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For anyone who doesn't know Warlord Games are releasing Erehwon, a Fantasy rulebook using their Order Dice system from Antares and Bolt Action. From hat little has been revealed so far I like the sound of it so I had an idea...
The Plan
The project is simple…to build a starter warband for Erehwon by the end of Jan. The basic idea is to use a single box of Oathmark Elves along with some 25mm round bases…plus some washers. No idea if the game is going to be any good* but £25** is hardly a massive loss if the game doesn’t light my fire.
- Leader & 2 bodyguards
- 3 units of 5 spears
- 2 units of 5 archers or slingers
* Well I have some idea as I like the look of the Antares system even if I didn’t actually dive into the game.
** Tell a lie…it was £22.50 as I got me a good deal.
This should give me a solid base to build upon if the game lights my fire. Now, for many building and painting such a small force may not sound like much of a challenge but for me, a slooooow painter, this is quite a big ask that I doubt I can actually pull off...that's not gunna stop me from having a bash though :D
Day 1.
Not much to show yet as I've only just started but here is a shot of what's done so far...
(https://i.imgur.com/AKS3Au6.jpg)
...tell a lie...I have green stuffed the bases with some pebbles and I've cleaned up the spear arms for these guys, still that's not much done so far...
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Good luck. I’m also looking out for Erewon.
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Nice little project. I’m planning on tidying up my ancient undead army for Erehwon, as well as seeing how it goes with some other forces I have
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Thanks guys :D
Day 2.
Technically its day 3 as I started a day early bit heyho...anyway, the first 5 elves are built...
(https://i.imgur.com/nIfbpqf.jpg)
The mould line were pretty minimal and they were easy to fit together but they do seem a little limited in terms of poses; I will try and play about with poses more with the next unit of spears, though I will build a unit of 5 bows next. The fella with the feather on his helm is the leader; just a simple quick way of highlighting him.
I've since undercoated them and will start painting them tonight.
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Interesting plan. Good luck.
The elves look good.
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I'm curious about Erehwon, too. Nothing wrong with a nice simple project either; I find it helps me get more things finished when I don't have to deal with hordes of miniatures all at once. Good luck keeping up the progress!
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Cheers. I have been struggling with completing anything at the mo so am trying to stick to KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) :D
Day 3.
I managed to start on the chainmail which just needs a final drybrush; sadly my hobby time is very limited and combined with a cold that is currently making my eyes water a good'un progress is slow but I'm hoping to pick up the pace a bit once I've got all me colours sorted and my heads cleared.
(https://i.imgur.com/vCNfHJO.jpg)
No progress tonight with painting as its Date Night but I may well get the chance to jot down some fluff notes as I always like to have some kind of story behind any project.
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Sorry no fluff update but here is where I'm at after last nights painting...
(https://i.imgur.com/4MjH3XI.jpg)
More painting tonight and maybe I will get a chance to play around with the fluff a bit more...will have to just wait and see :D
Oh yeah, the WoE FB page has posted some info on the Elves...
The elves!
Of course, they are outstanding archers and the quality of their equipment exceeds the norm, but what distinguishes them the most is their incredible arogance that allows them to automatically succeed their first Breaktest.
Elven warriors are clearly fragile, but when equipped with spear, they remain a considerable threat especially supported by archers. Spears can be thrown during the close up of hand to hand combat.
They also have rangers, a mighty cavalry, giant eagles, chariots and two war machines that take advantage of their increased accuracy.
Sounds like spearmen and archers are definitely the way to go.
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Day 6 Update...
(https://i.imgur.com/yXeRSE9.jpg)
So far these daily updates seem to be keeping me focused, yay!
I'm not sure what symbol I'm going to paint on the shields yet. Looking at the pic I think I might change my plan for the colour of the spear shafts and go for white to help balance the minis out.
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Day 7...
(https://i.imgur.com/5YCxOlt.jpg)
Things are chugging along slowly.
I've got a plan for the shields now...they will have a white diagonal line across them...in the future I might add a transfer or something freehand. I've was a bit unsure of the colour scheme a few days ago but I think its starting to come together now. A full warband of these guys should look pretty cool.
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Day 8...
