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Thumpingbear does Mordheim: 05/09/2023: Astrologer's Tower Showcase  [RSS] Share on facebook Share on Twitter Submit to Reddit
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Made in us
Ultramarine Land Raider Pilot on Cruise Control





Macragge

He looks pretty boss. I think you're being a bit hard on yourself about the criticisms, but I also know the feeling and It's important when you finish a miniature that you feel it looks "just right." At any rate good work. Excited to see more like him.

   
Made in gb
Mad Gyrocopter Pilot





Northumberland

I love your painting log, lovely work putting together that warband and the scenery. Excellent painting on your recent post. I know exactly where that shoulder pad is from - the old 6th edition marauders box. I've used plenty of them in the past, dead handy to have around!

Looking forward to seeing more

One and a half feet in the hobby


My Painting Log of various minis:
# Olthannon's Oscillating Orchard of Opportunity #

 
   
Made in gb
Ancient Venerable Dreadnought






Another triumphant return Thumpingbear! As the others have said, you’re self doubt seems unfounded to us mere mortals. That said well never get any better if we don’t look for what could have been done better! It would be great to see some WIP pics of your board, to see how you’re doing it

Goberts Gubbins - P&M Blog, started with Oldhammer, often Blackstone Fortress and Void Panther Marines, with side projects along the way 
   
Made in jp
Crushing Black Templar Crusader Pilot






That merc looks utterly brilliant! Proper gnarly and mean and old world. This blog is yet again filled with really genius stuff, looking forward to what ya do next!
   
Made in de
Longtime Dakkanaut






Great miniature, he oozes Mordheim! Hope you find the motivation to tackle more stuff, always excited when you post an update.
   
Made in ca
Confident Halberdier





in the computer?

@brushcommando: I am my own harshest critic, it's true. I took it more of a learning + recording experience for techniques though, and overall I'm pleased with him - and besides, any paintjob is better than plastic! Regardless, thanks for the kind words.
@Olthannon: Thank you very much. Ha, I knew it! Looking back at the lore of Ostermark, the province Mordheim is located in, the people there have ancestry in the Ungol populations in Kislev, who in turn have Chaos Marauder blood (specifically the Kurgan tribe). Perhaps the shoulder pad + helmet are family heirlooms?
@gobert: Thanks dude - yes, part of the reason I'm critical is because I'm taking notes on my paint schemes, especially for effects like the blackened iron. Gotta be specific if I'm to get accurate notes. I've got some updates to the board down below!
@posermcbogus: Thank you, "proper old world" is what I'm trying to do with these projects. I'm still pretty salty that they nuked the Old World - hoping for the best with the New Old World project that GW is doing.
@Viterbi: Thanks man. Motivation is seriously lacking here at the moment in more areas than the hobby - I'll get there eventually though! As with most things in life, gotta keep moving.

Before the updates: the colour balance is off on my camera for some reason so Rabiat on the previous page was much more green than he actually is. I've balanced the colours and replaced the pics in the previous post, he looks much closer to reality now (I've left one of the originals in the gallery for comparison if anyone is curious).

With that out of the way, some updates:

On the board tiles, I've been mostly focusing on the curved canal + bridge tile, which is nearing completion:



The ground is hand-carved stone - mostly the random flagstone pattern, but with some random stonework patterns to help break the monotony:



The main focus of this tile is the great bridge that spans the canal:



The bridge was actually a bit of a nightmare to make - the area of the canal it passes over is not straight, so the support columns are angled, and the arches warped to accommodate this. I ended up making a skeletal structure, covering it with thin foam sheets, and carving on top of it - I'm happy with it. Unfortunately, the structure didn't quite sit flat when glued into place as there are slight gaps between the bridge and ground - that's easily covered with stone and rubble though!

Another feature of this area is the curved road that allows access from the canal path to the bridge + main areas. Same deal as the bridge: a curved wedge of foam, covered with thin sheets, then carved to my liking. The angle is a little steep in areas for models to stay on - I'll probably raise/lower some of the stones to help the models stay in place.

On the other side of the canal lies entrances to some old crypts, part of the labyrinthine catacombs that lie beneath the surface of Mordheim:



This area is a tunnel that connects the far side of the board together, without having to go up onto the main board. I carved some pillar adornments in this area to suggest it was built in an older period of Mordheim's history. The one bricked-up entrance has been broken open, and I'm going to place rubble on outside to imply something has broken out, rather than in. I also think I'm going to destroy at least part of the ground in this area as a "ladder" for any models that fall/jump into the canal.

I also placed the arch+pillars to support the stones above. I think these aspects of the tunnels look a little weedy - there should be more pillars, and the stone above looks thin comparatively. However, it'd be nearly impossible to actually place models in this area if I made it look exactly how I want, so it'll have to do - hopefully it'll look more rugged painted!

Besides the bridge canal tile, I've done some work on the main ground tiles:



Not much to say about these - glued the foam down and did some slight carving on one. I've been avoiding these a bit because carving is so boring.

I did do some carving on this one - I wanted a big circular paved area with Sigmar's Comet on it, so that's what I put!



It looks a little messy because I tried a bunch of different flame designs before carving the final product. It'll look great when painted. I also tried my hand at doing a fan brick pattern, that's what the overlapping semicircles are in front of the comet. An elegant pattern that's slightly complicated to do, but it looks great - I'm very excited to get some paint on this area.

The other canal piece hasn't even been started - once the bridge is done I'll be starting on it. I plan on facing each edge of the board with hardboard to protect the foam inside, and to magnetize the board as well - I've found some thing magnets that look pretty good as stone when roughed up a bit with a dremel. The plan is to replace various stones with these magnets, then glue thin steel sheets to the bottoms of the buildings. It likely won't hold if you hold the board upside down, but it'll be strong enough to resist bumps during gameplay.

