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Jes Goodwin's 1980's Citadel Lord of the Rings Alternative range of Uruk-Hai.

March 9, 2017, 11:04 am
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As the overlong title suggests, this blog update is on the alternative range of Uruk-Hai miniatures which Jes Goodwin sculpted for Citadel's Lord of the Rings range of Uruk-Hai. Don't worry Snakeman fans, I am still painting my way through the army (and other things!). However, I managed to buy the last few Uruk-Hai miniatures from this range recently, and so I wanted to update about them.

From 1985 until 1987 Citadel Miniatures produced a range of figures based on the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit books. The miniatures were sculpted similar to Citadels style of their general fantasy miniatures of the time, and some of the Orcs later ended up being used as the basis for other sculpts in Citadel's Warhammer Orc ranges. The Lord of the Rings range as a whole was sculpted by several of the sculptors working for Citadel at the time. The range, with some exceptions, was slotta based.

Towards the end of their licence, Citadel produced an alternative range of Uruk-Hai miniatures, sculpted by Jes Goodwin (famous for his wonderful Elf and Eternal Champion ranges from the time). At the time their Lord of the Rings range only had three Uruk-Hai models, and so it seems that this range was sculpted to add variety.

Now, I can only assume that Citadel did'nt realise that they were going lose the licence, as why sculpt a new range? After they lost the licence, this range of Uruk-Hai ceased production, and so was only available for a few months in 1987. I think they may have been available as stock clearance via mail order for a month or two longer, but then were gone. I again can only assume that this was because of intellectual property, as the miniatures had been marketed as Uruk-Hai and then could'nt have been re-branded and sold as a different range. So whilst not breathtakingly rare, they are still quite rare.

Anyway, the range consisted of fifteen miniatures. There were three distinct types; the Archers, the Swordmen, and the Pole-arms. There were three base sculpts for the range which went on to form the basis for the sculpt of that type. There were five sculpts for each of the Archers, Swordsmen, and Pole-arms.

Aesthetically I think they are wonderful. They are excellently detailed, crisp, sculpts. The faces are amazing. They are full of life and character, with a nice sense of movement. The variations of sculpting from the base sculpt are great, offering fiffteen distinct and yet coherent miniatures. If you were to build units/an army from these miniatures, as was the intention, they would have formed a good basis. With a little bit of conversion, many of the miniatures would have provided even greater variation. Personally, I think it was a great loss to the miniatures world that this range disappeared so soon.

So what am I going to do with them?
My plan, at a later date but not yet, is to paint these Uruk-Hai and use them as the basis of a 1980's Lord of the Rings skirmish force. Despite a couple of the sculpts having the Eye of Sauron on their helms, I will use these as the core of Saruman's 'Army of the White Hand', and paint them with the symbol of the White hand on their shields. I will use the original Uruk-Hai sculpts, which are more overtly Mordor in design with the more prominent Eyes of Sauron on them, for the forces of the Dark Lord.

Enjoy :)
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 The range, as appeared in White Dwarf #99.
I am not sure why they painted them green, but they look very in keeping with many of Citadel's Goblinoids of the time.
One of the interesting and cool things about this range is how very similar miniatures have been given a very different look and sense of movement by having the heads facing in differing directions. They also look similar to the way Tolkien described Uruk-Hai/Orcs, "crooked legged and long armed". 
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 My full set of Uruk-Hai.  :)
Like all of my 1980's Lord of the Rings miniatures I am basing the infantry on 30mm round lipped bases.
Originally however the range would have been on 25mm square bases. The Swordsmen and the Pole-armed Uruk-Hai have a boss on the hand to allow the addition of the plastic Citadel shields. I have equipped mine with the largest of the round shields.
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 The five pole-armed Uruk-Hai.
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 The five Swordsmen Uruk-Hai.
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 The five Archer Uruk-Hai.
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The first of the Pole-armed Uruk-Hai, armed with a pole-mace, and looking straight ahead.
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The second of the Pole-armed Uruk-Hai with a double-handed axe,and looking left. His mop of hair makes him look like a bit of a 'metal-head', or perhaps one of the Beatles from the late 1960's!
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The third of the Pole-armed Uruk-Hai, armed with a long bladed spear, looking right, and sporting a rather fetching mohawk haircut.
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The fourth of the Pole-armed Uruk-Hai, with another long bladed spear. He has the same look as the first Pole-armed Uruk-Hai, although the blade is slightly different.
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The fifth and final of the Pole-armed Uruk-Hai, with a type of hooked halberd.
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Rear view of the Pole-armed Uruk-Hai. They are all the same in this respect.
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The first of the Swordsmen Uruk-Hai. 
He has quite a fancy helmet, and it has an Eye of Sauron on it. If these miniatures were very commmon I would file this off as I am meaning to use them as Uruk-Hai of the White Hand. However, as they are not common, I have'nt the heart to, and so will just leave it metal coloured as the rest of the helmet.
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The second of the Swordsmen Uruk-Hai with a spiked helmet.
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The third of the Swordsmen Uruk-Hai, wearing a leather helment with metal discs on, and looking to the left like he is about to swing his sword.
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The fourth of the Swordsmen Uruk-Hai, yelling, and wearing a plumed helmet.
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The final of the Swordsmen Uruk-Hai. Compared to the other sculpts he is a little more sedate (if an Uruk-Hai could be described as such), but he is great none the less.
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Rear view of the Swordsmen, again like the Pole-armed Uruk-Hai the are the same for each of the five. 
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The first of the Archers.
He is wearing a hood emblazened with the Eye of Sauron on. 
Unlike the Pole-Arm and Sword wielding Uruk-Hai, all the archers are in the smae pose and facing the same way.
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The second of the Archers, wearing a helmet.
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The third Archer, this time bare-headed with a top knot.
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The fourth Archer is wearing a wonderful ridged helmet.
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The final Archer has a leather, with a few studs around the rim and ends.
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Read and side views of the Archers. 

Next update will be back to the Snakemen.
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Saruman, Snakemen, Spectre, and Savages!

March 16, 2017, 2:40 pm
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A bit of a mix this week.

Recently I purchased the mounted Saruman miniature from Citadel's 1980's Lord of the Rings range. I bought him to go with the Uruk-Hai, which I blogged about last week. The miniature was part of a set, one dismounted version (which I don't own), and the mounted version. I like the mounted version, the details are great, although I am not a 100% convinced on the design of his staff. It looks a little too much like a 'fly swatter' of the White Hand!

Leaving aside the staff, he has a more unusual look than other versions of Saruman. To me, he looks similar to Gandalf, which makes sense given that they were fellow Istari. Also, he look less 'sharp' and evil, and almost more 'twee'. I like this look. For me, Saruman was'nt harsh and inherantly evil looking, as portrayed in the films or many pieces of artwork. In the books and background, Saruman was essentially a good wizard (the best in fact), who felt betrayed Cirdan for giving a Ring of Power to Gandalf, and who felt undermined by Gandalf and the Elves. So, he ended up introverted, distrustful and desirous of power for himself. This led him to be corrupted by the desire for the One Ring, and, for a time, by Sauron, although he broke free of Sauron. Saruman seemed to be to some extent a tragic figure.

Other than Saruman, I have painted more Snakemen, including a converted Snakeman with pistol. In addition I painted a Reaper Miniatures Ghost miniature for use as a Spectre for the Snakeman army. Finally, I have painted and based a couple of Savage Orcs. These are also for use with the Snakeman army. The idea is to have an Orc Ally Contingent, containing 20 Orc Archers and Contingent Commander, to add some much needed missile troops. They will be more on those next week, once I have painted them.

Enjoy :)
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 ME 62 Saruman the White. 
I have, unsuprisingly, gone for a white colour scheme, and thought the pony might look good white as well.
As I mentioned above, he looks more twee than terrifying.
 He is mounted on a 40mm round lipped base.
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 Right side with the fly swatter staff.
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 Rear view.
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 More Snakemen.
The painting of Snakemen never seems to end!
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 A converted S'lararet Splintered Fang. 
I bought him from e-bay, but he had a hand missing, so I added a spare pistol hand from GW's Empire Milita set.
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 Another S'lararet Splintered Fang. 
I converted him slightly by twisting the tail 90 degrees.
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 Higgat Dwarf Slicer.
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 A converted Higgat Dwarf Slicer. 
I twisted the left arm so it looks like he is more 'en garde'.
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 Desert Spectre.
This a Reaper Miniatures Ghost or Wraith, or something. I bought it about 15 years ago, painted it rather badly, and so recently paint stripped and re-painted it. I have painted it to suggest a desert blanket, and to be used as a Spectre for a bound Etheral Host for the Snakemen.
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 Rear view.
It is mounted on a 40mm Lippeed Round base to give you an idea of the size.
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 Two of Citadel's 1980's ORC2 range Savage Orcs. 
On the left is 'Grobble', and on the right Slobl'. 
I have painted them up in an roughly Native American style, with a slight nod to the Apache. The idea is to have an Ally Contingent for the Snakemen that suggests the Snakemen have allied with a tribe or two of Orcs dwelling in the South of the New World. 
Incidentally, they will be normal Orcs, rather than actual Savage Orcs.
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Rear view. 

Next week will hopefully be the completed Orc ally Contingent, and maybe a couple more Snakemen.

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Native American Trolls, and a couple of random nonsenses.

April 2, 2017, 12:19 pm
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A fair a scattering random stuff this update.

Continuing with the Native American theme for the Snakemen, I have added a bit of muscle, but not brains, to the army in the form of a pair of Trolls. I wanted a couple of bigger sized monsters to take on any other larger monsters the Snakemen may encounter. So Trolls.

I bought pair of the old C20 Trolls from e-bay. One of them, Hobol Firebreath, was broken, missing the end of his hammer. So I added a spare Snakeman halberd head to tie-in with the Snakeman army, and gave him the addition of a fine looking headress from an old broken toy soldier. The other Troll was much easier to convert more to a Native American look by just adding a large stone headed axe to his open hand.

Other than the Trolls I randomly painted up a C01 Fighter, and the Witch King from Citadels 1980's Lord of the Rings range. I have been inspired to look again at the Lord of the Rings and have been sorting out both my old 1980's Lord of the Rings miniatures, and the Fantasy Tribes/C16 ranges of Orcs with an eye (a red eye, wreathed in flames maybe!) to building up a couple of Orcs armies. More on that in a later update, as I still have more Snakemen to finsh. I have also been wondering whether to re-base my Slaves to Darkness era Chaos Marines to 32mm, and so tried out a couple of test miniatures.

Enjoy :)
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Native American Trolls. 
I gave them a more Native american skin tone, and some warpaint losely based on artwork from an Osprey book on the American West.
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'Bigchief'  Hobol Firebreath.
As I mentioned I have replaced  hammer head, and added headress.
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 Rear view.
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 Davogrod Gitsucker.
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 Rear view.
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The mounted ME63 Lord of the Nazgul.
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 C01 Fighter 'Atari'.
I always liked this miniature and just randomly decided to paint him. I painted him mainly green as I used to play a lot of Civilzation III some time ago, and when I played the Japanese, the icons were green. So, bizarrely I wanted him green. 
I built up the base a little with Milliput as he is quite short, and now he looks a little more heoric standing on a mound.
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 Rear view.
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 A pair of World Eater Renegades.
I have re-based them on the current Space Marine sized 32mm bases instead of the traditional 25mm bases. I think that they look better, and make the miniatures look bigger. It gives them more room, without having feet or guns dangling over the edges of the bases to a great degree. 
I am not 100% decided on whether to do this. Twenty Seven years of having Marine on 25mm, as well as my natural inclination to keep everything 'as was'.
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Me!
The other day I popped into my local gaming shop, The Dice Saloon in Brighton, as the owner asked me to identify some of his collection of old 1980's miniatures, which was a fun way to spend a couple of hours in the afternoon.
Here's the link to the Dice Saloon:
https://www.dicesaloon.com/

Next update will be the Orcs I am painting as an lly contingent. I need to focus on really getting some serious painting done. I might get the odd Snakeman painted too. Only 17 more to go!!
I am also getting distratced by the Horus Heresy. With the release of the Burning of Prospero and the Mark III armour, I am slowly, bit by bit, making a 'contempary' style Space Marine army. s

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The Horus Heresy: Betrayal.

