Painting Challenge Submission #11 - Leopold's Leopard Company

"Leopold's Leopard Company" is ready to meet an opponent's charge...

The XVIth edition of the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge is now wrapped up, but I have (naturally) fallen behind a bit on the blog posting, so I am quickly adding posts to cover the last few entries I had submitted. This one was a particular treat to share - another Regiment of Renown from GW's old "Dogs of War" collection - here is Leopold's Leopard Company, and they are ready to stand in your battle line - so long as the deposit is paid up front and on time. These battle-hardened pikemen are long-OOP metal castings from Games Workshop and the glorious before-times.

One of the front-rankers, pike set, ready for the clash.

A back ranker.

Leopold and his men started out as guards of the Temple of Lucan and Luccina in the Tilean city of Luccini. It was fancy, well-paid duty. The unit is resplendent in fine armour adorned with the symbols of the temple - in particular the visage of the leopard who had guarded the divine twins! They are further adorned with the pelts of leopards. As military units go, the Leopard Company dressed the part!

These chaps are ready for a fight too!

How did the Leopard Company end up as mercenaries? Well, let's just say "local Luccini politics" intervened. In the midst of some civil strife there may, or may not, have been a siege of the temple in which it may, or may not, have become necessary for Leopold and his men to, er, "borrow" the gold offerings stored within which in turn may, or may not, have brought down some kind of divine curse which can only be held at bay by traveling the Old World, fighting as mercenaries and sending a portion of the gold they earned back to the temple to, um, "repay" their "debt."

Leopold and the command group. He is carrying healthy-sized "sword" (more of a cleaver), and I love the pistol tucked into the belt.

Naturally the command group has the nicest collection of pelts!

It is a real thrill to get this unit over the line for a couple of reasons. First, this is a Dogs of War unit which I had not previously painted back when I owned my original collection. I had wanted to take a crack at them, but a) already had assembled a decent-size force and b) was kind of intimidated by all of the leopard-style pelts. Nearly every figure in the unit is wearing a pelt. The studio models in the army book looked amazing (of course), but painting those spotted pelts looked really tricky and beyond my brush skills at the time.

Another ranker.

25 years later wariness of painting the pelts was still holding me back, but I was determined to try...there was a lot of trial and error on the first couple of test figures, but I managed to work out an approach that seemed OK, and in particular looked pretty good when the troops were massed together. Even if the spot pattern is not exactly that of a leopard, I can always push the fantasy-escape-button. "Oh, you see, those are the pelts of the, er, 'Tilean Mountain Leopard', and the spots look...just like that..."

From this aspect you can see some of the assorted small details that add character. Like the chap at the rear with a portion of rope, the different types of packs etc. 

Each time I have completed one of these units, I have commented on how wonderful these old sculpts are. This time will be no exception - let it be said, again, that these old sculpts are just wonderful! So much character, brilliant metal sculpts from the Perry brothers. While there is, of course, broad similarity to the figures, there are a number of small little variants among the sculpts that add just enough difference, and a little touch of character, to let each figure be slightly unique while preserving the overall uniform look to the unit. It has been such a treat to paint these figures, with their crisp, proper metal lines and details. 

I love these big pike blocks!

So that is now three large, chonky pike blocks completed to serve as a solid backbone for my "Dogs of War" army, but this project is still not yet complete. The army will require some artillery support and a bit of cavalry to round things out. Time in this edition of the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge is running short, so those elements are likely to have to wait until the next one, but who knows what might be possible before things conclude? 

"Ready lads!"

That's all for this entry - stay tuned for a couple more posts to cover everything off from AHPC XVI. Thanks for reading!

Painting Challenge Submission #8 - Ricco's Republican Guard

Ricco's Republican Guard stand ready for contact!

With this submission to Curt's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge another Regiment of Renown takes its place in the line. Fantasy warlords with high cash flow rejoice! Ricco's Republican Guard are here to serve your military requirements. These are 28mm figures from GW's long-gone "Dogs of War" collection - beautiful, beautiful metal castings from the late 1990s! This whole project is a mega-nostalgia-trip for me, but this unit really stands out, as my original "Dogs of War" force had this unit as one of its core formations.

Pikes lowered for action!

Hailing from the wealthy Tilean Republic of Remas, the Republican Guard represent the higher-end of the Dogs of War mercenary pike regiments. Whereas the Alcatani Fellowship are kind of a "pike-block-on-a-budget", the Ricco's Republican Guard are the choice of the discerning military commanders of the Old World who have cash to burn. The Republican Guard have higher levels of training and wear heavy armour - and once you factor in the pikes, they make for a terrifying unit on the Warhammer Fantasy Battle gaming table. 

