New-Oldhammer - First Encounters of a 40K kind

Hello, something a bit different from me today as you are well aware Games Workshop products are going through a bit of a renaissance that harks back to the golden Oldhammer age of gaming, big box games, familiar titles, etc, well I thought I would give some of this NewOldhammer, Newhammer, Nu-hammer, Neohammer or whatever you want to call it a go.

Now I considered the last 20 years of Games Workshop products as unworthy of my attention and was a bit snobbish about it all and very blinkered but the last two years or so of released products have excited me very much I had to have a word with myself 😆, the new products scream to me of days of old so what did I do only went and purchased each new game release when it came out, Warhammer Quest: Silver Tower, Necromunda, Kill team: Rogue Trader, etc while yearning for the day my 5 year old and I can play together. These boxed games are mostly still sitting on top of a wardrobe in their shrink wrap except Gorechosen and Warhammer Quest: Blackstone Fortress which I have been doing some work on in my spare time.

Here are some of my efforts on miniatures from this new exciting era.

My fruits of a new age

UR-025 from Warhammer Quest: Blackstone Fortress, a robot (Men of Iron) who secretly possesses AI and is on a secret mission of his own.  It's been a bit of a struggle to get used to snap fix plastic miniatures but I got there in the end with this one, when painting this one I tried to get as close to the box art as possible as not to confuse my boy when we get around to playing the game, the green white effect was achieved with a 50/50 mix of Lahmian Medium and Nihilakh Oxide using modern Citadel Colour paints is totally new to me being a Vallejo paints fan but I liked the results so will be adding others when I need to. I did my usual basing style also adding a skull from the Citadel skulls set as I want to use this miniature more than just in Blackstone Fortress.


I have to apologise for the number of photos of UR-025 but I felt that there are so many little neat details I wanted to show from higher and lower angles plus if you know me my photography stinks, I am really impressed with the design.

UR-025 - front

UR-025 - side

UR-025 - side

UR-025 - back

UR-025 - gun side

UR-025 - front

UR-025 - front

UR-025 - Flamer side

UR-025 - back

Next up is 'Fexgor the Flayer' a Khornate Slaughterpriest with Hackblade and Wrath-hammer (what a mouthful), he came free with White Dwarf and the brilliant price of Gorechosen lead to my purchase for the game.  I went for typical Khorne colours and jazzed the base up a bit.

Fexgor the Flayer - front

Fexgor the Flayer - side

Fexgor the Flayer - back

Fexgor the Flayer - side

Fexgor the Flayer

The final miniature of today post is ForgeWorld's Necromunda 'Belladonna' the Noble Bounty Huntress, when I saw this I just had to have it as I have great love for John Blanche's work. This miniature is a homage to the Amazon Gothique painting and Chaos Amazon (LE15), I did a blog post discussing this miniature and it's influences here.  My paint job is my attempt to copy the image on the blister and that was a mistake as this miniature is bloody difficult to paint, the level of details is immense I don't think I touched a brush bigger than 5/0, my head hurts when thinking about how the Forgeworld painters achieved their final painted version.

Belladonna - front

Belladonna - side

Belladonna - side

Belladonna - back

Belladonna - side

Well I hope you have enjoy the start of my journey into the modern age, I am currently working on Thaddeus the Purifier for Blackstone Fortress so you will be seeing him soon along with many posts of the usual stuff.

thanks
J

BC5 Michael Moorcock's Eternal Champion Part 1 - Corum Jhaelen Irsei

Hello, short post today of a draft that has been sitting around for ages, if you are a twitter follower you may have seen I painted this Oldhammer miniature last summer.  I have always loved the Moorcock's novels, his conception of the forces of Chaos and the blend fantasy with sci-fiction so due to this I have painted the BC5 Michael Moorcock's Eternal Champion many times since 1987 but I was never really happy with the finished miniatures, periodically stripping them. 

Now when choosing miniatures to paint I like many of you often try to get the miniature to fit as many gaming genres as possible, not just Warhammer and the Corum, Hawkmoon and Jerry miniatures from the BC5 set are ideal miniatures for this, Corum for instance could be a fantasy Warlock, Chaos Champion or a Sci-fi Cult leader with power claw and bionic eye, this increases their chances of an outing on the gaming table.

Here is the first miniature from this mini project 'Corum Jhaelen Irsei' from the 1987 Citadel Miniatures 'BC5 Michael Moorcock's Eternal Champion' boxed set.  I went for a dark muted colour palette that I think really works on the Eternal Champion miniatures, I couldn't paint a plain metal plate covering his empty eye socket it was just looked too boring so I attempted to make it represent the Eye of Rhynn which he gave up to the Lost Gods, I used Citadel Soulstone gem paints on the jewels of the Hand of Kwll.  I was tempted to add some gold thread patterns to his scarlet robe but I resisted as it might have brightened the miniature up and ruined the effect I was trying to achieve, I am quite happy how he turned out.  There are 7other miniatures in the Boxed set and I think I'll have another crack at Hawkmoon soon.

