Return to Mordheim

Time to revisit my favourite of all of Games Workshop's settings: Mordheim. This time I'm building multiple small warbands, a display backdrop, scenery, the works. Much, much more below the jump...

 

Well this post has been a long time coming. Not least because I started this project late last year! The sprawling nature of this project has also hindered my attempts to document it. Each warband is small enough that one unfinished model here or there really puts me off showing off the whole group. And as I've mentioned, I neglected this blog so far in 2023 so I'm decided: it's time to write up my Mordheim project now. That doesn't mean the project is finished - far from it!

I have approached Mordheim before - actually I was a young Warhammer lad when it first released in 2000, and I chopped and repainted the starter models over and over. More recently I made a few warbands and one-off kitbashes (since then, the legendary Mordheim 2019 event happened, which inspired me and surely everyone else with an interest in the setting). This time around I decided to commit to the proect with gusto, and dive into different warbands using modern GW bits to make the best interpretations of Mordheim gangs that I can. In this post, I'll document all of the warbands I've made so far, on the scenic backdrops I've made.

The Undead

Keeping the warbands small for now so that I can dip in and out of different gangs. So first up, here's an Undead duo, the vile count Blattodeu and the frail necromancer Hama.

The two have matching curved blades. While Blattodeu wears severed hands on his coat, Hama's staff bears the hand of a better sorceror, empowering the otherwise middling Hama to actually cast proper spells. The two are somewhat pathetic, which is ideal for Mordheim - surely one of the lowest of low-fantasy settings. I may add some hangers on, such as zombies, later.

Mordheim by lamplight (thanks to some cheap LED string lights)

The Witch Hunters

Next is a Witch Hunter warband. This grim group drew some inspiration from Elden Ring, especially the Volcano Manor setting, which is littered with forboding cages, chains and racks.

The lead Witch Hunter is Inquisitor Markam, an utterly mirthless religious hardliner. His head comes from Fabius Bile, one of the most expressive faces in 40k. He really looks like a hard old bastard. For a weapon, he's got a brutal iron block on a short chain. What appears to be a cape is instead the pathetic remains of a prisoner.

This theme of punishment continues with two Zealots (or three, depending on how you count them). One of these poor souls is imprisoned within a cage (with convenient leg-holes), and the other is condemned to carry another prisoner on his back (it's not clear whether the carrier or the carried is getting the worse deal).

Finally there's a wide-eyed Warrior Priest - a younger man who is perhaps not yet as far gone as the Inquisitor, but is certainly awe-struck by the latter's ruthlessness. His head comes from a Black Templar initiate, with a monkish haircut and a worried expression. His candle collar is made from parts from the 40k Chaos Cultist Black Commune, which also provides his robed body. And the hammer head is from the new Cities of Sigmar Steelhelms.

The Mercenaries

The third and final warband I'll show off for now is a Mercenary warband that I approached from a non-standard direction. They represent a knowledge-seeking alchemist and his retinue. I like the flexibility of the Mercenary list, to the degree that I think it makes many fan-made Mordheim human factions redundant.

The alchemist himself is Olivinius. All we know about him is that he has used his esoteric knowledge to craft the Imperfect Homunculus (which counts as a Youngblood). In the city of Mordheim, he seeks the knowledge to create the Perfect Homunculus. Despite his magical bearing, he is a Mercenary Captain, tooled for wizardry with a Tome of Magic and the spell Silver Arrows of Arha. As a Captain, he's not a bad fighter, and keeps his scimitar sheathed in one of his many books.

 

 

Olivinius is attended by two assistants, who carry smokebombs, firecrackers, flashpowder, and other alchemical treatments (counts as a brace of pistols each). The models come from the venerable Luminark/Hurricanum kit, which still holds up alongside the new Cities of Sigmar models. Their proportions are a bit more old school Empire, with big heads and hands, so they unavoidably look a little different than the newer models I've used for the rest of this project.

 

That's where I'll leave it for now. I have the makings of two-to-three more warbands on my desk, in addition to my other projects. And more scenery in the works.

Hek