James Ward wizards party of creative insanity for Frostgrave

I was treated to one of the strangest collections of miniatures from Alternative Armies ranges when I spoke with James Ward. He had a vision to create a warband for Frostgrave by Osprey. While many wargamers come to us for selected miniatures for their warbands for this game (we supply every pose in a pack as a single on its page..maximum choice!) this warband was beyond the norm! 

James did not tell me the story behind his choices from our High Fantasy range, the Grinning Skull range and the Sengoku range so I am taking a stab at guessing what the warband is. The game allows for a great variety centred around a Wizard. My thinking is that the Wizard is an Illusionist and he is using a combination of hired muscle and creatures to form his force. After all a sword master attacking with a killer plant and little gingerbread men..what else could it be? 

We have hundreds of 28mm scale miniatures spread across many ranges. In the warband here I have linked up to the miniatures used in the picture so that you can find them easily if desired. FL11-02 Ogre with Baggage, FL19-02 Assassin hooded with Blade, CA7-03 Gladiator with Sword. Two of SGF77 Greater Centipede Demon and GRN70 Three Headed Plant. Lastly a pack of four 15mm scale SN05 Gingerbread Men. 

You could begin in the Adventurers and Wizards or in the Barbarians pages for your choices. In fact there is a super bundle of all twelve Barbarian characters plus our female Druidess included free!

Until the end of October 2019 you will get the brand new FL24-02 Witch Carline FREE in any order placed automatically as it is shipped out to you. A female wizard for your warband. 

Thanks for Reading, 

GBS

Armoured Goblins on the March to an expanded future!

“The Iron Guard are the foremost of the Goblins. In ranks they march and in formations they fight. Yes, in good order. Not like any Goblins you have ever heard of. These plate armoured Goblins have turned back the Dwarfs of the green stone mountains and given the Elves of the sun vale a bloody nose. Respect them.”

I would like to thank Benamon Tame and also Zac Martin in this article for their pictures of their own collections and the efforts they have both put into pushing classic miniatures into an expanded future.  Benamon provides with permission his Goblin Knights, Goblin Knight Command and Goblin Knight with Great Sword from his collection in a fetching copper and white paint scheme.  Zac Martin has been busy sculpting new poses for the original packs including a Chariot Crew and Bolt Thrower Crew.  This gives me a chance to round up some great pictures and links to blogs to read plus tell you about what is going to happen for the Armoured Goblins 28mm scale next.  Let us begin!

It begins many years ago at the tale end of the 1980's with the Temple of Death for Benamon Tame and his collection of the 'Temple Guard' when they were first released (long before my tenure at Alternative Armies when they were with another company but more on that soon).  His pride and joy they were misplaced when time passed and boxes packed and misplaced as such things go.  Discovering the now 'Armoured Goblin Knights' on our website HERE he rejoiced and re-created his collection.  I hope you enjoy the pictures and if you wish to read the whole original blog post you can find it on The Copper Oracle HERE.

The brand new FL2-06 Armoured Goblin with Great Sword was released this year compared to decades earlier for the other poses and this was down to Zac Martin.  I was approached by Zac and he told me of the history of these miniatures and his love of them.  He called them 'Doom Garde' and though I knew they had originated with Rieder Design in the 1980's and were now with Alternative Armies I had changed their purpose.  Too short now to be 28mm Humans they were now 28mm Armoured Goblins, giving them new life, and had been re-molded along with the rest of our OH series and DH series high fantasy codes and put on our website across 2015 to 2018.  We had added Dodo riding knights sculpted by Elton Waters before this and these got an update too.  Well over a hundred poses now all with pictures and in packs and singles sorted by racial type.  We discussed expanding the range and spoke on some ideas.  On his blog called Lead Mountain Window there are several posts about these Goblins and you can see them all linked up HERE.

You would be hard pushed to notice that there is an age between the original poses and the new ones and while this was not intentional it is worth noting as the unified design of the Armoured Knights gives little clue to their era.  Such fantasy gaming is as popular now as it was then.  Sword and Sorcery and mighty monsters to defeat!  

