Kings of War in 1/72 (scratch-built, ahem, Archfiend of the Abyss ...)

[Hobgoblin]

Ah - excellent! Thanks! So regiments of revenants (or whatever) will work fine?

I've just had a root around and have put some GW skulls on top of Perry foot-knight bodies and have dug up some gnollish ghouls. I've definitely got enough for troops of both at the moment - and possibly regiments if I dig deeper.

One good thing about diorama bases is that it'll be easy to recycle figures that I've based on slottabases in the past, as they can be posed on higher ground if the base is hard to remove entirely. So I think various aborted Perry-knight projects can be recycled once their components are covered in suitable grime and rust, with skull-faced peers at the front.

I've also got at least half a sprue of GW Hobbit goblins kicking around. I've used some as individually based ghouls, so I might see how the remainder work mixed in with the gnolls (I use both mixed together as ghouls in D&D).

[fred]

Good thinking on hiding the slotta bases as higher ground. I’ve got 40 spearmen from one of the old regiments of renown that would make a good KoW horde, but how to do something with the slotta bases is a pain. Perhaps I should just glue the slotta bases down to a square of plastic card, then fill the gaps between the bevelled edges, and then put the figures in, filling all the spare bits of the slotta gaps. Still sounds like a lot of work! I wonder if I could get an base with the right insets laser cut in MDF?

[Hobgoblin]

I find that a pair of pliers usually helps with slottabases! You can usually pry the base away without damaging the paintwork on the figure.

But 40 might be a bit of a tall order - especially if they're nicely based already. I'm think that the odd gnoll on a slottabase can end up on a rock miliputted round his base. Or if I plier the base away, he can just be on a marginally higher bit of ground.

I gather that Warbases can work wonders with bespoke orders, so you might be able to get a custom solution there.

[fred]

The existing slotta bases aren’t the problem - back in the day painting them green was the extent of my basing, and the figures were just pushed into the gap, no glue. It’s more about dealing with the tabs - and especially as these are late 80s figures, I don’t really want to snap the tabs off. The MDF option does sound the most practical - it will just need a bit of measuring to work out the spacing and size of the holes for the slotta tabs.

[Hobgoblin]

You could always use two strips of sprue or equivalent to create a long slot for them. I've done that when basing slotta-era Chronicle black orcs to match Grenadier Lund orcs. If you used a bit of plasticard on the big base, you could weld sprues down with polystyrene cement to make the slots, then fill the gaps between them with whatever before you superglue the figures in. Then you can just texture over the top with pumice gel or glue and sand, and it's no big deal to cover the tabs. You might want to base them one rank at a time to make the final step easier.

[Hobgoblin]

First step towards a revenant (or something!) regiment:

[BZ]

Great kitbash!

[Sir_Theo]

Love those. Tremendous work!

[fred]

A great start, I’m seeing those in corroded armour.

[Hobgoblin]

Thanks, guys - easiest kitbash in the world! I've assembled a few more now, and I think I've got about 12 in total, plus a few more to be stripped and repurposed. If I can get to 15 or so, I'm good to go for a regiment.

I'll have some with helmets on, though I think it's appropriate to have Wars of the Roses-style undead helmetless and with holes in their heads - shades (in two senses!) of Towton.

A great start, I’m seeing those in corroded armour.

Exactly! I'm not planning on using much in the way of metallics, except for the occasional scratch or sword-edge. Rust all the way!

Meanwhile, I'm on track with the ghouls; I reckon I've got 8 to 10 gnolls lined up. I'm trying to make them look as un-military as possible: just knives or clubs for the most part, with some clutching bones. And I think I may have enough GW ghosts for two troops of wraiths.

The next step will be putting together some draugr-style zombies. I reckon I can go a long way with ordinary historicals assembled in slightly stilted poses, and with lolling heads where appropriate. Then it's just a case of rusted armour, pallid flesh and perhaps glowing eyes. I've easily got enough odds and sods kicking around for a full regiment.

So, if I'm reading the free rules right, that leaves me with two regiments and three troops, with an entitlement to one more troop and a couple of heroes. I've got various necromancer types kicking around, and mixing in GW Hobbit goblins with gnolls might allow me to stretch to two troops of ghouls.

Another rules question: does hero basing matter at all (e.g. 25mm or 20mm)? And do the bases even have to be square?

[Sir_Theo]

Strictly speaking Heroes should be on the bases relevant to whatever type they are (Infantry, Large Infantry, Cavalry etc)

Because they operate individually I dont suppose it would matter hugely if the bases were square or not....

[Hobgoblin]

Strictly speaking Heroes should be on the bases relevant to whatever type they are (Infantry, Large Infantry, Cavalry etc)

Because they operate individually I dont suppose it would matter hugely if the bases were square or not....

Thanks! I'm presuming they only ever contact units with 100mm+ frontages and 40mm+ flanks or other individuals. So if a necromancer happens to be on a 25mm square (or circle) rather than a 20mm one, it can't really make any difference.

I was thinking about how to do orcs for KoW without using Mantic orcs. I've got lots of those, and quite like them, but they're perhaps a little limited for a 20-strong diorama base - and fiddly, too with all those bits of cloth. Orcs with such heavy armour aren't really the norm for most manufacturers. Then it occurred to me that Frostgrave demons might be just the thing. They're great models and have the heavy armour of the Mantic orcs plus the requisite weapon options. I've painted a couple up as 1/72 bugbears, but I might think about using the rest to make an orc regiment. And because they're just armour, flesh and horns, they're very quick to paint up.

Does anyone ever play KoW with ragtag armies made from various lists?

[fred]

If you use oversized bases for heroes, you are the one at the disadvantage (though between 20 and 25mm its going to be negligible, and will be down to fitting through gaps, so it really isn’t going to be a thing.)

The core rules include the concept of allies, who can be 25% of your army. What might work better for using random models, is to build the army from one list, and then say these models count as x. The demons sound like they might fit an undead army better (unless you are thinking of the opposing force)

[Hobgoblin]

If you use oversized bases for heroes, you are the one at the disadvantage (though between 20 and 25mm its going to be negligible, and will be down to fitting through gaps, so it really isn’t going to be a thing.)

Aha - thanks!

The core rules include the concept of allies, who can be 25% of your army. What might work better for using random models, is to build the army from one list, and then say these models count as x. The demons sound like they might fit an undead army better (unless you are thinking of the opposing force)

Now that's good to know. So I could build an undead army with an orcish regiment or two.

I suppose the big question is whether the demons are heavy infantry or not (125mm or 100mm frontage). They're really quite a good fit for Mantic orcs (the same height, slightly less bulky, but even more heavily armoured). But are there any heavy-infantry options for the undead?

Again, I really just want an excuse to blitz the 15 or 16 or so demons I have left from the box! So it's really just the basing question that matters.

For the opposing force, at least to start with, I have loads of square-based Nick Lund and Mantic orcs. So I should be able to put together a reasonably sized orc army from those. But if all goes well, I'll look to build up at least a couple of armies with options.

[Hobgoblin]

On the demon/orcs: I see that there are "abyssal guards" (armoured demons) in the Vanguard rules. Do they exist in the main game too? And if so, are they Infantry rather than Heavy Infantry? I'm still leaning towards orcs for the Frostgrave demons, but the abyssal guards seem to be the other obvious option.

On such things the 125mm vs 100mm frontage decision rests!