This troll is a little bit special, as it is particularly ugly, and... an unreleased model.
According to the (wonderful) Stuff Of Legend website, there were three trolls converted by Colin Dixon, based on the MM40 models scupted by Trish Carden. Below are these gems, painted by Bodmodels:
And the three variants in a single shot:
(running out of titles with trolls).
The last two trolls released by Marauder Miniatures.
Now that my second regiment of Chaos Dwarf berserkers is finished, and my appetite for painting dwarfs is starting to fade, it's time to check where I stand in terms of points before launching a new project. The plan was to play a 6th Edition game with 1000 to 1500 army points, using my dwarfs as proxies for the Chaos Warriors army list from the Ravening Hordes supplement.
Luckily, I have already painted a Chaos Sorcerer (80 points) who can serve as the army general. As he stands atop a desecrated Anvil of Doom, I will give him a Chaos Warrior Chariot (+100), and a Chaos armour (+12), and upgrade him to Level 2 (+35), for a total of 227 points.
My first, and for now only, regiment of Chaos Warriors includes a musician (+10), a standard-bearer (+10), and a champion (+10). I've also given them a shield (+1) and a Chaos armour (+2), for a total of 160 points.
My two regiments of Chaos Marauders also include a musician (+10), a standard-bearer (+10), and a champion (+10). It makes 70 points of Troll Biters and 90 points of Troll Eaters, as they have also a Great weapon (+2). Given the time spent painting them, that's a ridiculously low number of points 😩
Last but not least, 3 Chaos Trolls, for a total of 150 points.
That only brings me to 697 points... Ugh... And I thought Chaos armies were easy to complete!
So, what's next? I have already converted a dwarf wizard (80 points) ready to support the army general. Although I'm not a fan of the sculpts, I also have the second trio of Marauder MM40 Trolls to paint, and at 50 points the model, they're worth the effort! Another quick win would be a Chaos Spawn (50 points), or, more exciting, an Aspiring Champion (70 points) riding a Dameon Steed as a Chaos Reward (50 points). And of course, I still have a bunch of unpainted MM90 Chaos Dwarfs that were my initial motivation for starting this army. We'll see!
Another beast-handler hidden behind its troll 😐 Well... I did what I could to revamp these damn creatures and tie them into the Chaos Dwarf army theme.
Glad this trio is done... again.
Back to the Marauder Miniatures Chaos dwarfs, using one of the rare models with a 'kind of' dynamic pose. I replaced the original axe by a whip, and the hand protected by a shield now holds brass knuckles. Simple conversion for a background model 😋
Did I mention that I didn't like my trolls? Maybe a couple of times, ten times maximum 😏 Beyond the models themselves, and my not-so-satisfying painting job, I think I've also missed the part where these creatures are supposed to be tamed and used as brute force on the battlefield by my Chaos Dwarfs.
So, back on the workbench, I decided to make each base a duo, with a beast-handler and his ill-treated troll. The bits from the AOS Kruel Boyz were very helpful here.
My first troll-handler is not from the Marauder Miniatures range, but from the original Citadel Chaos Dwarfs, designed by the Perry brothers in the 1980s. I simply swapped the two-handed axe for a vicious man- (or whatever you want)-catcher.
Once I've reworked the initial trio, I'll convert the following trolls.
And that makes tree! I tried to change the skin tones on the extremities (hands and feet) while keeping the backs of the limbs and the torso black. Can't say I'm totally convinced by the result, I really need to work on painting skin tones... Maybe with some chaotic slayers?
In the meantime:
Second inhabitant of the Troll Country. Can't say I fully enjoy the painting process, the sculpting job can be difficult to understand.
Sometimes hunted, sometimes domesticated, the trolls serve as reinforcements or as decorations on the standard-bearers’ banners. My first Marauder MM40 troll painted for this army. Not an easy miniature...
