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Author Topic: The Empire's Renaissance  (Read 3750 times)

Offline Sigur

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The Empire's Renaissance
« on: April 29, 2025, 03:21:19 PM »
Heyhey, friends.

First time I post on here in about 14 years or so? Good to see the forum still going strong, because forums rock.

Right, let's get to the point of this: For many, many months I've been infatuated with the idea of Warhammer Renaissance. I played a game of 5th edition last year, and it's exceedingly lovely and all, but the problem about GW games is that it's always bound to 'making an army list', points and all of that. And I'm not sure I love that a lot, at least not in the shape of the 4th/5th edition army lists.

In general, I'm a big fan of keeping GW away from rules and let people who care do that instead, so I'd really like to try out Warhammer Renaissance.



If anybody wants to have a look at Warhammer Renaissance, but doesn't care for Facebook's silly website, run by that super shady company (Facebook/Meta), let me know and I'll DM you a download link. It's a bit annoyig that there are no proper websites from where to download those rules, but the guy who writes them thinks that the FB group is good enough, so who am I to disagree. Either way, I can send you the rule if you want. They're worth a look, I think.

My Dark Elvesarmy are finished enough for now, to try the rules solo (as I like to do before subjecting others to new rules), I need opponents for them.

Last week I somehow got the idea of going through boxes to check just how little I actually got in terms of Empire figures and how surely it would never be enough to turn it into a playable army. Turns out it's more than I thought, especially once i broke out that box I got second hand off ebay a ton of years ago.

So I got out some reading material and try to cook up some Empire units!




The core of the army for now is a bunch of troops I actually got from a very generous gentleman who got out of the hobby and he gave me his very nicely painted figures (pretty much the 6th edition starter box Empire plus a bunch more unpainted stuff) with the only contition that I am to play with them. Which I actually did. They saw action in Dragon Rampant, Song of Blades and Heroes as well as slightly more action-filled "let's play farm" games with my niece, in which the state troopers and cannon served as hired guards.

Over time I painted a few more figures from that collection, namely 5 knights of the White Wolf, six Greatswords, etc. for skirmish games.

Now I'd like to turn the thing into an army. So I got out what else I had lying dormant in boxes.



A nice bunch of late 5th edition multi-part plastics and hybrid kits. They required stripping (which didn't go very well) a fair amount of repair and removal of all the mold lines. Usual 2nd hand plastics fare. Started by painting a unit of 12 crossbowmen in the same Ostland colour scheme as the aforementioned figures I already got.

Speaking of which, here's a list:

So here's what I got here now:

Hero on horseback (lance, 6th edition starter box) - painted, but needs rework
Boris Todbringer (sword/shield, 4th edition metal) - done
Engineer with Hochland Long Rifle (6th edition) - done

Engineer with repeating musket (6th edition) - primed
Engineer on horse with repeating pistol (6th edition) - unbuilt

Warrior Priest (6th edition) - painted, might need a bit of work
2-3 Wizards on Foot (Plastic) - unbuilt
Balthasar Gelt on Pegasus - unbuilt
Kurt Helborg (4th edition) - primed
Marius Leitdorf (4th edition) - primed




16 Handgunners (6th Edition starter box) - need some rework
16 Handgunners (5th edition plastics with metal parts) - primed
12 Crossbowmen (5th edition plastics with metal parts) - done
18 Spearmen, Drummer, Champ, Banner (6th edition starter box) -  need some rework
34 +1 (Extrachampion) Halberdiers (5th edition plastics) - not even primed, repairs on 2nd drummer required
6 Knights of the White Wolf (4th edition) - done, except for the standard bearer, who is unbuilt
17 Greatswords (6th edition) - primed

