The Long War of the Quar

 It seems the Quar have always been at war. When the first wandering clans of insect gatherers built their low, mud-walled buildings, it was as much to keep out other Quar as the wild animals. As they first learned to make tools to get food, they quickly learned to make tools to defend themselves. The mud walls quickly became fortified citadels, and then city-states. In five thousand years of civilization, the only constants of their culture have been the changing of the seasons and the threat of war.

So says the fluff. And there os a lot of fluff concerning the Quar and their world of Alwyd. The sustained and deep world-building behind the se figures and the associated game are strong draws. And then there are the miniatures...

Heavy shotgun team

A humble Rhyfler

There have been a few iterations of the Quar in miniatures, the 28mm, 15mm and 6mm metals that go back about a decade and just last year Wargames Atlantic brought out a plastic range to support their version of the game.

I love the slouched, somewhat down-trodden look of the quar. It reminds me a little of the underground comics from the 1960s. That's driven my desire to paint them in something of a Vietnam War style.

Moo, baa, oink

 Or, the Grimdark Ages.

In between painting various Frenchmen, I have had a few other things potter across my painting desk over the past month or so.

Some dead hard early Saxons by Gripping Beast. I think these minis are a prime bit of early 1990s design. Solid, and a bit chunky. I like them, although they are crude by todays' standards.

In the back row, if you look closely enough there is a Eureka Hiberno-Norse warrior which is a surprisingly nice figure that I painted (like all of these) up from a black undercoat.

In so many of the magazines that treated us with pictures to delight the eye in years gone past, I always was taken by the small side narratives that were possible when there was enough fluff and clutter on the table to allow it. Toy soldiers on their own can be boring*. Painting 200 of BN1, "Advancing at the Slope" can be a dull exercise both visually and as a matter of preparation. So, perhaps I ought to start a small series - on the side -  of "clutter"? 

I have a small number of various farm animals that have collected in various drawer over the past few years. I and am now finally getting around to painting them. They are variously Pegasus and Wargames Atlantic and very good fun to paint. I note on a sprue a couple of cats who our own will be modelling for.

I suppose I shall be on the lookout for suitable civilians next. And trees. One never seems to have enough trees.

*Is this the proverbial wargaming "elephant in the room"?