Those cultists sir, need some discipline..........

A quick update and an exclusive direct from the devilishly handsome Mark Hides.........the Screaming Mob miniatures 'Mobstarter' has a new leader, a limited edition figure for anyone ordering £50+ on the Mobstarter.......freshly sculpted by the very sexy Chris Nicholls of Macrocosm fame, I'm pleased to present;

'The Discipline Master'

Lovely stuff and to be encouraged.....as per the previous post, Mark has a lot of ideas for more releases.

Just had a chat with Chris and he added;  'I just wanted to say about the miniature I 'Sculpted'. It's a modification of one of the line. Adam Gayford really should have the credit too, since I just used the existing greens as dollies.....'

enquiries@deartonyblair.co.uk

I see Cultists sir, thousands of them........

Ah the joys of seeing a friend releasing a new range... Cultists this time in the thousands... well, almost. Nineteen different packs up now although not quite ready for despatch as yet (a couple of weeks off) but that's 50 odd Cultists in order to allow us to endanger the world in the upcoming awakening of Great Cthulhu from where he lies dreaming... “Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn" as we like to say ("In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming"). Once the stars are in the correct alignment we.....what? Say no more? Why?? What the??? No! Please! Nooooo... !!!!!!

Ahem, I'll carry on for now. Screaming Mob Miniatures is (edit; was) a new venture by Mark Hides, painter extraordinaire at Conflict in Colour, author of 'Real Life's A Bu**er - A Tale Of Sex, Dragons And Rock 'N' Roll' (which should be read if only because I am in it....mostly in the Dragons bit unfortunately) and all round top bloke. Mark and I go back many years to when he was running the bring and buy at Sheffield Triples and then running Dungeons & Starships, a mere hour's drive for me whenever he mentioned those words 'yes, Dave, we've got some old lead in for you'...

A few pics purloined from the store below, sculpted by Adam 'Whiffwaff' Gayford who I've not seen in a good while as he selfishly moved down South... last seen getting in his wife's car after we shared a good few drinks in Manchester...

The figures have been molded by the very talented Chris Nicholls over at Macrocosm Miniatures who is currently sculpting a mystery limited edition mini... details on Mark's site...

Update. Mark commented on the Dear Tony Blair Facebook page (what do you mean you're not a member, get over there and join us quickly!) ;

"Just to add, you should be able to get 500+ variants from the range, plus two special headsets (Plague Doctors and Followers Of The Squid Faced One) and if that was not enough, the palanquin is completely metal rather than the expected resin! Bow and crossbow carrying cultists are planned for the very near future, to round it out. Then, the fun begins with a new range. (About time too as I have had the greens since 2013)"

Mark has lots of plans for the range with head variations etc... I have seen them and they are pretty darned tootin'.

As always, comment below or email me at enquiries@deartonyblair.co.uk

As always; enquiries@deartonyblair.co.uk

Archive Miniatures - 25mm historical sampler

Found another Archive sampler, sculpted again by Nevile Stocken. Their 25mm historicals line was only small however was very nice indeed especially for the time (mid to late 70s). Soft lead which of course is / was a problem with spear bending...also added a picture of code 100 which isn't listed anywhere that I can find...the only elephant is 079 Sudanese War Elephant....

There's a couple more images on the Lost Minis WIKI along with a listing here.

As always; enquiries@deartonyblair.co.uk

Archive Miniatures - 15mm Napoleonics sampler.

A break from my usual fantasy / sci fi collecting, I recently picked up a sample pack of these Nevile Stocken sculpts from the later 70s. Lovely little chunky figures although I have no idea what each one is - and I hang my head in shame as admit that..... They also had a 15mm Dark Ages range although I have yet to see examples (listing on Lost Minis).

Nevile Stocken replied to this; 

"The rider on the left is a Bavarian chevauleger, dragoon, or cuirassier, depending on the paint job. The little bloke wearing a xmas stocking is probably a Frenchie in a foraging cap, but he may be a Spanish guerrilla. The one with the top hat worn askew is a Swedish infantryman of some kind. The bicorne infantry and cavalry are old-style Spanish infantry and dragoon. The other Spanish guerillas I made included a curvaceous Carmen-like fig with a hair-comb and mantilla holding a dagger behind her back, a Priest in a wide-brimmed hat charging with a rifle held aloft, and a nun throwing a bomb. People either loved them for their character, or hated them because they did not fit well with the dominant 15 mm Napoleonic figs of the time (Napoleoniques). All of them looked like Napoleonic Hobbits. I sculpted about a hundred of these little fellows over the course of two months. The Dark Ages line never happened, other than a rather burly Norman knight on horseback. Archive closed its doors before the line could be developed fully"

As always; enquiries@deartonyblair.co.uk

Barry Minot - Giant Horrific Demon of the Night!

I have owned a couple of this miniature for a few years and was unable to identify it. A weird stick-like demon with the code NF20 on the base.

 It had come in a small job lot of miniatures that gave no hints as to its origin either... then I thought 'Lost Minis WIKI'!! I searched on just the NF20 and it came up with one hit in Minot's short lived Necromancer Fantasy range. Of course I then realised I had put the listing up on the WIKI myself... doh! So, another piece of lead history identified....only another gazillion or more to go...I've listed one on eBay here with a day to go in the hope of bolstering my currently fast dwindling finances... there are repercussions to divorce after all!

There was more, however, to discover... whilst trying to identify it on the wonderful Facebook Group - Old School Miniatures, I found it was based on a painting by Salvator Rosa - The Temptation of Saint Anthony...

The demon was also used by a band 'Skeletal Family' formed in 1982 and still soldiering on... reading their biography it reads like my own musical past... very chequered!

They have a very 'Siouxsie & The Banshees' feel - have a listen to their album on Last FM here. The band are playing Manchester's Ruby Lounge in a couple of weeks.

Well, that's all for now. More soon!

If you enjoyed the read, a coffee is always appreciated... https://ko-fi.com/davidwood 

Any thoughts on anything please do leave a comment and/or email me on enquiries@deartonyblair.co.uk, even if it is to berate me for my penchant for coffee :)