Slaanesh Chaos Spawn, Probably

These are great miniatures, a couple of 'brutes' from Mierce Miniatures. They have a very gladiatorial look, as if they've been rebuilt by some utterly twisted mind, with the sole aim of a short and extremely brutal life in some wretched fighting pit. The sacks over their heads make them look all the more perverted. Lovely! I'm planning on using them as Slaanesh Chaos Spawn in my Realm of Chaos army so here they are in some of the basic colours I'm using - it's a nice palette to work with (also pinks and flesh tones), very different from both my Nurgle work and the colours for my Genestealer Cult. I'd like to have a fully painted playable RoC army finished by the summer. I suppose that almost counts as a new year's goal! That'll never come to pass then ;-) 

They would also make excellent Dark Eldar Grotesques.

More Dark Elves Gallop Over The Horizon

I actually had mixed feelings about the first wave of new Dark Elves. The Witch Elves are great but grossly over priced. The Hydra is a little uninspiring. The models for the Blood Throne are fantastic yet the throne is rather odd. 

Now the second wave pictures are being leaked I'm slightly more cautious than before. No quick off the mark 'loving' this time around. However, this duel aspect to Dark Riders kit looks very promising. I don't know what they're called but you can just make out from the captions that they're bound to provide new souls for Slaanesh to save their own. 

I'm sure I can make some of these fit into my RoC Slaanesh army, kit bashing them with a few Daemonatte bits. And for once the in house GW paint jobs don't immediately put me off either. 

Dark Elf Recruits For The Realm Of Chaos Slaanesh Army

These pictures are from... well, they're all over the place. Roll on Saturday when the official previous go up. These are the models that will be on my Christmas list.

Oldhammerers, I Wish You Well - Have A Great Weekend

I wish I could join you for what I'm certain will be a great weekend. Looking forward to all the photos and reports. Until next year....

Champions Of Slaanesh Progress Report - Realm Of Chaos Warbands

Some general progress has been achieved on my Slaanesh champions. I'm still experimenting a little with these colours, mostly through the retinue troops, and once I've figured out how to mix a few lighter blends I'll finish these perverted leaders. I'm really pleased with the colour scheme, which includes Citadel (Slaanesh Grey, Emperor's Children, Ice Blue, various washes), P3 (Murderous Magenta, Carnal Pink), Daler Rowney (Process Cyan), Model Color (Hull Red) and Army Painter (Dark Tone) paints.

Slaanesh Chaos Goblins - Realm Of Chaos Warband Retinue

These Night Goblins will be in the retinue of one of the Champions of Slaanesh. They illustrate quite simply the three basic colours that I'm using right across my Slaanesh army. The good thing about working with these colours is that they can easily be blended and over-layered with the use of different glazes. Obviously I won't spend too much time on these guys as they truly are minions - on the tabletop I imagine one of the champions will join this unit and they will throw themselves in front of the enemy to protect him/her.

Champions Of Slaanesh Take A Vacation

Painting on holiday at the in-laws is a rather hit-and-miss affair. I'm working up the Chaos Champions for my Slaanesh warbands that will travel with me to the Oldhammer event. In the following weeks I'll do their retinues, which I'm simply going to pick for variety and interest as opposed to rolling them up. That way I can work on figures that will slot into the units of my larger Realm of Chaos Slaanesh army.  I'll wait until the end of the week for an up-date, by which time I hope to have written up something for each of their backgrounds.

Decor supplied by 'the folks'

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.

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! 

Slaaneshi Beastmen - Realm Of Chaos Oldhammer Army

I think it's worth pointing out again due to some confusion following my post about my Slaaneshi Chaos Warriors that these units are for a Realm of Chaos army to play with 3rd ed rules, not a warband. This army will contain a warband - I've just not got around to rolling it up yet, having been sucked into the temptation of a full force. Right, moving on!

I'm trying to think creatively about Slaanesh because I think it's really the least war-like and most insidious of all the ruinous powers. Regular troops rarely cut it for me as simply aligning out of the box fighters to the Dark Prince often ends up looking odd to my eyes. Basically, there needs to be a satisfactory narrative.

