Fimir - Unit Filler

Here we have the latest addition to my first fimm unit. As unit fillers go, it was great fun to build and paint, and I think it adds a lot of atmosphere to the unit, as well as a little height. I'm hoping the ravens will match well with the raven on the standard bearer's banner and give the impression of a flock flying over the unit.

Wahammer Forge - Fimir Warriors Review, Part 1

To my surprise and delight, my Warhammer Forge fimir warriors arrived today. I've had plenty of resin models in the past, but this is my first foray into Forge World. I have to say, I'm impressed. There is, of course, a certain amount of cleaning up, more than a plastic model, but looking at these, about the same as a multi-part metal mini. Certainly nothing like the finecast models. What is amazing is the level of detail, which is incredible. Belt buckles, teeth, armour plates, facial features, all are gloriously fine. The thinner elements, such as the hafts of the weapons, are a little fragile looking, but once they are in place I imagine they'll be fine as long as they are looked after.These guys are going to be a real treat to paint up.

So, how do they compare to the fimir of yesteryear? For those who are interested, the heads are smaller than on the old Nick Bibby models, but the bodies are about the same size. The tails are a lot shorter, but then, getting fimir to rank up has always been a pain, so that's not so upsetting. I'm not certain about mixing the old and the new in the same unit, I'll have to have a think.


There are three tail variants, as well as three heads. The heads aren't a whole lot bigger than the ones I made for my own human-scale fimir, so I wonder. Perhaps some instant mould might be employed here to make a head for my human-scale meagh or dirach. Some experimentation is required.

Overall, I'm very happy indeed with these cyclopean horrors, and I think they'll make fine nobles for my growing clan. I'm extremely tempted to paint one up once I'm done with the unit filler for my fimm unit.

Fimir - Albion Chariot

I recently acquired a Gael chariot from the Celtos line on the old ebay. I had been looking for a Celtic-style chariot for my fimir for a while, and this one looks 'warhammery' enough to fit in. I'm very happy with it, it will look great and will serve well as a chaff unit.

Now, it IS going to look a little odd when I stick it on a swamp base, as chariots were not known for their  performance in marshes, but, them's the breaks, I have a basing theme and I'm damn well sticking to it. The thing I'm really wondering about is the passenger. There's a rather nice human spearman in the kit, but I was thinking of putting a fimm on the back of the chariot with a spear or man-catcher. I would have used both the human and fimir crewman, swapping them as needed, but alas, the chariot deck is just a teeny bit too small to fit a 25mm base. So, I put it out there, fimm, or human?

Warhammer - Faq Stickers for Rulebooks

I came across this on the Bad Dice podcast today. Little stickers with all the faq and errata for your little rulebook. Talk about handy. It's up to date too, at 1.5.

http://www.warhammernorge.com/

I think one will be having a GW set, just for sheer, unmitigated convenience.

Daemons of Chaos - Tallymen

I'm reading Tamurkhan at the moment, and it's a great read. It reminds me of the old Realm of Chaos books, which I am (praise the four) lucky enough to own. I'm only just getting into the bestiary for the chaos forces, but the notion of running a combined chaos army comparable to the old RoC days is all good with me. If I was to start a chaos army, this would be the one.

Having just finished the tale of Tamurkhan I'm in a Nurgly mood, so I thought I'd pop up a shot of some tallymen I did for a friend a while ago. He waited some considerable time for these too, bless him.

Fimir - Human Allies

As the fimm unit trundles along on the painting table, thoughts turn to the rest of the army. I have four units assembled and primed, and you can see another prospective unit above, allied Albion tribesmen. This would count as a unit of forty chaos marauders, and is made up from a variety of different Celtic style miniatures from a cornucopia of different companies. I have a penchant for Celtos/Chronopia figures as I think they fit into the warhammer style better. There are three unit fillers in here to give them a more mythological feel and make them look less like a unit of historical celts. From the left to right, there is:

The Fachen: A creature from Scottish/Irish mythology with only half a body, a single leg, arm and eye. This Fachen is called Nesnas from a story in John Francis Campbell's Popular Tales of the West Highlands features a Fachen named Nesnas Mhiccallain being defeated in a race by the story's hero, Murachadh Mac Brian, who became king of Ireland.

The Dagda: Tales depict the Dagda as a figure of immense power, armed with a magic club and associated with a cauldron. The club was supposed to be able to kill nine men with one blow; but with the handle he could return the slain to life. The cauldron was known as the Undry and was said to be bottomless, from which no man left unsatisfied. (The cauldron will be making an appearance elsewhere in the army)

Kelpie: The kelpie is a supernatural water horse from Celtic folklore that is believed to haunt the rivers and lochs of Scotland and Ireland. This fellow is more like a were-horse, but I think I can get away with making him a kelpie.

At the moment the champion is a bearded chieftain, but in time I'd like to use the female Celtos hero with the horned helm, both because she's an awesome miniature (despite the bikini. Sigh.) and as I want to give my fimir a less malignant relationship with humans.

Fimir - Fimm Painting Update 1

Well, it's been a while since I updated my fimm unit. Life and such conspires to cut into the old hobby time. Now though, the project is revving back up. Here we have the next three members of my first fimm unit, including the musician. I've also finished the movement tray, which I'm very happy with, the water effects turned out great. I did test a few different products, you can read about that here.

Next up, the unit filler, which I'm looking forward to painting, then I'll have the courage to tackle the standard bearer...

Fimm Unit Filler

Fimir - Dipping a Toe into Water Effects

 Over the holidays I've been experimenting with adding some water effects to my movement trays. I've not used much water effects in the past, and I was eager to pick a good product. All the more so as I wanted to tint the water as well. I looked into Woodland Scenics Realistic Water, Games Workshop's Water Effects (which I discovered is now unavailable), Vallejo's Still Water and finally EnviroTex Lite.

During my research I found a very good review on water effects from BrushThralls, you can read it here.

I already had some of Vallejo's Still Water, but I must say, this stuff was very disappointing. It shrinks like crazy, and no amount of layering seems to end up with a flat surface. It might be good for adding a layer of clear gloss to say, slime, but for transparent pools etc, no sir.

After looking at reviews of other products, I ended up with the EnviroTex Lite. It's a bit more convoluted to use as it's a two part resin. It doesn't smell, though I would highly recommend good ventilation when mixing it. Make sure you get the Lite version, and not regular EnviroTex as that apparently smells of pure evil.

I had wanted to tint the resin too, and with EnviroTex Lite you must use oil-based paint, such as enamels you get in most hobby shops, the kind used on model railways. I used only a small amount as I didn't want the resin to be opaque. This stuff needs serious mixing, and recommends you mix, pour it into another container and mix again. This I did, then added my paint. It becomes very bubbly, though the bubbles do mostly vanish. After pouring it helps to gently blow on the resin to encourage more bubbles to pop. I can 'sag' a little, but this is easily remedied by adding more resin until it's level. I wanted a slight sag effect as it looks makes the water more viscous and stagnant. The drying time can vary depending on conditions, but will be at least 48 hours.

I'm very happy with the result, the tint is perfect, muddy but still transparent. I wanted a few bubbles as it's simulating fetid bog water. I have big plans for more ambitious effects now I know it works. There's no shrinking or cracking, so I can say I would highly recommend EnviroTex Lite.