1 Greatcannon (6th edition) - needs some rework
1 Greatcannon OR Mortar (6th edition) - unbuilt


To be added:
.) 12 Knights (6th edition)
.) Ogres (either 5th edition ones and/or MOM Miniature Mercenary Ogres. Open to suggestions. I'm not wild about the faces on the Wargames Atlantic ones to be honest, otherwise they'd be very interesting)
.) Spearmen (Warlord Games)
.) War Wagon (I kinda detest myself for it, but I ordered it off Etsy. That's a first. Let's see how that turns out.)
.) Hellblaster Volley Gun (really liking the MOM Miniatures one)



Of course the dream would be all 4th edition figures, no question there. But I did the "my GW dream army" thing  a long time ago, and 2nd hand prices for old GW stuff are at a historical high in insanity. Also, the above is what I got lying around anyway, which kinda was the idea behind this army to begin with. Apart from the "To be added" articles of course. These are yet to be added. :P


Phew. I also decided to use variations of the colour scheme for different regiments. Most of the figures which are done are in the Ostland theme as seen above, but I think I'll add some variety with future units.

So what do you think? Also let me know if you wanna get rid of old Empire stuff (5th/4th edition) and don't care for money much. :D
« Last Edit: May 12, 2025, 12:25:23 AM by Sigur »

Offline Sigur

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Re: The Empire's Renaissance
« Reply #1 on: April 29, 2025, 03:24:51 PM »
Right, here's a snapshot of the handgunners I've been making pretty good progress on....



....before I fell into a glass door the other day and got a fierce cut on my right hand. Blood vessel soldered shut, several stitches, but most likely no nerve damage. Luckily, unlike the Dread Pirate Roberts or Inigo Montoya, I am left-handed. Still, the whole thing threw quite an enormous spanner in the works of commission painting, let alone stuff I paint for myself.

Oh well. So I'm slowly easing back into using my right hand again, hope to get to do some more painting on the handgunners this weekend (there's also a bank holiday, so maybe even long weekend). Btw, the hand gunners are painted in a Hochland scheme, because otherwise Gargobot (who owns a large and very pretty Hochland army) otherwise would have shouted at me. :P

Hope you like them so far!

Offline Albrecht von Hinkel

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Re: The Empire's Renaissance
« Reply #2 on: May 09, 2025, 11:36:48 AM »
Welcome back to The Empire, love the work so far! Stay safe out there  :ph34r:

Offline Victor

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Re: The Empire's Renaissance
« Reply #3 on: May 10, 2025, 11:14:39 PM »
Welcome back to the Empire! Took me a minute to recall where I have seen your forum name an avatar before. If I remember correctly, you also showed your work on the warseer forum when it was still around and it was really good! So I am definitely looking forward to this Empire army of yours!

Offline Sigur

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Re: The Empire's Renaissance
« Reply #4 on: May 12, 2025, 12:22:50 AM »
@Albrecht von Hinkel: Cheers! In early 6th edition I considered playing Empire already, but ended up going with Dark Elves. :) I did get to do a lovely Averland army a few years later though for a gentleman and a bunch of Mortheim gangs for several people.  But these here are my first of my own!

@Victor: Ha, thank you! Yeah, I was on Portent and then Warseer from 2002 on. Shame that it's gone, I really liked that place. Oh well. It's great that this forum here still exists. Forums rule. Somehow social media websites sapped a lot of people from forums without really being a useful replacement. Weird. Anyway, thank you very much.

Right, hope all of you had a lovely weekend. My weekend was, and I got to paint a bit of my own stuff to boot! So it's time for an update that isn't just some horrible cellphone snapshot.

In chronological order:

Ostland crossbowmen:


Hochland handgunners:


Knights of the White Wolf:


These I actually painted about 10 years ago already for a game of Lion Rampant. All I did now was add the standard bearer and give the guys a bit of a do-over. One of them also got a new hammer, because his had lost its head over the years. Extremely lovely faces on these figures.

Ostland Greatswords:




Aso lovely figures; 6th edition metals. I couldn't think of anything to write on the banner off the top of my head, so i left it blank for now. But of course that banner should have some scross with the regiment's name or motto on there. Hope to add it later.

