'Crazily Religious' and 'Technologically Advanced'; An army of the Empire (Stirland)

[Boreas_NL]

I've tried many times before to build myself an Empire army worth playing. Last time I even succeeded, nearly, and even painted a few models... Collecting wasn't the problem though, and I've thus gathered a nice pile of miniatures, both old and new, some even quite rare...

With all the new plastics now available it's as good a time as any to try again. And with the support of you I will make it through (I hope)...

I started by creating some spacial bases for my models. Plasticard strips, modelled to resemble stone tiles. I made a rubber mold for these, so I can mass produce them in sufficient numbers to base my entire army.


The original plastic ones, including a charriot, small infantry, cavalry, small monster, regiment and double infantry base... I'm also working on a bigger base for my war machines.


The first few casts... Not perfect (there are some bubbles) but good enough...

The first unit of the army will be a Free Company drafted from my Mordheim warband; Liebert's Looters. Most of these models were made with the new plastics, which rekindled my love for the weirdness of The Empire and gave me the inspiration of starting my army anew... Also, most of them are painted (well, sort of...), which is a big bonus!


The unit numbers around 20 models, the Ogre will act as unit filler... Mostly plastic, but there are some pretty nice metal models in there too. They all need new bases and most of them need paint.


Here's one of my favorite models, my Half-Halfling (it's a long story) from my Mordheim Warband. Bit of a colour test to see if the base looks good painted this way.

For the army I want a strong 'steampunk' feel, hence, I will be including some Master Engineers and one of each War Machine (mainly for some added variety) and probably a Steam Tank. Mind you, I don't want a gunline, so expect a maximum of around 20 missile troops in the army, likely in the form of a few detachements... Furthermore, I really like the crazy religious side of the Empire, so enter a Warrior Priest and a unit of Flagellants, or maybe even two.

I also have a unit of 25 Greatswords (the metal ones from the previous edition) waiting to be painted. If I can find some more of those models, I'll likely expand them to 30 or even more.

That's it for now, but expect more pictures and info soon... I've got some unit fillers and War Machines to dig out and some more pictures to take! In the meantime you should/could check out my Mordheim thread (page 30 and further would be the right place to start), there are a few pieces of steampunk weirdness there that will soon join the ranks of my Imperial army.

As always, your feedback is greatly appreciated, so please let me know what you think!

[Boreas_NL]

Here's a quick 'update'... Mainly some older models, much in need of a fresh paint job...


Sieger mortar, based on the old metal model and a piece from the siege Defenders set... The model will be stripped, repainted and will get a new base.


Cannon and Helblaster Volleygun... Both have the big wheels from the metal Steam Tank (from the good old days when you could still order separate bits from the online store). Both need a fresh paint job and a new base.

For all three of those models I have metal crew models, mostly the classic ones with the nice puffy sleeves and pants.


A few unit fillers... The pigeon loft will get completely re-done, the others will get a fresh paint job and a new base. All of my larger units (20 models or more) will get at least one unit filler. These little diorama's are a good way to include some fluff in the army and bulk up the unitsize.

As always, your feedback is greatly appreciated, so please let me know what you think!

[Boreas_NL]

Here's the first real update...

Just 'finished' the first unit, 14 Handgunners including full command. These guys can (and will) be used as a stand-alone unit or as a detachement for one of the larger units.


As you can see I've used both the single and double bases to base the unit. The models are a mix of the new plastic Archers, Handgunners and there may even be some Greatsword or State Trooper heads found in the unit...


The unit Champion is made from the body of the Steam Tank Commander and a repeater handgun from the Outrider sets... Both the banner and flute are from the Handgunners kit.






There are still some more details to be added, barrels to drill and some gaps to fill with greenstuff, but the unit is mostly finished...

I've tried to create as much different soldiers as possible. With all the options in the plastic Empire kits there's a lot to choose from. The unit has a distinct 'rural' look thanks to the bodies from the archers. Although I want a uniform appearance for my army I also want each unit to be somewhat different. The plumed heads should help to blend the unit with the rest of the army...

As always, your feedback is greatly appreciated, so please let me know what you think!

[Cragum]

thi army is absolutely gorgeous! Such a nice start and a brilliant background behind it all. Loving the siege mortar, just the fact its different to any I have seen before.
Same with the unit fillers. Like you said they really give alot of character to a unit and an army as a whole. I dont tend to do as characterful ones as this now in my armies as its kinda hard in ogre kingdoms and lizardmen bar my skinks!

Cant wait to see more stuff and definitely more painted stuff!

