Games workshop – Deuteros

Gnasher herd #8 – Make some noise!

It’s been a long time. But I got a new desk light and some new paints and got back a little bit into the hobby.

I completed this small squig herd unit for 9th Age, which has been waiting there on the work desk for the better part of… two years. For once, I have bases and all! I am a bit rusty and I didn’t have that much time to dedicate to the project, as usual, but it’s nice for me to complete something. Most of the models are from the new Gitz kit from GW, with one squig and one of the bagpipes being last generation GW metal and the weird goblin mutant with the gong classic Rackham.

I had forgotten how hard it is to fit the unit together on the small bases – these squigs and goblins keep squabbling, of course! Some still end up being obscured from most angles. The Orcs & Goblins I will manage to paint in the future will stay on the square bases, just because it was my very first army and I want to at least ideally try to complete it as it was meant to be years and years ago. But, in the future, I’ll probably switch to round bases.

The handlers all have instruments – I guess we can say the goblin in armour is screaming his head off and that the iron mask he wears is amplifying the sound. I have another possible unit, 30 strong, in which all the handlers will have long forks, and five more squigs to add to this unit, if I want… The new bagpipe model is really nice. The older one, though the sculpt and my paintjob are not as interesting, it had some character. The mutant is one of my favourite minis in its Confrontation faction.

The squigs from the new kit were very easy to assemble and paint. I followed a handy tutorial and I must reckon that it sped the process up immensely while keeping the results quite nice. Generally speaking, I realised it pays off to study and plan a little before starting to paint – still, I like experimenting as I go even if things can get a little messy.

I also started using some glaze medium, and it makes shading the smaller surfaces and handling nmm much easier.

I’m not sure if or what I will paint next, but I’m glad I managed to do this, and I still do my best to follow the wonderful work you all are sharing. A big cheers to everyone!

Resources and references:

Vince Venturella, Hobby Cheating: 174 – How to Speed Paint Squigs to a High Quality. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9FNSAUiMmo
Vince Venturella, Hobby Cheating: 214 – Exploring Colors – Red. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGmNE6Kv0O0
Vince Venturella, Hobby Cheating: 106 – How to Paint Mouths, Tongues & Teeth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKl61t2hbAc

Goblin knight #2 – (almost) done

I did not have much time for painting lately and I had somewhat lost interest in this miniature. In part I think it was because of the nmm armour. I’ve definitively learned never to try to do it with pure gradations of grey: it’s difficult, boring and at that point it would probably be better to use metallic paints.

I will keep the model on the painting table for a while longer and maybe touch it up from time to time.

I’m also trying to solve a problem with my wet palette getting moldy… It almost looks like mushrooms are about to sprout from it. Appropriate for cave goblins and such, but terrible for painting.

Even taking into consideration the fact that he’s a character, it will be hard to mix this knight together with the old plastic wolf models. The dynamism and the scale are just too different. I will have to get into newer gw or different ranges to complete the wolf riding section of the army.

On to another kind of oversized wolves next…

Goblin knight #1 – Sketching

It appears that this goblin was able to run ahead and get on my painting table before the others.

The rider is a lovely Rackham sculpt with some clear Froud-esque influences. I love the shape of the lance, the flowing lines of the helmet and the ace of spades decoration.

I love what seems to have been the standard design for the goblin’s armoured feet a little less, as it is rather a pain to do nmm on.

This guy was supposed to ride a giant rat, but he looked dynamic and “knightly” enough to mount a giant wolf instead – an arguably nobler mount, and also one that would make more sense for a regular goblin. I will be saving the rat for a night / cave goblin character.

He still has a rat on his helmet, though. Will it be scurrying off, I wonder, to rat out to its Skaven masters?

Now for the mount… I’m not used to painting fur, or animals. The last wolves I painted were the tiny rigid old plastic sculpts for the Goblin wolf riders, and the Fenrisian wolf I chose as a mount for this model comes packed with the new GW flair, calling for a whole new style. This is the picture I’m using as a reference – the GW model looks like the angry, famished, threatening, meth-addicted version of this lovely animal, but still…

The colours in the pictures below are just sketched in. I’ll probably add some black tips and work some more white in the recesses as I go about refining the sketch. Wish me luck, and if you have any tips or tutorials to share they’ll be very welcome! (Azazel, you know I’ll be scouting your blog for inspiration, right?)

Orc Warlord #3 – Ready to roll

I have finally completed the warlord.

