From JamieM - Kings of War Elves (240 points)

For this post, I’m presenting something completely different for me. I come from a Games Workshop background, so Warhammer 40K and Warhammer fantasy battle (now AoS) were what drew me into the hobby and got me hooked. Unfortunately they don’t really work for me as games at the moment. The main reason being that I play games in evenings and we can’t seem to fit games of them in of an evening with all the set up and break down at the end along with all of the complex rules in the middle. So I’ve moved onto mostly skirmish games.

But I’ve always liked some rank and flank. So when I started reading about Kings of War, I was intrigued. A more streamlined set of fantasy rules which allow large games to be fought to completion in a couple of hours. And something heretical in the GW world…… multibasing! So the whole unit would be alive or dead, instead of individual models being removed like in GW games. Now, you can just rank up individual bases onto movement trays, but I decided to go the whole hog and multibase to simplify set up and packing away. And because I though it could look awesome.

Now, multi basing was something that I had only ever done before in flames of war, where it is required as a 15mm game where each base of infantry was a unit. I really rather enjoyed the chance to tell a story on the base - perhaps there was a fence, or a tree stump or something that just doesn’t fit on a single based figure.

So I went delving through the shelves of holding and found a bunch of GW old school elves that I had never done anything with and decided to do something about them, and here are the beginnings of my army……

This is a unit of “Palace Guard”. Elite two handed weapon specialists who hit people extremely hard. I popped a champion at the front with an unusually large axe. Committing to Multibasing was somewhat tricky as I was essentially agreeing that I wouldn’t use these figures in other games. But then I realised that I hadn’t used these figures in the five or so years they’d been on the shelves, had no other plans to do so and still had a tonne of single based fantasy figures, so who was I kidding that I’d ever use them for anything else!?!?!

I decided that I’d keep it fairly simple for my diorama and just include a chap on a horse in the middle of the formation.  As I was converting and painting, I decided that he was probably a prince, sent to war but surrounded by his father’s best troops to keep him alive. He probably thinks he’s a clever general mind you and so he’s pointing over the head of the champion as if he knows the job of fighting better than the troops do…… 

 

Not only that, but he’s deliberately getting his horse to rear up, thus potentially knocking the brains out of his own unit and he’s brought a magical sword of fire and is also waving that around his troops heads! You can just imagine what these hard bitten fighters must think of him.

This picture conveys the space the troops are having to give the brave prince with his horse and flaming sword……!

The troopers are converted from spearmen as I’ve noticed in many a submission that two handed weapons doesn’t have to be the comically large versions that GW churns out on its figures and these looked a little more realistically sized. The axe and hammer heads are from plastic dwarf arms that I had spare and I think they work rather well. I went with a quartered livery for the troops underneath the chain mail.

I’m really pleased with the fact that the multibasing allows me to make them look like they’re not quite in clear ranks and files, although they are nicely bunched up and look like a unit.

Next job was that most elvish of units - archers.

On a smaller base to begin their role as harassers, I  pleased with the way the colours worked together.

This unit holds a leader (heroically waving a sword around his troopers’ heads as that’s clearly going to improve their aim….) and a musician.

I’ve already snapped one of the feathered headdresses whilst applying the basing and I suspect it won’t be the last one……

This second unit is the same size and includes the banner bearer. I figure I can push them together should I want a double sized unit instead. These are old GW sculpts and they really aren’t very good. The best thing about them is that they’re pretty quick and easy to paint and they do look half decent shoved together like this at least.

I’m pleased with how the banner came out and the look of them all together.

For scoring, there are 46 28mm infantry (30+8+8) and 1 28mm cavalry figure, giving me 240 points in total I believe. Hopefully I’ll have time to increase the size of the army by the end of the challenge as I’m on a bit of a roll.

***

 

Well...multi-based fantasy miniatures? Like, is that even LEGAL? Seems like total heresy to me! And not the fun Horus kind either! Do we need to have you rushed to the local A&E and checked for a head injury, or perhaps the effects of a 5G implant from Bill Gates???

 

Well, results are results. I am still chuckling at the description of the Elf lord, imperilling the lives of the palace guard all around him. Nicely done. And after your shameful strip mining of bonus points in weeks past, it is nice to see you stepping up with some heavy-duty figure counts that I know you are capable of. I expect you shall have the rest of this army finished next week! Just look at the time you save on basing...

 

240 points for you Jamie!

 

Now go find some 20mm square bases, close your eyes, and try to regain sanity...

 

GregB