...and here's all of them together:


That's what I painted by now (Boris Todbringer there way in the back left needs a bit of a fancier shield. I also painted him in 2014 for that Lion Rampant game and apparently didn't have the time for a fancier shield. :D ). On top of that there's 18 spearmen, cannon and 16 handgunners IIRC from the 6th edition starter box, painted by the gentleman I got large parts of this army from a long time ago. So these may need a little bit of an overhaul.

Right, that's that. Now I think I have enough for a solo test game of Warhammer Renaissance. Hope you like them!



Updated list of stuff:

Hero on horseback (lance, 6th edition starter box) - done
Boris Todbringer (sword/shield, 4th edition metal) - done
Engineer with Hochland Long Rifle (6th edition) - done

Engineer with repeating musket (6th edition) - primed
Engineer on horse with repeating pistol (6th edition) - unbuilt

Warrior Priest (6th edition) - done
2-3 Wizards on Foot (Plastic) - unbuilt
Balthasar Gelt on Pegasus - unbuilt
Kurt Helborg (4th edition) - primed
Marius Leitdorf (4th edition) - primed




16 Handgunners (6th Edition starter box) - need some rework
16 Handgunners (5th edition plastics with metal parts) - done
12 Crossbowmen (5th edition plastics with metal parts) - done
18 Spearmen, Drummer, Champ, Banner (6th edition starter box) -  need some rework
34 +1 (Extrachampion) Halberdiers (5th edition plastics) - not even primed, repairs on 2nd drummer required
6 Knights of the White Wolf (4th edition) - done
20 Greatswords (6th edition) - done
12 Knights - NIB
LOADS of spearmen/pikemen - NIB
14 Greatswords - NIB
14 Halbardiers - NIB




1 Greatcannon (6th edition) - needs some rework
1 Greatcannon OR Mortar (6th edition) - unbuilt
4th edition Mortar and crew - I just found those in a baggy! Two mortars actually, but just one crew of three. Lovely figures. - primed




To be added:
.) Ogres (either 5th edition ones and/or MOM Miniature Mercenary Ogres. Open to suggestions. I'm not wild about the faces on the Wargames Atlantic ones to be honest, otherwise they'd be very interesting)
.) War Wagon (I kinda detest myself for it, but I ordered it off Etsy. That's a first. Let's see how that turns out.)
.) Hellblaster Volley Gun (really liking the MOM Miniatures one)



edit: to see the full-size photos, open the pictures in a new tab. But I'm sure you know how to handle the forum. :)
« Last Edit: May 12, 2025, 12:30:21 AM by Sigur »

Offline JoV

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Re: The Empire's Renaissance
« Reply #5 on: May 12, 2025, 11:20:37 AM »
Amazing as always.

Have followed your posts across several forums, and always of such a high standard. Looking forward to seeing more

Offline BK

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Re: The Empire's Renaissance
« Reply #6 on: May 12, 2025, 01:09:42 PM »
Great looking units

Offline Victor

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Re: The Empire's Renaissance
« Reply #7 on: May 12, 2025, 03:51:27 PM »
What a great start! Great painting and lovely bases too!

Offline Noigrim8

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Re: The Empire's Renaissance
« Reply #8 on: May 12, 2025, 08:26:58 PM »
They look ace, lovely highlights
 :Ohmy:
Still better than Stirland

Offline Sigur

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Re: The Empire's Renaissance
« Reply #9 on: May 13, 2025, 12:18:04 AM »
@JoV: Oh, thanks very much. :) That's nice to hear. I hope I get to get more done on this army soon. Next week I'll be at an event in Germany (staying one night at a hotel, so bascially this costs the whole weekend. :P ), until then I have to finish some stuff very swiftly, but maybe next weekend I'll put some time into the Empire army.

@BK: Cheers!

@Victor: thanks very much! I've been a bit worried about my bases lately, because I think that by now some people might find the regular style to look antiquated or someting (a general fear of what ever I do since a few years :D ). Anyway, I love adding flowers to bases. Flowers improve the look of figures.

