A miniature Odyssey – Harryhausen’s best

Aaaah, skeletons, a real classic! I think everyone of us has encountered these stereotypical villains in some way or another, be it in computer games, movies, or during a very old-fashioned walk through the haunted house at the fair. In my case, the image has been formed by the classic Jason and the Argonauts movie, of which you can still easily find film scenes on YouTube.

Basically, however, skeletons can be used for almost any setting, whether you take a trip into Greek mythology like me, visit a Draugr tomb in the cold north, or even summon an army of the dead as an antagonist yourself. Warlord Games offers a gigantic set of no less than 91(!) miniatures, including a stylish necromancer, for just 50 pounds - that means a skeleton costs less than one Euro.

But the skeletons are also available in a practical 24-man regiment box, which was enough for me. You have to experiment a bit when assembling them, because the upper bodies have partly hunched postures, which in combination with one of the widely spread pairs of legs can quickly lead to a rather shuffling look. Furthermore, the assembly of the delicate skeletons is not entirely uncomplicated.

For me, the following procedure has proven to be the most reasonable: first of all, the parts are cleaned of moldlines separately. This would still work after the assembly, but since the skeletons are quite thin, it can quickly happen that they break. Then you look for a pair of feet and legs that belong together and press them into the recess provided in the feet.

Then glue the whole thing onto the base and wait until the glue has dried. If it is still a little soft, the skeleton could otherwise slide into a different pose. Then repeat this step first with the upper bodies and then with the heads.

The Warlord skeletons are practically "stick figures", which makes it possible to create very versatile poses. However, this requires a little patience, but it's worth the effort. Here are a few examples:

Hoplites in formation and lungeing

Archers in line and free-firing

Close combat and command

The dog is not included in the box though, he's from Mantic. I have developed so much enthusiasm during the assembly that I was tempted to participate together with the other Chaosbunker Daddies in the summer project from the german forum tabletopwelt.de.

Gravemarker

In three months a total of 18 models have to be painted, six each month. Now, of course, I've already noticed that in addition to Mortal Gods, there's also the expansion Mortal Gods Mythic, in which, what a coincidence, you can play an army of Hades. It consists mainly of skeletons, a priest of Hades, an undead hero and a Hydra. Except for the latter I already have models for everything here.

Well then... rise, my bony minions!

Greetings from the Chaosbunker

Dino