April 10, 2017, 12:43 pm
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As I paint my way through the Snakeman horde, I have got distracted towards a project I have always wanted to do: a Horus Heresy era army using the current miniatures and based on the series of books.

Recently, with the release of GW's 'Burning of Prospero', they have released plastic Mark III Space Marines, at a much lower cost than the Forgeworld ones (even cheaper if you shop around on e-bay, as I did!). Some years ago I bought the 'Betrayal at Calth' box set for the Mark IV Marines, Terminators and the Dreadnought, and so could'nt resist picking up some more plastics now whilst they are still around quite relatively cheap post release. To give it all a framework, I bought (on e-bay cheaper again!) The Horus Heresy Book One: Betrayal.

The book is gorgeous. Really high quality and full of lovely artwork. It, to be frank, also contains the Crusade era army list, which was a prime motivator for purchase. However, that is not to decry the book, which very pretty :)  .

On the subjet of pretty, my idea is to gradually assemble an Emperor's Children army. I have always liked this Legion, and liked them in the books. I also liked them in the older art book from GW/The Black Library, 'The Horus Heresy Collected visions'. When building the army, I have that books look of the Emperor's Children, with the current army list and miniatures to fulfil that ideal. With that in mind have I painted three test miniatures, a Mark III; a Mark IV; and a Mark VI. I also re-based my 'Classical' scenery to give it a more battlefield look, and to act as a backdrop for photography.

All this is something I am doing in the background, I am still painting the Snakeman army, but they will be finished very soon. I have an allied contingent of ten half painted on my table as I type.

Enjoy :)
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 The Horus Heresy Book One: Betrayal.
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 Emperor's Children.
I am going for a 'pinker' look to mine, as per earlier artwork. I will also have a few more Mark III armoured Marines than it consider, as I like them, and the Legion did use them, just not as much as others.
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 The Horus Heresy: Collected Visions. 
A large book packed full of Horus Heresy inspired artwork used in the eponymous Collectable Card Game.
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 Emperor's Children.
I am aiming for roughly this look.
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Plastic Emperor's Children. 
I have not as of yet painted any numbers or iconography on the shoulder pads. These are really little more than test models to refine the armour colour.
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 Mark III.
I have added 1cm square plastic card on the bases to suggest wrecked marble flagstones.
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 Mark IV with Missile Launcher. 
I plan to use a Heavy Support choice for on a squad of these, and equip them with Flakk Missiles. 
The bulk of the armour in the army will be Mark IV.
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 Mark VI Marine. 
I thought that a squad of Mark VI's would be fun to have and very Horus Heresy rather than just the usual Marks II, III, IV, and sometimes V.
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 Ruins.  
A lot of the ruined cities in the 'Collected Visions' book look Neo-Classical, and so I thought this scenery, and the Marines bases, would suit.
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 Front view.
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 More ruins.
 The larger one is a converted fish tank ruin, as are the ruined statues.
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 Legion Tactical Support Squad in Mark III armour.
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Making more flagstones! 


Next week, Snakemen!

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The Snakemen of the Moon Goddess.

April 16, 2017, 10:59 am
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I have had a very successful week painting. I have managed to paint one regiment of ten Snakemen, some Harpies, and a couple of random Snakemen. However, this blog update will focus just on just the unit of Snakemen, as I want to save the other stuff, namely the Harpies, for a more in-depth update of their own.

The Snakeman regiment I painted is a unit of ten Snakemen, designed to be used as proxy Chaos Warriors in a Chaos Ally Contingent, as per the Warhammer Armies lists. Unlike the Snakemen of the main Snakeman army, I have decided to paint them all as a coherent unit, with the same flesh colour, armour, and largely the same equipment. I have done this so the represent a tribe of allied Snakemen, cousins of the main army from a different settlement.

I painted their armour silver rather than gold, and used a palette of blue shields, and green-grey flesh, to give a colder look, as opposed to the more colourful varied look of the main army, to make them look different from the main army.
When I was painting them I decided I needed a bit of a backstory to give them an identity. In spirituality and many religons, gold is often representative of the Sun, and silver the Moon, and so I decided to give these Snakemen the identity of a tribe who followed a (Chaos) Moon deity. As the Moon is also often represented by a Goddess, they became the Snakemen of the Moon Goddess. I also painted their standard with an image of the Moon through the trees I saw in a picture to finish off the idea. 

Enjoy :)
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 The Snakemen of the Moon Goddess. 
I went for a paint scheme of grey-green flesh, orange eyes, blue shields, and silver armour.  By painting them in a uniform set of colours, they were a lot quicker to paint than ten more individual Snakemen from the main army.
To give a little individuality I painted some of the axe shafts and bags differing colours. I did keep most of the clothing and fur the same colours to keep the uniformity, and painted them in natural browns to suggest a more Native American looking feel. 
I also used a mix of miniatures, using all of the five different sculpts of Snakemen. In gaming terms they will be equiped with heavy armour, shield, hand weapon, and double handed weapon.
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 The regimental leader, S'lonLife Smasher.
 He had a miscast shield which is a common fault with this miniature, and so I added an old Marauder Miniatures Dark Elf shield of the top of it. Being concave and hollow at the back it fitted over the top nicely.
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 A converted broken Saranth Elf Mangler, converted to be a standard bearer. Sometimes the casting of the halberd top of this miniature can be weak, and sometimes breaks, leading to me using three of this miniature in the army as converted standard bearers.
I positioned the standard at an angle because when I first converted it I releaised you could'nt actually see the standard front due to the angle!
The standard is based on a picture of the Moon in a piece of artwork I saw in a shop. I also added some runic lettering on the standard to give a little more detail. I chose the name 'Luna' as the name of the Moon Goddess. Looking straight-on at the standard 'Luna' is written on the left in Dark Elf runes from the Warhammer Forces of Fantasy book. On the right, it is written in Dark Tongue from The Lost and the Damned book.  
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 S'lararet Splintered Fang.
I painted his shield with a similar look to the standard.
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 The first of four S'Sirron Fangthrane.
 I painted the axe shafts different to add a little individuality.
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 The second pair of S'Sirron Fangthrane's.
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 A pair of Higgat Dwarf Slicer's.
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Finally, last but not least, another S'lonLife Smasher, without a miscast shield. 

Next update I will be focusing on the Harpies I have also painted. I bought six more Bob Olley Iron Claw Harpies from e-bay, and painted stripped them and the one I already had, and painted them.
Painting wise I am getting very close to finishing the army. :)

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Things from Salute 2017.

April 24, 2017, 6:01 am
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I went to Salute 2017 in London on saturday.

Always fun to go to and have a look around, with lots of demonstration games, and lots of smaller miniature companies. I met up with several Oldhammer bloggers, chatted to Tim Prow about his miniatures range, and chatted to many company owners. I did'nt bother to take photographs as a lot of other people probably have, and of better quality. I wanted to focus on looking around and spying out interesting things, rather than photography.

When I go to Salute I usually don't go there to buy armies or anything that I could really buy online. My aim to to pick up any odds and ends that would'nt warrant a mail order, buy items from smaller companies which I had not heard of or (sadly) might not be around for long, or buy items of scenery which would cost a lot in postage. Also, it's good for gathering information on new compaines and collecting the website addresses for any future mail ordering.

Below are the few odds and ends I purchased, with links to the relavent web sites.

Enjoy :)

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 Snail house!
I bought this as a charming scenery piece for fantasy gaming, especially with Fantasy Tribes era Goblins and Dwarves in mind. 
It cost £15 and is made by
http://www.hystericalgames.co.uk/
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 Front door and left side.
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 It's a big snail shell house! :)
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 Fishmen.
I have always wanted these, and so succumbed to pure whim, costing £10 for the pair.
These were originally made by Citadel Miniatures for the very earlier Rogue Trader releases in 1987, being converted from earlier Fishmen. They were re-released a few years ago by Wargames Foundry, and now reside at Warmonger Miniatures.
https://warmongerminiatures.myshopify.com/
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 An armoured Giant Barn Owl from Oathsworn Miniatures. 
I really like Oathsworn miniautres and already have several. I bought this for one of my 3rd Edition Elf Armies as a standing for a Giant Eagle. I might order a few more. He cost £7.
http://www.oathswornminiatures.co.uk/
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 Cacti from Wargames Terrain Workshop.
As people may be aware, I have been painting a Snakeman army, with a vague Southwestern desert of   North America feel. So I thought a little desert scenery would be fun to have, especially as I will be photographing the whole army on a gaming board, probably next week.
These fine flora cost a mere £3.
http://wargamesterrainworkshop.co.uk/
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 More giant Cacti. These cost £2.50.
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 Rattle Snakes. 
I am not sure whether to put these on Snakemen bases, or use them as a bound swarm, but for £2 I could'nt resist. 
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 Bugs!
These are awsome. Small resin made bugs, great for bases and swarms. I will be using some of these for Slann bases, and maybe some of the Fantasy Tribes Goblins. 
They cost £4.50, and are made by Ristuls Market.
https://www.ristulsmarket.com/
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 Flowers.
Lots and lots of Flowers.
These are made by Debris of War Scenics and a beautifully detailed and self adhesive. They are very reasonably priced  at £5 and £6, considering the large number you get.
The 'mm' sizing is to  do with how tall the flowers are, rather than the width of the flowers.
http://www.debrisofwar.com/
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 Close up of the 2mm tufts.
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 Free stuff!
The Salute female Red Revolutionary miniautre, and Red Star die.
I also was given a free platic miniature from War Cradle. The yhad a big display game and the miniautre looks to be a high quality plastic casting.
Thier website is here:
http://www.warcradle.com/
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 Free all-colour Forgeworld Catalogue, handy for my 30k Hours Heresy army.

Next update will be in a couple of days time on the Iron Claw Harpies.
I have been painting a lot recently, and have nearly finished the Snakeman army, with all of the Snakemen themselves now done!

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Iron Claw Miniatures Harpies : 'The Blue Footed Harpy Tribe'. (NSFW).

April 26, 2017, 11:10 am
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As the painting of the Chaos Snakeman army draws to a close, I have been busy finishing the last peripheral items of the army, in this case Harpies.

I wanted Harpies in the army so I could have some flying creatures to attack Giant Eagle and such, or just fly around annoying things. I did orginally have just the one, which I painted purple, but I never liked the paint scheme, so I paint stripped her. I also wanted more than one Harpy. One lucky e-bay auction added six more to the army.


The miniatures are from Bob Olley's Iron Claw range from about 1988, sold by GW. They are a very small range of miniatures, with only three models, and two types of seperate wings. There was a fourth miniature, but this was unreleased. They could be considered NSFW because the miniatures are sculpted to be naked. The three miniatures are composed of two female and one male Harpies. The three miniatures are meant to be based on political leaders of the time. The male is American President Ronald Regan, the unarmed female Harpy is his wife, Nancy Regan; and the other female Harpy holding a bone is the 1980's UK Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher.


