C08 High Elf Adverts

& It's Colours Tomorrow

A quick post before Colours (in Newbury tomorrow). So, I have nearly completed my C08 high collection, with just one mini left (on order!). And Since I did one of these finished mini cards, I had to do a couple more.  Obviously thanks to Stuff of Legends for quick access to the originals. 

The last one is from White Dwarf 59. 

Cover is by Peter Andrew Jones

And as its Friday Night, another French beer. 

Rob 

Troll Attack Pack

It was 1984 or Troll Pack Attack or Pack Attack Troll 

I didn't read advert properly the first time and decided I liked my version better. 

All 80's Citadel Goodness

Whilst setting up the latest high elf for photographing, I decided I needed some contemporary opponents to match against them. And these early eighties C20 trolls nicely fitted the bill. 

But this reminded me of a half-forgotten advert in White Dwarf (Turns out it was White Dwarf 65 - August 1984). Ok these high elves aren't the Tom Meier ones but they certainly fitted the vibe. With a very nice little illustration. 

Just to point out that my memory isn't that good, I just happened to be looking through this White Dwarf recently whilst looking for something else I couldn't find. And hadn't put the magazine back. 

Also this issue of White dwarf also had an advert for Citadel's collector cards. Were you could get free figures if you could match all of the cards in a set. Certainly time for a comeback (Citadel take note!).

And finally I had to include the picture on the cover by Chris Achilleos. Proving that not all of the White Dwarf covers of the 80's had a scantily clad female. 

After all of this nostalgia, I had to casually mention that the top 20th film of 1984 was Dune. Since I already went through my top three films of 1984 (Top 3 1984 films). This  classic sci-film that got pushed out of my top three but still deserves a mention. 

Anyway back to a few WIP shots of the high elf. 

Rob

Thistlewood - The First Warhammer Scenario

 So the Journey Begins...

Cover by Gary Ward

As is probably apparent from my blog I like to have multiple projects on the go and often have significant gaps between bursts of activity on a project. I came across the Thistlewood scenario in an old White Dwarf  (Issue 45 - September 1983) whilst looking for the Faerie articles in White Dwarf as background reading for my Fae army. As far as I can tell this was the first Warhammer scenario published in White Dwarf and before Tabletop Heroes was introduced (see previous blog article). Written by Joe Dever using Warhammer 1st edition rules. 

A picture of Joe Dever's figures in action
from the WD article. 

The scenario centres around a thief Foro Malas who stole the legendary golden chalice of Landemar  from King Amias. Suitably annoyed, King Amias gives chase with an elite portion of his army. The army catches up with him at Thistlewood but King Amias is not the only one looking for the chalice. So is Lord Vassago, a necromancer of ill repute plus his undead hordes and goblinoid lackeys. So the scene is set with both armies looking for Foro Malas at Thistlewood.

The scenario is set out so that it can be played at three different levels (Skirmish / Engagement  & Mass Battle)  depending on how many figures you have to use.

Before going any further, I must point out that this an attempt to get enough figures on a wargames table as soon as possible using mostly figures I already own to play this scenario. However if you go over to the Broadswords and Beast blog BROADSWORDS AND BEASTS. Springinsfeld has managed to collect all of the miniatures at the mass battle level using only figures available at the time of the article. A great achievement and a really enjoyable read as he charts his progress through a series of articles about collecting and painting these figures from a previous classic age. 

Wight Bodyguard, Ugrash-Ka, Lord Vassago,
N'aarsh & Skeletons

So first up is a quick check of the current collection. I am also happy to make a small number of substitutions. So the ghouls used by Lord Vassago as his bodyguard have been changed to wights (to continue the undead vibe). 

The Forces of Evil 

Character	Numbers	Collection
Lord Vassago	1/1	Marauder Vampire
N’aarsh	1/1	Mighty Zog
Ugrash-Ka	1/1	Dunderling Captain
Wyvern	0/1	TBC?
Trolls	3/3	C20 Trolls
Black Uruks	8/10	Ugezod’s Death Commandos plus support
Vile Rune Orcs	30/40	LotR Orcs plus a few random Uruk-Hai?
Black Sun Goblins	30/40	LotR Goblins
Skeletons	15/20	Skeleton Horde
Ghouls	10/10	Using wights for a suitably undead vibe.
Pack Wolves	18/20	Fae wolves
Total	117/147	80%

Rob 

White Dwarf 52 Extra

 Talisman Rolls a 6

Whilst looking through WD52, I noticed it had a review for the original version of Talisman. Once I got my scanner working again. I though I would add it as a quick follow on to the previous post.  Interestingly it only gets a 6 out of 10, so I suppose it was a fairly independent review.  But I am guessing the reviewer didn't know he was reviewing a classic!

Rob 

A White Dwarf Milestone

Here Come the Miniatures

Cover by Alan Craddock

Whilst looking for the White Dwarf with the Lone Wolf figures issue. I came across this copy of White Dwarf  (52) from April 1984. It is the first issue with a regular miniature feature - Tabletop Heroes. It seems Joe Dever and Gary Chalk were both regular contributors to this feature. This set the format for several years with one page of photos and one page of hints and tips. Each  month tended to have a theme with photos and feature trying together.  In the first issue - fantasy knights. 

A high quality and typical artwork for the cover of this era. Most of the artwork I haven't seen elsewhere. Which suggests it was commissioned for White Dwarf. Anyway on to the article.

There wasn't much else miniatures related in White Dwarf except for an advert for new Citadel miniatures. Both boxed sets by Aly Morrison. The miniatures can be seen on Stuff of Legends. 

Rob

LW1 Giak Attack (Very Slowly)

Taking My Time

Finished Giak No.4 from the 1980's Giak Attack Boxed set. I have had this set since from at least the Nineties but have never got round to finishing it. I have managed an odd figure every now and again. So they all have widely different painting styles. But at this stage I plan to keep them all different. The banner guy has sat half painted for at least a year, so it was finally his turn this afternoon. I even painted both sides of the banner which is always a bit of  a strain for me. 

Thirty Years of Progress...

Gourgaz Attacks

As a small reward, I plan to finally paint Lone Wolf himself once I have completed the last two Giaks.

White Dwarf 59 November 1984 - The One with the Troll & Female Magic User 

Cover by Peter Andrew Jones

She doesn't seem to be carrying much equipment for a dungeon bash but this seemed standard for the period.  You may be wondering why I have posted this apart from its obvious charms. But there is a point, it is the first pictures I could find of completed Lone Wolf figures including Lone Wolf, Prince Penethor and the Giaks. The figures were included in the regular Tabletop Heroes section of White Dwarf written by Joe Dever & Gary Chalk. Back when White Dwarf only had two pages devoted to miniatures - one page of colour pictures and one page of painting tips and topics. Seems crazy now! 

Another excellent Gary Chalk illustration
which seems to be the starting point for the miniatures. 

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 

 

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.