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| Finally... They are here! |
Month six.
A living hell.
June coincides with the end of the school year, and any parents among you know exactly what that entails: an incalculable number of extra commitments for the kids: plays, recitals, rehearsals, shortened school days, final afternoon sessions...
Then, of course, the first days of vacation for the children (though not yet for working adults) and the first outings... but also the need to renovate the house and redo the rooms for the growing kids...
...plus an unseasonable heatwave in my region that hit record-breaking highs.
I’ve never seen acrylics break down and dry out so quickly on a wet palette!
So, having just had to declare a "Mulligan" last month, this June I’m forced to scale back the workload and bring a very limited number of models to the challenge.
Let’s break it down.
COMMISSION
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| Crappy pics, i know. I took them in a hurry befor delivering the commission. |
A regiment of 20 Dwarf warriors: a commission piece, as evidenced by the rocky-themed 25mm bases. Most of the models have been modified and converted: some feature weapon swaps from an old MOM Miniaturas resin kit, while many others have had fur added to their shoulders using green stuff; the shields are recasts but feature understated, thematic freehand designs. Once again, I used a printed paper banner—for the sake of my own sanity.
RANKS AND FILES
The most observant among you will have already started to spot a pattern here...
Dwarfs Bear Riders! I’ve owned these beauties for a long time; they are (as is often the case with me) Mirliton models that are still in production—thankfully, as I had to order three new ones to reinforce the unit. Of course, we are fully aware that nothing of the sort exists in the rulebook or the codex, but we followed the "Rule of Cool" and included them anyway. Fortunately, the third edition allows for the creation of custom units, and since bears appear in the codex, it works out perfectly.
In our "house canon," these riders are the equivalent of the Empire’s knightly orders: rather than guarding the stronghold's inner halls, those bear-riding rangers protect the surface passes, defending them against invaders, rapidly ferrying messages between the outside world and the strongholds, and even collecting tolls and passage fees at the crossings. An ancient bond of deep friendship links the mountain-pass Dwarfs with the forest bears, and they live in a state of near-symbiosis on the surface. They are armed with great axes and small throwing hatchets; the sound of their horn echoes across the valleys, and the standard they carry has witnessed more than a few goblin invasions. An important note on the freehand shield designs: initially, the idea was a simple stylized motif representing two mountain peaks with a rune in the middle to signify the fortified pass, but then I got distracted and let my hand run wild. I wanted to redo them all, but my son (yes, him again) stopped me, saying they looked even better with all that color.
These riders were supposed to be accompanied by a garrison on foot—ten Dwarfs in a mixed spear-and-bow formation—but unfortunately, I didn't manage to get them ready in time.
SLAYERS
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| Banner and Trolls. Yes i wanted to show off my greenstuff sculpted custom Trolls... |
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| Here my favorite |
Now that I’ve finished all the models in the unit, the time has finally come to talk about the lore behind these incredible shield-wielding Slayers! First off, it’s worth noting that no one else at home likes these Dwarfs—except me. My wife and son wanted to get rid of them and sell them off, but this time (oh yes, *this* time) I MYSELF was the one who enforced the "no Dwarf will be left behind" rule. I fought to keep them and slot them into the unit to fill out the ranks. "But Dad, Slayers don't use shields." He’s right, of course, but these ones are different. “You should know that every Stronghold has its own customs; while Dwarves share a common cultural background as a race, each fortress possesses unique quirks and variations. Where these particular dwarves come from—a distant northern stronghold—warriors are scarce, and few are capable of fighting to defend their mountain. Furthermore, the staunchest warriors have always felt that dying in battle from a volley of arrows loosed from afar is an undignified end. That is why some Northern Slayers have struck a pact with their Rune-smiths to craft special shields—adorned with the rune of magnetic attraction—designed to draw a barrage of enemy arrows and projectiles toward the shield itself, sparing their comrades. This allows far more Slayer dwarves to reach the front lines and slay enemies in close-quarters combat, perishing in a glorious, furious melee rather than ending up like pincushions in an open field. Needless to say, bearing these shields is a great honor, though certainly no easy task; the chances of survival are even slimmer than usual for these volunteers.”
“You’ve convinced me, Dad!”
THE DWARF KING'S COURT
Just one model this month:
A dwarf princess. Actually, I believe it’s a Halfling cleric from the Reaper Bones PVC line, but we’ve always interpreted her as a proud member of the Dawi folk—so here she is. Freshly painted, squeezed in between other projects.
MONSTERS
Owlbears!!! We’re keeping the plantigrade theme going strong this month! You should know that bears have always been my favorite real-world animal
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| I swear, its a coincidence! |
And—obviously—Owlbears are my favorite fantasy creature.
These specific ones were 3D printed by an old friend who knows me well and gave me a great gift: three of them, perfect for a unit of trained monsters. The Third Edition rules really help me out here, too; I can simply pay the points cost for any medium-sized creature and I’m all set—or I can always use them as proxies for Ogre mercenaries. In short, I’m never short on justifications for fielding these beauties. Even though I opted for a classic, understated color scheme, these models are hands-down one of my favorite units.
Keeping them company is a rare specimen of Kite-Bear, having descended from the highest peaks in search of food.
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| This fella Is Just a scratchbuilt from a chewed toy bear and a extra Griffin head |
In my personal lore, these creatures aren't the result of Chaos influence, dark magic, or mere wild beasts; instead, they are an ancient, proud race—symbiotic with the Dwarfs of the World's Edge Mountains—that has maintained a very close bond with the Dawi for centuries. Owlbears and Kite-Bears are intelligent, proud, loyal, wise, and ancient creatures. Although incapable of articulate speech, they are perfectly able to understand and make themselves understood by the Dwarven race and to collaborate for mutual benefit—even going so far as to march into battle alongside the mountain folk to defend their shared territory.
I devised this lore—distinct from the classic D&D canon—because it seemed more consistent with the idea that head attributes should prevail over torso ones; this explains why Minotaurs and Gors tend to be savage and bestial, whereas Centaurs and Sphinxes possess immense intelligence, even if they are often evil.
AFTERMATH
If my calculations are correct, here is the updated total so far.
Even though I met the challenge requirements and painted a lot, I already know I won't be able to finish everything that remains before next month's wrap-up.
I feel like I’ve failed, and my morale is at rock bottom.
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| Pile of shame AKA "the dwarves i left behind" |
BUT I intend to follow the advice I always give all of you:
KEEP PAINTING, STAY OLD SCHOOL.
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