Cover Models

After enjoying painting the last bunch of aged miscreants I've continued with my Oldhammer vibes and painted a couple of legendary characters inspired by the ancient texts.

I present Aldred Fellblade and Garg Gorgul.

What do you mean, "who?"

Aldred Fellblade is a Templar of the Sigmarite Order of the Fiery Heart who battled Garg Gorgul, the Ogre pit fighter bodyguard of an Orc warchief whilst on a quest to retrieve a the sword Karagul from the ruins of Karak Eight Peaks. His travelling companions included one Gotrek Gurnisson, Trollslayer at large, and Felix Jaeger, who both went on to bigger and badder things.

This was in the 1990 short story 'The Dark Beneath The World' by Bill King, which was later the basis of a mini campaign for Advanced Heroquest featured in White Dwarf #125, which is where I first encountered the characters.

However, the short story was actually inspired by the cover image from the first edition of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (published in 1986), a seminal text in fleshing out the Warhammer world, which I still own.

This piece of art, by John Sibbick, featured characters which were in turn inspired by several miniatures in the Citadel range at the time and the story made use some of those same miniatures' names, including Aldred Fellblade.

Part of the C01 Fighters range of 1986, Aldred Fellblade has actually gone by several names in the Citadel Catalogues: Aldred Fellblade, Arion, Knight of Harkness (from 'The Tragedy of McDeath'), and Sword 1. He even featured as Captain Grullman Grosz, Mercenary Warrior in the Citadel Combat Cards.

Sadly, my copy is a little miscast, something I've never noticed over the past 35 years, and has missing detail and a flat area on his forearm. I suspect this might be because I bought one of the later casts of this venerable mini.

I'm pretty sure the window of opportunity to ask for a replacement has closed.

My version of the Garg Gorgul the Ogre is not the model that inspired the artwork, but is a model inspired by a model based on the one that inspired the art that inspired character of Gorgul.

Let me explain. The ogre in the artwork is based on the C23 Ogre Gladiator from 1985, and I think also inspired the design of the first Blood Bowl Ogre (mohican, cestus, single shoulder pad, etc.). Ogre 1, designed by Bob Olley for Blood Bowl second edition in the nineties was clearly an homage to the first edition model, and so, in essence, a distant relative of Garg Gorgul.

I have no specific plans for either of these models, although Five Leagues from the Borderlands and 7TV are always an option, but it was an enjoyable nostalgia trip to take.

Acquired: 15

Painted: 117

Lead Mountain: 642

Game Hunters

After painting the Oathmark Light Infantry as somewhat generic rangers/outlaws, I was drawn to painting something in a similar vein but with a little more character.

I dug out five metal miniatures from the mid-80s which could easily be drafted into a Robin Hood themed scenario or two.

All five of these were released between 1985 and 1987, which means they were probably amongst some of the earliest models I owned, and they also indicate my focus on picking up miniatures related to the games I was playing rather than building armies for larger battles.

These three characters, a gamekeeper and two poachers, were released as part of the C07 Rangers...erm...range (released in 1985), which were clearly designed for use with Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay as several of the models in the range (including the Gamekeeper) are clearly modelled on illustrations in the WFRP rulebook.

Interestingly, the Gamekeeper career in WFRP contained the option to choose to be a poacher instead leadung to slightly different skills and career exits.

So these three models are actually two sides of the same coin in game terms.

I really like how both of the poachers gave evidence of the illicit acquisitions poking our if their sacks.

I also like how one of them is barefoot - perhaps a little bit of social commentary on the idea that poverty can be a catalyst for crime.

The Spy is from the game Talisman, specifically the Talisman: Dungeon expansion, released in 1987.

I've painted the Spy to match the artwork from the game because I couldn't think of a reason to do it differently.

Games Workshop released metal versions of all of the player characters in the game, of which I only had eight: the Orc, the Soldier, the Warrior of Chaos, the Saracen, the Ninja, the Spy, the Highlander and the Inquisitor.

I still have all but the Orc, who went went I sold my unpainted army to a friend. All of the others, except the Ninja, have found homes in different armies and projects over the years.

