Fae Army Started - Druid (155 pts)

First Miniature Finished - Druid (155 pts WFB 3rd Ed.)

As planned, I wanted to paint up one of Mark Copplestone's Ex-Grenadier Wood Elf druids as a army leader and to try out colour schemes. I didn't want the normal greens and healthy skin tones. So went for a muted colours except for the greenery which I have tried to make as vibrant as possible.

As I am using the undead army list he will have the profile of a level 15 Necromancer. This character whom I am naming as Ash is Leader of the Fae from the Darkling Wood. 

I wasn't sure when I bought the Skull set at Christmas as £17 seemed quite lot to spend on non-figures but I have ended putting them on nearly everything. But perhaps having Chaos and Undead armies helps!

Not quite sure how I am going to use the stone circle but I thought it fitted with the theme very well and make a nice scenic piece.

Rob 

New Army Ideas

What's Next? 

From WD37 - Artist Unknown

Since finishing the first part of my chaos army, I have been thinking about what some of projects I want to take on next. I do want to do a wood elf army at some point as I have had several attempts and never managed to finish them. But I don't fancy painting up large blocks of archers at this point and my mate Stevie has just finished a high elf army so this likely to be a opponent at some point in future when we can start meeting again 

I recently came across Oakbound Studios Miniatures (oakbound.co.uk) and their range of Fae. These are excellent by the way with loads of character and really nice style. Definitely going on the list. and they also produce a set of skirmish rules.  This led to a rummage through the loft to find these beauties.

White Dwarf 37January 1983  - Cover by Emmanuel

White Dwarf 38 February 38 - Cover by Nicholas Bibby

Writing up this article I noticed that the cover was done by a Nicholas Bibby which is surely the same Nick Bibby who did many of Citadel's excellent dragons and Monsters. Including the dragons shown below.

Nick Bibby Dragons

White Dwarf did a couple of articles on the subject of using Faeries in AD&D along with some nice pictures. They also produced some AD&D rules for the Faeries several of which I plan to use in my army.

Not just tiny Faeries!

Not all goody two shoes

Which set me thinking could I build an army around a Fae theme?  The Fae from folklore are not all goodies and many of the characters are at best morally ambiguous. After a bit of searching on the internet I have found a number of companies who do figures that I think will fit this theme. 

• Oakbound Studios  - Loads of characters and I could build some small units such as Gnomes & Goblins. 
• Games Workshop - Sylaneth. Fits the theme with a variety of Dryad types. As usual GW have produced some excellent figures and the plastic kits give plenty of opportunity for conversion.  But they are not cheap and I don't want to spend several hundred quid on a basic force. Maybe some second hand figures and I don't want to build a GW army.
• Ral Partha Legacy - Ral Partha actually produce both Fae and Dryad armies. Some nice figures in there but the cost of postage puts me of buying a couple to see what they are like. I have been eyeing up the 'Oldhammer' Tom Meier Giant so they may have to wait until I get that mini.
• Reaper Miniatures - Reaper do a few characters. No real figures to build an army but a reasonable price.
• Eureka Miniatures - These also do Fae miniatures in their Fanticide range. Reasonable prices and a good range. Definitely on the list. 
• Ex-Grenadier Miniatures - Some of Mark Copplestone's excellent wood elves (from Fornlorn Hope & others) could provide some nice characters at very reasonable prices. 
• The Others - I did quite a few other manufacturers who produced the odd figure which could end up in the final army. 

I don't plan to paint hundred of miniatures and I don't want ones which necessarily traditionally fit the standard Warhammer army list but perversely could be used as a Warhammer army.  I did originally did look at the Wood Elf army list (WFB 3rd) but couldn't find a way to get it to fit. I have been particularly inspired by the Lizardmen armies being built on the Old World Army Challenge which manage to build a 'legal'  Lizardman army using the Slann list.

So after a bit of lateral thinking and you will have to bear me at this point . I decided to use the undead army list. The undead army is a magically powered army with plenty of powerful spellcasters, mighty heroes, fear causing troops and monsters. Which is just the sort of army i am trying to build with the Fae. 

So Necromancers could become Druids (probably elvish ones), Skeletons can become Dryads  and Mummies can become lesser Tree men (Which are flammable which is a nice coincidence and fits the adopted profile). Other types can be worked on as I build and paint units. The profiles of these troop types fit with how i see the faeries working on the battlefield. 

Time to start working on an army list.