Other than the Harpies, I have been very busy painting and sorting all sorts of things out. I have largely completed the Native American Orc Ally Contingent, and painted a Hydra. I have also started painting my pre-slotta Dark Elf army, and sorting through my pre-slotta Orc army.

Enjoy :)
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 Iron Claw Harpies. 
I have painted them in a standard eagle-equse looking brown, but painted the feet blue to add colour. So, these Harpies are the 'Blue-footed Harpy Tribe'.
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 One of each.
As there are only two types of wings, I have bend the open wings on some of the Harpies to give more variation and suggest 'flapping'. 
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 The 'Ronald Regan' Harpy.
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 The 'Nancy Regan' Harpy.
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 The 'Margaret Thatcher' Harpy.
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 Both types of wings. The wings are seperate and can be mixed and matched.
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 Ral Partha Hydra from 1982. 
I have added her to the Snakeman army as a bound monster, as it seemed appropriate. I named her 'Hetty', as she just seemed like a Hetty to me! :)
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 The last of the Snakemen I finished painting a week or two ago. 
The standard at the rear is the Army Standard.
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 Pre Slotta Dark Elf army.
I undercoated the army last night, and have already started painting the Dragon and the Cold One Riders. I plan to completely paint this army over the next few weeks, and will update on my progress after the final Snakeman Army updates.
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 WIP
Sneek Peek of my Native American Orc Ally Contingent.
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Big box of pre slotta Orcs.
I want to organise these into one or two Lord of the Rings Armies, mixing in Citadels 1980's Lord of Rings miniatures as well. I am not sure whether to do this in the form of a large skirmish army, similar to the GW's War of the Rings game, basing them on 25mm or 30mm bases. The other option is a 3rd Edition Orc army, on 25mm square bases and more formally organised.
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All of the C27 Snakemen.
The C27 Snakemen are all now painted, and on a shelf, awaiting a proper army photographing. I thought I would just add this photograph on the blog for the fun of it.

The next update will be on the Native American Orc Ally Contingent. After that, I will organise a complete set of photographs for a full Snakeman Army update, later next week or so. Then on to the Dark Elves. :)
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Native American Orc Ally Contingent, Cacti, and WIP Dark Elves.

May 3, 2017, 3:04 pm
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I've been a busy Goblin again.

To accompany the Snakeman army, I have painted an Orc Ally Contingent, and keeping with the South Western American theme, I have painted them up in a Native American style. Looking at the Snakeman army I realised that there were no missile troops, and rather than just add bows to some of the Snakemen, or add humans, I thought an allied tribe of Native American-equse Orcs, armed with bows, might be fun.

Painting wise I opted for the classic GW Orc green flesh as I wanted the normal late 1980's Orc approach. Also, as I was going to paint warpaint I thought the green would constrast nicely. On that subject I went for a lot of warpaint and painted the bows coloured with markings, and the shields in a Native American style. I based on the warpaint and bows on a mixture of Apache and Plains Tribes look from an Osprey history book on the subject, as well a a few random Google photographs.

I am happy with how they look. The Contingent consists of two regiments of ten archers, one with, and the other without shields. It also includes a Contingent Leader. I used a mix of C series and later 1980's slotta Orcs, and a few Marauder ones, and tried to go for a less 'European Medieval' look to them. To that end I have used quite a few of Citadels Savages Orcs. The good thing in gaming terms about using the unarmoured miniatures is that they can move fast, not having any movement penalties from armour. I do have more non archer Orcs in this style, so could expand the Ally Contingent at a later date if I wanted to.

Apart from the Orcs I have completed painting the Cacti from Wargames Terrain Workshop, which were great fun to paint. In addition, I have also started the project I wanted to do after the Snakemen, namely the Dark Elf army. A while ago I realised that I never really liked the mid to later 1980's Dark Elves, especially the Marauder ones. So I collected a purely pre-slotta Dark Elf army. With this I have been making good progress, painting a regiment of 10 Cold One riders, 10 Scouts, and halfway through painting forty Warriors (comprised from the Mengil Manhides Regiment of Renown set), and halfway through the Army General riding a Dragon. I have yet to varnish and base any of these, and when I do I will update properly on them, but for now they are still WIP.

This is the first part of my post-Snakeman plan to re-visit my Warhammer armies project. That project was to have one each of the armies in the Warhammer Armies book (1988), each army being a workable 3,000 point list. Now I have all of the miniatures required for this, and several of the armies are already completed. I have however 'tinkered' with some, removing some of the miniatures (mainly pre-slotta, or not 1980's stuff) from several of the armies, meaning a little work is now required. Other armies, notably the High Elves and Empire, I never started. So I have spent the last few evenings re-writing army lists and working out what may need to be painted, but more on that later in May and June.

Enjoy :)
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 Native American Orc Ally Contingent.
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 Orc Contingent Commander.
He is a dismounted C21 Orc Boar Rider, named 'Nogzod'.
I chose him as I required an Orc wearing Heavy Armour (as per the army list entry), and his headress reminded me of the Apache Gan Dancers.
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 Rear view.
 I decorated the hammer sharft to add more colour, and made the armour look rusty to suggest it was old and looted.
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 Orcs with shields. 
I have gone for a variety of warpaint, bow and shield decorations, to give each one their own warrior identity. All of the Orc miniatures have bows and a quiver of arrows on their back.
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 A pair of Citadel ORC2 Savage Orcs, Gat and Grorb.
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 More Savage Orcs, Citadel ORC2 Savage Orcs Snortz and Garn.
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Citadel ORC2 Savage Orcs Arakt and Slobl.
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 Citadel ORC2 Savage Orcs Gobl and Arakt again!
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 Citadel ORC2 Savage Orcs Bruug and Gat (again!).
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 The second Regiment of Orcs, this time without shields.
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 On the left is a Citadel ORC2 Savage Orc, Pork. On the right however is an ORC5 Villager. I painted his chainmail loincloth to look like rough fibre rather than metal.
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 Two Marauder Miniatures MM20 Orcs, from pack MM20/5, from 1988.
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 Citadel C15 Braglog and Citadel ORC2 Savage Orc Grobble.
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 Citadel C15 Holg and another of the ORC5 Orc Villager archer.
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 On the left is an Orc Champion range miniature from 1998, named Eddrig Dwarf Cutter. Although he has no bow, I added him purely for the Native American look of him.
On the right is another Citadel ORC2 Savage Orc Grobble.
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 Cacti from Wargames Terrain Workshop.
I added a few of their Rattlesnake miniatures to the bases as well. 
These miniatures are great, and really fun to paint.
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 The big cluster of Cacti, with a curled Rattlesnake on the base.
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 Two more Cacti.
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 Spikey and plump looking Cacti, with slithering Rattlesnake.
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 Arakt is blissfully unaware of the coiled Rattlesnake next to the flowering Cacti, as he poses for the camera.
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 WIP C21 Dark Elf Cold One Riders.
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 The same Regiment from the right. I have converted a unit standard, and written Dark Elf runes from the Forces of Fantasy Supplement. It says 'Hell Drake', the names of the +3 Shock Elite Cold One Rider entry in Warhammer Armies.
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 Five 'Shadows': Dark Elf scouts.
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   Five more 'Shadows'.
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 Army General.
A converted C21 Dark Elf Cold One rider, mounted on an old Minifigs Aureola Rococo range Dragon. This miniature has just been re-released after 30+ years of being out of production, although this is an original one.
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WIP.
On my painting desk are forty RR4 Mengil Manhides Regiment of Renown Dark Elves, to be used in the Warriors entry in Warhammer Armies. 
The horses are from RR10 Regiment of Renown, Elwing's Elf Cavalry, and they aree to form the basis of my next project after the Dark Elves: High Elf Army.
My plan is to have the bulk of the army as Silver Helm Cavalry, using Elwing's Regiment as the basis, and thus having a totally mounted pre-slotta High Elf army. I have more to add to this army.

My next update should be a complete photographing of the Snakeman army in all it's Chaotic glory! :)

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The full C27 Chaos Snakeman army.

May 20, 2017, 1:58 pm
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I have photographed the complete Chaos Snakeman army.

After taking a few months to finish painting, I wanted to take a series of photographs to basically show them off, as well as finally see what it looked like fielded as a completed army on the battlefield (or desert in this case!). As I don't own a large gaming table, I popped down to my local gaming store in Brighton, The Dice Saloon, and hired a table with desert base and desert scenery for an afternoon.

As promised to the owner Axel, here is the blatant plug for the store, so if you're ever in Brighton, pop in: https://www.dicesaloon.com/   :)

Back to the Snakemen, it was great to see the army formed up as an army ready for battle, for the first time as well, and also in the Southwestern American looking setting I was aiming for. The photographs are of each of the independent heroes, then the regiments, the bound creatures, and then the allied contingents. I based the army on the generic Chaos army list from the 3rd Edition Warhammer Fantasy Battle supplement 'Warhammer Armies'. The Snakemen themselves are proxies Chaos Warriors, and Chaos Marauders. The heavy armour and the better, more anti-heroic profiles and background, I feel fitted the more 'bad-ass' feel to them.

I am really pleased with how the army has turned out. The look and feel of the army is great, and I am also pleased with the idea of going for a slightly South-Western American desert look, with the desert bases, and the Native American looking Orcs, Trolls and Humans. In addition, the decsion to base them on the round lipped 40mm bases looked worked on the table, and several people at the Dice Saloon liked the idea too. I feel this gives the option to field the Snakemen in skirmish games, both fantasy and sci-fi, as well as more conventional Warhamer mass combat battles.

Enjoy :)

