George's Space Dwarfs Month 2 - Rank & File

 The king rested his elbow on the arm of his throne and tried to look patient. Before him stood his guildmaster, a dwarf as notorious for his familiarity with the brewer’s guild as for his brilliance with a spanner.

Next to the engineer stooped the oldest of Grimshaft’s living ancestors. His beard had grown so long that it swept the floor and he was hunched over an ornate cane.

The fate of the stronghold was in the hands of this unlikely pair and the king was not feeling confident.

An explosion shook the throne room. The orcs were grinding closer.

“The armoury was rammed, sire. Never seen so many motors in one room. Nor anywhere else for that matter. Like a scrapyard of joy it was. All useless mind…” the engineer trailed off with a large belch.

The king sighed.

“There was kit in there that dates way, way back. Must have come here with the first settlers. Lovely bit of tin.” The guildmaster belched again.

“So the armoury is full of tanks. But can we use them? Can you make them work?” The king was growing impatient.

“Work? They’re ancient! Can’t get the parts these days.” The engineer folded his arms and swayed under the king’s furious stare.

“Your majesty,” the living ancestor’s voice croaked just as the king was about to lose his temper, “the guildmaster has enormous skill. If we combine this skill with the spirit of our settler ancestors, those vehicles will work.”

The living ancestor lifted his cane and pointed to the ancient shields that lined the throne room.

“We elders will call upon our ancestors’ spirits and they will once again charge into battle.”

The engineer looked up at the shields on the walls.

“Oh yeah, we can get that sorted for you,” he hiccuped, “won’t be cheap, they don’t make ‘em like they used to.”

 

I always loved the Epic Space Marine squats with their selection of vehicles and felt that they would have been amazing in 28mm. Sadly they were never produced, but happily some brilliant companies now produce excellent alternatives!

Much as I love the classic Rhino, I wanted the squats of Grimshaft to have something that reflected their ancient history. Step forward Ironclad Miniatures. This amazing indie company produces a cracking range of steam tanks and I absolutely love them.

I used guns from Ramshackle Games to create a truly vintage effect for the twin bolters. The ancestral shield is from my old monopose Dwarf Warriors boxset (which came with a great selection of shields!)

It’s all painted in the core stronghold colours of green, red and yellow. The rivets pushed me close to breaking point, but looking at the finished model, I think the investment was just about worth it!

As with last month’s entry, I would have loved to spend more time on weathering, shading etc. But then I’d probably have never finished!

I’m still loving every moment of this challenge. It’s a total joy to find time for painting and I can wait for March!

 

Points:

1 x Rhino: 370 Points