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The Gharuki Forest Duardin (Update 20/10/2018 BIG UPDATE! - Army overview! And Armies on Parade now!)


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2 minutes ago, Rogue Explorator said:

The longbeards look amazing. This is going to be one beautiful army.

That would be true based on the painting alone, but I think the custom shields really make these.

Thanks! I have a lot more conversion ideas in mind, so hopefully it will stay interesting. I'm starting slow so I get a feel for the theme/colours etc, but things will get elaborate.

3 minutes ago, Rogue Explorator said:

Like the story too, though I can not really bring myself to imagine a Duradin living like a modern single. I just have it stuck in my mind that they would live in extended family units and would never let one of their own, no matter how kinless, dwell alone. Who knows what sort of bad ideas a beardling (i.e. not longbeard) would get up to without the watchful gaze of a few longbeards and matrons on them at all times!

Haha, I see what you mean. They will be a tight-knit community, but with an individualistic streak. The sort of place where everybody impossibly knows the name of everyone, but do like a bit of bilbo-esque privacy.

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I've been toying with the idea of Root-King Duardin and / or Ironbark building on both ideas for conversions and themes and hopefully ending up with two armies I can play with in the future.  Here's the info I have found on both:

On 5/28/2018 at 12:04 PM, Brad Gamma said:

Thanks! ? Do you know where can I find information about the Ghyran root kings and ironwoods? I find AoS lore quite difficult to navigate sometimes!

Some Ironbark Fluff here: http://ageofsigmar.wikia.com/wiki/Ironbark

Someone has laid out an explanation on exactly what this is pretty well here:

On 7/20/2016 at 2:06 AM, mhsellwood said:

In the new Sylvaneth book one of the new things added is flexible super battalions, called Wargroves. They consist of a set battalion, then you can add other battalions and units pretty freely.

One of the Wargroves is the Ironbark, who get some bravery buffs, improved close combat for tree-revenants and a unique Artefact. In addition their Household battalions have an additional tree-revenant unit, and within the aegis of the Wargrove they can include up to 2 Duardin units (i.e. units with the key word Duardin). The reason this is interesting is, based on a response from GW, because the battalion is Sylvaneth, you can take the Duardin unit and still claim Sylvaneth alliance.

To answer OPs question though my response is really it depends. Play some games, see what the Sylvaneth play like, see what you feel is lacking and then add Duardin units that help cover for that weakness. Some non-exhaustive thoughts though:

  • Field an Ironweld air wing. Sylvaneth are manoeuvrable but not fast, and don't have access to cheap shooting units. Gyrocopters or gyrobombers are fast, have good shooting and actually bring some mortal wounds, while also being comparatively tough.
  • Dwarf rangers with shields. Bring a bit more shooting, and good survivability for their points on the defense.

  • Cannons...

  • Grimwrath Berzerker. Close combat monsters and tough, all in an infantry unit which is not otherwise available to Sylvaneth.

  • Runesmiter + Auric Hearthguard for shooting + teleportation

I feel the following are probably poor choices:

  • Hammerers. If you want a close combat hammer unit then Kurnoth Hunters bring more pain, are tougher, are faster, and are cheaper.
  • Longbeards. All their buffs work best with other units around to feed off them, but you can only field one other so....
  • Buff characters. You will not have enough other Dispossessed units to buff to make them a better choice than a Sylvaneth equivalent.

Personally I am going to build a pure Ironbark army (once the online store I have a voucher for gets some stock...) and hold off until the rumoured Steamhead Duardin release in September. Once they are out I will be able to use a variety of units and see what works best.