I'm still crafting the overall tale of my champion, his warband, and this overall army (note again the distinction please ;-). For beastmen though I always knew I'd need something different, even if I still wanted them to be wild and 'of the forest.' Step forward perverted dryads. These really fit the bill for me - and it certainly helps that they come in a box of 12: a handy Slaaneshi multiple! These twisted sisters will work rather well with my overall narrative too. And if you're interested in such things, I'm hoping to get that written up later this week. I hope the Oldhammerers among you will approve.

Warriors Of Slaanesh - Realm Of Chaos Oldhammer Army

This week I'm away at a conference with work, which means zero hobby time. I'm having withdrawal symptoms! (I'm also missing my family about the same amount ;-) So to keep in some kind of touch with everyday life I'm looking over some preparatory photos for my Slaanesh army for the Oldhammer event in the summer. Here is my unit of six Slaaneshi Chaos Warriors. Using Realm Of Chaos rules these guys are super tough, making a unit of six entirely viable - can you imagine that in 8th ed?! You probably recognise Sigvald the Magnificent - the others are Chosen with heads left over from the Helstrider kit.

Hellstriders Of Slaanesh - Out Of The Box

This weekend I've upcycled some toys through eBay. At least I think that's the phrase my wife would use from her interiors blogging. Anyway, I've sold old lead for new toys. Huzzah.

Here we have some Hellstriders of Slaanesh that will be joining the burgeoning ranks of my Realm of Chaos warband/legion. I'm adding legion to the description now because there's only one direction this army is going... Bigger. And it's great fun because I'm building it from the bottom up and get to play with these frankly gorgeous new plastics.

This is a box of five, which is standard for GW but annoying for me as all my units will be multiples of six, following proper RoC lore. Still, these are an excellent start. They're thoroughly other-worldly without being totally OTT. The mounts are incredibly detailed, with varying close textures all over their bodies, heads and legs. The riders are much better than I was anticipating. I'm of the mind that Slaanesh shouldn't be represented on the field of battle by muscular marauders. I prefer the idea of perverted regular troops - the Brentonnians being perfect. These chaps are ok though, because they're more twisted and mutated than others in the current range. I can imagine that in the story of my force they're especially favoured sadists. Happy thoughts!

In summation, this is a class A kit. GW are really banging out quality sets these days. What a fortuitous time to become a Slaaneshi cultist...

In What Can Pleasure Be Found?

Why, anything! Let your imagination run unbound by petty convention. Revel in the acts brought by your knowledge of Slaanesh. Even in the sternest discipline of arms there is satisfaction. So are the Lord of Pleasure's armies brought to the field, willing and ready for the fray - The Hidden Tome Of Slaanesh (RoC SD, p.205)

Oldhammer Warbands Day - Slaaneshi Champion

Plenty of thought went into this beautiful androgynous lump of plastic bits. I've decided to go Slaaneshi in true Oldhammer style: newish models with a classic ethos. I like to think that's pretty much my approach to everything in the hobby. I want to live with every breath filling my lungs with Oldhammer fumes (although that could be the glue).

Slaanesh was an obvious choice for the Realm of Chaos warbands event. My reasoning is that the majority of folks with go with the Blood God, meaning two things: 1. I can add a little extra to my warband, expand it a bit to make up some numbers. 2. I'm likely to be in a 'last stand' situation with my fellow Slaaneshites (hmm that doesn't look quite right for some reason).... So anyway, yes last stand, overpowered by numbers and fortune. A true Realm of Chaos scenario!

Keep an eye out this week for how I put the rest of this champion's band of dirty perverts together.

Oldhammer Warbands Day 2013

It's funny isn't it, you wait for an event to prepare your miniatures for and then two come along at once. Having decided to participate in the very current Armies on Parade (WIP Nurgle photos to follow in the coming days), I've now been absolutely hooked on taking part in the very nostalgic Oldhammer Warbands Day 2013. This is a very old school event that's planned to take place at Foundry in Nottingham, most probably in August. It will mark and celebrate the 25th anniversary of Slaves to Darkness. You can find full details here.

