(Painting) Gnomish Miscellany

It's been different chaos, but the same type of week for me.  My mother-in-law is in the hospital for a yet another fall, a definite broken hip, and this time my wife has gone from trained medical professional yelling to actually being worried.  That has created a somber mood when we aren't in the midst of our frenetic family schedule, which explains why when I did get the chance to game with the girls after hospital visits and hockey games with out of town friends, I simply wanted to veg on the couch.

I did managed to spend some time Sunday night and cleaned up the bench yet again to try to prep for Cold Wars.  No surprises for the armies I'm bringing, but I need to clear out some of this lingering minor projects to work on some assembly line needs for the game table.

First off, is one of the German Gnome Militia with Pitchfork representing the 27th German Infantry known as the Leinenkugels:

From Brigade Games

He's the second figure in the unit I've finished, although it's been a three and a half year gap between them, but I have no idea how he arrived on the bench. 

Just so I have this referenced somewhere on the blog, I’m using Americana  Leaf Green as the base color.   I know at least that the local and chain craft stores have shrunk their Americana selection, so I hope the two bottles I have for the bench will last me before I discover that shade may or may not be out of production.

Second is one piece of a set that's lain stagnant, the actual mortar from the German Gnome bratwurst mortar team.

Number three is my first refurbish for the year, the bugler for the famed German Rabbit Cav. Originally painted by Jim Stanton, I got the unit to touch up and re-spear.  They lived a rough life on the tables of many an HMGS con, I'm going to go a little heavy on the lacquer to improve their chances of survival.

Finally, I have a quick preview of a long term project.  When I got my small pledge from the Old School Minis Alpine Dwarf Kickstarter, I qualified for the stretch goal of a space dwarf sitting on a military crate, cigar in one hand, rifle in the other.  I don't know how useful he would be sitting down on the job as he lead some Gnomish Space Marines, but he does fit in the Dust Tactics fighter I grabbed on clearance last year.  It's not perfect, but the idea of a Gnomish Space Marine flying an open cockpit fighter, all while smoking a cigar, seems perfect.

The military crate he sits on will be finished first, and probably will see action in the third episode of the pulp game.

What's Up for This Week?  Cold Wars, and the pile of promises I need to finish for Friday morning, but that's more of the written word than painting persuasion.  Currently in the revised queue are some more Transnitrian Scientific Republic test vehicles for OGRE, a few leftover German gnomes, and then I can focus on the first assembly line painting in awhile:  Spanish-American US Infantry, and a another step closer to finishing the German Schutztruppe.