From Curt: 10mm Tomb Kings for Arakkis (236 points)

Hi All!

As promised, today I submit something that is not a single model, but rather a passel of wee little figures. This entry will see me leaving the Outer Ring and travelling to my first planet in the Middle Orbit - 'Arrakis, desert planet.' 

I've been on a big fantasy kick this past year, and one of the things I wanted to do is resurrect my old 10mm Warmaster models for use in 'Magic & Monsters' (M2), a fantasy variant of Simon Miller's excellent 'To The Strongest' rules.

I really like the basing scheme for these rules for a variety of reasons. They allow for single bases with loads of figures, there is no casualty removal (something I've always disliked from the earliest editions of WHFB) and the larger base size offers the opportunity to create little vignettes. All great reasons to jump right in! So, after a bit of hand-wringing, I decided on a 130mm x 60mm common base size for most units. This would allow for three 40mm strips of figures formed abreast, with four ranks deep, thereby giving a nice beefy aspect to the units.

I have a modest existing collection of old GW Warmaster models, so I thought I'd start with the Tomb Kings (anticipating the expected Skullz Challenge from Barks), and simply do an eBay sweep to beef up the forces to M2 requirements. Nonetheless, once I saw the nosebleed prices that these now OOP figures now command, I quickly started looking for 3D print alternatives to mix with my existing unpainted GW stock. Lucky enough I discovered that there are scads of options available on the web, and I quickly began to amass a good sized host to work with.

So here is my first contingent for my new Tomb Kings army!

First are the rank and file undead warriors. I'll need a heap of these as these are pretty grotty troops (and you need a few units for the ubiquitous 'raise dead' spells), but this group will provide a good basis to build from. 

To be clear two of these units (the rearmost bases) are present merely as scene dressing as they are rebased GW metal figures from my old collection. The front two bases are new 3D models from Onimioji. I really like the variation in poses, with even some of the front ranks seem emerging from the desert sands. Fun!

Next is a unit of archers. These are GW metals that I still had in blister packs. I snipped them apart so they could be positioned in a more loose formation. 

Then we have a unit of undead Chariots. Again these are old GW metal models. 

I only had three of these in my stores and they ended up looking a little weedy on the base, so I added some Egyptian statuary to fill in the gaps and perhaps add some visual interest. I posed them on a slight angle to the front, giving them a bit of a Ben-Hur sense of animation to them.

We have a undead Giant with a huge kopesh. He'll be good to inspire a bit of fear and serve as a missile magnet. Again, I added some Egyptian obelisks for a bit of fun.

 

For a bit of an experiment, I painted in the shadows cast by the figures. I used Contrast Guilliman Flesh as it seemed to work best with the desert colours I was using for the groundwork. 

I decided I needed to start on some commanders, so what better than a Tomb King prince on an undead dragon! Again, a venerable GW model with some scene setting masonry.

Finally, for the Tomb King 'camp' (in these rules, each force needs at least one camp on the field) I mocked up this temple on a double depth base. It's sort of an amalgamation of a few things, but I thought it turned out okay and gives the right kind of vibe for the force.

The tomb and the various statuary are from Iain Lovecraft on MyMiniFactory.

So there you have it! I'm going to move on to another race for a future entry, but I may add onto this force during the Challenge if time allows.

As to points. There are 72 10mm figures per undead warrior base, but 10 are only half figures, being that they are emerging from the sand, so 67 points each and 134 for the pair.

The archers are 28 points.

The three chariots will give me 9 points each, so 27 total.

The undead Giant is a 40mm figure, so 7 points.

The undead Tomb King prince with his pet? Hmm. Let's say 10 points?

For the Temple 'camp' I'd say 10 points as its around 1/2 the volume of a 6" cube.

All total, that should give me 216 base points, plus the Arakkis desert theme for a grand total of 236. Whew! That's as much of a points bomb as I can manage.

Now! On to the Skull Count. The two warrior bases, noggins plus iconography gives me 260 skullz. The archers, another 28. The charioteers, steeds and icons: 22. The Giant: 8 skullz. And the Temple has one 'uge one. Grand total of Skullz: 319 

Yep, that's a lot of bony noggins.

I'll count this at 'T' for Tomb Kings in my Alphabet Soup Challenge (7 total)

It will also count for my 3rd Squirrel!

Aaannd, it will take care of one of my 12 projects

1. French Indochina
2. 10mm Fantasy
3. Moonstone
4. Malta
5. Italian Wars
6. Sisters of Battle
7. 28mm Napoleonics
8. Spanish Civil War
9. 28mm Modern
10. 20mm WWII
11. Retreat from Moscow
12. Dungeon Crawl

Thanks for dropping in! Have a great Friday everyone!

- Curt

Screaming in sideways on fire at the last minute, Curt! This is a great entry, and not just for the skullicious skullyness of all the skullz. I like the generous bases and the scenery on them. I'm impressed by the painted shadow on the giant, you don't see that often. I'm keen to see more of your 10mm fantasy, but don't let that distract you from the squirrel-quest!

Barks