Citadel Empire Fighter Warband update - Marauder Ogre

 

 Well I wasn't expecting to land this guy anytime soon but the gods were smiling when lo and behold one appeared on Ebay for a fairly reasonable Buy It Now option so that was that. 

 It's quite staggering just how much these Marauder Ogres seem to go for these days. To be fair I never thought a lot of this figure in the past but seeing how well suited he is to my warband, he was the number one choice really - plus he's more than grown on me in recent times.

 There is plenty of nice detailing on this model; despite his grand intentions he has a slightly disheveled appearance with armour that appears to have seen a lot of action, a hat that is slightly tattered and garments that are looking a little worse for wear. The nose ring is a nice additional detail as well.

 Meantime I've managed to get a couple of the other fighters wrapped up which leaves me making a start on the final man! I should be able to post up the last trio by the weekend. Then after that I'll follow it up with a detailed post on the finished warband with individual profiles. 

 

Citadel Empire Fighter Warband Update - Halfway stage

 

 This week I have been working on the next pair of fighters for the warband taking my tally to six and the halfway point. I'm finding quite time consuming but going the extra mile with them is more than worth it.

 The first model is from the F2 fighter range again, Rombustus Sellsword (I'll be giving him his own identity when the warband is complete), a figure I first painted way back in about 1988 (not the exact same model unfortunately). 

 The second is one of my favourite fighter models, another of the F2 range, the Gunnery Captain. He is such a totally cool figure with a wonderfully characterful face. I just love those spectacles. 

 The plan is to jump off the project for a couple of weeks to participate in a painting challenge on fb before resuming these guys. Ideally I'd love to get the ogre of the group underway but seeing as I don't yet own him or even seem to be able to source him right now, that isn't going to happen. Hope it won't be too long before I can get my hands on one. I don't want to end up having everyone finished and no ogre to round them off. This is the one I'm after, by the way:

Citadel Empire Fighter Warband Update - Crossbowman and Dwarf spearman

 In addition to the captain and champion, I have a couple of the retinue ready this week. The first of the Citadel F2 Fighter range, a mercenary crossbowman and a Marauder Dwarf from the spearman regiment.

 The dwarf is probably my favourite of the troopers in the afore mentioned Marauder regiment. My plan is to include a couple of dwarfs in the warband with the idea of having it based in Tilea, the principality of Luccini in particular, where dwarfs are known to reside. I'll be going into more detail with all that once the warband is completed.

 

The mercenary crossbowman is a wonderfully detailed figure albeit tiny. It's certainly smaller than the other F2 fighters in general but then it is a variant of the Talisman minstrel model which is very diddy. I'd have struggled to paint him without the new magnifying visor which is proving to be an invaluable asset. 

 I'm currently working on the next pair which will put me at the halfway stage which is pretty good progress for me. 

The Beginning of a Citadel/Marauder Empire Fighter Warband

 

 With something finally painted and confidence restored, I felt it was the right time to embark on the classic Fighter warband as mentioned at the end of my previous post. So here are the first two members, the Captain and Champion. 

 Now it's been something I've intended on doing for several years and I've attempted to make a start in the past but I've never quite been satisfied with the colour schemes. The plan is to have the warband made up of Citadel fighters, mainly from the F2 range and Marauder Minuatures, although as you can see here, I've opted for the excellent Smiorgan Baldhead figure from the Eternal Champion personalities range to represent the champion. I can't think of a model more suitable for a grizzled veteran - he was always destined to be part of this project right from the off. 

 With the warband leader, I've gone for one of the Marauder MM60 Empire fighters; probably my favourite of the range. I've always liked that slightly hawty appearance he has. 

I have to say, this project carries a fair amount of inspiration from the superb Averland warband painted by Chris Sabick of Blue's Marauding Miniatures and if by some gross misfortune, you've never had the pleasure of seeing it, it's well worth a look - HERE

 So the next plan is to get another three painted and post up in a week or two. The aim will be to end with around a dozen in total with the inclusion of a Marauder Ogre - that is if I can get hold of one!

