Adrian's June Leader Month - King F'yar might! )(521 points)

Leader month

King F'yar descended over Linden Way to burn the settlement to the ground. The silhouette of his wyvern recognised in the skies, imposing fear in the hearts of its inhabitants.

- "This is my hour! run you maggots! run fo' your lives! Tehehehe"

Whacking some villagers was a pleasant activity afetr so much hate and bad blood for the Goblin Wars. Also, a much safer sport until they get to the real combat against the armies of the Grand League.

- "Bagrash! remember to hunt for that pesky wizard drunkard of some sort that our spies spotted in 'ere. I do not want any surprises at our backs while we march to Orc's Drift.

Bagrash would have been much happier if he could have razed this village to the ground commanding the Kwae Karr orcs himself. Dunno why the boss has to show. Boosting the morale of the ladz is not good if you want to be seen as the leader in the sad event that a loose arrow end your job as the boss.

Now he has to hunt down a smelly human beggar that who knows if he can remember any spell at all.

Commanding the orc horde, King F'yar himself mounted on his wyvern. I got him ages ago without wyvern and always was thinking about an appropiate mount. I was in love of the fourth edition wyvern too, but didn't quite wantede it with the orc shaman. With its brief re-release some years later, I got him too and suddenly a plan began to take shape in my head. Why not having both with the power of strong magnets?

Sadly I got no picture in time for this update of the magnet system but I will upload the in the recap. The orc boss has had some precision operation in his unseen parts and now it is detachable from the other magnet in the wyvern. It is strong enough so there is no risk that he, or in the future the shaman, fall from the saddle. Unless there is some strong motion of course. 

But why you will want to start playing with your wyvern making him fly over the table while you make roars and wind noises, it's entirely made out of metal! we all are adults in here with enough reasoning for concluding that at least you need to use the sixth edition one for that, of course.

Bagrash as I said is an addition that I liked more than the original Bagrash. I want him nonetheless, but it seems more like an orc champ or hero rather than be read as a shaman. Instead, the old orc shamans are easily recognised in the table. I went for a subtle green glow in his eyes but was undecided between this or merely a pale with blood stains like @Rosengarten_paints_black amazing orc shaman which was an inspiration. It lacks some pattern in the clothes but I couldn't finish them in time, so it is as it is for now.

Osrim Chardz, well, in reality BC3 King Gorrin. But the real Osrim is quite difficult to get, this one is awesome, I wanted him in my collection nonetheless and share some sort of pose and weapon. I will still hunt for the real Osrim because he is an amazing miniature.

As this is not real Osrim, I took some liberty with the colours, fitting in some ways the art of the campaign cover as well as blending with my dwarf army. I will make the scene of the cover for the recap.

Not-Bertolac, the Battle Master soldier ascended as sergeant of a militia I'm planning to have at some point. Sadly another miniature that is almost impossible to spot. The human and elf characters are the most affected by not having their characters recycled in the main lines, while the dwarfs and orcs are able to be seen from time to time.

I really liked how the two different blues I got in the clothes and the shield contrast between them even with the freehand and patterns over the main colours.

Not-Fernbreth and Beli from the hospital at Orc's Drift. Choosing which elf would be a wounded hero left at the hospital, the hurt wardancer was something that I wanted to paint and this was an opportunity to add him to the rpg collection.

I forgot to take a picture of Beli's back, because he has a giant bag and I think that the best part of this miniature is all the leathers that contrast with the plate armour he wears.

That's it, most of the Blood Bath at Orc's Drift collection finished or proxied. It needs still some Kwae Karr orcs, but it is only matter of adding more old Ruglud's armoured orcs. Also, some wood elves, so in the future I will try to get my hands in a small unit of Skarloc to complete the rest.

This month was a complete mess, with huge amounts of work and other related activites so sadly I couldn't finnish some stuff to complete the campaign collection. 

