EmperorNorton's Overabundance of Projects

[Daniel36]

I so want that guy myself. He is awesome. Probably will get him one day. You did an excellent job on him. Sharp eyes, sharp colours. Blue on white is nice.

[ModelCalamity]

i like how your painting is coming along nicely.

if i could lend a small tip it would be to maybe blackline the model to get a little bit more depth and contrast between colors. but keep up the good work

[EmperorNorton]

I know what you mean about not working how it's supposed to. I still need to update mine. I think I'm at about negative twenty.

I like the model, but I'd give the cloak another matt varnish. Nice work.

Another coat of matt varnish is sure to follow.

Reminds me a bit of Christopher Lee, I don't have to mention that that's a good thing, do I?
How'd you like the mini btw? I found it to be one of the most enjoyable minis to paint in a long time.

I agree, it's a fun model to paint.
Now that you mention it I can see a bit of Christopher Lee in him.

I love the SDE group shot. Makes me want to get the game

I am surprised you haven't bought the game yet. It would fit right in with all the other board game pieces you are painting.

Indeed! Now that is really cool... So what will you name him, EmperorNorton? Sarumahn the not-so-white? Count Rubber Dooku?

How about Count Scaramanga?

Like the Empire Hero there. Have you thought of one or two sharper highlights on the folds of the cloak where it bend at an angle?

Usually I shy away from sharp highlight, but I'll think about it.

I so want that guy myself. He is awesome. Probably will get him one day. You did an excellent job on him. Sharp eyes, sharp colours. Blue on white is nice.

I can only recommend that model, but now that it's Finecast I'd be cautious.

i like how your painting is coming along nicely.

if i could lend a small tip it would be to maybe blackline the model to get a little bit more depth and contrast between colors. but keep up the good work

Thanks. I don't think I'll try blacklining the model now that it's finished, except maybe under his sash, because there's too much of a chance I'll mess it up. But it's something I'll keep in mind for future models. Especially when working with white a bit more contrast would be a good thing.

Here's what I am working on currently:


I forgot just how tedious batch painting can be. Especially in a case like this where the models aren't even nice. Already I am so very tired of looking at their stupid monkey faces. And there is just so much unnecessary detail on these, so many crap they are carrying around...not fun. But I don't see another way to make a noticeable dent in my collection.
The frustrating thing is that even 20 of those won't be enough to reach the goal set by the ToFP, so I am also working on some higher-priced stuff:


This time around I was smart enough not to glue on the rockets before painting like I did with my first. It helps a lot.
And from the last time I tackled Empire I still have a bunch of heroes standing about, which should also help in getting enough points together:


Now I only need to get the new armybook.

[HereBeDragons]

Get the new army book and find out everything has dropped in points so you need to paint more? sorry... At least when you get all them painted you'll have made very significant progress on your paint/buy totals. Should put you well ahead! Don't give up!

[EmperorNorton]

Get the new army book and find out everything has dropped in points so you need to paint more? sorry... At least when you get all them painted you'll have made very significant progress on your paint/buy totals. Should put you well ahead! Don't give up!

From what I've read in the Rumour thread it's actually the other way around for once and core troops have actually gone up in points.
Instead of focussing on the unit I already started, though, I started to work on another:


And instead of focussing on that, I did some preliminary work on yet another unit:


These are the spearmen from the 6th Edition starter. I quite like them, because unlike the newer ones they have a sensible (read: small) amount of details, fitting for core troops you need a lot of. They were a bit boring, though, so I gave each one an individual head. I felt like the Queen of Hearts...

And there is a little progress on Hamelin and his proteges, too:

[GomezAddams]

There by far your best minis to date - thats including the Bilbo you did awhile back which I really like - so if this is them before there finished then I'm impressed. The kid on the right especially stands out.

[Little Joe]

I forgot just how tedious batch painting can be. Especially in a case like this where the models aren't even nice. Already I am so very tired of looking at their stupid monkey faces. And there is just so much unnecessary detail on these, so many crap they are carrying around...not fun. But I don't see another way to make a noticeable dent in my collection.
The frustrating thing is that even 20 of those won't be enough to reach the goal set by the ToFP, so I am also working on some higher-priced stuff.

It's only twenty and you still seem to have time for side projects. Hamelin is already looking quite nice.

I would like to join the next Tale of fantasy painters, but no way with 3pt goblins (total paint block for over a year). So maybe with 10pt ghouls/dwarfs, what ratio of cheap versus expensive units would you advice for a first time wishfull contender? I already learned from the Skirmish Game Painters Tale to prebuild them all due to time constraints. Any other words of wisdom?

[leonmallett]

I never cease to be overwhelmed by the way you marry quality of output with quality - just look at how many Empire troops you have been doing; it puts the rest of us to shame! great stuff as always.

[ModelCalamity]

if you hate detail you are going to hate the new wizard and pope mobile. That stuff scares me and I just tried to paint a swastika on the arm of a bunch of FOW shoulders....

but i feel your pain. Batch painting can be quite tedious. Maybe its a good idea to make your batches a bit smaller. Instead of doing 20, do 5 or 10. It helps you finish a bunch of model in one session rater than a lot of models over a few sessions. The satisfied feeling of having achieved something (which is the whole point of painting in batches imho) is gained at the end of each session rather than once in every 5 or more.

hang in there!

