Sybou - chaos army- month 6 - Wild card - 66 points

 Hello everyone,

it seems that it's a new year for lots of us where we reached our objective of completing an other Owac.

For my last month, I was willing to complete something really significative for me.

But first, I got to show you my tzeentch Wizard:

This Svodred called the Clever one, I tried to recreate his style in the White Dwarf. It's a really cool miniature, I like the result.

I planned to add  a little diorama on the base but it was to busy so I just put a couple of rocks. You can feel the end of the Owac where you want to complete your miniatures list.

But back to my wild card, here is a little history: 

In the end of 2016, I was planning to make myself a really cool altar, an altar that would make all chaos followers die of envy ...

So I started building it, gathering foam, plastic cards and minis ...

2016: The altar project just starts ...

Then I went on all kind of project and life ... The altar and its parts got put in a box and lots of us forgot about it.

Then Owac 2024, I was watching all the result of my procrastination concerning my chaos army and I remembered ... The altar Project ... Shame went through my body as I realised it was just an other project thrown without finishing it.

By Khorne! This should be no more, I'm going to finish this Project!

And here it is:

8 years later ...

Pulled by some wretches, the Khorne altar incudes a chaos bishop, some crazed summoner with some bloody daemons, a master of discipline and his whip, and a big old school Khorne statue with a little pile of skulls.

The altar stands on a pretty big homemade base. 

I remember that the fact i didn't suceed to make the wretches hold the handle frustrated me. But this time I was like, they're gonna look a bit silly with their hands but I'll finish the project.

I hope you'll appreciate the work put into this piece wich is now, a central piece for my chaos army.

I finished all my miniatures for the Owac but I still have to finish my offering.

May be in the wrap up post, i ll try to add a couple of lunatics in order to conclude on a good note.

Thanks you all for your kind words through this year Owac, reading and watching all our photos.

Take care everyone and congratulations to everyone.

Cheers,

                                                                                                                                            Sybou 

Shadespyre's June Post - Wild Card Month - Army Name Suggestions on a Postcard Please! - Dark Elves (1472 points)

OWAC VI - Wild Card Month - The Leftovers

June

Wild card month! Full of all that crazy stuff that doesn't fit anywhere else? Well, not really - this time around, wild card month is mainly the things I didn't own at the start of the project, or wasn't sure I'd get around to. 

But let's start by righting a wrong!

Remember this lass? The first Dark Elf I painted, as a test of the colour scheme? She currently doesn't have a place in the army! Just for fun, let's include her as something else missing from the army - an Assassin.

While we're filling gaps with things that are just sat there in the army list, here's a unit from the Rank and File section:

Just five Dark Riders. I really wanted to include some "proper" Dark Elf cavalry in this force, and as I own a large selection of pre-slotta Citadel horses (chiefly from the very old Fantasy Adventurers Cavalry range) I was confident I could identify some good fits. However, once I brought a rider to the horses, it was rapidly clear that due to scale creep (yes, it's always been a thing) and the odd semi-kneeling pose of the Dark Elf Cold One riders, there was only ONE horse that really worked. I scoured ebay to assemble this 5 and left it there.

Drawing on the Drow inspiration, it makes sense that this mostly subterranean dwelling force has a limited number of "surface" critters, like these horses and the Giant Eagle, at its disposal. Maybe I should have gone for some polar bear riders instead? Anyway, cavalry - all Citadel, all pre-slotta - achieved.

Also in the "rank and file" section is a War Altar, as depicted in this classic line art:

Could I, I wondered, make something like this using the Witch Elf models? The poses available don't best fit, but it might have been possible with cutting off some arms and resculpting them. Not really my strength and also quite a lot of vandalism.

