A collection of Hired Swords

Greetings Fellow Travelers of the Old World!

The Taverns in the myriad settlements and shanty towns surrounding Mordheim often serve as recruiting centers for Hired Swords. These men do not belong to any particular warband or retinue but instead hire out their services to the highest bidder.

This is a collection of my Hired Swords...

Wizards, Shamans, Mystics and Sorcerers often lend their services to the various warbands that pour into Mordheim and although all magic is potentially dangerous and generally regarded as originating from Chaos, many warbands are willing to engage their services and risk persecution from the Witch Hunters on account of their power and affinity to warpstone.

The only caveat in hiring a warlock is that you not only lose your gold... you may also lose your soul.

Here is Alten Cerdwin, a Jade Wizard.

This guy is from Reaper Miniatures and on account of his pose, I decided to sculpt a special base for him...


I sculpted some "earthworks" from milliput to make it appear that he magically commanded the ground to spring forth from the Earth through the cobblestones in order to give hime a better and higher vantage point...


...to better view the battleground ala Earth Bender.

Here's another look of this Earth Wizard with some of my Empire Spearmen...

and I think that this photo also shows the subtle effect of the earth breaking through the cobblestones.

That's another of my favorite Reaper Wizards...VERY NICELY DONE! The pillar of rising earth breaking through the cobble stones is an EXCELLENT effect.

omg.. that guy is really cool... reminds me of an Earth Bender :O!

This is Gael Darkwater, a shaman/necromancer of the ruinous powers...


This guy is from the Warmachine/Hordes line of miniatures.


In order to make him look "warhammer-ish", I decided to paint some Khemri heiroglyphics on his tattered robes to link him to some Nagash-like origins. He may even have actually learned his dark arts from Nagash himself! All that he asks for his services are some wyrdstone to fuel his dark experiments.

I hope you guys like this miniature.

Greetings DeafNala and Pirexian!

Thank you for your feedbacks and comments. They are indeed very much appreciated and they provide me with the encouragement to improve my craft.

VERY COOL MINI made EVEN COOLER by your GREAT paint job...LOVE the staff & the free-hand work on the kilt. VERY WELL DONE!

In the city of the damned, one would occasionally encounter Dwarf Slayers.

Slayers are members of the morbid dwarf cult whose followers are obsessed with redeeming themselves through an honorable death in combat. Having committed some unforgivable crime or been dishonoured in an irredeemable way, a dwarf will forsake his home and wander off to die fighting the enemies of dwarf kind.

This is Algrim the Kinslayer...


This fig is from the Battle for Skullpass Set and on account of the dynamic look of his pose, I decided to mount him attacking in mid flight. I also included a half-toppled chair to further enhance the sense of action conveyed by the miniature by creating the impression that the slayer had just jumped off the chair. As an additional point of interest, I also hand-painted the woodplank effect on his base which would place this miniature in some tavern.

Here's another look at this model with an appropriate target...

I would seem that this Empire Handgunner made a careless remark about Algrim's lack of clothing.

I guess the outcome of this conflict is a foregone conclusion.

...that REALLY captures the spirit of the Slayer Cult. Actually the Slayer thingy is just an excuse the Dwarves came up with to wander the World, drink excessively, & generally act like TOTAL psychos. That is an EXCELLENT piece of modeling/painting...VERY WELL DONE again!

Thanks DeafNala.

Somewhere in the slums of Cutthroat's Haven, a rather rotund Bretonnian peasant who fancies himself a pit fighter was seen offering his services as a Hired Sword to anyone willing to take him in. Do not let his plump appearance and childish features fool you for underneath the flabby exterior lies a battle-hardened and cruel fighter.

Meet Tiebaut Agravain and his pet gnoblar Menagormon


Tiebaut's story is a tragic one. He used to be a peasant in the service of Baron Lucan Licorant, a cruel Baron known for his excesses and his lewd appetities.

Tiebaut was a mild-mannered, soft- spoken, obedient and faithful farmer and tenant of Licorant's lands whose sole treasure in life is the beauty and devotion of his wife Isolde and daughter Fenice. One day, the Baron sent him to a nearby province for an errand which would require him to be separated from his beloved family for some days. Unknown to him, the errand was merely a ploy hatched by the Baron who had cast his lascivious eyes on Tiebaut's wife and daughter. As soon as Tiebaut left his house, the lustful Baron ordered the arrest of Tiebaut's wife and daughter on some fictitious charge of theft and while incarcerated in his dungeon, The Baron raped Isolde and Fenice repeatedly over a period of several days.

Upon his return, Tiebaut learned of the cruel fate that has befallen both his wife and daughter. He then pleaded with the Baron to release Isolde and Fenice but the Baron refused to acquiesce to his pleas for mercy unless Tiebaut could produce payment for the goods that were allegedly stolen by his wife and daughter. Tiebaut then left the Baron's court and proceeded to sell all of his possessions to raise the money needed to pay for his family's ransom.

Unfortunately, Fenice, who did not know that her father was already trying to raise payment for her ransom could no longer stand the Baron's constant abuse and was eventually found dead in her prison cell after she hanged herself in a desperate bid to end her suffering. Fearing the same thing might befall the mother, the Baron then sold Isolde to a Nordland Slave Trader.

The next day, the clueless Tiebaut, carrying his family's ransom appeared before the Baron in naive anticipation and was shocked to discover that his daughter was dead and that his wife had been sold to cover the payment for the Baron's alleged stolen property. In a fit of rage, Tiebaut slew the Baron and killed two of his henchmen.

