Wednesday 17 January 2018

Mordheim



My next project after the Lamians Slaanesh squad was initially going to be an Age of Sigmar warband. During the Christmas break though, I was struck with an idea for a Mordheim mercenary gang that I could make from my bits box. AoS is taking a back seat until that's done!

While I loved Mordheim– maybe moreso than Warhammer Fantasy at the time– the plastic kits haven't aged well. I found I still had some of the old Empire state troops bits that also look dated now, but are a promising framework for some conversion work.


The old Empire stuff is particularly Germanic in style, but I am basing my unit (loosely) on Dutch militias from roughly the same era. A big influence is the traditional schutterstuk paintings– effectively commissioned group photos– of which the most famous is Rembrandt's The Night Watch.


There's lots of cool stuff to take from these paintings. For one thing the hats are notably different from the Empire troops', and I think even just getting these right will change the models' character a lot (ruffs too!). For a bit of realism I'm keeping the weapons understated and of a size that a human being would actually be able to carry. I'm also working on the proportions of the models a bit– extending the dinky limbs, correcting their bandy-legged stances, and keeping the hands and heads in proportion. When I come to paint the regiment, I want to mimic the chiaroscuro/tenebrist style of the schutterstuk.

Unlike with the Lamians project– which was a free build– I do have access to the Mordheim rules, so I will be able to build a "legal" warband this time. More pictures, background and a roster to come!

Hek

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