Imperial halflings wip

Season opener looms ahead on Friday, and I am getting my little ones ready.

So far they've got a blue base coat, and they look a bit like smurfs. The colour will be much paler though, or thats the plan, and there will be no white left.

Treeman? Mighty pleased with him at this stage.

Treeman IV

Last of this bunch. Same style and feel to the last three, and I am quite happy with all of them. If I had to choose a favourite, I would probably pick this guy.

Better make some counters. He won't lie down nicely. None of them will.

Treeman III

Another treeman ready, and it looks like the team has the two enforcers that it will no doubt desperately need.

I am somewhat frustrated with treeman hands. Some have claws much like... No tree that I know of. Others have pathetic looking thin branches. This is okay on the excellent gw dryads, but they are much smaller and not picking up any halflings. Then there are the hands with a wood effect that I have here... I am not sure I like them, but the only alternative I have considered is a four finger or three finger version with more log-like fingers. Thoughts?

Treemen that are too humanoid, too manly if you will, are naf. I like mine as animated trees with a hint of sinister menace. The grandfatherly bearded ones... ugh.

A third of these similar ones is done... Well his arm fell off, so nearly done.

Treeman II

I am tempted to ditch the orc team for the upcoming season and give my imperial halflings a whirl...

No, I am not drunk.

Yet.

It could all well drive me to drink.

What the team needs are old, hard treemen. Proper conservative "oh you young fools!"-types who can take a punch and fling a 'fling to glory.

I feel I have had to build these creatures. Or rather improve on the work of others. I am still not happy with my previous effort, the converted wood golem, so here is another.

All comments welcome.

Oh and happy new year!

Treeman

Did some sculpting on an already...Well, he left much to be desired. Disco bell bottoms (y you make slim thighs on big tree?!), a weak trunk (pun intended) and almost no face. Looked like shite next to all other treemen.

Now he's bulked up a little and he has more of a face. I may bulk his midsection more, and gaps need filling too.

He has a shoulder pad too, even if this pic does not show it.

All comments welcome.

Get the ref

Yes, I still live. A couple of Morley's boyz came over, arms raised high in anger for me having mocked their master, and they roughed me up good.

I keed, I keed...

In truth, work has demanded all my energy and time. Minis are piled up, waiting for my tender mercies.

All I have done so far on this rainy day is tinker with lamps and lightbulbs and trying to organise some bitz. Came upon this ref that I got recently. Any good ref rules around these days?

Book review: Marks of Chaos (two books)

Work has been riding me hard lately, and I haven't gotten any modelling or painting done. Hopefully this week, perhaps even later today. Meanwhile, I have managed to read some books by James Wallis, and you should too. Go. Now. Read these.

Of the somewhat frightening amount of Warhammer books that I have read, I must say that these are so far the best. By a mile or so. That's not counting Warhammer 40K where people inform me that there are some other juicy finds, but this two book series so far kicks the crap out of any other Warhammer book that I have read.

The plot is GOOD. We follow the downward spiral of Empire soldier Karl Hoche as he becomes... touched by Chaos and embroiled in plots that threaten the security of the Empire and involve several secret organisations. It is perhaps not so much a descent as it is the deconstruction of Hoche, and a transformation into... well, lets not give it all away here. This takes place as Archaon's hordes march on the Empire, yet there are not many big battle sequences and tedious "Battle reports", so do not avoid this book just because it plays out among big name characters (Luthor Huss, Valten, Gamov) or take place during one of the great metaplot events in the Warhammer world. It remains a personal story of one man's doom, and we are not so swept up in big events that we lose track of individual character's humanity (or lack there of), motives, feelings, etc. Basically, this book is about what someone does when having lost everything, and fighting a losing battle. It is about defiance and survival, about making the most of situations.

The writing is crisp, and the plot is intelligent. I was not bored at any point, and that was not due to full on action non stop, but rather due to a clever balancing of mystery, paranoia and dread. Hoche's world is grim, and Hoche grows grimmer and grimmer till he fits it. It is a trust no one story (slightly undermined by the presence of famous characters) of personal horrors that plays out among big events. We are treated to enough details to get a distinct sense of the Warhammer World, and so this is not a story (like some others I have reviewed) that could be transported to a different fantasy universe with a few minor alterations. It is Warhammer through and through without selling you any miniatures or games, something which is rampant in other Warhammer books. Wallis writes good characters, believable and multi-faceted, imperfect and interesting, and he writes a good anti-hero. Combat scenes are mainly quick and dirty, the violence is gritty, and Chaos is truly horrific, disgusting and ... everywhere.

Is there nothing bad about this book? Well... I suppose some might find it a bit cynical at times. Again, I do not want to give anything away, but there are several characters in the book who come to a largely undeserved end. There is no justice in this book. This is like Clint Eastwood's "Unforgiven" with a vengeance in the sense that life sure as hell does not reward the righteous and punish the wicked, so prepare to give up a few "aww, maaaan..." along the way. Looking with critical eyes on this book, it may even be said that the nicest guys finish last, or rather, that they come to the most brutal early deaths. Is that intentional? Possibly. Hoche is not a hero, and he is not written as such either, and so he possesses a hard edge that few of us would hope to have, and he may not even go down as very likeable. I think that IS the point, though.

Rating: 5 out of 5. Dog's bollocks. Warhammer World as it should be.