Sammus' Fat Elf-Hunters

Hi! This is perhaps a little premature, but I'm starting a gnoblog anyway. I'm completely new to this, I've played 2 games ever and had a blast, and have decided to build an Ogre army. Further down the track, I will probably also build a dark elves army. But Ogres for now!

I'm waiting for my first purchase into warhammer to be delivered: 2 ogre battalion boxes!

I've been tinkering with army lists and what not quite a bit, and plan on a few conversions from the boxes.

I'll be playing exclusively casual games with a few friends, with a focus on canniballising filthy tree hugging wood elves.

I'll be working solely with the battalion boxes for a little while, and will add some Sabertusks, MFC and an IB to the mix later on.

I'm thinking of picking up a few Reaper war cats in place of the sabertusks - they look about the right scale, and I think I like the model better than the GW sabertusk.

The 1500pt list I have at the moment using only the battle boxes (allowing for some modest conversions ) is:


+ Heroes + (313pts)

    * Bruiser (150pts)  - with 5x  ironguts
        Great Weapon, Heavy Armour
        * Battle Standard Bearer
            Look-out Gnoblar


    * Butcher (163pts) - with 5x  ironguts
        Ironfist, Lore of the Great Maw, Wizard Level 2
        * Magic Items
            Dispel Scroll


+ Core + (560pts)

    * Gnoblars (50pts)
        Gnoblar Trappers, 10x Gnoblars


    * Gnoblars (25pts)
        10x Gnoblars


    * Ironguts (250pts)
        Bellower, Champion, 5x Ironguts
        * Standard Bearer
            Lookout-Gnoblar (Look-out Gnoblar)


    * Ironguts (235pts)
        Bellower, Champion, 5x Ironguts


+ Special + (625pts)

    * Leadbelchers (149pts)
        Bellower, Champion, 3x Leadbelchers


    * Maneaters (476pts)
        6x A Brace of Ogre Pistols, Bellower, Champion, Poisoned Attacks, Scouts
        * 6x Maneaters
            6x Heavy Armour
        * Standard Bearer
            AB - Dragonhide Banner




I have some precious green stuff, some Vellajo paints, and some assorted sculpting tools and basing stuff on its way too. I bought some reasonable quality synthetic brushes from the the local art supply store today. All I need is to pick up a spray primer from somewhere (the GW stuff is $26/can locally ) and I'll be set to start when the actual minis arrive!

I will keep this updated as I learn to paint and actually play the game! 

It's never premature to start a gnoblog! They act as a diary for you and hopefully comments from others will inspire you in your own project (and in turn, seeing your achievements will inspire us back!).

So without further ado, welcome to the forum and the gnoblog community

I understand your dislike of the sabretusk models (I feel like I'm the only one that likes them haha) so go with whatever works for you!

The army list you've come up with seems pretty fun and a great starting point. To see you make those maneaters is what I'm looking forward to!

BB

I can only echo what BB has said; it is always a good time to start a Gnoblog!

I would have to say though, I am with you on the Sabres; I hate them if I am being honest. I have yet to find something to proxy them with (Fenrisian Wolves being the obvious choice) but I would love to use Wild Boars but somehow they don't seem to fit that well.

Slightly different list there, which should be interesting. I can't wait to see what you do with the models when you get them.

welcome to the Gnoblog community!

G_H

Well, I don't hate the sabertusk, I'm just not a huge fan of it. Especially considering how exxy they are ($-wise). I'm hesitant to go any wolf or canine substitute, so I've been looking exclusively for felines.

Since this is my first time doing any of this stuff, I implore you to keep your hopes well down. The models will be very basic and boring for you seasoned ogres (but hopefully only in the the beginning!).

At present (before I even begin to think about war machines and centre pieces), the maneaters are my biggest worry.

I'm thinking either a pack of wood-elf trained ogres that have studied the wood elf ways in order to master the art of hunting them (because WE are my no1 opponent) , or some nurgle rot inflicted ogres, because I love the nurgle daemon models and was very close to building a nurgle demon army for my first go. They would generally be nowhere near my army on the battlefield, and this would fit with them trying to steer clear due to their disease.

I haven't got much fluff for the former,  and none for the latter at all. The WE would require less modelling which is probably good considering my zero experience...

While personally I like sabertusks I just wish there was more then 2 molds of them!  Though as G_H has said boars are a possibility here.

RJ_Payne has a wonderful example of little piggys being sabers here:

http://www.ogrestronghold.com/forum/index.php?topic=25054.650

You could make them more ogrey but adding some spare gut plates to them as an example that their ogre masters love their favourite little piggys perhaps.  Little bit of green stuff for straps etc. 

Kind regards Zolas.

Something feline of that size in the right scale is tough! Have a look around various other model companies and even children's toys you may stumble on a gem of a leopard or something that with a tiny bit of greenstuff could be perfect!

