Painting dwarfs WIP

Painting the dwarf warriors is taking me forever. I'm doing too much detail apparantly and too much side projects I think. Now I got distracted by painting a dwarf thunderer for my dwarf warband for Mordheim. I hired a new gunman and this has to be represented by a painted fellow of course. Well here is the marksman almost ready. When my dwarf warriors finish I'll do a good photo report with proper lighting and whatnot.




So painting dwarf warriors eh...yep...well...it's progressing...slowly. I took some pics on various stages during the process. Maybe it's taking a lot of time because I'm painting all 16 at once. Usually I paint up to 5 figures at the same time.

The advantage for painting the dwarf warriors is that they are very coherent. When I paint flesh, it's the same for all since I don't have to remember what color combo's I used for the previous 5 for example.

The entire colorscheme is done for all dwarf warriors and you get to see directly how colors work on the group. On the offside, painting 16 faces, 4 or five highlights after each other is getting a bit tedious after a while.

What is the plan for the dwarfs? I chose to paint 3 different beard styles: yellow, brown/orange and black grey. For the coats I took beige and red. 8 guys have the red coats and 8 the beige ones. Metal is metal and will be done with brass and gold accents and the leather pouches and boots will be done the same for all.
I'll leave you with the final pic of my WIP and hopefully can make you guys happy with a final photo session very soon.

Ready for the EuroGT campaign '11

Despite having an irritating flu (must be a special gift of Nurgle) I managed to finish an unit of Chaos Warriors well on time for the coming EuroGT tournament.

First idea was to play Mordheim at the EuroGT, but at first it looked like there wouldn't be enough players in that department. So I (re)started my Nurgle army and painted a much needed warrior unit.

Today I found out that the Mordheim tournament will run this year, so much for being ahead of schedule for the first time in my life :-)

Overall, I'm quite happy with the result. It was quite a while since I had painted a complete unit. Work started as a speed paint job, but I could not restrain myself and went full out in detailing and even some conversions. The command group got the most of it: The champion started his life as a SoC BSB and the BSB of the unit, an old marauder, got a new banner.

However, I have not played a decent game of Warhammer after the local gaming club went into hibernation (And for all of you in the Dordrecht area: Let me know if your out there when you're available for a game :-)

That's why some research was done to fit my collection of models into a new army list. The result can be found below, comments more than welcome!

2000 Pts - Warriors of Chaos Roster - Nurglo GT '11

Total Roster Cost: 1999

Item (0 pts)
0 Eye of the Gods, 0 pts

Chaos Lord (1#, 325 pts)
1 Chaos Lord of Nurgle, 240 pts = (base cost 210 + Shield 10) + Mark of Nurgle 20
1 Filth Mace, 35 pts
1 Armour of Morrslieb, 35 pts
1 Necrotic Phylactery, 10 pts
1 Favour of the Gods, 5 pts

Sorcerer (2#, 240 pts)
1 Chaos Sorcerer of Nurgle, 140 pts = (base cost 85 + Level 2 Upgrade 35) + Mark of Nurgle 20
1 Palanquin, 50 pts
1 The Bronze Armour of Zhrakk, 15 pts
1 Infernal Puppet, 35 pts

Sorcerer (1#, 135 pts)
1 Chaos Sorcerer, 85 pts
1 Power Familiar, 25 pts
1 Ironcurse Icon, 5 pts
1 Stream of Corruption, 20 pts

Chaos Marauders (25#, 175 pts)
24 Chaos Marauders of Nurgle, 162 pts = 24 * 5 (base cost 4 + Great Weapon 1) + Mark of Nurgle 30 + Musician Mus 4 + Standard Bearer Std 8
1 Chieftan of Nurgle, 13 pts = (base cost 12 + Great Weapon 1)

Chaos Warriors (15#, 325 pts)
14 Chaos Warriors of Nurgle, 272 pts = 14 * 16 (base cost 15 + Shield 1) + Mark of Nurgle 30 + Musician Mus 6 + Standard Bearer Std 12
1 Champion of Nurgle, 28 pts = (base cost 27 + Shield 1)
1 War Banner, 25 pts

