The $7 Warhammer Fantasy Battle Dwarf Gyrobomber / Gyrocopter (So Far)

So when we last heard from Hungry Ghosts he went on a little rant about letting Beardlings play with expensive assault weaponry. Now the Dwarf Gyrobomber / Gyrocopter has hit the Bits Factory, and Hungry Ghosts has gone scavenging. Let's see what we got ourselves.

 

The first foray into buying us a Bomber brought forth a functional bonanza. Here we have a good chunk of the Gyrobomber. We have the Cockpit interior and exterior. We have the shooty things that go on the front and sides of the Pilot-Pod (Guns and Canards, according to the Bits Merchant). Then the main tail section of the Bomber, along with the Rear Rotor System.

So $5.87 spent so far. Now we are obviously missing some important parts, most obviousestibly the Main Rotor. Also the two extra rows of Bombs. No Pilot neiver, but we got plenty of eager Squats to fill that seat.

But let's be realistic: Hungry Ghosts wants those Pilot Heads.

Anyway, what if we want to make the much less exciting Gyrocopter instead of the super-blasty Gyrobomber?

 We got us the main Gyrocopter Engine and Tail section too.

But let's go back to the issue of Dwarf Heads and Realisticism. Remember, through the Misty Mountains of foggy Time, beset by Storm Giants hurling boulders in our general direction; are they at play, or are they angry at our trespass upon their territory? The inside of the mountain is Ours, the outside they claim mastery over. Mighty Eagles disagree, and woe unto the Storm Giant whose boulder disturbs a Dragon -- but clearly, this has gone on too long.

'Tis rare that a race receive an update so soon in the World of Warhammer, that is, unless you are a Space Marine. Eldrad Ulthuan, he of the mighty staff of easy breakage, and the Eldar Phoenix Lords, they who bear the gigantic heads, new and exciting releases for Warhammer 40K... 2nd Edition. Seriously, 21 years old. Real life people have been born, grown up, and fought in real life combat since these fellows were let loose on the tabletop. 

I, for one, am happy for Finecast...my ancient neck could ne'er otherwise kept my ginormous head aloft.

 The Dwarfs were offered as a bold bargain in the Skull Pass starter box, along with a crazy horde of Goblins, over 100 miniatures, rule book, and some versions even came with paints and a brush to provide the full gateway drug to $20 character models and $60 plastic dragons. But...

Continuing along a grotesque path almost as old as Eldrad, by the time Skull Pass came to be, our Dwarfs were naught but a giant bearded head with feet sticking out the bottom.

There may have been some ridiculous axes involved as well.

What could be done? A radical course correction? Yes, let's try that.

2006 Skull Pass Miner's Head, meet 2014 Ironbreaker's Heads.

Bigger than Bombs!

Of course, those Skull Pass bargain armies may not mix well with the new range of stout plastic warriors. A price must be paid for such realistic heads, a price of $50 for your 10 Ironbreakers. For the price of the Battle for Skull Pass starter box, you can get a box of them Ironbreakers and a model from the Lords and Heroes selection. Just make sure it's an old beard-with-feet version because the new range go for $6 more. But they are made of plastic now, and that's made from dinosaurs, so it's totally worth the price.

Anyway, here's our $25 Space Marines Stormtalon. We need some Assault Cannons maybe, but I probably have some already. Figgering out the clear plastic canopy could be a bit more challenging, if we didn't have plenty of clear plastic bits of various sizes around here as well. But that's part of the fun. Hungry Ghosts has so many, many vehicles and critters of all sorts to assemble and paint, there's no need to plunk down $45 for a couple of sprues of plastic...sorry, for a multi-part plastic boxed set containing 90(!) components...that's going to sit on a shelf for nobody knows how many years. The thrill of the hunt.....

Bits Bits Bits and the Skagerrak Skallen Fangsters Jet Pack Squadron

When we last saw the Legioss Moriad XIV experimental flight squadron, the Skagerrak Skallen Fangsters, it seemed that our evil little friends from Denmark just needed some weapons and right hands to be ready for (unpainted) action.

Well, Hungry Ghosts did that, and it took a very long time. This led to an investigation of why it took a very long time. Herewith, let us go and make our visit.

