Old Vampires Stir

I managed to finish a few miniatures for my Undead collection, did some more work on the elite Blood Angels from last post and then started a new MESBG army project in the form of Ents with Quickbeam and Treebeard.

Pict 1414: Old Vampires stir up the local cemetary

Pict 1415: C18 Vampira, Necromancer and Neferata

First up are the first finished miniatures of the year – three pieces of my Undead collection that I started right after a game of Cursed City last Halloween. The faces of the C18 Vampire and Neferata were a bit challenging to paint up with the somewhat exaggerated features of yesteryear. But I'm pretty happy with the way they look now. In comparison, the modern Necromancer really was a joy to highlight, but he does lack some of the charm the older miniatures have.
The Necromancer is the first of nineteen miniatures I want to finish this year for the second Cursed City expansion. Very good to have the first one done early in the year, but I have to try and not loose sight of them and should propably start the next batch sooner rather than later.

Pict 1416: Blood Angels Tartaros Command and Veterans (WIP)

My Blood Angels got to see action in a game of Zone Mortalis. I was really happy with the Veterans and the Terminators but my Preator really needs a more powerful weapon compared to the simple power weapon he comes with. Thankfully what he's modeled with could reasonably represent a numer of different weapons. So I'll be able to try a few permutations.
Anyways, the oilwash is dry and locked in with a coat of varnish, the detail work is coming along nicely and I'm starting with the highlighting of the red armour. Not that much more to do after that, so I should have them ready for a Zone Mortalis tournament this coming saturday.

Pict 1417: Quickbeam and Treebeard (WIP)

I also got to play two games of Middle-earth SBG and fell in love with a somewhat stupid list containing just the three Ent heroes Treebeard, Quickbeam and Beechbone. The latter has no official model and I used my metal Ent to represent him – the first time he saw play since I painted him almost three years ago!
Quickbeam here was only partially assembled when I played him. Glueing on the all the missing branches did not take long at all and the basecolours and washes went down fast as well. Treebeard is missing some greenstuffing before the priming. The gaps should be done quickly, but Merry is missing his right hand. I'll have to see how adequatly I can manage that...

Starting up Legions Imperialis

One last post for 2023: December really flew by and with the holidays left little time for the hobby. Nevertheless I managed to make a good start on Legions Imperialis with a small scale version of my Blood Angels. I even managed to play a first game of LI and a first game of Heresy! These inspired me to build some more minis for these systems. But I also finished some of the Vampires and assorted undeads.

Pict 1392: Legions Imperials Blood Angels

Pict 1393: Legions Imperialis Blood Angels Contemptors

These four Contemptors were the first miniatures I painted for the Legions Imperialis version of my Blood Angels. I love these miniatures! Of course, I like the Contemptor chassis. But they really did a great job to recreate them in the small scale and still give them a good range of motion and easy dynamic poses. Painting them pretty much took only an evening for all steps, so I can really see myself painting these LI miniatures quite fast.

Pict 1394: Legions Imperialis Blood Angels Legion Command

Pict 1395: Legions Imperialis Blood AngelsTactical Legionaries

Pict 1396: Legions Imperialis Blood AngelsTactical Legionaries

Pict 1397: Legions Imperialis Blood AngelsTactical Legionaries

Pict 1398: Legions Imperialis Blood AngelsTactical Legionaries

The Legions Imperialis Space Marine infantry is also really nice. I did some carving to improve the undercuts, but really you do not have to do this make them look good on the table. That work will only ever really be noticed on pictures magnifying the models beyond what you would usually see.
Anyways, I decided against painting them unassembled – the power armour leaves just enough room to get the brush in and I'm quite happy with the way they came out. The hardest part really were the eyelenses - that's the first time I acually used a maginfying glass to see what I'm doing! And even now, the blown up pictures show all that went wrong. But I don't mind, you'd never see them during play.

Pict 1399: Winged Vampire, Bastet and the Werefox

In the end I only managed to finish up the winged Vampire, the two versions of Bastet and the Werefox during December. The other Vampires and the Necormancer are still waiting for the highlights. I will really have to make an effort next year to finish all of these started and abandoned projects...

