The (miniature) Land of Oz

[StormCrow]

Just finished up some more Bretonnian knights painted on commission, and based some others I'd finished earlier. I think it brings the total number to 24 now (I only painted 15 of them). Should be fun to play against in future!







And here's another (blurry) picture from our current campaign. It was a massive High Elf vs Empire game that ended fairly quickly with a decisive victory to the High Elves.



It's hard to make out but basically the Empire was brought undone by misfiring warmachines and failed panic checks coupled with the High Elves making the best use of cover and speed to cover the distance quickly.

Oh and they also had a prince on dragon...

With the NPF (Non Playable Faction) Dwarfs invading territory held by chaos and the Empire capital being destroyed by the High Elves, this could well be a turning point as the forces of Order seek to press their advantage. Another pivotal Storm of Magic game could undo much of the expansion of the Warriors of Chaos empire, but if they hold the Dwarfs off then they will be in a very strong position. There's going to be a pair of big games over the next couple of weeks as the High Elves attempt to drive the Empire away from the western map edge, and Chaos brings its full might to bear against the invading Dwarfs.

Interesting times ahead!

[Saulot]

Great looking Brets! I always liked that approach to painting an army of them.. One or two solid colors with different details for each knight. Keep up the great work guys!

[Alathir]

I thought I'd take the time to update the plog as well, so here I am.

Just updating the plog with my latest efforts for my Skaven army and the rising Clan Noctis, recently I added the fearsome Warp Lightning Cannon to their arsenal.

As always, comments and criticisms are more than welcome.

Fire-fire!!








And here is the always-fun army shot. I'm really quite pleased with how the army is looking thus far, what do you think??



ALSO! As a little bit of fun, I recently took my Skaven against a fully painted 500 point force of Stormcrow's. Go and check out the battle report, you know you want to. It was a great game and I look forward to the next one!

[StormCrow]

Nice work on the cannon, STOP SHOOTING IT AT MY ORCS

I'm thinking skaven vs Bretonnians for the 1000 point game...give you a bit of diversity

[StormCrow]

A very small update today.

I have recently been painting a High Elf Shadow Warrior for a D&D campaign starting up tomorrow using the warhammer world as it's setting. I've been getting my character ready over the last week and now have his story, player sheet, abilities and model ready to go.





His name is Aelenar. It was a name I chose because of it's similarity to the title Aesenar which was a (less than) subtle hint to his heritage as a refugee of Nagarythe. I went with colours that would distinguish him both as a shadow warrior but retain close links to traditional high elven colours. To this end I chose an exceedingly dark pallette with hints of white and bright sapphire gems to signify traditional elven oppulence. On the back of his cloak I also painted a runic design resembling those of the druchii. In the game I will tell the DM that the rune simply signifies vengeance, the reasoning being that he allows his dark elf victims to see the word in the darkness moments before he begins sewing terror in their ranks.

In related news, Alathir recently purchased some sets of the new GaleForce 9 Elven terrain for use in the campaign as well as our warhammer battles. They really are great additions to any table and best of all they come prepainted!



We highly recommend them to anyone who would like a little extra decoration on their boards, as the pieces are quite large and really 'pop' on the battlefield.

Final update for today comes in the form of a new project that I started about a month ago and plan to finish over the next week. It started out as a birthday present and has now grown into a fairly sizeable paint and conversion job. All I can say is that it involves extra gubbinz, rats, and this paint job



I cropped the picture on purpose, partly because I don't want to show off this thing half finished and spoil the surprise conversions, but also because it still looks fairly unimpressive overall. I'm going for a shaved rat look, and to that end I've been wet blending layers of red gore, ice blue, and bleached bone in a fairly haphazard way in the hopes of enhancing its corpulent patchwork skin. I have also used washes of red and brown ink on the feet to make it appear as though the monster has been crushing enemies under its immense bulk. The inks have also been great for enhancing the appearance of infected stitching.

Thats all from me today, will report on sunday with how Aelenar performed (or failed to perform) in his D&D debut.

Have a good weekend everyone!

[Alathir]

WOOOOOOAAAAAH.

That Shadow Warrior is pretty freaking awesome, man. He is going to make all my other Nagarythan's jealous as hell. Really superb paint job on that... he might just be rolling 20's all day due to the fact I can't bear to see him fail...

And yes, I can't recommend Gale Foce Nine's 'Elven Tower' and 'Elven Ruins' set, I picked up two of each and now our elven battles feel as they are actually taking place in Ulthuan as opposed to fighting over a few Imperial structures...

Photos of each to come! And Stormcrow, how dare you tease me with that Hellpit Abombination...

[StormCrow]

Got something a bit different for today's update. For those few who've been reading this plog and don't skip straight to the pictures, you'll know that recently our group has been getting into D&D again. At the moment I'm preparing to revive an old campaign I started based on events in the warhammer world just after the storm of chaos. At the moment my victims the adventurers are exploring the ruins of a dwarven hold, and to that end I am working on some basic printout terrain so they don't have to use generic grids. Based on some internet searches and the brilliant Warhammer Online concept art I have some corridors and one chamber finished. If people find it interesting I'll post up my future dungeon layouts for you to see or even use if you want, but if you don't like it then I'll just go back to painting giant monsters .

