warlordsteve's rhinogres - Whole army 25/4/13

I have just started on my Ogre army and as I plan this to be my first fully customised army I thought I should start up a gnoblog to get feedback as the army progresses.

I am not a huge fan of the ogre heads and decided I should have an army of rhinos.
My basic fluff behind this army is that they originated in the the Kingdoms of Ind. They have roamed through Ind, Cathay and the Eastern Steppes as an army for hire and have recently crossed into the Old World in search of "work".


The RhinOgres




The Tyrant




The Slaughtermaster
 




The BSB





Firebelly





Ogres Unit 1



Ironguts


Ogres Unit 2


Ogres Unit 3

 
Sabretusks


Mournfang Unit 1


Mournfang Unit 2


Maneaters


Thundertusk 1


Thundertusk 2



Gorger


Gnoblars 1


Gnoblars 2


Ironblaster






Ogre Achievements 34/101
I thought I should also track my achievements here too (these will all be modelling achievements until I get most of the army done...I have a rule not to play with unpainted models as this makes me get them done):


1. Gettin Started - Play a game of warhammer using the new ogre book
2. Going Large - Play a game of warhammer of over 2000 points using the new ogre book
3. Brace for impact! - During a game, an ogre unit successfully charges and rolls 10+ on the dice
4. I'm in charge! - play a game with the new book using a tyrant in your army
5. Incoming! - during a game, lose at least 3 ogres to a single war machine shot
6. look what we can do! - have a mornfang rider successfully parry an attack
7. Oooo, shiny! - buy one of the models new to the ogre range
8. That's huge! - build a stonehorn or thundertusk model
9. Sigh! - lose more than 3 ogres to any one casting of a spell that involved you taking an initiative test as part of it's resolution
10. I didn't mean it lads - lose a spellcaster to the "snake eyes" effect of grut's sickle
11. Boom! Hur, Hur, Hur - field a unit of 5+ leadbelchers and shoot with them at least 4 times in a single game.
12. Say hello to my little friend! - field an ironblaster in your army
13. Still loving it - play 5 games using the new book rules
14. Crush the thinlings - take a new book ogre army to a tournament
15. getting colder - field a thundertusk OR a unit of yhetees in your army
16. it's freezing! - field more than one thunder tusk AND a unit of yhettes in your army
17. Getting warmer! - field a firebelly in your army
18. Hot! Hot! - field more than one firebelly in your army
19. Unleash Hell! - field 2 scraplaunchers and 2 iron blasters in your army
20. One for the cauldron - paint an ogre model and post it on the stronghold
21. Paint a unit of ogres
22. Here Kitty! - field 1 or more lone sabretusks in your army
23. Win a game using ogres vs. beastmen.
24. Win a game using ogres vs. Dwarfs
25. Does this taste funny to you? - Win a game using ogres vs. Daemons of chaos
26. Win a game using ogres vs. High elves
27. Win a game using ogres vs. Wood elves
28. Win a game using ogres vs. Dark elves
29. franzfurters - Win a game using ogres vs. Empire
30. Tastes like chicken - Win a game using ogres vs. Lizardmen
31. Stake Out - Win a game using ogres vs. Vampire counts
32. Past their sell-by date - win a game using ogres vs. Tomb kings
33. Eat your greens - Win a game using ogres vs. orcs and goblins
34. Win a game using ogres vs. Warriors of chaos
35. Overtyrant - win a game using ogres vs. Ogres
36. Tinned food - win a game using ogres vs. Bretonnia
37. Rats! - win a game using ogres vs. Skaven
38. Convert one of the new range of ogre models
39. Oops! - destroy either a scraplauncher or an ironblaster with a misfire
40. We don't bicker! - field an army containing 4+ units of gnoblars
41. No auto-wounds for you! - have a butcher or slaughtermaster get hit with a poisoned attack
42. What that  coming over the hill? - field a unit of 4+ mornfangs
43. Now you see me - field a unit of scouting maneaters
44. Hunger! - field 3 gorgers in an army
45. Hahahaha! - kill 3+ models in a single use of the gnoblar trappers rule.
46. Fork in the eye! - kill an enemy character with a scraplauncher killing blow
47. I'm special - field any one of the ogre special characters in your army
48. The maw! - successfully use the large template version of the maw spell to kill an enemy model
49. the maw the merrier! - have the large template version ofmaw spell roll a misfire and kill one or more of your ogres.
50. Oh no you don't - use the greedy fist item to consume the magical properties of a weapon
51. I Heart you - use the hellheart to cause miscasts in 2+ enemy wizards in one use.
52. hole is where the heart is - cause an enemy wizard to dimensional cascade and go down a hole using the hellheart.
53. Its mine, MINE! - use the gnoblar Thiefstone to steal an item from an enemy character.
54. Just the lads - field an army containing ONLY ogres, no animals, gnoblars, etc.  Bonus if you also win.
55. You can't touch this - pass a 4+ ward vs flaming with a firebelly.
56. Start a gnoblog for your ogre army
57. Update pics into your ogre gnoblog on at least 4 seperate occasions.
58. Use the thunder mace in a game to kill 10+ models with thunder crush attacks (does not have to be all in one attack)
59. Why do I bother? - lose 3 games in a row with your ogre army
60. Overpowered! - win 3 games in a row with your ogre army.
61. That's no place for a hatchet - roll a 2 on the scraplauncher misfire chart
62. Jugger! - roll a 10+ when successfully charging with a stone horn
63. Re-roll this! - subject 3+ high elf units to numbing chill in the same combat phase
64. Oh shi-! - Have a slaughermaster or butcher die from rolling a 1 on Bloodgruel.
65. Seigebroken - Hit a building with Seigebreaker.
66. OH GOD MY FACE! - Kill an enemy character with  the chaintrap from the Thundertusk.
67. Dancing On Sunshine -. Have a character pass his Initative test from being hit by Purple Sun
68. Sunburned - Kill an Ogre with a Purple Sun that YOU cast.
69. Why Can't I Hold All These Items? - Roll 120pts for Golgfag magic item allowance.
70. Buffy The Ogre Caster - Have all of your Slaughtermasters spells be augments.
71. It's Rude To Bragg - Have Bragg kill a Large Target in a challenge.
72. WHAT THE FU-BOOOM! - Destroy an enemy model with an Ironblaster misfire. 
73. Soups on! -  Have Skrag kill enough models to unlock all of his special rules in one game
74. Crusher - play 10 games with the new ogre book
75. Bruiser - play 20 games with the new ogre book
76. Tyrant - play 50 games with the new ogre book
77. Maneater - play with the new ogre book in 5 different venues
78. ker-splat! - kill an enemy unit with just your impact hits alone.
79. Box clever - construct, buy or convert a new carry case for your ogre army
80. Altered beast power up! - boost every unit in your army with a single augment from the lore of the great maw
81. ...and you play Ogres!? - Have more war machine weapons in your army than your opponent.
82.  Small, but many -have a gnoblar horde break an enemy unit.
83. We're all there - have a unit of at least 12 ogres get into the enemy deployment zone with no casualties taken.
84. My horde is bigger then yours - have an ogre horde break an enemy horde.
85. So much power lost - have an ogre unit roll 10 or more and still fail a charge.
86. Rambo or Conan? - have a lone ogre lose a combat but pass his break test.
87. You call that a club?.... THIS is a club - cause 6 S10's with Siegebreaker on a unit occupying a building.
88. Ogre zoo - Paint at least one of the Stonehorn, Thundertusk, Mournfang and Sabretusk models.
89. She's a Maaaaaneater! - paint the female Maneater model.
90. They're not bloody Eagles you know! - Run a Hunter in a unit of 5 or more Sabretusks.
91. But they're soooo cute! - Fill your whole core with Gnoblars.
92. Bird brained - kill an enemy model with a hunter's blood vulture.
93. Timber! - lose an ogre when a giant (yours or your opponent's) falls on one of your units.
94. Thinling roast! - kill 5 enemy models with a single firebelly breath weapon blast
95. Cats paw - Kill a skaven weapon team with a sabretusk
96. Halitosis - use 3 breath weapon attacks in a single game.
97. Billy no-mates - field an army with only 1 character in it.  He cannot deploy in a unit or join one.  Bonus if he survives the game.
98. Steady now! - Use freehand to paint a banner for an ogre unit
99. Da lads! - post a pic of your entire army on the stronghold in your ogre gnoblog.
100. Feast master - place 1st, or best in race, at a tournament.
101. Brrrr! - field more than one thundertusk in your army OR more than one unit of yhettes in your army


FORUM ACHIEVEMENTS
1. Ogre Stronghold Member - Register an account on the Ogre Stronghold.
2. Ogre Stronghold Veteran - Be a member of the Ogre Stronghold for over 1 year.
3. Bellower - Post a new topic anywhere on the forum.
4. War Paint - Add an avatar to your profile.
5. Fiefdom - Add a location to your profile.
6. Crude Consensus - Vote in a poll.
7. Ogre Democracy - Vote in 5 polls.
8. Gnoblar Breeder - Award a Pet Gnoblar to another member.
9. Pet Gnoblar - Receive your first Pet Gnoblar.
10. Gnoblar Trio - Receive 3 Pet Gnoblars.
11. Gnoblar Entourage - Receive 10 Pet Gnoblars.
12. Gnoblar Horde - Receive 30 Pet Gnoblars.
13. Gnoblar Infestation - Receive 100 Pet Gnoblars.
14. Ogre Rank - Reach the Ogre member rank.
15. Irongut Rank - Reach the Irongut member rank.
16. Bruiser Rank - Reach the Bruiser member rank.
17. Hunter Rank - Reach the Hunter member rank.
18. Tyrant Rank - Reach the Tyrant member rank.
19. Ogre Club - Post your local gaming club in the Clubs topic in the Off Topic forum section.
20. Ogre Achiever Level 1 - Unlock 10 Ogre Achievements.
21. Ogre Achiever Level 2 - Unlock 20 Ogre Achievements.
22. Ogre Achiever Level 3 - Unlock 30 Ogre Achievements.
23. Ogre Achiever Level 4 - Unlock 40 Ogre Achievements.
24. Ogre Achiever Level 5 - Unlock 50 Ogre Achievements.
25. Ogre Achiever Level 6 - Unlock 60 Ogre Achievements.
26. Ogre Achiever Level 7 - Unlock 70 Ogre Achievements.
27. Ogre Achiever Level 8 - Unlock 80 Ogre Achievements.

