Amaxon Priestesses

This week I finished painting another Amaxon Priestess for my Lustrian Warhammer Quest collection.  I based this model on the Hasslefree Miniatures Azura Halfblood, pinning a pair of large feathers from the Games Workshop Greatswords sprue to her head, hiding her Elven ears with a pair of helmet wings (also from Hasslefree), & using Green Stuff to model a head band & top to cover her bare chest.  I think the helmet wings hint nicely at one origin story for the Amaxons of Warhammer - that they are the sole survivors of a Norse expedition of which all the men died in the jungles of Lustria, while the women created their own culture among the ruins of the Old Ones.

I'll use this figure to represent a High Priestess (worth 1900 gold) or Priestess Queen (worth 2400 gold).  Since converting this miniature, Hasslefree have released this off-the-shelf tropical sorceress, which I think I'll have to buy to represent a mid-rank Priestess Champion (1000 gold).

Pictured here is my finished High Priestess, along with the Serpent Priestess (590 gold) that I painted a few months ago.  I decided to add green warpaint to them in the end, to complete the tribal look.  In the lore, Amaxon motivation can appear fickle to outsiders, so in Warhammer Quest games, I'm thinking of having it random whether encountered Amaxons attack or aid t he players' adventuring Warriors; & they may help slay evil foes first, before then attacking the Warriors.

More jungle scenery

Frances & I made a couple more bases of jungle scenery for the Lustria collection.  Hers is on the left, mine is on the right.  We have plenty of these CD-sized jungle bases now, so it's time to work on some pieces of ruined Lizardman temple/statuary, some spawning pools, & maybe some large rainforest tree trunks...

Sacred orchid

I completed another piece of scenery for my Lustria collection recently.  It's another piece of large scatter terrain, based on an old CD - the same recipe as these previous ones. 

I started with the idea of an ancient flagstone path leading into the jungle, but ending mysteriously amidst the foliage, but as I was fitting the jungle plants, I decided to have the path lead to a sacred orchid, perhaps greatly valued by the Amaxon tribeswomen of Lustria (maybe it has significance in their rumoured immortality?)

I used some of the techniques for smaller plants that I picked up from Frances's jungle base - they really help layer & enhance the scenery!

Jungle scenery

This week my partner Frances made her first piece of wargames terrain - a base of jungle scenery, which turned out amazing!  Incredible detail, & it fits right in with my existing Lustria jungle terrain. It inspired me to model-up a blank hill that I had waiting to be finished - as another jungle piece.  Put together with the rest, I have a decent amount for running small skirmishes on my 2' x 2' Ronin board (I've been thinking of trying Lustria skirmishes using the Ronin stat-builder & my Warhammer Quest figures).  Could do with a bit more variety for this jungle set now - some overgrown ruins, murky pools, & perhaps a river!

Frances's scenery was based on an old CD, which first received a cardboard top, & then several layers of 3mm & 5mm foamboard cut to resemble a slight hillock (the depth was necessary to fit the plant stems into).  The foamboard was slathered in moulding paste to make a smoother hill, & when dry was painted dark brown, with splotches of olive green where the grass would be.  After various flocks & Gamers Grass tufts were glued on, the plastic aquarium plants were glued into holes drilled into the foamboard.

My hill followed the same recipe, but the base was entirely foamboard, with some 2p coins glued into recess in the bottom layer, to add some weight.

Below are some photos of the assembled terrain, with some of the denizens of the Lustrian rainforests lurking amidst the steaming undergrowth.

While I've made no progress on my Lustrian-themed Warhammer Quest dungeon tiles lately, I was pleasantly surprised how much 'above-ground' scenery I already have to hand for the same setting.

Amaxon Serpent Priestess

This week I converted & painted a figure as an Amaxon* Serpent Priestess for my Lustria-themed Warhammer Quest collection.  I purchased the miniature via Fenris Games, but didn't want the 'male-gaze' bare breasts & bum look for these fierce matriarchal warrior women - therefore with my limited Green Stuff putty skills, I sculpted a top & skirt.  I'm pleased with the result, which is somewhere between the original 1980s fully-clothed 'punk-Native-American' vibe, & an 'Aztec-jungle-warrior-woman' look.  Initially I instead tried sculpting a hanging fan of feathers around her neck, & then multiple beaded necklaces, but both were too challenging, hence the plain top.  I may yet add a necklace of fangs from my Lizardmen bits though.

The Amaxons of Lustria are said to be descended from the womenfolk of a Norscan raiding camp.  When their barbarian menfolk disappeared venturing into the jungle, they survived & thrived alone, supposedly discovering powerful artefacts amidst ancient ruins which have granted them immortality & negated any need for men in their society.  Although descended from pale-skinned Norscans, I will be painting my Amaxons with a collection more befitting the climate, as they are generations removed... & perhaps the story is a myth - perhaps they were already protecting the ruins of the Old Ones, long before the Norscans (& then the Empire) came to plunder!

Priestesses are part of the religious sisterhood that governs the mysterious Amaxon society, possessing shamanic powers to harness the forces of nature against interlopers in their sacred jungles & Old One ruins - for instance hurling a swarm of bees, calling grasping vines, raising gales, or even escaping threats by turning into a cloud of butterflies.

* = I've chosen to go with the 'Amaxon' spelling rather than 'Amazon', because these matriachal tribes reside on & around the river Amaxon in Lustria, & the spelling is more fitting with that of the Lizardmen cities.