On the other hand, I had some Cold Ones left over from Dark Riders project, so maybe something pulled by those? Or carried by those? After much deliberation and some mucking around, this is what happened:

Yes, it's a little more elaborate than I originally envisaged! It just grew as new components suggested themselves! Once I'd decided to carry it across the two cold ones, that set the approximate dimensions. I hit upon the throne (from FS5 "Old Wizard on Throne reading Book on Lectern") as one of the few suitable pieces of pre-slotta furniture that would look the part - it's enormous, and to my horror is effectively unfinished on the back. Hence the addition of the bulky back piece. But I rather like the wonky lines of the throne, which put me in mind of the early AD&D artstyle as drawn by the great Erol Otus. 

The purple slab itself is made from foam sheet with a skin of Miliput - the foam allowed me to push it down over the saddles of the Cold Ones rather than file them off. The painting is meant to mimic the appearance of the purple-red rock porphyry, which was used for decorative architecture across the ancient world. I probably made mine more blue-purple than is usually seen in nature, to fit the army theme.

It doesn't really show in the pictures, but the slab is actually an inverted squard stepped pyramid with three layers - as is depicted on the icon painted on the altar cloth. Why? Because (in D&D) the inverted ziggurat with the eye is one of the symbols of the Elder Elemental Eye, to which the rebel drow of  the great city of Erelhei-Cinlu turned from their worship of the spider-goddess Lolth. Which in turn explains why my Drow-themed Dark Elf army has NO SPIDERS in it! Sometimes it's almost like I've planned things!

I have to admit the candles are resin  or plastic from some kit or other, but the two cauldrons full of blood are classic Citadel pieces (from FS33 "Witch's Items" I think). They are a nod towards future Dark Elf models of the Cauldron of Blood. We then have five more Witch Elves as altar guards, of course.

And although there is NO REASON and NO RULES to do so, I of course made a space on the slab to stand a Wizard:

So, as you can see, it all became A Bit Unnecessary, but I'm rather fond of it.

Now, let's introduce some really wild stuff. With all the wildlife in the Rank and File list, I've turned to another section for some more teeth and claws; Hosts.

A quick glance at the options shows that the fun choice is a Chaotic Host, which includes some Dark Elf favourite critters. But (thematicaly at least) you should have a Chaos Wizard to bind your Chaos Beasties, so here's yet another Wizard:

This is the second time I've converted this oft-broken miniature, there's another example in my Vampire Counts army. This time I've added a mass of tentacles in place of the broken staff, in reference to the Tentacled Rod magic item used by the AD&D Drow. Suitably chaotic I hope.

Now here come the bound Chaos critters:

Six FF8-2 Harpies. Got to have Harpies in a Dark Elf army. Now you see exactly why the Harpy Eagle became the inspiration for my Giant Eagle.

Something else you also have to have is a Hydra:

It's a C27 Hydra as featured in Bryan Ansell's Chaos army from the book. Very hard to get all seven heads to fit on! The colour scheme is based on the one I used for the Cold Ones.

And some less traditional choices - brace yourselves for the terrifying FF61-1 Giant Wyvern!

Yes that's a 50mm base. This was a big model back in 1981, honest! You can see why he was replaced by the Black Dragon though... if you think that's smol, please spare a thought for his colleague, the deadly C27 Chimera!

Cute eh? I spared him the indignity of trying to mount a character on his back.

And finally, I think, that embodiment of Chaos, the Jabberwock. Inspired by Thomas' glorious bright red model, I unleashed the full range of those purples that I bought for the project, and painted him in Lipstick Pink:

I still gave him "eyes of flame" though.

