Zerotwentythree's Post-OWAC Sea Elf Wrap-Up

I made it!

Normally I don't think this sort of challenge would terribly, er... challenging for me. I don't have quite the painting output I used to, but I can usually maintain a steady pace. But the past few months have been different, with a lot of additional demands on my time.

All the more reason I need to be painting! Painting is my meditation, my escape, my zen. I need more of it. The painting itself wasn't stressful, but at times I did get worried I wouldn't keep up.

I had a plan at the start of the challenge. I knew exactly what my finished product would be, and I knew what I would be painting each month. I'm a typical hobbyist, which means that changed within the first month, and continued to evolve throughout the challenge as I changed my mind, picked up a few additional figures, etc. But I am happy with where I ended up!

The highlight, as I mentioned in my June entry, and the greatest impetus for deciding upon sea elves was using them as an excuse to paint the old Elven Attack Chariot. I rank that as a success. Last minute acquisition of the old bolter and five old Marauder figures was a great morale boost that pushed the final force out from being mired in the old monopose monotony. (Though I'm happy even with those!)

I admit I'm still a little disappointed no one has called me out on the troll. He wasn't part of the plan, but the figure fell into my lap during the challenge, and in spite of being pressured for time, I couldn't NOT paint him, even in the middle of the sea elves. His inclusion in my posts was a joke at first (and not required, from a points perspective), now I'm working him into the background of the sea elf force as a strange if unreliable ally. The fact that he's a marsh troll fits into the Marienburg setting well enough. Maybe his primitive cunning is just enough to manipulate the young and naive elven leadership to his own purposes. Maybe in the face of competition with the Fimir and undead in the marshes, it's as simple as "the enemy of my enemy is my friend," especially since the elves are (far) more content to stay behind the city walls and leave his hunting grounds alone. The story will continue to develop...

So here's my overly dramatic, and probably frightening to many, Warhammer Armies style photo at the dinner table.

And here's the mullet wig that I very nearly bought for the photo, with the idea of keeping a vintage vibe. :)

Galion’s DEF Jam

(Defense and Expeditionary Force, Marienburg Sea Elf enclave)

10 Archers (+1 elite, with long bow, hand weapon, light armour) : 140 points

1 Marine Bolt Thrower (3 crew with light armour & hand weapon) : 60 points

Galion of House Äënäräë (lv. 15 hero) : 128 points

5 Seekers (scouts w/ longbow & hand weapons) : 80 points

27 Spear Elves (spears, light armour, musician, standard): 320 points

Sea Elf Champion (lv. 5 with light armour): 50 pts

Elf Sea Wicth (lv. 10): 118 pts

Small terrain: N/A

1 Warwain with scythed wheels, shield, longbow: 162 pts

1 Marsh troll: 65 pts

1 Secret miniature for Iannick: 25 points

TOTAL: 1,148 points

Sea Elf Addendum

I have the following additions to the force. The command and spear elf will let me either field one bit regiment of 30, or two smaller regiments of 16.

Already Painted:

1 Shore Rider: 26 pts

5 Seekers: 80 pts

Unpainted:

7 Shore Riders (incl. musician): 208 pts 

3 Seekers: 48 pts

Fishelf Mage: 118 pts (or more)

Spear Elf standard & musician: 44 pts

Spear elf champion: 50 pts

I still need to acquire:

1 Spear elf: 11 pts

a bunch of elf shields for the spear unit

TOTAL: 1,708 plus additional equipment, magic, etc. (does not include the 25 pt. credit for Iannik's miniature from above)

I should be able to hit 2,000 pretty easily. Thinking about getting a second bolter or a "drowned maiden" (ghost/spectre) to add as an ethereal host. 

I'm on the fence about continuing to paint the rest of the sea elves right now, or whether to take a break and work on some of the other stuff that's in my painting queue. I've at least started on the standard, musician and champion for the spear elves for the moment.

OWAC 3?

I'm already thinking about the possibility of there being a third Old World Army Challenge, and my participation in it. At this time, the most likely army candidate would be more elves. Wood Elves. I already have the figures, and they're all vintage lead. (Well, one is a token plastic archer.)

Similar to the Sea Elves, they're a smaller element in the bigger Marienburg-centric setting, potentially allies with, but equally rivals to, the Sea Elves. Depending on the greater picture, they could end up on either the same or opposite side of a battlefield.

Other contenders are less likely, either because the figures are much newer, or I would need to collect a bunch of additional vintage figures to get enough for the challenge. (Given the economics of the current Oldhammer hipster and/or hoarder crowds, I'm unlikely to re-acquire old lead.) I'm still planning on doing an "Old Worlder Mercenary and Ally" contingent. Or "pool" to draw from. Sort of like what Dogs of War would be like if they were in 3rd edition/Armies. But I'm afraid most of the figures would end up being of newer vintage.