Anyway, here is what I have so far:







Now to work on some of the skaven infested tiles

[Alathir]

Very nice tiles Stormcrow. Looking forward to playing through them...

I thought I'd update as well, nothing too amazing here but as Stormcrow mentioned I recently purchased Gale Force Nine's 'Elven Ruins' and 'Elven Tower' sets (picking up two sets of each) and I really can't recommend these things enough, they are sturdy and come prepainted with no assembly required. But don't take my words for it, look at the PICTURES!

I placed some of my models alongside to give you guys an idea of the scale. Anyone looking to make their battles feel a little more 'elven' or just looking for something else to put down when they roll 'structures of order' on the terrain table. Definitely worth picking up.

The 'Elven Ruins' set



The 'Elven Tower' set



The tower splits up for ease of transport but it also means you get two ways of using the structure as well.





In the meantime, coming up from me should be more of the rising Clan Noctis!

[StormCrow]

Hey everyone.

So lately our gaming group has been getting back into D&D, and last friday I took them through the unmitigated horror of a SKAVEN LAIR!!1




Okay so it was mostly minions (guys you can kill extremely easily) and a warlock engineer who rolled a 1* whilst trying to intimidate the explorers, but there was still a bit of unmitigated horror.

*For those who don't know, rolling a 1 in D&D is infinitely worse than in warhammer.

I did have one trick up my sleeve however, and it was something no one really expected which showed when it started ripping them apart with it's buzzsaw...











It is my PiP Skryre Hellpit Abomination. Well actually it's a birthday present for a mate but nonetheless it's still a big scary rat. It is one of two I will be painting (the other one will be a commission) based very loosely on resident evil bosses. This one is named nemesis and has a few conversions to help it fit the skryre theme. The second will be named Tyrant, and if my greenstuffing skills are up for the challenge It will be purely moulder themed, with all its techno doo-dads replaced with corpulent flesh and guts and other lovely things!

There's still quite a bit to do on this one which I will (hopefully) update you with later in the week, so please bear that in mind while looking!

As always thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoy it!

[Alathir]

That's a freaking awesome Abomination, Stormcrow. Loving the conversions to make it look more skrye-like, can't wait to see it finished!

[Alathir]

"Nobody likes Abominations!"

Following the the Dungeons and Dragons thread of the last few posts, here are a few models I've been working on.

The first is a High Elf Mage (Eladrin Wizard in D&D) named Kael Alentyr that I'm using in Stormcrow's D&D campaign, and this is his 'idle' model, or rather the model I use when he is not in combat.







He is a mere 207 years old and the son of preeminent loremaster, Milamber Alentyr. He was sent to the Empire in the closing weeks of the Storm of Chaos in order to simply gather information and observe the state of the Empire, aiding if he can but his role was meant to be entirely observational. Of course, this has all changed after a series of unfortunate events; he's been forced to choose sides in a civil war between Wissenland and Averland, rescue a framed companion from jail who then went on to accidentally set free two imprisoned demons and now he is navigating the depths of a Skaven lair. Needless to say, the young elf is entirely distraught and very much looking for a way home as soon as possible - he is dealing with much more than he bargained for.

I'm quite happy with how he turned out, I'm still trying to get the hang of highlights and whatnot so any suggestions or advice people have would be much appreciated.

Next is a model I painted up quickly for my own D&D campaign; which began at the High Elven Council of Princes after the death of Phoenix King Finubar. I needed models that looked like elven nobles who didn't look they were in the middle of a swirling melee so this guy served my purposes well. He definitely has his flaws but it was just a quick job I did in a night. Still, I was quite pleased with the result.



His name was Beldrian Moonsong and he was one of the main candidates for the Phoenix Crown.

Finally is a WIP, his name is Sir Aeoric of Montfort and he will be appearing shortly in my D&D campaign, still got to finish him off but I think his cloak is done for the most part. As always, comments and criticisms are more than welcome!





Thanks for stopping by!

[Morten C]

fantastic blog!

Subscribed.

[Roostmanuva]

Only just stumbled on this plog, it all looks sooo good.

I especially like the brets in that blue scheme looks vernice in the groups photos!!

Also love the buzz saw on that abomb, and the d+d high elf mage

All in all well done guys, top drawer!

[Elfboy]

That hellpit is looking great with all its skyre additions. I really love the paintjob on the shadow warrior too, lovely combination of colours.

[Mirbeau]

I must say I wasn't expecting so much goodness. Oh my, so many great projects on the go! Love your elven mage, and the skaven in particular look excellent, proper force coming along there.

Nice to see shots of the gf9 elven terrain, I've been tempted by it awhile and this may have just edged it. Could go with my tears of isha stuff nicely with just a lick of paint for the gems/to discolour the white somewhat. So thanks

[StormCrow]

I must say I wasn't expecting so much goodness. Oh my, so many great projects on the go! Love your elven mage, and the skaven in particular look excellent, proper force coming along there.

