Monday, 28 July 2008

WIP: Giant Skelly thing



A few years ago I was given some Hangman sets. Instead of drawing a man, if your opponent guessed incorrectly you would add a piece of the skeleton hanging from the post.

I built a bone giant for the Tomb Kings army out of the last kit, and this time I'm thinking I'll go for something to ride the wave of the latest army release for the hobby; Daemons.

When the damned (hurr) thing's set I'll invest in some greenstuff and raid the bits box, to create something suitably putrescent.

Thursday, 24 July 2008

Mordheim: Another Possessed Warband



Another Mordheim gang from a couple of years ago. Just like the last Undead warband, they're on those godawful green-flocked bases.

These lot were mostly Redemptionists from the Necromunda game. In future I'm going to avoid converting metal miniatures if it can be helped - unless you pin them they are prone to breaking. The minis really need to be sturdy in Mordheim, as they get a lot of individual handling rather than hitching a ride on a movement tray.

I will NEVER buy another one of those Possessed miniatures (the big green guy at the back, and the pink tentacled chap in the last Possessed warband). Those models are so damn ugly! And not in a cool way.

Plus, the opportunity to create something unique is a crying shame to pass up.

Wednesday, 23 July 2008

Mordheim: Undead


Yesterday I received an email out of the blue from a man in Holland asking if my Mordheim warband was for sale. He'd found pics from 18 months ago on the Librarium-Online forum, but they were long gone. We had a good chat about his campaigns, ending with me missing the game, and impulse-bidding on a load of Necromunda lots on Ebay that I shouldn't have.

Here are some pics of that warband. Some are a bit slapdash, but I was only fundraising. As such, the gang were never played with before being sold, like last month's Possessed Warband.



The Vampire Leader was the standard Mordheim mini, who is too short to be imposing; if I was ever to have another I'd boost his base. The Necromancer and Hero Ghoul (having received a 'Lad's Got Talent' increase') are iffy conversions; an old Daemonette of Slaanesh with zombie arms instead of pincers, and a Necromancer composed of Brettonian Man-at-Arms body with some Mordheim bitz. Apologies for those Green Hill Zone bases. That box of Brettonians went towards several cheap Spellcaster conversions for Mordheim and Dungeons and Dragons.



All of the Dreg miniatures I have seen are humans with something amiss, usually an an Igor-hunch. For this Dreg I used a Dwarf body to get a weird posture.



Ghouls. I really liked the previous Ghoul miniatures, and I think they're much more disturbing than the new plastics. I included an Ogre Mercenary with the Warband, as another fast mover to support the Dire Wolves and Vampire should they race off ahead:



From the GW site:
"Mercenaries beyond peer, Maneaters have spent decades accruing scars, tall tales, wealth, and exotic weapons before travelling back to the tribe from which they came. As Ogres tend to inherit culture rather than pioneer it, Maneaters typically dress in the style appropriate to the lands in which they fought during their mercenary career"

I decided that it might be fun to have an Ogre that had imprinted onto the Ghouls. The Gut plate received a Skeleton Warriors shield boss, a severed leg from the zombie spru in his right hand made a tasty snack, and an axeblade was made from plasticard and attached to an unused Standard Bearer arm. I took a head with a long moustache and repositioned the jaw between the tips to make a distended maw. A cocktail stick extended the nose, and the upper teeth where taken from an Imperial shield boss (the previous, frilltastic plastic set):



The Necromancer operates an Equal-Opportunities policy when recruiting zombie henchmen. A motley group of zombies of different races.



Human zombie:



Dwarf Zombie:





Zombie pillaged from Advanced Heroquest:



Goblin Zombie:



Not the so easy to show as dead, so I just lopped an arm off and poked an eye out.

Skaven Zombie:





The whole gang was inspired by one component: the Skaven skull. This one was my favourite.

I'm sure I'll give non-human zombies a go again in the future. As well as the Mordheim range which includes a zombie Sister of Sigmar, and others, I could also splash out on some minis from the Dogs of War Regiment of Renown 'The Cursed Company', which includes a skeletal lizardman, skaven, orc, goblin, dwarf and high elf. I would also give a Beastman zombie a go, as there is a bovine skull in the (Tomb Kings) skeleton box set. For a more involved project someone might get inspiration from one of the troll skulls used as markers in the Battle for Skull Pass boxed set.

Thursday, 3 July 2008

Possessed Warband complete



The Possessed Warband is complete, the dwarfs are my favourite. This is my first time using Warlock purple, which was good fun, and I've not really tried gemstones before, but I'm pleased with the results on the Magister's staff.

In other news, I have finally removed the mould lines from every single model in the Battle for Skull Pass boxed set, and undercoated everything; phew! I felt like I was working in a sweat shop.