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: 

 

OWAC V - The Wild Dwarves

Using all the dwarfs released by Marauder Miniatures in a single army can be difficult, as the style of the Longbeards, the Slayers and some Clasnmen does not fit at all with the Renaissance flavor of the other models. But I realized last year that I could at least use the woodwose figure, often depicted in Middle-Age and Renaissance paintings bearing coats of arms, to transform my slayers into a band of Wild Dwarves, coming from the most remote valleys of the Grey Mountains.

Two wild men as shield holders (The Chaff Bridge, Lucerne)

Some basic conversions on MM10 or MM16 models (plus a later giant slayer), with weapon swaps, fancy details filing, and a few shields glued in place. In terms of painting, I did my best to suggest a limited hygiene 😬

Beware the wild bunch!

 

OWAC V - Some thunderers

As promised last month, enter the thunderers for the third month of the OWAC V.

The dwarfs of the Red Claw clan are not fond of the fancy clothes worn in the Empire, and rather stick to leather gambesons and chainmails, the top of the fantasy being a coloured feather. Their attachment to the traditions and their native hold is symbolized by the mascot they bring to every battlefield: a fierce mountain bear, which also appears on the coats of arms of the clan.

Appenzell banner (1499)

 

My initial plan was to paint the standing bear of the Canton of Appenzell, but it didn't fit with the format of the banner. I've used instead the walking bear of the Canton of Bern as a reference. Below the original and the resulting copy:

The standard bearer:

The musician is the other model slightly converted for this unit, by replacing the original sword by a handgun. The other dwarfs are MM10, MM15 or MM16 Marauder Miniatures, plus Cyril the bear from the old Citadel Dwarf King's Court set.

 

Second rank:

First rank:

And the full clan:

See you next month with a new clan!

OWAC IV - The Hammerers - Part II

Nothing much to say on the next 3 hammerers. Obviously the one with the bull on the helmet represents the clan of the BlackHorns, already providing a regiment of pikemen:

The warrior with the boar on the hammer and on the shield protects the interest of the FrostPeak clan, represented by a regiment of halberdiers.

And the last one used the colours of the Canton of Zürich (yeah, still looking for a proper name):

To complement the regiment, I have slightly converted a MM10 warrior into a musician by giving him a horn and changing his left hand, and painted one of the MM11 champions in the colours of the FrostPeak clan. 

The second part of the unit:

And the whole band...

... protecting the paymaster's chest!

See you next month!