AoS: Stardrake!

The heavens split with the roar of the Stardrake!

Whew doggie this model is huge. It was quite time-consuming to build and paint. The drake was painted in stages like most of the larger models I’ve worked. I built the body, legs, and tail first, mounting them on the base. I then painted those parts before I worked on the head separately; this was then attached. The drake’s scales were the same as the Dracoths I’ve painted before for the army.  I wanted to differentiate the spines from the teeth, claws, and horns, so the spines had a basecoat of GW Steel Legion Drab, and the claws/teeth/horns had a base of MSP Dusky Skin. Both then got a highlight mixed with white.

The riders and saddle were done next. Since the Stardrake can have either a Lord-Celestant or a Marshal for a rider (and thankfully all the parts for both) I decided to paint up both of them. The Lord-Celestant carries a hammer, while the Marshal has a starlance. They both got a magnet in their torso that mates with a magnet in the hips atop the saddle. Easy swap out for any occasion. They match the deep purple armor and gold and bronze of the rest of the Stormcast Eternals army. They did get extra golden plating with appropriate molded designs, spiked halos, and decorated shoulder pads.

After the riders were done I finished off with the gigantic wings. Each wing is effectively a whole model in its own right. These got painted and pinned in place. The skin of the wings were painted in P3 Underbelly Blue, washed with Nuln Oil and highlighted back with Underbelly. Like the rest of the scales the wings got a wash of Green Ink.

The model is so big that I took many pics from every angle, A few detail pics join the larger full-body pics.

This army is almost done…only the Celestant-Prime, Ghal Maraz himself, is left.

Tyranids: Bugs Bugs Bugs

It’s been several years since I’ve painted any Tyranids. With the arrival of 40K 8th, this will be changing. A friend is starting a Tyranid army for the new rules. These Warriors are the test models for the army.

The army will mostly consist of big gribblies like Carnifexes and Trigons, with some of the little Gaunts mixed in. The color scheme is designed to look like tropical beetles and bugs. We went with a dark body shell, with brighter carapace plates.

The body shell is Rhinox Hide, washed with Nuln Oil, highlighted with Rhinox Hide, Doombull Brown, and Rakarth Flesh. The fleshy parts (tongue, joints, and venting slits) are Balor Brown washed with Agrax Earthshade, highlighted with Rakarth Flesh. The carapace is Caliban Green, blended with Abaddon Black, then highlighted with Caliban Green and Warpstone Glow. The edges of the plates got an extra highlight of Flesh Gits Yellow. The scything claws got a similar treatment, but kept the highlights to the very edges.

The large plates have a good area for decoration. I added symmetrical splotches  like those found on some of those tropical beetles. This was done with first marking out a splotch with Doombull Brown, then Balor Brown.

The last details was the poisonous symbiote attached to the Warriors. I wanted it to really stand out from its host. The shell and legs are Abbadon Black, highlighted with Vallejo Grey. The carapace of the symbiote is Troll Slayer Orange, washed with Agrax Earthshade. This orange will also appear in the army for any glowing elements, in these Warriors’ case the eyes.

A note on the bases- This is the first time I’ve used the GW Texture paints. The Tyranid army will be racing across a desert, painted with Agrellan Badland. This gives a nice cracked hard-pan desert effect. I followed up the Badland with a wash of Earthshade followed by a bone-white drybrush.

More to come!

Saga: Aetius & Arthur

I’ve gotten in some games of Saga, with the Aetius & Arthur expansion. We’ve been playing the decline of the Western Roman Empire in Britannia. My regular opponents and I have been using our Dark Ages models, since they are generic enough to pass as ca. 400 AD, though it does make a stickler like myself twitch that my Saxons have the wrong shields. Oh well!

The first model I’ve done for the new expansion is a mounted Warlord. This is a Gripping Beast Late Roman General model, mounted on a 60mm base. I wanted him to stand out from his mounted soldiers. This model can stand in as both a Roman general as well as a Briton hero, and in a pinch could stand in as a Gothic Warlord (by this point in history the forces are almost nearly wearing the same gear anyway). I modeled him riding his horse down a dilapidated Roman path, next to a Roman road marker. I based the writing on a photo of a real marker from Britain.

We played 2 battles today. The first was Saxons versus Britons with the Frozen River scenario. My Saxons were using the frozen river surface to invade the lands of the Britons. We played 6-point forces. Saxons were Warlord, 40 Warriors, and 12 bow Levy. The Britons were Warlord and 2 Companions, 10 mounted Hearthguard, 16 Warriors, and 12 bow Levy.

