The Old World Army Challenge

I've joined a painting challenge to complete a 1000 point Oldhammer army in six months, at a rate of 200 points per month (with one mulligan month in case sh!t happens). That seems a leisurely pace to me, but that's kind of the point. It's really easy to build up an army over time and we always have the option to paint more than 200 points. I haven't been painting much at all recently and I thought the challenge might be a way to gather a bit of inspiration.

With around 30 talented members of the Oldhammer community participating, we seem to have every 3rd and 4th edition Warhammer army covered and I'm looking forward to watching these armies grow. I'm painting a 3rd edition Slann army (really the only edition I've ever wanted a Slann army). There are very few examples of painted armies of these guys around these days. The models were hard to find even when they were new. The range was never really expanded either, with many troop types composed of a single model.

I started collecting Slann a year ago with a very lucky (and very expensive) find on eBay - the core of several units still in their original blisters! I've expanded the force through purchase of individual models here and there since then and continue to do so when these rare models appear. I only managed to paint ONE model since I started the collection so hopefully I can keep up with the challenge and end up with a new painted army in the process!

Anyway, you can follow our progress on a blog dedicated to the challenge. The painting kicks off November 1st and I'm looking forward to getting started!

Lord of Change

My brother Dennis has been collecting armies for Tzeentch for as long as we've been playing Warhammer, both for 40k and Fantasy (and now Age of Sigmar). The new Lord of Change model was enough to make ME want to collect a Tzeentch army, but I have waaaay to much going on to start another new project. However, I did get the chance to paint the daemon when Dennis bought it. He paints well, but wanted this giant monster to be a real centerpiece for his collection and took me up on my offer to do it.

I'm pretty pleased with the results...

Now this gives me the excuse to paint my Nurgle Glotkin model, the only thing I have in my cupboards that might stand a chance against this monster!

The Realm of Chaos

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the release of the Realm of Chaos - Slaves to Darkness Warhammer book which was actually the second Warhammer product I ever purchased (after the Warhammer 40k Rogue Trader book). Besides being full of evocative artwork and loads of rules for both Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40k, this book had rules for generating Chaos Champions and covers Khorne and Slaanesh. The second book Realm of Chaos - The Lost and the Damned covers Nurgle and Tzeentch. The system is crazy with random charts and almost comprises a game on it's own and was the source of endless hours of entertainment. The random tables can provide some unbalanced results that many today would balk at, but I find them a source for great inspiration and perfect for a solo project.

I've decided to build four warbands, one for each Chaos power, by rolling on the provided charts and maybe using a little divine intervention to tweak the results. The first warband I rolled was for Nurgle because I already had a handful of appropriate models for champions - the one I picked was dependent on the outcome of the dice.

The roll for the base champion was a Human Hero 10. Characters gain two rolls on the Rewards table, but I decided to make my champions more experienced because they get one roll on the Followers table for every two Rewards and I wanted each band to start with at least two 'units'. My four Reward rolls produced the following results: Mark of Nurgle (+1T), Bestial Face - Goat (+1A and +1 Fear Point), Gift of Nurgle - Hide of Nurgle (opponents have a -1 to hit in melee), and GM's choice. Now since I'm the GM I had a lot of latitude to determine what I wanted. Looking through my models, I decided to pick Enormously Fat (1/2M, +1T, and -1I).

So the stat line for my champion comes out as:

	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
Human Hero 10	2	5	4	4	6	2	3	4	8

I plan to field him in light armour and arm him with an extra hand weapon (which will give him another attack).He is a plodding beast, but if he ever gets in range to fight he will be fearsome and the Hide of Nurgle and high Toughness will help make up for his lack of armour.

Now I get two rolls on the table for Followers which works out as 6 zombies and 2 beastmen. I also get to roll Rewards for the followers and decide to pile them all on the beastmen. I end up with Technology - Bolt Pistol, +1S and +1T, and Tentacles. The first roll goes to one beastman and I put the others one the second.

So here is the starting warband for my Chaos Champion of Nurgle (I have yet to come up with a suitable name)...

The champion and beastmen were painted using Blanchitsu, using only Abaddon Black, Whitescar, Balor Brown, Gehenna Gold, and Runefang Steel. Highlights are mixed by building up these monotone shades and then GW washes are used to add color. The zombies were from an existing project, but I added more washes to make them better match the others.

Next up... the Chaos Champion of Khorne!

