The Zealous

 

This month's Odds and Sods Challenge theme is 'lunatics'. "Bum", I thought, "I need to be painting dwarves", not sure being obsessed with ale and gold really makes you a lunatic. But wait! Didn't I have some Slayers on the shelf that needed painting? Could I use that as an excuse to get the rest of my dwarves on the table? Hmm, only one Slayer unpainted. One Slayer doth not a challenge entry make. What else have I got that might fit?

I know... what about those Witch Hunters? They're suitably crazed in their zeal to be applicable.

There certainly is a dwarf among them, probably also a Slayer, just a Vampire Slayer rather than a Troll, Dragon, or Daemon Slayer. His name is Ivan Hellsinga, though I was tempted to give him a big sword instead of his axe to match his long leather coat. On the horse is Raoul Sloier, the worst kind of pedant, with his big tome of decrees. I was tempted to have a go at painting the cover as the 3rd edition Armies Book (where it all started to go wrong in some opinion) but wimped out. I might yet give it a go. The good ol' WHQ Witch Hunter was missing his sword hand. Originally I was going to give him a book or scroll but the band already has a lot of textual props in it so I opted for this ex-Hinchliffe now Broadsword Miniatures skeleton on a cross instead. A recent heretic cleansed of their opinion. The final figure is from the same Foundry pack as Raoul, a mounted and on-foot version of the same mini. 

I also had a bunch of monks, a cardinal and a musketeer type chap in the same box so I thought I would lump them in together. Here is Cardinal Khum Fitcher (with an acute over the e) and his Red Missionaries, including his loyal bodyguard Rich Aloux. The Cardinal is Essex I think? Don't know what the musketeer dude is but he has a very fine wig.

These identical monks must be Old Glory or something like that. Their hands are massive and banana-y so maybe I should have given them purple gloves? They are, after all, the Estalian Inquisition (nobody expected that). The red robes were decided by my already having pale-robed cultists, ecclesial purple cultists and brown-cassocked monks in my collection. I wanted something different but still appropriate. Only after I had started painting them red did I realise they actually look quite a lot like Father Carden from Cursed. Once I had seen it I had to go along with it! I'm not sure how well the crucifixes fit in with a fantasy world, but as a form of torture/execution favoured by a conquering power I imagine it would still be present just without the same religious association. Or perhaps they're stylised axes/hammers.

They join my existing Witch Hunters from various sources. The guy with the sword and big hammer I don't remember where he came from but I wish I did, he's very cool. Perhaps someone can tell me? The musketeer and three fine gentlemen below are 28mm ECW miniatures I collected (they were painted and mounted on small wooden plinths) going around re-enactments and castles as a kid. I think they all came from Basing House and Basingstoke Museum actually, so maybe someone in the Basingstoke area was batch painting and selling them through those outlets? If it was you, thanks! I bought loads and they were proudly displayed in my parents' Dining Room for years. I got rid of my Romans and Medieval figures but kept the ECW ones and decided to repaint them as Witch Hunters so they did get stripped (sorry about that). I think they might be Bicorn but I'm far from sure. The lady in red is from Ral Partha Europe. I had her in mind to be Angua in a Discworld Guards band before I sculpted my own version so the colour choices are a nod to that.

The last two are these chaps from Westfalia. Halfling Witch Hunters, Van Halflings? Already did that pun earlier, sorry. My halfling peasant farmers (from Midlam) are painted in a puritanical, amish kinda colour scheme using a dark green (because halflings still like green even if not as bright as usual!) so I carried that over into their hats and cloaks as opposed to the charcoal grey on the other Witch Hunters.

The Zealous

The Barbaric Tribe of the Horny King

 

I've put pictures of these guys up before, but as I was playing a game with them at the weekend I thought I would use the opportunity to take some new, better photos documenting the full force. Only thing is I may need to find three more archers... Anyhow, without explanation, here are some pictures.

The Barbaric Tribe of the Horny King

Book of War- a Barbarian Battle!

My good matey Mike of Broadswords and Beasts came over to provide alternative entertainment on Saturday. Apparently some geezer in the big smoke was getting a glittery hat but we had our attention caught by two warring Barbarian clans- My earthy, celtic, Slaine-influenced clan of the Horny King vs. Mike's Heavy Metal Marauders.

Mike brought along Book of War Original Edition Delta by Daniel R. Collins (2011). A ruleset designed to handle mass combat in D&D, so very much the flavour of 1st edition Warhammer without the need for tables. It ran fast and smoothly, though we had to make a few 'common sense' calls re. crossing scenery, wheeling, passing through narrow gaps etc. This was probably all covered in the advanced section of the rules but we wanted something simple so just played the basics. The only maths involved was a morale calculation based on losses from combat that turn. Once you had run it a couple of times it was second nature.

Now to the fun part... photos!

Forces arrayed for battle... The Slainians are a bit outnumbered, but they do have a mammoth!

Movement is fast! A 'light' cavalry unit can get halfway across the table in a turn and even ponderous infantry has a 9" move.

