Tuesday, 14 July 2026

The 3rd Edition Warhammer Fantasy Battle Slann Army project: Part one- the WIP so far.

I've been very busy of late, and this project has been a long time coming, so a bit of personal history. 

In 1987, in the last few months of 2nd Edition I sent off for the Magnificent Sven Slann army offer, unaware that 3rd Edition was around the corner. After 28 days or so (it was how things happened in the 1980's!) arrived a big box of slotta-based Slann (to complement the one pre-slotta Cold One rider I possessed), all made up of Trish Carden's slotta-based C32 range, but none of the old miniatures from the scenario. I did pick up a few, including Gurggl Greenwake about a year later from someone selling second hand stuff. 

This started my Slann journey over the years. I painted the initial batch of Slann, and then added to it over the years, with a re-vamp of the painting around 1991, and used them happily for gaming during the 'Golden Age, so much so that at my local GW (Brighton) I was known as the 'Slann man' (which was going to initially be the name of this blog)!

Then, with the advent 4th Edition, the Slann army vanished to be replaced by the Lizardmen, which I never collected, and the Slann stayed boxed throughout the 1990's. In the 2000's I re-visited them as Justin and I were returning to playing 3rd Edition. I paint stripped them, added some historical Aztec stuff, and made a couple of attempts to re-paint them, but I never really got the look I wanted, all the time adding odds and ends from e-bay. 

Anyway, a couple of years ago I resolved to make a final re-start on them. I split the army into two separate armies of pre-slotta and slotta-based. I did this because I felt that I wanted to separate the two different looks of the the ranges, and because I have more than enough to do so. After seeing other peoples Slann online over the last couple of years I thought it was time I really focused on getting my considerable Slann army back up and running. 

I am organising the army according to the Slann list in Warhammer Armies, but due to the number of Slann miniatures I have, I am working with a doubled up list with regards to minimums and maximums of troops. I am only using Citadel C32 Slann from the slotta-based era, although there are a few of the Magnificent Sven miniatures and TSF-18 Space Slann in there too. Some of the C19 Lizardmen are pre-slotta.

Now this blog update is concerning my WIP. None of the following miniatures are 100% finished as some require standards, other basing, and others a lot more, or even just a little more detailing. I have also gone for an old 1980s style of basing with sand bases painted different colours rather than flock or tufts.  The idea of this post is to give and idea of what I have been doing, and where I am up to. I would have liked to have blogged as I went along painting, but time and other life practicalities have dictated otherwise. Once completed, each regiment or group will get their own blog update. This is about a third of the army. 

Enjoy :) 

These are largely finished. At the back there's a regiment Alligator warriors, a regiment of Spawn Band, and a regiment of Jungle Braves. In the middle is a Regiment of C24 Troglodytes. To the fore are two regiments of Venom Tribes (who were already painted, but just needed re-basing). There are some  Scouts to the side. 
Again these are largely completed. There are a mix of Cold One war hounds, two groups of Scouts, and two Giant Spiders. The big round base at the back is a swarm, with C29 Creepy Crawlies (Giant Ticks). 
Bull Slann. 
One regiment requires basing, both require standards. 
More WIP Spawn Bands. 
Nearly completed Jungle Braves. 
The cult of Quetzalcoatl.
 This consists of a regiment of Warrior Priests, a War Altar with guards and a Slann High Priest (Slann Mage) on a palanquin.  
Animal Handlers and low level Slann wizards. 
A mix of monsters. 
There's a small dragon, two Culchans (to be used as alterative Sabre Tooth Tigers), and a pair of Giant Frogs.
As the back are five ADD 76 Stirges, which I am going to use as giant bats!
Two regiments of Eagle Warriors.
 There's a reason why one of them has a dwarf miniature in it. He is representing Guzunda Wallrattler from Itzibitzi's Slann expedition, as detailed in the White Dwarf #96 article Slann 'o War.  


Next update, and many more to come, will be Slann. 

2 comments:

  1. Good to see your Slann getting refurbished

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  2. Without a doubt the best WFB army ever 😁. Fantastic to see your magnificent Slann. Definitely extremely jealous as I sold my army in the early 2000s. Any now making a 'modern' version. Looking forward to seeing more of these truly classic minis.

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