GAMING ACHIEVEMENTS
1. Gnoblar Messenger - Post a battle report in a new topic in the Tales of Conquest forum section.
2. Ogre Kingdoms Adept - Play 25 games or more using Ogre Kingdoms.
3. Ogre Kingdoms Expert - Play 100 games or more using Ogre Kingdoms.
4. Overpowered - Win at least 5 games in a row using Ogre Kingdoms.
5. Might Makes Right - Play a game using 4000 points or more of Ogre Kingdoms.
6. Maneater - Play at 5 different venues or more using Ogre Kingdoms.
7. Pork Chops - Win a game using Ogre Kingdoms vs. Beastmen.
8. Can Opener - Win a game using Ogre Kingdoms vs. Bretonnia.
9. Heartburn - Win a game using Ogre Kingdoms vs. Chaos Dwarfs.
10. Funky Flavours - Win a game using Ogre Kingdoms vs. Daemons of Chaos.
11. Bitter Taste - Win a game using Ogre Kingdoms vs. Dark Elves.
12. Tough Meat - Win a game using Ogre Kingdoms vs. Dwarfs.
13. Franzfurters - Win a game using Ogre Kingdoms vs. The Empire.
14. Fine Dining - Win a game using Ogre Kingdoms vs. High Elves.
15. Tastes Like Chicken - Win a game using Ogre Kingdoms vs. Lizardmen.
16. Eat Your Greens - Win a game using Ogre Kingdoms vs. Orcs & Goblins.
17. Rat Onna Stick - Win a game using Ogre Kingdoms vs. Skaven.
18. Bone Dry - Win a game using Ogre Kingdoms vs. Tomb Kings.
19. Prime Stake - Win a game using Ogre Kingdoms vs. Vampire Counts.
20. Pointy Bits - Win a game using Ogre Kingdoms vs. Warriors of Chaos.
21. Toothpicks - Win a game using Ogre Kingdoms vs. Wood Elves.
22. Kineater - Win a game using Ogre Kingdoms vs. Ogre Kingdoms.
23. Thinling Fancier - Win a game using any Thinling army vs. Ogre Kingdoms.
24. Beyond the Kingdoms - Play as Ogre Kingdoms in a campaign.
25. Pit Fighter - Take an Ogre Kingdoms army to a tournament.
26. Overtyrant - Win a tournament with Ogre Kingdoms or finish as the top Ogre Kingdoms player.
27. Groinbiter - During a game one of your Gnoblars kills the enemy General.
28. Praise the Maw - At the end of a game your Ogre Kingdoms army hasn't suffered any casualties.
29. Ogre Obsessed - Play as Ogres or use an Ogre miniature in any game other than Warhammer Fantasy.
30. Battle Hardened Level 1 - Meet any 10 of the Battle Hardened requirements.
31. Battle Hardened Level 2 - Meet any 20 of the Battle Hardened requirements.
32. Battle Hardened Level 3 - Meet any 30 of the Battle Hardened requirements.
33. Battle Hardened Level 4 - Meet any 40 of the Battle Hardened requirements.
34. Battle Hardened Level 5 - Meet all of the Battle Hardened requirements.

Battle Hardened Requirements: 14
- Field a Tyrant equipped with a Wizarding Hat.
- Field a Bruiser but don't field a Battle Standard.
- Field a Slaughtermaster and 2 Butchers, each using a different Lore.
- Buff every unit in your army with a single Augment from the Lore of the Great Maw.
- Cast Purple Sun with an Ogre Kingdoms model and kill an enemy Monstrous Infantry model.
- Cause at least 2 enemy wizards to Miscast with a single use of the Hellheart.
- Field a Hunter on foot.
- Use a Blood Vulture to kill an enemy model.
- Field 2 Firebellies.
- Kill at least 5 enemy models with a single Firebelly breath weapon attack.
- Field an Ogre Kingdoms special character.
- Field an Ogre Kingdoms army with only 1 character in it.
- Use the Thundermace's Thundercrush attack to kill 10 or more enemy models in a single game.
- Use the Greedy Fist to consume the magical properties of a Magic Weapon.
- Use the Gnoblar Thiefstone to steal an item from an enemy character.
- Equip an Ogre Kingdoms character with an Arabyan Carpet and fly them into the enemy deployment zone.
- If one of your Ogre Kingdoms characters is a hit by Purple Sun, have them pass their Initiative test.
- Field an Ogre Kingdoms army with no Gnoblars, no mounts, no war machines, no warbeasts and no monsters.
- Field a horde of Ogres.
- Field a horde of Ironguts.
- Succeed in making a charge at a distance of 17" or more with a unit of Ogres or Ironguts.
- Have an Ogre or Irongut horde break an enemy horde.
- Get a unit of at least 12 Ogres or Ironguts into the enemy deployment zone having suffered no casualties.
- Have a lone Ogre or Irongut lose combat but pass their break test.
- Field a horde of Gnoblars.
- Field only Gnoblar units in your army's Core allotment.
- Have a Gnoblar horde break an enemy horde.
- Kill at least 3 enemy models in a single charge at a unit of Gnoblar Trappers.
- Field a unit of 8 Leadbelchers.
- Fire at least 4 times with a unit of Leadbelchers in a single game.
- Field a unit of Maneaters with the Scouts rule.
- Field a Sabretusk Pack of at least 5 Sabretusks.
- Field 2 units of Yhetees.
- Field 2 units of Mournfang Cavalry.
- Successfully parry an attack against a unit of Mournfang Cavalry.
- Field 3 Gorgers.
- Field 2 Gnoblar Scraplaunchers.
- Kill an enemy character with Killing Blow from a Scraplauncher shot.
- Field 2 Ironblasters.
- Kill an enemy model with an Ironblaster misfire.
- Field more war machines in an Ogre Kingdoms army than your opponent has in their army.
- Field a Giant in an Ogre Kingdoms army.
- Have an enemy unit lose a model when an Ogre Kingdoms Giant falls on top of it.
- Field a Stonehorn.
- Roll a 10 or more for charge range when successfully charging with a Stonehorn.
- Field a Thundertusk.
- Subject at least 3 enemy units to Numbing Chill in the same combat phase.
- Use a chaintrap to kill an enemy character.
- Field a unit of Grimhorn Rhinox Riders.
- Wipe out an enemy unit with Impact Hits from an Ogre Kingdoms unit.

HOBBY ACHIEVEMENTS
1. Gnoblogger - Start a Gnoblog in the Gnoblogs section of the forum.
2. Tribal Warfare - Create an Ogre Kingdoms Tribe and add it to the Tribe DataBaste.
3. Ogres Rule - Design some new rules and post them in a new topic in the House Rules forum section.
4. Grey-Skinned Ogres - Assemble an Ogre Kingdoms army.
5. Old One - Sculpt a miniature or do some sculpting on an existing miniature for your Ogre Kingdoms army.
6. Touched by Tzeentch - Convert 20 or more Ogre Kingdoms miniatures.
7. Battle Ready - Paint an Ogre Kingdoms army.
8. Feast for the Eyes - Take photos of your painted Ogre Kingdoms army and post them on the forum.
9. Hoarder - Collect at least 4000 points worth of Ogre Kingdoms miniatures.
10. Gut-Barger - Enter an Ogre Stronghold competition.
11. Website Contributor - Submit photos, artwork, an article or a download to the Ogre Stronghold's main website.
12. Video Contributor - Upload a video to YouTube and have it added to the Ogre Stronghold's favourites.
13. Wiki Contributor - Add or edit content on the Ogre Stronghold's Ogre Wiki.
14. Butcher - Complete a Monthly Painting Challenge in the Butcher's Cauldron.
15. Slaughtermaster - Complete 3 Monthly Painting Challenges in the Butcher's Cauldron.
16. Prophet of the Maw - Complete 6 Monthly Painting Challenges in the Butcher's Cauldron.
17. Cave Painter Level 1 - Meet any 5 of the Cave Painter requirements.
18. Cave Painter Level 2 - Meet any 10 of the Cave Painter requirements.
19. Cave Painter Level 3 - Meet any 15 of the Cave Painter requirements.
20. Cave Painter Level 4 - Meet all of the Cave Painter requirements.

Cave Painter Requirements: 14
- Paint a Tyrant and post a photo of it on the forum.
- Paint a Bruiser and post a photo of it on the forum.
- Paint a Slaughtermaster or a Butcher and post a photo of it on the forum.
- Paint a Hunter and post a photo of it on the forum.
- Paint a Firebelly and post a photo of it on the forum.
- Paint a unit of Ogres and post a photo of it on the forum.
- Paint a unit of Ironguts and post a photo of it on the forum.
- Paint a unit of Gnoblars and post a photo of it on the forum.
- Paint a unit of Leadbelchers and post a photo of it on the forum.
- Paint a unit of Maneaters and post a photo of it on the forum.
- Paint a Sabretusk Pack and post a photo of it on the forum.
- Paint a unit of Yhetees and post a photo of it on the forum.
- Paint a unit of Mournfang Cavalry and post a photo of it on the forum.
- Paint a Gorger and post a photo of it on the forum.
- Paint a Gnoblar Scraplauncher and post a photo of it on the forum.
- Paint an Ironblaster and post a photo of it on the forum.
- Paint a Giant and post a photo of it on the forum.
- Paint a Stonehorn and post a photo of it on the forum.
- Paint a Thundertusk and post a photo of it on the forum.- Paint a Grimhorn Rhinox Rider and post a photo of it on the forum.


*****original first post*****

This is my first time playing with green stuff so am chasing any advice on how to improve my first 2 attempts at rhino heads. They are just held in place by blue tac so aren't properly seat on the necks.
These will be for my unit of bulls.

Head 1 - I am a bit concerned this head is just a little too small


Head 2 - This head is about 30% bigger than the first

I like the idea alot Very original. the heads so far aren't quite there and I think it may be the eye placement  and the neck more than anything. From images below I've linked you can see the head is quite low. Good start though.

I would say if you are going to be making a lot of these to invest in something to allow you to make lots of similar heads (basic shape) that you can then adjust rather than make each one from scratch. Instantmold for one would work (there is a cheaper version of instant mold around called something else that someone else may remember).

I did a quick scan on google as I know there are a few mini's out there already and also found some good reference picks too. Have a gander:



This ones a model from papo:





You could mold the basic shape with holes where the eyes will go and then mass make it so you have a core head. Then differentiate them with different eyes, cut away and do open mouths, different ears, eye patches, skin differences etc.

Will keep an eye on this

K

@Komone
Thanks for the advice and all the pics
I think you are spot on regards the neck and eye position.

I think these look better.


Edit: added my 3rd bull...to keep them together (note paint is due to 2nd hand model, not chosen skin tone)


I had considered casting heads and had planned to do a few and cast, but I think I prefer the idea of having a base shape and then making each an idividual - there only so many ogres in an army so each must have their own identity. I plan to use the size of the horn to differentiate between bulls, iron guts, bruisers and tyrants...the bigger the horn the more important you are.
I have had my eye on the instant mold for this...and I now plan to give it a go.

Another quick update.
The bellower for my bulls


My BSB


If anyone has advice on how to improve my green stuff skills that would be appreciated....I'm having trouble getting a nice smooth finish.

hey dude!

I had a thought...you could potentially take a mould of the rhino heads on the toys, and cast some heads...that way, they'd have the texture and that from the original! Providing the scale is good, you should be able to whack them on the ogres!

*edit*
Pretty much what Komone has said 

I've had plenty of time to play with these guys today.
I've am getting better at making the heads and as such think I may yet do them all as individuals....I think a total of 33 to do all up.

Here is my first complete unit....I may do a little bit more with the details, but am keen to start getting some paint on these guys.

Where are the eyes?!

They are looking good but a few more details would help make them sing. Things like eyes, teeth, tongues, skin texture, some blending on the horns, etc.

It's a unique idea for sure!

Thanks for the advice guys.

A little more work has gone into the faces....thoughts?

I have painted the champion from my bulls unit to get a feel of how the heads are going.
I feel I may have too many lines on the face now when compared with the rest of the ogre body.
I have done a quick colour coverage on the base just to give a vague feel of the frosty bases I am planning to do.



I am looking to finish off modelling the heads of the 5 other bulls next.
Any thoughts or advice to offer?

They look really good.

The only difficulty I can see is being able to keep that level of quality sculpting up over an entire army. If you can do it though, it'd be a fantastic looking force.

Had a bit more time today to improve the rest of the unit.
The pics not the greatest but hopefully the improvement from the earlier attempts are noticeable.



