Ben D's Skellibobs - OWAC IX WRAP UP

It had to happen eventually folks.

We got to the end of OWAC IX.

For those of you just tuning in, I’ve been painting an army of Undead Gnomes with paint schemes inspired by works from David Gallagher and Ian Miller, as per the prompt of this season’s challenge.

Ian Miller

David Gallagher

I began OWAC IX reflecting on what the challenge would be to me, or to be clearer which aspects of the project would be the challenging part. I think in previous years I have made volume the focus of my challenge, since I delight in surprising the readers of this blog with oddball filler or kooky units, but this year was different. There had been rumblings of doubt about people finishing their projects this year given the stresses of the world, and recognizing those concerns in myself as well, I made the army compositionally something I was confident I could paint in all of 6 months. With that fear quenched, I decided to paint not just with the palettes of these artists (which was already the challenge,) but to also paint more fantastically. 

What does that mean? 

I feel that for a long time my sensibilities were drawn from earthier and more naturalistic color groups, like how Frog and Toad is illustrated with a small range of colors, but all of them are drawn from the nature that Arnold Lobel translates into the aromantic amphibian adventures. Gnomes don’t exist, but assuming the fantasy realism and lowness of fantasy, they’d have only so much dye for their clothes, and maybe a homogenized skin-tone depending on how much contact they keep with communities outside their own. Since I didn’t imagine the undead gnomes as having a culture they actively engaged in (I am unsure of skeleton sentience,) their material culture would be a stagnation of the culture they were harvested from the graves of, while their current continence would be a reflection of the magic that raised them from the tomb. My goal was to paint as much of the magic onto the miniatures as I could, hence the extra high saturation of colors, and the decision to paint the skellibobs’ bones like they were enchanted instead of fresh out the dirt.

Here is the army, as originally proposed

Undead Lord - Vampire Lord on Dragon - 825 pts

2 Necromancers - 68 pts/each

20 Skeleton Warriors - Full Command and Halberds - 257 pts

20 Skeleton Warriors - Full Command and Halberds - 257 pts

10 Wights - Full Command, Spears, Shields, Heavy Armor, Skeletal Steeds - 528 pts

Total - 2003 pts

Hmm, actually there is one addition that I failed to mention. Last month I revealed that my second necromancer was actually Heinrich Kemmler the Lichemaster, but as many oldheads know, where there’s a Kemmler, a Krell is sure to follow.

Unfortunately I couldn’t find a Krell in budget and in time for my OWAC deadlines, but I did place a last minute Ral Partha Europe order that happened to include a powerful looking skeleton champion with an iconic helmet. Although it’s not an exact 1:1 I was reminded of the named equipment of Fafrd and Grey Mouser; their weapons have names, but the physical objects are replaced time and time again. This is a Krell with a Black Axe of Krell. Is it the Boneripper of Theseus? Maybe. In later editions, Krell’s Axe is a magical equipment your Vampire Counts characters can take, meaning that Krell and his axe are not attached at the hip, and it could be that if there is a singular magical Black Axe of Krell, it could be one of Krell’s goals (he is likely on the more sentient side of skeleton) to be reunited with his iconic item.

Anyhow, Krell isn’t the only extracurricular model of my army.

As mentioned previously, I do like my detours and surprises, and so while I don’t have 5e points for all of these figures, the army has grown beyond its original footprint. This delights me to no end. 

The full roster is actually

Heinrich Kemmler and Krell

Necromancer

Vampire Count on Dragon

40 skeletons

10 mounted wights

3 ghosts

3 stands of crow swarms

15 zombies

10 mummies

And judging by my recent acquisitions, we’re likely to see more before this army is put to rest.

Congratulations to all of my fellow OWAC IX conquerors; I hope you’re proud of what you’ve accomplished, and that you’re taking a well deserved rest.

If you aren’t though… I hope you’re having fun planning for next year’s OWAC project!

The Artist Gets a Hat

That's all I've got to say from this side of the keyboard. Thanks for all the fun, and see you next year!

