Jacobus Vyne in the Old World

 

Warhammer Quest: Dark Water has some interesting models for sure. But as soon as I saw him I knew I had to get Jacobus Vyne and his animated leaf familiar. 

He is a way taller than his older counterparts, but that's cool. It reminds me how Gandalf the Grey towered over everyone else. The more realistic proportions give him a small head than the older miniatures which, to me, helps to imagine that he is a tall old guy. 

I used Contrast Paints almost exclusively on this miniature. Militarum Green, Creed Camo and Aeldari Emerald are the three dominant colors here. 

Anyway, the brevity of this post is a result of me not taking WIP pics or notes as I worked on this. I have to admit, I had a lot of fun jamming away on this guy. I even went just on the flocking stage giving him a variety of tufts, leaves and even a cat tail! 

Hopefully this guy will hit the table in the near future as I get my old Reiklanders rebased and battle-ready! 

Knightly Order of the Blazing Sun (Part 2)

 Tally-Ho!

The Knight of the Blazing Sun charge forth! As I stated at the end of Part 1, I was unsure if I could motivate myself to finish up the unit. Well, having two weeks off for medical reasons, I was able to find that motivation. 

Following the steps laid out in Part 1, the process was pretty simple. In fact I painted the unit's remaining four miniatures, including the leader, in a single afternoon. 

All-in-all, I am quite pleased with them, despite how simple they are. They'll look good on the tabletop, even though two of them have bent lances (hey, it happens! No judgment here).   Ending them back has been futile so  decided to just leave them alone.

Well that's unit one done, but I have at least two more units to go! Keep a look out for Part 3. 

Knightly Order of the Blazing Sun (Part 1)

 Recently I got a bunch of Battlemasters Empire Knights and Halberdiers for a pretty good price. I have the Battlemasters game but there is no way I was going to cannibalize it.  I really hadn't put any thought into doing an Empire of Man Knightly Order Army of Infamy but when I saw this offering on eBay I was totally inspired. Sure, the Battlemasters miniatures are now over 30 years old and showing their age, but painted well and massed up for battle, I think they'll work just fine. 

Assessment of the loot.

To test this out, I needed to model up the first squad. So I picked the guys on yellow horses and affixed them to the newer sized bases. And so far, they look fine. I had to clip off the old slotta bar from the horse hooves and super glue them straight on. It was more of a process than I want to describe but the in the end I think this should work out. 

Based.

After flocking the bases with some grit, I took them out and sprayed them with primer. 

Primed

I picked out a random guy to try out first.

Sir Rando the Chosen.

Then I painted the barding on the horse black. Abaddon Black specifically. The rider was painted using Black Templar Contrast Paint. I then dry brushed Auric Armour over this which produced a very satisfying result.. The horse was painted using Gore Grunter Fur Contrast Paint. 

Basecoated plus.

But this gold was a bit too bright compared to the examples I have seen from GW. So I I gave the armor a wash of Carroburg Crimson.

Auric Armour layer

A subtle layer of Auric Armour was applied as a highlight. I am very pleased with this look so far, and with how easy it is to do.

 Carroburg Crimson layer

The feather topper on his helm was painted using Bad Moon Contrast Paint which was glazed with Bloodletter a d finished off with a modest drybrushing of Averland Sunset. 

Emblem base paint.

I freehand painted the sun symbols on the shield and barding using Corax White. 

Badmoon yellow.

I then carefully went over these symbols using Bad Moon Contrast Paint. 

Touch-up time.

I did  touch-ups using Abaddon Black. I got to confess, this was way harder than I assumed it would be. The current Empire Knights kit comes with decals for the Blazing Sun but for what it goes for on the secondary market it.. .forget it. 

Finished model.

Sans flocking, this model is done. And I am fairly pleased with it. Now to motivate myself to do the rest of them! 

Huntsmen (Part 2)

 Maybe, once upon a time, these guys had names, but that info is now lost to me; assuming it ever existed. Since Part 1 was posted I kind of went a bit nuts with these guys. I broke out all the "earthy" toned Contrast Paints that I had and just went nuts. Note that these guys are still unfinished, but I think I have finished the Contrast Paint stage and think they look good enough to be considered 'battle ready'. 

