Oldhammer enthusiasts are living in exciting times. It is quite astonishing how large and visible the interest in old school gaming has grown, in particular that for early Citadel Miniatures and Games Workshop games.A cottage industry of many small independent businesses has cropped up eager to support this renewed enthusiasm.There is now a constant flow of interesting new figures, books, rulesets, and other gaming related items coming out, at a rate we could only dream of a decade or two ago, when the first wave of the Oldhammer resurgence began.This is basically the transcript of a free form conversation that Beowulf and I had with the aim of reviewing and frothing over some upcoming Chaos themed releases, with some older ones also getting dragged into the exuberant gushing.
Tony Ackland Styled Knights of Chaos!
Satyr Art Studios
https://satyrartstudio.com/Tony-Ackland-Styled-Knights-of-Chaos-5-LIMITED-RUN-p827641049
Zoatibix: Satyr Art Studios is just hitting it out of the ballpark with every release. There are a lot of Oldhammer style figures coming out these days, but no one is able to emulate the style and vibes of old Citadel as masterfully as Drew Williams from Satyr Art. He has studied carefully the proportions, facial details, the hands, cloth, mail, hair, little sculptural flourishes, the thematic winks and nods and other characteristic features of the Citadel school and applied them to his own work.These are a spitting image of Tony Ackland’s drawings from early Warhammer Fantasy Battle, and fit right in with the ‘C’ series chaos warriors. They actually remind me a lot stylistically of the AD&D range Evil Fighter 3 pack and the C33 Adventure Pack (which I think were Bob Naismith Sculpts). But no lance option? No mounts? That is a little bit disappointing. Would love to see some warhorses with ornate tasselled barding like the C33 ones.Beowulf: Indeed no horses, nor lances, but viewed from another perspective it gives you the hobbyist the opportunity to kitbash your own! I totally concur with your opinion on Satyr Art. Their range is outstanding. The only problem I have is the high fee, with the exchange rate and especially having to ship it over to Australia…. Ouch that is painful. However it is less painful than trying to acquire some C series chaos warriors on eBay, and here you really get what you’re paying for. The first thing I thought of when looking at these is that they really remind me of the front cover of Rick Priestley and Richard Halliwell’s first foray into publishing a fantasy miniature ruleset that being Reaper, which really is the grandfather of Warhammer Fantasy. The black line drawn proto-chaos warrior on top of the bright yellow rulebook. They also give me strong Elric of Melnibone vibes which is fitting as the dedication to the second edition of WHFB is to Michael Moorcock “whose fault this all is”. As somebody who is currently working on creating my own third edition fantasy chaos army, I am extremely tempted to pick some of these up myself as the thing that most appeals to me about WHFB 1st edition is Tony Ackland’s drawings and this is the opportunity to have these in a three dimensional lead format. What’s not to love about that?
Z: Ooh nice, the Reaper cover is a deep cut, and good reference.Good point about the high cost for those of us in Australia. I guess I would say that these Satyr Art releases are so good that they are overcoming my better judgement (the measure of success of every miniatures manufacturer) to both boycott US products due to Trump’s fascist coup, as well as to stick to my humble hobby budget. In other words looks like another little package will be arriving soon that I will need to figure out how to disguise from my significant other.B: Oh no honey I swear I’ve always had these chaos warriors. Look they have that 80s vibe see? I couldn’t have just ordered them….Z: I welcome the Elric vibe- warriors wearing ornate ancient armour from a cruel fallen empire. This style of Chaos Knight is definitely the one I favour, a more Swords and Sorcery/ Conan aesthetic.B: I think there is just something about the thinner more spindly original style chaos warriors that just gives them that much more humanity as opposed to the big hulking half ogre sized monstrosities that came later on. I can see what remains of the original human inside the armour. And it is this vestigial link to their humanity which makes them that much more relatable from a narrative perspective.Z: Amazing that we live in a world where we can collect new C series style figures, that are in some regards better than the originals, I’m loving it.B: I do wholeheartedly agree with you. It is so wonderful that we can collect “new” C series made with better technology and materials.I like how the newer pewter is tougher than the old lead. Nothing stops my heart faster than accidentally dropping or knocking over an original 80s lead miniature and then weeping over the crush damage that results. These ones you can knock about a bit more before they bend or snap.Z: That is a good observation, it is really heartbreaking realising your beloved preslotta rarity beat the odds to survive lead rot, only to see that its dainty little soft lead nose has been smooshed across its poor face like it went 10 rounds with Mike Tyson. Quality standards seem to have improved a lot since the old days too, maybe due to new alloys, technology, manufacturing techniques, or just expectations, far less miscasts, tougher materials that still have