Jaeckel's Dwarf Army - Introduction

All right. After the doomed crusade of Pieter the Pious in 2020, I needed some winners in 2021. Yeah, you named them: Dwarves! And to be more specific: the Marauder Miniatures.

Illustration by Paul Bonner

This is not the first time I'm trying to paint a force of Marauder dwarfs. The first attempt was almost 30 years ago, when I bought my first models, blister by blister, trying to gather the very same models used by Paul Robins to win his Golden Demon Slayer Sword in 1992. Lucky me, I have kept them all, and finally succeeded in striping the thick layers of enamel paints.

The second attempt lasted about 5 years, between 2005 and 2010, when I tried to use some regiment entries to the Golden Demon competitions to build a dwarf army, with the help from my pal Haekel for some entries. But progress was slow, and the colors and bases chosen for the different units lacked consistency.

Thunderers

Iron Breakers

Halberdiers

Hammerers

The third attempt ended in 2015 with a 2000-point force of Citadel and Marauder miniatures. But nothing close to a Landsknecht here!

That brings us today: I have more or less completed a collection started in the early nineties, but I still have no clear idea how I can paint my short-legged Landsknechts... To prepare this OWAC, I have carefuly read Stuart Mulligan's wise advice on the Painting Landsknechts blog and of course, studied Nico's splendid Dwarf army, as his conversions solved the other issue I have with the Marauder Miniatures: the range is unfortunately incomplete (missing some standard bearers and musicians), and sometimes tends towards Middle-Age rather than Renaissance in terms of clothing. I'll see what I can do...

The army is mainly composed of young dwarfs leaving the Grey Mountains and their impoverished clans to seek fortune in the Empire. They band together in free companies, elect their captain, and offer themselves for hire. Some still carry the colors of their native hold or clan: the black boar of the Frostpeak hold, the crosier of the IronBones clan or the double-key of the SureFoots. 

The current employer of the army is the honourable Guild of Goldsmiths and Jewellers in Altdorf: its dwarf masters are more comfortable contracting mercenaries of their kind, either to escort convoys, protect trading posts, or claim distant lands with high mineral potential. As trust does not exclude control, it is not rare seeing the mercenary captain Borin Steelfist receiving direct orders from representatives of the Guild. In these occasions, the latters are flanked by hardened veterans, handsomely paid to protect the guildmasters with their lives.

Illustration by Dave Andrews (Warhammer Armies)

 So, here is the OWAC IV plan:

• 1 Lvl 20 hero (the mercenary captain): 168 points
• 1 Lvl 5 wizard: 78 points 
  
• 10 hammerers (the guildmaster's bodyguards) with musician: 176 points
• 10 halberdiers with musician and standard bearer: 144 points
• 10 crossbowmen with musician and standard bearer: 156 points
• 10 thunderers with musician and standard bearer: 156 points
  
• 10 pikemen with musician and standard bearer: 132 points
  

I may replace standard bearers by additional soldiers, simpler to paint in limited time. I may also change my mind on the composition of the army, add characters, or some warmachines. We'll see...

A few pictures of the preparation phase (still waiting for a few models, and some conversions not totally finalized... and last but not least... about 50 bases to prepare 😣)

Characters

Halberdiers

Hammerers

Pikemen

Quarellers

Thunderers

And to conclude, my tribute to appease the Overlord: Throbin Dead Eye.

See you in January!