Dead Wood...

 Happy Halloween - or at least it would have been if I'd gotten this post out on time!

A Season of Mists and Mellow Fruitfulness...

Bit of a Saturday night quickie - ooh err...

Well as much action as I'm likely to get XD

I'm between laptops at the moment - charging port broke on the last one (can't remember if it was dog or booze related...) so my photos of stuff I've painted is all over the place. However, having gone through the memory card on my camera I happily found these shots I took ages ago!

Two Elf and 'Appiness

What's this - Seven months of silence and then two posts in a day?! It would seem a global pandemic is all that was needed to kick my arse back in to blogging and I'm very happy to be back nursing my cold cup of tea again. But how am I going to sustain a regular posting schedule and not quickly burn out after a short burst of enthusiasm as usual? Well, as it happens, I have tons of stuff that I've painted over the last couple of years that hasn't made it on to the blog for one reason or the other. Usually I've been in a massive rush for BOYL or some of the other gaming events I attend over the year and then never got round to doing a write up, or even photograph them for a post. On top of that there's all sorts of stuff that's sat unpainted in boxes for too long and, without the pressures and crazy painting targets I set myself for events like BOYL, I am pretty time rich at the moment. The house may be in bits as lockdown here in the UK found us in the middle of having the house rewired and the loft converted, but I'm sure I'll be able to rummage through the boxes and find most of what I want to share with you. Happily it  also looks like my temporary photo set up isn't producing terrible pics so onwards and upwards we go!

Anyway, getting back to the point of this post - here we have two Elves!

BOYL 2014 - The Engines of Avalone: A Hasty Retreat!

The dust has settled, the internets are awash with pictures and the sacrifice of countless miniature heroes are but a memory. 

Yes BOYL 2014 has come and sadly gone.

Once more we are faced with the drab grey of reality. Our battles now are more concerned with staying sane in the real world rather than living vicariously through our miniature armies. Initiative no longer decides who strikes first in combat - only better chances of promotion if we choose to show we have some in the work place. The outcome to the many, varied and entirely dull encounters in life can no longer be decided by the roll of a D6.

Yes, dear reader, I am struggling to come to terms with life after BOYL. Not surprising really considering I have just immersed myself in three (three count 'em!) days of amazing gaming with an amazing, gentlemanly and thoroughly bloody good bunch of chaps.

Actually this is a little disingenuous of me as I am currently typing from the beautiful Lake District and have a few more weeks of School holidays to enjoy!

Clean Up in Eilnein

Ajax Van Ish met the piercing gaze of the Elven Sorceress with a hard stare of his own. The weariness of five days on the road was barely detectable in the Count's grim countenance as he thanked his new ally.

"Your assistance is greatly appreciated my Lady. The heretics we track are not far but travel in strength. If we are to rescue our countrymen, or avenge them... our best chance is to surprise them in the Woods of Eilnein."

"Our watchers have observed closely the progress of your enemy. Now that they have dared defile the sanctity of our domain we share a common foe. Their pestilence must not be allowed to corrupt this sacred realm."

Lenor Ambypure closed her eyes and shuddered at the thought of the presence of Nurgle's followers despoiling the woods. She rose from the table in one fluid motion and gestured towards the trees that surrounded the glade in which the small council of war had met,

"Count Van Ish, my Gladewatchers will direct your soldiers to a place of ambush. Together we will cleanse this stain from Eilnein."

In the gloom of the dawn, Man and Elf  crept stealthily to their positions. Harnesses were tightened, weapons checked and bow strings strung. The forest road lay still, a darkened artery upon which a terrible infection travelled inexorably on...

Welcome folks to another battle report - this time between a desperate Alliance of Men and Wood Elves and the dread forces of Nurgle that we played some weeks ago. This was also the first time I went down to my local gaming club, York Wargames Society - a great venue and friendly club that I hope to spend much more time at, real life permitting...

Gaj graced us with his convivial presence thanks to a business trip to York and Warlord Paul kindly stepped in as GM. Setting up was slightly unusual as Paul suggested I record my deployment on a sketch map to simulate my forces waiting in ambush. So it was left to Gaj to assemble his column of Chaotics and human prisoners on the road, nervously eyeing the trees!

The Nurgle column shambles along the forest road after a happy few week's of raiding and pillaging.

Ere, Gutrot - you 'eard them tales aven't you? It's always the buggerz at the back wot cops it furst...

Chaos Goblin warriors lead the order of march.. Behind them comes the heavy tread of a unit of Chaos Warriors, followed closely by their dread leader and his three pet Trolls. A unit of Chaos Goblin archers bickers ahead of the unfortunates that have been taken prisoner - best not to linger too long on their fate... The vanguard is led by the Chaos Dwarves and their infernal Bazuka while a second mob of Chaos Goblin archers brings up the rear.

Unseen eyes mark their progress and wait...

I know you can smell them already but wait till you see the reds of their eyes boys...

Elven Warhost of the Woods

Another Army List for your delectation - this time my Wood Elves, which I started hunting for on ebay when I first got back into the hobby a few years back. Having a fair few Orcs in my possession I felt I needed some opponents and had always liked the Skarloc's Elf archers minis, so mind made up I set about hoovering up lots of lovely old Jes Goodwin Elves. Then I got a bit distracted by other things and most of them ended up sitting in a box for a long while...

