The Wars of Ozz Supplement has just been launched in PDF form – and what a great add-on it is! At 124 pages – it holds a LOT of Ozz goodness.
Supplement cover showing an assault on the Emerald City
The supplement picks up where the original Wars of Ozz rules left off. Authored by two well-knowns in the worlds of wargaming and fantasy gaming, David “Zeb” Cook and John R. “Buck” Surdu. Zeb, according to Wikipedia:
Cook designed several games, wrote the Expert Set for Dungeons & Dragons, worked as lead designer of the second edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, and invented the Planescape setting for AD&D. He is a member of the Origins Hall of Fame.
I have known Zeb for a few years – since I have become more acquainted with the Harford Area Weekly Kriegspielers (H.A.W.K.’s) down in Maryland. He even played in one of my Wars of Ozz games last year at TotalCon 38 where he was an esteemed guest speaker on his TSR career and more. He’s a great guy.
Zeb (on the right) commanding Gillikins at TotalCon 38 in February of 2024 (his side did win!).
Buck has been my good friend for around 43 years – going back to our time at West Point. He retired as a Colonel in the US Army as an Infantry officer. Waaay back, he gave me my first exposure to tabletop miniature gaming back in 1982 or 1983, along with my good friend Dave Wood. Buck has published many rules sets as described here (you should check that link out!). He was also my inspiration for starting this little blog back in 2015.
So, while I love the Wars of Ozz game, and the new supplement, I am not without a small degree of bias! But I like to think I am fair in this review. As this blog has more than regularly shown, I have been very involved with painting up miniatures for Wars of Ozz games and running them at conventions (30 games in 2024 alone). So I know the game…
So what do you get with the supplement? First, let me share a short video that will help:
Supplement Unboxing Video!
Pretty impressive! And here is the Instagram Link as well.
Cool backgrounds for all the newer and updated factions!Lots and Lots of Flags for your factions!Example of the Bunny Army List – there are Army lists for all the newer factions!
Plus, EVERY player chart and EVERY Army List for EVERY faction!
OK, that’s enough I think. Remember the Wars of Ozz rules and figures are still available. There are two places to get them and to get the rules (and I have no financial interest here):
I expect that at some point Sally 4th will publish a hard copy that will be available in both spots – but the PDF is available now as shared earlier on Drive Thru Cards and Wargame Vault.
Congrats to all involved – and let’s include the real Wizard of Ozz, Russ Dunaway!
Back in the mid-1970’s, there was the live-action show “Land of the Lost“. It was a Sid and Marty Krofft production that aired on Saturday mornings alongside all our other cartoon options. It was easily my favorite back then – and I eagerly watched every episode that I could. My daughter informed me that it was also rebroadcast in the 1980’s and 1990’s so her generation saw that too. It was also made into a Will Ferrell film in 2009 (that was apparently a box office flop that I never saw).
Short version: The premise of the original TV show concerned a family of three – Dad Rick Marshall, his son (Will), and his daughter (Holly). While rafting on a camping trip, the family is transported to another world through a portal. In this world, they hole up in a cave and try to find a way back home. Their new world has dinosaurs (stop-action and puppet-animated), friendly and diminutive hominid Pakuni (notably their friend Cha-Ka), and Sleestak.
The Sleestak are slow but aggressive bipedal reptilian creatures. Some carry crossbows and in the show have all the accuracy of an Imperial Storm Trooper. The Sleestak inhabit the ruins of an ancient city and temple complex, and are occasional nemeses of the Marshalls. Among the Sleestak is a differently-colored Altrusian named Enik. The Altrusian civilization fell 1,000 years prior to the Marshalls’ arrival – and the Sleestak are their corrupted barbaric descendants. Enik had similarly been transported through a portal from his time to the ruined Altrusian city of the show. He sometimes helps the Marshalls – and the Sleestak generally yield to him because of his powers.
So, what the hell has that got to do with my Wars of Ozz projects ???
Well, I was getting ready to paint up my Pollywomps and make a brigade of them. Pollywomps are swamp-dwelling reptilian humanoid that are ruled by Prince Dismal, ruler of their swamp. They have a passing resemblance to both 1954’s “Creature from the Black Lagoon” AND the Sleestak. For my Pollywomp Brigade, I have an infantry regiment, a cavalry regiment, and an artillery battery. All are VERY cool and I will share in due course in future posts. But unfortunately I needed a brigade commander – and Prince Dismal is not yet sculpted and available for purchase.
However, in surfing the internet I found Forge of Ice Miniatures up in Alaska that has a few extremely cool “Saleesa” figures that are pretty much Sleestak. As they brought back nostalgic feelings, I ordered some, and I was very pleased with them and especially the customer service from Alex Bates. The figures that I got were:
I’ll share below how I made these into a brigade command base for Wars of Ozz. My plan was to have the Sleestak surround Enik and his “Index Skull” on a base that would look like a ruined city overgrown by jungle.
WIP Shots
I used popsicle sticks and PVA to set the figures up for painting. These are metal and 28mm in size.
Ready for painting……and primed!
As for the base, I decided to use a balsa wood base left over from my Minifigs World of Greyhawk Cairn Cavemen project from 9 years ago. I would need to add a space on the base for the both the leader ability placard and the 12mm dice frame. To those ends, I additionally repurposed part of a placard frame from Wars of Ozz miniatures OZZ-BA5 and a square of basswood I had lying around.
The base materials.
Using PVA, I glued metal supports under the base and set with binder clips. I even reused a metal garage door sample that would adhere to my magnetic sheet-covered Really Useful Boxes that I use for storage and transport.
The base – underneath.
I painted up the miniatures in the theme of the TV show – and did not take any WIP of them except as you see immediately below. Here, you see the wooden base – and I used a black Sharpie to try to create tiles. While I was not happy with it – it was a start.
Base completed (less dice frame) with painted figures. It needed more…
I had some “Make It Fun Project Bricks” made of hard foam. I crushed several of them, put them in a Solo cup, added craft Americana gray paint, and mixed them until the paint covered it all. They were then useful as texture flocking together with Citadel “Astrogranite Debris”.
The crushed “bricks” painted and drying.
The next step was to mount the figures, let that dry, and then add the debris flocking. Then, I added undergrowth once the debris was dry, as well as the dice frame and support.
Adding the debris.
And then I added the undergrowth/foliage:
I tried to give the eyes a reflective look. Enough WIP, let me share the finished work with you!
Sleestak Eye Candy…errr…I mean Pollywomp Brigade Commander Base
As you can see, I rolled for the brigade commander’s ability – and it came up with “Magical Protection”. I am now making my unit abilities permanent once they are completed instead of changing them later on.
Gifts from Buck!
As a side note, before I get into the list of paints that I used on the Sleestak, I’d like to share a couple photos of the cool Christmas gifts that I got from Buck Surdu. One is “Nit-Tickers” – which is a single base of walking time bombs for Wars of Ozz. Buck scratch-built these and they will be fun in a game – they are more or less sentient IED’s/walking time bombs that will be part of Professor NitPik’s forces. I do believe that Wars of Ozz miniatures has actual sculpts in the works for these. Still, I love Buck’s creations!
Nit-Tickers
I also got a second awesome gift! Buck took a Whim Whim figure to create a “bannerman”. In the rules he can be added to the Sultan Whim figure at an extra cost to increase subordinate brigade commanders’ command radii to 18″ (normally they are 12″). I rebased the figure on an MDF base and added the requisite flocking and placard as you’ll see below.
As for the Pollywomps, I’ll be sharing those units shortly as they qualified for Dave Stone’s annual “Paint What You Got Challenge”. The Sleestak base does not qualify (as I finished it right before Christmas), but my other Pollywomps will, so stay tuned. At least now they have a leader base!
