AHPC 14: Pestigors in the Old World

Those who study forbidden tomes know that within the dark forests of the Old World brood the evil  Beastmen, but some are dedicated to specific chaos powers. Those that choose the God of Decay and Pestilence are known as Magic the Gathering players Pestigors.

Pestigors: Baptised in Pus!

Amongst my stash of figs were these models begging for attention. These are metal 6th edition figures from 2003 and it took awhile to amass enough for the units size I desired under the old rules. I suspect that under the new system, small units may be more flexible so I will instead build them as 2 x 10 figure units.

Quite happy with the overall effect of the verdigris and rust effects!

To stand out amongst my Beastmen horde of mostly green and brown figures, I departed from the usual Nurgly greens. Instead, lighter sickly shades make the festering yellow and pink pustules look even lovelier. You're welcome!

Modelling note: paint colours used were the same as my Nurgle Blood Bowl team here:

https://tasmancave.blogspot.com/2020/12/ahpc-xi-nurgle-blood-bowl-team.html

Papa Nurgle's "Dream Team" take the field!

Just a small submission from me this week; 10 figs @ 5 points = 50 points. This will take me to my target, representing 8,000 points across the 10 AHPC seasons I've participated in.

And happy Australia Day today to all my fellow Aussies!

You can find this AHPC entry here:

 https://thepaintingchallenge.blogspot.com/2024/01/paul-og-pestigors-in-old-world-50-points.html

AHPC 14: Beastman Characters

The Old World returns imminently so I'm clearing out the unfinished vestiges of my Beastman Army - it just wouldn't feel like AHPC without me doing some Beastmen! Just 19 models remain from >200 I started with a few years ago. These are the last 2 characters which we have painted together in the Dark Forest, under the pale moon while mumbling hateful chants...

Paul's offering to the sacred heardstone is this Beastlord with Great Axe. He is known for his compassionate spirit, high emotional intelligence and tending his rose garden with ample bone and blood offerings. He's an older model cast in metal, and boy does it have good heft!

To accompany this gentle yet frenzied monstrosity, Reilly has delivered unto me a fearsome Wargor with Battle Standard. He promised to paint this 3 years ago, but all good things to those who wait patiently, in ambush, biding their time.... - and this was clearly worth waiting for! Plus I guilted him into it like a good Dad :-)

The hand painted Chaos symbol and sigils shows he really cares and takes pride in his Banner bearer role. 

An amusing Dad&Lad painting moment was Reilly posing the question:

"So the Elf head atop the Banner - do you want it to be a High Elf, Wood Elf or Dark Elf head? Your Beastmen have slaughtered and defeated all 3 in Battle". Cleary the Dark Gods must be rewarding me for my efforts! (You Elf Commanders know who you are...)

The lovely banner is made from the flayed skins of defeated enemies, available via Amazon

See this submission at the AHPC 14 blog here:

https://thepaintingchallenge.blogspot.com/2024/01/from-paul-og-and-reilly-og-beastie-boys.html

AHPC XII: Beastmen

Due to work travel its been a good few weeks since I touched a brush. This gave me time to reflect on this year's Challenge and I realised I was missing something - I've painted no Beastmen - for shame! So this week I've rectified that with some characterful Beastmen models from the Underworlds "Grashrak's Despoilers" set.

BFFs Grashrak and Draknar are the bruisers of this warband

Grashrak Fellhook is a magical Bray-Shaman, and his buddies are Gor Draknar the Cruel and the Ungor Hunters Gnarl, Ushkor, Murgoth Half-Horn, and Korsh the Sneak. Together they 'hate all things pure with a bestial vehemence that knows neither reason nor restraint' - nice lads to gatecrash your forrest outing. 

With the idea that these would be a flavoursome raiding force for WHFB as well as a Warcry Warband, I lavished attention on their lovely details and tried something different with desaturated flesh tone colours and shades. I quite like the paler, muted tones but I'm not going back to my 200 odd beastmen army to redo those :-)

Painting notes (all GW colours)

Basecoat: Rakarth Flesh

Wash: diluted Bugman's Glow

Highlight: Rakarth Flesh

Fine Highlight: 50/50 mix Rakarth Flesh and Wraithbone

Fur was GoreGrunter Contrast with a light drybrush of Baneblade Brown

https://thepaintingchallenge.blogspot.com/2022/03/from-paul-og-beastmen-and-more-archers.html

Warhammer Fantasy Easter Big Battle

The Easter long weekend saw Reilly and I co-command my Beastmen  Army in a 6k point battle royale against the Dark Elves of my mate Gav, ably assisted by Marty and Lachy.  With a few minor exceptions this was the first time I've had everything in the army in one go. I also got to unleash a secret weapon upon the unsuspecting enemy - the monstrous Minobus!!!

