My Scandinavian Treemoss/Troll(gres) (Ogre Kingdoms) Army

Hey there people!

I just recently started on a new army, a Scandinavian Treemoss/Troll themed Ogre Kingdoms army.
I am Dutch myself, but you can find me a lot in Skelleftea, in the Northern part of Sweden.

As many people do, I fell deeply in love with this country and it's nature and folklore. It didnt take long for me to find myself in and around the local wargaming store Legends where I met a guy, Anton, who had recently made a troll themed Orcs and Goblins army and is working on his Ogres too. He inspired me in a great way and allowed me to borrow his idea and add my own twists to it.

So, two days ago, I got back from Sweden and I kind of immediately started working on it.
It's all EXTREMELY wip, but the idea is that the army is going to be using traditional Ogre Kingdom models with heavy conversion work done, to get some sort of mix between the cute Swedish Trolls, John Bauer's trolls and Warhammer's trolls.

The Trollgres are going to get a nice and fuzzy furcoat on them (using staticgrass and such), with fuzzy traditional trolltails and the hair will be done with real authentic Swedish Treemoss (Treebeard) that I have been picking in the woods (and bloody snow...)

Beside that, they are going to get REAL barkskin armor and they will be using real Swedish twigs to stump their enemies into pulp.

Next to ogres there's will be small Trollblars, a Thundermoose (yes!) and a apricorn scrap launcher...

So, once again, before we start: A big cheer to the Nystrom family and to Anton who has been supporting me doing this project I am going nuts about!

Keep in mind that there is no fur, no clean job on it yet, only the heads/faces are recently done!











C&C is very welcome....and myeah...sorry for the pics....this week i'll surely make more and make use of the photobox that is at my parent's place! 

Stay tuned for more Swedish lovin' from Holland! 

- Gnarkill (Danny)

Lots to be said for Dutch culture too

Love the idea, and the wip's look good too. Look forward to seeing how this comes along!

Looking good so far...

For inspiration check out this guy:

http://www.powerfist.dk/forum/index.php?topic=49926.0
Perhaps run the Danish site through google translate

(The total picture collection: http://www.powerfist.dk/forum/index.php?topic=49926.0)

Yeah I saw that guy!

Really inspirational and insanely awesomely executed. I dont think I will be a match to his skills tho, haha! 

On the other hand, my trolls are going to be slightly different, also due to the fact they will be converted from ogre models. But thanks for sharing. I think everyone should see that one! 

- Gnarkill

The guy is amazing : )

But if you are planning to use static green etc for the trolls, that should also be included above. I recall using actual small stones to make them more earth like : )

Enjoy!

The guy is amazing : )

But if you are planning to use static green etc for the trolls, that should also be included above. I recall using actual small stones to make them more earth like : )

Enjoy!

Haha, thanks! I actually wrote that down in the beginning tho! 
Although I can imagine you skip that big blob of text! 

- Gnarkill

I did read it at first - the reference for the pictures was more for you to get inspiration : )

I noticed one thing - your ogres/trolls seem a miss a neck of some sort. In the pictures the proportions of the head to body is a bit compressed and the head will not stand out from the body, which is a shame for the work and effort put into the head!

I did read it at first - the reference for the pictures was more for you to get inspiration : )

I noticed one thing - your ogres/trolls seem a miss a neck of some sort. In the pictures the proportions of the head to body is a bit compressed and the head will not stand out from the body, which is a shame for the work and effort put into the head!

Haha, I actually did that on purpose! I want them to be "hunchback fatties". Beside that, they are going to get massive loads of (treebeard) hair wich really adds up!

I got tests tomorrow, but after that I am going to continue on it this week! But I do understand your critics. Thanks for the advice! 

Those gnoblars are fricking... cute..... Keep it up : )

After watching Trollhunter I don't know what to think of the concept.
But I'll offer some advice on the sculpting. The eyes are too bulging as they are. Try pushing some sockets deep into the face, roll up a ball of putty and put it in the socket, and then with some very thin strips of putty lay strips under and above the eyeball and smooth that into the area about the socket. That should make a better looking eye. After a while you will be able to skip the first two steps once you have a feel for it.
As for smoothness it shouldn't really matter, the trolls are pretty craggy creatures.