My Saxons slowly crossed the river and fords, while the Britons turtled up waiting. The Briton battle board really encourages defense over offense. The Saxons have no choice but to advance!

The fights were very bloody, but the Saxons forced the defenders back at great cost. Eventually, the Warlord met in combat, pushing back and forth before the Briton’s lord was cast down (at a cost of a dozen Saxons). There wasn’t much left of either army by the end. The end result was 9-6 VP’s left, a Saxon victory!

Deployment: Saxons to the north, Britons to the south.

The Britons, with their Warlord and Companions.

Charge! Several 4-man Saxon units lead the way to wear down the opposition.

The Saxon throng, Warlord in the middle leading them on.

Here they come!

Hold the line!

The second battle was the Campfire scenario. This time I was using the Romans, while my friend stuck with the Britons. Maybe the Romans were chastising the Britons for letting the Saxons overrun the frontier earlier, or the Britons were negotiating military support from the typically arrogant Romans. Either way, things got out of hand, and swords were drawn…

The Romans had a mounted Warlord, 4 mounted Hearthguard, 24 spear Warriors, 8 bow Warriors, and 12 spear Levy. Except for the new mounted Roman Warlord, I used the Anglo-Saxons/Saxons models, with some donated mounted Hearthguard. The Roman frontier forces of the era were mostly Germans by this point anyway, right? The Britons had a mounted Warlord, 8 mounted Hearthguard, 24 Warriors, and 12 bow Levy.

The scenario requires the armies being split up among each other, which means the units are threatened from all sides. I scattered the Roman Forces in a rough circle, while the Britons had a few tight bulwarks of units. The fight began with the Roman Warlord drawing his sword and leading his nearest unit of soldiers against the British lord, cutting him down. After that the Romans had the upper hand, especially in Saga dice.

The movements of both armies was chaotic, but the Romans quickly redressed their ranks and tried to hold back the Britons. The Levy struck down several British Hearthguard with their plumbatae (heavy darts) and some lucky combats. The Roman defensive abilities served them well. On the other side the Britons were wearing the Romans down, both holding their own lines and performing repeated charges and volleys of bow shots. The Hearthguard performed a disastrous charge, the Briton shieldwall holding and wiping them out. Oops. Eventually though the Roman Warlord rallied his forces and crushed the flank, beating back the encirclement and winning the battle. Final VP’s were 19-14, victory for the Romans!

Campfire Deployment: Romans and Britons milling around the Warlords.

Charge! The Roman Warlord runs down the Briton Warlord right off the bat. It was an uphill battle for the Britons after that…

Crunch! The warriors meet in charge/counter-charge.

End: British forces beaten back, at great cost.

Crimson Fists: Storm of Fire

It seems I’m repopulating the entire 1st Company of the Crimson Fists Chapter by myself, or at least it feels that way. I’ve finished another squad’s worth of Sternguard Veterans for the army. These Marines are mostly needed to allow for weapon swaps as the army requires (special weapons, combi-weapons, etc.).

The Sternguard are a mix of the the plastic kit, the new Mk 3 kit, Forgeworld, and older Finecast sculpts. The Marine with combi-grav and scanner has the torso of the Captain from the 6th edition box, for example.

The first pic are a pair of Sergeants, one a Vet Sergeant for a Tactical Squad, while the other is a Devastator Sergeant. The Tactical uses a Forgeworld torso and head with bits from the Sternguard kit. The Devastator has a reinforced Mk 3 helmet and torso also from Forgeworld.

Last, but not least, is the first Primaris Marine I’ve finished. He’s a nice addition to the army, a member of the Inceptor Squad from the 8th ed box. His armor is pretty nice, with some great sleek detail to make him look more high tech than his ‘normal’ Marine brethren. I love his huge bolt rifle, which suits his stature (he’s a head taller than a Marine). Despite his size, his armor still follows the scheme of the rest of the Chapter- blue armor, red left fist. I painted in the Tactical symbol on the right shoulder and did a freehand of the Fist symbol on his left (rather than the sculpted shoulders of most of the other Marines). The rest will follow shortly.

Crimson Fists: By the Emperor’s Hand

Pedro! The Chapter Master of the Crimson Fists, Pedro Kantor, arrives to lead his brothers. Along side him comes a Chaplain in Terminator Armor.

Pedro is suitably decorated, with no less than 8 fists on the model (no kill like overkill) plus the usual skulls, wings, and winged skulls. He also has lots of laurels and honorary cords draped over his armor. As far as a veteran officer goes, he’s amazingly enough a little understated, comparable to some of the newer Sterguard models I’ve done in terms of bling. The march of miniature design I suppose. The leather baltea and superfluous white cloth on his belt are nice touches though. I like his pose- resolute and solid, but with enough of a sense of movement to draw the eye. His raised storm bolter is balanced by his outstretched power fist and the cloth, the tall personal banner and fist acting as a center line of the whole look.