Army List Additions:

Scores for June:         1472  points   23 models

1 x Assassin (level 10)    (Light Armour, Repeating Crossbow)                    94 points

5 x Dark Riders  (Light Armour, Shield, Repeating Crossbow)                   150 points

1 x War Altar with 5 Guards                                                                                 100 points

1 x Wizard (level 15)                                                                                               208 points 

6 x Harpies                                                                                                                90 points  

1 x Hydra                                                                                                                 200 points  

1 x Wyvern                                                                                                               180 points  

1 x Chimera                                                                                                              250 points

  

1 x Jabberwock                                                                                                        200 points  

Running (Final?) Total:          7243  points  211  models

Next Time

Will be the final wrap up post

Jaakko and Slargash - Wild card month

Slargash's forces had returned victorious from the battle and spirits were high in the sad little camp they called home. Slargash and the twins managed to pry a few dwarves form the hands of hungry minotaurs to be offered to the Gods of Chaos on their fancy travel sanctuary. The Mad Spell twins chanted ancient incantations, drawing upon forbidden magic to sustain their arduous endeavor. Determination burned in Slargash's eyes, the emptiness that had plagued him had been replaced by a fiery resolve. "We need more Blood for the Blood God", he commanded.

Days had turned into weeks, and weeks into months as they immersed themselves in the grueling ritual. Slargash's warband, despite their fragmented state, had rallied behind their leader, embracing the hope that their fierce presence would finally be immortalised in colour.

Wild card month arrived, a pivotal moment in their quest. It was a time for experimentation, a daring leap into the unknown. Slargash, fueled by his newfound determination, urged the Mad Spell twins to push the boundaries of their magic. The land trembled with unpredictable energies as chaos intertwined with whirls of colour, creating a spectacle unlike anything witnessed before.

With each passing day, their efforts bore fruit. The once-monochrome army began to transform, as vivid pigments materialized upon their fractured bodies. From the seducing pinks and comfortable black to the eerie verdigris and rust of decaying metal, The Great Painter's touch breathed life into their chaotic essence.

Through exhaustion and doubt, Slargash and the Mad Spell twins pressed on. They found solace in the collective spirit of their endeavor, forging bonds that transcended mere war and conquest. Their perseverance became a testament to the indomitable nature of their quest and the power of unyielding determination.

And then, on the eve of the sixth month, as the final stroke of the ritual approached, they stood before The Great Painter. The majestic being, draped in robes of swirling colours, cast a discerning gaze upon the transformed army. A smile crept across its enigmatic face, and it nodded in approval.

 

And with the passing of another month we meet again!

I had promised earlier that I will paint a war altar and a host for the wild card month. For the host my initial plan was to have hounds and a hydra. I also wanted to surprise you with three giants and a jabberwock. The plans changed a bit on the way as I decided to add a handler to the hounds, I couldn't resist adding one of the giants already into an earlier post and as I fell in love with the old trolls I decided to acquire a couple more.

The dwarves are painted to match my own dwarf army (which quite closely resembles the scheme of  the legendary Wayne Englands army)

I was hunting for the same hydra that is featured in the chaos army in Warhammer Armies but settled with the realm of chaos hydra that is not quite as cool IMO but is delightingly fighting with itself. As added bonus and maybe more wild cardesque elements I painted two blood-greed tokens (aka dead dwarves) for the minotaurs to feed on and a single test model from a group of lesser demons that is to be summoned in the heat of battle (only 17 more to aqcuire and paint to please the 3d6).

This month in points:

- War altar and 3 altar guards: 90 points

- 6 chaos hounds and a handler: 153 points

- 2 giants: 500 points

- Hydra: 200 points

- Jabberwock: 200 points

- 2 trolls: 130 points

- Demon: no points

- Blood-greed tokens: no points

Total so far 4410 points, 92 models

 

 

A cheeky demon from the Valley of the Four Winds range

 

Hobol Firebreath and Rattlebones Bowlegs are more and less excited to join their kin

I had a lot of fun and enjoyed painting this month and I hope it shows. Until the end of June! It seems that I can't dodge Slargash any further.

Jaeckel and the Lost Crusade - Month V (240 points)

To lead my pilgrims to the disaster and conclude OWAC III, one key character was missing: Pieter the Pious.

Of course, my small army pales in comparison with the digital multitude of Kingdom of Heaven, but this golden cross carried by the crusaders on the battlefield was something I wanted for my band...

