Gun Mages and eStryker

There is a local painting challenge (found at Tale of Warmachine Painters): 100 points in one year. So essentially, everyone in the group (and there must be 50 of us) has pledged to paint 10 points of Warmachine units per month with two "free" months away from the paint brush.

So, for July, I've painted up eStryker, worth 5 points as a Warcaster, and a unit of Gun Mages for 6 points.

Nothing special with eStryker...and honestly, he was a little rushed.

Now, my beef is with the Gun Mages. For some reason I just hated painting these guys. And I spent a lot of time on them...and still, they look rushed to me and a little incomplete. But they were just awful to do. No idea why...just didn't like the whole experience

Painting can be funny that way sometimes.

'Til next time.

Cygnar Rangers

First unit off the hobby table in 2014. This is a group of Cygnar Rangers. I started these guys when I was putting together the painting workshops I ran at the LGS a few weeks back.

Well, happy with the way these guys turned out. Their cloaks may seem a little bright, but they'll show up nicely on the game table.

'Til next time.

Step-by-Step Skeletons, Alexia and the Risen, and more

So, my last project for our local Journeyman League was a large unit. The requirement was to paint a unit of at least 10 figures. Well, I had Alexia and the Risen sitting around. Now, Alexia starts the game with 9 Risen in play...but she can accumulate up to 20 by gathering corpses. The box set comes with 10 undead, so I figured an interesting project would be filling out the rest of her Risen with spare undead models I had sitting around from Mantic and Lord of the Rings. Then, adding in a couple of her Thrall Warriors, I was able to submit a 23-man unit for the last painting challenge in the league. 

And, here they are...Alexia and the Risen. 

Now, there are a lot of skeletons in this unit, so I'm going to take this opportunity to add a skeleton painting tutorial into this post. First off, skeletons are fun and easy to paint.

Step 1. After assembly and basing, prime white and add a dark wash.

Step 2. Apply a very thin layer of dark bone color. I use the Reaper bone shades...starting with Bone Shadow.

Step 3. Build up layers of lighter colored bone shades (Aged Bone and Polished Bone in this case), and then blend all the layers together with a sepia wash.

Step 4. I applied the last bone highlight layer later in the painting process...actually, it was one of the final steps. I was trying to gage how much I needed the bone color to pop out on the game table after I had the rest of the figure painted. Anyway, the final highlights were painted on with a very thin layer of ivory. As always, you want to just hit the raised features with your highlight layer. This enables the stark bone to really be visible on the tabletop.

Step 5. In any event, back to the rest of the figure. After the initial bone colors are down, I moved on to metal. This is a layered process as well. Shadowed Steel goes down first...then a careful drybrush of Chainmail, followed by a wash of Umber.

Step 6. After the wash dries, a final highlight of metal is drybrushed on (Chainmail and Mithril Steel from the old GW line of paints).

Step 7. Last comes the clothing and leather. I chose red cloth for the figures, to give them a unified and ominous look. All the belts, collars, boots etc. got hit with leather brown. The reds and browns were layered as well to add as much depth to each figure as possible. Then finished the basing, and that was that.

Here is Alexia with the 10 Risen that come in the box. I did some head swaps to add variety to the limited number of poses.

And here are the additional 10 undead figures...most are Mantic skeletons, but there are a couple of Lord of the Rings figures in there as well.

I also did two Thrall Warriors, as Alexia has the ability to generate one of these solos per round.

For our Journeyman League we were also challenged to paint a unit attachment. So, I did a quick Gun Mage Officer figure for Cygnar.

 All in all, a pretty productive week at the hobby table.

'Til next time.

Two Warcasters

I've joined the LGS Journeyman League for this season, and each week there's a painting challenge. So, for the next 5 weeks, I'll be posting what I paint for the league. This week's challenge was one regular 'caster and one epic 'caster.

For my regular, I chose to paint up Broadside Bart. I'm slowly building up a Bart/Galleon list to compliment my Damiano Tier 4 army...so Bart had to come up at some point! I tried to match his artwork in the Mercenaries book.

For the epic 'caster, I chose ENemo. He was one of the left over miniatures I had from my foray into Cygnar at the end of last year. Really beautiful model, and I was happy to paint it.

I sprayed most of the blue, and then put much of the effort into finishing it off with brush work.

And here are the two together.

'Til next time.

2012: Unfinished Projects...Sad Face

As 2012 draws to a close, it's time to look back over the year and figure out what didn't get done. This past year, I finished about 2/3rds of the projects I started. Not bad, but that did leave a lot of models staring back at me with the "What did I do to deserve such shoddy treatment?" look.