I do not have the druid Snart, Gymlet or Borin yet, I would need to make a to-do list in the recap. However,  I intended to paint one of the Perry's carts with some casualties for the hospital and got my hand into the perfect miniature for the hermit. The hermit at Linden Way never had a proper miniature, and I spotted the perfect one looking at the old Citadel catalogues, as well as Midlam Miniatures, the stuff at Mirliton or Foundry, as well as Ral Partha. And I found it between some newer stuff from Ral Partha. Maybe finnishing him for the recap? Lets see.
By the way, I also spotted the perfect banner bearer for the Linden Way militia as well as mayor Leofwine (which I do not quite like his miniature) among the old citadel collection at Foundry. But he is definetly not getting in time for a rush for the recap. I'll maybe show you the results of that conversions in the future in the FB group.

The traditional point recap:

King F'yar in wyvern = 271 points

Bagrash, the Kwae Karr tribe orc shaman = 60 points

Bertolac, Fernbreth and Beli = 140 points

Osrim Chardz, leader of the dwarf engineers = 50 points

That's 521 points, more or less, if that makes any sense in this case lol

For the next entry, hope I can finally have some spare time, leave you all the appropiate comments in your awesome entries, and play some scenarios to take pictures of this challenge minis battling in the Orc's Drift as it should be.

Until then,
Adrian’s out

Byron's Invasion of Ulthuan - GROM (373 or 441.5 points)

.....Grom?

                                                                                        ...Grom?

                                                                                Grom.

                            Grom!

            GROM!

GROM!! GROM!! GROM!!

This month, Grom has arrived! (Another picture FLIP o' RAMA.) Watch as the mighty Grom plows through the goblin rabble as he races toward the coming battle.

Next month, the invasion of Ulthuan will culminate in a mighty battle report as I recreate the Battle of Maugthrond Pass with my kids. 

Now for some pics of the minis

Grom (257 or 325.5 points)

I think my modeling choices for Grom warrant some explanation. I have an original copy of both Grom and Nibblet, but I don't much care for the original (4th edition anyway) Grom. I bought this Bequest Miniatures goblin, and he seemed to be intended as a Grom lookalike, so I used him. I like the energy of his musician, so I put a 5th edition wolf chariot standard-bearer pole in his hand. The wolves are Bob Olley wolves to match the army. The over-the-top cotton trailing from the wheels is meant to make him look like he is cruising really fast. The base is obviously a custom base. It is made from foamcore to match the frontage of the wolves, 3", and the standard depth of a chariot, 4". 

Here you can see the Starter Box artwork featuring Grom's banner

Why the points discrepancy?

Just like Eltharion, it depends if you use the Army Book or the Starter Box. 

If we reverse-engineer Grom's points from the scenario pamphlet we get that Grom costs 325.5 points. He comes equipped with Grom's axe, light armor, the Horn of Urgok, and his chariot, but Nibblet is not included, despite his appearance on the card standee. 

In contrast, in the Army Book he only comes with the Axe of Grom, and no horn. Instead, he has regeneration, and Nibblet appears as the army battle standard. All of this totals 257 points. 

And the goblin rabble: 116 points

Total: 373 or 441.5 points

I am lagging behind my ultimate goal of filling the entire shelf with goblins. Next month, I aim to do some catch-up. If I can average a goblin a day, then I can add another 30 goblins to the army. 

My priorities will be filling out my archers and spearmen to at least match the Starter Box numbers of 32 of each. I have another banner to paint up, a shaman, a familiar, and then just as many goblins as I can after that. Then, after all that, I will be done painting goblins for the foreseeable future. 

On Tattered Wings - Valtteri's Undead Legion - June Leader month 2

Last month of the challenge and I chose my second leader month.
This time I painted the true leader of my army - a mighty Liche atop a Zombie Dragon!
And some extras of course, can't have a month without the minimum 10 models.

I decided early on that I would save the Dragon for the last month because I was worried that painting him would be such an effort that I would run out of steam for the next month. And I wasn't wrong, it took me two straight weeks to get the bloody beast done. Not only was there a lot to highlight but some places were quite hard to reach. I really should have painted in sub-assemblies.
Fun fact: the base colour the skin is the same green I use for my bases!
This gorgeous model is again by Red Bard Games.