One of the colors I am most excited about is called Ratling Grime. I used it on some of the coats that a few of these guys are wearing and I think it looks perfect. Grime was a great name for this color as it definitely evokes that feeling. 

There are two colors of green Contrast Paint that I predominantly used on these guys. Creed Camo and Militarum Green. 

Every band of merry men needs a Will Scarlett type of guy right? For the sake of being different, I gave this guy red pants. And a bright green bandana. 

A few of these guys have blue pants to sort of mix up the color pallette a bit. They come off looking like blue jeans, and I think that's just fine with me. 

A few if these guys have shirts pai Ted using Guilliman Fleshwash. The idea isn't to make them appear to be wearing g human skin suits (icky!), but to serve as a base to build up to a dirty white. 

The flesh on these guys are still at the state that I left them in almost 20 years. Some have just a Bestial Brown basecoat and a few others have an additional layer of Dwarf Flesh.  I will figure out what to do about that in the next post. 

The bows were all painted using Wyldwood Contrast Paint. Unlike the High Elf Archers I have been working, these bows are darker. Maybe they are stained, oiled or just worn compared to the elf bows which I like to image are freshly hewn. The ares are brighter which I want to think have just been fetched. 

And this is a good place to leave them off for now. I intend to get these up to higher level in Part 3. 

Huntsmen (Part 1)

 Here's a project that I started (and saddly abandoned) just over 18 years ago*. 

Nearly 20 years ago, over on Warhammer-Empire I had asked the users there to show us their Huntsman.  The idea was that I wanted to figure out a paint scheme and I just wasn't getting there on my own.  This was because the paint scheme shown in the 6th edition Warhammer Armies: The Empire was a bit small to really get a good vibe from the one picture. A picture of only three models by the way. 

The response from the Warhammer-Empire users was impressive to say the least, as many folks shared pics of their models, and they were all unique. If you follow the hyperlink above you'll see what I mean, but you'll have to look past the annoying Photobucket** watermarks. Inspired, I did build my guys. I used the Militia kit mixed with bits from Bretonian Peasent and Wood Elf sprues. I still like what I did with them. I even bought some thread to use as strings for their bows.  But....  I never finished it. The only thing I can think of is that I was pulled back to 40k in a big way around that time and just never got back around to revisiting the Empire range, let alone these particular models.  

This guy is the leader of the group. Not pictured here is his little dog and his Middenheim cloak. Expanding the bases on these guys is going to really benefit this fellow. All of them really, as I will have more room to add brush and grass tufts. 

Reinvigorated, I just dove right in and applied the base extenders to get them expanded out to the required 28mm base size. Then I added grit to help integrate the existing basing materials to the new area.

Then I  painted the bases using my trusty old Territorial Beige craft paint. I love that stuff, it does the trick very well. 

Next, I busted out the Contrast Paint, but for the sake of brevity we shall save the results of that for Part 2. 

Check back soon!

*Writing that hurt my soul.

**I am trying really hard not to rant about that ridiculous company. 

Battle In The Old World!

 

The heat of battle.

The stars were crossed, the runes were cast and someone performed augury on a rat. Yes, after a very long time, The Bob* and I finally managed to make a game happen**. And what a bloody affair it turned out to be! 

It was satisfying to deploy an army of mostly painted miniatures. Half of which were fully painted while the other half was at least half painted. None of these half painted units have been shown on this blog yet, so this report is their debut.

Mustering in the hanger bay o' pre-deployment.

