When it comes to defending their settlements from the rampaging beasts that haunt the wild places of the Old World, the trusty bolt thrower is the weapon of choice for most Dwarf households. Easy to manufacture and maintain, these constructs of hard wood and steel have stopped countless monsters in their tracks before they could ever get their claws onto the inhabitants.
I picked this early Citadel set up when planning my army of Dwarfs for Oldhammer a few years ago. I like its construction which shows the Dwarfs’ mechanical engineering skill.
If a spear isn’t enough to penetrate the hide of an attacking monstrosity, then the double handed swing of a Slayer’s axe has to finish the job.
This is the first of five Giant Slayers I’m adding to the army. A small unit that will lend a lot of colour and character to the force.
The Lost and the Damned 
These are truly splendid, I love the paint jobs. I’ve always admired the Abe Lincoln beard and impressive schnoz on the loader miniature, he always looked a little unusual compared to the other Citadel Dwarfs.
If I’m not mistaken the Slayer miniature is one of the earlier ‘Dwarf Berserkers’ from before the Troll/Giant/Dragon/etc Slayer became a thing in Warhammer.
Although they’re smaller and slight in comparison to the later Troll Slayer figures I actually prefer a lot of those earlier miniatures. The later ones with massive high top fade hairstyles, beards to the floor and overly enormous axes always seemed a bit silly to me.
Great work!
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Thank you! The loader is a fun sculpt, I like his massive smirk. I hope to pick up a second one sometime and convert the bolt to a halberd, turning him into a city guard.
The berserker is one of the earlier figures and I contemplated keeping away from the fiery hair for the unit. With 3rd edition, the spiky, orange hair was already established in all descriptions and drawings though. As you say, the first berserkers are quite small, so the bright colour gives them some extra weight on the battlefield. Only one of those I am using has a mohawk, the rest have shaggy manes.
As much as I love Slayers, I agree that later versions are too well groomed to fit with their background. A bit more of that old berserker blood wouldn’t have gone amiss.
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Very nice job mate, love the spotter, he’s looking pleased with that last shot!
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Cheers! That’s an interesting interpretation, hadn’t occurred to me. Now he has a multi-purpose pose, excellent!
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The laoder is my favorutie, too. The smirk combined with the large nose is a classic. Just want to hug him ;P. Excellent paintjob on the other guys as well. The metal came out especially well.
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Cheers, I’m going with a lot more browns and greys for the clan warrior contingent of the army. Obviously steel and bronze are going to be a major theme too.
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They look awesome! Excellent work, mate!
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Thank you, glad you are enjoying them.
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These guys are great. I played against the bolt throwers a few times many, many moons ago but never got to paint them. Yours have really come up a treat. I also really like the berserker/pre-slayer. Jealous!
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Thank you! Back in 3rd Edition days I had a scratch-built bolt thrower made out of balsa wood and a big nail that saw service in various forces. Feels like a luxury to have the real thing in my army now.
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They look great. what color brown did you use for your base edges?
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Thanks! I’m using Citadel Gorthor Brown.
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Magnificent, you have truly brought these models to life with your brush. Your work is inspiring, thank you :)
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Thank you very much! Inspiring another keen Dwarf player like yourself is the best motivation to paint and post.
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