Pokrzyw's Druchii - OWAC VII introduction

"In the far north lies the realm of the Witch King of Nagaroth. The bleak and frozen Land of Chill. Here are the cities of the Dark Elves, battlements of black stone and high towers rising like cruel spears into the pale sky. The Witch King rules over all the cold mountains and dark forests with an unbending will of iron. Dark Lords and their mighty armies are his to command. Sorcerers hasten to his call. Pale and beautiful Witch Elves dance their deadly rites before his throne as they keen the battle songs of their bloody master."

Hello everyone. Two years ago I've prepared 4th edition  High Elves army - painted in bright vibrant colours. Full of joy and happiness. This year I will prepare their dark brothers from far north - druchii. Picture from Battle Book (5ed) and cover from DE army book is the best that we may found in fantasy - girls, dinosaurs and lasers lightnings - whatever is important for teenager (I had 15 years old when I saw it). Let's realise that dream - Let's release lust,  and bring pain, malice and blood to the enemies!

I've prepared quite big army - over 100 miniatures (still waiting for some occassion ;) ), and I similar to OWAC V I plan to split it on primary and secondary objectives for each month. If there will be occassion to paint them all - it would be great. If only primary will be painted, it would be solid base for dark elves army.

List of miniatures:

• sorceress on cold one 
• general on cold one
• sorcerer on foot
• morathi on foot
• malekith on chariot (gamezone miniatures dark elf chariot conversion).
• 5 cold one knights
• 12 dark riders
• 22 witches
• couldron of blood
• 25 spearmens
• 22 xbowmans
• 10 swordmans
• 2 assassins
• hydra
• 3+ repeater bolt thrower

It shall be about 3600pts (without magic items). I create army list during challenge.

The Plan:
Rank & File 1 (Witches!!)

primary:

• 12 witch elves with banner (156)
• couldron of blood (125)

secondary:

• 10 witch elves (120)
• sorcerer (59)

Rank & File 2 (City guards)

primary:

• 10 city guards ( 5 spears +5 xbows) (130)
• 10 city guards ( 5 spears +5 xbows) (130)

secondary:

• 11 xbowmans fcg (169) + champion (53)
• 14 spearmans (399) + champion (52)

Rank & File 3 (Heavy cavalry)

primary:

• 4 cold one knights fcg (228) + champion (74)
• general on cold one (lance, xbow, shield, h.armour) (179)

secondary:

• sorceress on cold one (xbow) (72) - would be stripped..
• 9 dark elf warriors fcg (shields) (121) + champion (52)

Rank & File 4 (artillery & scouts)

primary:

• 3 repeater bolt throwers (300)
• 5 dark riders fcg(231) + champion (57)

secondary:

• 6 dark riders (198)

Monster

primary:

• warhydra (225)

secondary:

• morathi on foot (327)
  

Wild Card

primary:

• Malekith on chariot (or dragon) or 6ed manticore.. (440)

secondary:

• whatever remains

I have already small army for 6 edition. I will keep blue with dark iron scheme.

It would be really hard to paint it all, but the hope dies last in the land of chill..

OWAC VII Intro Post - ChrisP's Ork Horde

 OWAC VII Intro Post - ChrisP's Ork Horde

Time for my second OWAC, and this is actually the army I had in mind for my first one, but didn't quite feel ready to take on. It's my original Ork army from 1993/94, most of which I never painted. I've spent a couple of months gathering a few extra models to finish things off, and also removing old paint & glue and re-assembling the old models. This is a project 30 years in the making, and I'm so excited to get stuck in!

 

  After a bit of experimentation, I settled on a few ground rules for myself. The bases are 32mm, not because I plan to play the army in current 40k, but mainly because they give the minis much more room to breathe. The nobs in particular always seemed to overhang the old bases! Larger models have been based to match. I was never a big fan of paper banners, so I've gone for back-mounted icons on a few folk instead. I'm using the 2nd Edition Ork Codex, which will hopefully let me make something approaching the violently colourful mixed-clan armies I remember from White Dwarf back in the day.

Provisional Army List

Warlord with powersword and bolter: 74

Gretchin Standard Bearer: 50

Mekboy:18

Painboy with plasma pistol: 22

Weirdboy and minderz: 85

Runtherd with bolter: 21

2 Goff Nobz with powerfists: 46

Bad Moon Nob with mega-armour, plasma gun and klaw:54

Snakebite nob with boar: 19

11 Goffs with 1 flamer: 139

11 Bad Moons with 9 bolters, a plasma gun and a lascannon: 177

7 Snakebites with boars: 126

10 Gretchin: 50

Ork Dreadnought: 120

Warbuggy with Heavy Plasma Gun: 50

3 Wartraks with lascannon: 180

Total: 1231 points

The Boss

 The classic Ghazghkull model. Upgraded him to a 40mm base, with a little extra height beneath him for a commanding presence. Makari gained a plastic banner and some discreet beakee adornments.