(https://i.imgur.com/SbjEqpz.jpg)
...hmm...might have to get my skates on if I want to get an entire warband built in time...
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Day 9...
(https://i.imgur.com/YPkGLKk.jpg)
...and they are done...well at least for now. I'm pretty pleased with them considering how quickly I have managed to turn them around though I may well choose to revisit them at some point.
No peace for the wicked so I will start building a unit of 5 archers tonight...hopefully I can get them done quicker.
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They certainly turned out alright. The white spear shafts are a definite improvement on the previous colour - makes the figures pop a bit more with the contrast. Will you perhaps do just a little extra shading/highlighting to make them even better?
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Thanks Little Odo. Yep, the plan is to try and get the whole warband painted up like this then to go back and finish them off. They need some highlights and the green bits of armour kinda float above the rest of the mini so it needs a wash or two to kinda bind it together. Plus I need to do a symbol on the shields. The faces definitely need attention too.
I've cleaned up the bodies of the archers, fixed them to bases, added washers to weigh them down and GS'd the bases with some larger pebbles. Tonight I will try and finish building them if I can and sand the bases ready for undercoating and paint tomorrow...but that's quite a bit for me so will just have to see how it goes.
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Those elves are pretty good, especially like the helmets. Choice of colours is good but I think an extra highlight on the green would make a lot of difference. But for a quicky to get them on the table they're more than excellent :).
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Looks very nice
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Cheers :D
Day 13...
(https://i.imgur.com/UWHcgO0.jpg)
It only took me a couple of days to build these guys which is much quicker than the spears so hopefully I can speed up the painting a bit and recover a bit of time...hopefully...fingers crossed...
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Day 14
(https://i.imgur.com/Rzzng56.jpg)
Hopefully I will get the white and leather done tonight...fingers crossed...
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Looking good.
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It’s getting there :)
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Thanks guys! :D
Day 15
(https://i.imgur.com/AWAM45Y.jpg)
...these guys seem to be going quicker than the spears but I'm not sure thats gunna help enough for me to catch up, as we are in the 3rd week of Jan and this is still only the 2nd unit. Hopefully I can finish these guys this week and build & start painting the 2nd unit of spears. If I can do that then there is a slim chance I might be able to finish them and get the 2nd unit of archers done next week. That would then leave me with a 3rd unit of spears as well as the leader and their bodyguard to go...its gunna be tight.
The rules get released a week on Sat and I'm looking forward to seeing them as i am starting to get a real 4th ed WHFB vibe from what I've seen.
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Day 16
(https://i.imgur.com/60yxLq7.jpg)
A quick update on last night's progress. Unfortunately I noticed that somewhere along the line one of the arrows has snapped...somewhat annoying...doh! It's not quite hanging off but it wouldn't surprise me if it doesn't fall off soon. I'll try and glue it but we will see...
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A big(ish) update for Day 19. Archer unit 1 first...
(https://i.imgur.com/uuKKNaQ.jpg)
Now a group shot!
(https://i.imgur.com/aWeU0Qy.jpg)
I realised the other day that once I finish this warband I will have painted more minis already in 2019 than I did in 2018 :D
I'm still behind but I've already started building the 2nd unit of spears and I'm hoping to catch up this week...fingers crossed...
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Day 20 update...
(https://i.imgur.com/IOyxrLm.jpg)
Spear unit 2 is built and I am much happier with the leader's head this time...the first spear leader kinda looks like he's checking the floor for dog turds.
I will be undercoating them in a mo so I can start painting them tonight.
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the first spear leader kinda looks like he's checking the floor for dog turds.
After some harrowing months in middle management I'd say thats what low level management is all about.
Jokes aside though you're making impressive progress, especially with white as a significant part of the colour scheme.
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:D Thanks Munindk!
Day 21
(https://i.imgur.com/s53HO5F.jpg)
These guys do seem to be progressing quicker...
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Day 22
(https://i.imgur.com/OQCfV6z.jpg)
Fingers crossed I can get these done by Thurs...not sure I will get the 2nd archer unit finished this week...
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Even if you don’t reach the goal, you will have accomplished something. Keep up the good work.
