Terror of the Lichemaster

When I got back into collecting classic Citadel miniatures, one of the first things I did was start gathering undead models to replace one of the first armies I'd ever built. To launch things right, I went and spent way too much on one of THE classic models to lead them.. Henrich Kemmler!

eBay being what it is, this was probably a recast, but when I was just getting back in I didn't even know that was a thing. Maybe I got ripped off, though honestly I don't care as I have the freaking Lichemaster painted and standing front and center among my undead collection.

So fast forward to today. It's been a while since I visited the Old World, but I still try to keep up with the blogs in the community. Rochie's current project over on Buried Under Lead inspired me to dig through all of the Oldhammer stuff I have hidden away with an eye toward starting a new project.

In case it wasn't obvious, I have always been a fan of the Terror of the Lichemaster. I've owned the original campaign boxed set for years. The simple campaign (and the follow up Vengeance of the Lichemaster in the Citadel Journal Spring 1986) is a fun set of games with a large variety of models - dwarves, skeletons, townsfolk, etc. Looking through my models, I already have much of what I would need to play a version of these.

Besides the dreaded Lichemaster, I have Mikael Jacsen (another stupidly expensive purchase). Although I can easily find the other undead champions on eBay, I'm not really a fan of the models. I already have a pile of badass undead characters and they can be called into action in their place. I already have plenty of skeletons and zombies too, though I may need to paint a few more for summoning.

On the other side, I can press Bugman's Rangers into service for the dwarves of Gimbrin's Mine. I also have a pile of Wargames Foundry Medievals to field as the villagers and I'll mix in some Citadel Fighters and Villagers for variety. I actually have a few of the 'named' defenders of Bogel's Farm and Frugelhofen including Albi Schutz, Antonio Epstein, Riolta Snow, Gim Grundlel and Samgaff. Many more are available and can be found cheaper when listed as "C46 Villagers and Townsfolk" rather than under any search for "Lichemaster" (Thanks to Matt for listing this information on his Lichemaster project on Oldhammer in Toronto as I was unaware most of these models were generic). Some of these, don't match their description. For instance, the Bogel menfolk are all armed with crossbows, but the models depict them in their farming finery. Again, these were obviously pulled from the generic ranks of townfolk, but I will end up substituting models to fit into my little corner of the Old World.

Along with collecting and painting the models, I'm going to build custom boards for the battlefields. Gimbrin's Mine and Bogel's Farm will be quite small, maybe no more than 2x4' given the number of models needed for those games. I'll be looking at keeping them modular, so there may again be differences to fit my needs. For Frugelhoffen, I doubt I'll try to represent every building as I only think it necessary to outline the path of the roads, but there needs to be at least enough room to cram in 50+ models for the defense.

This will be a long term project, but I intend to work on the campaign in stages. Gimbrin's Mine will be first which means I only have to paint about half a dozen models, but I will need to construct the cliff so that might take a while!

Bugman's Rangers - Command Group

And here we are all ranked up!

So far, I like how they look as a group. I can't wait to add a few troopers to make this into a proper unit!

Hopefully more next week...

Bugman's Rangers - Musician

Here's the final model for the command group. As he is a musician, he's a bit more flamboyant than the rest with his blue tunic (Bugman worries about 'Owd' Tom's swashbuckling stories corrupting the young dwarf), but still ready with his axe when it's time to get stuck in!

I'll have a shot of the whole crew tomorrow...

Bugman's Rangers - Standard Bearer

One of the first things I paint when starting any new unit is the standard bearer. This has always been one of my favorite dwarf miniatures - the pose, the beard. the girth... great stuff! Just a lot of character in this model.

This casting has something strange going on around the left eye. I'm not sure if it was intentional or some sort of miscast, but I ran with it and painted it as an empty socket and scar. The banner is a slight variation on the classic 'official' design in that I moved the 'spike' to the top corner of the flag rather than the center which just looked strange to me. I also swapped the sides of the flag, because compositionally, I wanted the banner over the bearer's head. If I left the 'official' version, that would have put the tankard on the back. If anyone wants the flag for their own unit, feel free...

Bugman's Rangers - 'Owd' Tom Thyksson

Next up is the unit champion, 'Owd' Tom Thyksson. This rogue spent his youth with the pirates that haunted the port of Marienburg, where he acquired the eye-patch, peg-leg, and snappy fashion sense (check out that pimp shirt) through numerous misadventure.

Bugman's Rangers - Joseph Bugman

The Story of Bugman's Dwarf Rangers
It was a clear, crisp morning in early spring when a mule-cart creaked up to the entrance of Karak-Varn. Two guards looked suspiciously at the driver, a small hunched figure thickly wrapped in a variety of foul-smelling and flea-ridden blankets. It might be a Dwarf, but they couldn't be sure.

'Who are you, and what's your business?' challenged one of the guards. The driver of the cart cackled softly.

'Come to see your king, I have,' it said, gathering the blankets around it as it shuffled down from the driving seat, 'Brought something for him.'

The guards looked at one another, a little nervously. 'What is it, then?' asked one. The other moved towards the back of the cart, and started to lift the tarpaulin that covered its cargo.

'DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH THAT!' Surprised by the sudden power in the driver's voice, the guard dropped the tarpaulin as if it had burnt him. 'It's had enough of a messing with, just getting here,' the driver grumbled, 'And if you go a-poking and a-prodding it about, it won't be fit for Goblins. And now, if you don't mind, I've had enough of the oily rags and I'll talk to the mechanic.'

Such a speech could only have come from the lips of a Dwarf, so the cart was admitted to the Dwarf hold. By the time the King arrived on the scene, a small crowd had gathered. A hush fell over the crowd as the stranger deftly whipped the tarpaulin off the cart, revealing a large barrel.

