Last Updated: March 14, 2010
[Above] 3rd Edition plastic Beastmen who have been brought in to service as Slaangor (Bestigors with the Mark of Slaanesh). Of course, these are no longer applicable with the new Beastmen army, bu since I have units of all marked Bestigor I have every intention of finishing them off to be played as normal Bestigors or I'll figure out a way to continue playing marked units. These are all plastic models- half of which were painted by Tim Murray many years ago. The rest I had done independently of Tim at around the same time, and recently finished them up to try and blend them altogether a little more. The unit Champion is a metal War Gor model alongside a metal standard bearer
So, it's been a while, hasn't it? Well, with work, race season and my unhappiness with Games Workshop of late it becomes difficult to put some time into worthwhile material for my page. But, I was recently stricken with the flu that became a lung infection and I found that painting miniatures was one of the few things I could do to pass the time while I sat about the house under blankets sipping Chicken soup! So, I have some contributions from the Table (below) as well! In the meantime, I finally got my Beastmen army book and took my first spin with the army today, so I am putting together some opinions about it.
I don't understand GW's approach to this book. Rather than beard-out the list like every other one (I expected Bestigors to become a Core unit like the Stormvermin did), they went the other way: Removed Chaos Trolls, Ogres, Dragon Ogres and the Shaggoth from the list entirely, then added new monsters like the Cygor, Ghorgon and Jabberslyth without having models for any of them! They also made all of the marked Beastman units from the past obsolete and put forward generic Bestigors (and characters) only. This is the first time the Beastmen have been disconnected from Chaos in some 20 years!
Never the less, I got to play test with the Cygor and Ghorgon today and I am quite pleased with both creatures (particularly the Ghorgon).
Behold the Cygor! Yes, Wizbangs fans will recognize the Bumble as a recent conversion for a Chaos Giant, but with the addition of a one-eyed Cyclops to the Beastmen army, the Bumble has found a new calling throwing rocks across the battlefield like a stone thrower and intimidating enemy wizards! So, the quest begins for a NEW Chaos Giant. Likewise, I'm mulling over the Ghorgon which, according to the art work in the book, looks like a Giant Minotaur with 4 arms. So, I'm not sure if I can convert the new plastic minotaurs for this model or if I need a bigger body to build from. (Andoni suggested a Minotaur head on the Giant body, but I don't think the proportions would be right). The Ghorgon is a Large Target, so a standard Minotaur may not suffice.
In the meantime, I'm reorganizing my entire Beastmen army. I've got 4 generations of models in mixed groups with various weapons, etc. and need to get them organized into units to match the new army book format. As far as figuring out how to fight with them- that's an on-going adventure. Beastman magic isn't like traditional lores where you can cast from a distance... it appears you need to stick them in the thick of your battle line and advance (kind of like the old 4th Edition Orcs). Battles with the Lizardmen in the Southlands campaign will continue to give me the opportunity to shake out the army, but unfortunately, it doesn't speak well for the strategic well-being of the Beastmen in the campaign! Once I get the units sorted out, I'll look at finishing them up (since most are half done) and getting the new Beastmen Showcase up.
See you soon!