I'm pretty happy with how the army has come out over the past 18 months

the 9 x 5 table set for battle in Gav's man cave

This battle saw a Dark Elf force invading the Beastmen territories of the Drakwald, looking to take slaves for their quarries. The Beastmen decided to object rather forcefully to this unsolicited proposal. 

Brayherd Advance!

It was a pretty full on game and the action last around 6 hours of playing time - we were exhausted at the end! On our left flank, Reilly used his 40 Gor block, pair of heavy chariots, a unit of wardogs and a giant to draw out and ultimately rout and destroy the enemy's corsairs and a war hydra.

Battle ensues 'neath the twisted branches of the Drakwald

On the right flank, I did the opposite - while I destroyed the enemy Corsairs and Cold One Chariot, the Dark Elf Executioners and War Hydra mopped up my Khornegors, Centigors and a 20 block of Gors. However, it tied them up for long enough that they couldn't get back in time to interfere with the strong Beastman assault in the centre.

The Drakwald Medal of Honour goes to this un-named Ungor hero. RIP.

Magic wise, for a game this size we used 4d6 power dice instead of just two. The Dark Elves has 2 x Level 4 and 2 x Level 2 Sorcerers, and the Beastmen 1 x Level 4 and 2 x Level 2 Sorcerers. This worked out very well, though between them there were 7 miscasts and two sorcerers (one on each side) exploded. My newly painted Cygor died early in the game to overcharged Doombolts. Good times!

The Executioners brutalised the Khorngors to a man - only the Champion survived to flee

And after much ado, the Minobus spearhead made contact with the 70model Dark Elf spearblock with Army General, BSB, 2 masters (and an Assassin as it turns out). Not many pictures of this time as things got very focused, but the intact Minobus - boosted by two different augmenting magic spells (Wissan's Wildform, and the Savage Beast of Horros) ripped through the enemy. Including their impact hits and stomps, they took out 36 enemy in their charge turn. The enemy's BSB gave them the unbreakable trait, so they didnt run, which gave the Minotaurs the next turn to overkill the rest. A Dark Elf Prince on Dragon had also charged into their flank, but after the enemy lost the close combat (by lots) it fleed and was run down and destroyed.

chomp chomp chomp

With the enemy centre broken and in disarray, the battle was over. The Beastmen had beaten off the Druchii raiders and saved their villages from the slavers. But one day they would be back...

AHPC XI Wrap Up - Paul

It was great to be back for my seventh Challenge and to help out as a minion for the fourth time. For me it was a Season of two halves: a highly productive first period (while working from home in COVID quarantine) and then steady but stalling progress.

Not bad, but it always seems more at the time I find...

I set myself a target of 750 points and completed 863 points with key projects being Caesarian Romans and Warhammer Fantasy Beastmen. I set myself a 1k stretch goal but fell short at the end as I was renovating my grungy garage into a new gaming studio. Timing could have been better but the outcome is great!

All new lights, wall panelling, insulation, carpet and cabinets!

Overall my Minobus was probably my best single unit but I am most pleased with the way I started and completed the core units of my Caesarian Roman Army.  My most surprising project was my unplanned  monochrome Ninja experiment. Side challenge wise I was well down on skullz this year but still posted 159 noggins, and it was fun to grab 5th in the GW duel.  

Best of all it was wonderful to complete the Challenge alongside Reilly and to encourage eachother along the way and share modelling and painting ideas.

Blood for the Blood God!

Ready to Fight for Caesar!

I've now amassed just over 6000 lifetime challenge points and I'll definitely be back to add to that tally! Thanks Curt, fellow minions and everybody who contributes to the wonderful AHPC community.

https://thepaintingchallenge.blogspot.com/2021/03/from-paul-og-challenge-wrap-up.html

AHPC XI: A Snarl of Minotaurs

I've been working on this entry since Christmas but its been slow going. In fact, its taken me a few years to collect these 12 old metal GW Minotaurs and its great to get this elite unit of Monstrous Infantry completed.

This massed metal Monster unit has quite some heft!

This phalanx of 12 Minotaurs is a brute shock unit - just the thing for my Beastman Army! Led by Taurox the Brass Bull, it includes a Doombull, a Bloodkine Champion, a Banner Bearer and 8 Minotaur warriors. In Warhammer terms thats around 1250 points - almost a whole army it itself. Wonderfully indulgent - cant wait to try it out on the table.

I submitted Taurox previously this challenge, so thats 11 big bad monsters at 10 points apiece for a total of 110.  That takes me across my challenge target for this season!

https://thepaintingchallenge.blogspot.com/2021/03/from-paul-og-snarl-of-minotaurs-110.html

AHPC XI: Ungor Radiers

Despite another busy week in Man Cave central, I have managed to finished these 20 Ungor Raiders for my Beastman Army.