Thus far we have the following codes:

FL1 Goblin Knights

FL2 Goblin Knight Command

FL2-06 Goblin Knight with Great Sword

OH30 Goblin Knights on Dodo

OH32 Goblin Knight Bolt Thrower

OH33 Goblin Knight Chariot with Two Crew

As we approach the end of 2018 there is a bright future ahead for the Armoured Goblins as they march into more campaigns, more battles against more foes.  Working with Zac we have more codes to come.  There is muted talk of an entire army in development but I do not want to get ahead of myself.  I can say that much like we twinned new crew with our existing Bolt Thrower and Chariot we will do the same with a Bombard!  We will be giving the Armoured Goblins more weapon options too with open hand poses able to carry sword, axe, pike, spear or anything else.  Also we plan ranged weapon versions of the infantry as sometimes you need to bring down distant quarry. At least four new packs. This will all be in 2019.

I am greatly enjoying this classic fantasy expansion and rejuvenation of the Armoured Goblins which are great for virtually any game system (they could even be chaotically minded Dwarves as have been pointed out) but I would like to hear your input too.  Are you liking what we have done and do you have any suggestions for further poses of these troops?  If you do then please comment or email me on sales@alternative-armies.com and I will respond to you.

Next year will be a great year for Alternative Armies in many ways and after getting all the packs and characters of the Fantasy Warlord range back into world we are going to be doing more in the realms of High Fantasy when 2019 arrives. 

Thanks for Reading,

GBS 

Article 8 Converting Marshal Ney for Flintloque on foot by Andy Jefcoate

The snow of winter is in Scotland but its mainly gone now and a weak sun shines! The eighth in a series of linked Flintloque articles by Andy Jefcoate about his forays in the Witchlands and in Flintloque. If you want to catch up on the first to seventh articles where he got his starter set and then tried it out followed by a nail biter of a scenario and then get his Pug Dogs marching plus more Cavalry and more then you can read them on our blog HERE and work backwards. In this article he gives legs to a marshal of the Ferach Empire! With pictures of his own painted collection. Read on and enjoy. GBS

Converting and Painting Marshal Ney 

Alternative Armies do an excellent range of named special characters for all races that can be used in Flintloque and Slaughterloo. Game statistics and back stories are provided for them all so you just need to paint them and they are ready to go. I've bought several of them for the Witchlands and I plan to build them into my narrative over the coming weeks. You may have noticed the picture of Scooby Doom and Raggy that snuck in with my cavalry article in December. He gets in everywhere that Scooby Doom! While Saindoux has been a great commander for my Ferach forces up until now I also wanted a named character that I could use in Flintloque but who could command my Ferach army for Slaughterloo in the future. After much deliberation I decided on Marshal Galahad Ney. I like the dynamic figure on the galloping horse but also the stories around him made him stand out for me. This figure is limited to 1000 castings and I purchased number 810.

Background

Known as the 'bravest of the brave' Marshal Ney led the 1st Armee du Norde on it's retreat from Moskova and if it hadn't been for him the whole army would have been lost. He appeared seemingly everywhere at once, driving the army on and being where he was needed most. He is perfect for small scale scenarios with a small bodyguard or commanding an army in a full scale battle.

In Flintloque he is a Ferach Elf / Legendary / Regular / Elite armed with a Sword and High Elf Musket mounted on a light horse. All troops in his section gain a +2 Discipline Modifier as long as Ney is alive and in line of sight. He never personally takes a morale test for any reason and he has 4 Wounds on his profile. He is therefore very useful! In Slaughterloo he can be used as either a C-in-C or a General but that's something for the future.