Also did a little bit more to the BSB (banner not shown)

The command group for my Bulls. The basing is still temporary to show the colour scheme.

http://www.hfminis.co.uk/shop?product=rhino-heads~hfl109&category=miniatures~aliens%2C-animals-%26-monsters

maybe something you might want if you get sick of doing so many heads Could maybe pick up a few and add to them but tbh you seem happy as it is.

Like em.

K

My first unit is now painted. As I improve at painting ogres I may come back to improve these (and detail the standard), but for now I'm happy. Please ignore the basing as I am yet to do anything with them other than give an idea of my colour scheme.



@Komone
Thanks for finding these. I had found them myself and decided to work on my own.
Hopefully only about 33 to do in total.

Possible Tyrant model He's 65mm tall

http://www.coolminiornot.com/shop/catalog/product/view/id/8493/s/kifaro-limited-to-750/category/102/



K

That's pretty cool.
He looks a little unarmoured for a tyrant and may not fit the theme I have in mind....but I will see how things pan out....could be a well fed gorger perhaps?
Hoping to start painting the BSB soon which should give a good feel of the direction I want my characters to take.

whoever painted that is a GOD! It's incredible... *hulks back to the painting table*

I have done some work on my BSB, but am not convinced about the paint job.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

My BSB is now painted!

Progress work on my Ironguts.

I'm after some feedback on the musician and standard bearer before I add heads to them.
Is the musician's drum too small?
Does the standard look too flimsy? What should I toughen it up with?

i'm not quite understanding the banner? Is he hitting someone with it?! Is it a kite?

he's mid swing hitting someone with it....it meant to be a normal hanging banner that is now flowing back over the top due to the force of the blow.

i think it looks too weak to be hitting someone with, but am not sure how to make it also club like.

i think to convey hitting someone with the banner, you'd be better off modelling them hitting the enemy with the shaft of the banner, rather than the banner itself? It just screams comedy to me...unless that's what you're going for?

Great idea...just incredibly hard to pull off!

Great idea...just incredibly hard to pull off!

Thanks, I am certainly having dramas getting the feel right

I have been playing with the idea of making the standard more of a weapon )....but now it feels less of a standard...I'm hoping when I sculpt the head it will look more like an mid swing pose



any thoughts?

Quick update on my Ironguts
The faces still require the finer details added, but this shows the general feel of them.
I think the champion in the middle needs more of an action pose though.

Maybe on the champ give him a metal covered horn as well as more weapons, armour etc

K

Maybe on the champ give him a metal covered horn as well as more weapons, armour etc

I like the metal covered horn idea....
Though you can't tell in this pic the champion is the first in the army to have 2 horns.
I will also be adding the shields on the shoulders of these guys once painted.

Nice, I'm planning on making new champions for all of my units but so far getting stuck in with my Maneaters 1st while I decide what to do about the models I already have.

For the command guys I'm planning on making their poses totally different from the rest of the unit if possible:- leg positions, possible slightly taller or larger frames or higher basing - all to give them that air of command

Something you could do as well as an armoured horn or as opposed to could be armour plating on the head.

A little like the plates on this rhinox:



K

I have done some work on my BSB, but am not convinced about the paint job.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

He he he... great looking army. This guy looks a bit like Master Thundering Rhino.



 

He he he... great looking army. This guy looks a bit like Master Thundering Rhino.

I'll be honest....that's where some of the inspiration came from.

Something you could do as well as an armoured horn or as opposed to could be armour plating on the head.

I don't mind that either.
What I have done that also can't be seen is add the raised round features on the back of the neck similar to those on the pic of Master Rhino above

Another quick Irongut update:




thanks for the ideas guys

I think your army is great, the rhino idea is quite unusual - but well done. I never would of thought of it I like converting models but don't think I could go quite that far with them... so many heads to make 

My Ironguts are modelled!!



Time to get some paint on these guys.

I have started work on my slaughter master.
I am going for more of a shaman/wizard look. I am yet to work out how I want to model his hands/weapons. I am not sure if to go with a pair of slaughtermaster's cleavers or having him holding bloodied parts like he is in the midst of a pagan style ritual....or something more wizard like (ie. a staff).
In likelyhood he we will be casting spells of the great maw, though I may use him for the other lores at times.

Any ideas of advice is much appreciated

Looking great!  I'm anxious to see them when they are painted.   

Nice sculpting, can't wait to se it when its done.

Almost 2 whole pages and not a single mention of Rock Steady.

Maybe you should get Deathmaster Snikch and a Dark Elf assassin to represent Splinter and Shredder, lol!

The slaughter master is basically done now.


I'm not sure if more detail is required or whether I should just aim to paint a pattern on the robe?

HAHA great! I'm reminded of the old animated Robin Hood movie

Fantastic the sculpt amazing! As for the robe you should just leave it the way it is because you can always go back and paint it a different design and it will be difficult to have to go back and resculpt the robes.

First Irongut painted

 

Looking good!  Can't wait to see more especially that slaughter master.

Just saw this post.... those look awesome! I really like the idea you have going there!  Looking forward to seeing more models!

Chris

Nice!
Keep 'em coming!
I want to see the whole lot painted and on the table now!

HG

I want to see the whole lot painted and on the table now!

Same here...as a rule I can't play with it unless its painted (otherwise I never finish), so I'm yet to even have a game with them yet.

Looking forward to seeing more models!

Thanks...the rest of the Ironguts are not too far away, hopefully can finish them this weekend.

Looking good!  Can't wait to see more especially that slaughter master.

Fantastic the sculpt amazing! As for the robe you should just leave it the way it is because you can always go back and paint it a different design and it will be difficult to have to go back and resculpt the robes.

Thanks guys, I'm quite pleased with how he is turning out.....I thought about putting more folds into the robes, but that may a bit difficult, I think painting a pattern is the way to go.

HAHA great! I'm reminded of the old animated Robin Hood movie

I used to love that movie....I might have to find a copy and watch it again....you know for inspiration

Half way there with the Ironguts!
Jus the command group to go.

Very nice.

More! More!

HG

Wow they are looking very imposing all ready!  Keep it up buddy!   

And here they are. Ironguts are completed (except basing and freehand standard which will be done when I get the feel of the whole army)

Great stuff there.  That standard bearer has come out really well with that axe/ banner of his 

I have been working on my slaughtermaster. He's getting close to done, but feels like he's missing something.
I am thinking a pattern on the robes (not sure what) and also a small amount of blood on the blade and robe, though I am after a cleanish look.
Has anyone got any suggestions?

Tattoo of the Maw on his belly?
Done in red would be a focal point and make a contrast with the white robes!

HG

Have added a tattoo, nipple ring and a rune on the blade.
Just trying to decide if to add any blood to the robe or blade?

That looks ALOT better now. Blade on the blade would complement the model nicely. Thanks!

Chris

Fantastic paint job looks alot better with the tattoo.

Put the banner pole in line with the weapon blade!
That will work better than having a "T" shaped banner!
More of a Samurai style than "T" style would be a more effective weapon look!

HG

Wow that slaughter master is mint!  The tattoo's and the runes on the cleaver is a really nice touch.   

The slaughter master is finished!
I wasn't quite happy with the runes on the blade so i green stuffed them on first.
The first picture hopefully shows how much larger he is than a regular bull.

 

Wow that slaughter master is mint!  The tattoo's and the runes on the cleaver is a really nice touch.   

Fantastic paint job looks alot better with the tattoo.

That looks ALOT better now. Blade on the blade would complement the model nicely. Thanks!

Thanks guys...really stoked with this guy now

Put the banner pole in line with the weapon blade!
That will work better than having a "T" shaped banner!
More of a Samurai style than "T" style would be a more effective weapon look!

I'm not quite sure what you mean here....are you suggesting to have the banner perpendicular to the blade?

The blood on the blade helps alot. And thanks for putting him in proportion there. I didn't realize how big he was!

Chris

"I'm not quite sure what you mean here....are you suggesting to have the banner perpendicular to the blade?"

Yes, that's what I meant. Sorry I wasn't making myself very clear!
Basically to have the banner flowing backwards from the actual blade rather than on a crosspiece attached to the blade!

HG

I have had an attempt at basing one of my ogres.
I'm going for a crossing a frozen lake look.



Thoughts on this?
What other details could I add when I get to some of the more important bases (characters/monsters etc.)?
I am worried across the whole army this may start looking a little flat and boring. I'm thinking maybe mournfangs and especially the thundertusk might be too heavy for the ice and as such are modelled on the shoreline.

That base looks great! Not sure what you can do about the bigger models though.... maybe you could ad rocks or chunks of ice coming out of the frozen lake that they could be on? Just a thought. Thanks!

Chris

Nice base may I ask how you achieved your snow effect on that base?  It looks very realistic and fluffy. 

The snow is just bicarb soda, PVA and water in a roughly 3:2:1 mix

Wow, your frozen lake base is awesome!!!!
As for what you could add to give it more variety...
These are water effects you are using?
I have never worked with them myself before, but I have seen some great bases done with them.
You could just have things like leaves/tree trunks/bushes/grass frozen into the ice- this often happens in reality.
And I bet you could pull off the "ogres broken into the ice and drowning" much  better than I do.

I'm actually using 2mm perspex (off cuts fromwork).
I paint the base with ice blue and white making it more blue in the middle, but it's almost all white with the smallest tinge of blue.
I then score the perspex and snap it off into squares the size of the base.
I rough up the sureace just a little by hitting it with a hammer on concrete (top face on the concrete).
I painted the edges with a watered down white then stuck it on the base and did the snow effect with the Bicarb soda, PVA and water (3:2:1 mix)

I'm looking forward to trying the ogres brealing into the ice...I think yours look good.

Here's the first unit on their new bases.



I'm not completely happy with the corners of the bases that aren't covered...maybe i need some snow on the edges to cover them?

If you do, make sure it doesn't interfere with "ranking up" as mine did, when I had to brush off all the bits of sand etc that stuck to the edges and meant they wouldn't fit the movement tray!

(Hint to self, next time make the movement trays a fraction of an inch bigger than the exact measure of the number of bases! )

HG

Very impressive unit! They look really good like that!

Chris

The bases are looking good, can't waith to see all of your guys done. Keep up the good job!

I have to agree- the basing of the whole unit looks great.

Thanks for alll the comments guys.
I am considering changing the ice blue on the bases to white....my thinking is that it may help hide the divide between the models and also the edges of the base not covered by perspex.

If you could "fade" the blue into white about halfway up the base that would probably work quite well.

HG

and here's the gorger that's been distracting me from the maneaters.

I'm planning on trying to finish off my unit of maneaters this month.
I have the following models planned, but need help deciding what the last one should be...

savage orc maneater
swordmaster maneater
pistolier maneater
gutter runner maneater
executioner maneater
other maneater ... the plan is for this one to have no special weapon type....any ideas??)


here's the swordmaster I've already been working on

Maybe a cybogre? An ogre made of metal! He could have lazers or leadbelcher cannons for arms! With your modelling skill he would be epic!

thanks, but cybogre isn't really the look I'm after...

all the other maneaters are somewhat iconic models from different races and all roughly carrying a weapon the maneaters can purchase (AHW, GW or BoP)...I would like to follow that theme

Dark Elf Black Ark Corsair?
Tomb King Ushabti with great weapon?
WOC Khorne with AHW?

Another busy day today.
My pistolier and gutter runner maneaters

Dark Elf Black Ark Corsair?
Tomb King Ushabti with great weapon?
WOC Khorne with AHW?