The Oddboyz

I picked my favourite weirdboy, painboy and mek from the old collection.

The Goffs

 Classic 2nd Edition starter boyz, plus a kustom-built flamer. A Goff mob can double up on nobz, so I've taken both.

The Bad Moonz

The boyz from Space Crusade have moon-icon backplates, so they work nicely for the bulk of this mob.

 The Snakebites

 Pardon the pun, but this lot were swine to assemble. Running the nob's glorious super-cyboar as a regular boar, since the codex gives the cyboar awful stats for lots of points.

The Runtz

 

Again, Space Crusade provided some characterful models here. The runtherd has some Deathskull vibes, so that will be the paint scheme.

The Buggies

Some of the first metal models I ever owned, and I really hope I can do them justice.

The Kan

This one is a bit of an anachronism - it's the 1999 version, rather than the 1994. However, I think it looks the part, the sculpt is fantastic, and it's wonderfully huge (that's an 80mmm base!)

The Plan

I painted a spare Goff nob to plan my scheme for that clan, and a general look for the army.

If I can manage to paint the whole army something like this, I'll be very happy. Let's go!

 

 

 

 

John B's Dwarf force intro

 Hi everyone

Dwarfs are back digging through the bones!

I never know what to say. Im not much of a talker.

1x Runelord

1x Gyrocopter

10x Warriors

10x Thunderers

10x Rangers

10x Ironbreakers 

 

Good luck everyone

PaulM - Mórr's Wild Hunt - OWAC VII intro post

 Hello my OWAC people!

Back again for a second crack of the whip. I've had the idea of a Wood Elf army kicking around for a while and have been picking up bits here and there for several years.

In my 30-ish years of playing war dollies I have at one point owned a Wood Elf army, during 6th edition in fact, but it was half-inched by some unscupulous sort about a decade ago and I am now sans Woodies, so this year's event seemed the perfect opportunity to rectify that and get the savage tree-hippies back on the table.

The plan, originally, was to do, one for one, the Mórr's Wild Hunt sample list [above] as presented in the 4th edition Army Book; but, and those who followed my last OWAC attempt will know this, doing the complete list is probably a tad optimistic for the arch-procrastinator that I am. As such I've decided on a paired back list, that is likely more achievable.

That list consists of the following:

10 Archers 

5 Dryads

5 Scouts - with Standard and Musician

5 Glade Riders

5 Warhawk Riders

Treeman

General, Scout Hero & Mage on Great Eagle.

Wildcard - Elven Way Stones

The army is mostly made up of Mark Copplestone sculpted ex-Grenadier figs, with the odd 3rd and 4th/5th edition GW sculpt thrown in, and a Harlequin Treeman (that I'm likely to replace with one of the Harrrowhyrst/Trish Carden ones). I have some 3rd edition archers somewhere that need adding in too, to mix up the archers a little. 

The eagle-eyed amongst you may have spotted that there are 10 Wardancers present too, they will get dropped in dependant on progress, though even the least observant reader will notice that my pre-OWAC prep has resulted in precisely zero progress, so I've already set myself a mountain to climb!

All a bit if fun though innit? Onward for Athel Loren! 

Nathan’s evil Dark Elf horde - introduction post

 I love this time of year. Ordinarily that would simply be down to Christmas being close (hours away as I type this) but to add to the joy is another OWAC! This year I’ve decided on doing a Dark Elf army. I love the third edition figures and had cleaned and undercoated enough of them for an army years ago. It is time for me to get them painted - or at least enough painted to meet the challenge. The plan is to paint these units:

- 14 witch elves including hero;

- 12 dark elves with crossbows including hero;

- 16 dark elves with double handed swords including hero;

- 1 bolt thrower

- 8 cold one rides including hero and sorcerer army commander;

- a cold one chariot (my wildcard month hopefully)

- temple dog rider (I’ve already painted the temple dog!); and if time permits

- a chaos dwarf whirlwind for my chaos dwarf ally contingent which I painted some years ago.

With the high price of dark elf figures in third edition that will be worth well over 1000 points. In all likelihood closer to 3000 but I will figure that out at the end of the challenge. Anyway here are some pics:

Graeme's Skaven (part three - Revolutions)

Graeme's Skaven - OWAC 7 Introduction Post

Paint something different this year! That was my plan. I wanted to get out my comfort zone and paint something new. Not more Skaven. Definitely not!

