Yarr!!! The Maelstrom Masher Pirates

Here is my attempt to start a gnoblog of my pirate ogres to motivate me to keep the painting and converting up. 

My theme is a group of pirates who while on their adventures on the high seas ran across the might of the maelstrom, directly across the world from the great Maw.  They have seen its glory and unending hunger and after luckily surviving its wrath now worship it.  Unfortunately, when they crossed paths with the Maelstrom they were blown off course and have since been shipwrecked. 

I'm still getting used to posting pictures so we'll see how this goes.


Here is my Tyrant, one of the things I wanted to do with this army is to create all of my own characters from the basic bits.  I have not bought any models besides those in the army battalion or the stonehorn (coming later)



Here is the backside, still not sure how I want to paint the hats, does it look complete with just the black?


Next up for now is the Stonehorn, I'm pretty happy with how this turned out.  It was really fun to put together.




The water was done with acrylic silicone, pretty simple for how well the water turned out 

Roar!!!


Well that's it for now, I've got some sample bulls (still can't get over calling them that) and converted Maneater's up hopefully tomorrow.

Hahahahaha, squiddy Stonehorn is fantastic!

And the Great Stone Cthulhu rises from the depths to aid the Ogres in their endless quest to devour!!


That is awesome, great work!!

Alright so here are a couple more pictures of some piratey goodness.  I have a total of 7 Maneater models that I have converted from various pieces from the battalion, they are a blast to customize and probably the hardest thing was either coming up with that particular theme and simply posing him correctly. 


This is my "gansta" gunslinging pirate, one of my favorites so far.  Obviously still not painted completely but the modeling portion is done.


Here is my Maneater Captain, armed with his great weapon



Those 5 S7 attacks are gonna hurt!

This is my BSB with his army standard representing the Maelstrom

I can go to bed a happy man having now seen a maneater waving a shark about as a great weapon. Absolute and undeniable genius!

Alright, I'm back again with some more pictures, this time I've got some regular footsloggers, or shall we say sailors? 

Again, not quite finished with the painting but well on the way to where I want them to be.  Quick question for anyone out there: how does the skin look?  I was going for a tanned leathery type of skin that would be typical for pirates, does it fit this idea?  Also, do I need more highlights for the skin?  I really only have the ink wash for the grooves and then a 50:50 mix of Snakebite Leather and Vomit Brown (old names I don't know what they convert to now)

That maneater captain is one of the most amusing models I have seen, well done.

In lieu of the maneater Sharkstick cap'n ( lol), I was thinking... if you ever run an AHW maneater, you should give him a coupla large pirahnas or something

Awesome work on your models so far! Keep 'em up!

Thats a pretty good idea, have him swinging them around like fishy morningstars or something! 

Although along those lines you will see what the catch of the day is with my next picture of an irongut...

As promised here is the latest "catch" of the day.  Ogres get hungry as we all know and this enterprising ogre has fashioned a net of sorts and found something big enough to bash people with.  At least until he gets hungry again I suppose...




Here are some pics of the rest of the Maneater's I have converted, each one has a different weapon and I was aiming to have them all have pirate themed or objects they would find after being beached.

Many of these are still WIP but they are getting closer to being done. 


Ready to go with his trusty oar that washed ashore.

Anchors away!  Not as smooth with the green stuff as I would have wanted but hey, ogres have pretty crude stuff anyway I guess.

My sniper maneater, unfortunately the end of his gun broke off and I need to repair it.  I still haven't figured out what I want to do with the hats but I know I will add some feathers when I can get a hold of them.


Here is the whole unit of Maneaters, still missing a couple pistols on the first rank and will probably add one more double pistol guy once I figure out his pose.  Probably going to do a skull and crossbones design on the flag, we'll see how the freehand goes once I get a small enough brush. 





Questions and suggestions always welcome!  I still have about 5 more ogre bodies to put together, give a good suggestion and I'll even try to make it work. 

Also, I'm looking for a way to convert mournfangs into this army, I don't really like the current models but I would still like to have something to represent them at some point.  I know of the Bloodsail island models and think the concept is great but does it look like it fits in with the style of the rest of the army?
http://titan-forge.com/fantasy_miniatures_bloodsail_island_gator_diver_team

This is a brilliantly themed army! Whilst not the first nautical army, it is by far the most well executed

I think the Titan Forge models would fit your theme perfectly, tied in with a great paint job like the rest of your models

JJ

Thanks for the compliments!  I've had the idea for this army for going on two years now and I love being able to see it come together in a cohesive way.  And even better it makes sense to you guys too!

So I am now taking suggestions for the five more ogre bodies I have.

These are the things I would like to convert:

Pistol Maneater
AHW Maneater
Ogre champion( Either AHW or IF)
Irongut

I also have a whole bunch of gnoblars that could use some additional conversions if you have any ideas.

