Woot! This guy was as easy to paint as I suspected. I needed that for sure. With him out of the way, I'm now 2 miniatures behind my schedule. I currently have a Blood Raven meltagunner basecoated Opaque Red sitting at my painting station. Hopefully, the motivation for painting I feel at the moment will help me finish him before bed.
Now about the Ghast - he's actually not from the Games Workshop Crypt Ghoul plastic kit. He's a Reaper Miniature I purchased almost a year ago, back when I first started this hobby. The first dozen or so models I bought were mostly Reaper minis; the detail, diversity, and, most importantly, cost of their line of miniatures really appealed to me. Before discovering cheap miniatures on eBay, the idea of paying MSRP (or even at a 20% discount) for GW minis made me recoil in horror. So I figured I'd ease my way into the hobby by painting some cheaper, moe affordable miniatures that were equal in quality (in my opinion).
I've pretty much segued almost entirely into GW models right now. I'll occasionally buy a Reaper miniature as a stand-in for a Warhammer Fantasy special character/ lord/ hero type because, again, the prices GW charges for these independent characters is mind-boggling. Why pay $50 for a Lord of Change when I can get a close equivalent from Reaper for $15? (In fact, I managed to purchase that exact Reaper minature for about $5 on-line from a secondary retailer.) Granted, the actual Lord of Change is much more detailed and probably larger and taller, but the Reaper equivalent isn't that far off. Or an even better comparison: why spend $20 on a GW Mounted Vampire Lord when you can get a similar figure from Reaper for $12? N
ow, again, the GW model is much more finely detailed but in this particular case, the Reaper miniature is pretty damn cool too. In fact, you wouldn't know it from the description of the model, but it comes with two heads - the helmeted one you see in the picture and a non-helmeted one showing the Vampire in all his dark majesty.
Just in case you're wondering, I don't work for Reaper or for Miniature-Giant (the on-line retail store I've linked to in the previous paragraph). I'm just a very frugal collector who, as it is, spends way too much money on this hobby. Anytime I can trim costs from this very expensive past time, I will (e.g., buying decorative basing material from general craft stores rather than from dedicated hobby stores/ manufacturers, buying stand-in minis from Reaper or some other maker rather than from GW, using craft paints rather than specialty paints, etc.). At this point, all of those things have served me rather well in terms of producing decent table-top quality miniatures. About the only thing I might replace in the future is my use of craft paints. If I get to a level of painting where I think craft paints are holding me back, then I'll make the invesment in Vallejo or GW or Reaper paints. I'm obviously not there yet.
Finally, a little bit about the paint scheme for the Ghast. I pretty much followed GW's online article on how to Crypt Ghouls - I basecoated him with Dolphin Gray, then gave him a liberal ink wash with Leviathan Purple. After he dried, I went back over the upraised parts of his musculature with a
drybrush of Dolphin Gray and also added in some watered down streaks of Opaque Red into some of the deep crevices of his skin to give the impression of infected, torn flesh. The tombstone, by the way, was from a Halloween decorative kit that Michael's was selling over the holidays. I think for a set of 4 or 5 tombstones, I paid about $5. The relief seemingly carved into the front of the tombstone is actually a plastic Empire shield scavenged from the Warhammer Fantasy Giant kit. Overall, it took me about 2 hours to complete the Ghast.
Showing posts with label warhammer fantasy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label warhammer fantasy. Show all posts
Thursday, March 4, 2010
84 - Vampire Counts Crypt Ghast (Originally the Reaper Ghast and Crypt Miniature)
Monday, March 1, 2010
82 - Skaven Clanrat
Finally finished with the Skaven Clanrat. As I wrote in my previous post, the new plastic Clanrats are very nicely detailed, so much so that it took me completely by surprise at how much fine effort was required to properly paint it up. I've got a couple of the new Stormvermin plastic miniatures laying around as well, and they look incredibly complicated. Considering Stormvermin are also Core units, I salute the efforts of all of the Skaven players who have to paint up 20 or 40 of them for their armies.
