Well, it's back to the assembly lines to finish basing my large Beastmen army. Last time, I showed you the Beastlord Brothers – some over-size brutes! Now, it's back to the horde – plenty of Beastmen armed with humble spears!
![Beastmen with spears Beastmen with spears](showcase/fanshowcase/2020/671494a.jpg)
I was puzzled how I ended up with this particular mix of figures. I've got 50 Beastmen here, including three leaders and three standardbearers. The regular pack comes with 40 figures, including one leader and one standardbearer. Then I realized this is only the first box from the painters – there's a second, even larger batch!
![Beastmen with spears Beastmen with spears](showcase/fanshowcase/2020/671494b.jpg)
There are three poses for the basic Beastmen with spears. Each of the bases has the same figures, just mixed up in position and facing to give the impression of a chaotic horde.
![Beastmen with spears Beastmen with spears](showcase/fanshowcase/2020/671494c.jpg)
To keep the same style throughout the army, all of my Beastmen are painted by my friends in Sri Lanka, Fernando Enterprises.
![Beastmen with spears Beastmen with spears](showcase/fanshowcase/2020/671494d.jpg)
When the painted figures come back, I base them on 1" x 2" plastic Mighty Armies (Rebel Minis) bases.
![Beastman with spears Beastman with spears](showcase/fanshowcase/2020/671494e.jpg)
For storage purposes, I add LITKO FlexSteel to the base bottoms. This means they stick in my storage boxes, which are lined with magnetic sheet.
![Beastmen with spears Beastmen with spears](showcase/fanshowcase/2020/671494f.jpg)
In the original Demonlord game universe, these Beastmen are servants of the Icelords of Isthak, and are shown in bluish fur. I went with a more traditional look, so my instructions to the painters were:
Beastmen – red-brown fur, orange face/snout, red eyes, yellow-white teeth, orange hands, black hooves. Metal weapons: dull steel with black hilts. Bags: brown and tan.
Spear tips: gray stone. Ropes: brown. Cloth on arm: white.
![Beastmen with spears - command Beastmen with spears - command](showcase/fanshowcase/2020/671494g.jpg)
To create the command stands, I combined a leader figure, and standardbearer, and one of the regular soldiers. I was short one figure, so one command stand has only a leader and standardbearer (he can be a junior leader!).
![Beastmen with spears - command Beastmen with spears - command](showcase/fanshowcase/2020/671494h.jpg)
My instructions for the leader were:
General: Blue shield with silver triangle.
Then I changed some of the triangles to other colors, when I realized that it would be good if I could tell leaders apart! So the leader below has a black shield with gold triangle and gold rim.
![Beastmen with spears - leader Beastmen with spears - leader](showcase/fanshowcase/2020/671494i.jpg)
The standardbearer carries a pole with an armored human impaled on it. My painting instructions were:
Standardbearer: Blue pole, dead body on pole in dull steel armor with blood stains, . Axe: bright steel. Skull: bone. Belt: brown with brass emblem.
![Beastmen with spears - standardbearer Beastmen with spears - standardbearer](showcase/fanshowcase/2020/671494j.jpg)
So the first box of painted Beastmen (including all of the command stands) are done, and I'm working through the second box – 126 figures, when all are done!
![Beastmen with spears Beastmen with spears](showcase/fanshowcase/2020/671494k.jpg)
A horde-type army needs lots of… hordes!