And they say paint!
While "New Year, New Army" isn't something I've traditionally held to over the past few years (not least because the wild ride of prepping studio armies sometimes feels like 'New Week, New Army'), the release of Warhammer: The Old World has coincided with a sudden re-ignition of passion for some of my old armies and projects.
In dusting off the old bones of my Tomb Kings forces, and untangling the beards of a lovingly (if not skillfully) painted dwarf throng, an ache for simpler times was felt - when GW metal blisters were an unreachable height of riches, when milk still tasted like real milk, and when a filthy Elgi cut off the beard of a Dawi ambassador the calls for war were heard throughout the mountain holds!
(I really tried, I promise)
Now while I'm likely to revisit these old forces (Tomb Kings in particular, given GW have seen fit to release such a gorgeous Bone Dragon), this is the sort of excitement that needs a new project to focus on - I've always liked the Warriors of Chaos aesthetic, even buying some of the old sculpts at one stage before getting distracted by some other project, and I decided this time it was going to stick.
A quick conversation on Facebook marketplace later and I had a carrier swallow laden with some of the monopose Chaos Warriors from the recent starter box on the way!
It's been a long while since I've had a proper passion project; I don't have a deadline for these! No upcoming batrep, tournament, nor even an half-hearted promise of a game sometime (that's what the Tomb Kings are for of course)! So it seemed natural then that I would combine one of my other favourite aspects of Warhammer Fantasy with the project - the fantastic colours and heraldry seen across the Old World!
I've yet to narrow in on the exact lore I want behind my Chaos forces, but just because they're chaos doesn't mean they have to be a monochromatic horde of brutal plate mail, blades, and spikes (although that's certainly an evocative image). Traditional chaos armies often have a single armour/shield colour, with some furs and leathers, and lots of metal. But real mediaeval and early renaissance armies were a riot of bright colours and whacky designs (according to a quick google at least).
(This gets worse and worse the longer you look at it)
Perhaps a Chaos warband from the edges of the Empire would be more structured, still retaining remnants of old colourings and heraldry, or maybe the descendants of a fallen Brettonian lord who established some small towns and feifdoms on the edge of the chaos wastes would have strange remnants of tradition still clinging to the way in which they make war.
Whatever the case, I knew I wanted the army to be both colourful, and brutally menacing. This quickly developed into the idea of each unit of Chaos Warriors having a distinct colour scheme painted on their armour, with the army's unifying elements being the accoutrements they were each adorned with. Maybe then Chaos Knight units will reference these, themselves being the leaders of these smaller warbands coming together into a larger invading army.
Perhaps next week I'll go through the step-by step for this first set of colours, but for now suffice to say I spent a very enjoyable morning sitting down at General Games Malvern (generous sponsors of the channel) trying out some of the new Army Painter Speed Paint range. The first two colours going down being a deep blue, and a dark yellow (with a surprisingly decent coverage and tone). A black metallic effect, slapping on some thick layers onto leathers and furs, and an all-over brown wash, and I'm happy to call it a day.
With a classic rocky wastes basing scheme in the works for the new 30x30mm base size, and a final pass with some blood spatter and effects (I always like to do these last for the chance to tie them into the bases and environment), these hulking warriors will take to the battlefields of the Old World - hoisting ancient colours, no longer representing honour and nobility, but savage icons of brutality and devotion to the dark gods!
This is just the start of an ongoing project for the Old World - with the release of the core rules and books on the 10th of February, I'm not planning to have this army done, but will definitely be looking to film and release some gameplay content with some others, as well as keep this blog updated with progress and discussion of the hobby more generally!
Shoutout to Robert Jardine in the "Warhammer The Old World" Facebook group for making up a Hobby Bingo sheet for the new game. I've never followed along one of these before, but thought I'd finally give it a go! If anyone wants to follow along themselves, here's a blank version, and with any luck we'll start ticking some of these off over the coming weeks!
That's all from me for this week - hopefully you enjoyed the read, and feel free to engage in the comments below, always keen for feedback and discussion - and make sure to let us know what Old World forces you'll be repping in the new year!
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