Quite agree here with these options.  Especially the Ushabti who weapons are already Monstrous Infrantry sized.  Plus Im pretty sure repeater crossbows would be easy enough to get.    All good suggestions.

That gorger looks amazing what model did you use for the chest? It looks like the forge world skin wolves.

That gorger looks amazing what model did you use for the chest? It looks like the forge world skin wolves.

Good guess... This is the forgeworld games day model.

Dark Elf Black Ark Corsair?
Tomb King Ushabti with great weapon?
WOC Khorne with AHW?

Quite agree here with these options.  Especially the Ushabti who weapons are already Monstrous Infrantry sized.  Plus Im pretty sure repeater crossbows would be easy enough to get.    All good suggestions.

I don't mind these ideas... Though i am already working on a dark elf executioner.
I like the look of other tomb king and lizardmen maneaters i've seen.
Am also considering trying to do a vampire count zombie... Cause we all know the last guy in the unit is there to absorb wounds

Possibility for BoP maneaters could be either a dwarf thunderer themed guy or perhaps a chaos dwarf fireglaive guy.  With a little imagination of course.

I have finished my dark elf executioner maneater....pretty happy with this guy 



also here's a photo of the first 5 of my unit of 6....still trying to decide on what the last guy should be??

Possibility for BoP maneaters could be either a dwarf thunderer themed guy or perhaps a chaos dwarf fireglaive guy.  With a little imagination of course. 

my problem is a dwarf needs a beard...and a rhino with a beard seems too odd for me

Chain mail over the face (like you done with the executioner) with some armour plating over the eye area would be able to cover up the need of a beard possibly but I see your point. 

Either way that Executioner looks great loving the sward!

Well, you have Orc, Skaven, DE, HE, and Empire covered... How about a Lizardman themed one? That way you have 3 Order-themed ones and 3 Destruction-themed ones

Thanks for the great ideas guys....I think I have decided based on a mate's suggestion....an old school brettonian grail knight on foot with great weapon.
The hard part will be making the bucket (helm) look right on a rhino's head

Looking it over, you've got a banner but not musician for the Maneaters. My suggestions include doing an open face bucket helm so the snout can stick out. Second, try having the sword across his back while he strums a giant lute. Failing that, he can always sound a peasant! 

Looking it over, you've got a banner but not musician for the Maneaters. My suggestions include doing an open face bucket helm so the snout can stick out. Second, try having the sword across his back while he strums a giant lute. Failing that, he can always sound a peasant! 

I had noticed the missing musician....I had originally planned for my skaven model to it....but what self respecting gutter runner annouces his arrival
I am considering having the pistolier with an instrument slung over his back.

Here's my last maneater....brettonian grail knight



and here's the unit all together

That is one hell of a helm!  Bretonian was the way to go.  Can't wait to see them painted!  Good job. 

My gorger is done.
I am a bit worried about how the skin has come up a bit patchy, not sure if to fix it or it adds character

I like how your gorger turned out. I'd say keep it as is, if you're looking for a vote that is

It's been a little while since I've been able to get some work done my army.

I have now painted 2 maneaters!


I am thinking about adding a little creature from the region the maneater is from to each base, but am of ideas/bits for a couple...any ideas?

savage orc - snotling
gutter runner - giant rat
pistolier - baby griffon
swordmater - baby dragon
grail knight - ?
executioner - ?

Maneaters look great!  Though I feel the executioner needs some dark blue or purple somewhere.

As for pets the executioner could have a little familiar of some kind with wings imo.

The Grail knight well maybe a praying book or a pilgrim praying on his knee (might not have enough room for the pilgrim though.)

It is hard to tell in the pic, but the chain mail is trimmed in purple

For the familiar are you thinking something like a small harpy? Do you know of any model/or bits that would be suitable (I am really struggling to find stuff)

I think the pilgrim will be too big for the brettonian. I did see a dog that comes from the men at arms command sprue, but not sure how brettonian it feels.

What about a bird of some sort for either....thinking a crow for dark elves or hunting hawk for brettonian.

There's a small crow / raven from the GW graveyard scenery,  He's quite small though.  Or perhaps the blood vulture with some green stuffing.

I'm sure I have seen small familiar with wings of some sort.  Night be a chaos sorcerer model perhaps.  Will try and find it for you.

EDIT

Done a search on GW website for familiars at least and found these:-

http://search.games-workshop.com/search?locale=gb&keywords=familiar

the familiar looks cool, thanks

No problem, they are older models but I knew I saw some somewhere.  There are 2 dark elf characters that have mini dragons as well but their right on their shoulders and next to their heads so not easy to utilize.

another maneater done!

2 more maneaters painted.
Looking a the photos of all the maneaters so far I can see I'll need to come back and finalise some details.

Looking good, I thought about using the savage orc shield as a gutplate. Its good to see it works out so well. Keep it up!

I have now finished my Maneaters!
I may yet go back to try and put some finer details on them....but for now they are ready.

Firs the last one completed, my grail knight



You may notice I had too many blue and white maneaters so my empire pistolier changed uniform to that of tabelheim

Nice unit! Grail knight is my favourite of them ^^

Thanks edgler. The grail knight is my favorite too.

I've had a lot of fun today...gnoblars!
1 unit of 24 or 2 units of 12.

First unit of 12 gnoblars!



Sign says "IZ SAFE"

Loving the Gnoblars!  The sign is a really nice touch!  How did you make your snow by the way? 

thanks zolas.
the snow is simple and cheap....pva and bicarb soda.

Nice that is really simple.  Will have to give it a go. 

The 2nd unit of 12 gnoblars is now complete!!

Have you seem Banelegions new Rino Men things?

Have you seem Banelegions new Rino Men things?

No i haven't. I had a search but don't think I found them....do you have a link?

cheers

http://www.mierce-miniatures.com/index.php?act=pro&pre=mrm_dkl_fmr_blr_min_503_000

Site is a tad hard to navigate but they have about 5 of these big Rhino-Giants

Thanks, these look pretty cool.

My beasts butcher


And an update for my maneater banner

Wow! Very nicely done!
Did you notice hiw the Old World and the New World resembles ours? Oh, GW! You forgot our precious Atlantis

Ulthuan is Atlantis silly

I am taking these guys to a tournament soon.
I am going to be only running 5 maneaters. The important question is which 5 to I take?

Pistolier
Savage Orc
Gutter Runner
Executioner
Sword master
Grail Knight

I would say leave the Savage at home.  The Grail Knight is amazing so must go

I would say leave the Savage at home.  The Grail Knight is amazing so must go

Thanks Johnny
One of my good mates agreed with you and as such the savage orc has left the unit and the empire pisolier has picked up his standard (which is now a lovely shade of red instead of green)


Also here's my Beasts butcher prior to a couple of finishing touches.

Here's my maneaters now with less savage orc.


Also added tattos to my main unit of ogres


and finally...my army ready for the next tournament

Really liking the tattoos!  And Congrats on completing the army in time for the tourny!  It's really looking fantastic! 

Just returned from Australia's biggest tournament....a 3 day event with 93 players this year.
I hope to get a tournament report written up soon, but in the mean time....success!!

Best painted!  Wow congrats Steve!  Well deserved. 

Yeah, good on ya! A best painted award from Oz's biggest tournament? That's worth a Gnoblar for sure!

Congratulations!! You certainly deserve it. Your army is one of the most original and dynamic I've ever seen so it doesn't come as much of a surprise but either way well done! 

Cancon 2013 Report
Cancon is the biggest gaming convention in Australia and as such hosts the largest warhammer tournament, 8 rounds. This year there was over 90 players for fantasy. All my opponents were great which made for a very enjoyable tournament.
This report has been written from memory so apologies to my opponents if I get some of the details incorrect.

The Rhinogres:
Slaughter Master, L4, Lore of the Great Maw, Fencer’s Blades, Glittering Scales, Dispel Scroll
Bruiser BSB, HA, Iron Fist, Standard of Discipline
Butcher, L1, Lore of Beasts, Crown of Command
16 Ogres, Iron Fist, Full Command
2x 12 Gnoblars
4 Mournfang, HA, Iron Fist, Bellower
5 Maneaters, 3x Extra Hand Weapon, Scout, Immune to Psychology, Banner of Eternal Flame, Bellower
3x 1 Sabretusk
2x Thundertusk




Day 1

Game 1 – Battleline vs Max’s Orcs & Goblins – 12/8 Win
Black Orc Warboss
Savage Orc Shaman, L4, Lucky Shrunken Head
40 Savage Orc Biguns
Squig Head, 30 Squigs, 20 Goblins
20 Night Goblins, 2 Fanatics
2 x 1 Troll
2x 1 Goblin Chariots
2 Mangler Squigs
2 x 5 Wolf riders
2 Doom Divers
1 Rock Lobber



In this game Max had more than enough chaff to decide what units faced off. I placed my Ogres in the centre with the Mournfang on their left. The 2 Thundertusks went up the right flank while the Maneaters scouted on the left. Max deployed his Squig Herd and Savage Orcs across from  the Ogres and Mournfang respectively. He placed a chariot mangler and wold rider unit on each flank. The trolls sat in front of the main units while the war machines hid at the back.
In this game the Maneaters and Thundertusks all did very little and spent the time either chasing of being chased by diverters. One Doom Diver did blow itself up trying to remove 1 from the field on the last turn.
The Mournfang lost 1 member to a Foot of Gork, failed a rerollable 9 panic test and promptly fled through a mangler taking it out as they went. They then failed to rally and When a Doom Diver dropped them down to 1 member he was on double 1s to rally and promptly fled off the table.
The Ogres in the middle started feeling quite isolated as the Savage Orcs and Squigs setup to take them out, with the aid of a troll diverter. I felt the army was starting score enough points out of the chaff that I may be able to take a minor victory and couldn’t see a way the ogres could win the combat.
Just as the Ogres went to swift reform and move out of charge range and fleeing Sabretusk dropped in behind them making a reform all but impossible. The final reform left them in an awkward position and charges were declared by both the Squigs and the Savage Orcs, the Troll though chose not to. The Savage Orcs failed their charge leaving the Squigs to go in alone, only clipping 2 Ogres  in the flank due to the Troll’s position. This allowed the Slaughter Master and BSB to make way and absorb the incoming attacks and actually win the combat. The Squigs held and the Ogres combat reform brought their full power to bear while escaping from the follow up Savage Orc charge, only allowing the Black Orc General in the corner to clip the unit.
Over the next 2 rounds of combat all the Squigs died while the Black Orc Warboss failed to kill the Ogre Champion in a challenge. The Squigs popped, taking out a passing goblin chariot.
This was the last turn of our game and somehow how the Ogres had turned around what could have been a massive loss in to a small 12-8 victory. Overall this game was all about chaff and positioning and most of the models were still on the table at the end.

