Elven House Helios Axeman

Hi!

Just a  quick update this morning as we are heading out to Loch Lomond for a day out!

Following on from my post yesterday, I have finished up a second 28mm scale Elf. Wonders will apparently never cease as it too has turned out quite nicely!

Elven Axeman

He's a Dragonelf originally produced by Heartbreaker Miniatures and picked up in Macs Models back in the late 90s and painted pretty badly. He since has been sat in a box for over a decade having been stripped with the intention of repainting him. 

I must admit I didn't start out with the intention of giving him such bright gloves but I think it really works and the miniature itself is absolutely lovely. I have a few more kicking around somewhere and I am actually looking forward to painting them up too. 

The use of the black primer followed by a drybrush of grey and white really seems to be working for me at the moment and I am considering using it to paint up the rest of the stuff I have kicking around in my unpainted lead pile!

In other news, I will be posting another blog entry this evening with an aim to sorting out what I am doing with my two blogs but more on that later this evening!

All the best!

Dwarven Characters!

Hi!

Well its now the halfway point in my holiday and I've even managed to get some more Dwarves painted!

 Demonworld Dwarves

Alas the lighting in Scotland has once again proved gloomy and stygian as the fine red bearded chap is actually blonde! Still I have enjoyed painting up the two immensely and the Demonworld figures are spectacular quality. I would go as far as to say they surpass a lot of 28mm stuff in fact!

Next up heres a quick shot of them alongside my own sculpts:

Spot the Difference...

They do make my own attempts look a little simplistic but they actually don't look too bad together. I must admit I am finding myself drawn towards making a full sized army of the little fellows as they look so good. In fact I may combine my current Oldhammer Skirmish with my Dwarves!

I still have enough to paint to round out a small regiment and will see how they look once combined but I am really loving the fact that I can sit down and paint a figure in under an hour and get a satisfactory result without the faff and hassle I have been experiencing with my 28mm scale stuff over on my Farpoint Blog.

Who knows, maybe these Dwarves will be seeing double duty as the stout defenders of Mal Dulm in Aeroth and Karak Eight Peaks in the Border Princes of the Warhammer World!

All the best!

Oldhammer Skirmish Part 2, Elven Leader

Hi!

Well after all my humming and hahing, I finally took the plunge and painted up a 28mm figure last night and to my immense surprise, he turned out quite nicely!

Elven Leader

He's originally from Grenadier I think and I have had him for years now. Originally painted back in the day, stripped and painted again before being stripped once again and primed last year, he's been through the wars a bit and theres a few rough bits showing on the figure once he's been painted but I have finally painted a 28mm scale figure and been reasonably happy with the result.

I had primed him black and given him a drybrush of mid grey and then white following an article I spotted over on Kings Miniatures a while back but he then sat in a box for a considerable time. Maybe its this technique that works for me as he almost seemed to paint himself and was done in about 90 minutes.

Buoyed by this success, I then tried to paint a Chainmail Orcy figure but gave up halfway as the finish was terrible. Maybe it was the black primer or just a more modern miniature but I found this terribly disheartening. 

This morning I have rummaged out a few Wood Elves that have been in my collection for just as long as this chap and plan on trying the same technique again to see if it works again. If so I should have a small warband of some of the classic figures I have had for about 15 years or so repainted to a standard I am actually happy with!

In other news, my Slann warband is nearing priming with just a couple more small details to add before the paint is applied!

All the best!

Oldhammer Skirmish Part 1: The Border Princes

Hi!

Having settled on trying out an Oldhammer skirmish, I thought I should try and flesh out the setting a little!

Having read the 3rd edition background, I must admit I find myself unable to restrain the temptation to tinker somewhat with the setting as I still find it a bit too depressing to use as is. I know its supposed to be a bit grim but one can only cope with so much before being put off. 

Therefore heres my take on the Border Princes:

 The Border Princes is the name given to the vast area of land that lies between the Black Mountains and the Black Gulf. This rather barren region had always been sparsely settled until the time of the founding of Bretonnia (approx. IC1000), when Bretonnian nobles and adventures fleeing from wars within the Empire struck out to settle what was know as 'The Badlands'. For almost a century these adventurers waged war against Goblins and other evil creatures occupying the land, but eventually succeeded in driving their enemy back to Blood River - the current border of The Badlands.

The inhabitants of the Border Princes are a hardy bunch and occupy a number of fortified towns and cities throughout the region and often feud amongst themselves or the various robber Barons who occupy the borders of Bretonnia and the Empire and spend their time raiding south for fun and profit.