Marshal Ney on foot

While Marshal Ney is good as a mounted character there is always the chance of him ending up on foot during a game, or simply a scenario where a character on foot is needed. There are foot and mounted versions of some characters in the Flintloque and Slaughterloo ranges but Marshal Ney is only currently available as a mounted character as he was meant for Slaughterloo. Do not fear though, in this situation the kind people at Alternative Armies will supply a torso and head of the mounted character plus a foot figure to use for conversion upon request. With Marshal Ney the figure that they supplied on foot was the pointing command figure from pack 51041 2eme Regt de Ligne command, which is a nice dynamic pose. I did the conversion with some clippers and a sharp modelling knife. While I'm sure that some of you out there have a better range of tools for this sort of thing it didn't take very long to do. As you can see from the end result I kept the fur collar of the mounted figure which creates a larger area to join to the foot figure and helps to tie the foot and mounted versions together. The pointing command figure from pack 51041 also has long hair so the fur collar helps to hide where this was removed from the casting as Marshal Ney's hair is short. If you want to try a conversion I recommend that you make the area where the head and torso join as flat as possible to insure good adhesion and limit the need for filler to hide any gaps. I wanted a figure that looked like he was leading from the front and exhorting the troops around him to follow. I was happy with the result and I hope you like it too.

Painting Marshal Ney

As I wanted him to be my overall commander I decided to paint Marshal Ney using the Ferach uniform colours of mid blue, red and white. While the great coat on the mounted figure could have been grey as on the lovely painted example of this figure on the Alternative Armies site, I decided to paint it blue with red facings. This then matches the jacket on the foot figure and ties them further together. As I said earlier I left the fur collar on the converted figure which adds an individual touch to this characters uniform and is perfect for a figure in the severe cold of the Witchlands. I painted the fur grey to represent wolf fur.   Perhaps he likes the Corps Imperial des Dragon? To make him stand out further from other Elves I gave Ney ginger hair (as a nod to the historical figure) and green eyes. When painting the horse I tried to use more gold than usual so that it is fitting as the mount of a Ferach Marshal, but there is also various equipment attached which fits with the retreating army scenario. In normal conditions, a Marshal would never be expected to carry such things!

The continuing narrative

As Saindoux's force has grown it has come to the attention of Marshal Ney as he works hard to hold the rearguard together and fight off the Dark Czar's forces. He therefore appears from time to time to ask Saindoux to send part of his force on special tasks, some of them led by Ney himself. Sometimes he appears with a small bodyguard and sometimes alone having sent his bodyguard off on another task once he has reached Saindoux.

What's next

My Flintloque forces have grown fairly large but while I have infantry and cavalry, I have yet to add any artillery which is vital if I want to move on to playing Slaughterloo at some point. Which I do. I have therefore ordered the 5027 Grapeshotte Expansion book and a Ferach Elf artillery piece with limber and crew. I'll let you know how I get on with these in my next article. 

Thank you for reading. 

Andy

Giant 28mm Troll coming later in June with release offers!

On Tuesday 21st June Alternative Armies will be releasing with offers a brand new giant monster into the 28mm High Fantasy range.  This monster will be a Giant Troll suitable for use with an Orc, Goblin or otherwise evil army in any wargame system.

Designed by the Alternative Armies studio and cast in high quality grey tone resin it will be a multiple part kit which once assembled will stand at just over 100mm tall.  The first castings are now coming out of the molds and it is looking superb! What is more every Giant Troll will be supplied with a 50mm square base and an exclusive free resin 28mm Orc veteran warrior worth 2.00GBP!  Shown in the above image.

You can see our Orc and Goblin high fantasy range on our website HERE and our Monsters and Creatures range HERE.  The new Giant Troll will appear on both these pages as well as our Limited Time Offers page too.   We are really excited about this big kit and we wanted to give you access to the concept art and also details of the coming release offers.