Will the army have a monster theme to it with troll giants, stonehorns and even mournfangs? If so I think a good place to start with the mournfangs and stonehorn would be to find toy gorillas of appropriate size and modify them. May not be sticking to the troll lore, but sacrifices may need to be made.
Will

Hello everyone!

Finally! Apart from the movement tray, the first unit / 6 "ogres" are done!

C&C, as always, welcome and much appreciated! 















Leader / stand-in butcher:







- Danny 

Love em! My only criticism is the banner pole being so thin. It looks unfinished. Big fan of the stand in butchers big eye though, looks good.

I love this gnoblog....sooo much. 

Seriously though, these are looking perfect! Keep it up!

Hello everyone!

Thanks for the feedback and comments! They sure keep me really motivated, to an extend where I actually start believing I might finish this army for once! Thanks a bunch! 

Allright, so I have been making my "Iron blaster" ...
I wanted to give him a bow made from a log (real wood), to keep with the theme. They are Swedish Skogstrolls (Forest Trolls) after all, so I figured a canon / anything with blackpowder would be out of sync... Also...they are trolls...I mean...they probably forget their own names... yet alone would they know how to operate such machinery...

So here is the WIP made yesterday, first try with Milliput.


Here is the result I got today, meet Våsspinna (from the Swedish Vass Pinne (Sharp Stick)) of the Stinkskog (Stinky Forest) Tribe:













Size comperisation with the other Trolls:


Hope you liked it! C&C as allways much appreciated!

Best regards,

Danny

The big guy looks good, your sculpting is coming along well.
I would be tempted to give the guy an arrow of some sort that he has drawn in the bow and maybe some extra ones jammmed in the ground in front of him just to add a bit more to the base.

The bow is an odd choice, I would have just had him hurling rocks.

I second the need for an arrow. It's so cool that you gave him a bow instead of just tossing some rocks.
But now that you've got one with a bow, a second one tossing rocks could work.

Hey guys!

@ warlordsteve: Thanks buddy! Yes, I agree. There is going to be - some kind of- a arrow. Yet, his nose is in the way and I want something of a silly arrow. Thinking about it, but first I want to gear up the rest of the army.

@ Zippy Wonderdog: oh, too bad you think that. I figured hurling rocks would be too simple and "obvious" of a choice. Beside the wood of the bow adds to the overal atmosphere I think.

@ Frost Jotun: Thanks! Good to hear you like it!

Thanks again for all the comments!  ;D

Little update here, played my first match with them! WON!  ;D
Also a little update on the WIP characters / unitfiller and the MOOSEFANG CAVALRY! (That unit kicked some Dwarf arse!!!)







Best regards,

Danny

These guys are awesome!
Keep 'em coming!

HG

Hey guys!

Update time again!

I've finished 3 more trolls. A Butcher/Slaughtermaster, a BSB (not 100% finished yet...got some evil plans with that one! ) and Hillbert the Big Guy ( Unit filler ).

All three of them:


Hillbert:






Little fat Slaughtermaster with silly staff:







BSB, not finished yet! (The banner):





Please let me know what you think! Much appreciated!

Cheers!

Danny


Please let me know what you think! 

This army is very clever, and very original. It's very neat as a lot of Scandinavians settled near where I live in Wisconsin. The heads fit VERY well with the art associated with such trolls.

I particularly like how you made the bodies look like they had fur, it's far more convincing than any GW attempt at fur!!!

Really liking the tails, I really laughed when I saw them first pics...
Apart from the modelling and the fur, I am REALLY liking the work you do with the basing!!!

at first I could not really place the shape of the heads, but after you mentioning the Rien Poortvliet book they indeed look really like that. haha...

Super original and incredibly well executed!!

Looking forward to more work.

btw, whats up with the Thundermoose?

Good news! Been working hard again on this army!