Again, pretty pleased with how this little feller turned out, although looking at it now, I probably should've given him a Black nose to make it stand out better. I also completely forgot to ink wash his teeth! Isn't it strange that the miniature with the most prominent teeth is the one I forget to shade while Imperial Guardsmen who have barely visible teeth always get the ink wash treatment? All in all though, I'm seriously considering starting a Skaven army. Aside from 40k Orks, most of my miniatures are human in nature and it would be a nice change of pace to be able to paint up more monstrous creatures. Also, the Skaven fluff is just awesome. How can anyone resist an army of mutated, overgrown rats who's politics are dirtier than our own?
Okay, I'm still 1 model behind in my project. This Clanrat makes it 8 miniatures in 9 days. I probably won't be able to make a serious attempt at catching up until Thursday (
my day off). Still, the last thing I want to do is fall behind even further, so I have a couple of options on my docket for tomorrow - a Blood Ravens meltagunner, a Vampire Counts Ghast, or a converted Imperial Guard Lord Commissar. If I find myself really pressed for time, then the Ghast will step up to the plate for obvious reasons. If I find myself for some odd reason with ample time and motivation, then I'll do either the meltagunner or the Lord Commissar.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
81 - Tomb Kings Skellies
Day 8, miniature 7. Two skeletal spearmen for a Tomb Kings army (who will count as 1 miniature for the project). You all better get used to seeing skeletons on this blog because whenever I find myself falling behind on this 365 miniatures in 365 days project, I will resort to painting up skeletons. Not only are they extremely easy to paint but also extremely easy to make look decent with some ink washes and minor highlights. I got bogged down with the Clanrat so I broke the emergency glass and quickly painted up these two skellies. I thought the Clanrat would be easy but it turns out the new plastic miniatures GW have been putting out as of late are pretty finely detailed, even on the rank and file models. This is both a good and bad thing. Good in the sense that finely detailed models are always preferable to shapeless blobs of plastic; but bad in the sense that the notion of having to paint up 100 Clanrats and Skavenslaves is enough to make one run for the hills.
Do not fear, however, faithful blog followers! The 365 miniatures in 365 days projects is still on track! The Clanrat is almost finished; I only have one or two more basecoats to go and then an ink wash, some highlighting, a decorative base, and he'll be ready to go. That'll give me 8 miniatures in 8 days - bang on target. At some point, I'd like to start painting up more special characters rather than continue focusing on Troop/ Core choices, but for the moment, my painting acuity is still not quite at that speed.
Oh, by the way, I'm going to have to add a 7th rule to this project - I won't require myself to completely paint a miniature in a 24 hour period in order for it to count. In other words, I'll allow myself to start miniatures and then put them down to be finished another day. That way, I may actually get some more elaborate models done after a year. Still, the prime directive stays the same - after 365 days, I must have 365 painted miniatures.
Friday, February 26, 2010
79 - Ogre Kingdoms Leadbelcher
Technically, this Leadbelcher was supposed to be done yesterday, but I got bogged down trying to get his skin to match the Games Workshop's ogre skin tone. I had basecoated his skin Dolphin Gray then, following the advice from a White Dwarf article on how to paint monstrous creature skin, I added Baal Red and Leviathan Purple ink washes (to give the gray some life). The result was some weird pinkish hue that reminded me of a jellyfish. Well, a heavily muscled jellyfish carrying a big friggin' hand cannon. So, I drybrushed a very light skin tone onto the miniature then, still not being satisfied, I drybrushed the Dolphin Gray on top of that. The final result is pictured in this post. Again, I'm pretty satisfied. The paintjob was fairly clean and while the skin tone still doesn't match the standard Ogre skin tone, it's at least interesting looking. Maybe I can make up a background story wherein this Leadbelcher once accidentally set himself on fire or something.
I'm also starting to become bothered by the mold lines on my miniatures. I absolutely hate cleaning the models. The most I ever do is remove the most glaring and obvious of flashing, but I almost never trouble myself with the mold lines. Sometimes, the paint is enough to cover some of it up; sometimes the mold lines kind of blend into the armor and equipment of a model (like for Tau or Space Marine figures). But on more organic looking miniatures like this Leadbelcher, they stand out like Yao Ming at a little people convention. So I'm going to make the concerted effort to be a bit more fastidious when it comes to cleaning my models. It's a pain in the butt, but I guess it's part of the hobby.
