+ Welcome to the Tallowlands +

+ New blog +

+ Our group of gaming ne'er-do'wells, The PCRC, have started up a new blog to chart our exploration of part of the Mortal Realms, The Tallowlands [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+]. Consider this your invitation to adventure! +

+ Bookmark + 

https://tallowlands.blogspot.com/ +

+ Rest assured that + Death of a Rubricist + isn't going anywhere, and I'll be continuing to publish Age of Sigmar-themed hobby stuff (painting, modelling etc) here. The Tallowlands will get the bulk of the in-depth background material, battle reports and so forth. +

+ Why this approach? Firstly, I've never been entirely happy with how this blog dealt with Warhammer/Age of Sigmar material – the dataslate aesthetics don't really fit very well, and so the material's not been given the treatement it deserves. Secondly, and more importantly, the opportunity to do a shared blog with the PCRC gang is just too good to miss! +

+ My intent therefore is that fantasy-enthusiasts won't have to dig through the mainly 40k-themed material here on my personal blog, and will instead have a dedicated forum – that, owing to being a shared blog, will be considerably more varied and rich than I could offer here – while those who enjoy the occasional appearance of dwarfs, elves and so forth on Death of a Rubricist won't miss out. +

+ Those Death of a Rubricist subscribers who prefer fantasy to sci-fi will find much to get their teeth into over at The Tallowlands (though I hope you'll all give it a look, regardless of whether you are currently into Fantasy stuff). Needless to say, it contains some wonderful, creative models from some very talented writers and artists. I very much encourage you to comment with thoughts and questions as we develop this little corner of the Mortal Realms. +

+ Any questions or suggestions on how this affects +Death of a Rubricist+? Pop 'em in the +comment inloadsubmission form+ below. +

+ inload: The Throng of Nog +

+ The Throng of Nog +

Draw close, manling, and pass that well-water your brewer flatters with the name of ale.

Hm. 

Passable, after all. Perhaps I misjudge the children of Sigmar.

At the least, my throat is not so dry as it was. While the fire burns still, let me tell you a little. You have been hospitable to my sister in her illness, and my kin do not soon forget kindness. 

Of the Tallowlands, it is said the Star Giants drew their plough across these lands long ago; before even the raising of the Hold. The land buckled and melted in the heat, and the bones of the earth themselves grew soft and flowing. For two wholemoons the skies rained ash and fire as the plough drew slowly through the groaning ground. All who stayed on the surface perished. As the Giants passed, the land grew cold once more, and the mountains set into the soft rolling hills you see now.

Ages passed – of war and terror; long since passed into the myth of man. Then it was that our honoured ancestor, the first lord of the Nog, came into this land. It was hard, then, and bare: naught but thin grasses and heathers stretched across the moorlands, and the wind was chill.

Nog and his household found the great Scars; open still after all those years. Such deep chasms... They glittered with wealth undreamed of – before or since. Striking camp, the First Families staked their claims, and raised Nog to Cyng. An outpost was raised, that became a town, that became a great hold. And none too soon...

Then came the greenskin, and the silver-tongued infidious elves – and with them they brought their war...

+++

+ A little bit of painting last night allowed me to polish off ten more dwarfs for the long-in-preparation Throng. The annual tide of enthusiasm for Warhammer has risen in the PCRC of late – Lucifer216 has polished up a new undead army in the time it's taken me to do these, but dwarfs aren't fazed! +

+ The scheme's a bit of a random construction – suggested as much by the red undercoat I used as by anything else. In between Legio Sumer-Nikator, my Blood Angels and Word Bearers, I've been on a bit of red kick recently. +

+ In that lies a lot of the appeal of a Warhammer army: the chance for variety. These red-coated fellas can happily be a particular minor lord's retinue – The Scarlet Few of the Weartling Cwichelm, for example – without tieing me into painting the whole army this way. While you'd expect a sci-fi army like a Space Marine legion to demonstrate some form of uniformity, the same doesn't apply to a pseudo-dark ages force. Even if the lord dictates his men must wear red, then you'll likely have different hues due to different fabrics and batches of dyes, and even different interpretations of how to show this – from full custom plate armour to a simple scrap of cloth ties to a spearshaft. +

+++

'Who would tend the flocks? Who would nurture and harvest the barley? Answer that, and tell me what sort of dwarf would live wearing only ragarin, or worse, live without meat and bread and ale?

