The Lords of Zharr.....

So, characters.......those are important.

Character models are important in any Warhammer army and they need to exemplify the characteristics that are important to their race.  To my mind, Chaos Dwarf characters have two natures.  Close combat characters for the Dawi Zharr should be heavily armoured and look capable of bashing pretty much anything to death.  Chaos Dwarf sorcerers, on the other hand, should be all about firey, magical death.  Both should ooze menace and power in their own way.  To that end I have made these chaps out of various bits and pieces:

I've tried to make each model unique, with it's own character.  I also want them to be somewhat fearsome and I think the lord model has that aspect to him.....the sorcerer lacks that edge, but I have a lot of work to do on him.

The lord model will be magnetised so that he can fight either on foot or be mounted on a Great Taurus - which I am currently working on ideas for.  The priest is purely for use on foot (or rather, on magical flaming column) and I have an entirely different priest planned for my Lamassu model.

The lord model doesn't look too dwarfy yet, but I think the beard will tie him to the rest of the army and his skull-helm will be "hat-ified".

Any idea, comments and criticism is welcome.

A real-life Lamassu....well, almost.

An odd post this one.  There's a woman who lives in a town up the road who breeds Llamas for wool, her name is Sue.  Kind of wierd to be asked "have you met Llama Sue yet?" and to totally misunderstand the question......but hey, such is life.

So there you guys go.....a real life, genuine Llama Sue.  I wonder if she has a beard.

Start of something new....

I'm working on some ideas for an Alter of Hashut unit, using various different models.  I've started work on the Alter Guardians:

Obviously the Skaven markings have to go and he needs hooves.  The idea is that these guys are Chaos Dwarfs who have been granted daemonhood by Hashut, in return for eternal servitude before his alters, so I think the usual Chaos Dwarf features may be in order (big nose, beard and tusks).  I'm not sure I see Hashut as powerful enough to create true daemon princes, but he could probably bestow daemonhood on followers if their bodies are sustained by proximity to his alters - or by warpstone.  That's the theme anyway and I'm still working on the alter itself and the accompanying unit.

I also recently picked up 3 plastic Juggernauts, sans riders, so they are going to be used to create another new unit type.  Hopefully they will be interesting.

The March to War....

So, I have my first unit almost done.  I'm reasonably pleased with how it's going and the lessons learnt can be used to make the next unit easier and better.  I have a few minotaurs underway, the first of which is acting as a mascot for my hobgoblins.

I have about 120 hobgoblins at the moment, about 40 of which are almost done; so there's a lot of work left.  I hope to have about 200 hobgoblins in my finished army.  Once this unit is done I have another unit of the same size ready to go:

The unit on the right are still Skaven.......but after a bit of surgery they'll fit in very nicely.

Hobgoblins and Minotaurs.

I've almost finished my first unit of Hobgoblins with it's minotaur mascot.  The minotaur is a very simple conversion using the Island of Blood rat ogres as a base.  Each minotaur is costing me $3.50 in total and they look nice and intimidating.  I've misplaced my camera over Thanksgiving, but as soon as I locate it I'll put some WIP pictures up on here and Flickr - so keep an eye out.

I actually quite like how the hobgoblins are turning out, I've got the almost-finished unit next to another unit that is yet to go under the knife and I have to say I think the hobgoblins look better than the original Skaven, which is pleasing.

Slave Horde

Just a quick one.  60 Orcs and 80 more hobgoblins arrived today, so I'll try to get some units up on here and Flickr by wednesday.  I think I'll do one unit of Orcs with additional hand weapons and one with shields.

Yet more newbies......

I have managed to pick up 4 Ogres for $6, so they'll make for some fun additions to the army.  I have an idea brewing for my Death Rockets, but the bits are hard to get hold of, and I have the bits now for my Earthshakers.  I think I now have almost all my units bought, so we're onto getting the pieces for characters. 

I'm quickly running out of budget money, so this is one of the last "wot I got" updates you'll have to read and it'll be almost solid model-updates from now on.

