From PeterB - A gluttonous points bomb (Gluttony) (373 points)

My progress through the Abyss continues slowly. For the layer Gluttony I have found a model that is a monstrous creature that is a nightmare for those that overindulge. I present a Mimic from Archon Studios.

You feel peckish, you want a full fat fizzy drink full of sugar, some crisps and a chewy chocolate bar. You put your money in and a giant tongue slithers out of the collect slot and grabs your arm. You are the next victim of the Mimic.

The Mimic is 28mm scale and was a fun little distraction to paint.

Now to the bulk of the weeks painting. Firstly some of you may remember my Zulu War project from last challenge, well I have added some Natal Natives to give a bit more choice in army selection. Friendly natives who lived in Natal under British rule were conscripted into the British army to fight against their foes the Zulus. They were equipped with outdated weapons and minimal ammunition, some preferring to still use their native assegai and shield.

They would have been formed into regiments and companies as normal, but their only uniform was a red rag tied to their head or arm. Estimates are that about one I'm ten actually carried a firearm, I have increased that ratio somewhat, just so I have choices for wargaming purposes. 

We have been playing a lot of the Old World at our local club, my Orcs and Goblins army and Khornate Chaos Warrior army have both been reasonably successful. A chance opportunity to purchase second hand some Empire Knights and a Steam tank however that could not be passed up has led to the start of a new Empire army. I can't imagine I will have as much success gaming wise with this army as I will probably need to use tactics rather than just charge forward. I have had great fun painting it though and the latest work done is two units of infantry. Finding vintage GW models at a reasonable price has been tricky, so for Christmas I asked for some Warlord Games Landsknechts with zweihanders. This box combined with a box of Wargames Atlantic Landsknecht Ogres is enough for two units. One core infantry with halberds and a unit of Longswords.

The Ogres are unit fillers and game wise will just count for 4 normal men. It makes painting the unit easier and makes for an interesting looking unit.

For the longswords I chose all soft caps with feathers to identify them easier. Oldhammer rules mean you need larger bases now and instead of rebasing everything I bought these movement trays with slots from Warbases. At first I thought it would cause an issue with the Ogres, then I came up with this ingenious idea:

They slot snuggly in and don't shift about.

Finally, I have also over some time, been making a barbarian/viking/marauder army, not historically accurate, but useful for a Chaos marauder army, or Midgard or Dragon Rampant. I already have plenty of foot troops and horse riders, I felt like they needed some chariots. Victrix do a great set of three chariots in plastic (parts of which were used in my last post for the Mammoth crew. This week my large bases from Warbases arrived, so I could finish off the chariots.

They are fiddly kits with individual reigns to glue on, but I think they are worth it. Yes, technically the kits are Celtic Chariots but I think they still fit in as I have avoided the shields and helmets.

To the points.

One 28mm Mimic - 5 points

One location-  20 points

32 Natal Natives in 28mm - 160 points

20 Empire human troops in 28mm - 100 points

4 Empire Ogres (counts as 40mm troop) - 28 points

3 chariots in 28mm scale - 60 points.

Total = 373 points.

"A chance opportunity to purchase..." Ha, I had never had that happen to me, surely! But I am glad you did not let it slip, for the Empire troops are the highlight from this points bomb for me. Excellent sourcing of "alternative" miniatures, and a cracking paint job. Very clever solution for the basing too. I also like your NNI, I think you captured the skin tone really well. And the chariots, well who doesn't like a good pair of wheels, Celtic or not? Last but not least, the Mimic is a great find. Better think twice before indulging! All in all a great post, and a major step on the road to your target!

Martijn