Citadel Elric Kinslayer (1986)

Elric of Melniboné is one of the greatest characters in Fantasy literature, next to Conan the Barbarian, Gandalf the Wizard and a few others. He is simply a giant and an archetype for countless imitations who came after him, such as Daenerys Targaryen and her whole dynasty, or Geralt of Rivia.

Elric is oddly similar to Tolkien's Turin Turambar, another tragic hero with a noble pedigree, a complex relationship with his sister and a cursed black sword which ultimately kills him and everything he loves. Both were conceived separately: Tolkien wrote his stories first but they were published well after Moorcock's books, who in turn were inspired by Poul Anderson's The Broken Sword. Tolkien and Anderson had the same inspiration, and that's the saga of Tyrfing, a cursed sword from Germanic myth.

Elric's archetype is the cursed warrior/noble, unfit to be a hero were it not for his magic sword, for whose help he has to pay a dear price; it is an extremely popular archetype, especially with modern audiences. Unlike other characters before him, Elric was the first to draw a parallel between the black sword and the use of drugs, thus adding a new layer to the character.

This miniatures, sculpted by Jes Goodwin, was first released in the BC5 Eternal Champion Box in February 1986. Single character blisters were released in July through September 1987 to support the Stormbringer RPG that Games Workshop were reprinting under license from Chaosium. Elric Kinslayer is one of two sculpts made by GW, the other being Elric of Melnibonéin full armour. 

For the colour scheme, I went with that from one of my all time favourite depictions of the Albino Prince: the Dragon Lord.

Courtesy of R. Matthews' website.

Overall, I am very pleased: this miniature has been sitting next to my desk, already primed, for at least a couple of years and now it is done. This is probably my favourite paint job since the end of last Summer, so I hope to be back to high standards in the current year. I just need the inspiration and the right miniature...

Mario the Miner - Citadel Dwarf Engineer (1991)

There's something funny about this Dwarf, specifically the way he's cupping his hand to call. It's a 1991 Perry Dwarf, so it's naturally wonderful, even if the flame of the candle on top of his head is gone (a single fall from the painting table was - sadly - enough).

For some reason, he reminds me of this Italian actor, legendary Mario Brega, who could (and should) have played a Dwarf at some point in his career.

I believe the words to describe him are loud and cantankerous, which fit perfectly the character of Dwarfs. 

The miniature is armoured in leather apron and head cover, with a helmet and a mail shirt. He carries a large hammer, more a tool than a weapon, and a short sword. His bag of money hangs from the belt, of course.

"We don't want to buy anything! One more step and Kurt, here, is going to shoot your hats off!"

Mithril M394 Bodyguard conversion

 

I've been working on a project, as anticipated here. I needed an arm for a ranger, and since I can't sculpt, I happily looted it from the bodyguard figure of Mithril M394. This left me with an armless bodyguard and the opportunity to sculpt my own greenstuff arm. 

I have never been a good sculptor, as you can see. Consider this was, like, the third attempt (the first two were even worse). But overall my expectations were low, and the figure looks bad only for certain angles, since the shield (from Essex miniatures) is an excellent cover and the way it is painted helps to distract the attention from the relatively dull-coloured arm.

What do you think? It's an acceptable warrior, to be used as a gaming piece. I'm not going to present it at a competition :)

Marauder MM41 Ogre (1990)

The Marauder Ogres, sculpted by Aly Morrison in 1989/1990, are my second favourite Ogres after those made by Jes Goodwin. The interesting thing about them is that they are all dressed in fancy Landksnecht attire, and look like they have been equipped by a generous Imperial patron.

I've painted this one in deep blue and red, the colours of House Bramanti, the princely dynasty ruling over the city of Dralas in the Border Princedoms. It will be used as an Ogre bodyguard to Prince Aldo or his sister, Donna Caterina.

"Out o' the way, ye scum! Here comes the Madonna!"

The Bramanti are not an old dynasty, but they are a successful one. They have thrived by keeping a low profile and managing to unite the many factions of Dralas without threatening any. At the same time, they made sure to defend themselves and keep enemies at bay in many ways. The Bramanti are schemers, and highly respected by merchants for being moderates.

"Go where you know, and take care of the problem for me"

 "Yarp!"

Warhammer Fantasy Cottage: an experiment 28 years later

 

White Dwarf 130, published in October 1990, had an excellent article titled "Warhammer Fantasy Cottage", by Dave Andrews and Phil Lewis. It was so good that it is still celebrated today in plenty of blogs. I decided to had a go at it: it was my very first time making a building out of foamboard.

It turned out that the difficult part was getting materials - foamboards are exceedingly difficult to find, at least in Italy, where you might need to ask stationery shops, art shops, paint shops, photocopy centres or DIY depots depending where you live, and each of them has a different and limited selection.

