Regiments of Renown, RR12 Flying Gargoyles of Barda

So the latest chaos army installment is a classic Regiments of the Renown set, The Flying Gargoyles of Barda, featuring the leader, standard bearer and musician, accompanied by three troopers.

Released in early 1985, this range were mounted on clear plastic flying stands but I always found their details were obscured as they were flying face down (the leader being the exception) so I've pinned them in an upright position to show them off in their full glory.

According to their back story, they were summoned by the wizard Barda (a likely airbone reference to Douglas Bader) Von Micklestein of Marienburg. 80's GW did always love a pun. They're particularly flimsy models and I'm not sure how long they'll survive the test of time pinned through the ankle, troopers especially.

To be honest, I was glad to get them finished, especially the wings which was the final part to get done. Painting all six pairs in one hit was a little soul destroying.

So with them out of the way, it's time to take another break from the chaos army. With two completed Broo and warrior regiments, a fire giant, the rest of the knights and now the gargoyles, I feel the urge for a different path for a while. Thankfully I'm overflowing with ideas. Just need to pick one. I may opt for more Rogue Trader traitor marines, after the recent traitor terminator Captain, although I've a small vignette in mind also.

Warhammer (Empire) Tilean Mercenary Captain

 

 So I've decided to stick with the Tilean theme and make a start on one of my mercenary regiments for my slow burning Tilean army. Up first is the unit leader with a musician with a difference.

 The mercenary captain figure is one of the excellent Greenskin Hunters from Knightmare Miniatures sculpted by Kev Adams whereas the bear is half of the Warhammer Empire Regimental Mascot model. There are some lovely details on the captain, a coil of rope wedged into a backpack and a wine bottle among them. 

 The beard is a little too close to the flesh colour and lacks a bit of contrast; I kind of wish I'd painted it grey now but never mind. 

 I shall wait until the front row is finished before I include a background story on this pair. Next up will be the unit standard bearer and champion. 

 Oh, on another note, it was a great honour for some of my work to feature in the latest issue of Wargames Illustrated, regarding an article on the history of Dixon Miniatures. 

Warhammer Tilean (Empire) Mercenary Army - more Halberdiers of Trantio

 Just a quick update for now; four more halberdiers have joined the unit. Two of them are the plug in weapon imperial footsoldier models who will fit on each end of the front row which is now complete.

 I always thought the guy second from left was a bit on the small side compared to the other halberdiers that were released at the time. I was always reluctant to add him to the unit because of his slightly smaller scale but despite that, I've given him the nod.

The front rank

 I've five left to paint to complete the unit of eighteen but I'm going to give myself a break for now and work on a Tilean mortar next to break things up a bit.

Warhammer Tilean (Empire) Regiment of Renown - Halberdiers of Trantio

 Well this next post was to be General Robert E. Lee's command base but for now, my American Civil War project has come to a halt and after over a year away, I have returned to painting Citadel stuff. I can't believe it's been so long.

 The initial plan is to resume my Empire collection and I've decided to work on a Tilean mercenary contingent. It'll be sort of based around the Old Worlder Mercenary Contingent list featured in Warhammer Armies. I'll list the stats of the named characters and the unit once I have them all painted.

 First up is the unit leader and standard bearer for my Tilean halberdiers which I've made into my own regiment of renown.

The unit command group in full

 For my unit leader I've gone for one of the real stand out figures from the original warhammer Empire range, the hero with eye patch and halberd.

 An immensely popular model, I've noticed this guy go for around the £30 on Ebay lately on more than one occasion - and that's on auction format, not desperados succumbing to the temptation of overpriced BINs.

The standard bearer is one of my favourite models from the original empire range. I replaced the original standard with a longer steel rod to accommodate at larger banner and have given it a standard top from another empire figure.

 The banner isn't my own work, I'm useless at freehand so I leave that to more talented folk than me, namely Pete's Flags from Ebay, a renaissance Habsburg design in fact but it certainly suits the style of what I'm looking for with this unit. I feel like I should have incorporated some blue into the flag but I'm somewhat wary of giving it a different finish to the rest of it. Additional paint may look a bit shiny in comparison to the printed finish and stand out oddly if you see what I mean.

Guido Gargano

Tilean Mercenary Captain 

 Despite his advancing years, Guido is still a steadfast and redoubtable fellow, a veteran of the mercenary armies of both the overthrown former Trantio Prince Orlando and successor Marco Colombo. Considered to be one of the more loyal Tilean mercenaries, he will generally stick to an agreement and is not the sort to change sides in the middle of a battle if an opponent offers a greater amount of cash.

 For the unit champion, I've recycled one of the models from my army painting challenge from a couple of years back, actually a Marauder reiksguard knight on foot. I've found he works pretty well as a halberdier command figure though. The drummer is also recycled from the same project and both models have had their bases jazzed up a bit to fit in with the new crowd.

Quintilano Dell'orso

Tilean Halberdier Champion

 A hulking brute of a man, Quintilano stands at nearly two metres tall and is an imposing sight in the unit. Originating from an affluent background, his exquisite and decorative armour is of the finest quality. He has brought shame on his family by waiving the position of a Tilean condottieri cavalryman, opting for the wild and unpredictable life in the mercenary ranks.

 With the command complete, I'll add a trooper on each end to make a rank of six followed by two more ranks to take the unit up to eighteen.

 So my plan is to flit around working on various aspects of the Tilean force. I have made a start on one of the other units so I may post them next while I add to the unit of halberdiers.

RR12 Flying Gargoyles of Barda

I decided to opt out of painting these guys in stone and went for something a little more lively. The troopers have been repositioned vertical as opposed to horizontal being pinned at the foot and filling in the flying stand hole in their abdomens thus displaying more of their fronts. Still need the standard bearer and musician to complete this lot.

Leader

Trooper

RR8 Golfag's Ogre Mercenaries - Champion & Trooper

 A lovely range these; a bit smaller than other Jes Goodwin Ogres but who cares? Grabbed these on a feebie years ago from Games Workshop head office long after they stopped producing them. White metal castings too which must be pretty seldom for these guys in the UK. Only two of the five painted so far. The rest to follow soon.