Corum Jhaelen Irsei

Corum Jhaelen Irsei - back

Corum Jhaelen Irsei - front

Corum Jhaelen Irsei - front

Corum Jhaelen Irsei - back

Thanks for popping in
J

IC301 - Iron Claw Pirates Part 4

Hello again, much Oldhammer littering my workstation as well lots of 'Newhammer' (is that even a thing?).  Now I am really loving the miniatures being released for Warhammer Quest Blackstone Fortress and am slowly working on these in the little spare time I have.  Lots of this modern plastic 'tat' will be shared on this blog soon.

I did eventually manage to finish another 1988 IC301 Iron Claw Space Pirates miniature and here he is, still have four more on the go, only one miniature outstanding on the entire range.  Work in progress pictures can be found on my Twitter feed.

Here's what I have done so far if you have not been following:

Iron Claw Pirates Part 1
Iron Claw Pirates Part 2
Iron Claw Pirates Part 3

Today's miniature is another Bob Olley fan favourite 'Nightwing', one of two human cyborgs in the range, Loritta (Cyber Girl) being the other one.

Nightwing looks like he has been through the wars and these have left him with a cyborg torso, a head with cool eye grills and mechanical left arm. I went for camouflage with squares (multi-scale?) on his lower armour pieces, he is also armed with the same gun as 'Little Rico' a sort of pseudo plasma gun.

The back of the miniature is a pretty basic sculpt with a cloak that has what looks like jester dangly bits, I am sure there a practical reason for them?? I was really excited about painting this miniature but that didn't continue I felt the sculpt was a bit flat. The miniature is tagged as 'trooper'.

I used Games Workshop's Barbed Bracken on base painted in a variety of colours, I have always tried to make my bases as generic as possible, one so not to take the attention off the miniature and two to help the miniature fit in with any game but lately I have been really impressed with the new basing kits so I couldn't resist adding a bit here and there, the box of Games Workshop's Skulls is one of my favourites.

IC301 Iron Claw Space Pirates 'Nightwing' - front

IC301 Iron Claw Space Pirates 'Nightwing' - side

IC301 Iron Claw Space Pirates 'Nightwing' - back

IC301 Iron Claw Space Pirates 'Nightwing'

Old photos below.

IC301 Iron Claw Space Pirates 'Nightwing' - front

IC301 Iron Claw Space Pirates 'Nightwing' - back

Photos trying to get the base in better.

IC301 Iron Claw Space Pirates 'Nightwing'

IC301 Iron Claw Space Pirates 'Nightwing'

Thanks for stopping by again, I think I'll show you some of my more modern miniatures next time.
cheers
J

RT01 Imperial Space Marine - Treacher Marine

Hello,
Todays classic Oldhammer miniature is the Rogue Trader RT01 Imperial Space Marines ‘Treacher Marine’ released in April 1988's spectacular White Dwarf 100 and sculpted by either Mark Copplestone or Aly Morrison not sure which one.

RT01 Imperial Space Marines ‘Treacher Marine’

This miniature was the first Traitor Marine Citadel Miniatures ever released and eventually found it way into the Realm of Chaos era Chaos Renegades range along with the other 'not so' Limited Edition renegades.

Treacher Marine (No. 12) - RT01 Imperial Space Marines - April 1988 White Dwarf 100
LE101 - Chaos Renegade Marine - May 1988 White Dwarf 101 (although pictured on the cover of White Dwarf 99)
LE102 - Traitor Legionnaire - June 1988 White Dwarf 102

This is the only miniature from the range that doesn’t have personal name all the others are Brother <insert name>, or Rank <insert name> and unlike some of the Space Marine Renegades pictured in the Warhammer 40,000 Rogue trader Rulebook (see below) this one is definitely aligned to the ruinous gods of Chaos. 

He has the 8 pointed star of Chaos on the shoulder pad of his Mark VI power armour with the other shoulder pad and helmet that may have been mutated by the warp, chitinous or alien in appearance.  He is armed with a Bolt gun with Chain blade bayonet.

Space Marine Renegades

I went for the Warhammer 40,000 2nd Edition colour scheme of the early Night Lords before all the lightning livery I have always had a soft spot for the Night Lords and built a small force in the 2nd Edition era out of a mix of Rogue trader miniatures and 2nd edition Chaos, I may revisit these one day.

RT01 Imperial Space Marines ‘Treacher Marine’ - front

RT01 Imperial Space Marines ‘Treacher Marine’ - side

RT01 Imperial Space Marines ‘Treacher Marine’ - back

I also spotted Treacher Marine in Warhammer World's cabinets during the Summer 2018.

