Sea Elves - Marauder High Elves MM81 (1989)

Once upon a time, there were the four Elven Races.

At first they were all, in a way, similar to each other, yet each followed a different path and each became unique.

The High Elves then garbed in long, flowing robes and tall helms.

The Wood Elves hid themselves in wide cloaks with hoods.

The Dark Elves covered themselves with spiky pieces of armour and cruel trophies from their ritual killings.

The Sea Elves disappeared. They were retconned with the coming of the age of Kirby.

And so their memory was fixed. Everybody remembered them when they were young, and they wore different kinds of clothes, not unlike those worn by Men, yet different. There wasn’t one like another, just like Humans, and perhaps this was so because of their proximity to Men, from whom they drew a vitality unusual for Elves, something certainly chaotic, but also beautiful.

If you follow this blog, you know I have a thing for Sea Elves. And, in my imagination, no better miniatures represent them than the Marauder Elves. No matter how they were originally categorized: today, to me, they are all Sea Elves, because all other Elves have developed a different identity, with time.

I remember in 1997 looking at the WFRP 1st ed., in its Italian translation - Martelli da Guerra - and seeing this excellent picture by Paul Bonner, close to the section about the elven races, and thought: surely these must be them.

This image apparently doesn't exist on the internet, so I had to take a picture of it with my mobile.

High Elf on horseback, Wood Elf with the bow, Dark Elf with two swords, black make up and a tomahawk (Wardancers were still unheard of in our gaming group). So the central one, with a hood and the badass look on his face, must be the Sea Elf. It probably was not, but who cares to be corrected after 20 years? 

Elven minstrel, from WFRP 1st ed.

Elf, from WFRP 1st ed.

Elf in a Sea Elf community in the Old World, WFRP 1st ed.

My image of Sea Elves was formed on pictures from that period, where Elves were not yet so remote as they became in later years, and were similar to Men. Just like there were Mountain Dwarfs with helms and chain mails, and Imperial Dwarfs dressed more or less like Imperial citizens, so - I reasoned - Elves living near Mannish communities must also wear clothes that go with the fashion. It made sense. It still does, since nothing on the subject has ever been published by GW after the early 90s. And so when I saw these Marauder High Elves (MM81) on eBay, I just had to have them. Look at them. Just look at them! 

 

Marauder High Elf MM81/2 from 1989, sculpted by Trish Morrison. An apparently simple sculpt with actually a lot of detail in embroidery and studs. I love the chainmail over leather jacket, the conical helm and the handaxe, which can be a tool as well as a weapon. Sea Elves are, after all, craftsmen and merchants.

Marauder High Elf MM81/6 from 1989, again sculpted by Trish Morrison. This one is less harmonious and dynamic, but again its apparent simplicity reveals, when painted, a lot of embroidery and studs, which I choose to paint in lighter greys and whites as if they were pearls. This is obviously a prominent Elf, with a short sword, pieces of plate armour and a long overcoat, which I painted in double colours - sky blue outside and emerald green inside, nicely contrasting the purple tights. I'll use it for one of the NPCs of my WFRP campaign: Magalhaes, the leader of the Sea Elf community of Dralas. An old (220+) Elf, always moderate and diplomatic, carefully supporting the Regent Gelmir without getting too committed to him. Keeping a foot in every shoe and a finger in every pie, just not deep enough to get burned. Quietly outweathering the events of history in the Old World and outliving all his enemies, just sitting on the banks of the river.

  

Marauder High Elf MM81/5 from 1989, like most other Elves from Marauder done by Trish Morrison. This tall, thin one is a fop, with his slashed sleeves and tall boots. There are studs/pearls on his botts and on the jacket, and on his crested helm. He wields a handaxe and I'll get a buckler for the other hand. In my campaign it represents Sidonaer, a Sea Elf rogue/adventurer who meddled too much with Men and took a number of wrong turns, so that now his family shuns him and he is wanted by several criminals for alleged wrongs he once did. A few weeks ago things went wrong again when the PCs in my group attempted to steal his treasure, which he collected in an expedition to Lustria, and ended up wounding him badly and killing his partners in business. Now Sidonaer is tending an ugly cut on his head and planning his revenge on the party.

These three are but a few of the figs I managed to acquire. I'll be posting more in the weeks to come and, ideally, I'll be assembling a warband to be used in Mordheim.

Rombustus Sellsword - Citadel F2 Fighter (1985)

 
This figure of a fighter is marked with the year 1985 but the first picture of it I found is in the Citadel Journal of 1987 where it is included in the F2 Fighters range as Rombustus Sellword. The range is "designed by Aly Morrison, Trish Morrison, Alan & Michael Perry". Which one is the author of this specific sculpt is difficult to say - to me it looks more Morrisonian than Perryish, but I couldn't say which sibling fathered (or mothered) Rombustus.