Bits and Priestses (I know, but it's the best I could come up with)

I've picked up a few bits on ebay that I shall be using to put together my Priests of Hashut, as well a few bits I needed for my warriors.  I'll have my first Chaos Dwarf warrior up at some point today.  I've been trying to upload pics to Chaos-Dwarfs.com but it hasn't been working, but hopefully I can sort that out at some stage.

Oh yes, my giant also showed up.....so that'll be fun to work on once I have put some units together.

First Hobgoblin

Another first go at a unit archetype.  Very basic conversion of the Island of Blood skaven into a Hobgoblin warrior.  I cut off the head, tail and shield; replacing the skaven head with a gnoblar and the shield with an ogre gut plate.  Very simple hump (as with the Sneaky Gits) and a basic hat which sags on the hobgoblin's head.

He needs tidying up, with the hump trimmed and his arm cut down and smoothed with green stuff (there was fur there).  All-in-all I quite like the effect.  The skaven stance is right for the hobgoblin fluff and the hat sits well I think. 

A unit would be very fast (and very cheap) to produce, for those people who focus on the game.  I think the gnoblar head works well, as I find goblin and gretchin heads to be a bit large for some reason.  I also need to trim the back of his tunic and smooth it out.

Something a little different

I said a while ago that I had a special orc unit planned and this is they (or rather 'he', for now).  I liked the old idea of Boar Centaurs, but never thought it was very 'Dwarfy'......it is quite 'Orcy' though.  This is at a very early stage.  The green stuff isn't a sculpt, it's filler and a base for some chainmail that I will lay over the top.

The green stuff at the front, as I said, is going to take a chainmail barding.  I think I will put some sort of armour down the spine as well to tie the boar body in with the black orc torso.  I have enough for 5 of these right now, with more stuff due to be delivered any day now.  I thought I could use them as Boar Boyz in games where people don't use personalised rules, which nobody should complain about.  As with all my other units I'm working on rules and fluff for these guys. 

He's at a very early stage, but hopefully the chainmail and back-armour will tie the model together well and provide an interesting and intimidating unit.  When the barding is on the model's balance will shift forward slightly (as it will fill-out the body I had to trim away) and it should give the model a more nature balance; hopefully whilst retaining a "spliced" look.

Sneaking Into View

Sneaky Gits were always one of my favourite Chaos Dwarf units, so they had to be the first Hobgoblin unit I tried my hand at.  Like the Immortals, my Sneaky Gits are not yet done, but I am essentially working on the archetypes for my units at this point.  I'm hoping to make a few models for each unit type and then use those as base-points to build units from.  It should allow me to relearn how to do all this stuff and then I can mix my earlier efforts into the ranks of (hopefully) better models.

From the side you can see the very basic work I've done on this model.  A slight hump on the shoulders and a belly help to give this guy the 'typical' hobgoblin look described in the fluff - stooped, humped and pot-bellied.  I've cut the blade from the right hand and repositioned it to give him the 'stabby' look.  I've left the left hand as it was to make him look like he's ready to deliver an under-arm blow.  The Gnoblar head helped a lot, as it already came with the kind of cap that Sneaky Gits had in the older models.  I want to keep the work on basic infantry (Chaos Dwarf Warriors, Hobgoblins and Sneaky Gits) to a minimum, so that I can churn out units without it feeling like a chore.  The Sneaky Gits only need a neck, a hump and a gut and they're pretty much ready to go.  I tried to keep the greenstuff a bit raggedy on the Sneaky Gits as the robes on the original model had that sort of look.  I put some slight tears into the pot-belly to tie it in with the rest of the model.

These are the first three that I have made.  Very quick and easy and hopefully sneaky looking enough.  I could easily produce a couple of units of these a day with the right motivation as they really are an extremely simple conversion.  As Sneaky Gits scout (or at least mine do) I think units of 10 will probably be the order of the day, and at 70 points per unit you don't want to be doing complex work on them - which I don't think they need anyway.  With the right paint job I think they should do quite well.  You may be able to make out the "bribe" blunderbussier in the background, next to the Immortal.  On the right of the shot are my ranked-up hobgoblins, upon whom I shall be starting work today - unless more Immortals start calling to me, as those were fun.