@Noigrim8: Thanks very much! Yeah, I've been going lighter on highlights in recent years, I think, at least with colour schemes such as the ones as on the empire dudes we got a lot of contrast from the colours themselves anyway.


So now I got the first bunch finished. The big question being - what's next?

I need a wizard. Preferrably on horseback, but I only got a whole bunch of them on foot, or Baltasar Gelt on his Pegasus.
I'd like to do more knights, so I might crack open that knights box I got next? I'm partial to the knights of the Blazing Sun or of course Reiksguard.
I'm also very keen to try these Warlord Landsknechts. I got two boxes of them, and I'd like some more spearmen anyway... oh well, let's see.
Do you guys have any preferences of what you'd like to see next or suggestions as to what to add next?

Right now I gotta take care of some Space Marines and battlemechs anyway, then I can go back to Empire things. :)

Offline commandant

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Re: The Empire's Renaissance
« Reply #10 on: May 13, 2025, 07:55:53 AM »
The warlord landsknechts are really nice.   I made a load of halberdiers from them.

Offline Zygmund

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Re: The Empire's Renaissance
« Reply #11 on: May 13, 2025, 08:39:06 AM »
Beautiful painting.

-Zyg
Live in peace and prosper.

Offline BK

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Re: The Empire's Renaissance
« Reply #12 on: May 13, 2025, 11:32:08 AM »
...
I'm also very keen to try these Warlord Landsknechts.
Only potential issue with Warlord Landsknecht is that they are a bit smaller than regular empire troops, they are about size of the old Dogs of War miniatures as they are more realistically proportioned. But since your troops are old 6th edition, which are smaller than later 8th edition ones I think WL Landsknecht would fit well, as long as they are not mixed with GW miniatures in the same unit.

Offline lcmiracle

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Re: The Empire's Renaissance
« Reply #13 on: May 13, 2025, 12:44:27 PM »
I didn't like most of the WL Landsknecht's head options, and I recall I had to remove the square base that came as part of the model

Offline Victor

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Re: The Empire's Renaissance
« Reply #14 on: May 13, 2025, 08:35:53 PM »
The Warlord Landsknechte are very decent miniatures in principle, but based on all the pictures that I have seen, I don't think they really fit in an Empire army next to most GW miniatures. (But admittedly, the 5th edition GW multi-part Empire soldiers are also quite small.)

If you go 3rd-party anyway, I would personally suggest checking out the Reptilian Overlords miniature range: https://reptilianoverlords.com/product-category/fantasy/holy-reptilian-empire/

Offline Fidelis von Sigmaringen

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Re: The Empire's Renaissance
« Reply #15 on: May 13, 2025, 09:14:19 PM »
@Victor: They do seem to be a good match - probably because they do seem to be a GW rip-off as well.
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Offline commandant

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Re: The Empire's Renaissance
« Reply #16 on: May 13, 2025, 11:28:34 PM »
The scale doesn't really matter. They are a little smaller but not enough to make any real difference. If anything not having everybody the same size is better

Offline Sigur

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Re: The Empire's Renaissance
« Reply #17 on: May 15, 2025, 12:30:15 AM »
@commandant: Thanks; looking forward to adding them! Only problem is - if I do them 'right', they shouldn't wear uniforms but a wild mix of colours and patterns. But this way madness lies... :D If they're a nudge smaller than the GW figures I got - oh well. First, being painted and on the table helps a LOT with making figures look more alike, and if they're a bit smaller - meh, they're from Tilea. :D

@Zygmund: Thanks very much!

@BK: Yeah, all I got (and very deliberately so) is 6th edition starter box and late 5th edition multi-part plastics. I feel like I should be okay. Just proper 28mm figures. It's funny, when Pro Gloria announced the plastic Landsknechts I was HYPED (possibly the last time I ever was for anything, because I'm old and bitter :D ). When they showed first pictures of the figures, I was very disappointed because of how much like GW figures they looked in style. Not surprising, as I learned later, because they're sculpted by an ex-GW guy IIRC. Now I'm kinda glad they look very much like GW figures. It's weird how that goes.

