Paladins, Knights, and Lords of Battle.

 A bit of a busy month this month, but not alas with painting. I have however painted a few 1980's Citadel Paladins, Knights, and Lords of Battle range miniatures, really just for the fun of painting them. Nothing special in the painting, but I just wanted to paint a few of the Knights which I have had for a long time, and never painted. They will probably end up in a Rieksgard unit for my 3rd Edition Empire army.

In addition, I have been caught up by the current release of Games Workshops Horus Heresy range. I have dug out my old (2015, so not old really!) Betrayal at Calith box set and have been glueing plastic Mark III and IV Marines with an eye (a Horus based eye if you will) to build a Traitor Legion force, in my case a Thousand Sons army. More on that in a later update no doubt.  

Enjoy :)

F2 Fighter 'George Eaglehelm'.
I do love this miniature. He is bulky without being too big, and has splendid armour. The halberd/spear/double-handed weapon is unusual as well. He is actually only one of the miniatures in this batch which I had painted before, back in the 1980s, paint stripped, and repainted.

Rear view.

F5 Paladin 'Sir Kull of Death'.
I have no idea why I painted the armour red, but I thought it would suit him. With the two swords I think he looks a little more like a bandit or duellist, but he might just be a very earnest and determined Paladin?

Rear view.

F2 Lord of Battle range 'Furioso' (not to be confused with the Dreadnought class!).
He is a sturdy looking Knight with a heavy duty looking two-hand morning star. I though the ball and plume on his helm looked a little like a thistle, and so I painted it as such. He might end up as a Knight of Harkness in the rebel army from the McDeath scenario.

Rear view.

Another F2 Lord of Battle, this time 'Gustavus'.
He is armed with a big, mean, looking axe. His upper armour looks a little too bulky, but is fine, adding to the bulky feel of the model.

Rear view.

The final miniature is an old pre-slotta C01 fighter. I am not aware of him being named. I love the daemon head decoration on his helm.

Rear view.

A very modern distraction.

No idea what the next update will be on, I am currently between very modern miniatures, and some lovely Oldhammer things.:)

Step pyramids and Slann Blowpipers.

 Ok, this isn't the "Oldhammer themed showcase of something quite special and interesting" as promised, as the absence of available time has intervened to delay me, but soon, I promise.

However, in the last few weeks I have been tinkering with my 1st to 3rd Edition Slann collection. I have converted some Cold One riders, and also painted a couple of new background boards, three step pyramids to grace the jungles of Lustria, and finally I have painted 26 Slann.

I am not going to focus on painting Slann at the moment as I have some other areas I am working on, namely the cataloguing and organising of my 3rd Edition Warhammer Fantasy Battle Armies. It was however quite fun to back to the Slann for a while. Anyway, for now, here are the Step Pyramids and the Slann blowpipes.

Enjoy :)

Three Step Pyramids.

The first pyramid was originally produced in the 1990's by Fantasy Forge miniatures, then by Grendel Miniatures. It is currently being produced by Scotia Grendel, and like all three of the pyramids it is made from resin, although unlike the others, this is a multi-part kit.
For a step pyramid it's an odd design, not very 'stepped' really. However I do quite like it, and it has a weird sci-fi Slann feel, and I can imagine Slann leaping up the sides.
I based all of the pyramids on plastic card, and then added plastic card squares to the bases to look like ruined flagstones.

Side view.

The top of the pyramid.
The decoration looks sort of Aztec-ish, but also has a weird alien look to it, suggesting some sort of magical or arcane technological function. It reminds me of the 2nd Edition Warhammer Fantasy rules for Power Weapons where they drag the unsuspecting wielder to pyramids in Lustria to perform routine chores and lever pulling (it's true, look it up, p28 of the 'Battle Magic' Book!).

The larger of the two more normal looking step pyramids.
I cannot recall from whom I bought them, but it was at one of the Salute conventions a good few years ago. I painted a little bit of colour on every third step to break up the grey, and add some Slann mystic mystery.

Side view.

The smaller of the two pyramids.
It's just like the other one, but smaller and with blue every other second step.

Side view.

25 Slann Blowpipers moving through the jungle and past ancient pyramids.
Some time ago I painted 20 of the C32 Slann 'Akabylk' miniature, but I grew unhappy with the way they looked. So I had decided to split the regiment of 20 into two units of 10, and update the paint work making each unit slightly different. I have based the look upon the description of the Venom Tribes.
In addition, I painted another 5 in blue, to fulfil the function of Scouts.

