Badlands Terrain from GF9

 I picked up some GF9 Badlands terrain boxes recently and am very glad I did. I had plans to build some, but these were already made, prepainted, and solid. Also, even though they are labelled as being for 25-35mm models, I have found they are useful for any scale models from Dystopian Wars/Uncharted Seas 1:1200 scale to Marvel Crisis Protocol 40mm scale (1:43).

Out of the four the company sells, I picked up these three. Here they are with Marvel Crisis Protocol figures...

...Malifaux models...

...Battletech models...

...and Batman Miniature Game models.

I intend on using these in any outdoor scenario or setting as they are very handy and much better then my carved styrofoam "rock" escarpments.

Epicast Tek Archway

 Epicast once made Games Workshop 40k items under license until Forgeworld started in 1998. No idea when this Tek Archway was made but it has been a decade or two since I bought it. Primed black it was painted with cheap gunmetal and silver, then small conduits painted Rhulic Gold and large pipes and knobs painted Pig Iron. Because it has no controls or scale indicators on it, it could be used for just about any miniature game.

Iron Dwarves - Expeditionary Fleet

This is it! All my Iron Dwarves for the Uncharted Seas game at 3840 points. There is enough to have a civil war or training exercises between Iron Dwarves! Its nice to have one entire faction done.

For large size models: Two Chainmail Flagships, four Forge Battleships, Guardian citadel, and two Bellows airships (taken in units of 1 or 2).

For medium size models: six Anvil heavy cruisers (units of 2 to 3 or with Hammer Cruiser units), four Piston Ram cruisers (taken in units of 2-3), nine Hammer cruisers (taken in units of 2-3), and four Armoury trop ships (taken in units of 2).

For small size models: six Chisel destroyers (taken in units of 2-3), twenty Mortis frigates (taken in units of 2-4), six Belcher submarines (taken in units of 1-2), and six Kraken submarines (taken in units of 1-2)

I got these painted fairly quickly by going with a simple paint scheme that looks good on the tabletop. Now I can play games with them, against one another, to get the rules right. Next faction up to paint/repaint will be the Dragon Lords!

Iron Dwarves - Reinforcements

I got some more Iron Dwarf models to enlarge my faction for Uncharted Seas. I also now have enough to have civil wars between Iron Dwarves, so that could be fun.

They were painted the same way as my other Iron Dwarves.

Iron Dwarves - Bellows Class Airship

The Bellows class airship for the Iron Dwarves brings air power to their faction in the Uncharted Seas game. Although a large class ship, it is only as tough as a Hammer cruiser but a little faster. It has decent broadsides but its bomb is what is dangerous, with everything within 4" of its flight peg taking a ten dice attack once per game. It has a higher critical rating from attacks made by non-flying models at short and medium range, although is easier to be hit by non-flying models by one. It will also explode if reduced to zero hull and has one or more fire markers on it plus if it loses all of its crew it will drift with the wind until it leaves the table. It is the cheapest large model in the Iron Dwarf arsenal, costing the same points as a heavy cruiser.

It was painted the same way as my other Iron Dwarf models, except for the air bladders and top fin, which was painted by the person I bought this from. Therefore colours used are...unknown.

Iron Dwarves - Guardian Class Floating Citadel

The Guardian is a tough Iron Dwarf lumbering floating fortress for the Uncharted Seas game. I comes with battleship quality bulwark guns (firing from any two of the four points) and effective fortress guns (firing from between the points). To repel boarders it uses four dice against assaulting crew before they roll to attack. It also has sharpshooters that can take a pot shot each turn in short range in order to take out a crew point. Event though its slow it can move in any direction each turn.

It was painted the same way as my other models.

Iron Dwarves - Piston Ram Cruiser

The Piston Cruisers are a force to be reckoned with for the Iron Dwarf faction in the Uncharted Seas game. It is a little tougher and faster than other cruisers, has a dedicated ram (of course), can bulldoze rammed targets to push them along its path, and reduces the attack dice against it during a ram by half. It also has less damaging broadsides than the Hammer cruiser but does have fore guns.

It is painted the same way as my other Iron Dwarf ships.

Iron Dwarves - Chisel Destroyer

The Iron Dwarf Chisel Destroyer, for Uncharted Seas, is quite nasty for its points. With extreme long range rockets that can take out extra crew, deadly short range fore guns, and weak broadside, this is a ship for going in straight to the enemy and following it up with a boarding action. They are fragile so do not go in alone.

They were painted the way I painted the other Iron Dwarves.

Uncharted Seas - Wharf and Jetty Pieces

 The Uncharted Seas wharf and jetty piece set is good for seafaring terrain, in particular for making interesting scenarios. I can easily see it used for an "attack the port" with an opposed boarding to take the McGuffin, or having the attacker attempt to catch the defender in port with command rolls to get the crew back from shore leave IOT activate squadrons and move away from the jetty. 

The wooden docks are nice and wide. I can see me using these more than the other half of the set. 

The stone jetties are thinner. The tower is for the harbour master.

Here is a configuration with the wooden jetties.

Here is a configuration with the stone jetties.

Uncharted Seas - War Tower

The War Tower is an imposing fortification that can be used by any faction. It has options when purchasing to use in a battle: blank, cannon, mortars, or ballista. Unfortunately the package did not have a ballista insert so I will use the blank one for now. It was painted with various dollarstore paints, paint pen, Privateer Press Paints, and GW Agrax Earthshade wash. 

