After a pile of heroes, all that’s left in the Start Collecting box is a unit of 10 Vulkite Berzerkers, the Fyreslayers battleline basic troops.
Vulkite Berzerker (Karl)
Vulkite Berzerker (horn)
Vulkite Berzerker
Vulkite Berzerker
Vulkite Berzerker
There are a couple of weapon options: twin axes, axe and shield, and pick and shield. I decided to start out with the twin axes. They’re nice dynamic poses, but unfortunately take a bunch of space in the case. I intend to build at least two units of these guys, so I’ll probably go with pick and shield for the other one. Annoyingly (for a mostly small-model count gamer) the Vulkites have a special rule where they get more resilient the larger the unit. So there are probably lots of these dudes in my future.
Vulkite Berzerker
Vulkite Berzerker
Vulkite Berzerker
Vulkite Berzerker
Vulkite Berzerker
Unlike the heroes, the infantry just get a few small slate chips on the bases, with Astrogranite Debris filling in the rest.
Rounding out the Start Collecting heroes is the Runesmiter.
Runesmiter
Like the Runeson, I decided to skip magnetizing the mount point for putting the Runesmiter on a Magmadroth.
All my Fyreslayer heroes are getting slate platforms to stand on. Regular infantry will get a few chips, so this helps to make the heroes stand out a bit.
Each of the heroes has also gotten their own mohawk pattern. The Runefather was all pale, the Runeson got stripes. The Runesmiter gets a fade. Regular infantry will get simpler styles.
This model was actually my test piece for the Fyreslayers. I used the Secret Weapon flesh wash, which has a lot more yellow than the Reaper wash I usually use for flesh. As usual, I was unhappy with the results, and switched back to Reaper for production. Everything else I kept pretty much the same.
Runeson (axe)
I magnetized the weapon, because I’m not sure how I want to equip him. The Magmadroth kit comes with one set of standing legs and one set of rider legs. I decided not to magnetize the legs and just make the Runefather mounted and the Runeson standing. I should end up with enough parts from other kits to vary the rider, and I wanted to minimize the fiddliness.
Even though I mostly play small model count skirmish games, about once a year I get the itch for something larger. It’s been a while since I played Games Workshop games, so when I heard Adan (of Independent Characters fame) was going to run an Age of Sigmar escalation league I jumped in.
Runefather on Magmadroth
I struggled for a while on what army to play. I always start with the look, but close to half of the available factions were tempting. Finally I realized that I kept going between something (sea elves! orcs! rat men!) and Fyreslayers. I had made my decision. Now I just need to pump out the models!
Runefather (rider detail)
First in line is this Runefather riding a Magmadroth. The Magmadroth is a fairly standard paint job, but I needed to put my twist on it somewhere. I settled on green hair and beards, centering on Secret Weapon Rust Shadow. I balanced it with reddish metallics, and a brighter yellow gold for the ur-gold runes embedded in the skin.
Magmadroth (tail detail)
I’m excited to be doing GW again. Their models are always nice, even if their pricing isn’t. I wish there was a bit more variety within the faction (other than heroes, there are only three units available, and one is a dual-kit. I expect I’ll splash in some Kharadron Overlords for variety.