Northgard - Warchiefs

I've painted the Northgard Warchiefs (from the so called boardgame extension). They were quite fun to paint.

Northgard - Red Clan

Fourth (out of five) Northgard clan minis: the red ones.

 

Northgard

 

Northgard is a PC game released in 2017. The player leads a viking clan which has landed on a new continent (Northgard). The player's clan competes with other viking clans for domination over this new continent. There are several ways of winning the game: reaching a certain level of fame (in combination with a certain number of possessed territories within the map + building a king's altar), reaching a certain level of lore (+ building a special monument), capturing Yggdrasil (the world tree), reaching a certain level of commercial exchanges, reforging Odin's sword, etc.

Trolls!

Four new Trolls join my Orcs & Goblins army (or could by aligned in a Chaos army as well). I tried different skin tones as Trolls could be of any colour.

  

The Colours of Chaos (2)

Although my (painted) Chaos army increases in size on a regular basis and is quite big now (around 300 painted Chaos minis), most of the Chaos champions (sculpted by Jes Goodwin) still need to be painted. I will rectify this by painting some from time to time, alternatively with minis for other armies.

Here are four Chaos champions and two sorcerers, along with two familiars (these are not from Citadel, and honestly I don't remember where I got them from... 😕).

Slaanesh

 

Greenskins Firepower

Back to my Orc & Goblin army, I've painted these guys to add some firepower. 

First, the legendary Orc crossbowmen designed by Kev Adams. The biggest of them will act as their leader and is from Knightmare Miniatures. 

Then, we have a "Goblin Ass Cannon" (which will certainly count as a mortar in terms of rules) from Red Bard Games. 

And finally, an Orc shaman mounted on a war boar (also from Red Bard Games).

Crossbowmen orcs

Norse Characters and Civilians

After completing the units for my Norse army, I still had some Norse minis to paint, mainly characters and civilians, and some sort of fighters/barbarians that I was at first planning to include in my Norse army, but then changed my mind.

These miniatures are from Red Box Games, Reaper Miniatures and Hasslefree Miniatures. 

Red Box Games

Bondis (perfect for my Norse baggage train).

Svetlana, Frost Giant Princess

I enjoyed painting this wonderful miniature (from Reaper Miniatures). This Frost Giant Princess will be a nice addition to my Norse army. Additionally, she's of the same size as the two other Giants (or Jotuns) I have painted some time ago (here and here, both from the Blood Rage boardgame).

Of Wolf and Man (2)

This is the last unit of my Norse army, now all are painted. These guys (the Ulfwerenars) can be devastating provided that 1) they reach the enemy lines safely, 2) they change form when expected...

Next post will be about Norse characters, civilians and other surprises.

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Let's go Berserk !

A new bunch of tattooed, frenzied and foaming Berserkers for my Norse army (now 40 are done). As usual with my Norses, they are from different periods and manufacturers (old Citadel, Red Box, V&V Miniatures, Bronze Age Miniatures & Foundry).

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Thralls

"Thralls are the slave classof the Norse. They are recruited into armed bands in times of trouble. Such times are common and the Thralls are often armed to fight off neighbouring Norse kingdoms or rampaging Goblins. Despite their lowly status, Thralls are really as bloodthirsty as the rest of the Norse society, and thoroughly enjoy the chance to suspend the monotony of drudgery for the excitement of battle."

Here are 40 Thralls added to my growing Norse army. In the Norse society, Thralls' clothing was made of woolen and undyed knee-lenght tunic, that's the reason why I have avoided to paint their clothing with vivid colours. They all bear shields with the Jarl's colours.

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The Last Wood Elf Archers

With these last Wood Elf archers, my WE army is finally completely painted! 💪😇

These 30 archers are from different periods. Some are Jes Goodwin's 3rd edition, some are old Lord of the Ring elven archers, some are from 4th edition (the ugly ones with disproportionate weapons and equipment) and even 5th edition.

I'll take some pictures of the whole army when I'll have time.

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Of Wings and Claws (and Chill Breath)

A second dragon joins my Wood Elf army (I have already painted the Dragon Master some time ago, in green). I decided that this one would be blue. 😁

It's a rather small dragon or it looks small because it doesn't spread its wings. I think it's a Tom Meier's dragon, but not sure. The rider is a Marauder Miniature (it seems).