Iron Dwarves - Chainmail Flagship

 The Chainmail flagship for the Iron Dwarves is the same size as the Forge battleship but has some extras. They are slightly faster, more hull and crew points, have an offensive ram, longer range fore guns, rear turret, and rockets that have the chance at depleting more crew from the enemy. Same paint scheme as the core Dwarven ships. 

More Iron Dwarf ships will arrive in the mail so a future post will feature them.

Iron Dwarves - Kraken Submarine

 The Kraken submarine for the Iron Dwarves prefers to ram enemy models and carry no other weapon. Its Hull Breaker MAR means it gives Holed Below markers more easily. The Iron Ram MAR means it reduced enemy ram dice against it by half. Even though it is a smaller model than the Belcher, it has more DR and CR. This was fixed in the second iteration of their models. They were painted the same way as the core models, although the water was painted with various dollarstore blue paints and a gloss applied to it to give it a watery sheen. They are deployed in squadrons of one or two models.

It has the same submerged rules as the Belcher and other submarines.

Iron Dwarves - Belcher Submarine

The Belcher submarine for the Iron Dwarves is able to slink under the waves and deliver a short to medium range flame weapon that can give fire markers to enemy ships. Same paint scheme as the core Dwarven ships, although the water was painted with various dollarstore blue paints and a gloss applied to it to give it a watery sheen. They are deployed in squadrons of one or two models.

When a submarine goes under the surface, two submerged models are placed and a way to identify which one is the actual submarine and which one is real. That way an enemy must either be lucky when destroying one or destroy both submerged models to guarantee its demise. If not, the submerged submarine gets another submerged models. Also when surfacing, the submarine model may face any direction. Submerged models must still remain in command distance from one another.

Iron Dwarves - Armoury Troop Carrier

 The Armoury Troop Carrier for the Iron Dwarves does exactly what it says, gets crew to enemy ships to take them as prizes. They come in squadrons of two ships. They have less powerful broadsides and less ram than the cruiser. They do have one more crew point and the Tough Crew MAR, which makes it harder for opponents to score hits against crew in boarding actions. Painted in the same way as my core ships. 

Iron Dwarves - Anvil Heavy Cruiser

The Anvil cruiser for the Iron Dwarves is a very upgraded version of the Hammer basic cruiser. The addition of the turret, higher damage/critical/hull/crew ratings, tougher ram, more firepower for the short and long broadsides makes this ship one of the most expensive heavy cruiser. They are slightly slower than the Hammer class.

It is painted the same as my core Iron Dwarves. I only have two of these and they can either be in squadrons of two to three models or used as variants. Since the only standard model in the medium class category for the Iron dwarves is the Hammer cruiser, only one of the Hammer cruisers can instead be the Anvil even in a squadron of three Hammers.

Iron Dwarves - Background and Core Models

In Uncharted Seas, the Iron Dwarves ruled the old world once through their technological dominance and skill at waging war. Eventually civil war divides the dwarves into three factions: Delfdran, Venvalder, and Kullorian. They distrust magic, due to a faction that encouraged the best workers to leave for new lands with them who became the Shroud Mages which occurred in the height of dwarf power. All dwarven ships do not depend on the wind but are slower. They also have higher than average critical rating making devastating hits against them harder to come by.

With their background in mind, I wanted to keep the paint scheme basic, consistent, and looking strong. I started primed black. The wood was painted dark dollarstore brown and drybrushed egg yolk dollarstore yellow. The metal armoured hull was painted dark grey, drybrushed grey, and lightly drybrushed light grey. for the steel parts I started with PP Cold Steel but it sas not only taking too long but also was not able to be applied to the smaller bits without getting on the areas around it. I then switched to metal ink pens that I rediscovered I had, for the steel and bronze parts. Lastly I applied GW Seraphim Sepia to the entire model. The background description notes that fleets generally have individual markings in white to tell ships apart but I have decided not to do that.

Here are the basic small, medium, and large classes of ships that came in the starter boxes. From left to right Mortis class frigate, Hammer class cruiser, and Forge class battleship.

The Mortis is more expensive than many other races frigates, mainly because of the turret for 360 degree fire. They can be deployed in squadrons of two to four models. 

For the frigates I used PP paints to better distinguish the different squadrons if they got near one another. I have 16 of these.

The Hammer cruiser is cheaper than many races cruisers because they have no other weapon besides their broadsides. They are meant to aid the frigates and battleships and get between enemy squadrons. 

I have six of these, deployable in squadrons of two to three.

The Forge battleship is very slow but the addition of forward and aft weapons, and one of the most brutal broadsides in the game they are great for the finishing blows after the cruisers and frigates do their job. 

I have two of these and they are deployed in squadrons of one.

More Iron Dwarf ships are forthcoming.

Coastal Giant

 The coastal giant, for Uncharted Seas, can be hired by any group. The can throw rocks or attack ships nearby. Their speed is dependent on if they are on land, wading close to land, or in deep water. If there are no islands in play, they get to place one before placing the giant. Model was painted with various dollarstore and Privateer Press paints. Its tunic is multicolored because it is made out of ship's sails.