“Gather round lads, fill your tankards with Bugman’s finest and listen to a tale of the Dwarfs of Old.”

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Background

The Chicago Dice team has been gracious enough to ask me to participate in the Warhammer Fantasy 6^th Edition escalation campaign they have joined and to write about my experience. I’ve been playing wargames off and on for the better part of twenty years but I’ve never played a game of Fantasy. Thus, you’ll be getting as fresh a take as possible from me. So far, my favorite part of this project has been reading the Dwarf Armybook and learning all about the Old World. I have a passing knowledge of it – Empire good guys, Orcs bad guys. Something about metal heads in the North and mummies in the desert. Elves have pointy ears. Obviously, I had a lot to learn. I have been pleasantly surprised with everything I’ve read and have even started listening to Gotrek and Felix books while I hobby. 

Building the Throng

When I was first asked if I’d like to participate in the campaign my main concern was buying yet another army. But the opportunity seemed too good to pass up and I went searching through the mines under my kingdom for lost treasures. That’d be digging through bins of discarded models in the basement to you manlings. At some point in the distant past I acquired a Battle for Skull Pass starter box. I’ve incorporated the Goblins into an AoS force which left me with the Dwarf half. For those of you who don’t remember, that set came with a Thane, Dragon Slayer, 12 Warriors, 8 Miners, 10 Thunderers and a Cannon. This was a great start and forms the bulk of my Throng. I had set a goal to fill out the rest of the 1,000 points for no more than $100. What a fool I was. I picked up a box of 16 Warriors from a friend for $54, a blister of 2 Miners from eBay for $16, The White Dwarf for $26 from GW and a Runesmith for $25 from GW which brought me to $120. Acceptable budget creep. That is until I discovered what are possibly my favorite models ever, the Drunken Dwarfs! I picked up all four of the models on eBay for $60 which brought my final total to $180. This is way more than I wanted to spend but I’m happy with it for the time being. 

Those component pieces brought together form my Throng:

Heroes:
Thane (55), Heavy Armor (4), Shield (2) – 61
Dragon Slayer (65), Additional Hand Weapon (4) – 69
Runesmith (70), Heavy Armor (4) – 74

Core:
x20 Warriors (140), Shields (20), Full Command (24) – 185
x15 Warriors (105), Heavy Armor (15), Great Weapons (30), Full Command (25) – 175
x14 Thunders (140), Heavy Armor (14), Full Command (25), Veteran Pistols (2) – 177
x10 Miners (120), Full Command (30) – 150

Special:
Cannon – 100

Total: 991pts

Theme

The Throng’s theme is very important to me. When you have a setting as fleshed out as the Old World, it’s a waste to not have a backstory. I haven’t spent much time on it yet but will update soon.

Progress

The entire Throng is built and base coated with Chaos Black and a layer of Leadbelcher. I had planned to try and paint the force one unit at a time but with COVID-19 keeping everyone at home I’ve got more time and want to take the entire army step by step. I’ve completed a single drunken Dwarf as a test model, I’m extremely pleased with him. As you can see I’m going with a blue color scheme. Shields and the trim on models without shields will be blue. All other trim will be a variety of colors for as much variation as possible.

The Goal

As far as the hobbying is concerned, this will be the first army I’ve ever painted to completion. A sad state of affairs for someone that’s been playing as long as I have (though I’ve never put bare plastic or metal on the table, I have standards!). The heroes, unit champions and classic models will be painted as well as I can but everything else will be to tabletop standard. I’m not looking for perfection, just something that I can be proud of and won’t disappoint my opponent. When it comes to the gaming, I don’t care if my Throng is crushed every game, as long as everyone is laughing and enjoying a couple hours of rolling dice, it’s a win to me. I plan on bringing a couple bottles of some thick ale and a few tankards to each match to really press home the theme of drunken Dwarfs bandying about.

More updates to follow kinsmen.