ZeroTwentythree's June Sea Elves (316 pts)

June 30: I finished the last bits of the chariot. Down to the last day of the challenge, and I was up late the last two nights to get it done. But June was the worst of the past few months of excessive work travel. (The travel is done for the moment as well -- now that the OWAC is over. Ha!)

So here's the final portion of the sea elves for the challenge:

1 Warwain with scythed wheels, shield, longbow...... 162 pts

8 Warriors with spears (+1 shield) ..... 89 pts

1 Marsh troll ..... 65 pts

June Total: 316 pts.

Most importantly, I finished the Elven Attack Chariot, which was a large part of my decision to paint elves. After decades of sitting in a bin, the model is finally painted! Even if I got nothing else done for the elves, and even though it's FAR from my best painting, THIS feels like victory!

There were a couple of missing bits from the chariot -- I think there is a javelin case, and the spear-elf should have a cape. But I like it better without the cape anyway, and the model is busy enough that it doesn't need the javelins

The mage/falconer was miscast and has a mangled face. I painted it like a scar and figured it's part of the dangers of handling aggressive birds of prey.

I had a bit of fluff from the perspective of some wood elf scouts half-written in my head, but I'm a bit tired and won't get to it at the moment. Maybe by the time of the army wrap-up in the next week or two.

Coming soon is my OWAC2 wrap-up, and a look forward to a few minor post-OWAC additions I have planned

ZeroTwentythree's May Sea Elves (217 pts)

I've squeaked by this month...

Elf Sea Wicth (lv. 10) ...... 118 pts
Sea Elf Champion (lv. 5 with light armour) ..... 50 pts
3 Sea Elf Spear (incl. standard) ..... 44 pts
Small terrain ..... N/A

May Total: 217 pts.

Work has been... demanding, and I'm spending half the month away from home. So I loaded this month's entry with some points-rich models -- the mage and champion. With the addition a few rank & file spear-elves and standard, that brings the unit up to a tidy 20 figures (see below). I've hit a mental block on the actual standard, so I'll go back and paint something more interesting on it when I've got a minute (or two) to settle down and paint something worth while.

I also painted a small piece of themed terrain -- a giant shell, no doubt one left behind by the giant snails of the marshes around Marienburg.

And finally, a pic of the now 20-strong unit of spear elves. Not only to give context to the new figures, but anyone skimming this post without bothering to read will hopefully see a bunch of minis instead of just the five that I actually painted this month and think that I've painted a lot of minis in May...

One month left and I'm a bit worried. Work stress and travel will be continuing through June. It would really suck to drop out in the last month! So I'm fired up to finish! My plan is to paint the chariot and the remaining (8?) spear elves that I own.

ZeroTwentythree's March Sea Elves (212 pts)

I'm well entrenched in a pattern of things not going according to plan at this point. I had planned on painting 16 spear elves, including a musician, and being done with it as a simple month. But a change in plans for the shields (looking for more of the newer, embossed elf shields rather than the older plain ones) set me back a bit. Not a major change, but to keep my OWAC point count on the level, I subtracted the cost of the shields (which will hopefully be painted later...)

That left me a few points short. I figured I could paint another spear elf or two, but then remembered I had a figure set aside to "pay the piper" as it's referred to in the OWAC rules.  It's voluntary, but I already had plans to do it, so I'm working on that to make up the difference. I'm going to keep it a secret until it arrives at its destination. I like the idea of sending surprise miniatures from my experience with the Warhammer-Empire.com "Pleasant Surprises" miniatures exchange. You'll all have to trust me that it's painted.

The spear elves are the old plastic 4th ed. figures, same as the archers. My long time plan was to use both as the core for a sea elf contingent. As with the archers, I've got mixed feelings on the minis, but they look OK painted up. The colors on the photos are all messed up -- there's more variety in the blues and greens, and the gems are also bright red in person. I was going to do another write up about the background, but this month has been exhausting so backstory and photo corrections may have to wait.

So...

16 Spear Elves (spears, light armour, musician): 187 points

1 Secret miniature for Iannick: 25 points

Total to date:  620 points

I will more than likely be taking my mulligan in April. I've got more travelling for work, have another deadline the first week of April, and although I will try to get some prep work and a head-start on the OWAC minis, April is "Big April" for me, and I'd like to keep the tradition alive and paint some giants without having to worry about other obligations (as much as possible...)