Nice to see shots of the gf9 elven terrain, I've been tempted by it awhile and this may have just edged it. Could go with my tears of isha stuff nicely with just a lick of paint for the gems/to discolour the white somewhat. So thanks

Thanks for the compliments Mirbeau, we all really appreciate the support! The GF9 terrain is great and our group has put it to good use in Storm of Magic, standard warhammer games and even D&D campaign. I really can't commend it highly enough, and the prepainting is of a very nice quality too.

That hellpit is looking great with all its skyre additions. I really love the paintjob on the shadow warrior too, lovely combination of colours.

Thanks Elfboy, will hopefully have an update on the Abomb soon but for the moment I needed a change of pace. That thing is so big and takes a long time to do justice to the details!

Only just stumbled on this plog, it all looks sooo good.

I especially like the brets in that blue scheme looks vernice in the groups photos!!

Also love the buzz saw on that abomb, and the d+d high elf mage

All in all well done guys, top drawer!

Cheers mate! The D&D mage really is a great model and in fact the sculptor Bobby Jackson has done loads of very characterful minis perfect for D&D, pulp city, or necromunda, all available at Reaper.

Alathir should take the credit for the buzzsaw and bret colour scheme, they were both his ideas and worked out really well on the finished models. I'm a fan of uni-colour bret scheme too and it was great to have all the knights finished.

fantastic blog!

Subscribed.

Thanks for that, hope you like our future updates!


Okay, another small update today. In the past couple of weeks I've been preparing to re-enter the Tale of Fantasy Painters that I'm sure most of you are aware of. I haven't had much success with the tale previously, only completing my army on 1 of 3 attempts (tomb kings). However this year I'm taking a slightly different approach, going for fewer models that are worth more points. With that in mind here is a tentative list of what I have planned:

Black Orc Warboss 160
Arachnarok Spider 290
6 River Trolls 270
Wurrzag on Boar 374
10 Savage Boar boys
w/ full command, AHW 235
Boar chariot 85
20 goblins 60
10 spider riders
w/ musician 140
20 orcs 120
20 night goblins 60
5 boar boys
w/ full command, shields 125
Rock lobber w/ bully 95
2 spear chukkas 70
Doom diver 80

TOTAL: 2164

Should be managable over the course of 12 months while still painting up some commission models and looking for a job.

So far I only have my half finished Arachnarok shown previously as well as this new colour test scheme for my trolls.







And my first 3 assembled river trolls that I plan to paint soon. Their scheme with be a bit darker and leaning more towards a turquoise colour palette



Also on the work bench is a whole load of monsters I still need to paint both for myself and for my mates. In there you'll see the half finished arachnarok, the 2 sphinx variants, a black dragon, a manticore, a hydra, and a high elf on griffon. Also there are loads of delicious cupcakes under those tea towels...AWESOME.



The Manticore will be first, followed by the black dragon to make a bit of much needed cash, then the arachnarok will most likely follow. Stay tuned for updates!

[Saruus]

Looks neat

[Alathir]

That Necrosphinx went on a blood path of destruction! Cut off that Manticore's wings, wasn't satisfied so decapitated all the heads off a hyrda then enjoyed it so much he did the same to the Warsphinx!

I think the other monsters look scared as hell.

And the troll looks awesome.

[Duke Donald]

For some reason I've never come across your plog. Your painting is remarkable throughout but the one mini that I found absolutely astounding is your Bretonnian lord Jacques Le Blanc; he is extraordinarily beautiful.

[StormCrow]

For some reason I've never come across your plog. Your painting is remarkable throughout but the one mini that I found absolutely astounding is your Bretonnian lord Jacques Le Blanc; he is extraordinarily beautiful.

Thanks very much Duke, I spent quite a while on that model so I really appreciate that compliment!

Looks neat

Cheers mate!

So I've started work on the manticore, although it would probably be more accurate to say I restarted work on it. My original scheme for the beastie was for it to have dark red fur (similar to the sorcerer lord version provided by GW) but with a bright blue mane that appeared to be flaming. Well this is what I ended up with and while it does appear 'chaotic' I feel it was for all the wrong reasons.





I think I got a little too confident in my ability with this scheme and I quickly realised it was going to take up far too much time to make it look right. After meddling with this scheme for a day I abandoned it in place of this one:







It is something that I am much happier with as a starting point with it's more natural palette and the addition of tiger style stripes along the ridge of its back. The perceptive amongst you probably recognise the colour scheme because it is identical to the sabretusk artwork in the Storm of Magic book. I went with these colours because they suggest a realistic animal without the viewer instantly recognising it as a tiger or lion or something similar. It retains its mythic qualities without looking like a toy (which is how I felt about the original scheme).

I've also started work on the rider, with his shield about 90% complete:



I'm trying to give the runes a glowing effect but it still needs some work. Other than that I am happy with it so far.

Still early days on this model with plenty of glazing, shading, washing, highlighting etc., but I think it is now finally off to a solid start.