Rob 

First 1000 pts - Month 4 (February) - 174 pts

 First 1000 pts - Month 4 (February) - 174 pts

So I finished my 1000 pts challenge at the end of February with my Army Commander (the Mighty Zog Arkwright) and the Drager's Bows (Chaos Thug Archers). A bit of a tale of two halves as I was pleased with the final look of Zog and not particularly pleased with the archers. This was not helped when I decided to stick them onto multi-bases before painting them (doh!) and the Battlemasters figures have quite a low level of detail. And on closer inspection no quivers for their arrows. 

However the first stage of this army is now finished and I managed to add a reasonable chaos dwarf allied contingent. 

The army in all its glory!

First 3  Months

November is counting as month 0 because I painted this hobgoblin as part of a chaos warband. 

Month 0: Oct 2020. Completed 1 Baal’s Destroyers (40 pts).	40 pts	1
Month 1: Nov 2020.  Completed 9 Doom Reivers inc. Musician, Standard & Champion (149 pts) and 1 Baal’s Destroyers (40 pts).	199 pts	10
Month 2: Dec 2020. Completed 1 Doom Reiver (11 pts), 1 Baal’s Destroyers (40 pts), Baal (116 pts) and 10 Gor Charge Beastmen (130 pts).	307 pts	13
Month 3: Jan 2021. Completed beastmen champion (63pts) and x3 beastmen (39pts), beastmen musician & standard (52pts), bog troll (65pts) and chaos sorcerer (85pts).	304 pts	8
Total	850 pts	32

The Last Month (February)

So February was about finishing this army. At some point I must have mixed the points up but I don't think I will go back and work it out as I have painted the figures and now thinking about the next project(s). 

Zog is a great figure which oozes character and has lots of nice details. Painting was pretty straightforward with a red colour which makes him stand out from the rest of the warriors. 

Nothing good to say bout the thug archers...

Month 4 : Painted Zog (74 pts) and finished off the chaos thug archers (100 pts) which completes the first challenge. Forty three figures painted in just over 4 months.

My Army Commander - Zog

Plus Friends

With a few allies of the short and chaotic kind.  I still need to finish off a few more chaos dwarves to crew all of the guns and have a enough to field a 10-dwarf unit. But I am most of the way there already with this endeavour (with the figures already purchased). My chaos dwarves are a real mixture of Citadel, Ex-Harlequin, converted plastics and some very nicely sculpted Ral Partha miniatures. I have had great fun with Citadel's technical paint on the bronze which is the first time I have used kind of paint. 

I also have started the chaos cultists which will allow the current heavy armoured unit (The Doom Reivers) to be upgraded to Marauders. I probably need some cavalry at some point but I quite like the idea of converting some Empire/Bretonian Knights as chaotic turncoats. 

Rob 

The first 1000pts – January 2021 (304 pts)

 

The first 1000pts – January 2021

The Chaos Renegades of the Mighty Zog

 

Month 3 - Figures

The Story so far...

For November I am counting as month 0 because I painted this hobgoblin as part of a chaos warband.

Month 0: Oct 2020. Completed 1 Baal’s Destroyers (40 pts).	40 pts	1
Month 1: Nov 2020.  Completed 9 Doom Reivers inc. Musician, Standard & Champion (149 pts) and 1 Baal’s Destroyers (40 pts).	199 pts	10
Month 2: Dec 2020. Completed 1 Doom Reiver (11 pts), 1 Baal’s Destroyers (40 pts), Baal (116 pts) and 10 Gor Charge Beastmen (130 pts).	307 pts	13
Total	546 pts	24

 January Progress

 So, January was about finishing off what I had in progress. I did paint up Kaleb Daark who originally was going to be used as the army commander but instead I have decided to use the mighty Zog Arkwright. Another great figure from the 90s and has a look more detail than I was expecting.

I really like the rusty brown on the armour, so I have decided to keep that. The shield is well painted (certainly compared to my standard) but he needs a sculpted shield to go in with my other figures so that will have to go.

New Army Commander before repainting.

 

The Beastman musician only turned up last Thursday, so bit of a rush to get him finished for month end. This completed the Beastman unit – Gor Charge. I also had time to make a movement tray for both the Beastmen and the Chaos Thugs. 

Beastman Musician

Month 3: Jan 2021. Completed beastmen champion (63pts) and x3 beastmen (39pts), beastmen musician & standard (52pts), bog troll (65pts) and chaos sorcerer (85pts).	304 pts	7
Total	850 pts	31

The completed Beastmen Unit

What's Next?

I would also like add some cultists in the form of Disciples of the Red Redemption fame but at the ~£50 for 11 (currently on eBay). I think I might convert some from the Frostgrave cultist’s pack instead.As bit of a side project, I also finished off three swivel guns and teams (see previous post). More chaos dwarves now needed to create a proper allied contingent. I have started work on a mortar and a unit of dwarves to make this a ‘legal’ allied detachment as the chaos dwarf hero can act as an allied contingent commander as long as the contingent is only one race.