'Now I'm not guaranteeing how well it's travelled,' he announced, to no-one in particular. He produced a grubby metal tankard from among his mass of blankets, drew off a little of the barrel's contents, and peered at it critically. 'Hmmmm', he sniffed, 'Gone cloudy.' He swigged noisily, then screwed up his face and spat. 'Worse than I thought,' he continued , 'it could really do with settling for a month or two. Still, it should give you the general idea.' He held out the tankard to the King.

After a moment's hesitation, the King accepted the tankard, and, wiping the rim fastidiously with his cuff, took a swig. The effect was remarkable. His eyebrows shot up to the very rim of his crown, his eyes bulged and began to water as he was doubled over by a fit of coughing. After a few seconds the coughing subsided, and was followed by a deep, resonant belch. It was almost a minute before he was able to speak. 'I don't believe it!' he exclaimed. 'it can't be! It's.... Bugman's!'

There was uproar in the chamber. It was many years since the Battle of Bugman's Brewery. Joseph Bugman was just a memory, a name half forgotten and wreathed in legend, like the name of Bugman's Best Bitter.

'That's right,' said the stranger, 'The Goblins left me for dead. It's taken me all these years to work my way here - but hush now, I'm forgetting my manners.' He threw off his wrapping of blankets, and stood revealed as an old, grizzled and heavily scarred Dwarf. 'Joseph Bugman, Master Brewer and onetime Ranger Captain, at your service.'

Joseph Bugman miraculously survived the Battle of Bugman's Brewery, and turned up years later at the Dwarf hold of Karak-Varn. He was not recognised at first, but when the King of the Dwarfhold tasted the beer that he brought with him, his identity was proved beyond doubt. Bugman's Dwarf Rangers were re-formed at Karak-Varn, as his reputation and his brewing skills brought Dwarves from miles around flocking to his banner. The expedition to reconquer and re-establish Bugman's Brewery assumed the proportions of a holy war.


Right! So that's started - my Dwarf army is underway and the unit it always had to start with was Bugman's Dwarf Rangers. The unit will be 24 models strong (including the hero and champion) and hold down the spot of the compulsory Dwarf Crossbowmen in my list (with full command and the upgrades for shields and double-handed weapons, of course). My plan is to paint the unit in muted tones - browns and greys - for the most part.

I'll have the rest of the command group up this week...

So, I Think I'll Paint a Few Dwarves...

Yep, that's how it started in December. I found a box of Prince Uther's Imperial Dwarves at what seemed like a fair price (well, no more than I'd expect to pay for any of GW's new offerings for 17 models). Then I found a series of auctions on eBay for units of twenty - Hammerers, Ironbreakers, Trollslayers, etc.

It's a bit of a sickness. That is over nine pounds (over 4 kilos, not, unfortunately pounds sterling) of dwarves! There are also an extra twenty of Prince Uther's lads you can't see because I added them into the box with the original set. For those of you that visit regularly, you may remember I got my core Undead army back from a friend to whom I gave it years ago. I had to buy a few things, but the core was quickly established. On the other hand, my Chaos army was often acquired one model at a time. Both methods have advantages, but after getting a horde of dwarves in one box, I can say that was awesome! My preferred eBay method has always been to buy units when I can.

Again, I KNOW some of you were probably bidding on the same auctions. Again, I'll apologize for the looting, but it was too good an opportunity to replace nearly all of the dwarf army I used to own in one afternoon. The good news is I am done buying for now (until I need artillery, but I'm going to paint some units first). I need to grab a few more dwarf characters, but they seem plentiful.

Dwarfs in 2016

Just picked this up on eBay...

This was one of the first Warhammer boxed sets I ever owned. I have long been planning to add a 'good' army to my Oldhammer collection and the Dwarves have always been one of my favorite. Inspired by Jaeckel's stunning and successful project, I decided 2016 would be the year of the Dwarf.

I apologize in advance to any Oldhammer collectors I may go up against on eBay (really, really soon) and do not begrudge any who defeat me on the field of battle.. err.. bidding.

'Real' Oldhammer, Part 2

More pics from twenty years ago! Over at Realm of Chaos 80s, Orlygg post an article highlighting Wayne England's dwarf army from White Dwarf and ended by wondering how many people were influenced to collect these guys...

I was one of them. Again, sorry for the blurry pics - these were scanned from glossy 4x6" photos taken in the days before digital cameras!

The army was 40 dwarf warriors (normally fielded as one giant unit!), 30 dwarf crossbows, 20 longbeards, 20 iron breakers, 24 slayers, and 12 thunderers plus assorted warmachines and characters. The collection started long before the article in White Dwarf, but serious additions and painting followed it. The color scheme for these guys comes straight from those articles (White Dwarf 135 and 144). I think these pics are from the transition from 3rd to 4th because of the gyro-copter and I seem to remember outfitting the army with runes rather than standard magic items so I must have had the new-fangled army book. Technically this falls outside of my current period of interest, but the models are mostly from my initial collection in the 80's (see the bright green bases?)...

I GAVE this army away to my brother in the late 90's because I thought I was through with fantasy (being primarily a 40k player and moving to more historical pursuits like Napoleonics). A few years ago he sold it to our friend Jim (who once originally owned part of these models - we each had dwarves and orcs and traded one for the other so he had an orc horde and I had all of the dwarves) who wanted to get back into Warhammer Fantasy after some time away from the game. Jim still has them and recently turned down my offer to buy them back...

I'm not finished trying to acquire them (I'll wear him down eventually), but the good thing is that Jim is willing to play 3rd edition. Once I get an army into shape and manage to find the time to actually play some games, I will have another opponent. I'm going to have to try and get some better photos of this collection.