Treacher Marine at Warhammer World 1

Treacher Marine at Warhammer World 2

Thanks for dropping in, lots more drafts on the go so come back soon.
Cheers
J

IC301 - Iron Claw Pirates - Part 3

Hello, well recent my 1988 Iron Claw Space Pirates posts (part 1 & part 2 for a bit more history) were well received by friends and followers so I decided to soldier on and paint a few more. 

My latest batch of Iron Claw Space Pirates

Firstly we have the weird and wonderful 'Star Raven' who I assume is a Rogue Psyker, wearing strange armour and helmet and carrying a dragon headed staff.  He is nicely sculpted miniature with a cloak adorned with a star and a moon faced gorget, he would make a excellent henchman for my Bolt Thrower miniatures Bob Olley Space Viking.

One thing I found interesting is his miniature tab states 'Timelord' which made me think was this miniature sculpted earlier when Games Workshop had a Dr Who license and never made it to that range thus being put here or did Bob Olley use a metal timelord as a base for his sculpt? who knows....

I wanted him to look supernatural so for the armour I painted all the metal with Vallejo Natural Steel and washed with a wash of 50% Lahmian Medium with 50% Waystone Green/Soulstone Blue mix which gave a nice blue green glow and for the staff washed with Lahmian Medium/Spiritstone Red mix for an interesting red copper look.

Star Raven - front

Star Raven - back

Next we have 'Dambo Kweltz' a human holding what appears to be a Armalite Rifle from a lost age of technology, I based my colour scheme on the original advert paint job, pinks and purples and had a couple of disasters with this choice and that's where @Curis of the excellent  ninjabread blog gave me excellent advice which helped recover the paint job. Tab says 'mercenary' I imagine him as a Royal Hive Guard Deserter or maybe a arms trader or both :D

Dambo Kweltz - front

Dambo Kweltz - back

Next is 'Little Rico' armed with a crazy heavy gun that two grip handle in shield pods (you tell me?) I am going to use it as some sort of Plasma gun, this isn't the only miniature from the range that is equipped with this gun (coming soon). I gave him a big ginger beard and a drinkers nose, the skull on his helmet reminds me of someone out of 2000AD's Bad Company. It looks like he has some sort of comms unit on his back.  

Little Rico - front

Little Rico - back

Little Rico - side

Lastly we have 'Attitude Gorman' I found this one a fun miniature to paint and went for a full military paint job as his helmet with 'V' emblem screamed Volgan from 2000AD's ABC Warriors and Invasion!/Savage stories (which are now crossing over).

Attitude Gorman - front

Attitude Gorman - back

Attitude Gorman - side

Blue background didn't work so well today

More Space Pirates coming soon including the infamous 'Nightwing'.

Thanks for stopping by.
J

Slocombe's Warbots - Part 2 - Deathblow

Hello again, this is my second post on Slocombe's Warbot's today featuring the 'Deathblow' Class Heavy Droid, the warbot's were released on the Citadel Miniatures October 1987 Flyer and sculpted by Tony Slocombe.  I have completed two miniatures so far from this range with only the last one to complete.

This rare Oldhammer miniature has been sitting on my paint station for about 6 months occasionally getting a lick of paint here and there, I have never been pleased with it's progress and found it a difficult miniature to paint due to the lack flat surfaces, I mean everything is uneven with roughly sculpted grooves, rises, knobs, holes, all sorts, it's just a massive lump of porous lead but I kept going and here are the results.

My first post features Slocombe's Warbot's was 'Sam' Type Light Wardroid which can be enjoyed here.


I started off by spraying him in Citadel Mechanicus Grey which was a disaster as it was a hot day and the paint was drying before it hit miniature leaving a powdery coating that had to be sanded off but helped weather it a bit,  some highlight, decals/fix, mig weathering powders, and finishing with some stipple and detail.  Post varnishing I added Citadel 'Ardcoat to all the light sources which works well for me.

Many of my twitter followers have pointed out his likeness to the original Battletech mech 'Archer' and I have speculated on this in my first post.


All 3 of Slocombes Warbot's have an obvious Battletech influence:

• 'Deathblow' Class Heavy Droid - Archer
• 'Sam' Type Light Wardroid - Vindicator
• MKII 'Sprinter' Assault Droid - Catapult

Deathblow - front

Deathblow - side

Deathblow - back

Deathblow - side

Deathblow squishing Space Orks - Warhammer 40,000 Rogue Trader Rulebook Page 118 

Deathblow miniature featured on page 12 of the Rogue Trader rulebook

A couple of WIP (Work in Progress) photos that I posted on my twitter feed get following for all sorts of #Oldhammer tweets.

Deathblow - Line work

Deathblow - decals/transfers added

I am half way through the last one ‘Mk II Sprinter Assault Droid' but it's being going slow due to numerous disasters and I have since pinned him back together since but I am not too sure about the new pose so I may disassemble and start again.

‘Mk II Sprinter Assault Droid - disaster

Hope you enjoyed this post another draft complete another one coming soon

J