so that I can change his pose.

[JAK]

 Figure is now reposed and the banner is in the air. The ribbon is a little too long to be realistic but nearly has the effect I was after. The figure will be given a new sword, and may retain the crossbow - he also now has his Book of Laws and although never mentioned in the books I’ve given him a lead; may also add a bone or dog toy.



Just needs a few bits of GS work before I can paint – deadline is this Saturday

[Mightymatt88]

Wow nice, he's looking awesome! And Carrot has the strength and dexterity to make that kind of throw look just as nonchalant as it does!

I think you're right about the ribbon, perhaps a tad shorter might work better.

I love all the details though, 'The laws and ordinances of Ankh Morpork', the 'protector' and the football for the games he organises among the street gangs. Such a great representation of the character. I'm also a big fan of the new pose.

[JAK]

The movement trays I ordered have arrived. They are by a company called Warbases. I had seen them at a wargaming show but they didn’t have the items I was interested in with them that day. Their mail order service was excellent in that I ordered in the evening, they despatched next day and PO delivered the day after even though the company used 2nd class post.

The only fault I have with the company is that I emailed them with an enquiry about the compatibility of their products over a week before and they never answered. I added the enquiry to the comments box of the order form with the addition that if the answers weren’t yes to cancel the full order. They still didn’t answer but the parts do fit together as I hoped they would.

If there had been another company at the show with a suitable alternative I would have given my business to them.

[Doc J]

That banner is excellent the best Ive seen so far. What is it made of and is it treated with a stiffener or other chemical?

[JAK]

Doc J – Glad you like the banner – it is just painted paper – here’s a LINK to my method of making them.


The movement trays are not quite what I expected, but I did buy sight unseen.

They were cut to standard sizes so that they will form up together into a large rectangle for display purposes, and their own bases will give a flat ground level which I thought would suit my initial plan of basing the army in a town square type setting. Unfortunately, while I expected the gaps between the holes to be small in a few cases they are non-existent. My intention to make a cobble street using a stash of bird seed I have may not now work.
 


I didn’t find many examples of this type of base on the net so a fall-back idea is to have the cobbles well-worn and poorly maintained with patches of gravel where there isn’t the width for a cobble stone to be glued.

I may make one base board a little higher than the others and add a statue or other feature in its middle.

[JAK]

The finished Carrot



He didn’t do so well at the painting competition, but then again I only spent a few days painting him, so not unexpected.

Vimes is next with a target date of 26 March – also want to do all the bases and trays now so that they match -  will also be further encouragement to get finished figures on them.

[Doc J]

Wow thats very helpful Im gonna be sure to use that when the time comes, thanks.

[JAK]

Vimes – Because it’s a GW competition I’ll have to use GW stuff which means I cannot use the Clarecraft Errol and Vimes figures ( 1 and 4).  My GW version of Vimes (2) is meant to be him as a Duke so I will use this figure as a starting point (changes will include a panatela and baby dragon to light it as a minimum) and unless anyone can confirm where the dragon (5) came from I’ll have to convert the red familiar (3) into Errol.



Plan is to put both figures on a single 40mm dia. Base.

Movement/Display Trays and bases –I have one less base than holes, due to the quirks of purchasing bases in multiples of 10 and trays in multiples of 3. Having decided to raise the height of at least one of the boards  the spare hole will covered by further layers to make steps with the intention of putting a statue on them. The raised areas will be covered in flagstones rather than cobbles.

Not sure what to have a statue of, and size may limit to a standing figure rather than a mounted one.

[steveb]

You must have a statue of the one and only tourist to ankh morpock with his guide bok in hand.  steveb

[JAK]

You must have a statue of the one and only tourist to ankh morpock with his guide bok in hand.  steveb

Thanks steveb – I hadn’t thought of that one.

[Mightymatt88]

Hey JAK, I love how Carrot turned out, so I'm really excited to see what you do with Vimes. He's by far my favourite Discworld character (If not my favourite fictional character!). Are you going for the ducal uniform or the Commander of the Watch one? If you go for the full Duke regalia you'll need to make sure he looks suitably grumpy that he's wearing it!

Not sure if you can get the silver cigar case in at that scale somewhere that looks natural, but it'd be great if you could....

I'm getting really inspired by your work, and I'm tempted to make a squad now based on the old night watch from the book of the same name...

[JAK]

Vimes will be a difficult build (especially if I have to include a cigarette case) but I think I’ve got all the bits I need. During his meteoric rise from local drunk he has had many official uniforms none of which are full described but all have stockings; in red or white. So besides these he will have a combination of the items that have been mentioned; puffed shorts, red shirt with silly baggy puffed sleeves, new gleaming breastplate with gold ornamentation, highly polished ceremonial helmet with gold decoration and feathers and chin strap/plumed hat, garters, golden coronet with knobs on or spikey without knobs, Red velvet cloak with fur or purple robe with vermine, buckled shoes, and sometimes a sword.



He has always done his best to get rid of the more stupid parts of each uniform and get it into a condition that at least makes it look as if the occupier is male and did once manage to damage beyond repair one of these uniforms in an ‘accident’ at the University.  When the situation demands he wears his correct uniform to please Lady Sybil and as he is leading his men under the Ramkin banner he will do so now, it just won’t be as pristine as it was when new.


