Björn Grendel's Dwarven Holds - Intro Post

 Bjorn Grendel's Dwarven Holds – Intro Post

Since I survived the previous season, the OCHO, some say I've earned the right to consider myself a veteran of the OWAC. The reality couldn't be further from that, for I still consider myself a novice and am certainly only just taking timid steps in the footsteps of the Heroes who preceded me and who eagerly await me in the luminous halls of OWACLHALLA. And here I am, for the second year in a row, with a project that is... ambitious to say the least: a great Alliance of golden-age Dwarven Holds, the largest army I have ever conceived! Will this feat be enough to earn me the favor of the Gods, or will my hubris seal my fate, sending me tumbling into the Field of Bones?

1-A FORCED CHOICE

Last year, those who have followed me will remember, I introduced the army of the UMBEROGENES, the tribe led by Sigmar during the Dark Ages, before humanity's hero became Heldenhammer and reunited the scattered peoples of mankind under a single banner, before the founding of the Empire. That project was intended to unite my daughter Aria's barbarian collection into a cohesive force. She finally has a thematic army with which to play Warhammer, yet one varied enough to allow her to draw individual models for her Mordheim warband and for our frequent games of Heroquest or DeD (which is no small feat for a 12-year-old).

This year, however, I'm seizing the opportunity to do the same for Björn Jr., my second-born, who has always played a dwarf in his adventures, stubbornly refusing to try any other race or faction. A great future for this Little 10 years little Dwarf i must Say. 

2-THE PACT

The first hurdle, as always, was gathering the materials. My wife, Brandy, is also a fervent dwarven enthusiast, so we already had a decent collection of midgets at home to start with. It was obviously quite sparse and heterogeneous, consisting of birthday presents, miniatures found at a flea market, individual models for DeD, and a couple of scattered boxes. In short, it was quite a mess. After a long family meeting, we decided to merge the mother and son collections and recruit an army for both of them, to which we added a few targeted purchases in the form of early Christmas presents. One of the hardest things was taking and stripping some already painted models to include them in the project, and instead forgoing the favorite models that NEVER should have been stripped and repainted. But perhaps it's not too late for these plastic and metal Heroes, and who knows, maybe they could make an appearance somehow, perhaps during Wild Card Month.

3-THE CONCEPT

This for me is the best dwarven art to date and thus my main source of inspiration 

I Will try to match this oldschool vibe!

The idea behind this army popped into each of us almost simultaneously (a brilliant example of family brainstorming): a grand alliance of several different fiefdoms, under the command of a single great King. Thinking about it, this is the only way to include models from different eras, manufactures, and materials, as well as all the special characters or individual models in our collection. Thus, each Mountain of the grand alliance will bring its own specific force with its own colors and theme, but we'll explore this in detail together in the coming months. The only fixed points for now are the presence of Thorgrim Grudgebringer on the throne of power, painted in classic colors, along with his personal guard, and some splendid Mirliton models that my son HAD to include: dwarven bear-riders and his favorite pikemen. Mounted dwarves are nothing new in the Old World, and these illustrations will be the guides for my brush and chisel in the coming months… But fear not, my admirers: checkered patterns and freehand drawings will not be forgotten!

The list so far. .

Below is a series of preliminary photos. I haven't had time to prepare the models yet, regarding primers and any modifications, nor do I have everything I need to complete the individual units. However, here's the updated list to date, with the bare minimum amount of model i want to include. NB: The point cost for each individual unit has been intentionally omitted/approximated; I'll calculate it month by month based on the models I've managed to find upon completion as soon as I figure out how to calculate some custom models and various option.

The collection so far...  

The infamous Italian edition...

Those Bulwark... Like thorns in my arse..

Some spares... May or May not be included in the final army.

Last but not least (but still mandatory) is the entry fee for this year. This tribute goes to Jaakko, who has followed and supported me over the past year, a source of great inspiration and countless advice. For him, I've chosen two models, both from my personal Khorne Chaos Warriors army: a battle standard-bearer and a mounted horn-blower. There are a few other things in the package (which I hope arrives safely by the time this one is published) that, with a bit of luck, you might encounter during this OWAC in Jaakko's posts.

And that's all, I guess. I have some pretty busy months ahead.

In the meantime, KEEP PAINTING, STAY OLD SCHOOL