Warhammer Battlegrounds

Welcome to Warhammer Battlegrounds, a blog devoted to one of my favorite hobbies. I was introduced to Warhammer Fantasy table top game about 3 years ago and I have been playing ever since. This is not a game for the weak of heart because it takes time, patience, and definitely a bit of money. The hobby itself is broken down into three parts; assembling the models, painting the models, and then playing the game. I will include posts on all of these topics for the novice gamer and then keep the forum open to veterans who would like to add their own tips and tricks. I will keep this post up here for the first few months the site is live. Happy Gaming!

Rulebooks

Nothing can compare to the thrill of battle. The rules are very complex in the fantasy setting of Warhammer so the player not only has to read the ~600 page rule book, you also have to become familiar with your own army book which details all your specific unit's stats and abilities. I have included both below as examples.

Playing the Game

I wanted to add some pictures to show how the game is played. I am going to go from the very small so you can see a few models set up to a huge board with full armies ready to go. This first picture is a close-up of a few bretonnian knights against a whole army of dark elves!




This next picture is a group of high elves versus lizardmen. Still this amount of models is just a mere skirmish.



This last picture is a picture of two large armies squaring off against each other. This is a typical battle of 2,250 points. Shown below is an army of Bretonnians vs Orcs.

Painting the Model

One of the most time consuming parts of the hobby is painting the model. However, depending on how you look at it, it may also be the most rewarding part. I know for me I barely have one model fully painted, especially when I am looking at the daunting task of basing 100+ core models of daemons and more than that of Bretonnia men at arms. A lot of my friends love this part of the

hobby and I would say nothing is more regal than

a fully painted Bretonnia army on the march.

Here's a look and some tips:

1. 1
   Clean up your miniature by scraping off mold edge remains or other casting mistakes with a scalpel or pen knife, or use modelling files as these give a much better finish.
2. 2
   Decide on a colour scheme, keeping it simple. Decide on two/three bright colours and one balancing dark colour (e.g. red, moss green, black or rich yellow, bronze, dark brown).
3. 3
   Apply a layer of undercoat to the model you are wishing to paint. Use either Chaos Black or Skull White. Use white if your miniature will be colourful, or black if you’ll use lots of metallics. Use spray paint, air brush or simply paint it by hand. Spray painting will give you the best results fastest - the undercoat gives subsequent coats of hand painted work something to adhere to, and is much faster than setting up the airbrush. Painting the base-coat of a model by hand can work, and is good to do if you miss a spot with the spray paint, but is best done with slightly thinned Black or White paint. Keep the coat thin so you don’t cover the detail. Let dry.
4. 4
   Get a palette to mix the paints with some water. This loosens the solution and makes it easier to work with.
5. 5
   Paint larger areas with single colours. Let each colour dry before you paint on top of it. Paint smaller and smaller areas, but there’s no point painting tiny details yet.
6. 6
   Paint darker areas – shading, crevices etc. Ink any textured areas (fur, chain-mail etc). Inks are the solution to realistic shading – they will run into areas that should be out of the light.
7. 7
   “Dry-brush" on highlights. Mix a lighter colour, dip your brush and wipe it so that it won’t drip, and softly brush the protruding areas of the figure, starting the stroke at the top. For example, for painting a Caucasian face, you’d start with flesh colour, then put darker shades under the eyebrows and jaw, and finally mix some white with the flesh paint and dry brush the forehead, nose, upper lip and cheekbones. On metals, mix metal with a little black/brown first, then use ink for the grooves and dips, and dry-brush highlights in unmixed metal colour.
8. 8
   Paint the fine detail on the model, diluting the paint to prevent clumping. For painting on gold, apply a layer of Bestial Brown first, then Shining Gold.
9. 9
   Finish the job by painting the base carefully and neatly.
10. 10
    Wait for the whole figure to dry, then get a brush and put glue on the top of the base, and dip it in sand. Shake off the excess sand.
11. 11
    Let it dry.
12. 12
    Paint watered down PVA glue over the sand to fix it firmly and wait for it to dry.
13. 13
    Paint the sand Bestial Brown or any other colour you wish.
14. 14
    Allow to dry, then brush the base with a lighter colour, such as Bleach Bone.
15. 15
    Put little spots of glue on the base, pick up static flock and stick it on.
16. 16
    Protect the miniature (once it's dry) with matte varnish.

Assembling the model

One of my favorite parts of the hobby is assembling the models. It can take any where from a few minutes to a few hours to assemble a model depending on the complexity and the amount of parts. I have two playable armies; the Daemons of Chaos and the Army of Bretonnia so much of my focus will be on them. The staple of any Daemon army is the Bloodletters of Khorne which means they will most likely be one of the first things you assemble when you start the hobby. Below is one of the videos I used to help guide me through the process. Remember to listen closely when he tells you want tools you will need in the beginning of the video clip.