Der Panzer Gryphs: Mach 2

Another three riders done to add to the second rank of my Demi-Gryph knights. A long time coming, really happy to see them with riders!

It was just a matter of finishing off some white and gold detailing. Hope you like them!

Das Kapital: Altdorf

A limited edition captain model that I will be using in the Altdorf/Reikland contingent that will accompany my Karl Franz model when I ally them with my regular Carroburg force.

I went with the halved design and kept the metallics, reds, browns and parchments the same as my other Empire guys.

Also added a bit more orange into the feather which I used in the Witch Hunter model and liked the effect - ties it into the red well.

The dead Orc is painted in usual greens from the GW tutorial. The only change being the bottom lip which includes Bugman's Glow in with Waagh Flesh. Then with some Screaming Skull added on for a highlight. All blood effects were done with a base coat of Khorne Red and the added Blood for the Blood God, with some more careful spray/streaking effects.

Do you have a flag?

Empire Battle Standard with Gryphon Banner.

One of the main problems for my Empire army has been my lack of BSB in game play. I never really take one, when they're so crucial in game and really add to the combat and break test bonuses, the re-roll and just being a good centre point for the army.

Done in my standard Empire colours. A bit of 5 o'clock shadow thrown in for "tough guy" stylings!

Just need to give him a name. Any suggestions? The more creatively Germanic is all the better!

Basing work

Pretty meadows for High Elves

Sharp-cliffs, and frozen tundra forest for Dark Elves

For the High Elves, the meadow flowers are from Army Painter - ace stuff, really easy to use, just like the GW clumps that you can get.

For the Dark Elves, snow is Flex-Paste from Woodland Scenics, followed by GW snow effects. The grass is GW Mordheim Turf clumps, with the snow effects recipe stippled on top. You might also see the dead leaves as well, covered by snow, which are dead seed pods from our birch tree - these are amazing! Perfect scale for dead leaves for 28mm scale, free $$$ and plentiful in autumn. Win. 

Love to hear what you think.

Dark Elves

After much thought, I've done a bit of a redux to my Dark Elves. My main issue with the other scheme was that it was more "dull" than "dark." DE are dark, but they're still elves, so not dull.

So in order to fix this I've added quite a bit more colour and am happier with the overall look and feel. The dark purple and navy is a good combo as it looks black, but actually isn't. The addition of the bright green actually was originally intended to only be on poison weapons but having tried another blue-green OSL look on the Sorceress' eyes it actually didn't "pop" contrast as much and do got a bit lost/complemented a bit too much. I think the green actually adds to the dark power/feel of what Dark magic is all about - rippin' people's souls from their bodies, poisoning, devouring in black/greeny blasts of energy... Maybe anyway... 

A word on painting the Dark Elf skin:

I used Rakarth Flesh + Pale Skin (Valejo) in a 50:50 base mix then added increasing amounts of Palid Wych Flesh.

Shades were thinned Leviathan Purple wash and Dark Flesh, both done with Lahmian Medium (this stuff is liquid gold!).

The green accent is Warpstone Glow (Snot Green), Moot Green (Scorpion Green), Sunburst Yellow, White Scar. I used Biel Tan around the deepest parts of the eyes really judiciously just to make the eyeballs pop even further. She's blasting out a spell you see... Pfzzzzz *dead*

Star gazing

Assembled and ready to be primed grey

Having painted this before, just wondering if you'd make any suggestions Gaz?

Tournament wrap up

Here is half of the army that I took to the Wackyhammer doubles tournament (Gaz's Nuln army was the other half) and our Last Place consolation prize - Wight King! 

My summation: Sir, we need reinforcements!

It was ace. Great opponents, and two close games, with one blow out loss at the end. Given that our lists were really fluffy I think we did well considering. My favourite army was definitely the Tropic Thunder Ogre-Lizardmen army that was really well executed, especially the basing and NMM throughout.