Also - regarding your gnoblog, it's your space. Nobody will be disappointed! If people were disappointed with gnoblogs I would have got rid of mine long ago! We love watching and helping journeys. It makes our fat bellies wobble.

BB

Things I love - Ogres

Things I don't like - Elves

I will be watching this gnoblog.

Small update, my ogres finally came! I still don't have any paints yet (or a reasonably set up work area) - they've been in the mail for way too long.

I've spent three solid afternoons cutting bits out and trimming of flash and mould lines and whatnot, and I still am a way off a unit (2 mostly done, 2 partly done, plus a couple extra bodies cut out), but hey I'm sure I'll get faster.

You can see my thorough wreckage of models here:



Viewing the full size image i can see so so much that I missed, I swear they don't look that bad in normal human sight!

I have had a few mishaps gluing and whatnot (e.g. see what will be a champion, with the hammer, left foot - I got a little carried away gluing random bits together without thinking, I actually meant to give him the chain veil). I think I will just try to disguise that in the basing.

I'm already bugged by the big shoulder gaps I heard so much about - especially when I dry-fitted a leadbelcher cannon (the one in the foreground): the cannon is slightly misaligned - so the ridges don't quite match up - and the arms etc don't seem to line up well at all. I guess I will be practicing some GS sooner than I thought.

For the little gaps (e.g. around the shoulders), I've been told that the GW liquid green stuff works quite well. I also noticed that if I used plastic cement instead of CA glue then sometimes the melty plastic would ooze a little around part of the shoulder and make it look completely seamless. I haven't managed to perfect doing this though, so I think I'll be GSing the gaps.

I still haven't decided if I like CA glue or PS cement better yet - the only cement I have is the tamiya extra thin stuff, which seems to evaporate almost instantly so is a little tricky to get the initial holding bond. But when it works it is a lot cleaner, if you use too much CA you get that horrible white frosty residue everywhere.

Anywho, that's enough of a wall of text from me.

tl;dr I got some ogres and am learning how to clean up and assemble them. Some whinging about things not lining up perfectly.

I've needed to use liquid green stuff to fix the shoulder gaps on 90% of my ogres so far. It does work well, especially if you smooth it out with a wet brush.

So after some major shipping delays, I finally got my paints too I haven't used them yet though, I'm preparing for for first battles in a few weeks, so want to finish constructing my army before I worry about painting.

I've started playing with GS a very tiny bit - just fixing various gaps and whatnot. I had a go at making just a flat square to turn into a cleaver for a Butcher/SM conversion, and found out that GS dries kind of rubbery, so not sure if it'll be suitable. I'll have to look around for some stiff card to use instead.

It did make me realise that I might hold off on doing any ME conversions till I have a little more experience. So my conversions will be limited to a SM, butcher, and bruiser for now. I really like the Scibor slaughterer so might even pick him up. We'll see.

Anywho, I've redesigned the army list a little. I've put together a 1500 and a 2000 list, same stakes as before. Purely casual friendly games, focussed on fun rather than extreme competitiveness.

I'm not really sure what happens in the 1500pt list - the Bruiser is the character with highest Ld, but is also BSB. Does that mean I can't have a general? Or is the Butcher automatically the general? I'm assuming the latter.

1495pts:
Bruiser
 - Great Weapon, Heavy Armour, BsB (gleaming pennant) Crown of Command, Dragonhelm, Luckstone
 
Butcher
 - Lore of the Great Maw, Level 2
 - Dispel Scroll, Sword of Striking

5x Ironguts with full command, Standard of Discipline (Butcher goes here)

5x Ironguts with full command, (Bruiser BsB goes here)

4x Leadbelchers with Bellower and Champion

4x Mournfang Cavalry with full command
 - Heavy Armour, Ironfists, Dragonhide Banner

1x Sabretusk
1x Sabretusk
1x Sabretusk

The 2000 army is:

1983pts:

Slaughtermaster
 - Lore of the Great Maw, Level 4
 - Crown of Command, Fencer's Blades, Glittering Scales

Bruiser
 - BsB (Standard of Discipline), Heavy Armour, Enchanted Shield, Talis of Pres.
 
Butcher
 - Lore of the Great Maw, Level 2
 - Dispel Scroll, Sword of Striking

7x Ironguts with Bellower and Champion (SM and Bruiser BsB go here - SM in front row)

6x Ironguts with full command, gleaming pennant (Butcher goes here)

4x Leadbelchers with Bellower and Champion

4x Mournfang Cavalry with full command
 - Heavy Armour, Ironfists, Dragonhide Banner

1x Sabretusk
1x Sabretusk
1x Sabretusk

There's a few spare points on either list, I will probably throw in a a few standard bearers.

C+C?

I'll post some actual pictures when I get to painting and modelling

Just finished my first proper go at green stuffing (and cutting and re-gluing several other random bits)... meet by Butcher (or slaughtermaster in bigger games, at least for the time being):

Torggrat Headboiler!

He is meant to be wearing an apron, hopefully that will be more obvious once it has some colour in it.

