Onward Kislev!

Some time ago I managed to get my hands on some of the increasingly rare Kislev models that used to be part of the Empire army range back in 4th and 5th edition. I wanted them as part of my preparation for my ridiculously ambitious plans to recreate the Battle at the Gates of Kislev. I made a lot of noise about these plans a while back, however I've been focusing on other things since then. This doesn't mean I have not made progress. My painted Empire army has come along steadily since then, and the Chaos forces at our disposal are better prepared too (thanks largely to Owen, who is exceedingly mad and very fast at knocking out painted stuff). 

Anyway, the Kislev game has started to become a bit of a joke around here, as one of those things that is talked about, but will never happen. I've kind of treated it as an eventual goal rather than something with a specific time-frame attached to it, but it might be time to address that. I haven't done the maths yet, but we must be pretty close to having the painted army sizes I had imagined, and with Warhammer 8th edition coming to a close sometime in the second half of next year (so the rumours suggest), I feel I need to make use of the existing edition's rules, which work so well for large games (who knows what next edition will bring). 

One thing that has not advanced over the last year or more (actually it's more like 2 years. Sheesh!), which is the state of my actual Kislevite models. I have Horse Archers, Winged Lancers and Kossars, and they are all as unprepared as they were when I got my hands on them. This is unacceptable, as they are basically the only essential element in the game - the thing that will add the appropriate flavour. So I am finally starting work on them.

I decided to start with some Horse Archers, as I thought they might be fastest to paint. First I had to do some repairs, including adding tails - because the previous owner had not attached (nor included) a single tail to the whole batch of 12 of them (nor the 10 Winged Lancers that came with them). Maybe he doesn't like tails. Anyway, whatever the reason, I was well short in the tail tally. 

12 Kislev Horse Archers, looking for paint.

At this point I was very glad that I had made tail moulds out of Instant Mold a long time ago, and had been frequently using them as a way to use up excess green stuff during conversion/sculpting sessions (I am prone to mixing up too much for whatever I am trying to do). This has led to a decent pile of unused tails kicking about, and it was time to put some to use.

OK, so a few of them managed to find plastic tails I had lying about. Like, 4 of them. The rest had to make do with green stuff.

Fortunately I have not yet run out. There are more Kislevites awaiting tails...

After this I started painting, although as usual it is taking a while. I figured I would do all 12 in a single batch, however when this was taking too long, I allowed myself to get side-tracked and finished off the unit champion. Or maybe he is a Boyar (a hero). I don't know - he has a fancier jacket than the rest of them...

The leader of the Horse Archers, who might do duty as a Boyar on occasion. Looking decidedly more painted than his comrades.

Gradually getting there. I think they're well over half done in terms of time now. At least, I certainly hope so...

The rest of the guys will not have any blue on them - I gave him that to help him stand out. The colour palette for the rest will be limited to purple and red, with a touch of white. For those that even bother to wear shirts, that is. I don't know how long it will take me to finish the lot of them, however I would imagine it will be sometime next week. Then I will probably do the few remaining Horse Archers I've got (5 or 6 more, who are not even assembled yet), before moving onto other units.

One thing I am yet to really come to a conclusion about is how I am going to pad out my Kislev infantry contingent. I don't have many proper Kossars, and though I have a decent regiment of ones that Owen converted from Bretonnian Men at Arms and Archers, I don't have many of those left to donate to the cause. So I need a new plan - one that does not involve paying $5 per model on eBay. I think some Empire Militia might be giving their lives for a good cause...