Grenadier Miniatures Dwarf Warchief

I love these Grenadier Miniatures Dwarf sculpts. Bags of character and not too expensive, these were my gateway drug back into mini painting. My supplier of choice is Forlorn Hope Games, and they also have a bunch of other interesting Oldhammer style models in their catalogue.

This particular sculpt has a lovely flowy cape that was a lot of fun to paint, and would make an excellent Frostgrave Templar. I hear that two-handed weapons don't fit the meta in Mordheim because of their speed, but I've always ended up making my choices based on what fits the fluff rather than what's actually "wise" so he might also make a good dwarven noble in a Treasure Hunters warband.

A couple of notes on decisions made during this paint job, from a complete amateur working this stuff out as he goes along. Firstly the colour scheme I've picked for the dwarf band is very heavy on the brown, so the wooden axe haft gets more of a bleached bone vibe. I think this also makes it look a bit more 'premium', so a better fit for a higher status dwarf. Secondly beards, especially greying beards, often change colour as they get further from the face. The first coat looked a bit strange and phony. As I drybrushed up to white I concentrated on the beard nearest the skin, and the end result is definitely more natural.

Quite a few more to go, but the painting is the real hobby so I'm happy to spend a few hours per model and enjoy the process. And of course the lessons learned from this one get carried forward to the others.

Who starts a blog in 2022? Well I think more people should

Any good artist will tell you that the blank page is your enemy, and getting something - anything - down on paper/canvas/plastic is the big first step toward a finished piece. So it is with nonsense like this. Welcome to the first blog post. May it not be reflective of the content to follow.

In an age of social media snapshots and Youtube tutorials, blogs are supposed to be a dying breed. But whenever I search online for examples of painted miniatures or terrain pieces the blog posts are invariably my favourite results. Insta's great for sharing pretty pictures, but you get two or three short paragraphs, tops, which most people don't even read. I like pictures, but what I really like is the stories behind them. Blogs are good for stories.

I got into Warhammer 40k in my teens and took a 20 year break before rediscovering the hobby during the first Coronavirus lockdown. One of the best things about returning to mini painting in the internet age is the massive accessibility of models and settings that arn't Games Workshop. Don't get me wrong, GW is great at what they do, but whether you're a fantasy buff or sci-fi nerd a large part of the the joy of the 'made-up-worlds' genre comes from opening a book and immersing yourself in a new and different setting with its own restrictions, aesthetic and opportunity to explore. The internet has been the great equaliser here, making miniatures and rules easier than ever to find, share, and form communities around. It rocks.

My current project, inching toward half-done, is a Dwarven Frostgrave/Mordheim warband who you will hopefully see more of soon. I have grand plans for some Turnip28 modelling fun, a growing pile of shame that I'm dipping into randomly as the mood takes me, and a Count Binface model from Troublemaker Games which is begging for a Stargrave crew.

Happy hobbying internet. If all goes well the next post will have pictures and actually be interesting.