Miscellaneous details and references for those interested in that sort of thing:
For all of my earlier posts on Wars of Ozz games, figures, units, and other related projects – please see this page.
PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS, FLOCKING, GLUES AND MORE THAT I USED ON THIS ERSATZ POLLYWOMPS/SLEESTAK COMMAND BASE:
Balsa wood hex base
Repurposed Frame from Ozz Placards MDF sheet
Bass wood square
War Games Accessories Steel Bases (FOW1)
Garaga garage color sample piece
Popsicle sticks
War Games Accessories 1″x 1.5″ Steel Bases (18)
PVA Glue
Vallejo Premium White Primer
Vallejo Flow Improver
Vallejo Thinner
Army Painter “Dark Tone” (wash)
Vallejo Mecha Color “Off White”
Vallejo Model Color “Off White”Army Painter Warpaints Air “Neon Yellow”
Vallejo Model Air “Brown”
Army Painter Speed Paint 2.0 “Satchel Brown”
Army Painter Speed Paint 1.0 “Dark Wood”
Citadel “Contrast Medium”
Citadel “Morghast Bone”
Vallejo Thinner Medium
Citadel Contrast Paint “Nazdreg Yellow”
Vallejo Model Air “Wood”
Vallejo Game Air “Red Terracotta”
Citadel “Spritstone Red” (technical)
Citadel “Soulstone Blue” (technical)
Secret Weapon Washes “Purple”
Army Painter Speed Paint 2.0 “Familiar Pink”
Citadel “Tallarn Sand”
P3 “Blazing Ink” (ink)
Citadel Contrast Paint “Mantis Warriors Green”
MSP “Sun Yellow”
Citadel Contrast Paint “Karandras Green”
Army Painter Speed Paint 2.0 “Bony Matter”
Citadel Contrast Paint “Gulliman Flesh”
Citadel Contrast Paint “Darkoath Flesh”
Citadel “Seraphim Sepia” (shade/wash)
Vallejo Model Color “Dark Sea Grey”
Secret Weapon Washes “Stone”
Pendraken 12mm dice frames
Pencil
Black Sharpie pen
Make It Fun Project Bricks (crushed, painted, and used as flocking)
Shadow’s Edge Miniatures “4mm Flaming Light Green Tufts” (flocking)
Pendraken 12mm dice frames
Of course, the list above is of FAR more use to me for future projects – like I would remember otherwise!!
Final Note
If you want to check out the excellent Wars of Ozz figures’ range – there are two places to get them and to get the rules (and I make no money from this btw). The game rules and the figures are available from the next two places:
The Temujicans are a fierce faction of green-skinned Gillikin-cousins that roam the deserts of the world of Ozz in search of plunder, enemies, and glory. Like their Whim Whim rivals, they have no artillery, and similarly rely heavily on cavalry more than infantry to win their battles. By “cavalry”, please know that these dudes ride rams and goats!
Over a month ago, I posted about my four Temujican infantry regiments (84 figures) that I built and painted. Since then I have been deep into completing the Temujican faction. By that I mean that I have been working on not one but FIVE regiments of Temujican cavalry (55 mounted figures) and three brigade commanders – 58 figures in total.
The regiments in question consist of two heavy cavalry and three light cavalry. The heavy cavalry can only move at the speed of infantry, and has inherent missile capabilities as well. The light cavalry moves at regular cavalry speed, and also has bows. They are very versatile compared with other cavalry units in Ozz. All figures are metal and 28mm. The stats and official colors of the Temujicans units and individuals can be downloaded here – and can be seen below:
Official Wars of Ozz stats for the Temujicans
A nice aspect of all Ozz cavalry figures is that the mounts come separate from the riders. This makes the painting somewhat easier. Still, these did take a long time for me to finish, primarily as the light cavalry had extra stuff (bow holders and quivers) to paint and assemble. And – unsurprisingly to regular readers of this blog – did go overboard on ensuring that EACH of the 33 light cavalry had differently-colored goats and dissimilar riders’ coats. Why?
Well, the answer is twofold. First, I wanted both of the regiments to have a look of relative nonuniformity as to their mounts and similarly I wanted that same effect on the light regimental coats. Secondly, in my paint inventory I now have over 78 different types of brown, 49 tans, and 41 grays. If you include some of the flesh tones and washes those numbers get even bigger. I wanted to use some of the ones I don’t usually use – or have never used – before they turn to hardened latex rubber. And I used several different flocking materials for the bases to give an Ozz-desert look. More on that to come.
For this post, with so many paints used, any semblance of WIP discussion is out the window. I simply think that sharing the photos of the completed figures will be enough. Let me know! At the end of the post you will see the list of paints and materials that I used by type of unit and/or individuals. Know that this is more paints that I have ever used on a single project – period. The lists themselves are a good record for me to use on future projects. With that said, feel free to scroll past the painting list when you get there and wonder if I am nuts after all.
I painted the rams like the Bighorns and added white patches on their rumps, faces, and leg backs. The two heavy regiments have differently-edged flag colors – light blue and light green. That difference became the centerpiece of my color differentiation that you will see below in their photos.
1st Temujican Heavy Cavalry Regiment
The 1st Heavy Cavalry Regiment in line formationRegimental commander standRegular baseFlag baseClose up of the stand with the officer and drummer.
Lastly, another regimental shot:
The 1st Temujican Heavy Cavalry Regiment in column formation
2nd Temujican Heavy Cavalry Regiment
The 2nd Temujican Heavy Cavalry Regiment in line formation.Regimental commanderRegular stand of two troopersThe stand with the officer and drummerFlag stand
And here is the 2nd Temujican Heavy Cavalry Regiment in column formation:
The 2nd Temujican Heavy Cavalry Regiment in column
There were three light regiments of cavalry as well. These are OZZ-510, “Light Cavalry on Great Rams” on the website, but these all to me really ride goats. Their flags have orange, red, and purple borders – so those became the hat colors for their respective regiments. Otherwise, I followed the canon on coat colors and went crazy on mixing up goat colors with more grays than browns and tans.
Here is the light cavalry photo from the Wars of Ozz website:
And here below are my three regiments of Temujican Light Cavalry…
1st Temujican Light Cavalry Regiment
The 1st Temujican Light Cavalry Regiment – note the orange hatsRegimental CommanderRegular standFlag and leader/drummer standsThe 1st Temujican Light Cavalry Regiment in column formation
2nd Temujican Light Cavalry Regiment
The 2nd Temujican Light Cavalry Regiment – note the red hatsRegimental CommanderRegular standCommand stands for the 2ndThe 2nd Temujican Light Cavalry Regiment in column formation
3rd Temujican Light Cavalry Regiment
The 3rd Temujican Light Cavalry Regiment – note the purple hatsRegimental CommanderOfficer/drummer stand and a regular oneFlag standThe 3rd Temujican Light Cavalry Regiment in column formation
I also mixed and matched figures to make three brigade commander stands for the Temujicans. These will command combined infantry and cavalry forces.
Temujican Brigade Commanders
The three brigade commanders for the Temujicans
Group shots and a video!
Lastly, I thought I’d share a photo of all the cavalry and a video. First, a couple of group shots – there wasn’t room enough to add the infantry and still show details!
All five Temujican cavalry regiments from the frontAll five cavalry regiments at an angle
Lastly a couple of video links. I don’t do a lot on Instagram – but here is the video below and that link as well.
If you want to check out the excellent Wars of Ozz figures’ range – there are two places to get them and to get the rules (and I make no money from this btw). The game rules and the figures are available from the next two places:
The first question that I am sure that you have is – “what the hell is a Temujican?“!
