Champion of Khorne for Nick

Hey There!

Nick and I have been doing an annual figure exchange for quite a while now and for this year I promised him something 'Old World' themed. 

So here we have a Champion of Khorne, a model that was released way back in 2004. 

I think I got this guy from a Games Day in Toronto (I went to a few when we were out East), but I can't be sure of that. He has been lurking on my paint desk for two decades now, so I thought it high time for him to get painted, and what better reason than as a gift for a good friend.

You usually see these guys in classic red Khornate armour, but I thought I'd keep him a little more subdued and down-to-earth in brass, bronze and steel. 

I hope you like him Nick (if not he'll happily take your skull).

Thanks!

- Curt

Ben the Cleric and Molly from the Town Militia

Just a couple new additions for the fantasy collection.

Today we have Ben the Cleric along with Molly from the Town Militia. 

Both of these models are from Knucklebones Miniatures. I've been painting a lot of Knucklebone stuff over the past year and continue to really enjoy them - they have such great character, with lots of sculpted detail to play around with.

Case in point is Molly here with her polka dot skirts hiked-up to reveal her Landsknecht puff-and-slash uniform and assorted ironmongery. Formidable.

Molly came off the printer with a seam across her face. Instead of trying to remove it (a task I was not relishing), I decided to work with it instead. Using a tiny amount of milliput, I gave her a pair of tinted spectacles, incorporating the printing artefact. I figure this way she can comfortably blast away with her musket in the glorious bright sunshine.

I quite like the stolid pose of Ben the Cleric. 'If the blessing doesn't work then the warhammer will surely sort things out.' 

I kept it fairly simple with him, with white tabard and leather scale mail over red robes. I just realized that the purity seals need some suitable lunatic script on them... Hmm. Time to pull out the fine nib pen I guess.

Thanks for popping in for a look! I hope to have a few more Fantasy figures coming off the bench soon.

Have a good one!

- Curt

10mm Nasty-Baddies for Warhammer Fantasy

Hi There!

I've been plugging away at these bad lads over the winter months and I thought I'd just post what was ready to go.

The vanguard of the my Great Herd.

First up are two herds of Beastmen Gors. As these are supposed to reflect massed formations, I put these fellas on deeper bases. I've popped in a few trees and a burned out cottage to give the bases a bit of variation amongst these horny (horned?) lads.

Supporting the Gor foot are two herds of Centigors. After painting these I thought I had ran out of skirmishing bases, which is why there are the two sizes shown here. Of course, I finished these only to find some proper sized bases tucked away in the Dork Shed. *facepalm* Whatever. I'll rebase the offending unit later... 

Next up are two units of Cairn Wraiths. These were a very simple paintjob (Contrast 'Aethermatic Blue' uppers and 'Plaguebearer Flesh' below the waist). Nonetheless I like the overall effect and am happy to have a few more of these to cause some ghostly mayhem on the tabletop. 

Finally are two units of Khorne Bloodletters to add to my Daemonic host. What to say, just a passel of nasty, pointy-spikey fellas. Again, a pretty straighforward paint recipe, but they suitably look the part when all based-up.

Now, let's switch gears and look to Troy...

Have a great 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

A Giant Spider, Spider-Riders, Spear Chukkas and Trolls (oh my!) for Warhammer (yes, in 10mm)

Returning back to my nascent Goblin force, I thought I'd add a few more units to beef them up a bit more. Here is a big (okay, eeenormous) spider, some spider-rider heralds, a battery of Night Goblin Spear Chukkas and a mob of River Trolls.

The giant spider was a 10mm 3d print from Wakes Emporium which I scaled-up significantly, being as I wanted a centrepiece for the typically hapless Gobbos. Kudos to the designer for the excellent model as many 3d designs don't translate well when enlarged to this extent. Bravo!

I added a few shaped pieces of blue foam insulation to build-out the rock formation she's clambering over.

I often like to make use of these larger bases to incorporate little vignettes and bit of additional terrain. For the Spider I wanted to accentuate her size, so placed a Squig 'rider' and a Spider Rider along her flanks. 

'Watch out, guys! It's not like she has indicator lights, or anything.' 

Speaking of Spider Riders the 'Big Lass' has a unit of these creepy little fellas to act as her vanguard. These models are also from Wakes Emporium.

I used colourshift chromatic paints from Greenstuff World for the spiders' abdomen and thorax.

Next up is a Night Goblin Spear Chukka battery. These models are from Green Skin Miniatures - another quality 3d designer on Gumroad.