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The full Snakeman army.
 I could'nt get better overview photograph, but it gives a good idea of the army arrayed.
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 Right flank of the army.
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 Centre of the army.
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 Left flank of the army.
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 Looking down the battleline.
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 Characters.
Army General.
Whilst not an actual Snakeman, I am using him (or being a Champion of Slaanesh, him, her, or a combination of both!) as a mutated Snakeman Chaos Champion.
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 The Army Standard.
I wrote the runes in Dark Tongue from the 'Lost and the Damned' book. 
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 The two together on the field.
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 Independent Chaos hero.
When I was painting the army I was also re-reading Stormbringer, and so thought I would paint up one of the Snakeman heroes albino to suggest that he is an aspect of the Eternal Champion from an alternative dimension. I replaced his original sword with an old 1990's Chaos Space Marine one to look like one of the sibling swords of Stormbringer.
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Second Independent Chaos hero.
To keep with the Eternal Champion theme, and to have an independent hero with a bow, I painted this Snakeman red fleshed, with red armour, in pastiche of Rakhir the Red. I wanted an independent hero with a bow, so he could go around sniping at things that might need sniping at, maybe with a 'Hail of Doom' arrow or two!
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The first of three of the Snakemen Chaos Sorcerers.
 The miniature is a 1980's Grenadier Serpent men, from their Call of Cthulhu ranges.
These miniatures are smaller than the Citadel C27 Snakemen, but by still mounting them on the same 40mm bases, building up the base with some milliput, and moving the positon of the neck, they fit nicely, looking like merely an unarmoured version of the other Snakemen.
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Second Snakeman Chaos Sorcerer.
 I added the remains of plastic skeleton horse to give it that desert wasteland feel, and bulk out the base.
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Third Snakeman Chaos Sorcerer.
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Another Chaos Sorcerer.
Keeping with the South-Western American feel, I have used a Native American looking miniatures from Citadels C03 Cleric range, named 'Sacred Bull'. 
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 I had a spare Citadel Native American miniature with a bow, who will fufill the same function of scouting and sniping as the independent Snakeman hero,
The miniature is from Citadels 1980's C07 Ranger range, and is appropriately named 'Scout'.
Rank & File.
The first of the Snakeman Regiments.
As I wanted the Snakemen to be better than just Beastmen, I decided to use Chaos Warrior and Chaos Marauder profiles. As the Chaos list in Warhammer armies only has provision for a maximum of 20 Chaos Warriors, and 30 Marauders, I decided that the two Regiments with with polearms were to be Chaos Warriors; the three Regiments with Hand Weapons were to be Chaos Marauders.
In keeping with that idea, this regiment is 10 Chaos Warriors, armed with double handed weapons.
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The second Regiment of Chaos Warriors are armed with Halberds.
I think using the same miniature in each of the two Chaos Warrior Regiments gives them a more the feel of a unified purpose than the mixed miniatures I used for the Chaos Marauders.
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Close up and impersonal!
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The first of the Chaos Marauder Snakemen. 
To give a little more individuality and sense of movement to them I did minor conversions such as repostioning the arms and tails.
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Side view.
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The Second Chaos Marauder Snakeman Regiment.
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The units leader, ready with pistol!
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The third Regiment.
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Battleline of the regiment, slithering in a most Chaotic manner.
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Trolls.
I converted up a pair of old pre-slotta C20 Trolls with a Native American feel to them. I added an old Native American looking Citadel Fighter to lead them. I wanted a couple of Trolls in the Army to add some muscle, and the Human to give them a little brains too.
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  Ethereal host.
I like Ethereal hosts, and added a Wraith to the army. It is an old Reaper miniature, which I painted up in a sand colour to look like an old blanket rather than a black wraiths robes, and to blend in with the desert.
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Chaotic host.
Bound Hydra.
I thought that a Hydra would be an appropriate Chaotic monster for a Snakeman army. It an old Ral Partha miniature from the early 1980's.
Her name is Hetty.
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Gorgon.
The Chaos army is the only army that can bind one of these, and given that she can turn creatures into stone, and has snakey hair, it seemed a great idea to include her.
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Bound Harpies.
I wanted some flying creatures to chase off giant Eagles generally fly around annoying things. I like the idea a tribe of Harpies living in the desert, scavenging like buzzards in an old Western.
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Chaos Ally Contingent. 
I wanted more Chaos Snakemen/Chaos Warriors in the army. By adding a Chaos Ally Contingent I can add up to another 20 if I wanted to. I built a Regiment of 10 from the 'left over' Snakemen.
To give the mixed unit some coherence I painted them up the same colour flesh and a different armour colour from the main Snakeman army; silver. 
For a backstory, I painted them in a paler pallette and whilst the main Snakemen army is linked to the desert sun, these are to the moon, hence the became the Snakemen of the Moon Goddess.
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Regimental/Contingent commander, and standard bearer.
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Orc Ally Contingent.
Apart from the two Chaos Heroes, there was a distinct lack of missile troops in the main Snakeman army. To remedy this is also added an Orc Ally Contingent, armed with bows. 
To keep with the South Western American aesthetic, I painted the Orcs in a Native American style, mixing Apache and Plains Tribes looks.
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Contingent Commander.
His headress reminded me of the Apache Gan Dancers, so I thought he would make a good Contingent Commander.
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The first regiment of Orc Archers. These ones are only armed with bows.
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Close up. I am really pleased with how they look.
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The second regiment, armed with bows and equiped with shields.
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Close up. I partly copied the shield designs from an old Osprey History book on the North American Tribes.

...and that is the army.
However I could'nt resist setting up a few photographs of the Snakeman army on the desert table.
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The invasion begins!
On the northern desert frontier of the Slann Empire the Army General points the way as a Snakeman Regiment passes an ancient Slann border marker.
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Scouting ahead of main force on the other side of a river, the red Snakeman hero and Human Scout scour the border.
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The Snakemen of the Moon Goddess fufill their age old obligations and ties of kinship, and join the invading army.
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The bulk of the army moves through a desert canyon, emerging into the desert beyond.
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The advancing.
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The head of the column, streatching out into the distance.

The Snakeman army has now been completed. Well, kind of. I am still considering adding perhaps a few more Snakemen in the future, and I have the Undead Snakemen from Tim Prow's kickstarter on their way. But this won't be yet, and for now, the Snakeman army is completed. :)

I have now started painting my pre-slotta Dark Elf army, and I will be updating on the progress and ideas behind them on my next blog update. 
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DieHard Miniatures order arrives!

May 25, 2017, 7:14 pm
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My Diehard Kickstarter order arrived late last week.

For those of you unaware, the Kickstater was started by Tim Prow who was a sculpter and 'eavy Metal painter for GW in the 1980's, and who has continued to sculpt since. The kickstarter was set up to recreate many of the old style 1980's Citadel miniatures and ranges,'Oldhammer' style, but with a modern emphisis on sclupting quality and an updated look.

The ranges were largely fantasy based, although there were some sci fi elements. The main race of the Kickstarter is the Eru-Kin, a range of frog-like humanoid creatures, some with sci-fi elements, others with a more fantasy basis, all with a Aztec-esque/ancient alien feel. This may sound familar to those people familar with older editions of Warhammer, being reminiscent of the Slann, especially the pre-slotta ones.
The original kickstarter info can be found here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/diehardminiatures/diehard-miniatures-eru-kin-expansion

I really loved the Eru-Kin when I first saw the Kickstarter as they had more than a passing resemblance to the old Warhammer Slann. So I put in a couple of hundred pounds and opted for a selection of miniatures which would allow me to have (another!!) a small 3rd Edition Slann army, or cover the Slann required in the Magnifcent Sven scenario. This resulted in an order of 90+ Eru-Kin.

I wanted a Slann army which had a mix of sci-fi and fantasy elements to suggest the Slann just after the fall of the Old Slann Civilisation, a Slann Empire which is in decline but still has some access to it's old tech and retains it's more hi-tech look, which had'nt yet slipped into backwardness. My painting plan is to go for less the 'classic' Slann scheme of golds and semi-Aztecness. I am aiming for a mix of the classic Slann but with sci-fi colours to suggest a transition to decline. Also, as I have chosen a mix of sci-fi and fantasy, this leaves me open to use the Eru-Kin as a 40k/Rogue Trader force.

So what of the miniatures themselves?
They are fanatastic. The casting and quality of the metal is very great. Design wise they have lots of little details on them and the look of them really suggests the old C32 Slann and Magnificent Sven scenario Slann miniatures and artwork, but without being slavish copies to either. With the fantasy Eru-Kin many items such as the hand axes and swords are very similar in design to the artwork, as are many of the poses are similar to the C32, and their armour too. However the great thing about them to me is that they have the feel of the old Slann miniatures, but sculpted with contemporary quality and ideas and takes my imagination of the Slann further than the 1980's miniatures really suggested or allowed.

In addition to the Eru-Kin, I also purchased some of Tim Prow's Skeletal Snakemen to add as an additonal part of the Ally Contingent to the C27 Snakeman I have just 'finished' (ahem!). I really love the idea of these, and they also capture the old Citadel Snakemen style in the same apporach as the Eru-Kin does for the Slann.

Apart from the Eru-Kin and Snakemen, Tim Prow also sculpted a whle host of other fantasty and Sci-fi miniatures, but I decided to focus on the Snakemen and Eru-kin. For anyone who missed out on these miniatures, I asked Tim Prow about later sales and he responded in an e-mail to me that he would be releasing the ranges for general sale when he starts the new Kickstarter in October.
I'll be buying more Eru-Kin!

Enjoy :)

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Diehard's business card.
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In the box!
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The army all un-bagged.
It had been about four months since I placed the order, and I had largley fogotten what I had ordered and into what regiments I planned to fit them. So, the organisation above will probably be subject to change!
However as it stands, going by the 3rd Edition Warhammer Armies Slann lists, I have two regiments of 20 Spawn Bands; one regiment of 20 Bull Slann; one regiment of 12 other Warriors, maybe Alligator Warriors; two regiments of 10 Venom Tribes; one unit of 5 Scouts (with pistols!); and a few indepenent Heroes/Mages.
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A sci-fi Eru-Kin, with gun and large and beautiful shield.
 He will probably end up as the army General. 
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Eru-Kin Mages.
The one on the left might end up as a hero.
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Command group. 
The musican and leader are fantasy, the Standard bearer sci-fi, and he screams Goa'uld from 'Stragte' to me! As a consequence, I will be learning to the dar mettalic grey forthe sci-fi elements of Eru-Kin armour, with their more backwards kin having more glod and cloth.
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Command miniatures I intend using for the Bull Slann. I am going to use the helmeted heads for the Bull Slann to differenate them.
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Bodies.
These are the bodies types for the Eru-Kin infantry.
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Heads and weapons.
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Shields.
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Blowpipers.
I love blowpipes. in 3rd Edition Warhammer, although short ranges, they do have a D6 strength, and Slann can shoot them whilst hiding in water and still claim hard cover.
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Close up of the Blopipers.
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Sci-fi Eru-Kin with tech weapons.
In a fantasy game I plan to use them as alternative blowpiper scouts.
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Close up.
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GW Slann Mage.
I bought this a while ago for the Eru-Kin army, and will add him to be a high level mage 'in a palaquin'. I always wanted one of these.
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Scale comparison with pre-slotta Slann (left), and the later slotta (right).
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Blowpipers.
In the middle is the old pre-slotta C32 Slann, with Diehard Eru-Kin either side.
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 Here is the old pre-slotta C32 Slann for comparison.
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 Slann artwork from Warhammer 2nd Edition.
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The Magnificent Sven cover artwork.
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Snakeman!
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Armour details, similar to the C27 Snakemen of old.
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Skeletal Snakeman with two hand weapons (next to a 40mm round lipped base).
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Skeletal Snakeman with sword and shield.
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Skeletal Snakeman archer.
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Skeletal Snakeman with sword.
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Snakeman scale comparison with an old C32 Citadel Snakeman.
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Another, 'on the flat', scale comparison.

Next update really should be my progress on my pre-slotta Dark Elves, which I am steadily painting my way through.
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Pre Slotta Dark Elf army project.

June 5, 2017, 10:58 am
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About three weeks ago, as the Snakeman project drew to a close, I started painting my pre-slotta Dark Elf army. Now I already had a Dark Elf army made up from Citadel's mid/late slotta based C09 Dark Elves, and the Marauder Miniatures ones. However I never really liked the army or felt that they really had the right 'vibe' for the Dark Elves. So last year I decided to collect a 'new' Dark Elf army, from the pre-slotta range of Dark Elves, adding to the ones I already had.

I always liked the pre-slotta Dark Elves. The style and sculpting seemed more understated and better to me, and they seemed to work as a range as a whole. The simliarity of thier weapons, helmets, shields, and cloaks gives the range a coherence, without being the same, or too disperate. I was'nt overly impressed with the later 1980's slotta Dark Elves, and I really dislike the pudgy and round faced Marauder Dark Elves.

Painting wise, looking at the pre-slotta miniatures the helmets suggested to me a Classical Greek look, and the rest of the equipment and armour a Byzantine look. So I decided to go for a lighter look for the Dark Elves, with less purple and blacks, and more colours, and also with more slivery chainmail. In keeping with the Greek look, I have opted for bronze shields, scale armour, and helmets, with a little verde gris. I am also going to paint some Ancient Greek looking shield designs as well.