Wood Riders

Here they are, the Wood Riders, ready to riddle the enemy of their kin with arrows.

Now I have 20 of them painted.

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Wood Elf Wizards

Actually at the same time I was painting the Elven Lords, I was also painting the wizards (and the Wood Riders and the Dragon, these will be shown in the next posts).

I have started with all horses (26 in total). And once they were completed, I've painted the riders.

These three wizards are really nice miniatures, from the elven master Jes Goodwin of course. It was a pleasure to paint them.

Elven Lords

Long time no post... But for a good reason. I recently dived into the fantastic world of Baldur's Gate 3. Long time ago, I played Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 and these games were already excellent at that time. And the last one is just amazing, so many possibilities, a real RPG. Certainly the best game I have ever played. But it is time consuming, it took me between 180 and 200 hours to finish the game.

Then I went back to my painting table and started painting a new batch of Wood Elves, with the intent to complete my WE army by the end of the year. The first ones are Elven Lords.

"The lords of Elven communities and their noble retainers ride magnificent warhorses into battle. Wood Elves favour roan and dappled horses, plaiting their mains and ornamenting their bridles with hair plumes and jewels." 

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Shadowrun

Here's something new, not related to Warhammer at all: miniatures for the Shadowrun role playing game (version 6). I'm mastering this game for a several months now and I needed some miniatures to represent the PCs in the party. However, there are not a lot of minis on the market for this game. Some were produced by Ral Partha a long time ago, but I don't like them and the range is limited. More recently, some manufacturers such as Papsikels have produced some Cyberpunk/Shadowrun miniatures but the range is limited too and is missing miniatures for some classes of characters and races (see below why).

Knights Panther

"The Order of the Knights Panther is a secular order of Knights dedicated to the wholesome eradication of mutants and Chaos worshipers alike, as well as upholding the racial integrity of the Empire as a whole. Being amongst the most powerful of the Knightly Orders within the Empire, these banda of Knights are well known throughout the many different cities and imperial provinces, and are considered to be the most famous and celebrated Order within the Empire, with a history dating back to the lasting years of the Great Crusade some 2,000 years ago. From what was told, once the armies of Jaffar and the Sultans of Araby were defeated by the crusading Knights, and their cities plundered of all their belongings, the Knights of the Great Crusade brought home much plunder from the Sultans' Palaces, including gold and silver, precious gems, silks, furs, and many exotic animals the like of which had never been seen before in the Old World."

 

Naggaroth Nightwings

At last! All my Blood Bowl teams (18!) are now painted. The last one is the Naggaroth Nightwings. Nothing particular to say about this Dark Elves team. It was never as successful as the Darkside Cowboys. But this year, the team includes a Minotaur. Let's see if it will make a difference.

According to the recent background, it seems that the Naggaroth Nightwings have merged with the Naggaroth Nightmares recently. However, the Naggaroth Nightmares were not existing at all in the legacy background, so I decided to reject this new team name.

Usually, the Naggaroth Nightwings are painted in red/green. But I already have painted a team in these colours (the Avelorn Avengers). So I opted for a dark red and black/grey uniform and I'm very happy with the result.

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Underworld Creepers

"This unlikely pot-pourri of Skaven and Goblins is a juggernaut of innovation in the field of dastardly tactics. If one of their ambitious plans backfires on the Gobbos (who usually get everything wrong, anyway), the Skaven just sit back and watch the stupid creatures hurt themselves - it appeals to their warped sense of humour."

Well, no more can be expected from the Underworld Creepers. In their division, they will be opposed to two of the most successful teams (Reikland Reavers and The Gouged Eye). They actually might win one or two games along the route, against teams of the same level. But not more.

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Dwarf Warhammerers

"Arch-rivals of the Dwarf Giants, the Warhammerers are most interesting to us because of their perpetual insistence in breaking the rules in the most obvious and flamboyant way. Their use of explosives and high-calibre breech-loading cannon as part of their passing play is just one case in point. These guys are plain dangerous! What's worse, they don't know when to stop, which is when accidents always seem to happen."