Pict 1400: Blood Angels Tartaros Terminators, Moritat and Contemptor (WIP)

I also got to building some more Blood Angels in the big scale. The Contemptor is geared for anti-tank with a Lascannon and a Chainfist – same as the Moritat, who would also like to open up some cans with his two Infernopistols. The two Tartaros Terminators are the start of a big squad. I used the ForgeWorld Iliastus Assault Cannons with the Cataphractii arms and put them on the heavy weapon arms that would usually hold the Tartaros' Auto Cannons. The Tartaros Praetor only got a helmet to keep that face safe even when fighting in space!

Pict 1401: Legions Imperialis Blood Angels Thunderhawk (WIP)

Pict 1402: Legions Imperialis Blood Angels Thunderhawk Conversion (WIP)

Pict 1403: Legions Imperials Blood Angels Fire Raptors (WIP)

Lastly, since I planned an Aerial Assault formation to start Legions Imperialis, here some planes. I really love the Thunderhawk model – they are so big in comparison! And of course I would probably never get them for the 28mm collection. I also was inspired by Chaosbunker's Thunderhawk conversion and decided to recreate the open front hatch.
The Fire Raptors had their cupolas magnetised, even if it look like I will probably only use the Lascannons in LI. But I might play them in Aeronautica and then would want the options. Anyways it was quite fun little project using small steel ball bearings in the cupolas and a magnet inside the hull right between them.

Blood Angel Mortalis Destroyers and Aster Crohne

During these past two weeks I managed to finish up all the Blood Angels for my tournament list, that is the ten Destroyers and their Rhino. I also put the finishing touches on my rendition of Aster Crohne. I then converted more Blood Angels heroes and started on some more Undead miniatures.

Pict 1383: Blood Angels Mortalis Destroyers and Rhino

Pict 1384: Blood Angels Mortalis Destroyers and Aster Crohne

First up, here are the ten Mortalis Destroyers as well as Aster Crohne. I really like how they came out! The Destroyers use a bit of a darker red. Combined with the black panels, this really makes the gold and green details stand out! Aster Crohne is also very nice. I pushed the contrast on the gold this time around and I have to say it does pop more than with my ususal recipe. I might have to get myself some Destroyers to swap out the special weapons for flamers since Crohne gives them a boost...

Pict 1385: Blood Angels Rhino with Reinforced Armour

Pict 1386: Blood Angels Rhino with Reinforced Armour

I'm also very happy with the way this Rhino came out. As with Crohne, I pushed the contrast on the gold. Other than that the big panes were quite fun to weather. It has been quite a long time since I last painted a vehicle and I could see myself doing more of them. Besides the Dreadnought Drop Pod I have still on my table there are also two more for Infantry.
Anyways, this meant I managed to paint every model I neede for the tournament, only to get sick a few days out preventing me from going. Next time it is then...

Pict 1387: Blood Angels Librarian Conversion, Raldoron and Vigilator (WIP)

After finishing everything I needed for the tournament, I went back into build mode and did these three heroes for my Blood Angels. The Vigilator is pretty much stock with only a little bit of green stuff to elevate the helmet a bit. Same goes for Raldoron – here, I removed the sculted blood from the blade and of course I also gave him a helmet. I realised that the Blood Angels Preator in power armour uses a helmet that is based of an illustration of Raldoron and so I had to behead my painted Praetor... He'll be getting a new head as well. The Librarian is based on the model for Ahzek Ahriman, I still had from my Betrayal at Calth box. I used plastic Mk IV head and torso and removed a lot of the sculpted detail. I really like the clean look I've achieved and very much look forward to paiting these three!