First Sightings

These guys are my first attempt at Immortals.  As temple guards I wanted the Immortals to look like they were steeped in Chaos, rather more so than normal Chaos Dwarfs.  The fluff and rules I am working on for my own Immortals has them wearing daemonic helms and carrying possessed blades and I thought the idea of truely fearsome masks worked well for a fear-causing unit.

I'm quite pleased with how this guy is turning out.  None of the Immortals are finished yet, as they need trimming in places and I will probably sculpt cloaks and maybe a few other things.  This was the first of the Immortals I made and thus my first model in about 6 years, so I was worried the idea wouldn't work but I think it looks okay.  The beard is a very basic sculpt using rows of rolled green-stuff with 'dags' stamped in them using a sharp tool.  I took the bloodletter head and used the face as his daemonic mask and the main 'body' of the head to form a sort of hat - in an attempt to tie the model in with the rest of the army whilst keeping the daemonic theme within the model.  My idea of Chaos Dwarfs is that they see themselves as able to harness daemons and the power of Chaos to their own ends, rather than Chaos using them, so I like the thought that the elite troops of the Dawi Zharr have been given armour and weapons infused with daemonic power.

I wanted to make sure that the unit ranked up, so this guy was posed to try to achieve two things.  Firstly I wanted him to look like he was daring the enemy to attack, with his axe rested but ready.  Secondly I wanted him to rank next to my first model so that I made sure I could form my Immortals up as a unit.  I'm hoping that each model can have an individual look to it, almost like a unit full of character models, but also maintain the ability to rank and have a unified 'feel'.  As you can see in the background I've also done some very simple Sneaky Git conversions which I will post next.

So that's the first two Immortals.  They're not quite finished but hopefully you get an idea of what I'm doing with them.  The rank-and-file Chaos Dwarfs will have less of a Chaos edge to them, but I am hoping the ideas I have will still tie them in with these models.  I am hoping for the elite units in the army to stand out but not look out of place, a little like Dragon Princes for High Elves - with their different helms and armour but unified 'style'.  Anyway, let me know what you think.

The Taurus has Landed.....

So, here I am in Maine.  My wife and I appear to have beaten the snows, which should arrive shortly, so that was a bonus.  A couple of bits have arrived for my Chaos Dwarfs, but not much yet.  Hopefully a few things will arrive tomorrow and it will be worth posting my first pictures of the stuff I'll be converting.  It's probably worth mentioning that I have managed to obtain a giant for my army, which cost me $20.  So that's less money for heroes, but another centerpiece for my army (joining my two Great Taurus', 5 minotaurs and 10 Bull Centaurs).  I'll probably do a conversion on the giant to make it "Chaos Dwarfy" and I think it's a characterful addition as I'd imagine that many giants may have fled the coming of the Ogres and found refuge somewhere in Chaos Dwarf territory.

Anyway, that's about all from me at this point.  Once more stuff arrives I'll do a proper update with some pictures and then I hope to have my first conversions up in a week or two.

The Legions of Hashut

So, after much wrangling, haggling and general bargaining, I have my Chaos Dwarfs (and a good number of other things too).  The sum of my army's units, excluding characters, now stands as follows (or will once I have converted the little buggers):

90 Chaos Dwarf Warriors
30 Blunderbussiers
40 Elite Chaos Dwarfs (I'm thinking I'll do one as Immortals and one as a unit I'm working on rules for)
10 Bull Centaurs
20 Wolf Riders (still waiting on some arms)
60 Orcs
100 Hobgoblins
4 Minotaurs
10 of my special orc unit (That I'm, again, developing rules for)
20 Sneaky Gitz
8 Warmachines of various sorts

I am still trying to get enough heads and shields for everyone, but that'll take weeks and as it will take so long to convert them all it's no big deal if they arrive later.  I have enough stuff to do complete sample models for every unit and I now have all the necessary supplies, bar paints, for the job.  I fly out on Monday and get to Boston on Tuesday afternoon, so all being well I will have my first pictures up here next weekend (showing what I have to work with).  After that I'll post pictures of what I'm working on and will be seeking help and advice wherever possible.

I'll have to do the maths for how much everything has come to thus far, but it is thankfully well short of $300, meaning I have money left over for some centerpieces and characters.  I've also decided to scratch-build my Earthshakers to save money, so that should be fun.