Paul's Dark(ish) Elves - Leader Month (288 pts)

Vor'Lach, Dark Elf General and Lord of Daggerpoint, cracked his neck and shifted in the saddle of his giant Cold One. The beast was a Lustrian breed, much larger and even more fearsome than the native stock, and gave off the stink of raw and rotting meat from it's last meal of a lizardman slave. 

He stared disdainfully at the approaching High Elf leader as he weaved his horse up the rocky slope to the parlay, his troops following behind, the ruined banner of the Phoenix King held half in pride, and half in shame. 

His shiny armour might be as tarnished as his reputation but the arrogance still dripped from him, calling himself the Blood Dragon but riding an elven steed when it was Vor'Lach who had the courage to have such a terrible lizard as his mount. 

"Hail, mighty Blood Dragon, your reputation for treachery precedes you..." sneered Vor'Lach. 

"Are we truly to believe you and your rag tag reavers, have come to pledge your allegiance to the Court of the True King, and the Cult of Khaine? I hope you have something more convincing than a burnt offering some petty murders behind you in Ulthuan?"

The leader of the High Elves cast his pale face and strange red eyes towards the Dark Elf general, his once noble features now sharp and full of hubris.

"Hail, mighty Vor'Lach, your reputation for ignorance is well deserved I see, for I am not the Blood Dragon. My brother and I are merely its heralds, though it is more than capable of announcing itself..."

He gestured through the mists to the looming cliffs and peaks of Daggerpoint, across the water. A great gout of flame bursts and brightens the gloom, then a second, and a third, accompanied by the sound of roars and screams.  

"I'm afraid you arrived a bit too late, Vor'Lach, and your position as 'lord' of Daggerpoint, and what will remain of it, depends very much on what you do next."

The unmistakable shape of a dragon launched itself from the town walls in a cloud of smoke and embers and soared across the bay to land right in the middle of the gathering. Elves on both sides fell back in awe and terror, but Vor'Lach swallowed his growing bile and kept his nerve.

A second pale skinned and red eyed elf sat atop the mighty dragon, bearing the banner of their house, but it was the Blood Dragon itself who next spoke to Vor'Lach.

"I BELIEVE YOU WERE IN SOME DOUBT ABOUT HOW SERIOUS WE ARE.... I TRUST THAT IS NO LONGER THE CASE, BUT DO LET ME KNOW IF YOU NEED FURTHER CONVINCING AND I WILL HAPPILY EXPLAIN IT TO YOUR REPLACEMENT."

Month five is leader month for my Dark(ish) Elves and it is finally time to meet our main protagonists in this tale of treachery and deceit!

Vor'Lach and the fearsome Herrersaurus battle lizard he rides are from Krakon Games. I've always thought this battle lizard sculpt is an excellent homage to or proxy for the dinosaur/cold one seen on the front of the Dark Elf Army book. However, I originally had something else in mind for it (long since forgotten) so didn't order the rider at the time.... and it turns out you can't order him separately from their website. Doh! Shout out to Ross Whitehorn from Krakon Games who was really helpful when I reached out and hooked me up with this guy in time for the challenge.

I've kept a simple green and purple colour scheme partly for nostalgic reasons... partly because it looks like a packet of Apple and Blackcurrant Frosties (best sweets ever!) which in turn reminds me of the kit Bristol City wore when they beat Liverpool at Anfield in the FA Cup 3rd round replay in 1994... but also because it ties in to the colour scheme for the Gorgon's Guard, his elite mercenary followers.

I had a rough crack at replicating the medusa skull emblem on the banner of the Gorgon's Guard on his rather small heater shield. It's not perfect but at that scale I can probably live with it as you get the general idea.

Given it's impressive size I have been considering playing the beast as a proxy Cockatrice (minus the ability to fly) if I ever need the extra punch. The petrifying gaze would be a good match with such a fearsome beast and would fit in with the emerging gorgon theme for this part of the army. Or it could just be a really big cold one if I don't want to spend the points.

