I Don't Usually Do This Sort Of Thing, But...

Thanks to everyone from regular readers and followers to occasional and accidental visitors.

It's The Scenery Stupid!

Is how I might rudely reply to someone asking me to pick one, absolutely key, aspect to enjoyable gaming*. There needs to be characterful scenery and plenty of it. An open battlefield simply won't do. Players of skirmish gamers know this very well. But there's an odd situation at present with WFB, where 8e calls for (demands even) hordes, but GW also provide some excellent and reasonably inexpensive scenery. 

Until recently I had depended on old card buildings to provide the scene for games. However, having amassed so many miniatures I don't know what to do with them all, I reasoned I ought to turn my compulsive buying in the direction of some buildings of substance. Here is a Chapel I've had knocking around for a while, and a new Watchtower, both WIPs:

Pretty standard stuff at the moment. Yet I've noticed how easily these can be combined to make a whole range of great looking buildings. Hence, that's my new obsession. I may try something with the SKULLZ GW buildings if I think I might be able to make them look half as silly. That's a long shot though...

* Luckily I'm a jolly nice fellow and would never be so disrespectful ;-)

Mantic Trolls And Plotting A Chaos Troll Army

Mantic are spending the next week showing us examples of the tons of Kings Of War miniatures that are on the way in the summer; here are some trolls:

What do you think? There's a Hordes influence here I'd say, but they look reasonable. I mean, what does a troll actually look like anyway?! The possibility of an all troll chaos army led by this guy takes a step closer...

Oldhammer - Paul's Khorne Army WIP

So for the Oldhammer event later in the summer I'm going to be locking horns with my brother Paul. Being a busy fellow, Paul doesn't blog (although he reads plenty) so I'm going to proxy blog for him on the Gazette. This way fellow Oldhammerers and others who are interested can see the development of both of armies in the run up to the big bash at Foundry. Here then, is Paul's WIP Khorne army:

As you can see, Paul's rather like me in his miniature tastes. Plenty of new plastics and resin here. Of course he's following the appropriate way of configuring his units around the Khornate number: eight. This lends itself very well to what is a fine looking army in the making, I'm sure you'll agree. In the coming weeks we'll focus on some selected units as the paint gets slapped on and I hope Paul will follow my example and create a narrative for his army centred on his champions and their retinues. 

Oldhammer - Davey's Slaanesh Army WIP

Well folks here it is, my current pride and joy, my little chaotic children, spawn of my alliance with the Dark Prince; behold, my Realm of Chaos Slaanesh Army. Here it is in all it's WIP goodness. 

Over the last couple of weeks I've been putting the final additions into place and base coating as much as possible with Slaanesh Grey to achieve a cohesive look from the outset. The next stage will be to do all the bases. This kind of army production technique is a departure from my usual ambling approach to miniatures, but it's the best way to ensure that everything is ready for Oldhammer at Foundry in August.

The basic background narrative for the army is that they're a force loyal to a chaotically corrupted Marienburg nobleman turned Chaos Champion, who has become a recluse in his heavily fortified mansion. In the grounds of his estate, the by-products of his sorcerous experimenting are animated trees - Slaaneshi Beastmen carved from flora. Three are Minotaur-sized and form the Champion's Warband. The greatest, most ancient tree, has mutated into a beast akin in power to a Chimera - a monstrous host.

In the catacombs below, mutated Witch Elves and Chaos Centaurs partake in debauched rituals, served by Chaos Goblins and attended by Human Chaos Cultists, and overseen by a twisted Wizard; the followers of two other Champions: a Sorcerer and a Dark Elf. A dim-witted but mighty Troll completes these warbands.

Chaos Marauders and Warriors - all publicly nobles and covertly skilled fighters - make up the elites; some Marauders riding Mounts of Slaanesh. While the remainder of the army is comprised of Dark Elves: some corrupted Sea Elf traders, others devious and twisted Corsairs, and still others raiders riding Cold Ones who dwell in the Wasteland. 

Everything here is a currently available miniature, or a kitbash from current parts. As I've said before, the Oldhammer ethos is what's important for me, and as you can see, the army units (and most of the warband units too) are in multiples of six. Over the coming weeks I'll chart the development of this army AND the opponents it will face in a show down 25 years in the making... my brother's Khorne army, which I'll unveil tomorrow.

Darklands / BaneBeasts Kermorannac - Out Of The Box

Time for another dip into the new miniatures cabinet. And this time we find a raging beastie crashing through the forest! Yes, it's the Kermorannac from Mierce Miniatures. This guy makes a great Cygor, particularly as I have the GW Ghorgon. He's a totally nuts sculpt, from his oversized hooves, to his chubby manhood, to the squealing pig he's about to lob or munch, to his bulging eye. An utterly barking model!