The Chaplain is a limited edition model from a GW store opening, so he’s uniquely designed. His Terminator armor is an ancient variant, with a peaked back armor and metal edging of limb armor plates. He’s dressed in the usual Chaplain manner, black armor, skull helmet, and lots and lots of other skulls. His armor is literally draped in extra real skulls on top of the gold and brass versions. His purity seals and litany scrolls are so long drag the floor, printed with all sorts of prayers and such. I decided to give him a rich purple cape, a neutral color to bring some warmth to his otherwise flat color scheme. He of course has the paired red gauntlets of a veteran of the Crimson Fists chapter.

With the daily updates concerning WH40K 8th ed, the Crimson Fists army seems poised to expand with several new squads planned, as well as lots of weapon options for characters and units. Wheeeeee more to come.

 

Crimson Fists: Veterans 2

More Veteran Marines for the Crimson Fists. These Marines will finish out the Sternguard units, or add some weapon swap options.

First up are a pair of Veteran Sergeants for Tactical Squads. The beakie wears his Mk 6 helmet with pride, taking a martial stance with his power axe and combat blade. The other wears Mk 3 armor Iron Armor, which makes him bulkier than the other Sergeant. His armor is pretty spartan in decoration, with only a lightning bolt/skull design on his chest. He carries a power sword and a grav-pistol.

The other pics are Sternguard Vets, carrying either bolters or combi-weapons. The first pair are built from standard Sterguard plastic bits, with loads of battle honors and decoration, in keeping with the previously posted Vets.

The second pair both carry combi-flamers. The top Marine uses parts from Forgeworld and the bionic limbs from the Iron Hands.  I gave him a litany screed on his right shoulder and a campaign battle symbol on his knee. This guy has seen some action. He’s perched on a resin base from (I think?) Secret Weapon. A number of the army are repaints; while most have been rebased on 30mm bases, this Marine was kept on his old 25mm resin base, mounted on the larger base like the rest of the army.  The other Marine is a Forgeworld Mk 3, with a combi-flamer and right shoulder pad from the Sternguard kit.

The Crimson Fists army planned out for the client will be a long time in painting, with another Tactical Squad, 2 Assault Squads, Devastator Squad, more characters, and of course Terminators and Dreadnoughts. More to come.

The Walking Thunder

WAAAAAAGH! Da Boss is ‘ere!

I’ve finally finished the Megaboss for my Ironjawz force for Age of Sigmar. This was done just in time for a campaign to start at my FLGS. For this campaign, the Megaboss is known as Grishnak the Walking Thunder. This is in keeping with my Ironjawz/Orcs & Goblins army name, the Stormbringaz. I know that storms and thunder are the hallmarks of the Stormcast Eternals for Age Of Sigmar, but I named and designed my Orcs 3 editions ago, and am not ceding the name for no one.

Grishnak here is truly huge, towering over everything else in the army, including the River Trolls that sometimes show up. This guy sits on a 60mm base (here a resin one from Secret Weapon, a broken temple/castle, matching the other characters in the army).

I liked the original figure, but felt that he needed a little more ‘oomph’ to show him as the true beast he is. There’s the obvious skull bosspole strapped to his back, as well as an extra club on his left side (just in case) and a helmet hanging off his right side. He might not wear it too often, but I wanted the helmet to visually tie him to the Ardboys (aka Black Orcs).

His back armor got a few more plates made of plasticard, another trophy skull got added, and even his huge choppa got a pick on the poll (the back edge). The dragon skull on his shoulder got a series of spines (plastic bits and green stuff) to break up the otherwise smooth line of the crown of the skull. He’s spiky everywhere else, best to continue that design aesthetic. A horned skull from the Brutes box finished off his left shoulder (I wasn’t a fan of the Bloodletter skull bit he came with).

Color scheme was easy enough. Even if he’s a boss, he still has battered black armor, decorated with bone white dog’s teeth, lightning bolts, and checkers. The larger size of his armor plates gave me more room to decorate, with the choppa’s head especially getting a big checker design; though being the business end of a choppa, it’s scratched, dented, and bloodied. Like the rest of his army, there is very little symmetry involved in the design of the markings, rather I added them where it might look cool. The only other colors added were various browns and a blood red, which shows up in the ragged loincloth and a trophy (ribbon/beard?) hanging off the bosspole.

Now that the Ironjawz contingent of the Orruks and Grots army is done, I can turn to adding more Moonclan models, especially characters.