[Chicken Pig]

Agreed on the current state troops, they are beyond a chore to paint and double ugly. The 6th edition spearmen look great with newer heads, and as you say a lot less detailed, seeing these motivates me to start painting mine. Have you any of the 5th (earlier?) edition halberdiers? They work great with a head-swap too. Your work rate astounds as ever.

[Kisanis]

Good Stuff!

I agree about the 6th edition Spearmen, my buddy plays with them and they are just so simple to get painted up compared to newer units.

I like the scheme and direction!

[EmperorNorton]

There by far your best minis to date - thats including the Bilbo you did awhile back which I really like - so if this is them before there finished then I'm impressed. The kid on the right especially stands out.

Yeah, I'm going to have to call that Malifaux bias. Even if the paintjob was particularly good - which I don't think it is - you couldn't possibly tell that from what is a fairly bad picture.

It's only twenty and you still seem to have time for side projects. Hamelin is already looking quite nice.

I would like to join the next Tale of fantasy painters, but no way with 3pt goblins (total paint block for over a year). So maybe with 10pt ghouls/dwarfs, what ratio of cheap versus expensive units would you advice for a first time wishfull contender? I already learned from the Skirmish Game Painters Tale to prebuild them all due to time constraints. Any other words of wisdom?

I haven't dared to try a horde army myself. Yet.
My armies for the ToFP tend to be heavy on characters on rare units, which makes reaching the goal a lot more manageable. A good idea might be to quickly paint an expensive character so you have something done that you can present and then start on a big unit of infantry. The character should not take a whole month and buys you some time you can spend on the infantry.

I never cease to be overwhelmed by the way you marry quality of output with quality - just look at how many Empire troops you have been doing; it puts the rest of us to shame! great stuff as always.

Nah, the Empire troops are far from done. And I think quantity will far outweigh quality with these.

if you hate detail you are going to hate the new wizard and pope mobile. That stuff scares me and I just tried to paint a swastika on the arm of a bunch of FOW shoulders....

but i feel your pain. Batch painting can be quite tedious. Maybe its a good idea to make your batches a bit smaller. Instead of doing 20, do 5 or 10. It helps you finish a bunch of model in one session rater than a lot of models over a few sessions. The satisfied feeling of having achieved something (which is the whole point of painting in batches imho) is gained at the end of each session rather than once in every 5 or more.

hang in there!

I don't hate details per se, they certainly have a place. That place is not on core troops that you need dozens of, though.
Good advice about trying smaller batches. I usually work best with a batch of 10, but I always forget that when there's 20 on the table that I want to get done.

Agreed on the current state troops, they are beyond a chore to paint and double ugly. The 6th edition spearmen look great with newer heads, and as you say a lot less detailed, seeing these motivates me to start painting mine. Have you any of the 5th (earlier?) edition halberdiers? They work great with a head-swap too. Your work rate astounds as ever.

No, I don't have any of those halberdiers, only the new ones.

Good Stuff!

I agree about the 6th edition Spearmen, my buddy plays with them and they are just so simple to get painted up compared to newer units.

I like the scheme and direction!

Thank you!

Here are some more pictures of Hamelin and the gang:

[bluewolf74727]

nice job though they do look abit scary with just white eyes

[Lord_of_end_times]

im loving the stolen. one love

[Daniel36]

You have 6th edition Spearmen?
I wanted those!!

Cool that you found some. I much prefer those models over the new ones. The new ones just don't look... regimental.

[EmperorNorton]

nice job though they do look abit scary with just white eyes

Good, that's exactly what they should look like.

im loving the stolen. one love

Thank you.

You have 6th edition Spearmen?
I wanted those!!

Cool that you found some. I much prefer those models over the new ones. The new ones just don't look... regimental.

Sure do. A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to find two batches of them on ebay for almost nothing.
The wondrous thing about these: They even rank about without any trouble:


I had an odd number of them and one was missing a spear, so I used that one to make a small unit filler:


Combined with the 20 newer ones I have that'll make a proper horde of 50.

And while I was undercoating stuff I prepared some minis I intend to use as characters in my Empire army:


As well as some Mordheim mercenaries:


And the Cult of the Possessed:


Not sure how to paint the Cult yet, but I'm leaning towards purple robes.

[EmperorNorton]

And I got some new stuff, too:


Built and undercoated:


Buscar, that's the one in the back, is a truly magnificent sculpt, but I'm afraid that he could fall apart at any moment. I also have no idea how I am supposed to paint the two guys undercoated in black. Those will be a challenge.

I did some painting, too, and actually finished something.
Here's the crew for my Helstorm:


Incidentally the one in the middle looks kinda like me when I think about all the things I still have to paint...

[basher]

wow this

2012 Census
Minis bought: 45 - - - - - Minis painted: 34

isnt looking so good at the momment loveing the haemlin crew and i think yellow and red for the cultists like the jokers from eden

[ModelCalamity]

Lol the buckteeth are a nice touch.

I would like to give you advice on how to paint the guys in black but it's a it hard to see in the pictures what they look like .

[Tzarinchilla]

Your empire models are coming along great, loving the unit filler for your spearmen. Cant wait to see what you do with your Freebooters Fate minis as your previous ones have turned out really well.