  There they are, my little Khornicons.

First, the insidious intent: Overkill. Weaponry that would never be considered acceptable in a 40K game by reasonable people.

 This led first to Chaos Squats Plastic Bits Box 1. Here, the guns bin in the upper right was plundered for all those new Space Marines Plasma Pistols, Inferno Pistols, Hand Flamers; whatever was explosive enough but not too ridiculous when being held in one hand while flying.

Then the long row of hand weapons was rummaged through for pointy hacking type things. Also, the Bolt Pistols from the weapons bins to use along with the pointy bits.

But with those hundreds bits, there could be no chance that our Flying Squats would go without decorative skulls or swanky spikes. Or that guns would go unmodified. So the rest of our plastic bits were inspected for potential use.

Then the Chaos Squats Plastic Bits Box 2.

 

This is where spikes, Tyranid bits, and stuff too big for the other box lives.

 Then came the Process of Exclusion.

Right off, we're not going to use

the Space Marines Storm Raven that has been accumulating from low bids on bits on ebay. 

That's about $5-6 there. 

And certainly not the

 

$6 Imperial Guard Valkyrie.

Patience pays off: remember, you're not going to use that whatever for who knows how long; quiet accumulation can be more rewarding than indulging in the "It's so cool, I want it now!" urge.

Not using the Imperial Tanks and Cities of Death parts. We have plans for those. And the extra Valkyrie Troops Compartment below as well.

Not going to need the Tau bits (including most of a cheap-ass Fire Warrior squad), the Chaos Chariot Gore Beast (ready to join the Bear-Master and Cyboar Cyclor), nor headless Cold Ones. 

Definitely not that Daemon Prince, who looks much more impressive when spread out against the floor like a patient dissected on a table, for planning purposes.

Where there is time yet for a hundred visions and revisions. How modest seem the actual Chaos pieces when compared with Tyranids, Dragons, and other foul beasts. How his legs are thin next to the Hive Tyrant and Zombie Dragon. That Terrorgheist has some very useful bits as well.
 

Now things get a bit tougher.

Do we want to use the Ork bits? Lots of tubes and spikes. But no, we'll save them for the Secret Land Train Secret Project, along with the Imperial Tanks. 

What a terrible name for a secret project.

Now this is really a tough choice: Dark Eldar and Necrons. So many possibilities. But too many possibilities. Since Hungry Ghosts has a second set of Ewal Dvergar to convert, they will use the Dark Eldar and Necron bits.

Cometh the Undead. Such very nice bits from those Vampire Counts monstrosities. Surprisingly cheap as well. Seems with all these new plastic kits, there's some sort of critter in the middle that possesses all the useful power. That critter might go for $15-25. But the rest? $1-3 for an entire side of ghostly horsemen or creepy skeletal enclosures. A person could build their own Mountains of Madness for not much money.

Also, flowing tides of magicks from Tzeentch Daemons. We'll use some wisps of magic and some new style skeletal cavalry bits. Them Hexwraiths are covered in ghostly flames.

If only for the sake of what few sanity points I still possess, by fiat none of the used bits will be used here. Not even the baggie with the skeletal horse parts.

Or the Assorted Space Marines Parts and the Whole WFB Critter Bodies and Scenery bits. No one needs a Gnoblar leg right now.

I said I was not going to look at the metal bits because that would take forever...

And it did.

It really did. They are so very nice.

But the Battlefleet Gothic parts, Nurgle Drone Riders, Big Plastic Guns, and Skeletal Horsemen will be included in the potential permutation pool of parts.
 

With the infernal sun rising, our evil little Skagerrak Skallen Fangsters are personalized.

 Those reddish-brown spots are, as Rorschach would say, human bean juice. 

 Sometimes, when handling small parts, there's no such thing as "cut away from yourself". As when dealing with the little arrow bits cut off of a Tzeentch Icon and attached to the face of our Chaos Squat on the left. And sometimes, the finger bleeds fast. Faster than the smelly liquid wound sealer can dry.

But Hungry Ghosts is very efficient. Here are the bits left over after everything was done. Mostly Space Marines, and they deserved it.

Now You Will Know Fear, O Emperor's lapdogs: We have the strength of technology and body to fire a Bolter with one hand!!!