I have always adored the Realm of Chaos books so it's an absolute gift to be able to actually get together with likeminded folks for a big old fashioned wargaming bash. Next week when I actually have more than a minute to myself I'm going to sit down and try rolling up my warband. Depending on what I get, I'll either use the results or take the more straightforward route of picking from the miniatures I already have.

I'm very happy to use models from GW's and other current ranges - for me, being able to pick and choose that way is part of the essence of Oldhammer. And besides, the sculpts these days actually match up to the aesthetic of the art in those glorious Realm of Chaos book. So keep an eye out for the genesis and development of my warband...

Forge World's Monstrous Arcanum - A Lovingly Negative Review

Let's start with a question: what do you do when two things from different times in your life - both of which you think are great - collide in a way that results in one of them looking like total shit. The answer? Tell the internet! And so begins our delve into Forge World's Monstrous Arcanum...

This is a book that I really wanted to love. I've had it for a few weeks now (as soon as it was announced on pre-order, out popped my credit card) but I haven't really known what to say about it: until now. My mind was made up during a conversation with my esteemed friend Dr Bargle. It was he who first said "compare the stuff FW put out with the old Realm of Chaos books..." and from that point the fate of this Monstrous Arcanum was to be forever sealed (in my own, humble opinion, of course). 

The positives

• Gorgeous art and design

As with Tamurkhan the artwork is gorgeous and really captures the essence of the book. Similarly, MA also has the feel of an artefact from the fantasy world, which has reasonable fetish value.

• Interesting rules

The narrative section at the front is superfluous so I'll skip that and get on with the rules. Quite a few monstrous beasts here: the elementals look fun, some others are reasonably inventive (e.g. Colossal Squig), while there will be plenty of scope for kit-bashing and scratch-building (e.g. Necroflex Colossus). A few new deployment ideas and a short campaign of sorts quickly round things off.  Interesting, but not much more...

• A somewhat caged urge to push boundaries?

Picture this: someone shouts "it's your game, do what you like!" always echoed by "as long as you use Storm of Magic and all the other official rules provided by GW!" So: be free, but don't ever forget that the corporation will crush you... which leads me to...

The negatives

• Gorgeous art and design

Hang on! Wasn't this a positive? Yes, but you can have too much of a good thing, and the artwork in MA is extensive, leaving little room for anything else, meaning that...

• Lack of scope and ambition

It's difficult not to look at MA and see a lack of ambition. There are hints through the sketchy fluff and rules - hints - at something much broader that never came to light. There is, or could be, a whole world buried here but we never get to see it. Maybe the whole project was shackled for some reason? Perhaps it was a rush job so that the next campaign book is ready in time for Games Day? Whatever... What we have here is perhaps 30 or so pages of useful expansion and little else.

• Mistakes!

K'daai rules replicate unit rules from the Fireborn to the Destroyer - the curse of cut-and-paste... Dread Maw is a monster but rules refer to units... These kind of errors in a book no longer than 20k words in length are embarrassing, unprofessional and lazy.

• Compare and fail

The Realm of Chaos books, published in 1988 and 1990, are the benchmark for works produced by GW - yes, they're jumbled and difficult to navigate, but that's because the ambition, scope, aim and imagination of these books outstrips anything else GW has ever produced. Looking back at Tamurkhan now, having seen how MA has taken the formula forward, I can only feel sad. Tamurkhan remains a good book, it's just not the great book I thought it was, given hindsight and some perspective brought by MA.

The verdict

I wanted to enjoy MA and in some ways, I do. This positivity runs dry, however, when I look to the dusty and dogeared books on my shelf from 'back in the day'. Perhaps it's age? The Realm of Chaos books came out when I was 13 and 15, so how can I expect to have a similar reaction now I'm a near-middle-aged man? No, it's not just age. I read Slaves to Darkness now and it's still brilliant - mad, chaotic and jumbled, but brilliant nonetheless. I feel the same when I look at the 3e Warhammer army lists: aside from all the 1/2 points and other odd calculations, it was just better then.

So the verdict is... I'm an old fart. No, I think we knew that. The verdict is: MA is a sticky treat that is full of empty calories (and likely to leave you with a headache) that dangles temptingly in the jaws of the GW venus flytrap. Avoid...      


Snap!