Der Panzer-Gryphs

3 of 6 Demigryph Knights are done. I'm pretty happy with the look overall, now I just need to do the banner details on NMM gold...

3 more on their way to make a unit of 6!

I spent a bit more time in the scar on the champion, using dark flesh mixed in with Tallarn Flesh, then some Bhaal Red and Leviathan Purple glazes to give extra depth of colour. The result is great and I had to invent a story to go along with the model. Here it is:

The unit is lead by a grizzled champion, Kurt Wieslemann whose scar is the result of being tusk charged by a Savage Orc boar chieftain in the face, surviving and then killing both beast and rider.

Mud and Blood: Flagellants

Five completed flagellants.

Really happy with the overall look. Just have 15 more to go...

The flames are all washes/glazes over a white base coat (x3 for whiteness!).

I love the blood/gore and reddy/bruised skin effects and the mud stains. That slight hint of blue/white is to link the unit in with the rest of the army which has the same colour for their feathers for cool contrast to the bold, warm red.

Throw the book at him: Empire Flagellant (take 2)

Ok, so based on Gaz's feedback I give you this more insane offering:

More blood and gore. 

Some careful Bhaal Red shading of skin areas for a more 'hair shirt' wear and, yes, tear. Aweful pun. And then some line shading with Leviathan Purple. The blood soaked cloth is a "spray" flicking the stippling brush, firstly, dark flesh (for dried blood), then secondly, blood for the blood god. Final careful application of 'B4tBG' applied with a standard brush and with streaking and some diluted soaking through... I'm much happier with this look. And I think the extra effort will be well worth it on all 20. I'll definitely be using them if I paint them well. That's the theory at least...

Dying for Sigmar: Empire flagellant

A bit of a test model for my 20 man Flagellant unit:

Mainly the standard drab browns and khaki colours with some weathering. I'll use red and bronze (with verdigris) as spot colours throughout the unit to give it a bit of extra detail.

Aud Weidersehen Hexen: Witch Hunter

Meet Dieter von Sprüngler, Witch Hunter.

He's a combination of this type of witch hunter from Warhammer online.

And this guy: Jorge Sprave. How nutty is this?! I love the German sense of humour.

Back to the model:

What a great model! This miniature is great, despite my hatred of Finecast. I've got two variants - twin flintlock pistols and great weapon - and this is the first paint job.

In terms of research material, I used a few different sources to get the colours to fit with my army but also be slightly different. These two images were helpful:

High Elf army

High Elves as they stand at the moment...

Just gotta keep paintin'...

Caladris

A few shots of Caladris, High Elf Mage from the 'Island of Blood' set.

A really nice model to paint. If I did it again, I'd probably paint it in components rather than fully assembled as some of the areas were a bit tricky to get to.

I used the trailer for Warhammer Online 1 as a guide for the colour scheme, again keeping to the "classic" colour scheme. I used Serabite Green as a glaze on the white to add another colour to the white, which I think looks nice and adds another subtle hue to the model whilst remaining 'white'.

I tried out some OSL effects on the staff and the glowing orb. I was thinking about doing OSL on the vials but decided against it. 

One question is whether the vials should be a dark blue/green instead of the turquoisey-blue that they are at the moment. A positive is that the pallet of colours is limited and 'uniform' but could be a bit too much. My reservation with the darker green is that it might be a bit 'evil' or Dark Elf-ish. Thoughts?

From the Deep...

Rrraggghhh!

Done.

Sisters of Averlorn

Pew! Pew! Pew!

Enough said. Really great models to paint. I'm keeping the army very traditional in colour scheme and going for bright golds and silver. The blues are two different hues, but the difference is minor, but I hope is noticeable enough. Love to hear your thoughts on them.

I still need to finish the bases off with some meadow flowers and static grass but will have to order the flowers from Army Painter.

Apparently they're not awesome on play, but using them last week they made short work of two goblin chariots, squig hoppers... Though I forgot to use the Reaver Bow I'd given to the High Sister...

The painted section of my HE army as it stands:

From the deep

It begins...