'No, of course not all dawi live in the holds – but nor again are all we hill-dwellers farmers. From the vorns and kazid of the Barrow Hills, the Throng of Nog draws many of its warriors. I am one such. Thrungling, I was; trained in axe and shield, as was my father and his father and his father before him, to the time of the Throngfounding.

'I served proudly besides my comrades. Firstly, as a road-guard for the caravans to the manling city of Yeld – for the plains and woodlands are full of brigands, aye; brigands and worse – all greedy for the ore and craftings of the Nog-folk. That is how I learned my craft for a five-year. Latterly, then, it was as mariner; on the trading route between kazid-Eo and kazid-Narya.

'Like many of my folk, I was a reluctant – though obedient – sailor, at first. Soon, though, I grew fond of the salt air, and the clear skies, and the many folk I met. It kindled a desire in me to see more. After my five-year was up, my lord the Weartling Cwichelm knew my mind and granted me therefore an akrak-baraz – a bond, that is – to enable me to travel.

'I have wandered since, my baraz a security and a provisioner for my household. I explore, I seek; I write to the Weartling of my encounters; and thus the map of our ancestors is expanded.'

+ inload: Catch-all +

 + Pondering the imponderables and taking stock +

+ No hobby should become a job; so I make no apologies that this inload's a bit diffuse – it's just a collection of odd thoughts and pictures that don't really warrant full inloads of their own. +

+ Combat Arena +

+ Hooray, I thought, as I saw an awesome Mechanicus model previewed last year. Boo, I thought, as I found out it would only be released in the US or Germany. A similar train of thought occurred when I found out – hooray – the model would be available locally after all... but only as part of a very expensive expansion to a game I don't own – booooo. +

+ In comparison to the closed, Stazi-like '**** you, peasants' attitude that GW had during the turn of the century, new GW is doing a great job; but with all the different (and, in fairness, fun) ways they're bringing models to the market, there are inevitably minor annoyances like this. +

+ I had resigned myself to waiting, as I'm sure the sprue will be available in some more affordable way one day, but then stumbled upon a box of the US-exclusive game on eBay for a decent price, and picked it up. I really liked Gorechosen – a very silly, very quick and very fun gladiatorial combat game – and this essentially looked like a reskin. +

+ Lovely delicacy and movement in the stock poses. +

+ To cut a long story short, the models are beautiful. In an unusual move, I decided to build them as the God-Emperor intended, straight out of the box. Since I don't usually do this, I'd forgotten how nice – and quick! – it is to do so. I ended up getting all five built and primed in under an hour. +

+ A Techpriest leads two servitors on techy-shenanigans+

+ The techpriest above was the catalyst for the purchase, but I'm starting to warm to the quick boardgame-style games GW have been putting out. In the past I've regarded them merely as extraneous packaging, but with hobby time disappearing, it's nice to go back to them and find some way to play with toy soldiers that can be set up, played and broken down in a short time. +

+ I think I'll always prefer the spectacle of a tabletop wargame, but with this and Betrayal at Calth [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+] under my belt, perhaps I'll have an easy option for when time is tight. +

+ Either way, when I get a chance to play, I'll pop up a battle report. +

+++

+ Speaking of Wargames +

+ Ah, back in the comfort of serried ranks of troops. Age of Sigmar interest has returned to the PCRC, with Warmtamale and Lord Blood the Hungry leading the charge, and a couple of us gathering our forces in the wake of the release of Cities of Sigmar. +

+ With the drums and horns calling the Throng of Nog [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+] to war once more, I did a quick squizzy at where they stand. +

+ Being a very mixed combo of swaps, ancient lead and second-hand rescues [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+] built up over a few years, they're quite a mixed bunch. Now there's a bit more certainty about what things can be in the rules, I'm feeling more motivated to paint them up. They are, however, perhaps understandably a little mixed. From left, we've got:

• 18 undercoated crossbow dwarfs (their leader and a lone drunkard are on my painting desk).
• 33 dwarf warriors: 10 in the early stages of painting (the red file); 11 undercoated black, including the banner and musician; 11 undercoated grey and one filly painted leader.
• 5 grey-undercoated Hammerers, along with a painted Thane and Wizard.
• Roughly 40 Ironbreakers, around 15 of which are fully painted.
• In addition, there are a scattering of oddments.

