I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole...

...diggy diggy hole
diggy diggy hole
(thanks Erny for getting that song stuck in my head when I played a game in his years back)

I take part in the Monthly White Dwarf Painting Challenge over on facebook. Every month Jamie Loft picks a classic issue of White Dwarf from the oldhammer era, and our challenge is to paint a model featured within it or inspired by it. January's challenge has been WD #109 from January 1989 and I've kept it simple, choosing to paint one of the minis lurking in the back page diorama: a Citadel dwarf sapper sculpted by the Perry brothers.

A humble offering... but a significant one for me, as this is the 10th and final member of Arka Zargul's Dwarf Miners for when I finally get around to playing McDeath! Here's the whole Militant Tendency in their splendour:

At this stage I've now painted 24 miniatures for McDeath: the miners; the Greevant clan at the Battle of Winwood Harbour; the Monster at Loch Lorm; and Raybees the halfling. I have a handful of the character models, but given that the campaign requires 202 miniatures (I think) and it's taken me since 2014 to reach this stage, at this rate it will take me another 50 and a half years to complete the project.

So may I take this opportunity to cordially invite you all to my 89th birthday party, where we will FINALLY PLAY MCDEATH! If the lead rot hasn't got to us first...

Militant Tendency Entryists at Orc's Drift!

"Dig for victory!" - Dwarvish wartime propaganda campaign


Followers of the blog may recall I made a start painting up figures for McDeath with Arka Zargul and 4 miners - and promptly sent the trade union militants off to battle in one of Warlord Paul's skirmishes. Well I'm now up to 9 out of the 10 figures needed for that particular band of workers. I just need one more - I'm hoping to find one or other of these to complete the unit:


Perhaps ironically, they'll be getting an outing tomorrow not in McDeath, but in a somewhat streamlined version of Blood Bath at Orc's Drift that Warlord Paul will be running tomorrow with The M1 Marauders, where they'll be doing double duty as The Engineers of Osrim Chardz/ The Dwarfs of Ashak Rise. In fact, we'll mostly be using Thantsants' amazing collection of Orc's Drift miniatures, and he's such a bloody good painter I always feel a bit shamefaced lining up my own efforts next to his. But I do like to play with my own little fellas and I needed the encouragment to work on some painting after missing out on BOYL. The engineers are accompanied by a couple of dwarves armed with Crossbows, borrowed from my Chaos warband, and a wounded fella (or is he just drunk?)
. Oh, and a donkey. As you can see, I have the models used for Borinn and Snorinn Fimbul, but not the scenario-exclusive model for Osrim Chardz, so we'll use Thantsants model for King Gorrin from the Dwarf Lords of Legend box, as he's practically in the same pose. (Full disclosure - I have King Gorrin myself, but made such a balls up of painting him, he's back in the dettol.)

The version of the campaign we'll be playing tomorrow will be with a smaller number of figures and using the mordheim rules to get through it in one day. All the same, having never played Orc's Drift in any way, shape, or form, I'm really looking forward to it.

The Militant Tendency

Motion 1368, amendment B: With regards to the forthcoming elections on Beacon Island, this committee resolves to lobby the candidates for office with the intention of communicating the case for improved working conditions. To this end we resolve to send a delegation of labourers to set out our Union's position in as clear and direct a manner as possible.


Motion carried unanimously.

"Comrades, take hold of the tools of our labour. Carry aloft the pickaxe, the spade, the hammer. Today, let us strike a blow for the rights of all workers."

THE MINERS... UNITED... WILL NEVER BE DEFEATED!
THE MINERS... UNITED... WILL NEVER BE DEFEATED!



Up at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning, and off to the Foundry for the latest adventure in mysterious Albion, ably GMed by Warlord Paul (our most recent trip to Albion being The Last Stand of Antonius De Blare). The background that Paul's provided us with this time is as follows:

Rival warlocks are fighting amongst themselves for dominion on Beacon Island. There is an election tomorrow and the only occupants of Beacon Island (the lighthouse keeper and his family) have to choose a new governor with their handful of votes. Whoever gets the job will be able to gain control of a local ‘Slann-gate’ situated on the island and use its power to rule all Albion, probably. All the candidates loathe each other and are seeking to assassinate each other as well as magically control the electorate. Under the Gate and nearby polling station is a monster-ridden dungeon, which may just turn out to be the safest path...

Standing for election (no incumbent, died in office) are: Lord Far Age the Mad Usurper; Lady Pike the Kingmaker; Lord McCameron the Bastard; Sir Edward Hatband the Betrayer; Nicholas Haystack the Disappointer.

Use your vote responsibly, or die trying!

Hmm, it's almost as though there's a political subtext to this campaign, isn't it?

I'm taking the opportunity to start work on a new unit for McDeath: Arka Zargul and his miners at Dungal Hill. In the McDeath campaign pack, there Arka Zargul is accompanied by 9 miners. So I'm about half way there - still need to collect more.

Three of the sculpts are by the Perrys; Arka himself (from the Norse Range) 2 of the Dwarf Engineers sculpted by Alan and Michael Perry. I've chosen to paint one of them up as carrying a bunch of sticks of dynamite (counts as grenades?). In fact, this sculpt says "Candlemaker" on his tab, so I presume what he's actually carrying are a pile of candles; however the 1991 catalogue lists him as "Dynamite", so I think this interpretation is fair game!

Of the other two sculpts, one is a Kev Adams Heartbreaker Dwarf Miner, now availble from Ral Partha Europe; and the other ("Comrade Digger") is a converted Marauder Troll Slayer, sculpted by Aly and Trish Morrison. I actually got this in an already-converted state from a certain notorious ebay seller, after he accepted a low-ball "best offer".

So who will they be supporting on Beacon Island? Well, their Union has already been pivotal in ensuring that Sir Edward Hatband saw off the rival claims of his brother to win the candidacy; but whether they'll continue to see him as the best candidate to represent the interests of the workers in the long run is anybody's guess...