Giant Troll Concepting

When Alternative Armies began the re-molding and re-releasing of our huge classic high fantasy 28mm range part of the conversation concerned what we would do once we have accomplished that lofty goal.  While the work is ongoing with the CA Adventurers, Halfings and Wizards codes now on the website and next up the FL code structure we began with the Dwarves (DH) and the Goblinoids (OH) and these are all on the website in their white metal glory. So once the OH codes were all out we wanted to add to it with something new and what do Orcs and Goblins 'love' more than anything else...it has to a Troll!  Not just a Troll but a ruddy big one because as we wargamers know Trolls can grow elastic like to great heights.  Sam Croes sketched out a design that melded the newer medium of resin with the golden age style of miniatures.  Thus a Giant Troll about 100mm tall with distended belly, ropey muscled limbs, warty nose and bad teeth was created.  Goblinoids hate Dwarves and rightly so meaning that our Troll would adorn himself with spoils of fighting them.  Known for eating virtually anything the gruesome feature of a recently killed Man in full armour tied to his belt was included. A Giant Troll to be a central feature of an army or focal point of a skirmish scenario.  I think we have met the ambition of growing Alternative Armies OH range successfully with a new model such as this.  If 'Durzum Dwarf Killer' (nice name eh!) is successful we may well create further big monsters.  I felt as I always do that my own style of wargaming and that of Alternative Armies favours durable miniatures and easy assembly as I, as many wargamers also are, am not a skilled modeller.  Complexity should be kept to a minimum required.  Lastly we agreed that such a large monster deserved an additional freebie included for fun.  Wargaming should be fun after all. We present to you our 100mm tall giant troll.

Above you can see the sprues and pieces which make up the Giant Troll kit including the base and the free Orc veteran warrior.  They are laid on a square centimetre grid to give you an idea of the size of the pieces.  An easy to assemble and durable kit.  As you can see OH31 Durzum Dwarf Killer is wearing armour composed of scavenged or won parts of a Dwarven Golem war machine.  In fact parts of our own DH15 Dwarf Runic Golem!  Durzum is a fine enemy for the double axe wielding magic construct we released back in November.  You can read about this popular model on our blog HERE.

Coming Release Offers

The release will be as follows and the offers will be in place from the 21st until the end of June when the normal price will apply going forward.

OH31 Durzum Dwarf Killer Kit  22.50GBP

One giant troll resin kit supplied with a base and a free Orc veteran warrior worth 2.00GBP.  

Save 10% off release price.  Total Value 27.00GBP

OH31 Durzum Dwarf Killer Kit Trio 63.75GBP

Three giant troll resin kits supplied with bases and three free Orc veteran warriors worth 6.00GBP. Save 15% off release price.  Total Value 81.00GBP

Giant Troll and the Golem 38.25GBP

This special offer consists of one OH31 Durzum giant troll kit and one DH15 Dwarf Runic Golem kit and a free Orc veteran warrior worth 2.00GBP.  Save 15% off normal pricing.  Total Value 45.00GBP

OH31 Durzums, Chariots and the Trolls Big Bundle  91.20GBP

Free Shipping Worldwide on this offer! 

Three Giant Troll kits with three free Orc veteran warriors plus six smaller VNT9 Trolls from our fantasy range and two OH25 Orc Chariot kits too.  A fine centre for your Orc Army!  Save 20% off normal pricing and this bundle is automatically free shipping worldwide!  Total Value 114.00GBP

I hope you enjoyed this first look concept and information article about this mighty monster.  There is not long to wait until the release offers begin on the 21st June and when the time comes we will be showing images of a built and painted Durzum as well as scenic images of him facing off against enemies including the Golem, Dragons as well as Barbarians and more!  We are really happy with this big mean 100mm tall Troll.

Thanks for Reading,

GBS

Cryptmass Eve and all about Valon the stones are falling!

Hello Flintloque Fans!

Welcome to the last days of 2015 and a treat.  A scenario from the next book in the Flintloque series of titles which will be released in 2016.  One of twelve linked and you can read it right now by clicking on this link and downloading it from our dropbox account HERE.  The scenario is the most oddball in the book and sees your section of characters not fighting any enemy but instead trying to dodge pieces of falling masonry from an exploded bridge while pack animals laden with powder charges gallop past. It is called 'Watch the Falling Masonry or Squishing in the Rain'. We hope you like it!  

In addition to this sneak peek scenario from the next book presented on Orcs in the Webbe for the 24th December 2015 I have a short article that will be published on our blog in 2016 but you can read most of it now.  What will 'Retreat from Kooruna' the first campaign book for Flintloque 3rd edition be?  What will it contain?  What will you need to play it and can you play it alone?  This and more.  Please read on and Merry Cryptmass from all of us in Joccia...I mean Scotland!