+ Not as huge a backlog as I'd feared, but still something that's going to require some batch-painting. +

+++

+ Apropos of nothing +

+ In addition to the KR cases I use for storing most of my finished/ongoing armies (the poor dwarfs above will remain homeless for a little while), I have a small case which houses some more unusual miniatures, united only by being odd one-offs. The Court of the Sun King project is housed in here in its entirety, for example, including a number that I've never got round to painting. +

+ I mention this only because there's really no other reason that I got a pict-capture of the two below. I just happened to have five minutes and wanted to take a picture of some favourites. It's nice to look back, sometimes. +

+ Of course, looking back's also good to ensure we don't rest on our laurels. I remember being very proud indeed of these miniatures. Brother Hicks and Hutch (rear row, right and left respectively) in particular saw much battlefield time. Feast your eyes on the awesome freehand on their Legion of the Damned colleagues! +

(Shut up, those are excellent rib-cage patterns)

+ Onwards and upwards with the painting journey, I say; and remember – your hobby's not your job, and no-one giving you marks. +

+ inload D: Schwerpunkt – Mordheim MMXIX +

+ Something a little special for inload 'D' (that's number 500 for non-Romans). I have been invited by Alexander Winburg of the ever-inspirational Echoes of Imperium blog to get involved in a celebration of Mordheim, the Warhammer skirmish game which turns twenty this year [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+]. +

+ I was very flattered to be involved, then found out the other contributors – and very quickly became a bit intimidated! A list of the hobbyists taking part can be found here [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], but far more fun is the blog post with pictures of some of the miniatures [+noosphericinload link embedded+]. I thought I'd give a run-down of what my plans are, in order to give a little insight into my working methods, for what they're worth. +

+ The idea has been churning over for quite some time – Alexander asked if I would like to be involved back in mid-2018. I can only apologise for the time it's taken, but a combination of real-life busy-ness and wanting to do something really special meant it's been a while in the making. +

+ Anyway sufficient excuses; on with the plans. Regular inloaders will know I like to put together a 'conceptinload' of notes, to give me a feel for the idea as a whole. I then refer to this to develop the models. +

+ Theoretical +

+ As I understood things, at the root of the idea was an an affectionate retelling of Mordheim from 1999. Alexander was keen to strike a good midpoint between being us all having the freedom to be as creative as possible; while also not going too far off-piste. I had a little dig around history to find something appropriate to the concept of Mediaeval Europe through a dark mirror, and stumbled upon Jan Žižka.:

Žižka helped develop tactics of using wagon forts, called vozová hradba in Czech or Wagenburg by the Germans, as mobile fortifications. When the Hussite army faced a numerically superior opponent they prepared carts for the battle by forming them into squares or circles. The carts were joined wheel to wheel by chains and positioned aslant, with their corners attached to each other, so that horses could be harnessed to them quickly, if necessary. In front of this wall of carts a ditch was dug by camp followers. The crew of each cart consisted of 16-22 soldiers: 4-8 crossbowmen, 2 handgunners, 6-8 soldiers equipped with pikes or flails (the flail was the Hussite "national weapon"), 2 shield carriers and 2 drivers.

+ Poached from Wikipedia, I've added my own emphasis. That little list seemed to describe a Mordheim band to a T; and I started gathering bits... +

+ ...however, as more details emerged, the concept slightly evolved to an even more post-Apocalyptic setting – that of the ruined city twenty years on (i.e. Mordheim had moved on with real-world time). Other people's models started emerging at this point, and were very different to the fairly conservative approach I had started with (basically resculpted mercenaries). The stuff that was coming out was fantastic – heavily influenced by Bosch and full of Baroque grandeur. +

+ I scrapped my initial idea, and went back to the drawing board. I had been avoiding looking too much at the other contributor's works, as I don't want to be derivative, but instead give my response to the idea; but felt I wouldn't be giving enough with such a simple idea. So, I mused a bit more. +

+ The idea of 'twenty years on' really resonated with me, and I thought back to what I was doing twenty years ago – namely playing Advanced Heroquest and watching Conan the Barbarian with my brother. 'Now there's an idea,' I thought; and started gathering things together. The following are a few scribbled thoughts as visions of Advanced Heroquest, Heroquest and Warhammer Quest all got a bit bashed together. Hope you enjoy; and I hope to bring some proper models together to show soon. Can't all be planning, after all!

