From Curt - First Group of 10mm units for The Empire (I of VII) (138 Points)

Hi All!

I've been puttering away at this project since the start of the Challenge, and while it's certainly not 'done', it has progressed to a state where I'm happy to start posting it. So I'm going to show what I've been up to at a slow drip, with an entry a day until the close of the Challenge. Stuart has been kind enough to allow me to sneak in at the last minute, so my hat's off to him not only for this, but also for his excellent work as our Saturday Minion this Challenge. Thank you again, Stuart - we could not have done this without you.

I've always been a big fan of Warhammer Fantasy's 'Old World'. This goes way, waay back to the 80s with my first introduction to the setting. While the rules themselves could often leave me cold at times (depending on the edition), it was the Old World that I always drew me back. The gritty, ersatz Renaissance aesthetic ticked off so many boxes for me - the heady mixture of plate armour, crazy magic, puff & slash uniforms and early gunpower weapons - it was just so cool.  I won't even start on my opinion on GW's inexplicable decision to blow up their own IP and replace the Old World with The Age of Stinkmar, other than to say it was an atrociously bad one.

Anyway, the Old World is wonderful source of nostalgia for me, and I always enjoy visiting it from time to time, either through role-playing (we had a fun time last year playing the 'Enemy in the Shadows' campaign), the occasional mass figures game (using the excellent 'One-Page Rules'), or just painting scads of 10mm stuff like I'm showing here today.

I really enjoyed Warmaster when it was released, as the figures were so innovative, and the rules brought a breath of fresh air to GW's stable (they are the fountainhead for Warlord's 'Hail Caesar', 'Pike & Shotte' and 'Blackpowder'). My interest was renewed a few years ago when I came across some old unopened blisters in storage. After re-reading the Warmaster rules, I decided to instead follow a different path, using a fantasy variant of  'To the Strongest' as the basis for my reboot. One of the selling features of using TtS are that the rules allow for large single bases for units which I really enjoy as it gives room for mass and creating little vignettes. Over the past two Challenges I've managed decent inroads with my Wood Elf and Tomb King armies, but now I have a new force to add: The Empire!

For me the Empire is the quintessential Warhammer Fantasy army. It has that wonderful mix of traditional units such as knights, halberdiers and spearmen, along with some esoteric oddities such as flagellants, volley guns and steam tanks. It really has something for everyone.

I have a bunch of stuff completed, but I'm going to show what I've been up to at a slow drip, with an entry a day until the close of the Challenge. 

First up is our General and two units of doughty Halberdiers. 

The casting of the General is quite impressive, astride his faithful Griffon, issuing orders to his troops. 

Nonetheless, the overall model wasn't quite as imposing as either my Tomb King or Wood Elf generals on their dragons, so I printed off and rescaled a ruined tower from Hagglethorn Hollow for him and his mount to perch on. Much better, I think.

Like the General, the Halberdiers are venerable GW metals. With my larger bases, I have the room to place the equivalent of two standard Warmaster units on them. I really like the massed look that this conveys. I also LOVE the heft of these things when compared to resin models. It really appeals to my lizard brain. :)

One of the blisters had been opened and I was short two strips of figures. To make it up I decided to use my terrain cheat and include a small structure to make up for the loss of space on the base. 

Again, I like doing this from time to time as it adds a bit of visual interest and gives players something to grip on to when moving the base around the tabletop.

For points, the two Halberdier units have 132 figures between them for an equal amount of points. For the general, I ask our esteemed Minion Stuart to indulge me by scoring it as a vehicle as it's a fairly large piece, especially with the addition of the ruined tower. If he is amenable with that, this group should give me a total of 138 points. 

I'll have another Empire unit up tomorrow. I hope you stop in for a peek. 

Thanks!

- Curt

Amazing work on this army, Curt. I totally agree on the draw of Warhammer Fantasy, as a setting it was very rich and had so much to offer. The Empire really represent what was great about the aesthetics, with a wide variety of units to choose from. I never found the rules to be to my taste, as I have commented on in my own posts before, but the range of figures was superb. At 10mm the units start to look like regiments of soldiers ready for battle. 

Well done on getting this new project started, hopefully we will see it develop further in posts to come.