Besides the tiles, I've finished my Mercenary warband: The Ostermark Reclaimers. All of the members are either former inhabitants of Mordheim, or hail from the Ostermark province. They seek to plunder the ruined city for various items of importance to the history of Mordheim and the identities of it's people who now inhabit the refugee camps outside the city's walls. Don't mistake their cause as noble - they're driven by greed and prestige rather than a sense of historical preservation or moral duty. Additionally, each mercenary has their own motivations and goals, their alliance held tenuously together by the promise of steady pay. Time spent in the madness of the doomed city has had an impact on their sanity - and many of them were fairly unhinged to begin with!

Here's the models. I have written some small lore pieces in the spoiler if anyone is interested. The lore was inspired by the characters in the game Team Fortress 2, where derangement is the only commonality between the characters.

The Captain




Spoiler:
Originally hailing from the Poor Quarter of Mordheim, the Captain joined the Ostermark State Troops at a young age to earn a steady paycheck. He quickly rose through the ranks due to his combat prowess and cold, unflinching nerve. His ascension quickly turned into descent and discharge after he was giving command over a unit, which he lost down to a man by disregarding orders to fall back - a loss he still feels was acceptable, though it had no effect on the outcome of the battle. Fortunately for him, he arrived back in Mordheim to witness the comet fall from outside the city walls, and quickly moved to capitalize on the disaster.

The Captain has an obsession with material wealth stemming from his impoverished youth, and leads the Reclaimers on expeditions into the city to loot any precious items they can - particularly in the Noble Quarter, from which he has amassed a sizable wardrobe of foppish clothing. His near reckless command of the mercenaries under his command, seen in the State Troops as suicidal, is now celebrated by the his crazed followers - and any of their deaths are an ends to justify the means in his gilded eyes.

I tried to do something new or complicated on each of these models - for the Captain, I tried to do a salt+pepper beard. I think it turned out pretty well!

The Tortoise




Spoiler:
Old, dour, and tough as nails, the Tortoise slowly makes his way through the cracked streets of Mordheim. The Tortoise is a former State Trooper and the sole survivor of the Captain's brief command in the Ostermark army, who joined him on the journey to Mordheim after the Captain's dishonourable discharge. As the Captain's second in command, the Tortoise is responsible for disciplining the unruly and increasingly unhinged mercenaries.

Like his namesake, the Tortoise takes his time in doling out punishments. Hours, even days after an insubordination, a cocky merc will feel a cold gauntlet around his neck, followed by a sound pummelling. These morale-improving beatings often end in the death of the offender, which tends to have sobering effect on the rest of the mercenaries.

The freehand on his shield is what I pushed myself on - the purple/metallic side is a little difficult to see, but I managed to get a pretty decent mirror image. The shield design is based on the Grass Crest Shield from the Dark Souls video game series, a must have for 2 handed strength builds - fitting for the Tortoise' armour and double-handed warhammer.

The Yellowbelly (Formerly the Crossbowman)




Spoiler:
Vindictive and cowardly, the Yellowbelly joined the Reclaimers after being roped into a bad contract with the loan sharks of Flying Ass Usurial Loans. Faced with the prospect of being implanted with a Stone of Folly, the dreaded punishment doled out by the House of Flying Ass for defaulting on a loan, the Yellowbelly joined the Reclaimers both as protection and as a means to repay the loan. Though an excellent shot with his crossbow, the Yellowbelly tends to perform many "tactical retreats" from hairy skirmishes in city. This cowardice has earned him many thrashings from the Tortoise, but he's kept around as both a punching bag and as an insult to the House of Flying Ass.

I really like his pose - he seems to be slinking away while loading his crossbow for another shot.

The Warden




Spoiler:
The Warden was stationed at the Mordheim City Gaol during the Comet's impact. The horrors he witnessed as the prisoners, already weak to Chaotic influence, rapidly mutated into hideous monsters and drove him mad. Now he sees anyone he meets in the destroyed city, friend and foe alike, as escaped convicts that must be brought in - dead or alive (but mostly dead).

The area that I tried to push myself on the Warden (along with the Hunter) was the checkered sleeves. I really like the effect.

The Hunter




Spoiler:
A simple woodsman living in the Dead Woods to the west of Mordheim, the Hunter followed the Twin Tailed Comet and witnessed the impact from outside the city walls. Originally staying to help the fleeing inhabitants, the insanity displayed within the cursed city has had a lasting impact on him. Now the Hunter haunts the city streets, tracking and stalking prey of monstrous and human variety. For the thrill of the hunt!

As with the Warden, I made one of his sleeves checkered. It's a nice effect with a lot of effort put into it. I also just noticed I missed the wax seals on his right hip.

The Devotee (formerly the Spearman)




Spoiler:
Not much can be said about the Devotee - he reveals nothing of his past, nor his future plans, and responds to the horrors of Mordheim with prayer and humorous stoicism. Occasionally members of the mercenaries will catch him quietly conversing with the skull that hangs from his spear, which he always denies with a chuckle. The tattoos on his skin indicate his deeply held faith to Sigmar to all that meet him, save for the Warden - the Warden recognizes them as the coded rank markers of the organized gangs within the Mordheim City Gaol. However, with the Warden being as deranged as he is, no one can truly know whether that's true or not.

It's hard to choose my favourite model out of all these guys, but the Devotee is up there. On him I tried out tattooing, which were inspired by Coptic tattoo designs from the Balkans. I think I glazed them a little too much with the skin colour to make them appear faded, but for a first try it went pretty okay.

