Got a gold crown to spare? (Merchant Caravan warband)

Good work man! I love it.

Thanks people!

Axel wrote:

nice! where did you make the cart from?

Woode stirring staffs. Coffee, you know. You can see a WIP pic in the initial post (2nd pic).

Axel wrote:

great scenery also

Yeah. Mix of Citadel barrels and Pardulon pieces.

Very nice piece of work, Very. That wagon is great & since it didn't exist until you put your mind/hand to it, you get total credit for the creation. The Merchant gives a Marco Polo-ish feel to the Caravan; i.e., high adventure with roots in reality. An excellent composition.

AND I echo Tom's comments. You are a fine painter. The quality of a painting is much more than mere technical perfection. It's a matter of capturing a mood & feel that creates a living picture, a narrative quality if you will. In this you can consider yourself a master of the craft. BRAVO, amigo!

Thanks a lot DeafNala! Since the Merchant caravan is part of the BTB supplement with caravans travelling to Cathay from the Old World the Marco Polo analogy is certainly fitting and indeed intended.

maybe a bit off topic, but maybe
the Marco Colombo miniature is perfect for this?

Tagnator wrote:

maybe a bit off topic, but maybe
the Marco Colombo miniature is perfect for this?

This certainly couldn't be further away from being off topic! (got that?)

I have indeed been observing Marco Columbo auctions on ebay for weeks now and I think I'll get me one quite soonish. I do want that miniature for my Merchant, it's totally perfect!

This is one of those spots on the forum I keep revisiting for inspiration or to just stare at the photos. Sometimes I bring the Photographic Device of Extreme Contrariness to show it what it should be doing.
EUREKA! An Idea: I've got a bunch of Hobgolin Wolf Riders, "normal" Goblin Wolf Riders, plus some dismounted versions of each AND a couple of old RAFM Wizard Wagons I started to convert for my Night Goblin Brewery. Some new travellers on the Silk Road may be in order, & some raiders to boot.
Thanks for yet another good idea.

You are too kind, DeafNala!

By the way, I did win a Marco Colombo auction (less than 10 Euros!) so the warband will hopefully be led by a proper merchant soon! I will then also clean up the first post and remove the too big images and make some shots with scenery. But I am awaiting a package full of trees, paints and other scenery building stuff so that's on my to-do list for now - brothers and sisters for my lonely tree base, yay!

About the Hobgoblins: There is a Hobgoblin Scout Hired Sword in BTB, who would have known! There is also a Hobgoblin Khan Dramatis Personae which allows you to hire more than one Hobgoblin Scout so that you end with a small horde of Hobgobbos - Oglah Khan and his Wolfboyz style (if anyone remembers these Warhammer Dogs of War).

Congratulations on winning the auction; it sounds like you got an excellent price. Marco paints up a treat. I've done him a few times & enjoyed it each time. The next time is for me, YES!

Good news, indeed on the Hogoblins. I have about 20 or so of Ooglah Khans guys, some older Hobgoblins Wolf Riders from the Chaos Dwarf list, a few Hobgoblins on foot, & several Ghazaka (sp) Khans. They have a Mongol look to them which would seem to go well with the Cathay theme.

Any compliments paid to you are earned, & I do but speak the truth, amigo. I look forward to seeing your rendition of Marco AND all the new trees. I'm just wrapping up a home grown tree myself [pun only unintentional if found unfunny].

Several Ghazaks? That's totally sick! I think both he and Oglah's wolfboyz are great minis. The BTB wolfboyz are available to Chaos Dwarf and Ogre warbands only, by the way.
Several Marcos sounds pretty crazy as well? You've painted several of them? I've seen some awesome paint jobs on Marco on the www already so I hope I don't screw up.

cianty wrote:

Several Ghazaks? That's totally sick! I think both he and Oglah's wolfboyz are great minis. The BTB wolfboyz are available to Chaos Dwarf and Ogre warbands only, by the way.