Karax-A-Karak

To the East, the Dwarves occupy their great Hold of Karaz-a-Karak and dream of one day retaking their lost mountain empire and have begun reforging links with the other great hold in the region, Karak Eight Peaks, a hold that has survived despite constant sieges from greenskins for over a century. The combined forces of these two holds have become known as the Hammer and the Anvil as Kazak-A-Karak excels at offensive operations and Karak Eight Peaks at defence. When combined these two forces are a match for any foe that they meet. 

Consequently, several smaller holds have been reoccupied between the two and even now parties of Dwarven Tunnel Guards sweep ever deeper into the ancient depths to root out bands of Orcs, Goblins and vile Skaven. This ongoing campaign has taken a great amount of resources and the Dwarves have encountered fierce opposition but are slowly retaking the depths and expanding their influence to the West. 

Upper Reaches of the Black River

This influence is bringing trade in the form of ore, finely made weapons and pricey jewellery from the holds to the Border Princes city states and in return, supplies of grain, livestock and even hardy adventurers in search of fame and fortune heading back to the mountains.

This increase in wealth has been noted by the robber Barons and convoys have been raided with increasing frequency and they are now protected by a strong force of caravan guards comprising of Human, Dwarven and even Elven free companies.

Human raiders are the least of the worries of the Border Princes though. Tribes of Orcs and Goblins, driven south over a century ago have begun raiding north into the border territory from the Badlands and several smaller towns and villages have been sacked by rampaging warbands. Consequently the Border Princes have been flexing their newly wealthy muscle and hiring mercenary armies to strike back at the greenskin menace and the Border country has become awash with fortune hunters, disgraced nobles and deserter bands in search of employment. 

The Worlds Edge Mountains

Not surprisingly this powder keg has seen a number of battles between city states and rumour has it that the might of the Empire will be sent south to annex the region to stop the conflict from spreading and purely by coincidence, give the Emperor access to the Dwarven trade routes.

Unbeknownst to the Humans, the Skaven council of 13 has formed an alliance with the evil Dwarves of Black Peak. These degenerate and mutated Dwarves were turned to Chaos by the Skavens poisoning of the water supply with Warpstone in times past and now these foul mockeries of Dwarves supply dark weapons of war to the very creatures that caused their fall and even to the Greenskins who battle their own kin.

Caravan Route, The Border Princes

The Skaven have been driven from their burrows in several regions of the Worlds Edge Mountains but the great dens of Fester Spike and Putrid Stump are sending waves of vermin along their subterranean passages towards the Dwarven holds and even now a horde of Skaven under the command of the Grey Seer Sqveek Viletongue is preparing to assault the Dwarven hold of Karak Izor.

If this hold falls, one of the few safe passes from Bretonnia and the Empire will be closed and the Border Princes will be cut off from aid from the great human kingdoms of the north. Already packs of Clan Eshin Gutter Runners have been fighting a running battle with Dwarven miners deep in the mines of Karak Izor and the holds ruler, Cael Steelmaul has mobilised his army to repel the ratmen but his forces are vastly outnumbered.

This is the state of the Border Princes in the year IC 2415. 

Whee! As you can see there's plenty going on in the Border Princes and I hope to get to work on some warbands soon too. Sadly despite this project giving me lots of inspiration, its not got me painting 28mm scale yet, mostly because I just don't have the space to game it. The solution will just have to be to crack on with it in 15mm scale as I am busily constructing a 2x3 foot board that will be perfect for skirmishes and even larger battles in 15mm scale as it equates to roughly 6x4 in 28mm scale and am using THIS ARTICLE from Realm of Chaos by Orlygg to good effect!

All the best!

Oldhammer Skirmish?

Hi!

As much as I am enjoying my 15mm scale Slann Warband, I still find myself perusing some of the Oldhammer blogs and gazing with envy at the fantastic 28mm scale miniatures contained within.

I still have a decent sized bits box kicking around which is heaped full of 28mm lead but haven't managed to find any way to inspire myself into painting them.

In fact, looking back at my blog, I haven't managed to paint any 28mm scale gubbins since these fellows over a year ago:

 Chaos Warriors

I have been thinking about the possibility of using the likes of Warhammer Quest or Advanced Heroquest to get me going but even that seems to have failed to get me to do much more than have a rummage around in the vague hopes of finding something to paint to get me started.