What’s left?

New army commander now in progress and I have successfully won the Thug archers so with a bit of planning (luck) I should be able to get the first 1000pts finished this month.

 

Building Chaos Dwarf Swivel Guns

The Artificer Swivel Gun battery

Having picked up a couple of chaos dwarf gunners, I decided that I would have a go and make the swivel gun. Having decided to make one swivel gun as a side project.   it seemed a good idea make up a small battery (in this case three).  I could then add some more gunners at a later stage.

After a bit of searching in the loft I found WD108 and rules for the swivel guns. Rules presented below.

I prefer to integrate the gun and the crew into a larger base but being able to remove the dwarves when casualties occur. This gives a bit space to give the base a bit of character.

Mock Up

So, step one make the base and start the gun. I had ago at making one gun first to get the design right. If I were doing these again, I would have made them a bit smaller.

After deciding to make three guns I decides I would need a few more crews and a unit leader. Prices for old chaos dwarves are generally a bit crazy but Ral Partha do some very nice chaos dwarves which fit in very well with the size and style of the old Citadel Chaos dwarves. I’m not a big fan of plain bases and I am going for a chaos wasteland vibe with strange stalagmites, toadstool patches and toxic pools. I edged the bases with card to give a neater finish and allow the bases to be sprayed. 

Halfling Conversion to Chaos Dwarf

I was still one short one crew member for swivel gun teams and decided to repurpose one of the halflings I got for Christmas. The spikes on the helmet/shoulder pads are cut down nail points and a little bit of Green Stuff to create a beard /shoes. I was able to create the beard using the end of a cocktail stick. More tools maybe required if I want to do more this sort of conversion. He is bit less stocky than the other chaos dwarves but overall, I am pleased with the effect.

After the Citadel Technical paint is applied

I have just started using some of Citadel’s technical paints and got Nihilakh Oxide (also a Christmas present) gives a very effective Verdigris (bronze corrosion) effect over the top of Warplock Bronze. I have decided to go for corroded / rusted look for the dwarves which represents them working in very toxic environments to make these machineries of destruction.

Two of the finished swivel guns and crews.

The Dark Artificer –Mir Helmdarkson and the beginning of his artillery brigade.

A mixture of old citadel (chaos dwarf and AD&D Duergar - middle front), plus Ral Partha and my converted figure. 

 

The first 1000pts

The army so far...

After deciding to paint up the unused chaos warriors from my chaos warband project (see earlier posts) as chaos undivided warriors in black. This sort of led on thinking about painting up a small chaos army.  I haven’t painted any actual armies for quite a while. I thought this might be quite a nice little challenge.

 Since Warhammer 3^rd (WFB) edition is my favourite version, I have used Warhammer Armies to generate the army (with a couple of tweaks). The plan was to build a core army which could be added to at a later stage. So, have decided to stick to 1000 pts, using heroes/unit limits without any magical weapons or items and following the 3^rd edition rules.

The Chaos Renegades of the Mighty Zog.

As a motif I am going to use skull/face painted half red and half white. Which is intentionally mirroring the Malal’s symbol. So Zog’s renegade may actually be disciples of Malal ready to turn on their chaos ‘allies’ at a decisive moment.

The Mighty Zog - Chaos Warrior (74 pts)

The Mighty Zog (Army General) – Chaos Warrior Heavy Armour, Shield & Hand Weapon

74

Army general. A late addition to the army as I was originally planning on using Kaleb Daark. But he is better suited a wandering killer. Leading a hand to those fighting chaos. The Mighty Zog Arkwright is one my favourite chaos warrior figures so no worries. A chaos warrior is reasonably powerful hero for an army of this size and can lend his skills to any unit in need. Still need to paint this miniature.

The Warlock – Chaos Sorcerer (85 pts)

Picture curtesy of Stuff of Legends

Level 10 Chaos Sorcerer Hand Weapon

85

I have had the classic Warlock (of Firetop Mountain fame) figure sitting on my painting shelf for some time and I thought this will make a slightly different chaos sorcerer. I still need to get at least one familiar for this mighty wizard. As this chaos army is quite light on long range firepower, he will help balance the scales. Which is why he has a number of long-range attack spells. Still need to paint this miniature.

