Shearl spotted

The shearl are the workers of the fimir race, containing those born to gather and care for food, construct and be responsible for the upkeep of the clan huts, alongside some skilled and valued labourers like carvers and weavers. In times of war they are often called up and have weapons thrust into their hands and pointed in the direction of the enemy; few survive such deadly encounters, many break and flee, yet their panic is of little consequence to the fimir warriors around them.

Since the beginning of my fimir project the plan has always been that lizardmen saurus warriors would make the fimir warriors and the shearl would be made from the skink models. With the other components of the army coming along quite nicely (in modeling terms, if not quite actually being painted yet), it was time to shine a spotlight on the lower levels of the fimir society, giving the shearl some attention. Having bought and unboxed the skink kit I was slightly worried as I hadn't realised quite how stuck out the tails were on the models - I think I'm going to have some troubles ranking this unit up.

The skinks come with the option of either blowpipes or javelins. I wanted my shearl to be equipped with spears and shields as the ultimate plan for the unit is to reach horde size (10 models wide) so that there will be 4 full ranks of ten attacking! The shearl are not particularly good fighters so weight of numbers should hopefully help them. The javelins work quite nicely as spears and the different ways they are held on the models means that I can have the back rows equipped and pointing their spears over the heads of those in front of them. That bit, therefore, wouldn't require any remodelling or gathering of alternative parts. However, I am keen to change the aesthetic of the models away from their lizardmen roots, so the distinctive shields need to be changed. I spent quite a while trying to work out what I could gather and use as replacements, but eventually found a nice selection on eBay.

The other annoyance about the skink box is that it doesn't come with any command figures, so it was time to raid my bits box. I remembered that the grave guard box I bought for use as for bolg had a really nice tatty standard, which I thought would make a nice contrast to the dwarven one I used for the fimir warriors, as well as give an impression of the status of the shearl in the clan. Digging that banner out I also found the horn that comes with that kit, so that took care of the musician as well. For the shearl fian (champion) I gave him a bigger spear, using one from the saurus kit - apparently size matters!

So with the spears and new shields equipped, their heads and spines carved down, ready for some green stuff work, I'm reasonably happy.

Kilts in the breeze

I've done a little bit more work on my Marsh Reavers, namely the part that I was slightly confused about how to do - the kilts and hiding the join between the body and legs/saddle. With the fimir warriors I have been taking a small piece of bandage, soaking it in pva glue, draping around the waist of the figure, and applying superglue to the edges and joins. However, with the reavers there wasn't a lot of space to be able to do the same thing owing to the position of the legs on the saddles, yet I definitely needed something as there would otherwise be a large gap around where the body fitted, that and the riders would be naked and I'm trying to avoid that!

So I sat down yesterday to have a bit of a think about how to do it. Out of nowhere an idea struck me, rather than putting the bandage around the outside of the figure to hide the join, what if I put the piece of bandage in the join before gluing the body in. That way the gaps can be filled and I can get the kilt into the awkward places before the body is secured. Also, I could then try and get a bit of flow in the bandage to demonstrate movement of the model.

With a certain amount of trepidation I set about on the first of my three reaver models, cutting the bandage to size (half what I would normally use, but I normally fold that in half, so guess it is the technically the same size, just I wanted it thinner and more flexible this time around), putting it over the join, applying superglue to the base of the body and then pushing it down, hoping that it could create what I envisaged. With a bit of subsequent playing around, a few cuts here and there, and folds to try and show it flapping in the breeze, I added the superglue to secure the bandage in the pose I wanted. This was the first one I did:

I was really pleased with how it turned out, so I set about the other two reaver models in the same way. I'm really rather pleased with how it has worked, it still matches the look of the kilts on the warriors models, yet also conveys a bit of movement, whilst hiding the join between body and legs - ticking all the boxes as it were. Now I need to get the greenstuff out again to model the head/eye, then get the paints out. I'm really looking forward to getting these models painted up, I think they'll be a bit of a feature in the army.

Reavers getting closer

"Some Fimm warriors go to war on the backs of Bog Beasts, daemonic servant creatures from the deep places of Albion that carry their Fimir masters into battle on their backs."

