AoS - At the Court of the Silver King - Prologue

'At the Court of the Silver King' is going to be my first narrative-driven foray into painting and modelling in the Age of Sigmar. At the centre of this shall be my Flesh Eater Courts army, the mad minions of the legendary Silver King himself. I shall also be converting several small war bands representing characters and forces that are travelling to the Silver King's court with myriad interests and intrigues in mind.

As I complete characters and units for this project I shall be posting them on the blog alongside some narrative prose to create a sense of this corner of the mortal realms I am creating. While I cant guarantee a high quality, I hope this will give me the chance to try and improve some creative writing skills as writing is something I enjoy doing and would love to get better at!

I started getting miniatures together for this project when the Flesh Eater Courts battle tome first came out (about two years ago I think) but due to uni and only having sporadic moments of interest in AoS I haven't really gotten much done. With the release of the second edition of Age of Sigmar I have been reinvigorated and I've gathered together all the plans and notes I started compiling two years ago in order to actually start this planned narrative project.

We begin our story on the wind-swept deck of The Revenger, a ship of Scourge Privateers taking their deadly cargo across the Gloom Sea...

Autumn Workbench - Malifaux, Monsters, and More

I have been incredibly busy over the past few months but I have managed to get quite a few hobby things done in my spare time (i.e. procrastinating between more important things!). While I haven't managed to work on my Flesh-Eater Court or my Witch-Hunters, I have managed to do plenty of work on side projects. 

One of my main projects for this year, though smaller than my main army projects, is an experimental Lich Warband which I'm not putting together for any particular reason than wanting to try out some random painting/modelling ideas. The core of the war band are some small groups of skeletal warriors which are nearly done, just the basing and final details to do now.

One of my favourite miniatures GW has ever produced is Krell and I decided earlier this year to buy him on a whim, adding him to this project as leader of my skeletons. I even largely painted him like the GW scheme but with minor variations to fit the rest of the war band.

Perhaps my favourite conversion for this project thus far is this random Vampire Priest I cobbled together from spare parts. I wanted him to look like a non-combat orientated character, but more shamanistic than wizardly which I like to think I have achieved. 

With the Skeletal core of the army almost finished, I have started work on a Command Squad of wights as heavier hitters. This little unit is led by a character I'm currently just calling Lord Famine that I mounted upon a slightly-converted cow from the Giant kit, a piece that I've been wanting to use for ages now. This weird squad is probably most representative of the design philosophy of this project; that being pure creativity and experimentation. 

I've also managed to get a fair bit done on this Corsair war band for Age of Sigmar which I converted over the summer. It has been quite fun doing something a little different, even if it has admittedly distracted me from more important projects. I've used these miniatures as a test for using Tamiya Clear Red, as I'm currently considering a Horus Heresy project which I might use this colour for. 

I've also made a load of progress on the Malifaux stuff I ordered over the summer. I still have quite a way to go with these miniatures but I'm quite pleased with them thus far. I'm hoping that over the Christmas period I will be able to get my hands on The Jury for this crew as well as get in some of my first games of Malifaux.

Looking back at my hobby plans for the year, I realise that I have had mixed results thus far to say the least. I'm hoping that by the end of the year I will have managed to finish off the three projects mentioned above as well as get some other stuff done as well. After buying the Malifaux stuff in September I decided not to buy anymore miniatures until I had gotten more of my unpainted stuff done as I seem to have entered a never-ending cycle of starting new projects without finishing old ones while continuing to ignore my Tomb Kings. At the start of next year I shall do a 'year-in-review' post and we shall see how successful I have been! 

An Army of the End Times: The House of Shattered Tears

My army of the End Times; my tribute to the Elves of Warhammer Fantasy using models both old and new to create an eclectic mix of elves that represent that noble yet cursed race who have ever been at the forefront of the Warhammer World. I have had a lot of fun with this project and though I doubt this army will see much time on the battlefield it will at least be a fond reminder of the Old World and the cursed elves of Ulthuan who helped me down the road of the hobby.

House of Shattered Tears:  Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3

An army of the End Times: The House of Shattered Tears Part 3

Here is the final part of my End Times army project, soon to be followed by a post showing a few army shots.