Spikes and skulls are clearly the order of the day amongst the Metal Heads. The deliciously fluffy doggies sadly didn't get a chance to chomp on succulent biceps as they lost most of the front rank to arrows from the mammoth howdah and quite literally turned tail. Fast movement doesn't give you much chance to recover from a rout!

An imposing unit of Hecatrons (Hecatri?) advance on the left flank.

Grim banners and heavy chariots advance to the pounding of war drums and scream of distorted guitars...

The Hecatri swarm the hedge to set upon the retinue of the Horny King. 

It would be a drawn-out conflict, but little by little the ranks of Hecatri fell to the gae bolga.

On the right flank the Marauders had the upper hand (bedecked in studs and with two fingers raised no doubt!). Heavy bear cavalry and chariots made short work of the shoggy beasts before turning their attention to the geriatric veterans...

...who soon hobbled off in brisk retreat!

The mammoth stood its ground as hordes swamped it from all sides. A unit fell beneath a sweep of its trunk but it was no match for the mighty giant axeman.

Enraged by the losses to a small group of archers (longbows seem like the most effective weapon on the battlefield) the mighty Metal Warlord and his heavy chariot mows straight over them. No survivors. Meanwhile the remains of the Horny King's retinue are surrounded on three sides and pushed from the table. But they shall return to exact their revenge! And probably bring more bows next time...

Book of War- a Barbarian Battle!

Pax Elfhammer

 

Another month of the Odds and Sods Challenge passes, another army complete! You'll have seen Happhyia Siddance previously, here's the rest of his woody kin. They're the happy little treefolk who suffer no high speed rail or crap estate developers to ruin their haven.

Most of the army is a blend of Jes Goodwin elves that somehow survived my "I'm an adult now" toy cull, ex-Grenadier elves from Forlorn Hope and Battlezone and plastic Fantasy Regiments elves. The Jes elves I repainted a couple of years ago. I had been using them as human tribes for my fimir but I thought they deserved a better paint job so I broke my rule on not repainting for them.

There are also some of my own sculpts in here, Oakbound Faw Walkers- an attempt to complement the Jes and Copplestone elves. Not all that successful but they make up the numbers.

I see the wood elves as a very bow-heavy army. If you can even see them (never mind reach them in close combat) that doesn't feel very elfish to me. With the exception of the wardancers of course, who should appear from nowhere, cause havoc and vanish again into the trees.

The regiments elves I picked up cheaply in a few lots. I love them for doing exactly what they were intended for- filling out the units with loads of low-cost troops that have enough variation not too look too monopose.

I was given enough silvan elves to break up the plastic ranks. They'll likely be mixed together when fielded but here they are in a separate unit.

And some of my own archers too.

Here's this month's actual challenge minis, the glade riders. The Copplestone cavalry are great but the actual mounted models are limited on the bow front and I want to preserve the heavy-archery theme. I really don't see wood elves driving headlong in ranks of lancer cavalry intending to run their foe into the ground... not unless they're clearing up the fleeing remnants of a routed foe.

To give myself more mounted archers I have cut the tabs off ex-Grenadier foot archers and bent their legs to fit on the horses. I don't think they look too bad for such little effort. The horses I wanted to give a kind of native American painted look to introduce a bit more colour to an otherwise pretty drab green force. That's entirely appropriate of course, but doesn't pop on the table as much as I would like.  

The command are also adjusted from foot troops. Rather irritatingly I put the champion and standard on the same horse (a Citadel one I think? I actually don't like it as much as the Grenadier ones) and the musician and general on the same horse so the front rank of the unit is two horse sculpts instead of four. Ah well.

No wood elf army is complete without wardancers! A blend of Jes Goodwin and my own sculpts with some 4th edition ones at the back (with substitute heads as I sculpted Anubis heads onto the originals to use with my Egyptian high elves, then switched their allegiance again) and lead by the WHQ wardancer which is one of my favourite models of all time. I don't think I have done him justice, might need to get another one and try again. 

Of course nature is on the side of the elves against stupid humanity. The Mark Copplestone eagles are amazing. I put the riders into other units (find them somewhere above!) as I just didn't think they could actually ride the eagles in the way they are posed. Anyway, eagles by themselves are cool and more multi-purpose.

The flora of the woods is the hidden might of the wood elves. Taking cover behind a tree from the hail of arrows? Sorry, wrong tree! This big fellow is a 6-soul sluagh from oakbound, formerly Bear's Head Miniatures Oggalump.

I seem to have amassed quite s election of treefolk... here's another Oakbound (only a 4-soul sluagh this one, there's a 2-soul one as well, but not in this selection), a RAFM and a Hinchliffe now Broadsword Miniatures (based on an Alan Lee drawing from Faeries... or is it a Brian Froud illustration? I forget).

And, of course, a mighty Trish Morrison treeman. Definitely a birch this one.

Lastly, these two are Alternative Armies. I think I ordered one and then they were giving them away free so I ended up with two. The metal arms (resin bodies) are nicely posable to make them look sufficiently different.

Pax Elfhammer