+++

Abstract – a pathetic group of old men and scared youngsters led by a man with a burning need to succeed, but none of the power. Everyday regular treasure-hunters; a mix of everyone. No-one in their prime. Not at all prepared for the monsters. Be a contrast for the other warbands – the regular folk that are scared of the dark

• Sertorius – Marienburger Captain. An Othello figure – proud but conflicted; hires the greatest warriors of a generation – unfortunately; the last generation...
• Heinrich Löwen (the fighter) – old and grizzled; Champion in charge of a group of henchmen. Scrubby beard; missing eye?
• Sven Hammerhelm (the Dwarf) – Champion in charge of another group of henchmen. Imperial Dwarf with ruffs and puffs, or stern classic?
• Torallion Leafstar (the Elf) – Abandoned the group; NPC that follows them? Elf Ranger NPC
• Magnus the Bright (the wizard) – senile (NPC); bathchair?
• Wizard's apprentice from Heroquest
• Barbarian from Heroquest – Ogre Bodyguard NPC?

At the height of their powers....

Use this shield design – update with Mordheim skull-headed crow?

FISHFISHSFISH

Owls – birds; carrion

Option 1

• [115GC] Sertorius, Mercenary Captain – 60GC; duelling pistol (25); light armour (20); sword (10)
• [110GC] Heinrich Löwen, Mercenary Champion – 35GC; heavy Armour (50), sword (10), shield (5) and helmet (10)
• [73GC] Sven Hammerhelm Mercenary Champion – 35GC; hammer (3), light armour (20), shield (5) and helmet (10)
• [30GC] Youngblood – 15GC; double-handed weapon [staff] (15), dagger (free)
• [200GC] 5 warriors – 125GC, three with a halberd (30), two with axes (10), three shields (15), two helmets (20)
• [70GC] 2 Marksmen – 50GC, each with a bow (20)

Hired swords

• [30GC+15] Magnus the Bright, Warlock
• [40GC+40] Torallion Leafstar, Elf Ranger
• [80GC+] The Barbarian, Ogre Bodyguard

Knight (injured?) and bearded wizard – ancient/senile(?); dwarf and elf absent(?)

Slambo enslaved? Or NPC?

Words:

• Canticle for Leibowitz
• Viriconium
• 'Scarred and scared': old and leathered leading fresh-faced and terrified henchmen
• Viginti – Twenty years on; aggressive sounding. Spiky.
• Scherpunkt – critical point. Punky puns.

[T]he most warlike of commanders and those who have accomplished most by a union of daring and cunning, have been one-eyed men, Philippus, Antigonus, Annibal, and the subject of this Life — Sertorius; he whom one may affirm to have been more continent as to women than Philip, more true to his friends than Antigonus, more merciful to his enemies than Annibal, inferior in understanding to none of them, but in fortune inferior to all; and, though he always found Fortune more hard to deal with than his open enemies, yet he proved himself her equal by opposing the experience of Metellus, the daring of Pompeius, the fortune of Sulla, and the power of the whole Roman state; a fugitive and a stranger putting himself at the head of barbarians.

Plutarch: Life of Sertorius

Palette:
Ratspike Ian Miller – greens and blacks; Rembrandt – deep rich darks; reds and yellows. Touch on three-dot yellow-ochre used on Unfortunus Veck – perhaps servo-souls? Punk stylings. Leather jerkins; grubby metal. Pastel pinks? Outré exorbitant fabrics utterly spoiled in the City.

+ inload: Painting Stormcasts WIP +

+ Stormcast of the Tallowlands +

Battered, war-weary and quietly noble is how I like my heroes, whether that's in the grim darkness of the far future, or in the PCRC's little nook of the Mortal Realms, the Tallowlands.

The examples here, of an as-yet-unnamed Chapter Chamber, are my version of the three lost in the city of Shadespire. The game, Warhammer Underworlds: Shadespire, is very fun, by the way. I picked it up on a whim, and very much enjoyed my first game. The figures are good too; it's nice to see both a bare-headed and a female Stormcast, and their Khorne adversaries are also fun.