Easier said than done! Instead, I've decided to mix some elements of the Empire war altar sculpted by Michael Perry with the bearers of the Slann wizard designed by Trish Morrison.

As you can see on the following pictures, I've slightly converted the altar by adding candles and a little lectern. I've hesitated to convert the bearers by adding hoods, but the heads and necks are so weird that I wasn't sure about the final result. I've finally painted a black cross on their face, to give them an imperial flavor.

Regarding Pieter, I've chosen a C3 cleric whose posture is close to the altar. I can't say it's a great model (arms a little bit too thick and legs a little bit short), but it'll do the job, I guess.

In terms of points, Pieter is a level 20 wizard: 240 points. So that's it, I've reached the 1000 points in 5 months, right on time to pack all my stuff and move out!

I hope I can paint a few additional pilgrims in June to expand the band... no guarantee though.

Paul's Gribbly Beasts - Month Five (654 points)

The two rutting packs of beastmen could hardly be kept from ripping each other apart. This was good. Soon their ferocity would be unleashed on the unwitting folk of the nearby town of Tramilar and there would be much carnage for them to revel in.

The Watcher brought it's staff down sharply, the crack of thunder it released quelling the herd into some semblance of silence as the altar was brought forth into their midst. Two beastmen laboured under the weight of the unholy arc, the writhing tentacles and sickly miasma wafting from the censures causing all in proximity to feel their guts squirm queasily, as if they suddenly had a life of their own.

The beastman shaman moved among the throng, bleating out it's foul benedictions. Filthy banners bearing the unholy Octed were unfurled. The packlord, ruddy hide glowing in the reflected glow of the altar's unnatural light, surveyed his troops and nodded his readiness to the Watcher.

Boom! The Watcher's staff cracked once again. The altar was borne high. The herd brayed it's challenge to the stars and stalked away into the night, their coming heralded by the howling of  hounds and their passing shadowed by demons...


Ooomph! That was a hefty month! My own fault though, as some of you may remember from my earlier posts I had sort of painted myself into a corner with colour schemes for my beastmen basically meaning I needed two units instead of one... Well, here they are!

The two colour schemes have (red and purple) have sort of evolved into the idea that although Nurgle currently holds primacy over the warband, the other Gods have their influences too, purple representing Tzeentch or Slaanesh and red for Khorne (obvs).

The back row were painted in a previous month

Of course two units means two sets of command, and luckily I got a chance to pick up a Middlehammer era beastmen command minis at just the right point in the challenge to make this possible. However, I both needed to boost my numbers and wanted to add a bit more interest to my front rank so added a beastman with Mace from the same era (on the left below) and Burly Broo with pole arm and head 13, from the Vile Broo Runequest box set which I picked up from a friend in a job lot a while back. He's a bit diminutive compared to his burly bodybuilding cousins being 25mm scale, and he's damaged his horn-stubs along the way, but he's got bags of character and I like to think of him as a Halfling or Dwarf that has been corrupted into beastly form.

Middlehammer era command in the centre and extra beastman on the left, 1982 Burly Broo on the right

And from the rear

I cut a simple foil banner from the foil from a tomato puree tube and distressed the edges to make it look a bit more like ragged fabric. My freehand skills are seriously poor (but I'm working on it!) so I settled on simple Octed symbol. I went for sickly yellow rather than purple as I didn't want ot overdo it and the yellow seemed more suited for Nurgle, while the Octed will serve if these need to turn out for other deities in the future.

It seemed fitting that the Shaman Champion would be associated with this unit rather than the red  pack with their more Khornate tendencies. That axe makes it an awkward bugger to rank up unfortunately, but I can see myself adding another few platic beastmen to the unit to make this six wide in the future so it can accommodate the Shaman neatly.

