Photo of the current unit of Marauder Miniatures dwarf pike/spear troops. I will eventually work on a second one.

I think I forgot to post these old Citadel fighters/townsfolk/militia a while ago. I really love that figure on the right!

Finished the Westfalia Fantasy Battles halfling. I'm really looking forward to the rest of this range!

I started experimenting with some more terrain. These were made with some pulled apart steel wool that was glued to some wood bases, sprayed with brown primer, and then had some clumped foliage glued on.

Four Dwarfs, a Jabberwock, and a Half Finished Halfling

With these four dwarfs finished, I can now field a full unit. (Maybe a unit photo next update?) Disappointed that the camera really flattened the colors. I'm quite proud of the bright highlights on these guys. ;)

And just to prove that I've finally started painting that Westfalia sample halfling....

While waiting for paint to dry on the above figures, I worked on the Citadel jabberwock. Again, the camera sort of washed out the color. Hard to tell, but I added some nice sickly purples & yellows on this, rather than sticking with the usual  neutral greys of most of the undeadish.

Nighmare Legion, Townsfolk, Table Set-Up

My sleep has been screwed up this week, so I was up late the past few nights. Figured it would be a good time to wrap up enough of the Nightmare Legion to field a basic unit . Still two more 40mm bases to paint, which will have the four command figures and more troops.

Also, just because I wanted to see how my forces were shaping up, I set up a table. I think this helped boost my spirit a bit regarding gaming. I'm still not sure how/what/when I will do in terms of actual gaming. But at least I can feel like I'm doing something that looks pretty decent on a table.

I'm waiting on the owner of the previously posted elf griffin to stop by to pick it up, so I left it threatening a flank in the meantime.

Another project I've been working on for months, this one is part of a trade deal for some old figures. One or two little details I'm still going to add, but just about done.

One last shot... a couple of townies of my own. Old Citadel miniatures.

Variety Update

Time has been tight lately, so the things I've been working on are those which I can spend 5-10 minutes on, then step away for a few hours or days, then come back and work on for another 5-10 minutes.

I finally finished a commission that I've been [i]slowly[/i] working on for a few months.

I also started on some terrain a week or two ago. Finally finished today, with the addition of the grass flock. Inspired to get back to the Marienburg/Wasteland theme a bit.

I would really like to do some larger terrain, but can't manage to get the hour or so I need during daylight to go outside and make a mess with a saw, file, and sander outside to make the hardboard bases. Plans include larger marsh/swamps, river & road sections, and a tumulus.


And lastly, more progress on making a few new movement trays at a time.

I am starting to regret not putting a metal or magnet-receptive material on the trays as I did with the older WFB sized trays. The standard bearers like to tip over a bit too much.

WFB 3rd Edition aka Ol' 3rd

I started Warhammer with 3rd edition. It wasn't the first wargame I played, nor the first fantasy wargame I played, but it was the one that really caught hold with my friends and I. Later on, when I went to college, I ran into others who were still playing it, even after 4th edition was out.

In a decade or two of hindsight, and with quite a few additional revisions of WFB, plus many other games behind me, is that it was one of my favorite editions of the game, with quite a bit of additional detail that could both enhance or bog down gameplay. But I could name far more things that I miss from 3rd edition that disappeared from subsequent editions than I could name the negatives.

So last night, in a fit of late night foot cramp induced insomnia I read through most of the important bits of the 3rd edition rulebook, and skimmed a couple of the army lists from Warhammer Armies. So here is an old-timers rambling impressions of a fresh look at an old favorite.


One of the first things I noticed was how much the first 20 pages or so drew me in AGAIN and made me want to play. Especially the battle shots of the game involving some crazy array of goblins, skeletons, giants, gargoyles, and other insanity...

I'm also inspired to step up my terrain making some more, too. I definitely want some trees like that, too!

On to the actual rules, a lot of it is as I remembered, but there were a lot of gaps! One of my big complaints about 8th edition is how carefree & forgiving maneuver, charging and position on the battlefield are. I've always appreciated the old Unformed rules, but I'm not certain I remembered how risky & unforgiving charging & post-combat follow-ups were! But that's a good thing. I think my memories had glossed over the details of fighting over individual unit standards, and how valuable unit leaders were.

I would have to read through the magic section, though. I remember unrestrained magic being a problem. I also remember magic items being a bit of an issue, too. I think we all would stack up our heroes with items, similar to what is done in more recent editions. But looking through the scenarios & campaign packs, that's not how they appear to have played at GW.

Honestly, I'm not sure how we managed to regularly play such big games. I know they took longer than the hour or two that people like to rush through with their modern wargames. Taking this fresh look at the rules, I can see where it might be more appropriate for smaller games.

One of the other things I enjoyed about looking through the book was the art. Wow... the art. The insanity. The many takes on Heinrick Kemmler. The Blanche. The Miller. Great stuff!

A nice trip down memory lane. I can definitely see the appeal of Ol' 3rd to the Oldhammer crowd. Maybe I should give it a shot at some point? (Provided I ever get back to playing ANY games...)