As you can see, I've gone for a turquoise and bronze scheme. I think it makes them look a little like worshippers of Manaan, the Old World god of the sea. Perhaps that's where I'll take the concept of their Chamber.

+ Painting bronze +

_1 Prime grey.

_2 Paint the metal areas with a 70:30 mix of Abaddon Black and Balthazar Gold.

_3 Add more Balthazar Gold to the mix, along with a drop or two of silver ink (I use Winsor & Newton's inks). Use this mix to highlight, leaving at least a third of the armour plate as the darker base coat in the areas away from the light source. This is generally the bottom third of the area, but this will depend on the shape. 

At step 5, you should have three main areas of tone, which blend
smoothly into one another, as shown on the helmet here.

_4 Wash with Druchii Violet.

_5 Dilute Balthazar Gold with silver ink (a drop or two is fine) and a little flow medium. Use this to highlight, looking to cover roughly a third of the armour plate. As with the earlier highlighting (step 3), pay attention to the light source, and apply the highlighting to the upper third.

_6 Using a dry soft brush and silver ink, make small, light, circular movements to texturise and highlight the metal in direct light. Think of it as very controlled drybrushing.

_7 You can edge highlight now, if you want to make the shapes pop.

That's about as far as I've got at the moment; the rest is firmly work-in-progress.

 +++

+ Severin Steelheart +

I treated the exposed face of the leader of the group as an exercise in strong directional lighting. In essence, I added highlights on one side and shading on the other, rather than the more neutral 'modelling' lighting I usually use, where highlights are applied more evenly, as though lit from above.

The right-hand side, as you can see, is considerably darker than the left. Note that this sort of painting relies on using an imaginary source of light that is consistent across the model; so the metals are also highlighted as though there's a light to the left of him.

Note that the right-hand side of the face (his left) does not remain highlighted entirely  – you can see this in the detail above – but the highlights are less strong, and the shadow covers more of his face (look below the cheekbone, for example).

I'm pleased with how the experiment worked out, as I think it gives a fairly dramatic effect. There's nothing inherently more difficult than 'normal' highlighting to this; it's just a case of treating the figure's face as any other object, and changing the place where you add your highlighting. 

The rest of the figure is fairly straightforward. I've added a quick chequerboard pattern to the hem of his cloak, and need to decide whether the shoulder pads are going to remain the same bronze as the armour, or be picked out in a different colour.

I'm fairly sure the weapons will be silver. Bronze may make a nice change of pace for the armour, but a bit of contrast in tone is necessary to make the figures sing.

Hopefully the bases will also help with this.

+ Obryn the Bold +

As seems typical, I tried out the technique on the most important model (Steelheart, in this case), in the expectation that I'd do my best job while fresh. 

As it turned out, going straight in and spending less time faffing around with experimenting gave a more striking effect on the other two. On balance, I think the bronze at least is better here than on Steelheart. However, I'm annoyed about the line between parts on the pad on this figure, Obryn the Bold; I should have spent more time prepping such an obvious area. 

Other than that, I'm pleased. I found Obryn the least charismatic of the sculpts because he's the most 'typical' of the Stormcast, and so I wanted to do something that made him look more interesting. 

His background suggests that he's gradually losing his soul and character through being reincarnated, so I tried to represent this through the use of some verdigris; the implication being that he's becoming less aware of his surroundings out of battle, so he's starting to miss areas when maintaining and clearing his gear.This makes a virtue of the monolithic stance and slow, imposing sense of weight. 

I didn't want to go over the top – a little goes a long way with weathering. In any case, with turquoise used elsewhere, the verdigris needs to act subtly, or it'll just get confusing.

+ Angharad Brightshield +

Brightshield has a much more dynamic pose than Obryn, and it is one that worked well with the painting technique detailed above.

The open stance meant that it was easy to get highlights and shading where they should be, as the arms are conveniently held out to the sides.

I did leave the shield off when painting, but made sure to take it into account when working out what would be catching the light and what would be obscured.

For the most obvious example, the gauntlet behind the shield would have been brightly lit were the shield not there, but I needed to paint it as though in shadow once the shield was taken into account.