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Great work, but one thing has been nagging me as I looked at your painted archers and spearmen. Are you really married to the idea of bright white spearshafts and bows? I can almost see it as working for the spearshafts, but the bows in bright white are kind of off-putting to me. Is there a reason you rejected the standard wood color?
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think the pics (finished anyway) have been taken with a flash - which will have accentuated the whiteness to a degree?
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Even if you don’t reach the goal, you will have accomplished something. Keep up the good work.
Cheers mate :D
Great work, but one thing has been nagging me as I looked at your painted archers and spearmen. Are you really married to the idea of bright white spearshafts and bows? I can almost see it as working for the spearshafts, but the bows in bright white are kind of off-putting to me. Is there a reason you rejected the standard wood color?
Yep the pics have been taken with a flash which may be bleaching them out a touch. I went with the white bows to kinda balance them out against the spearmen. I did try brown spears but they just ended up looking too dark.
Day 23
(https://i.imgur.com/vRxlepE.jpg)
The 2nd unit of spears are done! Yay...Here's a pic of the warband so far...
(https://i.imgur.com/kntTlG7.jpg)
This is the half way mark so when I start building my 2nd unit of archers in a mo I will be sneaking just over half way :D
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I was going to do a little update today with a pic of my 2nd archer unit ready for undercoating...then I undercoated them...so they are kinda greyish and dull.
Pic to follow tomorrow :D
I already have some ideas for expanding the warband but will have to wait till the book arrives...and till I finish what I have :D
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There's 4 days left, you can do it!
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Four days is plenty of time!
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:o 4 days :o ...you must be kidding...I might just get my archers done in that time. lol
Hopefully my book will turn up today and I can actually write a list for 500pts (a good size intro game apparently) and if I'm lucky I might not need to add much more.
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Day 27
(https://i.imgur.com/yADucVi.jpg)
And look what arrived this afternoon...after I had given up hope foe the day :D
(https://i.imgur.com/1isak7M.jpg)
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I like the white spears and bows!
Great colour scheme overall.
Out of curiosity, do these plastic elves give you options for more dynamic poses? Each unit seems posed very uniformly - there's certainly nothing wrong with that, and perhaps it suits elves well, I'm just wondering if you can get other spear poses out of the kit.
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Consider me inspired, I just started a Knightly Order Army for Erehwon. Going to make a post here now. Your elves look great!
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Thanks guys :D
Now I've got the book I've started playing around with a small intro 500pt list which is pretty tight for Elves. At the moment I am thinking...
- Lord & 2 Bodyguards...108pts
- 5 Warriors with spears...95pts
- 5 Warriors with spears...95pts
- 5 Warriors with spears...95pts
- 5 Archers...105pts
With no upgrades (beyond the free spears) this gives me a total of 498pts. I have tried to stick to what I can build with a single Oathmark box though I could drop a unit and buy upgrades and extra warriors or archers; I could also drop a unit of warriors and convert up a mage but I have seen people saying it's best to not include wizards in 500pt games, presumably as they could be overpowered. I do have ideas for converting cavalry, knights and a mage but we will see as I'd also like to build some Celtos warbands.
I have yet to read the book beyond the intro and the Elf list but it looks nice and is thicker than I expected...you get a lot of bang for your buck. Also, I have heard some complain about the basic layout but personally I prefer the clean look...it certainly makes it easier to read as my dyslexiz can make some books a chore. There is some really nice artwork in there too.
Out of curiosity, do these plastic elves give you options for more dynamic poses? Each unit seems posed very uniformly - there's certainly nothing wrong with that, and perhaps it suits elves well, I'm just wondering if you can get other spear poses out of the kit.
I decided to go with a more regimented look with my elves to give them that disciplined look. For each of the spear units I've used the full set of arms but you can obviously change the angle they are glued on at. They aren't very dynamic options which is a little disappointing but the options are still pretty solid. For the archers there are 3 basic bow poses fired, drawing and holding the bow down. Again pretty solid and I just made sure to go for the regimented disciplined look again, if I make a unit of rangers then I will probably go for a more mixed look.
Consider me inspired, I just started a Knightly Order Army for Erehwon. Going to make a post here now. Your elves look great!
Wow, thanks Commander 8) Make sure you post a link I'd love to check them out...what size warband are you going to make?