As for Root-King Duardin, there is very little info other than what is found here:
http://whfb.lexicanum.com/wiki/Root-King

I did find this however by an amazing conversion / concept guys Sometimes Minis (just check out his other stuff to see his work). He has gone to some really cool lengths here (just look at that concept art!), It's inspired me to heavily mix my Sylvaneth and Fyreslayers start collecting boxes:
https://sometimesminis.wordpress.com/2017/12/05/root-king-duardin-concepts/

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8 hours ago, makeshifts said:

I've been toying with the idea of Root-King Duardin and / or Ironbark building on both ideas for conversions and themes and hopefully ending up with two armies I can play with in the future.  Here's the info I have found on both:

Some Ironbark Fluff here: http://ageofsigmar.wikia.com/wiki/Ironbark

Someone has laid out an explanation on exactly what this is pretty well here:

As for Root-King Duardin, there is very little info other than what is found here:
http://whfb.lexicanum.com/wiki/Root-King

I did find this however by an amazing conversion / concept guys Sometimes Minis (just check out his other stuff to see his work). He has gone to some really cool lengths here (just look at that concept art!), It's inspired me to heavily mix my Sylvaneth and Fyreslayers start collecting boxes:
https://sometimesminis.wordpress.com/2017/12/05/root-king-duardin-concepts/

Wow dude thanks for this summary. Some really inspirational stuff here. That blog with the root-king concept is awesome. Definitely takes it a couple of steps further than me.

I won't be going down the fyreslayers root, so I'm really looking forward to seeing how your project progresses. Just been reading your thread and things are looking great.

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Those longbeards are sublime - the green and gold colour scheme is just perfect. And you've started adding a story, too! (It's a scientifically proven fact that stories make painting threads more awesome).

I can see I'm going to have to keep an eye on this thread :)

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Realised I hadn't actually commented on how awesome the content in this thread was or liked any of it. ??

Absolutely amazing work all round, I especially enjoyed the story. I'll have to hit you up with pedantic questions about CAD designs when I get round to making Tempest's Eye shields and banner tops for myself! ?

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Finished my Gyrocopter. There is nothing major in the way of conversions. In many ways the stock gyrocopter is the model closest to the aesthetic that I am going for. When I add some Kharadron units, I will be modding them to be more like the gyrocopter rather than the other way round. The paint job even matches the box art, so I'm definitely not being original here!

Gyrocopter_1.jpg.d1c85fb53241d5f001a6100a9555884f.jpg

I did spend some time really finding my style for bases. I used a piece of the citadel trees, extended it a bit with miliput, and then buried it so its protruding from the ground. These guys live in a forest where the base of one tree would probably fill a game board, so the forest floor is a dark mess of foliage and roots. I'm moving towards the idea that the ground is so uneven with gargantuan roots, that it is easier to fly in and out than to walk. The root guard themselves are effective defenders because they can navigate and fight within the tangled arena. There are flat areas too, and I am currently working on some azyrite ruins that will form the remnants of an ancient town in the southern forest. I can then have skirmish games in them with the idea that the Gharuki are exploring them to discover what befell the area, and whether it is cursed.

I will probably post the second installment in my story too this evening.

Thanks guys!

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Your painting skills are an inspiration. I can’t begin to fathom how you do it, but keep it up, I love seeing what’s possible with dedication like yours. 

Those bases! Amazing little dioramas. Hopefully the new 25mm on hero’s won’t be too restricting. 

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15 hours ago, makeshifts said:

Those bases! Amazing little dioramas. Hopefully the new 25mm on hero’s won’t be too restricting. 

Thanks dude! Yeah the 24 hour flip between 32mm and 25mm base suggestions has left my head spinning. I think I'm gonna have to continue with 32mm with my characters and just suck it up.

 

As promised, here is the second part of my Gharuki Story.

 

II - The Gyrocopter

Dozens of hopeful young Gharuki would apply to join the Canopy Corps each day, but only a handful would be accepted. The Corps did not have a monopoly on the cities aircraft, one could find pilot work in the fleets of a thane or guild, but as the official air force of the Royal Household the Canopy Corps held a certain prestige. It was also the largest air force in the forest, responsible for at least half of all operating gyrocraft.

While the Corps had many stations dotted around Gharakor it’s primary base of operations was a group of three proud trees just east of the palatial Oak of the Verdant Queen. It is was at these headquarters that a Duardin would apply to join as a pilot and it was where Kirgo was headed now.

He was still running along the walkways of Pyetar’s Steeple aiming for one of the huge bridges that linked each tree. This network of connected oaks formed the capital of the Gharuki kingdom. Each bridge was a marvel of Duardin engineering. From afar you might have mistaken them for intertwined branches repurposed as thoroughfares, but upon closer inspection they were elaborate copper sculptures crafted to blend seamlessly into the trees from which they sprang. Kirgo would need to cross eight of them before he would reach his destination.