Empire General on Griffon

One of the things I normally avoided back when I played Warhammer on a regular basis was big monsters. Tying up so many points in something destined to draw fire from every piece of artillery or destructive spell on the board seemed a risky tactic. This time around I wanted to include a character on one of these awe inspiring beasts, possibly if only to keep such things away from my rank and file troops for a few turns.

The only real option for the Empire seems to be a griffon unless you want to field Karl Franz on a dragon. While there are several metal versions available, I really wanted to use the new plastic model designed for the High Elf army in the Island of Blood box. A brief search on e-bay netted me the bits without the need to buy the whole set. The package arrived last week and I set out for what I thought would be a simple rider swap...

 

Ok, maybe not so simple. As a kit designed for beginners, Games Workshop designed the bits to go together with a minimum amount of fuss which means a minimum amount of pieces and limited options for someone looking for a quick conversion. Most of the rider is molded as part of the mount. Fortunately I am not afriad of taking clippers to a model and in short order, I had my griffon ready for my character.

There is a small area on the monster's side where the former rider's leg was, but most of this will be covered by the new rider. My new rider is based on the plastic Empire General kit, however, remember the bit about this not being as easy as I anticipated? All of the Empire cavalry models I own have relatively straight legs, but the way the rider of the griffon sat his mount requires bent legs. To get my Empire general to fit properly, I needed go at it with the clippers again. It was tricky to remove the calves and leave the decorative armor on the knees intact, but by carefully cutting behind the knee first I was able to keep the armor intact.

After a test fit with the torso, I discovered I need to twist the torso slightly to the left to make sure my rider's arm meets up with the only element I left of the original rider: the fist on the reins. I used a modeling saw to separate the hips from the upper torso.

After reassembling all of the dismembered bits of the rider, all I needed was a small amount of greenstuff to fill in the gaps for the thighs and the wrist. I used small extra bits of equipment to cover the remaining rough areas on the griffon. The head came from the Empire Knights command sprue - I wanted the rider to look as though he were bellowing a challenge rather than stoically riding into battle like the heads from the general kit.

The final decision was which weapon to arm my character and I decided on a greatsword. If I decided not to kit out the model with a magic weapon, the greatsword will give the general a formidable Strength 6 - even though he has to strike last, the griffon gets four attacks plus the Great Stomp attack that will go off on initiative. If I decide to arm the man with an enchanted weapon, swords are by far the most numerous on the Empire list and will give me the most options.

In any case, here is the finished model...

I am looking forward to painting this mini - with everything else going on, it may take a few weeks, but I'll find time to fit this in.

Warhammer Watchtower

These kits have been available for a while now, but as I have been mainly immersed in the historical side of the hobby for the last few years, I didn't bother with them. With my return to Warhammer, I decided it was ok to have a bit of gothic, skull encrusted scenery so I dropped the cash for one of fortified manor kits, which includes the sprues to build all of fantasy buildings GW currently offers plus loads of fences in one box. I love building plastic models, so as soon as I got home, I eagerly dug into the box. Sorting through the pile of sprues, I selected the three that go to the watchtower kit and sat down to have a go...

Assembly is pretty straight forward - I didn't even bother with the instruction booklet. There are all kinds of ways model conversions, especially if you choose parts freely from both kits and are not afraid of talking a hobby saw to them, but I decided to build the watchtower as it was designed for my first go. Games Workshop's kits are a joy to build as they normally fit precisely as they are intended, with minimum need for trimming or gap filling. Many pieces are designed to camouflage the joins as well. The main part of the tower comes in two sub-assemblies and I used the ancient method of employing rubber bands to ensure a tight fit.

Once the stages were dry I glued them together and assembled the stairs.

The corners on these kits are beveled to ease construction and aid in getting a square fit, but it's best to check and I used the grid on my cutting board to make sure (did this with the main pieces too - just didn't think to photograph the process).

There are piles of extras to customize your tower. I chose the tiny shack for the top and the crazy chimney. An extra window or two and a lantern by the front door complete the tower. There are tons of options, but I decided to keep things fairly tame.

Not a lot of historical uses for this kit with all the spikes and skulls - maybe in some pulp style scenarios or Teutonic Transylvanian setting - but it will work perfectly with my Warhammer Empire army! Not sure when I'll get the chance to paint this, but it was fun to build.

Dark Elves on Dinosaurs - Part Four

The finished unit...