First of...the long awaited Moosefang Cavalry! 4 of them! I actually managed to find some female mooses all the way up in Luxemburg City. 
They're reading for painting, but I wanted to give a little tease in the blog first! 



Close up of the musician "Hornspottare" (Swedish for "hornspitter"):


Close up of the banner "Enöga"(Swedish for "one-eye"):


Close up of "Flappy":


Close up of "Tjockis" (Swedish for fatty):


Two more Trollgres, to rank up some more. Not my best, but I guess they'll be ok with hair and a paint job:


And last but not least, a WIP shot of the BSB, poor David the Gnome... :


C&C is much appreciated! Now, back to painting these guys!

- Danny

This army is awesome.  Do you have any thoughts for a Thundertusk or a Stonehorn?  Maybe a giant bear or something.  I really like the Moosefang. 

Looking as awesome as ever!
I'd try to convert the Moosehorns a bit to not have identical mounts, maybe a simple headswap will make a world of differance. Can't wait for more updates! 

@ All: Thanks a bunch for the C&C, they made these fellas get done super fast!

Allright! After a paintsession of Doom, I proudly present you....

[SIZE=23]Trollens fruktansvärda älg kavalleri!!![/SIZE]

Entire unit:













Frontal close ups:

Hornspöttare:


Enöga:


Flappy:


Tjockis:


Individual snaps:

Hornspöttare:


Enöga:


Flappy:


Tjockis:


Hope you guys (and girls!) like it!

Looking forward to your C&C!

Best regards...

(a tired) Danny

p.s. yep....forgot the banner... *whistles*

Wow!

I just discovered your work and I have to say that I am impressed! This is really great! As a Troll and folklore enthusiast myself, it's incredible to see what you have done!

I just love the use you made of natural elements, moss, branches and so on, it really adds an authentic feeling to your work. And the bases are gorgeous and create a really nice contrast with the Trolls! Your banner with the poor gnome is also a really nice touch.

My only concern with your army is that I would be scared that they would wake up at night, jump off their bases and wreak havoc around the house...

Mmmmh, any two-headed trolls coming our way??

Hi folks!


Work in progress sneak peak for my nearly finished troll army. It's a secret agent for a tournament I'm going to next week. Meet Trollble-O-Seven of the Troll Intelligence Agency (T.I.A.)


 
I know it's just a little update! Lot's has been done, 1600 pts are nearly finished! Gonna keep the pics untill after next week's tournament tho.
So stay tuned! Let me know what you think!

Best regards,

Danny

Absolutely brilliant work! Originally I wasn't sure if it would come off, but I must say you've won me over with your Gnoblog!

Absolutely adore this, looking at this army I'm a kid again watching David the Gnome and Swift trick their way past those dim Trolls. Cannot wait to see the whole army on display.

I can't even tell you how much I love your army! 
So cute and fuzzy. 

Great work. 

Especially the Moosefang Cavalry is a genius idea. 

There!

Bam! And then the first 2000 points were painted and the first tournament played!

Before I am going to post all the pictures of the end result, i'd like to give another big thank you to Anton S. from Skellefteå and to the Nyström family in Boliden! Without these people, this project would never have excisted!

First up, an army pics:






Note the build in "fire light"


Unit pictures:

Gnoblars:








Trollgres / Ironguts:


(Poor) Tomte / David:








Moosefang Cavalry:


"Swedish" Banner, poluted by evil forest trolls:








Leadbelchers and lvl 2 butcher:


Sötist (the cute) butcher:












Renvargdjur:




Bruiser a.k.a. Trollble-o-seven of the Troll Intelligence Services (T.I.A.)








"Iron(y)blaster":






Manniskor åtare (man eaters):










And that was it! Very picture heavy... I know...
The army is eventually going to be expended to 2400 points, but for now I am going to attend myself to a long lost child, my Goblins...

What do you guys think?
C&C is always welcome, as are request for better (close up) pics.

Cheers!

Danny

Lovely work! Very characterful and well executed

As a fellow Goblin player I especially love the unit filler in your unit of Gnoblars

and as a student of literature I love the Ironyblaster :')