Human Renegades

Not Chaos Renegades, mind you... I wanted to paint up a couple of guys inspired by the ones in this illo...

I am well pleased with the results. I have painted several hundred Space Marines over the years, but I don't remember enjoying the process more than with these. It was fun to get creative with the color schemes without feeling the need to paint nine more models just like 'em. I really wanted to paint 'THE ONE BIG ONE' on the green guy's shoulder pad, but in the end the first two words were just too small to read and the effect just ruined the chevrons so I had to paint it again - maybe I'll see about getting some decal paper and adding it later. The 'KILL' slogan wound up on the other renegade's leg because I didn't end up with a power fist on either model.

The the Rogue Trader era, lots of Imperial characters had the chance to wind up with powered armour, not just Space Marines. I imagine it wouldn't be beyond the grasp of a couple of successful mercenaries.

No idea where this is going. I just wanted to paint something different. I have lots of adventurers and pirates and these models might end up leading their own warbands of renegades, lending their armoured might to a local Arbites squad, or joining the retinue of a Rogue Trader. I will probably just paint up some models and figure out a scenario afterwards.

Right! Back to Chaos stuff...

Wobblegnash

Back to Chaos! Here is the champion of my Chaos Thugs, obviously an aspiring Chaos Marauder with his heavy armour...

Wobblegnash has led many raids into the soft lands of the south. One lonely village was under the protection of an errant Knight of the Blazing Sun named Sir Hottsjager. Wobblegnash slew him in single combat (ok, he ambushed the knight in the privy with his metal shorts down) and took the armour for his own. He still carries Hottsjager's head in a pouch and occasionally waves it around to assert his authority!

Bring Our Yer Dead!

Ok, I have lots of Oldhammer Undead models that I hope to soon turn my attention, but one of the current painting challenges over at the Oldhammer Forum is "I've Never Painted a ................ Before". This actually got me thinking because I've been painting for a looooooong time. I've dabbled in most Warhammer Fantasy armies so I couldn't just say an 'elf' or 'dwarf'. I needed to get bloody specific. I also wanted to paint something I already had and something to fit in with my plans for this year.

I've Never Painted a Plague Cart Before!

I've painted all manner of undead in the past, both for Warhammer and D&D, but I never owned this model until last year when I spotted it on eBay. While casting about through my collection, I realized this would serve perfectly for the challenge and to launch my Oldhammer Undead army!

This is only the first of many...

Chaos Thugs

I only managed a single model this time, but it is one of my favorites. I really love the pose and the face on this model.

Looking at the pics, it seems like a missed opportunity for some cool tattoos so I may go back on this one.

Here are the Chaos Thugs so far...

I'm shooting for a unit of twenty, but that will probably include a character or two...

Chaos Thugs

Two more thugs for my collection...

Again, I am trying to keep the color scheme quite neutral so I can use them in different warbands.

Chaos Thugs

These models are so much better than the current GW Marauder models.

As you can see, I did use a shield from the new models (the only thing I like about them). Like the beastmen, I'm going to try to use a limited palette, but add variety. All of the models will have green hair when they have hair. Most will have green or red accents, but the shades of these will vary. I'll use various neutral tones or the occasional spot color to to break up the uniformity.

Maulblade the Doomkin

This model used to be my general back in the day (and probably will be again), so I was very excited when I spotted him on eBay - this model doesn't seem to be as common as some of the other champions so it was a real find.

Speaking of eBay, I think the Oldhammer community is a small one and it is likely that I am bidding on some of the same items as my readers. I apologize if I ninja'd something you had your eye on and apologize again in advance for future for grabbing more. I actually already have quite a large number of models, but I am trying to fill in some units and maybe add a few new ones...

I also have a notion to pick up enough other races to fill in the follower table from the Slaves of Darkness (i.e 8 Chaos Dwarves, 4 Harpies, 6 Orcs, 12 Wolves, etc). I think I am going to build warbands for each of the four Chaos Powers. My plan is for each power to have it's champion, 2d6 Beastmen or 2d6 Humans, plus the following...

Khorne - Chaos Warrior, 2d4 Chaos Dwarfs, and 1d4 Ogres
Slaanesh - Chaos Sorcerer, 1d6 Dark Elves and 1d4 Minotaurs
Nurgle - Chaos Warrior, 2d4 Skaven and 1 Troll
Tzeentch - Chaos Sorcerer, 1d4 Harpies and 1 Chimera (or similar winged beast)

In this case, the die result will be the number of models I've managed to acquire! The Beastmen and Humans (Thugs) will be fairly generic (unless sporting obvious power traits) so I can combine them into larger units for my army, while the other races will be more power specific. The champions will simply be designed to represent the models I've chosen.

Here are all of my Chaos Warriors to date...

