The Others, Part I: The White Walkers

Having recently completed an 11-12 man Winterfell warband, it's time to move on to other projects.  Right now the Lannisters are in the hopper, but I'm currently in the midst of brainstorming some ideas for a force of White Walkers/Others.  Part of this is due to the fact that WWs will add some more of a horror/fantasy element to the game, while Stark-Lannister conflicts are more or less straight-up medieval skirmish wargames due in large part to the understated fantasy elements within the series.  So, while I get on with the task of starting up my Lannister conversions, here goes.

White Walkers are, in the world of GRRM, divided into several distinct categories.  These are, specifically, White Walkers (WW), wights, and what I shall refer to as "fell beasties" of all sorts, specifically reanimated creatures

* White Walkers/Others themselves.  As put in an interview with Martin, "They are strange, beautiful...think, oh...the Sidhe made of ice, something like that...a different sort of life...inhuman, elegant, dangerous." As per other sources, "Martin also confirmed that the White Walkers are not 'dead', just an inhuman kind of life."

So, in other words, WWs themselves occupy a leadership position within any "Others" warband.  They are lithe and sinuous, but also inseparably linked to things cold and malevolent.  They may be magic users and are adept in combat, but other than that, little is known.  Based on these observations, here are a few potential models to use with regards to the field of battle.

Privateer Press has an few excellent model that would work from their Legion of Everblight range of Hordes.

While I would normally prefer these guys to have less clothing on, the figure in the middle looks particularly suitable for a White Walker captain.

Annyssa Ryvaal is also an excellent choice for a mounted Walker, as she not only has the right look, but is riding a reindeer, while I feel really captures the spirit of the race.

Brigade Models' line of Sidhe from their Celtos line also has a few decent options for WW solos and characters.  For example, Nuada of the Silver Hand:

As well as Irdil of the Silent Arrow:

Games Workshop also has a few suitable options, such as the Twilight Ringwraiths from their Lord of the Rings series:

All in all, not a terribly bad selection for White Walkers, especially since I imagine most skirmish-level warbands wouldn't need more than one or two (or perhaps three in the event of a massed battle).

More to come in Part II: The Wights.  Stay tuned!

Stark Warband Complete!

Sorry for the lack of updates recently.  I was waiting on some static grass to finish my lads and, what do you know?  It was cheaper and easier to order the damn stuff from England on Amazon than it was find it at my local suppliers or via my usual go-to place, thewarstore.com.

In retrospect, I probably should have had the men wearing white with grey wolves, as that is the "official" heraldry for the Starks of Winterfell.  However, it should be noted that the household guards of the Starks are consistently referred to as "greycloaks" and at one point, Arya is almost fooled by Goldcloaks disguised as her father's men in grey cloaks.  Of course, it really has ended up as more of a blue, but I'm generally content with the overall scheme.  Plus, give the massive influx of recruits at the beginning of the War of the Four(/Five) Monarchs, it is certainly reasonable to expect that in a pre-industrial society, there would be plenty of variation.  The winter effects were made with GF9 snow effects, as well as MIG weathering powder (white).  Overall, I'm pleased.

Ah well.  This is what happens when you get a historical gamer modeling fantasy figures.  Enjoy!

Stark Captain

And here is the captain of my Stark/Winterfell band.  The body is from the Perry Bros war of the roses officer, the head from a Warlord Games Dacian chieftain, and a green stuff cloak and mantle.

With this fellow, I used some Martha Stewart liquid silver gilding as a bit of an experiment.  Since this guy was a hero and going to be mostly in metal, I didn't want him to be too boring, but "pop" a bit.  I think the bright, shiny silver paint helps.  We'll have to see how it holds up when I clearcoat it.  In any case, here you are.

Linky!

The Stark battle group is done!  Well, at least, the painting is.  I still need to base them.  Patience, friends, pictures to follow soon.

In the meantime, check out this awesome example of a Game of Thrones conversion based on the TV show for Lannister guards using Lord of the Rings figures from games workshop.  The creator did an awesome job, although I personally am not a fan of the TV show "look," so I will most likely continue on my own path with those as my next project.  After the Lannisters have their own battle group, it will be time to take them for a spin!

Round Two

Here are some photos of the next set of Stark men.  I have 12 total, including a lord.  After these are done, it will be on to Lannister men, I think.  With 12 men per side, it should be enough for a brisk skirmish action.  On this set I toned down the white a little bit and simplified the painting process, shading a little later.  Also, this is my first attempt at doing the gambesons in a color other than white or brown.  I was a little hesitant at first, but it seems to work in blue as well; something to note for later.  Still trying to figure out how to base them all.  Details to follow...

Painting tests!

So, here are the first three test figures I've run.  Overall, I'm pretty pleased.  Still need to cross the hurdle of actually basing the fellows, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.  General observations on my part:

* Shield bosses get in the way of large designs.  This means having the boss in the middle of your design, or painting around it, which has its own set of problems (lots of open space).  I've compensated for this with some simple knotwork to avoid leaving open spaces.  The art I've taken from this article on how to free-hand Space Wolves designs. 

* The white could probably use some work.  It's not bad per se, but I feel the gradation from the 3rd highlight to pure white is too stark.

* The green stuff seems to be holding its own.

* P3 Armour Wash works just as well on brown as well as other colors, thereby negating the need for a seperate face-and-hands brown/flesh wash.

* Although House Stark's colors are grey, these guys came out a tad bluer that I would have liked.  Nevertheless, I think it works.  If/when I do house Arryn and Knights of the Vale, I will probably use a richer, darker blue and a warmer white.

Enjoy!

Updates on Models

So, here we go.  I currently have this batch of doughty fellows marinading in their (grey) primer, but I thought I would start off by showing the unprimed figures to give an idea of what I've done.  Here goes.  Photo quality is not the best, but that's what happens when your best camera is mounted on a cell phone.

 On the left we have the arms and body of a Fireforge Games Foot Sergeant with a Wargames Factory Viking head and a Gripping Beast round shield.  On the right, the same only the head is from the Perry Brothers War of the Roses set, with a green-stuff fur mantle.

The lord of the force (perhaps Eddard Stark himself?) in two views.  Body and arms are from the Perry Brothers command sprue, the cloak and matle is green stuff fastened with a green stuff brooch, and the head is a metal Dacian head from the Warlord Games Dacian Warriors range, although the crest has been shaved off and filed down.  I mounted him on a round base to make him easier to identify.

 Four retinue.  All have bodies from the foot sergeants box.  On the left a Perry Bros head with green stuff mustache, second from left Perry Bros bowmen arms and head with a green stuff beard.  Second from right we have the same set-up, with a foot sergeants sword strapped to his back, and ont he right we have a Warlord Games Gaulish head with green stuffed side-locks and a Perry Bros man-at-arms poleaxe arm set.

 Again, all Fireforge bodies.  All three heads are Gauls, with green-stuffed fur trim on the helm, a green stuff wolf tail on the spear haft, and green stuff fur cuffs.  Polearms are again from Perry Bros.

And lastly, two fellows with no green stuff.  Both Gaulish heads, the man on the left has Perry Bros arms and the one on the right is all sergeant except for his head and shield.

More to follow, once they are primed and the first few layers of paint are down!