Although, the Warhammerers have won twice the NCF championship (in 2473 and 2486), they did not manage to win the Blood Bowl.

Bright Crusaders

Another painted team for my Blood Bowl league! The Bright Crusaders. This team is built half from old school Citadel human players and half from new miniatures from Iron Golems. 

Originally, the Bright Crusaders are supposed to wear yellow/blue/white uniforms, as shown below:

I suspect that long ago, when Games Workshop's authors had created this game, some of them were loving these colours so much that they designed at least four teams wearing blue and yellow (Reikland Reavers, Dwarf Giants, Darkside Cowboys and, of course, the Bright Crusaders). As I did not want the Bright Crusaders to be confused with the Reikland Reavers, the other human team, I have decided to modify their colour scheme. I wanted the Bright Crusaders to be.... more bright!

Athelorn Avengers

This is my second Blood Bowl elven team. As most of my elf minis were used for the Elfheim Eagles team, I found cheaper minis on Comixinos (mainly linemen) than the (almost) unfindable or way too expensive old Citadel models. The team is completed by a mighty Treeman (from Willy Miniatures).

We'll see how they do this season in a division usually dominated by the Darkside Cowboys and in which they'll compete against other Treemen and Halflings (the Greenfield Grasshuggers).

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Norsca Rampagers

Until season 2487 of Blood Bowl, the Norsca Rampagers were going by the name 'Vynheim Valkyries' and they have won 2 times the Blood Bowl.

To create this team I found norse players minis on Comixinos. They are coming from Meiko Miniatures. Apparently they are now cast in resin, but those I have are in pewter. I must say that they have very ugly mould lines that I couldn't completely make disappear without damaging the minis... I hope for those who will buy the resin minis that this would not be the case anymore.

Also, they are very tall (32 mm) compared to old Citadel players minis such as the human team or even elven team. But that is not an issue, Vikings were far taller than other middle-age civilisations.

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The Gouged Eye

Led by the blitzer Varag Ghoul-Chewer, here are The Gouged Eye, the arch-rivals of the Reikland Reavers in the AFC Central division.

The miniatures are essentially from the second edition, except Varag himself, Rip Sorepain the blocker (black orc but considered as a normal orc), Cannonball Bennie the thrower, and Krug Painspear the blitzer.

Chaos All-Stars

 

One of the most iconic and feared Blood Bowl teams, led by the legendary Ogre Morg'th N'hthrog.

As I only owned a few of these chaotic minis, I had a hard time finding enough to build the team (and as you may know, the price for these rare minis is very high). Although some of them are not - historically - part of the team (e.g. Withergrasp Doubledrool is playing for the Middenheim Marauders and Slarga Fourstrike is playing for the Bluchen Berserkers), I had no other choice but including them in my only chaotic Blood Bowl team.

I have tried to stick to the original colour theme and I'm very happy with the result. At first, I wanted to paint the purple flames on the shoulder pads, but then I was afraid to mess up the paintjob. I could probably obtain a nice result on the big shoulder pads (of the Troll, Ogre and Minotaur), but the other ones are too small.

Thug Life

After painting a unit constituted of different miniatures (I mean no duplicate in the unit and different hair and clothes colours), I'm speaking of the Wardancers, here's again such a unit (with mixed skin tones, hair colours, etc.): Chaos Thugs. The remaining 25 Chaos Thugs in my Chaos army, 20 others were painted a while ago.

Most of them are classic Citadel miniatures from the 80s, they are led by a Chaos Marauder sculpted by the master Jes Goodwin. Five, including the standard bearer, are from Knightmare Miniatures (the Pantheon of Chaos range) and four others are from Diehard Miniatures (note that they also have mounted Thugs!).

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Wardancers

"Wardancers are courageous and incredibly athletic warriors. Their style of fighting is fleet and agile like a deadly 'dance' which cuts a swathe through their foes."

I painted the last unpainted Wardancers of my Wood Elf army. Seven of them have been sculpted by the master Jes Goodwin, the others are more recent and quite nice minis. Now I have 40 of these guy ready to dance with the enemy.

