Blood for the Blood Bowl God

I recently converted this figure up to repurpose him as a vampiric Blood Bowl player. He’s an old miniature from the characterful late eighties early nineties Citadel Night Horrors range. 

Snipped off his hand and replaced it with one from the modern GW human plastic spruce. Job Done.

Happy Halloween all ! 

Miniature Showcase : Doctor Who

Here are some pictures of Doctor Who miniatures I painted at some point in the last few months. We have the Sixth Doctor (who was played by Colin Baker), Fifth Doctor (who was played by Peter Davison) and a Zygon who would have been portrayed by an anonymous guy in a suit.

 

Tale of Four Gamers Part 8: The Carrion Throng

For this month I decided to paint something a bit different and break up painting foot soldiers for a while. These models are great - although the undead birds all have the same basic body they are come with very different and marvellously sculpted heads to give them all a different feel.

I was missing a rider but luckily I was a backer in Diego Serrate's Pantheon of Chaos Kickstarter and the little hooded freebie dude with a scythe fits perfectly in both style and logistically - i.e he doesn't look too precarious sat on the back of his mount.

Enjoy!

Pulp Alley - In Space!!

Good morning. Just a short post of some miniatures I painted up recently for a science fiction themed Pulp Alley game. Here we have a cybernetic ally enhanced scientist, his servo droid and a computer console.

I don't remember who makes the console. It is a self assembly MDF kit and it's the my first foray into this particular material. I'd heard all kind of horror stories about the material warping when painted but I was pleasantly surprised that it was both easy to assemble and paint. 

I've got mixed feelings on the effect I painted on the monitor - I used a mixture of paints and inks for this. I don't think I quite achieved that. 

I was trying to aim for that swirly effect that many sixties and seventies science fiction TV shows and films had on the monitors in spaceships and space bases.

Moving on to the scientist. I just love Crooked Dice miniatures. Their sculpting is so crisp and so characterful while their retro and pulp themed line are right up my alley (see what I did there?). I'm not sure this figure is still on release as I can't find it on their website.  In our scenario he was a kidnapped renegade human scientist forced by my genocidal Ordo Xenos Inquisitor to design a viral bomb to the destroy the inhabitants of the planet of the Space Slann!

The servo droid is also from Crooked Dice. He did have an open hatch but I rather stupidly glued it shut - more's the pity as it was a nice touch to the miniature. He was from the Blake's Seven 'inspired' set the Federated Security which is also no longer on the site.

Expect to see more Crooked Dice up on the blog in the future of the 'not Doctor who' variety!

Mordheim - The Battle for the Apprentice

In January as part of the Middlehammer event I GM'ed a six player Mordheim game on the custom Ruins table in Warhammer World. The scenario for the bloodshed was designed as a prequel to the Apocalyptic events described in the Mordheim rulebook with lots of random encounters thrown in...

'In the year 1997 three years before the warpstone comet would smite Mordheim, a wizard Balthazar Barthlomew broke all ties with civilisation and fled to the forests surrounding Altdorf.
No one knew the reason. A legion of builders were recruited and within six months he had constructed a series of buildings in this forbidden wilderness. Fellow magic users secretively joined trickled to the budding complex to join him.
Unsuprisingly this raised the attention of the witch hunters in Altdorf. Diplomacy and brute force were attempted to bring Barthlomew to account but agents sent either did not return or with no memory of what had transpired.
Then on the day of Geheimnistag 1999 Barthlomew's complex was consumed in a magical inferno whose echoes would be felt by sorcerers and wizards across the Warhammer World from Cathay to Ulthuan.
Spies learnt of a lone survivor and with the complex's defences down, various interested parties dispatched their best agents to learn of what had happened and Barthlomew's schemes.. 

And what a multitude of parties we had seeking the apprentice! Count Luthor Von Harkness led a motley crew of flesh eaters, dregs with a mercenary Ogre and a dire wolf in tow. The Empire were represented by two rival factions of warring elector counts, namely the Middenheimers and Reiklanders. Two rival factions of Clan Eschin appeared as well as a small throng of Wood Elves from Athel-Loren.

And so battle commenced..

The Middenheimers split into three groups with the Champions and Captain facing the Reiklander's bowmen and youngbloods and warrior versus the ghouls and dreg of the undead. The archers faced down the killpit at the centre of the woods. There was no glory for them that day. The Captain was mowed down by the Reiklander's arrows their and youngbloods and warrior fell under the clubs and fists of the undead - the rest then fled the battlefield.

A mercenary ogre was awoken from it's slumber amongst the ruins by the sounds of battle and bellowed it would fight for the highest bidder. The Reiklanders accepted the offer and the new combatant ran to the apprentice while Luther Von Harkness and Fester his Ogre mercenary stooge did the same.