The only exception to this is the Mengil Manhides Regiment of Renown, who are a lot darker, in line with their description in the background. Also, I am undecided on how to do the bases. I want to avoid the snow look, so might go for a forest look, as that is suggested in the 1st Edition Dark Elf background in the 'Forces of Fantasy' supplement. In the Forces of Fantasy book (of the Forces of Fantasy supplement) it describes the Dark Elves as "Driven from the Elven lands they took refuge amongst dark forests and caves until, many years later, they established a small independant kingdom".

The older, 1st Edition Warhammer background of the Dark Elves being more forest orinetated suggests to me the idea that this army and the pre slotta range are more akin to an earlier era of Dark Elves. As some of the miniatures still have bows rather than crossbows, and as the Dark Elves still have a High Elf look to them with the long chainmail coats, then I like to consider that this army is a representative of an early Dark Elf army, just after their exile from the High Elves. The Dark Elves with bows I will be counting as army with crossbows for gaming purposes.

Enjoy :)
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Some of the pre-slotta Dark Elf range.
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Artwork from the Forces of Fantasy supplement for 1st Edition Warhammer Fantasy Battle.
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Mengil Manhide.
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Dark Elf Sorceress.
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Ancient Greek helmets, which made me think of the similarity between them and the pre slotta Dark Elves.
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A very poor army wide photograph.
Once I paint the army I shall do an overall army photo-shoot on a gaming table, as I did with the Snakmen. The army is still very much a WIP, but I have a lot of the miniatures to a level where it's only the shields and bases which require attention.
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Army General on Dragon.
The Dragon an old Aureola Rococo model, which used to be painted gold and part of my Bretonnian army, but seems more at home with the Dark Elves.
The General is a slightly converted Dark Elf Cold One Rider.
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Close up.
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 C21 Dark Elf Cold One Riders.
I have converted a standard bearer for the unit, and opted for a grey-green granite looking colour for the Cold Ones.
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Close up.
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Dark Elf Sorcerers WIP.
Also there is magically bound Ghost, an old pre-slotta Ghoul miniature I think, and it's actually one of the first miniatures I ever owned.
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Mengil Manhides Regiment of Renown.
The background of the Regiment is that they are dressed in dark clothing and wear the skins of poor unfortunate humans who have crossed their path.
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Rear view of the flayed cloak.
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My second regiment of Mengil Manhides Dark Elves.
I did just want to paint the second Regiment the same as the second, so I when for a sea raider feel for them, with sea gree/blue cloaks, and bronze armour. I also swapped out the Mengil miniature for a C09 miniature as a unit leader to differentiate.
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Rear view of the cloak.
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10 Dark Elf Shadows (Scouts).
I will split these into two units of five. I painted the cloaks as dull and dirty greens to a suggest weather-beaten look.
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Close up.
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Witch Elves WIP.
Instead of just lots of purple of later paionting styles of Witch Elves, I have gone for a mix of colours. I have also added a few 'gothy' details such as stripey legging and dyed hair.
I like these Witch Elf miniatures much more than the later versions. Their look is more practical and sensible, just like their male counterparts, rather than clad in chainmail bikinis with hairsprayed hair like the later versions!
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Dark Elf Crossbows WIP.
These a mix of the C09 range, and are going to have bronze armour and shields.
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Second Dark Elf Crossbows WIP.
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UPDATE.I have verde gris-ed the bronze armour. I still have the shield desgins to add, but they are that one step closer.
Next update will be some more of the Dark Elf army, as well as a few random things I want to add.
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Age of Sigmar 'Death' Army, landscapes, baboons, a naughty Dwarf, and some goodly Knights.

June 16, 2017, 12:33 pm
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Whilst I am still painting the pre-slotta Dark Elves, I did take a break from them the end of last week to paint some of my Age Of Sigmar 'Death' Army, and a couple of odds and ends.

I always liked the Tomb Kings, and so when Age of Sigmar appeared, and they disappeared, I was less than happy. But I don't mind Age of Sigmar as a game, what little I have played of it, and it gave me opportunity to pursue an idea I wanted to do. I wanted to build a Vampire Counts army, with Vampire Counts miniatures, with a Tomb Kings twist. So I have been collecting, on and off, a miniatures from the 'Death' faction, which were largley the old Vampire Counts miniatures, and adding some Tomb Kings item, such as heads/shields/etc, and painting them up in a variation of a Tomb King paint scheme.

In addition, I have also been shopping and sorting things out. I popped over to a fairly local Model Railway shop in Lancing (West Sussex) and bought some background settings for my blog photography. I also, on the same day, went to Worthing, and managed to bag a few Tomb Kings bargins too.

In relation to sorting things out, I did a little mail order a while ago to Ral Partha (Europe) for some of their fantasy Baboons. I bought one of the old Runequest Baboons from e-bay on a whim a month or so ago, and then had the idea of making an army of Baboons, some with weapons as per Runequest. I would use the Chaos army list for them, using them as a subsitute for Chaos Beastmen. In addition to the the Baboons, I have been sorting out the miniatures for my 1980's Empire and Brettonian armies, with an idea of organsing them ready for painting. I also painted the Dwarf flasher for no real reason.

Enjoy :)
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Railway shop backgrounds.
I plan to mount these on pieces of wood, but for now I'm using good old blu-tack.
They are made by a company named 'The Pitchard Patent Product Ltd', and called 'Peco scene backgrounds'. They cost me £1.55 each, which is very cheap.
The top one is called Mountain Lake, the bottom one Country with river.
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Top: Sky with clouds.
Bottom: Conutry Landscape.
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Goblins!!!!
I need to paint more Goblins, but for now these are for scale/scenic purposes.
This is the Country Landscape. I think they provide a really good backdrop.
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Another shot of the Country Landscape.
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Country River.
I love the idea of Goblins wandering about the English Countryside, in this case it looks like Yorkshire or the Cotswolds.
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The other end of the Country River.
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Mountain Lake, looking like the Lake District or Scotland.
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The other end of the Mountain Lake.
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The middle of the Mountain Lake scene, and what better to see there than a Giant Hill Troll?
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Sky with Clouds.
Not very exciting, but this will be useful when I add jungle or desert items to the foreground.
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Age of Sigmar Death force.
Sorry for the terrible photograph, I had difficultly in getting a good photograph, but I took better closer up photographs. These are only the start of the army, I have a lot more to paint.
I have combined Tomb King parts with the Death kits to create a Tomb King-esque army. I do miss the Tomb Kings, and might re-base them up for Age of Sigmar.
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Black Knights.
I love these miniatures and they paint up nicely. I added Tomb Kings heads, shields, and spear arms.
I painted these, and the others as follows:
Black undercoat; dry brush with white; add gold, red, turquoise in a heavy dry brush; then give the whole thing a wash with Citadels 'Nihilakh Oxide'.
The bases are Citadel's 'Steel Legion Earth' base/edge, with 'Agrellan Earth' texture.
I did'nt want to do the copy of my Tomb King army, but wanted a slightly Ghostly/Ethereal feel to the army. They are really quick to paint, this unit (not including basing) took about two hours.
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Unit leader, with Tomb King Kopesh, and Princely crowned head.
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Right hand side.
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Standard Bearer, with an old Tomb King standard.
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Musician with Tomb Kings horn.
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Spear armed Knights.
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Charging Knight.
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Wight King with Black Axe.
The miniature is an old Tomb Kings King, with an axe arm from the Necropolis Knights set.
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Old 1990's metal Banshee.
I painted her in the same manner as the rest of the army, but added some extra white highlights after the  'Nihilakh Oxide' wash had dried, to add to that spooky ethereal spirit look.
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Cairn Wraith.
I added a a Tomb King Mask from one of the Tomb King kits (I cannot recall which one).
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Grave Guard test models.
I painted up a pair of these to see how they look. I decided not to add the should armour to give them a more ancient era look. I like these miniatures, they remind me of the old pre-slotta C17 Skeletons with the unusual looking helmets.
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Basic Skeleton Warrior test modol.
Quick and easy to paint, which is handy as I have 60 of them to paint!
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Front view.
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Spirit hosts!
Like the Banshee I added some extra white drybrushing.
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Spooky!
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I love the nature of these kits as you can see through the open mouths and eyes, and they have a great sense of movement.
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Tomb Kings bargins.
In a second hand shop in Worthing, where I have picked up miniatures bargins before, they had had a re-stock. I bought the Banshee above for £3, the Tomb King MIB for £3, the High Queen Khalida £3, and the Tomb Guards for £5.
I am not sure what to do with them, although I am working on another Tomb Guard unit.
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'Flasher Dwarf'!
I am not sure why Citadel would make a flashing Dwarf, he's a odd little miniature. I bought him years ago as part of a batch of miniatures, and recently saw another one painted on someones blog and thought, I'll paint mine.
He'll probably end up in a regiment of Dwarves, perhaps as an even more deranged Troll Slayer.
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Rear view (so to speak!) of the flasher, showing his dirty raincoat.
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Runequest Baboon Aventurer.
I never played Runequest but I like this miniature and liked the idea of Baboons with weapons and armour.
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Rear view.
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The Runequest baboon gave me the idea of a baboon army, as stand-in alternative Beastmen. I bought a few test models from Ral Partha (Europe). Their baboons are called Swamp Ranzas and come in packs of two variants (above). I like these miniatures, and the idea of a baboon army is something I plan to undertake, but at a much later date.
The Ranzas can be found here:
http://www.ralparthaeurope.co.uk/shop/dsa-the-dark-eye-28mm-fantasy-c-30/creatures-17000-c-30_34/17015-swamp-ranzas-2-p-1012.html
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A couple of converted Ranzas.
I re-positioned the arms and gave them a couple of old shields and weapons. I wanted to avoid going for an African theme for them. It would have been easy to just give them assagai's and 'Zulu' shields, and African fantasy armies are an under-explored concept. However, I did'nt want them to be a pastiche of Africans, but I wanted them to be more akin to a C.S Lewis/Runequest approach of European/Middle Eastern weapons and equipment. I am reminded of Prince Kassim as a Baboon, in the film 'Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger' in their demeanor. But it's all very much a WIP with both the concept and miniatures.
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Reiksguard.
I have been sorting out my Empire and Bretonnian miniatures too, with an idea of painting my Empire army, and re-organising the Bretonnians.
For the Empire army is have Pikemen, crossbows, and Halberdiers, but the plan is to have all of these around a core regiment of Reiksguard. Rather than Reiksguard miniatures I wanted my Empire army to have a core unit that is more 1980's fantasy human, and so will have the regiment built around the 1980's Citadel boxset BC7- Heroic Fighter of the Known World, with a mix of Fighters and Lords of Battle to make up the numbers. I like the idea of the army being form around a virtues and goodly group of questing/crusading Knight and heroes (and one heroine). For some reason I forgot to add the hero 'Gladius' to the unit, but he will be present too!


The next update will be the Dark Elves. If I focus on them I can finish the army in a few days.

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Frog smoking a pipe.

June 22, 2017, 1:38 pm
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A quick and small update this week, this side of a weekend at work for me!

A while ago I purchased a small mail order of giant frogs for my Slann army/ies from a company called 'Toad King Castings', who can be found here: http://www.toadkingcastings.co.uk/  . Now I have not managed to get around to painting the giant frogs (or ordering some more, which I plan to do), but yesterday I did paint 'Terence Toad', a much smaller giant frog, smoking a pipe.