Well, I'm still one miniature behind. Apparently, the weather gods are on my side because they gave New York a snow day thus providing me with a 2nd day off from work to catch up on my project. I have 2 miniatures lined up - a Hivefleet Leviathan Termagant and a Skaven Clanrat. I'm hoping both miniatures are as easy and quick to paint as they seem.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
66 - TOEMP Challenge #5 Finally Finished!
5 days past the deadline, 3 days past when I wanted to finish them by, but here they are - my Vampire Counts Skeleton Warriors command group. Almost zero highlighting done on them, but overall, I'm glad I took my time with them. Usually, I consider painting skellie models kind of a mindless activity - you know, just basecoat in White or Ivory depending on the look you're after, then wash in Devlan Mud or Badab Black and, voila!, you're done. But these 3 command group fellas (or at least the Champion and the Standard Bearer - the musician was kind of simple) had plenty of fun fiddly bits to fuss over.
All 3 Skeletons are, again, a mixture of Vampire Counts and Tomb Kings. The Musician, for instance, is basically a Tomb Kings Skeleton with a Vampire Counts shield; the Champion is a Vampire Counts torso, head, and swordarm on Tomb Kings legs; and the Standard Bearer is essentially a Vampire Counts Skeleton holding a Tomb Kings standard pole with a Vampire Counts banner affixed to it. Even though the primary reason for all this mixing and matching is one of necessity, I'm actually digging it. It gives the models a bit of a different look compared to if I had just used all Vampire Counts parts.
By the way - the piles of skulls and tombstones in the background are actually extremely cheap yet nicely detailed and pre-painted bits I found at my local Michael's craft store. They were selling them for Halloween dioramas, and they were exceptionally cheap - about $1.99 each for a pack of 6 skulls and 6 tombstones. They're also just the right size - well, the skulls are a bit big, but not strangely so. I also changed the background color for these pics, swapping out the powder blue for a light purple. Overall, these 2 minor changes to my usual light box set-up added nicely to the models, I think.
Okay, so TOEMP points wise, here's the rundown:
7 Foot Sloggers = 7 points (even though my previous rank and file Vampire Counts posting had 7 skellies, only 4 of them were newly painted)
Missing Deadline = -3 points
I wonder if the Standard cou
nts as an Icon/ Symbol or Mark? Well, either way, it wouldn't really change my tally all that much. Grand total? 4 frikkin' points! Whoohoo! I'm livin' the high life now, baby!
Well, my GRE test is this Saturday, and after it's over and done with, I think I'll have time over the remainder of the weekend to start in on my TOEMP Challenge #6 committment. I'm going to paint up an Imperial Guard Company Squad, I think, composed of a Company Commander converted from the Baneblade Tank Commander, a Company Standard Bearer, a Vox-Caster, a Medic, and I really would like to put together a Meltagunner and a heavily converted Bodyguard, but I'll have to see if I have the parts and the inspiration and the time laying around somewhere this weekend.
Click here for more pics.
Friday, October 2, 2009
65 - TOEMP Challenge #5 Almost Completed
Since I've discovered that blogging does help me stay motivated, hobby-wise, I figured I might as well throw up a post showing how far I've gotten with TOEMP's Challenge #5. The main option for the fifth challenge was to paint up a heavy support unit, but since the only heavy support unit I have in my collection is a Land Raider which I've yet to muster the courage to tackle, I decided to go the alternate route and paint up 60 points of Troops. My initial plan was to paint 10 Vampire Counts Skeleton Warriors with a full command, but due to time constraints, I paired that back to 4 new rank and file Skeleton Warriors plus full command. (I already had 3 Skeleton Warriors painted up, so I figured painting up 7 more would give me 10 - halfway to my planned 20 man block of Skeletal Spearmen for my Vampire Counts army.) Well, even that proved a bit daunting because as of October 2 (the deadline), I've only managed to paint up the 4 rank and file skellies while the musician, the standard bearer and the champion languish at my painting station. Oh, well...the best laid plans and all that.