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Does it cost extra to make your Elves have swords ?
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Nope they come with swords as standard. Spears are free; they are thrown as you close into combat. Long spears cost and they cancel enemy charge bonus I think.
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Awesome. I want to repurpose my LOTR Last Alliance Elves
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Go for it mate...there are no double handed sword options but I'm sure you could come up with something...I imagine some of the entries for another faction have that option so just transplant the rule across.
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Go for it mate...there are no double handed sword options but I'm sure you could come up with something...I imagine some of the entries for another faction have that option so just transplant the rule across.
I'll just run them a sword/spear/bow elves with Gil Galad or Elrond as a Warlord, probably scrounge up an elven sorceror and the Rivendell Cavalry work nicely.
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Sounds good mate :D Those elves are lovely minis.
Day 28
(https://i.imgur.com/Q0rLKVL.jpg)
Archer unit 2 is getting there...
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The final day (of Jan) to go...
Day 30
(https://i.imgur.com/JE8LzoG.jpg)
These guys are nearly there...sadly I'm not quite sure I will finish them tonight as I need to paint the bases, varnish them and static grass them but still I think I've done well. If I'd got my copy of WoE earlier I could have actually done the Elf Lord and his 2 bodyguards instead and then I would have done a full 500pt starter warband. Never mind.
I'm not quite sure what I am going to do next...maybe the Lord of maybe the 3rd planned unit of spears...lets just wait and see...
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Day 31
...I made it...well sort of :D I somehow managed to stay on target even though I didn't quite reach my frankly unrealistic goal...huzzah!
(https://i.imgur.com/d3zU8yr.jpg)
From my initial goal I have only a single unit of 5 spears to go as well as the Lord & 2 bodyguards. Thats bloody good going for me. Here's a pic of everything I managed to get done in Jan...
(https://i.imgur.com/R9GRgzF.jpg)
So...what's next then? Well as much as I'd like to do the Lord & his crew next I am waiting for something to arrive so its a unit of spears again which I will be starting tomorrow...
...still can't quite believe I've painted this many minis... o_o
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Not a bad pace at all and with a very decent level of painterly skills. I am impressed. Thanks for sharing, and I am looking forward to seeing you complete the whole warband. No pressure lol
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Thanks Little Odo :D Judging by my recent progress it may take some time lol
Update time...Day 42
(https://i.imgur.com/O7NcbKS.jpg)
As you can see progress has stalled to a crawl, I think I'm suffering a bit of burn out plus I've been ill (and am again) and everyone else in my family has too then on top of that we had the maddness surrounding my sons 7th birthday and have just over a week till my daughters 5th birthday. Still at least things have kept moving.
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More progress and the unit is finished...only 9 days later...Day 51
(https://i.imgur.com/XLR6CZA.jpg)
It really is starting to look like a good sized force...
(https://i.imgur.com/OwsM5PG.jpg)
To complete my initial plan for 500pts I have just the Lord and his 2 bodyguards to go...almost there...
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Very impressive :)
If 500 points of infantry takes 2 months to complete, and infantry usually offers the worst points per model ratio, you should be able to paint several thousand points of Erehwon armies a year at this rate.
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Don't be hard (boiled) in yourself. You did an amazing job! Did you reach your target? Maybe not, but you managed to paint an entire warband of 25 models in a month. That is something to be proud of and happy with!
They look wonderful too! They remind me of my first Wood Elf army, way before plastic boxed sets were a thing, though I never managed to reach 25 models painted haha.
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Very impressive :)
If 500 points of infantry takes 2 months to complete, and infantry usually offers the worst points per model ratio, you should be able to paint several thousand points of Erehwon armies a year at this rate.
Thanks Munindk 8) I don't think I could keep my enthusiasm up for anywhere near a year. :D
Once these Elves are done I have a mind to build some 500pt warbands from the old Celtos ranges as I am a sucker for my ancestral Celtic myths; the minis are mostly very nice though the cricket bat weapons are a bit much, still I think they are the best ones out there. I've been drawn to that range for ages but the Celtos game is effectively dead; they still sell the rulebook but no one seems to play it and Brigade have been playtesting a new version of the rules for years...oddly they seem to want to push the game towards mass battle though I'm not sure how they can hope to compete in that market without plastics. Anyway I am thinking that WoE might be just what Celtos needs as the scale of game Rick intended seems to fit the Celtos range well.
Don't be hard (boiled) in yourself. You did an amazing job! Did you reach your target? Maybe not, but you managed to paint an entire warband of 25 models in a month. That is something to be proud of and happy with!
They look wonderful too! They remind me of my first Wood Elf army, way before plastic boxed sets were a thing, though I never managed to reach 25 models painted haha.
:D Tis all good. If I had my book earlier then I would have made the goal as I built one extra unit of archers that don't make the 500pt line up so could have done the Lord instead. Still I am glad I did it and am almost done. After the Lord I have a plan to convert up a small unit of cavalry to give me a bit of choice.
After building these guys part of me thinks this size of warband is too big :D My planned Celtos warbands come in at just under 20 minis each 8)
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Really enjoyed this thread, thanks. It's such a good idea to challenge yourself and have sensible targets in painting armies.
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Thanks Godwin 8) Setting myself a clear challenge and goals has really helped as for the past couple of years I have really suffered with trying to get any project finished. I've not finished yet but I'm almost there...almost there...
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My Elven Lord & his bodyguard are built...
(https://i.imgur.com/CHv2iB5.jpg)
The banner top is from the GB Gothic cavalry sprue and the horn is from the GB Dark Age armoured warrior sprue. The lord is a straight build from the Oathmark elf sprue though I did give him a 32mm base and put part of the integral plastic base away so I could build it up so he's standing on a rock...which is the primary job of any commander in a fantasy game. ;)
I will start painting these guys tomorrow...almost at 500pts...almost...
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Every warband needs a leader...some to tell everyone what to do...someone to inspire...someone...to...stand...on...a...rock!
(https://i.imgur.com/2rGYqzD.jpg)
I wanted a fairly low-key Lord but kinda spiced him up a bit with his trumpeter and his standard bearer with unusual (for elves) windsock standard.
So...you know what this means...I have 500pts built FINALLY!!!
(https://i.imgur.com/BFpw0DC.jpg)
I still have one final bonus unit that I'm building (well hopefully I will start them tonight) then that's about it for this force for now. Stay tuned for that final unit though...
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Impressive looking force :)
It looks like a good core for adding whatever fits into your vision of elves: cavalry, eagles, dragons, chariots and so on :)
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That was my cunning plan ;D
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Congrats on completing your warband. Now to see it in action and find out what your "cunning plan" brings forth.
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Ahh thanks Little Odo but I'm not gaming really at the moment as am having a bit of Aspie overload. The only games I have got in over the past year or so have been HeroQuest using 15mm minis so for my next project I think I might finally get some paint on them and build some suitably sized furniture etc...well after my Elf cavalry that is ;)
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I think I hear something...
(https://i.imgur.com/LMcoHXC.jpg)
Pointy ears on horses...just a few to range ahead of the main force.
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Gripping beast late roman heavy cavalry and Oathmark elf heads and shields?
I've been looking at GB cavalry a lot lately :)
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Goth Noble cavalry :D I got the wolf banner from that sprue too 8)
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Behold...my stuff!
(https://i.imgur.com/O1QoiwB.jpg)
A small unit of light elven cavalry ready for patrol duty. These guys were fairly fun to paint; the colour for the horse came by accident as I painted the elves first then thought the grey dusted undercoat looked pretty good so I went with the grey steeds.
So, here's the warband...
(https://i.imgur.com/fiIsaHt.jpg)
I know I wasn't going to add anything else for now but I think I might cobble together something small yet powerful...
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Nice to see all of the effort come together. Looks like a nice cohesive army.
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Thanks Cahrn...though their is room for just one more mini for now... My Mage...
(https://i.imgur.com/gYn0LjQ.jpg)
The flash has been a little harsh on the highlights. I wanted him to stand out against the rest of the army so he has a red cloak and he is the only one with black hair as all the rest are blond.
I converted him up from one of the Oathmark elves again, chopping a spear shaft down to form his staff and a bit of jiggery-pokery to get the sneering disdain on his face. The cloak was sculpted from green stuff.