Legions of Chamon

[Vastus]

Seeing as the weekly Wednesday updates posts seem to be no more and I don't want to spam the specific discussion threads, I'll make this thread to keep track of and organize the stuff I'm working on right now.

I generally like putting a spin on things, and the magical nature of the Realms gives an easy avenue for that. The idea I had originally was a Legion of Sacrament mixed army where the abundant metal dust of Chamon had settled on the bones and covered them, and materials like wood and such were replaced with metal as well. Over time this morphed a bit into the magitek/machine spirit theme I have right now. I also have some other ideas for other races, one of which I'll hopefully be able to work on next month when my order arrives. For now though, it's focused on the spooky boys.

EDIT:

Lore Keynotes:

Between the Viscid Flux and the lands of Prosperis, near the Vale of Golden Idols lies the valley of the Metalgrinder Teeth mountains. A kingdom of alchemists once reigned here, but they were largely slaughtered and forced to flee during Tzeentch's invasion of Chamon. Now the mountains are home to only ruins, which still house secrets.

THE BRASS LEGION
In the hills south of the mountains lies a brass keep overlooking a lake of silver. Known as the Citadel of the Exile, this place is home to the exiled Necro-Engineer Har'Kaldur. He believed that instead of just using spirits, stronger legions could be created by trapping them into sturdy metal bodies, forging them into something new. He may have been cast out, but he has made significant strides in his study of using realmstone fragments as a core to bind souls to simple objects or liquid metal, creating amalgams of metal and spirit. Now he aims to explore some of the ruins in the area, as well as potentially the abandoned temple-city, to gain knowledge and arcane power.

GOLDCHASER MAW-WALKERS
A little further east, near the jungles once home to a Seraphon temple city, the land is adorned by the Goldtooth Mountain. A jagged peak of glittering gold that is home to the Goldchaser Maw-Walkers, a ferocious Mawtribe of Ogors led by Zurug Goldchaser, Chosen of the Mawpath. They have sacked the abandoned temple city nearby and seek out more wealth, believing that the beautiful gold is a sign left by the Great Maw's will. They follow any source of the precious metal they can find like a breadcrumb trail, while attacking most mortals they come across due to a scarcity of food in the region.

TEETHBREAKER MINING OUTPOST
Deep in the Metalgrinder Teeth mountains lies an outpost that is the site of a duardin mining system that has recently been recolonized. The settlers originate from both the nearby Ironbark Glades as well as Kharadron Sky-Ports and thus they have several trade connections. Being able to exchange raw materials for knowledge and more advanced equipment has allowed the settlement to grow rapidly, even as they are surrounded by vile undead, savage beastmen and hungry ogors. Their military forces are known for their firepower, and they have mapped out the mountain ranges well so they can traverse them at high speeds.

ORDER OF THE PURELAKES
The barren plains south of the Metalgrinder Teeth mountains were once a lush, green land thanks to a series of lakes that gathered here. But agents of Tzeentch corrupted the place, turning the lakes metallic and the lands barren. The monastic Order of the Purelakes that was once a common stop-over for the weary traveler and well-regarded in the region, sank into depravity. And thanks to a chance encounter the Abbott of the Order became infected with a gift of blood that caused a delusion to spread to his people, making them believe they were still the munificent order they once were. Any agent of Order that approaches them is now mistaken for an agent of Chaos come to corrupt their beautiful lakes.

END OF EDIT.

 

Nighthaunt - Brass Legion

Reason I'm making this thread now is because I just did some of the conversion work on my lovely harridans. The heads arrived yesterday and that was the part I was waiting on. Since I did the tube(-hair) and heads so far apart I need to adjust in some places, so when things have hardened out I'll do a second pass to smooth some of these areas over.

 

Oh yeah, since I don't have a camera all the pictures will unfortunately be phone quality.

Edited February 5, 2023 by Vastus
Added keynotes for the other factions.

[Vastus]

Hmm, uploaded the images actually look fuzzier than on my pc, guess a compression thing? (Edit: okay doing it through Imgur is slightly better)

Anyway, I also wanted to drop some images of the army that the lovely ladies will be joining.