Until now, when I got them out counted them up to remind myself of what I had and put them back again for a rainy day!

Anyway here's the list, done the old fashioned way as the wife would have killed me if I forked any more money out for the Army builder program after having a bit of a splurge on several Goblin chariots and a load of Fighting Fantasy game books I just had to have over the weekend...

Again, I've gone light on the magic weapons and standards as this is really to catalogue what I've got, focus myself on what else I want and give me a rough idea of points values.

Characters and Rank and File

Wood Elf General - Level 25 Hero
Mounted on barded Warhorse
Light armour, bow, hand weapon
224 points







Army Standard Bearer - Level 10 hero
Mounted on barded Warhorse
Light armour, shield, lance and handweapon
153 points








5 Elven Lords
Mounted on barded Warhorses
Light armour, shields, lances and hand weapons
195 points









5 (3 to buy) Wood riders
Spear, hand weapon, shield and longbow
230 points

 Level 20 Elf Wizard

Mounted on Warhorse
hand weapon
315 points


Level 10 Sorceress
on foot
118 points

Level 15 Hero
Mounted on Giant Eagle
Light armour, lance, handweapon and bow
210 points

Zoat Level 15 Wizard
275 points

Zoat Warrior
Double-handed weapon
60 points

20 Wood Elf Guards
Light armour, shield, long bow and hand weapons
Including standard, musician and Level 15 champion
- Light armour, shield and hand weapon
440 points

15 Lord's Bowmen
Light armour, long bows and handweapons
Including standard, musician and Level 5 champion
- Light armour and double-handed weapon
248 points

20 Warrior Kinband
Light armour, spears and hand weapons
Including standard, musician and Level 10 champion
268 points








22 Warrior Kinband
Light armour, shields, spears and hand weapons
Including standard, musician and Level 10 champion
344 points

15 Warrior Kinband - 3 to buy

Swords, shields and light armour
Including standard, musician and champ
277 points


Skarloc's Wood Elf Archers

13 Wood Elf Gladerunners
Shields, Longbows and handweapons
Musician - Arafane Warskald
 Level 15 Sorceress and standard bearer - Kaia Stormwitch
Glam - Wardancer
Skarloc - Level 15 Hero
614 points

12 Archers
Long bows, shields and handweapons
144 points

10 Wardancers
Double-handed weapons and light armour








Monsters and beasts

Giant Eagle
75 points

2 Treemen
560 points

6 Beast Handlers
6 wild cats, 11 hunting dogs,
3 wild boar, 1 bear




Warmachines


1 Heavy Chariot crewed by 4 Wainlords
1500 points








Total Points 4296

Other significant wants:
Dragon Masters
Oreon's Wood Elf Archers
Shape changers - any suitable citadel minis will do for this
Marauder Treemen


Only a skirmishing force I know - but its a start!

More men in tights...

... Well Elves really!

Just a few more shots of the group I painted up the other week now that I've had a minute or two spare - Enjoy!

Saxamophone... saxamaphone...

Sorry these titles are getting worse - should stop posting at ridiculous hours in the morning!

Anyway surprise surprise more elves - well it is nearly Christmas!

Here we have the rest of the command group for Skarloc's archers - Kaia Stormwitch - the multi-talented scout/sorceress/standard bearer! The original fluff describes her thus -

Kaia carries the group's standard, which incorporates a heart-shaped casket holding the ashes of a legendary Elven Hero, Kern, son of the goddess Torothal. It adds 2 points to the unit's Ld, rather than the usual 1. Her magical atame dagger can cast up to three Lightning Bolt spells per day.

Like the idea of only three spells per day - I can remeber those epic WFB 3rd edition battles!

The daft reference in the title is in honour of Araflane Warskald and his mighty, fear-causing horn!

Some group shots -

Next up - how fast can I paint the 17 or so archers to finish the unit off...

Starman

Next in line from Skarloc's Wood Elf Archers is the appropriately named Glam - a tame War Dancer who acts as champion within the unit. The original artwork for this chap is what inspired me to give the whole army Celtic style tatts so I tried to pay a bit more attention with them on this mini! Would have liked to tart him up a bit more with some Glam Rock style pattern on his lycra/leather pants but I'm not feeling brave enough at the mo!

Men in tights...

Next addition to the army is Skarloc - of regiments of renown fame. Nice clean mini which painted up well I think!

Got waylaid by him and the rest of the command group, who will be up next - still need to paint hundreds of Elf archers!! I have made a start by priming 6 of them. I think'll have to do them in batches of six and whizz through them.

Fighting like cats and dogs...

Another update for the Wood Elf project - Animal handlers (always thought Beastmasters sounded like a kid's TV show!

 I'm obviously a dog person - raised by labradors and have one snoring at my feet as I type - as I found painting the hounds and their handler a breeze. Simple wolf hound style drybrushing and echoing their colours with a little green in the elf's attire.

The wildcats gave me some grief as cats are wont to do - I had the daft idea of painting them up as scottish wildcats to fit in with the celtic feel and found the markings quite tricky -

Not quite over the moon with the finished results but it'll do for now!

I also have the bear and his handler in the painting queue so watch this space...