Kings of War A Veteran Wargamer’s Newbie Guide

In the order for 3D printed bits I got a few sets of 2handed weapons for the basic plastic infantry kit. The 3D bits are Mantic’s official extras and were printed by Big Jim’s Printing Service in Bristol.
There are 5 different weapons with attached arms. They all fit the bodies very well. I ordered 20 and want a Horde, so 4 troop bases. I had 23 bodies left and a spare standard pole and musician arm. I’ll make a small command section of 3 with a leader and champion in addition to the std/mus chap. I can only fit 6 miniatures on a base which allows  a bit of extra room for them to swing those big weapons. I can do 3 bases of 6 and one base with the 3 command and the remaining 2 troopers.

They came together nicely and with a different edging colour of a reddish orange they will match the scheme but also stand out as a separate unit.

Game wise they are the only way to get cheap Crushing Strength 1 into the core. This is a free upgrade for Blacksouls and you drop a point of defence (going to 4+) but gain the Crushing 1. I’ve not seen anyone else using them so I think they are an unusual choice that will make the army more unique.

The big monster for the Abyssal Dwarfs is the Helfane.  This is an elemental construct with an Overmaster and two shooty wizardy types in the howdah.  These things are expensive at 260 points but they shoot a long way and hit like a speeding truck.

The miniature is Mantic cast resin.  Judging by the markings on the casting it is from a 3D printed master that was made a little before the very fine detail of todays printers as there are a couple of places where print lines are evident.  It doesn’t spoil the miniature or make painting awkward but they are visible.

Basic assembly is pretty straightforward:

And then the final bits and the crew.  You can see there was an issue with the Overmaster as his weapon arm wasn’t in the kit.  I bought it from Vinted but it was still in the cellophane so I’m sure Mantic would have been okay with sending me a replacement part.  I wasn’t bothered though as I have these spare arms from the Blacksouls plastic kit that work really well and I actually prefer this pose to the original one.

Next up I mounted him on the standard Titan base, 75mm square.  As it fairly usual for the larger Mantic miniatures he in no way fits 😀

Then to painting.  Followed the same scheme as for the Elementals, black Speedpaint and then Darktone Dip for the obsidian glass gloss effect.  The metal sections were done in a very similar way to the other elementals however, I used a few more stages to build a more gradual progression and depth of tone.

I bought a few extra command options.  There is an Overmaster on foot, Ba’su’su the Vile the Gargoyle Warlord option and a couple of Soulless.

The AD characters are supported by mutated mastiffs as there are plenty spare.  Same paint scheme as before but the gold has a few extra layers of intermediate colours between the ones discussed.  They are characters after all.  First the Overmaster:

The Soulless.  3D prints using the official Mantic stl from Big Jim’s Printing Service in Bristol.  One was a failed print (no bottom of the halberd) which he sent anyway and I’ve used as is:

Ba’su’su is the Gargoyle Warlord.  Cool metal mini that isn’t in production any more.  He’s a beat stick in combat and makes one of the Gargoyle troops Core.  Not quite enough to justify his price.  Maybe he’ll get a nudge in the new update.  Here’s hoping.

A Veteran Wargamer’s Journey Into Kings Of War Part 8: Road Trips And Retirement?

I need two Hordes of Orcs in double quick time so it is time to whip out the Speedpaints.  I have been accumulating miniatures and have plenty of Mantic Orcs.  The basic Ax Orcs are a simple build with three basic bodies with three options of axes, shields and heads.  There is also a command sprue to provide a standard (with dwarf head, perfect), drummer and leader.

They went together easily and there was little visible flash.  Just as well as there isn’t time for extensive cleanup.  They were zenith undercoated and we are ready to go.

I tend to paint from inside out.  So skin is first.  Orc Green obvs.

Then on to some smaller details.  This helps to break up the painting effort and give some quicker progress as colours take less time.  Some bone details and the shafts of the weapons.

Then some complementary colour with some red.  Slaughter Red for the visible clothes on the back of the miniatures.  On the shields I did a wet blend.  The darker Slaughter red on the lower half and edges and Bright Red on the upper half and quickly wet blended into the darker colour.  This is most visible on the leader shield.

Shield insides were done in Leather and then I carried on with this colour to pick out the wraps on the ankles and any other prominent leather details like the wrapped axe handles.

Then the big one.  Broadsword Silver for the armour.  There is lots of this so this stage takes the most time.  This settles well into detail recesses which is just as well because there isn’t time to highlight the armour on these.

Finally the classic vaudeville phrase “Eyes and teeth!”  There is time to do some detail work and these two help to set the miniatures off nicely.  Black eyes and ivory teeth. Finished!

A Veteran Wargamer’s Journey Into Kings Of War Part 7: Parties, Tours & A Tournament

A Veteran Wargamer’s Journey Into Kings Of War Part 6: First Tournament Preparation & Panic!

A Veteran Wargamer’s Journey Into Kings Of War Part 5: Army Complete, Now Onto Playtesting!