The Ravening Kriels: Introduction

Welcome to The Ravening Kriels, a project log for our ongoing Trollbloods Army conversion project for the Hordes miniature game.  The goal is a heavily-customized force with a classic high-fantasy "Evil Horde" aesthetic, including all the multifarious multitudes of Goblins, Hobgoblins, Orcs, Ogres, Bugbears, Trolls, and Were-Donkeys that trope implies.  As currently mapped out, the final collection will include a mostly complete Trollbloods collection, and a handful of Minions as well, almost all converted from the base models in some degree.

This is actually the second version of the Grim Angus conversion we did.  The initial attempt was judged by my colleague to possess "a surfeit of lameness" and scrapped.  This will be the subject of the first log entry.

Beginnings

This adventure began as a humble ask by a new player to our group, Jack, with help putting together a starter force for Hordes.  It happened that I already had a box of unassembled troll models, which gave him a start.  When he started looking to expand, I loaned him some WHFB Orcs which had been collecting dust in the display case as proxies for infantry units until he could acquire something more permanent.  But that opened the floodgates - what started as a temporary get-you-by solution quickly turned into plans for something more ambitious.

Once we began discussing the concept, conversion ideas came quickly.  The most obvious was to do the typical Trollkin troops as Orcs, since we already has a ready source of parts for those conversions.  The distinctive orc heads produced by GW would give the army a unique look, even for those models where the conversion would be limited to only a head-swap.  From that genesis, we began putting together models from what we had on hand, primarily by mashing up Privateer Press and Games Workshop models (the project would eventually grow to incorporate parts from about two dozen miniature manufacturers into the various conversion projects).

We put together the following mapping to maintain some consistency across the collection between models and rules:

• "Basic" Trollkin as Orcs, in the 'bulky and green' style made popular by numerous game franchises. This includes most of the infantry units and warlocks.
• "Heavy" Trollkin, such as Champions, as Ogres. The line between what should be an orc or ogre is not sharply defined.  When we set out, our intent was that the 8-wound units would be ogres, but that distinction blurred with the start of a new edition in 2016 and the redefining of several units.  In recent months, we've started aligning the type with the "northkin" line of models.
• Pyg units as Goblins.  We've made an effort to keep these models to the larger side of the fantasy goblin size spectrum, to maintain a clear distinction from the more diminutive (but similar looking) Troll Whelps.
• Troll light beasts (eg Axers and Impalers) as Minotaurs, again in the style of the hulking brutes familiar from popular media.  For ease of modeling (specifically not needing to sculpt tons of fur), this class is restricted to those that are heavily armored by default.
• Elemental Trolls and Dire Trolls as... Trolls.  The biggest change here is that we went to a more traditional mythological troll styling on many of the models, with large exaggerated noses, ears, warts, etc.  We've also made corresponding alterations to the whelps.

A fangorious Dire Troll Mauler contemplates his legality for tournament play...
This fellow's legal woes, and many other exciting tidbits, will be the subject of the second log entry.

General Conversion Notes

We've tried to strike a balance between a number of goals with this project - creating a visually unique collection, yes, but also keeping in mind suitability for gaming, the WMH conversion guidelines, ease of transport, and flexibility for use in other rulesets.  Where conflicts between these interests arise, we usually elect to give priority to "The Rule of Cool", but in all cases try to find a good compromise if one is available.  Specific issues with models and how we addressed them will be discussed in the individual log entries as they come up.

Model Recognition

With very few exceptions, all the models in this project are intended to as playable pieces for Hordes, and the ability for players to quickly and unambiguously recognize models in that game system is critical.  As such, we've placed a lot of emphasis on making sure models remain easily recognizable as the piece they are intended to represent, even where the final model veers quite far from the letter of the conversion rules.  That said, we do occasionally get a bit carried away (eg with the Battle Engines).

To illustrate, the dire troll mauler pictured above is made from pieces of seven different models, with only the lower jaw and back spines being from (different) dire troll kits.  To compensate, it is posed in imitation of the familiar "come at me" stance of the classic metal Mauler kit produced for Hordes mk1.  The result, once painted, has been immediately recognizable as a Mauler to every player we've asked.

Basing and Base Sizes

While WMH is the most common tabletop game around here, it's not the only one.  The original set of proxy orc models that got the ball rolling on this were based on 25mm square magnetic bases, with a steel movement tray.  Rather than re-base them, initially we simply stuck them on 40mm round lip bases with steel inserts for use as proxies.  From this, Jack expressed a desire early on that the army be usable for both individual-based systems like WMH, and rank-and-file games such as WHFB and Kings of War.

To that end, many of the models have magnetic bases, usually in the smallest size feasible without compromising stability.  For example, most of the trollkin infantry units are based on 25mm square bases with the corners filed down.  In this fashion, they can be placed in 40mm round lip inserts for use in Hordes, or lined up in close order on a movement tray.  We'll show a specific example of this in the log entry for the Fennblades.

This guy is burning so hot that he blurred the photo!
(Placeholder - Jack, I need better pics of the painted models)

Progress and Plans

The project has been ongoing for about a three years, with some substantial breaks, during which time we've collected and built about 40% of the models in the project goal, and painted/based about 20%.  It's our hope that keeping up this blog will give us some additional momentum to complete the project (inasmuch as a miniature collection can ever be considered complete).  The first handful of entries, therefore, will be documenting models already completed.  Following that, we'll post new models as milestones in build and painting are completed.

Thanks for reading, and hope to see you again here soon!