Our hero boldly strides forward, in a powerful but relaxed way, looking slightly to his left. He carries his shield (currently on the do list) in the left hand, completely lowered, and his bastard sword is levered on his right shoulder, to carry its weight more easily. Rombustus wears high boots and clothes with fashionable slashes on the knees and the whole left arm; his head is adorned with a plumed hat. Plate armour protects his body, waits and right arm up to the hand and is partially covered by an overcoat.

Clearly fond of his image, Rombustus deserved a bright paint-job. I went for a yellow and red scheme on the dress, complemented by green on the overcoat. The rest was left in natural colours, with dark brown leather and metal armour.

I'm overall happy with the result, although painting the slashes on the cloth was really difficult and it didn't turn out as bright and clear as I hoped. I'm currently using this miniature to represent the Protagonist in our latest WFRP game, but it will soon be replaced and Rombustus will make a great mercenary official, guard captain or élite bodyguard.

Dostovius Hillmage, Citadel Wizard C02 (1985)

Citadel launched the C02 series, dedicated to Wizards, in 1983, and regularly expanded it. This piece is marked with the year 1985 but the first leaflet I found, in which this figure appears, is dated 1987 and here the wizard goes by the exotic name of Dostovius Hillmage. It's a very simple sculpt but I like it - it's essential. This wizard has a large beard, and long robe, a staff and a pointed finger as if casting a spell. You don't really need much else, do you?

A belt pouch for reagents, perhaps, yes. I wasn't able to find out the sculptor and I would guess one of the Morrisons.

I painted in a simple way as well. Didn't even attempt to do the eyes, even though they were very large. The robes are a dark blue, the hair brown wood, the belt brown leather. The twin-headed aquila belt buckle was painted a dark bronze. The skin pale, as befits one dedicated to the study of arcane arts.

Citadel Slann and their successors

 

When you reach the venerable age of 38 and you're still into miniatures, most people will tend to consider you a child who never grew up, but that's not entirely true. Children are children, all right, they are in love with the hobby, but something inside of you is different, and that's the part that proves that you are not child, but in fact an old man. A grumbly old man.

All of us, even those who have the bravery to admit that AoS is actually cool, have succumbed at least once (or more) to the urge to grumble. Italians have a nice word for it: brontolone. Bronto- come from the Greek and means "thunder" (as in brontosaurus, yes) and fittingly calls to mind the image of a distant storm on the horizon, lightning flashing, thunder quietly rolling - all of the evening. There might be even some raindrops on your car, just to make it dirty, but no big actual storm. Just this constant and useless rolling thunder. The French have another word: grognard. That's the word I'm gonna use to tag all posts whose content could be summarized into "back in my time, things were different". Young people rant, we do not: we grumble. Face it, it's in our nature.

This was a very long preamble to introduce the subject of Slann miniatures. We all know who the Slann are (or were, back in my time before the retcon). But where do their concept come from, originally?

I believe the first sketch ever of the Slann might be this piece by John Blanche, titled "Troglodytes", which I found on Ratspike. In spite of the name, these are clearly Slann: the shape of the head, the armour, even the pyramid in the background.

A more mature sketch is the following, also by Blanche. Here the Slann have already developed their name and are drawn in more confident strokes.

After this, GW's staff set themselves to work. Tony Ackland drew Slann for the 2nd Edition of WFB (1983), and also in the later articles Kremlo the Slann (1983) and the Magnificent Sven (1984):

Moreover at the same time, in 1983-1984 - difficult to tell if illustrators influenced sculptors, or it was the other way around - the Perry twins sculpted the first, glorious C32 figures.

These were quite succesful and, in 1986, Citadel issued a new series of Slann, sculpted by Trish Morrison. And these were beautiful, too: it was difficult to spot the difference with the Perry pieces.

Then, for no apparent reason, something terrible happened. The 1987 new Slann relase, designed together by Trish and Aly Morrison, came out, and they looked nothing like the originals:

The new Slann looked more like clumsy toads trying to stand on two feet (with little success). Heads became wide and flat, eyes bulged out and torsos almost disappeared. This was the end of classic Slann: the whole "amphibian master-race from Space" concept was forgotten and, in 1997 they were retconned in favour of the Old Ones and the Lizardmen.

What was left to us, with the name Slann, was this. A bloated, big-headed toad:

And that's the end, as far as GW is concerned. But a lot of people still loved the Slann and independent manufacturers tried to support them with new figures. For some reason, though, most of them were more frogmen than actual Slann as we knew them.

I believe Mirliton's Kermitians were the first. I have a lot of respect for Mirliton, and that's why I will not comment on these figures.

Then it was probably Ral Partha who issued their Bullfrogs. They had way more character than Mirliton's Kermitians, but still looked like anthropomorphic frogs.

Reaper Frogmen are suspiciously similar to the previous, with a bit detail, but with the same inherent flaws.

Otherworld Boglings are less frogs, and more TMNT from the movie (the ugly ones).

Mantic's Frogmen are just more of the same. Good figures, mind me, but nowhere close to the original Slann. These are frogmen, period.

