Sunday 11 July 2021

More beastmen

 A couple of months ago I showed some beastmen and minotaurs that were part of a commissioned warband but I had a few extra models to do for it so here they are.




I love the old 80's beastmen and have a few stashed away myself. The bottom left model is Marauder but he fits in fairly well. I believe the warband is intended for Mordheim and a few markers were included for me to paint up as well as a random dog. 



Whilst not intended for this warband I also had a Skaven rat ogre to paint for the same customer. He goes with another warband I painted some years ago.




That's everything for now and hopefully I'll have something of my own to show soon.

Thursday 24 June 2021

Imperial Fists Space Marine command

In a previous post I showed off my old Imperial Fists marines and I think I included a WIP of a lieutenant I'd started with more than a ten year gap between the two. I'd had other command and specialists prepped and ready to go for years so I pushed on and got all five figures done. 

Lieutenant

 
Chaplain

 
Librarian


Medic


Techmarine

There we go. Just a quick post this time as the last one had too much waffle in it.


Saturday 19 June 2021

Fantasy adventurers and a dragon! Something brighter.

 A little while back I started painting some 40K space marines to add to a squad that I painted many years ago. One thing I had to do to match my new models with the old ones was go back to using colour mixes I perhaps wouldn't choose these days along with a brighter colour palette. For a long time I've gravitated towards muted colours and tones and that has resulted in my 'go to' colours becoming quite limited. I've got paints that I haven't used for maybe ten years or more in some cases. Using old colour recipes though ended up being rather enjoyable as I started to rediscover alternative shades of one colour or another and found mixes that gave really nice results.Vallejo's Stormy Blue got used for the first time since maybe the mid 2000's and the Electric Blue highlight I mixed with it used to be my default blue highlight back in the early 2000's and earlier than that when I was using the GW equivalents. This all seemed to be a really good thing as I was enjoying painting a bit more so I decided to order some new colours and expand what I'd got for the sake of variety. With new paints in hand I had the perfect commission to play with some of those colours on so here's what came of all that. 

Most of these models needed their integral bases removing so they could be mounted on the flagstone bases (plastic sheet with lines scored) but I forgot to make a note of some of the manufacturers so if I call them wrong let me know in the comments. :)

 


 

 First up is what I'm told is an Asgard dwarf lord although someone else mentioned Metal Magic. It's certainly an old sculpt and one I really like. I was given the option of painting his dragon helm as either part of his helmet or maybe as an actual little dragon sitting up there. I decided to paint it red and leave it open to interpretation. Maybe it's just a painted helmet crest or it could be a pet dragon. 

That red was a break from what has been my usual red for a number of years. Normally I'd use a GW Khorne Red base, highlight with VGC Bloody Red and then either orange or white highlights depending on where I wanted to go with it. Khorne Red covers really well which is why it became a staple of all my reds. In this instance though I returned to a colour I used to use which was VGC Gory Red possibly with a little black added for a darker colour. It doesn't cover as well so needs more coats but I wanted a change and it's how I used to do things. I used a new shade of red for me to highlight the Gory Red as I wanted to try something different so went with VMC Vermillion. That's become a firm favourite since. That was further highlighted with VGC Heavy Orange, an odd colour from their Extra opaque line that when I bought it some years back I thought 'WTF' and never used it. It's got a salmon orange colour going on with it which like I say is just a bit odd but it turns out to work pretty well with the Vermillion. I resorted to type and used a little VGC Bonewhite for sharp highlights.

I think I used VMC Royal Purple on the cloak, possibly with a touch of black for shade. Similar to an old favourite from years ago, VGC Hexed Lichen. VMC Purple was the initial highlight followed by adding VGC Squid Pink.

The face was a slight change from my usual skin tone recipes. The familiar VGC Beasty Brown base coat that I like for dwarves but I then used VGC Heavy Skintone which I don't think I ever made use of much like the orange. The usual VGC Bonewhite highlights followed and it came out quite nicely.

