[Archive] Side project: Bronze Age Fantasy warband [2020-02-16: Centaur]

[Antenor]

Antenor:

Good day, everyone!

All that talk about bronze age stuff has made me the hobby equivalent of hungry, so I went ahead and ordered a bunch of Mycenaean/Trojan miniatures from Wargames Foundry and Redoubt Enterprises. I�?Tve recently started working on them as a holiday project. This is definitely not just me trying to hide from the fact that I still don�?Tt know where my bull centaurs are going.

As this is intended as a side project (may Hashut forgive my digression), these guys will not become an army anytime soon, but rather a warband for skirmishes against my Chaos Dwarves, specifically Vanguard. I also recently discovered Rick Priestley�?Ts Warlords of Erehwon, which has a Greek-inspired fantasy faction called �?oOlympians�?�. I would like to give that a try, should my warband grow to a fitting size. For now, I�?Tm going to build it around Vanguard�?Ts �?oKingdoms of Men�?� list. I�?Tve also started scribbling together something like a lore for them, but it�?Ts all still in in rough outlines. Hopefully, I�?Tll be able to post some acceptable fluff together with each finished set of miniatures, like I try to do with my CDs.

Here�?Ts how I imagine the roster so far:

Junior Hero (�?oFoot Guard�?�)

The typical heroic warrior with sword, shield, and short spear/javelin (depending on the model).

Senior Hero (�?oVeteran Soldier�?�)

The same as the Junior one, but better.

Ship Defender (�?oFoot Soldier�?�)

The Foot Soldier in Vanguard comes with a spear, enabling him to partake in melee from a certain distance. I thought that this might best be represented by warriors wielding long pikes such as were used in naval warfare.

Blessed Archer (�?oArquebusier�?�)

The Arquebusier comes with the special rules �?oReload�?�, which makes shooting a long action, and �?oPiercing�?�, which gives a better chance at damaging the target. If you pray to your favourite god(ess) before each shot and he/she is kind enough to lend your arrow some extra punch, I imagine that�?Ts pretty much the same effect.

Ambusher/Night Raider (�?oBerserker�?�)

For certain jobs, no armour is needed.

�?oLeader of Men�?�

… which is exactly what chieftains are called in the Iliad, so no need for a fancy new name!

Priestess (�?oWizard�?�)

Doesn�?Tt seem too far-fetched, I think.

Armoured Centaur (�?oKnight�?�)

This is my opportunity to add a conversion project to the mix. What I see before my insane inner eye is a centaur in Dendra armour (like Redoubts�?T Ajax is wearing, see below). We�?Tll see how it�?Tll work out

Laestrygon/Cyclops/Minotaur (�?oOgre Warrior�?�)

If we define an Ogre as an over-sized humanoid with an inclination towards eating people, Greek mythology has no shortage of suitable equivalents. Of course, I could always go for that lovely Nephilim from Lucid Eye as a Laestrygon. But that�?Ts a slippery slope right there, because I know that if I buy that one, I�?Tll want that Amazon War Queen too, at least. The temptation to bite off more than I can chew could prove too great. So I�?Tll just let that decision wait for a while, there�?Ts enough stuff to do for now anyway.

As promised, here are some pics of the minis.

Here�?Ts the �?oClassical Heroes�?� pack from Wargames Foundry. They�?Tre supposed to represent (left to right) Diomedes, Hector, Aeneas, Achilles, Ajax, Odysseus, and Paris.





This is the �?oKings and Heroes�?� pack. The first three are meant to be Agamemnon, Menelaus, and Nestor.





These are the shields that came with the two respective packs. Always one more than strictly needed, which is very nice:





They also threw in a Napoleonic dude (French?):



There was only one thing that annoyed me: the minis didn�?Tt come with proper spears as they appear on the shop page. Instead, there was this pack of not very pretty maybe-javelins. I�?Tll try out how they look when painted. If it doesn�?Tt work out, I�?Tll just recycle some bits and make the spears myself.



From Redoubt, I ordered two single miniatures. This guy in Dendra armour should represent Ajax:



This one is meant to be Helen (she�?Ts going to be my priestess). The bit of flash in the face is not ideal, but I think I can manage that. I really admire the sculpting work on her hair.





I also got another spearman for free, which I thought very friendly, especially considering that I had bought only two minis in the first place:



I really like all of the miniatures I got here. One thing that made me slightly uncomfortable at first is that they�?Tre all made from an alloy containing lead, but Admiral was already so nice as to give me some hints about how to deal with that. :hat off

Hopefully I�?Tll have some finished stuff to show you soon. Thanks for reading, I�?Tll keep you up to date!