@Victor: Cheers! Yeah, I know of their not-Catachans (surprisingly expensive for WA figures, I found, but they look OK). I don't own a 3d printer yet, so maybe an option for later.

@Fidelis von Sigmaringen: Very much so. Right down to certain poses. :D

Offline commandant

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Re: The Empire's Renaissance
« Reply #18 on: May 15, 2025, 09:38:14 PM »
Some of them have half armour which helps with the random colour nonsense.

Offline Warlord

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Re: The Empire's Renaissance
« Reply #19 on: May 16, 2025, 12:07:54 AM »
These are beautiful. Love the old state troop models too. Great to see.

I am curious about the Renaissance project - is it using core rules with new army books?
I was literally thinking about this myself a few weeks ago, but for 7th edition. Can you forward me the rules (i am not a "facespace" person).
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Offline Sigur

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Re: The Empire's Renaissance
« Reply #20 on: May 16, 2025, 10:52:21 AM »
@commandant: Yeah, I found that rather nice about the Empire Greatswords already. :D

@Warlord: Thanks very much! Sure, I'll DM you. The Renaissance rules basically take 4th/5th edition, put a bit more focus on regiments over characters and add in elements of 6th edition for playability. And all of the army lists are overhauled, have earlier/later stuff included and reworked points values. Which for some silly reason was the thing that irked me the most about 5th edition. The DE list there had certain units which just were very obviously underpriced for what they do and others having too high points values. Sure, you can pick armies then which just make sense, but I prefer for a game to make me feel stupid for making mistakes on the table (as Warhammer VERY often did back in my Warhammerplaying days :D ) rather than making me feel stupid for having "not picked the right figure" (that was more 40k's thing, I feel).

Update:
Update: I went through my stock of plastic Empire wizards (4th edition/Talisman/WHQ singlepose ones) and fixed a wizard from that plastic box they released in 7th edition(?). Got him half-built from somebody second hand. Not sure it's even possible to place the latter one in a ranked-up regiment. :D

In less than an hour I'm off to that wargames show in Germany, talked to a lovely vendor from the area yesterday about 20mm square bases and 25x50mm cavalry bases, but he won't be able to attend due to illness and is out of those bases anyway. Oh well. Sadly I can't bring the Empire figures with me for the show, because I think they're too old and too unpretty for the audience there. Rather GW-centric, rather inclined to play the latest thing in general, not yer typical oldhammer bunch. Which is excellent. Always a lovely show, that. And it's a bit of a trip, which isn't bad either.

Offline GamesPoet

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Re: The Empire's Renaissance
« Reply #21 on: May 23, 2025, 10:01:23 AM »
This army is coming along fantastically, congrats! :icon_biggrin: :icon_cool: :eusa_clap: :::cheers:::
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Offline Sigur

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Re: The Empire's Renaissance
« Reply #22 on: May 28, 2025, 11:45:50 PM »
@GamesPoet: Cheers!

Well, everything ground to a halt about 3 weeks ago. :D Too much to do. But in between things I managed to finish a first wizard figure. I'd started painting this dude in 2008 or 2009, just now finally finished him. Not perfect, but I enjoy his face. :D Feathers have been replaced because the originals snapped and are buried deep in some box, I presume.




Hope you like him!

Offline Rowsdower

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Re: The Empire's Renaissance
« Reply #23 on: May 29, 2025, 02:29:39 PM »
I love that old wizard sculpt. He always looked like he had something important to say

Offline Sigur

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Re: The Empire's Renaissance
« Reply #24 on: May 29, 2025, 06:27:28 PM »
Eep, I got a reply from Zap Rowsdower, the man himself! I've been looking forward to this. :D Big MST3k fan.

Aaanyway, yeah, back in the day I started painting him simply because I liked the models so much. Wanted to use him as a referee/rules lawyer in games on the sideline.