high fidelity and hold detail. I distinctly remember there being so many poorly cast minis being sold around the transition away from lead based alloys in the early 90s when I suppose companies were still coming to grips with the new lead free alloys.B: How do you feel about them being 28mm as opposed to 25mm? I suppose it doesn’t matter too much especially with chaos as you’d be able to make them fit in, but the C series lean closer to 25mm. So from a purist perspective perhaps 25mm would be better although if you want them to fit it in other more modern miniatures maybe 28mm is the way to go?Z: Ah yes. The age old wargamer’s dilemma…coming from someone who uses almost exclusively 80s citadel figures, or historicals, the Satyr art minis do seem to be a bit on the larger side, but I think they mingle well. The old citadel figures were considered disproportionately large at the time anyway. For me personally I am happy mixing 25mm-32mm most of the time. When they are painted up, based and on the table, it is imperceptible to me. One companies 28 is anothers 32, it’s all quite subjective, and not a very good system of classification, but I do realise that others may have more or less tolerance for my indifferent attitude.B: I think honestly I’d prefer them to be 25mm. I prefer the slightly smaller original scale, not for any purist reasons but rather I just find them that much easier to rank up.People come on all shapes and sizes… why shouldn’t minis too?Z: Precisely!
Chaos Dwarf Warband
Knightmare Miniatures
https://knightmareminiatures.com/shop/chaos-dwarves-warband-deal/
Z: It seems there are two types of people in this world - raving chaos dwarf fanatics, and everybody else. I myself probably fall more into the latter group, however chaos dwarves have become a defacto emblem that symbolise the Oldhammer movement in many ways, and they are such an important part of the pre 4th Ed chaos identity, they are a must have for any chaos army. I can never decide which version I prefer - the big hat 4th Ed ones or the older 2nd/3rd Ed style. Whatever your preference, chaos dwarves are one of the better served armies in terms of currently produced, non Citadel alternate models, designed to complement older ranges. There are plenty of options out there, but the Knightmare Miniatures offerings are the best.B: Ahhh I definitely find myself in the fanatic camp. I cannot get enough of them. I’ve always loved the big hats but it wasn’t until I came back to the hobby a couple of years ago that I discovered that there was an earlier breed of chorfs without their big hats and they completely blew me away. I absolutely adore the mini chaos warrior chorf from 2-3rd edition WHFB. They are so unique and characterful. Evil little bastards each one with their own special flavour. The problem is that the originals are very difficult to get a hold of and so expensive to boot, but luckily we have these “new” oldhammer companies producing these spectacular miniatures. These miniatures were the very first chorfs I ever purchased. The plan was to create a warband… and that warband has now turned into an army. Undead may have been my first oldhammer love but it’s with these chords that my true passions lie.Knightmare miniatures produce an incredible range of oldhammer style miniatures that suit both fantasy and 40k. Their customer service is also excellent. One gripe and again this is me being pedantic but their minis are on the larger side.So when placed next to an original 25mm you can see the size difference but like we were talking about earlier once they are painted and based up one cannot tell… but being the pedant that I am I can tell and that annoys me. I avoid this issue by putting my Knightmare minis in the front rank and that allows my pedantry to take a back seat.The boar centaurs are also fantastic. I don’t mind these guys being on the larger size and the fact that they come straight out of Warhammer Armies illustrations is truely the chef’s kiss of the warband.Z: The weird demon is a great addition to the group, its presence is a bit unexpected and intriguing, compelling you to craft a narrative about the warband.B: The demon like mini is also divine. One of my favourite miniatures I’ve ever had the pleasure of painting. The kind of miniature that just takes paint like a duck takes to water. He is also so versatile. Is he a chorf wizard that’s dabbled a bit too much with chaotic magic? A demon? A chaos wizard or some other gribbly? He can be all those things and so much more. With such limited time to paint, the more things I can use a miniature for the happier I am.Z: I totally agree! I really love what Knightmare miniatures are doing, and Diego Serrate is one of the most talented sculptors who is attempting to capture the look and feel of 80s citadel miniatures. I would however love to see some more demented, maniacal, and sadistic chaos dwarf mechanical war machines, I feel like this is an underexplored subject that is ripe for the picking. Like the whirling blade cart or that siege tower, pushed by boar centaurs.B: Something like this? (https://www.oldschoolminiatures.co.uk/ewal-dvergar-evil-dwarfs-the-perforator)
Z: Brilliant! That’s what I’m talking about!B: Old School Miniatures (https://www.oldschoolminiatures.co.uk/ewal-dvergar) have some lovely chorfs in the oldhammer vibe but they’re less detailed and characterful compared to Knightmare Miniatures. I’ve got both and they go together well but the Knightmare ones really take the cake.