Sadly this hasn't really worked as my 15mm painting has kept me very much entertained instead which brings me onto the reason for my rambling blog entry. I have been wondering about the feasibility of using the 3rd edition Warhammer rules in conjunction with Mordheim to create some very characterful little warbands that will give me the push I need to paint up some of my stuff that is currently sitting unpainted in a box.

 Dark Elf 

Re-reading both Mordheim and the older Warhammer rulebooks, theres lots of really interesting concepts that would be great fun to expand upon but some of the forces, especially the likes of the Undead are a bit too powerful (why have a Vampire as the leader and then arm him with a halberd, a singularly unvampire like weapon!)

Therefore, I plan on using the basic rules of Mordheim but with an Oldhammer mod to create some more interesting warbands and see what I can come up with. I am also thinking of setting the action amongst the chaotic Border Princes which form the southern border of the Empire. This will give me plenty of opportunities to play around with the ever shifting factions and petty warlords who rule of this lawless region.

Dwarf

Hopefully I will have some success in rummaging the bits boxes and see what I can find!

All the best!

Dwarven Mountain Son

Hi!

Well I am now officially on a weeks holiday so can crack on with some painting and to get the ball rolling, heres a new addition to my Dwarven force, the Mountain Son:

Mountain Son

High in the Axeblades, a race of giants have lived since the Age of Legends. Hidden in their high valleys, they are known as the Mountain Sons and have served as heavy infantry for the Dwarves for centuries. Although few in number, they are doughty warriors who enter battle wearing heavy plate armour and wielding heavy hammers and axes.

They also find employment in the great subterranean Dwarven forges where their massive strength and skill with metalworking makes them much sought by the Engineering Guild.

Dwarven Troops

Originally a 28mm scale Dwarf from Mantic Games, I have reworked his helmet and beard so it looks a bit less cartoony and I must admit he looks quite good as an ogre sized humanoid in 15mm scale. I plan on building up a unit of five or six of them as time allows to act as an elite regiment of the forces of Dur Zamor.

I have also finished off another human crossbowman for my Pinecliff force, this time wearing one of the immediately pieces of armour worn by the defenders of this lonely outpost.

Pinecliff Crossbowmen

I am slowly working my way through my unpainted 15mm scale stuff and should have about half a dozen decent little warbands put together over the coming months which should allow me to get some games played!

Demonic Attack! 

I've also got some quick shots of my 6mm stuff in action and really want to get some Dwarf infantry sorted out so that I can get some games in featuring some larger confrontations than possible with my 15mm scale stuff!

A Horned Folk warband is confronted by a lone Dwarven Wargolem

I do like how this project is turning out, I only wish I had more time to work on it as the results thus far have been really promising and it would be great to feature some larger battles such as the Orcish assault on the Great Wall in the Axebite Pass or some epic confrontation between the Elves and Northern Barbarians!

Cursed flesh versus Dwarven steel

Hopefully over this week of holidays, I will be able to crack on with getting some stuff done as I am really enjoying my hobby again and the world of Aeroth still has lots to reveal!

All the best!

Slann Warband Part 5

Hi!

As promised heres a few pics of my finished warchief for my Slann Oldhammer project!

Slann Warchief with greatclub

I must admit I rather went to town with him with the conversions as his club, shield, loincloth and headdress are all new additions. He also took quite a bit of extra time to paint but as he will be the leader of my fledgling army, he really looks the part of a wild savage!

Looking at the photos, there are a few rough spots that could do with a little more work but to be honest I doubt I will bother as on the table he looks absolutely fine. I think if I was to do him again, I would probably add an ornate back banner to really make him stand out a little more, just as the Aztec heros did when they went to war but as he is from a rather savage frontier tribe, I think the gear he has is fine.

 Headdress Detail

Sculpting all the little details was great fun and its really inspired me to try something a little special on my next character who will be a magic user to give my Slann a bit of extra muscle.

If you look closely at his base, theres a fly/beetle sat next to him, its the original tip of his staff and I've included it on his base. Sadly once the base was completed, he kind of blends in a bit much so I may have to add some different colours to the tiny fellow to make him stand out again.

The Warband So Far

As you can see, the warband is really coming together and its hard to believe that there are only three different miniature poses in the photo. I am really loving the sculpts as with just a little conversion, they really look the bees knees!

I also have the first five of my close combat troops converted and almost ready to prime. All they need are a few feathers and the odd headdress to finish them off before painting commences and that will only leave me with the last five to do and the initial challenge will be complete!

All the best!