Heads up and apologies in advance, this is a LONG post, but this has been an epic project for me so I wanted to do it justice. Hopefully all the pictures will keep you scrolling, and if you do read (or scroll) to the end there is even an OWAC battle report for you :)
With the completion of OWAC VI my High Elf host is finished at last, after 30 years of collecting and hoarding... of, and press moulding. So much press moulding! This truly is a Hobby Quest completed - 13 year old me is blown away by the fact I finally have a fully painted High Elf army on this scale.
By own pretty basic standards, there is no question my painting and modelling skills have improved over the last two years of this project, and the accountability and camaraderie of the OWAC have provided the vital fuel to get it all done. I couldn't have done it without you, you crazy bunch of bastards!
So then, here we have the results of two years of the OWAC, plus some refurbished minis from my youth, and a couple of characters who I already had painted to a reasonable standard, but let's start with a wrap up of OWAC VI.
Month One - The Star and Garter (353 pts)
8 Silver Helms (inc full command) - 353
Month Two - Archers and Artillery (542 pts)
Repeater Bolt Thrower + 4 crew - 200 pts
Mage on foot - 59 pts
Mage on Horseback - 62 pts
Mage Champion - 121 pts
Archer command (light armour, bows) x3 (inc. Champion) - 100 pts
Month Three - Phoenix Guard Elite (280 pts)
20 Phoenix Guard - 280 pts
Month Four - Archers of Lothern (240 pts)
22 High Elf Archers (including Standard and Musician) - 240pts*
*I realised I did not count the unit leader for the Lothern Archers as a champion for the monthly count, but I do for the full list below
Month Five - Leader Month (768 pts)
Mounted Hero for Ellyrian Reavers (Barded Steed, Light Armour, Shield, Sword) - 114 pts
Mounted Army General (Imrik) - (Barded Steed, Heavy Armour, Lance) - 172 pts*
Phoenix Guard Unit Champion (Heavy Armour, Halberd) - 53 pts
Army Battle Standard Bearer (Heavy Armour) - 101 pts*
* counted as Mounted BSB and Unit Champion in full list below
Mage Lord - 328 pts
Month Six - Wild Card Month (227 pts)
Chrace Chariot - 84 pts
Tiranoc/Ellyrian Chariot - 84 pts
High Elf Soreceress - 59 pts
OWAC VI Totals
Adjusted* mini count = 79
*Under OWAC rules Cavalry = count as two models, Warmachines = only count crew
Total Points value = 2410
Plus everything that I refurbished over the last 6 months, but wasn't included in the challenge...
Plus a new Dragon! A suitable mount for the Sorceress as well as doubling up as a key Monster/NPC in my D&D campaign. Part of the reason it wasn't ready in time for Wild card month was the decision to go back and paint the wing and tail membranes yellow in keeping with the colour scheme from the D&D 3E Monster Manual rather than the original pale blue I had been planning. This also had the added benefit with fitting in more with the bright blue and yellow of the Ellyrian/Tiranoc elements of the army and became the perfect mount for the Sorceress (although she is only mounted using blue-tac due to the need to do double duty in D&D etc as a Dragon with no mount)
Adding the second Dragon felt important to make this a Host of Caledor, and finally adding in my output from OWAC V , the refurbished units from last year, and a couple of mounted characters that were already painted to a reasonable standard, I was ready to survey the entire army in full...