Regards to all.

*edit* the new units cost me $115 in total, so added on to the others that means I have spent $190 in total.  So my army is working out at about 50c per model.

Alternative Blunderbuss Rules

After a couple of games using stand in models a while ago it became obvious that the Blunderbuss rules were unweildy and generally not good.  I have read a couple of alternative rules in fan-made army books but they don't seem to keep the chracter of the weapon.  I can understand wanting to increase ranges or other things, but the whole idea behind the blunderbuss is that it is a devesating but short-ranged weapon; a range increase has to effect the impact the shots have.  I liked the "cloud of shrapnel" effect for the Ravening Hordes rules, but the number of hits inflicted wasn't affected by the number of troops firing and that seemed very odd to me (surely more people fireing doesn't make the shots stronger/go faster).  I've done a bit of testing with the rules below and they seem to work well.  Units are very effective at close range against massed troops but very ineffective at longer range or against tougher targets - which is how I think a blunderbuss should be.  The rules I am now using are:

*edited on advice from Sparrow*
May move and fire.
Strength 3.
Each successful roll to hit causes 2 strength 3 hits.
Armour Piercing

The Wages of Sin

Okay.  As some of you may know, I have decided to reward especially helpful people for being so; at the end of the project.  I will decide who I think have been the people who provided the best advice and support for my project and those people will receive their post-hoc bribes once this blog ends.  As things stand, the following items will be given away (I will pay postage) to my most helpful minions:

Classic Hobgoblin Wolf Rider Chieftain, unassembled and in mint condition.
Big Hat Champion with curved sword, unpainted and as new.
Big Hat Blunderbussier. also unpainted and as new.

I will be adding new prizes to the list as time goes on; one of which will be something impressive for the "helpfulest helper".

Waaaagh!...etc

I have agreed a deal, in principle, with a guy to buy 60 Black Reach Orks (40k) off him for $25.  I was thinking that they look almost identical to fantasy Orcs and would be very easy to convert, and at less than 50c an Ork it seems like a good deal.  It's only just within my points/dollar ratio, but it seems like a good deal.

What do you guys think?  Will they convert well and is it worth it?  Comments and opinions please, he's waiting for my answer for a couple of days.

Also picked up a lot of new bits for $3 and have subtracted that from the running total.

Toro!

My best bit of business so far, as far as I'm concerned.  I just got my two Great Taurus' for what works out at $16.

My Chaos Dwarf lords won't have to walk!  It also means 800-1000 points bought for $16, which is well above the targte ratio.

Of Chaos Dwarfs (Thanks to Nitro)

I was asked just now, on another website, what my "style" was going to be regarding Chaos Dwarfs.  As this is obviously important, I thought a post was merited.  Firstly let me state that I have not yet finished formulating my ideas about this army and this is not final.

I am of the view that the "Chaos Warrior Mini-Me" approach to Chaos Dwarfs is an error and fails to reflect the culture of the race within the Warhammer world.  However, the old Chaos Dwarfs had a cartoony side to them that many people don't like and doesn't fit in well with the new (and somewhat grittier) style to Warhammer miniatures of the last few years.  I hope to produce Chaos Dwarfs that retain the Assyrian and Babylonian influences that characterised the old models (which was a great idea) but make them less comical and a lot darker and more menacing.

Chaos Dwarfs may have Chaos in their name, but they are not Chaos Worshippers in the traditional sense.  Fashioning the Chaos Dwarfs as mini-me type models would be a bit like trying to convert Dark Elves from High Elves, by making them skinny Chaos Warriors.  Dark Elves, just like Chaos Dwarfs, worship an evil god (who may or may not be Khorne in another guise) and they are sometimes allied with Chaos Warriors and Daemons.....but they are very much their own culture and Chaos Dwarfs should be too.  I think the distinction between Dwarfs and Chaos Dwarfs should be more akin to that between High and Dark Elves; and indeed that between the Empire and Chaos Warriors.....rather than trying to make them like another army.  Dark Elves remain elven and have their own culture, Chaos Warriors are men and have their style......Chaos Dwarfs need to be dwarven and also a novel race in their own right.