The final, rather gaudily dressed chap is Rildo the Crafty from the Heroes for Dungeonquest expansion for the game Dungeonquest, also from 1987.

Yes. His name is Rildo. It's poorly stamped on his slotta tab, in a game partially aimed at children.

It was a different time.

The gaudy outfit is based on the official art from. The expansion which provided 12 new metal characters for your games of Dungeonquest.

I still have all but two of them, and most of them have fallen to chaos and joined my Nurgle army. One of the two still unpainted models is, like with Talisman, also a ninja.

If Nippon ever follow Cathay into Warhammer: The Old World, I'll have the start of an army.

I'm not sure how these five will get used, but I'm leaning towards just having a collection of generic fantasy types around for various uses such as Five Leagues from the Borderlands or 7TV.

Mind you, they were fun to paint, so I don't really need a reason.

Acquired: 15

Painted: 115

Lead Mountain: 644

Ranger Danger

The other part of my 7TV Secret Santa gift was a sprue of Oathmark Human Light Infantry, clearly intended to go with the Norman Chest Bearers as outlaws intent on liberating the contents of the chest.

For the poor...obviously...definitely for the poor.

Anyway, I opted to take the lead that was offered and set about turning them into some soon to be merry men.

This was the first time I've had a close look at one of the Oathmark sprues, and they are really nice.

The cloaked figures can be armed with bows or a range of hand weapons and shields and there are a good range of characterful heads. Including three with hoods.

These models could easily be used as peasant rabble, loyal retainers or, as I have done, furtive woodsmen.

I've never been the biggest fan of multiparty plastic models due to the soft details that done suit my painting style. However, I did like how simple these models were, meaning that I could at least get them done without too much fuss.

I've opted for a uniform range of greens and browns - the main tunics are dark brown, rather than black, as they appear in the pictures - as I intend for these outlaws to pull double duty as Dunedain Rangers or even Rangers of Ithilien in games of Lord of the Rings.

As such, I armed one of them with a spear, as both types of Rangers are allowed to use them, and there was only one in the box. I did need to cut it down though as it was clearly intended for use with a banner.

I gave the last of the group a sword simply to allow him to serve as a captain if necessary. The sprue dies include a small amount of pouches, daggers and scabbards to be hung at the belts, but I opted to ignore these for simplicity's sake.

There's clearly a bit more work to do if I'm going to try to play any Robin Hood themed games, so I might look into pick up the 7TV feature pack to give me some guidance about where to go next.

I'll also have a rummage in the lead pile to see what I can turn up that could be used for either side.

Acquired: 15

Painted: 110

Lead Mountain: 649

A Shokking Development

I fear I missed my calling.

When I eventually came round to building my first 40k army. I opted for Blood Angels as I had a handful of Space Marines and the 4th edition codex came free in White Dwarf.

However, I should have been an Ork player from the start as cobbling stuff together from scrap turns out to be right up my street.

This time I've built the dreaded Shokk Attack Gun.

A contraption that dates back to 1991 and require literal pages of rules in its first iteration, the Shokk Attack Gun punctures a hole in reality allowing Snotlings to be teleported to somewhere in the vicinity of their enemy (sometimes appearing inside them).

Needless to say, this is the sort of fiendish device I want in my Waaagh and given that I had some Snotlings to paint, the time seemed right.

My Shokk Attack Gun is built mainly from a spare weapon mount from my Land Raider Spartan and some lengths of wooden skewer. The stand is a Leviathan Dreadnought's foot.

The iconic three-pronged spinny thing is a conveniemtly shaped bit of sprue and some beads with a bit of Daemon fire added to give some sense of motion.

The front cone is a hanging basket from the Mars Attacks terrain.

I and really running out of Orks in my bits box, and so I've drafted in a Heroquest Orc to serve as my Mek. He got a shoulder pad, a hand swap from the spare arm of the Mek I painted last year and a metal Necromunda backpack which has appeared from somewhere.

I needed to reposition his left arm to get it to an appropriate angle, and I had to reattach his right leg when it shot off whilst I was removing his chunky base.

The Snotlings, including this on the base of the Shokk Attack Gun were easy and fun to do, although they were much more time consuming.