See this over on Orcs in the Webbe now.

5029 Retreat to Kooruna

Flintloque 3rd Edition Campaign Book

It has been a while since the last book for Flintloque which was 5028 Beir & Bones.  Well the next book is going to be a bit different.  Its a campaign book and its title is going to be 5029 Retreat to Kooruna. The first 'campaign book' for Flintloque 3rd edition takes the game in a new direction and level of immersion not seen before.  In 2011 I put a series of questions to the Notables Yahoo Group concerning the existing parts, the narrative, expanding the scenarios, putting solo options in and more before asking for feedback and comments.  The feedback was excellent and added to the growing file of materials.  The finer tuning continued with play testing of scenarios and fantasy special rules along with character profiles and drafting during 2011.  I then ceased work on the campaign book until this year due to a number of factors including ill health.  The files have been brushed off and the cogs are now whirring once more on another new book for Flintloque.

I am going to outline the development of the Retreat to Kooruna campaign book here and on our blog each time something significant occurs you will see it here.  So from now until publication its going to be this way.  I am not setting a release date but you will see it coming as the book grows.  To those who have been waiting a long time for Kooruna I apologise (it was first muted in 2008) but we are on our way now.

Here are the salient goals of a Flintloque campaign book as decided by myself, by the rest of Alternative Armies and more than six hundred responses from the fan base for the game.  Its what you can look forward to in the packed pages of the book:

Create and Lead a Varied Section – Army of Albion

Let me start this with something that drove me nearly mad over two weeks and that was the request 'can we play as the Grand Alliance and as the Ferach Empire right from the start'.  The answer to that is no.  Sorry.  I tried and tried but to allow the creation of a section of characters who then make their way through a series of scenarios that differ widely and then try to make those same scenarios fit the same amount of creation from the 'enemy' side it not possible in the space the book permits.  It would hamper the experience all around.  In Retreat from Kooruna you will create a section of characters from the Grand Alliance or more namely the Army of Albion.  This section can be infantry, light infantry or cavalry but not artillery. This section can be Albion Orc, Joccian Ratman, Hob-Goblin or Goblin or even KGL Ogres any race in the Army of Albion. The way you approach each scenario in the campaign arc will see your Army of Albion section set challenges both big and small and developing through the experience with new characters joining and those who survive getting better.

Twelve Linked Scenarios

A dozen scenarios will be in the book. A dozen varied and challenging scenarios each with a great story, narrative, map, major and minor objectives.  The scenarios will feature ideas for miniatures to use as well as ways to expand them and how to play them solo as well.  Each is linked to the next.

Accessible and Tight Angle

Flintloque is a skirmish game and as such the scenarios will be created for character sections of between five and fifteen or so characters.  Every scenario will be very accessible with options of play.  This means that every scenario will be suitable for two players or one player with a solo mechanic replacement for the other human wargamer.  Scenarios may also have optional players to add in or remove as it suits them.  The campaign book has a wide scope across the whole Kooruna campaign but the scenarios each have a tight angle with great repeat play value. 

What you Need to Play

You will require a single game book to play which in this case will be 5025 War in Catalucia which will give you all the rules mechanics needed.  While the campaign book will have extra unique mechanics and character profiles suiting its needs it will not provide the basic rules.  You would also benefit from the expansion book 5027 Grapeshotte for the game rules for artillery and weapons.  On top of this you will need the usual dice, measuring device and terrain as well as miniatures from Alternative Armies.  Certainly it would be ideal to have the exact miniatures needed for every scenario it will not be vital.  Suggestions for suitable miniatures will be made and you can use any miniatures from your collection that make sense to you.  Of course if you are playing a convention game or demonstration game you should use the right characters so as not to annoy your fellow players.