I put a poll up in the OWAC Facebook group and Slann came out on top, with Norse coming a close second. I dutifully dusted off both my Slaan and Norse models and started counting out and organising them. I had enough models to do either. I had some interesting models looked out to give both armies a bit more character. I opted to go for Slann, because they're ancient, sentient, space frogs, with an Aztec theme!

Then, halfway through my prep, I hit some snags with my Slann...

...and at the same time came across my remaining Skaven models.

I got to thinking...

I wasn't happy how I left off on OWAC 6...
...and I still didn't have a full 3000 point Skaven army I could play with...
...and I had a bunch of already prepped Skaven, just squeaking out for some paint...
...and I was tantalisingly close to having enough painted models to be able to field that Skaven army I dreamed of...

...and, in the end, yet again, the lure of the Great Horned One was too great!

There's definitely some masochistic tendencies needed when choosing a Skaven force to paint for an OWAC. The Jes Goodwin sculpts which make up my force are packed full of detail, which makes them a real pleasure to look at, but sometimes a bit of a chore to paint. And you need lots of them for a decent horde army.

So, ehm, I might have gotten a bit carried away with my prep...

I mean, I had a few Clan Eshin Gutter Runners lying around from my first OWAC...

And it was obvious I had to add to the Clanrats I had left over...

And maybe I could either add to the main Clanrat unit, or create a new Stormvermin unit...

Bulking up the unit was spears was needed...

And adding to the Skavenslave unit was a no-brainer...

Then I added to the bunch of Black Skaven I had lying around...

Obviously I'd need some firepower from Clan Skryre...

And some muscle from Clan Moulder, with something exotic thrown in for good measure...

And, of course, we have to have some leaders and special troops...

To be honest, I stopped counting after a while. It's the largest number of models I've ever prepped for an OWAC. The only thing I need to do in the next five or six months is paint (sounds so simple, right?). I have a few of conversions and something special in the pipeline, but only if I have time.

Realistically, though, I'm going to aim low. To complete a legal, practical force which I'm likely to actually play with, I'm going to focus on finishing these:

• 20 Clanrats, armed with hand weapons, light armour and shields (120 points)
• 10 Clanrats, armed with spears, light armour and shields (65 points)
• 5 Skavenslaves, armed with spears and shields (17,5 points)
• 2 Jezzailachis teams (78 points)
• 2 Poisoned Wind Globadiers (52 points)
• 1 Plague Censer Bearer (41 points)
• 1 Warpfire-thrower team (81 points)
• 1 General (level 20 hero, around 100 points)

This little horde of 42 Skaven only brings me to about 550 points - well short of the target 1000 points.

Either I paint a LOT more Skaven from the core units, or some elites (Black Skaven or Gutter Runners), or I recruit the swarm, Rat Ogres, and the Manticore (or Harpies that I planned to use last OWAC) to bump up the points. We shall see!

Fingers crossed I can make it through at least the stuff I plan to do. I'm hoping for more, but I've seen real life get in the way far too often.

Good luck to all the other challengers! (Especially the other member of #teamSkaven this year - AdamH).

There are some great-looking plans already afoot. I suspect this will be a sensationally good OWAC!

Ben's Eldar - OWAC VII - Introduction

"Every fight leaves us diminished, a few more souls lost to the warp forever."
- Warlock Karhedron

For this, my second entry into the Old World Army Challenge, I'll be expanding my 2nd Edition 40K Eldar force. Eldar were always my friend's army in 40K, but my first army was an Alaitoc army for Epic, and painting this feels kind of like a homage to teenage days when it seemed like we could regularly spend all weekend playing games.

I'm firstly aiming to fill out the army with missing troop types - a squad of each Aspect, more Guardians and Scouts, some Wraith constructs and a mighty Avatar. My additional challenge is to include some unique conversions - including Aspect Warriors from shrines other than the main ones, a Farseer on Jetbike, and converted Guardians on Jetbikes - and to decorate my forces with handpainted banners. Overall, I'm aiming for bright blues/yellows for an Alaitoc theme, avoiding reds to try to keep a coherent colour scheme.

My plan for four loosely-themed troops slices, a HQ slice, and remaining stretch goals / wildcard entries is as follows:

Troops 1: Wraiths (Dreadnought, Wraithguard, Warlock/Wraithseer).

Troops 2: Firepower (Dark Reapers, Fire Dragons). I aim to include a Fire Dragon Exarch once it arrives in the post.

Troops 3: Close Range (Howling Banshees, Warp Spiders).

Troops 4: Rangers (Scouts, War Walker, Farseer on Jetbike)

HQ: Avatar, plus a handful of Phoenix Lords if time permits...