To answer that, let’s ponder the wild and wonderful world of the Wars of Ozz for a minute. Recently, my posts have shown the mighty Whim Whim and their leader, Sultan Whim. While the Whim Whim are indeed a force to be reckoned with in the Great Impassable Desert of the South- they do face a rival force in the Temujicans. These green-skinned desert nomads are cousins of the Gillikins (and are somewhat goblin-like).
Map of Ozz
As for the name “Temujicans”, it has an origin, and I had a hand in it. When the force was launched they were called “Eastern Desert” nomads. Rather mundane to be sure. The great Buck Surdu challenged several of us to come up with a better name that would evoke a historical reference for a cavalry-based force that could sweep across plains and deserts. My first thoughts went to considerations of the history of Genghis Khan:
Now you see. As he was born “Temujin”, and the Gillikins were their cousins, I came up with the name “Temujicans”. Thus this was adopted as the official name of the faction! I contributed!
In any case, I decided to start building my Temujican army with the four infantry regiments I had. While in the game they are more cavalry-oriented – I decided that starting with infantry was a reasonable way to get going on the faction. Like the Whim Whim, the Temujicans do not have artillery or musketry.
As cousins of the Gillikins, they do have access to units of “Mercenary Gillikin Longbows”, which are SKU OZZ-409. I had two of these regiments to paint. I also had two other infantry regiments of “Infantry with Command – Unknown Immortals”, which are SKU OZZ-533. All four regiments have 21 figures each for a total of 84 figures for this post. All are metal and 28mm – though both Gillikins and Temujicans are somewhat diminutive in stature. They are bigger than Munchkins though. The Unknown Immortals, have their faces hidden, and all have the same pose except for the leader, drummer and regimental commander. The MGL’s have multiple poses.
Mercenary Gillikin Longbowmen from the Wars of Ozz websiteUnknown Immortals from the Wars of Ozzwebsite
Both types are armed with bows, but the Mercenary Gillikins have longbows (regiments hereafter referred to as MGL). An advantage for the MGL’s is that longbows can fire over intervening troops. The Unknown Immortals have bows and spears.
The MGL’s cost 5 points apiece – and have values for Marksmanship, Melee, Resolve, and Elan of 6/10, 5/10, 6/10, and 5/10. Each brigade can have up to two of them. The Unknown Immortals cost 6 points and have similar values for Marksmanship, Melee, Resolve, and Elan of 6/10, 5/10, 5/10, and 6/10. There can be up to two regiments of Unknown Immortals in a Temujican brigade.
So why are Temujicans green skinned? In Wars of Ozz, all races, to include Gillikins and Temujicans, were affected by the viruses and mutagenics released in the Last Great War. One of those effects was mutation of humans (and others) into different races. Another was the effect of “color mania” – with different factions being affected differently. While the Army lists (found here) describe the Temujicans as being outfitted in different sandy and brown shades, I thought they must have some residual affinity for purples as the Gillikins do. Hence, I decided to use some magenta and purple colors on them. I also used some darker bronze for some of the metallics like buttons and badges. You will also notice some neon colors like yellow and yellow/orange as liners and shield colors. Additionally, like I did with the Whim Whim, I tried to have common colors among the units designated as 1st or 2nd. I did this so as to manage to make sense on the tabletop as I deploy brigades. This will be more clear after you see some photos, so let’s start with WIP shots and discussions
WIP Discussion and how the Project Progressed
I started back on October 14th, and finished all on November 2nd. In between all this I had several golf events plus a costume party! More on those in a bit. While there were 84 figures in total – the Immortals had each a shield, a bow holder, and a quiver.
First, I needed to do lots of filing!
The Unknown Immortals regiments in prep.Close up of the sprue that held the Immortal’s bow holder/sword handle combination, and a quiver with arrows.
Then it was on to washing and organizing it all:
All pieces for this Temujican infantry project filed, washed, and ready for assembly/painting on October 15th.
By October 24th I had made some progress on the accouterments and the figures.
As I mentioned, there was golf and Halloween too. I did end up shooting an 84 on my home course – which was a personal best – plus coming in tied for first in the year-long contest at my club – but I digress…
Plus for Halloween we had a nice visit from Elsa (aka Tabitha my granddaughter):
My daughter Ellen, Tabitha (as Elsa), and my wife Lynn
Then our Halloween party saw this couple (us) as Gru and a Minion:
Gru and his minion
Back to the Temujicans!
By October 29th, I was nearly finished with initial painting and assemblies:
Basing work on the figures followed:
Gluing the figures down AND SURGICALLY covering the bases with the sand paste and rocks took some time. I did not want a mess on the paint jobs, so typically I glued down 3 out of 4 of the figures first, then applied the paste, then added the final figure. Below you’ll see that after the paste dried, I added pigments to the bases. One regiment has no pigments as a comparator. I really like the effect of the three pigments I use on the sand paste – and recommend their use if you want a desert look.
Bases showing 3/4 with pigments.
Then I varnished the lot with an airbrush, and once that dried I added flocking tufts and rocks.
All the paints that I used are listed at the end of this post – but let’s share some…
Eye Candy
1st Mercenary Gillikin Regiment
1st Gillikin Mercenary Longbow Regiment in line formation. Their coats are reddish brown with a sallow yellow/orange liner.1st Gillikin Mercenary Longbow Regimental Commander. Note the magenta bicorne hat.Typical stand of the 1st Gillikin Mercenary Longbow Regiment.Command stand of the 1st Gillikin Mercenary Longbow Regiment.1st Gillikin Mercenary Longbow Regiment in column formation.
2nd Mercenary Gillikin Regiment
2nd Gillikin Mercenary Longbow Regiment in line formation. The coats are a sandy brown with neon yellow/greenish lining.1st Gillikin Mercenary Longbow Regimental Commander. Note the purple bicorne hat.Typical stand of the 2nd Gillikin Mercenary Longbow Regiment.Command stand of the 2nd Gillikin Mercenary Longbow Regiment.2nd Gillikin Mercenary Longbow Regiment in column formation.
1st Temujican Unknown Immortals Regiment
1st Temujican Unknown Immortals Regiment in line formation. Their coats are greenish brown. Their shields have alternating chevron colors of green (for Temujicans flesh color) and sallow yellow/orange.1st Temujican Unknown Immortals Regimental Commander. Note the magenta bicorne hat.Typical stand of the 1st Temujican Unknown Immortals Regiment.Command stand of the 1st Temujican Unknown Immortals Regiment.1st Temujican Unknown Immortals Regiment in column formation.
2nd Temujican Unknown Immortals Regiment
2nd Temujican Unknown Immortals Regiment in line formation.2nd Temujican Unknown Immortals Regimental Commander. Note the purple bicorne hat.Typical stand of the 2nd Temujican Unknown Immortals Regiment.2nd Temujican Unknown Immortals Regiment in column formation. I thought this showed the command stand pretty well.
Group Shots
Here are some group shots of all of the 4 regiments:
Video
Lastly, here is a very short video I took of all 4 regiments that is nice:
Alternatively, I did post the same video on Instagram with some music from Thin Lizzy:
I did think about how many “points” IRO or Wudugast would have given me for these 84 goblinoids for their “Orktober” painting extravaganza (if I was in it), but that’s more curiosity than anything else. Plus I really took until November 2nd to finish. Given that my 1984 West Point class was having our 40th reunion during that (last) weekend (which I did not attend) AND that Army beat Air Force in football too (which I did watch) – I did get to remember my 84 class with finishing these 84 figures.