[lredman]

Very nice start Boreas, I especially like the unit fillers. If you can put the same level of detail into these models as you put into your terrain then it should be a very impressive army.

Looking forward to some paint on those handgunners. What colours are you going for?

[Brother Alexos]

What thickness of plasticard did you use for the Cobblestones? I would love to have something like this.

[Boreas_NL]

Woohoo! Thanks for the feedback!

thi army is absolutely gorgeous! Such a nice start and a brilliant background behind it all. Loving the siege mortar, just the fact its different to any I have seen before.
Same with the unit fillers. Like you said they really give alot of character to a unit and an army as a whole. I dont tend to do as characterful ones as this now in my armies as its kinda hard in ogre kingdoms and lizardmen bar my skinks!

Cant wait to see more stuff and definitely more painted stuff!

Thanks! Some armies are just better suited for unit fillers than others. My dwarfs suffer from a total lack of unit fillers. The mortar has been around for several years now, part of one of my previous Empire armies. Paint is coming, just not that fast...

Very nice start Boreas, I especially like the unit fillers. If you can put the same level of detail into these models as you put into your terrain then it should be a very impressive army.

Looking forward to some paint on those handgunners. What colours are you going for?

Thanks! The colours of Stirland are green and white/yellow (I'm using white), and maybe I'll add some red. The gunners will be mostly painted brown as they are clad in leather... Look down for some more unit filler goodness!

What thickness of plasticard did you use for the Cobblestones? I would love to have something like this.

The plasticard I used is 1.5 mm thick, which is just right. I experimented with different thicknesses, but 1.0 mm proved too thin and 2.0 mm was too thick...

And now for the update!


This picture can be found in the Empire army book from the previous edition... This picture, together with this thread (thanks Wulf) inspired me to create another unit filler.

I've got no skills with Green Stuff whatsoever, so I'm confined to the huge variety in Empire plastic bits... The clockwork horse is primarily there to emphasize the 'technology' part of the army (that, and I thoroughly dislike to paint horses).






The base is a bit small, so maybe it looks a bit cramped. If I get around to making a slightly larger (9x small infantry) base, I'll pobably switch it... The posture of both models is made to resemble the picture from the book as close as possible, but with a contemporary flavour... I don't know yet in which unit I will place this filler, most likely it'll be the Greatswords.

As always, your feedback is greatly appreciated, so please let me know what you think!

[Malcador]

I really like the use of the archer bodies. They're not so puffy as the rest. Not so sure on the banner you have given the engineer, not what I would have done, woud have given him a gun or something mech.

[Tiny]

Loving the unit fillers and the paved bases. Have to make one of those horse unit fillers for my own army. Looking forward to seeing some paint on these. Are you going for any province in particular?

Keep up the great work.

[PsychosisPC]

I do like the bit of diorama like story-telling you are doing. That is extremely appealing to me. GS takes a bit to learn, but your conversion work is good, a little bit of GS will compliment that, start slow and work your way up on the GS.

Good stuff so far.

[spetswalshe]

Looking utterly brilliant. I think any self-respecting Mordheim fan would love a tutorial on the bases, too

[static grass]

Fantastic unit fillers!

[Boreas_NL]

Thanks for the feedback!

Looking utterly brilliant. I think any self-respecting Mordheim fan would love a tutorial on the bases, too

Thanks! Expect a tutorial soon!

[QUOTE]Loving the unit fillers and the paved bases. Have to make one of those horse unit fillers for my own army. Looking forward to seeing some paint on these. Are you going for any province in particular?

I do like the bit of diorama like story-telling you are doing. That is extremely appealing to me. GS takes a bit to learn, but your conversion work is good, a little bit of GS will compliment that, start slow and work your way up on the GS.

Good stuff so far.

Thanks! The flavour and background is extremely important to me. I'll try my luck on some easy GS work, but I have my doubts (I really can't seem to get it right)...

Loving the unit fillers and the paved bases. Have to make one of those horse unit fillers for my own army. Looking forward to seeing some paint on these. Are you going for any province in particular?

Keep up the great work.

Thanks! I'll be painting the army in the colours of Stirland (some day...), it's by far the coolest province of The Empire (because they drink their ale hot).

And now for the update!

I've started work on my unit of Greatswords. I only want to use the older metal models for the unit as I have other plans with the new plastic ones. This unit is going to be the central fighting unit of my army, including some of the most important charachters, thus functioning as the central command unit in the Imperial line... Both unit fillers are set-up to represent this as good as possible.


