"Sire of a Thousand Young"

So I've sworn to myself to never again purchase a metal model as I find them inconvenient to prep and assemble (filing metal mold lines, filling gaps, having to pin, etc.)....but there are some metal models (such as Ghorros Warhoof) that I've wanted for a long while now! Normally this is only available online via the GW web store; I caved when I saw this listed on eBay a week ago:

Ahh rails...there's a slight kink in the rail which I'll have to straighten out with some pliers. It may not come through in this pic, but the details are pretty crisp on this model! Now I just have to wait on an order of brass hobby rods for pinning...

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Battalion: Beastmen Brayhherds

I was quite excited at the news of a new battalion box coming out for Beastmen, and I purchased this box back in June 2025 when this box was first released. Typically these type of boxes are a good discount vs buying each unit box individually. Also GW likes to create FOMO with these as once they're sold out, they're out of production. 

The bulk of my Beastmen collection were originally from 5th/6th ed, supplemented with a Start Collecting AoS Beastmen box (back when they were an actual faction in AoS). I have a Ghorgon from the AoS box, so I probably would build the big'un in this box to be a Cygor. I could always use the Ungors as ambushing chaff...however the big draw were the Gors for big infantry blocks!

Also the Gors in this box were from 7th ed and were designed without the rail (attached to the feet) which frees up having to hunt down "slotta" bases, and they featured more variety of poses, and bits options. I remember when these came out, but didn't pick them up back then because I was fine proxying any extra units with empty bases, lol! Now I've decided it's time to build out my collection! 

The box front with the TOW "livery"

The rear side with model content overview

Dassallotta gray....lol!

One disappointing thing is that the assembly instructions were cheapo B/W prints vs the glossy color instructions from the AoS Start Collecting box. The battalion box does come with some decals though.

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Project Tzeentch - Chariot

After ruminating and looking at the mount options for a Sorceror Lord, I wanted an alternative to the standard Warriors of Chaos chariot. Thinking back to the old 6th ed WHFB Storm of Chaos campaign I remember reading/seeing conversions of Chaos God specific chariots being pulled by their respective demon beasts (i.e. Juggernauts, Screamers, Slaanesh Steeds, Beasts of Nurgle, etc.), and thought The Burning Chariot of Tzeentch AoS model could be great for a Tzeentch marked chariot! I also wanted the character riding it to be in unique pose, and the AoS Lumineth Stonemage fit the bill with the cross-legged, meditative pose was perfect.

Project Tzeentch - Cypher Warriors

 I've been kicking around this idea to create god-specific armies for each of the 4 chaos gods since I started playing back in 6th ed WFB (i know that was a forever ago). It was kinda difficult back in the day to get specific kits and bits (though you could order direct bits from GW). Nowadays with the huge variety of kits and resellers/bit sellers on eBay and around the web, 3d prints, and the increase of quality of sculpts, there's a vast amount of conversion source material and potential out there!

I decided I wanted to create a Tzeentch themed army for Warhammer the Old World. With the release of Grand Cathay for Warhammer The Old World, I piqued my imagination about Tzeentch cults in Cathayan society; nobles that worshipped Tzeentch for esoteric knowledge...perhaps elixirs of long life or knowledge that gave them an edge over their peers and rivals. 

Visually I wanted something that expanded on the magical spikey armored sorceror/warriors of canon Tzeentch (which I love) but with some twists. Mainly I want a unique army on the table!

I want to keep the canon themes of Tzeentch combined with a bit of eastern or foreign (outside the strictly Norse look) with a hint of dark majesty/occult.

I've always liked the more creative direction GW took with the Warcry warbands, especially the early ones. The Cypher Lords from Hysh were going to be a my main proxies for chaos warriors. Sure they're lightly armored, but I love the dynamic poses and their equipment lend a air of something eastern (chakrams, naginata like glaives, etc.) Their AoS lore suggest their clandestine chaos worship and themes of being masters of spying, deception, and assassination cliqued with me. At this point their kits are OOP and hard to find (at least at a decent price), but I managed to track down a bunch (new kits and used)! I think that gives me more than enough for models on the table, and conversion material.

First box I spotted at my LGS by chance for regular retail price ( I don't know if they knew or cared that it was OOP lol). 

Comes in a tray which is a nice touch

Remaining 6th Ed Ungors

Still have some remaining, unbuilt Ungors from the same batch I bought off my friend back when I first started playing WFH (6th Ed.)! These older models have some charm despite some technical drawbacks compared even to the 7th ed models (variety, clarity of detail/sculpt, etc.), and are rather nostalgic for me.