===

The Masters of Hoeth [1000 pts]

Warhammer: The Old World, High Elf Realms, Open War

===

++ Characters [158 pts] ++

Noble (Loremaster) [158 pts] 

- Hand weapon

- Sword of Hoeth

- Heavy armour

- General

- On foot

- The Loremaster's Cloak

- Seed of Rebirth

- Earthing Rod

- Loremaster

++ Core Units [275 pts] ++

10 Elven Archers [135 pts] 

- Hand weapons

- Longbows

- Light armour

- Veteran

- Sentinel (champion)

- Standard bearer

- Musician

5 Ellyrian Reavers [140 pts] 

- Hand weapons

- Shortbows

- Light armour

- Scouts

- Skirmishers

- Harbinger (champion)

- Standard bearer [Banner of Ellyrion]

- Musician

++ Special Units [487 pts] ++

10 Swordmasters of Hoeth [168 pts] 

- Swords of Hoeth

- Heavy armour

- Drilled

- Bladelord

- Standard bearer

- Musician

10 Swordmasters of Hoeth [168 pts] 

- Swords of Hoeth

- Heavy armour

- Drilled

- Bladelord

- Standard bearer

- Musician

8 Shadow Warriors [151 pts] 

- Longbows

- Light armour

- Feigned Flight

- Shadow Walker [Seed of Rebirth + Burning Blade]

++ Rare Units [80 pts] ++

Eagle-Claw Bolt Thrower [80 pts] 

---

Created with "Old World Builder"

[https://old-world-builder.com]

The Empire Knights and General. 

Bob mustered his Empire army. 

76 pts- Captain of the Empire, Battle Standard Bearer, Full Plate Armour

119 pts- Captain of the Empire, Shield, General, Barded Warhorse, Full Plate Armour, Sword of Might, Talisman Of Protection

80  pts- Master Mage, Wizard Level 1, Battle Magic, Dispel Scroll

128 pts- 5 Empire Knights, Lance, Preceptor, Standard Bearer, Musician

80 pts - 10 State Missile Troops, Handgun

80 pts - 10 State Missile Troops, Handgun

105 pts - 15 State Troops, Halberd, Sergeant, Standard Bearer, Musician

135 pts- 15 Veteran State Troops, Shield, Sergeant, Standard Bearer, Musician

185  pts- 15 Empire Greatswords, Count's Champion, Standard Bearer, Musician

We agreed to keep things simple, nothing too over the top or powerful, and focus on learning the rules. The only war machine was the High Elf bolt thrower, and we had one Calvary unit each. 

We also only had one mage each who were only level 1 wizards. 

The Empire battle line. 

We agreed to play the Pitch Battle scenario from the BRB as the focus in that mission is the accumulation of Victory Points by the elimination of the opposition. Death was on the line. 

The High Elf deployment. 

The face off. 

Turn 1

Lots of mass movement occurred in this turn. However the Empire hand gunners spot movement in the nearby woods and fire upon the Shadow Warriors. Their Evasive skill proved quite helpful here, but even more so when all the successful shots failed to wound. 

"Are those apes shooting at us?!"

On the High Elf turn, the Bolt Thrower picked off an Imperial Knight as they crested the small grassy knoll. 

"Nice shot!"

Turn 2

The Knights charge into the closest unit of Swordmasters. 

The foe is engaged. 

They were all cut down except for the attached General  who was now wounded. The General slayed a single Swordmaster. 

"Horse meat is back on the menu!"

Failing morale by a lot, the General turned and fled. The Swordmasters tried to catch him,  but even their agility was no match for a terrified horse. 

"RETREAT! RETREAT!"

Feeling cocky, the Swordmasters charged the Empire Greatswords. But were ill-prepared for the post 1.5 FAQ counter attack (even though those same rules just helped them defeat the Knights and route the General)  and were slain down to a single Elf! Ouch! 

Hubris revealed. 

The second unit of Swordmasters, with the attached Loremaster, charged the Veteran  Empire State Troops. The Loremaster found himself in combat with the Halberdiers. 

The Loremaster's folly. 

This also proved foolish as the Vet. State Troops were also joined with the Army Battle Standard who assisted them with Combat Resolution to the point that the Empire won the combat!  They pushed back the Swordmasters, while their Loremaster was left behind, trampled into the mud by the Empire Halberdiers. 

A clash of Great weapons! 