Next up are the red pack. Again, the back row of five were painted earlier in the challenge, but this is a bigger unit so another ten monopose beastmen for the pile. I was determined to get these all done this month to keep up with some of the other challengers who have been turning out big units every month, and to show that building a chaos army isn't only about painting massive monsters etc.... Just mostly ;)

All but the back row painted this month. I'm done with beastmen for a bit now thanks!

The front rank of this unit is a bit more unusual...

There are some interesting characters here, just as the Oldhammer Gods intended

First up is a converted standard bearer I put together out of bits from the 6th edition plastic Goblin sprues and a damaged monopose Beastman. Again the simple green cloth ties the unit to Nurgle but the red Octed will serve other purposes if needed.

Next up is a 'Two-headed Troll Giant' from Garrison miniatures Sword and Sorcery line, converted into a musician with the addition of a press mould of the shield from the Marauder Giant to look like a beaten up gong. It's a very soft sculpt and I'm sure that someone with more time, patience and skill could have done much more with it in terms of painting in the detail, but I like it for it's fugliness and I think it breaks up the monotony of the goat-heads nicely.

Then we have this classic Bob Olley sculpt. I love it. I don't think I have done it justice really as the half goatlike, half simian face has more character than I have been able to bring out, and the armour and very ornate helmet have been treated quite simply, but I'm considering this my first step into Bob Olley beastmen as this was enough to get me hooked. (BTW: I'm pretty sure the back of his head should be the same armour colour as it is part of the helmet, but I felt the mini needed more red to balance it out from behind)

Then we have two very different sculpts from Krakon Games recent Axe Grind KS (although not yet on the website at the time of writing). The first is a skinny little runt who at first glance seems a bit out of place alongside all these goat-headed weight lifters, but I really like the pathetic-aesthetic that is often ascribed to some Oldhammer figures and I think this has something of the same feel. Plus it is always the little ones you have to watch out for, feeling like they have something to prove to the rest of the pack. Watch him, he'll f***ing cut you!

I had to use this guy as my Champion for this unit. While he definitely still has a gota-like feel so fits in well, there is something simian about him, like a silver back Gorilla about to hurl the severed elf head at you in bellowing challenge. His yellow fur is a bit too neat for me. I meant to splash some Tamiya clear red over him to act as red gore but run out of time to do it properly, so the red smear on his base is the only indication of gore, but I think I will go back and finish the job so he is properly blood soaked :)

And in addition, or to lead the unit, we have a Beastman Hero. Nowhere near as nice as the version we saw from Andrea, who showed us what can really be done with this sculpt, and I'd want to spend more time on the horns in particular, but I'm still happy with the brute force he manages to portray. I certainly wouldn't mess with him!

Finally we have an added extra in the shape of the Tim Prow sculpted War Altar that Yosef BenSadon (formerly of this parish) put together a while back (and since acquired by Ye Alchemist with some future production plans in the pipeline so keep an eye out on their KS and fb pages and all the usual forums for news!)

It's quite a special piece I have to say and I love all the options you get (different beastman heads and altar tops for each of the four gods plus one for Chaos undivided), many of which I can't wait to use in future conversions for my growing Chaos forces.

In practical/game terms I can see myself using it either as unit filler (it takes up the same space as eight beastmen, but as you can see below it makes the unit off balance, so that is another column of beastmen to be added in the future!) or if my opponent agrees I could see it working as a Battle Standard, or even in place of a low level Shaman!? For OWAC purposes however it has zero points value.

So, the breakdown for May is as follows:

Beastman Shaman Champion - 134
Beastman Hero - 130
19 Beastmen - 190
2 Musicians, 2 Standard Bearers - 80
2 Beastmen Champions - 120
Chaos War Altar - zero

Total for the month: 654 pts

Plans for next month include: everything still on the list! Nurglings, Chaos Warriors, Chaos Goblins, Paying the Pipe... lots still to look forward to!

I can already tell I'm going to get OWAC withdrawal symptoms come July :(