Slann Animal Handlers

 Lustrian Giant Pond Frog

So, while technically Slann can't have giant frogs as animals in WFB 3rd Ed. It seems a bit of a daft omission.  They are listed in the 3rd Ed. rules  and in the army book but only as part of a monstrous host. But this feels like it fits the army, so I am including it. 

Anyway Alternative Armies were having a sale and the recast Vintage Asgard miniatures giant frogs seemed a good fit. Another three to paint which makes a nice little unit. 

Lustrian Giant Pond Frog - (Giant lacum Rana lustrian)

'The giant Lustrian poison frog is the preferred choice for Slann animal handlers because of its aggressive nature and highly potent skin toxin.  Which makes them very difficult to engage in  close combat. And whatever you do don't let them lick you!'

Rob

Post Christmas MESBG Tournament

Lord of the Rings Battle Day

Finally got round to writing this one up. 

Just after Christmas, we managed to organise a 4-way mini LotR tournament. Unfortunately one of the team couldn't make it due to illness. So, we were down to a 3-way tournament. The plan was get it all finished in one day, so each player only had a small warband. As we were using my minis, I drew up four warbands and let the others pick first. 

We each managed to play a game against the other two players. And then as we were all drawn with one win each. We decided to finish it with one final three way battle. All three players were close to breaking in the final game but in the end I just managed to hold  out to take the overall victory. 

The Four Warbands

The first pick by Stevie. The troll was crucial in all of the games and was often the deciding factor. 

The second pick by Jason as he wanted to make the grand gesture with those dramatic cavalry charges. 

The  Uruk-Hai had to sit this one out, as our fourth player couldn't make it. 

Given all the time I spent before Christmas painting up the Osgiliath  veterans, I was lucky enough to get them in the tournament. 

Game 1 - Moria Goblins (Stevie) vs. Rohan (Jason)

The first game started with the forces of Rohan taking the early lead. With the goblins suffering from both missiles and melee. However once the troll waded in things started to balance out. However, it was not enough and the goblins were broken  before the  troll could tip the balance. 

Victory: Rohan

Game 2 - Osgiliath Veterans (Me) vs. Moria Goblins (Stevie)

Victory : Moria

I had a cunning plan (but it didn't work) which was to break through on the left flank and hold off the troll on the right flank. But it didn't work because the goblins on the left flank (unreasonably)  refused to die. And  by the time the troll got to grips on the right flank it was  all over. 

Game 3 : Osgiliath Veterans (Me) vs. Rohan (Jason)

Victory : Osgiliath

I sensibly managed to hold up the Rohan charge in the ruins of the old temple and was then able to bring my advantage in numbers in order to grind the Rohan riders to a halt. 

Game 4 : Everyone

Victory  : Osgiliath

The real deciding factor was which way the troll went, as the Goblins were sort of between both the Rohan and Osgiliath.  The Riders of Rohan pushed themselves forward and didn't make a decisive charge against the troll  and in the end were pummelled for it. I advanced more cautiously and was able to  take on the remaining goblins and Rohan foot soldiers separately. 

All three sides were nearing break point but in the end, I was able to hold out. 

The troll getting into his role as chief stomper. 

Great fun was had by all but it sort of pointed out to me that the goblins needed a few more choices. As the troll was a bit too much of overwhelming force and if the goblins could get  him to  combat early then none of the others could stop him. Although he was wounded both in combat and by missiles but they felt like lucky shots. 

So its not surprising the amount of Moria goblins I have been painting this month. 

Rob 

They a Have Cave Troll

Actually They Already Had One!

As the troll is usually a centre piece for a Moria goblin army, it seemed logical to tidy up the one I already had with the goblins. So, like the other goblins, he had repaint and a new base. 

With the troll and 2nd Warg Marauder finished. I thought I had finished this little Moria project but I have decided to add another two Black Shields to take them to eight, a war drum and a bat swarm. Which will give a bit of flexibility to the goblins and provide a bit of interest to the massed ranks. 

