Chaos team: all catchers

I decided to keep it simple without more designers involved on this team, so basically I used up the Adams beasties, catchers all, or hopeless optimists, as the case may be...

Now, two things:

No, I have not chopped up priceless antiques. These minis are not out of print. They are not even very expensive.

I kept the conversion fairly simple. I was going to mess with the faces, but did not have the heart. So I gave the horns a bending, sawed one guy in half and switched it up a little with pads.

Book review: Riders of the Dead

Ahhh, Dan Abnett.... So we meet at last. in keeping with tradition, I pay minimal amounts for old books, and so I managed to get my talons into this fine specimen :Riders of the dead by Dan Abnett, primarily known for his 40K fiction.

This is the story of how two brave soldiers of the Empire end up fighting on opposite sides in the great war with Archaon's forces. Clearly, this means that one is corrupted horribly while the other ... isn't. All depending on one's personal tastes, one may find either of the characters more interesting, but it does effectively mean that we have two main characters, two protagonists, only on opposite sides of the mirror. One is Karl, the other is Gerlach, and both assume new identies as the story goes on, and so this tale is a classic "coming of age" in the sense that while these people may be grown men, they are not yet matured by life and circumstances, until fate forces them to leave behind their lives as imperial lancers.

Karl - let me spoil it for you right away - becomes a champion of Tzeentch eventually. He rides with the Kurgan, accepted as one of them, after a long series of trials and tribulations, and we learn quite a bit about these vicious Northeners and their ways. The characters in this narrative are perhaps a bit better than in the other with a nice mix of "he's going to die in a minute"-people who are quickly infused with enough of a story that we care, and genuinely cool characters (the noble Von Marburg is excellent, for example) who deserve the pages they are given.

Then there is Gerlach who ends up in Kislev. Much like Karl becomes one of the Kurgan, so Gerlach becomes one of the Kislevites, adapting to their customs, and indeed to their philosophies. This is probably where the book is at its best, because though Gerlach is perhaps not the most interesting or likable fellow (to begin with) he is thrown into a culture that Warhammer has always treated as an afterthought. Whether or not Abnett's take on Cossack/Kislevite culture is accurate, I have no idea, but it is both believable, interesting and quite cool. The books title, by the way, come from the Kislevite tradition of treating winged lancers as dead from the moment they ride out of their village.

I like this book for many reasons. It offers the level of detail that makes a simple plot work, and it does so by focusing on two neglected areas/cultures. Chaos often comes across as this mindless, somewhat dull crowd of "let's just slaughter you all for the hell of it"-crowd that you cannot really find much amusement with except for the sheer bad assery of it all with the helmets and armour and all, but not many books offer any sort of insight into WHO wears the helmets and armour, or indeed WHY, and Kislev is even more neglected (and sometimes appears down right silly with fur-lined hats, dancing bears, icy tap magic and so on), so this was a most welcome bit of anthropology.

I'll leave you guessing who wins the battle that you have no doubt guessed takes place in the end.

My hat is off to Dan Abnett for this book. I must admit I feared he'd gotten to write a string of Warhammer books for some completely unknown reason (like a few other authors it seems) whilst possessing only a moderate amount of talent or work ethic. It does not seem to be the case, based on this novel at least.

Over all rating: 4.5 out of 5. Genuinely interesting and well written. Simple plot, simple characters, cooked to perfection.

Chaos team: another catcher

Last of the Kev Adams catcher beasties. I like the sneer on his face, one that many Adams goblins have too.

These beastmen do not - of course - match the others completely. Sadly, three is not enough to make a team (Morley, take note here...) so I am forced to mix designers. Sadly I am not sure at this point who did the others, but I plan to add a few Olley beasts and I could add some Pickford too if I thought they together... However, I feel that a huge gap between your best mini and your worst works against your team, and different styles and purposes will not mix THAT well, I fear.

Size-wise the catchers are a little smaller, but that works, so hey...

Chaos team: catchers

I believe these two catchy fellows are the dark offspring og legendary goblin master Kevin Adams. I have more, but these two are first up and ready to go after some extensive work... On days like these I appreciate resin, as it would have made things much easier with the knife.

I think they both manage quite a convincing football pose. Catching, handing off... all the things you wish your gors would and could do.

Beastman thoughts

What is a beastman anyway? A little research will tell you that they used to be known as "broos" in the late seventies, and it does not take much of an interest in mythology to see that there is some inspiration from the satyrs and other pagan men-with-goat-elements that may be considered devillish, if one is into that whole sort of thing. They were apparently known as caprigors, but most of us probably know them as gors by now, or ungors if they're a little bit smaller and less goat headed. However, in early Warhammer books (I have reviewed quite a few here) the beastmen used to be... well, basically any animal that had been corrupted by warpstone. This gave us some pretty naf ones that were generally not represented as miniatures in any significant amounts. Please correct me, if I am wrong. I like to laugh. The squirrels, badgers, rabbits and other forrest critters that one might encounter made for some... not so scary antagonists. Chickens, anyone?

There is a pretty cool "animal" team for Blood bowl out there, by the way. Horse, rooster, sheep. I like it. Surprisingly, perhaps.

Even among the gors there is significant variation. The latest batch I have done are a funny bunch, for instance. Goats? Weeeell... I think they're a bit lama-esque, maybe. With horns. Is that some sort of antilope? Beats me. If you look at GW gors, you can find variation in the horns, making some of them more ram-like, buffalo-like or whatever other animal with horns you can think of and model with some wire and green stuff. I wouldn't recommend unicorns, but there's no stopping some people... Anyway, this last bunch of beastmen do not have the bull terrier profile. They are a little bit more like doggies with horns, think Mickey's dog Pluto with horns. And rabies, maybe.

Ideally you would want to mix and match your beastmen. It's Chaos, right? Do they need to look uniform? The very idea seems silly, philosophically speaking at least. Another point is of course the look of the team. So, tempted though I may be to just mix all my beastmen (I have enough for at least two teams), I think I may stick with more of a distinct tribe (?) look for each.  

Chaos team: more beasts

Been at it with the knife and sprays as I experienced a lull in my desire for brushwork. Staying productive and cutting a few corners - and weapons - will allow me to stay on course: 12 teams completed in 2014.

I am experimenting with two things as I create this beastie team.

Priming. Coloured primers and zenithal. This will hopefully aid the use of washes on these multiple texture minis.

Bending. One advantage to working in metal is the chance to create variation and better posture by means of bending. It takes some strength to do it in a steady motion, and be careful not to clamp down hard with your tool of choice. Sometimes snipping a weapon leaves you with a near hopeless mini, and indeed, why bother? If you end up with a mini who cannot conceivably be doing anything in that position, then try and bend the hell out of it or don't bother snipping.