The Ratbasher




Spoiler:
The son of a prominent rat-catcher in Mordheim, the Ratbasher witnessed his entire family devoured by a horde of rats that swept down the city streets in the days following the comet's impact. The shrieking wave of teeth and fur shattered the poor boy's psyche. Now old enough to wield a weapon, the Ratbasher has a deep hatred towards rats and anything that looks like them, and a compulsive desire to torture them in cruel ways.

I like how his striped pants came out, as well as the subtle blood effects of the dead rat on his shield.

The Ram




Spoiler:
Hailing from the Eastern border of Ostermark along the World's Edge Mountains, the Ram spent much of his early life travelling the mountain pass between Mordheim and the Dwarf stronghold Karak Kadrin. His time spent in and around the Dwarf settlement made him a surefooted climber, but he eventually fled back to the Empire after purportedly having his name entered into the Book of Grudges. Much like the Dwarfs, the Ram is headstrong and aggressive, often arguing with the Captain and the Tortoise over anything he disagrees with. Despite this, his skill in scaling the ruined towers of Mordheim has made him an invaluable scout to the Reclaimers.

Didn't really push too much for painting on this guy. Still he was a joy to paint - I'm such a sucker for the ram style of horned helmets. Also gives him a slight samurai vibe.

The Prospector




Spoiler:
The Prospector has an almost inhuman sense for finding pockets of wyrdstone hidden in the ruins of Mordheim, no doubt driven by his addiction to the wyrdstone infused liquor that he constantly imbibes upon. Like all drugs, drinking the infused liquor has had some side effects. Some, like belching multicoloured flames, are largely benign and a source of entertainment for the group. Others, like increasing bouts of dementia and a physical dependency for the spirit, are not.

On the Prospector I wanted the bottle to look like it was full of some sort of foul alcohol. Overall I think the effect is okay. I think the glass should have been slightly paler - I was going for the look of Forest glass which was produced in medieval Europe, and I think it came out looking more like a modern green bottle. Still, not gonna beat myself up over it. I also glazed his nose fairly heavily with red to make him look like he's been drinking.

The Patient




Spoiler:
Little is known of the Patient, least of all to himself - he was found by the Reclaimers floating down the river Stir with a broken arm and half dozen stab wounds, most in his back. The Captain ordered him to be patched up for unknown reasons, and upon his awakening the Patient was amnesic. Despite his broken arm that mysteriously refuses to heal, the Patient displays deadly skill with an axe despite his amnesia. Occasionally the Patient will have flashes of memories, which often lead to great finds for the Reclaimers.

Another one of my favourites. Didn't push too much on him paintwise (he has an hourglass and bottle of booze like the Prospector), but he was just so much fun to paint up. I may go back and put some writing on the sheet on his back - a will, perhaps? The blood leaking out from his headwound was done with Blood for the Blood God, stippled on the area to make it look like the blood is slowly soaking through the wrap.

The Nuln Gunner




Spoiler:
A mechanical genius and sniper hailing from Nuln, the Nuln Gunner migrated to Mordheim before the comet fell to set up a workshop and work on designs not approved by the Gunnery School. Since the destruction of the city, the Nuln Gunner seeks wyrdstone to create new and horrifying weapons of war. His constant need for new materials for testing marks him as a problem for the Captain who recognizes that the Nuln Gunner will only remain loyal as the wyrdstone flows - and in the cutthroat world of Mordheim, a disloyal mercenary can spell a death sentence.

Again, not much pushed on this guy besides the striped pants - regardless, I love this guy's design. One thing I'm not completely happy with is the face - my paintjob is fine, it's the sculpt. Most of the heads in the warband are from older, discontinued lines, but the heads of the Nuln Gunner, Ratbasher, Yellowbelly, and Dualist are from new kits. These kits all seem to have an issue of Wallace Face (of Wallace and Gromit) - beady eyes and super pronounced mouths, which is most apparent on the Nuln Gunner. The older sculpts have much softer and realistic features (like the Ram and the Hunter), whereas the new ones look cartoonish. My griping aside, he still looks great.

The Mad Gunner




Spoiler:
Found wandering the rotten cobbles of Mordheim, the Mad Gunner claims to be no man. He is the Spirit of Sigmar, who pilots his meat puppet body through the holy fish spire attached to his helmet - the Mad Gunner will not respond to any queries or commands unless they are addressed to his rotting fish adornment.

When the fish becomes too putrid to remain spiked on his helmet, the Mad Gunner becomes confused and delirious. Hobbling as quickly as he can, the Mad Gunner makes a Sacred Pilgrimage to the nearest body of water (or fishmonger) to acquire a new fish. Only after spiking the slimy creature on his helmet will the Mad Gunner return to fighting form. Despite his insanity and the ever present smell of rotting fish, the Mad Gunner's crackshot skill with a rifle has helped the Reclaimers turn the tide of battle on more than one occasion.

Again, vying for one of my favourites. I think the fish on his helmet turned out super well - based in the yellows, browns, and creams that the rest of the paint scheme has, with purple dots stippled on top. I think I should have sculpted it to look more limp, but I'm still super happy with him.

The Dualist




Spoiler:
A notorious rogue, the Dualist is known for his speed and skill - both with his blades, and wooing women. He's currently hiding out in Mordheim as a mercenary after seducing the wrong Baron's daughter, which he was lucky enough to escape from after only losing an eye. Still, the Baron is a vengeful man, and sends a seemingly endless supply of bounty hunters and assassins to end the Dualist's life. Many of these would-be killers are turned aside with the Dualist's silver tongue and pockets full of wyrdstone, while those who can't be bought with treasure are instead payed in flashing steel.

Not much to say about him - he turned out well.

