Christmas Army, part 7... Yeti's

Last post for 2015! Happy New Year Everyone!

The Christmas / North Pole Army keeps growing. Mostly because I have been fortunate enough to have a number of days off over the Christmas / New Year break. I have been even more fortunate to have had spare time enough amongst the festivities to get some painting in too. And play Just Cause 3 which I got for Christmas (JOY!).

The newest addition are the Yeti's. The Ogres know the true history of these strange creatures, but some have found their way to the polar north where they have become somewhat tame around the lands of Nikolaus abode.

Yeti aren't really tameable, but they at least do not view the denizens of Nikolaus lands as either a threat or food. So from time to time, when invaders have pressed northward, Nikolaus people have found themselves the beneficiary of aid from these strange creatures. It seems that the only reward these Yeti's require for their aid is to pick over the bones of the dead invaders for food. And so a mutual respect seems to have formed between these wild creatures and the people of Nikolaus icy realm.

These guys are Wyrd-Games Malifaux Wendigo (Arcanists) product WYR3021. They come from the first series, so not really sure how easy they are to find right now. However they are an ideal size for a monster for 10mm.

The stats for these guys hasn't been thought out yet. But they will also be used in my Ogres Kingdoms Army list as Yhetees (as they are the same creature really). Given that they are supposedly a distant offshoot of the Ogres from before the Big Migration, they likely will have similar stats to that of Ogres from that Warmaster Army list.

How to paint Yeti's

• Basecoat in Skull White
• Ink in Nuln Oil
• Wetbrush in Space Wolves Grey
• Drybrush in Skull White
• Paint face and claws in Shadow Grey
• Drybrush in Teclis Blue
• Drybrush in Skull White again very lightly or more heavily to preferred tone
• Paint eyes in Teclis Blue
• Base them

I've based these guys so that they aren't too heavily covered in snow. In this way they can fit either the Christmas / North Pole Army or the Ogre Kingdoms Army.

Anyway, have a Happy New Year!

Christmas Army, part 6... Snowmen

These are the newest addition to the Christmas / North Pole Army. Frosty the Snowman's naughty cousins Will, Tom and Bert.

These lads are always up to mischief! If they aren't swapping wrapped boy's and girls presents around, or putting laxatives in the flying reindeer watering troughs, they can generally be found sneaking around playing practical jokes on the Elfen.

Nikolaus patience is legendary, but these boy's test even Nikolaus. It's at this time that Christkind will usually step in and punish the lads by sending them off for a time to help out the North Pole Rangers. Its a mystery to the North Pole Rangers if Christkind isn't really punishing them instead of the boys. However the lads do have an upside for the Rangers, even though it means putting up with grumpy oversized big kids. Given the lads mischievous nature, they are only all too eager to chase off dangerous beasties or to get into a scrap with any Chaos worshipping tribesmen that wonder too close to one of Nikolaus toyshop villages.

These lads are from Reaper Miniatures. In game, they will have house rules that gives them the same stats as Giants, but not as stupid. Still need to work out all the details. But that will be the general idea.

William (Bill)

Thomas (Tom)

Bert

Merry Christmas everyone!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

 

Isaiah 9:6-7 New International Version (NIV)

 

⁶ For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
⁷ Of the greatness of his government and peace
    there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
    and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
    with justice and righteousness
    from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
    will accomplish this.

Christmas Army, part 5... Nikolaus, Christkind and Christmas Trees

Still working on those cousins of Frosty the Snowman. But as its Christmas Eve here, I thought it high time to reveal the General of my Christmas / North Pole Army.

Saint Nikolaus and Christkind (a General and Wizard piece) flanked by Christmas Trees

I am still looking for a suitable Nikolaus piece mounted on a sleigh, but I have made an "on-foot" Command piece which also has Christkind on it. Christkind can act as a Wizard piece on the tabletop by singing Christmas Carols and other enchanting melodies in her ethereal voice.

These two pieces, and the little sleigh behind them, come from the Noch N gauge Christmas range for model railways. I've mounted them on a 20cent piece for weight and stability.

Flash mob!

And the little sleigh behind them

Same again, but without the flash

The Christmas Trees are also from the Noch N gauge of Pine Trees with snow on them. I used superglue to add these golden beads from a $2 shop to the trees and then flocked the base in snow.

Still working on those Snowmen (and getting way too distracted by Fallout 4!) and the Elfen have arrived from Magister Militum. So I'll be posting on these in the future as time permits to get them done. But hope you have a wonderful, peaceful and Merry Christmas!

Christmas Army, part 4... North Pole Rangers

On the northern boundary of Kislev rise the Giant Home and Trollheim Mountains. Further northwards is the Frozen Sea, and beyond still is the foreboding Chaos Wastes. Few are foolish enough to venture this far northwards. But for those that do, there is rich game in the form of seals and walrus. Dangers lurk here too. Polar Bears are an ever present danger, and if the cold does not kill you, more formidable dangers lurk here also. Beasts of Chaos roam the howling ice and they are not to be trifled with.

It has come to be that over the years, hardy men have ventured into these lands in search of the rich game that can be found here or for adventure. Most die from the bitter cold. But some have returned to their tribes out of the north with fantastic stories of being rescued by kind beings not unlike Dwarves and Goblins.

