Uruk-Hai Sledgehammer

I got to painting the Uruk-Hai Berserkers this past week and after having finished them I went right ahead with some Feral Uruk-Hais. I then finished Avicenna and the Hassassin Ragiks I had left over from the week prior to last.

Pict 787: Uruk-Hai Sledgehammer

Pict 788: Uruk-Hai Berserkers

Pict 789: Uruk-Hai Berserkers

These Berserkers have a really iconic look to them. You instantenously know that they are the ones responsible for blowing up the Deeping Wall of Helm's Deep. And you know that they are going to wreak some havoc with those two-handed swords. I'm not quite sure how this menacing look translates to the battlefield, but I'm keen to try! The models painted up rather quickly since they are not much more than some metals and leathers and quite a bit of skin. I'm really happy how the different symbols of the Hand of Saruman turned out. They add to the repeat poses and make them a bit more unique.

Pict 790: Feral Uruk-Hai

Pict 791: Feral Uruk-Hai

After finishing the Berserkers so quickly I got to work on a batch of Feral Uruk-Hai. They are quite similar to the Berserkers but wield two handweapons instead of one big one. Since they are a creation by GW, they feel somewhat out of place in the Lord of the Rings line with their bolted on armour pieces and their piercings. But incidentally the former design choice foreshadows Bolg's and the Keeper's weird armour.
The Ferals and the Berserkers both have two attacks a piece and should destroy anything once close up and since they are the start and core of my Isengard army, I decided to name it the Uruk-Hai Sledgehammer!

Pict 792: Avicenna, Mercenary Doctor

As for Infinity the Game, I finished Avicenna the Mercenary Doctor who is playable in several NA2 armies as well as the Hassassin Bahram. But I think she will only see play once I get more Govads for her to join in a linkteam.

Pict 793: Hassassin Ragiks

Pict 794: Hassassin Ragiks

And here are the four Ragiks I was missing from my collection. They were painted in the usual way and as ever I'm quite happy with the result. They should be pretty much the last few miniatures of 2019 and I'm planing to do a showcase of my army for next week's post to recall what I painted and make plans for the new year!

Pict 795: Uruk-Hai Captain and Lurtz (WIP)

Last but not least, here is the last WIP for 2019 - two Uruk-Hai Captains and two versions of Lurtz. The latter really got a nice boost in this last edition and I look forward to using him!

Old Maghariba Guard (Herbie the Love Bug)

This past week I managed to finish the work on my Maghariba Guard model (naming him Herbie the Love Bug). But with the new expansion War in Rohan by GW for the Middle-earth SBG, I just had to get started on an Isengard army that I had planed for some years now.

Pict 784: Maghariba Guard

Pict 785: Maghariba Guard

I really love this old model for the Maghariba Guard - the round shapes and the bodyplan of a bug are a unique design. I went for a rather simple paintscheme with my usual colors but with lots of the glowy bits. I'll count it as a finished model even though the base is still missing - the 70mm diameter is a bit unusual and I'll have order one but haven't got around to it.

Pict 786: Uruk-Hai Berserkers (WIP)

And here's a quick WIP of a start on an Isengard army. As I said in the first paragraph, the new supplement has given me a good excuse to finally go ahead on this army after some time of planing and collecting the models. The Uruk-Hai Berserkers are some iconic models and felt like a good (and easy enough) start to test out how I want to paint them.

Silverhorn the Unicorn on Displaybase

This week I managed to finish Silverhorn the unicorn on it's display base from last week and started to work on some more Haqqislam miniatures including a few Ragiks as well as the big bug.

Pict 767: Silverhorn, Unicorn

Pict 768: Silverhorn, Unicorn

Pict 769: Silverhorn, Unicorn

Pict 780: Silverhorn, Unicorn

Pict 781: Silverhorn, Unicorn

As I said last week, I went back to the shadows especially around the chest and the belly but also where the head meets the neck. I also lightened the rocks and treestumps on the base to set them apart from the substrate and the black plinth. But what really gives the miniature it's live is the greenery. The leaves threw a last wrench into my progress since at first they were way to bright. I now toned them way down and am pretty happy with the result!

Pict 782: Avicenna, Hassassins Ragik (WIP)

These Ragiks are the next few miniatures I want to paint for my Haqqislam. The hacker option seems really great since it is able to achive a majority of the classified objectives that are quite important in the current mission we play in our league. Avicenna might not get played much but I wanted to add a new mercenary as well.

Pict 783: Maghariba Guard (WIP)

 And here is my start on the one TAG Haqqislam has available to them, the Maghariba Guard. It's the old model that's inspired by the shape of a beetle. The new one is awsome as well and I'm pretty sure I'll get it sometime but I imagine there will always be a place in my heart for this cubby little six-legged mech.

Doing something different / Pushing myself

This week I went ahead with a different sort of project: painting to a high standart and pushing my skills as a painter.