I've been looking forward to making the Marsh Reavers ever since reading their entry in the fanmade army book from Warhammer Armies Project. Getting the lizards and the bodies from the saurus cold one riders was an obviously necessary first step, but now I've managed to do a bit of green stuff work to get the legs and saddles in place on the backs of the bog beasts. It took a reasonable amount of green stuff, but actually not as much as I thought. I think whenever I work with this stuff I am always expecting to have to use more - a little goes a long way, you don't need much to fill a gap or sculpt a bit of detail.

I'm really pleased with how they have come out. I think the saddles have fitted nicely around the back of the lizard, with the green stuff just making the saddle look thicker at the front, which isn't too odd or unusual I don't think. As you can see, I have also modified the tails of two of the mounted fimir - one to have a spiky plate at the end, and another a club-like lump; Fimir are after all supposed to have bone-like knobbly bits and mace-like structures on the end of their tails which they can then use as an additional weapon.

I have also started work on the bodies for the riders- trimming off the spines, etc. from the saurus riders, carving up the lizardmen heads, taking spear arms from the saurus warrior kit, and making a few more shield arms from spares. The marsh reavers are supposed to be armed with spear, shield, and hand weapon, so once I've put the kilts on I will try to add a few other weapons hanging from the saddle or the kilt itself; so long as it doesn't look too wierd - I'll give it a go and see what it looks like before actually gluing any on.

I just need to put the liquid green over the backs, legs and tails of the riders to tone down the prominence of the scales, as well as give a gnarled hide idea, and obviously I need to get my moulding tool and green stuff out again to sculpt the eyes. Once that is done and cured I'll take a look at sorting the kilts for them. I'm slightly apprehensive about trying to get these fitted and looking right. Not only is there not a lot of space around the saddle, but the kilt would also need to convey the necessary movement and flow of the bog beast charging through the marshes towards its next victim. I'm not sure if the bandages that I've used on the fimm warriors so far will work that well to show dynamic movement. I'd really like to still include them as it will cover up the gaps of where the body meets the saddle, but more importantly it will continue a cohesive look across the army. I guess I'll just have to give it a go!

A Hag-Queen rises from the mists

When I first started this project I looked over the fan-made army listing and designed a rough outline of the army that I would like to field. Obviously every army needs a general, and for the fimir it absolutely has to be the tribe leader, the hag-queen, the meargh. The problem I had was working out how to model a female fimir? There are numerous illustrations that give a very definitive idea of how the hag-queen is supposed to look, and I was convinced that my green stuff skill was nowhere near good enough to be able to sculpt a saurus warrior to resemble these pictures.

I was searching a variety of miniatures designer websites looking for a suitable hag model that I could then replace the face to convert it into my fimir meargh. I'd found a couple of possibilities, but nothing that I was really happy with, until a friend of mine pointed me towards the game Malifaux. I don't play the game and, despite this friend's attempts at pushing it, I not going to start as I don't have enough time to actually play the games I am already involved with, but I had to agree that the models look fantastic. In particular the model of Zoraida the hag.

This was perfect, so look what I treated myself to!

Reavers spotted in the marshes

I have previously blogged to say that I had ordered some giant lizard models to make Marsh Reavers. Well they arrived and they are quite simply brilliant! They are a bit larger than I originally thought, but they really fit the bill and will make some fantastic models. I've mounted them on monstrous infantry bases and have done the first stage of my usual swamp-base-technique. Whilst the lizard is the same model, slightly positioning it facing a different direction at least gives a slight variation.

I had ordered a sprue of the lizardmen cold one riders for ebay (sorry GW, but I only needed one sprue, not a whole box full). I haven't set about making the riders properly yet as stepping back to the modelling will be a slow process. However, I have clipped out a few of the components and used a bit of blutac to mock up how the rider will fit on the back of the lizard. It fits reasonably well, but there are a few definite gaps. This will mean some fairly substantial green stuff work (obviously I will have to use some to fit the pieces together smoothly, as well as bulk out the stomach, etc, as with the fimir warriors I have modelled so far). Yet I was talking with a warhammer geek friend earlier this week about these very models and he asked a simple question which changed my thoughts on these models to make it far simpler - will they have kilts too? This means that I can do the basic green stuffing as originally intended, but that I can cover up a fair amount with the bandage-based kilts. I'll just have to try and get them flowing backwards so it doesn't mask all of the saddle details.