[Admiral]

Admiral:

Very nice start! Lovely miniatures, not least the priestess sculpt. Great aesthetic of course, too. Looking forward to see how this progress.

[Antenor]

Antenor:

Finally getting some decent sunlight again here, so I was able to take some photos of my first Bronze-Age chaps. Also, I�?Tve concocted a bit of lore for them to provide a little context.

I�?Tve decided to place their faction in Pannithor, because I really like how that universe is developing right now, and it just feels like there�?Ts intended to be a lot of room for player-created content. That also means, sadly, that they won�?Tt be encountering Azrubal and his merry band �?" but they will most certainly come across a bunch of Abyssal Dwarfs that look very similar! I�?Tve tried to come up with a good name for their faction, and in the end followed the honoured tradition of grabbing a name from history and spelling it a bit differently. So �?" meet the Akhayans!



When the Infant Sea was born and much of the world drowned beneath the waves, the greatest part of the Akhayan civilisation drowned with it. Sprawling cities, temples painted in a hundred colours, impregnable cyclopean fortresses; a culture that had waged great wars, whose heroes had travelled to the edges of the known world and returned to be honoured as gods, whose kings had been on brotherly terms with the mightiest rulers of Men �?" all swept away in an instant. At the time of the Great Inundation, the Akhayans had already been an old people. In fact, some scholars regard them as a practically unchanged remnant of Basilea�?Ts ancient progenitors �?" and although there are striking differences between their cultures, the Akhayan language does seem to be an ancient form of the dialect spoken by the Basileans.

Nowadays, the Akhayans are few in number, living mostly on remnant islands in the Infant Sea, most of which are too small to appear on a map of Pannithor. Some tribes are scattered along the western coast of Abercarr, paying tribute to the High King and being, in turn, allowed to inhabit stretches of land that are of little value to the dwarves. Others have been granted dwelling places by the Lords of Ophidia, in memory of ancient friendships and marital ties between many noble families of both peoples, in some cases reaching back to the days of the ancient Ahmunite kings. Such bonds are regarded as sacred by the Akhayans, and to this day, their warriors will often come to the aid of an Ophidian Lord on the eve of battle. Acts like these still bespeak their ancient greatness, but it is but a pale shadow of the glory that was. Where once the Akhayans were ruled by mighty kings who owned dozens of cities and led tens of thousands of men into battle, they are now mostly organised in small communities or tribes, often inhabiting the remnants of their ancestors�?T palaces and strongholds. It is rare that a chieftain�?Ts rule stretches further than his own native island. Sometimes, however, an exceptionally talented and charismatic leader will emerge and unite a number of tribes, thus forming a kind of loosely organised kingdom; but these fragile political constructs rarely outlive their founder.

For all that they have lost, the Akhayans are still fell warriors, honoured by their allies and feared by their foes. Their martial skills are ceaselessly being honed in a near-constant state of petty warfare, mostly among themselves, with cattle raids, piracy, and abductions being part of their everyday life. Most of these conflicts take place on a very small scale. Large pitched battles or grand sieges are rather the exception than the rule �?" in fact, the Akhayans admire a well-executed ambush just as much as they admire valour in the face of the enemy. Consequently, their military operations are usually carried out by small professional warbands.

As is the case in many cultures of Man, the warrior class of Akhayan society is constituted by their noblemen �?" or �?oHeroes�?�, as they are called among their own people. This term covers a surprisingly large ground within their society, from the mightiest kings down to the smallest landholders. This is largely due to the Akhayan�?Ts peculiar understanding of nobility: Societal status is for them not purely inherited, but to a significant degree granted by the community to each man according to his merit. While wealth and lineage do play important roles, the Heroes are primarily expected to excel as warriors. An Akhayan prince may inherit large portions of land and masses of treasure, but should he show signs of personal weakness or cowardice, he will lose all of it very swiftly �?" probably along with his life. Being products of this culture, the Heroes are not only skilled, but also fearless warriors, knowing full well that their status is tied to their prowess in battle, and preferring death to shame.