Game 2 – Dawn Attack vs Leigh’s Lizardmen – 17/3 win
Slaan Mage, Lore of Beasts
Scar Veteran, Crown of Command, 1+Armour rerollable
Scar Veteran, BSB, 3+ Armour, 4+ Ward
L2 Skink Priest, Lore of Metal
18 Temple Guard
40 Saurus Warriors
3x 10 Skinks + 1 Kroxigor
10 Skinks
6 Chameleon Skinks
2x Salamanders



Leigh had to deploy first and his luck started badly with his dice rolls splitting the army. His Saurus Warriors were on my right flank, the Temple Guard in the centre with 1 Skrox pack on either side of them and the rest of his chaff on my left flank.
I was able to choose most of my positioning, except the Mournfang who were on the right flank opposite the Saurus and helped out by 2 Sabretusks. My Thundertusks went in the middle while the Ogres and Maneaters planned to roll the left flank quickly and get at the Slaan.
On the left flank the Maneaters got shot to death by poison shots, though did manage to remove the unit of 10 Skinks. The Ogres largely ignored the enemy around them, taking out a salamander and Skrox pack as they tried to get across to the unsupported Temple Guard unit.
On the right flank the Mournfang charged the last Skrox pack trying to block them from the Saurus Warriors. A Sabretusk charged the Saurus allowing the Mournfang to overrun into the Saurus and fight again in the same turn.
The Temple Guard jumped in a building in the middle, but jumped straight back out when the 2 Thundertusks prepared themselves to do D6 S6 shots on the building with their stone throwers. A Thundertusk instead charged a Skrox pack and moved up to support the Mournfang.
The Mournfang ground out the Saurus over several turns, though the BSB and Crown of Command Scar Veteran proved tougher to kill. They finally succumbed to the Thundertusk stomping on them.
In the final turns the Ogres finally caught up with the Temple Guard and took them and the Slaan out.
It ended up quite a white wash and a lot was due to luck on the dice rolls. The Slaan never had a powerful magic phase and the Mournfang passed more than their fair share of saves. When I caught up with Leigh later during the tournament he had bought a whole new set of dice.

Game 3 – Meeting Engagement vs. Lauchie’s Dark Elves – 10/10
Sorceress L4, Metal
Death Hag General
Death Hag BSB, Cauldron of Blood
40 Executioners
40 Witch Elves
24 Warriors, Crossbow
10 Corsairs, Crossbow
2x 5 Harpies
2x 5 Dark Riders



Before deployment we rolled off for reserves. Lauchie had his Witch Elves and BSB with Cauldron start off and I had to begin without my Slaughter Master and BSB. There was a building in the centre of the deployment zone. Lauchie deployed his army on the right of this with his chaff on my left flank as he had to wait for his BSB to show up.
I placed the main ogre unit on the left flank opposite his chaff as I had to wait for my General and BSB. I put the Mournfang in the middle beside the Ogres with the 2 Thundertusks heading towards the bulk of the Dark Elf army hoping to drop stones on them all day. My Maneaters scouted behind his units of chaff so they had nowhere to run and the Ogres would be able to swing through the flank quickly.
On turn 1 Lauchie managed to searing doom my Mournfang, killing 1. As I was lacking a L4 for dispelling, and without the General’s leadership and the BSB reroll they failed their panic check, failed to rally and ran off the board.
Both Thundertusks were shot off the board by the 40+ crossbow shots per turn before they were able to have an effect.
The 3 Sabretusks were all on the Executioner’s flank and diverted them all game…partially due to Lauchie placing his Death Hag General in the unit as the Witch Elves had started off which meant he had to overrun further away from the battle several times.
Lauchie brought the Witch Elves onto the board on the left flank to threaten the rear of the Maneaters, which also left them completely unsupported. The Maneaters played a game of bait and flee for several turns while the main Ogre unit dealt with the chaff.
As I was well behind on points at this stage I had to make a move with the Ogres and moved up on the Witch Elves and gave them the option to charge or be charged….they charged. The initial charge was fairly devastating, 60 attacks with hatred rerolls saw 7 Ogres die with over 10 elves dying in return. The Ogres held firm due to Crown of Command. The next round saw only around 40 attacks from the Witch Elves and lacking the hatred rerolls only managed to kill 4 more Ogres. It is worth noting that after these 100 attacks my Ogre unit still had the same combat power it began with, and as such killed enough elves to win combat by a large margin and then chased them off the board.
The Ogres turned to face the Warriors and Sorceress hoping for a charge in the last turn. The Warriors in their last turn shot all but 1 Ogre and the unit decided discretion was the better part of valour and didn’t risk the stand and shoot by charging.
Overall a fairly uneventful game that only saw one big combat, some shooting and a lot of chaff manoeuvring. Considering how it started I was happy to walk away with a draw.


Overall I was very pleased to walk out of Day 1 undefeated.
Stay tuned for Days 2 and 3

Day 2

Game 4 – Battle Line vs Bruce’s Dark Elves – 9-11
Dreadlord on Dragon, Pendant of Kaeloth
Master, BSB
Sorceress, L2, Shadow
Sorceress, L2, Death
Assassin
20 Warriors, Crossbows
10 Warriors, Crossbows
20 Blackgaurd, ASF banner
40 Warriors, Spears & Shields
Hydra



The battlefield also had a building sitting in the centre of it. Bruce deployed fairly centrally with his warriors just to my left of the building and the blackguard to the right. The Dragon and Hydra both went centrally ready to go where needed.
I put a Thundertusk on the left flank, Ogres going around the left of the building with the Mournfang heading around the right side flanked by the other Thundertusk. The Maneaters scouted in the far right corner threatening the Blackguard’s flank.
Bruce sent the Blackguard and Dragon over to the right flank to threaten the Maneaters. The Dragon charged in the next turn, but the Blackguard failed their roll. The Maneaters no wounds from the Dreadlord and almost filled the Dragon with some incredible rolls…Bruce made one 6 up save to keep it alive. The Maneaters won the first combat but then completely whiffed in the next failing to take out the Dragon’s last wound and were run off the table. The Blackguard meanwhile turned to face the incoming Thundertusk who had already hit once with the stone thrower.
The Ogres, Mournfang and other Thundertusk advanced up the field threatening the rest of the Dark Elf Army which did it’s best to hide on the board edge, sacrificing the small Warrior unit to keep the Mournfang out of the Blackguard’s flank. The Mournfang reformed rather than overrunning into the Hydra’s charge range. The big mistake I made here was choosing to charge the Blackguard with the Thundertusk alone. I figured with 10 attacks and thunder stomp I could take out the unit. With the ASF banner cancelling the Thundertusk’s ASL aura the Blackguard still got to swing first. The BSB took 2 wounds off and with 6 to wound the Blackguard took off the other 4 exactly. The Thundertusk died without swinging and gave the Blackguard a free reform allowing them to face the Mournfang, charge them in the flank and remove them as well!I had played for the big win and instead taken away a solid victory.
The Ogres did as expected taking out the Warriors with crossbows first as the spear unit had been irresistibly mindrazored, the sorceress promptly forgetting the spell. They then picked up the spears, the Hydra and one of the 2 mages who had jumped out of the units.
On the last turn of the game the Death Sorceress forced through a spirit leech on my BSB who already had taken 2 wounds. It was a pure dice roll off on Ld 8 and the BSB lost badly and was removed from the game. This in effect took me from a 11-9 win to the 9-11 loss.
Bruce was a great opponent to play against and I ended up giving him my sports vote. I look forward to a rematch some time.

Game 5 – Battle for the Pass vs Theo’s High Elves – 11-9
Archmage, L4, Light, Loremaster
Mage, L2, Light
Mounted Prince BSB, L1 Light Mage
4 Eagles
2x 5 Silverhelms
3x 10 Archers
21 White Lions
21 Swordmasters



In this game Theo hid his army in the corner (though he admitted he doesn’t like doing it) and made me fight through his chaff to get to him. Despite this the battle ended up being a massive bloodbath.
Though Theo had 2 banishments he rolled fairly poorly for them and they had little to no impact on the game.
The Mournfang charged straight over a unit of archers and overran into the unit of Sword Masters taking out 1/3 with impact hits. The Sword Masters though retaliated killing every Mournfang before they were able to swing!
The Ogres got charged by Silverhelms, pursued them into the White Lions and finished them and the Mage off in 2 rounds of combat allowing them to charge the Spears. They them finished off the L4 mage, broke the Spears, ran them and the BSB down and hit the original unit of Silverhelms that had rallied. By this time they had lost a fair amount of their number and when the Sword Masters charged their rear there was very few standing. The promptly failed their LD9 rerollable stubborn and were cut down. To be fair I think I would have lost that unit in the ensuing combats if they’d held.
Across the rest of the battlefield the Maneaters and Thundertusks dealt with most the Eagles and all of the Archers. The funniest part of the game came when an Eagle dared threaten a unit of Gnoblars who moved in to shoot it and took off 2 of 3 wounds while rolling 7s to hit. The eagle then flew to safety rather than charging in the  next turn!
At the end of it all Theo had 1 Eagle, ½ a unit of Sword Masters and 2 units of Silverhelms left, while I finished with 2 Thundertusks, the brave Gnoblar unit, 1 Sabretusk and the Maneaters. Enough for the smallest of victories though this was the first time the big unit of Ogres had been removed.

Game 6 – Blood and Glory vs. Ethan Dwarves – 5-15
Dwarf Lord
BSB
Runesmith, Master Rune of Challenge
Anvil
30 Hammerers
30 Warriors
30 Warriors
2 Cannons
Organ Gun
Grudge Thrower


The Dwarves setup in the middle of the board right on the backfield with the war machines setup between the units. I setup everything in the middle with the Maneaters scouting on the right flank eyeing off the Grudge Thrower.
The Dwarves went first, didn’t move, took 2 wounds off a Thundertusk with a Cannon and 2 wounds off a Mournfang. The Anvil tries to slow the Ogres but fails. The Ogres all marched forward at full speed and the Maneaters charged the Grudge Thrower killing it and overrunning into the flank of a Warrior unit.
The Hammers with Lord then march forward and try to Anvil charge the Ogres but fail the charge distance. The cannons take aim at both Thundertusks and remove them both. The Organ Gun fires at the Mournfang who lose 2 of the number and flee. They eventually rally 2 turns later right on the edge of the board and play no more part in the game.
The Ogres then looked around and saw they were isolated and were then forced to try a 11 on the dice charge at the Runesmith and his Warriors by the Master Rune of Challenge, which they failed stumbling forward leaving them in range of the Hammerers who are still in their front arc.
Ethan then saw an opening and declared a charge with the Runesmith’s Warriors at the front of the Ogres, which he made needing a 10 on the dice. Then moved the Hammerers into the Ogres flank and used the Anvil to charge them in. This led to a combat that lasted almost the entire game. The Slaughter Master and Dwarf Lord were involved in the most uninspiring challenge ever, the only real wounds caused were due to 2 miscasts by the Slaughtermaster. The Ogres focussed on killing the Runesmith and BSB as they looked to be the easiest points to get, except the BSB refused to go down making many 4+ ward saves while the Ogres struggled to hit and wound with no less than 7 attacks per turn.
While all this was happening the Maneaters went on a rampage finishing of the block of warriors also destroying a Cannon, Anvil and Organ Gun and would have got the last Cannon if it hadn’t blown itself up. In the end the 290 point unit still stood and had destroyed over 1100 points of the Dwarfs without support.
The Ogres had passed stubborn roll after stubborn roll and were finally reduced down to one Ogre and the Slaughter Master who had irresistibled the stubborn spell. They failed their stubborn roll, but got away from the Dwarfs, rallied and then tried to flee from the charge on the last turn in order to save almost 1000 points. It was a pure dice roll to see who got away, the Dwarfs rolled 7 as did the Ogres and they were caught by the barest of margins.
The game hinged on this last roll of the dice, if I got away it was a draw, but instead it was the resounding defeat Ethan deserved.

Overall Day 2 was a little uninspiring for me with a couple of close games I should have done a little better in and I finished up feeling quite flat at the end of the day.