The Bard




Spoiler:
One of the struggling playwrights of Ostermark, the Bard travelled to Mordheim to write and perform in one of the great cultural capitals of the Empire, only to arrive to a city engulfed in orange and green flame. Despite this, the Bard has stayed in hopes of crafting the greatest play ever written: the tales of the Reclaimer's adventures and drama in the damned city. To this end, the Bard has created a new method of writing plays: using warpstone infused ink, he splashes a page with the concoction and travels the city streets. The magic of the wyrdstone writes itself into perfectly legible and performable plays, written to a standard that the Bard could only dream of. Though the first few acts are complete, the Bard has run into a bit of writers block - for weeks, the writings have been increasingly disturbing, detailing various horrible deaths of the mercenaries, and occasionally directly addressing the Bard with taunts and threats. These "bad drafts" as the Bard calls them are quickly discarded despite the curiosity and boredom of the mercenaries, who look forward to the Bard's dramatic recounts of their infamous exploits.

Once again, another contender for my favourite - I think it has to do with the amount of sculpting work I put in. I put a lot of effort into his ruffle, which turned out excellently. The script on his shield script also turned out very well, despite my brushes not wanting to stipple easily.

Finally, a group shot in situ:



Overall, I'm really happy with this warband. It's the first group of models I've fully finished for wargaming, so that's a pretty big achievement for me. I did a lot of sculpting work and tried to push my painting to try out new techniques. The thing I'm happiest with is the skin - I went for a really desaturated and sallow look by mixing Rakarth Flesh with a base skin tone, shading with a 1:1 mix of Asurman Blue and Gryphonne Sepia, then building up with more Pallid Wych Flesh added to the mix, then glazing certain areas with purple (eyesockets), red (lips, cheeks, nose, knuckles) and turquoise (jawline). Overall the effect makes them look rather pallid and unhealthy, but with enough colour thrown around that they look interesting and lifelike.

Unfortunately I've not completed Cassander the Warlock, however he's a hired sword and not part of the core warband - I'll work on him next, along with another couple warbands that've been a PIP for ages - but the board comes first.

Whew! Done with that major update. More updates soonish.

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2021/11/03 23:30:14


 
   
Made in fr
Potent Possessed Daemonvessel





France

Congratulation on the completed warbands, they are something to be proud of. Unified in look, yet each with its own distinct personality.

Beautiful bridge and canals too !

My P&M Blog : Warp Wanderers, Chaos warbands in the Eye of Terror

Voting for my stuff pleases the Chaos Gods and brings you luck in battle !

 
   
Made in us
[DCM]
Boom! Leman Russ Commander





United States

I very much like the playing board sections. I've always tried to include an element of three dimensions in the more limited scope pieces I've made and really appreciate the skill and planning you've put into giving the canal and road and bridge depth and character. Marvelously done.

"He fears his fate too much, or his desserts are small, who will not put it to a single touch; to win- or lose- it all."

Montrose Toast


 
   
Made in gb
Mad Gyrocopter Pilot





Northumberland

Absurdly good work on the warband, I particularly love your manky pallid flesh, some of them look like they have terrible liver conditions, must be all that warpstone in the air!

I wish GW would re-release the militia box, it's one of the best they've ever done. Also a big fan of the chaos cloak on your Captain, that's another bit that I've used on so many conversions, it just looks so cool. I think my old IG general had it as well as some white wolves.

One and a half feet in the hobby


My Painting Log of various minis:
# Olthannon's Oscillating Orchard of Opportunity #

 
   
Made in ca
Fixture of Dakka





Surrey, BC - Canada

What else can I say Thumpingbear.

Exalted.

Cheers,

CB

   
Made in no
Boom! Leman Russ Commander






Oslo Norway

Fantastic warband with a ton of character. The board is also looking like it is going to be amazing

   
Made in us
Guardsman with Flashlight





Northern Virginia

Amazing detail and character on those warband members, the way you have their appearance link to the back stories is great!

That city scape looks fantastic, the minor details, realistic architecture, proportions and Warhammer flair all mix to make an immersive environment! I can't wait to see the whole area take form!
   
Made in gb
Ancient Venerable Dreadnought






Woah! Both the warband and the terrain are beyond stunning! The attention to detail is mind boggling, I hope the motivation returns to bring this epic cityscape to completion (if there is such a thing with projects like this!)

Goberts Gubbins - P&M Blog, started with Oldhammer, often Blackstone Fortress and Void Panther Marines, with side projects along the way 
   
Made in de
Longtime Dakkanaut






OMFG, I was really flashed by the WIP of the board (That two-level canal bridge tile is amazing) and then you knock it out of the park with the whole warband and their stories. Really cool seeing all those characters together in the group shot with the building.
   
Made in gb
Calculating Commissar






Reading, Berks

Amazing work on all of these. That board is looking absolutely stunning though... can't wait to see it painted up and come together more!

   
Made in ca
Confident Halberdier





in the computer?

@KernelTerror: Thanks man. I tried really hard on these guys to make them distinct yet unified, so I'm glad it payed off.
@Meer_Cat: From a prolific builder such as yourself, that's high praise. Thank you very much.
@Olthannon: Thanks! Thanks for the compliment, that's actually a look I was going for - in my imagining of Mordheim, there's pulverized Warpstone dust in the air, so being in the city for too long is ultimately fatal, a fact lost upon or ignored by the treasure hunters that plunder the ruins.
And I completely agree about the Merc kit, it's such a fun one. I haven't bought a new GW kit in a long while as I'm not a fan of their new monopose styles they've been putting out, it's a shame.
@Captain Brown: Cheers Captain!
@Illumini: Thanks very much. I'm very excited to have it all finished... someday.
@ValhallanWinter: Thank you kindly. I worry a little about the board because the proportions are just a tad bigger than the models, which means moving the models on the board may prove challenging when finalized. Still, I'll be happy with it when finished.
@gobert: Thanks man! Unfortunately the motivation isn't quite there yet, I was having fun painting so I continued down that route. With the new League terrain competition, I'll get back into the swing of terrain building.
@Viterbi: Thanks dude! It's a shame you're all the way over in Germany, it'd be great to have a game. Maybe someday when the world is calmer.
@endtransmission: Thank you. I'm eagerly anticipating it too, but it's a long while off.

