2017 re-cap

Painting

In 2017, I've focused all my efforts on the imperial army of Pfeildorf: I've reworked the 2016 flagellants, and added a second regiment of fanatics. The militia of the Guildhouse, initiated in 2016, is now complete, and I've reached my objective of achieving the 20 mandatory halberdiers. I have also added a second rank to the regiment of mercenary swordsmen.

In other words, I have painted 1 MM42 Ogre, 1 MM64 Halfling, 1 MM16 Giant Slayer, 2 MM10 Dwarfs, 2 MM73 Warhounds, 4 MM62 Citizen, 10 MM65 flagellants and 14 MM60 Fighters. And I have complemented these Marauder Miniatures by a few Citadel models: 1 donkey, 1 Standard Bearer, 2 C46 Villagers and 13 F2 Fighters/Dogs of War. In total, 52 miniatures: possibly my best year...

As you can see below, some of the painted models are already useless: the monk, the beggar and the warrior-priest are not anymore part of the flagellants, the initial standard bearer of St Quintus has been replaced, and I have two fanatics on their own.

Collecting

2017 has been an amazing year too for my collection of imperial models, with the acquisition of several unreleased Marauder Miniatures. The first one is already painted: the roman legionnaire. The other ones can be seen below:

• a second unreleased warrior 
• a horse (used as a prototype for Empire and Chaos war horses)
• the war altar.

Beside that, I now have the whole MM62 Citizen range but one model: CZ 28, the girl holding a goose (if you have one and want to sell it, let me know).
 

and Gaming!

Just kidding ^_^ I'm only using the rulebook to build the units I paint:


Let's see:

• 272 points for Pfeildorf's militia: 32 Ersatzholder with Spears and Light Armour, including musician and standard-bearer;
• 110 points for the mercenary swordsmen: 10 Estalian Hombres Villanos, including a standard bearer;
• 99 points for the first unit of fanatics: 8 Fleglers with double handed weapons and a standard-bearer;
• 99 points for the second unit of fanatics: 8 Fleglers with double handed weapons and a standard-bearer;
• 207 points for the City Watch: 21 Helblitzen including musician and standard-bearer.

which makes only 787 points! And already two years spent on this army... Next time, I'll do High Elves :)

In the meantime, Happy holidays!

City Watch complete

I've decided to rework the banner of the Mórrsfeld district to maintain a coherence between the different watchmen. I have therefore replaced the old watchman designed by Trish Morrison by a MM60 fighter (F27). This is the second time I paint this model, and as mentioned before, this is definitely not my favorite miniature.  Here, I've removed the shield boss on the left hand, and replaced the original halberd by a dark elf plastic standard (topped by a flame coming from Celestial Hurricanum sprues). For the banner, I've kept the idea of the portcullis, but used the "M" letter as a reminder of the unit origin... Same colours as the ones used for the Söllhafen district.

Final pictures of the unit:

To be honest, I had other plans for this regiment, including a third and wealthier district, a musician, a second ogre, and a larger banner, but for the moment, let's consider the mandatory Helblitzen as done...

Endless story

Painting standards have always been a challenge for me: combine large flat surfaces and a recurrent lack of inspiration, and you understand why the standard bearers are often the last models to join my regiments.

As already explained for the City Watch, I wanted to paint two to three contingents of halberdiers, with a distinct identity related to the district they belong to. The first one, Mórrsfeld district, was quite easy, thanks to the St Quintus prison. For the second one, my plan was to paint some of the watchmen that patrol along the docks of Söllhafen district. The two dogs are supposed to control the merchandise arriving from Nuln or Karak Hirn, and my original intent was to use them as mascots for the regiment... but painting a dog head on a first shield has been so difficult that I needed a simpler design for the standard. Looking for something related to Renaissance, I finally stumbled on the capital letters used in a XVth century manuscript, De Situ Orbis... waaaay easier to paint than some animal head :p

The original model is a fighter from the MM60 range (F25). I've replaced the halberd by a Dark elf flag and a lantern from the Corpse Cart (GW). As you can see, I've painted the S of Söllhafen on the flag and on the shield.
 