ZeroTwentythree's February Sea Elves (208 pts)

Change of Plans

After last month, I re-worked my schedule for the rest of the OWAC. Aaaaand it went off the rails right away in February. I did paint the five seekers I was originally going to paint in January, but then rescheduled for this month. These were a last minute acquisition, old Marauder sea elves to replace the wood elf miniatures I was originally going to use. Now that I've painted them I really wish that (a) I had more, and (b) there were more models in the range. (I would like to pick up some more if I get the chance! One is actually a Marauder wood elf, but I'm pretty sure both ranges were sculpted by Trish Carden & the styles look good together.)

I had also planned on painting the attack chariot this month, but only got part way through assembly of the chariot itself. The crew are primed, and the horses have a base coat of grey paint on them. So a last minute change of plans, and I've swapped out the chariot for the contingent commander. Probably not the most "oldhammer" miniatures to some, but I've always liked it quite a bit. I painted one for someone else, long ago, but now I've got my own. I think he's got a nice, haughty look to him that fits my concept for a leader of a mixed sea elf military force from Marienburg. (Later Ral Partha high elf, sculpted by Chris Fitzpatrick I believe.) I want to paint some more freehand detail on his cloak, but I'm still working on a design. I'm going to call him done for now, but he may receive and update at some point.

Seekers

The forces of the sea elves in Marienburg can vary greatly, and many light troops are used. Scouting, spying, small escort, delivery, and diplomatic missions mean light and flexible troops are in demand. Being in high demand, these sorts of troops can be drawn from the ranks of the various trade houses, from the native wood elves, or from the ships' crews.

These are among the latter. Every sailor plays a number of roles, and many have experience in scouting missions as a landing party. During extended stays in port, some sailors hire themselves out as scouts, whether it be for the gold, the excitement, the chance to see more of the Old World, or just a way to pass the time before setting sail again.

Galion

The current leader of the Elven Continental Exarchate Defence and Expedition Forces (DEF) is a young second son of a fading noble line, Galion of House Äënäräë. Despite the impressive sound of the titles and powers bestowed upon Galion, his position involves a shared responsibility for keeping order in the elven quarter of Marienburg, and leading the security detail for trade and diplomatic missions centered out of the “Star-Gem-by-the-Sea,” as the Marienburg colony is known. The office is better than an elf of his age and social standing could hope for, and one with only minimal risks. Young Galion also has plenty of time to indulge in his love of salons and wine, and although he is loathe to admit to his fondness for “slumming,” he spends a good deal of time in some of the best human social clubs in Marienburg with a small crowd of other young elves of even lesser standing and even more limited futures. But he is also an elf with dreams of making a name for himself, returning to Ulthan, and joining greater social circles. All he lacks is an opportunity to seize. And better judgement.

Although the DEF seldom see large scale action or anything important enough to further Galion’s “fame & bigger parties” agenda, the elves-who-are-not-riding-chariots are an effective force for the duties to which they are typically assigned.

This month’s addition to Galion’s DEF jam are...

Galion of House Äënäräë (lv. 15 hero) : 128 points + equipment

5 Seekers (scouts w/ longbow & hand weapons) : 80 points

Total to date: 408 pts.

ZeroTwentythree's January Sea Elves (200 pts)

I survived the first month.

Things did not go as planned, but I still got my 200 points done and in hindsight I'm pretty happy with them. I got a bit discouraged right away because the old monopose plastic archers were a little disappointing once I actually got down to painting them. I've had them for a long time, I've seen them painted in armies before, and I know they were early plastics, but... those faces. They're split by the mold line, and because of this position the detail is a bit shallow and "not quite right." I opted not to paint the eyes, just gave them deep shadows. I don't think it's too noticeable under the helm.

Midway through the month I got the chance to pick up some actual sea elf archers (see second pic) to use as my seekers (scouts) so I swapped them out with the old wood elf models I had planned to use. I knew they wouldn't arrive in enough time to paint (just got here yesterday) so I swapped the seekers out of my January plan and replaced them with the bolter and crew I had originally planned on painting in February.

Prior to the recent acquisition of the five seekers, the bolter was the only recent purchase made specifically for the OWAC. Everything else has been sitting here waiting to be painted for years. I thought it was a model that really needed to be in a sea elf contingent. I really like the crew, but I'm not fond of the bolter design. I think it's the wheels. I hemmed and hawed over the color(s) for the machine but as the end of the month approached, I opted to just go with the same as the archers bows.

