Lockdown 2.0 Project Log Day 16: The Lure of Oldhammer

 Hi!

Today I find myself in a bit of a quandary. I'm really enjoying my current projects with progress being scattergun in style but for all that successful as I'm painting, sculpting and generally staying hobby productive and sane during this lockdown. 

But despite all this, I am finding myself perusing all manner of Oldhammer gubbins. Maybe it's just the siren song of seeing all the awesome blogs out there or wanting to relive the heady excitement of my teens but even though I've posted about wanting to move on from GW gubbins, I keep finding myself drawn back.

I'm loath to succumb to the temptation of going back to either 40k or Fantasy Battle but there's something compelling about all those brightly coloured miniatures, lush scenery and classic sculpts. Sadly the cost of such a project seems to be getting beyond my budget these days and the sheer amount of time and effort it would take for such an undertaking is also I suspect beyond me.

This isn't deterring me though as I find myself still sorely tempted! I wonder if other folks find themselves tempted by projects they know are beyond them but still have a bash at them. Is there a way of channelling this enthusiasm or do I need to just resist temptation and just keep cracking on with my own stuff?

The only way I can see to get around my quandary is to pick up a couple of odds and ends and try to paint them and see how I get on. Maybe I can shoehorn such a scheme into an existing project, be it turn a 40k themed warband into something for Stargrave or Star Mogul or try out some small fantasy side project for some retro fanboying...

At present I have enough to keep me entertained for a while but I shall see how things go and if I do cave in to the temptation, hopefully it will be of interest to folks!

Slann Warband Part 5

Hi!

As promised heres a few pics of my finished warchief for my Slann Oldhammer project!

Slann Warchief with greatclub

I must admit I rather went to town with him with the conversions as his club, shield, loincloth and headdress are all new additions. He also took quite a bit of extra time to paint but as he will be the leader of my fledgling army, he really looks the part of a wild savage!

Looking at the photos, there are a few rough spots that could do with a little more work but to be honest I doubt I will bother as on the table he looks absolutely fine. I think if I was to do him again, I would probably add an ornate back banner to really make him stand out a little more, just as the Aztec heros did when they went to war but as he is from a rather savage frontier tribe, I think the gear he has is fine.

 Headdress Detail

Sculpting all the little details was great fun and its really inspired me to try something a little special on my next character who will be a magic user to give my Slann a bit of extra muscle.

If you look closely at his base, theres a fly/beetle sat next to him, its the original tip of his staff and I've included it on his base. Sadly once the base was completed, he kind of blends in a bit much so I may have to add some different colours to the tiny fellow to make him stand out again.

The Warband So Far

As you can see, the warband is really coming together and its hard to believe that there are only three different miniature poses in the photo. I am really loving the sculpts as with just a little conversion, they really look the bees knees!

I also have the first five of my close combat troops converted and almost ready to prime. All they need are a few feathers and the odd headdress to finish them off before painting commences and that will only leave me with the last five to do and the initial challenge will be complete!

All the best!

Slann Warband Part 4

Hi!

Well the first unit of Slann braves has been finished but getting a decent photo in the stygian gloom of Scotland this morning has proved to be a bit of a challenge!

Slann Archers

I will try and get a decent photo taken of them tomorrow when I have a day off but I must admit I am really pleased with how they turned out! I decided to go with a yellow skin colour as its a bit brighter than the usual green and with the small conversions I sculpted on earlier, I do think they look quite decent as a Slann regiment.

In keeping with the Oldhammer theme, I also went for a plain green base as it suited the Lustrian vibe more than my usual brown basing and adds a nice contrast to the figures too.

I also have my Warchief almost finished but he needs a lots more highlighting and shading to make him stand out amongst his troops and will post some pics tomorrow of him once he's finished. This will leave me with just ten figures to paint to complete Whiskey Priests How To Oldhammer challenge.

I have a unit of ten warriors with swords and shields along with a champion and standard bearer from East Riding sat on the paint table but they need somewhat more extensive conversion than the archers. I am going to give them clubs for a start in true Aztec style and they all need headdresses and loincloths adding and some will also be getting padded jerkins to represent the light armour that the unit is supposed to be wearing.

Its been an interesting experience group painting a unit like this and although the end result has been great, I'm not too sure how much enjoyment I would get out of painting too many more in a single batch again. I think in future I might split up the regiment a bit more and paint something different in the middle to keep me from despairing!

All the best!

Slann Warband Part 3

Hi!

Well its my day off and yesterday evening was well spent adding a few conversions to the start of my Sann warband so they would be ready to start painting today!

First up heres a couple of shots of my Warchief:

 Slann Warchief

He is suitably characterful now with a two handed warclub and a truly impressive headdress to make him stand out on the table! As these Slann are going to be from the tribal frontiers of the Slann Empire, I am giving them a somewhat less civilised look with wilder head dresses and at most a loincloth for clothing

 Headdress Detail

Next up theres my archer unit. I had lots of fun adding little pieces of jewellery, clothing, headdresses and even face swaps on the little fellows to give them a more unique look than the two available poses would have looked if I hadn't done anything.

Slann Tribal Archers

The best thing about the 15mm nature of this project is that the conversions took an evening to do and I don't feel bad about chopping up and puttying them as they are both cheap and readily available and I wouldn't feel like I was committing some sort of heresy by hacking up some highly collectable lead!

As already mentioned, my Slann are initially going to be representing a frontier tribe who aren't particularly civilised but as the project goes on, I hope to add a few units of the Emperors finest and possibly even some tech wielding types!

Anyway, I'm off to do some painting!

All the best!

Slann Warband Part 2

Hi!

Well I was pleasantly surprised to find my parcel of Frogs arrived from East Riding Miniatures this morning and after a quick unboxing, I've taken a quick pic to show the unpainted warband in all its froggish glory:

 The Slann Warband!

Looking at the figures themselves, the pictures from East Ridings website really don't do them justice as the sculpts are really very nice! Alas as with so many 15mm ranges, there is only two poses for each unit type but I am going to be spending a few hours adding small details like head dresses, feathers and loincloths to give the units a bit more variety.

I've settled on one unit of swords Slann with a banner bearer and champion and a unit of archers. The warband will be led by the tribes warchief who currently is holding a staff with a beetle on it but will be getting some proper Aztec headgear added soon!

I was thinking of painting the whole lot green but am quite tempted to go for a warmer yellow/orange finish such as this:

Four A Gremlin

Hopefully I should have the conversions out of the way by the weekend and will be able to get on with painting soon!

All the best!