Some updates:

I haven't done much more work on the board tiles. I did a bunch of brick carving, then got bored (pun unintended) with it. I know that when I finish the carved stones will look great, but getting there is just a slog.

To take a break from the tiles, I painted up a warband that's been a Paint in Progress for like 2 years: My Dwarfs!



About 8ish years ago, I purchased a huge bag of bits off eBay, hoping for 40k stuff and receiving mostly Fantasy. At the time I was a little miffed, but it's great for my groups current love of Mordheim. Anyways, within the bag were exactly 10 Dwarfs - almost the exact number needed for a warband, besides 2 Slayers! I did a fair amount of conversion work on them, but took barely any photos of the WIPs - this was long before I started this thread. The WIP photes I took will be displayed with their respective models, and I'll try to recall the conversion work I did on each model.

The backstory of these Dwarfs is not as in depth as the Mercs, but they do have a little one:

This cohort of Dwarfs hails from Karak Kadrin (aka The Slayer Hold), nestled in the Worlds Edge Mountains to the East of Mordheim. The Slayer Hold earned it's nickname from the dearth of dishonoured Dwarves that make pilgrimage to the hold to visit the Shrine of Grimnir and take the Slayer Oath. It's king, Ungrim Ironfist, dictates which Slayers may set out to seek their honourable death by combat, and which must remain to defend the hold from the monstrous inhabitants of the Dark Lands to the east.

When the comet crashed into Mordheim and infected it with foul Chaos energy, it attracted scores of foul monsters in addition to the unholy Daemons that now call the ruins home. When the stories of these fearsome creatures reached Karak Kadrin, Ungrim sent out this retinue of Dwarfs to set up a satellite of the hold, a launching point for the Slayers to seek their death against the monsters of Mordheim.


With that out of the way, here's the pics:

Heroes

Noble


So first of all, the warband is decked out in the colours of Karak Kadrin: red, green, and gold. As with all the horned helmets, I ditched the dinky horns that came with Dwarf helmets in favour of big, stupid ones from the Chaos kits. The Noble, being the most important, has the biggest horns. He carries with him his Personal Book of Grudges that has rapidly filled up in the cutthroat world of plundering Mordheim, which was made from a Skaven book (I think). I attempted to write the at least part of the grudges in actual Dwarf Runes, which read as follows:

Grudge: Two hundred and 13
{incomprehensible}
Payment: A night of binge drinking

Grudge: Two hundred and 14
Kin slaying
Payment: Death by slaying


The text was written in Blood for the Blood God, as blood is the traditional writing medium for Grudges, but it was a pain to paint (heh). Next time I'll use regular red paint. The cloak was painted in a tartan pattern, using Kujo Painting's tutorials as a base guideline. The Noble's design underwent several changes - he originally had a custom Dwarf sword I built, which I decided was quite un-Dwarfy. Then I gave him a shield, but he looked unbalanced, so I decided on the Book. Overall I'm happy with him, save for the eyes - I had a hard time painting them, a difficulty unfortunately shared by most of these models.

Engineer


The two areas I converted on the Engineer were the helmet and the hammer. The helmet originally had a bunch of candles on the top, which I cut off and replaced with the ram style horns, which I have previously stated that I'm a huge fan of. I also think I sculpted the ridge running down the centre of it, but I'm not sure. I also gave him a little glass scope on his eye to help him aim. The hammer was created using a gear from an old toy I busted apart to fit in with the Dwarf engineer aesthetic of geared melee weapons. Again, I gave him a tartan cloak, but with reversed colours from the Noble. Very happy with the way he turned out.

2 Handed Slayer


Of all of the very cool things Warhammer Fantasy has created, I feel like the Dwarf Slayer is the most iconic. They are just the coolest. I bought this guy and the other Slayer as a graduation gift for myself, and finally finished them off. These guys are metal and Out of Production, so I had no intention to convert them in any way. The model was in a bit of rough shape - the mold lines were horrendous, and his right ear is missing (I actually think guy might be a recast - don't care), but they're not terribly noticeable. Very pleased with him.

Dual Wield Slayer


Not much to say beyond what I already said about the previous Dwarf, so I'll talk about some other things. The gold on all of the models was painted with some old metallic alcohol ink I was gifted years ago. The colour is amazing and the pigment size is incredibly fine, but dear lord was it awful to work with. Never again.
I had also planned to paint tattoos/warpaint on the Slayers, but there's not really enough room on these models to do what I wanted - I feel it would have overcrowded it with detail. I may revisit tattoos in the future, but for now I'm done.


Troops

Blonde Clansman


This was the first Dwarf model I painted, as a test scheme for the rest of the warband - I use him in scale shots of some of the buildings (Ratcatchers Manse specifically). Parts of his beard were sculpted on because the original head was slightly damaged. I wasn't terribly proficient at sculpting yet so it's a little rough (particularly on his left side), but it's not too noticeable. The hammer was bashed together - can't remember what the middle of the head and rear spike are from, but the main part is a bell, likely from a Skaven bit. Tons of bells were donated to make hammers for this warband.
Both of the weapons have been broken at some point - I tried a new converting technique by ditching the traditional paper clips for pinning and used plastic rod instead. My thinking was that the plastic glue would melt everything together in a strong plastic bond. Turns out it just makes a weak join, and I'm not looking forward to repairing the rest of these guys in the future.

