You have done well. And yet it seems your task has hardly begun. Dark clouds gather at the Empire’s borders…
The Emperor rode with his army towards Black Fire Pass, that perilous mountain route linking the Empire and the Borderlands. No such army has ever been raised in living memory. They drew up their battle lines on the grassy plains at the foot of the mountain road and waited. ‘Ere nightfall, the sky darkened and a great wind arose. Spine-chilling shrieks and howls echoed from the mountain tops, terrifying the horses and filling man and elf alike with fear.
Then came the first assault. Pouring down the mountainside as though it was a gentle slope rather than an almost vertical cliff, the hordes of Zargon fell upon the Empire’s Defenders. Like a black wave they came; but the line held and it seemed we should win the day.
But I had not reckoned with Zargon’s magic. He stood high on a ridge overlooking the battlefield and unleashed his terrible magic. Lighting flashed form his fingertips and exploded among the defenders. Our lines were breached in a dozen places at once and the enemy howled in delight.
The came the Doomguard—Zargon’s elite force of Chaos Knights. Our army broke and ran. Only the Emperor’s personal guard held their ground and many sacrificed themselves to ensure his safe retreat.
The remnants of the Emperor’s army are now holed up in Karak Varn—the ancient dwarven stronghold. They do not have provisions for a long siege, however, so we must act swiftly if we are to save the Emperor and his army.
Yet there is another evil to be confronted. The Witch Lord Lives. He too had magic I had not foreseen and was protected from the Spirit Blade. He was sorely wounded, however, and fled to his ancient retreat in the Black Mountains. But soon he will have recovered enough to lead the Legion of the Damned once more.
Prepare for future quests, my friends. The Empire has great need of you. I myself cannot act against these dangers, for I must move against Zargon and strive to weaken his power. Until we meet again, take care my friends. Farewell…
Good news! The cast on my left arm is already off. Apparently, my particular injury is actually made worse by cast. So, I've already begun painting again although very simple things so far as my arm strength is already pretty low.
And the heroes have been completed! Although I still have the plastics that came with HeroQuest, I wanted to replace them with metal oldhammer models for two reasons. First, I wanted the models to have more heft and, thus, convey that these models are more important and more special. Second, other than the dwarf, I always felt like the heroes didn't look like citadel models. All the bad guys do (from the main game, the models in some of the expansions are questionable), but the heroes look very generic.
And the heroes have been completed! Although I still have the plastics that came with HeroQuest, I wanted to replace them with metal oldhammer models for two reasons. First, I wanted the models to have more heft and, thus, convey that these models are more important and more special. Second, other than the dwarf, I always felt like the heroes didn't look like citadel models. All the bad guys do (from the main game, the models in some of the expansions are questionable), but the heroes look very generic.
 |
| More Citadel and less Conan |
So I mostly begged and pleaded on the Oldhammer Trading Company facebook group, and was able to acquire the wizard and the barbarian. I got the elf and Sir Ragnar from a local with a vast collection of models. Unfortunately, I had to pay eBay prices for the dwarf, but Darkblade helped me out with shipping from the UK, so it wasn't too bad.
 |
| I tried to stay true to the cover of White Dwarf 90 |
I tried to find models that captured the spirit of the originals, but with a more Citadel-esque style. And in the case of the dwarf, the both the metal model I used and the HeroQuest version are based on the same piece of art.
 |
| I was surprised how hard it was to find an elf with a bow and a sword |
As with the villains, I mounted them all on Dragon Forge bases. However, I placed heroes on circular bases for ease of spotting the them. I figure I will be mostly playing HeroQuest with kids, so distinctive bases will make them easier to spot.
 |
| I think he singed off his hair. |
There isn't much to say about how I painted them, mostly because, I have no recollection of how I did so! That's the big downside to not having a good, permanent photo area...that and being lazy. That said, I am exceptionally happy with how they came out. I think each one looks great and these are some of the models I'm happiest with. Even if there are some technical flaws, they were great fun to paint and will look great going dungeon crawling.
 |
| Okay, maybe I'm not as happy with this guy! |
I also added a model for Sir Ragnar. I was never happy with the idea of using the Chaos Sorcerer model to represent him. So I dug around the catalogs looking for an injured looking model with his armor removed. I settled on one of the old citadel townsfolk. There ended up being a couple of problems with him though. He had a hump that just looked off and the casting on his hand was terrible. So I cut off the hump and wrapped a bandage around his begging hand.
A wonderful collection of classic figures!
ReplyDeleteThey all look pretty damn cool to me Andrew.....except that beggar. He's a pretty dodgy sculpt, but you still did a great job on him all the same.
ReplyDeleteLovely painting mate :)
Lol, yeah. Even Trish said as much about the beggar when I asked a question about his hump in the Facebook group 😂
DeleteExcellent looking adventures!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteVery nice!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteWonderful reinterpretation of all the characters, I love what you did here :)
ReplyDeleteReal fun to see you making a legit model for Sir Ragnar himself! This is a wonderful project.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I was, even as a kid, never happy with using the chaos warlock to represent him. Tracking down a decent model to represent him was a pain though, needed to be young enough to be the emperor's best but decrepit enough to need a rescue!
DeleteI actually very much like the way you used the beggar. And the rest of the crew is really divine too. :) Well done!
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteGreat work especially like the idea of using a proper Sir Ragnar. I used a substitute with my grandchildren and use metal figures they choose themselves to represent the heroes. I think I will extend the idea - OK steal- the idea for future games.
They look great especially Sir Ragnor
Thanks! As you mention it, now I wish I'd let my kids choose the model!
Delete