Pict 1388: Warhammer Vampires through the Ages

Lastly I also played a short introductory session of Cursed City on Halloween which reminded me of all those beautiful miniatures I want to paint for my Undead collection. I got the project box out and selected a few miniatures to paint up next. They come from various eras – the Vampires and the Werefox are from the Night Horrors line from the late 80s/early 90s; the metal Neferata and her cat Bastet are from the 6th edition Vampires whilst the plastic Necromancer is a modern sculpt from the 8th edition. Ever since the plastic Neferata was released during the End Times, I wanted to convert her on foot. I've had the bits, including a scond hand Yvraine, for quite some time now and after fiddling with the Librian, I also started outlining this conversion – the next step will be the green stuffing and some minor details.

Warhammer Quest Cursed City: Finishing the Baddies

Today is going to be a bit of a bigger update summing up what I got done over the summer. The focus is still on finishing up the miniatures from Warhammer Quest: Cursed City – I completed the roster of villains and am in the process of painting the heroes.

Pict 1054: Battle in the Cursed City

Pict 1055: Gorslav the Gravekeeper and Torgilius the Chamberlain

Pict 1056: Gorslav the Gravekeeper and Torgilius the Chamberlain

First up, here is the evil monk Gorslav. In the end I went with the dark robes because they looked allright once I highlighted them. Once again a very menacing model, really fitting into the grimdark/horror setting of Cursed City. His ability to bury the heroes alive is very evocative and frightening!
Torgilius, however, is probably the one model I like the least from the whole set. He a simple Necromancer and I'm not to happy with my colour choice. He might even look better in the photo?

Pict 1057: Vyrkos Blood-born

Pict 1058: Vyrkos Blood-born

Next up are the feral Vyrkos Blood-born. Once again amazing models and I appreciate them even more after finishing them. I went with a very bright skintone similar to how they are shown on the boxart. I do like the effect and decided to use this scheme going forward with the rest of my Vampires. I might even have to go over my older Vampires to bring them into line.

Pict 1059: Radukar the Wolf and Korsagi Nightguard

Pict 1060: Radukar the Wolf and Korsagi Nightguard

And onto the Big Bad of the Campaign: Radukar the Wolf and his bodyguard of undead Ogres, the Korsagi Nightguard. Radukar seems a bit small in comparison, but I do like his stance with one fist forward and his vicious sword ready to strike. The Nightguard were a joy to paint and look really great in their red coats.

Pict 1061: Additional Objective Markers and Gravestones

After finishing up the baddies, I took a bit of a pause from painting and to get back into it, I did these five simple models here: two additional Gravestones and three more Objective Markers to bring a bit more variety into my games. All in all quite simple, mainly converted from leftover parts of the old Citadel Woods, the Garden of Morr and the Cursed City Zombies themselves.

Pict 1062: Cleona Zeitengale and Octren Glimscry

Pict 1063: Cleona Zeitengale and Octren Glimscry

So now, I've only got the heroes of the game left to paint and I already started with the two Loremasters: Cleona Zeitengale and Octren Glimscry. The main hurdle for the heroes seems to be deciding on a colour scheme. After I get the base colours down and a wash on the model, they go very quick. Octren was the easier one of the two since I decided to go with very bright blue robes for Cleona that took some work. I also converted her a bit by removing her headdress and the streamers on her back - now she still looks fantastical to me but no longer that over-the-top.

Pict 1064: Lù Duan

Pict 1065: Lù Duan

And lastly onto something completley different: I recently got to play in an Infinity tournament (my first one of N4) and I needed this Lù Duan for my list. I hadn't painted any Infinity models since the Sekban from over a year ago and I have to say it was a blast – a simple and quick colour scheme and a great joy to see the Agrellan Earth do pretty much all the basing on itself.

WHFB High Elves: Testing Colours

After the Preyton, I was on a bit of a fantasy trip these past two weeks. I finished painting the Vampire Lord I started in April. I then was made aware of Bjorn Stormborn's Skaven and High Elf painting challenge on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the release of the Island of Blood boxset. I decided to take part and decide on a colour scheme for my High Elves.