The forces of Assasin Adept Davsqueek traversed the rocks at the side of the area (one of them falling to their death) to get closer to their prize while the ghouls split off
to intercept the forces of Assasin Adept Davsqueek before they could strike at their master, one falling to their slings and the other in combat but still allowing the vampire to reach the catatonic Apprentice.

The long await Ogre-on-Ogre action happened in a battle between the undead Lord and his hired Ogre versus the newly arisen Ogre. The new entrant was knocked down before all the combatants were taken out under a volley of sling fire from Davsqueek's Eschin adherents. Their leader gone the no-longer-living shambled despondently off the field of battle.

Meanwhile the other rival Eschin faction under the command of the cowardly Adept Nikeet had decided to hide and await until all the factions had destroyed themselves to pick up the prize. Incensed by these dishonourable tactics a small but indomitable contingent of Wood Elves from Athel-Loren targeted them.

Amongst the bloodshed a freak chaos storm boiled in the skies and lightning struck their Dryad twice knocking it down before he was put out of action by the blows of Ratmen. Blood ran but in the end the ratmen saw too many of them fall and they fled into the ruins.

Davsqueeks' rats now looked like they had the day in the bag as their throng surrounded the disorientated magic user. However numerous Reiklander archers had them in their sights and in a blood massacre they were felled by their arrows. The survivors had had enough and scarpered down their tunnels and away.

The Reiklanders pushed forward, one of their number grabbing the apprentice but two surviving archers of Athel-Loren stared them down daring them to move into the open aiming their arrows at them. The rescuer managed to get into cover and so the elves picked off the Reiklanders providing covering fire.

The rescuer fled out into the open apprentice in tow and was knocked down by an arrow. Crawling he dragged the girl to the edge of the area with him. Seeing no other options, in a mad dash the elves broke out into the open to finish him off but their arrows missed. Bloodied but unbowed victorious the Reiklander dragged her out of the area.

What fate will befall the apprentice and what secrets will she have to tell? Stay tuned to this blog to find out or better still join in on the sequel. To enrol sign up here.

(Thanks to David Delgado for providing many of the pictures)

Tale of Four Gamers Part 7 : The Burgeoning Cannibal Throng

So this month I knocked out another thirteen ghouls. I really enjoyed painting these carrion-eating wretches as I kept up quite a pace while doing so. There's a mixture of middlehammer Morley in here as well as some of the classic Night Horrors range.

Here they are mixed in with ghouls I painted back in month number one - which now feels a very long time ago!

Although collectively thirteen ghouls are 104 points my total so far in the challenge is 1074 which puts me well over the 1050 I needed by now. Just another 426 to go!

Tale of Four Gamers Nerves of Lead Part 6 - The Black King : Laomann the Abominable

The Black King : Laomann the Abominable

"Let me tell you a story. In the days when Sigmar was the first Emperor, over in the mysterious and barbaric lands of Albion numerous tribes wandered its fertile and misty fens fighting for glory and territory. One of the most powerful tribes, the Dornacates, was ruled by the powerful and strong King Gildas who in turn had sired two heirs - the fair Elerig and the weak and consumptive Laomann.

As was tradition the eldest son, Elerig, was set to inherit the command of the tribe upon his father's death while the second son would be the head of its mystic order. The Dornacates fought often and valiantly to defend their women and the children and beat back many tribes of men as well as the fen dwelling one eyed demons who stole their women and slaughtered its men. 

As was tradition at the age of fourteen Laomann was sent out alone into the marshes for thirty days and thirty nights to experience the visions gifted by the spirits. No one truly knows what happened to him there. Legends later say he died and the God of Death Mortus showed him the afterlife. Others say he was seduced by the fen monsters into rites of arcane and forbidden lore. Whatever happened he came back changed and more attuned to the magical arts, displaying considerable power compared to the parlour tricks of the tribe's witch doctors.

Meanwhile his father had died from an infected wound and upon his return the brave Elerig took control of the tribe while Laomann took control of its mystical order. Elerig was loved by his people - while he went to battle when needed he was fair and just to his tribesman in peace and he ruled this way for a year. He had a child called Kadec by his beautiful wife and for a time life for the tribe was good.

However Elerig started to succumb to a rotting disease and within weeks the flesh was peeling from his bones and he was more skeleton than man. In his dying breath he proclaimed Kadec his heir and that his wife should supervise him until he came of age. 

But it was not to be - no sooner had he died then he rose again. An automaton driven by dark arts and with his treacherous brother powering him through dark arts, the baby was torn limb from limb before he crushed he took the head of his beloved wife into his grasp and crushed it.

Others rose from their slumber, decayed hands clawing the earth and pulling themselves up to rend the living. Hundreds of tribesmen and women died through cold hearted murder and betrayal before Laomann gathered them cowering in front of him and told them that they can serve him - either as the living or the dead. They chose the former.