 

Edited February 19, 2022 by Vastus

[Vastus]

Did a color test on the first Harridan sticking to the usual paint scheme. Unfortunately the priming went awry and came out somewhat crackly. I've never had this before but I'm guessing I sprayed from a bit too far away, or maybe it was still too humid? Not too bad from a distance but it becomes noticeable up close or especially when there's light shining on them.

I think I'll mostly stick to this scheme with some more highlights and washes. Only thing I'm unsure about is the claws. I do like that bit of extra color but it does contrast a lot. Maybe go easier on the highlights and go for a sort of checkerboard highlight pattern similar to what you'd do for power weapons.

 

Edited March 15, 2022 by Vastus

[Vastus]

Did a few more of the Harridans. The others actually had a lot less of the graininess, so I'm happy with that. I decided to make the heads more copper-y to make them stand out, not entirely certain about it though.

EDIT: managed to make the claws pop out a bit more. Not a lot of sun rn, but hopefully you can see the effect.

Edited March 20, 2022 by Vastus

[Vastus]

Ogor Mawtribes - The Goldchaser Maw-Walkers

(Still considering the name tbh) So here's the other army I've been wanting to work on, the not-so-friendly neighborhood gluttons. As they travel around a bunch, there could easily be some in Chamon and they could easily stumble into anything. A seraphon temple-city for example. These ogors have found and looted a poorly-defended/abandoned temple city and taken the riches. I think the aztec theme of the seraphon could work quite well for ogors too and it allows me to use all the spare lizardmen bits I have from my WHFB days. All the gold and such would fit quite well for Chamon where this otherwise precious mineral is incredibly common.

Now I should hopefully have my first model soon, but in the meantime I've started work on something else: the Great Mawpot. I really liked the idea of using a Stegadon's head here since Ogors kinda use whatever is around, and it is thematic. Plus it's a fun bit of hobby work to do.

 

EDIT: I bought the chain and attached it to the poles as mentioned before the edit. I do seem to have misplaced my cork, so haven't made the base yet.

 

Edited April 6, 2022 by Vastus

[Vastus]

I've nearly finished the last five Harridans, but more importantly: my first Ogor has arrived! Usually I tend to stick to GW minis, but I saw this thing on Etsy and I was really curious as to the quality of these kinds of 3D prints. It looks pretty dope I think.

For some reason a few of the ropes were missing though, so I made some from steel wire using my drill. And I also made a few additions to represent the loot from the seraphon temple. Ogor's need a bit of bling too ya know.

[Vastus]

I've finished the Great Mawpot! Quite happy with how it came out, maybe a few small touch-ups here and there but the overall composition worked out how I imagined it.

 

I've also written some basic lore as to where in Chamon my armies are from, but I'll edit that into the first post to keep things organized.

[Vastus]

Goldchaser Maw-Walkers

Grub is monstrous in size even for his kind, but he was never the brightest of lads. He did however find entertainment in watching the Leadbelchers blast things to pieces. They would never let him hold one though since he would often mess it up and break parts. The Rusty brothers, two Gnoblar twins, proposed to him an alternative then. They built a catapult on his back so that he could still see and participate in the destruction. And they get to cause it of course. Win-win.

 

I am quite happy with the wooden parts. I knew I wanted them to have a metallic sheen to reinforce that we are in Chamon, but I didn't want them to be fully metallic. I think it's worked.

The base is meant to be oxidized copper. Overall, quite happy with the result. There were tons of fiddly little details so it took a bit, but worth it. Only thing I'm not too certain about is the rust effect, maybe it's a bit much. Any thoughts?

Edited May 5, 2022 by Vastus

[Vastus]

Goldchaser Maw-Walkers

The Gildhorn Looters are some of Zurug's longest-lasting followers on the Mawpath. They are veterans of many battles and have gathered tons of scrap, random acessories and most notably, some big ******-off cannons. They fill these with the weapons of their latest victims to blast away the next group with shrapnel shots. It's modern recycling really. Currently they are well-stocked with weapons from the Seraphon temple so they are itching for a fight.