The spear-armed guy may be promoted to champion status to lead my Chaos Thugs. I'm planning on one unit of twelve models for my army initially, but I actually want to collect enough models to build a unit of ten Chaos Warriors (these will be mostly the more Nurglely minis) and ten Chaos Marauders (the generic Chaos Warrior minis painted in neutral dark colors). I will probably build a ten model unit of Slaanesh Chaos Warriors as well as I already have four or five champions of that power.

M'Kai Burblerage

Ok, I'm having as much fun naming these models as painting them... maybe I WILL name the entire army!

The armor is my favorite green so far, most reminiscent of some of my favorite minis from The Lost and the Damned galleries... all GW paints...

1. Castellan Green (Base)

2. Athonian Camoshade (Shade)

3. Straken Green (Layer)

4. Nurgling Green (Layer)

5. Carroburg Crimson (Shade)... wound and damage areas only

I'm having a hard time deciding which model(s) will actually BE champions and which ones will fall into ranks for a unit of Chaos Warriors. Maybe I need to have them fight it out on the table! I just picked up a few more on eBay...

A Closer Look at the Beastmen

I got a couple of requests for more pics of the beastmen...

The trick to painting a rabble, yet maintain a consistent look is to keep a limited palette for the main focus of the models and vary the accents. In the case of these models, the shields become the main part when the models are ranked because of their position on the bases...

Although I varied the patterns I stuck with the same three colors - red, bone, and black. The secondary focus will fall on the faces and skin tone. I've chosen three different tones and applied them in a set pattern - three grey, two brown, and one green (the last is for Nurgle - I might have chosen differently for another power). Going forward I will follow this on each group of six... this will give me some variation while maintaining an overall unified appearance when the unit is assembled.

Other details - horns, fur, rags - were painted with any colors I wanted without spoiling the effect. I have some Slaaneshi Beastmen in my collection (destined for a champion's warband) and they will be painted using similar guidelines, but with a different palette of colors.

I really LOVE these models! I'll have some Chaos Thugs up next week!

Daarkon Slobbergobble

Finally got around to taking some pics of stuff I've finished over the last few weeks... This range of Chaos Champions was released after Citadel stopped naming the models in their ads, so the name is one I came up with. I don't intend to name every model in my Chaos army, but I think it is appropriate for champions!

I normally paint 3-5 models at a time so it's been fun to just work on one and pay attention to details I might gloss over in production line painting. It will probably take a year to build an army this way, but I'm not in a huge rush with this project. I'm still adding models in one's and two's anyway. I'll probably break down and paint rank and file types in pairs, but I want to maintain a level of individuality in each model, so there's not a lot to gain in batch painting. 

Oh, Happy Day!

In my last post, I was lamenting the fact that the vintage citadel shields are priced beyond what seems reasonable. It was for that reason that I grabbed some stuff from my bits box to armor my Beastmen (and yet to be seen Chaos Thugs). While wasting a little time this afternoon idly surfing the net, I spotted this pic...

I smiled, because I have this box set. I have collected several units of classic Citadel and Marauder metal Undead models (again, yet to be seen, but I hope to split time between Chaos and Undead). I am planning on using these plastic models as reinforcements for summoning spells. The first level Summon Skeletons spell calls unarmored warriors to the necromancer and even the third level Raise Dead only brings troops with a 6 save, meaning I can model some in the scraps of armour in the kit and have the effect of Light Armour. In the level of points I plan to play, it will difficult for casters to be high enough level to get the Summon Undead Horde spell, but if it comes to that, I can simply know that the skeletons have a 5+ save without the benefit of putting shields on the models...

... and that's what I'm really on about. I have a pile of Citadel shields I'd forgotten about!

There are more than 30 shields in the box, including these five sprues perfect for Chaos models! Now I can try my hand at... errr... hand-painted shield designs. I've actually done free hand work on other models...

Anyway, finding those shields in mint condition is like Christmas all over again!

Beastmen

I managed to paint these this week. I LOVE these old Beastmen models. I am lucky enough to have around twenty of these...

The shields are from one of the more modern kits. Prices for the old shields on eBay are ridiculous. I'm planning on doing the same for my Chaos Thugs and Skeleton Warriors because I have piles of newer shields in my bits box. The handful of old school shields I have are reserved for my Chaos Warriors!

The building is scratch-built from foamcore and balsa wood with the addition of some old Mordheim bits.

'Real' Oldhammer, Part 1

Happy New Year!

Last weekend while I was trying to clean up my game room, I stumbled across a pile of photos of my old Chaos army from days of yore (real, 4x6' glossies before the age of digital cameras - sorry these are a bit fuzzy)!

Sadly, all of these models are long gone (hmm... I THINK I still have the Slaanesh model mounted on the Chaos Bike somewhere - it was one of three I converted for a 40k army), but I am slowly replacing them in hopes of being able to once again take the field. I have already acquired a good many of the Champions of Nurgle and beastmen!

I'll post some more pics from my Empire army from the same era (which I still own)...