I love this miniature. He's cute, and has a sweet twee vibe which I only usually get from Hobbits. This to me is the Slann version of a Hobbit. I had planned to just place him in a random Slann regiment as a curiosity, but now I have painted him, I might use him as a low level Slann Wizard, perhaps a Wizard who's spell has gone wrong and turned him into, er, a smaller frog!

Painting wise he was very quick and easy to paint. Two tones of green, eyes, and a pipe. The main effort was in the base. I put the frog on a lipped 25mm square lipped base, with him sitting on a slightly raised mound of Miliput. I then painted the inside of the base dark brown, and added some grasses, a water lily, and a few tiny stones. After that I added some 'Solid Water' water effect resin to suggest he was sitting on a mud mound in a pool of water. I have never used the water effect resin before, and testing it out was the main reason I painting him (that and the cuteness!). I am really happy with how it all looks, and I will be using it a lot more, especially with the Slann and Eru-Kin. 

Ribbit! :)
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 Terence the Toad, smoking in the jungle.
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 Slightly more left hand side view.
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 Back end of a smokey Toad!
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 Right hand side.
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Tilted view of the base.
I added the water effect up the the top of the lip of the base. It just covered part of the stones and the lower part of the little mound of mud he's sitting on. It pooled in the deeper dips of the base as planned. It is meant to take 12 hours to dry, but given yesterday in Sussex it hit 34.5C it set in about 4 hours!
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 Water effect resin kit. I bought it from (yet another) model railway shop for about £10.
You have to mix the two different parts of the resin kit in the little tub and then pour out where required, and was very easy to use.
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WIP Terence to show the base before painting, the addition of stones and grasses, and the addition of the resin water.

Next update will be Dark Elves.

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Pre-Slotta Dark Elf army finished!

July 11, 2017, 2:01 pm
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Wow! I did'nt realise that had been this long since I updated my blog! Sorry, but in my defence I have been a busy Goblin painting and finishing my pre-slotta Dark Elf army. However before I detail them, I would like to say that my blog has received 360,500+ views, which is pretty cool. Thank you for everyone who has taken an interest in my intermittent blog updates. :)

Now concerning the Pre-Slotta Dark Elves, I have finally finished painting the army. This blog update is a 'stop-gap' in a way. My plan is to update with a few photographs of the army now, and of the shields to show how they look. However I am planning to go to my local games store (the Dice Saloon) to hire a much larger gaming board to photograph the Dark Elves in a much better (hopefully!) set of photographs, as I did with the Snakemen.

The main time consuming aspect of the army were the shields. As I have mentioned before, I considered the old C09 pre-slotta Dark Elves to have a slightly 'Classical Greek' feel to them. So, with that in mind I have added some Classical Greek Hoplite shield transfers I purchased from 'Little Big Man Studios'. As the Dark Elf shields are small I opted for 15mm scale transfers from Xyston, which I guessed (correctly!) that they were the right size. Little Big Man Studio's website is here: http://www.littlebigmenstudios.com/

I am really happy with the look of the shields, and the army as a whole. I tinkered with the shield transfers where the transfers and shield edges met with the transfers to blend in with the colours, and I think they give the Dark Elves a distinctive look. I wanted a 'Classical' feel to them, an anitiquity aspect to them to suggest a post Elven Civil War feel, before the Dark Elf culture became very distince to the High/Sea Elves, and also in line with the 1st Edition background.

Apart from the Dark Elves, I have been lucky enough to win an e-bay auction for one of Nick Bibby's Spined Dragons. I love this miniature, and it is becoming very collectable and so difficult to find at a non-silly price. However, as it was broken, I managed to bag it, and then repair it. I still have to add the wing membranes, which I plan to do with very thin (0.25mm) plstic card, and then paint thinly to suggest the translucence of membranes.

Other than that, I randomly bought a Dragon Skull incense stick holder for £15 to use as background for photographing. I have been working on sorting out my Melnibonean army, which I really want to paint soon, and making plans to revive my Catachan army for 40k. After recent conversations, I will also post an inventory of my Slann at some point as well.

Enjoy :)
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The obligatory, if not very good, army photo shot. 
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Centre of the army.
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Army General.
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Rear view.
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Female Wizard.
I like her as she is a realistic looking middle aged Elf. reminds me of some of the Wiccans and Druids I know ;)
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Male Dark Elf Wizard.
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Bound Ghost.
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Dark Elf Sea raiders, made from the RR4 Regiment of Renown Mengil Manhide's Dark Elf Company, with a C09 Dark Elf Leader.
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RR4 Regiment of Renown Mengil Manhide's Dark Elf Company, with 'Mengil himself', well sort of really. As this is a post Elven Civil War army, it would be too early for Mengil himself. So I like to think that the male regimental leader and the female standard bearer are Mengils ancestors, and he followed in their (bloodsoaked) footsteps many years later.
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Cold One riders.
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Witch Elves.
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Crossbowmen.
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More Crossbows!
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Scouts.
I actually have ten of these, but I only seemed to have photographed five.
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Shield transfers.
These were easy to use, although I did have a couple of mishaps. They are great quality and cheap.
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Crossbowmen's shields.
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More Crossbowmen's shields.
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Shadows (scouts).
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Again Shadows (scouts).
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Cold One rider.
I went for some of the 'fancier' shield designs for the Cold One riders as they are an elite.
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Cold One rider.
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Cold One rider.
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Cold One rider.
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Cold One rider.
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The Sea Raider Warriors regiment. 
I opted for more of the aquatic designs for this regiment.
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More Sea raiders.
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Mengil's ancestor and troopers!
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Dragon skull, with Goblin for scale.
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Nick Bibby's sculpted 'Great Spined Dragon' from 1984. It's a lovely Dragon, full of character, and quite a size. I never bought it at the time as I was put off by having to make the wing membranes.
This little chap (or chap-ess?) was a bargain at £85 inc P&P compared to recent auctions. It came listed as broken, which may have put people off of the auction, with a broken and foot, but I fixed those.
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Repaired, the Goblin being for scale, and of course mischief!
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Right hand side view.
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That's a lovely smile! :)

Next blog update, which will be next week I promise, will be a proper series of photographs of the pre-slotta Dark Elf army.
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Photo-shoot of the pre-slotta Dark Elf army.

July 19, 2017, 1:28 pm
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This weeks blog update is a little bit of a 'photo-album', as in that there are a fair few photographs, but little accompaning text or prose as the photographs are largely self explanatory.

After photographing my completed pre-slotta Dark Elf army last week, I booked a table at my local gaming store, The Dice Saloon in Brighton, to do a proper photoshoot of the army on a full sized gaming table, as I have done with my Snakeman army. The Classical looking scenery is mine, which I think complements the classical look of the Dark Elves, the rest of the scenery belongs to the shop. I am really happy with how the army looks, and the Classical Greek look.

Enjoy :)

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Side view of the army.
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Front view.
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From the view of a Dwarven Gryrocopter.
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The flank of the army, with Scouts advancing.
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Crossbowmen.
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General on Dragon.
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And again.
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Better view of the General.
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Cold One riders.
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Cold One riders, with better view of the standard.
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Cold One riders, showing the shields.
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Standard bearer and leader.
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Shields.
I chose some of the more intricate designs for the Cold One riders shields to signify their elite status. 
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More shields.
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Even more shields. These three are some of my favourite.
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Dark Elven sorceress.
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Rear view of the sorceress. I painted her cloak black, but the lining purple, as per some coven cloaks. 
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Male Dark Elven sorcerer.
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Bound Ghost. I love this miniature, it's a very old miniature, simple sculpt, but effective.
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(Great grandpa's!) Mengil Manhides regiment.
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Top view showing the shields.
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Shield wall!
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Alternative painted sea raider version of Mengil Manhides.
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Top view.
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Shield wall!
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Witch Elves.
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Witch Elf.
I painted her up in a slightly Gothy look, with stripey leggings.
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More Witch Elves, about the fail a frenzy test!
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Crossbowmen.
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A few of the Crossbowmen's shields. 
More Crossbowmen's shields.
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Shadows, Darf Elf Scouts, moving through the forest, er, scouting I suppose.
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Scouts.
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I took a few different photographs of the army.
Here they are marching through the ruins of an ancient Elven city in the forest.
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Closer up.
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Glimpses through the trees of the passing army.
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Crossbowmen and Cold One riders.
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Crossbowmen and Cold One riders from the other side.
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Rear Guard of the army.
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Sea raiders.
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The first of a few 'Classical Greek' vignettes.
Crossbowmen tackle a Hydra in a ruined Classical Greek temple.
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Shadows corner a Gorgon, but is that such a good idea?
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Witch Elves attack a Harpy perched in another ruined Classical temple.
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The Army General amongst the ruins of a ancient city.


Next weeks update may be on my Slann armies, or my redux Catachan army, both of which are currently distracting my attention.

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Citadel Eternal Champion range: Dyvim Traash (twice).

July 26, 2017, 2:28 pm
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As a precursor to painting my Melnibonean army, I have painted a couple of test models.

Now I had already painted some test models for them some time ago, painting them in gold armour, but I was unhappy with the result. As a fan of Rodney Matthews artwork and of Michael Moorcock's concept of the Multiverse, I wanted my Melniboneans to stand out from just being gold or metal clad variations of generic fantasy models.

So, I have opted for a very colourful palette of colours for the armour, horses, and equipment. Rodney Matthews artwork provides very varied, almost clashingly colourful artwork for some of Michael Moorcock's writings. In addition, Moorcock himself describes Iymmrr and the Melnibonean's themselves as clad in a variety of colours, both bright and pastel. So I wanted to relflect this in my painting.

I will update more on Matthews artwork, and the links to the Melnibonean army in a later update. For now here are the two new test models I have painted. Both are the Citadel Miniatures Eternal Champion range EC06 Melnibonean Cavalry miniature 'Dyvim Traash', mounted on the horse 'Hawkswoop'.

Enjoy :)
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 Both 'Dyvim Traash'.
Whilst I have based them on lipped 40mm round bases, I am considering rebasing them, and the Melnibonean army on more conventional Warhammer gaming bases for gaming. Although the infantry should be on 20mm square, they might end up up on 25mm, as the miniatures themselve are large and also deserve more room.
I have gone for odd looking bases, with bright flock on top of redish looking desert bases (Citadel Martian Ironcrust) to give that other worldly looking feel.
The backdrop is the Rodney Matthews artwork 'In Search of Forever'.
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 I have painted this 'Dyvim Traash' in turquiose armour, with a shield bearing runes from a Matthews artwork. I wanted an other dimension look to both them and the horses, and so have opted for colourful armour, and non-standard horse colours. The green horse in similar that of demi-horses from a Matthews artwork entitled 'Obsidian Castle', used for an the Elric short story 'Elric at the End of Time'.
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 Right side view.
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The other  'Dyvim Traash'.
I opted for a paler horse, and contrasting purple armour.
The runes again are from a Matthews artwork.
I have a problem with this miniatures in that I tried out GW's ardcoat varnish. To my horror, and despite asking in the shop, the varnish turned out to be very gloss. Whilst I have painted over most of the part of the miniature that looked really bad shiny, the model still has a shine to it. :(
Back to Vallejo varnish for me!
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 Right hand view.
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 Weird scenery.
In addition to the two 'Dyvim Traash's', I repainted an old piece of bizarre scenery from Ground Zero Games I had bought long ago in the 1990's. It fits the odd looking art of Rodney Matthews, as well as useful for any sci-fi encounter.
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Top view.