I'm looking forward to finished off these figures. A few of the PCRC are meeting up at the weekend, and I'd like to have them finished in time for a game or two.

+ inload: Opening scenes in Shallowell +

+ Shallowell + 

Events kick off in the mysterious town of Shallowell. I'm fairly sure LordBloodtheHungry, who's done the bulk of the work in creating the town and its inhabitants, is planning to post up a full report of the game. I'll post a link to that when it goes up, so this is really just a very quick overview.

A treat to play; we used the Mordheim rules. The scenario revolved around the player's warbands – Warmtamale's local inbreds, Omricon's merchant caravan, the ratcatcher's guild and my Witchhunters – arriving at the edge of Shallowell (hence the encroaching fields at the bottom of the picture) and finding a caravan under attack by goblins and bandits.

A closer look at just some of the NPCs, all built and painted (along with the scenery) specifically for the game.

Warmtamale's thieving yokels.

Omricon's merchants.

The scenario unfolds...

+++

+ Burning of Prospero +

+ It's taken me a while, but I've finally got most of the figures for Burning of Prospero built. I'm treating it as a self-enclosed game, so while I wasn't able to resist a bit of kitbashing and conversion, I decided against making the marines larger. It was a refreshing treat just to cut the figures off the sprue and start building! +

+ I'll post up the rank and file in a later inload, as there's a bit more to say about them in terms of what I've done, so for the moment, here's a couple of the stand-out leaders and elite pieces. +

+ Going for a song on trading and secondhand sites, the Ahriman figure is a really cool sculpt from both an aesthetic and technical viewpoint. Lots of thought has clearly gone into this iconic anti-villain. I've made a simple headswap as the original one looked a bit 'pudgy' to me, but otherwise he's simply off-sprue. Very clever arrangement of pieces; the Legion symbol on his right shoulder (left in the image)helps to hide the join. +

+ Custodes! Never thought I'd see the day that these were released; let alone in plastic, but I'm very glad they did. A really lovely set of models, with a great mix of dynamism and sense of their stalwart nature. Being an old traditionalist, I went with halberds all round (aside from the standard bearer, who in the interests of looking good, is missing a weapon entirely!) as this is the image I most associate with the Emperor's personal guard. +

+ I've deliberately tried to avoid assembling them to look cohesive, as their background suggests they shouldn't look as regimented as the Legiones Astartes: each Custodian is an individual, which should be represented in the model as much as the rules. +

+ In some ways, this method of release – as a particualrly desirable part of an box set – harks back to classic games like Titan Legions, which was the only way of getting the awesome Imperator Titan. I hope this style of release works for GW, as it certainly works for me. +

+ Surprise treat of the box for me was the Silent Sisterhood. The models were a treat to assemble, and even had the bits left over to convert Inquisitor Greyfax (another cool recent model, and a gift from Warmtamale) into a senior Sister of some sort. +

+ inload: Throng of Nog +

+ Throng of Nog +

The dramatis personae of the Hall of Nog – Left to right: the Runesmith Tremblestave; Thane Nurnanog and his scyldbearers; the Weartling Cwichelm; and Kazasturn, Gesith of the Cyng.

+ A marching to war +

+ Played a game of Warhammer 9th edition Age of Sigmar last night; a 600pt skirmish that pitted the dwarfs of Nogthrong against the unquiet dead of the barrows. The points limit was largely down to 'what have you got vaguely painted' more than anything else – so apologies for the rather basic paint job on some of my dwarfs! +

+ While I had played a (rather cool) scenario, this was my first foray into commanding more than one unit, and in a traditional clash of opposing forces. We played a scenario from the General's Handbook that revolved around capturing points on the table. + 

+ I don't have many pictures from the game, but here's a picture of the Wight King in combat with a unit of Longbeards. For future reference, it turns out to be a fairly poor idea to send troops to take out Wight Kings, as they regain wounds when they kill enemy models – much better to send likely-looking heroes to duel them! +

+ The Thane of Nog, bashing some skeletons heads in, slightly ashamed of the unfinished nature of his troops. +

+ A unit of Longbeards on the left flank proved vital in holding the battleline steady, and preventing the skeletons from pushing on to the ill-defended (but valuable) home objective. +

