The Herald, Issue 4

On the Lodestone River

To accompany our newly-finished, oldschool Fantasy Battle armies we produced an entirely new wargaming theatre to deploy the regiments in. This would tie the campaign visuals together and partly inspire the armies' basing themes as well. We had been waiting for an opportunity to reuse some old Citadel plastic terrain parts and to make a mundane and "naturalistic" terrain set fitting for several game systems. Loosely basing the idea on the Border Princes countryside and adding a spice of ruined Arnor vibes - we now had a subject to approach.

In the centre of our entire build were the retro corner ruins, familiar from the Battleforces and Starter Boxes of Warhammer 40,000 third edition - everyone has seen these or the plastic jungle trees on the battlefields at some point! Back then terrain elements were modest, the line of sight blocking was not the most important aspect of a scenery piece, and any feature put together with care was enough to elevate the battles to another level of wargaming atmosphere.

In our heads our scenery was an ancient culture that had deteriorated into overgrown, mossy ruins over time. We used some of the corner ruins as they were, but some were elevated by assembling extra "floors". We also replicated sections of the plastic ruins with foam, while imitating the style of the architecture on these parts. This was a way to build a bit larger ruins that still resembled the classic designs, also adding scenic variety.

We intentionally built many ruins with smaller footprints, as this reminded us of our childhood terrain, and they're also more versatile to use between many game systems. Although the intended use for the new terrain was our Warhammer Fantasy campaign, we assembled all of our classic corner ruins - way too much for a standard WHFB battlefield but handy for other systems with bigger terrain requirements. This way we can get more use out of the scenery, for example as a feudal world setting in the coming Heresy events. 

The ruined chapel is the centerpiece feature for our Border Princes board, something solid to explore and fight over. Our smaller ruins use the classic 40K corner ruins but here the structure is mostly foam shaped to resemble the plastic terrain - our aim was to imitate the architectural style but build something larger and effective with gameplay in mind. Small details like the crypt can add massively to the narrative - we could see a treasure hunt or a last stand developing here!

The farmstead crops on the other hand are not particularly effective terrain, but really neat to have in the background for pictures! With these we combined the old Fantasy Battle wall sections with foam and natural pebbles to frame a piece of doormat on a plasticard base. The doormat is removable, so technically we could make an alternative version (burnt, with a path or with patches to place models in...) with specific scenarios in mind.

Thanks for taking a look! We're eagerly waiting for more Border Princes action already.

The Herald, Issue 3

The Old Silk Road

War Head's nostalgia-filled Fantasy Battles campaign is truly on! This spring we'll march to the Border Princes, where many conflicts of glory, story-driven narratives and medieval military discord will occur in the authentic scenes of the Old World! This gaming spree is something we're building for our childhood selves - realizing lifelong dream armies, revisiting our favourite classic story tropes and taking in the true spirit of Warhammer Fantasy as we remember it. Here we present the participating factions, campaign coverage shall follow!

Campaigner: Joel (GM)
Faction: Dwarfen Mountain Holds, Royal Clans
Army: Royal Clan of Karak Varn
Sobriquet: The Unbroken
General: Prince Belegrond of Karak Varn, heir to the Gromril Throne
Purpose: Redeem family honour and earn the King's Crown

Campaigner: Eric
Faction: Bretonnian Exiles
Army: The Lady’s Pilgrimage
Sobriquet: The Faithful
General: Paladin Géraud le Noir

Purpose: Build a Chapel of the Lady in the Border Princes

Campaigner: Teemu
Faction: The Empire, Gunnery School Class of 2611
Army: Expedition for the New Nuln Mining Municipality
Sobriquet: The Hardheads
General: Markgraf Bastian Havertz
Purpose: Establish a regional Blackpowder Tax and a saltpetre monopoly

Campaigner: Scott
Faction: Wood Elf Realms
Army: Arhain of the Misty Glade
Sobriquet: Arahai Kindband of Argwylon
General: Valkath, Ashenhawk of Drakira
Purpose: Elven Secrets

Campaigner: Ollie
Faction: Orc and Goblin Tribes
Army: The Great Hunt of Grill da Megz
Sobriquet: The Greenskins
General: Grill da Megz "Monsta-hunta"
Purpose: Capture and domesticate the Wandering Giant

The Herald, Issue 2

The Herald, Issue 1

March Moves: Back to the Border Princes!

The Empire 

Expedition for the New Nuln Mining Municipality

Gunnery School Class of 2611, "The Hardheads"

What started out as Joel's personal fascination for the Old World game system has now blown into a full-scale Fantasy Battles nostalgia trip for most of our inner circle! In the space of a few months we've planned a narrative campaign setup, produced an entirely new set of thematic terrain and assembled fresh troops to fight for the control of the Border Princes. We've learnt that anything we do in the hobby is better done together - and this subject has really inspired our collective appetite.

It's been fun to discuss what everyone has drawn their project inspiration from. Personally I have refurbished an olden army project, sticking to the colours and even techniques used in the past as a homage to those bygone years. Eric has finally created the dream army out of precious white metal that was out of a kid's financial means back in the day. And Joel has now reacquired a classic collection that was tragically stolen from him a long time ago. Some of our armies stick to the vivid colours of the fifth edition, while some lean on to the darker visuals supported by the legendary black-and-white illustrations. There's so much (positive) emotional weight when it comes to our childhood miniatures and books, that it's been wildly sentimental getting back to the Game of Fantasy Battles.