House of Shattered Tears: Part 1, Part 2

The Salt-Blood Reavers

The Salt-Blood Reavers crewed the ship that brought Dazmir to the Tower of Infinite Woe. These corsairs are captained by Dresla Salt-Blood, a cruel maiden of the seas who belongs to a lesser corsair house pledged to House Victarian. Taking a lover from amongst the high elf house-guard, a grim elf named Althrithar, Dresla marches with the House of Shattered Tears hoping to earn the patronage of Dazmir - the Hand of Doom.

The Blades of the Tower

The Blades of the Tower are an old order sworn to the House of Shattered Tears. Many a soldier or servant of the Tower go mad from the strange magics that surround the Seers, those thus afflicted come to wear ceremonial torture helmets that keep the unfortunate elf lucid enough for mind control. Most continue to descend into further insanity; the helms rendering them little more than automatons. Some however ascend to a new level of consciousness as they are able to gain some understanding of the visions of the Seer. These elves are deemed stable yet expendable enough to wield cursed swords; becoming powerful shock troops with no sanity to hold them in check. The Blades have long been considered an abomination by the other great houses of Caledor and for the past few thousand years mad elves that would usually qualify have instead been ritually executed to end their suffering. With the arrival of Dazmir and the House of Shattered Tear's alliance with Doombringer however, Prince Astalaton has reformed the order to serve in the bodyguard of the Hand of Doom; directed into battle by three of Dazmir's personal retainers.

Tyrek Tallhelm the Scarred was a childhood friend of Prince Astalaton, his sworn-sword and loyal companion in many a campaign. Carrying the ancient banner of the Tower of Infinite Woe he has proudly served the Prince for hundreds of years. The mind-bending magics of the Seers have taken their toll on him though and in recent years Astalaton has watched his friend fall to insanity, eventually placing the ceremonial torture helm on Tyrek himself. Rumours abound that it was this event that caused the rift between the Prince and his seer sister, Tyrek Tallhelm now little more than a screaming automata who continues to carry the standard of the Tower into battle completely heedless and unaware of any danger around him.

An army of the End Times: The House of Shattered Tears Part 2

Part 1: The House of Shattered Tears

I have now added the Island of Blood set to this army to help  pad it out a bit more and bring it up to around 2000 points. I have also managed to cobble together a few more units out of spare pieces which you can probably see lurking in the background of a few of the pictures.

Prince Astalaton

Prince Astalaton is pretty much straight out of the box barring a head swap and an axe replacing his lance. A sombre and stern man who, like his forebears, has been deeply effected by the curse of his house and the strange magics of the Tower of Infinite Woe. He is renown across Caledor as a man of uncompromising principles, his honour bound code of conduct earning him the title of Lord-Justicier of the Doomspire Fleet and a place on Doombringer's High Council upon his alliance with the Dreadlord.

Due to the unsettling magics that surround the Tower of Infinite Woe and the curse of its lords, no dragons have every been pledged to the service of the House of Shattered Tears. Instead tradition has seen the princes of the tower ride upon the backs of Griffons which adorn their banners.

Morvarel the Seeker

Rather than have another regular wizard in this army I decided to convert the Island of Blood mage into a Loremaster of Hoeth. This was simple enough, I simply removed the head and arms, didn't attach the regular chest piece and added new bits before covering any gaps with greenstuff. I also positioned him at an angle on his base rather than face-on to emphasise his pointing arm. Morvarel the Seeker is an old friend of Prince Astalaton who has long studied the Tower of Infinite Woe, devoted to knowledge above all else he gladly became Dazmir's apprentice and has begun to embrace darker arts.

Lady Arianne the Seer

Lady Arianne is Prince Astalaton's sister and is the current Seer of the House of Shattered Tears. Gifted with powers of foresight and tormented with dire visions of the End Times she is a sombre soul, cursed by blood and righteous in wrath. She is accompanied at all times by her handmaidens who are drawn from the families of lesser noble houses sworn to the Tower of Infinite Woe. To serve the Seer in such a capacity is considered a great honour but a deadly one for the madness such proximity may entail. When a girl leaves to become handmaiden to a seer her family will throw a great celebration before performing a ritual funeral after she has gone.

