Wednesday 10 April 2024

The Ironfang Pirate Fleet: The Rotmoons - Bonesplitterz to Ironjawz, part 1


As my orruk pirate crews are going to have to shift rules again - this time from Bonesplitterz to Ironjawz - they are going to need a couple of changes. The main change is new leaders, as some of the models I have will not work as Ironjawz.

The Rotmoons and the Ogresuns will each need a new boss and a new shaman. The Cleavermaws are okay as Kaptain Mogrum was built as a Weirdnob Shaman (it was only later I started using Bonesplitterz Wurrgog Prophet rules for him. Both are on 40mm bases anyway).

The Rotmoons are the first crew on deck.

Kapitan Alunzo daLeeva was a Savage Big Boss, he'll be an Ardboy Big Boss in AoS and a Brute Boss in Warcry (at least until they add rules for the Ardboy Big Boss and the other new Ironjawz models!).

El Doktoro was a Wardokk, or sometimes a Morboy Bone Totem Bearer in Warcry. He will become a Weirdnob Shaman.


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The first-stage build for Weirdnob Shaman El Doktoro - as I did with Old Mudgob, I've converted a barefoot Brute model. I like the way it makes a shaman feel a little bit more "wild". I'm also very pleased with the staff - I think it links to the crew's name and theme quite nicely.






The greenstuff work: gap-filling and adding the rest of his coat, an Elizabethan ruff/collar, and a pair of crude "sunglasses" made from chunks of broken glass.





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Ardboy Big Boss Kapitan Alunzo daLeeva mid-build (I'm was searching for the right bits...)


He also gets an Elizabethan ruffe, a goatee beard, a pair of pistols, I still want to add some kind of fancy coat (worn as a half-cape) and a bit of jewellery.





(Their bases are made from cut-up bits of scafolding from the Thondian Strongpoint / Domicile Shell kit. I got a couple of the sprues from Stormbringer magazine recently.)

Painting next...

Monday 1 April 2024

The Ironfang Pirate Fleet - The Plunderblades and the Portwreckas, part 9


I'm working on two (more) pirate orruk brutes for the Plunderblades.

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Rogg

The skull and bones hatpin is from the Gore-gruntas kit (I don't actually own any of the pig riders, but there are enough really nice components in the kit to mean I have ordered loads of odds and ends from it, from bits-resellers, over the last few years).

The belly-armour / loincloth is from the (newish) Weirdbrute kit. The holstered flintlock pistols are from my tiny, and diminishing, stock of the now out-of-production Empire Pistoleers. One of the (few) things I am looking forward to from ToW!





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Dram

The skull and bones hatpin is from the same source as Rogg's.

The sea-coat is made from chopped-up Hexwraith barding and greenstuff. It's making me wish I'd put coats on more of my Brutes!





Both these ladz are undercoated now and waiting for paint.

Thursday 14 March 2024

The Andtor Odyssey, part 4: Path to Glory


When the Cleavermaw and the Swordfysh sailed back into Dead Kraken Cove once more, they had their holds loaded and their pennants flying.

Kaptain Borgoth met them on the quayside in roaring high-spirits. He pushed through the excited crowd of pirates from other ships to greet Mogrum and Krashhart, shaking their hands warmly and slapping them on the back as they quickly summarised their adventures.

The good news further raised his mood and he regaled them with tales: while the two ships were out roving he had also taken the Plunderblade out exploring the nearest islands to the north-west. They had sighted a Dawnbringer Outpost nearby and when night fell they looked into its harbour. They came home with a good deal of loot from the Outpost's stores and left the place ablaze.

The back-and-forth stories of the battle with the Soulblight Gravelord and ransacking the port kept the crews supplied with a steady flow of grog for a week. As usual they all embellished each tale in the telling and retelling with progressively wilder additions each time.

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Over the next few weeks there were several friendly ships who passed by Dead Kraken Cove.

The Cleavermaw spoke the Lockheart:

A green and blue painted, low-flying Ironclad of the Keystone Acquisition Company. The Captain of the ironclad, Kap'n Clink Keyholdr, was a skaven pirate dressed in a collection of vibrant emerald and azure coats and carrying a great latchkey-axe slung over his shoulder. He exchanged news and chit-chat with the Ironfang Fleet for a while but declined an invitation to dine on megalofin steak, suddenly declaring they had "only hove-to to ask the orruks for directions".


The Swordfysh spoke the Iron Kraken:

A steam-powered monitor, that was carrying the Chuglords Fusiliers on a supply mission. The captain shared a bottle of fiery grog with Krashhart and a stew made from steeped Harkraken meat. they discussed other vessels each had seen recently. Meanwhile their crews exchanged trinkets, trophies and wild tales of adventure (and no small amount of grog too).

Monday 11 March 2024

The Ironfang Pirate Fleet - The Plunderblades and the Portwreckas, part 8



The Portwreckas are the crew of another new ship in the Ironfang pirate fleet. They're mostly driven by the joy they find in taking other people's stuff. They don't really care what the stuff is, or what happens to the previous owners. They just enjoy the process of taking it, especially if there's violence involved.

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Kedge

Despite his innate savagery, Kedge can be surprisingly devious and kunnin'. So much so, the rest of the crew have no idea that he is anything other than brutal.





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Skrug

Skrug's most prized possession is a thaumaturgic compass, that glows with a dim blue-green light.





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Stern Bruk

Bruk likes to see if the crew can make a fight last longer than one turn of his hour-glass. He also claims he can write and records the times of their various battles on a long piece of parchment he carries. But since none of the others even claim to be able to read know one knows if this is true.





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Weatherside

Weatherside is very proud of his hat.





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Mainstay Grak, Ardboy Boss

Grak is a stubborn one: If he ever encounters a problem he will simply batter his way through it, no matter what anyone else thinks. His lads think this is an excellent and admirable quality.

[This is a model I made a few years ago (mostly from an Ork Flashgit), but I gave him a very minor repaint, to make his colour-scheme similar to the rest of the crew's.]





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There are 5 more Ardboys queued-up on my desk to bring these lads up to AoS unit strength.