Pict 764: Silverhorn, Unicorn (WIP)

I picked a unicorn made by Reaper Miniatures they call Silverhorn. I decided on a unicorn early on to practice shading and highlighting on the larger areas but still paint a fantasy miniature and not just a horse. Nevertheless I spent quite some time looking at pictures of horses, especially eyes of horses... I also knew that I wanted to try and do a display base to frame the miniature and decided to go for a forested area.

Pict 765: Unicorn Display Base (WIP)

And that's how far I've gotten with the base for now. I'm pretty happy with the forest substrate - I wetblended three different browns, keeping everything darker towards what's going to be the back of the base. To pull it all back together I drybrushed some brighter colours and added spots of a green wash. The rocks look ok, but I think I will have to brighten them some more.
The trees however will have to get completely reworked. I want the rest of the base to be black which I hadn't considered when painting the trees. And now they don't stand out at all... I might just got for birch trees but I fear that this might not achive the framing effect I had in mind for the unicorn. And of course I will have to put on some greenery and model leaves!

Pict 766: Silverhorn, Unicorn (WIP)

Pict 767: Silverhorn, Unicorn (WIP)

The unicorn itself is also pretty far along. I wanted to use very limited amounts of washes since I usually depend on them rather heavily. I only used a wash on the longer hair like the mane and the tail. The main parts of the fur were done using many layers of very diluted paint. I'm pretty happy with the effect of highlights and texture I managed but I still want to deepen the shadows some more and after that I assume I will have to touch up the other blends a bit.

Ghulams and Bounty Hunters

I spentmore time painting some rather old Infinity miniatures: four of the earlies Ghulam Infantry figures that were released for the game. I also managed to finish the Halfling Quesnef and then got to work on some more Mercenaries for my foray into the NA2 – Domovoi, the Dogwarrior from the Outrage manga and a start on the Authorized Bounty Hunter on bike.

Pict 753: Ghulam and Mercenaries

Pict 754: Ghulam Infantry

Pict 755: Ghulam Infantry

The three Ghulam Infantry with rifle and light shotgun are from the first Haqqislam Starter set realeased sometime in 2007 (?). They are part of the game's history and still look all right but as I said in my last post the faces are pretty comical ad the poses are a bit stiff. The doctor with her MediKit falls in the same category but I like the pose of her reloading.

Pict 756: Domovoi

Pict 757: Domovoi

Vania 'Domovoi' Nevsky is a Dogface from Ariada and thus I hat the chance to again go for different colours. I incorporated the beige kneepads as a nod to my Haqqislam but overall went for a more contemporary look. His face really shows what you can do in digital sculptig - I love the angry look barring his teeth and it was a joy to paint. He's not on the base he comes with since I don't like the way he overlaps the 25mm size and thus was promoted to a 40mm base. He might get some playtime as McMurrough but I really want to paint that model as well so that Domovoi might be only a character piece I painted for myself.

Pict 758: Authorized Bounty Hunter (Bike)

Pict 759: Authorized Bounty Hunter (Bike)

Pict 760: Authorized Bounty Hunter (Tactical Rock)

Pict 761: Authorized Bounty Hunter (Tactical Rock)

And here is my start on the first Authorized Bounty Hunter. I'm going to need quite a few of them to play Dashat, since they can mix into any fireteam. Corvus Belli sells this one with a bike but I separated and magnetised them since they are not certain to get the bike on the Booty Lvl. 2 table. Additionally I now have a cool bike for the next time one of my Ghazi finds one in a panoply!

Pict 762: Quesnef, Halfling Form

Pict 763: Quesnef, Halfling Form

Since I showed a WIP in my last post, there was not that much left to do with this nice little halfling. With his green coat he now looks a bit to much like a leprachaun, but I'm happy with him nonetheless.

Space-Ninja!

Once again I painted more Infinity miniatures – the titular Space-Ninja, Nakadai, as well as Saladin and two old Ghazi Muttawi'ah. Right now I like to paint Haqqislam miniatures when I haven't painted for a while: The colours are established, my technique is established and thus it makes for a good stepping-stone to get back into the swing of things.
After that I also did some work on more D&D miniatures: Trinked from Critcal Role and the halfling Quesnef.

Pict 745: Nakadai vs. Saladin

Pict 746: Nakadai, Mercenary Oniwaban

Pict 747: Nakadai, Mercenary Oniwaban

Ah yeah, space-ninja! I finished painting Nakadai and enjoyed to get into some different colours. Since I based him the same as my other miniatures, he'll fit right in. For now he might be used as Saito Togan before I get my hands on one of Saito's miniatures. But if I managed to shoehorn all of the Outrage miniatures into an army, I just might have to go for that. We'll see what Dashat holds for me.

Pict 748: Trinket

Pict 749: Trinket

And here is Trinket from my last post finished. He was quite a fast paintjob but I very much liked to do the fur via wetblending and washes to deepen the shadows around the sculpt. For the base I went with the same scheme as with my limited Vax'ildan. I intend for the whole Vox Machina and Mighty Nine to match even if the other assorted Critical Role miniatures are on differing ones.