+ My first impressions are positive. The game was smooth, I felt that I had some interesting decisions to make, and the dynamics of the game remained immediate, revolving around order of combat each turn, rather than in army list generation and early-game manoeuvring at the cost of late-game interaction. For this reason, the game remained tense right up to the end. +

+ Of course, perhaps this was due to the fact that dwarfs and skeletons are amongst my favourite fantasy tropes, and a clash of infantry lines (rather than the general 'Kaiju-fight' of certain game) is right up my street. I'm keen to give the game another go, perhaps at around 1000pts. +

+ inload: From the old +

[exload subroutine: GOODCHEER – date spindle MMXVII]

+ From the Old... +

+ Hope everyone had an enjoyable break over Christmas, and we're all raring to go. The start of a new year is a good time to stop and take stock of things, and this applies as much to hobbies as the more fundamental parts of life. +

+ Backburner projects can niggle. This has been the case for me with both my Warhammer Dwarfs and my Warmachine forces in general. Stepping over that initial hurdle and just getting started with them has been a bit of a hurdle – it's always easier to go with an existing project, as there's less thought required in terms of techniques, painting methods and so forth. As a result, the models remain in storage, unpainted, unprimed, or even unbuilt. No glorious battles for those poor souls. +

+ Fortunately, the same things that dissuade you from the first steps of a project prove to be the things that are most rewarding when you do get started. The challenge becomes rewarding, and your enthusiasm is rekindled. The start of 2017 proved the perfect chance to get another unit for the Throng of Nog built. +

+ I've left the shoulder pads off these fellows, as it opens up the fairly limited poses a little more. Aside from a few trims here and there to alter angles and weapons, these are straight out of the box – the aesthetic of these models is pure poetry; just what I picture for the dwarfs of the Warhammer world. +

+ I also continued putting some paint onto the Protectorate. I'm working in fairly small chunks, and aiming to get a game or two in as a staging marker/deadline. Pictured here are two solos nearing completion (the vassals at the front right), plus a light warjack and the ubiquitous choir. +

+ I believe the men of the choir are some of the oldest sculpts that Privateer Press still produces, but they've a perfect example of a solid concept executed decently. They're not great sculpts from a technical point of view (the fabric of the tabards around the waist is very angular, for example – I initially mistook it for unusual hip plates!), but they portray a really strong image and are full of character. For me, they represent a style of miniature – hand sculpted and cast in metal – that has great nostalgic value for me. Such figures share much the same appeal as the Oldhammer movement. +

+ Digging these figures out and getting them one stage further to their finished state was fun and gave me an odd sense of relief. I realised that I'd been feeling misplaced pressure from my hobby; which is silly, really. I'm sure some of you will have felt a similar misplaced sense of expectation, so I'd encourage you to use the new year as a reminder that none of this really matters – for me, it was exactly the thing to relieve my end of year hobby malaise and get me enjoying myself again. +

+ What have you got on the backburner? Consider this a little encouragement to engage with your hobby and start the year off on a productive note; with no sense of pressure or expectation. Good luck! +

+ inload: Dwarfs of the Tallowlands +

+ inload: Dwarfs of the Tallowlands +

+ Shieldbearers +

+ This piece looks slightly comical without the dwarf king on top. Either they've been very careless – 'Ooh-eck, Lundi, where's the chief gone?' – or they're nicking his shield. +

+ Either way, I'm pretty happy with how they've come out. Since the models seem to be almost all metal or beard, it's quite tricky to pick out the details in such a way that makes the most of the sculpt. Fortunately, it's inks and washes to the rescue! I painted everything except the beard and shoes black over a grey undercoat, then worked boltgun metal in while the black was still wet, working up from the bottom. That way, by the time you reach the top, the colour is drier and shows more. This creates the start of a gradient effect. +

+ I then built up the colour on the armour with boltgun metal and various washes (ultramarine ink, ogryn flesh and badab black), using different combinations and amounts to create different effects. For example, the chainmail is a mix of blue and black over boltgun metal, then another light drybrush of boltgun metal and black worked into the recesses. The brass/bronze effect on the helmets is somewhere around three layers of ogryn flesh over increasingly small areas of boltgun metal. + 

