Tzeentch Warband Update - I love Bob Olley!

 Running a bit late this week but here is the new Tzeentch warband update. Rochie posted a  fine pair of Bob Olley beastman the other day as am I tonight - or three in fact.
 These guys were among the most enjoyable I've painted in a long time; Mr Olley is a master of intricate and bizarre detail. It was good to be able to run riot with colour as well.

 From the undergrowth appeared three more brutish beastmen all sporting brightly coloured and decorative armour. The mounted one cursed them furiously as they looked about the scene of carnage. They had split up in the search for food and upon seeing the corspes of the peasants, the three starving newcomers savagely began to tear at the dead flesh in a frenzied bloodrage.
 Dieter watched patiently as they feasted before calmly approaching.
"My children." He hissed soothingly.  "You will never go hungry, never be hunted, never be forced to wander in futility again....I can promise you this if you follow in my servitude. Come with me and we shall embark on a journey of power and glory in the name of our master!"
 The four Tzaangor brayed in unison; devoted to their charismatic new leader. They would serve Dieter well in the times ahead....

The warband of Dieter Heldengast begins to take shape

 So another stage done. Next up is Rochie's new installment with his 40k Slaanesh warband at some point over the next week if he isn't too tied up with commissions. For me that's probably not a bad thing as I need a bit of time to sort out my own 40k warband update.

40k Renegade Warband Update - The Drug Lord

 With another top drawer post from Rochie it's time for the next installment of my 40k warband. I was planning for two or three figures for this post but I've been held up a little with a busy work schedule so for now it's just the one addition.

 This one is a basic head swap; the body being that of the Traitor General figure from the 2000 AD Rogue Trooper range and the head (the second time I've used this for a conversion) from a Blood Bowl Chaos player.

 Notorious baron of the Red Star drugs cartel on Samson IV, Deverell Del Core monopolised  narcotic activity on the planet. His face permanently concealed with his trademark hood, Del Core's fearsome reputation preceded him although an unexpected audience with a renegade of Khorne with promise of untold Chaos power proved too tempting to resist. Agreeing to accomany Kalrath off world with a small crew of his trusted henchmen, Del Core ordered his personal Endeavour Class Light Cruiser, The Raven to be prepared for imminent launch. The drug lord rubbed his hands in anticipation at the prospect of a successful alliance and the opportunity of aspiring in the service of The Blood God.
 Kalrath of course, merely saw Del Core as a means to an end; an accessory for the greater cause but for now, the ball was rolling and the renegade had began to make plans for a  destination....

So that's it for now, time for Rochie to deliver the goods with his next contribution for his warhammer Nurgle warband. It should be another classic!  I myself will be making a start on my next Tzeentch warband installment which I hope to unveil next week.

Tzeentch Warband Update - The Beginning of a Retinue

 Well it's back to the Tzeentch warband and with a banging effort from Rochie over the weekend, it's time to do my bit and start building a retinue for Dieter Heldengast.
 I've been hoping to get this posted up before now but a weekend of kid's football and a few jars has waylaid it a little. Anyway, up first is one of the beastmen who I decided would make a suitable rider for the Cold One I rolled on the Other Table.

 I can't recall the last time I saw a beastman ride a Cold One but a first time for everything I guess. Also, this is surprisingly the first Bob Olley sculpt I've ever painted and I have to admit despite being quite challenging, it was a great one to work with. I'm not sure he coheres that well with the Bob Naismith Cold One sculpt nor would I have ever devised the idea of bonding these two figures together but that's the beauty of rolling a warband isn't it?

 In search of devotees, Dieter Heldengast headed southwest from the Bleak Moors to the Dead Wood, a fearsome region of ill repute where men will not dwell nor enter without good reason. It was in this hellish place where Dieter encountered the first of his loyal subjects. The intense stillness of the air was broken by a cacophony of many startled voices and bestial growling. Drawing his twin blades of fire, the Tzeentch Champion strode determinedly towards the source of the commotion and upon entering a clearing saw a good dozen or so panicked human peasants armed with various polearms and the like. Their quarry which had been cornered against a group of trees was an ornately armoured beastman riding a Cold One lizard which angrily attempted to pounce but until now had been repelled by the peasants' lengthy weapons. Dieter was upon them in an instant, fire blades tearing through flesh as cries of terror and angony filled the air. One unfortunate severed in two, lengthways; the tissue cauterized. Wielding his mace, the beastman urged his snarling mount headlong into the mass of hysterical peasants. The onslaught was brief;  the Cold One feasted on the flesh of the fallen while its master knelt before Dieter, offering its services while nearby the sound of low grunts and tramping through undergrowth was suddenly heard. Something was about to enter the clearing....