Katsina were the first to give up the "frog on two legs" idea and get closer to the original, with exotic weapons and feathered helms. These are nice, but still only a first step towards the original Perry. To put it clearly: put them on a table next to each other, and you will spot the difference from three metres distance.

And just when everything seemed lost, lo! Tim Prow comes out with the Eru-Kin. And let me say: these are the nicest Slann-like miniatures made after 1986.

Diehard brings out all the old colour (light armour of plates + leather strips, round shields, feathered helms, weird weapons and a meso-American feel) and adds some more in the same tune: this is how you do good Oldhammer in the 2010s. Sure, you say, there is significant difference in the heads:

On one side, a big, tall, bloated head. On the other a more lizard-like, long and flat one. Sure, copyright is still a thing and GW isn't kind to those challenging them. You can't call them Slann. You can't do them exactly the same as John Blanche first drew them. Still, these to me look more "right" than the 1987 Citadel toad-people.

In a perfect world, we would have a second set of heads to replace the lizard-like ones, but in the meantime I must say I am very happy about these. Will probably try to fix them with some greenstuff: I'll let you know how it goes. But even without any fix, this is a huge step in bringing Oldhammer back. Well done, Tim Prow!

Slann with Blowpipe - Citadel C32 Slann: Akabylk (1986)

On we go painting Slann, with the second addition to what should, in perspective, become a Savage Slann warband. Here you can see its first member.

To keep the two matching, I kept the same pattern on the skin: the basic complexion is obtained through mixes of Vallejo Olive Green and Lime Green, while the streaks are Citadel Caledor Blue. Everything got a wash of Biel-Tan Green and then a highlighting with the original colours. I'm quite happy with the final result, which achieves a successful mimetism with the grass of the base and the water tank accessories I use as battlefield elements for Lustria.

This miniature, along with the Slann Shaman I did a couple of months ago, is also part of the slotta C32 range, sculpted by Trish Morrison, and was presented in the 1986 Citadel May flyer. It is name "Akabylk" - the pun here was unrecognizable to me and I only learned it from another fellow Oldhammerer's blog - which is a corruption of the name Acker Bilk, a British Jazz musician. Why? He played the clarinet, of course!

The figure looks relatively plain, but there are some nice details here and there. The Slann wears a loincloth made of alligator or crocodile hide, with some fur on the inside which I painted fox reddish. The detail on my miniature was dulled, possibly because of stripping (I got it from ebay). Strings hold the loincloth in place and allow the blowpipe to be hung from the shoulder: I painted both as red leather.

Between the legs is something of which I'm not sure. It could be a wickerwork decoration for the loincloth, or a wicker basket full of something. I just painted it the colour of dried grass. For the base I used a base of Vallejo German C. Black Brown, one of the colours I use most, which I covered with Citadel Stirland Battlemire, washed in black and drybrushed in lighter brown (Vallejo Flat Brown, which has a nice reddish finish). Using vinylic glue I put a couple of reeds from a Noch pack bought years ago at a fair, and I must say they do their job. It looks better than the other base I did for the Shaman - I think it really brings out the character of the crouched figure ready to strike its target with a poisoned dart. What do you think? Let me know if you have the same miniature and found different solutions for painting a basing, I'm quite interested!

Slann Shaman - Citadel C32 Slann: Ribbet Ribbet (1986)

My second Slann miniature is this: Ribbet Ribbet, first seen in the 1986 Citadel May flyer, part of the C32 range.

It's a pretty good piece, designed by Trish Morrison. It represents a Slann, shorter than others, in a seemingly dancing or jumping pose. He holds a staff in his left hand, topped with what could be a wooden image of a bird's head, decorated with feathers. His right fist is raised. His body is covered by a crocodile/alligator skin, with fur on the inside, held together by strips of rope or leather. From the neck hangs a small animal skull.

There is no background for this miniature but I am pretty sure it was meant to represent some kind of shaman or witch doctor, a follower of the animal-shaped new gods of the Slann.

It is a grotesque history, that of the Slann - from all powerful world shapers to a people of savages living in jungles and worshipping gods born from the cataclysm that doomed their own race. A feeling of grotesque, incidentally, is one of the main foundations of Old School Warhammer. Chaos at that time was grotesque and everything it touched was tainted by such feel.

There isn't much background on Slann in the original material, so during my WFRP years our group created a great deal of it for our campaigns. According to our own house fluff, the core cities of the Slann maintain old culture better than peripheric areas. But as one travels to the swamps and hills of the north and east, Slann become more and more primitive. Their skin is often marked by other colours and this shaman displays blue streaks and spots on the back.

Dancing to the rythm of ancient rituals developed thousands of years ago, this Shaman is able to call to the animals of the jungle, speak to them and command them to do his bidding, all thanks to the blessings of the New Gods.

Right, I'll have to build two Slann warbands now: one for the imperial cities, and one for the remote jungles. They will be good factions for Mordheim/Shadespire games set in Lustria. Lots of fun coming!