a Load of Old Toby

The Dawn Guard The Dawn Guard of Ras Morthil My blog this week is my own personal ‘forge’, boom boom….. 😂. A place to chronicle the hidden histories of the Dwarves, specifically those who dwell in the shadows of maps and the forgotten folds of far away mountains. I have long been drawn to the rugged, stoic nature of the Naugrim, finding in their heavy, iron-grey beards and calloused hands a narrative depth that demands to be brought into the light.  The Dawn Guard Through my painting, I aim to seek to capture more than just steel and scale; I aim to illustrate the weary duty of these watchers. I will leave us all with a little more story behind this unit below. I hoped the narrative will develop over time, as the army fleshes out. But like the ancient quiet of the deep halls, this army is definitely going to be a long term project that I might revisit bit by bit over time.  So far I only have three or four units, either painted or in my head, or even in my bits box. The rest ...

Cannons & Engineer This week’s blog update features a heavy-hitting addition: two new cannons. I’ve had plenty of bits lying around for a while, but I was waiting on a few "Oldhammer" miniatures to finally arrive in the post. Deep within the soot-choked streets of  Nuln , the rhythmic thunder of the  Imperial Gunnery School  never truly ceases. Known as the "Iron City," Nuln serves as the industrial heart of the Empire, where master smiths and eccentric engineers toil over massive casting pits to forge the finest black powder weapons in the Old World.  Group shot of both Cannons & Engineer Since they turned up a few weeks ago, I’ve been busy working out a cohesive paint scheme and deciding where they fit into the collection. Having already gathered units from various provinces across the Empire, it was time to bolster my missile support and heavy artillery. I’ve started with a Nuln Engineer and a classic artillery crew. All seven models are original 90s scul...

Victory at Sea - Royal Navy This week I am showcasing something a bit different, the Royal Navy starter set from Victory at Sea. Most of my blogs to date have varied in writing style, sometimes I plunge into painting or modelling detail other times I add a bit of fantasy or history fluff. Newly added to the cabinet  I like to bounce around a bit because first and foremost I am not a writer, in fact I have a passionate dislike for English literature as a subject full stop. Gammer nazis are the pinnacle of all things wrong with the subject in my opinion, anyone spending their time judging others for a missed colon or full stop have lost their own minds. Anyway back to my point, one of which is that I don’t really know my own style nor am I very good at the whole blog thing. So I hope that for those of you reading these little logs/blogs/diary entries, that they are good little digests and always fresh and of use, in some instances at least! One SQN of Swordfish Bi-planes On to the to...

Empire Characters  Rieksguard Mounted Knights  Rebased Complete  This week I have the pleasure in presenting most of the characters for my empire army and the completed version of the mounted kneights that have already been previewed on this blog. The latter because they contain as standard two main characters - Ludwig Schwarzhelm and Kurt Helborg. Full unit with both Ludwig and Hurt front and centre Kurt Helborg is the Reiksmarshal of the Empire and Grand Master of the elite Reiksguard Knights, so it is apt that he appears here again within the unit. Born into a wealthy family in the Reikwald, he joined the Reiksguard in his youth and grew up alongside the future Emperor, Karl Franz. As Reiksmarshal, he is the supreme commander of the Empire's military forces, second only to the Emperor in matters of war. He is famously known for his signature large, magnificent mustache and, in lore, is often depicted in polished, mirror-sheen armor and is regarded as perhaps the greate...

Wissenland Halberdiers Rebased Complete  The unit has kinda featured a little before however that was a work in progress sneak peak. Here I have the completed unit, fully rebased, and in its own movement tray. I started with the command back during lockdown, but have only just added the back rank. 5 years to complete one unit is quite an accomplishment! Unit Command This unit is my pride of the army, I think not only is it the best I have painted in this army but also includes my favourite model as the champion of the unit, along with the addition of an imperial dwarf again has lots of character and charm, keeping in theme with the rest of the army. Unit front left Wissenland , formally the  Grand County of Wissenland , is a founding Electoral Province of the Empire that lies in the southern reaches of that realm. The province of Wissenland is considered the armoury of the Empire, for it holds within its borders the city-state of Nuln, the largest industrial city within the Ol...