That's all for now. Next up will be another addition to the 40k warband sometime during the following week but not before Rochie has come up with another brilliant contribution of his own.

40k Renegade Warband Update - In search of a ship

 Taking up the baton from Rochie once more, it's my turn to contribute to the 40k side of our warband project again and have made a start on Kalrath's followers; two of the humans in fact.

Kalrath The Barbarous with drug traffickers, Rollan Dattilo (left) and Miki Machida

 Having fled his chapter on Samson IV in the Calixis Sector and The Inquisition in pursuit, Kalrath was in dire need of an escape off world and with luck, obtain some loyal followers who could assist him in his long term plans. 

 Eager to find a crew with a ship, the renegade found some form of fortune in the underworld by encountering two runners for notorious drug trafficker Deverell Del Core.
 Psychopathic drug addicts, Miki Machida and Rollan Dattilo were easy targets for Kalrath, both having experienced glimpses of Chaos from the warpstorm tainted glass shards they constantly craved.
Satisfied with the initial recruitment but in need of more devotees to the cause, the next step for Kalrath was to arrange a meeting with Deverell Del Core....

Both figures are part of the Judge Dredd Perps range and were great fun to paint. My aim is to keep this retinue in a totally non uniform style.
So next week it will be back to the fantasy Chaos warband and I'm sure Rochie will be posting his efforts for that one over the next few days.

Tzeentch Warband Underway!

 With our 40k warbands underway and Rochie kicking off his Warhammer Nurgle Warband in spectacular style, it's time for my Tzeentch warband to come into play.
 I rolled myself a Level 5 Human Hero and the obligatory Level 1 Wizard power and for personal attributes, Breathes Fire and Choose Your Own (I decided on Three Heads as I was desperate to have an excuse to use one of my favourite Jes Goodwin Champions!) I equipped him with an extra sword and light armour.

 Then it was onto the retinue; we decided to allow a free roll from the Other Table to give us the chance to roll something a bit different. I ended up rolling Two Minotaurs, One Troll, Two Hobgoblins, Four Beastmen and finally from the Other Table, a Cold One. Overall I was pretty happy with that, particularly the Choose Your Own. ;)


 So here is Dieter Heldengast:

Once an aspiring Mercenary renowned for his skills with twin blades named Hatred's Tear and Hope's End, Dieter and his two brothers, Marius and Rainer had embarked from Marienberg, their hometown and like many other fortune seekers, set out for Mordheim in search of Warpstone.
Marius and Rainer, the two younger siblings although daring and reckless such as mercenaries are generally portrayed, were proud and honourable young men at heart but Dieter was reputed to being a double dealing untrustworthy fellow; a back stabber (literally) who would stop at nothing to exploit for his own ends.  
 The destiny of Deiter Heldengast would be drastically reshaped when the brothers' journey came to a sudden end on the last leg in the sombre province of Ostermark after a brutal skirmish with Tzeentchian cultists in a temple hidden in the mists of the Eerie Downs. Their opponents were little better than peasants presumably persecuted  and displaced from their homes in the nearby villages but their leader, a Magister was a more formidable opponent and Dieter was badly wounded in the face from a misaimed spell that would have obliterated him if his would-be assailant wasn't cut down from behind by Marius and Rainer.
 Laying there in blind agony still clutching his two blades, Dieter was overcome by a whispering reedy voice in his head. His brothers, bent over him were querying his situation but he could not hear them as the voice continued to enchant and captivate him. Eventually he requested they help him to his feet; on doing so Marius and Rainer were cruelly run through by their blinded sibling!
As they lay there dying in disbelief, the heads of the unfortunate pair began to dissolve as Dieter still enthralled by the alluring voice began to change. His severely damaged face became smooth and featureless apart from his mouth. Two new heads were formed either side of his own; the heads of his brothers. These were now also bald and featureless save
 for a single eye on each. His twin blades became magnificent curved weapons of fire; each bearing the mark of Tzeentch and his armour now a mass of intricate grooves of blue and red. Without hesitation, a jet of flame burst from his mouth and smothered the corpses of brothers and cultists alike.
Turning his back on the inferno, Dieter strode proudly from the scene of carnage and out onto the Eerie Downs in excitement at the prospect of serving his most generous new master....