Here's a shot of the unit as it is now. I have the models (including the two unit fillers) to expand the unit to 30 models. If I can get my hands on more of those metal Greatswords I'll probabely expand the unit even further... The models will be based on their own or as twins on a double base (those double bases are already becoming a firm favourite of mine).

And a few pics of the two unit fillers...




Merchant and scribe... Probably the wealthy patron (a filthy rich merchant or corrupt burgomeister) of the army and his scribe. I can't emphasise enough how much I like the posture of both models, they make a great set together!




The model is Marco Colombo, obviously... In this case he's supposed to be the army's strategist, standing behind a map strewn desk, in the thick of the fighting... The little scroll carrier is from Reaper (I think). Both models are pinned to the base but have yet to be glued, thus the awkward askew posture...

As always, your feedback is greatly appreciated, so please let me know what you think, and, if you're feeling adventurous, feel free to rate my thread...

[FBI]

That merchants pose is so well done. He finds himself so important that he does not need to look at his scribe. He`s to rich to be bothered.

I just wonder if he is going to be bothered when confronted by a herd of minotaurs...

Anyway, post the coach, mate. There is no steam in your Steampunks from Stirland.
(Boreasj the sjerious sjteampunk from Sjtirland) (sorry for the monty python refference)

[Breazer]

this looks like a good start of the army....
i am curious how you will aply the colours...keep it up...i am going to keep my eyes on this

[Harry]

Absolutely lovin' the conversions and unit fillers. Full of character.

[muse1c]

Love your use of unit fillers, very characterful and a great way to break up large infantry blocks. I am looking forward to seeing these painted.

[Boreas_NL]

Thanks for the feedback!

this looks like a good start of the army....
i am curious how you will aply the colours...keep it up...i am going to keep my eyes on this

Thanks! As for the applying of the paint, I think I'll use a brush...

Absolutely lovin' the conversions and unit fillers. Full of character.

Love your use of unit fillers, very characterful and a great way to break up large infantry blocks. I am looking forward to seeing these painted.

Thanks! The unit fillers are tremendous fun to make and do add a lot of charachter to the project...

That merchants pose is so well done. He finds himself so important that he does not need to look at his scribe. He`s to rich to be bothered.

I just wonder if he is going to be bothered when confronted by a herd of minotaurs...

Anyway, post the coach, mate. There is no steam in your Steampunks from Stirland.
(Boreasj the sjerious sjteampunk from Sjtirland) (sorry for the monty python refference)

Ah, yes... The coach! Prepare for some steampunk...

And now for the update...

I had the Mordheim Stagecoach lying around for a few years now, started converting it a few times and last week I suddenly got a spark of inspiration and came up with this...






The largest part is the Mordheim Stagecoach, augmented with plenty of guns (left over from the Empire State Troopers kit) and a load of parts from the Empire Steamtank. I wanted to create some sort of horseless carriage with a distict steampunk look... In games I intend to use it as a part of my unit of Outriders (sort of unit filler), a detachement of handgunners (when turned it's roughly the same size base as 10 Handgunners) or as a stand alone unit with it's own set of rules...

Here's my first captain, mounted on a mechanical pegasus...




The pegasus is based on another clockwork horse from the mounted engineer... The wings are made from plasticard and thin plastic strips and tubes. This conversion has been around for a while and has been one of the main sources of inspiration for this army.

He'll get the ignoble job of hunting war machines and the odd lone charachter.

As always, your feedback is greatly appreciated, so please let me know what you think, and, if you're feeling adventurous, feel free to rate my thread...

[Breazer]

love the stank and the pegasus
cant say anything else about them...

[Boreas_NL]

Almost a double post, but I had some more pics I wanted to show you...

love the stank and the pegasus
cant say anything else about them...

That was FAST! Thanks

I've finished another mold with some larger bases. Below you can see the result of my purpose built artillery base...


Cannon...


Mortar...

The crew for both of these warmachines is coming soon.

I also updated another unit filler...


Based on an old crew model from the classic Helblaster volleygun... He'll probably end up in my unit of Halberdiers.

And the start of my first big core unit.


These guys are the first of my large block of Halberdiers... In my mind, Halberdiers (and Stirland Halberdiers in particular) are supposed to be roaringly drunk, hence the sergeant with the bottle. The Halberdiers will be made from the new plastic Greatswords as I want them to have a armoured look. Different kits will supply the heads...

As always, your feedback is greatly appreciated, so please let me know what you think, and, if you're feeling adventurous, feel free to rate my thread...