And with that he forced them into never ending wars to conquer that blighted Isle - as his power spread the land wilted and the living suffered, died to be born anew in his absolute control.

Yet there were darker forces in Albion than even the Black King. The one eyed demons returned and through twisted magic and brutal force decimated the Abominable One's forces. 

He was left to flee with a small number of his tribesmen who motivated by brutal vengeance decided to bury him in a perverse mockery of their burial rites - alive and breathing.

Little did they know that the enchanted jewel in the Black King's crown was dowsed into dark necromantic magics and would sustain him beyond the rot that would decimate his mind and his body. As his sanity deteriorated and his skin fell from his bones he would find himself alone in his perpetual tomb and a skeletal husk of his former self - truly the King of Worms.

Those who punished him did have sense to avoid any burial grounds though and interred him high on a rocky mountain so his dark magic could not turn the living to his aid.

After many thousands of years fate turned it's fickle hand to the Black King once more when a band of exploring Norsca froze to death near his resting place. Cold dead fingers soon began the long process of releasing their master and Laomann the Abominable would turn his vengeful gaze on the world once more..." 

Undead General: Level 10 Liche with hand weapon and two level 1 scrolls - 190 points

Tale of Four Gamers Nerves of Lead Part 5

So we're officially now half way through this challenge. So far Steve, Matthew and I have been level pegging it with the challenge so far and painting the required amount each month with Adam sadly having only completed one month's worth so far.

 News on the grapevine is Matthew won't be completing his minis this month and Adam will (hurrah!) so still all to play for in my book...

So this month is more skelly warriors with swords and shields, nine in all which come to 99 points between them. The absolutely classic screaming skull catapult adds another 60 so this months total is 159 points.

End of 2016 Sumup

 About time I did this before we get into 2018 right?  Well first up is those miniatures you didn't see but which I did paint up in 2016 but did not post because I was tired/lazy/unreliable (delete as appropriate).
  First up is a unit of Not-UNIT which will find themselves fighting off Daleks and Cybermen in a Doctor Who game soon. A pity a lot of Crooked Dice Miniatures' Not Doctor Who range is disappearing under the watchful eye of BBC lawyers, in the advent of the official Doctor Who game from Warlord (if it ever comes...)

Next up some miniatures needed for a Mordheim game at Warhammer World this weekend. Some for the random encounters table; the big guy for my own warband.

The ogre is from the Attack of the Ogre Horde Heroquest Expansion. Because the best thing about Heroquest is it's figures here he is with every other Heroquest figure I have that is painted (wizard not painted by me by the way)

I did have some Judge Dredd and a Sea Devil photographed too but I messed up the focus. Like I said   - unreliable.

127 models painted this year compared to 73 last year. Wowsers (yep I'm gonna use that word). I put it down to the challenges I put myself under. The Four Gamers and my own challenge to paint a Blood Axe warband certainly kept me going. I'm not particularly motivated by quantity - if I painted one fabulous Greater Spined Dragon all year I'd be happy - but it's a good measure of my painting speed and my commitment.

Gaming highlight of the year. This monster! - http://littleleadpeople.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/bring-out-your-lead-epic-warhammer.html

OTT, slow, insane and all consuming - I needed to go home after it. But a mind blowing gaming spectacle I'm likely not to experience again anytime soon. Thanks to Snickit, Garth and everyone else's name who I have already forgot for the experience. Incidentally it was also my post with the highest views this year. Over 600.

Release of the year - Blood Bowl. Yes I know it's not a new game and really the tinsy number of changes GW have made to the league rules and Gutter Runners are over-powered or insignificant but it's back and thousands of people are playing  across the world who have never played it before.

It's a fantastic game (in my humble GW's best game) and it always has been and it's great to see that passion for it back among so many even if the core of the game has not changed one jot. And it means I can get games of it without travelling on a train to Rotherham or Doncaster which can only be a good thing.

On top of that I admin'ed the Oldhammer Facebook groups for a while which was hard and in the end too hard (started to feel like kinda like a job). They're great groups but as with that type of forum there's a lot of crap which is unrewarding that comes with it. Shout out to Warlord Paul, thansants, Steve Casey,  James Taylor, Steve Klatcheff, James Armstead and Chris Sabick for protecting the community from the spammers and monsters.

Image courtesy of Realm of Chaos 80s blog

Other highlights included finding an amiable bunch of gamers spread thin but wide around the North of England ( a few of which are Oldhammer admins or were at some point) but play like minded old games but sometimes D&D and sometimes less common fare like Pulp Alley.

2016 was a great year for gaming. Next year more GM'ing, more scenery, finish the Four Gamers challenge, more focus ( I have a project spreadsheet!) and a MASSIVE Doctor Who game in March co-GM'ed with thansants (more on that later). On top of that I'm getting married. Peace.