A New Race for Valon – The Dryadia

There will be an introduction to a new race for the World of Valon in the Kooruna book.  While not playing a big part but a fairly important one the Dryadia will feature in scenarios and as miniatures too.  Taking inspiration from real world history and culture the Dryadia are nomadic travellers of Urop with a fair hint of Wylde Magicke about them.  While personally courageous they are not soldiers and instead act as guides which will make quite a difference to the retreating Army of Albion.  Full rules for the Dryadia will be included in the book.

So there you have it.  This book will be a brilliant read.  It will be a treasured object that provides many hours of enjoyment before you even reach a wargaming table and once you do then it will amuse, challenge and invite re-play.  I will give you something that reminds of the days when wargaming was deep and meaningful and you got a lot for your money.  I just don't think that games created by committee give you the same degree of immersion that one mind can provide much like the writing of a novel.  Perhaps its just me...we will see.  

Thanks for Reading.

Gavin Syme (GBS)

December 2015

Wargame News and Terrain Blog fantasy sizing post

Timmy over at Wargame News and Terrain blog has put up an interesting short article comparing the new monsters in the HOT range from 15mm.co.uk to 28mm miniatures from Alternative Armies. 

This was as a result of several wargamers stating that the HOT100 Ghoul Dragon and the HOT94 Jabberwock looked perfect for use in a 28mm scale setting despite being made for 15mm scale Fantasy wargaming. I was happy to send Timmy some size comparison pictures which he has used to good effect. Go HERE to read more and to see all the pictures. 

If you are keen on a joint order for products from Alternative Armies and 15mm.co.uk then it is totally possible and all you need to do is send an email asking for what you want to either place. All the details are in the article. 

Thanks for Reading. GBS

OITW Annual Interview 2014 with Gavin Syme GBS

Its nearing years end and Christmas Eve is the day of the year where my annual interview with Orcs in the Webbe is published as the end of a month of excellent free articles.  Articles written by dedicated wargamers and hobbyists, creators, game designers and more.  I have had a couple of scenarios in this years advent as is my due as the man behind Flintloque.  You can see these scenarios in the listing of days for Advent 2014 on Orcs in the Webbe.

Go to The Annual Interview 2014.

My annual interview with Craig Andrews takes a look at the year now done and forward a year to this point in the coming orbit around the sun.  It has grown over a decade in size and also in scope and this year topping the scales at over four thousand words it looks at the following.  Alternative Armies goals for 2015 and the development of the Von Rotte Legion and more.  15mm.co.uk moving into more 15mm fantasy in a big way and working with Loud Ninja Games.  The Ion Age and its doubling in size, the Planetary Militia, the Zin and its ambition to do something with 15mm science fiction that no other brand ever has.  There is a lot more than that to read of course including what I do in my spare time and news on Bedlum as well.  Enjoy the read.

For you see I am Flintloque but I am also the fellow who runs 15mm.co.uk and created the rapidly evolving The Ion Age too.  There may be others like me out there in the world of miniature wargaming who have so many hats...but not many.  If you want to chat with me then drop us an email and ask your wargaming questions.  I would love to hear from you all.

From everyone here at Alternative Armies we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy Hogmanay too!

Gavin Syme (GBS)

Building and Painting 51533 Elf Line Dragoons - Croes Nest Article

We present a Modelling Article stage by stage by Sam Croes (designer of our modular Dragoons) showing the assembly options of the Dragoon Officer followed by a step by step painting guide to that miniature for making him of the 18th Dragoons.  Flintloque and Slaughterloo fans alike have already been placing their orders for the awesome new 51533 Elf Line Dragoons modular white metal 28mm miniatures set.  Its released on 7th October 2014 and until then on our Deals and Offers page you can find them on pre-release offer at 10% and 20% off release price.  Have a look and you will see lots more to follow this article.  Additionally the paints used in this article are all from our own Pebeo Studio Acrylic range which you can find on the website.  Thanks for Reading.  GBS

Assembling the Dragoon Officer:
Starting off by glueing together the two horse halves, Then, the body of the horse was inserted and glued into the matching holes of the metal base. The head was glued on and then the complete model was mounted on a cartouche cavalry base.

The rider's body was put together while the legs were glued onto the saddle. After drying, the upper body was glued to the legs. Any other equipment was then added to the rider/horse.

