The Alcanti Fellowship and The Birdmen of Catrazza - 10mm Dogs of War

Today I undertake a short return visit to my 10mm Warhammer Fantasy project. Over the past few years I've had a lot of fun creating massed bases of 10mm fantasy units for the Empire, Tomb Kings, Beastmen and Orc & Goblins. 

Nonetheless, my favourite force has to be 'The Dogs of War'. 

First up are 'The Alcatani Fellowship'. Pikemen in Warhammer Fantasy (well, the old version anyway) were very rare, in fact they could only be found as mercenary troops hailing from the city states of Tilea. 

Though vulnerable on their flanks, pike formations can be rather nasty when faced frontally, with many a cavalry commander ruing the day they charged a well prepared pike phalanx. The Alcatani Fellowship are unique in that they don't always fight for money, but often offer their services to fight injustice and tyranny. GW's version of social justice warriors. 

These 10mm fellas are 3d prints from MiniRat Studios. Great little models and they printed-up a treat. They have quite a bit going on with them so not a quick paint, but they look good all ranked up (there are about 85 figures in this unit).

Next are the Birdmen of Catrazza. One thing I really enjoyed about the 'Dogs of War' list was its sly nod to all sorts of Renaissance Italy ephemera such as Lucrezia Borgia's poisons, mercenary pikemen and Leonardo Da Vinci's whacky inventions. The Birdmen of Catrazza are very much along this vein and remain as much-loved models from the original range. 

These are 10mm renditions of the Birdmen from Varus Miniatures. Beautiful models and a real joy to paint. 

For their basing I decided to try a forced perspective with a tiny windmill on a range of treed hills. It was fun to do.

And for a final shot, here is my Dogs of War force to-date, with the Alcanti Fellowship and the Birdmen joining Bronzino's Galloper Guns and Braganza's Besiegers. Getting close to a real force. I just need more pikemen, always more pikemen...

Thanks for popping by for a visit. I hope you have a terrific day!

- Curt

10mm Warhammer 'Dogs of War' - Bronzino's Galloper Guns & Braganza's Besiegers

Hellooo!

Here I present the beginnings of a new contingent for my 10mm Warhammer collection. It's time to let loose the 'Dogs of War'!

Old Sweats of Warhammer will recognize these two 'Regiments of Renown' from the original Warhammer 5th Ed supplement 'Dogs of War' (1998). It was such a unique and characterful army. I remember meeting GregB for the very first time while he was playing a tournament using his DoW force (and remember the poor Bretonnian player being schooled on what happens when cavalry frontally charges a formation of pike). I still have a dog-eared copy of the army book that I enjoy looking through from time to time.

First up are 'Braganza's Besieger' who are a mercenary company of heavy crossbowmen. Their specialty is to support the shock infantry in the front ranks. They all wear heavy plate armour and have pavise shields to help them weather incoming missile fire. 

For a bit of fun, I placed them amidst some ruins, thinking of something analogous to their name.  A tough bunch of characters, to be sure.

Next up is 'Bronzino's Galloper Guns'. 

I think this unit may be the only classic horse artillery in the Warhammer world. This battery of light guns specializes in quickly running up their cannon close to the enemy, cracking off a few rounds, and then nimbly limbering up to scoot away before things get too hot. They are meant to be proper infuriating. 

The figures for these two units are 3d prints. The crossbowmen are from Polish Lightning Miniatures, and the horse artillery are from Onmioji Miniatures. Fabulous digital models both.

While this may be a creditable start, the force really needs some more meat on its bones. I think some massed pikemen will be on the horizon soon. Hopefully more on that in the weeks to come!

Have a great day!

- Curt