Project Beerenburg - Mercers' Guild Archers

Continuing to give my Fantastic Battles halfling burghers more options - and working towards 1200 points - I am pleased the showcase the brave archers of the Honourable Company of Mercers, purveyors of silks and other fine cloths. They can be fielded as a two-company unit, or be brigaded with the Tailors' Guild to form a four-company unit.

  

I suspect many readers will immediately recognise the figures in this unit as being Games Workshop's halflings from the 1990s. It was these halflings which first drew me to fantasy wargaming as a child and in my hotch-potch Warhammer 4th ed. Empire army, I think my halflings were the only unit I ever completely painted. They were sold off towards the end of the 90s with all my other GW stuff, but I always held them and their ridiculous clothing close to my heart. Jump forward 25 year, and after several weeks scouring eBay, the unit is re-born in the form of the Mercers' Guild. 

I have a mixed relationship with nostalgia, but this year I felt a real drive to revisit these chaps. It's not something I often talk about, but I tend to get a bit maudlin at this time of year, and this year more so than most. My wee daughter Aoife was stillborn in 2013 and today would have been her 10th birthday. Adding to this, my grandmother very sadly passed away last week. I'm exceptionally lucky to have a close and supportive family unit, but I wanted to give a small nod to this hobby for facilitating a cathartic and constructive outlet where emotions can be processed, and to friends made here who are always willing to chat and throw some dice, even when you may not be feeling it yourself.