Dwarf Vault Warden Teams

   Vault Wardens are seasoned warriors who excel in warfare in cramped passageways and upon perilous walkways. Always fighting in pairs, these expert tunnel fighters make use of spears and great tower shields to push back their foes, guarding the tunnels and portals of Khazad-dum.



   They are amazing warriors with an unbeatable "D" value. They can block any passageway, guard any high value spot, or defend the flanks of the army. My plan was to add eight pairs to my Dwarf army but to buy eight pairs, the original ones, was out of question because of the high cost. So, I had only one solution to my problem, to convert some two-handed plastic dwarf warriors to wardens who carry the long spears and some others - to ones with the tower shields. I also had somehow to make these long spears and the tower shields. The internet offers many ideas about scratch built Vault Warden Teams from which someone can be inspired. That is what I did and I started my own DVWTs project.
   First things first. To make the tower shields I used "evergreen scale models" sheet styrene, which I bought from a railmodel shop. This one:

   I cut pieces of the above and I stuck on it some brass plates that a friend of mine had given me. He bought them from a shop where someone can find wooden ship models. I stuck also pieces from a thin plastic card to them. The brass plates are these:

   So, I had the eight tower shields but I did not want to waste eight warriors just for holding them. That is why I chose to man only four of the shields and I left the rest four unmanned.

   For the long spears I used round brass tubes which I had also bought from the same railmodel shop. Here they are:

   For the heads of the long spears I used eight samurai swords from some old metallic miniatures, which I bought probably twenty years ago and I have never used them ever since till now. I cannot even remember the name of the manufacturing company. I added a little red flag from greenstuff to each one of the long spears to ensure that the heads will stay on their places during the games and I will not have to stick them back every time after every game.  
   For spear-carriers I used two poises from the dwarves with two-handed weapons:

   The end product of the warriors who carry the long spears is this:

   And the end product of the two companies of eight Vault Warden Teams is this:

   Finally, the whole formation is this:

   That's it for today. Enjoy!