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Massive Physical Presence

"Zoats are mysterious creatures which are so rarely seen that for many people in the Old World they are subject to legend and fairy tale rather than reality. They seldom stray far from their woodland habitat where they sometimes associate with Wood Elves. One of the strange facets of Zoat society is that they have no 'heroes', only wizards.

Zoats are large, rough-skinned creatures whose massive physical presence and superficial ugliness shields a cunning intelligence and deep-seated passion for arcane lore."

Here we go, with two Zoat warriors. One is the first version of that mytical creature. It is smaller than the latest one. Let's say these are the father with his son. 😋 I really like these miniatures, especially the bulky one. Some years ago, I've painted the Zoat wizard, I'll take a picture of it.

Dwarf Warriors

Again I have painted some Dwarfs. Usually I alternate between several armies at the same time (O&G, Chaos, Empire, Wood Elves & Dwarfs). But I wanted to complete one of the shelves of my cabinet on which is displayed my Dwarf army. This is now the case with these 32 Dwarf warriors. I have just enough remaining room for a 8x4 unit.

This unit contains two standard bearers and two drummers. The duplicate models will be joining a unit that will be painted later on.

Next I will paint some Wood Elves and friends.

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Steam and Black Powder

New war machines for my Dwarf army! The legendary gyrocopter and the swivel gun. Two pieces each.

The two gyros models look very similar although they were produced in different eras. They fit well together as thes have pretty much the same proportions. One could be the older model piloted by a veteran pilot, and the other one a more recent version just issued by the citadel engineers guild and piloted by a young ace. 

The rules for using the gyros in WFB 3rd edition can be found hereafter. I do not remember where I found them, maybe in a White Dwarf.

The swivel guns were cast by Marauder Miniatures. I really like the posture of the crewmen, especially the loader (and did you notice his repeating pistol?). For the basing. I have used cork for the first time to represent the rocks. I found them in 3 mm thick sheets. I'm quite happy with the result.

Gyrocopters

Ready! Aim! Fire!!!

Adding more firepower to my Dwarf army. Here are 10 Thunderers & 4 Crossbowmen. I have also painted a drunk warrior that has been left behind by his comrades to avoid him shooting in their back with his pistols by mistake...  and a hero on a pony (this one seems to be ME15 Mounted Gimli released in 1985, but the pony is not the original one).

Thunderers

Dwarf Baggage Train

Most of the armies must have a baggage train (some don't, e.g. the Skaven, as they carrs their subsistence on them). I have already painted a baggage train for my Orcs and Goblins army. Now it's the Dwarfs' turn.

My baggage train is a big one, mostly composed of Dwarf civilians I own for a long time. You will notice the famous Bugman's cart. It will follow my Dwarf army to provide its thirsty warriors with fresh and excellent beer. Actually, there is another beer cart in the baggage train. This one is driven by a young and nice barmaid that could be serving beer at the Oktober Fest. The Dwarfs should have enough beer for the first weeks (or days?) of the campaign. This cart is manufactured by Red Bard Games.

Another cart (also from Red Bard Games) will join the train. This is a tiny house (maybe the general of the army's quarters) on the back of a Highlands cow.

The Dwarfs also need to repair their weapons and armours after each battle. So a mobile forge will be following the army. This miniature is a plastic one coming from a recent Citadel set. The forge is nornally pulled by a horse, but I don't have it.

Finally, a pack mule from Wargames Foundry will be carrying lots of things on its back.

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Dwarf Sappers

They work in team of two models and you can have twelve of them in your Dwarf army. They are the sappers. What can they do? They can build stockades (counts as hard cover and defended obstacle) at a rate of 1" per team member per turn. They can also build bridges, also at a rate of 1" per team member per turn, the bridge is 1 1/2" wide. And finally, they can demolish walls, buildings and other constructions.

Very useful indeed. 

These miniatures are all from the golden age of Citadel.

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Norse Dwarfs

Although they live in their own citadels (like Kraka Drak or Kraka Ornsmotek) within the mountains of Norsca, the Norse Dwarfs are incorporated in the Norse army along their human allies.

Here are twelve tattooed old school miniatures that could be aligned as Norse Dwarf Berserkers or Norse Dwarf Troll Slayers.

