Kimril Giantslayer and WFRP's Trollslayer

I've painted my first Trollslayer. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!

Allow me a bit of hype. Not only it is a nice miniature, but it is also an iconic one - and thanks to Hobgoblin Orange blog for the mine of information about it.

This is not only a Trollslayer, but the very first Slayer in the history of Slayers. A first stub of the idea nehind Slayers already emerged in the Magnificent Sven scenario published in 1984, where in the infamous Packet Inn of Iquitos (in Lustria) one would find Juggo Joriksonn, a Dwarf Berserker covered in tattoos and affected by alcoholism and frenzy.

His most striking features are his sunken, bloodshot eyes and his awful complexion. He is in the habit of dyeing his hair torquiose [sic] and greasing it with pig fat. Its spiked and sticks out at surprising angles.

Juggo Joriksonn by Aly Morrison

In 1985 Citadel launched the Dwarf Lords of Legend Box which included, among others, a miniature obviously inspired to Juggo and Dwarf Bersekers: Kimril Giantslayer. The Perry Twins made an excellent job (as usual) with these miniatures, and Kimril somehow struck a chord.

Cover by John Blanche. Kimril second row left.

In 1986 WFRP was published, and here the concept of Slayer was first detailed with their belief in atoning shame with a honourable death:

Troll Slayers can be recognised easily by their hair, which is spiked and dyed orange, and by the many tattoos which cover their bodies. They also favour exotic jewellery, such as earrings and nose plugs. They spend a great deal of their time boasting of their exploits and showing off their many scars, and often indulge in bouts of overeating, fasting, and excessive consumption of stimulants.

Those who did not find death as Troll Slayers could eventually become Giant Slayers, or Slayers of whatever monster their obsessions would pick.

Troll Slayers became instant classics, thanks also to the cover made by John Sibbick for WFRP.

The rest, as they say, is History.

Charging here...

Charging there...

MORGRIM NO!

Citadel "Stone Troll with two handed axe" (1992)

This is a heavyweight, both in terms of Oldhammer goodness and actual lead weight. Here we have a Michael Perry Stone Troll, issued by Citadel towards the very end of the Oldhammer Golden Age, in 1992. 

Trolls (and Trollslayers) are among the most identifiable elements of the Warhammer setting. Ironically, Warhammer Trolls are directly inspired - as many other monsters - from D&D, but they have such goofy and silly looks that they largely overshadow their more boring progenitors.

All Citadel Trolls were great, but these are my favourites - they dance on the thin line between the picturesque realism of the '80s and the cartoonish silliness of the '90s and they combine them to perfection.

Truly, Michael Perry outdid himself on these brutes - the anatomy is perfect, as are the facial expressions and the character they exude.

Traditionally these Stone Trolls are painted of a bright blue but I chose to do mine slightly darker and muted. I am quite satisfied with the final result - it took a lot of washes and highlights to get not where I wanted, but where I could stop and not be angry with myself.

Ready to smash some stunties, then! Next I am going to post a Trollslayer to keep the Troll some company.

GW Necromancer (2010)

Like the Evil Warrior, the Necromancer is another of the archetypes of Fantasy. Pale, sickly, old, disgusting and hateful, he is one of the evillest characters. Some authors have given him a twist by linking him with the Mad Scientist and namely with Dr. Frankenstein: he may be an unappreciated genius, and may be driven by noble motives. But still, he's unquestionably evil.

Gamew Workshop has had a long love affair with Necromancers since the days of Heinrich Kemmler, but in 2010 they came out with this piece, whose author is unknown to me but deserves all praise, because he has done an excellent job. This is possibly one of the best and most iconic miniatures ever sold by GW.

Its dynamism is perfect: the hunched back, the tattered robes pulled by a wind, the sword at the waits, coming out of the robes, the book hanging from the shoulder. And then the symbols: the staff shaped like a pastoral, but with skulls and fetishes hanging from it; the broken teeth; the skull in the hand. And the simplicity: just remove the silly collar (like I did) and the figure could pass for a classic one, and not a bit over the top like so many other sculpts from the period.

What more can I say? This is going to be a nice leader for any Undead army or warband in my future games. Lovely piece!

Warhammer's Moonman

The Moonman is a recurrent figure in Warhammer art. Its inception is of course due to John Blanche who, in the mid 80s, painted the beautiful piece Mona and the Moonman.