After a day or two I had regained some of my strength and decided to paint some more models. These two Banshees aren't present in the 4th edition so these will proxy as Ghosts.

These were nice and simple to paint after the Dragon:
White base, Apothecary White Contrast paint. Some blue glazing on the skin and a really light teal on the robes. Drybrush with an off-white and white, followed by some layering with white to get a nice contrast.

After painting the Chariot in April I knew I wanted another one. I got a second one printed (this time with resin so I didn't have to smooth out any print lines). The pointing Skeleton Champion is by Celtic Miniatures, the one with the flag is an OG plastic skelly. 

Painting-wise this was identical to my first chariot. Near the end of June I realised I hadn't painted a flag at all! And what good is a 4th ed army without glorious banners? I had gained enough confidence with the previous flags that I decided to design my own. I took inspiration from an old Undead shield I saw somewhere, drew the design with pencil and painted it just like the previous banners. The catch was that I had to draw the design twice, only the second one being a mirrored version. In hindsight I probably could've used a photocopier for that.. 

Sadly, I totally forgot to take any WIP pics of the banner. But I did do a step-by-step of the freehanded shield which you can find a little below.

Lastly, I whipped up a bunch of Bat Swarms. These too are are 3d prints (link). Even though the old metal bats have their charm, I'm not a huge fan of them and didn't feel like spending that much on my bats.
They didn't photograph that well but they do look kinda nice in real life. I'll probably take some better pics for my Instagram account later if you're interested.

But why would I need 600 points worth of bats? Well, were planning on playing through the old Circle of Blood campaign pack this fall with my friend and the Undead side can field these at a 50% discount. *Evil cackle*

Painting

I know I've showed some step-by-steps on my freehand before but I thought it'd be nice to do a bit more detailed tutorial.

I find it easier to block out rough shapes first, then add some shading and do the edges and details last. It helps a lot if  you have a reference picture. Thin paints and multiple layers help to achieve a smooth finish.

1. Rough shape with a darker beige (Scale 75 Grau SW-29 ). This step isn't necessary but this particular paint has great coverage and it's easier to layer the next colours on top of it.
2. First highlight with  beige (AP Skeleton Bone). 
3. I filled in the shadows with a medium brown (AP Leather Brown)
4. Smoothing out the transitions with a mix of the previous two colours.
   
   
   
5. Another highlight with a light beige/off-white (AP Brainmatter Beige).
6. Details with black (AP Matt Black)
7. More details with black. I also strengthened the shadows with more brown. Forgot to take a pic before this :(
8. The finished shield with a better lighting. Some minor highlight corrections also applied.

Even though it seems a lot happens between steps 6 and 7 it's not much more than blacklining. And it makes all the difference!

Photography

In case you're interested, below is a pic of my photo setup for the scenic shots. I take over our kitchen table when the kids aren't home and roll out my game mat (Muddy Field by Deep Cut Studios, it's a great and really versatile mat btw!). A black cloth draped over some empty cardboard boxes and some of my terrain arranged in front of it. I try to position the woods and hills so that they create an immersion of depth. Natural light through the window and a cheap ring light for some extra illumination. I take the photos with my smartphone, with the ISO and shutter speed turned down so the pictures aren't too bright. Minimal colour correction with GIMP on my computer. I'd probably get better pics with a tripod but I'm usually too lazy to get it out...

Battle!

We finally managed to schedule a game with my friend. This time it was 1500 points of my Undead against his Bretonnians. This was sort of a practice match for the CoB campaign we have planned ahead.

The game started horribly. I was so excited about my new fast moving troops that I charged my Skeleton Horsemen against his Halberdiers in the first turn. The whole unit was instantly wiped out. No, not the Halberdiers... On his turn his Longbowmen opened fire on my Chariot and promptly destroyed one of the steeds, reducing it's movement to a measly 4 inches. On the the next turn the other steed was turned into a pile of bones as well. Bye bye impact hits!