Dwarves and Goblins these beings are not, calling themselves Gnomes or Elfen, and the wayward traveler or hunter will tell fantastic tails of how these beings rescued them from the frozen wastes and nursed them back to health. They speak of how there are whole towns hidden in the frozen north where wondrous workshops exist and fabulous toys are made. These towns are often hidden around woods of pine trees called Christmas Trees. A miracle to behold given that they grow in such inhospitable of environments. These tress produce cones that give forth a soft warm glowing light and they make the locales of these villages cosy and pleasant despite the bitter cold that is found in the frozen north. No beast of Chaos or evil thing seems to come into these places and the Gnomes and Elfen vigorously patrol and defend the borders of these forests. The tales speak that these wondrous Christmas Trees also seem to be able to move.

Often, these wayward hunters and travelers have returned back into the frozen north with their families, and sometimes their entire clans, never to be seen again. Many laugh at their weird and fantastic tales. But others rightly ask how such mere mortals could have survived the frigid waste and returned healthy of mind and body, unharmed from the North.

Legend has it that these people though small in number, have joined the Gnomes and Elfen in their strange, otherworldly, villages and took up the mantle of patrolling the woods that protect their villages and the frozen wastes. Such a role is in gratitude for saving their lives. But if such wondrous places truly exist, who would not want to stay there? Though they are legend, tails of these North Pole Ranges persist still. Wearing white fur lined cloaks and wearing warm clothes made of red or green fabric, any loan wanderer in these foreboding wastes will keep a watchful eye out for help unseen when it is needed most.

These lads are from Copplestone Castings 10mm range.

Christmas Army, part 3... Polar Bears!

Just a short post today. This one is of the North Pole army's Polar Bears.

These cute lads are from the GW Warmaster Kislev Bear range. These bears also have the same states as for the Kislev bears.

Just used a simple paint job:

• Sprayed with Skull White basecoat
• Washed in a brown ink
• Wetbrush in Skull White
• Paint faces and claws in Chaos Black.
• Easy!

By the way, Fallout 4 is going well. I'm now the General of the Minute Men, dealt with Kellog, took down Swan, became a Knight with the Brotherhood of Steal, and am closing in on the location of my son Sean! Just took out a nest of Super Mutants too. Loving that game!

Christmas Army, part 2... Weihnachtssänger (Carol singers)

In my last post I showed a how-to guide for painting the Wichtel (Gnomes) of the North Pole / Christmas Army. In this post I will be showing off the Wizards of the North Pole Army, namely the Weihnachtssänger or Carol singers.

Background

Weihnachtssänger (Carol singers)
The North Pole army does not have any wizards per se, but they enchant with songs. Those songs are called Christmas Carols and are able to bewitch even the hardest heart. Lore has it that in ancient times the singers were accompanied by a brass band, but when the city walls of Jericho fell down in a concert, the brass band was abandoned.

You can find out more about the North Pole Army here. That information comes for the old GW Warmaster Magazine issue 3. I may post the army details here as well when I show off the full army, once finished, in a future blog post.

The painting pattern is identical to the Wichtel (Gnomes) in my previous post. Miniatures are some old GW Warmaster Empire Flagellates with weapons trimmed or cut. The pedestal comes from Pendraken Miniatures, from their fantasy section under dungeon furniture if I remember correctly.

The base is a 40mm round plastic GW base that has been covered in snow, making it look like the Carol singers are standing on a mound of snow.

I chose the Flagellates for the Carol singers because they look like they are really getting into the spirit of singing Christmas Carols, dancing and having a rollicking good old time.

I still have some Flagellates left over from making this hero Wizard set piece. So I may turn them into Christmas Fanatics, a special unit with the characteristics of the Empire Flagellates.

I'm still waiting for my new gaming table to be finished. So not much in the way of gaming going on right now, just painting and playing too much Fallout 4.

Anyway, next job will be Frosty the Snowman's naughty cousins!

On the Painting Table... Christmas Army, Part 1

Wichtel (Gnomes) resplendent in red in honour of Nikolause

Been a bit busy lately, so not much painting getting done right now. I blame Bethesda and Fallout 4 for that!

However, I have been chipping away at my Weihnachtsmann Army (Santa Clause's Christmas/North Pole Army). More on this I will reveal in the days leading up to Christmas.

As an introduction, I thought I would show off one of the main infantry units currently being painted in a "how to"guide. One of the reasons I set this blog up originally was to be able to remind myself of how to paint certain units. I take notes of the paint jobs that I do. But its also helpful to have step by step guides as well. The 'On the Painting Table' post generally are these kind of guides.

So...

How to paint Wichtel

I used Kislev Axemen for these miniatures. See the images below this guide to show each step of the process below.

1. Basecoat in Chaos Black
2. Wetbrush in Red Gore
3. Paint metal in Chainmail
4. Paint the weapon hafts in Bestial Brown
5. Paint flesh in Dwarf Flesh
6. Paint fur, hair, breads and some highlights in White Scar
7. Paint sword scabbards and hilts in Scorched or Bestial Brown
8. Clean up any messy painting
9. Paint highlights as desired

Paint severed goblin head as a Halloween pumpkin Jack-O-Lantern using the following method:

• paint eyes in Yriel Yellow
• paint pumpkin in Fire Dragon Bright (Orange)
• paint base of pumpkin in Dark Angels Green

Step 1 & 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 6 & 7

Final product

 

I'll post an update when they are finished and based. But they are coming along nicely... when I get the time to paint and am not playing Fallout 4!