Ship Companions

In war and peacetime alike, a Hero is usually accompanied by a retinue of so-called Companions, the number of which depends largely from his own wealth and fame, ranging from a single close friend to small armies. Typically, these men come from respectable, though not particularly wealthy families, and attach themselves to a nobleman to make a living as professional warriors. Some of them are even themselves exiled nobles who had to leave their tribes �?" sometimes because they have committed a crime, or simply because of family squabbles �?" and seek a new life in a foreign Hero�?Ts service. They are rewarded for their loyalty with land, cattle, treasure, and status within the community. As piracy and coastal raids are an essential part of Akhayan heroic culture, one of the Companions�?T most archetypal functions is to act as a ship crew for their leader. As such, many of them have mastered the use of the ship-pike, an unwieldy weapon whose main purpose is to hold off enemy boarding attempts at sea, but which often sees use on land as well, especially when the enemy is expected to field cavalry.

















In contrast to other historical minis I’ve seen, these hold up really well against Fantasy figures scale-wise, even next to a (notoriously bulky) Mantic dwarf:

[Antenor]

Antenor:

Finally getting some decent sunlight again here, so I was able to take some photos of my first Bronze-Age chaps. Also, I�?Tve concocted a bit of lore for them to provide a little context.

I�?Tve decided to place their faction in Pannithor, because I really like how that universe is developing right now, and it just feels like there�?Ts intended to be a lot of room for player-created content. This also means, sadly, that they won�?Tt be encountering Azrubal and his merry band �?" but they will most certainly come across a bunch of Abyssal Dwarfs that look very similar! I�?Tve tried to come up with a good name for their faction, and in the end applied the good old method of grabbing a name from history and spelling it a bit differently. So �?" meet the Akhayans!



When the Infant Sea was born and much of the world drowned beneath the waves, the greatest part of the Akhayan civilisation drowned with it. Sprawling cities, temples painted in a hundred colours, impregnable cyclopean fortresses; a culture that had waged great wars, whose heroes had travelled to the edges of the known world and returned to be honoured as gods, whose kings had been on brotherly terms with the mightiest rulers of Men, Elves and Dwarves �?" all swept away in an instant.

At the time of the Great Inundation, the Akhayans had already been an old people. In fact, some scholars regard them as a practically unchanged remnant of Basilea�?Ts ancient progenitors �?" and although there are striking differences between their cultures, the Akhayan language does seem to be an ancient form of the dialect spoken by the Basileans.

Nowadays, the Akhayans are few in number, living mostly on remnant islands in the Infant Sea, most of which are too small to appear on a map of Pannithor. Some tribes are scattered along the western coast of Abercarr, paying tribute to the High King and being, in turn, allowed to inhabit stretches of land that are of little value to the dwarves. Others have been granted dwelling places by the Lords of Ophidia, in memory of ancient friendships and marital ties between many noble families of both peoples, in some cases reaching back to the days of the ancient Ahmunite kings. Such bonds are regarded as sacred by the Akhayans, and to this day, their warriors will often come to the aid of an Ophidian Lord on the eve of battle. Acts like these still bespeak their ancient greatness, but it is but a pale shadow of the glory that was. Where once the Akhayans were ruled by mighty kings who owned dozens of cities and led tens of thousands of men into battle, they are now mostly organised in small communities or tribes, often inhabiting the remnants of their ancestors�?T palaces and strongholds. It is rare for a chieftain�?Ts rule to stretch further than his own native island. Sometimes, however, an exceptionally talented and charismatic leader will emerge and unite a number of tribes, thus forming a kind of loosely organised kingdom; but these fragile political constructs rarely outlive their founder.

For all that they have lost, the Akhayans are still fell warriors, honoured by their allies and feared by their foes. Their martial skills are ceaselessly being honed in a near-constant state of petty warfare, mostly among themselves, with cattle raids, piracy, and abductions being part of their everyday life. Most of these conflicts take place on a very small scale. Large pitched battles or grand sieges are rather the exception than the rule �?" in fact, the Akhayans admire a well-executed ambush just as much as they admire valour in the face of the enemy. Consequently, their military operations are usually carried out by small professional warbands.

As is the case in many cultures of Man, the warrior class of Akhayan society is constituted by their noblemen �?" or �?oHeroes�?�, as they are called among their own people. This term covers a surprisingly large ground within their society, from the mightiest kings down to the smallest landholders. This is largely due to the Akhayan�?Ts peculiar understanding of nobility: Societal status is for them not purely inherited, but to a significant degree granted by the community to each man according to his merit. While wealth and lineage do play important roles, the Heroes are primarily expected to excel as warriors. An Akhayan prince may inherit large portions of land and masses of treasure, but should he show signs of personal weakness or cowardice, he will lose all of it very swiftly �?" probably along with his life. Being products of this culture, the Heroes are not only skilled, but also fearless warriors, knowing full well that their status is tied to their prowess in battle, and preferring death to shame.