Stirland River Patrol & Tilean Crossbows Two for the price of one! This week not only have I managed to rebase a few units I have also managed to get two blogs up, even better this blog features two units. So it double up across the broad, which mean of course there will be a little gap now unless I can find something else to fill it … Starting off we have my Stirland River Patrol a group of veterans who patrol up and down the boarder of the province. The unit is made up mainly of Games workshop spearman. However, I have added another Wargames Atlantic Orge, as well as a limited edition Mordheim bear. Last of all I did convert the standard from lots of spare parts I had, again the banner is a freehand painted banner. The skeleton has come out really well. Next up and fresh from rebasing is my Tilean Crossbows, yet another mercenary unit in service of the empire. This really starting to give the feel of the whole army that of a real mix from across the world country. Here you can se...

Akendorf Greatswords Empire of Sigmar This week is perhaps my favourite unit of the whole army, my Akendorf Greatswords.  Unit front - JH backdrop The unit is an ecliptic mix of manufactures this time, and I absolutely love the character it has created. I have both new and old the Games Workshop empire Greatswords plus a limited edition Mordeim Mercenary Captain, very apt to lead the unit and a posh looking lady noble from Hersey I think. However, I also liked the metal champion too so they both stay in a four man command. There are a ton of Foundry  Landsknecht  making up the unit. Finally an 80s Citadel Orge just nails the menacing feel. Mordheim Mercenary Captain & Command  Akendorf  is situated near the southern entrance of   Black Fire Pass , a critical narrow passage through the Black Mountains.   It is often depicted as a "Free Imperial Town" that pays taxes directly to the Emperor of the Empire.   The town is known for its   Coppe...

Altdorf Halberdiers Empire of Sigmar This week I am presenting the Empire backbone, the city guard of Altdorf! Full Unit - JH backdrop The majority of this unit is the original Games Workshop empire plastic Halberds first released in about 1995. I managed to find 12, basically painted online. I purchased them and applied a thin layer of Agrax Earthshade all over them, I then proceeded to build up a few layers using Vallejo paints so a good highlight was applied all over. Left front - HeroQuest and Captain  To form the command I built a modern empire captain model my daughter gave me for Christmas, and reused a spare Reiksguard Standard. In addition to this I used a 1980s metal halberdier, and a Citadel drummer, also from the 80s, to finish the units command.  Close up of right front - 80s Drummer, Champion and Reiksguard Standard This left the unit a little under strength for the Capital's finest, so I purchased the metal Advanced HeroQuest mercenaries fitted with Halberds. Th...

Reiksguard Foot Knights Empire of Sigmar This army was started in 2024, but I decided to rebase half way through the process this year for oldhammer.  Full unit, with JH backdrop So I would like to introduce the next rebased unit that is completely finished except the movement tray. Overhead shot This majority of the unit is Games Workshop & Citadel Miniatures however, there are some old marauders miniatures and Assault Group Miniatures to flesh the unit out. All miniatures are very much in keeping with the theme and style of the original.  Side view The painting scheme was really simple, Citadel Natural Metal followed by Nuln Oil wash and a Silver drybrush. The red is Vallejo Paints: Terracotter 982 and highlight Scarlet 817, with the white being an Ivory 918 and White 951 highlight . Rear View, good shot of the banner back There are little touches of green and browns for weapon handles or laurels. But in the main the only difference in the unit is the Command is pai...

Blog Update Empire Rebasing Just got to keep the blog going and this year I have been touching up models and rebasing my empire army to all fit on the same size bases. Rebasing nearly finished I finding a struggle to write a whole blog for just tiny updates of work in progress shots. So you should try to follow me on Bluesky if you can because I keep that updated frequently also now trying out instagram/threads, never used it before so just a trial see if it adds value. Total in progress impromptu shot Up until now they have been on different sizes and styles due to all being painted at various different times. Anyhow yet a show you nearly finished article of Reiksguard Knights these will likely get there own post in the near future. First full unit shot This unit was mainly painted on New Years Day 2026 while listening to the Austrian Philharmonic Orchestra, glam or what! Side on shot of hand painted banners The Reiksguard form the bulk of the Imperial Household and are the loyal body...