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