+ For the great shield itself, I was half-tempted to paint it using colour, but I stopped myself. For a start, if it's bright and gaudy it'll draw attention from whoever ends up on top. Secondly, I think a dwarf would be more impressed by the great age of a huge bronze shield. I can imagine it mounted over a dwarf hall, the rich bronze glowing ruddily in the firelight, the fine filigree gleaming and ancient. I used a couple of layers of gryphonne sepia over boltgun metal, and dropped diluted sepic ink into recesses while the wash was wet in order to strengthen the contrast in these areas. +

+ With the metal complete, I was not really very happy. Most of the miniatures were complete, and I really hadn't differentiated them from the orcs they'll be fighting beyond cleaner and more varied metal. I played around with coloured gloves and boots, but they just ended up looking too perky, and drawing the eye too much. I replaced them with earthy buffs and browns. + 

+ As I started painting the skin and beards, I felt much more satisfied – these were some significant areas of different colours, and they really helped the overall figure. It was a bit awkward to paint the faces with the metallics in place as the details are quite recessed and small. The realistic (well, hopefully) hues and range of tones in the beards gives them some individuality, and stops the dwarfs from looking too much like robots or automatons. +

+ Before basing, I went over to do the final details, picking out rings and inlaid detail on the helms and hammers with gold. Dwarfs love gold and admire craftsmanship. I can't imagine those honoured with carrying the chief would bring anything other than their best weaponry and armour. I picked out some jewels with blues and turquoises to contrast with the warm-hued armour and finish them off. +

+++

+ Throngsman +

+ Blimey, if the faces on the shieldbearers were hard, this more modern sculpt is a real challenge. These were bought second-hand. While very nicely-assembled, the shield was in place, and it made getting in to paint the face and eyes a bit of a struggle, made no more pleasant by just how small they are! I'm far more used to the 1980s dwarfs, which had sharper, more exaggerated detail by virtue of being metal, and really struggled to get the eyes set correctly. The rest of the model was more straightforward. He was painted in much the same way as the shieldbearers, as he is similarly very heavily armoured. +

+ These models are lovely – I really like the heavy-set look of them, and I think they'll make a great core to the little force. +

+ inload: Tallowland Marches +

+ inload: Tallowland Marches +

+ It is said the Star Giants drew their plough across these lands long ago; before even the raising of the Hold. The land buckled and melted in the heat, and the bones of the earth themselves grew soft and flowing. For two wholemoons the skies rained ash and fire as the plough drew slowly through the groaning ground. All who stayed on the surface perished. + 

+ As the Giants passed, the land grew cold once more, and the mountains set into the soft rolling hills you see now. The great King-before-Kings came to explore the furrow they had ploughed. As Nog reached the edge of the blackened land, he saw a long scar in the earth. It sank deep – deep beyond his sight – and was seeded with gems and ore to delight a thousand lifetimes. +

+ Nog knew then that he would raise a hold. A Hold of a thousand – ten thousand! – families. He and his kin would steward these new Tallowlands. And so it became. A fort was raised; and then a keep. Over five manling lifetimes Nog laboured and sweated to bring his hold to reality; while drawing the richness of the furrow to himself. +

+ Then came the nomads. Then came the orcs. +

+++

+ More orcs on the painting desk. As mentioned in the last inload [noospheric link embedded], these Black Orcs were second-hand. The image to the right shows the colour scheme they came with. Second-hand models often come painted. A lot of the time it renders the model unpaintable owing to obscured detail etc., and they require stripping, but in this case the paint's serving as a nice basecoat – thin enough not to obscure detail, it's acting a bit like a nulti-coloured primer. I'm simply painting right over the top. +

+ That certainly makes things nice and quick, and the heavily-armoured nature of the models means that suits them well. They paint up very effectively with minimum time – perhaps an hour for each model. +

+ The orc on the right is still on the original base. They'll be moved to round bases (30mm) as I prefer the frame that creates, but it's an interesting comparison. +

+ There are another six in the process of painting (an unusual batch approach for me), and roughly thirty more either basecoated or primed. I'll probably reserve the remaining unbuilt plastic ones for my 40k orks (more on those in the next couple of months), but I do have some other fantasy models on the way. My plan is for two self-enclosed forces of what I regard as the iconic fantasy battle – dwarfs vs orcs. Keep yer eyes peeled! +