Da Dry Gulchas

Trolls!

Not the bad kind that make opprobrious comments on the internet; but the good kind, who chew your legs off and spew corrosive vomit. Who doesn't love a troll?

I already have half a dozen of the old metal Stone Trolls, so you could argue that my troll needs are well-catered for. However, when I saw a complete set of old metal River Trolls, erroneously titled 'Swamp Trolls' (and thus finding no other bidders), I had to pounce.

Not pictured: Swamp Trolls

Back in the day, I wasn't too keen on these - the Stone Trolls seemed more iconic (and taller) and there was already enough green happening in the army without adding any more. However, as I am currently plunged in Oldhammer nostalgia, they are starting to grow on me (plus, they're Perry Miniatures, of course I like them).

(not that I don't love the new plastic trolls too ... but that's an impulse purchase for another day)

One of the feet had broken off (as the genius who didn't know what a Swamp Troll was also thought a paper envelope was suitable packaging for three weighty metals), but with a bit of greenstuff it was soon regenerated. They also endured the traditional Baptism of Dettol that welcomes any second-hand mini to my domain.

Can anyone smell mutton?

I was looking forward to painting these, as I always like working on monster-scale (feels like the same amount of work as a human-scale, at least the way I do it). Also, it would be a nice change to do something that wasn't a Savage Orc (as I have now painted over a hundred without a break - piggies excepted).

They had to be green-ish, as I still want them to be River Trolls, but I didn't want them to be green green, as they're be enough of that in the army. So I dug out my pot of Hawk Turquoise from the original Ork and Eldar Paint Set (c.1991) and used that as a base.

Billy Goat

I don't know what the modern equivelant is, but Hawk Turquoise is a cracking colour and, despite being old enough to drive a minibus, it still smooth as the day it was opened. A shame I don't get to use it more often.

(Note to self: buy some Swooping Hawks and paint them)

General highlights were added with Camo Green, and then a second layer on the scales. The 'seaweed' hair was Warpstone Glow with Bilious Green highlights. The spines and ears were Bilious Green, with a Green Ink wash. Then highlights on the ears of Bilious Green, working out to Ushabti Bone.

Nanny Goat

The rest of the model was my usual recipe for savagery: Ushabti Bone teeth and claws that have been 'brownlined' with thinned Rhinox Hide, then washed with Agrax Earthshade; Vermin Fur weapons with a Brown Ink wash and Slayer Orange highlights. Although in a departure from the norm, I gave them yellow eyes, not the normal red ones of the orcs.

I also spotted (quite late in the process) that they had spots and barnacles attached to them. Barnacles were Ushabti Bone with a dab of Agrax Earthshade, spots were Bilious Green with a dot of yellow (just regular Coat d'Arms yellow, which is the only one that works for me).

And in a splendid piece of sculpting, one of the trolls has a barnacle on his buttock.

"We 'ad to take Queen Mary to drydock and scrape her bottom. Yaarr..."

The pebbles were Shadow Grey with Scar White highlights, and the fish were Dawnstone with Black Ink wash and Mithril Silver highlights.

I also love the fact that 2/3 of these models are carrying fish. Maybe the sculptor was told to emphasise their 'river' origins, although I much prefer the idea that these trolls are going into battle with a packed lunch.

Fishy Goat

However, the fact that these are river trolls, and all my basing/backstory sets this Waaagh! in the arid Badlands, presented me with a blatant excuse to spend more hobby money problem - where was the river supposed to be?

Base-X of War provided the solution, in the form of three 'dead land' bases, all cracked and dry. A coat of Tallarn Sand, wash of Agrax Earthshade, then drybrushing more Tallarn Sand over the top and they came out lovely.

I'm imagining that these three trolls have been driven to join the Waaagh! after their own river has dried up to a barren gulch. I added some flock and sand to the front lip of the bases, to represent the stream's bank - I'm not 100% sure it worked as I envisioned, but I'll live with it for a while (and three days from the WoffBoot, with still more to paint, I haven't the time to fuss).

In terms of the bases themselves, they're very good - although I won't be getting any more for miniatures. Expense aside, they're solid all the way through, so the only way to attach a magnet was to get out my biggest power drill and very very carefully grind out a hole (I'm amazed I still have all three intact).

(Their movement trays, on the other hand, could easily turn my head.)

Da Dry Gulchas

"Da ladz found dese trolls chewing fish bones by a dead river. Bonekrunk offered dem all the elves dey could eat, and all the stunties dey could puke on."

"Also, dey don't paint nuffink on dere bodies, coz Trolls is stoopid. Waaagh!"