So next I am on to the Temujican cavalry. I have two regiments of heavy and three of light, plus three brigade commanders to do. Onwards!
PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS, FLOCKING, GLUES AND MORE THAT I USED ON THE TWO REGIMENTS OF MERCENARY GILLIKIN LONGBOWMEN:
Square MDF Brigade Leader bases from Wars of Ozz Miniatures (used as regimental commander bases)
Wargames Accessories number 21 bases (2″ square steel bases)
Wargames Accessories number 17 (1.5″ X 1″ steel bases)
Temujican flag designs from Wars of Ozz Facebook page (printed on card stock)
Card stock
If you want to check out the excellent Wars of Ozz figures’ range – there are two places to get them and to get the rules (and I make no money from this btw). The game rules and the figures are available from the next two places:
Hmm…that title sounded very ominous…are the Whim Whim, wiped out, a dead faction, lost forever in the sands of time, or at least the sands of the deserts of Ozz?
Well, the Whim Whim are still around! After 215 figures, I have just finished painting up this faction of nomadic desert-dwelling tribesmen! And before I moved on, I wanted to document the last few pieces of the Whim Whim faction that I have completed.
In a bit, you’ll get to see a video of the entire faction on the tabletop. But for now, what this post will cover are the last three SKU’s that I finished up. One SKU is the elite regiment of Whim Whim Janissaries (OZZ-1400), another is Sultan Whim himself (OZZ-1406), and the last one is the faction’s wizard, The Ancient Mystical One (OZZ-1405). The Janissaries are the same figures as the Whim Whim Spearmen I painted before, just with different colors. I will include some select WIP photos, as well as eye candy.
One reason for my relative photographic laxness is that I finished these off while fighting off COVID in early October! That was a bit of a struggle, but nothing I couldn’t overcome…eventually. Thus, my photography took a back seat to getting these figures done.
All of the figures are metal and 28mm in size. Let’s look at each in turn.
The Whim Whim Janissaries Regiment
The Whim Whim Janissaries Regiment (WWJR) is similarly-armed like the other spearmen. The difference is that their attributes are better. Neither type have missile weapons, and both have Melee values of 7/10 with a first-strike bonus. The WWJR has a Resolve value of 9/10 (50% higher than a regular spearmen regiment’s 6/10), and an Elan value of 10/10 (versus 8/10 for the regular spearmen). The WWJR costs 1 point more at 6 points. However, a Whim Whim brigade can only have one of them.
I decided that, like my previous spearmen, the WWJR needed a similar addition to the front of the shields to cover the little holes – but a different style.
I found some terracotta stars that fit perfectly on the head of a number 18 flat nail. With some really careful drilling, I managed to add the stars/nail combos to the shields and use them to support their mounting. I also used the DH-507 spear tip pennons again from Iron Winds Metals to jazz up the spears.
Additionally, as the elite infantry unit of the Whim Whim, I armed them with golden weapons. Yes, gold’s impractical in such a use, but it looks good! I also gave the regimental commander a rare albino siliyiplix as a mount. The Army List canon for them says:
Red armor and uniforms, brown boots. Turbans are white. Shields red with white trim. Spears have red pennons.
I used a metallic craft paint on the armor to decent effect. To offset so much red, I gave them white kilts. In the end, they do look a bit Santa-like with all the red. All the paints I used are listed at the end of this post for each project. Mainly for me as I often need to recreate a look!
Whim Whim Janissaries Regiment WIP Shots
I started these on September 22nd and finished them on October 7th. The key WIP I want to share is the star additions. I’ll share some shots below.
All filed, washed, and ready to get started.I drilled out the shields twice. First, I did so with a pin vise that would give just enough space for the shaft of an 18-gauge flat head nail to pass through. Then I went on to VERY gently drilling out the shield with a 1/8″ drill bit on my power drill – such that the depth of the holes would allow the heads of the nails to nest flatly on the shields.Here you see the 18-gauge nail head flush with the hole in the shield.The cheap stars.Stars on nail heads.…and mocked up on the shields (not yet glued).
I used the alligator clip base for painting the shields. Once it was time to mount them into the holes that I had drilled into the wrists and hands of the Janissaries, I individually sized the cut needed on each nail.
Here you see how I individually sized up each nail – I needed enough length but not too much. Cutting the nails involved SLOWLY cutting around the nails at the right length with wire cutters in a circular fashion. Then I bent the excess steel off – without having nail shards ricochet into my eyes.
Now for the finished regiment!
Whim Whim Janissaries Eye Candy
The Whim Whim Janissaries in line viewed from their left front.The Whim Whim Janissaries in line viewed from their right front.The Whim Whim Janissaries in column formation viewed from their left.
Sultan Whim
The Sultan Whim figure comes listed as OZZ-1406 “Sulton Whim Carried on a Palanguin”. I will refer to him as “Sultan”. Also, technically a “palanquin” has a covered box – and he is on a litter with blankets and an umbrella. No worries, I just had to look up a few words to be sure myself. Litter, palanquin, call it what you want.
Early concept/sculpt of the Sultan Whim model from Russ Dunaway.
Sultan Whim WIP Shots
This project went pretty fast as far as assembly and painting goes. I made a small 3″ by 5.75″ styrene base for him, with steel bases underneath for magnetic storage and travel. I also built a placard holder on the back end. I mounted the bearers on it first and made sure that the litter would fit by manipulating and bending the arms, then lining them up with a steel ruler. The bearers were easy to paint this way – and I ended up using my alligator clip modeling base to hold the litter for painting. I drilled out Sultan’s – um posterior – and put a screw in there to allow painting him to be easy as well. The umbrella was treated similarly.
Laying out the pieces and figuring out the right design. (The Ancient Mystical One is not part of this model and is on the right).Side view of earlier image.I used graph paper and a steel ruler to figure out both the appropriate base size and figure locations. You can see the placard holder and 12mm dice frames in the back.Somehow I needed to figure a way to paint the Sultan – the image above is enough of a clue I think!
For painting, I tried to incorporate purples, oranges, and golds, as those were dominant colors I used in the different regiments of the same type. My concept was to give Sultan Whim a luxurious bed on his litter/palanquin to travel the desert while consuming a large turkey leg! In the game, the Sultan can give an attached unit Superior Fighting skills, and as an overall commander has the “Legendary” ability.
I started the model on October 8th, finishing it on October 10th.
Sultan Whim Eye Candy
Sultan Whim on his litter from his front left.Sultan Whim on his litter from his front right.Sultan Whim on his litter from his front.A view of the back. He has a nice pink parasol to give him shade as he devours his turkey leg.
The Ancient Mystical One
This painted up very easily in one day as you can see. Skulls make painting so much easier!
The Ancient Mystical One has Spell and luck values of both 6/10. He does get three spells, at a cost of 2 points.
The Ancient Mystical One WIP Shots
The Ancient Mystical One seen here before varnishing and final base work.
The Ancient Mystical One Eye Candy
The Ancient Mystical One from the front.Rear view.Side view.
Lastly, I promised a video of all of the Whim Whim faction on the table. It consists of 11 regiments plus individuals:
I hope that you have enjoyed this Whim Whim journey with me. As the Wars of Ozz is a post-apocalyptic world, the Whim Whim Janissaries, Sultan Whim, and The Ancient Mystical One you have seen here are eligible for Dave Stone’s recent painting challenge, “APOCALYPSE ME 2024”. It might not be the apocalypse many of you envisioned, but it is in Ozz!
Thanks for looking – and now on to the Temujicans – sworn enemies of the Whim Whim!
Miscellaneous details and references for those interested in that sort of thing:
For all of my earlier posts on Wars of Ozz games, figures, units, and other related projects – please see this page.
PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS, FLOCKING, GLUES AND MORE THAT I USED ON THE REGIMENT OF WHIM WHIM JANISSARIES:
Iron Wind Metals Banner Spear Head Sprues SKU #DH507
MDF Brigade Leader bases from Wars of Ozz Miniatures (used as regimental commander bases)
As you may want to check out the excellent Wars of Ozz figures’ range – there are two places to get them and to get the rules (and I make no money from this btw). The game rules and the figures are available from the next two places:
In my last post I wrote about the two regiments of Whim Whim cavalry that I painted up in August 2024. There, I mentioned that while each brigade of these desert nomads can have up to six regiments of spearmen, they are limited to just one unit of cavalry, chariots, bowmen, or Janissaries, and just two units of Noobi. With the figures that I have, I believe that I will be fielding two distinct brigades of Whim Whim, with common color features that do not distract from the canon colors.
Regarding bowmen, I had two Whim Whim Bowmen regiments (WWBR) to paint. Each has 20 bowmen and a mounted leader on the common 6-eyed multiple-tailed beasts called siliyiplix. The SKU number is OZZ-1401. The figures are metal, and 28mm in size. The bowmen came in five different poses. My goal was to get these done between golf rounds in September!
On the Wars of Ozz website the photo of the regiment is as shown below:
“Sand-colored tunics, white turbans, brown boots.”
So, not much in terms of restrictions there – and that left me with a lot of room to both follow the canon and add my own colors to make some differentiation between the two regiments. I decided to make these color choices:
Greenish-yellow (1st Regiment) and orange (2nd Regiment) mounts as I did for the cavalry, as well as yellow (1st Regiment) and orange (2nd Regiment) saddles.
Aztec yellow (1st Regiment) and copper helmets (2nd Regiment).
Dark green kilts and leader sashes (1st Regiment) and light green kilts and leader sashes (2nd Regiment).
Yellowish-sand tunics (1st Regiment) and tan-sand tunics (2nd Regiment).
Light (1st Regiment) and dark-colored (2nd Regiment) bows and spears.
Three different beard colors (grey, dark grey, and black) were also used to vary the figures. I figured that these WWBR’s would be a more logical place for older warriors.
For the white turbans, I used Army Painter “Speed Paint – Blinding Light 2.0” for the first time. In color, it is very similar to Citadel “Apothecary White”. Also similar to the Citadel product, it is not quite white enough – but a little dry brush action with some off-white paint on the turbans remedied that. I will say that the AP product flowed better – and was less difficult to mix and distribute the pigment after shaking. Both are good, I just think I’ll prefer the “Speed Paint – Blinding Light 2.0” version going forward.
I do list all of the exact paints and more that I used at the end of the post for those interested in such information.
WWBR are excellent missile units that cost 6 points. In the game, their bows are equivalent to muskets in terms of combat power and range. The WWBR have a Marksmanship value of 8/10. In Melee, they are still relatively stalwart at 6/10. The WWBR have similar a Resolve value (ability to stand against an attack) and Elan value (desire to get into and stay in a fight)of 6/10.
I started work on my WWBR’s on August 30th and finished them on September 20th. I’ll share some WIP work below, and then some eye candy of the completed regiments.
Whim Whim Bowmen WIP Shots and Discussion
Unlike the cavalry, there was minimal assembly here (just for the leaders and the drummers).
The two regiments as received. Note that there were 5 different poses of the bowmen.
Mold-line and flash removal preceded washing of the figures on September 1st.
All cleaned up!
Once again I brush-primed both units to use up my 200ml primer bottle of Vallejo Mecha White Primer that was clogging my airbrush. I have about 20% left and don’t want to waste it. After the primer had had a day to cure, I added a wash with Army Painter Dark Tone – by September 2nd. Next, I dry-brushed both regiments with an off-white paint.
The two regiments are here primed and mounted for painting. I used popsicle sticks with similar poses put together, as well as the stand with alligator clips for the components that needed assembly.
I worked on and off on the WWBR’s through September 15th – usually anywhere from a half hour to more at a time. By then, the figures were done.
Main painting completed.
As I had only lightly glued the figures to the popsicle sticks (with PVA glue), they were easy to detach on September 16th.
The WWBR’s ready for basing.
I have found that sequential basing works best for these desert dudes and the sand basing paste. Normally, infantry are mounted four figures to a base. By sequential, I mean that I use Gorilla Glue to affix two of the four figures to the 2″ square steel bases. Then I apply the sand basing paste/texture paint to the sides of the bases with the two figures – and let that dry. I then glue on the remaining two figures to each base. Next, I apply the remaining unpainted parts of the bases with the sand paste, and let that dry.
This photo shows the dried sand paste covering half of the steel bases and a recent add of the remaining figures on September 16th.The remaining parts of the bases here are recently covered with the sand paste on September 16th. Application of three pigments and two types of varnish came next.
I then mounted the figures on poster tack-covered specimen jars (as seen in the gallery below). This I did in order to add three types of sandy pigments before using my air brush to varnish everything.
2nd Regiment stand after varnishing but before final flocking and flags are added.1st Regiment command stand at the same point.
Once the two coats of varnish dried, I flocked everything with rocks and tufts, then added the flags. On September 20th – these were 100% done.
So how did they come out…let’s see! Click on any image to see them better.
Eye Candy
1st Whim Whim Bowmen Regiment
1st WWBR Stands
1st WWBR COMMAND Stand
1st WWBR Regimental Commander
1st WWBR Group Shots
2nd Whim Whim Bowmen Regiment
2nd WWBR Stands
2nd WWBR COMMAND Stand
2nd WWBR Regimental Commander
2nd WWBR Group Shots
Group shots of both
The completion of these two WWBR’s brings me up to 187 painted figures for the Whim Whim faction. Right now, for Whim Whim units, I have just one regiment left to paint – the elite Janissaries.
I hope that you enjoyed these two and that it was of interest. I’d be interested in any feedback on my color choices – as it is Ozz!
And yes, I still have much more Ozz to come…
Miscellaneous details and references for those interested in that sort of thing:
For all of my earlier posts on Wars of Ozz games, figures, units, and other related projects – please see this page.
PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS, FLOCKING, GLUES AND MORE THAT I USED ON THESE TWO REGIMENTS OF WHIM WHIM BOWMEN:
MDF Brigade Leader bases from Wars of Ozz Miniatures (used as regimental commander bases)
Pendraken 12mm dice frames
Wargames Accessories FOW #1 (1.25″ X 1″ steel bases)
Whim Whim flag design from Wars of Ozz Facebook page (printed on card stock)
Blue Sharpie pen
Brown Sharpie pen
As you may want to check out the excellent Wars of Ozz figures’ range – there are two places to get them and to get the rules (and I make no money from this btw). The game rules and the figures are available from the next two places:
Each Whim Whim brigade can have up to six regiments of spearmen. However, each brigade is limited to a single regiment each of chariots, a single regiment of cavalry, and one of janissaries. They for example cannot have two regiments of cavalry, but could have a chariot and a cavalry and a janissary. When I have completed the Whim Whim, I will have enough to field two to three separate brigades. Each of these two cavalry (WWCAV) regiments will be assigned to different brigades.
And a word about “cavalry”. When I first saw these, I immediately thought “camelry”. On further learning that the mounts were not camels, but called siliyiplix. Yes, try pronouncing that… Further, are these “siliyiplixery” units, what is the plural? Never mind, it’s Ozz! Oh, and they have 6 eyes and double or triple tails too!