Next update could be anything. After finishing the Dark Elves I have several projects I might tackle. I also might photograph my 1990's Dark Eldar army as an update.
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Thorgrimm Brandedimm, Gobbledigook, and a few other Fantasy Tribes era chaps.

August 8, 2017, 12:54 pm
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I've felt I have neglected my Fantasy Tribes Gnolls/Great Goblins and Dwarves for far too long and had a yearning to paint some before I start any next project.

As anyone who has looked at my blog before, they will know my love of Goblins, and especially the old Fantasy Tribes Gobliniods. This also extends to the Fantasy Tribes Dwarves, which I have'nt really painted much. So I picked a few Dwarves to paint, and some Gnolls/Great Goblins to paint or repaint, as well as the Gobbledigook miniature from the White Dwarf comic strip, and a more modern cottage scenery piece.

Enjoy :)
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 Dwarves and Great Goblins clash in the hills during the 'Goblin Wars'.
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 Thorgrimm Brandedimm.
This miniature was available via from Mail Order after collecting vouchers. He was also the Dwarf Chieftain in the 1st Edition Warhammer scenario 'Ziggurat of Doom', and armed with the magical hammer 'Foebane'.
I really like this miniature. I like that he is beckoning, taunting, any foe (probably Goblins :/ ) that stray close. His Dragon Helm is great and detailed . The photograph is'nt that great, it make the miniature look darker that he is, but we have had some odd lighting in Sussex today! 
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 Rear view.
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 FTS11 Dwarf Skeleton with Axe and Shield.
Again another miniature from the Fantasy tribes era I really like, this time Skeletal Dwarf. I painted him with Citadel's Nihilakh Oxide over a white undercoat to give that spooky feel to him. I only bought him recently, earlier this year, but have been wanting to paint him.
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A FTD3 Dwarf with sword and polearm, and a  FTD2 Dwarf  with light Crossbow and sword.
The Dwarf with polearm is wearing some sort of Tyrolean Alpine Hat, so I painted him up in alpine greens.
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 Rear view. 
The runes on the back of the read 'Karl' in Dwarf runic script. I thought that might be a good alpine Dwarf name.
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Gobbledigook.
He was a little Troll in an occsaional comic strip featured in White Dwarf in the mid 1980's. The miniature is from the SS6 White Dwarf Personalities box set.
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'ello!
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 Gnolls/Great Goblins.
Both of these are Great Goblins from the slightly later C12 range of Great Goblins in 1984.
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 Shield.
I tried out the shield painting guide in White Dwarf #101.
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 Another C12 Great Goblin, this time an archer.
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On the left a FTG3 Gnoll/Goblin standing with hand weapon, again, another trial using the White Dawrf #101 guide.
On the right is another of the C12 Great Goblins, this time with a 'Green Man' style shield.
I am not a great painted when it comes to shields and banners, but I am looking through and trying out the old painting guides and artwork and deciding to give it more of a go.
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 Cottage.
I bought this cottage last year at Salute from Twilight miniatures as a ranodm Goblin-esque piece of scenery. I really like the detail and look of it.
Their website can be found here:
http://worldoftwilight.com/Miniatures.html
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 Side view, showing the tree stump which the cottage is built around.
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 Roof top platform and cistern.
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 The other side with water-butt.
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Roof tiles and wood stump chimney top.
Next weeks update might be on more Gnolls/Great Goblins and Dwarves. I am also writing a history of the 'Goblin Wars' based on the background and infomation from 1st and 2nd Edition Warhamer Fantasy sources. 
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The Goblin Wars.

August 22, 2017, 12:22 pm
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The idea of this post is to create a narrative for the Goblin Wars, from the era of the 1st and 2nd Edition Warhammer Fantasy Battle background.  It should be taken as a bit of fun, rather than a sacrosanct piece of research. As for sources I have only used the first two editions of Warhammer Fantasy Battle, the Forces of Fantasy Supplement, and the backgrounds of the original solid based Regiments of Renown sets. I have given and referenced the various sources throughout the article and a key at the end.

Why 1st/2nd Edition only?
Well firstly it is the background to my current project of painting early solid based Citadel Dwarves/Goblins. Also 2nd Edition my favourite edition, and although I never played 1st Editon, the background and 'feel' of it fits contiguously with 2nd, more so than that between 2nd to 3rd Editions. In additon, from 2nd Edition to 3rd there was a movement from solid based miniatures to slotta bases, and a change in design. Personally I like all three editions, and both solid based and slotta minautres, but there is a definite shift in artwork, design, miniautres, and gaming concepts. With this in mind, I wanted to capture that 'early' feel of the Warhammer Worlds background and the Goblin Wars in this update.

In compiling this 'history' I have also added several photographs of pre-slotta miniatures in little dioramas, using the exact character miniatures for each entry. The only exceptions were Jaggleburst and Grimfang, who did'nt have their own models. So I used pre-slotta miniatures who to me seemed to fit the description. I have added the photographs to give an extra feel to the update, rather than it being a dry feeling text only update. Also it gives me a chance to photograph the miniatures, which was fun. Whilst photographing I realised that I need to paint more stuff! :)


The Chronology of the Goblin Wars.


Pre-War.

After centuries of living and trading together, the relationship between the Elves and Dwarves worsens to the point of hostility. The Dwarves and Elves embark on a costly racial war which lasts for hundreds of years. The end result is a victory for the Dwarves, but at a great cost in lives and resources. The Elves leave the Old World, apart from a few rural forest scattered settlements, which culturally later become the Wood Elves.

Just after this war, their is massive volcanic activity in the Dark Lands. This results in an influx of Goblinoids from their former fertile lands.

At this time, the humans are little more than primitives tribes in the Old World (3).


Early War.

Grom, the part-breed Goblin, kills Wulfrun Willowhand the Dwarf, in a bar room brawl, reportedly over the relative merits of Old Sam's Brown and Bugman's Best (5).
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Grom contemplates going for a pint of beer.
Afterall, what could go wrong?...

This action starts the Goblin Wars, and Goblinoids of all sorts invade the Dwarven Realms and lands (3).
From this point, Rug Longtooth the Great Goblin Chieftan, starts to raid the lands of the great Dwarven leader Thorgrimm Brandimm. He is joined by Jaggleburst's Red Goblin forces, and Grimfang's Night Goblins (2).
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Grom's Goblin Guard invades the Dwarven Realms...
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...as does the Great Goblin Chieftan Rug Longtooth...
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...Jaggleburst of the Red Goblins...
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...and Grimfang's Night Goblins...
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..whilst in turn Thorgrimm Brandimm defends his lands, and becomes a prominent Dwarven leader during the war. 

Bono Bugman is ambushed and killed in the Troll Country by the Cave Goblin leader Bogdan Legbreak (10).
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Bono Bugmans last stand in the Troll Country.

With the death of Bono, his father Joseph Bugman forms Bugmans Dwarf Rangers, and then leads them into the Dark Lands in seach of revenge.  It was here that Bogan meets and joins forces with Golgfagg and his Ogres fresh out of the lands of the frozen north (10).
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Josef Bugman takes up arms, and aided by his brewers, takes the war to the Goblins.

Mudat's Half Orc Mercenaries sack Nuln, and then move North to take part in the Goblin Wars (8).

Mid War.
The Battle of Bugmans Brewery:
Joseph Bugman returns home weary from campaigning only to find himself under attack when Bugmans Brewery is assualted by Goblins, including Bogdan Legbreak, who takes great delight in taunting Bugman with details of the killing of Joseph's son Bono. The Brewery is overrun and all the defenders killed. Joesph Bugmans body is not found, so he is assumed dead... (4).
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After much campaigning, Bugman is finally forced into a last stand on his home ground at Bugman's Brewery.

The Battles of Bogdan's Stronghold:
In the First Battle of Bogdan's Stronghold, Bogdan and Golfag fall out, and Golfag and his Ogres fight their way out of Bogdans camp (7).
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Bogdan and Golfag fall out!!!

In the Second Battle of Bogdan's Stronghold Golfag and his Ogres switch side in the war and join forces with the Dwarves. He then leads a group of Dwarves to attack the Goblin camp and kills Bogdan (7).
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Golfag joins the Dwarves, and routs the Goblins.

Bogdan's son, Mad Eyed Hog, takes command of the Chariots and the forces of the Cave Goblins (10).

The Battle of Zhuf Field:
Grom and Mad Eyed Hogg, along with other Goblins attack and capture the Dwarven smithy (5,10). It was reported that "Many Dwarf captives were taken on this occasion, but all were doomed to a horrible death. On every day for the following month Grom had a hundred Dwarfs brought before him. He personally sat on each captive until the victim died of suffocation" (5).
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Grom and his Guards, in the ruins of Zhuf Field.

Battle of Gonnear:
Grom and his Goblin Guard meet the forces of Mudat's Half Orc Mercenaries, defeating them utterly, and killing Mudat. The Toynal Tribe from with Mudat's Half Orc Mercenaries consist, now disperses (8).
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Grom looks on triumphant at another victory, as he routs Mudat's Half Orc Mercenaries.


Battle of the Dwarf fortress of the Middenheim:
Goblin forces, including Grom and Mad Eyed Hog, attack the Dwarven Fortress. Grom is killed in the first assault, being succeeded by his second in command Crud Longbone, a very tall, thin, Goblin, with a distinctively long nose (5).
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Crud Longbone takes command of the Goblin Guard in the ruins of Middenheim.

Late War.

The war dragged on in a battle of attrition, with the Dwarves strength being slowly weakened (3), until they  were able to to lure the main Goblin forces into a pitched battle...

The Battle of Mad Dog Pass:
The largest and final major battle of the Goblin Wars. Mad Eyed Hog, Rug Longtooth, Crud Longbone, and Golgfagg are all recorded as having fought here (2,5,7,10,) . The outcome is a great Dwarven victory, but at a cost which leaves the Dwarves weakened.
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Crud Longbone leads the Goblins forces to defeat at the Battle of Mad Dog Pass.

Crud Longbone is killed and Grom's Goblin Guard wiped out (5), Mad Eyed Hogg's chariot force is dispersed (10), and Golfagg returns to the Frozen North (7). It is not recorded what happened to Rug Longtooth.

The Dwarves continue to clear the remaining Goblinoids from their lands and drive them into the Dark Lands.

The Battle of Black Fire Pass:
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Harboth's Balck Mountain Boys await the Dwarves at Black Fire Pass...

In order to push and pursue the Goblinoids into the Dark Lands the Dwarves fight the battle of Black Fire Pass for it's control. The Pass was garrisoned by Harboth's Balck Mountain Boys, a group of Orcs who took part in raiding the surronding area through out the Goblin Wars (6). They are eventually joined by Notlob's Orc Artillery (9).
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...as does Notlob's Orc Artillery.

Both these regiments succeed in holding off the Dwarves for some time until they are both defeated and driven off. It was rumoured that Harboth spent his declining years cattle rustling in the deep south (6), whilst Notlob makes his escape.

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Notlob makes his escape; "if only I has a bow I could have shot these Dwarves before they got here!" (he might have said...).


Post war.

The Dwarves continue to clear the Bad Lands between their realms and the Dark Lands. This is only achieved with the help of the of the primitive Human tribes, and a subtle shift in power starts to occur as Dwarven culture and power starts to decline as humanity's rises (3).

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The Dwarves clear the Badlands and the Dwarf Realms.

Meanwhile the Goblinoids who fled regroup, and many form new Regiments of Renown such as Throg's Despoiling Hobgoblins, Eeza Ugezod's Mothercrushers, and some Orc Archers led by someone looking very much like Harboth.....

