Tag Archives: Tomb Kings

Warhammer Armies – Tomb Kings

March 2, 2021 Subedai 16 Comments

After having revived my Tomb Kings back in 2016, I just completed the first 1,000 points under Warhammer Fantasy Battle 8th Edition rules. The core troops of the Tomb Kings offer a range of tactical options, from archers to spearmen and cavalry, so the army should be entertaining to field.

Top down view of army of skeletal warriors in Egyptian style — The Tomb Kings call to war

The Tomb King was the final model I completed, while the Liche Priest is a second hand model that fits well into my paint scheme and only needed re-basing.

Once I had all troops lined up, I found the archers and spearmen to look a bit flat, so I went back over them, adding highlights to shields, weapons and bones. This ties them in better with the cavalry models as well, which were individually highlighted rather than drybrushed.

Mummified lord in bronze armour and sorcerer with staff — Martial might and the necromantic arts combine to lead the army

Undead chariots constructed from bones — A squadron of chariots takes the lead

Skeleton riders on skeletal horses — The royal cavalry gallops to battle

Skeleton spearmen with large blue shields — Spearmen form the backbone of the force

Two groups of skeletons with bows — Two units of archers rain death down on their enemies

There are still a lot more regiments and constructs buried in the sand, waiting to be resurrected to march forth and conquer an eternal empire for my Tomb Kings. Some horse archers and Ushabti might be next, though for now I am going to direct my gaze towards the living. Or maybe the daemonic…

View of the commanders, archers and spearmen in front of a sandstone temple ruin — The infantry wing of the army

Chariots and cavalry advancing next to the spearmen — The cavalry wing of the force

Warhammer

Chariot Charge

February 23, 2021 Subedai 10 Comments

Obviously a Tomb Kings army needs to feature some of their signature models, the skeleton chariots. This provided me with the perfect opportunity to finally put the classic plastic kits to good use, combining them with some later skeleton and Tomb Kings parts.

Three chariots made of bones pulled by skeletal horses — The chariot squadron leads the charge

Painting all the bones by hand is a somewhat tedious but not overly taxing process. I’m planning a second rank already, but for the core army of 1,000 points these three should strike fear into the hearts of their enemies already.

Skeleton warriors riding bone chariots — Even in death, the charioteers revel in the rush of battle

Close up view of skeletal chariots — Bones, hooves and spears smash into their enemies

There skeleton chariots driving in line — Chariots are perfect for the desolate battlefields of Nehekhara

Side view of a skeleton chariot carrying a warrior with a large bronze horn instrument — The ancient horn calls the legions to war

While I had all forces arrayed on the battlefield, I also observed that the old archer regiments, which were based on some haphazardly drybrushed figures of yore, looked a bit flat and didn’t tie in very well with the style of bone I have been recently painting. In order to improve on that, I added an additional highlight of pure white while also doing a bit of extra work on the metals.

Two ranks of six skeleton archers — Their arrows find their targets with unnatural accuracy

Warhammer

Blazing Saddles

September 3, 2018 Subedai 13 Comments

I finished the cavalry arm of my Tomb Kings army for Warhammer Fantasy Battle by adding a second rank to the spear armed skeleton horsemen.

Ten skeletons riding undead horses arrayed in two ranks — The Master of Horse still commands his riders in death

The horses are very old sculpts since GW never saw fit to replace them. For the riders, I mixed up parts from the original plastic skeletons with the Tomb Kings releases. As previously mentioned, I added horse blankets made out of tissue paper to give the models a bit more heft and have the riders stand out from their mounts better.

Two skeletal riders carrying bronze tipped spears — Galopping towards the foe on skeletal steeds

Side view of a ten strong unit of skeleton horsemen — Charge of the bones brigade

For future expansions of the army, I have two units of five horse archers each built and primed but first up is a squadron of chariots.

View from above on skeleton cavalry carrying blue shields and led by a banner bearer — Riding under the gleaming bronze war banner

Warhammer

The Tomb Kings Ride to War

August 21, 2018 Subedai 6 Comments

Having recently picked up more infantry for my Tomb Kings I felt it was time to continue painting the already built and primed forces that are making up a 1,000 point core army using Warhammer Fantasy Battle 8th Edition.

I don’t enjoy painting undead horses much more than life ones hence I had kept back the cavalry and chariots. The first five of a ten strong regiment of horsemen with thrusting spears are now finally done and I’ll keep working away on the second half interspersed with various other projects.

Five skeletons carrying blue shields and spears on skeletal horses — The vanguard rides out

I’m using some overarm thrusting spears for the unit to add variety and indicate that they are not fighting as knights with lances. The musician carries a metal horn in snake form that was part of an early version of the Khemrian infantry. I also equipped the horses with black saddle cloths made from tissue paper to give a heavier feel to the models and prevent the bone-on-bone look.

Eye level view of skeletal cavalry heading forwards — Skeletal hooves will trample all enemies into the dust

Epic 40k, Warhammer, Warhammer 40k

Spicing Up My Bestiary

August 27, 2017 Subedai 10 Comments

The Reaper Miniatures Great Worm is a modern miniatures classic that I’ve seen pop up in many people’s collections. For a long time I’ve been taken it off the rack in a local games store and putting it back, so as not to add to my painting queue. Last time a gamer friend of mine came to visit, I got caught up in his shopping spree however and finally bought my own version – on the condition I’d paint it up quickly.

There is no particular army, game or even genre I am associating the giant worm with, so it is intended more as a piece of (dangerous) terrain. Rather than painting it purple though, which is the most commonly used colour, I felt more inspired to turn it into a sand worm.

Four soldiers in red jackets aiming guns at a large worm that burst from the desert floor — Praetorian guardsmen find that the desert is alive

A desert death world would be a very suitable setting to use the sand worm in. I have a bunch of Rogue Trader era creatures and monsters to work on, which this fits nicely into.

Two living mummies with weapons aloft next to a giant worm emerging from the sand — The Tomb Princes of Khemri summon a great sand worm

As a creature of the desert, the giant worm would make an interesting feature in a Khemrian landscape, or for a dungeon adventure in the Lands of the Dead.