Spearhead: Next steps

As I write this I can play a Spearhead game using only painted Ghoul miniatures, but I'm using mostly conversions, Warcry & Underworlds models. The next phase will be painting actual Cryptguards (doubling the number of small guys in the army) before painting the second Morbheg Knights unit.

So let's talk about those knights. The Morbheg Knights story arc has reached a really satisfying point: On one side, the combination of Dire Wolves and Crypt Guards I teased you with last week works wonders, and the first test model is in a very advanced conversion phase. The other two will be built after New Year's Eve.

Here's a how the champion of the unit looks right now. He obviously needs a right arm, a new loincloth made with greenstuff and minor sculpted details, as additional rocks on the base. I'll talk about the whole process in later posts.

On the other hand, I've got good news from the Baron I built in 2024. He was supposed to be a second iteration for my Warcry warband, along with two frost tigers instead of the official Offal Hounds I didn't like too much.

I was very fond of that model and planned using him as another character or general for AoS games. But I wanted a squire kneeling and offering a sacred sword or hunting lance to go with him, so the went to the drawer and I kinda forgot.

But last week I thought:

Wait a minute, what if I made 75 oval bases "adapters" for the pair of tigers and the Beastflayer Baron, so I can use them as more cavalry models? Having 2 kinds of bases gave me all the options, instead of sacrificing one game in favor of the other.

Yeah, that's the second unit i said before. Three not-too-big-not-too-small models, with mini dioramas in 75 mm oval bases (the Baron consisting in two models) that can still be used in Warcry or AoS games:

That made me realize that after painting the White Knight, the "frost land & big white beasts" theme was perfect for the whole army.

I left the squire for another day because I needed to repose a ghoul like he was kneeling, or find one that looked like it. And the Grymwatch spare models I had where the answer.

I had to cut and reposition one hand, look for a whole right arm (that one was used on my Blood Bowl Ghoul Captain conversion from 2022). Then I turned the right hand upside down, and filled the neck gap with turquoise sprue goo. I trimmed the hand and forearm attached to the Sigmarite spear I used to build the boar hunting spear (the other part was the Baron's original broken broad sword). There was a notch on the pole so I made it match with the right thumb (see below).

Then I adjusted the tilt of the polearm (depending on which side you're looking from it looks better or not). And here's the (almost finished) result:

Here are some close ups of both characters. I'm more than happy with the facial expressions, the two levels of heads (the helmets -the characters they see- and the deranged ghoul faces -the monsters they actually are-), all the nuances of their relationship and so on...

The funniest thing about planning and designing this is that it works in any direction (they can be turned as you prefer so the squire is following the Baron with the spear instead of offering it, or you can make them both look at the camera). I'll show you all the combinations once is finished.

Well, that was all for this week. I'll come back to the drawing board next Thursday, so please hit me up with your ideas until then. Bye!