Blipvertus multigame Dwarf army
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About the Project
It started out simple. I wanted a Viking army for Saga but I wanted it to be different because everyone does Vikings. So instead I did seven other armies. I finally hit upon the idea of using Dwarves as my Viking stand in. Dwarves are also a part of Norse mythology and they’re ill tempered and armed with axes. Seems like a natural fit! When Oathmark came out with a plastic Dwarf infantry box I found everything I’d need for a Saga army. You can make dwarves armed with bows, something that is pretty rare for most Dwarf models, as well as spear and axe armed dwarves. You can also equip figures with a weapon in each hand making them a great substitute for Berserkers. One of the nice things about this box is all the figures are wearing chainmail and to me, that’s quintessentially dwarfish. Originally I was going to make the spear armed dwarves my warriors and my axe and sword armed dwarves as my hearthguard. But Oathmark came out with a box of Heavy Infantry Dwarves so I may use them as hearthguard. These also feature chainmail but also have segmented armor and some platemail. They also feature a lot of steel face masks integrated into their helmets. This is something I love because Tolkien mentions something similar in The Silmarillion about the dwarves in Middlearth. With my Viking army all planned out and a couple of boxes of minis, I was set. Huzzah! Then Age of Magic arrived. And Warlords of Erewhon. The unit options in both games increased the variety of units a Dwarf army could take. So I set about trying to find suitable minis that would look good together. I found a nice set of crossbow armed dwarves from Conqueror. Conquer also had dwarves armed with two-handed axes. Both units are also in chainmail thus making it easier for them to blend in. I then found some chainmail wearing handgunners from Mirliton. Because I’m getting minis from several different ranges I worried about how to make them look like a cohesive army. I asked our local guru, Sean Twiddy. He’s one of the smart guys that teaches art at one of the local universities and uses miniature painting in some of his lessons. Sean is also an avid Saga player. He suggested using the same color pallet for the whole army in order to tie it all together. So I tried it and painted up a test color scheme and I think it’ll work. The header/thumbnail photo is of the test minis. I’m going to try to document how I got to those finished images. I’m going to try to show and explain every step as well as show the sources of the materials used.
Related Game: SAGA
Related Company: Studio Tomahawk
Related Genre: Fantasy
This Project is Active
Spearmen Pt 1
The bulk of army is going to be 24 spearmen. Dwarfmen?
The plan is is to build and prime them all at once, then paint them in either three groups of eight or two groups of twelve. After they’re done, I’ll do the shields en mass.
One done! 23 to go! The Burrower Pt 5
After pulling off the masking tape I did notice a slight ridge of paint from the overspray. I used some very fine sandpaper to sand the ridges off. I then repainted the areas I sanded. Because of this there were going to be variable tones.
This actually turned out to be a happy accident so I repainted other areas as well, then reapplied the washes This gave a nice variation in tone for the wood which I rather like.
After washing everything in GW Agrax Earthshade, I dry brushed the drill with Army Painter Plate Mail Metal and did a small highlight of the rivets with Vallejo brass. I painted the base Leather Brown, washed with Agrax Earthshade and then dry brushed with Army Painter Skeleton Bone. 
I added some rust and chipping to the curved metal panels by using some torn up spongy foam and dipping it in Vallejo Flat Brown for the rust and Army Painter Plate Mail Metal for the wear and chipping.
The Burrower Pt 4
Here I’ve done a few touch ups while the masking tape is still in place. 
With the tape now removed, you can see a few places where the black seeped under the tape but fortunately not many. I’ll clean that up and move on to the next stage. The Burrower Pt 4
I painted the rivets with Vallejo Brass. Man, that’s a lot of rivets! 
I painted one of the curved panels in Army Painter Wolf Grey as a test. Not sure if I want to keep it or not. What do y’all think? The Burrower Pt 3
I painted the metal al bands using Army Painter Rough Iron. It’s not our black but close and has some metallics in it. It’s almost a bronze color. It doesn’t show up well on the camera though. 
After painting the bands I painted the drill and the steel plates with Army Painter Plate Metal. I’m unsure of how to paint the curved panels. The Burrower Pt 2
After letting the primer dry throughly I used Tamiya masking tape to mask off the metal bands. 
After masking off the bands I re-sprayed with the primer. This second coat over the masking tape will act kind of lake a paint barrier and make bleeding under the masking tape less likely. It won’t eliminate it entirely but will make it less likely and will reduce the amount of touch ups. The Burrower Pt 1
Ironclad Miniatures makes a really nice range of steampunk vehicles and I picked up this tunneling machine for my Dwarf army. For those interested it’s a Legendary Warmachine for the Masters of the Underearth.