Lady Arianne with her Handmaidens

I have always loved the Spellsinger model and this was the perfect excuse to buy one. The handmaidens are some of the old Handmaidens of the Everqueen that I picked up years and years ago and have never actually finished painting. At various times I have considered using them in several different armies but I have never fully committed to a particular role or colour scheme for them until now.

I thought I would just take a moment to speak about Instant-mould, which without I would not have been able to get very far on this project at all. I have used it for the face masks of Dazmir's bodyguard as well as for some shields, sea dragon cloaks and a few other little bits and bobs. It is fairly cheap, you can pick a packet up off of Amazon for about £12, and is reusable. You can use it to make very simple push-moulds that can be quite useful for replicating a part for use across an army. For example I can see this being used to create large amounts of custom shoulder pads for space marines and I already have a few ideas of using it to replicate some armour parts for my Dark Angels. I would recommend it for any hobbyist looking to try some modelling to add some extra unique touches to their army.

An army of the End Times: The House of Shattered Tears Part 1

Whilst waiting for layers of paint to dry on Nagash I have been working on this side-project. In an attempt to empty Limbo (my aborted projects box) I have gathered together a range of elven miniatures in an effort to make a coherent army out of them and with the advent of the End Times I can do just that. Thus, far my efforts have been largely successful with several units assembled and a slew of lords and heroes converted to accompany them. I have also developed a colour scheme for them using some of the paints and techniques I have picked up from painting Nagash - essentially a Caledorian colour scheme of green and red but fairly unique in my opinion.

WARNING: END TIMES SPOILERS AHEAD!

If you want to re-familiarise yourself with the events of End Times Khaine you can read my summary and review of it here: End Times: Khaine - Review

As you can see much of this army is made from some rather random miniatures, some old and some new. In my efforts to empty Limbo I have managed to remove nearly all of the elf and dark elder spare bits and pressed them into service, and rather successfully thus far at that I think.

WIP House of Shattered Tears

The House of Shattered Tears is an ancient family of Caledor whose seat is the Tower of Infinite Woe, a grim pinnacle half-sunk beneath the waves and surrounded by blasted wastes from wars long past. The dynasty that controls this northern outpost of the dragon princes has long been gifted with the powers of foresight and prophecy, once seen as a blessing it has long been considered a curse. The sinister and distressing foretellings of their mages giving the family, and their abode, their names. This ancient house is led by the brooding Prince Astalaton and his sister Lady Arianna the Seer. It was her visions that convinced her brother to support Prince Imrik in his alliance with Malekith and to even go so far as to join themselves to a Dark Elf house: that of Doombringer...

Nagash, Elven Hosts and Sauron - New year, new projects

This week I have finally begun my new projects for this year after settling back into university. My main project is going to be Nagash, whose model I have wanted ever since I first laid eyes upon it, and then as a secondary project I will be attempting to build an Elven Host from various unfinished endeavours. I would also like to try and do some more canvas pieces this year, the first of which I have started can be found nearer the bottom of the post, and I thought I might as well put some of this art on the blog. 

This. I have needed it so bad...

Everyone and their cat seems to do unboxing photos/videos on the internet so here is my relatively poor attempt at one. The box design is quite nice, something very clean and slick about it being white that really helps to show off the model. The outer box seems to be unusually robust and made of higher grade card than usual, there is then a regular card tray that pulls out containing the sprues. 

These are the two sprues, the base and the instruction manual which also contain his rules. Rules in the box are a pretty good idea, one that I have only seen positivity for from the community. I was quite amazed that they managed to fit such a complex miniature onto only two sprues and even as I built it I was blown away by the detail and overall ambition of the model. He is sitting on my project table now ready to be sprayed and I can't wait to get to work painting him.

You can read my review of the first End Times book featuring Nagash here where I also talk a bit about the accompanying model release: End Times: Nagash - Review.

This pile of seemingly random collection of plastic and metal is a selection of various elven miniatures that I have acquired throughout the years, many in a state of total disrepair or simply without a use. They have languished in Limbo for some time now and this year I have decided to make them into a coherent force to field alongside my Dark Elves. I will be using the rules from End Times: Khaine to make a Host of the Phoenix/Eternity King. Thus far all I have done is stick the dragon together and drawn up a few plans, over the next few months I will be posting updates on this project including the overall cost of restoring and rebuilding this army. 

