Mordheim Marienburg Captain

  With work full on at the moment and taking up seven days a week I've been struggling to find time to get any painting done. And here we have the start of yet another warband, this time from Marienburg.

 The plan is to have several on the go at one time. I've been planning a Marienburg warband for some time now and apart from trying to carefully select the figures to represent the group I've been obsessing over who to choose as its captain.

 Of course there are plenty to choose from in the citadel fighters, Dogs of War and Empire ranges but none of them seemed to stand out. It felt as if I was searching for something that didn't actually exist.

 I decided to delve into some of the more obscure ranges and there I spotted the merchant/gentleman figure from the vast selection of townsfolk. After missing out on him on ebay, I eventually managed to secure the next one that came along.

 Of course he needed a weapon to replace the scroll and to make matters trickier, he's left handed. Then began the long search for a left sword arm which proved to be a right pain in the arse; there aren't as many as you'd expect - plus it would need to cohere with his empire costume.
                   
                         
 Eventually I found a suitable donor in Adolf from the dogs of war range and trimmed his sleeve down a bit. I also had to re sculpt some of his left trouser where the scroll had been.

 I also had to try and overcome my hang up for painting yellow; many's the time I've abandoned a figure after being disappointed with my yellow efforts but this time I was happy with the outcome.

 So with the captain out of the way, I can relax a bit knowing that ghost has been laid to rest and get on with the rest of the group. I'll probably knock out another two or three before resuming with one of the other warband projects.

Possessed Warband Update - The Possessed themselves!

 Okay, so possessed aren't renowned to have wings but hey, who gives a shit? This pair fit the aesthetics of my growing possessed warband.

 Both are Nick Bibby sculpts and from the C34 Elementals and Demons range; a Deamon (sic) and Pit Fiend respectively. I don't recall ever seeing either of these models painted before.

The warband grows

 The Deamon has a bit of a grim mould line across the wings but I can't really be arsed to do anything with it now.

 The Pit Fiend's skin was looking at little chalky (Rakarth Flesh/Pallid Wych Flesh) so I had to calm it down a bit with a very thin layer of Druchi Violet.

 So here I take a break from the possessed; roughly half way through. There are a few half finished projects beginning to clutter up the desk so it's time to sort that out.

Possessed Warband Update - Dark Soul & Beastman

 I've struggled over the last couple of weeks to knock these two out due to suffering with proper flu and I've probably not felt this shit in 20 years. But soldiering on, I have added the first of the Magister's followers; a Dark Soul and beastman.

 I've always been a big fan of the Chaos warrior I opted for to represent the Dark Soul but I never really felt he fitted in with the rest of the guys from the same range; having the look of a chaos thug more than a warrior due the the lack of plate armour.

 The plan was to paint his tattoos in blue ink (which I actually did) but having already shaded his flesh with chestnut ink, it didn't really show that well. Never mind, he'll do.

 I really enjoyed painting several Bob Olley beastmen last year for a warband and this chap was no exception. The armour is such an innovative design and I'm planning on adding another to the group before the end.

I'm going to stick with this lot for a while and the plan is to add something large and brutish into the mix for next time.

Mordheim Possessed Magister

 Despite the Frostgrave boys coming along nicely, my urge to take time out and get this lad done to kick off a Mordheim Possessed Warband has been far too great.

 As expected, despite a personal liking towards the Mordheim Possessed figures, I'm going old school with the entire warband. I don't think there was any hesitation on choice for the magister in the Shreve the Inquisitor figure from the old Chaos Sorcerers range.

 I replaced the, call it, talisman hanging from his waist with a green stuff mould press of a chaos champion's hammer head to serve as an amulet. And then there's the sword; a bit OTT maybe but it fits like a glove.

  I'm torn right now between resuming the Frostgrave warband and getting one or two painted up to accompany the magister and there are some belters lined up in the queue for this too.

Mordheim Tilean Warband Completed!

 Last week I painted my first ever crossbowman - and now I've painted a second along with axe wielding fighter and a henchman to round off my Tilean warband.

L'Ordine Della Falcone

 All 8 mercenaries are finished; here are the final three.

Gennaro Castagnola, a mercenary axeman from the southern city of Luccini. Once a bodyguard to a former State Leader, Gennaro chose the life as a mercenary after the overthrow and assassination of his master.

Orlando Di Chiara, a deadly marksman from Pavona. A deserter from the Pavonan Municipal Guard, the renegade Orlando has opted for the mercenary life and the quest for riches.

Ubaldo Monzo, a brutish criminal from Remas with a reputation for murder and extortion.  Hired by Condottiero Leopoldo Di Vittorio for his cold blooded and ruthless brutality.

 So that's that; a rare case of me actually starting a project and finishing it without any breaks or other figure distractions. I will kind of keep this warband open ended as I may add one or two more should I feel the need at some point; perhaps a duellist or even something a tad larger.

Mordheim Tilean Warband Update

 Next up is some more additions to my Tilean Warband whose beginnings featured in my last post. I've delved into the Eternal Champion box set once again, this time using Elric's companion Moonglum as a Tilean youngblood. Up until now I'd been finding it a little difficult to find suitable figures to represent a youngblood; there aren't a great deal of options out there in the old citadel range - as far as I know.

 I've also gone for a crossbowman from the citadel big fighters range for my other warband member. I'd say this fellow is one of my favourites of all the fighter ranges.

Tristano Tomasso, a wily youngster who fled his family in Verezzo keen to serve under the command of the revered and charismatic Captain Di Vittorio.

Massimiliano Gorga, a stout marksman for hire hailing from the Tilean city of Remas.

 I do like the way that each figure differs greatly from the next; something that seems to work well with mercenaries. I'm in the middle of painting man six at present; seven and eight are not too far behind so within the next week or two I'll most likely be posting them up as a trio.

The Beginning of a Tilean Mercenary Warband

 Okay so it's not another Chaos Warrior this week as planned. Instead, still on diorama break, I've made a start on something from this year's to do list; a Tilean Mercenary Warband.

 Tilean Mercenary Captain Leopoldo Di Vittorio with champions Umberto Colombano (left) and Ermilo Moscatelli (right).

Leopoldo Di Vittorio, hailing from Toscania in northern Tilea. Standing at a lofty 6'6", Leopoldo is an imposing figure who is bred from aristocracy.

Umberto Colombano of Udolpho, also in the north. A man of great brutish strength who lost his left eye battling with his feuding brother whom he vanquished.

Ermilo Moscatelli, from Trantio. Despite his slender build, Ermilo is a hardy warrior; a knowledgeable fellow with a fondness of Cathayan philosophy. 

 Apart from a red yellow and black (I think) colour scheme in a White Dwarf (again, I think) there is little to suggest a specific livery for Tilea. This gave me plenty of scope on what colours to choose so it was a good excuse for turquoise and purple.

 I've been thinking about which figs to use for a while now and looking slightly further afield from Empire and classic fighters I spied some serious potential within the Eternal Champion range.
 The warband Mercenary Captain has been represented by Elric of Melniboné from the Eternal Champion box set. I think he looks well suited as a Tilean aristocrat with his pomp and haughtiness.

 For the warband champion I opted for using Smiorgan Baldhead from the Eternal Champion personalities range. This is a figure that I'd almost forgotten about; he's a cracking sculpt and makes the perfect Empire character.

 For the third warband member, I used the Gunnery Captain from the F2 fighters range. Another great fig, all three are sculpted by different designers; Jes Goodwin, Alan/Michael Perry and Aly Morrison respectively.

 So that's that for now; I haven't fully decided on which other figures to use for the rest of the band yet although one or two have been pencilled in.