Chaos Hounds (5#, 30 pts)
5 Chaos Warhounds, 30 pts = 5 * 6

Chaos Warshrine (1#, 130 pts)
1 Chaos Warshrine, 130 pts

Forsaken (5#, 90 pts)
5 Forsaken, 90 pts = 5 * 18

Chaos Ogres (6#, 330 pts)
6 Ogres, 330 pts = 6 * 50 (base cost 35 + Great Weapon 10 + Chaos Armor 5) + Musician Mus 10 + Standard Bearer Std 20

Dragon Ogres (3#, 219 pts)
3 Dragon Ogres, 219 pts = 3 * 73 (base cost 65 + Extra Hand Weapon 8)

Validation Report:
Army Subtype: Chaos Army; Edition: 8th Edition; Game Type: Normal Game
Roster satisfies all enforced validation rules

Composition Report:
Points of Lords: 325 (0 - 500)
Points of Heroes: 375 (0 - 500)
Points of Core: 500 (500 - Unlimited)
Points of Special: 639 (0 - 1000)
Points of Rare: 130 (0 - 500)

Created with Army Builder®

BTB: Chaos Dragon Hunt

Our BTB campaign is now approaching a point where the special scenarios can be played and that we can actually survive them. This night it was time to play the Chaos Dragon Hunt scenario. Three warbands on the move to get their hands on a huge treasure. But first there was the Beast to kill.
The scenario plays in the Northern wastes and we made a setup with a lot of open space in the middle of derelict border town. A long abandoned arena added to the dusty atmosphere and was used as the 'zoomed in' setting for fighting the dragon in its lair.


Three warbands: Dwarfs, Orcs&Gobbo's and the Posessed found out about the location of this hideous dragon. Actually it was the Possessed who found out and the dwarfs following close since they got a nose for wealth and riches to be had. Staying close to the possessed might lead them to some treasure and this was now definitely the case. The orcs and goblins were in the neighbourhood since there was fighting to be done, meat to be had and some scraps and spoils to be found after a massacre. All good reasons to enter the fray.


It was biting cold in this derelict town and the snow covered grounds made movement near impossible. Luckily no additional weather conditions were present, otherwise no searching for dragons would be done. The beast was said to be in the centre tower of this part of the small town. From three directions the warbands were approaching. The dwarfs actually purchased a wagon with some draft horses. 6 dwarfs were in the coach for a quick ride to the beasts lair. The rest were to take up position and give cover. The snow was proving difficulty even driving along the road and applying the leash gave little effect.


While driving towards the tower some arrows were sent loose at the coach from some sneaky goblins. The thunderers and beardlings providing the cover where still taking up position and could not provide the necessary cover they needed. The coach was attacked by some squigs bouncing from the side alleys. One splattering against the wagon rocking it on its wheels but doing no damage. The second clung to the wagon only to be swatted aside by the thunderer riding shotgun. The third squig was also quickly over with, since the beardlings got their first piece of combat in the real world.


In the meantime the possessed where ... moving actually and ... moving, moving still. The snow gave them much trouble heading towards the tower. Even the Ogre could not make wake in the snow, giving the rest some quicker movement. The possessed warband was now so big, they were spread out widely and approaching slowly.



The coach skidded to a halt and out poured some slayers and the noble and engineer. Blasting away with their guns the dwarfs let loose a lot of lead and smoke, hitting ... well ... nothing really.


One of the thunderers found a great position on a nearby tower. The ideal sniper position and he was blasting away with his masterly crafted handgun. Meanwhile some more orcs were pouring out the dark side alleys and a lot of small fights broke out. The beardlings having a go at some orcs, where the battle was in balance. The slayers were a sort of whirling ball of axes slicing through the orc ranks with not much difficulty. The dwarven engineer however was a bit too confident and in a moments notice two lowlife orcs chopped him down, taking him out of action. Another orc was swinging his weapons at one of the horses bring it down shrieking and thrashing. It was only moments that the slayers were upon him, killing the orc an a few fast strokes of a massive blade.


The beardlings were having difficulty with the orcs but after some more volleys of the thunderer on the tower it was enough for the orcs. This was too much damage and they were going down fast now. The best tactical moment for a smart retrace of their steps.
The dwarfs now a bit bewildered and still a bit in the rush of fighting the orcs and goblins now found an empty street in front of them ... or was it?


The possessed made their way with some difficulty to the entrance of the tower and taking up a deamonic steed in their ranks (the deamonic steeds are aplenty in our fights, for some weird reason it always gets rolled as a random event). The dwarfs were a bit battered and were now reforming taking a good look at the possessed pouring around the tower. This was no small group of filthy mutations, it was a somewhat organized very big crew of evil pouring into the monsters lair. Maybe it was best for the dwarfs to see how they fare against the chaos dragon and maybe afterwards see some of that treasure.