Ricco and his unit got their start in Remas, but ultimately had a falling-out with the ruling council - they tried to have Ricco executed because he would not share his loot with them! His loyal soldiers would have none of that, and so they liberated him from the jail. Now he leads his Republican Guard into battle across the Old Word. Ricco himself still brandishes a bloody rag going into battle, a tribute to their roots in the revolutionary street fighting in Remas.

A view of some of the pikemen.

Love the heavy armour on these guys.

Throughout this project I have been singing the praises of GW's classic Dogs of War figure range - and I will do it again here! Sculpted by the Perry Brothers, these miniatures were an absolute joy to paint. I just love the look of the Italian (Tilean) style heavy plate armour worn by these figures - and then all of the classic Warhammer accents such as the feathers and the varied bags and sacks. They have a uniform look and yet there are many subtle variants to be found among the sculpts. 

"Steady lads!"

Getting these fellows built in such a way they can be packed into ranks took a bit of work, and this was a particularly tricky unit because all of the castings had some variant of a lowered pike pose (as opposed to the other pike units, which have more sculpts where the pikemen are standing at ease). Fortunately I recalled the troubles I had back in the late 90s and planned ahead this time, ensuring a functional mix of front rankers and was able to vary the positions on the bases so they could crowd together in the unit. 

A silver trumpet to inspire the men - and a handy mace to back up any missed musical notes.

Ricco and his bloodied rag are ready to engage.

Standard bearer.

Flank view of the Republican Guard, in formation.

"Liberty! Equity! Liquidity!"

That's it for this post - thanks for reading - watch for more AHPC content soon. Cheers! 

Painting Challenge Submission #5 - Warmaster Dogs of War Artillery

10mm "Galloper Guns" for Warmaster. 

A participant in Curt's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge had been inspiring me with his Warmaster-scaled Dogs of War entries. I too love playing GW's "Warmaster", and I also love the "Dogs of War". Now, the "Dogs of War" were done by GW in 28mm, never in their old 10mm version of the Fantasty game. But thanks to the efforts of genius 3D designers and printers, there are now some really awesome "Dogs of War" suited just perfectly for the scale - and submission #5 to the AHPC is a prime example. This is a battery of Mercenary "galloper guns", modeled on "Bronzino's Galloper Guns" from the original "Dogs of War" collection. I believe these were designed by "MiniRat". 

Bronzino directs his crew as the gun is laid for action...

The match is lowered...

Of course, the original 28mm version of Bronzino had lost a leg, poor chap. The battery commander here still has both - so one might assume this is simply a younger, less-veteran version of the famous mercenary commander (or perhaps the more famed commander is available as a separate hero sculpt, something I need to investigate). These figures have been gathering dust in my pile for years...after all I painted a 10mm version of Braganza's Besiegers back in 2022, and I would have picked these up at the same time... 

On this base, we have a limbered version of the gun - move lads!

These "MiniRat" designs are just brilliant. The proportions have a slight amount of exaggeration, done just right, to enhance the look of the 10mm sized figure. I tried to catch every detail I could manage. 

These sculpts are just tremendous! They are really fun to paint.

Maybe the only issue I encountered is that they did not size very well on the bases...in hindsight I should have shaved off the sharp edges, as they are all sculpted/printed together on the single base...oh well...contract firepower to support the highest bidder is now available for my Warmaster collection! That's all for this week - hope to be back with more "catching up" posting from the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge soon. 

Painting Challenge Submission #2 - Mydas the Mean, Mercenary Paymaster

Mydas the Mean, Sheikh Yadosh and a bodyguard unit, ready to ensure the gold is collected and the payroll is made!

My second submission for Curt's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge featured another addition to my old-school GW Dogs of War project.

Mydas the Mean - great at financing, and also pretty good at fighting! He keeps the key to his pay chest close, where he can be sure it is safe...

Another view of Midas, with his wicked mace, ready to resolve pay disputes...

Ask anyone in business, large or small - payroll is a real administrative pain in the @ss! Everyone wants to get paid, and if you can't make payroll, you'll have "employee engagement" problems. If those employees are heavily armed Tilean mercenaries, "employee engagement" problems will get pretty violent, pretty fast...enter Mydas the Mean, mercenary paymaster. Mydas is accompanied by Sheikh Yadosh, his trusty money lender, and a group of bodyguards. 

Sheikh Yadosh showcasing the goods!

Mydas, Sheik Yadosh and the mercenary pay chest are part of the classic GW Dogs of War figure range. In the Dogs of War mercenary army, the pay chest takes the place of the army standard bearer in other armies - after all, what would be more important for the mercenaries than making sure they get paid? Mydas is on hand to make sure all of the Regiments of Renown get their fair share when payday arrives - one of the more feared paymasters in all of Tilea! He's great at gathering the money, a lot more careful on the cash outflows.