Plus five plastic Norse Dwarf Warriors to complete an existing unit (now 40 warriors with this addition).

Berserkers/Troll Slayers

Bodyguards of the Emperor

Joining the Reiksguard is considered a military and social honour amongst the nobility, and barons, dukes and counts clamour to have their sons accepted in such an acclaimed brotherhood. The Reiksguards are the personal guards of the Emperor. They also protects his domains and march to war under his banner.

I've started painting this unit something like 25 years ago... 12 of them were completeled, but - of course - the paintjob was not to my current standards. So I've repainted them along with the 8 others.

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O&G Cavalry

Hi there,

Back to my Orcs and Goblins army, just for this unit, next should be an Empire unit. Today, we've got 10 Snortas riding their favourite boars. These guys are recent (old school) sculpts from Red Bard Games. 3D printed in resin (you receive them printed, you don't print them). And they come with their banner as a PDF file you can download from the manufacturer website. Ah and their amazing shields are also part of the delivery.

They are pretty cool and well in the spirit of the old Citadel minis by Kev Adams.

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Greenfield Grasshuggers

Long time no Blood Bowl post. At last, here is one brand new painted team (the tenth): the GREEEEENFIELD GRASSHUUUUUGGERS !!! Terrific, no ? 😉

 

 

Okay, I know, I already hear you say "They have absolutely no chance to win a single game.". Maybe, but at least they'll try, these tiny joyful creatures are very courageous you know. And they are not coming alone. Thanks to the good relationship they maintain with the creatures of the forest, they have convinced two mighty Treemen to join the team.

New Beastmen

25 new Beastmen with halberds/spears join the Chaos horde. These are a mix of 5th edition (I guess) beastmen and old school minis by Bob Olley and Jes Goodwin.

They are led by a Slaangor sculpted by Jes Goodwin. The standard depicts the logo of W:O:A (Wacken Open Air - one of the largest heavy metal festivals in the world).

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Bondsmen Archers and Seers

Back to the Norse army with these 15 old-school Bondsmen Archers (now 40 painted in total). The two guys that are taller than the old Citadel minis are from V&V Miniatures.

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Ostland - The Fireloques of Ferlangen

"The Fireloques of Ferlangen are a troop of deadly accurate handgunners that have fought throughout the Province of Ostland. Wearing the black and white of their home province, the Fireloques of Ferlangen bear no formal insignia, but superstitiously decorate their hats and uniforms with the bones of fallen comrades and other good luck charms.

Even amongst the stubborn Ostlanders, the Fireloques of Ferlangen have gained a reputation for tenacity, holding their gun line and unleashing volley after volley of fire into approaching enemies. Their refusal to surrender the flank against marauders of the north during the three-day Battle of Littered Bones earned them the nickname of Skull Clubbers, as without gunpowder for the entire last day, they resorted to using their beloved handguns as blunt weapons to stem the tide of the attackers."

Here comes the second unit of my Empire army: 16 handgunners (or 'Hakbutschutzen'), painted in the   Ostland painting scheme.

Orcs & Goblins Army Banner

Now that my O&G army has reached a respectable size, I thought it was time to give it a big impressive army banner. But first I needed to figure out who would be mighty enough to bear it. Some time ago, I painted a Black Orc Hero, it was meant to be an independent character. It is referred to as "Tusker Commander" and is produced by Knightmare Miniatures.

But then, I realized that Tusker has just the right body posture to hold this role. Also, he is so huge and massive that he is just perfect for that. And here he is bearing the grand banner of my O&G army.

Stick...stick...Stickas(s)

Nothing special today, just a bunch of Goblin Stickas to reach 40 minis of that type in my O&G army.

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The Last Fimirs

Not the last in the sense "the last representatives of their race" but the last remaining Fimirs I had to paint. At last... 😥. As I said after painting the first batch, I HATE painting these minis (except the three old Citadel ones that are included in this group). But I need them for a WFRP scenario coming soon.

Anyway, now all are done: 1 Meargh, 1 Warlord, 2 Dirachs, 5 Fiana Fimms, 13 Fimm Warriors (incl. a Noble and the contingent standard bearer), 8 Shearls. Today's batch contains 1 Dirach and the Fimm Warriors.