I was amassing Wolf Riders of all discription for a nomadic horde [I didn't mention the 100 plus Goblin Wolf Riders] when my old buddy John [Nhoj Reppelk] found a shop in Beaumont, Texas that was a treasure trove of old Citadel minis [even army sets from previous editions of WHFB]; he picked up 5 Ghazaks, a couple of Ooglah boxed sets, & about a dozen of the older Hobgoblin Wolf Riders. I wound up painting Dwarves in exchange, a lot of Dwarves. One of the Ghazaks I converted to a standard bearer.
I agree, they are very cool minis.

cianty wrote:

Several Marcos sounds pretty crazy as well? You've painted several of them? I've seen some awesome paint jobs on Marco on the www already so I hope I don't screw up.

Well, I was painting for a couple of guys, & the multiple Marcos, among other multiple minis, were for their collections, & for gifts. I later found they were selling the minis I painted for them at a substantial profit on eBay. They're not customers anymore.

I have a Marco I got from old John. They were available at GW in Katy, so he picked up six; Johns's a compulsive buyer.

DeafNala wrote:

so he picked up six; Johns's a compulsive buyer.

Hahaha. That is awesome.

I found an image of the Marco you guys are talking about, but could you be kind enough to give me some links to the other mini's you're talking about. =] Thanks

This is getting more and more off topic but what the hell!

Ghazak Khan (legendary Dogs of War general)


Ohlah Khan and his Wolfboyz (Regiment of Reknown)



Hey, looks even better if I put the two images next to each other.. Ghazak leading the horde...



Whatever...


Amassing Ghazaks is probably a good idea since they are no longer available from (all) GW online stores. I'd really love to see your painted Hobgoblin horder, DeafNala! You so need to get that camera working.

The prospect for pictures is improving dramatically. The details are rather boring, but soon Old Nhoj & I will be locked in combat once more after a quarter of a century of peace. We'll be doing 500 pt War Band battles AND MORDHEIM on an hexagon gaming table [what else would you expect from two crazy old men].
We've decided that reality sucks, & by mutual agreement, plan to devote our lives to gaming, modeling, & painting. That is before the men in white coats come to take us away. Hopefully I'll get some pics of the Wolf Raiders et al before then.

LOL. Sounds great!! I'm looking forward to that (not the white coat part )!

cianty wrote:

This is getting more and more off topic but what the hell!

Thanks. =]

The pics donnot work anymore

Yes, I know. I need to upload the pics properly. I wanted to wait until I painted my Marco Colombo model I am using as the warband leader. Sorry for the inconvenience!

Remember that you can always see the pics on the Border Town Burning gallery section.

Cianty...your original pics in your first thread don't show up.

It feels like ages since I last posted here. I know I need to update/repair the initial post and I also have to paint the Marco mini I got to represent the Merchant leader. However, since I was having a photo shoot yesterday for the upcoming issue of BTB and also took a moody photo of my Merchant Caravan I thought I share it.

VERY NICE, Oh Master of the East!

Your atmospheric photography just keeps getting better & BETTER. It's become rather a trademark AND a benchmark for other postings.
I don't recall having seen your Nicodemus before [I won't go into the Imminent Senility thingy AGAIN...where am I? ]; very nicely done piece there & he fits SO well with the rest of the troupe. BRAVO! ENCORE! AND stuff like that!

The dogs of war miniature Mydas the Mean and his assistant would be decent Merchants also.

Da Bank wrote:

The dogs of war miniature Mydas the Mean and his assistant would be decent Merchants also.

I already have that one. I bought it to represent the Arabian Merchant hired sword.

such a cool model Its a shame that a lot of the old glory models are taken away from the range..

Excellent work, Cianty! That wagon is great, and I love the conversions. The guy converted from the bear tamer is fantastic - that sword across his shoulders is very cool. I also like the cathayan guards, and it's a great idea for a conversion. I have some of those mounted archer bodies lying around, and I've been meaning to give them legs for a while - now I know how!

Looking forward to more!