On the Wars of Ozz website the photo of the regiment is as shown below:
Photo from the Wars of Ozz website
The Army list file from the Wars of Ozz Facebook group (it’s a private group but when/if you ask to join reference me) shows the following regarding colors:
“Green tunics, white turbans. Mounts are yellow or orange. Spears do not have pennons.”
As I had the two WWCAV’s, and as I always try to have some differentiation between similar regiments, I decided to make these color choices:
Greenish-yellow (1st Regiment) and orange (2nd Regiment) mounts
Dark green (1st Regiment) and light green (2nd Regiment) tunics
Yellow (1st Regiment) and orange (2nd Regiment) saddles
Aztec yellow (1st Regiment) and (2nd Regiment) copper helmets
Red (1st Regiment) blue (2nd Regiment) sashes and boots
Light (1st Regiment) and dark-colored (2nd Regiment) spears
Each WWCAV regiment consists of 10 mounted troopers and a mounted regimental commander. The unit is found on the website as SKU OZZ-1402. Therefore I had a total of 22 figures for both. The figures are metal, and are 28mm scale.
Similar to other cavalry units in Ozz, the WWCAV are quite powerful and can have a great shock effect when used properly. The most combat power is due to a Melee value of 8/10. They are armed with spears but have no missile capabilities. The WWCAV regiments are above-average with a Resolve (ability to stand against an attack) value of 7/10, 2 better than the chariots. Their desire to get into and stay in a fight (Elan) is also 7/10. Point-wise, they cost 6 points per WWCAV. The sculpts of both the siliyiplix and the riders have a few differentions, but they are massive together and look impressive.
I started work on my WWCAV’s on August 10th and finished them on August 28th. I’ll share some WIP work below – these did involve a good bit of hobby work.
Whim Whim Cavalry WIP Shots and Discussion
I worked on the different components separately. These were:
The siliyiplix mounts and rider legs
The riders’ torsi
The riders’ heads
I decided to work on each component separately. First, I performed the obligatory filing off of mold lines and removal of flash. I also drilled out for mounting of the drummers’ drums and each of the heads. Then it was on to washing the metal before priming it.
All cleaned and drying – I use an old electric toothbrush with dishwashing soap.
As my 200 ml primer bottle of Vallejo Mecha White Primer was clogging my airbrush, I went with a brush application. I won’t be buying any more 200ml primers or varnishes any more btw, they are not reliable long-term for airbrush use. I’ll buy 60 ml from now on.
I brush-primed the lot – and used my alligator-clip stand and popsicle stick jigs to mount for painting for the torsi.
Priming done.
Then I added a wash with Army Painter Dark Tone by August 15th.
Washing done.
Then it was dry-brushing time with off-white. By August 18th I had made some progress.
August 18th progress.
By the 24th, I was on my way to getting ready for assembly – though it felt like these were taking forever!
I finished assembly and on the 26th started to apply the sand paste for the bases, adding and gluing on one figure at a time.
Once that paste had dried, I added pigments before using my air brush to varnish everything. The last step was to flock everything with rocks and tufts.
Done by August 28th – FINALLY!
And yes, my siliyiplix have pink eyes (well, magenta really)! So do the Noobi.
Enough WIP, time now for…
Eye Candy
1st Whim Whim Cavalry Regiment
Frontal view of the 1st WWCAV.
1st WWCAV Regimental Commander
Example of a regular 1st WWCAV stand
1st WWCAV Command Stand
1st WWCAV in formation
The 1st Whim Whim Cavalry Regiment in column formation.The 1st Whim Whim Cavalry Regiment in line formation.
2nd Whim Whim Cavalry Regiment
Frontal view of the 2nd WWCAV.
2nd WWCAV Regimental Commander
Example of a regular 2nd WWCAV stand
2nd WWCAV Command Stand
2nd WWCAV in formation
The 2nd Whim Whim Cavalry Regiment in line formation.The 2nd Whim Whim Cavalry Regiment in column formation.
Whim Whim Cavalry Group Shot
All together now!
Perhaps this project also may qualify for Dave Stone’s “Season of Scenery 2024” community painting challenge as he includes vehicles – that is, if siliyiplix count as vehicle? Either way, Dave, much thanks for running that!
As for my remaining Whim Whim units, I have two regiments of bowmen and one janissary left to paint. I appreciate that you took a look and I hope that it was of interest.
And yes, I still have much more Ozz to come…
Miscellaneous details and references for those interested in that sort of thing:
For all of my earlier posts on Wars of Ozz games, figures, units, and other related projects – please see this page.
PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS, FLOCKING, GLUES AND MORE THAT I USED ON THESE TWO WHIM WHIM CAVALRY REGIMENTS:
Whim Whim flag design from Wars of Ozz Facebook page (printed on card stock)
Yellow Sharpie highlighter
Brown Sharpie pen
As you may want to check out the excellent Wars of Ozz figures’ range – there are two places to get them and to get the rules (and I make no money from this btw). The game rules and the figures are available from the next two places:
A while back I received a nice gift of a couple of fully-painted LED-lit resin mushrooms from Buck Surdu. I have been using them on my tabletop set ups this year and they always add a nice touch for a Wars of Ozz game.
I have found that not all gaming halls are well-lit, so nicely-lighted terrain definitely brings a new visual element to the games. When I went to Historicon, I heard that a vendor was selling them, so I went down to the hall and bought three mushrooms as well as two crystals. All were unpainted (painted ones were available too but I preferred to paint mine). The nice thing with these is that the insertable lights and the batteries came with the mushrooms/crystals. In fact, they were nearly sold out by Saturday morning!
I have previously played with using little tea lights to make smoke/blast markers for What a Tanker games (see here). I am not a 3-D printer, and prefer metal stuff, but have used many things that have been 3-D printed before. In the vendor hall, I believe the seller was a 3-D printer and the booth there was for Bad Goblin Games.
After coming home, I did some digging on-line, but I could not find the products on their website. Looking further on the packaging, I saw a reference to Fat Dragon Games. There I found the links for the STL files available for purchase for both the mushrooms and the crystals – but as far as whether the lights and batteries came with the purchase – I think only the files do. I cannot find anywhere the little lights could come from that fit here, but if interested I’d contact the vendors on their websites.
The mushrooms and the crystals as purchased. The mushrooms came with white lights and had green, orange, and blue discs that accented those colors. The two crystals came with green and purple lights. All had batteries. The back of the package with QR code and website listing.
The crystals were made of clear white resin, and their green and purple lights did give them a nice glow. But if you’ve ever read this blog before, you KNOW that I always try to add another level to a project. So I added some Secret Weapon Washes for effect – and they worked really well.
The crystals after washes added……and lit!
Here is a short video of the crystals:
Crystals done!
I then moved on to washing, assembling, priming, and painting the mushrooms. I used a number of paints (see list at end) to achieve the look that I wanted. For flocking the bases, I went with a leaf-litter look.
The three mushrooms and crystals from the top.Here you see the little lights and how they nest in the mushroom stands and the bottom of the crystals. The mushroom caps fit right over the lights which are inserted light-down. The batteries are flat CR2023’s.Close up of the mushrooms showing their colors.My current collection – the two green ones on the left are from Buck……and now lit up in a darkened room!
Lastly, I made another brief video of these that I think you’ll enjoy.
Miscellaneous details and references for those interested in that sort of thing:
For all of my earlier posts on Wars of Ozz games, figures, units, and other related projects – please see this page.
PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS, FLOCKING, GLUES AND MORE THAT I USED ON THESE LED CRYSTALS AND MUSHROOMS:
Secret Weapon Washes “Purple” (wash on crystal)
Secret Weapon Washes “Green” (wash on crystal)
Vallejo Surface Primer “Black”
Vallejo Model Color “Off White”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Apothecary White”
Army Painter “Speed Paint – Fire Giant Orange 1.0”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Contrast Medium”
Army Painter “Speed Paint – Shamrock Green 2.0”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Talassar Blue”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Bad Moon Yellow”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Iyanden Yellow”
Army Painter “Speed Paint – Burnt Moss 2.0”
Elmer’s PVA Glue
Loose crushed leaves (oregano, basil? I don’t know! Got these flocking materials for free or in a raffle box at HUZZAH! in May. They gave good texture under the 4-Ground leaves.)
4-Ground “TSM 123 Loose Foliage Brown Leaves”
4-Ground “TSM 124 Loose Foliage Copper Leaves”
4-Ground “TSM 124 Loose Foliage Green Leaves”
As you may want to check out the excellent Wars of Ozz figures’ range – there are two places to get them and to get the rules (and I make no money from this btw). The game rules and the figures are available from the next two places:
I mentioned in my last post that I would have cavalry units coming up next to augment the Whim Whim – and here they both are – “Whim Whim Chariots pulled by Great Desert Aepyers”.
What are Aepyers, let alone Great Desert ones? It seems that they are similar to either jackals or the ancient Egyptian god Anubis. They definitely have that feel.
In Wars of Ozz games, a Whim Whim Chariot Regiment (WWCR) consists of two chariots deployed abreast in a column formation (never in line formation) on 2″ x 4″ bases. This is due to the physical size of the models. The two chariot bases in the regiment are always deployed abreast, and each base acts as two normal Ozz bases. By this I mean that one chariot base counts as two bases. When the regiment has taken four hits – then it is treated as a three-base unit. After four more hits, the regiment becomes a two-base unit with one of the two chariot bases removed. After 4 more hits, it becomes a one-base unit. Each chariot is pulled by 4 Aepyers, and has three figures inside. I had two regiments to paint up for Historicon.
The unit is found on the website as SKU OZZ-1403. With 2 bowmen, a driver, a chariot,and 4 Aepyer per WWCR base – that makes a total of 32 figures for both WWCR’s together. WWCR’s are quite powerful. They are treated as cavalry, and have all the shock advantages as other cavalry units. They also have missile capabilities with their bows. Their Marksmanship is exceptionally good with a value of 8/10. The WWCR’s are average in Melee with a value of 6/10. They do not have regimental commanders.
As far as their ability to stand fast against an attack, the WWCR’s are average with a Resolve value of 6/10 – but as it’s tough for infantry to charge cavalry in Ozz games, this is better than you’d expect. Their desire to get into and stay in a fight is average with an Elan value of 6/10. Point-wise, they cost 6 points per WWCR. The figures are 28mm and metal. The Aepyers have basically two different sculpts.
The WWCR photo from the website is below.
Image of the OZZ-1403 on the website
As you will see below, I made some modeling and color modifications. I thought that instead of scoring the metal on the chariots to look like wood, that I would actually use wooden matchsticks to achieve that look. I did this before on my conquistador ships. I also wanted to rig the yokes with thread, As I had two regiments, I took some liberties with the color schemes to differentiate them from each other on their wheels, uniforms, and Aepyers.
I started work on all of these WWCR’s right after the 4th of July (the 6th actually) with the hope of finishing them before leaving for Historicon on July 18th. These took a few twists and turns that you will see in the WIP shots next.
Whim Whim Chariots WIP Shots and Discussion
The pieces of both WWCR’s, filed and washed and prepped for priming on July 6th.
I decided to work on the figures separately from the chariot components. As I did with the WW spearmen regiments, I mounted the chariot crew figures themselves on popsicle sticks for painting instead of the specimen jars that I usually use to save space.
I first cut and glued the wooden matchsticks to the chariots, and brush primed them when dry.
The chariots modified with the matchsticks. The one on the far left has been primed. My goal was to have them look dark but weathered.
I primed, gave a wash application, and dry brushed all the components.
July 8thJuly 8th
By July 9th, I had made some progress on the project as seen below.
July 9thJuly 9th
By the next day (July 10th), I had made some more progress.
July 10thJuly 10thJuly 10th
July 11th and 12th saw me more approaching asssembly and base preparation.
Drilled out for quiversAffixed the quiversStarted prepping styrene bases (with steel hases underneath for magnetic storage & transport)Let’s put these chariots together!
After I assembled the chariots, it became obvious that attaching the yokes to the Aepyers needed a special approach if I was to successfully mount and rig everything – and attach to the poles on the chariots.
I chose to mount the Aepyers to a 2″ square steel base first. Then, once they were in position, I would add their yokes across their backs – shaping to the different heights of their saddles. Next, I would add basing paste to the bases to hide the steel bases under the Aepyers. I would then glue that assembly to the styrene base, and add more basing paste to hide the steel bases’ edges.
At this point I would be able to determine the exact position of each set of chariot wheels by mocking the set up. I marked those spots on the styrene, and scored depressions there for the wheels. I next covered the rest of the base with the basing paste, and let that dry (with some hair dryer help), leaving the depressions alone.
Aepyers on steel base mounting to styrene base – note scored wheel depressionsHelp drying!Flippy assembled chariotsWaiting for the basing paste to dry on the styrene bases- July 14th
July 15th saw the final assembly. Once dry enough, I then mounted the wheels into the depressions, and used Gorilla Glue to hold the wheels and the flippy pole onto the yoke. I added some pigments to the sand, then rigged with some sewing thread. Then it was on to varnishing and flocking and I was finally done on July 15th. Phew!
Starting rigging on a 1st WWCR baseMore rigging on a 2nd WWCRGetting close!Done!
I hear you – “Mark that’s a LOT of WIP”. Yes, so it’s time for…
Eye Candy
1st Whim Whim Chariot Regiment (front left view)1st WWCR (left side view)1st WWCR (back view)1st WWCR coming at ya!2nd WWCR now coming at you!2nd WWCR (right side view)2nd WWCR (back view)2nd WWCR (left side)Both WWCR’sNice side view of both WWCR’s
As with my WW Spearmen, these did make their first brief tabletop battle at Historicon in July. I did not feel well at Historicon, but managed this picture of their encounter with a regiment of Gillikin Dire Wolves.
At Historicon – I think the fight favored the WWCR.
This project also qualifies for Dave Stone’s “Season of Scenery 2024” community painting challenge as he includes vehicles. Thanks Dave for running that!
I still have more Whim Whim units to paint up over the rest of the summer, but I’ve made a nice dent in the pile…
Did you enjoy this WIP-heavy post? Any feedback – any favorite WWCR? Let me know! I always thank you for looking!
And yes, I still have much more Ozz to come…
Miscellaneous details and references for those interested in that sort of thing:
For all of my earlier posts on Wars of Ozz games, figures, units, and other related projects – please see this page.
PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS, FLOCKING, GLUES AND MORE THAT I USED ON THESE TWO WHIM WHIM CHARIOT REGIMENTS:
As you may want to check out the excellent Wars of Ozz figures’ range – there are two places to get them and to get the rules (and I make no money from this btw). The game rules and the figures are available from the next two places:
It’s been a while since I had a chance to finish a blog post on any new Wars of Ozz units. That doesn’t mean that I have not been working on any – in fact between golf since April (which you have seen a bit about here in this blog), HUZZAH in May, I have posted about the Noobi, allies of the Whim Whim. I have been working my way through some Whim Whim units.
The Whim Whim are nomadic tribesmen who hail from the southern “underbelly” of Ozz. This faction has many very cool units, especially in terms of cavalry and infantry. (However, artillery? Nothing – as is appropriate for these nomads.)
