Heresy Miniatures monsters - WIP pics

I took some new photos of my Mucklegeet the Giant from Heresy Miniatures (I dubbed him Magbragog Maneater to lead my Stomper Tribe of Sons of Behemat in Age of Sigmar) and as I was writing about it I was thinking about all the bits and pieces from Heresy Miniatures that I've painted up. I think Andy makes some great stuff - this is a selection of things from him that I've painted. Some of them need some better photos taken, and I have a bunch more that aren't finished yet, but this is a nice little selection. You should check his site out if you are after some fun and interesting fantasy or sci-fi models, good quality and well worth it! 

Heresy Miniatures: , The best miniatures that you never heard of!

Sons of Behemat - growing Stomper Tribe

The Tribe so far

So far I've got about 1,200 points of Sons of Behemat fully painted up for Age of Sigmar, with a load more in progress. I really like the concept of an army of giants led by even bigger giants - they look great on the tabletop and are fun to play. 

Magbragog's Stomper Tribe

Warstomper Mega Gargant - Magbragog Maneater

Mancrusher Gargant Mob - The Stompy Brothers (Fat Glurg, Dronk Stunty-Stomper and Grumbog Aleguzzler)

Mancrusher Gargant Mob - Wanderers of Albion (Bruinen the Wise and Bologs One-eye. Cachtorr still needs some painting!)

Magbragog is my Warstomper leader. I love this giant model - you can get it from Heresy Miniatures here. While you're there, Andy has a load of other really cool fantasy miniatures too. I have more of his stuff painted up, but also a load of demons and other monsters from a kickstarter he did years ago that are desperately in need of me getting them finished. I've even got one of his epic dragons, which really needs painting! Anyway, there are some 'lovely' ghouls (that he has now redone in plastic), which starred in Session 15 of my D&D campaign, as well as a version of Big Boris, his signature model I suppose, and some gribblies here. I didn't initially buy the giant during the kickstarter as I didn't quite get what he was doing with it, but once it was finished I loved it. And, timing wise, it was perfect as it was just as Games Workshop were talking about doing an army of giants!

The model has so much character, and I had the new TerrainCrate stuff from Mantic so decided to make a scenic base to show that the paladin being eaten might have been in the middle of his campfire dinner when Magbragog scooped him up as a snack. I love having details like this that tell a story with a model, and when it comes to giants it's really nice to have something that indicates their sheer size - he clearly isn't an upscaled man, he's a huge and terrifying colossus! As I was assembling him before the official Mega Gargant model came out, I ended up using a non-standard base for him, but the tent and eveything fit much better on this oval base anyway. I think with bases this large it isn't going to make much of a difference in a game, but I have mounted all my other Mega Gargants on the 'proper' bases. Rule of cool wins out over tournament pickiness anyway!  

Magbragog Maneater, Warstomper Mega Gargant

When I was a young 'un, I always wanted the Giants of Albion - I thought they were great, but my pocket money never quite stretched to it! I got them more recently off Ebay. Cachtorr is still being painted, but I completed Bologs. He had a broken let so I repositioned it on a rock so you can really see him leaning back, ready to throw his menhir - I like being able to see him a bit easier from above when playing. Dronk Stunty-Stomper is one of the old Orc and Goblin giants that I had in a bits box for a long time, finally finding his home in Magbragog's tribe!   

The Mancrushers Bologs One-eye and Dronk Stunty-Stomper

Talking about old models, Grumbog Aleguzzler is the classic old Marauder giant. Again, I coveted this model as an even younger young 'un! So full of character, I had to find one to include. As he has a barrel of Bugman's XXXXXXX on his hip, I decided he must have smashed his way into a brewery and used more Mantic TerrainCrate stuff to put some barrels on his base. Next to him is Bruinen the Wise. He's a giant from Atlantis Miniatures (now Blue Giant Studios), though doesn't seem to be available any more. I liked him as he seemed to have a sort of druidic vibe that I thought fit with Cachtorr and Bologs, so decided the three of them could be the Wanderers of Albion. He looks sort of more with it than most of the other giants, so I figured he could be called 'the Wise' - like, he can talk in full sentences or use long words. I don't imagine the threshold for being considered wise is particularly high in giant society! 