Rob

Moria Goblins - Black Shields Done

First Lot Completed

Actually the Black Shields and the Warg Marauder painted up quite quickly with a zenithal highlight, contrast  paints and highlighting. The greenstuff used to make the saddle is flexible enough to sit on the Warg without any blue tack, but for games probably needs that little extra help. It also just pops off, so I can still use it as just a Warg.  

And I also took  this as an opportunity to rebase the goblin heroes from the existing  army. So, one more Warg Marauder to complete this little goblin reinforcement project.

Rob

Moria Goblin Reinforcements

Green Stuff to the Rescue

After playing a few games of LotR recently, I decided that my Moria goblins needed a bit of extra help. There are a few options in the rulebook but I had no intension of shelling out the rather large sums of cash listed on the Warhammer website. But fortunately I still have a few sprues kicking about and set about upgrading a few goblins with a few simple green stuff conversions.  

 Goblin Blackshields

'The toughest members of the Goblin armies are recruited to join the ranks of the Blackshields. These Goblins are hardier than their lowly counterparts and are veterans of the wars with the Dwarves in the tunnels of Khazad-dum – they wear white Warg pelts, a status symbol within the Goblin ranks, to distinguish themselves from their lesser kin.'

These are goblin elites and only really distinguished from regular goblins by a Warg pelt cape and a different shield. Both of which are easy made with a bit of green stuff. I also built up the bases a bit to make them slightly taller. Since I usually only play with smallish warbands, five should be enough. 

Warg Marauder

The Warg marauder is a Warg with three mounted goblins. Able to shoot and with bonuses in combat. Since I like to remove the riders to use the Wargs on their own as well as Warg riders. I covered the Warg with cling film and applied the green stuff saddle direct on top. I am not sure how well this is going to work. But if it turns out ok, then I will do another one.  

I reckon this saved about £50 (ready for other projects) and gives the goblins a few more options. 

Rob

The Big Baddie & the Elf

Voltan

Goods knows how they managed to get Jack Palance on a budget of £600K but he chews his way  through the scenes in exactly the way you expect as the big baddie. 

I could spend a very long time writing about the film career of Jack Palance but I reckon you can look it up if you need to!

Voltan alongside his son Drogo (right)

Crow the Elf

“We have sat waiting like this many times before. Sometimes I tire... of the fighting and killing. At night, I can hear the call of my race. They wait for me. When I join them, we will be forgotten.”

Crow

I could have sworn the bow was also white but these photos from the film tell a different story. Crow has been the trickiest one to paint to so far. Because his clothing is all a one colour patchwork. But in the end it was just a matter of taking the time to highlight all of the main panels. 

Ray Charleson played played Crow. His acting career is a bit quieter although he did appear in a number of British TV dramas such as  Dempsey and Makepeace. 

Right time for the beers.

Rob 

Flogging a Dead Horse

 Looks Like Meats Back on the Menu, Boys

Not much time for painting at the moment but I did manage to get some games in.  However, I finally called to a halt to the restoration of this kitbashed Uruk-Hai shaman. Sometimes the skill is knowing when to stop!

As he didn't cost anything at the time as he was made from left over minis and the current Uruk-Hai  is over £8 as part of the >£30 set I feel he is a bit of a bargain 😁. 

The slain goblin's head never looked very good as the detail wasn't sharpen enough. So, After several attempts to 'improve' it with painting. I finally gave up and  removed and added a head from the bits box. Hence the title of this post as it took a while to realise that I was never going to get the result I wanted with the old goblin's head. 

I didn't have any suitable Oathmark goblin heads as they all had helmets. But one of the Aztec heads looked quite good especially as he had his hair tidied up in a topknot. And as a tabletop mini I think this is perfectly acceptable. 

Pre-touch up. 

I did the original conversion about fifteen years ago without any green stuff when I needed a shaman for a one-off game. He was the body of a plastic Uruk-Hai berserker and and the legs of a Uruk-Hai warrior. With card weapons in his belt which made of cotton thread. While the execution was basic to say the least, I did like the overall result. Particularly the hand print across his helmet, which I decided to keep.  So, he got a bit of an update, this time with green stuff and some leftover plastic weapons. 

Rob