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.