Again, Bruinen isn't on a properly legal base, but he was just too big and it looked daft, so I put him on a slightly bigger one. I think it looks much better, and helps him stand out as the leader of that mob. He's bigger than the rest of the Mancrushers but not big enough to be a Mega Gargant. I think some variation in size is good, and the fact he is a bit bigger makes it more likely he would be bullying the others around - just like his counterpart, Fat Glurg! This is a Hill Giant from Nolzur's range of D&D monsters. It's a great model, cheap as chips and a single piece (I know they have a new Frameworks version, this is the older flexible plastic one). The detail is OK on it and he is chunky enough that the flex isn't a problem. As he is a bit bigger, I put him on the same size base as Bruinen and decided he could be the bigger, fatter, brother of Dronk and Grumbog, bossing them both around - he's clearly taken the loot for himself and stuck it in his pack!  

Grumbog Aleguzzler, Bruinen the Wise and Fat Glurg

Might makes right in the Stomper Tribe, so there's no mistaking that Magbragog is clearly in charge, with Bruinen and Fat Glurg commanding the two mobs of Mancrushers.   

Magbragog's Stomper Tribe - so far...

What's Next?

I have another three Mega Gargants assembled and ready for painting: Warstomper, Hrothgar Icebreath; a Kraken-Eater, Odler the Colossus; and Tarbag Dragon-Smasher, the Gatebreaker. 

And then there are a couple more Mancrushers, a Bonegrinder and a couple more Mega Gargants to assemble... lots to do, I think in the end it will be pushing 5,000 points! I'll be hoping to arrange a massive game for the tribe to take on all-comers at my local club, Black Hole Wargamers... that could be a long one! 

So far, the Tribe have been pretty successful in the games I've played with them - I've written up their adventures stomping all over the Realms previously. I've found them good fun to play, but some of my opponents have been a bit dismayed when they've been unable to take them down. As I've said to them, you only need to take out one or two Mancrushers to start really taking a toll on the army, so I think focused fire is probably the way to go... I haven't played any games with the newest rules yet, but I've got one coming up next month so we'll see how Magbragog and his lads get on then. 

I haven't considered the new Beast Smasher variant yet, but I figure that Hrothgar would work well if I want to use him as one (he's covered in pelts and things, very beastly). Likewise haven't really thought about King Brodd, the new ruler of all the giants. I've heard he's pretty useful in the game, but I'm not really taken with the model - it's just a minor variation on GW's normal Mega Gargant and, although the model is awesome, I'm not convinced about the variations they've made for him. The big club is nice, but other than that... besides, I'm too taken with Magbragog, he's my giant boss! I think he'll have to proxy in for the king and use Brodd's rules if I ever want to do that. 

Magbragog's battles against the Pipsqueaks

Taking on the flying machines of the Kharadron Overlords

Brutal battle against the Beasts of Chaos

Taking on the Stormcast Eternals

Fighting a combined Order force

The land will tremble as the Stomper tribe marches forth in search of food, ale and a good scrap! 

More Dungeons and Dragons enemies

My continuing quest to have an extensive collection of painted monsters to cater for (almost) any Dungeons and Dragons occasion...  

Owlbears

I already stuck photos of my first Owlbear in a blog post (HERE), but wanted to include him in a comparison with the second one that I just painted. The first was the standalone Nolzur's Marvellous Miniatures one, while the second comes from the Monsters Paint Set (Army Painter / Nolzur's). I think the two models complement each other really well, slight different poses and I wanted to paint the second one with more brown tones on the feathers. The paint sent owlbear has enormous talons on its forepaws and looks a little more feathery down its back and legs, so feels a little more owl-y whereas its counterpart feels a little more bear-y. 