Thinking that I won't base him just yet as I'll need to get into many nooks and crannies.

I've sprayed him in grey, not black as I'm finding the black a bit too stark on the eyes and it's easier to see details in the grey. Also, I'm going to paint it in a luminescent blue-green underbelly which needs a bright undercoat initially.

Any thoughts/hints on how to paint him?

Death from above: Prince Althran

Vertical envelopment, death from above. 

A couple of shots of my finished Prince Althran model riding his gryphon painted in the style of a peregrine falcon.

Done in classic High Elf colours, with the addition of the line green sash that I think I'll use as a spot colour for the rest of my army, which will be mainly a Lothern, Caledor and Saphery force. Hopefully I'll have some Sisters of Averlorn done next.

Love to hear your thoughts.

Dawn of the (Un)Dead: Black Knights

It's been a while since I last picked up a brush, but I've managed to knock these guys out in the last three days.

I just need to order their spectral steeds from Horde o' Bitz on eBayz. Yes, my kingdom for an (undead) horse and all that...

I still need to do the crowns on the banner and not sure about which colour to use at the moment - suggestions welcome.

Really happy with the metals. I wanted a dark, tarnished look to everything and happy with the overall effect.

The bronze is as follows:

Balthazar Gold

Runelord Brass

Washed down with Nuln Oil

Targeted wash with Nihilakh Oxide

The steel armour is as follows:

Leadbelcher

Nuln Oil

Agrax Earthshade in parts

Waywatcher Green glaze (very selectively)

I deliberately didn't highlight because I wanted them to be really decrepit. The vines that cover them certainly give them that feel, as if overgrown through time. Great models, will definitely get five more in the future.

Sisters of Averlorn test model

A couple of quick shots of the Sister of Averlorn test model that I've now finished.

I've avoided greens on the model because I really want to keep my army in the 'blue' scheme because I haven't got a blue army.

An Altar (and BLOOD!) for the Blood God

And here it is - the Temple of Skulls. Done and dusted (highlighted, varnished and tarnished!).

I was pretty much thinking this the whole time I was painting this bad boy. Come on, we all were right?! KALIMA...The main idea was that the "Temple" is in fact a misnomer and that this is more of an arena and that prayer, is in fact a bloody ritual combat or ripping someone's skull straight off of their spinal column... eeewww. Too far? Yep. 

The idea with the skulls was to pain them in a style that would use the sponge technique that I recently tried on the Magewrath Throne. But when I replicated the same colour as I'd used previously the model became a bit too monochrome in appearance. So I needed to change the skulls to a different colour. I toyed with the idea of having them a tarnished metal colour, which would have been fine. But the dark obsidian colour has really grown on me and I would say that it's definitely original, which is always a plus. The other benefit of obsidian is that fact that it's such and "otherworldly" stone, despite being a naturally occurring rock. This really suits me because not only is it daemonic, magical but also subtle and "realistic". Winning... at painting!

It was surprising quick to do as well, despite a couple of false starts on the skulls and dark brown on the base sections. A few pics below for close-ups. Love to hear what you think about it. Can't wait to use this sucker.

A close up shot of the bloody corner:

Stairway to... death?

As the crow flies:

Palette time!

Prime:

Black Spray

Undercoat: 

Skavenblight Dinge (entire model)

Bedrock:

Highlight successive layers of

Stormvermin Fur

Baneblade Brown

Karak Stone

Stone slabs:

Mechanicus Grey (the dark one)

Dawnstone

Administratum Grey

Skulls: 

Basecoat: Chaos Black (how could I not?)

Sponge: Midnight Blue (it's a really old colour and not sure if it exists anymore, it's so blue black and has even got a hint of purple in it, which it great)

Sponge: Eshin Grey

With the sponge I tried to use the leopard print technique again on different sections to make sure that the Midnight Blue and Eshin Grey did have some cross over sections but were on different parts, with Eshin Grey on the more raised areas.