I need to figure out out to clean the fingerprints off the green stuff (I was using lots of water and tools trying to avoid touching it, but it seems to pick up the shape of fingerprints more than anything else I tried to make it do!!), and also the random pits of plastic dust.

I realised the head was a little crooked after taking these photos. Luckily I'd only just glued it so was able to rejig it a little.

Oops. Just realised that these lists are complete bunk. Magic items and standard on my BsB, I think not!

I'll have to give them another go. So far will probably just move the magic standard onto the relevant unit of IG.

Models are looking really good so far, I can't wait to see some paint on these guys esp the butcher who looks particularly vicious with that meat cleaver!

G_H

Thanks GH!

I want to get my army assembled first, then was planning on batch priming them before starting the put colour in. Assembling is taking way longer than I expected! No matter how much I clean them up, some bits dont seem to fit quite right (the shoulder blade gaps are the biggest example), so there is still a lot of liquid green stuffing over gaps before I want to start painting. Hopefully work should die down in the next month or so and I can get more done.

I did have my first battle with them on the weekend, 1000pts against Wood Elves with shadow. Unfortunately, me being completely new to the game and lacking ideas of strategy didn't help at all, and I was pretty thoroughly slaughtered.

Had a unit or wild riders, a lv2 shadow caster, 20 eternal guard, some sisters and a heap of archers that I can't remember the names of.

I had my butcher (CoC and Sword of Striking), 2 units of 6 IG (one with gleaming pennant, one with discipline) and 4 LB and 10 gnoblars.

I took bullgorger and spine marrow, he had his sisters spells (shield of thornes and curse of anraheir), and withering and miasma from shadow.

I was mostly scared of the block of spears in the thicket, and the wild riders scary charge. In my limited experience I've never seen a unit of wild riders charge anything without completely obliterating the whole unit and overcharging to do it to whatever else is nearby. My experience is obviously very limited, but they still scare the hell out of me!

The battle was essentially most of his army crammed into a venom thicket, fronted by a unit of 20 eternal guard. This grants 4 ranks of poison attacks, ASF with rerolls to hit and I think rerolling 1s to wound. I fired with my LB while I could (with their soft cover, long range and the miasma stealing my BS I wasn't too successful).

By the time I was within charging range I had 3 IG, 2LB and my unit of 6 IG containing my butcher still intact. His wild riders were set up to flank anything I charged, and his sisters were running around my units messing with me by blocking charges and throwing the odd poisoned javelin.

My biggest success was a 10"+ charge into his eternal guard with my 3 IG - killed one with the super ogre charge, then his massive amount of ASF poisened attacks wiped the whole unit. A similar thing happened next turn with my main unit, except I still had the butcher and one IG left after his attacks. That was at the beginning of turn 4, and we were running late to meet some friends out so I conceded.

Things I learnt:
- I gave up braingobbler for some stupid reason, I'll probably never do that again, pure idiocy on my part. I ended up with two combat buffs that were useless the entire game as I never got into combat. If I was giving his guys a few panic tests that could've made his block of spears run off the board, which would've made a huge difference.
- I should've not been so controlled by his spell casting - my big unit was cursed the whole time and I lost some guys to DT tests the one time I tried to do anything by move, but that would've been better to suffer earlier and get into combat before having all the wounds given by poison archers and javelins. I'm tempted to take rangers banner when I play WE in the future, as the curse of anraheir always pops up, and it would be nice to be able to ignore.
- My gnoblars did nothing really, since they were slower than the rest of my army and my initial thought (before having all the hexes) was to race into combat asap. In hindsight I should've hung back and used them to try and bait the wildriders (who I didn't know were frenzied) into a position I could charged at them. Even if they held themselves together, they could've possible redirected the otherwise inevitable flank charge.


This is fairly reminiscent of other games I have against him (me playing VC). In bigger point matchups I'm taking a lv4 heavens and crossing my fingers for a comet to drop on that stupid venom thicket. I also think I would've done much better subbing my butcher for a firebelly with a RRoR. Getting a fireball or two off into his riders or eternal guard would've made them much less threatening.

My latest 2000 list is:

Slaughtermaster. Heavens, Level 4. Grut's Sickle, Armour of Destiny

Bruiser, BsB, HA, Rune Maw

Butcher, Maw, Level 2, Hellheart

11x Ironguts. Bellower, Standard of Discipline.

4x Leadbelchers

4x Mournfang Cavalry. HA, IF, musician, Banner of Swiftness

1x Sabretusk
1x Sabretusk
1x Sabretusk

1x Ironblaster

Don't really have a plan, I wanted to fit 6 leadies in but didn't know what to give up. Every build I start tinkering with ends up looking the same.

Any comments/criticism welcome.

I'd consider swapping a couple of Ironguts for Leadbelchers so you don't have so much tied up n the one unit. It might make it easier to clear away undead chaff .

Unfortunately the guts are only a couple over 500pts, so I can't take any out without dropping below minimum core.