So, here they are. The four up front are my newly painted skellies while the ones in back were previously painted. The eagle-eyed among you will notice that I've mixed and matched Tomb Kings and Vampire Counts parts for my Skeletons. This is because prior to committing to a Vampire Counts army, I was toying around with the idea of a Tomb Kings army, going so far as to buy a box of Tomb Kings Skeleton Warriors and a box of Skeletal Horsemen. When I finally did decide to go Vampire Counts instead, I picked up some bits off of eBay and went about converting the Tomb Kings models into Vampire Counts models. I'm pretty satisfied with the results, although converting one type of skeletal footsoldier over to another isn't really all that difficult. I think the real challenge is going to come from converting the Tomb Kings Horsemen into Vampire Counts Black Knights.
Of the previously painted skeletons in the back of the pictures, I had to make some mi
nor alterations to them in order to better fit them into my army list. I originally had assembled them with hand weapons, but I then decided that I wanted my Skeleton Warriors to have spears. So, I tore the weapon arms off of 2 of the Skeletons, trimmed the area around their shoulder joint, then glued spear arms onto them and re-painted the area.
Well, I very likely won't make the deadline again. I very much want to take my time with the command portion of this Skeleton mob, but who knows? I do have a day off tomorrow...
Thursday, August 6, 2009
48 - Skaven Plague Monk
Finally! A post about a finished miniature! This is part 3 of my also-rans series (i.e., the models which finished far behind in the tutorial poll to the Blood Ravens Sternguard) - a Skaven Plague Monk. A pleasure to paint, really, but a bit limited in terms of possibilities for creativity or for experimenting with different techniques. Pretty much a straight forward paint job - although at this point, I'm incorporating highlights much more into my regular painting regimen.
Zero conversions on this little guy - all of his parts are 100% from the Plague Monks sprue. I did drop him on the floor about 3/4s of the way through painting him (much cursing and frothing at the mouth ensued) which required me to glue his flail (or is that a plague censer?) back together about 1/4th of the way up the chain - note the mishapen section of plastic there. Good thing he's a Skaven Plague Monk. I can just explain that the unsightly bit is the result of the filth and rot that Plague Monks revel in, etc. etc.
For his robe, I used Hippo Gray (which is a very dark gray - the first couple of layers barely stood out from the Black undercoat), washed it with Badab Black, brought it back up with more Hippo Gray, then highlighted it with Bridge Gray along the edges and upraised parts. The hood and mantle were done in Burnt Umber, washed with Badab Black, brought back up with Burnt Umber, then highlighted along the edges with Autumn Brown. His skin (face and hand
s) were done in Skintone then given a controlled wash with Devlan Mud. I wanted to achieve an animalistic color to the skin so I didn't bother to bring the stained basecolor back up with more Skintone. Finally, his weapons were basecoated with Bridge Gray, then given a very thin glaze (I believe that's the term - I watered down the acrylic paint to the point of wash consistency) or two of Red Iron Oxide in order to give it that rusted appearance. I finished it by washing it with Badab Black and highlighting it slightly with Bridge Gray.
For more pics of the little guy, click here.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
42 - Chaos Marauder
Here's a brief intermission from the Blood Ravens Sternguard tutorials by continuing with my unofficial series of painting also-ran models from the first poll I set up way back in post 31 - I present to you a Chaos Marauder!
I worked on this figure in between putting together the tutorial on the Blood Ravens Sternguard. The motivation level to paint is still high. I still get a kick out of seeing the figure come together from dull gray plastic to something colorful and characterful and three dimensional. Again, I really have no plans on putting together a Warriors of Chaos army, but the very act of painting a varied amount of models keeps the hobby fresh for me. Of course, it's quite a hit to my wallet, but leisure is costly in our world, I guess.
