'O Sole Trio...

It's time to take a trip back to the mean streets, canals and rooftops of eighteenth century Venice. Shall we take a gondola? There seems to be plenty of people willing to row us through the city...

This set of models were a Christmas gift from Mrs Cheaphammer last year. As Mrs Cheaphammer is not a wargamer, I often end up with gifts that are very much in the right ballpark, but not what I would have specifically chosen. I'd given guidelines that anything Guild or Rashaar and not in a starter gang (trying to avoid models I already had) would be right from the Carnevale range.

These fit that description perfectly, except that I neglected to mention already have two different Gondoliers from the starter sets. However, it does mean that I can theoretically field a whole guild of Gondoliers, and a second Gondola means that not only will my games look even more Venetian, but I can also actually use the Gondoliers' special rule of being able to field additional Gondolas.

The models themselves were simple enough to put together, although as ever they needed a wash in soapy water and there was flash trimming to do. Additionally, long, thin oars needed straightening with hot water.

I have to say that my favourite of the three is the one with the oar over his shoulder, as the raised oar looks a bit odd, and the female Gondolier's scale is a bit off. She's a big woman when you consider that she's got her knees bent.

In terms of painting they were done simply with contrast paints. Mainly Fleshtearer's Red for the jackets and sashes, Garaghak's Sewer for the boots and Black Templar for the trousers and waistcoats.

These resin models take contrast paint extremely well, leaving very little highlighting needed for a decent tabletop quality.

The gondola itself was done almost exactly the same as the first one I did, except I've given it purple seats. I've done this to not only distinguish them in games, but also because the black and purple works for both the Strigoi and Patricians. I'm not sure the fishmen of the Rashaar really need a boat.

I did consider doing the boat a different colour, as apparently the gondolas in Venice all being black is a relatively new (as in post-war) thing. However, I wanted the goth vibes of the purple and black more than I wanted to explore other options.

My only real gripe with these miniatures is that there were three mooring posts with the gondola, but only enough bases for two.

I could contact TTCombat's customer support about it, but I have five painted now, so I might use the last one as part of basing a model at some point.

Mrs Cheaphammer and I have been playing a bit of Carnevale recently and we're making our way through the introductory scenarios. Given that the setting is somewhat recognisable, I'm hoping that it holds more interest for her that other totally fictional settings.

A few more easily identifiable models will certainly help in that regard.

Acquired: -69
Painted: 323
Lead Mountain: 661