The boars are slightly smaller than the old GW boars, but I'm fine with that. I might look at using the spares as mounts, if I can find suitable orc riders.
Preparation
The boars have no harness or other equipment, so I decided to add a bit of something, just to make them look right as chariot pulling beasts.
I wound some thread around their bodies at the point where the chariot yoke would be attached. I also gave each boar a bit, one required drilling a hole in the mouth to take it. The bit is simply a piece of wire, bent at the end for reins to fasten on to.
One of the boars had a bald patch on its rump, this was quickly fixed with a bit of greenstuff (the slotta bases are simply for easy handling during painting).
Building The Chariot
There's not much flash, and what there is is easy to clean up. Assembly was straightforward, only four pieces, not including beasts and crew. I found that gluing the wheels a bit away from the body looks better, but there's still a bit of axle sticking out.
I wanted to add some blades, an option in Warlord's of Erehwon, and I think also in Warhammer. I pondered using spare blades from the old Fantasy Regiment set, but they were far too big. In the end I chose curved knife blades from the Oathmark goblin sprue. I cut a slot in each the end of the axle, and they fit right in.
Fantasy chariots usually have scythe blades curved the other way, but the knives were sharp on the outside of the curve. I could have easily shaped them, but I don't think orcs are that bothered by convention. Besides, it works to push victims out of the way, making for a slightly smoother ride. Orcs don't go in much for suspension.
Painting the Boars
I started with a coat of Vallejo German Green Brown Surface Primer, then a wash of Army Painter Strongtone everywhere except the rope.
I wanted the crest and along the spine to be much darker, nearly black at the top, so I tried a wash of AP Darktone on these areas. Unfortunately, this just looked a bit wishy-washy, so I gave the same areas a coat of Vallejo Game Color Scorched Brown while the Darktone was still wet. Much better.
There's a temptation to paint the hairless bits in pink, but a bit of research suggests that wild boar tend to be dark grey. So a coat of Vallejo Extra Opaque Heavy Charcoal on the ears, trotters and pads, and lips.
Finally I gave all the fur a light dry brush of VGC Earth, just to make the fur seem more realistic.
Painting the Chariot
Painting was straightforward. After priming and picking out the various metal bits, I gave all the wood a base coat of VGC Desert Yellow. Then it all got a wash of Strongtone before picking out a few of the planks in different Speedpaints. I find this adds just enough variety to the wood.
Then I decided that the front of the chariot should be black, so VXO Charcoal followed by a black ink wash.
The Crew
These were painted in much the same way as the rest of my Oldhammer orcs. I kept with the idea of them using spoils of war, so some of the colour choices echo previous minis.
Finishing Touches
The base was cut from PVC Foamboard*, 50mm x 100mm and rounded off at the corners (it cuts very easily). I stuck a piece at the back of the base for the wheels to rest on and cut small pieces with slots to take the pegs on the boars.
The boars were glued in place, then the base was textured to fill in around the extra bits of foamboard using acrylic modelling paste. I sprinkled sand on the wet filler for a bit of extra texture, then the whole lot got a coat of builder's sand.
The base was then painted, drybrushed and flock etc added.
The chariot was then pinned onto the base and pinned into the boars. I disguised these latter pins with some plastic skulls, much more orcy decoration than fluffy dice!
Finally, I used more thread attached to the bits and threaded through the driver's left hand for the reins; fiddly, but worth the effort.
I'm very pleased with the chariot. Its a nice model and paints up well. The little touches, like the reins and the skulls, help personalise it.
I might at some point get another, I built this with the crew provided, but it might be fun to change them, either replacing or converting some of them. The main chap looks wonderfully goofy; check out the size of his skull, not a lot of room for thinking in there! He makes up for it with his impressive ears though.
The chariot is available from Old School Miniatures, the boars are available separately in a pack of four.
*This isn't the same sort of foamboard used to make model buildings, it's plastic throughout, and much tougher. It's used in signmaking, among other industries, and can be bought as offcuts.
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