Trays of Marienburgers and Miscellaneous Critters

Rather than rebase the Marienburgers that are already painted, I've decided to just make some simple trays for them. Here are the first two prototypes, loaded full of sword & buckler men.

I stripped the fuzzy primered (but unpainted) Nightmare Legion and have started painting them. No pics yet.

I also stripped a few other things.

Like the old Grenadier "dragonfly" in the center. The green jabberwock in the back (old Ral Partha) is currently soaking in Simple Green. The CItadel jabberwock to the left is in the earliest stages of being painted in this pic. He was also the mystery figure previously shown in the jar of Simple Green. The insectoid thing with a goblin rider is from one of those 90s games... Chronopia? Celtos? Leviathan? I can't remember. I included him in the pic because I have a second one that I would like to paint up, but without a rider. I think these will all make a good batch of strange critters to be wandering around the marshy Wasteland.

Nightmare Legion Test

I primed the Nightmare Legion and.... disaster. The dreaded "fuzzy" primer. It's not too bad but still noticeable even after I took a stiff brush to some of the figures to paint up as a test. I painted up a few, and thought they looked OK. You can't tell too much in the photos, or on the gaming table, but I can see the texture in places when I pick the figures up and look closely. Now that I've been contemplating it for another day or so, I'm considering the dreaded task of stripping the remaining figures and re-priming. Here are the test subjects:

Decisions

I've made some decisions.

I've decided to go with the heater shields on the Nightmare Legion. I filled & sanded the small holes on the face of them, and glued them to the figures. So here they are -- ready for some primer! I would like to put them on 40x40 bases like everything else in this project. Seems a bit heretical. I'll end having to trim the slotta tabs too.

Another decision I made was to go back to the Warhammer setting for my (eventual...) narrative campaign. I'm still going to mix it up a bit. I think I will turn the clock back a bit from the early 26th century of the recent official stuff, to somewhere in the neighborhood of the mid 25th century. I may also deny that the Empire was reunited by that point. I will be scribbling out drafts for my own map, and jotting down notes specific to a local campaign plot & local setting. It will probably be in the western Wasteland (Merienburg's hinterland) between the mountains & border with Bretonnia and the city of Marienburg itself. That gives me mountains, plains, swamps, small villages, minor fortifications, trade routes, a mining town, etc.

So I guess this will be closer to Oldhammering it, after all!


Making these decisions will help steer me back on course, after starting to get sidetracked. If you're reading this, chances are you are a painter and/or gamer -- you know how it is, right? I'm still going to work in the other old figures I've dug out, and maybe try to work out some solo skirmish gaming. But I'm going to resist the urge to put painting, modeling, etc. work into those distractions. Even though I will be modifying it, since I will be sticking with an established setting, I will also minimize that distraction as well.

Now back to some painting...

Thumpers Uncovered

Wow. Delving deeper into the boxes in the attic...

Thumpers!

Anyone else remember these? I believe they are Tom Meier goblins/orcs re-touched & cast with a new rabbit look. I've got around 40 of them in various states of repair and painting. I had built enough to use with Hordes of the Things and then stopped.

I wonder if I can rebase & find a use for these. :)

There were a few other things in the box/HotT army, like some Fortress Figures "Hareballs." I will get to those later.

UPDATE: Doing a little research, from what I read, they only appeared in this 1995 catalog (link below.) Thumpers are on pages 13 & 14. The orcs they're based on are on page 12.

http://www.dndlead.com/Catalogs/RalPartha1995.pdf

Zogmar Distraction

In homage to typical post-public GW marketing, I will follow that last post up with a big let-down. ;)

As I continue to work on the big armies of Marienburg vs. the Undeadish (MvU), my mind has recently been wandering into two lines of thought...

One is that I may return to an alternate Warhammer (AltHammer?) setting after all, rather than something entirely new. At least for now. There is still too much of it that I like. However, the "local" setting will be all mine.

The other is that I think I may try delving into some smaller or skirmishy games too. Maybe I will tie these together with my plans for the MvU campaign. Maybe they will just happen in the same setting, but not interact. Who knows. At any rate, I'm looking at what I can put on the table right now -- or with minimal painting or touch-ups. I still have a lot of painting & basing I want to do before MvU, but I'm also itching to play a game soon. Just for fun I'm starting by digging out the stuff I hadn't planned on using in the MvU. Ancient figures. Some painted back in the days of 3rd & 4th ed. WFB. When I pulled out the goblins I previously posted, I also found the half painted model I have now dubbed....

ZOGMAR.

Working on a name for his hammer. Maybe a wyvern upgrade.

I also based a couple of old wolves...





And some more troops to support the gobbos...






I painted over the Goblin Green base edges on these relics from ages past. They may be one of Zogmar's first encounters.

As with the big game, I'm a little indecisive about what rules to use. The more I see/read about the Oldhammerers around the internets, the more nostalgic I'm getting for 3rd ed. So maybe I will give that a shot. Or maybe even 2nd, which I've never actually played. Or there are a few other games I might be willing to try.