As usual, one could go on smoothing and adding more detail and texture, but I’m satisfied with how the model looks at the moment. I think it’s a solid improvement over the orcs in the big unit I painted two years ago and that he will stand out enough, once he joins it, to be accepted as a leader.

The back looked more or less right already in the last work-in-progress pictures, so I have worked more on the front and smoothed the transitions on the axe a little.

Following your approval, I have painted the knight’s head as old but not quite rotting. I can see him throwing it to invite a horde of squids / gnashers to a game of fetch, and hopefully directing them towards the enemy in the process.

As the warlord walks away clunking in search of a suitable base (I can tell you it’s going to take a while), new green twisted heroes are squabbling to get into the limelight…

Orc Warlord #2 – Armour and axe

Just a quick update on the Warlord.

I’ve glued the arm with the axe in place and sketched some nmm there. But I mostly worked on the back side, where most of the plates of armour are and where they are most exposed to the light. I always imagine a 45 degrees light from the miniature’s right side – some mid-morning light for the heat of the battle – and the front of the armour in this case mostly falls in the shadows.

I am pleased with the axe so far, even though on one hand it could be smoother and on the other it should probably be dirtier. I don’t think that head has chopped itself off on its own…

Would you believe that it’s not a fresh head, though? Something like an old lucky charm (rabbit’s foot, knight’s head, not a great difference), or do I have to splatter the whole miniature with blood? It will really make a difference once I have to finish the model and paint the head itself…

Orc Warlord #1 – Sketching

It has been a long time! But despite everything, I manage to keep painting, and I keep coming back.

I should have a little more time now and in the next months I’m going to focus on Orc & Goblin characters, and a few Rackham Wolfen.

I’ve begun working on this orc warlord on foot – the old Grimgor, with a simple headswap from, if I’m not mistaken, the old orc warlord on boar.

Everything needs more work, but so far I’ve sketched in more or less all the colours and started on the skin and the armour.

As you can see I’m trying a black – petrol blue – turquoise and light grey NMM. Still a lot of contrast to push, but I’m happy so far.

The axe will be a bit of a headache, I’m afraid, as I don’t have a clear idea of where to put NMM highlights on an axe, especially when held more or less parallel to the ground… Also, I can’t really make it the same as the armour, but I still have to find a matching colour scheme for it.

Anyway, I’m happy about the project and I hope I’ll be sharing more greenskins soon enough.

Towards Awesome August

A couple of works in progress I am preparing for Azazel’s August challenge.

One is the final model in the Nomads starter set, a Mobile Brigada medium armoured infantry – one of the best models in the entire range, I think.

And the other is a cross-range kitbash I am planning to use as a general or standard bearer for my 9th Age O&G army: an orc warlord on warpig.

Both still need a lot of work, but I’m confident that I’ll be able to complete at least one by the end of the month. Both can compete in the awesome category, I think, but who’s the most awesome?

Nausicaa 14 – From the Isba

First of all, some atmospheric music, but keep in mind that my feelings about war are very much closer to those of Mario Rigoni Stern’s Sergeant in the Snow…

I have finished the Warmachine Khadorian solo Kovnik Jozef Grigorovich, that is going to represent one of the loyalist Commissars.

I am planning to have a Commissar model, or some other model to the same effect, for every squad: regiments from Nausicaa were notorious for resisting orders even before most of them openly rebelled.

Side by side with this bear of a man, the GW Commissar looks puny and his cloak seems to be made from compressed trash. Also the earlier paint job is quite poor in comparison. I think that I should help myself to more Khadorian models for the other Commissars and eventually replace the GW one. If I ever want to have a Commissar coming from one of the central planets, he (or she) will have to be much more impressive…

Now here’s a shot of the two squads together, with the chocolate Chimera in the background. I imagine the Vostroyans to be an earlier “batch” of soldiers, already a few years into their service, and equipped with better weapons, while their brothers have just arrived and, as the war tears into the resources of the sector, have been given only some old disused lasguns and no protections to speak of.

I’ll be putting the project on the back burner for a while, but next I think I should have a go at another tank model, so that I can get more practice and perhaps find a way to improve the Chimera. Also, I was thinking of adding some Skitarii or Skitarii conversions at some point.

Nausicaa 13 – Garrison troops: Squad complete

I finally managed to complete the Khadorian riflemen squad for my project.

Next, I’ll finish the Commissar model – also a Warmachine sculpt – and prepare a group shot with all the miniatures in the project so far.

Nausicaa 13 – Garrison troops

Not much time to paint, as usual. And when I do, I am concentrating most of my energies on the Nomads. But I managed to complete the first half of the Khadorian proxies for my 40k guard project.