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.

Minotaur II

Done! Well... apart from the base. He is entirely in keeping with the goat team, and I must say that I am quite pleased with him. Easy to do, but looks the business.

He may be shaded too dramatically if anything, but it was a fast paintjob, and I did not want him to stand out from the goats in terms of style, so there you have it.

Minotaur

Working on a new minotaur for the chaos team. Quite happy with this easy snip job with pads and a little adjustment of one hand and green stuff repairs.

He is quite slim, but animalistic still, and not too humanoid. Looks like an easy paintjob too, so he should be ready for next round.

Hobgoblins wip

Done the skin on these scoundrels. It is basically three different washes over a bony base coat.

I will do their shirts next, if I can figure out the best choice.

Book review: Magestorm

I actually read this a few weeks ago when I was on a business trip. I find that these books are ideal for a trip on a budget airline with all the waiting and needs for distraction built in to the whole thing. This book perhaps more so than others... And that's not a compliment.

This is, sadly, another example of where Warhammer books become these sad instruments, this filthy mixture of advertising and teaching tool. Usually their stock and trade are.... well, stock characters, cliches, mass destruction, and these frighteningly shallow characters who are basically these odd Moebius strips that have a certain personality because of what they are, and are what they are because of their personalities. Explanation? Not needed, but basic and from the "so, what have you come up with for your Mage character then, Carl?"-category that anybody who has ever actually sat down and thrown dice across character sheets will recognisze. Sad, mr. Green. Sad.

Lets run through the plot. It won't take long. A mysterious (Really? Not to me, man.) fire mage is caught up in the fight against Archaon's invading forces as some staunch defenders try to prevent Wolfenburg from falling. Also featured: A warrior priest, a witch hunter, some other wizards... Everyone doing exactly what you might expect. As an aside... Does anybody know of ANY Warhammer book where there is an even remotely cool Jade wizard featured?

Our main character, Gerhart Brennend, has a fiery temper, a noble heart, but his liasion with magic, the very stuff of Chaos does of course set him apart... No surprises here. And we are at it with the German names again, obviously. I have heard that it's considered a "love it or hate it"-thing, but I find it mildly distracting when it gets TOO thick, or when we encounter yet another slew of people with the same handful of German first names. THEN I get annoyed, but normally I can stomach it just fine. I am tolerant. Laid back.

Almost all other characters are worthy of little attention. Some are pretty cool, but with no depth. No twists, no surprises.

Is there nothing good? Oh Green CAN write, and probably does it best when it is about the spellcasting itself. However, I have read other books by the same author, and this one is by far the weakest. If I was not a fan of magic, Chaos, etc, I would have been in a worse mood when I finished it, but it was adequate, and might be a great primer for someone new to Warhammer.

Rating: 2 out 5. Empty calories. You'll be hungry again soon.