Things looked really bleak for me when his Knights sandwiched my big unit of Skeletons, gaining all their charge bonuses and negating my ranks. It was at this point I remembered the main strength of my army - Fear! The Bretonnians had forgotten to take their Fear tests. So my opponent rolled some dice and what do you know, neither of the Knights had the courage to charge. After some backtracking we continued on with the game and I actually managed to charge the other Knight unit and the Halberdies, which promptly fled in fear. Things were looking good all of a sudden!

I kept winning the combats with my Vampire Lord and the Skeletons unit's rank bonuses causing automatic break tests with my big units. Sadly the Bretonnian's big unit of Knights finally found their nerve and annihilated one of my Skeleton regiments. It was at this point that I found out that a Vampire isn't immune to psychology unlike the thralls he commands. The Vampire failed his break test, turned tail and fled resulting in a narrow victory for the Bretonnians.

Once again the game was an absolute blast. We included some low-level magic items as well, but they didn't have much of an impact.
We also tried out a variant magic rule which lets both sides cast spells on each magic phase, their own and their opponents turn as well. This was pretty fun! Except for the fact that nearly all of my spells were dispelled. Where's that Total Power card when you need it?

Stats

And that's a wrap for my first OWAC. I was fairly sure I could make it till the end but I never dreamed I'd paint this many models! I just learned that I can paint even more models for July's wrap-up post but I really don't know if I will. I might just take a rest!

January
25 Skeletons w. Swords&Shields, including Command Group	214 points	25 models
Wight	40 points	1 model
Necromancer Champion	163 points	1 model
2 Skeleton Ogres	72 points	4 models
2 Mummies w. 2-handed weapons	90 points	2 models
February
2 Wraiths	150 points	2 models
Wight	40 points	1 model
20 Zombies including Command Group	88 points	20 models
Zombie Ogre	16 points	2 models
Screaming Skull Catapult	74 points	5 models
March	904	61
Chariot w. Scythed Wheels, Crew w. Shield & Bow	79 points	5 models
Skeleton Horsemen w. Shields& Light Armor & Command Group	276 points	10 models
1 Wraith	75 points	1 model
April
8 Mummies w. 2-handed weapons	360 points	8 models
6 Skeletons w. Swords&Shields	54 points	6 models
6 Skeletons w. Spears&Shields	60 points	6 models
3 Wraiths	225 points	3 models
Vampire Count	200 points	1 model
May
Necromancer	68 points	1 model
Battle Standard	90 points	1 model
Mounted Wight	46 points	2 models
2 Wights	82 points	2 models
3 Wraiths	225 points	3 models
11 Skeletons	88 points	5 models
April
Liche Priest on Zombie Dragon	850 points	2 models
6 Bat Swarms	600 points	12 models
Chariot w. Scythed Wheels, Crew w. Shield	77 points	5 models
2 Ghosts	70 points	2 models
Total	4472 points	137 models

Previous posts:
January - Rank&File

February - Rank&File

March - Rank&File

April - Leader

May - Wild Card

Nicolas' Chaos Army of Tzeentch - Leader Month (125pts)

Sacking of the Temple

"...as soon as the hydra breached the inner wall of the temple, Saheel the Faceless entered surrounded by a swarm of cackling flamers. As parchment scrolls, books and the screaming librarians themselves were incinerated, Saheel collected the fumes of remaining knowledge into his tome of fire. The demons were already feasting on the fiery hashes like starving voltures. 

The sorcerer remained calm in the center of this absolute chaos, his inner sight guided by the magic winds fully saturated by the raw power in front of him. There it laid, in the center of the now charred librairy, the Stone of Reach, a compass rose under the charm of thousands of monks chronicles of travel. Allowing whoever stepped on it to see the lands visited by the previous chroniclers, like a common memory.

