Interview in the Herohammer Fanzine
This interview about the Chaos Dwarf army I painted for the Call of the Crown painting challenge was first published in issue 1 (March 2021) of the Herohammer Fanzine as: "Inquiries of the Inquisition" (p. 70-71).
HH: Let's talk about those great Chaos Dwarfs you're working on for the Call of the Crown painting challenge. They're looking really nice. What made you choose Chaos Dwarfs?
Thank you! I'm happy that so many seem to like them! I’ve received many positive comments on social media about them. I guess it's not that common to see an army of these models painted nowadays! My Chaos Dwarf collection was at a stage where I had enough models to start
forming them up into units. The Call of the Crown challenge seemed like the perfect opportunity to get a small 1000 point starting force painted. My plan is to keep adding models to these units going forward, and thereby slowly expanding the army.
HH: We're they always a favorite army of yours, or did you pick them just for the challenge?
My first encounter with the Chaos Dwarfs was through the 5th edition Battle book back in 1996. I spent hours looking at the wonderful photos in that book while trying to decide which army to collect. I ultimately chose Orcs & Goblins, but I always had a soft spot for the Chaos Dwarfs. I love the theme of the army and the ancient Near East-inspired imagery. I also like the fact that their culture is in some ways similar to that of the Dwarfs of the west (technologically advanced, a reverence of age and wealth, few in number), but at the same time they are very different (they use magic, they work alongside greenskins and they worship a Chaos god). Another bonus to collecting Chaos Dwarfs is that since Orcs & Goblins is my other favourite army there's opportunity for themed alliances!
HH: Did you already have the models on hand or did you recently start collecting them? Chaos Dwarfs are notoriously expensive on the second-hand/ebay market...
Yeah, the prices can be rough! I sadly had no models from when they were available to buy. I’ve slowly built the army up over the last 3-4 years with a purchase here and there. My aim was to get fieldable units, so I decided roughly how many models I wanted in each unit and collected towards that goal.
HH: How did you approach the painting challenge? Any special painting tricks or approach to planning how you'd tackle the project since it's based on points per month?
I made the list so that it would break down into roughly 200 point chunks. I thought the 200 points per month had to be complete legal units, but I now understand that's not the case! Nevertheless, I think this approach worked well for me. My aim was to get a variety of unit types into the army so that it would not get repetitive to paint. So I’ve got a unit of melee infantry, two units of missile troops, two cavalry units (I’m counting the Bull Centaurs as cavalry here), a war machine and two characters. I decided from the start that I wanted the main colours of the army to be red and black as in the 4th edition army book. I decided to limit the palette a bit and scale back on the blue and yellow, and I left out green entirely (except for on the Hobgoblin skin of course). I started by painting a test model and writing down the colours I used. I also decided to use printed paper banners to save me some time and effort.
HH: Was there a specific order you decided to paint the units for the challenge to help complete them on time, or are you just picking random units on a whim? For example, paint a unit of rank and file, then work on a character, then back to a unit...
As I previously mentioned I grouped the units into 200 point chunks, and then it was just a matter of deciding which chunk to begin with. I tried to mix different unit types into each group so that I would have some variety each month. Some months were easier, like September when I painted ten Hobgoblin Archers and a Chaos Dwarf General, and some were a lot harder, like October when I painted five Hobgoblin Wolf Riders and nine Blunderbusses.
HH: How do you think your progress has been so far? Do you think you're going to make it?
I'm very pleased with my progress! I've met every deadline and at the time of writing I only have a unit of ten Chaos Dwarf Warriors left to paint. My aim was always to finish the army in five months, so I'm aiming to have it done by the end of January 2021.
HH: Is it different painting "on deadline"?
Yes, I would say that it is quite different. It has really helped me focus on a single project and actually get the models painted in time. I've also found it very motivating to see my models featured in the monthly roundup videos on the Crown of Command Podcast Youtube channel.
HH: Let's talk about those great Chaos Dwarfs you're working on for the Call of the Crown painting challenge. They're looking really nice. What made you choose Chaos Dwarfs?
Thank you! I'm happy that so many seem to like them! I’ve received many positive comments on social media about them. I guess it's not that common to see an army of these models painted nowadays! My Chaos Dwarf collection was at a stage where I had enough models to start
forming them up into units. The Call of the Crown challenge seemed like the perfect opportunity to get a small 1000 point starting force painted. My plan is to keep adding models to these units going forward, and thereby slowly expanding the army.
HH: We're they always a favorite army of yours, or did you pick them just for the challenge?
My first encounter with the Chaos Dwarfs was through the 5th edition Battle book back in 1996. I spent hours looking at the wonderful photos in that book while trying to decide which army to collect. I ultimately chose Orcs & Goblins, but I always had a soft spot for the Chaos Dwarfs. I love the theme of the army and the ancient Near East-inspired imagery. I also like the fact that their culture is in some ways similar to that of the Dwarfs of the west (technologically advanced, a reverence of age and wealth, few in number), but at the same time they are very different (they use magic, they work alongside greenskins and they worship a Chaos god). Another bonus to collecting Chaos Dwarfs is that since Orcs & Goblins is my other favourite army there's opportunity for themed alliances!
HH: Did you already have the models on hand or did you recently start collecting them? Chaos Dwarfs are notoriously expensive on the second-hand/ebay market...
Yeah, the prices can be rough! I sadly had no models from when they were available to buy. I’ve slowly built the army up over the last 3-4 years with a purchase here and there. My aim was to get fieldable units, so I decided roughly how many models I wanted in each unit and collected towards that goal.
HH: How did you approach the painting challenge? Any special painting tricks or approach to planning how you'd tackle the project since it's based on points per month?
I made the list so that it would break down into roughly 200 point chunks. I thought the 200 points per month had to be complete legal units, but I now understand that's not the case! Nevertheless, I think this approach worked well for me. My aim was to get a variety of unit types into the army so that it would not get repetitive to paint. So I’ve got a unit of melee infantry, two units of missile troops, two cavalry units (I’m counting the Bull Centaurs as cavalry here), a war machine and two characters. I decided from the start that I wanted the main colours of the army to be red and black as in the 4th edition army book. I decided to limit the palette a bit and scale back on the blue and yellow, and I left out green entirely (except for on the Hobgoblin skin of course). I started by painting a test model and writing down the colours I used. I also decided to use printed paper banners to save me some time and effort.
HH: Was there a specific order you decided to paint the units for the challenge to help complete them on time, or are you just picking random units on a whim? For example, paint a unit of rank and file, then work on a character, then back to a unit...
As I previously mentioned I grouped the units into 200 point chunks, and then it was just a matter of deciding which chunk to begin with. I tried to mix different unit types into each group so that I would have some variety each month. Some months were easier, like September when I painted ten Hobgoblin Archers and a Chaos Dwarf General, and some were a lot harder, like October when I painted five Hobgoblin Wolf Riders and nine Blunderbusses.
HH: How do you think your progress has been so far? Do you think you're going to make it?
I'm very pleased with my progress! I've met every deadline and at the time of writing I only have a unit of ten Chaos Dwarf Warriors left to paint. My aim was always to finish the army in five months, so I'm aiming to have it done by the end of January 2021.
HH: Is it different painting "on deadline"?
Yes, I would say that it is quite different. It has really helped me focus on a single project and actually get the models painted in time. I've also found it very motivating to see my models featured in the monthly roundup videos on the Crown of Command Podcast Youtube channel.
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