 


 

This is a Prince August knight and I'm guessing a fairly old model. Quite a nice one but lacking detail in a few spots, specifically the face which required careful painting. The sword was a separate piece. As far as the paint job went I was asked to do something a bit House Lannister from Game of Thrones. I again used a different set of colours for the red tabard but on this occasion I can't remember all of the exact ones unfortunately. It was a base of VMC Burnt Red and I think I highlighted that with VGC Bloody Red but beyond that is anyone's guess. The shield did have sculpted detail but I was asked to file that away and paint a lion. Thankfully I had a suitable homemade decal that fit the part and may be familiar to the especially eagle eyed as it was what I used on my Bretonnian foot knight hero and command. The armour needed to be a brighter gold than I have used for a while so I used the same recipe that I used on my space marine chainswords. VGC Brassy Brass, highlighted with VGC Glorious Gold, VGC Polished Gold and then VMA Silver and even a little Vallejo Metal Medium for edges. Washed with GW Agrax Earthshade and then a little re-highlighting.



 
Then we have a Citadel C02 wizard. Really nice model and one I keep seeing on Ebay too so very tempted to grab one myself. The blue robes were another excuse for something a bit different to my 'usual' blues. Decided to use VGC Sick Blue which I think may have had a name change. It's a colour I've used a little in the past but not for a really long time. The actual pot I have is the one I originally got in the Game Color paint set back in 2002/03. It's got a slight purple tinge to it that always struck me as not really blue but given that I wanted to try out some new things I gave it a go. Highlighted with VGC Ultramarine and then a little VMC Azure. Ultramarine used to be one of my main blues and Azure is a new one added to my paints. Really happy with the end result.

 

 
Another Prince August model in this ranger. Lots of browns so nothing too bright here although I did try and keep them on the richer side of appearances. The cloak wasn't too far from what I've used in more recent times to be honest, VGC Heavy Green highlighted with VMC Uniform Green but I did use VGC Livery Green as a final highlight to boost the colour. 
 


More Prince August but clearly a later sculpt, a necromancer. Lots of black.



Jumping forwards in time to a much more recent figure this is a Reaper Miniatures elf and quite clearly a Werner Klocke sculpt. This one came mounted on the cork rock base. Have to admit I was completely stumped when it came to a colour scheme for this one. The one stipulation was that she be blonde haired but other than that it was up to me. Some figures I know what colour scheme I want immediately, others might need a little thought and some I just draw a blank on for whatever reason. Had a quick look online to see what others had done with her and I quickly started to get an idea. The cloak again was where my new paints came in, this time a base of VMC Purple and a very simple VGC Squid Pink highlight. Made a really nice purple that contrasted well with the hair. Blonde hair is something I try and keep a little more naturalistic although this is still a bit more yellow. base of VGC Heavy Brown highlighted with GW Zamesi Desert, VGC Bonewhite and a little VMC Ivory.



Finally the dragon. According to Instagram a Ral Partha model. I tend to avoid these kinds of monsters as they can be a bit big but also because I sometimes struggle with them. This one wasn't too big thankfully. Used the same red recipe as on the dwarf's helmet. The cream was VGC Desert Yellow highlighted with VGC Bonewhite and then a little white.



That's everything for now but I do have more stuff to show and waffle on about.



Tuesday 20 April 2021

Beastman warband

 Following on from the post about the minotaurs this is the rest of the warband painted up. There are some additional models I'll be painting to go with them at a later date. Nice mix of models although my favourites are the 80's era figures. 

 A couple of I think Marauder Miniatures beastmen here and a slightly latter day Citadel shaman. Not sure if the shaman is the warband leader or whether it's one of the minotaurs. 

 


Beastmen of various sorts and some chaos hounds. My favourites here are the mace wielding Khornate beastman and the archer on right. I can only recall maybe a couple of beastman archers in the 80's range so I think the one in the middle is a conversion. Lion headed guy at top middle looks like he might be an earlier sculpt as I'm not familiar with him at all.

 

 One of the 80's chaos centaurs and another pair of hounds. I was asked to paint the centaur in a slightly rotten colour so maybe he's got a touch of Nurgle's Rot. 

 


Finally there's the Chaos sheep of DOOOOOOOOOM! Well that's what I've been calling it anyway. Apparently he's the warband pet or mascot. Not sure if it's a Citadel model or from elsewhere. 