I will take the best ideas or the ones that fit best with my theme and post the results!

And speaking of gnoblars, here is a small sample of what I have already.

Ahoy there!  Here be some gnoblar scallywags ready to report for what passes as duty in these parts.
A scrawny bunch but they have their uses.


My goal is to give all the gnoblars pirate hats like the ogres and additionally to have other random items that fit the theme. 

This gnoblar is "armed" with his trusty mop, I actually have an irongut with the same weapon that I still need to paint


Leadbelcher inspired attendant


Many others have converted cutlasses and will be throwing bananas and coconuts as their thrown weapon.

Here is a unit filler that I plan to finish, it will have another gnoblar fighting off the squid on a 40mm base.

I am unsure about the color scheme I want to use with the gnoblars.  Various shades of green haven't really been working yet, just doesn't seem to fit the piratey theme.  I am open to ideas because I am completely at a loss for how to paint their skin. 

Hopefully within the next few days I will be able to post some pictures of my ironblaster mega turtle!

Gnoblars look best when you use an olive green base then highlight with the same sort of green with a hint of grey thrown in.

IIRC that is how they are painted in the army book.

Im using Kabalite green as a main color, makes em a tinge blueish, might work for sea faring Gnobbo's

As promised here are the preliminary pictures of my ironblaster.  I will eventually have two of them, not completely sure how I want the second one to look yet, I know it will be similar. 

I have actually done some more painting on it, when it's done I'll post some more pictures. 




Since the water came out well on the stonehorn I will have the ironblaster walking on to the beach with waves beneath its feet. 

I like the look of the Kabalite green, I think I'll try it out on a couple, see what happens.

On another note, I have a local tournament that I will be attending with the Maelstrom Mashers that I'm pretty excited about.    I will get one practice game on Monday, I'll try and write a battle report once I'm done.  To start it off though I'll give the list and a basic overview of the scenarios, lists don't have to be finalized till the tournament so any and all suggestions are welcome. 

The list is somewhat tailored in that I know a few of the armies that will be there.  I fully expect at least one other ogre player, probably with the "standard" ogre list, ogre horde, double IB, MF etc.... I am also expecting daemons, empire, possibly dark elves, and goblins.  One theme most of these armies have are expensive single model units that can be hurt by death magic.  Other things I kept in mind were the 3 scenarios outlined here:
1.  Hold the (Blood) Forest - forest controlled by unit with largest model count (cannot be engaged in close combat)
                              - units in forest cannot use Inspiring Presence or Hold your Ground rules
                              - get objective points for holding the forest (5+ models) or killing wizards
2.  Treasure hunt - get objective points for holding each of 5 treasures scattered about, or for winning challenges
3.  Get'em all          - units involved in challenges are stubborn
                              - units/characters yield half points if less than half strength at the end of the battle
                              - objective points for killing special or rare units in close combat
                              - objective points for taking away fortitude points

So now that that's all taken care of and you're still with me here is the list I have come up with.  It is aimed at being effective at each scenario.  (Also I don't own mournfangs so don't suggest any, it wont help lol)

Level 4 SM (Death)- Dispel Scroll, Armor of Fortune, Warrior Bane, Crown of Command, Dragonbane Gem,IF - 388
BSB - Rune Maw, GW, HA - 205
Lvl 1 Butcher(Maw) - Forbidden Rod(to get a kick start on sniping characters or cannons), Seed of Rebirth, Rock Eye, GW - 159
Bruiser - Flying Carpet, GW, HA - 166 (all around multi-tool, great for clearing chaff or adding high S attacks to a combat

9 Ironguts, Full Command, Standard of Discipline, Lookout Gnob - 437
3 Ogres, AHW -93
40 Gnoblars, standard, musician  - 120


4 Maneaters, all with Brace of Pistols, standard, musician, Banner of Eternal Flame ( Scout and Poison) -278
3x1 Sabretusks - 63

2 Ironblaster
1 Stonehorn

Total: 2499

Sounds great - I've only just read this gnovlog and it's great!! I absolutely love the stone horn. Classic! Great idea and well executed. The only thing I can add is that the right arm on your favourite 'gangsta' model seems to have a very odd positioning. But I'm only saying that as this is so could you can handle the minuscule gripes! Looking forward to hearing how the tournament went!

Well that arm position was intentional and really inspired the "gansta" name.  You know how the hardcore young gangsters hold their guns sideways when they really mean business, that type of thing.  The more modern gangsters, not the old chicago style ones.  Glad you like everything else though, really makes this gnoblog fun to do!

Very creative! Can't wait to see more.