Spells

Battle Magic: Fireball, Windblast & Aura of Resistance

Elemental: Assault of Stone & Cloud of Smoke

Demonic: Summon Familiar

 

The Doom Reivers – Chaos Thug Unit (160 pts)

Josef Grimheart Chaos Marauder – Doom Reivers Champion Heavy Armour & Shield	39
Doom Reivers - 9 Chaos Thugs inc. Standard & Musician Heavy Armour & 2-Handed Weapons	121

 Originally, I would have liked to make this a unit of Marauders, but ten Marauders (inc. Standard and musician) would have used up 480 of my 1000 pts. So, while might have made the painting pretty quick it would not build a very build big or balanced army. For now, they have to settle to be Thugs and will hopefully upgrade then at a later date.

This is the first unit to be completed. Based on the classic chaos warrior figure. I decided to modify each one of the figures to create an individual look. Most are simple weapon swaps and changes to the helmets with Green Stuff. I plan to increase the unit up to 15 and do some extensive conversions on the remaining figures or get some more metal figures to mix it up a bit. 

Shields later changed to Oldhammer ones once I learnt how to make them! The second one in is Josef Grimheart my unit champion.

Gor Charge – Beastmen Unit (284 pts)

(As much a chant as a s a unit name)

Bray  - Level 5  Beastman Banebeast Champion Light Armour & Shield	63
Gor Charge - 15 Beastmen inc. Standard & Musician Shield & Halberds	221

 The Beastmen form muscle to this small army, hopefully their toughness 4 and 2 wounds will give them the staying power whilst the other units get to grips with the enemy. With only a leadership of 7, I will have to careful they don’t get exposed too much missile fire before they get in to hand-to hand combat.

The majority of this unit are based on the classic plastic Beastmen figures with a number of modifications to swap weapons and move arms about. Just waiting for the musician to arrive and then the unit will be complete.

Baal’s Destroyers – Hobgoblin Unit (236 pts)

Baal - Level 5 Hobgoblin Champion 2-Handed Weapon & Light Armour	116
Baal’s Destroyers - 3 Hobgoblins 2-Handed Weapon	120

I have swapped out the minotaur’s for sme Ex-Grenadier Hobgoblins. These are some of my favourite Grenadier figures (sculpted by Bob Naismith I think) but don’t really translate that well in WFB. As there isn’t a separate goblin army (unlike Fantasy Warriors).  In Fantasy Warriors Hobgoblins are elite berserkers which I think the Minotaurs are good match. Also, I have wanted to get them painted for a while. I might get some Minotaurs at a later date but for now I will stick with the Hobgoblins.

Bert & Ernie – 2 Headed Troll (65 pts)

Bert & Ernie - 1Troll 2-Handed Weapon

65

Of course, there has to a troll who doesn’t want trolls in their army. I picked up one of Drew Williamson’s excellent Bog Trolls for Christmas. In this case a two headed troll which fits in well with the chaos theme.

Draeger’s Bows – Chaos Thug Unit (100 pts)

10 Chaos Thugs Bows & Hand Weapons

100

 Finally, I needed a bit of long ranged firepower to target any enemy units which try and keep out of the way. I still need to get these figures and plan to use Battlemaster’s chaos thug figures. If I can’t get any at a decent price, I might switch to the Ex-Grenadier Barbarian archers.

Final Thoughts

Army total so far 995 pts and 43 figures (30 painted so far). Next up some chaos dwarves. A group picture when we get better light. 

Apologies not a very good set of scans, many mumbled excuses…. Probably something to do with Brexit or Covid or Trump (take your pick). 

One Good Idea...

 

One good idea…

The decadent warband of Titus Vile

I came across an article on chaos warriors of the four different powers based on the old Hero quest chaos warrior figure (see FUNKY WENIS RODEO: Champions of Chaos).  I thought this would be a great idea to try.

After a little hunt of eBay I got a set of twelve classic plastic Oldhammer Chaos Warriors and as a bonus it also included five of the classic Beastmen figures as well.

As with many my projects they spiral off in different directions (& usually out of control).

After closer inspection I decided to use the existing paint schemes as the undercoat, because quite thinly applied and even (plus I didn't have Dettol or IPA to hand). So, a test figure painted in single session to get a feel for the miniature. 

In case you are wondering, my one is on the left.

But what good is Champion (which I have decided to call Titus Vile) without a warband and a banner for that matter.  Obviously a Beastman follower was added followed by a root around The Lead Pile for some followers. As I ease back into painting etc, I have gone for a straightforward paint job while the other champions will have a bit of conversion and varied paint jobs.

Titus’s pet spider is a pound store special (which I hopefully will cover in a separate article, as it the first time i have used Green Stuff to convert a model).

 

 That’s it for now. More warbands and what to do the rest of the chaos warriors?