I think I'm starting to develop a personal style, which is great. In my brief journey through this hobby, I've seen many beautifully painted models, all with their own personality and technique. For instance, the European style and its emphasis on subtle blending, non-metallic metals, and realism looks drastically different from the more "traditional" Games Workshop style of exaggerated highlights and cartoonish super-heroism. Both are excellent examples of how to paint models, neither better than the other. I guess at the moment, I'm more working
in the traditional style than the more modern European (Spanish and French, in particular) methods. It seems like the Europeans include a greater degree of advanced techniques into their miniatures. Of course, it also seems like the European style is more geared towards display models (what with their emphasis on elaborate and completely non-pragmatic decorative bases) rather than table-top ready models. Hmm, you know you're dealing with an art form when an individual trained as an English Literature academic is able to talk mumbo-jumbo and mentally masturbate over it!The next post will resume with your regularly scheduled tutorial on the Blood Ravens Sternguard. I believe there will be 2 more installments in that tutorial before I put it to bed.
For more pics, click here.
Monday, July 13, 2009
31 - First Ever Poll!
When I started this blog, it was primarily to keep myself motivated in terms of assembling, converting, painting, basing my large collection of back-logged models. I wanted it to serve almost as a journal for my hobby, helping me keep track of the various techniques I tried, how successful those techniques were, and, most importantly, providing me with a visual representation of my growing finished collection.
Now, at this point in the blog's life, I'd like to start contributing to the tutorial aspect of this on-line community. For me, that's one of the best parts of this hobby. About 7 months ago, when I really began this hobby in earnest, I would've ended up with destroyed models, horribly disfigured fingers, glued skin, and miniatures with paint caked on 3" thick had it not been for the ready availability of some incredible on-line tutorials (both blogs* and videos**) to guide me through the rough early patches. So, I'd like to add to the collective wisdom by adding some hopefully useful and informative tutorials to this particular blog as well.
Which brings me to the point of this post - I'd like to open up a poll to the handful of people who stop by occasionally to my humble corner of the hobby. This poll will list 5 miniatures, and the miniature which receives the most votes after, say, a week will be the miniature I devote a series of tutorials to from assembly to maybe some minor conversions to painting to basing to photographing.
Which Miniature Should I Do A Series of Tutorials On?
Thanks in advance for voting!
Edit: Oh, I totally forgot to conclude this post by explaining what those astericks (* and **) referred to in my initial post. I wanted to name-check and give shout-outs to a few blogs and YouTube videos that I found very inspiring and informative as a beginning hobbyist over 7 months ago, so here goes:
* Blogs: From the Warp, 42nd Cadian, Santa Cruz Warhammer, Necrotales, the Painting Corps, Jakob Rune Nielsen, Dr. Faust's Painting Clinic, and Jenova Project (among others, obviously)
** YouTubers: Shiznaft1, Redxgamer, Jawaballs, AGProductions, and Way of Saim-Hann (a.k.a. Fritz40k)
Okay, thanks for voting, everyone. Please feel free (for those of you who haven't voted yet) to keep voting until next Tuesday. Leia Mais…
Saturday, July 11, 2009
29 - Tomb Kings Skeleton Warriors
The frantic painting continues! Painting skeletons is almost like doing warm-ups before entering the big game. They're easy to do yet have enough textures and conversion possibilities to keep them interesting. What we have here are 2 more Tomb Kings skeleton warriors to join the spear-wielding skeleton warrior I painted earlier. These two are carrying hand weapons and shields. The one on the right (with the ram's head) actually has the legs of a Vampire Counts skeleton. While the fit wasn't perfect at first, with a little trimming, the two skeleton bits from the different kits came together seamlessly, I think.
And what of the Chaos Space Marine I mentioned in my post just before this one? He's practically done. I just need to snap some pictures and maybe throw on some more highlights before posting him.
At some point, I'm going to crash and burn from painting miniatures at such a rapid pace. But considering how much of a back-log I have, I guess it's a risk worth taking. What's next (other than the Chaos Space Marine)? Who knows? I've got some Blood Ravens stuck to my painting dowels with poster tack. Maybe they're next?
For more pics, click here.