I'm the current game, as well as in 5th edition, the Snotlings don't actually serve a purpose, however in 2nd edition they were essentially ammo markers.

I have no problem just having these for the aesthetics.

I am now properly out of Orks or Grots to add to my army unless I was to tool up some more Heroquest models, something that is not totally out of the question given my relative lack of Boyz.

However, there's a new edition due out soon with Orks in the somewhat discounted starter box, so it's quite likely Armageddon that.

Acquired: 15

Painted: 105

Lead Mountain: 654

Cost Cutta

I said a couple of posts ago that I might have a go at cobbling together a second vehicle for my Rebel Grotz in Gorkamorka.

And I have.

This is my take on the Rebel Grot Cutta, a lightly armed and armoured, sail-powered vehicle used by Grots who don't have access to the same quality of scrap as the Orks.

It's a totally bodged together creation made from bits and pieces from my bits box combined with some coffee stirrers and a wooden skewer.

At a push, it can probably carry around five Rebel Grotz, which is more than enough to prevent me from overloading the Big Lugga and allows them to fart off from the main force in search of scrap.

The sail is nothing more complicated than a triangle of old dust sheet painted cream. The paint gives it a bit of thickness and shape.

The rest of the painting was done with my usually Orky blend of washes, drybrushing and sponging.

All in all I'm really pleased with how my kitbash has turned out and as you can see, it's pretty close to the original model, although I might see if I can add some sort of steering mechanism at the back.

I'm delighted with how this Gorkamorka gang has turned out. I now need to get my hands on a couple of the rulebooks, Da Roolz and the book from Digganob, as I currently only have Da Uvver Book.

I know I can use pdfs from legally grey sources, but I really like having the physical products when I'm playing.

Acquired: 15

Painted: 102

Lead Mountain: 670

D'Isigny Villains

A small group of armed tax collectors walking between villages on the edge of Sherwood Forrest.

What could possibly go wrong?

Why on earth am I painting some vaguely Robin Hood themed miniatures?

Basically...I have them.

I was sent a pair of Norman Chest Bearers, along with some plastic outlaw-types as a 7TV Secret Santa gift and if you've been reading this blog for any amount of time, you'll know I'm nothing if not easily distracted.

The Norman Chest Bearers are really nice models from Crooked Dice which I would never otherwise have bought. They were remarkably easy to paint with only half a dozen base colours washed and highlighted.

I opted to go for a colour scheme inspired by the Lego Black Falcons (the baddies in the castle range) I had as a child. The idea for this came from this video from the Peachy Tips YouTube Channel - although I chickened out of trying to paint the heraldic falcon.

My only criticism of these miniatures was that the rods that support the box are far too chunky to go into the hand holes, even without the even wider metal caps on the end.

Using thinner metal rod was an easy fix, but I still don't know how they were supposed to work.

Currently leading this group of nefarious tax collectors is a model I got for free from one of the Partizan shows.

It is apparently Sir Walter D'Isigny, one of the Norman followers of William the Conqueror, who not only founded the village of Norton Disney, but also is apparently the ancestor of one What Disney.

I'm not going to grumble about the quality of a free model, but there is a nasty mold line in his helmet and the proportions are quite different to the Crooked Dice models.

I wasn't keen on the positioning and shape of his left hand and so opted to cover it with a spare kite shield I had knocking around.

I've opted to base these in the same manner as my Lord of the Rings miniatures as I plan to have the outlaws pull double duty when I get round to them, and I might even start basing all of my generic fantasy/medieval miniatures in this way to keep things consistent.

Acquired: 15

Painted: 101

Lead Mountain: 671

Scrapheap Challenge

Whilst my mind was occupied with all things Rebel Grotz, I also explored my somewhat diminished pile of 40k bits and pieces to see what else I could cobble together.

The answer turned out to be...cannon!

This creation is my attempt at a Gretchin Lobba, essentially a mortar, designed to drop large templates of explosive death somewhere in the vicinity of the enemy.

The decision to make a Lobba rather than any other form of Gretchin cannon was informed by the fact that in 5th edition 40k, which is the version we play most often, units of Big Gunz are required to all be of the same type.