Chaos Squats 40K Special Character Chikibi Chhattisgarh, Hungry Ghosts Gunnery Sergeant, Volume III: The Dragging-Outtening

Now we will finish having fun with Gunnery Sergeant Chikibi. Based on Catachan Imperial Guard Gunnery Sergeant Harker, Sgt Chikibi's main weapon is also a Heavy Bolter used without the need for a loader assistant.

Strapped to the lower right arm is the 'Terrordactyl', which is huge enough to have a mind of its own. Which is good, because Chikibi has 4 arms and a prehensile tail to think about. Also not spilling his pipe.

Terrordactyl is based on the Heavy Bolter that came with the Rogue Trader Space Dwarfs weapons sprue. It has been given life with eyes created from some inset gem bits from some creature that did not deserve such finery. Terrordactyl is part Tyranid like Chikibi. In this case, the claw comes from an Epic Lictor. The large spikes at the rear also come from the Tyranid Biomorphs sprue, with small spikes snipped off of the Dark Eldar Warriors that everyone was super-happy to get in the 40K 3rd Edition set.

The "rear leg" is a sword handle from a mid-1990s Orc Regiment sprue. Of course, the ribcage and spine are from the venerable Skeletal Horse. And I still have a baggie of Skeleton Army bits for the future.

The color of the body of the weapon comes from using a very old version of Bad Moon Yellow, right out of the Ork & Eldar Paint Set, that is translucent and good for nothing other than acting as a glaze over darker shades.

 

The last thing seen by enemies of the Hungry Ghosts.

Maybe this.

Assessing the possibilities...

Squats Fly Again: Hungry Ghosts Take to the Skies

From searching the murky depths of the galaxy...well, from our eBay alert for "space dwarfs"...we find more evidence that Squats once flew through the air like, um, like GW had left over hover boards from their Judge Dredd range.

There they are, hovering mightily behind the mass of infantry from the Space Dwarfs box, who have had some fun with the Orks box judging from their weapons and other goodies.

They truly hearken back to the age of deodorant canister orbital landing craft. We've got some popsicle sticks glued atop what I'm going to guess are chic Capri Sun bendy straws. Or Tootsie Pop sticks. Drilled with a delightful lack of regard for what becomes of the excess bits of plastic. And one is painted silver!

Hungry Ghosts must divert to a recurring puzzle: what the hell is going on with that paint? We'll do some boots here, some visors too. Let's not forget to use all the primary colors. Pick them with our eyes closed, that'll be fun. Somewhere Art is crying.

And here is the original illustration, hover board whizzing above the fray, making one wonder what the drawing looked like before being cropped to fit into the book, or magazine, I forget.

The Legios Moriad XIV has its own experimental air force of devious intent and malicious construction. Their mechano-tentacles know no boundaries.

Our program is overseen by Hungry Ghosts Dark Adeptus Mechanicus Wyrm Vulkaan. DAM Vulkaan has been working with his own personal flight system as well as guiding the general research and development program.

With the loyal assistance of some early prototype air crew. (Which are a Scrunt Hover Craft Pilot from Olley's Armies and a hybrid Paranoia Robot torso with Epic Eldar Nightwing fusilage.)

Below, we can see that the anti-grav propulsive systems have matured from light to heavy load bearing to ferry about the tools and parts as needed for experimental purposes. (assorted plastic bits and Dwarf Master Engineer with Handgun Backpack)

In the back, we can see the most ancient of the Squats' experiments in aerial activity, the Iron Claw Cloud Car. The technology of the time limited the propulsion system to pilots of Beardling age. Unfortunately, Beardlings are not the most cooperative of workers, having the stubbornness of Fully Bearded Dwarf Warriors but the teamwork capacity of an Eldar Ranger. Their small size has led some to confuse the pilot of this model with a Halfling, which only makes them more likely to zip off in a pout.

Here we can see another early test subject, developing a lightweight and speedy system that unfortunately demanded that the test subject have the lower half of his body replaced for the sake of science. (Scrunt Vehicle Driver on Tau Shield Drone bottom part with the rest of the Epic Eldar Nightwing as a directional guidance system (ok, it's a fancy rudder).)