Friday, May 29, 2009
18 - Vampire Counts Zombie
This Vampire Counts Zombie was very easy to paint. Broad swathes of solid colors, very little in the way of fiddly bits, and plenty of nooks and crevices in the sculpt to allow for clear and distinct shading. And because it was quite a simple model to paint up, I used it to practice my highlighting to a degree I've yet to attempt. If you look closely, you can see the second - lighter - colors I added to the basecoat of the tunic and the undercoat of the pants. The tunic was painted in Rookwood Red (an Americana craft paint) and the highlight was an Opaque Red from the Delta Ceramcoat line. The pants were the original black primer highlighted with Bridge Grey also from the Ceramcoat line of craft paints. Finally, the hair was also given the highlighting treatment. I basecoated it in Bridge Grey (over the black primer), then highlighted it with white before shading the valleys with the Badab Black Citadel Wash.
Personally, I'm pleased with the progress I made concerning highlighting with this model. Granted, it was a very easy model to experiment with. As I said before, the lack of tiny fiddly bits definitely made the highlighting process less imposing. Also, the many folds and wrinkles in the tunic and the pants were almost like signposts telling me where to apply the highlights. My highlighting usually turns ugly when I'm forced to guess where exactly the light would catch a certain part of the model. I guess that comes from a lack of artistic training in my life - I just don't naturally see shading and lighting. This deficiency in my painting is most glaring when it comes to the near-metallic metal technique. If you look at the pitchfork the zombie is wielding, the highlighting and shading there are non-existant at best and miserable at worst.
A word on the skin color for the zombie - this was fun to do. First, I bas
ecoated with Bridge Grey, then I slowly added very thinned down layers of Light Flesh (from the Folkart line of paints). I was going for a pallid, but not pale look. I wanted some of the Bridge Grey to seep through in order to give the zombie a dessicated appearance. When I was satisfied with the coloring of his skin, I then added some Opaque Red lines (following the contours of his muscles and facial structure) to signify broken and rent skin before finally giving it a wash of Ogryn Flesh. Because the wash darkened the skin too much and gave it a very un-undead like flush, I gave the skin a few light, thinned down coats of Bridge Grey and then Light Flesh before calling it a day.
For more pics, click here.
Next up - I'll probably head back to my Imperial Guard Veterans Squad.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
11 - Tomb Kings Skeleton Warrior
I think skeleton miniatures were created for the express purpose of stroking egos. Not only was this figure incredibly quick to paint but the results were better than expected. He could use with some more highlights, but that's a skill I'm still attempting to learn and master.
There really was nothing difficult about painting up this skeleton warrior miniature. I used an ivory color to basecoat the bone and then washed it with Devlan Mud. I didn't have a turquoise colored paint in my collection, so I just went true blue for the breastplate, helmet, and shield, and since I abhor true metallics (or at least the cheapy craft paint metallics I own), I opted for a non-metallic antique gold for the studs and embellishments.
I must say, in the photo, the base looks a little strange. Almost like a mound of sawdust or something, but in reality, the base is made from sand, colored pebbles, and bits of dried moss. I'm beginning to think in this case, less might have been more, and I probably added a bit too much to the base.
In closing, I highly recommend painting skeletons for the novice miniature figure painter. They're easy and the results, with just a little bit of brush control and use of washes/ inks for shading, give the illusion of a higher skill level.
Click here for more pics.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
4 - Sigmarite Warrior Priest w/ Two-Handed Hammer
My second attempt at a larger scale scenic base. I must have painted and stripped this model four or five times before this current paint job. In actuality, this model was one of the first miniature models I ever purchased almost a year ago. And, again, while the paint job isn't anywhere near a respectable level, I believe it represents the high point of my current painting skills. I think part of the problem is that I'm still using craft paints (being too cheap and unsure of my skills to invest in expensive model paint). Since I've only been seriously painting for two to three months, I'll allow myself to develop for another three months or so before thinking about forking over the dough for the model paints. A gallery of the figure can be found here.
The large brown rock comes from a cork board while the spindly tree was once a bristle from a toy witch broom my wife purchased to celebrate the release of the last Harry Potter book with her friends.
My next miniature project will be to re-paint and properly base one of two Reaper Miniatures: either Juron, Mystic Knight, or Ridley Darkedge, male thief.
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