Day 3

Game 7 – Dawn Attack vs Phil’s Warriors of Chaos – 13/7
Chaos Lord, Manticore
2x L2 Chaos Sorcerer
Exalted Hero, BSB, Juggernaught
2x 4 Skullcrushers of Khorne
4x 5 Marauder Horsemen
21 Warriors of Tzeentch



Considering the scenario Phil and I were both able to setup as we wanted, both of us in the centre with chaff to the sides. I lined up the Mournfang with the Skullcrushers without the BSB and the Maneaters scouting to threaten the flank of that unit.
The Lord on Manticore almost had the Manticore shot out from underneath him on Turn one by 2 very accurate harpoons from the 2 Thundertusks. He decided that combat was the safest place to be and charge headlong into the first Thundertusk…only to have the Manticore removed from under him. He did win the combat though and as the Thundertusk was within 4 inches of the board edge declined to pursue…it ran 2 inches, rallied and the Chaos Lord had to once again charge it and chase it off. This meant the Lord did nothing else all game, but also didn’t give up any points.
The Skullcrushers and Mournfang spent a couple of turns in a positional battle neither wanting to give up the charge. In the end the Mournfang offered up a 9 on the dice charge which the Skullcrushers made, a turn which my magic failed to buff the Mournfang. The Skullcrushers were supported by a unit of Marauder Horsemen. In the 2 rounds of combat that followed the Skullcrushers failed to wound a Mournfang, while 1 Marauder’s horse managed to 2 unsaved wounds! The unit of Maneaters got off a rear charge on the Skullcrushers which turned out to be a mistake as both units were cut down when they lost combat and turned to flee.
On the other side of the field a Thundertusk made use of a unit of Marauder Horsemen who were trying to divert the Ogres and made it so that the BSB’s Skullcrushers were unable to charge or manoeuvre effectively. This allowed the Ogres, a unit of Gnoblars (who were in the way) and a Thundertusk to all charge the BSB and his unit. It only took 3 rounds of combat for the Ogres to break the Skullcrushers thanks to Trollguts wiping out the BSB and remaining standard when they turned to flee. This allowed them to pursue into the Warriors with the 2 Mages which was swiftly dispatched with the aid of a Thundertusk in the flank for the 2nd round of combat. Of note the mages only killed about 2 Ogres from the 2 irresistible Gateways they cast.
Finally the Ogres dispatched the other unit of Skullcrushers who in an attempt to support the Warriors had put themselves in the position to charge or be charged.
A decent win for me, but one that could have been better if my Thundertusk had have rolled better than two 1s for the 2 opportunities it had to thunder stomp the Chaos Lord.

Game 8 – Battleline vs Chris’s Warriors of Chaos – 4-16
Chaos Lord on Juggernaught
Exalted Hero BSB
Chaos Sorcerer, L2
War Shrine
13 Chosen of Khorne (with 4+ ward and Stubborn form the Eye of the Gods)
5 Seekers of Slaneesh
5 Chaos Knights of Khorne
15 Chaos Warriors of Khorne
19 Chaos Warriors of Tzeentch



In this battle I hoped to concentrate my force on his weaker flank, but due to a river passing through that side it effectively removed ¼ of the battlefield from me as the Ogres would have been stuck in the river unable to march and would have lost my rank bonuses by the time the Chaos army hit. I did manage to place my Maneaters on one flank to threaten the  Skullcrushers if they chose to be aggressive.
In the first turn Chris pushed his Seekers out in front of the Skullcrushers who had decided to be aggressive and marched forward. This let me charge the Seekers with a Thundertusk, Sabretusk and Mournfang with an easy overrun into the Skullcrushers who I charged in the flank with my Maneaters. Unfortunately I failed all my overruns (only needed 7s).  The Maneaters fought well though and managed to draw the combat, though I’m not sure why the Chaos Lord didn’t make way. They then lost in the next combat and fled off the board with the Skullcrushers pursuing them straight off the board. This also caused the Thundertusk to turn tail and flee off the table.
The Chosen in the centre tried a charge on the Ogres which they failed. This gave time for a Sabretusk and Thundertusk to sacrifice themselves to keep the other units out of their flank and let the Ogres charge the Chosen with the aid of the Mournfang in the flank who now had a clear path due to the Skullcrushers pursuit off the table.
The Chosen and BSB slowly get ground down by the Ogres who always had Trollguts keeping them alive. The chosen were supported by the Chaos knights in the Ogres rear and the Warshrine which charged the Mournfang flank and they broke and got away in the turn which the last Chosen died to their stomp.
The Tzeentch Warriors then charge in are the grind on the Ogre unit continues. The Slaught Master miscasts Trollguts and thanks to the Infernal Puppet gets sucked into the warp!
Due to the sacrifices of the rallied Mournfang and some Gnoblars both the Skullcraushers and the Khorne Warriors are both kept out of the fight for the rest of the game.
Eventually the Ogre unit is ground down to just 1 Ogre and the Butcher with Crown of Command. One more stubborn roll required to take the game….and the Butcher rolls and 8, 1 too many! This meant I ended up the game with only a single Sabretusk alive and suffered my worst loss of the tournament. Despite this the game was one of my most enjoyable all weekend.
So I finished up the tournament feeling pretty good going 4-3-1 for a middle of the pack finish.
I was feeling even better when I found out I had been voted best painted…this was the prize I had spent the last 11 months working towards!

Some final thoughts on my army build...
The Main unit of Ogres and the Gnoblars were a really good way to spend the core points. I only lost the main unit 3 times and twice I still had dice rolls to save them on hte lasat turn. The Gnoblars were useful and I'd be happy to take them again any time I need to finish of the core points.
The scouting Maneaters were really good, though I wasted them a couple of times.
The Mournfang were my biggest weakness and rarely had an impact...probably as I didn't get to fight much infantry with them. I think they will be given a more supporting role in future lists.
The 2 Thundertusks were either brilliant, usless or dead in equal proportions. I don't think I'd field one alone but they work well in pairs. I think though at 2400 points the rest of the list is too constrained so I will be dropping them for a little bit.

Great reading.  Thanks for posting up your battles of the torny.  All in all sounds like you had a great time.  Glad it was enjoyable. 

Great read and great games, it was good to see a slightly different Ogre list from the double Ironblaster & double Mournfang one's.

I am a big advocate of Gnoblars they still have their uses.

One thing which might be worth trying with your list is splitting the Mournfangs into 2 x 2 giving them more flexibility and maneuverability.

I love the Maneaters an under used and under rated unit especially if you fight in an Ogre off game.

Thanks Guys

2x2 Mournfang is exactly where I think I was heading.

I hoping by cutting the Thundertusks I'm going to find lots more points to spend on increasing the Maneaters and maybe adding some Leadies

Its been too long since I had any real progress on the army.

Here's the Ironblaster I worked on this month....still need to finish the Rhinogre and gnoblar....which may go on the back burner as I fcus on lead belchers for an upcoming tournie

Another great addition to your army Steve looks fantastic! 

Nice job on the Ironblaster so far. The rhino head at the end of the cannon it a nice touch too.

Thanks guys...I was a little uninspired by the ironblaster, hopefully the rhino head on the cannon is enough conversion for my army
I have a great idea for the next one....but that's a little way off

for now 4 of 8 Leadbelchers converted!!

Here's the rest of my leadies



Overall I feel these aren't my best work and I'd like to spend more time on them...but with a tournament coming they need to get done.

Oho, never thought about making burn scars on the 'belchers, will have to nick the idea and try it.

My leadies are now ready for battle!

They look good!
More than a match for the rest of your army, so, do we get a new whole army shot soon?


HG

Whilst I love your Rhinogres, my favourite part of your models is always your basing... They are brilliant! I have bought some plastic ready to shamelessly steal your idea, but just haven't got round to it yet

What are your plans for expanding this army?

JJ

Thanks for the compliments guys

More than a match for the rest of your army, so, do we get a new whole army shot soon?

I'll see what I can for a whole army shot soon....will wait until I finish the Ironblaster....so maybe towards the end of hte month if I remember

Whilst I love your Rhinogres, my favourite part of your models is always your basing... They are brilliant! I have bought some plastic ready to shamelessly steal your idea, but just haven't got round to it yet

What are your plans for expanding this army?

Thanks, the perspex is a bit annoying to cut all the tiem, but worth it in the end. i found that a unit with just "ice for a base looked a little boring and the black raised areas.

My army is close to where I want it for now....most expansion will be in few more Maneaters and Ironguts.
I'm planning another Ironblaster and Scrap Launcher too....but any real requirements will come from designing tourney lists I think.
That said I have a lot of empire models to do soon and my skaven are begging for attention.

Here's the finished Ironblaster!



I am not as happy with the paint job on this. I think it is as I am starting to burn out on the rhinogres.
I am going to take a break from them for a bit and put some time into revamping my empire.

Still looks good though!

We need another "whole army shot" though now that this is finished!:D

HG

Have to agree he still looks good.  It can be good to take a break from an army hopefully you will get back on track soon.  But consider how much you have managed to put out in a fairly short space of time is rather impressive!

  Bravo to you sir! 

Breaks can work out, just don't leave it nearly 2 years like I did! LOL
(Time flies when you're old, so maybe that's why it happened for me! )

HG

As requested

That's cool! Thanks!
Great looking army there.

HG

Fantastic shot indeed. 

Very impressive. Y'know, I haven't done this in a while, but here's a gnoblar for a labor of love that is the Rhinogres!

I have started work on my Heavens Slaughtermaster and thought I'd share the step by step progress.

I started by cutting an ogre body in half ad adding 2 sprues to make him taller. I then added a stomach .


I wasn't too happy with the pose so I cut off his leg and reposed it. I also cut him in half again and shifted the angle of his body to match this pose.


An arm was added


The second arm was worked on


I then sculpted a hand on the globe and positioned it


Each of these steps were done over an evening...more updates as I work on him.
Feel free to comment and point out anything that looks odd so I can fix it as I go.

Looking very intreging Steve.  I like the ord / ball idea.  And that woodgrain on the staff is looking very cool. 

Cheers Zolas

A couple more steps complete...

Firstly the staff arm was positioned.


Then one of the more difficult parts....the rhino head


Up next is working on the chest area...bigger man boobs required I think

Hes looking great so far. How do you avoid fingerprints on the large spaces like the belly. I keep getting stuck with them and yours look really smooth?

Very nice work there WS. The belly looks on the money proportion-wise. Rhino head's are your bread and butter, but always good.

The orb looks cool and I really like this as a concept. The staff is really good, nice wood grain effect on it and use of plastic parts will strengthen the GS. All-in-all very nice work.

I am also intrigued as to how you got that belly so smooth with no fingerprints. I try and use Vaseline, but in honest I hate the stuff because it makes everything so greasy (for ever afterwards). So advice would be welcome (everyday is a school day in my book).

A big yay on the moobs! Go for it, I reckon this guy looks like he is the owner of some pretty large moobs.

G_H

Thanks guys

There's no big trade secret I know of for smooth GS. I just used water and my finger.
It took me little while to get the belly how I liked, so the GS would have firmed up a bit by the time I was smoothing it. To be fair the belly was an easy surface to smooth, the head I've done still suffers from some fingerprints.

Another small update

Moobs, head gear and collar added.

What is the ball of greenstuff he is holding going to become?  Crystal ball?  an Orb of some sort?  Hellheart?

I believe a globe

This is really awesome warlordsteve, you've inspired me to begin work on an ogre belly worthy of a Slaughtermaster!

Ooooh, MAVV I shall be keeping an eye on your Gnoblog then as an awesome disgusting fat belly would surely put a smile on my face.
I've been painting allot of skinny-ass orcs recently and the thought of a good 'ol fashioned fat b'stard worthy of the title "10 bellies" would sure be a welcome change! 

