How to: make your Free Peoples Handgunners look unique

Greetings fellow hobbiests/war gamers. Today I’m hoping to give you inspiration if you’ve been on the fence about collecting a Free Peoples Army for Age of Sigmar.

When I first got into Age of Sigmar, I was really drawn to the free peoples. I liked the idea of guns, rockets, and tanks going up against Seraphon, Ironjaws, and Skaven.

I just despised the models, or more perhaps, how they were painted on Games Workshop’s website. I also think the extremely edge highlighted cod pieces on the models were a bit much.


Anyway, I decided to give the Free Peoples a try and bought 3 boxes of handgunners. I decided to put the first 10 together without any 3rd party bits.

I was happy with the paint job. It was less obnoxious, and less obnoxious cod pieces, but after painting 5 or 6 more this way I knew I didn’t like the renaissance look. So I decided to raid my bits box in search of hope.

I found some Pith Helmets and heads from the now out of business Wargames Factory and began head swapping.

I was quite shocked with the results. I thought it would look silly at first, but I think I like the Pith Helmets much more than the plumed slouch hats that come with the kit. 

So my point is, a simple head swap, and or a less obnoxious paint job on these models does a lot for them! I plan on getting some more Pith Helmets and handgunners in the near future. 

Until next time,

-Ben

How to play: Skaven

Hello again, today I’ll be giving you some pointers on how to play Skaven. I am by no means an expert Skaven player. However I’ve found some units and tricks that have aided me in winning some games with my beloved rat-men.  

This post is about playing Skaven under Allegiance Chaos, not Pestilens/Skryre

As a Skaven player, you have probably noticed your armies greatest weakness is low morale. And that your troops are easy to kill. This can equal a deadly combination during the battle shock phase of the game. So their isn’t a whole lot you can about your troops frailty, but you can fix your low morale with an artifact found in the Age of Sigmar Core Rulebook.

Crown of Conquest: allows units within 6” of the bearer of the crown to not take battle shock.

This is the artifact you should take for your Skaven general. Sticking your general in a massive vermintide of rats takes forever for your opponent to chew through once you’ve made it into combat. This artifact has made my Clan Rats a nightmare for my opponent to move, instead of an easy unit to dispatch.

Giant Rats:

Giant Rats are horrible in combat, but great for holding objectives. They move 8” and are usually always ignored by my opponents.

Rat Ogres:

You should be using them. They are the closest thing we have to a heavy cavalry unit. Use in tandem with a pack master.

Pack Master:

Whips your Rat Ogres to add plus +1 to run, charge and attack rolls for Moulder units. Making your Rat Ogres hit on 3s, wound on 3s, at -1 rend and 2 damage each. Plus, 6s to hit generate extra attacks from your Rat Ogres.

Strength in Numbers:

As Joseph Stalin said: “Quanity has a quality of its own.” Drowning your opponent in bodies, now immune to battle shock because of the Crown of Conquest, is very demoralizing reality for your opponent.

As I expand my collection of all Age of Sigmar armies; I plan on doing how to’s such as this one as my knowledge of armies grows.

Until I post again,
-Ben

Converting Miniatures 101

This post is for the noobs of converting your minis. Say you have a model you really want to make your own. One you really want to stand out from the rest of your troops, like a squad medic, Sgt, etc. the answer is... CONVERT IT!

What material is easiest to use for converting?

I’d say plastic is the easiest to use, since there are tons of plastic miniature ranges to mix and match from.

What tools do I need?

•Plastic glue (if you use plastic)

• hobby knife.

• files

These will help your pieces fit together and stay together better. Since the pieces you’re bashing together weren’t intended to be put together-together..


How do I make my miniature look unique?

• A good place to start is with a simple head swap. A historical head on a sci fi miniature can give your miniature a really cool look!

• Add extra gear,; a backpack can make your miniature look like he has been on his campaign/quest for a long haul.

• Basing can also add a story to your model. Bloody skulls make great trophies!

• Animal Companions always stand out

•Mohawk head 👍

Here is an example of all I just mentioned..

Converting can actually be quite simple. Yes, there are more complex ways of converting, but simply kit-bashing will help you get the creative juices flowing!

Until next time,
-Ben