This year I have decided I would like to do some more canvas pieces and actually finish them. After falling out with oil paints I have largely been painting with acrylics, however I am terrible for starting pieces and never finishing them after losing interest about halfway through. This time however I have plenty of curious flatmates wandering over to my room from time to time who expect to see some level of progress. I have started two pieces, the main one being this painting of the Eye of Sauron inspired by his appearance in the Hobbit films. This is about half done with lots of work still being needed on the pupil and edges of the eye. I am also going to try and paint the One Ring text around the eye as well which should nicely finish it off. The other painting you can see in the background of a few of these pictures and is a bit of an abstract/surreal piece I will be posting when it is finished with the accompanying short piece of text that inspired it. 

This is my project table at the moment, two paintings started and Nagash ready to be sprayed. I am yet to fully assemble the great necromancer as he would be near-impossible to paint as a single piece. I should hopefully be able to start painting and post some pictures of Nagash in a week or two time, no idea when I will be able to work on the Elves or the canvas pieces. I have been spending a lot of my leisure time reading at the moment as my reading list tripled in size over Christmas and neither my copy of End Times: Thanquol or several books on 20th century history have arrived yet which will need reading almost as soon as I get them. Nagash is also going to take quite a long time to paint on account of the fact that he will require a lot of paints I don't own and I have a limited budget so it will take a few months to even get hold of the paints I need for him. 

Right, that is pretty much everything I am up to at the moment. I probably ought to go back to researching the formation of nation-states now so I will see you again next week, hopefully with a review of the new End Times book if I can read it in time. 

Doombinger out.

The Blood Legion of the Doomspire Fleet

Dreadlord Amarth Doombringer
The Lord of the Doomspire

Before the Daemons came, before the birth of Aenarion himself, in the early days of the world is when my story begins. The race of elves were beginning to raise the first of the great cities across Ulthuan and upstart noble families assumed rulership of the early kingdoms. My story begins as I was scrabbling amongst the rocks in the wilderness; the knife at my hip being my only possession. Starving and searching for food I was alone, cast out in exile for crimes long forgotten to me and desperate for sustenance. I found nought amongst the cruel sea of stones and howled at this injustice; cursing elves and gods alike, cursing the Old Ones themselves for my very creation. 

It was then that I fell. Through years of rock and earth I tumbled into the blackness until I found the deeper darkness of another age. In the bowels of the earth I found the Emperor Dragon known only as Tyrant: an ancient power from before the coming of the Old Ones who lay broken and defeated from a primordial battle with the first of the creators. He promised me power, great sorceries and the means to cast down the agents of the Old Ones to restore the rule of dragons. The beast spoke of power and I saw potential in Tyrant's offer, but I also saw weakness in the dragon's wounded form and I hungered.

The beast screamed as I cut through it's eye, causing earthquakes as my knife rent great gashes in its surface until the fluid burst forth and I could climb into the dragon's skull. Tyrant howled as I crawled deep inside his head and as my teeth bit deep into his brain. Soon all screaming stopped as the knowledge of the ancient dragons became mine, as their power became mine. I emerged from the darkness with the strength of another age and raised a mighty keep above the broken body of the dragon. I consumed Tyrant's brain and later learnt how to consume his soul as well. His power is now my power: the mighty emperor dragon is little more than a hollow corpse bound to my will, a curiosity beneath the Doomspire whose power has sustained me beyond death itself. I have risen from nothing to a mighty Dreadlord with entire armies at my command. I have foreseen my glorious purpose as conquerer and saviour, the true lord of this world who will inherit the fallen kingdoms of dragons. 

I am Doombringer and only darkness follows...

The Blood Legion of the Doomspire Fleet

The Blood Legion is Doombringer's personal army of loyal Dark Elves; originally merely the guards of the Doomspire itself the army has grown over thousands of years to resemble the other great hosts of the Dark Elves. The Blood Legion travels across the world to enact Doombringer's will upon the mighty Doomspire Fleet: a large flotilla assembled since the sundering to include three mighty Black Arks and their accompanying armadas.