I try to give each of my 10mm fantasy armies a distinct basing theme. Verdant for the Wood Elves, lots of buildings for the Empire, desert ruins for the Tomb Kings, etc.  For the Gobbos, I've decided to do up their bases kind of hardscrabble: dry, rocky and arid. Like this one, I often like to give them a mushroom here and there to make them feel more at home. I my world, everything is better with mushrooms. :) 

Finally, we have a gaggle of River Trolls as allies to the Goblins. These are from Green Skin Miniatures.

Not much to say about these lads, but that they're big and blue. Still, handy fellas to have around in a scrape, assuming they keep their wits about them.

And there you have it, a few more units for the Greenskin cause. I need to get some basic rank-and-file done for them next, but that'll be for another day.

Next up: Mercenaries!

Thanks for dropping in! Have a great day!

- Curt

10mm Warhammer Fantasy Campaign

Hey there!

Our gaming group has been making some use of the 10mm fantasy armies that I've been working on over the past few Painting Challenges, with us playing a small Warhammer campaign. We have four players, plus me serving behind the emerald curtain as organizer and chief bottlewasher. 

The action takes place on a mysterious fog-enshrouded volcanic island ('The Isle of Mist and Flame') which appears every few decades in different seas throughout the Old World. 

The Isle of Mist and Flame

The campaign has each player vying to see who can be the first to claim 10 areas (hexes), allowing them to tip the balance and gain control of the island. I figured that the island idea would keep things contained and would allow me to interject with some fun story hooks and other narrative shenanigans.

For the strategic rules, we are using 'Campaigns of Conquest' an excellent little set of rules initially developed as part of the Mighty Empires supplement for Warhammer Fantasy 8th ed. The rules are only 5 pages long, but do an excellent job in capturing the essentials of running a focused, but fun campaign. 

For the tabletop rules, we're using 'Monsters & Magic' a bolt-on fantasy variant to Simon Miller's excellent 'To the Strongest'. The set is particularly brilliant as it provides ready-made army lists for most of the forces found in classic Warhammer Fantasy. 

I'm using Roll20 as our campaign diary. I believe it is open for anyone to view, so feel free to visit and see what we're up to.

Next up will be some new additions to my 10mm fantasy collection.

Thanks for dropping in!

- Curt 

10mm Empire Flagellants

The ranks of the Empire's armies are not only composed of troops from the loyal and sometimes vainglorious Elector Counts, but are also made up of the desperate, the destitute and the fanatical. These poor souls gather in riotous mobs led by fervent warrior priests, worshiping bloodthirsty vengeful gods, and as a whole are simply referred to as Flagellants. Once gathered on the battlefield, they work themselves up into a murderous, doom-ridden rage, ever-eager to get to grips with the enemy.  In game terms, they are a 'tar-baby' unit, not very dangerous when measured man-to-man, BUT as a mob they are excellent in tying-up high-value enemy units being as they won't break, and typically will fight to the bitter end. 

As I wanted a big mob of Flagellants on a double-sized base (signifying 'Deep' units in TtS), I had to break from my use of venerable GW metals as I didn't have enough on hand.  Instead these figures are all 3D prints from the talented MiniRat. 

I really like the variation and character of these figures. From the guys advancing in stocks, to those brandishing torches and flails the diverse poses really reinforce the ad-hoc, crazed mob feel of this unit.

As I didn't want to get bogged down in painting figures for which 90% would not really be seen, I used a few tricks I've learned over the years to quickly bash them out. One is using an airbrush to establish the main tones, both along the upper and lower part of the strips of figures. 

As the lower part of their torsos are hardly visible due to being tightly packed together, I used a mid-tone brown and a contrast wash from the waist down, while keeping their upper torsos relatively bright and flesh toned. This way I could use a variety of inks and washes to get a quick mob effect. 

So essentially the front of the front rank and the backs of the rear rank gets detailed brushwork. The remainder of the figures have basic blocked-in colours on their upper features alone, while their lower parts are painted as in shadow. 

I'm relatively pleased with the results, and the unit provides me a proof of concept as I want to do my upcoming Goblin army using a similar approach, being that they are almost exclusively organized on these large bases. 

Here is a pic of the force as it stands as we wrap up. Again, I'm happy with what I managed to get done through the catalyst of the Challenge. I'm thinking I just need about 4-5 more units and I'll have a decent-sized playable force.

Thanks for stopping in for a look and have a great rest of your day.

- Curt