Full list at basic build / Full list with special characters
Caledor: 3300/4043
High Elf General (Hvy Armour, Lance) - 165
Dragon - 450
Prince Imrik - 275
Mounted Battle Standard Bearer (Hvy Armour, Lance) - 106
9 Dragon Princes of Caledor (inc full command) - 448
Mounted Hero for Dragon Princes - 114
Prince Tyrion on Malhandir - 425
Mage Lord - 328
Prince Teclis - 630
20 (Caledor themed) Phoenix Guard - 280
+ Phoenix Guard Standard Bearer - 28
could count as Battle Standard on foot - 98, but army total includes mounted Battle Standard option
+ Phoenix Guard Champion - 53
could count as Caradryan, Captain of the Phoenix guard - 73
30 High Elf Spearmen (inc full command) - 424
30 High Elf Spearmen (inc full command) - 424
22 High Elf Archers (inc full command) - 280
2 Repeater Bolt throwers - 200
Yvresse/Silver Helms: 1726/1934
Hero on Griffon - 259
Eltharion on Stormwing - 467
22 High Elf Archers (inc full command) - 280
2 Repeater Bolt throwers - 200
Hero on Pegasus - 156
Mounted Mage - 62
10 Silver Helms (inc. full command) - 416
8 Silver Helms (inc full command) - 353
Lothern: 1160
Hero on Griffon - 259
Mage - 59
21 Lothern Seaguard (inc. full command) - 362
22 Lothern Archers (inc. full command) - 280
2 Repeater Bolt Throwers - 200
Ellyria/Tiranoc: 1291
Sorceress - 59
Dragon - 450
Mounted Hero for Ellyrian Reavers - 114
15 Ellyrian Reavers w/ Bows, Spears, Shields (inc. full command) - 584
Chariot I - 84
Chrace: 638/783
23 Lion Warriors (inc. full command) - 405
Champion could count as Korhil, Captain of the White Lions - 198
Mage - 59
Unicorn - 90
Chariot II - 84
Saphery/Hoeth: 510/ 944
Mage Champion - 121
could count as Belanaer, Loremaster of Hoeth - 555
20 Sword Masters of Hoeth (inc. full command) - 389
The Shadowlands: 195/429
Shadow Warrior Champion - 51
could count as Alith Aenar, The Shadow King - 285
12 Shadow Warriors - 144
Total points at basic build: 8820
Total points including special characters: 10584
Total model count (cavalry/mounted characters count as one, war machines count as one unless inc. separate crew) - 301
Working with the regional themes that the High Elf army list presents has been a big part of the design and colour schemes for my army, though I have not felt the need to stick strictly to the canon here and have taken broad inspiration rather than using exact copies. I wanted the overall sense that this was a grand gathering of might under one central banner, and for me there has always only been one choice as my main region - Caledor. Not only did the obvious association with dragons appeal, and the specialist unit of Dragon Princes feel natural to place at the heart of the army, but the dark green and red colour scheme seemed to give me the best chance of breaking away from the classic blue and white that HE armies so often use.
The other big revelation for me was the idea of painting my Caledor themed High Elves, particularly the Dragon Princes almost as if they were Chaos Warriors. Black undercoat is my preferred choice when mini painting these days, but in my youth bright white had always seemed the right choice for High Elves and that thought persisted until I really got stuck in to painting the army en masse for the OWAC. White undercoated minis just seemed to take longer to get to the standard I wanted using the batch painting method I needed to use for the OWAC, and the definition between sections just wasn't as good. Luckily as time went on I had less and less of the old white undercoated minis to work on.
Black undercoated high elves also meant greater shadow and therefore greater highlights. The vivid reds and greens I used for the Caledor sections of the army remind me of some early and pre-classic 'red period' chaos colour schemes, and also put me slightly more in mind of Moorcock's Melnibone which I think is always a good influence to have. I came to really enjoy painting this colour scheme, but definitely worried that it does look like a field of Christmas trees with all those shiny baubles adorning High Elf minis :p
There was still some room for the classic blue and white in the Yvresse contingent, and the Silver Helms, but the template of using strong colours to show regional groupings within the army developed with the blue and yellow of the Ellyrian Reavers, and eventually the Chariot, and the Sorceress, and the Sea Green - Turquoise for the Lothern contingent. This led to me increasingly only using white as an accent colour to tie the whole army together, and giving a nod to the prevalence of white in High Elf society, nearly everyone in the army has a white under robe. When playing WFB and W40K with friends in the 90s I used to take some stick for my choice of armies basically being the equivalent of each other HEs = Space Marines = Cheese. Whatever :p
Without getting into whether that is a fair comparison to make in terms of rules/play style (it really doesn't matter in any case because it was all about the banter) it has sort of lodged as an idea in my mind over time and by the end of this OWAC I have come to see the white pennants and sashes of the High Elves almost like purity seals.
That sense of white symbolising purity, or spiritual austerity or devotion, in High Elf society also informed my colour scheme for the Chrace elements of the army, using the most white of any contingent in my army to signal their martial devotion to duty.