Bodyguards ready to defend the pay chest - these are metal castings from Perry Miniatures' Italian Wars range.

The money lender, Sheikh Yadosh, is a creditor of Mydas', following him around during his various military adventures across the Old World and lending money to mercenaries who need a temporary cash boost while purchasing supplies...or gambling...probably more of the latter than the former!

Ready for action - heavy armour, bright colours, and some serious weapons.

Of course, payday can get pretty rowdy, and a chest full of treasure needs protection, so the paymaster can be accompanied by a unit of bodyguards. In the game, the bodyguard can serve as a small unit of troops, taking their place in the battle line to guard the pay chest while it projects its morale-boosting effects out to the mercenary troops. 

Multi-part plastic figures from Perry Miniatures' - perfect command group for the bodyguards! They have expensive armour - after all, Mydas has the money to kit them out. 

Mydas, Yadosh, the pay chest and the humble donkey were one of the original box sets GW released as part of their "Dogs of War" miniature range. They did not, however, release any bodyguard figures specific to this miniature range. And maybe they never intended to? Why would they? In the rules, they are specific that the guards would wear heavy armour and carry halberds, as opposed to pikes, and this kind of makes sense when you consider that the main worry of the bodyguards is probably the other mercenaries :) 

The classic figures from the "Mydas the Mean" box set.

At any rate, there were a whole ton of halrberdier figures to be sourced from the Empire figure range of the day, so I suspect this is why they never released specific bodyguards. Today, however, those companion metal halberdier sculpts are long-gone (sniff!). Yes, the new "Old World" game is out and about, complete with Empire figures, but these current Empire figures are a poor match to the old Tilean sculpts. 

What to do? Well, I spotted an ideal solution in a Dogs of War Facebook group - another hobbyist just used some figures from the Perry Miniatures' Italian Wars range, and it looked perfect! After all, the Perrys sculpted the Dogs of War figures, and "Tilea" is just the Old World's answer to Italy, so the figures made for perfect bodyguards for the pay chest!

One more group photo...

The guards are a mix of metal halberdiers and a plastic command group. The banner is from an actual Italian Wars range...I thought it fit fine in the Tilean setting, and I really pleased with how the gang looks! These modern Perry sculpts are a little taller than the old GW sculpts, but then I can imagine Mydas would only hire the biggest fellows he could find to guard his pay chest!

That is all for this submission - stay tuned for more "catch up" posts soon!

Painting Challenge Submission #1 - Borgio the Besieger

Borgio the Besieger, ready to lead a mercenary army on a Warhammer Fantasy Battle table!

Well, Curt's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge is underway! In fact, it has been on already for over a month. As ever, a group of Conscripts are sawing away with their brushes and seeking to tackle their assorted new projects and piles of unpainted metal, resin and plastic! It's about time I started sharing some of my submissions - or, indeed, posting anything as I have just been generally delinquent in that regard as of late. So here we go....

I opened this edition of the AHPC with a character figure that will join a project I commenced in AHPC XV - an old-school Dogs of War army from the distant days of the fourth edition of GW's Warhammer Fantasy Battle. This is Borgio the Besieger, and he is here to wreck your sh*t. 

Yet another classic 28mm sculpt from the Perry brothers. The Dogs of War were one of the best ranges GW ever released.

Borgio is a military legend in Tilea, a veteran of a great many military campaigns, nearly all of them successful. He rose to lead the Principality of Miragliano, and ruled "rather tyrannically". He was popular with his mercenary soldiers, but disliked by his many rivals among the noble classes, although was notoriously difficult to kill. Multiple assassination attempts ended in tears - for the assassin - until one day he was finally stabbed while in the bath. Such a fitting end to a Tilean legend.

Close up of Borgio's giant mace - fashioned from a cannonball that "nearly" killed him during a siege at Remas!

His battlefield kit speaks to this reputation. That huge mace? Apparently fashioned from a cannon ball which nearly killed him. I suppose he resorts to smashing people with it AFTER he has run enemies down with that lance? His "Monstrous Mask" helm causes fear among his enemies, and his glorious armour brushes aside even the worst blows - even those, it would appear, which arrive courtesy of cannons!

Massive mace AND a lance. Because of course!

I made a decent start on my Dogs of War force in the last Challenge, and this year I am hoping to really fill it out. I've been working through the fall to get the models based and primed, and over the next couple of months I am planning to bring more Regiments of Renown into the battle line!

You can run...but you can't hide...