Men of Ostland

I am assembling the troops mentioned in my previous post when I get spare time. Last year, I built a warband for Mordheim and painted the models in the colors of Ostland and I've decided to use the same color scheme for the core of my army. I will probably include units from other provinces as the army grows, but the strong black and white color scheme really appeals to me.

These models will probably make it into the army as a 10-model unit of Free Company at some point. My initial plan is to build a 1250pt force so I can get in some games as soon as possible. The core of my army will be infantry. They will be led by Captain Marko Steelknife and a restrained version of Hans Morgrimmar - kinda like Gandalf in The Hobbit. Hans will grow into The Return of the King version as I add more points! Any remaining points will be put into artillery and cavalry.

Right now I have the following list, subject to change:

Empire Captain - Armor of Metoric Iron, Lance, Warhorse, and Barding (118pts)
Empire Battle Wizard - Level 2, Scroll of Arcane Shielding (100pts)
30 Halberdiers - full command, detachments of 15 Swordsmen and 10 Handgunners (340pts)
20 Handgunners - full command (180pts)
15 Great Swords - full command (180pts)
6 Empire Knights - Musician and Great Weapons (146pts)
Cannon (100pts)
Helstorm Rocket Battery (115pts)

Ok, that's 1254pts, but my normal opponents won't mind. If it would actually be an issue, I can drop a Handgunner from the detachment and add a 5pt magic item to make it 1249pts. Now before anyone rushes off to copy my list, I am a TERRIBLE Warhammer general. I mentioned before, my army is based on units I found rummaging around in my closet rather than what may or may not be the best combination.

For instance, putting full command with the Handgunners unit may be a waste of points because they are unlikely to see much melee and the points may be more useful on magic items, etc. I just think it LOOKS cool to have banners and this unit will be guarding my warmachines which are tough to take out with shooting in 8th edition so they may see some hand to hand combat after all. I think lances are the better option for small cavalry units since they are pretty much one-shot weapons, but I converted a unit of Knights by combining them with a box of Great Swords and again the results LOOK cool. I will just have to trust to their armor saves (and choose my targets carefully) to ensure their 'Strikes Last' penalty for great weapons doesn't see them destroyed before they can employ their +2 strength beyond the first round of combat.

I may not win many games, my army will look great in the deployment zone!

Expanding to 2000pts would include another large block of infantry, a Battle Standard Bearer, an Engineer, boosting the Great Swords to 20, a second Cannon, and another small support unit of some sort like Huntsmen or Pistoliers.

Dark Elves on Dinosaurs - Part Three

Done and Dusted! The goal at this stage is to keep the highlights small and sharp. On many areas, such as the scales, this turns into a 'dot' but if the scale is large enough I tried to paint a stripe along the upper third. Both metallics were highlighted with Citadel Mithril Silver and for the most part this was applied to the sharp edges of armor or only the highest peak of the helm.

I probably won't post any more on these until the unit is finished unless someone has specific questions on something I didn't explain. So now off to the other four!

Dark Elves on Dinosaurs - Part Two

Here is the second stage of my three-step (mostly - more on that later) painting style on a Dark Elf Knight...

The details are starting to take shape, especially the skin of the Cold One. The object is to highlight each area in such a manner that the original, darker color is still visible in the deepest recesses of the model. With the Foundry system, I often (but not always) simply grab the next color in the triad. For instance, in the blue base coat on the Cold One was Foundry Sky Blue Shade (21A). For my first highlight stage, I used Sky Blue (21B). In this instance, I concentrated on brightening the scales and painting on the different folds on the skin to bring out the texture.

All of the areas were treated in a similar fashion, though I used more of a blending technique on the robe because I wanted the texture to be smooth and contrast with all of the scales and armor this mini has going for it. Creating contrasts is not just about color choices! The effect is subtle, but will really pop when I add the third step.

I don't use a lot of washes in general, but I like the Games Workshop Citadel washes for armor and other metallic areas. The armor got a wash of Asurmen Blue (doesn't seem to show in the photo, but it did make a difference) and the gold areas with Ogryn Flesh. However, the metallics did not get a highlight as this stage. I prefer to add sharp, high contrast highlights on metal and I'll do those on the next step.

I'll post the finished model in a day or so and the whole unit in a few weeks. More Empire stuff is on the way as well as the 40mm ACW regiment I've been working on...

A Gathering Storm

Hans Morgrimmar has come to Ostland... the enemies of the men are gathering in the shadows of the realm and the wizard seeks to rally an army to stem the tide. He was turned away from the court of the Elector, but has found an ally in Captain Marko Steelknife who controls one of the outlying garrisons. The small force he leads cannot win the day, but it may hold until greater powers may be stirred to action.