As with all Mierce stuff the resin is good quality and the detail is clear and sharp. Everything went together with a mix of pinning and super-greenstuff (greenstuff coated in superglue - works like a dream). All the Maelstrom business aside, it really is great to have a British company knocking out such brilliant monsters and character models. The emphasis on fantasy is great too, because so many companies emphasise the futuristic and it all ends up looking rather generic most of the time. So bravo Mierce for the classic fantasy focus. 

Forge World Incarnate Elemental Of Fire - Out Of The Box

Time to take a look inside the new cabinet to see what's lurking within... And look! It's the Incarnate Elemental of Fire! This is an astonishing model. Simple as that. It's dynamic, characterful and huge. Steve Whitehead take a bow because you have created what is by far my favourite Forge World model. It's one of those models that really does need the 'experienced modellers only' warning tag attached to it mind you, so if you're not a fan of spending a good couple of hours prepping a model then this one isn't for you. I would say, however, that this chap rewards patience handsomely. 

For some reason the photos on the FW site don't really do this justice. When I saw this in person at the FW Open Day I was totally blown away. Given this could be a proxy for loads of things - giant, greater daemon, etc. - I highly recommend considering this if you're looking for a large monster or army centrepiece. It's a whole sack of WOW!

I'm Not Interested In Mantic's Deadzone, But I'd Like To Catch The Plague

Mantic's pre-order service (i.e. Kickstarter) is in full swing again with their latest offering, Deadzone. While I'm not interested in the game or backing the initiative at the moment, I am very excited about the faction called The Plague, simply because of how cool the miniatures look:

What Kind Of Geek Are You?

Here's something fun to keep you distracted on a Friday. You can buy a print from here. 

Incredible LEGO Lord of the Rings Helm's Deep

I can't really add anything to these pictures... *applauds the effort and time spent building this*

Pictures from here.

Raging Heroes 'Toughest Girls of the Galaxy' Only Days Away

Apparently we're only days away from the launch of the Raging Heroes 'Toughest Girls of the Galaxy' Kickstarter. This is going to be the first crowd funded venture that I've ever invested in so I'm getting really excited by the prospect. I just cannot wait to see the new minis that are in development, and as I've said before, if they're anywhere close to the amazing concept art then I am completely sold!

My New Miniatures Display Cabinet - Spring Has Sprung

Spring is here, I've had a mini-hiatus, and I'm back for a summer of hobby goodness. A couple of weeks ago I displayed my work in public for the first time. Then I 'outed' myself as a miniatures artist on Facebook. Now I have my first proper display cabinet. What do you make of this?

We picked it up a few weeks ago from a furniture recovery place in Bristol. It's originally from Bristol University so it's 'old school' in two senses. It's going to take a while to work out how best to arrange everything! This month is going to be all about Oldhammer as I finish prepping my Slaanesh Realm of Chaos Army. And in a first for the Gazette, I'll be featuring the work of someone else, as we get to take a look at the development of my brother's opposing Khrone Realm of Chaos Army. 

Slaaneshi Minotaurs - Realm Of Chaos Oldhammer Army

As everyday life dramas and work activities have ruled the days recently, only a few bits of hobbyness have managed to flourish. Most notable this morning are these Slaaneshi Minotaurs for my Realm Of Chaos army that were constructed last night. These are based on Tree Kin that I got during a lengthy visit to GW Covent Garden following a meeting (I also learned how to play the Hobbit game, which was fun). I've added spare branches from the dryads in order to add some bulk.  

The Tree Kin are much maligned but I really like them, even if they're a little small without the added foliage I've bestowed upon them. As with the dryads I think these can be made to look more Slaaneshi than standard Beastmen - they also fit really well into the narrative for the army, which I'll get around to explaining at some point! 

The End Of The Maelstrom / Mierce Miniatures Saga

The Maelstrom / Mierce Miniatures saga ended well, with me receiving all my missing miniatures from the once BaneBeasts range. If your order slipped through the net then I recommend getting in touch with them too. Over the next week or so I'll do a few out of the box reviews. In short though, the quality of all the miniatures is excellent. This is a company you should certainly keep your eye on if you're on the look out for character models or monsters to be striking centrepieces for your fantasy armies.

A Necron Shaped Money Pit Just Opened Under My Feet

I have no Necrons. But my goodness, this is so cool. Necrons in the future then...? Forge World you crafty bastards...