On a final note, something I have recently invested in, due to my eyes beginning to feel the strain of close up work, is a magnifying visor and I'm delighted to say that it's made a hell of a difference. 

Warhammer Empire Hochland Captain

 

 I've finally gotten around to blogging my first post of 2021 which is due to not getting anything painted in about a month and a half. I had planned to work on quite a bit over Christmas but contracted Covid which laid me up until new year.

 It was pretty grim but could have been a lot worse but it did leave me feeling quite mentally ravaged more than anything and when I was functional enough to resume the hobby, I found I was totally at a loss as to what to work on. After several failed attempts at various projects plus a huge lack of confidence, I finally managed to complete something, albeit one solitary figure.

 I've gone for something familiar to get me going again - an Empire mercenary captain. I decided on the colours of Hochland, mainly because I fancied working with green which is a colour I've barely used in recent years. The model is originally the excellent standard bearer which has been slightly modified with a hand conversion. 

 He was painted as a one-off but with the option of adding a retinue if he turned out well so I've lined up several models for that. The important thing was getting something finished and have my confidence return. 

 Meantime I've managed to gather some ideas for some other projects over the coming weeks/months, in particular a classic Citadel fighter warband which has been something I've wanted to get done for years now. A combination of careful figure selection and deciding on colours for the uniform has always kept this idea stalled but I think I've finally got the green light. The way things are going I should have a couple ready for posting next week.

 

2020 Review Time

 

 Well here we are again for the annual review.

 It's been a pretty involving one; the Dixon Confederate army has taken up a large percentage of this years' efforts, kicking off last January but not actually blogging anything until February; the second infantry unit and an artillery base.

 March and April saw more of the same with some Confederate cavalry, General Longstreet and a third infantry unit before I decided on giving the ACW a bit of a well earned break.

I wouldn't blog again until the July as I spent time trying out bits and pieces, planning a Tilean Mercenary army which took a bit of time. I did manage a few random empire figures but didn't end up blogging any of them.

 So by July I had organised enough and made a significant start on the Tileans with work on a mercenary halberdier unit and also a number of pikemen.

 It was all coming along nicely until I began to struggle with finding uniform colour schemes that I was happy with and wasted about a month trying things with unsatisfactory results. Enough was enough and I needed to put the brakes on the whole idea for now until I was able to find some colours that I was going to be happy with (however long that was going to take!).

 So the last three months were spent back with the Confederates with another artillery piece, a fourth infantry unit and two more command bases of Generals John Bell Hood and Robert E. Lee.

 I did manage to sneak in a Slaanesh Champion for the Scale Creep Champsgiving challenge....

....before rounding things off with a group shot on my Confederate army. 

 I had planned quite a bit over the Christmas holidays but illness totally put paid to that. So regarding 2021, I've no plans as yet, I think it's time for another break from the ACW. I'd like to think this coming year has a diorama or vignette in the offering - let's face it, one of them from me is overdue.

Dixon Miniatures American Civil War - Confederate Army group shot

 

 After getting to a substantial stage with my Dixon Confederate army, I thought it was high time to post up a group shot so here it is so far.

 

  To be honest, I had never planned for anything this size. Initially I bought about 10 figures on a whim just to have a mess around with. Little did I know I'd end up becoming obsessed with this somewhat quirky range of miniatures. Despite not being to everyone's taste, they are brimming with character and authenticity. I just love the little guys!

 

General Robert E. Lee

 

I had to carry out about half a dozen head swaps to avoid duplication thus making every man in the army different. There are another six infantry units still to come and at least one more artillery base and a limber team but it's cavalry that I certainly need to build on next.

 

General James Longstreet 

General John Bell Hood 

2nd Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment

 

8th Virginia Infantry 

3rd Arkansas Infantry Regiment

28th North Carolina Infantry

JEB Stuart's Cavalry 

10 Pound Parrot Rifle & Napoleon Gun