Filler was used to smooth out the base, and this was covered in coarse sand.  Once totally dry it was time to move onto the painting stage for this fine modular miniature.  It is important to note though that you can pose your horse and your officer in many ways but that my method will work for them all.

Painting the Dragoon Officer:
Starting off as usual with a white primer undercoat, the model was set aside to dry overnight. After that, the model was given a coat of thinned down white paint to ensure no patches of bare metal were left, and also this would ensure a better hold for the subsequent paint colours. Again, this layer was allowed to thouroughly dry before continuing. failing to do this would hold the risk of paint flaking or cracking, or washes to "creep" out of the recesses. It is always better to put extra time and care in the first stages of painting a figure than to regret it later.

White areas of the uniform were given a wash of dark grey (Medium Grey + Black) diluted with water and Acrylic Matt Medium as usual. This was then subsequently highlighted with Medium Grey and Titanium White. The green of the uniform was done by starting out with a base colour of chrome green. This was given shading by applying a wash based on Moss Green ink. Highlighting was done using Chrome Green and a mix of Chrome Green and Buff Titanium for a final highlight.

The pink for the uniform was created by mixing Dark Cadmium red with Buff Titanium. This was shaded with a wash based on Sanguine ink, highlights were added using the same pink mix, but with more buff titanium added to it.

Black leather areas such as the boots, scabbard and cartridge box were given a basecoat of Dark Grey mix, and shaded with a Black ink wash. this was subsequently highlighted with Dark Grey and Medium Grey.

The wood of the musket was done by first undercoating the area with Raw Sienna. This was shaded with a Black ink wash. The resulting dark brown tone was then highlighted subsequently with Raw Sienna and Yellow Ochre. Buff Titanium was used for a few select specular highlights. The same colouring was also used on the brown leather straps of the stirrups.

The metal the musket barrel, sword and stirrups were done by applying a Steel colour mix composed of Iridescent Silver and a little Mars Black to dull it down. This, like the brown wood/leather parts before, was given a Black ink wash. The steel mix was then used again to re-highlight certain details, with pure Iridescent Silver used for the final highlights.           

Skintone was done starting from a mix of Burnt Sienna and Titanium White. Raw Sienna ink wash was used for shading, and Titanium White was added to the skintone mix for successive stags of highlighting. The mouth and eyes were then first painted black, with teeth and eye detail picked out with white. Hair was painted Mars Black, and highlighted with the previously mentioned Dark Grey Mix and Medium Grey for final highlights.

Golden ornamentation and buckles received a basecoat of Iridescent Gold. To this a dark brown wash was applied, based on a mix of Raw Sienna Ink and a tiny drop of Black ink. Highlights were done with a mix of Iridescent Gold and Iridescent Silver

The horse was given a basecoat of Raw Sienna, which was then shaded with a wash based on Black Ink. The resulting dark brown shaded horse was then procedurally highlighted using a thinned down Raw Sienna paint (with extra Acrylic Matt Medium added), adding Yellow Ochre to the mix for every stage, and finally adding some Buff Titanium for the final highlight. The result was a beautiful deep brown tone with smoothly blended lighter tones, accentuating the musculature of the horse.

The horse’s hair and hooves were done similarly to the rider’s hair, a black basecoat with dark grey and Medium Grey highlights. The same was done to the horse’s bridle as well. the connecting rings on the bridle were picked out using the same Steel colour mix as mentioned for the musket barrel and sword blade.

The saddle was painted using the same techniques and colours (pink and green) as the rider’s uniform.The bedroll on the saddle was basecoated Raw Umber, into which Buff Titanium was added in increasing amounts for successive highlights.

Finally, the base was first painted Raw Sienna. This was then shaded to a deep dark brown with a wash based on Black ink. Afterwards,  the base was successively drybrushed with Raw Sienna, Yellow Ochre and Buff Titanium. The edge of the base was painted with Mars Black.

At this point, the base had Static grass applied to it and the whole model was sealed with a Matt Acrylic Varnish spray.