The big fighters of the possessed went into the tower to fight the monster and outside the rest stood guard. The dwarfs taking up position just out of charge range but just within shooting range. The dwarfs shooting at the possessed guard gave not much casualties. The cold was getting at the dwarfs apparantly. Chattering teeth gave no steady shots here.


The possessed where in a massacre with the chaos dragon. The dragon snapping two heads at them and slashing with claws like swords was giving the possessed much trouble. The leader of the possessed went down in moments leaving the ogre and some big mutations to do the dirty work. The ogre doing some heavy damage also took a lot of damage. Swaying on his feet the ogre went down! At this moment the dragon also suffered a lot of damage and with their last strength the possessed took out the dragon. That was no easy kill!
In the meantime also some lavatunnels undermining this part of the city were caving in and one of the dwarfs only narrowly escaped a flow of lava, nimble on their feet as they are!



Only now outside some possessed were down due to the shooting of the dwarfs and a line of big slayers were waiting for the rest to come out. The Possessed-slayer-standoff was putting both warbands in a negotiating position. Although hating each other they came to solution where the possessed took of with their much sought after artifact: the dragon scale armor and some of the hoard. But leaving the dwarfs enough riches to look the other way for a few seconds.

BTB: Earthquake

Catching up with the battle reports this is a more recent one.
The earthquake scenario provides with a much needed set treasure to be found. Especially the dwarfs were in much need of treasure (being treasurehunters they are always in need!) and a blizzard enriched this scenario with the BTB sauce needed for the scenario.
As counters for the treasure chests to be found we used M7M's as you can see in the pics and again a deamonic steed (as with the writing on the wall scenario) makes an appearance agains (was it the same, is it hunting the Border towns?).
Finally the Campaing point counter on our blog is updated and a lot has changed since the last setting. Especially the dwarfs advancing a lot because of them purchasing a wagon train. A good dice roll gained them an extra 6 CP's!
First a the story from the orcs and goblin perspective and afterwards a dwarf view on the battle fought.

The Orcs&Goblins
A cold night, a sudden wind and 14 eager greenskins ready for battle. All the ingredients for a massacre in the streets of Dordtheim were once more available. Wortnak and his crew were roaming the streets once more. Rumours had spread of some treasure laying around in certain areas of the city. There were bound to be more evil people searching for treasure here, for treasure is scarce in Dordtheim.

Upon arriving in the designated parts of that city, immediately the dwards could be smelled again. There was no battle thus far those small beardy bastards were not present. Damn, time for a massacre. From the other corner of the street it smelled like rotting meat. It smelled like an open sewer, nurgle must be near. And for certain it was.

Wortnak decided to split the group into two sides, for maximum treasure handling. Wortnak and his loyal henchman decided to go left, while the smallskins and furrballs guided by Gretfall went right for the stench. Wutwuzdat went to a higher region to get overview over the street. Unfortunately the weather was once again against the greens. Not much shooting, no sight at all.

After a short while, the greens opened the treasure, only to find wasps, rats and dust. Pah! Not what they had came for, but there was blood to spill nonetheless. A fierce battle went on in the small streets at the nurgle side, with many casualties on both sides. Wutwuzdat had some suprising moves and killed of the weird nurgle creature without a hussle.


On the other side wortnak and Greatfoot battled some rats, a slayer and some beards that joined in after a short while. Greatfoot, made a great debute by bouncing off some bullets and saving the boss. Rewards will surely be awarded for that action! Sneak’n Git the goblin rushed to the tower to get that last treasure.

All in all, after a lot of battle and furry casualties, Wortnak decided to call it quits. No more bloodspilling. Resting was now what needed to be done. More dwarfs to be slain next time. Waaaaaaagh!!!

The Dwarfs
The Blizzard was giving the dwarfs directly a hard time finding targets to shoot at. The engineer and thunderers had been practicing a lot and were ready to let loose some lead at anyone approaching treasure chests in the distance. Due to a recent earthquake the dwarfs were very keen on looking around for uprooted treasure. Being experts on earth movement straight away they found some good stuff with weirdstone shards that would provide for a good sell. They were in need of some hard coins were they able to buy that much needed wagon train.