My own Empire collection was started as Christmas presents around 2003 or 2004 and I've carried the same models with me to this day. These have of course been painted many times, and I have core childhood memories relating to early hobby sessions including the same State Troops (done in Talabheim colours). I started the previous iteration of the army in 2017 and repainted a regiment of Spearmen in the Nuln colours back in my childhood home in Rovaniemi, but never finished a playable army. Until now.

These last few months have been very fulfilling, not only painting up a campaign force to game with, but completing a hobby project to really close the circle in a personally meaningful way. What used to be a barrier in the lack of technical knowhow, material resources or a kid's hobby patience was now a scalable threshold. I intentionally kept the previously completed models as they were, with their faults and all, to keep the history of the project intact. It would be fun to see what a childhood me would think of the completed force as it now stands.

My force is about a young Imperial Markgraf who's been tasked with establishing a New Nuln mining state in the Border Princes, creating a saltpetre monopoly and imposing a Blackpowder Tax on all settlers, travellers and passing warbands. Our super-casual and narratively spiced campaign structure allows all kinds of thematic quirks - trying to collect taxes (in the form of army list points) from other participants should be eventful. It will be great to see where the story takes us, and what kind of reinforcements might be cooking to be deployed in conflicts to come!

Rootbound Brotherhoof

If we're looking for 2020's silver lining, the corona quarantines have gifted many hobbyists an opportunity to finally complete their unfinished miniature projects; the time spent inside can be invested efficiently into modelling and painting! We've seen so many of our friends jump into new projects or putting a stop to their procrastination, really getting stuff done these path months. One of these troopers was our Ollie, who wandered right back into the dim forest path to complete his earthy Beastmen army. 

Although it's built with the Age of Sigmar rules in mind, the force's inspiration reaches into the moody imagery of the Old World with the limited, down-to-earth palette aiming for gritty realism. To me the interesting aspects in the army are not in flashy painting or ambitious conversions per se, but introducing subtle reposes and other little details in order to get a bit more out of the basic plastic kits. The Gor models are starting to show their age a bit, but fortunately the Blood Bowl Beastmen offered some great parts for kitbashing and increased unit dynamics.

The centerpiece and spiritual leader of the army is the Great White Hog, obviously heavily inspired by Princess Mononoke. The monster was built out of a Beastclaw Raiders' Stonehorn with the head entirely sculpted out of milliput and green stuff. I always hound our guys into building at least one larger figure for their army, as it often elevates the look of the entire collection and makes the entity that much more dramatic while displayed; this pig serves the purpose for sure!

The setting of the army is a raiding party deep in the woods, with their basing theme depicting the lush floor of an age-old forest. Although it's definitely a fantasy army, there's also a secret hidden beneath the roots - an observant viewer might catch a glimpse of ancient robots rusting amongst the tuffets. What are they and how did they end up in the forests... or was there even a forest back when they walked the earth?

Nuori Beastlord valmiina johtamaan rosvojoukkoaan!

Konversio pohjautuu Blood Bowl -joukkueen petomieheen.

Kunnon fantasia-armeijassa on tietysti aina Battle Standard.

Muusikko on noussut kielekkeelle soittamaan kutsusoinnun.

Blood Bowl -petojoukkueen osista saa ryhmiin vähän rotevampia ja vauhdikkaampia jäseniä.

Petoihin on käytetty osia myös Bestigoreilta.

Viestinviejä kiiruhtaa etulinjaan toimittamaan uutisia reserveistä.

Beissauksessa on käytetty luonnonmateriaalien lisäksi esimerkiksi Green Stuff Worldin ja AK Interactiven maisemointituotteita, joita meillä on myös saatavilla Pasilan myymälässämme ja Poromagia.com-nettikaupassa.

Tuohikilven klaani vahtii louhikkoista solaa.

Vanha veteraani jaksaa vielä raidailla.

Myös vähäisempiä Ungoreita on matkalla ryöstöretkelle.

Viheliäisten Ungorien päällystöä.

Armeijaan on tehty myös muutama Chariot-säännöillä toimiva raskas ratsukko. Näissä on käytetty osia lukuisista eri Fantasy Battle -kansoista, ratsut esimerkiksi ovat yhdistelmä Ogrejen Mournfangeja ja Orc Boar Boyz -kittiä.

Massiiviset sotasiat näyttävätkin siltä että niistä koituu aika tavalla Impact Hitejä eläimen rysähtäessä vihollisrivistöihin.

Armeijan keskuselementti ja henkinen johtaja on Suuri Valkoinen Karju.

Mononoke-henkinen hirviö on rakennettu Beastclaw Raiderien Stonehornista sculptaamalla sianpää Milliputista ja Green Stuffista.

Isompaan alustaan saa mahdutettua monipuolisesti erilaisia elementtejä ja sirotteita.

Kuolarihmat tuovat karjuntaan fyysistä fiilistä.

Ryöstöretki on alkanut!

Petolordi lähettää joukkonsa matkaan.

Suuri luonnonhenki rohkaisee Ungoreita liittymään taistoon.

Vihollisen nuolista ei ole vastusta hirviölle.

Koko tämänhetkinen kokonaisuus on nähtävillä myymäläosastomme vitriinissä, tervetuloa käymään!