Black Clansman


I recall this guy's horns were very annoying to attach. The hammer was made from a Chaos warrior hammer, and the back wings were made from a 40k aquila, glued together and stuck to the back.
Not too much else to say, so I'll talk about the leather: It was painted with a series of muted browns, stippled to build up coverage and give texture. The final highlight was Balor Brown, tying it back to the gold colour, and then washed/filtered with black to dull it back down. I'm very happy with the leather on this project.

Blonde Thunderer


Not a lot of conversion work on him, save for the horns. The bolt quiver on his back was converted for a bigger look, which is shared with the other Thunderer. Not much to say, I think he looks pretty cool.

Brown Thunderer


This model, along with one other, are from the Battle for Skull Pass starter kit. He originally had a rifle that I converted to a crossbow. I kinda regret doing that now as it would have made him more distinguishable from the other Thunderer in terms of loadout, but oh well.
This model is one of the ones that I have a WIP shot of!



I forgot that I had stuck a central spike on his helmet, going for a pickelhaube kind of look. It was too busy with the horns and looked a little too Chaos-y, so I ditched it. The other model is Lighty, one of the 4 Beardlings:

Lighty (Beardling)


Not too much conversion work on this guy, save for the hammer, which I believe was a larger Dwarf hammer that I cut down to a more modest size. A feature shared among the Beardlings is that they are without horns to denote their unspecialized role. One thing I tried with him was a super-basic OSL on the candle, which ironically is in the shade and not very brightly lit to show my work. Oh well. It went okay for a first attempt, but is much more stylistic than realistic. I'll be trying again in the future.

Pipey (Beardling)


Pipey's head was a musician head, which I sculpted the lower lips and beard to fit his pipe into his mouth. His backpack is (I believe) a stowage bit from an Imperial Guard tank, which I flipped upside down - don't pay attention to that canister thing on his right side that is defying gravity and that I painted red to look like a stick of dynamite! The hammer is a pickaxe bit, again from an Imperial Guard kit (I believe), with another Skaven bell as the head. I also attempted to paint an ember inside the pipe, but I forgot to take a picture, and it doesn't look super great either so no big deal.

Hoodie (Beardling)


You may have noticed something about these Beardlings - they follow the Snow White naming convention.
Hoodie I imagine is the Shield-Bearer for the Noble, dutifully carrying it as the Noble marches into battle bellowing about grudges and debts. As such, he doesn't get a backpack like the rest of the Troops (save for the Thunderers). The hood was sculpted, and it was sculpted before I learned you should shave down part of the head when putting a hood on - as a result, it looks a little bulky and unnatural. Still, I'm at peace with it, and I think the folds look striking painted up. The hammer, once again, was 2 Skaven bells. I also broke his hammer when I dropped him on the way to his final sealing, so that's why the hammer shaft looks a little funky near the handle. I didn't quite get the colours and contrast right in the photos, but the skin on his pointing left arm is probably the best thing I think I've painted yet.

Keggy (Beardling)


Keggy is my pride and joy, the Dwarf with the most pure intentions - protecting his precious keg of premium Dwarf ale. Keggy was the model I think I put the most conversion effort into. He was originally part of the Battle for Skull Pass cannon crew, the one holding the cannon ball. I carefully removed the ball, keeping the original hand in place, and incorporated it into the keg, which was some Dwarf barrel that I sculpted the wood texture along the body, and used wooden shields for the top and bottom. The hand looks a little thin, but the point still gets across.

The other major surgery was removing his right arm that crossed the chest, sculpting the flowing beard and his clothing so his new right arm wouldn't look too weird. The pose is a little strange looking, but I think I did a decent enough job. The hammer is a Space Marine melta bomb, repurposed as a hammer head. I also gave him a helmet because everyone else has one. Like I said, Keggy is my special little guy and one of my favourite models I've made.

I need to get more practice with these Dwarfs in game, as they're a bit of a tough warband to play. Incredibly tough and durable, but have a Movement characteristic of 3, which can lose you games purely through not being able to keep up with the other models. That, and a terribly low Initiative of 2: one game I had against my friend (playing Chaos Marauders) pitted nearly my entire Warband against one of his Champions on top of a catwalk over the battlefield below. My buddy's Champion proceeded to knock every single Dwarf off of the catwalk, killing all but one from the fall damage. It was really funny, but taught me to NEVER put Dwarfs on high paths!


Now that the warband is done, I will be focusing on my entry for the latest League of Extraordinary Riveters Terrain Challenge. This rounds theme is Crossings, meaning anything related to crossing something. I chose to do the sunken ship I have planned for my other canal terrain tile. I've posted my concept sketches in the League thread, but I'll do so again:

As I stated in the League thread, I like the silhouette of the first, and many of the design elements of the second. I'll find a way to combine the two designs.
Unfortunately I don't have any work done on these yet besides the concepts. Like many of you I'm sure, I have a problem with starting projects, getting bored/burnt out, then starting something fresh and new, resulting in a backlog of half finished projects. Part of the reason I painted the Dwarfs was to try to break this pattern of behaviour and replace a half-finished model with a realized project. Now that the Dwarf project is finished, I can devote all of my attention to the build - and since the boat is technically part of the board build, it's not starting something new. At least that's what I tell myself.

If anyone reading has any interest in building terrain but is a little hesitant to get started, I encourage you to join the League of Extraordinary Riveters Terrain Challenge. It's what made me get off my butt and start producing more terrain, with more complex and detailed designs (a lie actually: I sit on my butt way more making terrain now!). This round we decided open up the scope of the challenge to include other scratch-built items like scenic bases, objective markers, dioramas, etc - anything that's scratchbuilt and isn't a model is fair game! The guys and gals in the thread are pretty great and very encouraging, so if you've any interest take a look and take the plunge.