About the basing, I tried (and I think it's achieved) to reproduce the swamps soil. Here are the steps to obtain the same result (let dry between each step):

1. Apply the Citadel texture Agrellan Earth on the base to create an uneven ground.
   
2. Paint the base in a mix of dark brown and olive green.
3. Wash with Agrax Earthshade (or any dark brown shade).
4. Dry brush with Valejo Dead Flesh (or any putrid (greenish) flesh tone).
5. Wash with a yellow greenish (I have used the "Algenmoos Terrain Wash" from Handcraft Tabletop).
6. Fix green and brown tufts to the base (I have used the "Marshland Set" from Gamers Grass, which is perfectly designed for swamps).
7. Apply a water effect resin to some areas of the base (I have used "UV Resin" from Green Stuff World, it is excellent as it curs in 10 minutes max when exposed to the sun).
8. DO NOT varnish with matt varnish, otherwise the water effect will turn like frozen water.
   

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More Orcs... (never enough)

A new Orc warriors regiment joins the O&G horde. The basis of this unit is the famous regiment of renown 'Ruglud's Armoured Orcs'. To this, I have added some Orcs with spears from the same period and others from the Marauder range. Three of them, including the standard bearer, are from Heartbreaker.

The Marauder musician will be swapped with the one (the real Ruglud's regiment musician) I painted for the first Orc Boyz unit. 

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Altdorf - Company of Honour

"The Altdorf Company of Honour, also known as the Sons of the Reik, are a Reikland regiment of highly-trained and highly-equipped troops dedicated to the service of the Emperor and the city of Altdorf. 

This highly distinguished regiment recruits exclusively from other Altdorf regiments, picking only the best and bravest men out of the many units that garrison the city in order to keep up with their fearsome reputation as an elite fighting force.

Other soldiers instantly recognise the regiment thanks to their distinctive appearance of yellow plumes and black steel armour, with their battlefield history soaked in tales of glory and victory. Traditionally led by the youngest son of one of the city's noble houses, the current Captain of this regiment is Otto Helstein, a valiant warrior eager to make his mark upon this world. Every Altdorf native knows the distinctive trumpet blast that announces when the regiment leaves the city gates for a distant campaign, and all of them offer praises to Sigmar to ensure the safe return of Altdorf's most favoured sons." 

 

 

Terror from the Sky

Some time ago I bought these Harpies (referred to as Beast Gargoyles / Dread Harpies by the manufacturer) from Avatars of War. Unfortunately, it looks like they are not produced anymore. That's bad because they are a good alternative to GW harpies. They come as plastic multi-parts, allowing several pose options making each harpie unique as you can see on the screenshots below.

I have used these harpies in a scenario of WFRP and they will be aligned with my Chaos army.

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Forces of Nature

I own them since at least 20 years... I've painted them so quickly that I realize it should have been done earlier than that. Anyway, better late than never. I have used them a lot in WFRP games and the next time my players will face them, they will not underestimate them 😈

Please welcome the Elementals from Ral Partha.

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Terror from the Swamp

Fimirs have always been in my list of  miniatures to own some day. I bought a handful from eBay when the price was "decent" (which is rarely the case). Then I found alternative miniatures called "Fomorians" by Krakon Games. I decided to buy them because a) I needed more than a handful to represent a Fimir raiding party in one of the scenarios of my WFRP home-made Norse campaign, and b) because the Fimir can be allies (in WFB 3rd ed.) of Dark Elves, Orcs & Goblins, and Norse! (yes, the Norse army rules established by Rick Priestley and Nigel Stilmann and published once in an old White Dwarf are including the Fimir as allies).

Honestly, the Krakon Games miniatures are quite expensive for resin miniatures and these are not fine sculpts. They are rough and it looks like the mould was either not clean or too much used. I would not recommend this figures unless you don't find the Citadel ones or a good alternative.

I didn't like painting them, except the warlord.

I have 13 more Fimirs to paint, but they will wait until I find the motivation. In the meantime, I will paint some other evil creatures and elementals. And I will surely start painting a new army I own for a veeery long time: the Empire (4th edition miniatures).

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