Anyway, yeah, the Leadbelchers arrived this week. I made a couple adjustments so they fit in with the army theme, and now it's just some final filing down before I can prime them and start painting.

Edited May 5, 2022 by Vastus

[Vastus]

Goldchaser Maw-Walkers

"Blast 'em with all yous got boys. We kill 'em quick so we can get to eatin', their weapons should replenish our ammo plenty. No holding back!"

Finished my Leadbelchers. I like the models and I'm happy with how they came out. The colors ended up working out well, and I dig this style with extreme shadows.

Been thinking of doing some more significant conversions next, replacing arms with claws and such. I could see Ogors taking any opportunity to improve/strengthen themselves if the tech presents itself, all so they can fight better and thus feast more often. Aztec cyborg ogors I guess?

[Vastus]

Goldchaser Maw-Walkers

Zurug Goldchaser (Ogor/Tyrant/Slaughtermaster proxy)

Quite happy with how he turned out for the most part. Tried a bit brighter and more vibrant colors this time. I think I like this better than the dark and heavily shadowed approach I used for the previous models, may just use a mix of both so they don't all look the same.

 

[Vastus]

Goldchaser Maw-Walkers

As part-time mercenaries, the Mawtribe has frequented a nearby city (name TBD), one that trades with the Kharadron Sky-Ports as well. Here Grub, a Butcher of the Mawtribe, first saw some of their technology. What interested him most were the aethermatic saws used in construction, but also in the processing of large, monstrous cadavers. He decided to save up and earn himself one fit for his size. While raiding the abandoned temple-city in the nearby jungles however, Grub lost his dominant hand. Never one to be deterred he managed to communicate his desires with some of the local engineers and he was able to kill two birds with one saw. They fitted him a prosthetic with an oversized saw that was used in ship construction, which would allow him to carve up any foe he may come across, ready to be tossed in the mawpot. It's a little sluggish though, so he usually has to use his clawed ironfist to hold it up.

Since I've been planning to make a steampunk/KO themed Cities army as well, I wanted to tie everything more together technologically, and Ogors seem like the types to easily submit themselves to experimental tech if it allows them to fight better and eat more. Also aztec cyborg ogres sounds fun.

I need to buy some 50mm bases though.

Edited June 12, 2022 by Vastus

[Vastus]

Teethbreaker Mining Outpost (Tempest's Eye rules)

See edit in first post for lore keynotes.

These adventurous duardin have stamped a thriving trading outpost out of the ground, fueled by the raw metal deposits of the old mining system they have rediscovered. Wealth also brings in opportunists however, so military forces are a must. The outriders of this town are exceptionally fast, mounted on automatons powered by Kharadron technology and aether-gold. They also know the mountainous terrain like no other, allowing them to traverse it at high speed.

So yeah, these are the first two of my pistolier conversions. I rather like the look, so I think I'll order more of the wolves and make a full 10-man squad. It will probably be a bit lower on the priority list since I want to focus a bit on the Ogors right now.

[Vastus]

Goldchaser Maw-Walkers

When the going gets tough and blood starts flowing like a river, it all comes down to the Ironguts.

 

 

Alright, so I've been more busy with other stuff and haven't done a lot of painting recently, but I did churn out these chunky guys. Converted them from Glutton bodies, greenstuff and some spare parts I had lying around. The hat was fun to make, even if it didn't quite work perfectly.

Edited July 22, 2022 by Vastus

[Vastus]

Goldchaser Maw-Walkers

Tried something slightly different for the basing this time. In addition to the metallics, I tried to create very ordered cobblestone and some pools of liquid metal to represent them inhabiting the abandoned Seraphon temple-city. Went pretty well I'd say for a first try, I'd like to expand this to more complex basing schemes.

Edited September 29, 2022 by Vastus

[Vastus]

Goldchaser Maw-Walkers

Grabbed an old Stegadon I still had from my WHFB days as a Stonehorn proxy. Maybe something along the lines of they found an egg/young Stegadon in the abandoned temple-city, or they just hunted and tamed this one.