Sat upon his Ruby Throne the Lord of the Doomspire gazes across the world; his heart burning with a desire unshackled by boundless arrogance. All that he sees he would have and even then that would not be enough. First he shall have vengeance upon the elves of Ulthuan, then upon the Old ones themselves. Even he has forgotten the ancient deeds for which society cast him out and first led him to Tyrant, all he knows is that the world will drown in his darkness and then the stars themselves will bow to him...

The End Times: Khaine - Review

Whilst it took considerable time and effort to obtain Glottkin, I managed to get hold of Khaine with relative ease. Continuously refreshing the GW website every few minutes in the early evening wasn't all that fun but my patience was rewarded. This was the book I most excited for as my first proper GW army was the Dark Elves and seeing whether their final attempt to fulfil their destiny would be successful or not could only ever be a roller coaster of heroism, betrayal and revelation...

WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD!

If you haven't read my other End Times reviews yet you can read them here:

• The End Times: Nagash - Review
• The End Times: Glottkin - Review

The third End Times volume is roughly the same length as the Glottkin book and the same price, as ever quality and presentation remain high. The first book is 145 pages and the second is 56 pages.

I will write this review much like the other two, discussing the background then the rules before moving onto whatever random musings and comments I can think of. 

Army Showcase - Part 16 - House Victarian

Masters of the sea!

The bloody and brutal naval arm of the Blood Legion; House Victarian command the corsairs of the Doomspire Fleet from their Black Ark: the Tower of Hate. Lord-Admiral Helkhan Victarian leads his men and monsters from this sinister bastion to enact the will of Doombringer wherever in the world he so wishes.

You can learn more about House Victarian and see pictures of their forces without the new monsters in this blog post which I recommend you read before continuing with this one: House Victarian.

Reavers of the Doomspire Fleet

Army Showcase - Part 15 - House Lancarion

House Lancarion leads the Blood Legion

Ruthless and ambitious, the scions of House Lancarion command the Blood Legion from their Black Ark: the Palace of Loathing. A noble family from Chrace, they were forced from their homelands during the sundering for siding with Malekith. Becoming mercenary generals they eventually became the greatest of the noble houses serving Dreadlord Doombringer as front-line generals of his armies.

You can learn more about House Lancarion and see pictures of their forces in these blog posts which I recommend you read before continuing with this one: Part 1, Part II and Part III. 

The Blood Legion

Army Showcase - Part 14 - The Temple of Khaine

The new Khainite troops for the Dark Elves are absolutely beautiful miniatures and if this was my only army I would buy lots, lots more of them. Forming the third main part of my Dark Elf army the Temple of Khaine will provide specialist reinforcements for Houses Lancarion and Victarian as well as spiritual support and additional awesome aesthetics. I have not yet had a chance to use any of the new models on the battlefield but I hope they will make their vicious presence felt. 

Doombringer's Dark Elves - House Lancarion III - The Crimson Fury

Kardath Lancarion is the Champion of the Doom Spire, the Crimson Knight and heir to House Lancarion. Astride his red-gold dragon Fearfang; Kardath flies forth to destroy the enemies of Doombringer wherever they may be found. Known as 'The Crimson Fury' he has gained a fearsome reputation for his grisly executions  of High Elven nobles and ever seeks to add more heads to his collection.

Doombringer's Dark Elves - Crone Hellebron

Crone Hellebron was a cool extra I gained from the Cauldron of Blood kit and, while I never intend to field her, she was a great opportunity to test out a few techniques. First and foremost I used her to judge how pale I ought to go with the flesh on my Witch Elves and was a useful test model for them. 

Doombringer's Dark Elves - House Lancarion II

Over the course of centuries the Lancarions schemed and stabbed their way from a relatively minor house to one of the great powers of the ark. Setting their sights on a place on the High Council, the Lancarions married into the other great houses before assassinating the heirs of House Fireblade and publicly executing their leaders on fabricated evidence of treason. So impressed was Dreadlord Doombringer that he appointed the head of House Lancarion: Khalzar Lancarion, Lord-General of the Blood Legion; a position he holds to this day. After the black ark Palace of Loathing was gifted to Doombringer by Lady Shadowstalker the Dreadlord chose to award it to House Lancarion for their years of loyal service, something that has greatly disturbed the other houses both Great and Lesser who fear the Lancarions will soon become politically invulnerable.