I absolutely understand the concept and idea and think it's great!!! it just seems like the shoulder is out of the socket rather than a pose. But that is a tiny criticism from me and I'm only saying it because I love everything else so much

Ok so after a few days of getting some painting in I've finally finished my Ironblaster.  This gnoblog really gives me the motivation to keep modelling and painting everything.  After two years of thinking and piddling with the army I'm finally making some real progress!  Thanks for the encouragement everyone. 

So here it is what do you guys think?








The next ironblaster is already underway, the pose I've decided kinda reminds me of The Little Mermaid when she comes out of the water and it is spraying all around her.  So replace little mermaid with giant turtle and you have an idea for what I want it to look like.  We'll see how it actually turns out.

Nice concept!

Alright just had my tournament yesterday and it was a blast!  I will be writing up a few battle reports later when I get off of work.  Stay tuned for the results

Ok a few days later than I was planning but what can you do?  Life happens sometimes, even though it interrupts warhammer time hehe.

Anyway I'll jump right into it, the local tournament was 3 games and we ended up getting a total of 9 guys.  My first opponent was against high elves and the scenario was hold the forest, however it was a blood forest and you didn't get any benefit from Hold your Ground or Inspiring Presence while inside it.

My list was as follows: (same as mentioned earlier in the blog)

Level 4 SM (Death)- Dispel Scroll, Armor of Fortune, Warrior Bane, Crown of Command, Dragonbane Gem,IF - 388
BSB - Rune Maw, GW, HA - 205
Lvl 1 Butcher(Maw) - Forbidden Rod, Seed of Rebirth, Rock Eye, GW - 159
Bruiser - Flying Carpet, GW, HA - 166 (all around multi-tool, great for clearing chaff or adding high S attacks to a combat

9 Ironguts, Full Command, Standard of Discipline, Lookout Gnob - 437
3 Ogres, AHW, musician -103
36 Gnoblars, standard, musician  - 105


4 Maneaters, all with Brace of Pistols, standard, musician, Banner of Eternal Flame ( Scout and Poison) -278
3x1 Sabretusks - 63

2 Ironblaster
1 Stonehorn

Total: 2499

He had roughly:
Level 4 Archmage with Book of Hoeth (with Silver Helms)
BSB with stuff I don't remember (with Dragon Princes)

2x12 Archers
30 Spearmen

18 Phoenix Guard
18 Swordmasters
6 Silver Helms
6 Dragon Princes
1 RBT

Since I had the advantage in deployment I was able to create some favorable matchups for myself.  He ended up putting both archer units on either end of his force.  The infantry were centrally deployed and for some reason ( he wasn't too experienced) he put his cavalry behind the infantry in the center. 

Both armies were concentrated on (my) left side, I had my 1 ironblaster and the stonehorn facing off against his PG and SM.  My main irongut unit was in the center flanked by my gnoblars.  The right side saw only archers facing off against my maneaters.


After seeing how things worked out in deployment I knew I had the advantage in range once I took out his minor shooting.  So first things first, I set up a sabretusk, the flying bruiser, and some ogres to take on the RBT and some archers.  Shooting saw an ironblaster blow up the RBT, magic didn't do much as I was stupidly out of range of his archmage. 

In his turn he manages some lucky shots and I get very unlucky and fail some panic tests.  His archers on the left kill a sabre and I made the mistake of having my flying bruiser too close- he fails his panic and doesn't rally next turn either and flees the board- oops, lesson learned.  On the other side once again his archers do very well and panic the maneaters who would have charged next turn.  His magic phase reveals my rune maw, flames of the phoenix gets shoved onto the nearby gnoblars. 

Turn two sees some shuffling of the left flank, I know that I can't take a charge from his elite infantry against my IB or stonehorn so I take some pot shots at the cavalry but misfire and spin around instead.  My unit of ogres charge his archers but they flee and get away.   Magic does very well and I manage to sniper the archmage with a single spell!  Maneaters rally but still have to sit around for another round of shooting. 
 
On his turn he decides he needs to get into the thick of it and the infantry line surges forward.  The spearmen take the forest and his elites are within charging distance of me.  Not much else happens this turn, I lose a couple wounds on the maneaters. 

My turn three things get exciting, my ironblaster and stonehorn both charge the phoenix guard, hoping to cause enough casualties to break them in a single turn.  My IG unit charges his spears.  Magic doesn't do much as I am in combat and cannot cast most of my spells.  I end up killing most of the PG but they are still steadfast and don't break. (He saved about 10 wounds on ward saves).  I almost completely obliterate the spears, leaving a single man who breaks.  This takes me into the flank of his silver helms.

To be continued... (out of time for now)

Aaaaah come on! I was so in it...
Like an episode of game of thrones keeping me hanging!!