"Why leave it here?" Proclamed Saheel as he stepped on it, his absent eyes being overflowed with images of far lands he never thought possible. Raising his arms, the round stone lifted in the air, propelled by an unatural blueish fire. It was now time to reach back his troop and reaffirm his dominance over the Blazing Wind clan."

So I present you my leader for this project, Saheel the Faceless;

General - Hero on disk, leader of the Thrall Warband - 125pts

With his little companion, a walking fish.

The actual disk was built from a flaming chariot bits and the top of an Oronoco rum bottle, which I kept in my bit box for over a decade in the wait of a proper use 😅. 

Saheel stands as an equal to Velok the Tzeentch Recruiter, a previous hero on disk I also mounted on 50mm base to integrate a thrall warband.

And here is Saheel with some of his riding companions.

And finaly, the hydra and the flamers in context with the intro story!

James WRR’s Leader Month: Nobody expects the Ordo Malleus

+++ LOG OF INQUISITOR ALBRECHT HALFTHOR, ORDO MALLEUS +++

+++ THOUGHT OF THE DAY: A LOGICAL ARGUMENT MUST BE DISMISSED WITH ABSOLUTE CONVICTION +++

The assault on Sanctum Sapiar was a great success. The texts upon which this small, yet unbearably thorny, culture had structured itself were located, swiftly interpreted by sacrificial Servitors, then burned upon the pyre.

My conclusion? There is not much to say. It is a common story after all. These people simply imagined their way into heresy. I have no doubt that it was quite accidental, mind. But a crime cannot be forgiven simply because it was an accident. 

I was surprised that the local population, as seemingly barbaric as they were, was able to mount such a defence. One Brother Donovan of my Grey Knights was slain in the attempt, simply overwhelmed by the mass of desperate arms. But I am told his geneseed was recovered and there were no further casualties. A Space Marine is but a cheap tool to replace. 

Our duty on this world is ended.

REMINDER: Inquisitor Clavicus was seen once again departing my quarters. If I suspect his fruitless investigation into my affairs is set to continue much longer, action will be taken. My writ is just as unquestionable as his.

+++ LOG ENDS +++

+++ LOG OF INQUISITOR ERROL CLAVICUS, ORDO MALLEUS +++

+++ THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: HATRED IS OUR SUREST WEAPON +++

My Grey Knights have proven themselves once more on the field of battle. Much unholy blood was spilled and many bones collected for future study. 

Halfthor was pleased with his little bonfire, believing the work to be done. But the war rages on. Only through the bloodrite and the scrying of bones will answers reveal themselves.

Either Halfthor is too arrogant to recognise this, in which case he must stand down and let a wiser mind take the lead, or he is complicit and must be removed.

The Inquisitor’s quarters house a great many books and scrolls, not all of which I have been able to examine. It is my belief that he has sequestered texts that he was so keen to have destroyed. Iconoclast, my boot. Halfthor is a fraud and, Emperor forgive me, perhaps worse.

I will consult the viscera.

+++ LOG ENDS +++

_________________

And so, with the triumvirate of leaders complete, my Ordo Malleus force is ready for battle!

Inquisitors Clavicus and Halfthor of the Ordo Malleus

Painting these two models over the course of a month has actually been one of the most challenging parts of this project. Obviously, each Daemonhunter had to receive special care and attention — as well as a carefully considered, utterly ridiculous colour scheme — but I think there was also an added pressure: I had to finish on a high note.

I’ve painted so much silver armour over the past few months I really wanted these guys to stand out. And boy, do they! With their near-fluorescent green accents (the lovely Bright Green from Rogue Hobbies’ Pro Acryl set), they really are set apart from the rest of the army.

Hmm. My finger points!

Which I think they should, right? While an army of Space Marines will be largely uniform beyond a few flourishes, a character as individual, strong-willed and revered/feared as an Inquisitorial Daemonhunter should be able to make their heraldry truly their own.

I can’t judge Halfthor’s pink and green styling, can I? I’d probably be executed as a heretic.

