Gotrek and Felix

Over the last few months, I've delved deep into the world of Warhammer and listened to the first 13 Gotrek and Felix novels as audiobooks.

I didn't expect much at first, but the books truly captivated me, keeping my motivation for Warhammer at a very high level.

During this time, my good friend Marc and I considered creating a small Gotrek and Felix vs. Beastmen presentation for the Scenario Con 2026.

Since I couldn't get the books out of my head for months, I started 3D modeling the two titular heroes of the novels around the same time. The goal was to have relatively "modern" versions of the figures that would better match the current Beastmen models. I used the wonderful illustration by Johan Grenier as a template. His artwork adorned the first omnibus edition of the novels I bought. I did have to make a few small changes, though; the sword hilt and shoulder armor of Felix felt too far removed from the books for me.

I started with Gotrek months ago, but due to work and various other things, I couldn't dedicate much time to the figures each week, so the project took about 6 months in total. I was able to finish Felix a bit quicker, but I also dedicated an entire Saturday to him to speed things up.

The result is two figures that I am quite satisfied with! They're not truly perfect, and a lot could still be changed, but I think for the time I invested, they are good enough for now.

I will now print the two for testing and probably adjust the size and scaling a bit... Warhammer proportions are always quite difficult to nail down.

I hope you like them!

Calandril Stormsinger

Well, the last few weeks were a bit crazy, driving back and forth between my old home and the soon to be new one, trying to keep people engaged with the new Baden Kickstarter (I am pretty happy with the results!) and trying to find some time for Warhammer. Maybe a bit too much time, but next week the sculpting work will continue! In anyway, next year when the house is ready I think there will be once again a normal daily routine... At least I hope so!

 

But enough of this! I managed to finish my High Elven mage yesterday. The model drove me absolutely insane. So many details and hidden parts where I could not reach something with my brush, because of all the parts hanging before it... But in the end I managed to get something done. And I am quite pleased with the result! I studied a lot of old 'Eavy Metal Team articles and guides, which helped me a lot with things like the little glass flasks, the big stone in the staff and so on. 

Still, this period between 2008 and 2012 is my all time favourite hobby era, from model sculpts to painting or terrain... Definitly the best time for GW in my mind and I am trying to paint all of my new figures in this style as best as I can. 

Here's my Cothique mage, Calandril Stormsinger:  

 

What a fantastic sculpt!! I really really love everything that came with the 8th Edition box set... I just wish they had updated the spearmen and silver helms als well. 

 

I hope you like the mage! With the first unit I did last year, I am now standing at 700 points. Enough for a first test game I guess, although I really wanted to paint one or two oldschool GW woods before that. I am also trying to 3D scan them, so I can print as many of them as I want. Only for personal use of course! 

 

What will be next? Maybe I will finally paint my Haldir figure. Tonight we will continue with our Quest of the Ringbearer campaign, and in just two games the Lothlorien scenario will take place. So better hurry up!

 

Swordmasters finished! (for now...)

This weekend I was finally able to finish the work on my 10-men Swordmaster unit.

I initially thought they were a lot faster to paint than the Seaguard, but this unit again nearly took me a full month. Well, my recent Kickstarter went live last week, but nonetheless, it was a lot of work. 

I decided to give all my units names, I think that will automatically lead to more narrative battles and give the army a bit more character. 

So this unit will be called: "Blades of Analdar´s Shrine". 

The shrine is an elf sanctuary dedicated to Drakira, Goddess of Vengeance, and although overgrown and tumbled, rites can still be performed there. The Blades of Analdar's Shrine are protecting the shrine and the near coastline. 

I hope you like them! I used some new elements of the reworked plastic box. Not sure if this was a good idea, as I am not a big fan of the champions sword, but the other option was a bit too similar to the recent conversion I did with the spearmen. They are by the way called "Spears of Tor Dynal". 

 

 

 

I hope you like them!  

Now I only need to paint my  mage, and the 600 points for our first game are done. 

I hope this does not take another month... 

 

First Swordmasters!

Well as I said before, 30 minutes a day can get you a long way with painting figures (and it rhymes!), but a few hours on the weekend also do not hurt.

This way I managed to finish 5 Swordmasters this week!