Doombringer's Dark Elves - The Medusa

The Medusa was a fun model to paint and allowed my to try out some of the new technical paints that GW released just before christmas. Her rules however are lacklustre at best and the Bloodwrack Shrine is a rather useless option in comparison to the awesome Cauldron of Blood. The model however is still very nice and surprisingly the first in many years to be produced by GW with a bare breast. 

Doombringer's Dark Elves - Lord-Chancellor Dazmir Darkspine

Dazmir Darkspine is ancient even for an elf, it has been claimed he was one of the first elves created by the Old Ones or even a being from before their time bound in flesh. Whatever the truth he has been a servant of Doombringer for thousands of years, loyal and enigmatic he stalks the darker legends of the Doom Spire and haunts its corridors to this day. As a younger elf he fought alongside his lord against the elves of Ulthuan but was blinded by a Loremaster of Hoeth, barely escaping with his life he vowed to bring ruination upon the mages of the high elves. Using his vast resources and scholarly knowledge he constructed a helmet that allows him to see the winds of magic as well as a suit of armour with accompanying weapons through which he can channel raw power. He now has a sinister reputation for the esoteric and forbidden; the screams rising from the Doom Spire enough to chill the heart of even the fiercest of druchii.

Doombringer's Dark Elves - House Lancarion I

Foremost of the great houses that serve the Doom Spire; House Lancarion is the most powerful family to rise from the ranks of the Blood Legion in centuries. After ousting House Fireblade from the ark, the Lancarions monopolised the position of Lord-General as well as other High and Low Council positions. Possessed of a ruthless drive for power they often go to extraordinary lengths to better the fortunes of their family.

Originally from Chrace; the Lancarions were one of the few families outside Nagarythe who supported Malekith during the elven civil war. Their army was crushed by the loyalists in the opening stages of the war forcing them to flee to Anlec. Here they served several of the great houses as mercenary generals where they had some success fighting against their farmer kinsmen. Upon the sundering and destruction of the outer kingdoms the Lancarions fled north with the dark elves and entered into the servitude of the Doom Spire Fleet.

Doombringer's Dark Elves - House Victarian I

The position of Lord-Admiral is wholly dependent upon the favour of the Corsair Captains and it is rare  any house holds the position for more than two generations before being ousted. After Lord-Admiral Raelith Bloodcrest was assassinated the corsairs chose Admiral Helkhan of house Victarian to represent them on the High-Council. House Victarian is a well respected family known for excessive violence and expert seamanship, serving as admirals in the Doomspire fleet they have won the fear and respect of their subordinates making it only a matter of time before their ascendancy.

As a younger family competing against the ancient and powerful Lancarions, the Victarians have to remain ever wary of their rival houses. Whilst House Lancarion maintains their power on the Palace of Loathing and the Lord-Chancellor commands from the Doom Spire itself, the Victarians upon controlling the position of Lord-Admiaral used the vast resources at their disposal to have constructed their own Black Ark. Taking twenty years and the deaths of thousands of slaves the Tower of Hate was built. Rather than being a fortress adapted to life on the seas as the original arks, the Tower of Hate is the deadliest ship in the fleet on account of it's modern, practical engineering. Larger in size than the Palace of Loathing but smaller than the Doom Spire, it was built with naval engagements and amphibious assaults in mind being built to have large decks for broadsides and a streamlined iron hull allowing it to reach greater speeds than a vessel its size should.

Army Showcase - Part 10 - Sisters of Battle

My first 40k army was the Witch Hunters, incidentally starting at the same time The Euphemism began his Demon Hunters. Time moved on and whilst his army was resurrected as Grey Knights; I got a few pages in some White Dwarf Magazines. As my army previously contained some Inquisitorial units I have since had to take out, I cannot field this army as an independent force of its own. Now they are part time allies to my Imperial Guard and Dark Angels until a new codex is released for them.

I was drawn to the Witch Hunters because of their baroque and over the top grimdark aesthetics, this coupled with their fanatical devotion to the emperor and unique models made them an interesting faction all round. When starting I decided to make the army as eccentric and crazy as possible whilst sporting a holier than thou paint scheme. Apologies in advance for some of the blurry pics.