G_H

Glad I can inspire guys.

The ball is a crystal ball style of thing. If you want to see a hellheart check out my slaughter master (pics on 1st page)

Here's the latest stage....he's really starting to take shape now.

So I think this guy is done now....but happy to hear advice on anything that doesn't look right, needs finishing or could be added.

Primed and ready for paint.


I got excited when I read read Phazael's Flyerbelly idea...

Loving the heavens rhinogre! Great to see the progression of your work here. If there is a contrast to be found between it and the rhinogre fire belly, it's that the fire belly model is much busier with trinkets and odds and ends which add that occult feel to the model which perhaps the Heavens slaughter master is missing. But it's only a minor gripe and perhaps you meant it that way!

Thanks mate

You are right some trinkets would help....what sort of things would be suitable for a Heavens mage?
I am going to have to search my bits box as I am terrible at sculpting smaller things.

Looking good Steve.  Trinkets wise scopes, measuring devises like a sextant maybe.  Or just some simple scrolls, books.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards Zolas.

Its been a little while since I posted an update, but I haven't been idle...

My Firebelly


and a Flyerbelly (I only made the carpet and magnetised my old Firebelly to fit it and its old base)


4 Leadbelchers (and my Heavens Slaughtermaster hiding in the background)

Really looking good Steve!  I really love the fire tattoos on the firebellys!  It contrasts the skin brilliantly and make them stand out!

Also loving the carpet flyer belly too!

Kind regards Zolas.

Did you do a mold of the Firebelly fire, or just recreate that on your own?

Yes I sculpted the flame myself....
Would you believe I bought a fire belly just for the flame...
How about it was a extra due to a failcast model...

Ok, I actually made a instamold cast of the flame


Sorry for the made Maxwell Smart reference

Looking great man! I absolutely love the Firebelly conversion. He looks like the model should be the original one!

And the Heavens Slaughtermaster is a gorgeous model. I really like how you've taken the style of the Empire Heavens Wizard bits and modeled the SM to fit that theme. Amazing work!

- Loran

All these are so creative, hours of excellent work here; congratulations 

I have become slow between updates again...

My Heavens Slaughtermaster is essentially done






This is far from my best work.... but thats what happens when gnoblars get to your Ironblaster...

The heavens Rhinogre is great, looking really good.

But that Ironblaster!  I nearly wet myself when I saw it! This is some really great and highly amusing work mate. Knowing them Gnoblars this is exactly what these muppets would be upto.

Have another Gnoblar to replace the one who has blown himself up mate.

G_H

Ha! So, is this a model to swap in when you roll a misfire? Or will you use the exploding Ironblaster for the whole game?

I have become slow between updates again...

This is far from my best work.... but thats what happens when gnoblars get to your Ironblaster...

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Oh my gosh, that's, just, brilliant, and amazing, and hilarious.

You get a Gnob from me! Keep it away from your Ironblaster, though, it'll do horrors to it!

Thanks for the comments guys.

It is the model I would use all game....though would be cool to switch out for a misfired one when I choose to only run one

Another small update...
trying to improve on the smoke from the Ironblaster


And also the beginnings of a gnoblar hero

So I have begun making my new maneater.
Here's some progress pics... a gnoblar to the first person to guess exactly what I am making.

Hmmm, some kind of nunchuck wielding ninja rhinogre? I'm intrigued!

Ogre archer of some kind?  wood elf influenced perhaps?

Kind regards Zolas.

Here's another update:


My maneaters always try and represent a specific unit within another warhammer army....

Ahhh yes, the Gypsy stick wielders of the Morris dancers clan.

A formidable foe indeed. They would have survived much longer and been a more prolific force in the Warhammer world if they hadn't had them bells around their ankles.
sadly everyone could hear them coming so surprise attacks were out.

However, many the mighty warrior was caught off guard wetting himself laughing when he saw them; but that was the beginning of their misfortune as these bell wearing hanky holding stick wielders would then dash up and bash the poor hero on the head whilst he was incapacitated with laughter.

Great idea for you next maneater WLS; I can't wait to see him painted up in his white gear with his red hanky and bells...oh and his stick of course. Well done, can't wait to see more!
 
G_H

I have no idea how you worked it GH, incredible 

and now it becomes more obvious...

Ogre archer of some kind?  wood elf influenced perhaps?

Kind regards Zolas.

So it looks like I was VERY close looks like a waywatcher too me!    He is really looking great! That hood works very well with the the rhino head! 

Can't wait to see this guy finished.

Kind regards Zolas.

A gnoblar to Zolas....I figure this last pic was a dead give away

Awwwwwww 

I was looking forward to the Morris dancing stick banging bells-on-legs rhinogre.

This guy looks great WLS, he will be an excellent addition to your army and your GS work is really good. Can't wait to see this guy when painted up mate. Really nice work.

G_H

A gnoblar to Zolas....I figure this last pic was a dead give away

I got it before the last pic   

He's looking awesome regardless though!  Cheers for the Gnoblar!

Kind regards Zolas.

There is a possible new and interesting development for the Rhinogres.
Some of you may have noticed that I am not a big writer of fluff for my army. I was talking to my Dad about hte Rhinogres when he was over last night. he enjoys writing as a hobby is looking for a new writing project. He would like to write the background fluff behind the Rhinogre army and the characters within it.
My Dad knows a bit of what the game of warhammer is about, but doesn't have a feel for the overall background of the warhammer world.
Does anybody know any good links to resources on the net which could help?
Other than the old world we are also interested fluff on Cathay and Ind.

You could try Lexicanum, they tend to have allot of fluff related stuff on there;

http://whfb.lexicanum.com/wiki/Cathay

Other than that you could also try some of the fan based "non legal" books that people have written as they tend to be fluff lead.
This particular individual/ group do excellent books (you have probably seen them TBH) I don't know if there is one specifically on the subjects you want, but there maybe be something in there that might help;

http://warhammerarmiesproject.blogspot.co.uk/

(just checked and here is Cathay one)
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_Redi9cZJ5iME9GMHd2TGo2RGM/edit?pli=1

I don't know if this will help much, I will keep thinking and see if I can come up with anything else.

G_H

Thanks GH

I am hoping to have some more maneater WIP shots up soon as well as the first crack at fluff.

This is our crack at some fluff.
My Dad and I would love some feedback on this. Its still a bit disjointed and in need of some fine tuning.
All constructive criticism and ideas are welcome.

We also need a name for the BSB... currently thinking Zhà Měng (Grasshopper) which sounds very like Charming.... but we unsure, any ideas are welcome.


He looked again at the refracted image that bounced back at him off his armour in the flickering light of the campfire and for the hundredth time wondered how it had all begun and why it had all gone so wrong. Tomorrow they would re-join the battle and just how many of them would be around a fire the following night was anyone’s guess. He had no doubts about everyone’s tenacity in battle and their ability to absorb pain but if they were anything like him, perhaps they were a little weary of the tedium of it; and when you are tired that’s when you make mistakes. Against the enemies they regularly confronted any mistake could be your last.

His role as leader of this rag tag lot was never under threat. They deferred always to his command. It had nothing to do with his size and strength as vast as these were. He knew he wasn’t the most intelligent of the group but had the talent to foresee problems that may arise, and that was what made him their leader. He lent forward to pick up the kebab stick that a gnoblar had cooked for him and began to nibble distractedly. The gnoblar made the mistake of chuckling at an inappropriate time and soon found himself swatted thirty metres away in a snow drift, as the leader of the Rhinogre horde again lost himself deep in thought.

This army under his command were a collection of individuals bonded together by the rejection from other ogres and the fear and repulsion shown by almost all beings in the empire. Too smart and cultured to be accepted as ogres and too different for all other tribes, they had welded into a rogue mercenary army of such skill that they could demand a high price for their talents. Whilst the money was fine, what they craved was acceptance and that was one thing that was never given. So they moved from place to place and tonight’s camp was just another place; another “home” for the night.

He was shaken from his melancholy reverie by scuffle that had arisen amongst two of the units. Such a thing was common especially if it involved the triplets. They were in a unit of their own. They had to be. No-one could work with them, wanted to work with them or wanted to try. Like the three wise monkeys, though nowhere near as wise, each had a disability; one was blind, one was deaf and one was a mute. See no evil. Hear no evil. Speak no evil. But altogether, just pure evil. Apart from these disabilities, their intelligence was split across all three. Combine their IQ’s and you got an almost normal Rhinogre. He looked across at his second in command, Harry; but Harry had already moved towards the triplets and the noise died instantly. Harry’s negotiating skills were legendary.

The fire gave off only a little heat. Rhinogres have such thick skin that only blizzard type conditions cause them to drop in body temperature, so he wasn’t concerned about the lack of warmth from the fire. The gnoblars had their own tiny fire that they continually stoked. Their skinny frames meant they were always too hot or too cold. He inwardly laughed. Gnoblars are never “just right”. Their warped minds knew little of justice and invariably if they had a choice between two things they always chose the wrong one. Knowing this had allowed him to lead his army very effectively. If a gnoblar advised him to take the trail leading to the left, he always went the other way.

A smile almost passed across his lips as he watched these tiny goblin-like creatures chanting away around their fire. Their symbiotic relationship to his Rhinogres was valuable to one another. They had remarkable vision. In truth Rhinogres’ eyesight was pretty pathetic but he wasn’t about to acknowledge that even to himself. They functioned well as look outs, feeding him with information that he decoded by assuming the opposite. They were cunning and inventive and were capable of making very complicated traps. However some of their traps were so sophisticated that many times all they caught were themselves. Constant medical supplies were needed and the occasional burial. In return, the Rhinogres protected them and didn’t kill them. It wasn’t a master slave relationship as such he admitted although that was what it looked like on the surface. Most cooked, cleaned and generally ran the camp during a battle although some formed sacrificial units to draw an unsuspecting enemy in. But deep down he wasn’t sure who the masters were and who were the slaves. At the end of a battle, the Rhinogres would always be paid if they won or retreat and regroup ready for another war if they lost. The gnoblars always got what they wanted. They scoured battlefields for all sorts of equipment so that they could create their traps and build new armaments for the Rhinogres. The immense uproar they caused when they came across gunpowder had to be heard to be believed.

He wasn’t sure when and where the gnoblars joined his mercenary army. They always seemed to be there since they had embarked from their journey from Cathay. Now in their encampment in the Mountains of Mourn, they were polishing the Rhinogre armour with a mixture of gunpowder and animal fat as they huddled around their fire. Occasionally some of the mix would end up in the fire and shoot off in unpredictable directions causing chaos amongst them and a great deal of humour amongst his troops. The only gnoblar he had grave concerns about was Gunny. It was only going to be a matter of time before someone ended up in a grave if Gunny wasn’t kept under control.

Gunny had spent a little too much time around leadbelchers and gained an unnatural fascination with gun powder. He was renowned amongst the gnoblars for his ability to make the loudest, most spectacular traps. Gunny acquired all kinds of shiny things over the years, all looted from unfortunate enemies (and friends) who ran into his traps. Due to his time spent around gun powder he was just slightly mad and often seen shouting "BOOM" and chuckling to himself. At the end of a day’s battle he was manacled to something solid and immovable so that others could rest or sleep in safety.