Ship Companions

In war and peacetime alike, a Hero is usually accompanied by a retinue of so-called Companions, the number of which depends largely from his own wealth and fame, ranging from a single close friend to small armies. Typically, these men come from respectable, though not particularly wealthy families, and attach themselves to a nobleman to make a living as professional warriors. Some of them are even themselves exiled nobles who had to leave their tribes �?" sometimes because they have committed a crime, sometimes simply over family squabbles �?" and seek a new life in a foreign Hero�?Ts service. They are rewarded for their loyalty with land, cattle, treasure, and status within the community. As piracy and coastal raids are an essential part of Akhayan heroic culture, one of the Companions�?T most archetypal functions is to act as a ship crew for their leader. As such, many of them have mastered the use of the ship-pike, an unwieldy weapon whose main purpose is to hold off enemy boarding attempts at sea, but which often sees use on land as well, especially when the enemy is expected to field cavalry.

















These would be the spear-armed “Foot Soldiers” in Vanguard. In contrast to other historical minis I’ve seen, they hold up really well against Fantasy figures scale-wise, even next to a (notoriously bulky) Mantic dwarf:



Next entry is already in progress. Hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading!

[tjub]

tjub:

Well done, great looking models and lore! Love that you chose to go with Pannithor, and I have to agree with you there!

[Antenor]

Antenor:

Centaur

I�?Tm still posting this here because I have not yet decided about how exactly I�?Tm going to move my CD stuff over to the new forum (it will be a good chance to give my blog a little organisational overhaul), and it would feel a bit strange to move the side project first. But as soon as I�?Tve got my stuff set up in our new home, all future updates are going to happen over there.

So I finished the Centaur (a.k.a. �?oKnight�?�), probably my biggest sculpting project to date. The horse body and all organic parts are GW bits. The labrys is a kitbash from a Marauder weapon and Thunderer axeblades, the shield is from Wargames Foundry. I sculpted the suit of armour onto a Marauder�?Ts torso (minus the helmet plume, it�?Ts from the same kit I used for my Hobgoblin) and the fringed blanket onto the horse body. Despite apparent imperfections, he looks much like I imagined he would, and, most importantly, I think the Dendra Armour can be identified as such. Next time I do something like this, I�?Tll try and actually sculpt the armour trim �?" for this one, I just pressed the lining directly into the plate, hence the wonky look in some places.

I had great fun making this one, and I think it was a rewarding effort. Thanks for taking a look, let me know what you think!

Have I ever seen a Centaur? My dear lad, I�?Tve seen Centaurs when your father was still as green as you are now. Fought alongside them �?" and, on one occasion, against them. Can�?Tt recommend the latter. My pal Tekton �?" did I ever tell you about Tekton? Great chap, always had a skin of wine stowed away somewhere �?" well, he was standing next to me in the battle line when those Centaurs charged us, and got his head cut clean off by a labrys. It happened so swiftly that I doubt he even noticed it. Oh yes, they sure know how to use those things. It didn�?Tt even look as if that Centaur had to put any real effort into it. One might think that chopping off heads is about as exerting for them as picking a flower. Anyway, I got lucky that day. Grabbed Tekton�?Ts sword, what with him not needing it anymore, and, see, it really would�?Tve been a shame �?" look here, see those silver studs? A thing of beauty, it is �?" what? Oh, yes. Well, I ran, I�?Tm not proud to say, but let me tell you, lad, you would�?Tve run too. Now you might be tempted to believe those stories about Centaurs being savage beasts, y�?Tknow, just living for battle and slaughter and whatnot, but let me tell you, that�?Ts all perfect rot. In fact, when they�?Tre on your side, and you get to know them a little, you�?Tll see that they�?Tre mighty decent folk overall. Sure, they drink a bit too much sometimes, but what warrior doesn�?Tt? Oh, and they can make songs, lad �?" songs so heart-breaking that veterans of a hundred wars will cry like babies, or so merry that you�?Tll laugh and dance and forget all about how you tried not to get gutted in the battle just a few hours ago. Just be polite to them, and they�?Tll be the best company you�?Tve ever had. But maybe you shouldn�?Tt invite them to your wedding, come to think of it. Did I ever tell you about…











Here are some WIP pics: