Marienburg

[ftayl5]

We have the same kind of birch stool, IKEA IIRC.

You've officially made my day, mrtn

Those pikemen look great too, and I like the hounds.

[ZeroTwentythree]

So it's been just a little while since I've posted here. Life has been incredibly busy with the new job I started late last year, the arrival of our (now 9 month old) daughter, and currently we're packing up to move to the other side of town.

For a while I had given up on WFB. I sold my Skaven army, and was considering offers on this Marienburg army. After giving WFB 8th edition well over a year of playing, I'm still not fond of it. I'm also not into the increasingly competitive/tournament focus, despite being a long time tournament player myself. (They just don't seem as laid back & friendly as they used to be.) I've decided to hang on to the Marienburgers for now, and have been painting mostly just from the enjoyment of painting. I might try out the new army book. I'm also considering trying out the fan based DoW book as well.

At any rate, I haven't done a lot of painting in many months (see first paragraph) but here's a bit of what's been going on...

I painted the last figure from that second pack of Reaper Minis "Townsfolk." I do have another civilian pack of "Strumpets" to paint as well. I think this figure might fit in well with those. Not my best painting, I was a bit rushed and just wanted to paint a figure for the first time in months.



Started working on a unit of Artizan and Foundry pikemen. I'm up to 10 finished, and 3 more in progress. Also doing a few extra GW spearmen to bulk (horde) up an existing unit and some artillery crew. Because I use the multi-color look, it's easier to paint different figures the same color at one time than it is to paint the same figures a bunch of different colors -- if that makes sense. Here's some various shots.










On the table now, I've still got those green & yellow figures, almost done. I've also got my first casualty figure (bought a pack from Artizan) and a group of halflings from Goblin Factory. I've been wanting to add a significant halfling contingent to my army, so bought two packs from GF to see how they look painted up. He's got a wide range of figures, so if they look good I will end up picking up a lot more.




And lastly, there's the new demi-griffin unit. But I want to stay away from the demi-griffin imagery as it's too "Imperial" for my independent minded Marienburgers. So after considering a lot of ideas, I settled on something I had been wanting to do for a long time anyway... Chevaliers l'Eléphant.

A couple shots for scale, followed by a shot of the herd. I will be doing some converting/sculpting on them -- they won't look this cartoony & happy in the end.







I'm still trying to decide on what to use for riders. (Input & opinions welcome!) my options are:

De-chaosed chaos knights
Old metal Knights of the Blazing Sun
Foundry gendarmes
Plastic Empire knights
Bretonian knights

I already have some of each of the first three in my unpainted pile. The last two would require new purchases. I think I'd like to save the Blazers for use as IC knights.

I can't include too many pics, it seems, so I will have to add one last image in a separate reply...

[ZeroTwentythree]

And lastly...

As I was packing up stuff in the basement, getting read for the big move, and I came across this. I got it as a prize at the Origins WFB tournament back when GW actually came out & had a booth in the dealers hall and ran their own tournaments. It's painted resin, and has sustained some damage in the long years of storage. But I'm thinking about using the assorted bits as a basis for a fun conversion.

[Harry]

Strumpet is great.

I love the cannon.

That would make a great big cannon for my pirate army.

[Lt Dougheim]

Really good to see you back. Im glad you didnt sell this army off. I have found it really inspirational and it has given me countless ideas for my army. Also have you ever seen the dwarves made my White Knight Miniatures? They are a landsknecht style dwarf like the old marauder era dwarves. I own a unit of halberdeirs and love them.

[armos]

nice clean paint job on some great classic models, excellent stuff

[ZeroTwentythree]

Thanks everybody.

Also have you ever seen the dwarves made my White Knight Miniatures? They are a landsknecht style dwarf like the old marauder era dwarves. I own a unit of halberdeirs and love them.

Yes, I've been keeping an eye on them since the beginning. The past year or so has just been... crazy, so I've had to put off any big miniatures purchases (and had to sell a bunch off, in fact.) I'm dying to get some and plan on ordering some as soon as I can.

[ZeroTwentythree]

Finished 6 halflings from Goblin Factory.



I like them. Not quite up to GW standards, but they have their charm. Especially at $8.50 for 6 figures (and no overseas postage.) That compares to $15 for 3 or $55 for 12 GW halflings.

I like the size & proportions, and appreciate that they still look like simple rustic militia without being turned into a mockery or caricature. They fit well with many of the RPG oriented halflings, and will be good for bulking out (haha...) the rank & file troops.