I like them both! 

Both owlbears were painted using Contrast paints to start with, then drybrushed fairly heavily - they each have a lot of sculpted detail that works really well for that sort of technique. 

I can't wait to get the new one on the tabletop. One owlbear has caused the party a great deal of trouble in the past, having two of them charging in should be suitably entertaining! As its only a CR3 monster, the owlbear is a real challenge at the first couple of levels, but by the time the party hits levels 4 and 5 then one just isn't going to cut it. But a pair should be a good fight! 

Hook Horror

Continuing the theme of classic D&D monsters, I painted this Hook Horror (again from Nolzur's Marvellous Miniatures). I was particularly keen to get a Hook Horror after listening to the Drizzt Do'Urden novel, Exile, where (SPOILERS!) a pech was turned into a Hook Horror by an evil mage. Drizzt named the beast Clacker and he managed to fight through his Hook Horror instincts to actually help the dark elf ranger in his quest. 

Hook Horrors are classically nasty pieces of work that should cause trouble for a party. I decided to introduce one as a roaming monster in The Lost Mine of Phandelver, as I figured the evil Black Spider would have access to these sort of Underdark monsters and be able to unleash them on the party to stop them thwarting his plans. 

Painting this beast was incredibly simple, just painted with Contrast paints and then the whole thing was washed with Army Painter Dark Tone wash to accentuate the definition of the details and dull it down slightly. Nothing else needed doing really, I liked the effect from just those simple steps. 

Umber Hulk

Again, I have posted this beast before, but I took some better photos of it - I think my photography skills have improved, plus I really like these little collages to show the different angles of the models, so here he is again! A bit of an unconventional paint scheme on it, but I like the pale shell. 

Ankhegs

I've loved Ankhegs since playing Baldur's Gate on PC and roaming around a farm, slaughtering the bugs to get enough of their carapaces to outfit my party with Ankheg plate armour! Of course, that was after getting surprised by them popping out of the ground and wiping my guys out with their acid attacks when I didn't know what to expect from them... Anyway, Nolzur's Marvellous Miniatures again supply some nice Ankheg models and I got two, painting them up very quickly with some Contrast paints. 

I then got some gribbly slugs from Heresy Miniatures - great little monsters. These can stand in for so many different things, but I figured that if I painted them green then they could be Ankheg larvae in the first instance. I've seen some unofficial rules for young Ankhegs, but equally they could use stats for Giant Centipedes or something. Whatever I use, I like the idea of having a bunch of larvae being protected by two adult Ankhegs, I think that could provide a good scenario for some adventurers to deal with. 

These were painted very, very quickly with contrast paints. I wasn't 100% decided on what shade of green to use, so I messed about with them a little bit - I like the variation. A couple of them have a yellow Contrast over the green, which gives an interesting sickly brownish colour that I think works well. 

Big Boris

Big Boris is a bit of a poster boy for Heresy Miniatures. I have a couple of other versions of him waiting to be assembled and painted, but this hulking dude with the massive axe deserved to be put on a skull-covered pedestal and painted up! I have no idea what I'm going to use him as at the moment, but it will definitely be cool when he does stride onto the tabletop! 

Fomorian Crusher

This is a great model from Games Workshop for Warcry. I think that game has provided them with a lot of scope to make some interesting standalone models, without worrying about how they fit into a larger army. Of course, this brute takes cues from the old cyclopean Fimir (I have two of them, awfully painted, upstairs!), and the Forge World Fimirach. The name is almost the same as the Fomorians in D&D, but aside from him having one eye he looks fairly distinct from them. As soon as I saw him, I knew I wanted to get hold of him. A great model, with a huge amount of potential uses. I haven't played Warcry as much as I would like to, but this model could proxy for a bunch of stuff in multiple games. 