 

I've also added some bits to the carriage already, but will probably have to adjust some more.

 

Edited October 19, 2022 by Vastus

[Vastus]

Got some more work done. After a bunch of cutting and reposing, my 'Frostlord' is ready to be painted.

I've also finished the howdah in the meantime. I quite like how the little skink shields came out.

Hoping to finish it all end of this week/early next week.

Edited November 1, 2022 by Vastus

[Vastus]

And now with the rider on top! Just need to wait for the base to arrive. I ordered a bunch, since I'm lacking in round bases for multiple models. Downsides of using old models from WHFB I guess.

 

[Vastus]

Alright, I got the bases and some basing material in last weekend, so now I can make bases for models that are missing them and differentiate between my armies more.

For Ogors I'm gonna try for more rocky/mountainous terrain with hoodoo rocks and some plantlife. Everything in metallics of course since it's Chamon.

 

And for my Duardin CoS, I'm aiming for more cavernous since it's a mining outpost, with these shiny purple crystals (bit hard to see well due to lighting).

 

The crystals I did with one of the colorshift metal paints from GSW which looks really nice, but I can't seem to capture it in a picture well, probably because the sun doesn't exist where I live right now.

[Vastus]

And I made a nice one for my Butcher as well:

 

I've also been thinking a bit, and making whole armies has always been a bit much for me. I'm thinking of trying out Warcry some more and just making warbands from Start Collecting boxes, while focusing more on the narrative behind them and making more unique models.

[Vastus]

I figured I would like to try my hand at some basic terrain pieces that fit with my armies as well. I also recently read about railways in the Mortal Realms, so I figured I would make a small piece for my duardin mining outpost.

[Vastus]

Spent an afternoon cutting up some more cardboard to make some basic pieces. Seeing as this works fairly well, I could expand this to larger and/or more pieces I think. Some ruins and larger rock formations would make for a fine battle map I think.

 

[Vastus]

First models of 2023: they were supposed to be Ironguts but I took some creative liberties and now they look a bit more like Maneaters. Oh well.

[Vastus]

I really like the lore of the FEC with the delusions that the Ghoul-Kings spread. However, the chivalrous knight theme has been done to death now, and I wanted to try something different. I went with a slightly more religious/ascetic bend to it instead.

Order of the Purelakes

"In the Realm of Metal, clean water is a scarcity. Oases are treasured above all else, so it should be no surprise that a gathering of lakes could be seen as akin to a divine gift. The 'Purelakes' as they were called were one such place. A smathering of shallow lakes enringed by lush, green vegetation that was home to an ascetic Order of those who sought tranquility in the turmultuous Realms. The Order of the Purelakes was well-known in the region as a munificent organization welcoming to travelers of all walks of life.

As it turns out, generosity can be a flaw as well. Among some of these travelers hid the agents of Tzeentch, seeking to reshape the Realm in his image. They bided their time until they had gathered enough of their number and the time was ripe to warp the land in a display of profane transmutation. And so the lakes turned metallic, the land turned barren, and the people...they starved. Under this abominable sorcery, some fell to madness which was only amplified by their hunger. The Abbot of the Order was strong of mind, but even he could not stave off the madness. And then it happened. While foraging the Abbot was approached by a dark stranger. A stranger that shared a gift. A gift of blood. In his newfound power the Abbot has been able to reassert control of his people, curing their madness, only to be replaced by a different kind of madness."

My first test model, and first attempt at water effects. It's really hard to capture the colorshift metal effect with my crappy phone camera, but I like it. Planning to do slightly fancier robes for the Horrors/Flayers and the King of course.

[Vastus]

Order of the Purelakes

"Once they sought tranquility, but now only delusions remain in their minds."

 

That's the Ghoul part of my warband finished. Next up I'm going to work on the 2 Crypt Horrors. I rather like the resin water effects.

Edited February 19, 2023 by Vastus