Pict 750: Saladin, Ghazi Muttawi'ah

Pict 751: Saladin, Ghazi Muttawi'ah

I also painted three more miniatures for my Haqqislam. The old Ghazi Muttawi'ah don't quite hold up: the faces are quite stereotypical and maybe even comical. Saladi on the other hand still strikes an imposing figure. I love the flowing cloak and the combination of myrmidon armour (he's a recreation by Aleph after all) and the Hafza shoulder pads.

Pict 752: Quesnef, Halfling Form (WIP)

And after all that I also started to paint the hafling form of Quesnef, a shapechanging Oni. He's from one the first D&D modules: White Plume Mountain and one of the more formidable foes one has to face if one want's the get to the famous sword Blackrazor hidden in that dungeon. I like the characterful sculpt and of course he is wearing a waistcoat – thankfully a green one in the official picutres, in red he'd be to close to the Bilbo from the films...

More Mercenaries and D&D

These last two weeks I looked at expanding my options for my planned dip into the Dashat mercenary sectorial for Infinity as well as more pieces for my Haqqislam. For D&D I finished up the female mage by Darksword Miniatures and started to work on Trinket from Crital Role.

Pict 738: Everyone's pointing their guns for the group photo, only the Barid is not looking...

Pict 739: CSU, Al Fasid, Hassassin Barid, Tariqa HVT

Pict 740: CSU, Al Fasid, Hassassin Barid, Tariqa HVT

The Al Fasid is obviously the stand out in this picture thanks to his size (and his really cool pose!), but the other models are nothing to be sneezed at as well. There is the converted Hassassin Barid – I changed his stance and rotated his head – that I wanted to add to my Hassassins since I often found myself building lists with two of them in. There is the limited edition Tariqa HVT from the Infinity RPG Kickstarter. A really generous friend gave that particular model to me since he had one spare and I was to late to get it for myself during the Kickstarter. And last but certainly not least is the male Corporate Security Unit with the Breaker Rifle that came in the limited edition Beyond Red Veil box. I really love the model – the pose is excellent, the trench-coat looks cool from the back and the inner lining has that contrasting black and white pattern (google told me it's called Houndstooth).

Pict 743: Female Mage (Darksword)

Pict 742: Female Mage (Darksword)

And here is the next hero finished: the femle mage made by Darksword. As ever a joy to paint their miniatures! The only struggle I had were the hands – they are a bit small and compared to the face they seem to fall out of the usual proportions. But that was nothing a little guesswork couldn't handle! The face and the cloak again are amazing and painted up easily and nicely.

Pict 743: Trinket (WIP)

I don't post that many WIP photos any more because of the two-week intervals between posts. In that time I usually manage to get through the few miniatures from start to finish. Trinket the bear from Critical Role however seems to paint up rather quickly so that I was able to put down the basecoats before finishing up this post today.

Pict 744: Nakadai, Mercenary Oniwaban (WIP)

And lastly here is the start for the next Infinity Mercenary: Nakadai, the Oniwaban Mercenary from the Outrage manga. What's not to love about ninjas in space?

Assembling the Party

I painted some more heroes to add to my D&D party and with those I'm almost have the most recent group ready. After that I also got to some more Haqqislam miniatures that might just get me started with the Dashat mercenaries.

Pict 731: Human Captain, Gnome Wizard

Pict 732: Schicksalspfade Captain

Pict 733: Schicksalspfade Captain

I once again painted a model from the game Schicksalspfade. I really had problems finding a simple fighter with a shild and a sword - I would have liked for him to have a cloak as well but for one I didn't find a suitable model in my usual miniature lines. And after looking through my several boxes of unpainted miniatures, I found this guy already in my possesion. I enjoyed doing the back of the shield (he isn't really holding it to protect himself?) and after I was at a stage where I would usually call a model done, I also went back in and did some darklining.

Pict 734: Gnome Illusionist / Thief

Pict 735: Gnome Illusionist / Thief

Similar to my search for a human fighter was quite vexed to get my hands on a (male) Gnome Wizard. This miniature by Otherworld is the only one that fit the bill to an extend. He is marked as an illusionist as well as a thief and for example the dagger in the right boot does not quite fit my image of a wizard. Nevertheless I liked to paint the blue cloak as a somewhat more expensive cloth. The gem in the left hand also fits very well, since the character represented by the miniature has the guild artisan (jeweler) background.

Pict 736: Hunzakut, Bahshi Bazouk

And here then are the next two Haqqislam miniatures. I pretty much got through all of the miniatures I had for the Hassassin sectorial and with these two I might dip into the mercenary Dashat Company. But I want to at least try and paint more of the vanilla Haqqislam / Qapu Khalqi ones before I go out to buy some more...

Pict 737: Female Mage (Darksword) WIP

Other than the other heroes, this miniature however was a quick find. I like to go browse the Darksword category Visions in Fantasy to look for characters and when I was on the lookout for a druid, this miniature was a natural fit. I inverted the colours of the cloak and tunic of the official paintjob since I like the contrast between the bright orange and the framing muted green but thought the orange cloak impractical when blending into the underbrush of a forest.