Altheim Part 8: We are the Road Crew! (and the roads are finished!)

As I've spent the last few weeks on my own, working on the roads, I thought it'd be nice to have a bit of help, so with that in mind I've painted up a road crew to give me a hand:

The crew, preparing to dig up the market square. Unimpressed Watchman at left. 

More details after the cut, as usual...

As I've been putting in a number of damaged sections of road in while I've been building them, I thought it'd be nice to knock up a little unit of road workers to do repairs. 

The most important thing for any roadworks crew is obviously a place to sit and drink tea, and for that I made a little tent for them. The red and white striped worker's tent was a fixture at the roadside in the UK throughout the 60s-80s, less so these days, but I did it in traditional stripes for the nostalgia value: 

Worker's tent with obligatory teapot, and some roadsigns. 

Back of the tent. 

First up is the city architect, Adolphus Gropious. He works for the council and has overall responsibility for all public works within the city walls. He makes sure the crew knows what to do and where: 

Next up is the crew foreman, Jan Mortenherren. Another former sailor that decided to quit the sea for a life in Altheim, he's carved out a career as a capable foreman with his ragtag band of roadmenders. As gruff and tough as he looks with his Norsca-inspired facial tattoo, he's a genial character and shares a good working relationship with Adolphus. He's also always happy to share a drink with any other old sailors to chat naval nostalgia and share tattoo stories: 

Jan, showing off his chest tattoos, a mermaid and a scroll. 

Every tough guy needs a 'MUM' tattoo. 

Next is the smallest member of the crew, Bailey Smallfoot. Although small in stature, he's a reliable and hard worker, and that means that Jan is happy to keep him employed in the work gang: 

Bailey, unfortunately caught in the act of picking his nose. 

Next is the oldest member of the crew by far, Stromni Gorinsson. Stromni is another former sailor and came to work with Jan when he stayed in Altheim. He's Jan's trusted right hand, responsible for the work crew's finances, and acting as foreman when Jan is unavailable for whatever reason. 

Another halfling, this is Gamwin Haleweed. Gamwin is a friend of Bailey's, and a recent addition to Jan's crew, but is proving reliable, so far. What halflings lack in outright strength, they make up for in stamina when needed, as long as they're supplied with a suitable number of meals throughout the day. 

The final member of the crew is Grogan Ragnissen, another dwarf. Another long-term member, he's frequently drunk at work, but it doesn't impede his work. 

So, that's the crew! At some point I'll have to work out where they all live!

In other news, I've been painting the market square as a bit of a test for the main table. Rather than go with the usual grey stone, I've decided to go with a brown, sandstone tone to make it a bit warmer for photography, and a less dull and monotone: 

Close up of the mortar work and the central decorative paving:

And a statue. Not worked out who he is yet!

And finally, in other important news, it's taken a while, but I've finally finished the roads! 

And a test paint job of one of the wall sections: I think I'm going to go with this scheme, I quite like the way it looks. 

So, that's it for the time being. The next jobs on the table are the walls of the drainage channel and the riverside dock wall, and then it's time for paint!