10 Archers (+1 elite, with long bow, hand weapon, light armour) : 140 points

1 Marine Bolt Thrower (3 crew with light armour & hand weapon) : 60 points

A quick commentary about colors & uniforms

The Sea Elves of Marienburg are a diverse lot. There are a variety of merchant houses, some of ancient and noble origin, some who have more recently made names and wealth for themselves through success in some aspect of trade. The military forces of the Sea Elves can vary greatly, depending on the circumstances may consist of mixed regiments combined from the personal guards of the various merchant houses, ships crews, various mercenaries & adventurers, regular regiments from the homeland, or even wood elves from nearby communities who either share a common interest or owe a debt to the Marienburg elves.

Regiments of elves drawn from ships crews or the guards of the merchant houses are typically outfitted in various shades of blues & greens. Each house has a different identifying color. To many outsiders (humans...) these can be difficult to tell from one another. But to the elves, the subtlety between "seafoam-green" and "gulfstream-green" can mean the difference between who's a friend and who's a rival. When the assorted houses contribute troops to an expedition, the colors may appear patchwork if examined closely, but as a whole they reflect the many facets of the open sea and sky.

Regiments from the regular soldiery (usually assigned to the Old World from the homeland) may appear more uniform, while the mercenaries and adventurers may show even more variety.

My latest February plan is to paint the five seekers/scouts and the attack chariot. Just as I've procrastinated on painting the latter for years decades, I'm already feeling the urge to push it back later in the process. I really want to paint the scouts right away, though... I'm sure I can work the numbers out somehow.

Zerotwentythree's Sea Elves - Intro

Introduction

One of my primary WFB projects for the past 10+ years has been a Marienburg army. One of the reasons I was interested in a Marienburg army was the idea that I could paint up a big variety of troops -- especially units or contingents of mercenarie & allies. Ages ago, I picked up some plastic 4th ed. high elves with the intention of using them as the core of a Sea Elf contingent. Many years later I still haven't done much with them. And along comes the OWAC...

My ideas are based on some of the background in WFB and also WFRP (see Marienburg: Sold Down the River. The largest high elf presence in the Old World is based out of a semi-autonomous elven colony within Marienburg. This “Sea Elf” community is the center of high elven trade and diplomacy on the continent. It seemed only proper that I should model a small force to represent these sea elves for use in their mutual interest or defense with Marienburg, as well as a small force for scenarios in which they pursue their own agenda.

The Sea Elves in (my) Marienburg

Thinking a bit too deeply about this, my thoughts are as follows… The elves were once a dominant force in the world, including large portions of the old world. That time is gone. Marienbug is on the site of one of their old colonies, but is now a major center of human wealth and power, with the elves as a sideshow. So this site, this colony represents both a backwater (compared to the elven homeland) and reminder of their faded influence, but also a gateway to regaining some of that preeminence.

So my thoughts are for several aspects to the force. For lack of better classification, I’ll explain them as such:

• Traditional & respectable elven regulars. This would be both the colonial regulars and those among the sea elf merchant companies who have retained most of the conventional style and training of the high elves.
• Veterans who have “gone native.” This could cover a lot of ground, but something of a blend between the high elven culture, but influenced by their wood elf cousins, or even the lesser humans they live among.
• Nouveau riche & dilettantes. Those with high & noble roots and aspirations, but missing out on the context and deep understanding of what they’re trying to emulate.

So with that setting in mind (though I’ve not really formally set it down in writing until this blog post) as well as the miniatures I’ve got available to me at this time (plus one last minute purchase just for the OWAC2) I’ve come up with the list below. I plan on writing up some backstory or in-context fluff that should explain where each fit in with the above broad social/cultural categories of the force. I also hope to keep it a bit tongue-in-cheek. Part of my fondness for Oldhammer is not taking too seriously.

• Galion of House Äënäräë (lv. 15 hero) (+/- 128 points)
• 25 Spear armed warriors (324 points)
• 10 Archers (140 points)
• 5 Scouts (80 points)
• 1 Elven attack chariot (148 pioints)
• 10 Wardancers with double-handed weapons (220 points)
• 1 Marine bolter (60 points)
• Total +/-1100 points

I've got a rough plan for my month-by-month painting and have prepped a bit for Month 01...

(clicky for bigger pics in my entries!)

This may (time permitting) expand to include…

• 10 Archers (140 points)
• 1 Mage (lv 10) (118 points)

Side note: I made one attempt at starting this project years ago. I got as far as this…

5 scouts based on some more recent metal high elf scouts, and my first “test paint” of some some shore riders (light cavalry) also based on some middle-hammer-y miniatures. I hated these horses when they were released, but they’ve grown on me. At some point I will paint the rest of the light cavalry.

Shameless Self Promotion

If you want to see how this fits into the bigger picture of my fantasy project(s), you can check out my blog at zerotwentythree.com for a bit of context.