However, as I have become accustomed to through my own bitter experience on the table top, not everything goes well for the High Elves, their story so often one of tragedy...
OWAC Battle Report
We fought this battle back in April, hence why the High Elf force is mostly made made up of what I had painted for the OWAC up until that point. Not the most balanced of forces, but never mind, it got the painted minis on the table!
The background is that the herald of the new king is bringing the royal banner of Caledor to their kin in the Forest of Loren to proclaim his rule in Ulthuan. Having delivered their diplomatic duty the herald and his small escort force travel south through the mountains to reach their ships on the coast. However, this brought them into the lands of the Border Princes (who I just so happened to paint for OWAC III) and it didn't take long for one of the robber barons to be attracted by potentially rich pickings of these pointy eared tourists.
My eldest spawn would take command of the High Elves, joining a noble family tradition that will bring him no end of misery in the years to come....
The first two turns were all about missile fire. Small wonder that the Giant "Doofus" was the focus for the High Elves. Alas the winds were truly against them with the bolt throwers both rolling ones to hit on the first turn and the hits of the archer units failing to wound. Meanwhile on the left flank the High Elf Cavalry and Phoenix Guard made a break forward to try and march the banner into the victory zone.
But by the end of turn two the sheer power of the cannon and pin point accuracy of the Halfing Hot Pot Catapult were really taking a toll on the elves.
Turn three saw some magical shennaningoats on both sides as the bold advance of the elven left flank continued and the magical Banner of Wrath carried by the Silver Helms was unleashed against the brigand infantry in the centre...
... but the upstart mageling hidden amongst the ranks of the Halfling Halberdiers managed to pull off Destroy Spell against the Glamour of Teclis. The absolute bloody cheek of it!
With the Halfling Goat Archers finally free to fly up the wing to menace the archers and remaining bolt thrower, Doofus the Giant could turn his attentions to the shiny High Elf cavalry. He needed a new "cup" and those helmets looked about his size, so he ignored the rather painful stabby blue magic stuff flying out of their flag as best he could, but determined it would NOT make a good loin cloth to go with his new cup. Smashy! Smashy!
Bad things happened for the elves at this point. I don't remember how their Mage Champion died, but the lost combat with the giant broke the High Elf line with both the Silver Helms and nearby archers failing their break tests and fleeing. Only the Banner of Defiance carried by the Phoenix Guard (the banner of the Herald of Caledor no less) kept them from fleeing too!
Despite managing a late rally the Silver Helms found themselves charged by the pursuing giant resulting in a drawn out combat with no obvious winner...
... but it was sufficient to prevent the High Elf cavalry being any help to the rapidly dwindling unit of Phoenix Guard still making a play for the victory zone.
Unfortunately although they made it pretty close, with two enemy units still in front of them it wasn't enough and the elven banner was captured by the brigands to be held for rich ransom.
A truly sad day for the elves but good fun was had by all (despite how their general might look in that photo!), and this sets the scene for my next OWAC project. The Wood Elves must come to the aid of their haughty brethren to reclaim the banner from the rag tag villains who proclaim themselves the Border Princes!
As always, massive congratulations to everyone who made it through the OWAC this year, some really special projects and every one of them representing a real hobby achievement. Huge thanks to the All Mighty Overlord and his tireless team of Moderators for keeping the whole thing running. It is a big job and it is very much appreciated!
See you next year! :D
Congratulations on finishing the army! The look great!
ReplyDeleteHigh Elves with a black undercoat? Food for thought there. Really love this army you've put together, with the variety of colour schemes and units. And top marks for inlcuding a battle report, an enjoyable read to cap it all
ReplyDeleteThis has been an absolute joy to follow and watch come together. Congratulations on that MASSIVE ARMY! Truly a splendour for the ages ✨✨
ReplyDeleteSimply awesome! A great inspiration to get my own High Elves into fighting shape.
ReplyDeleteWonderful painting! The complete army looks awesome. Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteIt's great to see that your army gets some table time. Congrats on finishing such a massive army. It shows that it's a labor of love
ReplyDeleteCongratulation on a fine looking army. Great to see them being used on the battlefield straight away!
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