Dwarvish Mesopotamia

[Tyranno]

Hello there! First post on the re-booted forum. I used to visit the old one when I first picked up Chaos Dwarves, but the various ups and downs of the army made it difficult for me to keep my enthusiasm.

But ever since 9th Age brought the army fully into the fold, I have decided to give my arm a full remake. (Those who find my online tag familiar may know me from the 9th Age forums as well)

Since my army has had a total makeover, I decided to look deep into what I wanted the end aesthetic to be. I looked at the olde Chaos Dwarf design, the Forge World one, Assyrians/Babylonians/Persians/Hittites, Morrowind, Mordor and even the two World Wars… etc etc. Eventually I settled on using Ancient Mesopotamian civilisations as the core design base, but with a flare of the olde and new Chaos Dwarf design when the Bronze/Iron Age civilisations needed filling in. I also used a few other things for select units, but well… cross that bridge when we come to it.

So without further blathering, let me introduce my rebooted forces.

First up we have my Citadel Guard with flintlocks. These were the ones I looked more to Forge World for a design. The menacing face-plates work nicely to look like they are shielding the dwarves from the gun backfiring. Meanwhile large Assyrian shields are strapped to their backs.

[Tyranno]

Choo choo! Here we have my Infernal Engine. Based mostly on the model from the Galvanic Servohauler, I tried to make the train as stocky and armoured as its crew. Something about the Forge World model never sat right with me (too frail-looking).

[Tyranno]

These monstrous guns are my Titan Mortars. I wanted something really BIG and imposing here, so these oversized railguns from 40K were perfect; not to mention I had their train carriage lower-halves ready from my train earlier…

[Tyranno]

More big guns in my Volcano Cannons! I spent ages posing and re-posing the cannons, trying to come up with something that looked good. Eventually I settled on these mean low-slung designs, complete with bull insignias.

The crew are also built (not pictured) and each is convincingly operating something that makes the cannon look like it feasibly works. A nice little touch I think.

[Tyranno]

Here we have my Great Bull with rider. I used the Endless Spells for Beasts of Chaos for the front of the body, and rebuilt the back legs, gave it wings, totally re-made the head and gave it some armour.

It is also MASSIVE. Over a foot wingspan… what have I done…

[Tyranno]

Back to paint with my Kadim Incarnates. I went back & forth a lot over these models as well, but once I saw the flaming flails it all started coming together.

I like the “possessed suits of armour” look they have. Hopefully their Necron model origins will be well-hidden once I paint the flames.

[Tyranno]

Taurukh Anointed here, these I built from Chaos Knight horses and Dragon Ogres. Although now GW have made new versions of the former… which is making me kinda go back and forth if I should update my design… ugh.

[Tyranno]

One of my Prophets. I liked this “channeling” pose, and the wispy magic I will paint as a band of liquid silver. A little DragonBall Z, but it works haha.

[Tyranno]

Here we have my Citadel Guard. Now you may be wondering, why do these guys have spears? Well… in the 9th Age, Infernal Dwarves are currently getting a new book designed. And one of the changes that has been recently previewed is spears for several Dwarf units. Naturally I have jumped the gun a little, and already made mine haha.

[Tyranno]

Another new unit that has been previewed are these chariots. Pulled by a bulky infernal beastie, I opted for the GW Juggernaught model, but have started re-working the head to resemble something more near-eastern.

That’s all for now. Feel free to ask me about how I made any of these models, or if you want sculpting tips (I sculpted enough beards to know how to do it in my sleep at this point…)

Some more pictures should come later, once I have a bit more to show.

P.S. Sorry about the multiple posts. New users cannot post more than 1 pic per post and I am not sure what are the requisites for not being a new user.

[ashur]

Those lancers and prophet look beautiful. You are really sticking to the thematic. Already waiting for more!

[tjub]

These look pretty bad ass! Great job so far…

[Reaver]

Excellent use of the servohaulers across the board. I also concur the prophet is awesome, looking forward to seeing those cannons crewed up. You’ve got some great unique conversions here, can’t wait for more!

[Uther.the.unhinged]

Great mix of old and new in the army. Oh those guns… Don’t worry about the size of the flying bull. As one wise soul on the old forum once said ‘Big minis are cool minis and cool minis win battles!’.
Great work.
Love the shields on the spear dwarfs, are they tomb kings?

[Zanko]

So far very promising army I am curious to see the models painted!

[Tyranno]

Thanks for all the amazing replies everyone!

I am not sure how to quote people on this type of forum, so I will try to answer individually as best I can.

Thanks! Getting the theme right was a delicate balance and has resulted in a lot of models getting parts removed and then rebuilt. There are still a few I am not 100% happy with, but I think I can just make mild adjustments to those.

Don’t worry, I jest with the bull, he can actually be carried in a case pretty easily, and the only thing that should fear him are models that risk being clothes-lined by his wings haha!

And yes those are Tomb King shields, the classic Skeleton/Chariot/Horsemen kit ones specifically. They are oddly more like Assyrian shields than Egyptian ones… so I won’t waste a great opportunity.

I will try to paint the models; with the current “situation” out there, it looks like I will be having a lot of free time on my hands. Good thing I am currently very happy with some models for Slaves I have going… keep an eye out for them once they have all their body-parts glued on.

[Tyranno]

Ok, looks like my “new user” limits have been lifted. Let’s test this bad boy out…

First off something painted. My Lamassu! I am very happy with the way he came out, and the white skin & feathers makes a nice contrast to all the darker colours of the army.

A work in progress for my slaves. They are much further along than this, but it’s a nice detailed photo, so why waste it?

The design is based on the Ash Slave creature from The Elder Scrolls 3 Morrowind, with a bit of the overall idea from a creature in Skyrim. The idea for mine is that they are blinded elves, covered in ash & soot, with nothing but rags for clothes and scars across their backs. And some chains and a heavy neck-brace to keep them in line. I plan to have them carrying ammunition around… as soon as I find enough of the same type of ammunition.

Hobgoblins! I am not 100% happy with their shields, but the rest of the design I like; Skaven Stormvermin, with Gnoblar heads.

One of my elite infantry, an Immortal. Like the Citadel Guard, also equipped with a brand new spear!

I loved the new Dwarf Blood Bowl team, especially their Mesopotamian face-plates. It wasn’t difficult to incorporate them into my armies style. Now all I need to do is finish them and see if a dark-bronze colour scheme really makes them fit…

Taurukhs, the basic kind. I used the Chaos Chariot horses as a base here. Those ponies are really fat, and look more like bulls than anything equine. Stormcast Eternal made up the torso.

More artillery in my Rocket Battery. I once again used the Galvanic Servohauler for the carriage, but with an Imperial Guard Manticore as the “business end”. Suitably LARGE in my book.

Sticking with artillery, here are the crew for my Volcano Cannon. Notice how one is pouring the liquid in, while another operates the firing mechanism, and the third turns the wheel to make the barrel rotate on the turnstyle.

And last but not least, my finished Prophet. Not 100% fully painted (the face needs to be finished, as does the base, and his fire is totally untouched) but very close. I think this is the most detailed beard I have sculpted so far… and he was one of the early ones… huh.

As always, comments and questions are welcomed! I even have a short guide on how to sculpt Mesopotamian beards if anyone is interested.

[Reaver]

Stellar work on the artillery crew (as well as everything else)

[tjub]

Looks great! Id love to see some more and better photos of that Lamassu.

[Tyranno]

So do I haha! Trying to get a good shot of him is really difficult. Get a good shot of the face, and the rider gets cut out. Try to get a good shot of the rider, and the Lamassu gets cut off a bit.