Battle Masters Project - 1991 Warhammer Old World (COMPLTED! August 2025)

[Neldoreth]

I wasn't sure I was going to paint all of the Battle Masters figs that I had picked up recently, but here we are. After playing the game a few times with the kiddo and really enjoying it, I was hooked.

It's really a great miniature game experience that doesn't get you bogged down in rules, and really ramps up the frustration around movement... Sometimes you pull a card for a unit that's trapped behind another unit, sometimes your opponent pulls five consecutive cards in a row just at the critical moment and your line collapses. It's great though.

So now I have 1+ sets worth of figures. My plan is to have them do double-duty for Kings of War armies as well as Battle Masters, so that means figuring out a basing scheme that works for both. I have done some work so far, but here's a picture of the latest eBay auction I snagged up with a healthy number of figures from the set. I also have a full set that I picked up in July, and a few figs kicking around from the set I bought in 1994.

I'll be posting pictures of the first completed unit next week!

Thanks
n

[Griefbringer]

Looking at your picture, it seems that a few of the models have broken weapons - perhaps an opportunity for some conversion work by replacing the broken weapon with a sword or a banner pole?

Also, if I remember correctly, that cannon barrel has a hollow underside. If you are going to paint the model, it might be a good idea to fill in that gap and glue the barrel permanently in place. That is what I did with mine.

Speaking of my Battle Masters models, I have somewhere 9 half-painted knights that I should dig up and complete once I get some other topics first out of my painting bench...

[Daeothar]

Conveniently quoting myself from Pil's Battle Masters thread here:

If you're after miniatures for your plans, I can heartily recommend Lionheart btw: it's an even more simplified competitor to Battle Masters, played on a traditional board divided into squares.

The miniatures are comparable in quality to the Battle Masters ones, but are made of a different type of plastic. Also the forces are basically two identical (Empire?) armies, but with enough variation in units to make it possible (probably) to split the two forces in such a way that you can do your proposed force expansion in Battle Masters, assigning certain unit types (of both armies) to a single side.

And the best thing; those games go for next to nothing!

I bought one set localy (it was brand new with the minis still on the sprues!) for €6,- ! And with 92 miniatures in the box, that comes down to just €0,065 per mini!

We've played it a couple of times, but it is quite limited in its scope (although by no means dumb!), and now I'd rather use the minis for Battle Masters instead...

My copy of BM should be delivered today. So quite a few BM projects sprouting up all of a sudden!

[tin shed gamer]

I'm actually quite enjoying the gluttony of BM projects (If nothing else it just let's me know I'm not nutter out there).
Definitely try a couple of conversions . I found the plastic empire heads actually did a lot to bring them into line with more modern sculpts or at least make them less obvious.
Admittedly the price of second hand plastics put me off .So I'll just make my own(£6 for a single head and£10+ for four or five is more than a little too nuts for me.)
Mark.

[JollyBob]

Those look great!

I've been playing this with my own seven-year old Bob Junior, and he loves it! I echo your comments about the rules, Neldoreth - really simple to pick up but challenging enough to be great fun when you can't deliver your carefully prepared devastating cavalry charge for six turns in a row!

The only gripe I have is that its still in its original unpainted and unglued state, so it takes longer to set up and attach all the figures to their bases than it does to play through!    Easy fix, I guess... 

[Griefbringer]

I am starting to feel a bit guilty for having thrown away all of those big, chunky BM bases away several years ago - they were taking a lot of space, I did not have any use for them (and still don't, the game can be played fine with other kinds of movement trays for figures), and I did not think that there would be anybody out there in the world who would have any use for them. But apparently there are people out there who like those bases, and might have liked to get extras for some projects.

On another note, has anybody tried using figure removal from the bases instead of the skull markers for tracking damage? Since almost all of the bases have 3-5 figures, and a base is removed after the third point of damage, this would be quite straightforward. Of course the ogre champion (one model with 6 wounds) would need to be handled differently. And of course this is not a viable option for those who have glued their figures to the bases.

[Daeothar]

I was briefly toying with the idea of putting the miniatures on standard square bases, which I would then put in/on the actual BM bases (in cut outs), turning them into a kind of sabot type base. The rationale was that I could then use the minis elsewhere too.

But then I got captivated by the goofy simplicity of the models and how mono-pose models would irk the heck out of me when part of another, larger, force. Also, due to the amount of minis involved, and knowing myself, painting them up to the standard I hold my regular armies to, would simply take too much time.

So I decided to keep them dedicated to BM, with quick, nineties type, bright paint jobs. And when they're dedicated to this particular game, they could as well be fixed to their bases. This will greatly reduce setup time as well.

But I was serious about the goofy mono-pose models; they appear to hold a certain charm to me these days. And, as I just can't help myself, I got thinking of diversity, and quickly came up with a Dwarf, Undead and Elf list, and 'pure' Ork and Chaos forces, which now have to be made up out of period, mono-pose, plastic miniatures in the same goofy early nineties GW style as well.

I'm already nearly 2/3 along the search for the correct models. But the actual acquisition might prove a challenge, since quite a few miniatures are Talisman ones, and to source 5 or 10 of each of those will become quite pricey I fear. So I might have to resort to other means to get them ranked up.

But, as Pandora's (BM) box is gaping wide open, I suppose I'm going to have to do what needs to be done now...

[wmyers]

Those head swaps sure make a difference!

They look hugely out of proportion in the unpainted photo but look good in the painted one - might just be the angle and the stock figure comparison doesn't help.

I have my BM still in box - I'm at a cross roads of basing them them individually or just keeping them on the stock bases for playing with the kids.

[gibby64]

I loved it as a kid and I love it now... I have a set and a half fully painted to a decent standard that I got off a guy for $100.... felt bad for the guy as I know how many hours he must have spent on it... I also have a new in the plastic box that one of my sons will get. Great fast playing game.

[Neldoreth]

Looking at your picture, it seems that a few of the models have broken weapons - perhaps an opportunity for some conversion work by replacing the broken weapon with a sword or a banner pole?

Also, if I remember correctly, that cannon barrel has a hollow underside. If you are going to paint the model, it might be a good idea to fill in that gap and glue the barrel permanently in place. That is what I did with mine.

Speaking of my Battle Masters models, I have somewhere 9 half-painted knights that I should dig up and complete once I get some other topics first out of my painting bench...

Yes, indeed I'll have to replace some weapons here and there. I'll also likely ass some banners and poles, etc. For the cannon, I'll likely just drill a hole in the front and paint the hollow parts black. I'll also probably put that whole model onto a single base as well, maybe with the figures attached too. You should dig up your models and post some pictures!

Thanks
n

[Neldoreth]

For basing, I decided to go with individual bases. The reason is that I like to create mini dioramas with my multi-bases, but these single-pose figures make that extremely difficult, so I decided to just put them on single bases, so that when I use them in Kings of War I'll just rank them up like old Warhammer armies, and when I use them for Battle Masters I'll just place them onto the unit bases, and I'll be ready to go. I hadn't considered setup time though...

@tin shed gamer

It was your original thread that actually got me thinking about Battle Masters again to be honest. I saw those two painted cavalry figs and the early conversions of the archers and I was set off reminiscing the old Battle Masters days. It was then that I decided to pick up a set to play with the kiddos, and then of course I got the painting bug, and here we are... so thanks a lot!

Your archers turned out extremely well indeed, great stuff.

@Daeothar,

That sounds like an awesome project regarding building lists and armies beyond those in the box set. For me, I think that the old plastic GW Warhammer models would work for me. They can mostly be posed exactly the same as each other, and they are also quite nice as is. I saw some forces over on Boardgame geek, but I'd love to see yours. I have a number of Kings of War armies that could easily do double duty as Battle Masters armies!

As for the Lionheart miniatures, they seem interesting, but on closer inspection, I'm not sure they are quite as good as the Battle Masters figs. I'll have to see them close up. In the meantime though, Battle Masters figs are quite available and very cheap on eBay still, so I'll go there for old lots.

[Pil]

Cool project and I'm curious to see the first unit.

The conversions of the tin shed gamer are rather lively indeed. The simple head swap really brings these models to a higher level. Shame about the prices for the heads though.

The thought of new armies is very appealing indeed, especially with so many appropriate models about. I think the added challenge is designing a card activation system for them. I saw some armies worked out on Boardgamegeek but I wouldn't know where or how to handle the activations.

[tin shed gamer]

 
Reading threads can be hazardous to your wallet .

Speaking of which I'm sure the recent threads have bumped up the prices on EBay. I wanted another five cross bow figures. £5.99 when I started my project £12.99 now.

I'll be plodding along with mine again soon.(may have accidentally bought a steam tank and twenty or so spearmen.)

I decided to go with the slotta bases as I'm more than likely going to use the for WFB.
Then have a set of sabot movement trays to bounce back to the original game.

[Gibby]

Honestly, eBay is as quick as the damned stock market at noticing trends and inflating value of things accordingly.  I remember when the "Why Heroquest is so great!" video was at its most popular - suddenly Heroquest went from going for about £40 to over £100. All long after I sold mine for £35 

Anyway, great thread. It goes to show what can be done with those old figures! This year I really have rediscovered just how much a unit of models can look great, even if the individuals are all identical sculpts etc.

[fastolfrus]

I'm actually quite enjoying the gluttony of BM projects (If nothing else it just let's me know I'm not nutter out there).
Definitely try a couple of conversions . I found the plastic empire heads actually did a lot to bring them into line with more modern sculpts or at least make them less obvious.
Admittedly the price of second hand plastics put me off .So I'll just make my own(£6 for a single head and£10+ for four or five is more than a little too nuts for me.)
Mark.

Would Frostgrave heads work for conversions? There must be loads of those kicking around (just on this forum)