As I already have a catapult-style Lobba, a mortar it needed to be.

The Lobba itself is mainly made from spare parts from my Leviathan Dreadnought, which were stuck together to form the frame of the gun.

The wheels are spares from when Pete printed me some Soviet AA Guns for Bolt Action, with the tyres that I removed from the car I turned into Fallout scenery - fortunately they fit perfectly.

A few metal resin bits from 7TV kits and other areas of my bits box finished off what I think is a pretty good approximation of the real model.

The crew are the last three Gnoblars I still had hanging around. One of them had his hands swapped so he could be holding two flintlock pistols (that counts as an Auto pistol, right?)

After painting the metal Rebel Grotz, these were a bit of a chore as they lack the detail and character of their more venerable cousins. I kept things simple to get them done quicker.

All in all, I'm pretty pleased with this unit. I've managed to craft something unique which evoked the spirit of the official model and is totally recognisable as to what it is.

I'm still in a kitbashing mood, so I'm keen to see what else I can come up with. Given that I have two more of those wheel/tyre combinations left, along with the original third wheel from the Big Lugga, I'm currently looking at how to construct a chassis for a Grot Cutta for Gorkamorka.

Acquired: 14

Painted: 99

Lead Mountain: 673

Wot A Revoltin' Development

For a variety of reasons, I've had a bit of an odd March, hence the lack of posts.

I needed something fun to break me out of a bit of a funk and there is very little in wargaming more fun than cramming a load of goblins into a cobbled together vehicle and launching it at the enemy in the vague hope that they might achieve something.

This is a Rebel Grot Big Luggage from Gorkamorka, crowded with as many Rebel Grotz as I could lay my hands on - which turned out to be eleven.

As it happens I could have done a couple more, but I ran out of Gorkamorka bases, so those little runts are destined for other projects.

The Rebel Grotz themselves are great little metal models from the mid-nineties, armed to the teeth and all wearing armbands that affirm their loyalty to the Red Gobbo.

I think these are either variations on the standard Gretchin models, or they provided the inspiration for the current plastic models as they are very similar.

Whichever is true, these sculpts give the lie to the idea that newer and plastic is always better.

The banner is a second edition banner I've had lying around for many years. Technically it's a speed freak banner, but it fit the colour scheme I was going for and saved me a lot of effort.

The rest of the gang are regular Gretchin without armbands and equipped with less stuff. I think the chap with the catapult might technically be a Snotling, but I'm not sure I care enough to find out.

Like the Ork gang I made for Gorkamorka, I can easily use these chaps in 40k if I ignore the base size issue, however, I think some of the Rebel Grotz have weapons that aren't available as options outside of Gorkamorka.

The Big Lugga itself actually began with me having only part of the model: the base, the catapult, the propeller and three wheels.

I've constructed the canopy out of spare bits I had lying around, including undead banner sections to use as ladders, an engine block that came with a 7TV vehicle and a couple of Meccano wheels.

One of the elements I was sad to be missing from the original vehicle were the Snotlings pumping the clockwork propeller into action.

Even though I had the engine, I wanted to pay an homage to this by adding a Snotling whose job it is to hit the engine to make it go.

I'm really pleased by the final outcome for a number of reasons: I think I've done a pretty good job on the Rebel Grotz, which are great miniatures; the rescued Big Lugga is pretty damn close to what it should look like; and the whole gang can cram on board, giving me a second Gorkamorka gang should Matt never get round to finishing his.

It should be noted, that the arrangement to get them all on board is more than a little precarious. Given that in Gorkamorka (as in 2nd edition 40k) the transport capacity is whatever you can fit on board and models that fall off, fall off in game too, I'm looking at kitbashing a Grot Cutta (a smaller vehicle) to ease the pressure on space.

However, that's for a later date, as I've currently got a few other Orky projects waiting in the Mekboy's workshop.

Acquired:15

Painted: 95

Lead Mountain: 681

"Just when I thought I was out..."

"...they pull me back in!'

This week I've turned my attention to finishing something off that I've finished off twice before.

My Orlocks for Necromunda.

Back in the late nineties I had the plastic models in the starter set, supplemented by the original metal gang box, and subsequently supported them with a Heavy with a flamer and a couple of models from other manufacturers to stand in as extra Juves.

