Thursday, January 18, 2018

Undead Cavalry for Vengeance of the Lichemaster part 1





Three armies face off at the monastery of La Maisontaal in Vengeance of the Lichemaster (1986). We've already looked at the monks of Abbot Bagrian and the Skaven warband of Gnawdoom. The third army and last force belongs to the Lichemaster himself, Heinrich Kemler. In almost every respect, army of this powerful necromancer is identical to the one that he fielded in the Battle of Frugelhofen (which is the climatic battle that ended Terror of the Lichemaster, which precedes Vengeance of the Lichemaster). Kemler's line of battle includes:


There is, however, one important addition to Kemler's roster. It's not a unit or a hero, or even a new magic weapon. It is a spell. As the undead Lichemaster slays the hapless residents of the Frugelhorn Valley, he recuperates the vast magic powers that he once possessed as a living mage. Just in time for the Battle of La Maisontaal, he regains mastery of the spell Summon Undead. But what's more, there is a new modification to this spell. For the first time in 2nd Edition Warhammer Fantasy Battle, Summon Undead can be used to conjure up undead cavalry. This will let Kemler raise some much needed mobility for his army of slow moving zombies.

The Citadel Journal Spring 86, the same magazine that published Vengeance of the Lichemaster and the modification to Summon Undead, also introduced a new line of Undead Cavalry miniatures sculpted by Bob Naismith. HOW CONVENIENT!

Well, this week and next week, let's take a look at some of the miniatures I painted for the Lichemaster's stable of death riders...




Above is "Goreprow" riding on "Bones" (C21 Undead Cavalry, Citadel, sculpted by Bob Naismith, 1986). He's the skeleton featured on the advert for Vengeance of the Lichemaster in the Citadel Spring Journal 86. This is just a great miniature. I love the way his robes seem to trail off into smoke or spectral ectoplasm. You can see that I tried to accentuate this effect with a judicious use of bright green paint.




Next is "Doomsmile" (C21 Undead Cavalry, Citadel, sculpted by Bob Naismith, 1986). When the Lichemaster was handing out scary names to his henchmen, Doomsmile was near the back of the line. Like "Goreprow" he's riding an excellent skeletal horse. At the time, the slender nature of these steeds required some significant technical advances pioneered by Naismith (as detailed in the introduction to the C21 range).




Here's my slightly converted version of "Doomsmile" (C21 Undead Cavalry, Citadel, sculpted by Bob Naismith, 1986) riding on the steed "Lizardskin". For those of you who care about these things, he's bearing a standard that reads "Out of the Tomb".




Above is "Death Dart" (C21 Undead Cavalry, Citadel, sculpted by Bob Naismith, 1986). I love the sense of movement in his horse. He really does seem to be darting forward.




And finally, my favourite is "Deathheart" (C21 Undead Cavalry, Citadel, sculpted by Bob Naismith, 1986). For me this miniature really captures the essential creepiness of this range: the slouching, plodding determination of both horse and rider. I'm happy with the way that the horse's many wounds turned out - I feel like he was well picked over by the ravens before being raised up to bear Deathheart. 





Thanks for looking. Next week we'll finish off Vengeance of the Lichemaster by looking at the last four skeleton cavalry in Kemler's force.





25 comments:

  1. Most impressive and superb Death Riders!

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  2. Very nice, and great to see some mushrooms sprouting up from the decaying earth.

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  3. More excellent work! You're running the lichemaster scenario at next year's USA Oldhammer day, right? 😂

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  4. What a magnificent work. They are impressive, all of them an imposing view on their own, but even more when together.

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  5. So cool - Love these models and you've done an awesome job with them!

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  6. As usual I appreciate your historical notes; was this the actual first use of the two part horse technique? It seems so obvious but it's definitely not always used... As for the paint jobs, I appreciate the variety shown here: there are slow, groaning undead here, as well as fleeter fiends. Very nice additions to your collection!

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    1. My understanding from the Citadel Journal Spring 86 is that the 2 part horse technique was first used on the Lord of the Rings horses released a couple months earlier. But the technique was essential to get the thin, bony legs of the undead horses in this range.

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  7. Very cool standard and some really nice work on what I assume are freehand shield emblems.

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  8. I like it. I don't think I've ever seen the more zombie like cavalry before.

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  9. Beautifull mini and great work!

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  10. They look terrific. Matthew! Wonderful old figures and great painting!

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  11. These are really cool. And bonus points for the banner.

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  12. As always, a great paint job with a wonderful figures.

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  13. Thanks everyone for the feedback. I'm glad you liked these blighters. MORE TO COME!

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  14. Lovely again mate.

    Interestingly, Deathheart's zombie steed came in a blister pack (And one of the first I'd ever purchased back in the day) with a mace wielding skeletal rider and not Deathheart as the rider. I need to see if I still own that one somewhere...

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  15. I realize this is an old post, but I recently stumbled upon your blog as I began working through some oldhammer-style undead. Could you tell me how you are making (or buying) the delightful little mushrooms you have on your bases?

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  16. Hi PofD! Sorry for the late reply.
    They are homemade -- it is a very simple process: I start with a small stick of copper wire, and hand-sculpt some greenstuff around it in the shape of a toadstool. By leaving a little wire sticking out the bottom, I have something I can insert into a hole I've drilled in the base of the miniature. Hope this helps!

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