Key:
(1) 1st Edition Warhammer Fantasy Battle.
(2) Forces of Fantasy: 1st Edition Warhammer Fantasy Battle Supplement.
(3) 2nd Edition Warhammer Fantasy Battle.
(4) Regiment of Renown: Bugman's Dwarf Rangers.
(5) Regiment of Renown: Grom's Goblin Guard.
(6) Regiment of Renown: Harboth Black Mountain Boys.
(7) Regiment of Renown: Golgfag's Mercenary Ogres.
(8) Regiment of Renown: Mudat's Half Orc Mercenaries.
(9) Regiment of Renown: Notlob's Orc Artillery.
(10) Regiment of Renown: Battle Chariots of Bogdan The Goblin Warlord.

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The 101st Catachans, a Dwarf army of renown, Hobgoblins, and a very old carrier bag.

August 30, 2017, 2:16 pm
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I have embarked on an 'Middlehammer' and new 8th Edition Warhammer 40k project: Catachan Astra Militarum army.

Although I already have an Imperial Guard/ Astra Militarum army in the form of the Praetorians, I wanted to do something with the metal Catachans (I was never too taken with the plastic versions) I owned. I also wanted an army that was more 'run of the mill' and less rare than the Praetorians. So, I have embarked on painting Catachans.

I like the Catachans. I like their independent nature (killing Commisars is fine by me, I never liked them or the idea) and they are a constrast to the spit and polish Praetorians. Most Catachan armies are, by virtue of the design style of the miniatures, Vietnam war era American themed. Instead of Jungle Warriors, with green combats, I have opted for a slightly different approach. As some of the Catachan miniatures have mohawk haircuts, which reminded me of the American 101st Airbourne of World War Two. So I have chosen them as a template for my Catachans.

I am painting this army, for the gaming table. I am not going to spend too much time and effort on details, but get them ready for a return to 40k gaming. I will return to them once the army is painted to add details such as eyes, and the 101st warpaint.

In addition, I have been sorting out my 3rd edition Warhammer Fantasy Dwarf army. I already have a completed army, but I wanted to do something different. I wanted to base my Dwarf army more on the Regiments of Renown, especially Prince Ulther's Dragon Company. So I have added two more regiments to the two I already owned, and in addition added and expanded Bugmans Dwarves, padded out with several interesting 1980's crossbowmen.

During a conversation on the Oldhammer Facebook group about Pygmies, I was asked how many Hobgoblins I had. So, I have added the photographs of the Hobgoblins I also added to those.

Finally, for those who are interested in fantasy art of the 1970's/80's I discovered an interesting piece of artwork by Roger Dean. On my way to Brighton, I spotted an old 1970's Virgin Record Store carrier bag for sale in a shop in Hove. Brighton had one of the first Virgin Record stores, and the carrier bag has the old Virgin logo, and an interesting artwork.

Enjoy :)

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 The 101st Airbourne.
I found the artwork via a google search. It looks like an Osprey piece, but whosever it is, it belongs to them.
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 An evenings worth of painting.
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 Las gun armed troopers.
I have painted the combats Vallejo US Field Drab. They are basically painted, as I want to get them done. I will go back and added other details once the bulk of the painting is done.
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 More Troopers.
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 Troopers. 
The one on the left has the 101st Airbourne mohawk. I will add warpaint at a later date.
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 Trooper and Sniper.
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 Flamer and Plasma gun.
I have opted for the go old 1990's red look of the flamer. It seems to suit them, and will be easy to find on the gaming table. I did'nt go the the same red for the lasguns as I always thought it wasa little too much.
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I have some gluing to do!!
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 The Dwarf army of Renown.
It consists of for Regiments of Prince Ulther's Dragon Company, and the Prince himself as General; 20 Bugmans; two regiments of 10 crossbowmen mixed with Bugman Troopers; the Goblobber; two cannons; and a Wizard.
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 Prince Ulther's Dragon Companies.
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 First two, already painted.
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 Second two.
I have given the regiment on the right a different type of shield in order to use them as an elite.
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 Bugmans.
Like the Dragon Company, I have expanded the regiment. The main regiment will be a normal warrior unit with crossbows, th other two will be crossbowmen unit in support. 
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The additional miniatures added to Bugmans for variety.
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Goblobber, cannons, and Wizard. I have the rest ofthe Goblobber crew, I just need to find where I put them! :)
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 1980's Hoblgoblins.
They are a mix of Citadel C36 pre-slotta and slotta Hobgoblins. They are all either badly painted, or unpainted, but one day I hope to paintstrip them and repaint them.
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 The RR15 Despoiling Hobgoblins of the Darklands Regiment of Renown.
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 Two regiments of 20 Mourngul Raiders.
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 20 Mourngul Raiders, and five archers.
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20 Mourngul Raiders, including one Alternative Armies Eastern Orc.
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 Hobhounds and handlers.
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 Hobgoblin rocket launchers, Army General, hero, and Shaman.
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 On the left is Gyokurinti the Strangler.
On the right Manic Hobgoblin Hero from the BC 2 Monster start set, mounted on a Temple Dog.
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Chronicle N12 Range Hobgoblins.
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 Virgin Record carrier bag.
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 Close up of the front, with the old Virgin logo, drawn by Roger Dean.
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The rear view of the carrier bag, with a fairy riding a frog.

Next update will probably be more Catachans, although I am relly keen to sort out my Slann and paint the Melniboneans.
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The menace from Pan Tang.

September 12, 2017, 12:53 pm
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Whilst I was supposed to painting Catachans, I became somewhat distracted by my 1980's Citadel Eternal Champion collection, especially the Pan Tang. So, I put the Catachans on hold and decided to paint my Pan Tang army. All of the miniatures in this update are finished, but require varnishing and basing, so are WIP.

I always liked the Pan Tang and Melniboneans, even before I read Michael Moorcocks books. The look of Citadel's miniatures captured my imagination, and their odd and 1970's/1980's fantasy look intrigued me. The idea of Tiger Handlers also seemed cool, and they all reminded me of an older style of fantasy from the era of sword and sorcery film of the early 1980's. The complete range can be seen here:

http://www.collecting-citadel-miniatures.com/wiki/index.php/Eternal_Champion

and here

http://www.solegends.com/citec/index.htm

Fast forward nearly 30 years and I returned to my interest in the Pan Tang. I had never owned any in the intervening years since GW stopped making the miniatures, apart from a couple of Tigers. So, a year or two ago I decide to build both a Pan Tang army and a Melinbonean one. So far I have three units of 10 actual Pan Tang, and four Tiger Handlers (I have a tiger in the post as I type).  I also have several Citadel miniatures which I feel work with the Pan Tang sculpts which will add to the army.

Army wise, I will base the army on the 3rd edition Warhammer Armies Chaos army list. The thirty Pan Tang collection warriors will make up three units of Chaos Marauders. The other miniatures will be Chaos Thugs and Warriors. The tiger handlers will be Chaos Beastmasters, the tigers themselves being proxy Chaos Hounds. I also have the Theleb K'aarna, and Jagreen Lern miniatures, well as other Sorcerers, to add to the army.

The description of the Pan Tang describes them as clad in red armour. So I have opted for red armour, with some sea based colours for painting cloth and the sea themed helms. I wanted to avoid whites making them look too Middle Eastern, so opted for a mix of sea based colours. I went for a slightly lighter, more orange tone of red to stop them looking too much like a Khornate army, and to give them a lighter feel, almost akin to fantasy artwork.

Skin tone wise they are described in the books and background as being 'Swarthy'. I see this as a middle-eastern/Indian flesh tone. The Persian looking beards of the sculpt lent me to paint them with a darker than European tone. Personally, I think that the tone might be a little too dark, but they do remind me a little of Indian sub-continent warriors, especially Mogul Empire and 19th Century Sikhs.

Enjoy. :)
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 The painted army so far.
They need to be varnished, and I do need to decide on a base style for them.
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 Jagreen Lern, the Theocrat of Pan Tang, and General of the army.
His armour is described as glowing red as though hot (in 'Stormbringer' I think). So I went for a more brighter, orange look for the armour.
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 Theleb K'aarna, Sorcerer of Pan Tang.
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 First 'complete' unit.
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EC05  Pan Tang officer.
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 Rear view, showing also the sea monster helm.
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 Standard bearer.
He is made from a broken Citadel pre-slotta SS1-2 Warrior of Chaos Ogroth Darksoul.
The banner is a large resin shield from a company named Ristuls Market. I think it suit the demon summoning Pan Tang quite nicely.
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Like many of Citadels ranges in the 1980's many of the individual miniatures were named, including this range. Some of the character models were of course named for themselves, but Citadel seemed often to make up names (in some ranges humourously) for the miniatures. It was fun, but also made mail ordering miniatures in the days when you had to write down the names on paper and post is a bit weird.
Anyway, this is Jarkor. I have given him a current range GW Skeleton Warriors plastic shield give that slight Middle Eastern/Indian feel.
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Voorg.
He has a Marauder Miniatures Dark Elf shield...
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...which can be seen here. I love the sea monster helm.
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Skaar, fish or a dolphin helm.
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D'Ath.
He has a Ral Partha Europe Barbarian shield, which can be seen better below. I think his helm is either crab clawed or some sort of sea shell, maybe scollop.
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The Pan Tang spearman.
He was never released as part of the Pan Tang range, but has 'Pan Tangian' on his slotta tab, and so it is assumed he can be considered part of the range.
The shield is the Ral Partha Europe one.
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Grart, with an Octopus helm.
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Krool, with what might be a squid horn helm, although frankly it looks like something else to me.
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Krools Marauder Miniatures Dark Elf shield.
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Another D'Ath.
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Kerim.
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Korven.
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Drayos Pleth, not a Pan Tang warrior, but part of Citadels 0201 Chaos Warriors range.
I have several Chaos Warriors, for use as unit leaders or as actual Chaos Warriors, in the army which I consider fit in with the Pan Tang miniatures aesthetic.
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Jagglespur, another Chaos Warrior, from the C35 range.
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WIP.
Theleb K'aarna has two bodyguards, described as a Pig headed one and a Snake-headed one. So I decided use a Citadel Beastman (he's more Boar-headed, but looks good), and a good old C27 Snakeman.
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WIP
Second unit of Pang Tang Marauders.
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Another converted Citadel pre-slotta SS1-2 Warrior of Chaos Ogroth Darksoul. standard bearer.
The Chaos Warrior is the unit leader, and is another 0201 range miniature, Pestilens one eye.
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The third Pan Tang Marauder unit. Four of this unit are already painted in the above update. The Standard bearer is a so to be converted Chaos Thug.
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Either an army standard or the standard for the Chaos Warrior unit. He is a named Harrowhound.
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The Tigers of Pan Tang.
I have three complete teams, although I am missing one of the handlers, which I have replaced with a Pan Tang warrior Vandar.
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I have an extra Pan Tang Tiger, and another in the post, the makings of a fourth team. As I don't have a handler I might use this Chaos Thug as a stand in until I can.
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Archers.
These will be Chaos Thug archers. The Pan Tang range never had any archers, so I thought I needed some. The miniature is from Citadels 0211 range. I borrowed the idea from Axioms wonderful blog, and his update on his Pan Tang here:
http://magpieandoldlead.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/the-rise-of-pan-tang.html#more
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Front and rear views.
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Some of the Citadel Chaos Warriors which may end up in the Pan Tang army.
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Pre-Slotta Chaos Sorcerer.
You can have too many sorcerers in a Pan Tang army!
Next update will be more Pan Tang.
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