Ok here's the second part of the first battle:

It's been over a week since I played but I'll try and remember as best I can.  On his turn 3 he sets up his dragon princes to charge my ironguts once they have wrecked the silver helms.  His left flank archers regain the hill opposite my unit of 3 ogres.  His swordmasters charge into the ironblaster, making a 2v2 battle between SM + PG vs IB and stonehorn.  Shooting kills another maneater but luckily I pass my panic, due to the sustained fire I am down to only 2 remaining.  In combat the swordmasters cannot get past the T6 of the ironblaster and the phoenix guard are unable to do any wounds as well.  He continues making good ward saves but the thunderstomp takes care of a few more.  My irongut unit destroys the silver helms and reforms to face the oncoming dragon princes next turn. 

My turn four and things are starting to wrap up, my ogres on the left flank charge the archers but lose 1 and fail their panic.  The maneaters charge the other archers in the building, finally reaching them 3 turns later than expected.  I guess something got a little mixed up as I know my ironguts took the charge from the dragon princes, during his turn.   In combat the 2v2 fight rages on both sides taking casualties but neither side breaking.  That thunderstomp was key in keeping the fight alive though. 

Last turn because we ran out of time, my guts take on the dragon princes and ultimately beat them and run them off the table.  The swordsmasters show off their skills taking 4 wounds off the IB in a single round and killing it.  The stonehorn thrashes around and stomps the remaining phoenix guard into the dust.  A single maneater beats the archers in the building but cannot catch them. 

Ogre victory!

It was a hard fought battle with mistakes made on both sides but in the end I held most of my points on the table and killed off most of his.  Victory 14-6.  2 objective points taken as well. 

Next round would prove to be more difficult as I had lost to this daemon army about 3 times previous to this tournament and he is a very good player.  Battle report soon to come...

A strange mist descended upon the battlefield before the armies clashed, ghosts of the haunted ruins littered the battlefield with magical trinkets.   Victory and magical power lay in the hands of those who collect the trinkets.

In this battle the bonus objective points were won by collecting five random 5 pt items from the magic items in the main rulebook.  Additionally, there were two buildings which counted as haunted mansions. 

This was his list:
Lord of Change
Karanak
The Blue Scribes

24 Bloodletters
10 Pink Horrors
10 Pink Horrors
5 Flesh Hounds (ambushing)
3 Screamers
6 Beasts of Nurgle
2x1 Beasts of Nurgle
2x5 Chaos Furies


Since its been a while I won't do a fully detailed battle report but here are the main highlights.
Turn two his greater daemon of Tzeentch combo charged into my "gutstar" alongside his bloodletters.  However, the bloodletters failed the charge leaving the hapless daemon to fight alone.  It took two rounds but I finally got him, the haunted mansion ghosts actually took off the last wound, go S1 hits!  Towards the center of the battlefield his block of 6 Beasts of Nurgle took on my stonehorn, ironblaster, two sabres, a the carpet bruiser and beat them all!    That T5 -1 to hit is soo hard to get through its crazy. 


At the end though it was the ogres who were still standing, the block of ironguts able to hold off against bloodletters to the front and flesh hounds in the rear.   14-6 Victory to the Ogres!

The final battle was against a rather strange (to me) Brettonian list featuring a peasant heavy army with 1 large block of spears and two hordes of bowmen.  Also included were two trebuchets and 3 units of knights. 

Again details are very fuzzy by now but the battle was very hard fought with lots of dead stuff on both sides but strangely not many units actually died.  Also in this scenario points were given for getting units or models down to half strength.  Basically I got shot at a lot until I reached his lines, my cannons were able to put some dents in the knight units.  Then my main irongut unit got stuck in a challenge with his lord and neither unit moved for the rest of the game.  The stonehorn broke his men at arms after a couple rounds but later died to bow fire.

The turning point for me was when his lvl 4 caster blew herself up, netting me about 300 points on the second to last turn.  Overall it was a great game and the ogres manged to win against, barely this time. 12-8 victory!


After all the dust settled I was in a good place to win the tournament and it actually happened once the final tallies were in.  The tie breaker was winning best opponent so I was pretty pleased about that.

Overall, I really enjoyed playing the army list, I felt it had tactical options and potential.  Magic was a bit of a downer, many times I either wasn't in range for the sniping spells or was in combat and couldn't cast them.  Rune Maw on the other hand worked great and I will probably use it again if I have multiple characters in the same unit. 

Brace of Pistol maneaters are awesome, can't see myself not taking them.  I found that I could afford to be patient with them, I treat the scouting as a better way to create favorable matchups than to actually advance further in the start of the game.  I'm finally getting a handle on the stonehorn too, it really needs the right matchup to be effective but once there it can keep grinding away.  Plus its a great distraction for the enemy. I'm not convinced about the flying carpet bruiser, he was fairly squishy and was pretty expensive for what he brought to the table.  Probably won't use him again but he does have some tactical potential.  The flying firebelly might be a better choice next time.

Next battle is already done, this time featuring a heaven's based list