So to sum......yes dark, yes a bit choasy and yes, I am having hats.

Hope that helps, Nitro.

A Bit of Good Fortune

I was just reminded about "bits" for the army, which are included in the target total.  I have bought one lot of bits from a left-overs pile of an already sold Beastmen army.  Contains the following (roughly, not seen yet):

40-odd shields (Gor and Ungor).
6-7 Banners.
Assorted Bestigor and Gor weapons.
Minotaur Heads (didn't say how many)
Lots of different horns, skulls and "other stuff" (sure it'll be useful for something)

That cost me $1.50, which seems cheap compared to eBay - which I am also looking at for certain bits.  I have a few targets before the weekend and I'm hoping their prices don't go up too much.  But bits are boring, so I'll stop it there.  From now on I'll just start a section called "Bits Total" and keep a running tally.

More Minions

As hoped, I have just bought another couple of units.

20 Sneaky Gitz - $12
4 Minotaurs - $7! (really pleased with that one)

That's probably another 300 or so points, though no actual Chaos Dwarfs yet.  Getting them for the right money is proving hard.

I know this is all rather dry, but once everything arrives and the pictures start coming out it will hopefully liven the place up.  Thanks.

The First Wave.

So, after some frantic ebaying I have managed to bag my first bargains.  I have managed to get hold of the parts (or most of them) to make the following units:

One Hobgoblin Horde  - $9 (but still need shields)
One Unit of Bull Centaurs - $8
One special Orcy unit (secret) - $9
One unit of wolfriders - $7
Two Hobgoblin Characters - $2

Thus I have my first few hundred points paid for and I'm down $35.  That's about on track (10% of points got, 10% of money spent) but I hope to better that ratio over the next 3 days with some new purchases, thus leaving room for more expensive centre-pieces.  With any luck by the time the weekend hits I will have fully 2/3 of my army bought and paid for.

For the above I have spent $6.30 on shipping, which is in excess of the budget but worth noting.  I may update again today, if someone gives me the deal I want on a few items.

Er....yeah....the URL

So...."New Wold" hu?  Oh dear.........

Rough ideas.

I think the best way to collect any army is to do the standard - two units, war machine, character/monster - style of build.  Get a couple of blocks painted, then have some fun personalising a war machine, then reward yourself with a character model.  This also allows you to refine your colour scheme and get-your-eye-in (practice and get comfortable with something, my American friends) as regards the painting style you're going for.  So that's what you can expect, as regards both modelling and painting.  I'll do a unit or two, then something odd and then a character or a monster of some kind.  Following that pattern I hope to end up with at least the following mix of units, and probably more once the ideas start flowing (I have a few but I'll keep them as a reward in case anyone actually reads and follows this thing).  My Chaos Dwarf army will contain at least the following:

Lord on a Great Taurus.
Sorcerer on a Lammasu.
2 Chaos Dwarf Heroes.
2 Socrerers on foot.
A few Hobgoblin characters (no idea how many though).
Chaos Dwarf Warriors.
Blunderbussiers.
1 unit of Immortals (with which I will try something special).
A large horde of Hobgoblins.
Bull Centaurs (again, something cool will have to be done).
Some Minotaurs (how could an army that worships a bull not have some?).
An as yet undecided number of warmachines (but at least half a dozen).
A Chaos giant (because I love the idea of a giant in a dwarf army - or I could get an ogre on a big base and call him a dwarf-giant, but I also like giants so maybe not).
Some orcs (but not run-of-the-mill ones, I have plans in this area).

If I get carried away, I also have my eye on a very special project that I think will be awesome.  Maybe after a couple of months I'll decide to go for it and you'll see what I mean.  If I do, it will be in addition to the $300 budget.

Oh also, if anyone finds this, who also models and collects, then feel free to let me know what projects you're working on and maybe send a few pictures.

Regards to all, as ever.

In the beginning.

So, blogging, that's new.  I've never done one of these before but, as I am often guilty of starting projects that I never finish, I thought that making a blog out of it might force me to keep to some sort of timetable; in order to produce updates.

