CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN

Welcome to Idle Hands, my weekly segment where I discuss conversions, painting, and strategy for the Warhammer tabletop game…

THIS WEEK

Lots going on, the real world is getting increasingly exciting as the due date for my son gets closer and closer. And the hobby is moving along at a strong pace to match, one thing has become increasingly clear to me lately though – the Marauders just aren’t holding up. So, I’ve decided to drop the two units of Marauders in favor of a second unit of Halberd wielding Warriors of Tzeentch. Once I’m finished with everything in the army, I’ll probably work on the Marauders anyway just in case, but for now I just feel more comfortable having the harder Warrior unit over the weaker all around Marauders. Now, on to the week in gaming…

PLAYTESTING CONTINUES

I faced the corrugated menace yet again this week, only this time he was playing Dwarfs. This was a first for me, like last week’s game against Tomb Kings. Obviously, very different armies. I saw much of what I expected (3 Cannons and 2 Organ Guns), but I really didn’t know what else to expect from the Dwarfs since I had never faced them before. The Magic Phase basically didn’t happen, so it was down to close combat – where I felt I could where him down (eventually).

Eventually is the key part though, my Chosen held the line in the center of the field. They were engaged in a pillow fight with a unit of Dwarfs, in the end the Chosen and the Exalted on Disk won the day. I lost a single Chosen in 4 turns of close combat. By the end of turn 5 the lines had finally broken. My Exalted took out the entire gun line single handed, as well as his Thane. The big losers here were the Marauders, they just couldn’t do anything but tickle the Dwarfs while taking grotesque losses.

MOUNT SAINT AWESOME

This week I got the mountain attached to the display board, and did some initial prep work before painting and flocking the whole thing. I also got an idea of how the tournament army looks on the board.

I wanted to make sure I had plenty of room for all of the units with a good two inches to spare between units. That allows me ample room to put a completely different army on later if need be and it allows me a little room to add more “terrain” features here and there.

Once the thing was mounted, I had to build up the sides of the mountain to give it a more natural line. Unfortunately, the day I did this it started raining so the spackle took a while to dry. Luckily, I had plenty to keep me occupied while I waited…

MALEVOLENT CREATIONS

A lot of prep work was done this week, and even more painting. I didn’t feel so much like I was spinning my wheels this week.

Exalted Hero on Disk

I used a Disk of Tzeentch from the Herald of Tzeentch model, the base is from Scibor with a bit of modification on the top to anchor the disk. My goal was to create something more fluid, with more of a natural sense of motion than say… clear plastic pegs (I hate those pegs, everytime I see them I die a little inside).

Here’s a couple of shots of the underside, I used tentacles from the Spawn sprue to join the Disk to the base in a more natural way (I think it gives the whole thing a bit more flow and a look of action too).

WET PAINT

The paint scheme seems to be working just as I’d hoped it would, the process of painting entire units has become incredibly streamlined.

Damien the Twice Blessed, Exalted Hero on Disk

This one was inspired by Mr Dee, I used parts from various sources to put this guy together. The actual Hero was originally one of the plastic Chosen I was converting a few months ago, since those got scrapped I had him laying around until I decided what to do with him.

The disk is from the Herald of Tzeentch on Disk model, the base is from Scibor. A very detailed base at that. I used a piece from the Skaven Hellpit Abomination to mount the disk itself to the base (via tentacles from the Spawn sprue and some pins).

And of course, I used plenty of Water Effects for the gore and slime.

Dee taught me how to make the strings of gore and slime that make this mini really pop. I have to tip my hat to Scibor too, the detail on this particular base is overwhelming.

Hinge the Mad, Battle Standard Bearer of the Abode of Ravens

You may recall my previous BSB, a conversion that used bits from over 10 different models. I liked how it turned out, but I wanted something more fitting with the theme of my army. So, he needed to be updated – but repainting him just wasn’t really an option. So, when I ordered the Tzeentch Herald for the Disk rider I decided to pick up the Lord on Daemonic Steed (a model I’ve wanted an excuse to paint for a while). I added a standard from the Bloodletter sprue, and an icon from 40k to the top (hurray for Rhino bits). Another base from Scibor, and the obligatory Raven on the figure’s shoulder.

The Immortals, Chosen of Tzeentch

There were several weapon swaps, bends, and even replacement appendages that went into this unit before it was finished. The unit called for 11 Chosen, but since I only had 10 I decided to throw in a Pink Horror. This helped tie the unit in with the rest of the army, in particular the Warriors with their summoning portal.

I wanted to spend a little extra time on details for the guys, they are Chosen after all.

COMING SOON

Next up are my Chariots, then the new Warhounds, which will leave me with just the second unit of Warriors. Also, I’ve got a surprise in the mail that should make for an interesting week. So, see you soon…