I decided to go kind of weird with the paint scheme, with the dark purple skin and light hair colour. I was really pleased with it, and yet again it was a chance to use Contrast paints as much as possible to speed things up. I think he works. I particularly like the pauldron on his shoulder where I used the new Cryptek Armourshade Gloss paint from GW - that really is a nice pot of paint, giving an instant effect of ancient, burnished metal. I've used it in a few places. It reminds me of good old Tin Bitz (loved that paint), but with a better sheen to it and a nicer finish. 

Anyway, I'm using this Crusher as a stand-in for a Hill Giant that will be hiding out in a crypt to surprise the players tomorrow night so we'll see how they enjoy that! I could have used a more regular giant model (I have a few to pick from), but I've used them in Age of Sigmar a lot recently and I really wanted to get this model on the tabletop. However, I figured chucking a Fomorian at a level 4 party would be a bit overly tough, particularly as the current quest is supposed to be just a little diversion and they have a couple of other things to deal with during the session as well... still, I'm sure there'll be plenty of moaning about how many HP the giant has anyway!  

*Edit* they actually dealt with the giant quite efficiently, now that the paladin has finally learned how to use his Divine Smite to do some serious damage! The giant did do a lot of damage to a couple of them, but no lasting injuries, so all ended well. 

Ogroid Myrmidon

Another Warcry model that I thought was fantastic as soon as I saw it. A mix of ogre, minotaur and daemon as far as I could tell, with a healthy dose of Ancient Greek about the spear and shield... He was much bigger than I expected when he turned up, but he does look great.

I painted him at the same time as the Fomoroid and decided to sort of reverse the palette a little, going for lighter flesh and darker hair. Again, almost entirely Contrast paints, but very effective I think. And I couldn't resist using Cryptek Armourshade again on his shield - gives it such a nice finish. I have yet to use him in a game yet, but I can well imagine some pit fighting scenario where he stomps out on his cloven hooves to take no prisoners. 

I can see a lot of conversion potential for this guy in particular if I end up getting another one at some point - after clearing a lot more of my unpainted models first! 

Fee Fi Fo Fum, beware of the Giants, cos here they come!

I'm a big fan of Heresy Miniatures stuff, and have used quite a number of Andy's models as proxies or stand-ins in numerous games - plus I have one of his awesome Dragons sitting in my 'to-do' pile waiting for me to get some paint on her!

I backed his kickstarter, Return of the Monsters, but during the campaign didn't get the Giant for some reason... I think I got most other things so I showed a little bit of restraint I guess. But with the release of the Sons of Behemat coming up for Age of Sigmar, I knew I would need to use his giant as a Mega-gargant - from all the rumours it sounded like it was the perfect size, and it just looked so cool. I also had a good idea for basing him using some Mantic Terraincrate pieces...

I will add some more photos of the full Giant tribe, with some size comparison pics between various vintages of giants and mega-giants (just a couple more to finish painting), but these are some quick pics I took of Heresy Miniatures Mucklegeet the Giant (in my tribe I renamed him Magbragog Maneater). He's so big that I struggled to get rid of the lines in the backdrop of the light box so I'll have to have another go at photographing him another day!

I just love the character that the sculpt has - the almost innocent look in the giant's eyes as he starts to scoff the poor hapless paladin. I figured that it would look great if the paladin had just been scooped up from his camp, part-way through cooking his own dinner, completely unaware of this monster that had turned up behind him - I wanted to use the tent to show the narrative in the model but also help give a sense of scale to the giant (it's easy to miss the paladin at first glance as you get distracted by the rest of the model). He was painted almost exclusively with Contrast paints, the great textures meaning they did a good job of adding depth to everything in a really quick and easy manner. 

Anyway, it was a joy to paint and he's already done a great job stomping some flying dwarfs in a game, so him and his tribe will be trampling some more enemies in the future I'm sure!