Given his peasant status, Tieabut knew that he would never get a fair treatment in Bretonnian Caste judicial system. He then fled Bretonnia and has long since travelled the lands of the Empire in search of his beloved Isolde. Since then, he has drowned his sorrows in ale and has made his income as a Pit Fighter (a decision borne by his unconscious desire to end his life and misery) and as a Hired Sword. He has come to Middenheim because he had learned that his beloved Isolde was last seen there after she was bought by a Mordheim noble. Whether she died when the comet struck Mordheim or escaped is not known but Tiebaut has long since combed Mordheim's streets in search of his one true love.

He has shunned all human contact and has adapted a Gnoblar whom he named Menagormon as his constant companion.

While I tend to go more the comic/absurd with my background, it is an EXCELLENT bit of fluff, tragic though it may be. AND TWO VERY COOL MINIS!

I LOVE the bases on the Lads as well.

I WANT THOSE MINIS!

love the pose of the slayer !
yet another excellent idea of yours
it's little ditty's and poses and such that mark you as a truly gifted individual
keep on painting !

Your work has changed my opinion on what is possible when it comes to hand painted bases. Bravo!

Thank you Speckie, Pascal the Rascal and Pathfinder Dubstyles for all of your compliments. Your comments and feedbacks are greatly appreciated and they provide me with the encouragement and motivation to keep working on my miniatures and improve my skills. I tend to be very critical of my work and I need the objective evaluation of talented individuals as yourselves to provide me with a barometer to guage how much I am improving.

I really like those wizards. The base of the earth wizard is just splendid - an already good mini turned truly great! Your eye for detail and flair for fluff is inspiring. I'll spend the better part of this weekend painting and modelling...

Greetings folketsfiende!

I am glad that you enjoy my work and I am honored to know that you consider them inspiring. That is what I love about this hobby of ours... it enables like-minded individuals with similar interests and passions to both learn and grow from each other's work.

Happy painting and modelling!

Very good

Greetings Fellow Travelers of the Old World!

In my previous posts, I shared with you Algrim the Kinslayer, a Dwarf Troll Slayer. That particular miniature was taken from the Skull Pass Boxed Set and since I have so much of those miniatures lying around the house, I decided to paint another.

I still wanted to represent Algrim but I decded to put him in a more "outdoor" setting (as distinguished from the indoor basing wherein I used a chair and placed the same on top of floorboards which were painted on to the base) in order to afford me some flexibility when using the character.

This is the "outdoor" Algrim the Kinslayer...

He is seen here going against a Beastman.

Here's another picture of Algrim from a different angle...

From this angle, you could see the wire attached to the figure's back which suspends him in mid-flight and the usage of the tree stump creates the impression that he jumped off it.

Here is Algrim in what appears to be a career-ending encounter with a dragon...

Only the ancestor gods would know the outcome of this battle!

I hope you like this "outdoor" representation of my Dwarf Slayer.

Greetings Fellow Travlers of the Old World!

Dwarfs are notorious for their love of gold, ale and adventure. Since the disaster at Mordheim they have come to its ruins in ever-increasing numbers, some seeking riches and fame; others seeking an honorable death in order to atone for some shamefeul deed; and many are just after a good fight, eager to prove their combat prowess at the expense of whoever is dim-witted enough to pick a fight with them.

Their reputation as tough warriors are well deserved for they are both resilient and large of heart. They are also adept at working in cramped places where a normal human would find great discomfort working because thay are by nature, excellent miners with an uncanny sense of finding treasures. Dwarf Treasure Hunters are, after all, specialists in finding riches that other people have tried to hide and, as such, can add considerably to a warband's purse

These qualities are perhaps the very reason why their services are very much sought after as hired muscle by other warbands.

Among these Dwarf Treasure Hunters, a young beardling is quickly making a name for himself as he explores the myriad tunnels and labyrinthian sewers of Mordheim in search of Warpstone. Meet Glorrin Thorgrim...


This miniature is from the new GW plastic Dwarf Miners with some minor alterations. I decided to attach the imprisoned goblin directly to Glorrin's hand in order to create the impression that he just recently caught the diminutive greenskin as he was working in the underground tunnels of Mordheim. I also mounted him on top of some Hirst-based rubble to create height for Glorrin.

I hope you guys like him!

Greetings Fellow Travelers of the Old World!

Elves are a wondrous race: tall, lithe, beautiful, long-lived and magical. For most part, they are feared and distrusted by humans and the Elven follks in turn tend to keep to themselves. In fact, elves have become increasingly rarer in the Old World each year but there are still some who roam the trackless paths of the Drakwald Forests, the Forests of Shadows and in Athel Loren.

Some Elves have chosen to live in the cities amongst men and have cultivated relationships with Man. Some are even known to offer their services as minstrels and archers in return for a high fee. Consequently, some of the fey folk have been hired by wealthy treasure hunters because only a few mortals can match their skills with a bow. Their inhuman quickness and agility also makes them a valuable asset to any warband who desires to live long enough to enjoy the benfits of their search for warpstone and because the senses of an elf are much keener than any human, they are consequently excellent scouts.

Among these Elven Scouts, none is more adept at tracking prey than Faeron Elenvir...

Faeron is also an accomplished Forest Singer which enables him to communicate with tree folks. Faeron is taken from GW's new plastic wood elves and the Tree Folk carrying him is none other than LOTR's TreeBeard.



I hope you guys like him...

The green on the wood elf looks really good! What colours did you use?

Both the Dwarf Miner & the Wood Elf Scout look TERRIFIC; the background both verbal & photographic REALLY enhance the minis. The Tree Guy looks like he's looking for some painting love. As always, VERY WELL DONE!

Great painting and equally great background stories!
They are not only very pleasant reading, but also give whole new dimensions to your figures.
Not to criticise, but got to say one thing about that dwarf: He has suspiciously large pupils!
But maybe he's just not too picky about the mushrooms he eats..