The first of these bridges, which connected His mother tree to a larger and more populous one, had become a busy market place. Stalls lined the edges, a few select items on show while the majority of their goods were in bulging sacks hung securely off the side like the cocoons of some large arachnid. Every now and again a storekeep or their assistant would winch the sacks up for more items to sell. As kirgo wandered past he caught a smell from one of the food stalls. It was the sweet scent of faliberries and always had the power to launch him back to his childhood. Like an astral moth to the realm of Hysh he could not help but divert himself.

“Greetings Dawi!” beamed Kirgo “How much for the faliberries?” The grizzled merchant gave Kirgo a fairly cynical look.

“Tell you what Kirgo, why don’t you tell me what you can afford?” He replied. Kirgo drew out his coin purse and had a peek inside. He realised that coin purse was a generous term for what was simply an empty pouch

“Well reminded! I should really be saving this for my workshop” Kirgo responded as he felt the blood begin to rush to his face, hurrying his words before his blushing became visible. He shoved his purse back in his key pocket, rattling the contents as best he could to sound as if there might be coin. The storekeep gave an unconvinced nod and turned his attention back to the bridge.

Kirgo walked to a gap a few stalls down so that he was out of sight and then braced himself against the railing. He would need to find more work at the breweries. He had kept himself alive thus far as a mechanic in the local distilleries and bars. Some of the most complex inventions of the Duardin were those that pumped ale from one location to another. Whether from brew kettle to settling tank, or from keg to tankard, there was a lot of business to be done in keeping the pipes flowing. Kirgo however had a rather unpleasant habit of trying to improve upon everything he inspected, and his reputation was suffering recently from a much exaggerated beer explosion.

Just as he was about to bring his attention back to his journey he felt the air from above push through his beard and a familiar sound broke through the din. He turned his head back and upwards as his hood flapped in the gust. A gyrocopter swept overhead not twenty feet above him, followed shortly by the low hum of grumbling patrons. He returned his hands to the rails and watched as it sputtered off into the distance. They were by no means a rare sight but he was never able to look away, his eyes wide with wonder.

The gyrocopter bobbed up and down as it flew with all the grace of a drunken megalophin. With puffs of smoke and whooshes of air, hundreds of intricate pistons and cogs spun wildly and seemingly at random, all working together to turn its leather bound propellers. It was at once preposterous and bewildering, reassuringly capable but as if it could fall out of the sky at any moment. Once it had flown a few trees away it began to turn to the east. As it did so it was joined by another two similar vehicles and one larger and even more improbable craft. The squadron arranged themselves in a clumsy formation and before he knew it they had flown behind another tree and were out of sight.

Kirgo let in a big breath and his knuckles regained their colour as he loosened his grip on the railing. He could tell you every part in any model of gyrocraft you could name, but he had never actually flown one. He could never afford a copter of his own, the mooring costs alone would eat up everything he earned. So he would do what he did every month, and continued on his way, but now with a almost imperceptible skip in his step.
 

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  • 1 month later...

Just a quick post.

Its been I while since I've put anything up, but I have been doing a lot of work on these guys. I am now aiming to do an armies on parade board for them, so its all hands on deck until October. I have painted up another unit of long beards and have been converting up different sections of my army.

To keep this alive, here is a pic of some cannons I painted last week as a placeholder.

Cannons_1.jpg.e4f69a70155a925dee15076150e36ed0.jpg

This picture isn't as good as my last few, couldn't get the light right today.

You may notice that the cannon barrels aren't fully attached, and eventually they will be swapped out with a Gharuki-specific weapon that I am working on, but this gets my grey plastic painted and stuff ready for the table!

Hope to have some big posts for next month :)

Edited by Brad Gamma
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  • 1 month later...

So it's been a while since I've posted. I have still been doing lots on these guys I just wanted to post some coherent finished posts, including artwork and such. 

I'm also working very hard on a display board for armies on parade, which involves a HUGE tree. 

Anyway as a sneak peak here are some recent additions. 