Pict 915: Prince Althran (WIP)

And here is my attempt at a colour sheme for my Warhammer Fantasy High Elves. I spent quite some time looking at old armybooks and the Uniforms & Heraldry book. I finally decided to go for a Eataine scheme since it will contrast well with my Wood Elves. I also once had a High Elf army with a similar scheme. But that one has been sold for quite some time... For now the scheme looks easy enough, but we'll have to see how masochistic it gets with large white robes.

This miniature of course is the foot model of Prince Althran - the Noble on Griffon from the Island of Blood set. I love the pose with the shield outstreched to parry an incoming blow while readying the sword for the next strike.

I want to see Althran finished by next week for the aforementioned challenge and I hope to try adapting the colour scheme on a different miniature.

Pict 916: Vampire Conversion

As mentioned I also finished painting the Vampire Lord from a while back. Basically only the highlighting was left to do but somehow I found it difficult. But now that she's done I'm pretty happy with the miniature.

Myah! (Painting Skeletons)

Well, that was unexpected - I didn't think that I would paint up a batch of old Warhammer skeletons, but here they are! But I also finished up the Morgul Stalkers, a few more Rohan models including Helm Hammerhand and Captain Avantika from Critical Role. After that I started on a bigger scenery project with the blacksmith forge made by Tabletop World and a converted Vampire to fit in with the skeletons.

Pict 869: Skeletons (Detail)

Pict 870: Skeletons

Man, these are some classic miniatures! And I know it's a sacrilege to put them on round bases instead of square ones. I love how chunky they are, but the best thing the Champion who's clearly superior because of the fancy hat! I tried to match my scheme from about three years ago, but I didn't write down the recipe then and the new ones came out a bit lighter. I remedied my mistake this time around and posted the recipe here on the blog. It's really quite simple and the batch didn't take that long.
The eagle-eyed will have noticed that one of these skeletons is not like the others: I also found a single Mantic skelly clawing it's way out of the dirt in my bitsbox and while I was at it, painted it to. I love how it's giving the thumbs up with the right hand but it's quite a bit flimsier than the others.

Pict 871: Morgul Stalkers

After all these creepy undeads, I went right along and finished the creepy orcs from the last post. The Morgul Stalkers came out quite nice and I look forward to seeing them alongside other Mordor Orcs.

Pict 872: Helm Hammerhand and Helmingas Command

Pict 873: Helm Hammerhand and Helmingas Command

I wanted to play Helm in a tournament that had to be postponed. While that's sad, at least I had a bit more time to paint him up. He has several different layers of armour and cloth and I enjoyed taking my time with him. Originally I wanted to give him a white or at least bright cloak to hint at his role of defending the Hornburg against Dunlendings duing the long winter. But simply didn't like the look and wanted to tie him in with the rest of my Rohan a bit more.

The command group of a bannerbearer and the hornblower were painted alongside Helm. While quite a bit older than the model of Helm, they do fit together nicely with the scale mail armour. I'm even tempted to get myself another of the Helmingas command pack to convert the banner and horn onto a horse...

Pict 874: Captain Avantika

Not forgetting to paint more D&D miniatures, I also got around to painting Captain Avantika from Critical Role. In my new years resolutions I wanted to focus on Critical Role miniatures, since up until now, I only painted one mini from the Kickstarter. But for now it's one more from SFG's Vault. At first I was unsure about the colour scheme, but she came out ok if a bit colourful.

Pict 875: Vampire Conversion (WIP)

I had this conversion in my head for a few years now. I had bought some Vargheist wing bits to convert myself some Tyranid Shrikes and apart from the bigger ones there was this small pair. And since I was able to pick up the Vampire lady at the start of january, I finally had all the pieces. It took me a while to decide on the colours, but now that the basecolours are down I hope to finish painting her in the next days.

Pict 876: Tabletop World Blacksmith Forge Bits

Pict 877: Tabletop World Blacksmith Forge (WIP)

And lastly here's a WIP of the next big project. I got myself the beatiful blacksmith forge made by Tabletop World and started with the smaller loose bits and bobs like the anvil and the bellows. I also started to work on the roof, but there is still quite a bit of work to do. And I documented how I painted the different details and how I plan on painting the rest of the model.