Tag: jade lancers

Constructing the Jade Lancers

When I made a trip to Warhammer World in June 2025 I was pleased to see the then new models for the Army of Grand Cathay for Warhammer Old World on display. I really liked the Cathayan Sentinel especially the paint job which made it look like it was terracotta. I also saw a posting on the Warhammer Community site about where Lewis from the Warhammer Studio had painted some Jade Warriors as terracotta warriors.

I started thinking about creating and painting a whole army in this style, so I bought a Cathayan Sentinel and the Grand Cathay Battalion.

I started constructing the Jade Warriors. After finishing some of those models I started on the Grand Cannon and the Jade Lancers.

The Jade Lancers represent the elite heavy cavalry of Grand Cathay’s armies, formidable shock troops drawn from the very best of the disciplined Jade Warriors. Clad in ornate, heavy cataphract armour that gleams like polished jade and mounted on barded warhorses, they are a sight to behold on the battlefield. Wielding long Cathayan lances, they are trained not only for devastating charges across open plains but also for intricate manoeuvres through the narrower confines of city streets and fortified breaches, making them exceptionally versatile. Their thunderous arrival shatters enemy lines, embodying the implacable might of the Celestial Dragon Emperor’s domain.

I do think the construction of the Jade Lancers is quite complicated, the horses are made up of quite a few components. Most of the horses have only one hoof on the ground, something that you couldn’t do with metal models, but can with plastic.

Still a fair few to construct.

Terracotta Army of Grand Cathay

When I made a trip to Warhammer World in June 2025 I was pleased to see the then new models for the Army of Grand Cathay for Warhammer Old World on display. I really liked the Cathayan Sentinel especially the paint job which made it look like it was terracotta.

Though one model does not make an army, and the other Cathay forces would need painting. 

However… in a recent blog post I noted a posting on the Warhammer Community where Lewis from the Warhammer Studio had painted some Jade Warriors as terracotta warriors.

I decided to do something different and paint a unit of terracotta Jade Warriors to match my Cathayan Sentinel. They were painted mainly with drybrushes, which I intentionally left quite dusty and textured to give the illusion of the hard terracotta. This was followed by washes to provide some deeper shadows, then static grass and foliage were added to give them an ancient feel, as if they’ve just been awoken in Grand Cathay’s time of need.

I started thinking about creating and painting a whole army in this style.

The first box for that army arrived, and it was the huge Cathayan Sentinel. The next box was the Grand Cathay Battalion Box.

In this box you get:

2x Cathayan Grand Cannons or Fire Rain Rocket Batteries
10x Jade Lancers
30x Jade Warriors

Good value compared to buying miniatures separately.

I will be painting the Jade Warriors and Jade Lancers as terracotta.

The Jade Warriors can be assembled as one large unit, two units of 15 warriors, or three units of 10 warriors – each with their own optional champion, standard bearer, and musician. Likewise the Jade Lancers can be assembled as one large unit or two units of five warriors.

I am thinking large units at this time.

As for the Cathayan Grand Cannons I am thinking that the crews should be terracotta in appearance, but not sure about the cannons. Something to think about.