Duardin Auxillaries

These Duardin prove that I am unable to stick with a project for very long. I am not really sure why I started painting these but somehow I did. All I wanted to do was a sample model.



I have had these models for a very long time. I collected a Dwarf army for sixth that was composed primarily of these models. I kept all the enclosed helms and I had intended using them on a single regiment. They were by far the hest heads in the box and I wanted to make a really attractive unit out of them. I painted them up and then quickly replaced them once the next set of plastics for the Dwarves came out. Still for some reason they were never forgotten and on my last trip back to Ireland they wre retrived from the assortment of models there. I think the helmets are so evocative of Games Workshops Dwarves that I just had to update them. As to what I will paint next I am hoping I can continue with the Stormcast Eternals.

Stormcast Eternal

the first of my Stormcast Eternal Warhost is almost done. I really like the miniatures and their Greek/Macedonian style. I had wanted to get some as soon as the came out but with the move back to Germany I wasn't able to get anywhere near a game store. I was gifted these however and now I am finally getting to sit down to enjoy the long process of painting a functional army. This guy is my test model and while I am not 100% happy yet the basic idea is working for me.

I will sit down now and finish the rest of the regiment in the same scheme. I don't like the sculpting on the shoulder pad. it is rather uncharacteristic of GW miniatures as it is indistinct and hence hard to paint well. I have to figure out a way to improve that area when painting it. I also want to look at improving the silver areas of the hammer, maybe darkening them a little more. Also the base needs some more work with bits of foliage but I am happy with the contrast it offers the model.

The Final Batch of Maneaters

I often wonder why I bought two boxes of these. I didn't really need ten Ogres, especially as I was getting duplicate models. I did my best here to mix the duplicates up but with similar heads it is hard to make them very distinct. I sculpted a helmet on one of the models and I think it came out well, considering my meagre sculpting skills. Actually it came out far better than I thought it would considering that I actually needed to add ears also. I hadn't realised that the ears were sculpted on the body of the miniatures rather than the heads. It is the model on the right shown here. Beyond that I added a few teeth to other models and sculpted a few little details here and there on them. With nine of them done it is time to tackle Golgfag himself. I want to do some conversion work on the miniature to make it a little more imposing, we shall see what I can manage.

Harrying of the North

I started a short SAGA campaign with my usual opponent Steve last week. You can read his angle on the first battle on his blog here. I had a good game though it was an uphill struggle right from the start. I am not having much success with my Anglo-Saxons at the moment. I rely heavily on larger unit of warriors, usually in the of twelve models strong.>

The battleboard is very much focused on defensive abilities and while these are good, I can only use them once per turn leaving me vulnerable to a counter attack if I use them in the offense. As I am often presented with enough shooting to force me to move forward I don't have the option but to be offensive. I deployed to the left of the table in this game, a unit is actually further out to the left and is clipped off in the photograph.

I was flanked a little more quickly than I would have liked and in the centre I wasn't able to move as I wished as the space was too constricted and the Normans once again stood well off and shot me. They actually targetted my shooting troops before I considered targetting his and my numbers were reduced to just above ineffective. I was never able to get on top with the casualty rate and I went down 28.5 : 35 slaughter points in the scenario.

One very notable occurence was the rallying of the troops by Fr. Seward. He managed to stand up to a charge by Alan Rufus and his household guard alone and then drove them back. It would have been an unfortunate way for him to exit the campaign but miraculously he survived the onslaught of the Norman cavalry and lives to lead the defence in tonights game. The campaign represents the first week or so of the Harrying of the North. this phase of the campaign is centered around the village of Lundsby and the attempts of Alan Rufus to destroy the villages winter provisions.

In the year of our Lord 1170 King William unleashed his fury on the lands of the North. He had encamped north of York at the start of winter. With the turning of the year and the late arrival of the snows his armies were divided and struck out at the rebellious towns and villages. Alan Rufus was sent against the village of Lundsby and arrived in the first week of January. His wrath was soon felt across the area. Fr. Seward led the defence of the village. His stalwart faith drove off the rampagers but the cost in blood was great.

Second Batch of Maneaters

These are the second batch of Golgfags Maneaters. I don't know why I actually like these models, maybe it is nostalgia. They definitely aren't as nice as the current range of Maneaters but they have a charm of their own, quite reflective of mid-90's Games Workshop aesthetic. The one thing I really don't like about these models is the hunchback pose. I have modified them a bit mainly by putting the heads much higher on the body and filling in the cavity where it should be. It was hard to adjust the heads to the correct height and I think I made some of the Ogres a little too tall.

Classic Ogre Maneaters

I have had these for a very, very long time. I believe I bought them when they first came out. They languished on my unpainted pile during the intervening decades and finally they surfaced as I moved back to Hamburg. I decided to put them on round bases simply as I am most likely to use them in Age of Sigmar. I kept the paintjob simple and relatively fast. Red is the unit colour to tie them in together and I went for a pattern on the weapons to tie them in somewhat with my Forces of Destruction Orcs. Who knows they may see the battlefield sometime together? I still want to do the bases but as I haven't got the unit finished I won't worry about it much.