These fimir must be pretty decent warriors and respected within the clan to be given the privilege/death-wish of riding fearsome bog beasts. Therefore they need to be represented with several marks of prestige - decent belly shields, kilts, spears, shields, and a wild array of weapons. Maybe a few other bits and pieces if I can think of and locate things.

Moons have passed

It has been rather a long time since I did any modelling or gaming, and the fimir have been neglected somewhat. That's the thing about life, it tends to delay geeky fun! I have moved house, been doing various jobs around the new house, liaising with builders about other jobs to be done around the house, and performed in Sweeney Todd at the Marlowe Theatre. Luckily everything has gone well and I now have a bit more time again. Admittedly I'm still sharing that with doing work on the house and the joys of teacher admin work like marking/writing reports, but slowly some progress will be made again.

As you can see, the other 7 marsh hounds have been constructed from the chaos warhound kit, along with the filler on the bases. These have been added to the 'ready to paint' pile. I'm getting quite used to/reasonably adept at putting the filler on the bases - trying to spread it around to leave spaces for pools of stinking marsh water, while simulating the oozing mud of the marshes. I just hope that I can remember/recreate the effect that worked on the bases of the models that I have finished.

I have also worked on bulking up the fir bolg unit. I had made 5 dead of the marshes equipped with hand weapon and shield, but wanted the chance to field the unit with great weapons, so equipped the remaining 5 to illustrate this.

I tried to again get two to look as though they were crawling up from the swamp, though I think only one really worked. I tried to make the second one a bit more subtle, but I was a bit too successful in this regard! They work nicely with the existing 5 though to create a nice and atmospheric unit. I'm looking forward to getting some paint on them at some point, but god knows when that will be.

Anyway, that's enough for now, but I will be updating again soon to show off a few purchases that I have treated myself to!

The Fimir factory

It has been quite a while since I did any work on the Fimir; largely as this time of year is always really busy at work with mock exams, reports, revision classes, etc. However, I also have the added time constraints of rehearsing for a play - Sweeney Todd at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury. Watch the trailer! It's been around four to five years since I last sang in a show so it's nice to be getting back to it, but I had forgotten how much work was involved! Equally, my wife and I are buying a house, moving out of our little two bedroom flat (which has served us very well) into a house so that we can finally get outdoors to have barbecues and generally have enough space to just have people over to entertain. So all in all, there's not a lot of time left for modelling. However, I had a rare day to myself today as work was closed, so I set myself the challenge to actually make some progress.

The Fimir factory has started - the eleven bodies that I have left (I had only initially bought one box of Games Workshop Saurus warriors, which contains sixteen models; at some point I need to buy another box to round out the squad to a suitable size) have all been set to with the modelling clippers and knife to remove spines and correct the angle of the neck. The green stuff has come out to bulk out the bellies of those far too skinny Lizardmen. Look at them! Have they never seen a decent meal?

The buckler shields for the GW Dwarf thunderers kit have had their runes removed and have been temporarily added to the Lizardmen to help get the belly proportions right. These are only temporary at the moment as I need to remove them to then put the kilts on the models. The right hands have been sent to the weapons store and been eqipped with a ragtag collection of axes, swords, hammers, etc. gathered from various Dwarf, Tomb Kings, and Vampire Counts kits. There's even a falchion from an old Heroquest orc! In all of the Fimir models so far only one weapon has been repeated - the morningstar from the GW Tomb Kings skeleton kit.

This is simply because I want enough models wielding morningstars should I decide to pay the points for them in a game. Of the eleven being worked on, five had their left arms sent to the armoury to collect a shield, the other 6 were sent back to the weapon store so that they are brimming with blades. Again this decision was made so that I have some flexibility on how I want the unit to be kitted out on the table top. I now have a selection of models to represent hand weapon and shield, morningstar and shield, two hand weapons, or morningstar and additional hand weapon. It's not ideal, but should help to make the unit a bit eaiser to understand for whoever I'm playing against (we tend not to be too extreme on WYSIWYG). I haven't got around to doing the heads for these eleven models yet, that's definitely the next thing to do, but who knows when that's going to happen?