Helga, Queen of the Dwarves

Well, I do confess I have a thing for short hairy bearded axe-wielding maniacs, but I'm equally a sucker for a short, hairy, beard-less axe-wielding maniac. So when GW at the end of the nineties released their first female dwarf figure since before the slotta-base was invented, I had to buy her.

"My, what big... braids you have."

Naturally it would take me about 15 years to get her painted. She's still not quite finished, as she needs a shield and to get her base done. Originally a special character in the Grudge of Drong pack I will be fielding her as a hero or champion in a big block of Dwarf Warriors. I have about 30-odd of the old marauder dwarves from the mid-90's. They are mix of longbeards, clan warriors, hammerers and iron breakers, but nearly two decades of scale creep means they are now smaller than the current line of plastic dwarves. To be honest the new plastics look like steaming piles of goblin dung compared to the old metal figures. I'm looking forward to painting this unit up, and Helga will get her shield and base done along with the rest of the unit.

Madonna called and wants her bra back.

Colours used:

• Skin: Wargames Foundry Flesh (all three shades) and some diluted Vallejo Bloody Red for the lower lip.
• Hair: Wargames Foundry Canvas, (all three shades).
• Horns: GW Khemri Brown, Bleached Bone and Bone White.
• Axe shaft: Wargames Foundry Spearshaft (all three shades).
• Clothes: GW Mordian Blue, Vallejo Mid Blue, Vallejo Light Blue (layering and some mixing).
• Trim: GW Iyanden Dark Sun, washed with GW Gryphonne Sepia and highlighted with Vallejo Deep Yellow  
• Leather: GW Calthan Brown, highlighted with Wargames Foundry Buff Leather Shade, and washed with GW Devlan Mud.
• Gold: Vallejo Old Gold, washed with Gryphonne Sepia and highlighted with Old Gold mixed with Vallejo Silver.
• Metal: Vallejo Gun Metal drybrushed over black.

I didn't bother with her eyes since she had so bushy eyebrowse they wouldn't get noticed anyway. When I was painting the face I couldn't help but notice how ugly Queen Helga is. She's not badly sculpted, she's just not pretty!!! I even think I saw a resemblance with GW sculptor Gary Morley and I had a strange suspicion that he had sculpted his own likeness into the figure. Upon checking I learned that Colin Dixon did all the figures for the Grudge of Drong scenario, so it's either a coincidence or Colin used Gary in drag as a model...