That's all for now. More updates soonish.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2022/01/15 03:43:55


 
   
Made in ca
Fixture of Dakka





Surrey, BC - Canada

Thumpingbear,

Well the Dwarves were worth the wait.

Cheers,

CB

   
Made in gb
Mad Gyrocopter Pilot





Northumberland

Yeah CB wasn't kidding.

Absolutely superb, love these dwarf minis, so much character in the sculpts.

The fact that you painted tartan cloaks is frankly absurd, just too damn good. I like Keggy and the Noble most of all.

One and a half feet in the hobby


My Painting Log of various minis:
# Olthannon's Oscillating Orchard of Opportunity #

 
   
Made in us
Grisly Ghost Ark Driver






Tartan. That's impressive. That's really really impressive.

See what's on my painting table Now painting: Kruleboyz Gutrippaz 
   
Made in au
Regular Dakkanaut





Australia

Soooo much to catch up on! Amazing progress and updates Thumpingbear. The Culverhouse looks amazing, the interior joist work in the ceiling is really impressive and the little characterful touches like the hanged man and the man-headed crow are so awesome. And Mr. Scale! So good, haha. Please make him a regular.

Great to see your warbands coming together! So much character and really impressive conversions. And speaking of impressive your green stuff skills are top notch! The cloth and scratch built weapons look very much the part and blend right in with the original models. And the spiked fish is *chefs kiss*

For someone who doesn’t enjoy painting you are an amazing painter! Really nice skin tones and all the material like the leather, cloth and metal all look distinctively like those materials. The Prospectors bottle is especially nice. The backstories are a great touch and really show in the models themselves. And your freehand is very impressive.

I really look forward to seeing your board tiles progress. As Meer_Cat and others have said the dimensionality and evident planning is really impressive. And that sunken ship crossing looks very promising.

I hope you had a good festive season. How’d you go with the interview? If Canada is anything like here getting on fieldwork can be a pain in the butt.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2022/01/19 13:06:14


 
   
Made in de
Longtime Dakkanaut






Great update, the dwarves are amazing. Can't believe you painted a tartan on such a small mini. That is quite something and at least to me the eyes look perfectly fine. I mean I know how small those minis are.
   
Made in ca
Confident Halberdier





in the computer?

Thread necromancy GO!

@Captain Brown: Thanks man, much appreciated.
@Olthannon: Thankee, honestly the tartan was way easier than I expected once I got into it - it's literally just straight lines!
@Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll: Thank you kindly!
@zahnib: Thanks bud, much appreciated! The first interview I had went well but they didn't hire me, but asked me to apply next season - which I did and they hired me on. Archaeology is handled provincially in Canada, and my province has pretty strict regulations for most industries to require testing, so there's always a ton of work.
@Viterbi: Thanks man - like I said to Olthannon, tartan is waaaayyy easier than you think once you get into it. And yeah, no one except me will look at the eyes anyways.

Alrighty, it's been a while. Got burnt out doing hobby work and haven't done much work on the Mordheim board in a while, shelving most of the projects for the time being. Haven't been completely inactive though, I built this Ork trukk:



Was a fun lil exercise, hadn't done any Ork scratchbuilding for a while. I made a post in the P&M section with more pics, or you can look in my gallery if anyone is interested in seeing more of it - didn't put it in this blog cause this is for me Mordheim stuff.

IRL, I finally got a job in my field doing archaeology. It's a lot of fun, a lot of exercise, and a lot of work. Spring/summer/fall are my work seasons, so winter hobby work will have to be the new standard going forward. A couple of the guys at my company also play Fantasy and 40k, so it's nice to nerd out with my workmates - archaeologists are a fairly dorky bunch to begin with, so it's nice to be among my people!

Anyways, to ease my way back into the hobby I've started work on a new terrain piece for the League of Extraordinary Riveters Challenge, Round 41: The Vault. I wanted even more vertical access for the board, so I decided to make a wizard's tower: The Astrologers Tower.



When the good news of the twin-tailed comet appearing in the skies above Mordheim spread across the Empire, pilgrims seeking enlightenment and redemption were drawn to the city like a moth to flame. It wasn't just pilgrims though - along with them came merchants, tradesmen, and anyone with a keen nose for making coin. Chief amongst these new peddlers were the astrologers, a new industry of soothsayers who would tell one's fortune by reading the comet's trails - for a nominal fee, of course. The seer, the charlatan, and all those in-between slithered into Mordheim and set up shop, making fortunes in the fevered anticipation of Sigmar's blessed return.

Unsurprisingly, not one of these astrologers made the most important prediction of all.



So the plan is to make a tall tower with a balcony, and the one side destroyed to allow for players to manipulate models inside. While the tower is inaccessible from the interior, the exterior will have scaffolding and ladders on the right side, and a crane and climbable rope of some sort on the left on the balcony.

The League's primary theme this time around is a Vault, or something that would contain valuables of some kind. Wizard's towers are always a good source of magical treasure (or, maybe in this case, a fortune of scammed gold!), so I think the theme fits. The secondary theme of the Vault is a project that's in YOUR vault: an unfinished project that's taking up space. I had actually started this project sometime in December by gluing a couple tubes to a base and making some cardboard mockups, then left it for 2 months:



It then was placed on top of my desk and stared down at me judgingly as I played Rimworld instead. Thanks to the League contest, I decided to get off my butt and work on it again (Rimworld just runs in the background now).