They were one of the very few projects that I painted to completion at the time.

Fast forward more than a few years and I made a few alterations to the gang such as removing the unofficial models to be used in other projects, changing their bases and repainting their bandanas purple (from the original pale green) to enable them to be used as the Purple Dragons gang as opponents for my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles project.

Fast forward again and I rebased back to regular bases for a return to the Underhive and added a couple of Juves from eBay and a couple of plastic models (my originals disappeared somewhere down the years) to boost their numbers to more effective levels.

And so we reach the present day.

Another set of four metal models that I did not already own have found their way into my possession and I've been inspired to add them to the crew at last, bringing a good deal more long ranged firepower to the fray.

As ever, metal miniatures from. The nineties are packed with character, detail and a few questionable choices - I never did understand GW giving minis basic weapons, pistols and close combat weapons. It's almost as if the miniatures were designed without the game designers being consulted.

I have a similar job to do with some Goliaths, but I'm not sure that will be completed immediately.

Acquired: 15

Painted: 83

Lead Mountain: 694

And now for something completely different...

I've never really been one for big robots.

Pacific Rim was 'fine', I prefer my Anime with cyberpunk ninjas, Tau don't float my boat in 40k,  and I only own Battletech because Pete is trying to bully me into playing it.

Obviously, I was into Transformers (and their cheap knock-off cousins the Gobots) in the 80s, although I only owned three proper Transformers, Ramjet, Grimlock and Slag.

All of which makes me most recent purchase a bit odd.

I've gone Gundam, or Gunpla, or whatever the correct terminology is.

Why?

Well, I'm starting to find that social media influencers actually have an ability to, well, influence me (although I'm not at the buying bathwater point...yet) and several videos suggested that building these things is fun.

So I thought I'd give it a go.

I picked up an Entry Grade (Beginner) 1/144 Lah Gundam for a tenner at Hobbycraft as I figured I don't dmt want to go too deep down the rabbit hole to begin with.

It's all very Airfix when you open it, but just a moments perusal and you start to notice that not only is there quite a lot of plastic for ten quid (at least by GW standards), but there's different coloured plastic...on the same sprues!

Sorcery!

There's an extremely well laid out bilingual instruction booklet that also comes with a bit of background about the model and the builder that is a little confusing about whether it's talking about in world information or a profile of a real designer.

I only figured it was the former when the builder profile started talking about battling against Mask Lady.

The instructions suggest a lack of need for any glue or clippers, and although technically true, I was only two parts in when I decided having clippers on hand would help prevent sprue marks.

However, the sprues are laid out really well, numbered parts are in sequence, most pieces pop straight off and slot together perfectly with almost zero mould lines.

There are one or two companies that could learn a thing or two from Bandai.

Before long, I'd put together the head with pretty much zero fuss.

It's a bit like building a Lego kit. It's relaxing following instructions and slotting brightly coloured plastic into place and watching a model come to life before your eyes. It's almost meditative.

Fortunately, unlike Lego, I didn't need to sell a kidney to join in.

I know this is a beginner kit, but the level of engineering in making it have multiple articulated joints is fascinating. I can only imagine what the more advanced kits are like.

There's also a limited degree of customisation available, even in a cheap kit like this. Alternate backpacks, helmets, knee joints and crotch plates mean that you could easily buy the same kit a second time.

However, this was the one failing if the instructions as they don't always make the options clear and it's only one thing I worked out at the end of the process.

Before long I had a fully poseable mini just waiting for its weapons: a halberd, a rifle and a shield...a combination that doesn't feel like it works together.

I like the halberd best as it has a glowy blade made of semi-transparent plastic and breaks in half to slot on his backback.

All in all, I really enjoyed this process. It was quite therapeutic, especially because I don't now have to paint the bugger.

I will admit that I'm not a massive fan of the look of Gundam robots or their primary coloured aesthetic, and so I'm not sure I'll suddenly become a massive collector of them. 

However, I will now keep my eye out for affordable kits that might prove useful.

For now, this chap might actually be destined to turn up in a game of 7TV fairly soon.