The first unit.
They have green loin cloths and a blue markings on their blowpipes. I painted different marking on the blowpipes to help with quick and easy battlefield identification.

The second unit.
They have orange loin cloths, and green markings on their blowpipes. 

Scouts!
I wanted to keep these simple and to paint some Slann blue as per the physique description of Slann in the various editions rulebooks.

C32 Slann 'Pintamilkada'
I painted him just for the fun of it whilst I was painting the blowpipers.
Another comedy Slann name too!

The next blog update will probably be the Slann conversions as I wanted to show what I have been doing, and also I may be a little pushed for time in the next few weeks and might not be able to paint anything else. I'll see. :)

3rd Edition Warhammer Slann Alligator Warriors: Pek.

I have been sorting through my Oldhammer armies of late, and have realised that I have been neglecting the Slann. I have quite a sizeable collection of Slann, many of whom are either unpainted, or I am not really happy with. I haven't quite settled on how I want to paint all the Slann, so I thought I would paint a small regiment in more simple colours, and try out some different basing, the regiment below being the end result.

I chose the Slann Alligator warrior miniature, named 'Pek', released in 1986 as part of Trish Carden's (then known as Trish Morrison) slotta based range of Slann which served as the mainstay throughout 3rd Edition. One of the interesting things about this particular miniature is that are two different types, which I have shown below.

One version has a fin on the back of the Alligator hide, the other does not. I am not sure why. The fin version appears to be genuine as it isn't a conversion, and I have purchased them on two different occasions from differing sellers. I suspect, but do not know for certain, that the finned version may be a later GW studio conversion. I have spoken to Trish Carden via a mutual friend, and she said in about 1988 GW were going to refresh the Slann range by releasing some more miniatures, largely based on her existing range. Various sculptors then sculpted more Slann, which received a limited casting run but were not released (or released widely). I think that this Pek might be from then, although if anyone knows otherwise please let me know.

Painting wise, as stated, I took a simple approach. The Slann themselves were a dark green base (Citadel Warpstone glow), highlighted with Vallejo's Goblin Green, which is the same as the old Citadel paint of the same name. The hide is Citadel Castellan Green, highlighted with Citadel Moot Green. I wanted to give the Slann's bases that jungle feel, so I based them with Vallejo's thick mud, and added various tufts to give them a more jungle look. I am relatively happy with the more simple paint scheme as they are a test unit. I want to paint the Slann in a more straightforward manner, and then add detailing, rather than get too lost in trying to do too much.

Enjoy :)

Slann Alligator Warriors.
Slann +1 Shock Elite in Heavy Armour.

Side view.

Rear view.

Comparing the rear views of the two 'Pek', one with, and one without, the rear fin.

The next blog update will (well, hopefully!) be an Oldhammer themed showcase of something quite special and interesting.

Helblitzen Regiment project (part two).

 I have completed the Empire Helblitzen Regiment from page 58 of the Warhammer Fantasy Battle 3rd Edition Warhammer Armies book. I detailed the background and miniatures in a previous blog post here:
http://goblinlee.blogspot.com/2022/02/helblitzen-regiment-project-part-one.html

Collecting and painting the regiment was quite enjoyable and it was satisfying to see a regiment from the Warhammer armies book in reality. Although, of course, it is not the original regiment, I had collected the same miniatures, and then painted them in the same style and colours in which they were painted in the photograph. This did mean sometimes painting parts of them in a style I would not have ordinarily chosen, but this did make for an interesting exploration of the styles and colours used by GW's studio at the time. Some of this also meant a combination of looking for the miniatures in old citadel adverts, peering at the the photograph intently, and a little guesswork for some of the more obscured parts. The only concession to modernity was adding them to a movement tray, and adding some tufts to the bases.

Enjoy :)

The original photograph on page 58 of Warhammer Armies.

The regiment completed.

Slightly side on.

I have no idea on what my next blog update will be as I have several options for painting at the moment, but I am eager to start an army.

Undead Horseman/Dead Men of Dunharrow.

 I have tackled a little project I have been meaning to for a while. I had always liked Citadels 1980s Lord of the Rings range ME72 Dead Men of Dunharrow, and wanted to have a regiment of them representing an Undead Horseman Regiment for 3rd Edition Warhammer Fantasy Battle. So, I've collected a few more from e-Bay to add to the ones I already owned, creating a unit of ten.