I always loved the models deeply, since they were first announced. I actually have the old metal version too, but I like the new ones better... Maybe I can do a second unit with the metal figures. But I have like 40 of these plastic models, so maybe I'll stick with them :D 

 

I tried to find a colour scheme that would work with the rest of my army, so a little bit of white, green and grey, and plenty of gold and red gems. Pretty happy with them, I hope you like them too!

Five guys left from this unit, and then it's just the mage to complete my first 600 points... Of course that's completely different from what I had planned before (painting the full starter box force), but I will hopefully continue to paint as I have planned. 

It's just that my fellow wargaming club members are painting so fast, that I have to take a few shortcuts. Not to mushrooms, but to shiny, pointed helmets. 

 

 

 

  

Sorry for the crooked background, I really have to print a new one...

 

All the best

Lucas  

Next unit of Seaguard is finished!

Hey guys,

Finally, after 4 weeks of painting a few minutes every day, the next unit of Seaguard is ready for battle (I think Lothern Seaguard would not be the correct term for a Cothique army?).  

The little seagull was a fun little  detail I had in mind the second I saw the shield design, so that was a must have :D 

Pretty happy with the unit, and I think I will paint all the spear shafts of the first unit also white. Looks a lot more elegant and clear in my opinon.

 

 Painting these guys was a real pain. Like real :D As I said, it took me 4 weeks in total for 10 figures. So many details, so many gems... And the yellow was so hard to paint. Maybe I should have bought a yellow with a better coverage, but I had the Citadel one here, so I used it. 

I will probably enlarge this unit to also 18 figures, if we should ever play larger games. 

I think I will paint the Swordmasters next. And well, the 500 point challenge now became the 600 points challenge for me, as my other club members thought that 500 points were quite hard to match. The heroes are REALLY expensive! I do not know if this is something the 8th Edition did or still is true for The Old World, but yeah... So I will do 600 points now, with a 15 figure unit of Seaguard, a 10 figure unit Seaguard, a 10 figure unit of Swordmasters and my mage. That brings me exactly to 600 points, and should look pretty nice on the battlefield :) 

 

I hope I can paint some terrain as well! I got my hands on three of the old Warhammer woods, pretty excited to start painting them up. 

All the best

Lucas  

 

 

First elves painted!

Well, last week I managed to paint the first five elves of the new unit. 

Pretty pleased with how they came out, but painting these guys up took sooo much time... The yellow shields are a real nightmare. Maybe I need some better paints for this.

I hope you like them, the next five are already basecoated.

 

The Five Hundred Points Challenge

 

Welcome to our Five Hundred Points Challenge!

After some great conversations with friends and among ourselves, we've decided to get a bit more serious about Warhammer Fantasy this year. (Just to be clear, I'm not talking about myself in the third person and using the plural. Most likely, other people will appear on this blog, but I'll leave their introductions up to them.)

We've never actually played it, and that feels a little wrong. A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon an old article by Jervis Johnson in an old White Dwarf magazine, where he discussed the advantages of smaller Warhammer battles. He mentioned that while the standard battle size is usually 2,000–3,000 points (I think that was during 7th or 8th edition), he found 500-point engagements to be very feasible and that the system allows for some great games even at that size.

This got me thinking. What has kept us from playing Warhammer Fantasy the most so far? Probably the sheer number of models required, the seemingly very complicated rules, and games that would likely take an entire Saturday instead of being playable in an evening. The article gave me some courage, and after a bit of back-and-forth, we've now decided to paint up 500 points of our favorite armies and just try the system out. If it doesn't work out, at least a part of our collection will be painted, and we can play something like One Page Rules.

Last year, I already started a Warhammer army: the Elven Kingdom of Cothique. I had played it extensively (and very successfully, I might add) in Total War: Warhammer 3 through a mod, so my decision was pretty easy. I already have one unit of Lothern Sea Guard finished, but I thought I could just paint my Island of Blood box. If I leave out the Prince on the Griffon, I'll hit exactly 500 points.

Here’s a picture of my first unit from last year:

For the second unit, I based my work on the heraldry of Cothique and chose the shield design with the seagull. I also painted a first test model last year, but I never got around to painting more:

But that's changing now. Here are a few snapshots of the whole lot, a proud 500 points!

