Blood Bowl: Bywater Badgers

"There, on the torn Ghost Worlds, dwell the many-coiled serpents which are the terror and the scourge of the eight dimensions. Here, also, live ghosts and men, those who are manlike and those who are unlike men, those who know their fate which is to live without time, and those who are unaware of their doom. And there, also, do kinfolk to the Eldren dwell — the halflings."

 - Michael Moorcock: The Eternal Champion

"They're gathering around that lone player like halflings round a sandwich!"
- Bob Bifford, Blood Bowl II

That's right: it's time to paint a new Blood Bowl team.

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With their home field in Bywater in the Shire, the Bywater Badgers wear green and yellow uniforms, and take the second part of their name from their first sponsor, a prominent Westfarthing badgering company.

The first model I actually painted was this Impact Halfling Team Owner, who I will definitely have on the sideline.

Because I reckon he ended up looking more than a bit like Bob Fleming, he is Robert Jeroboam Fleming III, a Hobitton agribusiness magnate and owner and general manager of the Badgers.

For the team itself, I ordered a Halfling Squad from Black Scorpion Miniatures. They're competitively priced resin models, and I like them. I started with the Treemen. They both got a base coat of German Camo Black Brown, and drybrushes in lighter browns. Here's #2 Willow-Daughter, who got a slightly red-brown finish:

And #1 Hazel:

Hazel is accompanied by her cat friend, Football AU IndyCat, from Archon Studio's marvelous Animal Companions set.

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The rest of the team is, of course, made up of halflings. Here are the first two, #3 Mancomb "Roper" Bolger-Bullivant and #4 Marroc "Barmy" Took-Willowsby.

The next batch is #5 Bucca "Spiffy" LaGrande-Bodkin, #6 Dagoth Ur, #7 Sturgis "Stiffy" Pendelbury-Goyle and #8 Hob "Biscuit" Gamgee.

Two of them, Bolger-Bullivant and LaGrande-Bodkin, already made their Turboleague debut with the Sisters of Shallya, where both were carried off the astrogranite as casualties. Here are #9 Chester "Muddy-feet" Bracegirdle-LeChuck, #10 Meriadoc "Oofy" Bagshott, #11 Hugo "Nibs" DeGoulash, #13 Isengar "Biffy" Finch and #14 Daddy "Bingo" Corner-Thicknesse.

I do like these Black Scorpion models! However, I've misplaced one, so I painted up some Blood Bowl goblins as reinforcements. Here are a guy with a scorpion, #12 Among the Stupid and #15 Backstabber Irpik.

So here's a team photo!

And the complete roster:

#1 Hazel

#2 Willow-daughter

#3 Mancomb "Roper" Bolger-Bullivant

#4 Marroc "Barmy" Took-Willowsby

#5 Bucca "Spiffy" LaGrande-Bodkin

#6 Dagoth Ur

#7 Sturgis "Stiffy" Pendelbury-Goyle

#8 Hob "Biscuit" Gamgee

#9 Chester "Muddy-feet" Bracegirdle-LeChuck

#10 Meriadoc "Oofy" Bagshott

#11 Hugo "Nibs" DeGoulash

#12 Among the Stupid

#13 Isengar "Biffy" Finch

#14 Daddy "Bingo" Corner-Thicknesse

#15 Backstabber Irpik

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Coming up: the Badgers' Turboleague debut!