Ungors are the lowest class in Beastman society, brutalised (an often eaten) by the larger Gors. Nevertheless, they are used in scouting and raiding roles in the army. They form the skirmisher elements (though not very good ones) and provide some (though poor) bow units. 

So why bother taking them? They are useful in an ambushing role to take out enemy warmachines from behind, as well as screening the main Gor warrior units.

Even better, I got to put them into action today in a Warhammer game against High Elves. They did very well (for Ungors) but I did like seeing this:

which reminded me of this :-)

This unit takes my Beastman Army past 200 foot figures - most painted in the past year during AHPCs X and XI

https://thepaintingchallenge.blogspot.com/2021/02/from-paul-og-ungor-raiders-100-points.html

AHPC XI: Khorngors

After some solid Challenge productivity in quarantine, progress slowed when Mrs Man Cave checked for secret doors in the Chambers of Challenge. A mystery staircase went up to the hitherto unknown location: The Balcony of Domestic Distraction!  Cue the requested significant sanding, repainting etc With that out of the way, I got back to more entertaining scales of re-modelling :-)

Back in the day, hearty Beastmen Gor warriors could be given different marks of Chaos. Many know the erstwhile Pestigor (who also make fair Blood Bowl players on Nurgle teams) but those who follow the Blood God are known as Khorngors.

The Khorngor models were removed from production back in 4th or 5th edition so it took me a few years to collect enough of these metal figures to complete a full unit of 20 (including Command characters) but finally here they are in all their Oldhammer glory.

These will be one of the 3 elite troop units in my army, being screened into contact by the supporting hordes where they will (I hope) hit like a truck. Lets see how that goes.

In addition to the points these earn me, they boast an impressive number of skullz - as you would expect for followers of Khorne. In fact there are 127 of them amongst them!

Blood for the Blood God!

https://thepaintingchallenge.blogspot.com/2021/01/by-paul-khornegors-for-blood-god-101.html

AHPC XI: Beastman Army additions

Amongst the Caesarian Romans I have been progressing, I've worked on a a few Warhammer Beastmen submissions too and here are some I did over the Christmas/New Year period.  First up are five Centigors, twisted versions of the Centaur that are prone to drunkenness and fits of rage. Thus, they can be a bit fickle as the light cavalry component of the army. Then again, one doesn't play Beastmen to be super competitive... 

These are older, metal GW sculpts so provide some gratifying heft when picking them up

But 5 isn't enough to make one's enemies quail in fear! They join another 5 I did mid-year as a second hand stall rescue, as well as the Centigor hero Ghorrus Warhoof. 

Ghorrus wields his mighty Mansplitter club and his head is adorned with the skull of a Unicorn Lord of which it is said that: 

Atop his scalp Ghorros wears the broken skull of Arsil, the Prince of Unicorns, who had an unfortunate encounter with Ghorros in a moonlit glade centuries ago. It still harbours some of the protective magic of its former owner

which goes to show that silly headwear is everywhere really!

these boys should make a dent when they hit

https://thepaintingchallenge.blogspot.com/2020/12/from-paulog-centigors-50-points.html

Next up is a pack of savage forest boars that the Beastmen goad into attacking their enemies in battle. This pack of angry yet succulent and excellent with a nice apple sauce beasts is comprised of 6 tuskgors and one larger, angrier Razorgor.

I have no idea what they will be like on the tabletop but as long as they keep Reilly's Dwarf army distracted even for a little while they will be useful. The smaller beasts are plastic models while the big one is resin. The level of detail suited them to be painted with GW contrast paints and then highlighted in the traditional way.

https://thepaintingchallenge.blogspot.com/2021/01/by-paul-og-i-smell-bacon-40-points.html

One of my key AHPC XI goals is to add some Minotaurs to my Beastman army, starting with this character. His backstory is that he has some behavioural issues which incline him to embrace the "spill blood and harvest skulls" end of the naughty spectrum.  As a result he has been blessed by Chaos with a brass hide to protect him while he indulges in said behaviour.*  He also goes by the nom de guerres of Slaughterhorn and Bloodbeast, which is probably why he doesn't get invited to many parties.

There is no official fig for this character so I used an old school metal GW Minotaur which I think is rather cool and is a whopping 60mm tall (not including his raised axe).  I worked the brass up through 3 different layers and washes, and then did some detailing to break it up, deliberately avoiding contrasts other than red.

* If you want the long version of his backstory you can find it here:

https://warhammerfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Taurox

https://thepaintingchallenge.blogspot.com/2021/01/from-paul-og-taurox-brass-bull-10-points.html