"You can tell by my fangs that I'm a CHAOS dwarf! Mwah-ah-ah-aaaahhhhh!"
No, no...they don't suffer from 'Little Man Syndrome'. They suffer from 'Evil Dwarf Syndrome'
My history with Games Workshop is long and torturous. I really really really tried to like and play their games. But, they all run about as well as an a classic '66 Triumph motorcyle...as in you have to fix it to put it on the road, fix it halfway there, and fix it after you get home.
Warhammer Fantasy consistently had lots of game mechanic issues. That being said, if you didn't care much about winning either way, then it was a pretty hilarious system. If you want a logical, coherent, smooth-running system [like, say, a Yamaha motorcycle], then you play Kings of War.
The last time I had my Warhammer figs out, was for an experiment with Neil Thomas' skirmish rules in "Wargaming: an Introduction" chronicled [HERE] and [HERE]. It was fun, but a bit busy with dice rolling.
In any event, I ended up with a bunch of stuff with 5th-7th Warhammer Fantasy, then 8th just killed it for me and I gave up. But, I do like the humorous style of the figures, and I've loved the Big Hat Dwarfs since I first saw them. Furthermore, their sculpting pedigree is excellent - the Perry Brothers sculpted them, I guess before they moved on to more respectable historical miniatures. Who thought of the look? I dunno, but I think they are both hilarious and excellent sculpts, with lots of amazing details, and many with expressive faces. Clearly, the tall hats are to make up for their, uhm, 'diminutive' stature.
Anyway, I did a good painting job on them and haven't been able to part with them since, so here they are, in all their glory. My thought is to return to finishing this modest project in late summer, upon my return from Army Field Craft 301, aka "Fun in the Sun". Most likely, I'll just use 5th ed. rules, and wallow through it best I can.
In any event, below is what I have painted up thus far, with just a 'few' details left on a couple of figs and units. Clearly, I stopped painting them mid-project many years ago.
Emerging from the passes into the fertile lands of men and Good Stunties, comes the fearsome - if modestly heighted - Chaos Dwarfs!
When the Axe Comes Down, "Unleash Hell!" 'Hero with Axe 2' is a great fig, if very standard in pose. He fit easily into my red and orange with some yellow fire paint scheme. No complaints with this figure. I am trying to give them a traditional color scheme in fire colors, but with natural rather than primary tones. Overall, I think it makes them look much better than the clownish look from the book and era.
"Bring the next round over there" says the Earthshaker commander. It is arced high in the air to lob shells over the hills into unwary 'Tall Folk'. Again, without the silly primary red paint scheme, I think this looks just great.
A sight the enemy dreads - a full battery of Death Rockets lined up and awaiting the signal to light fuses. Again, big hats in red and orange with a bit of yellow.
The Company of Red Fire. The horn is needed to be heard over the gun blasts.
The axe-wielders from the Company of Orange Fire. All classic plastic, with a 3-stunty command: Hero, Standard and Musician, in the front row.
And here he is, coming right atcha! As you can see, he favors the Company of Red Fire - they must have supported his bid for power.
And just a profile shot - some nice details in the little wheels and such for the arms. I may have to revisit and paint him up a bit better than the quick dry-brush I did.
Below, the Bull Centaur Standard Bearer. There are several good selections of magical standards unique to the CDs, and the mobility of the Bull Centaur can really help keep the standard in play. Note that the top of the standard pole has two Llammasu facing each other - a nice touch!
Below is my favorite CD character of this era - 'Hero with Axe 1'. Something about his stance just says, "yeah, come'n get somma dis!" [CLICK] He's clearly confident and has mafia rings galore!. He's also a big Big BIG Hat kinda dwarf.
Shield is from the Chaos plastic sprue. I like the spike. The back view shows the hashut emblem holding the banner poles.
Some side view - something about that nose just says...Assyrian to me! The skull atop the shoulder pauldron is also a nice touch.
Yeah...I'm looking at you, Good Stunty!
Commissar Caine's Level 2 glare - lookout!
Finally, these were the six Bull Centaurs I was able to acquire at time of painting. Three are the same, Torso with Axe 4. The others gave a bit of variety.
The below are all nice sculpts, but not my favorites [which I have since acquired]. They are Torso w Axe 1 [left and center] and 2 [right]. My favorite is the guy with the goblin head on his shield, a nice touch! Perhaps also a snack for later... Again, these all are using the chaos shields from a later era, but I like them.
Finally, these were the six Bull Centaurs I was able to acquire at time of painting. Three are the same, Torso with Axe 4. The others gave a bit of variety.
The below are all nice sculpts, but not my favorites [which I have since acquired]. They are Torso w Axe 1 [left and center] and 2 [right]. My favorite is the guy with the goblin head on his shield, a nice touch! Perhaps also a snack for later... Again, these all are using the chaos shields from a later era, but I like them.
This is the army at this point. I've a couple of Sorcerers nearly finished, a unit of 25 axe-dwarfs to paint up, and at least a couple more units of Bull Centaurs. Overall, I am still happy with the paint job I did many years ago, and the after finishing a few little details just need to flock the bases and seal the models.
I'm going to use these for my Oldhammer project, which will likely not play anything after 5th, and I want to try 2nd and 3rd edition also. My Empire, Chaos and Greenskins are still in the works, and I'm looking forward to both painting the fun little fellas and getting them on the table using about 6-8 units a side and playing the Neil Thomas' "One-Hour Wargames" scenarios with them! I think that regardless of the rules issues, the OHW scenarios will make for a lot of fun and interesting narrative games.