Bonus/Wildcard models: Warlocks, Jetbikes, and Scout/Dire Avenger Aspect Warriors (working name: Dusk Stalkers).

More wildcard stuff: Finish off a squad of Guardians and Support Weapon, expand some existing Aspect Warrior squads.

A rough list shows this, if achieved (fingers crossed), would top 3,000 points - although you would probably never field all the characters together...

CHARACTERS – 1587 pts
Avatar – 300 pts
3 Warlocks, Witch Blade – 198 pts
Warlock, Singing Spear – 76 pts
Exarch (converted), Shuriken Catapult – 55 pts
Exarch, Dark Reaper Range Finder, Missile Launcher – 100 pts
Exarch, Banshee Mask, Power Sword, Laspistol – 69 pts
Exarch, Warp Spider Jump Generator, 2 Death Spinners – 90 pts
Karandras – 150 pts
Fuegan – 176 pts
Baharroth – 186 pts
Jain Zar – 187 pts

SQUADS – 1495 pts
8 Guardians, Shuriken Catapults – 112 pts (3 part-painted)
2 Guardians, Jetbike with Shuriken Catapults, Jetbike with Shuriken Cannon – 67 pts
4 Dire Avengers (converted) – 88 pts
8 Fire Dragons – 224 pts
4 Dark Reapers – 268 pts
3 Swooping Hawks – 84 pts
4 Howling Banshees – 81 pts
3 Striking Scorpions – 78 pts
4 Warp Spiders – 164 pts
7 Scouts – 154 pts
5 Wraithguard – 175 pts

SUPPORT – 255 pts
Dreadnought, Extra Distortion Cannon – 200 pts
Distort Cannon on Anti-Grav Platform – 55 pts

Finally, if I get the time, I want to add in some converted heavy close-quarters Dark Reaper/Striking Scorpion Aspect Warriors (working name: Sun Basilisks), and some Guardians with lasguns.

And good luck to all fellow challengers - may your paint pots never dry out!

Paul's OWAC VII Intro - Wood Elves of Averlorn

After two years of painting High Elves you would think I'd be sick of the pointy eared primadonnas, and you would be half right! However, having felt the rush of completing a truly long held hobby dream my mind has turned to the army of Wood Elves my brother gifted me many years ago and I have added to slowly and modestly without much of a plan a few times over the years.

What plan I do have potentially involves tackling these in two parts, and potentially over two OWACs. I'm also thinking of them in two parts thematically, with part A being a bridge from my High Elves and Part B being more of an expression of the wilder and more fae side of Wood Elves.

However, as any veteran of the OWAC knows, plans can and will change so who knows how much of this I will make it through this year!? If there is not enough left for a second OWAC by the end of this challenge then I will count that as a success/excuse to buy more models!

What you can see in the picture:

21 3rd Edition era plastic archers
32 5th Edition era plastic archers, plus two sets of full command in metal
10 Waywatchers
16 Wardancers
Assorted musicians, sorceresses, and beastmasters/champions
Scarlocs Archers x 11 plus one proxy from Forlorn Hope
9 Dryads (inc. some proxies from Trish Carden's recent HarrowHyrst range available from Footsore) - I would like to add another of the 5th edition era sculpts to this unit to make it a neat 10, so if anyone wants to sell me one on the cheap then do give me a shout! ;)
2 Treemen (inc. the big fella from Trish Carden's HarrowHyrst/Footsore)
A random figure on a fancy base that looks like hero material to me
A proxy Griffon (a 3D print of a Kipine from D&D)
Sorceress on Unicorn
Mounted General that may end up as a BSB
A rogue High Elf champion to tie in with the Avelorn theme

I've got some other stuff knocking about that needs more prep work and may or may not make an appearance this year, plus it's always nice to have a few surprises isn't it.

This year I have the added joy/challenge of having my son work on his Undead army alongside me in a sort of parallel to the challenge (although he isn't starting completely from scratch with some of his paint jobs). We've been focussed on prepping his birthday haul of heavy metal nasties from Forlorn Hope, and rebuilding some busted up bones on a unit of skellies ready for us both to start painting on Jan 1st.

I can't wait!

This will be my 5th OWAC and it always forms the mainstay and highlight of my hobby calendar. I would like to take the opportunity to salute our outgoing Overlord Iannick Martin one last time for setting this whole thing up and running it successfully for so many years. I would also like to thank Byron and everyone else who has stepped up to help keep things going into OWAC VII.

Bon courage all! Remember it is a marathon, not a sprint and the feeling of having a completed force at the end of it is definitely worth all the effort :)