And the Beardling Cloud Car has already reversed trajectory. How do we reach these kids?

Also a very experimental Bloodletter-Tyranid Gargoyle hybrid. Sometimes (=always) the Ad Mech works under the influence of substances. 

Plus he's evil.

 We have found that an early commitment to the program provides an excellent motivation for success. You do have to be careful about how insistent you are, and to whom you are insisting.

Our half-a-Scrunt utilizes one of the early Rogue Trader Space Dwarf Jump Packs. These were only produced for a short time, and only for 3 Space Dwarfs - Gatt Gunslinger, Roth Bergmann, and Owen Garand (in the picture). Garand and Gunslinger were modified to have a small leather/cloth type backpack in place of the peg for the jump pack at some point in the late 1980s, Bergmann just disappeared from production forever.

Of course, the aerial program that is the most advanced is a giant sized version of the old Space Dwarf Jump Pack. The Hungry Ghosts have assembled a team of Squats without acrophobia, equipped with intricate personally designed power armor, with a monster jet pack attached (from Chapterhouse).  They are similar to those used by Space Marines of various colors, but systems with the power to launch a mutant giant clone humanoid across a battlefield can send a sturdy Squat so much further.

The Hungry Ghosts have contracted the services of an outside consultant to advise the Skagerrak Skallen Fangsters Aerial Assault Squadron on the art of flight dynamics and the all-important landing-without-dying.

Half Daemon, Half Dragon, Half Machine (you can do that if you exist in multiple dimensions simultaneously).

Known only as The Drakoniak, payments must be made in blood or oil, but isn't that always the way? There are whispers of a world called Krymn, or Krull, Kakrakkis? but rumors are for the Elves.

(We have, in plastic, a Chaos Space Marine Torso, Imperial Space Marine lower body and left leg, Tomb Kings Chariot Driver Tabard, Dwarf Regiment Dragon Head, Rogue Trader Eldar Melta Gun with SM Scope, Saurus Left Arm, Right Leg from Epic Knight Paladin with a bit of its gun arm added to the Melta Gun (the Epic Knight Paladin is the Skeletal Horse of the Epic range), and metal Dark Eldar Scourge Wings, Pink Horror Tail, Necromunda Pit Slave Shears Arm, 2 CSM Shoulder Pads).

Here's our Skagerrak Captain Kytzia Anaya, from the Heartbreaker Miniatures range of evil Dwarfs (not sure exactly what they are called). He is quite an impressive fellow without any modifications, and his relatively large stature seems earned, as well as kept in proportion with his head and limbs unlike certain other company's ever-embiggening Dwarfs that are half head and no legs.

He is joined by another Skallen Fangster with a very nice skull head. Other than the Captain, the Skagerrak's are a series of Chaos Dwarfs called Ewal Dvergar, available from a fellow named Clam in Denmark.

A few more Ewal Dvergar in view. They are single piece bodies with separate heads. They also come with various axes and such and simple shields, which are unnecessary in the Grim Dark Grim Darkness of the 41st Millenium.

Here is how they fit in with the old size Squats (Iron Claw here) and Chaos Dwarfs - the Marauder line is the type they were intended to fit with. They were a special commission for Clam, sculpted by John Pickford, a noble influence upon the world of miniatures, dwarfs especially.

Another look. Aside from the close-combat warriors, there are also some grenadiers, one is on the left. He also has a few champion models available. The one I have is the fellow holding the hammer in some of the pictures.

Overall, there are 2 sets of 8 close-combat warriors (only the first is seen here), 2 sets of 3 Grenadiers, one out of stock until February, and 3 Champions. There are 10 heads in each set of 8 Warriors to go with 4 body variants.

These are nice miniatures, but are not intended to be an ongoing commercial venture for profit. So if you want some, you should act soon. Here's the website: http://claminiatures.blogspot.dk/p/how-to-get-some.html

And here's the Legios Moriad XIV Experimental Atmospheric Combat Division all together. The Legmor Exatcodiv, if you are an enthusiast of Soviet-style contractonyms.

And here we can spy in the background an ultra-secret prototype jet bike. It is rumored to be derived from ancient Slann technology. But, of course, they don't exist. 

And neither do Squats.