Slaying in style

Each of these models are just perfect representations of their character. The masked and hooded Daemonhunter, Clavicus, bears arcane symbology and devil’s heads designed to make him look as fearsome as the monsters he hunts. Meanwhile, the fellow with the robotic leg and cool ponytail, Halfthor, commands the respect of age and wisdom. He’s stoic, technologically advanced and totally serving judge. 

While Clavicus came to me through a job lot of old minis, as most of my army has, Halfthor was a very kind birthday gift from our resident miniature bug-painter Tom. I hope I’ve done him justice! 

A truly radical outfit

In terms of painting these fellows, I’ve obviously decided to go wild with their colour schemes, embracing that 80s anarchy found in old White Dwarfs and source books of the time. Halfthor’s green and burgundy armour would be considered complimentary if it weren’t for the flaming orange gun casing in his hand and shock of blonde hair. Clavicus’s black armour and yellow pauldrons paint him as something of a toxic creature, with the addition of the vibrant green making him look positively radioactive and dangerous… and strangely, I think, Brazilian. 

These models’ poses really didn’t pose much challenge in terms of painting (another reason to love Oldhammer), though I did struggle to get at Clavicus’ face between mask and hood. I think the bit of flesh tone and dots for eyes suggest enough of a hidden visage to do the job. 

A colour scheme that screams "danger" and, maybe, "Lé lé óh"

Of course, being augmented humans with the best healthcare and biomechanical enhancements the Imperium can provide gives them much healthier looking skin tones than my sickly grey Grey Knights. That's another key element that sets them apart.

One of my favourite aspect of this pair of Daemonhunter models is that one is clearly supposed to be more radical, potentially even heretical, while the other is a more clean-cut, inspirational character. Having both at the helm of my army gives it a nice split personality — an ideal representation of a horrific space Empire at war with itself as much as it is with heretics, daemons and aliens.

And so, that’s my quota filled for this year’s challenge! And a month early, too. But I’m not going to rest on these laurels. I’ve got a bit of a wildcard addition to add still…

_________________

Army list as of May

Inquisitor Halfthor
Daemonhunter
Tactical Dreadnought Armour, Bio-Scanner, Displacer Field

Plasma Gun, Power Glove, Digital Weapons, Psyk-Out Grenade

Bionic Leg

Psychic Mastery Level 3
201 points

Inquisitor Clavicus
Daemonhunter
Tactical Dreadnought Armour, Bio-Scanner, Displacer Field

Psycannon, Force Rod, Scare Gas

Psychic Mastery Level 4
454 points

Captain Torkamadus
Grey Knight Terminator Captain | Hero
Tactical Dreadnought Armour
Nemesis Force Weapon

Psychic Mastery Level 4
450 points

Techmarine Tarantus
Techmarine
Basic equipment
Vincent Black Shadow motorcycle
97 points

Squad Deza
Grey Knight Terminator Tactical Squad
1 Sergeant and 4 Marines in Tactical Dreadnought Armour

5 Nemesis Force Weapons

Psychic Mastery Level 4
1,200 points

Brother Bethor
Deredeo Dreadnought
Missile Launcher, Heavy Plasma Gun
Standard Sensor Package, 2 Power Fields, Power Field Synchroniser
270 points

Squad Heliod
Tactical Squad
Sergeant with Bolt Gun, Bioscanner and Power Glove
1 Marine with Missile Launcher
1 Marine with Flamer

7 Marines with Bolt Guns
275 points

Bright Sword
Rhino APC with Techmarine Pilot, assigned to Squad Heliod
2 Bolt Guns
387 points

Riot Corps
Adeptus Arbites Squad
1 Magister with Bolt Pistol and basic equipment

5 Judges with Bolt Pistols and basic equipment
102 points

Squad Apollo
Devastator Squad
Sergeant with Bolt Gun
2 Marines with Beamers
2 Marines with Heavy Bolters

5 Marines with Bolt Guns
379 points

Grand Total: 3,815 points