The general idea behind all this is that I need something to do in my free time whilst I am over in the US on holiday for a few months.  I have been out of the Warhammer scene for a few years now but recently found myself once again picking up the odd copy of White Dwarf and looking at the shiney-things with lustful eyes.  I already have an old High Elf army (my first, bought during the 4th edition) as my main collection and I thought it might be fun to do something very different this time.  As I will not be taking any modelling stuff with me on this trip I had the opportunity to treat this as though I were starting Warhammer for the first time.

I had a few different armies in mind as I mulled over the concept.  First question, did I want to go "evil"? Well yes, I did, so that ruled out a few choices.  I considered Chaos, but going from one small army of elites (in High Elves) to another didn't seem like a drastic enough change.  I then considered Orcs and Goblins, but as I already have a small army of those it didn't really fit with the "new start in the New World" theme.  Finally I resolved to build a Skaven army (after looking at the cool new Island of Blood miniatures) due to their horde approach to things and very un-Elven shabbiness.  Skaven also came with the advantage of giving me an excuse to buy Island of Blood and get my hands on some new High Elves......wait a minute though, what about my new start?  If I go buying sets with High Elves in then sooner or later the skinny, palid ones are going to start whispering to me again and the Skaven will fall from favour.  "Why not just buy Skaven which don't come from the Island of Blood then?" I hear you say (that or the Elves are whispering again), well the simple answer is money.  I object to paying more than I need to for anything and as I will, upon my return to sunny old England, want those Island of Blood High Elves (3 boxes should do it) I would then have bought loads of Clan Rats, Rat Ogres etc at a higher price than needed AND would end up with more models than I have use for once I got home.  No, Skaven can wait for another project.

At this stage I was about to start looking at the two options for an undead army when I came across my old Chaos Dwarfs army book, gathering dust in a box.  I remembered that when I was younger (maybe 13 or so) I had been very keen on getting an army of these little chaps.  I liked the look of them, for a start.  The fact that their armies must be follwed around by a travelling circus of hatters and haberdashers is both unusual and charming.  Added to which their semi-"Mesopotamian" styling appeals to the Assyriologist in me (no sniggering at the back).  The trouble with Chaos Dwarfs is that they are somewhat the bastard child in the Warhammer family, long ago banished from the familial home because of their flamboyant dress sense and tendency to enslave the other children.  To put it another way, their is currently no army book for the Chaos Dwarfs and precious few models. 

A quick look on eBay confirmed my assumption that the scarcity of Chaos Dwarf models had caused prices for the older ones to sky-rocket (thank you, law of supply and demand).  So, given that I hate to over-pay for things, this was looking increasingly like going from an army build to a mass-conversion project. Something about that idea is very appealing though, and thus I'm set.  In addition to converting an entire Chaos Dwarf army I am also enclined to produce some kind of army book for them, as it should help me get a feel for the style of my force - if you are ever short on ideas for a Warhammer army, just start writing some background-fluff and you'll be amazed the things you come up with.  It also helps here that I think the Ravening Hordes list is so lacking in character that in a movie of its life it would be played by Keanu Reeves.

So the hunt is on.  First and foremost, I need suitable template models from which to convert my army.  Secondly, I need to get all those supplies that are always so vital when doing something like this [green stuff, plasticard, glue, paints, sculpting tools, a stanley knife, plasters (band aids)....].  I am also determined to make this a "budget army", so everything in it will be as cheap as possible; whilst hopefully not sacrificing the 'style' aspect.  Given that this will all be done in America I will give the price I pay for everything in the army in dollars.  I will post every time I buy new models or bits and keep a running total of the expenditure.  My target is to build a 5000 point army for $300 US, so about 170-180 of our fine British pounds; with a further allowance for the materials already mentioned.  I know this sounds like a tough ask (for those of you not familiar with any of this stuff, Warhammer is a rather expensive hobby), but I think it can be done.  I will include a list of the units I intend to end up with in another post, immediately I finish this one, and that post will stand as my target for the end of my trip.

That's all for now.  And don't fret, future posts should be a lot shorter than this introdcution; with all its long-winded fluff.  Hope you enjoy the blog and anyone who wishes to add their 2 cents is most welcome to.  Especially if they have any constructive advice.

Regards,
An Englishman in the colonies.