The easy part was actually building it. I am not a skilled builder, but somehow ended up with an almost decent thing. It greatly improved after painting, although I did the terrible mistake of priming it in grey, so that white spots keep showing in the recesses. Next time for sure I'll prime it black.

Another big mistake was making the chimney out of Das clay, as suggested by the article: pieces of Das clay are difficult to stick together and on board and I am sure that the stones are going to come off sooner than later.

One thing I am happy with, on the other hand, is that the roof is removable, so the inside of the cottage can also be used. That's going to be convenient in many games.

Overall the cottage is much better than my expectations: next time, I'll try something larger!

Warhammer Lore - Mankind and Chaos

Ian Miller - The Marcher Fortress (1988)

I've been recently reading through the Realm of Chaos books and they are truly incredible: not just for the wonderful artwork, but also for the atmospheric writing. It FEELS like Warhammer, doesn't it? Not a later, diluted, disinfected, retconned shadow of it.

Now, I have noticed one thing that really excites me about how Chaos is described here, and at the same time its lack puts me off in today's GW products. It's always been like this, but I just realized it: the cool thing about the old Chaos is that Man is its main agent in the world.

Ian Miller - The Chaos Knight (2008)

Even in later settings, Mankind can  be corrupted by Chaos, but in Oldhammer Mankind is the first and most important vehicle for the spread of Chaos. Not only the fears of Mankind feed the stuff the Warp is made of, but their actions also create fertile ground for the Ruinous Powers to root and conquer.

That's right - screw you Chaos Warriors! Go away, Beastmen, and eat your heart out, Skaven! Without Mankind, Chaos wouldn't be sure to conquer the Warhammer World. Man is dooming this world, dooming itself and all other races too.

Tony Ackland - Beastmen (1988)

It is Man who fights back the elder races, plunders the cities of Lustria, raids the Elven shores and even burns his own brethren's villages. It is Man who, consciously or not, follows and fulfills the plans of the Chaos Gods: in fact, the tragic doom of many heroes is to attempt to set their own path while being in fact mere pawns, manipulated by the Powers of the Warp.  Skaven live in fear of Man, buried like parasites under his cities, and Orcs are pushed into remote areas by the might of Mankind's armies. No one can stand against Men, except other Men of course!

I love how Man originally was central in the development of Chaos, and it is sad to see how much Mankind became irrelevant, first in Latehammer, and then in Age of Sigmar: Man there is bland, weak, surpassed: nowadays even the Champions of Mankind aren't human anymore, they are now Sigmarines, the "Stormcast Eternal" forged with the souls of heroes and bodies of sigmarite (sic!) to be larger than life. And that's precisely why Latehammer and Aos are unrelatable and boring settings.

Tony Ackland - Daemonologist (198?)

So give us some nice barbarians, some hunters, some militiamen to fight our battles! Give us daemonologists, mutants and corrupted knights as villains! Bring back humanity to Warhammer! Are you listening, GW?

Do you guys agree? No? Let me know in the comments!

Steve Barber Ottoman Regular (2014)

Here's another Steve Barber Model miniature from the Greek Wars of Independence range, this time an Ottoman Regular (GWI22).

For centuries the backbone of Ottoman armies was formed by Jannissaries, a corp composed of Christians taken away from their families when children and educated by the army as Muslim fighters. As the Empire declined, however, so did they, becoming softer and corrupted.  

In 1826 the Sultan ordered the formation of a new army, trained and equipped in the European way. The Jannissaries mutinied and, after violent fights, were all killed or executed, except for a few who escaped and lived in hiding until their last days.

The Mansure Army was segregated from the civilians, living in their own barracks. They were trained by European commanders and divided in infantry, artillery and cavalry. Officers were educated in military academies. They were governed by a strict military law and their life was highly standardized to teach them to follow orders and discipline rather than develop blind courage.

The new military was formed by Turkish Muslims, and the population's perception of the army changed positively. Corruption was greatly reduced, by abolishing provincial armies and establishing a central Military Council.

Clan Crayfish Standard-bearer - Foundry Sea Elf Command

The Foundry Sea Elf Command, sadly discontinued, is a great set, albeit a bit large scale-wise. This piece was painted as the standard bearer of the Lustrian Sea Elf clan Crayfish.

Here goes the fluff (miniatures are just an excuse to make fluff, which is probably my main hobby):

Six thousands years ago - about the year 2500 of the High Elf Calendar - Elves left Ulthuan for the first time, sailing the high seas. Some of them travelled south to the coasts of Lustria, and settled on an isle inhabited by sea birds, which came to be known as Lystarannal. These settlers would later become the first Sea Elves. One of their clans adopted the Crab as their device, and they became renowned as warriors and marines, clad in heavy armour, fighting under the banners of the Phoenix Kings.