I don't have a pic of this next bit, but the 10 man unit of Handgunners were wiped out from all my missile troops (Bolt Thrower, Reavers, Shadow Warriors and Archers) focusing their fire on them. 

Turn 3

The General Rallies (rolled double 1s!) and joins the Greatswords. 

The Halberdiers flank charge the Swordmasters.

"Pig-pile on the elves!"

Despite being piled onto by the blood thirsty humans, the Swordmasters were not destroyed as they were pushed back in good order.  But their numbers were being reduced for sure! 

The quagmire continues...

Over on the other flank the combined shooting from the High Elf force riddle the remaining handgunner who just would not flee the battle. It was up to the Reavers to set up a charge and hopefully finish them off next turn. 

"I say ol' chap, they're coming right for us!" "Huh, who?"

Looking over their stats, it occurred to me that the HE Archers were not exactly a push-over when it came to melee, so in a desperate gamble to save the dwindling Great Swords, I sent them charging into the rear of the halberiers. It was a crazy melee as you could guess from this photo. The sword and shield bearing State Trooper took the brunt of the casualties but the Army Banner continued to turn the tide for the Empire. 

The archers dive in. 

Turn 4.

Consumed with frustration (because at this point neither one of us could get a spell to go off), madness and perhaps a touch of malice, the Empire Wizard finally manages to cast Pillar of Fire into the woods! 

"Muhaha! Die elf scum!"

The Pillar of Fire comes scary close to the skulking Shadow Warriors within it. 

Things get heated in the woods. 

Meanwhile the  meatgrinder in the middle continued on as the Great Swords joined the ruckus, felling the last of the Swordmasters. 

(Leave it to us noobs to complicate things).

Half of the Shadow Warriors were immolated as the Pillar of Fire moved over them. The screams still haunt this area even still...

Meanwhile the Archers defeated the halberiers causing them to route. The last State Trooper with the Battle Standard were not at all bothered by their panicking brethren as they continued to gather war trophies from the fallen High Elves.  

SO much death. 

The Reavers succeed in defeating the handgunners in melee and running them down as they attempted to route. To be fair, it was the horses who did most of the killing (of course). 

Horses for the win. 

Turn 5

Seeking a bigger war trophy the Battle Standard and his State trooper buddy charged the Bolt Thrower. The crew put up a valiant fight, killing off the last State Trooper bu the Army Standard still eeked out a win, destroying the War Machine and it's routing crew. 

"Me son will like these 'ere helm feathers!"

The Great Swords butchered the archers, only the Sentinel (i.e. Champion) survived as the found safty in the woods. 

On the High Elf turn, there wasn't much more to do. The hot and smoldering Shadow Warriors emerging from the burning woods to perforate the wizard with arrows, ending his witchy ways (for now). 

Within minutes of our set time limit, and seeing the state of things, we decided this was a good place to stop. It was a total blood bath, with no unit left unscathed. 

The shattered forces. 

Tallying up the VPs as per the scenario rules, we determined the following scores:

High Elves:  574

Empire of Man: 708.

A resounding victory for the Empire!!!

Whew! That was a fun game. 

It looked grim for the Empire in the early stages of the game but when the Great Swords stomped the crap out of the Swordmasters, clearly it was not going to be so easy for the elves. I would say that the Great Swords were the MVP of this game. 

I was impressed with what the elves can do with shooting, and having experienced it now, I think I can form a more focused strategy with them going forward. 

I will say this though: 'new model syndrome" is a thing for sure! All of my fully painted models were all eliminated and all the survivors are from units I have yet to finish. Total weirdness.

My biggest mistake was not continuing after the General. Not only was he worth a lot of VP, but bonus VP as well. Die and learn, right?

Well we both had a great time, and we are already talking about doing another one soon. 

"I'll get you next time elves, and next time my fire will be even hotter!!! Muhahaha!"

*He doesn't blog anymore but I love to remind the world that he used to as I enjoyed his posts. But if you are determined enough, you might be able to find him on Instagram...

** Also thanks again to The Outpost for allowing us to stay after hours so we could make this happen. You guys rock!!!