Painting wise, I was inspired by the rule for Undead Horseman given in the 3rd Edition Warhammer Fantasy Battle rulebook, page 261. In them it states that Undead Horseman 'may move through a solid wall with a penalty of half their move'. To me this suggested that Undead Horseman were slightly more ethereal than their foot slogging counterparts, and so when painting them I opted for a more spirit look than a bone one. I achieved this by painting them Citadel Biel-Tan Green shade over a white undercoat, and then highlighting white. The armour was the Citadel Typhus Corrosion Technical paint process. I kept the rest of the details simple, with highlighted tan for the cloth, and a faded red for the shields.

I am very happy with the results. This is the first of my Oldhammer era fantasy armies regiments which I have fully painted with their movement tray, and so now I have an idea of how they will look.  

Enjoy :)

Undead Horseman.
This photograph shows more of the movement tray.

The Undead Horseman mournfully advancing.

WIP on the Empire Helblitzen. Only five more to go.

Next update will be the Empire Helblitzen which I am determined to complete.

Turnip28: The Beasts of the Beetroot Regiment.

 Stalking the muddy fields of Cist, The Beasts of the Beetroot Regiment, part human, part root, part beast, and probably slightly more towards to dead side of things!

I have been busy with a lot of Oldhammer things, and so I wanted to get a little Turnip28 done for the fun of it. I had spent Christmas last year kit bashing various Turnip28 related nonsense, and this regiment was one of the results. The regiment is quite small and simple, three Snobs, two units of Brutes, one unit of Chaff, and one unit of Bastards.

I wanted a bestial looking regiment, but at the time didn't posses any beast type heads except the Citadel skull ones. I tried them out and they looked quite good, and so I dedicated to make an undead beast regiment. The infantry were quite simple, just adding the skulls onto the bodies and adding some grass tufts. I used Napoleonic French bodies for the Brutes, Napoleonic English for the Chaff. The Snobs were the same except I added a few War of the Roses arms and used bigger Skulls.

The Bastards were more involved. I used French Napoleonic Cavalry (Hussars I think) as a basis, and then added greenstuff and skulls, with a variety of bits from bits boxes. I wanted to give the 'horses' an undead look without being skeletal, and so added the giant skull from the Citadel Skull box set to them. I think it gives them a very John Blanche artwork look.

Painting wise was very simple. I wanted to give the regiment a 'raw' undead look. So, after a black undercoat, I dry brushed them dark brown, then a dark red (Citadels Khorne Red), and then lightly dry brushed the bone Citadel Screaming Skull. I picked out some of the metal and wood details, painted the trouser blue to complement the red, and then dry brushed them all with Citadel Steel Legion Drab. Vallejio mud was then used for the bases. They took no more than a couple of hours to paint (not including the undercoating time) one evening. One of the things I love about Turnip28 is the speed one can just assemble and paint a regiment. It's fun too! :)

Enjoy :)

The Beasts of the Beetroot Regiment.
Because of the red dry brushing used I chose Beetroot as their root of choice.

Toff.
I have mounted the Toffs on 40mm bases to give them more of a presence, and to differentiate them from the Toadies and other ranks. The Toadies incidently are on 30mm bases for the same reasons. 

"We bestial Bastards three!"
Three heavy cavalry. I am very pleased with he way in which these have turned out.

Unit Leader.

Unit Leader right hand side view.

Second Bastard.

Right hand side view.

The third Bastard.

Right hand side view.

Chaff.

The chaff on the right is made using a Kroot skull with the spines removed.

The chaff on the right is made with an Ork skull without a lower jaw added.

The first unit of Brutes.

Toadie, on his 30mm base.

Brutes on a 2x3 movement tray.

Brutes.

Brutes.

Brutes.

The second unit of Brutes.

Toadie.

The second unit of Brutes.

Brutes.
The horse skull Brute is one of my favourite. I only have one spare horse skull, which was fine as I wanted him to stand out a little.

Brutes.

Brutes.

Some thing a little different.
I have also kit bashed many non undead Turnip28 miniatures. The plan is to paint them in the 'conventional' Tirnip28 manner, but I thought I would try out a few with a little more Ethereal look. I think they turned out quite well, and so I will paint up of of the regiments like this.

I am still painting my way through my Empire Helblitzen Regiment, and I am about two thirds of the way through. I am also assembling some Perry miniatures Zulu War British, but in the Home Service uniform. I might also see if I can paint the Ethereal Turnip28 regiment, and finish offa couple of random Oldhammer things at some point.