The first bit of work was on the roof frame. Usually when I make conical roofs I make them out of cardboard (as seen in the mockup pics), cover em with shingles, and glue some wooden beams underneath to represent rafters. Since both of these roofs were to be partially destroyed with visible interiors, I wanted them to look as realistic as possible. So I created a frame of balsa rafters and glued the coffee stirrer decking on:





I didn't take any photos of the WIP or my process, but I'll describe it for anyone interested: I took the cardboard cone I made for the mockup and laid the rafters inside of it, gluing them into place at the just at tip of the cone (visible as the apex of the roof). I then carefully cut the rest of the cone off, then cut each decking piece individually. The bottom part of the rafters was made similarly to the first by affixing them temporarily to a cone, then gluing the top part of the frame the pieces, removing them from the cardboard cone and placing the decking.

They're not quite finished yet - I want have the destroyed square turret's roof meet with the conical roof seamlessly, and the conical tower's damaged decking has to be put in place, which will look like the other finished turret when completed. It's like 80% completed though, and enough to share.

Gonna try to be more regular with the updates, which will be coming soonish.

 
   
Made in au
Ferocious Blood Claw





Wow that Trukk is amazing. Scatch building all of those track links must have taken an eternity!

The tower is looking great already, I can't wait to see how it goes.
   
Made in ca
Fixture of Dakka





Surrey, BC - Canada

Nice builds there Thumpingbear. You always have such great ideas.

Cheers,

CB

   
Made in ca
Confident Halberdier





in the computer?

@Bencyclopedia: Thanks! It was definitely a chore, but worth it in the end.
@Captain Brown: Thanks man, it's a labour of love in an abusive relationship.

Still plugging away at the Astrologer's Tower for the League of Extraordinary Riveters challenge:



Finished bricking up the bottom portion of the tower and all of the decking on the roof. I hummed and hawed about the construction of some structural elements, mainly the buttresses and the corbels underneath the top portion of the tower, but I've gotten to a point that I'm satisfied with.



The doorway and big ol cross above the door.



The buttresses and some more skulls. One thing that I've noticed about my terrain is that it doesn't have enough skulls - my pieces certainly HAVE skulls, but not the ridiculous amount that Warhammer terrain should have. Wanted to be more idealistic with this one.



The finished decking and the top tower portion. The lines on the floor indicate the direction the plank flooring will go in. I'm still trying to figure out how I'll construct it - I want part of the tower wall to be collapsed, along with part of the flooring that has semi-collapsed, making an impromptu ramp from the broken wall to the tower. I think I'll have to build up the tower a bit with some foam bricks, then place the flooring. Gotta play with it and figure it out.



The corbel work I've done. The skeleton ones are holding up the stone balcony, and the ones on the left and right are the regular ones that hold up the tower top. I've been meaning to do weird skeletal architecture like this for a while so I'm pretty pleased with it. Figures are from the Wargames Factory Skeleton kit, which I don't think is in production anymore.

Hoping to get the construction done by the end of the month and painted in the following week or so. More updates soonish.

 
   
Made in ca
Confident Halberdier





in the computer?

A small update:

Still plugging away at the Astrologer's Tower. Was feeling a little burnt out working on it so I whipped these up and painted em in a day: Warpstone objective markers.



The cobblestone bases are GW square bases with a custom resin cobblestone pattern bonded on top. The warpstones themselves are made from bits of sprue shaped by cutters into angular crystal shapes. I haven't painted in a while so the cobblestones came out a little dark for my liking, but they're good enough. The warpstones also came out a little dark, but I'm satisfied with em. I also tried my hand at OSL for the first time, which I think was okay for a first time - I figured out that subtlety, especially with the brightest glow colour, is key in selling the effect, a lesson that I picked up on by the end of my painting experiment. All in all pretty happy with em, beats using dice for objective markers!

More updates soonish.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2023/04/08 17:13:18


 
   
Made in gb
Mad Gyrocopter Pilot





Northumberland

The tower is looking excellent, great job at giving it a classic Warhammer feel.

The warpstone tokens are neat as well, nice OSL.

One and a half feet in the hobby


My Painting Log of various minis:
# Olthannon's Oscillating Orchard of Opportunity #

 
   
Made in us
Grisly Ghost Ark Driver






Love the tokens!

See what's on my painting table Now painting: Kruleboyz Gutrippaz 
   
Made in gb
Ancient Venerable Dreadnought






Good Lord! That towers is amazing, I always love the detail that you put in to the builds, like they could be made to your design if upscale and with outdoor materials . The Ork buggy looks immensely detailed too, nice one

Goberts Gubbins - P&M Blog, started with Oldhammer, often Blackstone Fortress and Void Panther Marines, with side projects along the way 
   
Made in ca
Confident Halberdier





in the computer?

Thanks everyone!

Fell way behind on the build, but I've still got skin in the game for the League of Extraordinary Riveters challenge.

Behold! The finished Astrologer's Tower build:



Started priming it before I remembered to take pics, apologies. I also have some extra pieces that will be easier to paint separately:



The crane will be on the makeshift balcony on the side with a chain extending to the ground as another path to the upper story.
The telescope will be placed in the wooden structure on the roof - what good is an astrologer with no telescope? I had originally planned to have just the lens poking out of the roof structure with a series of tubes connecting it to an eyepiece within the main tower room. I decided it was both too much work and would interfere with the gameplay accessibility of the tower, so instead the telescope will be in the small wooden structure and there's a small door on the roof for access, which is unfortunately not visible in the photos.
The ladders are for the scaffolding that wraps around the tower, and will allow access to the second story through the destroyed wall.

Painting will be a bit of a crunch, but I'm yet optimistic I can pull it off without asking for an extension - may be difficult as I have an odd job to do tomorrow and family in town over the weekend. Regardless, the challenge will be completed!

More updates soonish.

This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2023/04/27 23:09:32


 
   
 
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