I'd have to say this is my favourite of all the Jes Goodwin Tzeentch Champions and like the others, I found him not an easy fig to paint; for a day or so I just sat looking at it. I'd definitely categorise as one of those "Where The Fuck Do I Start?!" figures.
Anyway, there he is. So it's back over to Rochie for the next chapter of his 40k warband as it's time for me to resume my own one.

Chaos Warband Collaboration Project

 After seeing the successful collaboration between Axiom and Asslessman with their wonderful Rogue Quest project a short time back, I was keen on forming some kind of partnership and embarking on a joint venture of my own. So who better to ally with other than Mr Rochie Rochfort over at Buried Under Lead? We first discussed an alliance back around Christmas but up until now we've been a bit tied up with some time consuming projects. Now the time is right and we have decided (I think it was him actually) to paint two Chaos warbands each, one fantasy and one 40k.

 As it states on his page we have chosen two powers each; one each for the fantasy warband (Nurgle for Rochie and Tzeentch for me) and the second pair for the 40k warband (Rochie undertaking Slaanesh and myself opting for Khorne).

 A week or so ago we got round to rolling up our respective warbands. I actually generated mine whilst shopping in Lidl (perhaps the first case of this in history), me on the dice generator and Rochie reading the results from the Good Book via Facebook. I could have done all this myself when I got back home but the momentum was with me and it couldn't wait.

 So I ended up with a Chaos Renegade Major Hero of Khorne with obligatory chaos armour. He also comes with bolter and frag grenades. His other attributes are two hounds of chaos and a tail.
So here is Kalrath The Barbarous.

 Formally known as Captain Kalrath Verus of The Star Reavers, he fled his chapter after the discovery of the continuous blood sacrifices he had been practising in the attempt to gain the attention of Khorne. It had began with the reckless and brutal bloodthirsting during battle where his troops would look on as the blood soaked captain maniacally tore through his beleaguered and overpowered foes. After a while he became aware of a painful growth just above his buttocks; ignoring it his lust for blood and carnage continued and he begun to indulge in the blood sacrifices performed in secrecy. His 'growth' evolved and developed into  a fleshy tail with a scaled base; something that could no longer be concealed from his comrades.

One of the Kev Adams renegads, I have used a tail from a (already damaged) C48 Gargoyle

The followers that I rolled are an Inquisitor (nice!) and six humans. The inquisitor's attributes resulted in Cloud Of Flies and Silly Voice (not so nice).

We'll be seeing more of his retinue in the weeks to come. I haven't fully decided where I'm going with the inquisitor figure yet but I'm sure looking forward to it.

Rogue Trader Space Marine Lizard Riders Unit

 With a combination of being manic at work and slaving over this project, the blog has been a little dormant over the last month or so but here is the final unit that makes up my Star Reavers chapter; riding lizards.

 Made up of the limited edition space marine riding lizard figure, this is a unit that I have been aiming to get done for some time now. Part of the problem was not owning enough lizards for a unit of five; up until the end of last year I owned only two. Then, not long before Christmas I was extremely fortunate to win no less than FOUR riding lizards on ebay for £10.50 also with free postage. The bargains can still be found out there; living proof.

 Although initially designed for the plastic marines from the RTB1 set, I planned to use metal riders for the lizards just as I'd done with the first one I painted a couple of years ago.  Bike riders fit nicely but I was running out of options here having used most of them up on bikes already.
 So I set about using other marines that would fit onto saddles.

Unit leader - I had originally planned to remove one of the sergeant's power fists but a wise man (Rochie over at Buried Under Lead) convinced me he would look great left as is so I took his sagely advice. His mount is roughly based on an Agama lizard; I wanted something a little more colourful for the leader.

Standard Bearer - He underwent a bit of converting here and his left hand was replaced by a Blood Bowl Human lineman whilst his standard was made from brass rod and the banner of a Marine Chaplain; this part was a real bastard as I had to drill the existing banner pole out to accommodate the rod. One of those fine line between success and completely ballsing it up moments.

This guy was a lot simple. Originally a medic bike/jet cycle rider, he merely needes his medic symbols removed.

Originally painted a couple of years ago, he's a sidecar rider/tank crewman.

Lastly, this guy; another former medic. Just a case of file the medic sigils off again, cut the tag off and pin him on.

 So that's it; all units completed. All that remains is a medic, a techmarine and a librarian in terminator armour and I can draw a line under the Star Reavers chapter and tick off one of my goals for 2016 thus drawing my attention to some other important projects and works in progress.