Z: Ah yes these look like the John Pickford range, which I think was sculpted early in the first wave of old school revival around about 2010. I haven’t seen these in the flesh, but even if they lack the finesse of the Knightmare ones, they make up for it with their variety and options that really fill out the army.Have you seen the Darkling games Chaos Dwarves by the way? I always thought they looked great, and if I ever needed some Chaos Dwarves I’d seek them out. Local Australian sculptor who did the King’s Minis Blog, one of my favourite Oldhammer blogs from back in the day (https://kingsminis.blogspot.com).
B: Yes they are beautiful. I corresponded with Delaney King a few times to see if I could get any of them cast, but the originals are no more so alas it’s not possible. I really loved the range.Z: That’s really too bad, Delaney King, if you are reading this, would love to see you revisit these and see more of your sculpting.
Hounds of Hell
Osmotic Meld
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/osmoticmeld/osmoticmeld-the-hounds-of-hell
Z: While so far we’ve been looking at some figures that have been sculpted as homages to the distinct old school Citadel Miniatures sculpting style, the Myriad Miniatures Osmotic Meld range are emulating the style of the illustrator Ian Miller, and are an attempt to translate his characteristic two dimensional artwork into three dimensional miniature sculptures.
Ian miller is a well known fantasy artist, and made a significant contribution to defining a lot of the early Warhammer Fantasy and 40k imagery.These are some of the most exciting miniatures I have seen in a long time. Remarkable sculpting from John Robertson on display here. Incredible detail and texture, while still maintaining a loose expressive feel. I love how they reject the heroic, clean silhouette of modern fantasy miniatures, and are like a chaotic seething tangle of ambiguous anatomy and ornamentation- perfectly capturing the feel of Ian Miller’s art.
B: These miniatures absolutely took my breath away. I have never seen anything like them before. They really do capture what third edition chaos means to me. What a challenge it must be to turn Ian Miller’s art into the third dimension and Robertson has really met this challenge head on. The miniatures look alive, you can imagine them breathing and morphing in front of of your eyes into different psychedelic geometric shapes and patterns. As much as I am desperate to have them I actually resisted the kickstarter campaign as I know my painting skills are nowhere near what would be required to do these miniatures justice. I wouldn’t even know where to start.Z: I don’t usually go in for kickstarters but I was so blown away by these I made an exception and backed it, I just had to have them by any means necessary! Hopefully they will eventually be available from an online shop.
B: They are so hyper detailed and delicate but not in the flimsy way you find with modern 3D sculptured miniatures. These have the hyper detail one sees in 3d sculpts whilst retaining the character of traditional sculpting. The overall effect is one of a pulsing mass of moving living parts that contain fractal elements of living matter where you cannot tell where the flesh ends and armour begins.As hyperbolic as it sounds these are some of the most impressive instances of traditional sculpting that I have ever encountered.Now these are resin spin-cast I believe. I can see why resin would have to be used in order to be able to replicate the level of detail seen here. I understand why it has to be resin, however I’m just not a fan of resin. I don’t like the feel of it, I don’t like painting it nor how fragile it is. I would definitely prefer if these came in metal despite knowing how unrealistic that would be.
Z: I’m not sure how I feel about being cast in resin, I share your reservations. I definitely would prefer metal (previous Osmotic Meld releases were cast in metal), but there may be certain factors that rule that out. For example they seem to be sculpted using polymer clay which doesn’t like being vulcanised under the high pressure required to make molds for metal casting. There is probably also a lower intial cost for setting up to do small production runs of resin. And as you say maybe the sculpts themselves are not suitable because of fine details and undercuts which could damage vulcanised rubber moulds.
I am really looking forward to getting these in my hand and painting them up.
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