 

Any careful observer will probably notice that these aren't entirely the original figures from the Island of Blood box. The Swordmasters of Hoeth are partly from the new The Old World box, as I find the banner and the new pose of the captain really cool. The only problem was that the new minis are designed for larger bases, and the banner doesn't fit easily next to a Swordmaster when you use 20mm bases (as you should; I find the new aesthetic of The Old World terrible).

So, I had to bend the tips back a bit—not ideal, but the wind can blow in some very unusual ways, especially in the world of Warhammer.

The captain of the Lothern Sea Guard is basically the same model as in the Swordmaster unit, but I've given him a spear here. I hope that's not too bothersome, but I found the conversion too cool not to include. The shields and banner here have already been completely cleared of their original heraldry so I can implement my seagull theme.

The other models, however, are original—the Ellyrian Reavers and the mage.

 We'll see how quickly these figures get finished. Originally, we said five months for 500 points, but I hope it'll be faster. However, since we're currently in the middle of buying a house and preparing for a renovation and move, it might actually take until Christmas. Stay tuned!

 
It's also very possible that some other models might show up in between. After all, I still have to paint Haldir, plus I just 3D-printed a whole Amon Hen model. And I have tons of Legions Imperialis models to paint too!

The hobby is just always a bit wild.

 

All the best

Lucas  

Three more Lorien elves

It took me a little while, but finally the last three Lorien elves are finished. Well, one of them is a captain, as I did not have enough archers... But he will do just fine within the others. 

Now there is only Haldir missing from the force, and then everything is ready for our Lothlorien game! 

I had a very hard time painting the faces. They were challenging before, but these ones were some of the worst casts I have ever painted. 

But hey, now they are done and I am quite happy with the results. Hope you like them as well!

We watched The Fellowship of the Ring again this weekend, so I had some motivation to finish them. 
 

And here's a picture of all the Lorien elves I have painted so far! Maybe I will do some more, would be great to have a small force for 400-500 point games... But I guess this will not happen anytime soon :D 

All the best

Lucas 

 

Arwen and Frodo

 

Here's another beautiful figure (or two, or even three!): Mounted Arwen with Frodo, and Arwen on foot.

I've wanted these figures ever since I first saw them in an old White Dwarf magazine. What a great idea, even if the accompanying scenario, in my opinion, is quite poorly written.

I have to admit that to paint the mounted figure, I had to open an old green blister pack from 2002... I briefly inhaled the air of a different era, and then I got started. The foot model is from a different set, as I much prefer this variant.

 

I seem to recall that Liv Tyler pushed for quite a few changes to the initial figures because she didn't like them. Unimaginable nowadays! I highly doubt actors today would even get to see all the figures. But perhaps it was very important to Liv back then, being such a fresh face in cinema.

I hope you like the miniatures! They're a few months old now, and I'd do a few things differently today, but yeah... It's good enough for the table! 

All the best

Lucas 

Hello and welcome!

Hello and welcome!

For a long time now, I've wanted to set up a small blog to document my private hobby projects. If anyone happens to stumble across it, I'd certainly appreciate a comment.

You'll find wild swings between all sorts of topics and game systems here, as I feel pretty much like the rest of 90% of the wargaming community in that regard!

My main focus, however, will definitely be on Games Workshop's The Lord of the Rings. I've accumulated a huge collection of figures over time, and I plan to paint them all in the coming years. This will not only give me more material for games but also fill my display cabinet and simply bring me joy.

For me, The Lord of the Rings remains the most beautiful and best system ever released. Perhaps not the absolute best in terms of rules—I'd probably lean towards Star Wars Armada for that—but the overall package is simply perfect. And as a fanatical fan of the films, books, making-ofs, and everything in between, I honestly never had another choice.

To kick things off today, I'm starting small with a few Wood Elves. We're currently playing through the Quest of the Ringbearer campaign, and I need six Wood Elves and Haldir for the game after next. These models are a lot of fun, even if their age is quite apparent, especially in their size. It's always fascinating to see how the range has evolved and that so many different sculptors were at work in the early days. Personally, I find the early period of the range, from 2002 until The Hobbit, to be the best. Everything that came after, in my opinion, is forgettable, but that might be a topic for another time.

Here are the Wood Elves, in their classic color scheme! I hope you like them :)

All the best

Lucas