Hobby Update: General on a Winged Beast

So, I've been on a bit of a hiatus from the blog.

The holidays derailed the little momentum my nerd group had going for Kings of War, and we have yet to really get any of it back. Most of my opponents have become new fathers over the last year or so, so dialing the nerd time back a bit is to be expected. Hopefully I'll get in some more games soon!

Since games drive my hobbying, my painting was also derailed for a while. But, bit by bit, I am starting to get back to it. I will hopefully be finishing up and sharing more of my projects in the weeks to come, but to kick off a return to semi-regular blogging, here is my General on a Winged Beast!

Here he is, all finished, to kick things off.

Months and months and months ago, I decided I wanted "in" on these flying shenanigans for Kings of War, and picked up a suitable beast from Reaper Mini. Unfortunately, even in plastic, the guy is a little top and front heavy, and even with repeated cold shocks, the mount was falling over.

Fortunately, my elf opponent has a 3d printer, and gave me an unwanted print that had come off center during the whole process. A few breaks and cuts later, and I had the remains of a dungeon wall to prop the griffon up with.

I (badly) greenstuffed a saddle and straps to the griffon, and added a suitable general for my army for about $15, and soon set about painting him up.

He was a little too eager to get into the saddle, and the sculpt suffered...

Unfortunately, my poor green stuff skills came into play, and the saddle didn't quite work out. I later added a shield and big bow to hide it.

The bow seems a bit big, but it works.

I don't expect much from this guy. I am under no illusion that he will perform anywhere near as well as the dragons of the Elves or the Undead. I'd be lucky if he performed even half as well as those aerial menaces.

Firstly, those dragons have innate breath attacks, which as a generic "winged beast," I lack. Secondly, I have about half their normal attacks, and none of their special rules. Thirdly, I have a lower Nerve than they do. All in all, I will not be able to waltz up and absolutely wreck a unit like they have been consistently doing.

However, having somewhat lackluster combat stats is pretty common for Kingdoms of Men, so this guy will fit right in! My guy is nowhere near as potent as those guys, but my cost is significantly less. This guy will give me nice flyer-based options (long charges and such) without eating up too much of my list. I think once I learn how to use him, he will be providing my lists with solid support. I'm excited to get him out on the table!

I have a good number of other projects in the work, and have been making slow progress since January.