A three part resin piece, assembly is pretty straight forward however you will need to sand or file it a bit as the pieces do not match perfectly. Test fit each piece and sand or file just a little bit before test fitting again. I just used Zap a Gap to glue the pieces together. 
As the wood is going to be the major feature I decided on Army Painter Fur Brown as the primer color. Stone Elementals done
I tried a couple of different things to make the figures more interesting and had several failures. Below are the final results.
I washed the gray with GW Nuln Oil then did a few touch ups with the Army Painter Crystal Blue. I then painted a few stone Army Painter Leather Brown and washed them with GW Seraphim Sepia. I then dry brushed with GW Dawnstone. 
I’d previously dry brushed the blue crystals with white. I painted them over and then I washed the blue crystals with GW Guilliman blue wash and then dry brushed with Army Painter Voidshield Blue. 
The whole unit with a Wizard for scale. Stone Elementals Update
I used GW Eshin Grey as the base coat over the AP Crystal Blue primer then dry brushed with GW Dawnstone. I then dry brushed the crystals with white. I’m not entirely happy with the results. I feel like it needs something else.
Perhaps painting a few of the stones different colors? Maybe using different colors of washes?
Lesser Stone Elementals
I puzzled over how to add creatures into a Dwarven army as I didn’t think most natural creatures would fit the theme. I was able find some elementals from Deep Cuts that would suit the bill for more magical creatures and decided to use them.
I imagine that right before a battle, the army’s wizards conjure up a suitable number of elementals that are then turned loose on the enemy.
Technically called a Medium Earth Elemental, these minis are from Wiz Kids Parhfinder range. 
Here I’ve based the minis already, leveled the base with basing compound and affixed the sand to the base. 
I’ve primed them using Army Painter Crystal Blue. This is the same color used for the orb of the wizard’s staff. 
Here I’ve started to dry brush the mini with GW Eshin Grey. 
Archers update
Base colors done, most washes done. Just a few more steps and the painting portion will be done. Back from hiatus
After a brief hiatus to work on another project, I painted the chainmail on the archers. A couple of more details and then touch ups to go. Another Archers update and a thank you.
In other news, still painting the archers. I made really good progress today. Just one more base color to lay down, then the usual touch ups.
Boots, pants, arrow shafts, belts, beards, hands and faces done. Chainmail next and then touch ups. 
Thanks for the Golden Button! It’s fun to be recognized especially given how much talent is here. Guess I’ve got to keep painting, don’t I? Archers WIP
Not a lot of progress, but some. Primed and bases painted. Archers
Up next will be a 12 man unit of archers. That’s a 1 point unit of levy for Saga. Warlords of Erehwon typically has 5 man units, that can be expanded, and there’s a unit leader that has slightly different stats. I’ll make two of the figures with helmets and designate them as unit leaders. The rest will have soft caps, hoods or will be bare headed. Saga doesn’t have unit leaders so the helmets will just add some variety to the figures.
I built these by first gluing the bodies to the bases, then adding the left (bow) arms, then the right arms then adding the heads afterwards. I let all of those parts dry and then added the quivers last. Once that was done, I filled in the bases with base render. 
Close up of the test mini. One down, eleven to go! Lieutenant/Sniper Pt 3 - Glamour Shots
After painting, washing and full coating, I used GW ‘Ardcoat gloss on the glasses. The glasses are painted with Army Painter Voidshield Blue.
Army Painter Voidshield Blue was used for the glasses. 
Lieutenant/Sniper Pt 1
Saga: Age of Magic has a Lieutenant unit. The dwarvish equivalent is an Alchemist who is described as using volatile ranged weapons. I looked around for awhile before finally settling on this sniper figure from Heresy Miniatures.
This minis can be built in several different ways including pistol armed, or as a miner with a miners helmet and headlamp and a pick axe.
The figure has one foot on a rock so I decided to build on that a little.
I had some cork from Tabletop Scenics that I decided to make into some rocks. 
I broke up a portion of the cork by just snapping off the edges until it looked right. I then glued the cork to the base. 
Next, I drilled holes into the feet of the mini.
I then used some leftover wire from the steel spear I used to make the Shielmaiden’s banner pole and glued them into the holes. 
I then drilled holes in the cork and then glued the figure in place. After the body was in place, I glued the arms, head and back pack.