For scoring purposes, we have a single 28mm mounted figure, good for 10 points, and a chance to get on the board! My target for this edition of the Challenge was 1200 points' worth of painting...so obviously a long way to go, but a start is a start, right! Stay tuned for more...

AHPC Submission #17 - Braganza's Besiegers

Braganza's Besiegers, ready to hold the line!

For my 17th submission to the recently completed Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge I was very pleased to have completed another Regiment of Renown for my Dogs of War project...here we have Braganza's Besiegers! These are lovely (and hefty!) 28mm metal castings from GW. 

Luka Braganza shouting instructions to his company.

Hailing from the fair city of Miragliano, Luka Braganza and his company are a widely feared bunch, seen at famous sieges in Tilea and other places around the Old World - and always on the winning side! Clad in heavy armour, bearing swords and crossbows and protected by large pavisse-type shields, the Besiegers can hold just about any position, come what may...

Pavisse providing plenty of protection...

A view of some of the Besiegers.

These old Dogs of War miniatures really are great fun to paint - I know I've already said that, but it bears repeating one more time! The sculpts have lovely detail, stunning character and crisp lines that only proper metal figures can have! I'll be the first to concede that these fellow did not fit all that well on to their 20mm square bases - and you can see in the photo that keeping the ranks tight is not really workable due to all the kit. But I just love this group of figures and I'm really pleased with how they turned out. 

Musician close up. Even he is heavily armoured!

Captain Luka Braganza. Love the pistol strapped to his chest!

Bannerman is ready to hold the line as well.

The Dogs of War were just so unique - the Besiegers were no exception. This combination of weapons and armour is just not very common on Warhammer gaming tables, and opponents struggled to deal with Braganza and his lads. Often your missile troops are lightly armoured and equipped, with little expectation they would last in a melee...

The ranks don't quite fit close together...but it still works out nicely.

But that is not the case with Braganza's Besiegers! When charged they could unleash a volley of crossbow fire - as any missile unit might. But thanks to their heavy armour and pavisses, they are really difficult to bring down. As such you had the flexibility of placing this missile unit in the part of your battle line where you might expect the heaviest contact to take place, knowing they will give your opponent some heartburn as they struggle with the riddle of heavy missile troops.

"Take careful aim..."

So for AHPC XV that was three Regiments of Renown and a smattering of characters painted up - not a bad start to this new project. That's all for this post - more to come soon, thanks for reading!

AHPC Submission #14 - The Marksmen of Miragliano

Another Regiment of Renown marches forth - the Marksmen of Miragliano take aim!

AHPC submission #14 saw a return to my Dogs of War project. It's another Regiment of Renown - behold the Marksmen of Miragliano, the finest crossbowmen in all of Tilea! Beautiful 28mm metal castings from GW.

A couple of the Marksmen.

Under the leadership of the dashing Maximillian Damask, the Marksmen have a long tradition of service throughout the Old World, their deadly crossbow bolts bringing victory in countless battles! Only the most skilled crossbowmen can join this regiment. It is said the recruits must prove their ability by putting a bolt through the head of the prince on a gold ducat at 300 paces! 

Love the many, many little details on these beautiful sculpts...rabbit on one belt, a pheasant on the other...some fine stew around the campfire tonight lads!

Maximillian Damark and the regimental musician.

These figures are Perry sculpts, and are just so wonderful to work with. I love their character, and all of the little details that hearken back to the high-water market of GW's Fantasy figure sculpting. Things like daggers in boots, different packs with a variety of kit, all add character to the sculpts. Several of them are carrying animals they have hunted - rabbits, a pheasant - for stew around the campfire after the battle. And many of them wear the coin they had to shoot in order to prove their skill to join the regiment in the first place. 

D'oh! Broken standard in the box...

Best not to look too closely at that left hand...or either hand for that matter...

These are very, very old castings - and time is not always kind to old castings which have bumped around in a box for 20 years. Sadly the standard bearer had broken apart in the box, and in practically the word possible way. I attempted a repair, seeking to drill out the broken standard and replace it. But I am just dreadful at such hobby engineering, and made a total hash of the poor fellow's left hand. Best not to look too closely...I painted the poor chap regardless, and he has taken his place here in the regiment for now, but my hobby OCD is such that I have been scouring eBay for a replacement - it has been found, and will be painted after it arrives.

"We hit the right spot every time!"

In the WHFB game the Marksmen were a fine regiment to employ as their ability with the crossbows actually lives up to the hype, and a shower of bolts from this unit will hit a fair bit more compared to the average human archers in the Old World. They can also operate as skirmishers, causing even greater harassment for opponents, particularly ones already trying to figure out how to deal with the pikemen. 

It was a real treat to get a second Regiment of Renown painted up during AHPC XV. Stay tuned for more, and thanks for reading!