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.