Most of his army of Rhinogres couldn’t tell one gnoblar from another apart from Gunny. The maniacal grin and insane laughter had Gunny pegged from nearly the very beginning. Like a bower bird he loved to beg, borrow or steal anything shining. He would look in lots of places in his quest for something new. Some of the more mischievous Rhinogres used mirrors to bounce light off objects which sent Gunny scurrying all over the place. This may have led to that day that nearly saw Gunny transported further than any other living being had travelled.

One of the Rhinogres had been playing with a mirror teasing Gunny as usual when he accidentally dropped it down the barrel of a leadbelcher’s cannon. The barrel was huge but nowhere near wide enough for a Rhinogre to squeeze in to retrieve it. Annoyed with himself the Rhinogre nonchalantly walked away and eventually forgot about it as they prepared for battle the next day. As the dawn broke, Gunny fortunately, or not, was in just the right position to notice the sun strike the mirror in the cannon. Without hesitation he climbed in to retrieve his prize. This is when things went awry. Because of the smooth sides of the barrel he was unable to climb out. This trap artisan had become accidentally trapped until….. Well let’s just say that in the heat of the battle the long blood curdling scream of a gnoblar caused both sides to stop, turn, and then stare at the inexplicable sight of a screaming gnoblar clinging tightly to a cannon ball disappearing over the horizon.

Three days later Gunny turned up at camp, dazed and confused. He strode over to the leadbelcher’s cannon and began kicking it, banging his head against it and swearing in that strange gnoblar language that consists of high pitched words made up of fifty two consonants and only one vowel. From that day on Gunny was never the same. He hoarded gunpowder and his traps became even more hair-brained and aimed solely at the cannons. There was some conjecture amongst gnoblars and Rhinogres alike as to whether the lead, the velocity of the flight or indeed gunpowder itself were the cause of his madness. But conjecture it remained as Gunny was so fixated on his new task that he never seemed to have time or probably the capacity to explain. Because of the potential issue of a Gunny styled booby trap lead belchers became the province of the extremely brave or extremely stupid members of the Rhinogres and they were guarded night and day against home grown sabotage.

Although the leader of the army, he was also the battle standard bearer. This was a clever subterfuge that had paid dividends over a long time. Most saw Harry as the leader and with his sergeant major approach to discipline he carried off that part well. Harry adds to the ruse by rarely being seen in battle. Little is really known about him. Rumour is that he was a cast out of his home in Ind and has travelled through Cathay and the Eastern Steppes learning the art of 'Negotiation'. Harry however often does a little work on the side for when the problem is too big for the Rhinogres army to deal with; those with enough coin hire The Negotiator. Nobody truly understands how he does it, but Harry will walk alone onto the battlefield and by the time he returns the opposition army will have fled the field of battle. Many had been the time the true leader of the army had surreptitiously nodded to Harry to step up for any parleying to be done regarding the price paid to hire the mercenaries or to negotiate an enemy’s surrender.

Cathay, now there was a place. If anywhere was their spiritual place it was Cathay. All Rhinogres eventually moved away from their homeland of Ind and almost as a rite of passage, made their way to Cathay. Tribes of the Empire knew little of it and because of the Steppes few had never ventured into the wilderness they thought Cathay was. One day they would, and Cathay, a place of majestic serenity, high learning and spiritual culture would never be the same again. Isolation can be a high price to pay for some but for the tribes in Cathay it was a blessing.

The leader had developed his gifts and talents there. His ability to see beyond the ordinary and beyond the moment, were finely honed there; as was his awareness of all things around him and their place in the scheme of things. He had learnt the ancient art of meditation and in the midst battle appeared to have more time than others to assess mortal combat situations and easily disarm an opponent. Rarely did he ever have to injure an opponent and to his best recollection, no-one had ever died at his hand. Early on other Rhinogres had seen this as a weakness and challenged him only to find themselves suddenly having the point of their own sword or the edge of their own axe under their own neck. However he wearied of having to demonstrate his prowess to newcomers. He had in fact chastised some of his more experienced members for egging on newcomers. That practice quickly stopped as Harry was able to negotiate an appropriate outcome.

Being the Battle Standard Bearer gave him quick intel about what other armies may be doing. His own special gnoblar rode high up on the banner and chattered away constantly about what it could see. It was very erudite and precise as chattered quick descriptions that floated down to him about size and weaponry of opposing units. It wasn’t specially trained to do that but merely very effusive about what it wanted to collect at the end of the battle. He always thought of it as an “it” because gnoblars gender differences are undetectable at least to Rhinogres. He trusted that they knew the difference and really that was all that mattered.

Because he wore the standard mounted to his back he was so glad that he had standard trained it very early on. Gnoblars usually weren’t that fussy where they relieved themselves usually but his one had learned simply by being stared at. The first time an “accident” had happened he had carefully grabbed the gnoblar and sat it on the end of his nose and stared at it. He was none to gentle about forcing it to sit and, whether it was the death stare he gave the gnoblar or the sharp horn it was impaled upon, the message was given and, remarkably for a gnoblar never forgotten. There is only one thing worse than the smell of a gnoblar’s excrement and that is the smell of two gnoblars’ excrement. Although the BSB mused it would be worse if there were three… or four….. and would it just rise excrementally?

In one famous battle he had used his knowledge of gnoblar faecal odour to astounding effect. He knew he would be facing an army almost twice the size and strength as his that had positioned itself strategically with an escape route down a narrow gorge. Any following army would be picked off mercilessly as they entered. However he was informed by his standard gnoblar look out high above him that some old scrap artillery pieces were scattered in the gorge. He sent one lone gnoblar through as a scout into the gorge armed only with a sling. Once the gnoblar was in position and greedily examining its “treasure”, he made a full army charge. His opponents though prepared somewhat, were dumbstruck by the sheer audacity and their general called for a hasty retreat. The rest has gone down in both folklore and history.

The lone gnoblar was so fixated on what it had found that it was only at the last minute that the rumbling of hooves penetrated his thought processes. In slow motion it turned to see a whole army sweeping down upon him as they entered the gorge. Its knees trembled to the beat of the approaching armies charge. Its head quickly looked left and right, left and right again and even up and down seeking an escape route. Even if it had found one there was no time to do anything. Only its bowels knew what to do. The stench was so powerful that the great army immediately stopped its charge and crashed into one another. Caught in the pincer movement between a rampaging rhinogre horde and this sad forlorn gnoblar, immediate surrender ensued……. Oh and a bath and a hero’s welcome to a tiny gnoblar.

The leader had noticed that the Rhinogre campfire chatter had dropped away and was a bit surprised because inevitably there was always discussion about the prowess of Harry and how he was able to negotiate successful outcomes in almost unwinnable battles. Each unit and perhaps each individual had their own theory and the contest of ideas was wonderful to eavesdrop on and showed that some of the more lumbering, dolt like members of this mercenary army weren’t as stupid as many of them looked, which was good as that meant many any enemy soldier had to their misfortune underestimated their Rhinogre opponent. The triplets on the other hand went counter to that theory. He cast his eyes over in their direction only to find them gone. He looked across at Harry who merely shrugged his enormous shoulders and grinned.

The triplets knew they had gone a step too far when earlier Harry had looked in their direction and had mouthed the words “beast guard”. All three had slunk away, each to different areas to stand guard over the beasts that formed part of the troop. Yī went to the mournfang. Èr was now at the sabretusks pen. Sān stood near the thundertusks. All the beasts looked at their new guards in disdain as the collective intelligence of each small group now including the guards dropped with the arrival of their guards.

He worried that they had recently lost one of their best Rhinogres. Everyone was saddened by this and the mood around the camp was sombre. If it could happen to him, then it could happen to any one of them. Actually they hadn’t lost anyone. The lone hunter had lost himself. He was prone to doing that on a semi-regular basis, but more so recently. The BSB was aware of the limitations of his old friend. His eyesight was fading as time wore on and the scars around his eyes were a good indication that some real damage had been done by his enemies. Now the lone hunter relied on his pet vulture to do most of his seeing for him. But that too had received some damage to its eyes compliments of an exploding cannon a few weeks back. The shrapnel had taken out one of the vulture’s eyes straight out of its socket and only Gunny, who was holding a burnt match at the time laughed. Everyone knew how much the lone hunter relied on his pet vulture and how much symbolism went with this strange pairing.

Now the BSB thought that they were probably huddled around a small fire, unable to see where the main camp was, unable to see to catch any food and unable or unwilling to head in any direction for fear of becoming further lost. As the food ran out they were probably and quite reluctantly eyeing (deliberate bad pun) each other off as a source of food. The BSB made a mental note to send out a unit if at all possible to bring them both back to the fold. Morale was slipping but the return of the two would bring some welcome rise in the spirits of everyone. As it was many of the rhinogres were drinking spirits and their morals were slipping as well. He’d have a word with Harry tomorrow about that.

He had met the lone hunter early on in Cathay and they had become firm friends instantly. They had studied the oriental arts of swordsmanship, archery and hand to hand combat together often choosing each other as combatants. They knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses. The BSB thought of his friend out in the snow somewhere and was worried because two of the hunter’s weaknesses were his fear of the dark and surprisingly for a Rhinogre, a sensitivity to cold.

These had become obvious one winter night after combat practice in front of the master. They had been banished to guard duty on the huge Cathay wall for failing to display a genuine disaffection in their practice. Standing high on the wall, the lone hunter was forever moving from foot to foot and hugging himself. The BSB was puzzled but said nothing. He moved away keeping a steady eye to the west and only occasionally looking over to where his friend’s face could be seen by the burning torch each carried. All of a sudden the torchlight disappeared and then came a thump, a scream and then some whimpering. He hastened to his friend whom he saw curled up in a foetal position. He helped him to his feet and stayed with him until their sentry duty was over. Later back in their shared room warmed by some alcohol ( for medicinal purposes only) his friend confided in him. He had been so cold he had decided to jump up and down to keep warm, then slipped and the torch had been extinguished as it fell into some fresh snow. Cold and fearing the worst in the dark he curled up and cried like a baby. The BSB had held that secret over the ensuing years and their loyalty, trust and friendship had been cemented by an accident on a cold dark night on a wall in Cathay.

Here's a small update on the maneater...

Wow he is coming along indeed!  I really love the elf shield as the gut plate but that cloak and leaves are totally awesome!  Keep up the good work!

Kind regards Zolas.

Thanks Zolas....progress has been slow on this guy


I assume the wall of text for the fluff was a bit much to digest....is there a better spot on the forums for getting feedback?

I need to read through it properly I was only skimming the forums yesterday (shame on me!).  It is certainly on my to do list.

Kind regards Zolas.

another minor update...


I think I need to reposition the arm pulling back the string to get more balance in the pull.

This is an extremely impressive army.  Well done!  I am posting this to my local gaming area forums for others to see.

Thanks guys

I know you requested that pic a while back GH....i finally got there

I was catching up on my blogs, and saw this Empire vs Ogre battle report

http://hoodlinghole.blogspot.com/2014/09/axemaster-2014-part-3.html

Then, wait what's that?! Those are rhinogres! I know them! Nice to see your boys out on the field, Warlord Steve

That was such a fun game....sooo close to being a big win for me though....If only the Slaughtermaster had killed 1 knight (he was S7 at the time)

I have finished up my latest maneater.

My gnoblars are now a real unit!

Simply loving your trappers!  Love the signs, love the bear traps, love your gnoblar hero leading them, love it all!

Great stuff buddy keep it up!  Can you remind me How you do you snow as well buddy?

Kind regards Zolas.

Cheers mate
I used to use bicarb and PVA for the snow... But it started going yellow
Now its the army builder snow with PVA

Them gnoblers tho