These came in a box that was a mix of 12x Gors and 8x Ungors, which was a unit combination you could field back then. With the new Beastmen Arcane Journal for TOW, this type of unit mix returns with the Primal Warherds!

Pieces laid out, cleaned up and ready to be glued. Missing a shield as I used one some time ago to glue onto another build Ungor missing a shield...going to have to find a replacement! 

The bits are more limited in variety than the Ungors that came out for 7th ed. The spears are identical, and pretty plain. The plastic of the spear shafts tend to be more bendy and less rigid than the 7th ed ones

There's only 2 different body types that vary the pose, some decorative bits, and the number of rivets on their belly plates

It's not uncommon to find more flashing as seen on this particular head bit

Some details can be muddy on these old beastmen too; the hanging animal tooth charm on the side of the thigh is a prime example

The shields and arms are separate bits (the 7th ed ones are mostly fused arm to shield). I don't like this, and am glad the 7th ones have most of their shield arms ready to go.

As seen on the other bits, the mold lines are everywhere!

Gluing the sub-assemblies for the shield arms. There's some bent arms and some straightened. 

I like to glue the bodies to the bases first so that I have a stable base to glue the rest of the bits onto and adjust positioning, etc.

After gluing everything together, I have a dilemma....the hanging decor on the shields don't hang consistently relative to gravity. 

Since the arms only glue onto the shields a certain way, this seems like an oversight in the design process of the mini. I have to decide if I just keep it (as these are chaff models) or perform surgery and cut off the arms and replace with something else. There's also spending the time to scrape off the string and bits too...hmm decisions decisions...

Beastlord (Spire Tyrants Bestigor Destroyer)

Browsing eBay I came across a really rare find - the Bestigor Destroyer mini from the now OOP Warcry Spire Tyrants warband! I've searched for this mini for a while now (still kicking myself for not purchase the Spire Tyrants when they first released), and have never seen it for sale individually. Usually the warband is for sale (new and used) for an exorbitant price, so I was really excited to come across this model and purchased it immediately. As you see in the pics below it came painted and based:

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(Update 7-19-25):

Had a dunk in 90% Isopropyl Alcohol to strip off most of the paint and basing. After inspecting the mini, I noticed there was a flaw in the assembly of the mini - a large gap in the shoulder armor

After several applications of sprue goo

Fleshgors! Razorhounds!

 I needed some models to represent Razorgors in my list, and unfortunately the Pumba - er - Razorgor models are not only hilariously hideous, but also unavailable (at the time of this writing) from GW and expensive on Ebay. My guess is that they have been taken down for re-packaging for the upcoming Beastmen Arcane Journal release.

Luckily I had some Flesh Hounds laying around from an impulse Ebay buy (Wrath and Rapture Khorne half)! The sculpts are pretty nice and dynamic and look sufficiently wild and aggressive, so I think they'd be great stand-ins for Razorgors.

Front of the sprue

Back of the sprue

For my upcoming first game of TOW, I only need 2 Razorgor proxies for my list. Each model is 4 pieces; really nice and simple. I noticed on the first model that I was putting together that one of the frill/spikes was damaged:

The woes of eBay purchases sent in envelopes!

The break wasn't too bad, and I was able to use plastic cement weld the ends together...the result was a clean surgery:

Can't really tell where the seam was! A successful repair!

Of course, putting together models at night while tired, I tend to make mistakes...this is one of those situations where you need to put together a sub-assembly of 3 pieces together, where 2 side pieces sandwich around a 3rd piece. In this case it was the 2 halves of the head around the body with the tongue. I had cemented together the head halves first and was unable to position the head onto the body because of how the tongue was shaped:

Tricksy sub-assemblies! The 3 pieces needed to be glued at the same time! I hate it when this happens!

The head can't be positioned into place because there is a protrusion on the tongue that is too wide to fit through the back of the head.

I decided to sand down the protrusion on the tongue just enough....

...for it to fit! Woooo!

The Flesh Hounds (30x60mm) are on different base sizes than the Razorgors (50x75mm), so I just sticky tacked them to the bases for use in the game. They're not that big and there is ample room on the base, but good enough for a proxy:

Fleshgors assembled! Chaos hound for size comparision

Seams also filled with sprue goo (head seams pictured here)

The other Flesh Doggo, also with seams filled