 

IMG_20180921_191723_490.jpg

IMG_20180921_115000_698.jpg

EDIT: Just to add because it amuses me. The guy at the bottom has a grey splodge on the piece of dowel he is blutacked onto. Thats because when I get around to doing faces, I decide all the beard colours and do a colour splodge to remind me.

Edited by Brad Gamma
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53 minutes ago, makeshifts said:

@Brad Gamma By far my favorite thing seeing Gharuki Duardin updates! Stunning job as always, I don't care if it sounds gushy, the combo of bits together with your painting skill is a perfect storm.

Thanks dude that means a lot!

Similarly, your Root King conversions were very influential for me. I actually changed direction once I had seen some of your stuff, I decided to take a more techno-route, because I thought you had got that druid root style down to a tee. My ironbreakers might take a bit more inspiration from your duardin when I eventually get round to them.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Big update time!

I have been working on these guys for several months now, painstakingly painting longbeards at only 10 points a pop!

Reintroducing, the Gharuki Forest Duardin!

GharukiForestDuardin.png.bb6346a76e45ccde75dcbfb6e9ea7a11.png

During the Age of Chaos, the Duardin of the Chamonite Continent of Agrellia were almost hunted to extinction. A small portion of them retreated into the depths of the gargantuan Gharuki Forest. So deep and dark was this wood that the roaming bands of Khorne and Tzeentch neglected to delve too far inside. As the Duardin hid they took solace in the solidity of the ground, building their community around the roots of the leviathan copperheart oaks. Over time they began to revere the trees and their civilization ventured upwards. Now, in the Age of Sigmar their huge city sprawls from miles underground up to the forest canopy itself. They refer to themselves now as the 'The Gharuki'

The Gharuki are now a diverse mixture old and new, tradition and change, engineering and druidism. Their society is divided into four main factions. First amongst these are...

RootGuardDescrip.png.5229324f99e9fe57fae4da88bdfec7f4.png

Steeped in tradition and stoic to the last, the root guard are the conventional military wing of Gharuki Society. Preferring to live under the trees than around them, these Duardin are a superb warriors and immovable defenders. Their armour is crafted from the vibrant inner bark of the Copperhearts, as strong as steel and much more flexible. They vigilantly patrol the forest floor and have fought off any force that dares to trespass.

GharukiRootGuard.png.ca620069b5976033c673f076efd31aec.png

GharukiWardenFront.png.3e2dd595df0703061914e4ffbbf67507.png

GharukiWardenBack.png.a65e7c2546371c1f79e69dce728af7fb.png

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OakfireArsenalDescrip.png.41259744683823c9e654a36d45850279.png

The Oakfire Arsenal are responsible for the defense of the city itself. In possession of a dizzying array of deadly weaponry, they are prepared to unleash fiery death against any would-be attackers. The resilient Copperheart Oaks absorb artillery fire as if it were falling rain and the mist of alchemical powders float to the forest floor and nourish the earth. Thane Dhurim Gharuksson, Lord Engineer of the Oakfire Arsenal stands proudly in front of his cannons which he is always eager to test.

GharukiOakfireArsenal.png.ce7e424349d0bf3b0566f923da3c6d41.png

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GharukiCogsmith.png.d64f3ec97718f1d59aecf81d6ef72517.png

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CanopyCorpsDescrip.png.320e6bf9f8db06ad4cff339d9c7c9536.png

In the final days of the Age of Chaos, a fleet of skyfaring vessels, early ancestors of the Kharadron, crashed into the Forest. The few who survived were helped by the fledgling Gharuki and treated like kings. A few eventually repaired their crafts and left for the skys, but there were a few who remained, grateful to their forest brothers. The Endrinmasters shared all that they knew with the Gharuki and they now have a sizeable fleet of of gyrocraft and airborn fighters. Eschewing tradition these Duardin live high in the canopy of the forest and send out squadrons to scour the continent to assist all that they can, remembering how their people were chased from their homeland.

GharukiCanopyCorps.png.874860ec200eb2069e861e8dde52c073.png

 

Gyrocopter_1.jpg.d452d770867a3760e251c4d98d7172fd.jpg

Edited by Brad Gamma
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