I was blessed with parents who encouraged my reading of just about any kind of book. In high school I’d read Heinlein, Tolkien, and tons of other sci-fi/fantasy novels and short stories. I read horror and history books along with biographies and commentary. Classics were available to me as well as current affairs. All have served me well throughout what I have done in my life. Was I indulged by my parent’s library? Yep. It is part of why I look back and wish I could thank them one more time. I think this is why I can’t remember a day, with the exception of Parris Island (that’s different), when I was not reading, thinking or writing about other worlds. My current fixation is on a couple fantasy characters and a post-apocalypse story or two. Don’t know why they have popped into my head and taken up residence but they have. They share darned little other than being in my brain housing group.
So, where are we going with this? Well, I was going through my unpainted minis, looking for that next extraneous thing to paint and it hit me; I have a need to write fluff for every mini I paint. It is a compulsion for me that I can’t resist. As an example I give you a named mini from the OLD Citadel F4 Men-At-Arms series; Wat. He is a nice lead casting from 1987 and is typical of an era when single metal castings were the norm. He is armed with a long sword and seax, armoured in a chainmail shirt with an iron helmet hanging from his belt. He is a quite the dapper ‘Man at Arms’. While a bit more historical than fantasy I thoroughly enjoyed painting him. His back story? He is a hero for Warhammer Quest when not being a soldier in my Empire Army. He is a young man who could not stay on the farm after his family was killed by brigands while working the fields near their village. His equipment is from being a successful mercenary and spending his money on something other than wine, women and song.
On a more fantasy note I give you a recent casting of a Jade Fire Shaman from Reaper Miniatures. She is a single cast mini in pewter. I bought her after the first run of the mini last year. She almost painted herself, as I had a good idea of how I wanted her to look. I don’t paint non-Citadel Orcs and Goblin minis green as a rule (though I don’t always paint them green either) so she is a dark leathery flesh tone. Her name is Vigda and she is a shaman of great power but prefers the company of humans and demi-humans over Orcs. Quite menacing with her staff and skull along with the gods only know of items and pouches for her majicks. Her green skirts and purple hood and cloak really make her striking to me.
Finally, there is a Space Wolf from Warhammer 40,000. Wiglaf Arinsson is a Veteran Sergeant with the Third Great Company in the time after the Horus Heresy in the 32nd Millennium. Cast in the late 90s in pewter, his left arm is plastic and pinned in place; he was originally the Sergeant for a Space Wolves Devastator Squad. He is a fine example of why I am putting this to paper, as they say. I was digging around the loose mini box (box hell, it is a six drawer rolling bin) and pulled him out in a fit of creativity. He is wearing Mk. III Power Armour and has been a Wolf for almost two centuries. The ‘modern’ 42nd Millennia Wolves are a lighter grey and while I have painted a few squads for a 40K Army, I wanted to do something different. So I got a box of Horus Heresy Marines in Mk III armour and thought, darn, just needs a good backstory and a character for a Kill Team. Enter Wiglaf. Born on the Wolves’ homeworld of Fenris and a blooded warrior by his 12th year, he was chosen by the Wolves and survived his transformation to become a Space Marine. He participated in the final battles of the Heresy, the Scouring, and he was finally killed in battle with Orks during the War of the Beast.
So there, three very different minis that all share one thing, other than being on my shelf waiting for the next game; they all have a coherent back-story that is rooted in the game universe they were created for. I really enjoy this part of the hobby as I need to let the imagination out to run rampant. I know that I have stated the Vigda the Orc almost painted herself. Almost. While painting her I was thinking about a colour that would fit in with an Orc living among humans. In my mind Orcs have a more natural colour palate with earthy browns, dark greens and coppery reds but would they do the same in a ‘civilized’ setting? Blues, yellows and purples are more ‘human’ to me. You can see it in my human minis. It then popped into my head that purple was the colour to use for the cloak as it would her stand out on the game table’ even with other species around her. It was like she spoke to me that she needed a purple cloak. So I started with my darkest purple. I then softened it a bit with just a touch of a cream colour to the base purple and gave this a wash to shade the folds. I think it turned out well.
When writing this blog I took some turns from what the title says. Still, I think I made my point; Use your imagination. Put some thought and, to be blunt, soul into your minis and your games. Whatever game you play, your minis should be a reflection of your view on the genre as well as the game itself. I believe this is what makes me so satisfied with a miniature game. Yes, the game may be published by a company but the ultimate result is your game. Is it really just four or more people sitting around a table rolling the dice and checking a table for the results? Perhaps, deep down, it is more than that. Perhaps the players are telling a story to each other and to themselves. Humans need to tell stories; we know from looking at our own history this is very human. Not as epic as say, Beowulf or Gilgamesh, but perhaps something more earthy, something more organic folktales from people sitting around fires in their communities and talking about adventures and adventurers. I think this is the most human of past times.
joehough1960 