The idea for my renegade High Elf leader was originally inspired by Elric (as I was re-reading his adventurers when I was planning this army) but the story has changed and grown in the telling and the idea for the treacherous High Elven brothers is now part Elric and part Cobra Crimson Twins from GI Joe/Action Force.

Hence they are known as Tomax and Xamot, which I think fits the idea of them being interchangeable stand-ins for the Blood Dragon and would explain how the famed and fearsome reaver could be rumoured to be in two places at once.

Tomax (or is it Xamot?) is a High Elf Hero made from various left over bits from my extensive High Elf cavalry. I'm not entirely sure the legs and torso go together but the lighter armoured lower half with helm and cuirass might work for a half naval half cavalry officer. His high crested helm looked a bit like fluted dragon scale, and that seemed to tie in with the random later edition Dragon Princes horse head I had somehow acquired which then got stuck on a left over silver helm steed.

I had to add some greenstuff to the saddle to make him fit without hovering, but all in all I think he makes for a fairly convincing fallen high elf noble. The slightly odd pose forced by the putty-saddle makes him look like he is leaning forward to bark commands while using his shield to shelter incoming missile fire.

I painted up the dragon and rider prior to the start of the challenge, as both test and inspiration for the idea for my Darkish Elves. Now that the ideas are more fully formed I've gone back to add the shield and the banner to show the same emblem of the Dragon emerging from a sea of blood. This serves as both house emblem and a not so subtle dig at the new Caledor regime in Ulthuan. 

I've also included a few basing elements to tie it in to the terrain of the Bleak Coast, and a discarded loyalist Caledor shield as a nod to their treacherous background on Ulthuan.

I'm not counting any OWAC points for the dragon and rider but they are included here for character and context for the army background for my Dark(ish) Elves.

Monthly Total:

Dark Elf General w/ heavy armour and shield, mounted on Cold One - 174 pts
Dark(ish) Elf Hero w/ light armour, shield mounted on Elven Steed w/ barding - 114 pts

Total points: 288pts

Congratulations as always to those of you still in the challenge!

With the leaders taken care of and all four of my rank and file months already in the bag, this is technically my 6th completed OWAC. I'm very proud of that achievement but I also want to keep my record of never having taken a mulligan, so I definitely still have plans for a Wild Card next month :) 

Tom's Bony Bit

This month I finished my last rank and file unit and I feel like its been very successful. I had made a good start last month so it didn't take me to long to finish this elite unit. The question is are they Skeleton Horsemen or mounted Wights? In a game I could us them as either, but I came up with the idea to make the riders look like the Nazgul otherwise knows as the Ringwraith's for the LOTR. In WFB4 you can't really have mounted Wraiths, so I guess counting them as Wights is the best option to show they are an elite unit. 

The zombie horses are Living Dead Cavalry from Fireforge Games in Italy. They are a good fit for modern GW skeletons.

I chose to do an old Citadel shield from my Dad's collection for this Standard Bearer. I went with another crusader design as the year before they are one of my favourite historic periods. In Old World terms they could be fallen knights of Araby.

I used VMC hull red and red to get a fade on this shield design and up to Mephiston red making it look like the paint has chipped of  after years in the grave. For the banner I went with a red on black design, mirroring a previous design.

To bring this unit together with the other units in my army, I used; MPs chestnut-brown and coffee, and Citadel Colours Skeleton Horde (Contrast), Basilicanum Grey (Contrast), Rakarth flesh, Dryad bark, Death-world Forest, Ogryn camo, Mephiston red, Screamer pink and Leadbelcher. I have used purple to show the dark magic that gives them power to crush their enemies. 

I'm very happy with my work for this month as I think they tie in with both the ghouls and the Skeleton units.

Monthly Total:

5 Wights on Skeletal Steeds inc. Standard Bearer - 234 pts

Total points: 234 pts

Thank you for reading, hope everybody's last month goes well. Just my leader to go before I finish my second OWAC!! :)