After many years away from Warhammer Fantasy, I have been lured back by the changes in the eighth edition rules. I have always found Games Workshop's miniatures to be stunning and and my brother's deep interest in the game has prompted me to collect a new army to participate in a small campaign this summer. With all of my other projects, it may be necessary to bulk out my force with models from my old collection, but we'll see how it goes.

So how do I go about building an all conquering Warhammer army? Do I study the army lists to find the ultimate combination of troops and characters? No. I dug through my closet and pulled out a stack of plastic box sets I had left over from a few years back - after all a general goes to war with the army he has, right?  So here's what I had:

1 General box
1 Battle Wizard box
3 State Troops boxes
3 State Handgunners boxes
1 Archers box
1 Knightly Orders boxes
1 Great Cannon
1 Pistoliers box

Yeah, I had that many unused boxes (in some cases unopened - the boxes still had the shrink wrap on them). I also have a few spare sprues of Archers and Great Swords left over from a Mordheim project. So that's the core of my army! A mounted Captain, two Battle Wizards, 30 Halberdiers, 30 Handgunners, 10 Archers, 8 Knights, 5 Pistoliers, and a Great Cannon. I'm going to have a look through my old collection and see which models may fit in with the new ones.

By the way, that's the Grey Wizard Hans Morgrimmar. He's a conversion using the Empire Battle Wizards box. The hood is made of green stuff and the staff is an off cut from a Forest Goblin Spider Rider. He is officially the first model of my new army, painted this afternoon. Posts on this army will be made as units are finished, but I have a lot on my plate so stay tuned!

Dark Elves on Dinosaurs!

I have a few commissions lined up so far this year, and the first is a small unit for Warhammer Fantasy - Dark Elf Knights mounted on Cold Ones (the Dinosaurs I plugged in the title for those who are more grounded in reality). Being Games Workshop, these models are superbly sculpted and a fun diversion from my normal projects.

I thought I'd take the occasion for a little 'work in progress' series of posts and ramble on a bit about how I paint...

I use a black undercoat for all of my work and normally go for Citadel Chaos Black spray paint.It takes a bit of practice to get consistent results with any spray paint, but I HATE painting undercoats with a brush. If you're not used to using spray paint to undercoat your models, it's always best to apply two light coats rather than one heavy one to avoid obscuring the detail. The Citadel spray paint gives a very smooth finish and shrinks a bit as it dries which helps in 'avoiding obscuring the detail'.

Some artists work on one area at a time, finishing each location or color before moving on to the next. Rather than this focused approach, I paint the entire model with the darkest tone of each color I'm going to be using. I do this for a couple of reasons. First, this gives me an idea of what the finished model will look like. If I don't like a color combo at this stage, I probably wont like it when it's finished! Second, if I accidentally throw color where it doesn't belong, it's much easier to fix than it would be if I had carefully blended a neighboring color. Finally, I normally work on three to five models at a time and it is much quicker to use the same color on the group than painting models individually. The main thing I am trying to accomplish with this stage is clean, neat blocks of color with thin black lines (the undercoat) separating the different materials (the harness from the monster, for instance).

I typically employ the Foundry three stage paints (Unless noted below, all colors in these posts are Foundry), but I sometimes use Citadel and Vallejo as well. In this instance, I drybrushed the Cold One with Charcoal Black (34B). I drybrushed all of the armor and other metal bits with Citadel Boltgun Metal. I painted the head and underbelly of the Cold One with Sky Blue Shade (21A) and then began to pick out individual scales with the same color, creating a pattern similar to that of a Blue Monitor Lizard. I used Black (34A) to pick out some of the scales in a similar fashion on the head to create a general transition between the head and neck. The monster's teeth spines, and claws were painted with Boneyard Shade (9A). The harness and saddle were painted with Bay Brown (42B).

Turning my attention to the rider, I already mentioned the armor. I picked out individual plates with Citadel Shining Gold. The chainmail the rider is wearing is trimmed in leather which I painted Spearshaft Shade (13A). The robe was painted with Royal Purple Shade (19A).

My next step is the middle tones which will start to bring this thing to life. For those who prefer less fantastic subjects, hang in there - my next commission is a 48-model TYW unit! I'm also three command models away from presenting my first finished 40mm ACW regiment.