It's difficult to tell why Blanche loved the Moonheaded man so much, but it probably has something to do with the fact that it is a common theme in grotesque art all over Europe. It's almost an archetype, and Blanche loved archetypes.

Moonheads are very common in warhammer art, from Goblin banners to the ubiquitous shield-faces separating paragraphs in the classic rulebooks of the 80s.

The first miniature that Citadel dedicated to a moon-faced character was a Champion of Tzeentch riding a Disc, in 1988.
 

It was probably at this moment that the Moonhead came to be associated with Tzeentch. In fact, the 2017 AoS Herald of Tzeentch on Disc also comes with a variant Moon-face.

But little Moonman, with his diminutive frame a oversized head, did not receive justice until the end of 2016, when GW released AoS Silver Tower. In the mass of miniatures composing it, most of them Tzeetch-related, we can find Pug, one of the four familiars of the Gaunt Summoner. And Pug is directly based on the Moonman by John Blanche, well over 30 years after its original painting. What a lovely homage.

Here's what the Silver Tower book has to say about him:

Pug is a surly and acquisitive little imp. Fleet of foot and light of finger, he scurries by hidden ways through the Silver Tower, snatching up whatever shiny objects catch his eye. Anything Pug desires, he sees as his, and more than one mighty warrior has been led on a deeply undignified chase when this burbling little fiend grabbed their treasures and fled.

Don't you love (or hate) him already? The sculpt replicates the original in all details but gives him a more sinister look and adds what seems to be a mock magic staff and a helm from a Stormcast Eternal, which Pug holds with visible curiosity and sense of ownership. This is probably one of my favourite figures in the Silver Tower set!

Plus, have you seen his ass? It's like a baby's! Awww!

The Gamekeeper - Citadel Ranger C07 (1985)

 

In late 1985 Citadel issued one of the nicest series ever, the C07 Rangers. What was special about this range was that all the figures had been sculpted - by none other than the Perry twins - on the base of Tony Ackland's Ranger careers illustrations from the upcoming Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, published the following year.

If you have played WFRP and, as a teenager, spent whole afternoons pondering your PC's future career path while looking at Tony Ackland's drawings, you may well understand why this post is tagged #iconic.

 

This is the description of the Gamekeeper career from the rulebook:

Most Old World landowners employ Game­keepers to look after their estates, woodlands or hunting parks. Gamekeepers look on trespassers with deep and sometimes fatal suspicion. The arch­enemy of the Gamekeeper is the Poacher, who seeks to make a living by trapping or shooting animals or birds. Every Game­keeper likes to boast of his victories over these elusive and devious opponents. Poachers and Gamekeepers can be thought of as opposite sides of the same coin, and players with Gamekeeper characters of a Neutral, Evil or Chaotic Alignment may choose to be Poachers instead. Gamekeepers or Poachers may take this career a second time, taking the 'op­posite' career, following the normal pro­cedures for changing careers.

This was the true spirit of the Old World setting that, unfortunately, has largely been lost over the years to grimdark tones. Nowadays the archenemy of Gamekeepers are probably Chaos Beastmen (or Gors, as the fluff goes) and these professional are seldom seen without a trusty gunblade and a number of skulls attached to their belt. But enough of grumbling, as this post is not tagged as #grognard.

No grim trophies or fancy firearms for our Gamekeeper, but rather a bow, a quiver slung over the shoulder, a pouch, a dagger and a sword hung at the belt. He wears shoes and gaiters, breeches, a cape with lobed edges over a long tunic, and a hat with folded edges. Looking at him we know he cares about practicality and comfort, but at the same time he or his master are able to afford good quality clothes. He's fully equipped for adventure and he seems to be moving a branch aside to spy on something or someone.

In case you didn't notice, I used a different approach at painting this time. Since I had used practically all my dull greens for the different layers of clothing, my only option was to highlight with the original colour of each layer mixed with white. The final effect is less realistic but more like a painting, I find. I am not totally displeased with this approach and I might use it again in the future, especially for monochromatic colour schemes. Of course in this case the figure is not only green, but has been balanced with a range of warm browns.
 
Looking back at it, if I had to paint it again I would break the dark greens with some lighter ones to create more contrast. But this time I'll just be happy with this!