Still, I have enough figures to build two brigades for the Whim Whim in concert with the Noobi. I decided to start with an infantry core – with 2 Whim Whim Spearmen Regiments (WWSR’s). As a Whim Whim brigade can have up to 6 WWSR’s, this seemed to me to be a good start on the brigades. Of course, the two brigades would need leaders. My good friend Greg Priebe also 3D printed some “Ottoman Noble Admirals” for me that will serve as either ersatz brigade or divisional commanders until more are avaialble from Old Glory. I worked on the leaders at the same time as I did on the WWSR’s.
The regiments are listed on the website under “The Kingdom of Whim Whim Tribes” as SKU#1400, “Whim Whim Spearmen with Command”. There are 4 command figures, 16 spearmen, and a regimental leader mounted on a siliyiplix in each regiment. Don’t worry – I cannot pronounce it (the mount) either – but it’s the common one for the WW. Apparently it’s a camel-like animal with 6 eyes and a double tail. This is Ozz after all… That makes a total of 42 figures for both WWSR’s together.
As the WWSR’s are only armed with long thrusting spears, Marksmanship is irrelevant for them. The WWSR’s are, however, very good in Melee with a value of 7/10 – plus they get an extra die in the first round of Melee, giving them a nice shock advantage. As far as their ability to stand against an attack, the WWSR’s are average with a Resolve value of 6/10. They do more enjoy more getting into and remaining in a fight with an Elan value of 8/10. Point-wise, they cost 5 points per WWSR. The figures are 28mm and metal. There are a few very subtle differences among the spearmen as far as the individual sculpts go.
On the website, the WWSR photo has them with paper pennons attached to their spears. Additionally, there are no protrusions from their shields where the little holes are. The website photo is below.
Photo from the Wars of Ozz website
I decided that I would modify my WWSR’s in these two areas. First, I would change the spear tips with an Iron Wind Metals spear tips product that I remember using in my Ral Partha Rooman project that I did a while back. That product is now sold under IWM, is very reasonably priced, and is called SKU#DH-507 “Banner Spear Head Sprue”. There are 6 tips per sprue.
DH-507 spear tips sprue
The other modification that I made was to disassemble the little balls from a pull-chain (the kind that lights use), and add them to the shield fronts where the holes are. As for colors, the 1st Regiment would have a purple theme, and the 2nd an orange theme – which is completely fine with the canon. I started working on these back in late May.
As for the leaders, Greg printed up Wargames Atlantics SKU WAAD00063, “Ottoman Noble Admirals”. He mailed me 5, of which 3 bodies and 5 heads survived the USPS journey.
The Admirals.
The figures curing in Greg’s Laboratory of fun.
I started work on all of these (45 figures in total) back in May – and with my modifications it took a while (there was a LOT of drilling and gluing). Another issue really added to the time for this project – 1.0 versions of Speed Paint.
I mistakenly forgot that one of the the purple paints that I used (Army Painter “Purple Alchemy”) and one of the orange ones (Army Painter “Fire Giant Orange”) were not 2.0 but were instead 1.0 versions. As a result, I didn’t mix them initially with Citadel “Contrast Medium” – which I normally do to avoid the notorious bleeding in the 1.0’s. AARGH!
This led to a lot of repainting, but luckily it was mainly on the shields. I do want you to know that after mixing with the Citadel “Contrast Medium”, no bleeding occurs in my experience. I just have many more 2.0’s than 1.0’s, so I forgot – and I have had no bleeding issues with the 2.0’s.
Now onto WIP shots for both the WWSR’s and the leaders!
Whim Whim Spearmen WIP Shots and Discussion
As receivedWashed and ready for primerSpears with the IWM tipsEarly painting on the shields – with visible bleeding having started. I glued on the pull-chain balls to the shields and used Gorilla Glue to fill voids on them. The balls also acted as handles for painting them – again and again due to the bleeding.
I mounted the figures themselves on popsicle sticks for painting instead of the specimen jars that I usually use to save space.
By the end of May I had the WWSR’s drilled out (for shields, heads, and spears!), primed, washed and dry brushed.
I needed a jig to hold the spears while they were assembled and paint dried on them – not ideal but it worked.
32 modified spears.
Then I worked on the two regimental commanders and their siliyiplixes (is that the plural???).
I used a new (to me) pumice sand-basing paint/paste on the bases. I acquired it from Shadow’s Edge Miniatures and it is called Shadow’s Edge Miniatures Earth Works Dirt Colors “Sand Dust”. It comes in a 230ml/8 oz jar and I really liked it a lot. The only downside is that there is no photo on the website – you just have to choose “Sand Dust”. I have a photo below of the jar mid-project after using a lot!
Shadow’s Edge Miniatures “Earth Works Dirt Colors Sand Dust”Early work on the mountsAdding “Sand Dust” initially
By mid-June I had the infantry figures mainly painted and ready for weapons and shields.
We need spears – and shields!
You notice that I alternated drilling out on the forearms and the hands for the shield mounting so as to give more differentiation.
Armed!
With the final proximity of each figure to each other on a 2″ base, I needed to sequentially add the basing paste. First, I added the basing texture where the figures were to be affixed with Gorilla Glue. I got help from my granddaughter Tabitha who had fun doing this.
Tabitha at work!!Here you can see the sequential process that I followed – which allowed much easier application of the “Sand Dust” texture paint between the figures – but this added TIME.
After the “Sand Dust” had dried, I added three pigments to give better subtlety to the sand (and all the paints that I used are listed at the end of the post). Then I added varnish and flocking. By the end of June I had them completed and varnished as well as the leaders – but let’s get to their WIP next.
Whim Whim Brigade Commanders WIP Shots and Discussion
The brigade commanders went much more quickly as the drilling was limited to their heads! The figures looked great.
At the start – heads drilled out.
After assembly, I followed the same procedure as with the WWSR’s.
Two of the heads on paper clip wire after dry brushingBodies after drybrushing. I painted the figures then assembled them.
Before basing, I had these looking pretty good.
Then I was on to basing them like the WWSR’s, except this time on MDF bases.
Basing showing the figures with and without pigments on the sand on their bases.
Enough WIP I’d say – let’s jump into some…
Eye Candy
1st WWSR from the front in line formation1st WWSR in column formation2nd WWSR in line formation from the front2nd WWSR in column formation
And the leaders:
Leader with a blue turban from the frontLeader with a Blue turban from the sideLeader in armor from the frontLeader in armor from the sideOlder Leader with a red turban from the frontOlder Leader with a red turban from the sideBoth WWSR’s and the three Brigade Leaders assembled
These did make their first tabletop battle at Historicon in July, as did another Whim Whim unit – but I’ll save those pics for the next post. That will be coming shortly (so I can get caught up)! Let’s just say it will be cavalry units that required some modeling for sure.
I now have a full box of Whim Whim and Noobi – though in retrospect I should have slightly trimmed the spear shafts to fit better height-wise in the Really Useful Box.
One box of Whim Whim and Noobi!
I hope that this was enjoyable to read. Your feedback in the comments section is always appreciated – and thank you for looking!
And yes, I still have much more Ozz to come…
Miscellaneous details and references for those interested in that sort of thing:
For all of my earlier posts on Wars of Ozz games, figures, units, and other related projects – please see this page.
PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS, FLOCKING, GLUES AND MORE THAT I USED ON THESE TWO WHIM WHIM SPEARMEN REGIMENTS:
Number 6 steel washers
Iron Wind Metals Banner Spear Head Sprues SKU #DH507
As you may want to check out the excellent Wars of Ozz figures’ range – there are two places to get them and to get the rules (and I make no money from this btw). The game rules and the figures are available from the next two places:
Mark A. Morin 
