The Valhallan Vikings

I cannot remember where all the models came from, but the two Gods are Reaper figures. They can alternatively be classed as heroes (as Benedict did in the 2004 tournament, with the Faith and Doubt theme he used them as Gods in 2008).

Thor the Thunderer, and One-Handed Tyr (Gods)

Thor is unmodified, but Tyr need his right hand removed and replaced by a hook.

Berserkers (Paladin)

Benedict chose to represent his berserkers as a paladin – fast and deadly, but unwilling to retreat, and protected from magic by the favour of Odin and weapons forged from meteoric iron.

Vikings (Blades)

Where would a Viking army be without blades? This army has three, including the general.

Viking archers (Shooters)

Viking archers were not found in large numbers, but enough for a single shooter element.

Valkyries (Flyers)

Valkyries, on the the other hand, are rarely found in historical armies, but these Chariot Miniatures figures are a vital component of the army.

Longship about to ground (Stronghold)

The Stronghold is a longship.

Heffalumps, Woozles and Friends

The Heffalumps on the cover of this edition of Winnie-the-Pooh look remarkably like elephants, and the Woozles are notable by their absence from the illustrations.

The literary source: Winnie-the-Pooh

These Skeletal Constructs however leapt out at me saying Heffalump, Heffalump, Ho, HO!

Two Behemoths, including the general.

Heffalumps - Splintered Light "Skeletal Constructs"

The Giant Weasels make great Beasts, starring as the Woozles

Woozles (Beasts) - Splintered Light "Giant Weasels"

while the Were-Weasels make up both the warband (Wizzles), and the sneaker (Stouts – this one does not exist in the source, but that must because even Christopher Robin could not find them).

Sneakers are not really worth 3AP, even with the special rules we were using at HOTTBAP, but a chance to mangle the old joke:

Q. What’s the difference between a stout and a wizzle?
A. Woozles and wizzles are weasily wecognised and a stout is stoataly different.

Wizzles and Stouts (Warband & Sneaker) - Splintered Light "Were-Weasels"

The remaining elements were hand-made – a lurker: the Heffalump trap for Poohs

Heffalump Trap for Poohs (Lurker)

and a flyer: the Wrong sort of Bees – no doubt grumpy at having to fly out in the snow.

The Wrong Sort of Bees (Flyer)

The stronghold is a stand for a terracotta pot, and came from a  garden centre.

and the terrain is based on the map in the book:  Where the Woozle wasn’t, the Six Pine Trees, Eeyore’s gloomy place, and the Sandy Pit where Roo Plays.

The terrain

The army list I used at HOTTBAP 2009 is:

Alternatives I have available are an extra Heffalump or an extra element of Bees. The Stouts could also be fielded as an extra warband instead of a sneaker. In most of these cases I would then have to leave out the lurker, unless I built an extra one point element – perhaps a pooh-stick with teeth as a water-lurker.

Bwyd Cymreig

Given a theme of Welsh Food, there were several possibilities, welsh-cake airboats, lamb, laver-bread, and of course leeks. The Stronghold, of couse, had to be a Caerphilly castle.

Caerphilly Castle

I chose to build the army on 60mm bases, to give a little more room to sculpt, and made my first leeks out of Sculpey, or was it Fimo? These came out well, and so the leeks became the core of the army – spears and/or shooters, including the general, Owain Glenflower.

Owain Glynflower

For 4-point elements I chose to use a pair of magicians (I find they are often very effective in pairs). These two were also leeks, but in this case leek matriarchs in traditional dress, cooking up some cawl.

Leek Mother

I filled out the army with Welsh Rabbits (as riders), an unpulled leek (lurker) and some laver (water-lurker) giving a composition of:

Other elements I made as alternatives are a Sheep Behemoth, more shooters, and a different shape of Welsh Rabbit based as beasts. (The picture also includes the frogs, or in this case hats, in case of magical accidents).

Extra Elements