That's everything for now. Like I say, there are a few more beastmen to go with these but this is where I'm at for now. As far as my own painting goes I have been trying to find time here and there to work on a few Rogue Trader era space marines for my old Imperial Fists. Got a little slowed down with retouching the old paint jobs as a few needed a little reworking. I know 'need' and 'want' are different things but some of what I'm tweaking on them is stuff I was never happy about even immediately after painting them. I'll show my progress on those in another post.


Tuesday 9 March 2021

Minotaurs

 A quick post to show the beginnings of a commission for a beastman warband. Thought I'd kick off with the big boys of the group so I painted up the four minotaurs. Great fun to paint. Anyway, on with the pics and we start off with two Marauder Miniatures MM42 minotaurs.



Then we have a couple of Citadel oldies from the 80's when they used to name their models. Bloodcry the Beast a C25 Minotaur.


And my favourite, Ox-Roar, Chaos Champion of Ultimate Slaughter a C34 Minotaur Lord. Got my own copy of this model stashed in the lead pile.

Group pic of the herd so far and awaiting their smaller beasty brethren.



Sunday 14 February 2021

Revisiting my Imperial Fists Space Marines

 I think it was back in 2005 I painted up my first Imperial Fists space marine, a plasma gunner. I'd been collecting these old marines for a couple of years and had finally settled on Imperial Fists for the colour scheme. It was more a case of having a yellow ochre colour in mind somewhat influenced by some marines I'd seen painted in either White Dwarf or possibly GM magazine from that '89/'90 era and Imperial Fists kind of fitted well enough. Over the course of a few years, I forget how many exactly but certainly by 2009 I'd painted up a full 10 man tactical squad.

 


 

I had plans to expand the force to include a dreadnought and five 'command' models including an officer, medic, chaplain, librarian and tech marine. These models were all selected, prepped and undercoated before being promptly left to gather dust. All these years later I wasn't sure what exactly to do with the squad. I recalled the painting of the armour was a little laborious and possibly over worked in comparison to how I paint now and there are some things I'd do differently if I were doing this all over again. The option of selling them and re-collecting the figures was considered. 

Recently though I dug out one of the command models I'd prepped and decided to see if I could replicate the paint work. I remembered the colours I'd used so no problems there. I've been asked a lot over the years what those colours were so here they are:

Base coat VGC Leather Brown (used to be Cobra Leather)

Main highlight VGC Scrofulous Brown

Next highlight VGC Gold Yellow

Final edge highlight VGC Bonewhite

I finished up with some ink glazes. I'll mention that in a bit. I'm not sure a glaze is currently considered the same as what I always understood a glaze to be but for me it's a very dilute wash of ink that barely tints the finished paint work.

This is the start of the Lieutenant, a model released in 1989. 


Here's a quick snap of the finished armour.


I'm quite happy with the armour colour and it's a close match. It turned out to not be as much hassle as I recalled as well. I couldn't get an exact colour match for potentially a number of reasons but I think the most likely one is the VGC Gold Yellow. I finally had to replace my original pot last year after 17 years or so and I think it's slightly different. I relied on the glazes to try and tint the paint work in the right direction. Originally I used Citadel brown ink as my finishing glaze but that's long gone now. Instead I used Winsor & Newton Nut Brown ink but the colour was still a bit off. Tried W&N Sunshine Yellow but that did nothing. Ended up using a glaze of GW Reikland Fleshshade. When the whole model is done I might add some extra sharp highlights if needed.

Not a great deal to do on this now but there are a couple of things that will slow down my finishing the model. I need to add the shoulder insignia but my old transfers seemed rather brittle last time I tried to use them. Not great when the only way to fit decals on these very convex shoulder pads is to slice them and then use decal softener to avoid creasing (followed by a certain amount of repainting). The other issue is the power sword. I'd like to paint it as a power weapon rather than just in metals but I never really got to grips with that whole thing so that could be a frustrating learning curve.

Whilst I'm not promising anything I am thinking I might get a few more of my command section done. Two more models would make a nice addition, all five would be fantastic, plus the dread' maybe to round it all out for now. Check back in 15 years to see if that comes to fruition. ;)

Sunday 7 February 2021

Norse Dwarves - Red Box Games

 Recently I finished off a commission which had me painting a load of Red Box Games Norse dwarves. Anyone who follows me elsewhere will have seen some of these over the last year or two. Not much more I can say on them that I haven't likely said in the past so here's an image dump of stunty goodness.