Thanks for your time and I hope you enjoyed this article.

Sam Croes

Ferach Elf Line Dragoons the Parts

“Captain Sharke ducked the sabre that sliced through the cold air above his head and before the Elf realised his sword stroke had failed to decapitate the half-orc Sharke swung his own heavy blade and it smashed into the leg of the rider as he passed.  Blood fountained as the ruined leg drooped away from its owning body.  Sharke ignored the scream from the Ferach scum as he continued on and instead looked to the rest of his Rifleorcs.  After a day of walking the ridges of the mountains and avoiding the valleys where the Armoricans rode free they had been forced to cross an open plain to get to the next set of raised stony ground.  It had been a risk, Sharke had known that but they had waited until nearly nightfall and then started at a run across the plain.  It was not far and they had gone in two groups.  When he and the second group were a third of the way across the sparse grass the Elves had sprung upon them at a gallop and now they were fighting for their lives.  But the Dragoons did not have it all their way as bullets from Bakur Rifles spun in the seven grooves of the barrel whip cracked from the hillside where the first group were already pitch up and now lending fire to their fellows aid.  Captain Sharke grimaced and the scars on his face went a livid white.  Some of the Orcs were going to die in this crossing but now a lot more of the pointy eared horse botherers were going to end up worm fodder.”

The standard set of five horses for this new code

Back in the middle of July I put up a posting talking about the modular concept for Ferach Elf Line Dragoons.  If you have not yet had a look at it please read it before this article as it will help it make more sense to you.  Of course if you are a true Flintloque and Slaughterloo fanatic then you will have committed it all to memory by this time and know all about it.  So now I want to show you all a couple of images of what is literally the very first master tins to come out of the brand new master molds and to explain how it will all work for this modular set of white metal miniatures.  Read on.

There are two main focuses in terms of the parts of these modular dragoons.  These are firstly the horses and secondly the riders.  I will look at each in turn starting with the horses.

We wanted to create a set of pieces very much like the white metal ancestors we had seen from the 1970's for our horses.  Basing the design on the typical Ferach Elf horse which is that used by the 51502 Lanciers Rouge its a close match up and blends in well.  There are several pieces to a horse and they are the left side, the right side, the head and the base.  Three different left sides with two legs and three different right sides with tail combined with two different heads means realistically eighteen combinations of pose for the horses. The 'domino' base with its eight holes mean that all the possible poses will 'plug in' easily into place before being mounted finally on a resin cartouche base which we will also supply for free.

The Eight different micro kits for the Elf Riders

With the horses accounted for its time for the riders and these are a bit more original and unique for Alternative Armies certainly.  There are eight different micro kits of Elf rider.  These are an officer, musician, standard bearer, sergeant and four different troopers. Each is composed of white metal parts including legs, a saddle box, upper body, a head and a selection of weapons or special items.  As you can see from the picture the possibilities for each Elf are large with head position and body orientation along with arm selection and pose being your choice.  Armed with Sword or with Musket.  While the special items make your Eagle Bearer and Musician.  At a rough estimate we think that swoping parts about and posing you can get eight riders to about twenty four unique final poses.

So this means that when you combine up the options for the horses and for the Elves riding them you can honestly get around three hundred final cavalry poses or even more if you do a bit of conversions and scratch building yourself.  

This brand new set of miniatures looks like it will be given the following code and title at this time: 51533 Ferach Elf Line Dragoons.  There will be a core Flintloque set of five along with a Slaughterloo unit of ten (with a saving) and also options to purchase single troopers or command poses and also a separate option for the horses too.

Next time we will be a lot nearer to the release of these miniatures and the production molds will be made and ready.  I will be looking at the process of building one of these horses and one of these riders stage by stage.  I will not be doing this myself of course but instead Sam Croes will be your guide and his nimble fingers will show you just what is possible.

If you have any questions or just want to give us a thumbs up then drop me an email or comment here.  I was touched by the emails from the last time telling me that I had made the right choice and that Elf Dragoons were just what was wanted.

Thanks for Reading.

GBS