Raised area of Movement/Display Trays done and the start of a couple of plinths for putting statues etc. on. The larger one will overlap onto the second base and will accommodate a mounted figure, the small one may be made available for the Ankh-Morpork Tourist Board.




(Mightmatt – take a look HERE (and the figures link) it might give you some ideas for the Glorious 25th May.)

[JAK]

Not painted in a fortnight but at least they’re built.

Errol’s head is GS and the wings came from the figure from the top of a standard, with GS to plump up his body a bit. Vimes is only slightly changed from his previous incarnation although he is now standing rather than walking and appears to have been distracted midway between lighting up, possibly due to Carrot throwing the banner about.



A problem not resolved in the books was where to keep your cigarette lighter. All dragons are small and many kept as pets by Ladies who show them off, like their modern counterparts with their Mongrels Shorgioodles, walking on a lead or carrying. Gentlemen keep very small ones, not as pets but as lighters but how do you transport something as small as a mouse/rat on your person without it coming to harm. I have resolved this by converting the quiver into a travel box for the poor little creature – Lady Sybil would want it to be well looked after.

Both dragons are a bit over scale (pun intended) but one has to be seen and the other may be a proxy Gryph-Hound.

Just over a week to paint them in and I discovered that due to my 9 months inactivity a lot of my paints have dried up.

[steveb]

fantastic interpretation, paints-bummer, keep calm and carry on.  steveb

[JAK]

The paint situation is not as bad as I first thought.

I had over 70 pots including 20 old Citadel ones (1990s vintage that I inherited), 5 hexagonal Citadel ones (also inherited), 30 Miniature Paints (local stockist & cheaper than GW), 18 current Citadel (mostly cheap from a closing toy shop) plus a few other makes.

I’ve lost 6 Miniature Paints and 4 current Citadel ones, plus one current Citadel one that has separated and I cannot get it to mix together to make it usable. A few others are starting to thicken up but are still liquid and usable, including my original Citadel metallic colours.

The annoying bit is that some of the ones that have dried up are not mixable, Black White, Yellow and Red so will have to get to town next week before I can make any real progress on the painting front.

[steveb]

when thinning or rebuilding/reconstituting a slightly dried out pot do not add straight water. mix clear matt acrylic 50/50 with water and add this. mix with a stick or match, or brush handle, shaking exposes more of the paint to air and starts the chemical reaction of hardening, mixing with stick stirs it good enough.  I hope this helps.  steveb

[JAK]

Paints restocked but at £1.45 their price has gone up a lot, I’m sure they were only £1.20 last time I bought some -   need a rise in pocket money.

26 hours in which to finish Vimes – pictures hopefully by Monday.

[JAK]

steveb - thanks for the advice about saving the paints.


Both Vimes and Errol are finished although as I haven’t progressed with the bases they had to go on a temporary one for the GW competition.
Vimes has a few improvements and additions to the original figure and a complete repaint. He’s just lit up and hasn’t put his lighter and cigarette case away;  MattyMatt - the case is a little too small for the inscription – I gave up after “To Sam with love from y” and settled for the simple V that you can just make out in the group photo on Booah ‘s thread.



Errol was silver but I’ve tried to make him look a little iridescent.

[JAK]

Some progress has been made on the bases, unfortunately not the ones the bulk of the troops or the ones that have to be done first for the GW competition will be on, but at least it’s a start.

I wanted the raised plaza area to be flagstones edged with kerb stones. I trawled the net for ideas having found the local ‘model’ shop didn’t have anything suitable to use, and the plan now is to have a slightly random rather than regular pattern of rectangular flags.  Next question was what to make them out of.  I thought about Milliput or Green Stuff but in the end I decided on paper and card. I also wanted the flags to be of a realistic size as many I’ve seen look over large.

First thing was to line the sides with kerb stones. Using the cereal packet cardboard that I’ll use for the flags, I cut some rectangles for the tops of the kerb stones and lined the edges of the plaza. The large gaps are where drains will go – possibly card or GS but will add after the height of the cobbled areas is known.



 Next I cut strips of printing paper and stuck over the top of the kerbs and down the sides of the base. I hoped the paper would give a different texture than the cardboard flags and being thinner than the card wouldn’t affect the matching up of the separate bases.



The texture wasn’t quite as rough as I wanted so I covered the kerbs with tissue paper well soaked in PVA glue and stippled the surface with a toothbrush. It seems to be right but won’t know until it’s painted.

]

The next date in the GW competition is 23 April and is a unit of 10. I’m off now to cut out a lot of flag stones while I think about whether to do some Dwarves or Humans first.

[warhammerlord_soth]

Excellent work as always.

[JAK]

One benefit of my recent move is that I now have a permanent work station otherwise I wouldn’t have got anything done in the past week.

Having cut a load of flag stones it’s been a slow process sticking them down and trimming to fit bases and holes, but only having a few minutes here and there has given the glue time to dry so was perhaps for the best. I’d been warned that MDF soaks up glue like a sponge and the cereal cardboard separates a little too easily so have used a fair bit of watered down PVA as a wash over everything. It all seems to be stuck well down but if it starts to come apart I’ll use some superglue.



 I’ve not quite finished and unfortunately still haven’t decided which unit to make first – and only three weeks left to complete them.

[Shadespyre]

Looking good so far - the whole thing will no doubt look splendid one day and be well worth the effort