[ZeroTwentythree]

Finished the recent green & yellow batch, based them plus the red & white ones that were previously posted in WIP photos...







Working on two more figures, the first casualty figure -- which is, naturally, in NORDLAND colors. Balancing that out, I'm also finishing up one of the Marauder dwarfs I started... oh, christ, like a few years ago.

[ZeroTwentythree]

I don't know if this is worthy of an update, but I (almost) finished the dwarf and the first casualty. The dwarf is still getting his base finished. The casualty has had a gloss coat (several, actually) applied, but not the final matte finish. In the meantime, he's going to hang around on my favorite work lamp, thanks to the magnet I embedded in him.



Working on some more of the usual suspects (pike & spear) plus a greatsword -- a figure from the Mordheim range. All in blue, white & orange.

[jez]

Brilliant stuff. Glad you weren't tempted to sell it. Love the variety, character and diversity of your units.
That cannon is awesome. Not sure what you'd do with it but you need to find a use somewhere.

[ZeroTwentythree]

Finished the dwarf and greatsword. I like these two together. Like a pair of adventurers. Maybe not Gotrek & Felix, but at least they're proper Marienburg fops.

[Student]

Great log, nice work throughout. I like the dwarf and the greatswordsman and agree that they look good together.

[Laborious]

Just had a quick skim through this, and i'm so glad you decided not to call it quits. Really beautiful work, and a wonderful example of how with sensible model selection and a uniform painting style figures from a wide spectrum of ranges can be mixed together seamlessly. Looking forward to going through this log more thoroughly.

P.S The leadbelcher on the iron blaster that I’m painting atm is jealous that your cannon is bigger than his.

[Karak Norn Clansman]

Agreed with Laborious. This army is a work of beauty, not least for its fine mix of different model ranges. My only points of critique must be the very teal knights and the bases being inconsistent not in painting but in form. Otherwise this is a wonder to stare at.

[ZeroTwentythree]

Thanks everybody.

The knights were the one different unit because of the fluff, and chose an order dedicated to Manann, because he's the god of choice in Marienburg. I thought it would also be nice to have one stand-out unit in uniform.

Sons of Manann

The Sons of Manann worship the Empire god of the Sea. They are a widespread order with many temples, particularly in coastal towns in the North, where worship of the sea god is needed to calm the infamously rough Sea of claws. When the knights go to war they are often accompanied by a priest of Manann who will bless the knights weapons shortly before they charge into battle. When the knights go to war they wear turquoise and white armour.
Manann is the deity of seas and oceans. He controls the tides and the currents, and is as unpredictable and as changeable as the sea itself.

Crusade Empire army list, Citadel journal, issue 43
Empire knightly orders article, WD 310

They are, admittedly, a bit gaudy -- but not in the same sort of foppish mercenary way as the rest of the army.

I do plan on building some more irregular "mercenary" knights as well, and have bought some of the figures. But the knights just hadn't been as interesting to use in the army until recently -- so they've been a low priority.

If I can be critical of my army as well, one other thing that's been bugging me is the base on my pegasus captain. I wanted to make it look like he was some sort of coastal defender, but the watery & rocky base really doesn't go well with the rest of the army. I keep thinking about changing it.

Thanks for the critique -- I appreciate the feedback.

[Karak Norn Clansman]

I missed that bit. Background is important.

I do not know if this is of interest to you, but since the Empire's knights look like 15th century knights, perhaps this new Perry Miniatures box is useful for your army? At least, I've heard a lot of Empire players complain on the current knight models.

http://www.perry-miniatures.com/prod...oducts_id=2713

[Gandalf the Gay]

I missed that bit. Background is important.

I do not know if this is of interest to you, but since the Empire's knights look like 15th century knights, perhaps this new Perry Miniatures box is useful for your army? At least, I've heard a lot of Empire players complain on the current knight models.

http://www.perry-miniatures.com/prod...oducts_id=2713

The Perry knights look really good, but they are actually slightly smaller than the current Empire Knights(both the horses and the riders). It may still be something you want to use, but keep that in mind.

[ZeroTwentythree]

I do plan on getting some of the Perry knights. I've got one box each of the two infantry sets they've done, to check them out & see if I want to get more. But I haven't had time to put any together -- nor get the mounted men at arms... yet.

[ZeroTwentythree]

One more of the Reaper Townsfolk -- this one from the "Strumpet" pack.