And the whole Söllhafen band:

I thought I was done with this second standard bearer. But I'm afraid I have now to rework the colours of Mórrsfeld district to have something close to Söllhafen. Endless story...

Dwarf halberdier

Pfeildorf has welcomed dwarf refugees for many generations. Contrary to other imperial cities, there is no Dwarf quarters or ghetto here, as the Dwarfs live peacefully alongside the Humans. No wonder in these conditions that some of them have enrolled in the City Watch.

This model is a Marauder Miniatures from the MM10 range (reference DW21). Always a pleasure to paint one of these bearded guys :)

Maximillian the Brave

New violation of the Marauder-only rule, this model comes from the Citadel Fighter F2 range. As it's an Aly Morrison's design, I guess we can accept him in the City Watch :) As you can see, pictures are still very dark, I don't understand where it comes from. Anyway...

One last model and the 20 mandatory Hellblitzen required by the Warhammer Armies book will be complete. Not totally happy with the way this unit is going (too dark)... and I'm also concerned by the 10 crossbowmen I have to paint to finish the mandatory troops. Well, we'll see...

Watchdogs and beastmaster

Back to Marauder Miniatures! To lead a pack of warhounds borrowed from the Dark Elves range (MM73), I have slightly converted an MM60 fighter (reference F22 - definitely not my favorite) by removing the shield slot and by replacing the original hammer in the right hand with a whip.


For the dogs, I've tried to paint the fur by applying small brush strokes, but seeing the close-ups, I could have been more patient... Anyway.

 Family shot:

MM60 Fighter F29

Another addition to my second block of watchmen. This time, it comes from the Marauder Miniatures range MM60.

The painting of the shield was quite a challenge (it's incredibly difficult to draw properly a dog head - like it was for the lamb!): what you see is my third attempt to get something not too far from what I had in mind.


Family shot:

The Gunnery Captain

This model is supposed to be a "Gunnery Captain" in the Citadel catalogues, but I've selected him to lead the second block of Pfeildorf's Watchmen. A real pleasure to paint!

Eldon and Fenwick

Two new additions to the Watch, from the Citadel Dogs of War range: Eldon and Fenwick. Forget the initial plan about building a imperial Marauder-only army: I'm trying now to paint all the Empire models designed by Aly Morrison (either for Citadel or for his own range). Not sure I'll see the end of it...

The watchmen of Mórrsfeld district

The last member of the Watch of Mórrsfeld district is the light bearer (remember that the Watch is actually the Guild of Lamplighters and Watchmen). The miniature was designed by Trish Morrison for the Citadel C46 range of villagers (really weird model) and modified to hold a standard.

I've re-used the portcullis design already painted on the shields of two watchmen, completed by two golden keys crossing above the motto of the company: "Lex Mea Lux", which can be translated by "the Law is my light".

On this second picture, the whole St Quintus family, plus one of the first test models painted for this army. I've slightly touched up the NMM on the executioner's shoulder pad, and finally glued the jailer on the same 40x40 base.

To tell the truth, I still don't know if the final unit will work as a whole, as each district is supposed to have a specific identity. We'll see that in the coming months...

Chief Interrogator and Guards of St Quintus Prison

I've finally decided to complete the Guild of Lamplighters and Watchmen before starting anything new. As explained in a previous post, my intent is to work district by district and to paint three blocks of 9 watchmen each with a specific theme.

The first one is Mórrsfeld district, where you can find St. Quintus Prison. You've already met the Warden, the Executioner, and a jailer, it's time to introduce you Theobald Grimm, Chief Interrogator and Torturer of St. Quintus, flanked by two guards.

The two watchmen are Marauder Miniatures from the MM60 Fighters range. I'm not totally convinced by the one on the right, but a collection is a collection, and I have to paint them all. For Theobald, I've used a Citadel model from the Dogs of War range, most probably sculpted by Aly Morrison. Note that the portcullis on the shields is part of the coats of arms of the Watch of Mórrsfeld district.


The standard bearer should follow soon...