Striking the Anvil

I have all the figures lined up for my Warhammer Fantasy Battle 8th Edition Dwarf army, but there is still a lot of painting to do on them. Among the units that I started a while ago are the Ironbreakers, who are clad in steel from head to toe, wielding compact axes or hammers for close quarters tunnel fighting. As Captain Darling put it, they are “one of the best anvils in an army of anvils”.

I managed to complete this unit of 15 models over the course of a few days, and I’m very happy with how they turned out. The steel is Citadel Ironbreaker (fittingly) with a thinned down wash of Nuln Oil and a dry brush of Runefang Steel, while the gold trim was painted in Gehenna’s Gold with a wash of Reikland Fleshshade.

Marching out to repel any invaders

Weapons raised to smash their enemies

Obviously I had to get some Night Goblins out for the Ironbreakers to face off against. I think both of these armies are going to get some love over the next couple of months, I am really in the mood for this epic clash on the battlefield.

Yet another Night Goblin incursion to be fought off

Strength of Steel

My Oldhammer Dwarfs have called their warriors to war, and a solid regiment of 20 has been raised under the ancestral Banner of the Anvil. For the troopers I used plastic figures from the Fantasy Regiments box set. I equipped them with a mixture of axes and hammers but decided on plain helmets rather than horned ones to better fit in with the other regiments in the army. The champion in the metal command group is a random Norse dwarf from my collection, which I will eventually replace with an Imperial version. At that point I will obviously have to start a Norse mercenary force to put him to use.

Dwarf warriors line up to defend their land

Since these warriors are not part of a standing army but a militia, raised as needed from the local craftsmen, farmers etc., I gave them a mix of clothing and shields with various colourful, simple patterns. This still leaves me the option of later adding runes or symbols as the regiment distinguishes itself through heroic deeds. I think the variety in colours and shapes also helps break up the mono-pose look.

Each dwarf carries their personal colours

The banner is a freehand job, inspired by a version in Warhammer Armies. It’s simply painted on paper, with PVA glue between both sides that helps keep its shape.

An anvil symbolises the tough nature of these fighters

The warriors take their place in the dwarf battle line

Welcome to Mordgrave

This week will see me dusting off my copy of Frostgrave to finally have a game. A mate and I are planning on getting a campaign going, hopefully recruiting along the way.

Rather than setting the story in Felstad, we’ll be drawing on the background of the Old World however, so it is more akin to Mordheim with wizards and various fantasy races. As gangs, I am therefore drawing on my existing Warhammer Fantasy Battle armies without having to paint everything from scratch. For the first gaming session I put together Night Goblins, Dwarfs and Undead, only needing to finish painting a shaman and warrior of their respective armies which had been long overdue anyway.

Old enemies clash

While there are no different racial characteristics and stats in Frostgrave, I selected the war bands to reflect some of their archetypes. The Dwarfs are fewer in numbers but with better equipment and stats due to their troop types.

Enchanter, Apprentice, Marksman, Knight, Man-at-Arms and Thug

For the Night Goblins I am mainly using the Kev Adams sculpts by Knightmare Miniatures, reinforced by some Citadel figures from my Warhammer Fantasy Battle army.

Witch, Apprentice, Infantryman, Man-at-Arms, War Hound, Archers and Thugs

The Undead are raised from my Warhammer 3rd Edition forces, with zombies representing thugs and skeletons other troop types.

Necromancer, Apprentice, Men-at-Arms, Infantrymen and Thugs

How these work as gangs in Frostgrave, we’ll find out. A drawback of using “soldiers” from other armies is the lack of figures representing certain character classes like thieves, but with a bit of artistic licence and kit bashing I could add them where needed. In any case I would want to stick with classes to fit a certain fantasy race, and where that is the case, miniatures will also be easier to find.

Duel of the Mages

Two important characters I had yet to paint up for my fledgling Dwarf and Goblin Oathmark forces were their respective spell casters. Available as metal sculpts from the talented hands of Mark Copplestone, these are very flavourful figures that I wanted to show going up against each other in a battle of magical powers.

Wisdom versus cunning

The raven is an ancient familiar

The shaman draws on the raw powers of destruction

I also converted one of the Goblin spearmen to be a javelineer. Using the ancient peltast as a model, I choose the smallest of the shield sizes (which actually has a shape quite reminiscent of Thracian equipment) and went with lighter armoured body parts. For the javelin, I cut the spear tip off and made it both shorter and narrower. Then I shortened the wooden shaft at both ends and glued the tip back onto the bottom end, so the pose is now that of a throwing arm. A little bit of resculpting on the right shirt sleeve and the chainmail was needed, as the arm is normally expected to be attached in a downward facing position.

Javelineers skirmish ahead of the army

At close quarters the javelin is a deadly projectile

For my eight strong unit of Goblin warriors, I also painted the remaining two champion sculpts in metal and assembled one plastic fighter (on the left below). With these finished, I’m just in time for the Elven pre-orders to begin!

More warriors join the invading horde

Dwarf Spearhead Complete

These spearmen complete the third unit type for my Oathmark Dwarfs, so I now have a vanguard force ready and waiting for the game. Once again, the shield transfers from Little Big Men Studios together with Army Painter Quickshade allowed me to get them done to a tabletop standard quickly.

A combined force defends a small settlement

Large round shields protect most of the body

Spearmen rushing out to close a gap in the defences

Now I have 12 models left to build from the box set. I’ll leave these until the game rules are released with regards to unit sizes and formations, standards and leaders. Moving on to some goblins then!

Death awaits at the steel tip of a spear