The third man

 well... sort of. Simple conversion using horns from the beastmen plastic sprue.

 The unit so far:

 

My first mutant

A classic three-armed mutant based on an early-90s Trollslayer, equipped with a second axe, and augmented with the right arm of a Gotrek miniature, and the flail of an old Empire knight. 

Fun to build, less fun to paint, since I'm still struggling with smooth transitions on flesh tones.

My Troll Eaters so far:

 

Second wave of berserkers

Time for a berserker break? Or more of the same? While I'm reworking (for the third time!) a caparisoned boar rider, I'm also converting some newer Trollslayer miniatures to complement my first 10 Chaos Dwarf berserkers. 

I've recently realised that Aly Morrison designed a few additional miniatures released in the mid-nineties (initially for Marauder Miniatures) that were easier to work with.

Credit: The Stuff of Legends

So...

The idea behind these new berserkers is that, by dint of eating Chaos Troll flesh, they have begun to develop mutations. Of course, nothing too extravagant (after all, they are dwarfs): horns, fangs, the classic third arm, perhaps twin heads, and maybe one or two oversized hands. As for their armament, they sometimes take pride in wielding the massive weapons left behind by their victims. 

This is my first converted dwarf: the hair was replaced by a crest of horns, the axe was swapped for a Chaos Troll sword... and that's it.

The Troll Biters (part 4)

Ironically, I ordered a new box of plastic skulls to use the giant ones as masks, and ended-up using two bare-faced models to complete my berserker unit.

• The ninth model is the Giant Slayer MM16/10, to which I simply added a shield, and sharp teeth.

 

• The last model, and the unit's champion, is based on a Marauder Troll Slayer from a later period, still designed by Aly Morrison. Here, I swapped his left hand for the one from Gotrek's model, holding a troll head, and trimmed the axe blade to remove the engraved runes.  

 

And the band is finally complete! For now...

The Troll Biters (part 3)

 No new model here (I'm still waiting for a delivery of giant skulls), but the 8 berserkers grouped together for a family picture.

 

The Troll Biters (part 2)

Second post dedicated to my Chaos Dwarfs fanatics. 

• "Captain Caveman" is based on Chaos Dwarf MM90/5a. I replaced the armoured bits with bare feet from a rather ugly Marauder MM20/1 orc (no regrets!) and swapped the left hand for one from a MM97 Beastman holding a spear. The original axe was replaced with a hook cut from an old Chaos Marauder plastic banner. 

• After the drummer, this warrior is my second use of the Troll Slayer MM16/1. This time, both swords were removed: one was replaced by a gauntlet taken from the Khorne Blood Bowl team, and the other, by an axe from the old Beastmen plastic sprue. The belly piercing was made using a piece of a ghoul's arm, and the mask was crafted from the skull placed on top of the old Beastmen plastic banner. IMO, not my best model: I'll hide him in the second rank.

• This one is my first (and so far only) use of a Giant Slayer miniature (MM16/7). Only minor modifications were made to this model: mainly adding a skull-shaped belly armour, and covering the Celtic patterns on the axe blade.

And here we are with a trio of bloodthirsty berserkers. 

 

The Troll Biters

I have already said this, but one of the annoying things I like about building armies with Marauder Miniatures is the absence of certain models. For Chaos Dwarfs, we lack heroes, shooters, warmachines, command groups and... berserkers!

This is my new project: a regiment of Chaos Dwarf Berserkers (I'll count them as Chaos Marauders), all based on Marauder Miniatures Troll Slayers. 

The main difficulty here is to make these jolly figures look evil. After considering massive conversions turning dwarfs into boarmen, and then dropping the idea due to a complete lack of sculpting skill, the simplest way was to hide their faces behind the skulls of some unknown monsters. 

For others, I tried to sharpen their teeth and pierce their noses with rings... Can't say it's really convincing (compared to the illustration below from the Warhammer Armies supplement), but I was running out of skulls.

 

Then, while browsing the "Stone and Steel" warhammer supplement, I stumbled upon this incredible rune: Kulgur, the art of cooking Troll:

 

That was it! My berserkers were sharpening their teeth to eat troll flesh! As a tribute to Mad Marik Trollbiter, a miniature from the Citadel "Chaos Dwarfs Renegades" box, I will call them the Troll Biters.

Below are the first models from this new unit.

• The standard-bearer is a basic Troll Slayer from the MM16 range (MM16/2); I removed the mace, resculpted the hair, slightly bent his right arm so he could hold the standard pole taken from an old Beastmen plastic sprue, and gave him a flail from the ancient Chaos Marauders plastic sprue. The troll head comes from a Troll Slayer banner. The banner itself was painted with the Dark Khazalid rune 'Dumkulgur' (the art of cooking Chaos Troll 😝). 

• The musician is based on the Troll Slayer MM16/1: I removed the sword in his left hand and gave him the drum and the mallet taken from the Marauder Miniatures MM97 Beastman drummer. I also added belly armour to emphasize his alignment with Chaos.

 

• The next three warriors are simpler conversions based on models MM16/3, MM16/4, and MM16/5; the plastic skulls were carved to facilitate their positioning, and extended on the sides with some greenstuff to fully cover the dwarfs' faces.

 

The first batch of Troll Biters in their dreadful glory: 

 

2025 wrap-up

In terms of painting, this year was reasonably productive. The first half was dedicated to the completion of the army of the White Lady with some cavalry, a warmachine, the cult of the Marblers, the funeral procession of the late Count Heinrich and two wizards. 

Unfortunately, I ran out of motivation before completing the White Lady (painting the standard with the two faces drained most of it), a mobile ossuary, a portable altar, and some shooters using gravestones as pavises. Not sure I'll come back to this army, as the color scheme ended up feeling really dull.

 

After that, I decided I needed a break from humans, and opted for... surprise... dwarfs! And since the new AOS Helsmiths of Hashut aren't my type, I dusted off my Chaos Dwarfs from Marauder Miniatures, which I've been collecting for the past 20 years or so. 

These dwarfs prove to be really difficult to paint. Blame the rounded armor, the blurred details, and the softened edges. I can't say the trolls were any more pleasant to work on. In the end, the only truly enjoyable pieces were the desecrated Anvil of Doom and the Chaos Dwarf sorcerer. At least I managed to secure the army general 👍 

I also spent a lot of time trying to change my usual 'stone and moss' base formula, and... failed, as you can see below. 

Well... Despite the unexpected difficulties in painting this army, I hope I'll still have the motivation in 2026 to produce a unit of Chaos Dwarf fanatics, hopefully some cavalry, a few more trolls, and some fire power. In the meantime, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.