Almost instantly after entering the small ruined town of Ba'Zaaar a deamonic steed appears in front of the dwarfs. It was only just within range with this blizzard going on and they started shooting at it. The blizzard was too much of a distraction and after a lot of black smoke cleared the steed was still advancing towards the dwarfs. Perfect for the slayers having a go at it. In short moments the steed was done for.

In the distance some orcs and gobbo's were fighting giant rats. Hah! you had to know were to look for the treasure, the stupid greenskins were only finding some vermin at that part of the Ba'Zaaar where the earth fissures were not good looking. You had to be a dwarf to see that immediately!

After quickly finding some treasure the some possessed were encountered and the stupid ogre was still with them. Directly locking the possessed in combat in an alley, one dwarf didn't have the full courage to enter the fray. This beardling didn't close the gap leaving the possessed the opportunity to strike back with considerable effort.
This small mistake costed the dwarfs the overhand and with a hail storm coming on they left the battlefield. They still had enough treasure to go for that good looking wagon train they saw in Aboo Zor. A good moment to go there and haggle for the wagon train and horse. Accumulating riches has a point where you have to store the stuff and transport it.

BTB: The writing on the wall

It is time to catch up with some battle reports for games played for our Mordheim Border Town Burning campaign. This scenario fitted in nicely with BTB since a small border town can be taken for having some writings on the wall. Some particular occult and foreign writing that is! Here's how the game went.


The Orcs&Goblins, Possessed and Dwarfs all heard of some writing on the wall in this specific border town: Tawn Hut. In Tawn Hut strange dwellers were acting even stranger and there was of coarse treasure to be had. A strong gale was blowing and the suffocating heat was making it feel like walking in a dwarf smithy with the bellows on full blow.

Van A tale of some gamers

The streets of Tawn Hut were empty at this time of the night. The grey head clan was scavaging the streets but the goblins were squabling a lot. The heat was getting to them and on of the gobbo's refused to set any fut for turns on end. Getting at this writing on the wall was difficult especially with a deamonic steed appearing on the plaza. Some serious fighting started here.

At the other side of the plaza the blackbloods were looking for the strange writings and half of the warband engaged combat with the orcs and gobbo's. Magic was flying everywhere. Some rogue streaks of magic killing a big one. The possessed hired an ogre to do some dirty work for them and by blocking the passage of the dwarfs to an interesting alley, he did well.


The dwarfs were battling it with the ogre at one end of the alley while at the other end some grey heads entered very sneaky. The were meddling at a part of the wall there while the possessed and dwarfs were too preoccupied with themselves.

The writing provided very interesting indeed. THe writing being discovered by the sneaky greenskins the city of Tawn Hut provided no more interesting reasons to stay. The warbands breaking of the fighting returned to their respective safeholds after doing some exploratation in the fringes of Tawn Hut. The possessed actually found a map giving them the information to go chaos dragon hunting. The Dwarfs were enriched a lot and found some portions of madcap mushrooms. The grey heads found much needed experience in this battle and were more ready then ever to engage in a next fight!

Squig hopper racing rules

I've been busy with the arena for a while. This to do some chariot racing but also squig hopper racing! I've been busy with some rules as well and now is the time to publish the first version of this all. The rules are in Dutch and English. The rules speak of action cards. The cards are already there but you will have to wait for them. I am making them as nice as the rules are now. A quick preview of the arena I built is here. Pics are taken with my iPhone so no high res images as with the rest of the posts, but you get the general idea.

Squig hopper racing English
Squig hopper racing Dutch

Another productive day

It's that time of year again, days off, holidays and whatnot. In no time these days fly by and what did you do? We decided to fill at least one of those days with again some scenery building. More Hirst Arts bricks were cast and the table was set for a day enjoying the hobby!

Arjan and Mr. Flibble turned up for this hobby day and we dove in. Lots of creativity was flying around and the concentration and dedication to work was of a high level straigh away!

Lot's of designs were tried and tested before glueing the stuff together. Here a wizards tower is taking shape bfore our eyes. I believe the current status is that it is painted and all ready to go on the battleground. Good stuff!

My own goal was getting the field plates for my arena painted and painting some roads for our city. Buildings we have but some more roads will add to the playability of the scenery.

I also started with building a sort of balcony tower like structure for the arena and built a small shrine. Also started on a long street as well in the days after this one. These are all the works in progress and will see their finished pictures here very soon!