Topping the list of unfinished projects was a beautiful BaneLords model I picked up at GenCon during the summer. I put this resin piece on a Secret Weapon 50mm sculpted base and figured I'd have a really nice Middle-earth Troll out of the deal. However, he only got half-way painted before being overtaken by more Cryx madness.

On the Cygnar front, there were a fair number of models I didn't complete. Included...this Hammersmith and Firefly.

I also did not finish Nemo2, Haley1, Murdoch and the Black 13th. I did play with all of these, however.

Back when GW was in the midst of pulling all their metal models from their product line (for the pending release of Fine-mis-cast models), I panicked and purchased as many metal Middle-earth Elves as I could lay my hands on. Here they are in early stages.

Rohirrim! The Hobbit got me started back into more Middle-earth figures. I have a box of Valiant Rohirrim sitting around, so I dug into half the infantry.

My wife is a fan of King Theoden, so she wanted to paint some Rohirrim horses. Here, she has just started into two. I'll be painting the riders. This is a very current project, but won't be done before the end of the year.

North African WWII micro armour. The fetish continues. Here are some British and German vehicles still not done.

And a slew of Italian ones.

In 28mm, to go along with my recently completed Sherman V, I'm "in the process" of painting this Panzer IV H. May be a while before it's done.

My interest in Dust came and went quickly...no one to play. I nearly finished off this light German walker before shelving the project.

Menoth 'jacks for Warmachine. Here are three that are in various stages of completion. Fortunately, these are high-priority models to get done early in 2013.

More flotsam from the Cygnar side show at the end of 2012. Tempest Gun Mages with Officer, another Stormsmith, and eStryker.

OK, this is one I really want to do. Again for Warmachine, this is the Mercenary Alexia, with two Thrall Warriors and 20 Risen. The boxed set only comes with about 10 Risen...I raided several other manufacturers for the other 10 undead models required for the project.

A few more Warmachine personalities that didn't make it off the production line. Aiyana & Holt, along with Ragman.

Iridian Skirmishers. Gawd...this unit doesn't deserve to be completed. If anyone has a viable list that uses them, please let me know. I can't see a good reason to put them on the Warmachine table.

Finally, a platoon of Canadian soldiers in 28mm for Normandy games. Fellows...don't worry...you will see the light of day before long!

Well, there it is. What are you lamenting not getting done this past year?

'Til next time.

Cygnar: Year End Catch-Up

Hope you had a great Christmas and are enjoying the holidays! 

I'm just wrapping up another year at the hobby table, looking back and seeing what's been done, but not yet photo documented. Here are a handful of Cygnar models for Warmachine that haven't been shamelessly pimped here yet.

First up in the Cygnar 'caster, Kraye.

I really love 80% of this model. The great molded base...the atmospheric posing of the horse...the pile of gear. But what is with Kraye's very artificial and static riding pose? It would have been much better if he had been hunched over with his rifle over his lap, rather than the "rifle/arm is cast along the lateral mold line...of course." Anyway, still a nice model that I enjoyed painting very much.

Next are a handful of important Cygnar solos.

Stormsmiths. With the availability of Stormwall, you'd need as many of these guys as you can fit in a list. They are just too good. The ultimate anti-high DEF infantry take-down pieces.

Journeyman Warcaster. He provides an extra Arcane Shield for your list. Crazy.

Hmmm, everyone in Cygnar is blue. They really need to be cheered up.

Finally, Strangeways. Cygnar's best mechanic and 'jack support piece. And as far as I know, the only Warmachine piece that smokes a pipe on the battlefield.

Are you looking at my bum? Cheeky monkey.

Well, I have more Cygnar on the painting table, but they are taking a back seat to a slew of Lord of the Rings stuff I'm painting right now. Thanks, Hobbit.

'Till next time.

Step-by-Step: Hammer Dwarves

I have several units still to finish up for my Cygnar sideshow. This week I've wrapped up a unit of Hammer Dwarves with their reach-weapon master goodness.

The figures are very straightforward. I painted the backpacks separately and attached them at the end. Starting with each figure, I primed black.

Instead of the studio scheme of painting the armor khaki, I decided to do my Dwarves in bare metal armor. Each figure got drybrushed with Blackened Steel.

Then, a blue wash.

I then highlighted through the main Reaper metal paint progression: Shadowed Steel, Honed Steel and Polished Silver.

I then painted the hammer in a very aged bronze color. The progression was Scorched Metal, Bronze Barrel and Burning Gold (light).

Leaning heavily on drybrushing layers, you can see that these figures go very quickly. I then painted in details (the shoulder sigil, canvas strapping and skin where necessary).

Before you know it, these 10 fellow are finished up.

A quick and fine project. I like 'em.

'Til next time.