Around the HEC year 4500, after they had inhabited Lystarannal for two millennia, the Elves of Clan Crab sundered: it is not clear what happened exactly, as accounts differ, but some young Elves of their numbers left Lystarannal and settled in the harbour of the Slann city of Krox. These Elves adopted the Crayfish as their device, reversing the colours of the Crab banner. Clan sunderings were not rare in those times when the Elf race was still young and multiplied easily, but some bad blood remained between the old and the new Clan, which survives to this day as a rivalry.

Perhaps the source of disagreement was the willingness of the younger Clan to serve as mercenaries for the Slann: for long millennia Clan Crayfish offered their weapons to the crown of Ulthuan as much as any Slann governor willing to pay their price.

Clan Crayfish had its centre in Krox of more than three and a half millennia. But in HEC 8066 the city of Krox was struck by a terrible plague, brought by Humans who had recently learned how to cross the Sea: the Scourge of Krox killed one third of population and left the city as a partial ruin. The survivors hunted Humans out of vengeance and often associated Elves with them. Clan Crayfish abandoned Krox to return to Lystarannal.

But returning to Elvish lands was not easy. Clan Crab would not have their offshoot back to their lands and offered them a choice - return to the original Clan or be its enemies. A few Crayfish Elves subjected themselves to the mother Clan, but most angrily refused. Now, Clan Crab had always refused to serve in the same armies of Clan Crayfish, but now they actively fought them, provoking them into duels and slandering their reputation. Crayfish Elves were subject to every kind of abuse until the very governor of Lystarannal encouraged them to leave for public order's sake.

In HEC 8316 Phoenix King Finubar obtained elven rule on the isle of Osshual, already settled by Clan Clam. After 250 years on Lystarannal, Clan Crayfish was offered a new home and they formed an Elven Community. Today, Clan Crayfish numbers 40 Elves.

The Clan device is a green-grey crayfish on an inverted field of pale yellow and dark red. Their Head is Yvron, a mercenary veteran, nicknamed the Proud. He is relatively opportunistic and not in particularly good terms with the other Clan Heads in Osshual, although he is respectful of them. His clan is charged with the police and defence of the Community.

Theoden, King of the Mark - Mithril M27 (1988)

 

Theoden, King of the Mark is one of the earliest miniatures of the Mithril range, from 1988. It has a nice, fixed pose that is typical of that period when casting was not so advanced and miniatures were simple and solid. It's a nice sculpt - albeit the one I have is second hand and a bit worn out.

Theoden is one of the most popular characters in the Lord of the Rings. He plays a clear archetype, the King: he represents authority, and is often used to display how power can be used for good, when wisdom helps to wield it, or how power can be a burden and ultimately be useless, when justice abandons it in favour of fear.

The story of Theoden is simple, yet great: as a King, he finds himself to rule in a time of great challenges that wear out his spirit, until he becomes the shadow of himself. Because of the dangers, the defeats and the lack of support from his councillors, Theoden grows old and enters a "Winter of the Spirit", from which he is stirred by the unexpected visit of Gandalf. Realizing his mistakes, Theoden casts aside his fears and rides to war against the enemies of his people. He will lead his warriors in a great battle where he will die bravely, after defeating the enemy general. His sacrifice and example will help shape the future world.

If this story seems to touch some special strings in your soul, its' probably because this is the same story as the one of another archetypical King, King Arthur, who is stirred from his Winter by Percival carrying the Holy Grail and rides one last time with his knights against Mordred, to kill him and be killed in turn.
 

And yet once again, Boorman's Excalibur proves to be the best Middle-earth adaptation of all. Not looking at anyone in particular...

Let's look at the other adaptations of Theoden, shall we?

Bakshi's LotR (1978)

The Brothers Hildebrant (1978)

"Theoden Espies the Serpent Banner" by Michael Kaluta (1994)

Angus McBride (mid 1990s)

"Theoden's charge at Helm's Deep" by Timothy Ide (1997)

Ivan Cavini (2006)

"The Ride of the Rohirrim" by Abe Papakhian (2010)

Helena Starostina (2012)

Theoden is described as having a flowing white beard reaching down to his knees (when he is seated and bent), long white hair gathered in great braids and blue, glinting eyes. Although he may look "almost like a dwarf" when he is presented, after he is freed by his fears he appears to be tall and proud.

Now, I am not 100% satisfied with my painting this time - I have tried to portray Theoden as a bright figure, dressed in colourful clothes as befitted an early medieval Saxon king. They are perhaps too bright... especially the green of the robes: what do you think? I am quite happy with the hair and the crown, though, and I am definitely imrpoving in painting yellow, one of the most difficult colours for me.