Classic Goblin Shamans

Recently I painted a miniature with my son, he's 3, so it wasn't anything too complicated, but it made me feel things I haven't felt for a long time. I remembered simpler times when painting had no rules, no techniques, it was just putting paint on cool miniatures. Now there is a big thought in everything, a right way to do everything.

Obviously, one cannot go back, but this wave of nostalgia made me remember my oldest army - 5th edition WFB Orcs and Goblins. I still have quite a lot of old minis for that army, so I decided to work on them again.

The idea is, to make them as bright and garish as they were in 5th edition. Lots of checkered patterns, reds, yellows, very green skin, no weathering, simple bases. While I'll still use all my skills and tools to make them look good, I'll definitely won't make too much fuss about them, to recapture some simpler times.

First attempt, two goblin shamans, one warboss, painted simultaneously. On 25mm bases to conform with the new WFB, because why not, let's mix it up.

Men-at-arms filler - Tarrare - WIP

Second filler for my ramshackle Bretonnian Men-at-arms unit. This time, it's an ogre!

I love ogre bulls as basis for conversions, they are like a blank canvas to try all sorts of stuff. An extra one was laying around, so it was a no brainer to incorporate him in the unit. I think of him as an ogre baby that was left in the countryside to be adopted by peasants and raised as an abnormally large and hungry child. That's why he has no gutplate and uses only Bretonnian equipment. This was also a perfect excuse to use that hanging cow from the giant set - brings out the agrarian theme of the unit even more!

Men-at-arms filler - Crashed Wagon - WIP

After the last long stretch of knights I wanted to try something different, so I switched to build-mode and started setting up my Men-at-arms. I have been buying those dudes for a long time now and gathered a sizeable collection. I plan to have 3 units of them, to avoid painting all of them in the same color! One of them is going to a random bunch of misfits, so not only they carry improvised weapons and shields, they'll have some fillers, just like my old Zombie Legion.

This is the first one, I reused an old orc chariot to serve as a crashed wagon for the dudes. Finally a good excuse to use all those barrel bits I had laying around! One extra man-at-arms is included, as with that wheel he really fits in well.

Plague Marine #06

Okay, the last Plague Marine of this first batch, probably happy news to everyone already bored with them. Well, I'll try to refine the weathering process on the next ones and include something more exciting next time.

He may be the last, but certainly not least. That that small piece of cloth was a very welcome intrusion, it breaks the dirt and rust a bit and also gives some nice surface to cover with frost and snow.

Plague Marine #05

Even more Plague Marines - and once again, this one comes without a helmet.

The sculpt is very good on this one, but he had a Nurgling hanging on the pauldron spike - seeing as I want to avoid those little buggers in this project, I replaced it with a bloody tentacle. The other pauldron had a fine skull print on it, which looked terrible after the weathering round, so I covered it with some bloody meat. Just about everything in this collection could be replaced with something bloody and slimy.

Plague Marine #04

Back with plague marines to keep things mixed here. Next week, more Bretonnia.

This is the first one that I am showing that doesn't have a helmet. With this color scheme, their faces are just a wet blob of meat, which I think is quite fitting.

Plague Marine #03

A bit late today, sorry! A small vacation left my schedule a bit disrupted.

Next Plague Marine, more weathered dudes to let me slide a bit easier through the beginning of the year. Seriously, those are so messy! I hoped they would look a bit more coherent...

Plague Marine #02

Another loyal comrade for my quite new WH40K collection of Death Guard, one that started with Lord Krvavrus. This one has probably the smallest amount of fleshy bits on him, but there are still some. I'm not sure if there are any "armor-only" models in the current Death Guard range, but if there are some, conversions will be needed.

Right now I'm busy with Christmas, but I should be able to break the monotony of those posts next week with a nice Bretonnian knight. Until then, enjoy some haphazard weathering on this one.

Plague Marine #01

And we're back with the (un)usual programming - first of the Plague Marines to serve great Lord Krvavrus and his Red Death. This one is probably my favorite of the whole batch, so he goes first.

While the painting process of those dudes is easy and rather mindless, it took much more time than I anticipated, thus the last filler post. Still, I managed to paint a whole group of them and I'll be posting them one by one because first, they are all really unique, not just rank-and-file and second, so that I can have some time to paint bigger things like standards for Bretonnians or to convert some war machines vehicles for the Red Death.

This is still an experiment when it comes to weathering, it will probably take several rounds of those before I find something that really satisfies me. At least the color scheme works good IMO.

Lord Krvavrus, Harbinger of the Red Death

After some small sneak peeks through WIP posts, I can now properly start a brand new collection here, 40k Death Guard.

The general idea about them is to have them in all-white armor, with no extra decorative trims, like on a real military tank, but HEAVILY weathered. This then goes in a wintery setting. Amongst all that dirty white comes the red, all the fleshy bits will be painted as bloody viscera, standing out from the background. This guy here is the main leader of this new force and also a guinea pig for this whole new endeavor. And by new, I really mean new. There are so many "first-times" here, I haven't felt like this in years! I never painted any 40k, I never used chipping medium, I never used snow effects, I was very excited painting him, even if he's a little bit lost amongst the rust and grime.

Obviously, some fine-tuning will be needed on the technique, but I am looking forward to it nonetheless. I have lots of marines already primed, some terminators ordered, and conversion parts for the Blight-haulers waiting. Yet another new nurgle force coming right up! And there is another one in the works as well!

Krvavrus, fed up with Mortarion’s obsessions, decided to take his cohort and carve up his own path in the galaxy. Led by Nurgle’s own voice, they found a small, frozen mining world with a red dwarf casting its feeble rays upon it. Here, a blessing struck the whole force, a powerful disease that seemed to impart thoughts and purpose on their very flesh. The unworthy were overcome, turning into growing, pulsating mass of viscera covering the ground. The strongest were able to contain it and wield this new “Red Death” as a weapon against the inhabitants of the planet. The government is trying to diminish the influence of this new threat by dismissing it as just a “Red Scare”. Still, they do know that the situation is dire, for Krvavrus and his brethren won’t stop until there is a completely red planet under a red star, the first seed in Nurgle's great new plan.

Karel the Black, the Commander

Third Sokolov vampire for the collection, after the red one, the white one, here comes the black one. I even managed to find two variants of the model, so I was able to get him both mounted and dismounted.

A horse was unavailable for him, so I had to find something else. Through a weird trick of fate and horrible post service in Germany, I actually have two Bretonnian Green Knights... one of them will be actually used in my Bretonnian collection, but the second one was rather redundant, until I found that this vampire fits very well. This gives him a lot of extra flair. Shields were also missing, so I found them some replacements, simple ones to accomodate some emblems. Just like with Havel, I needed to add some detail to their clothes and barding and let's say that black isn't a very easy color to get it right... Everything is either completely drown in blackness or turns everything to grey. I tried finding some equilibrium and it kinda works, but I think it would be much more pronounced and pretty if I wanted to have him blue or green.

He's also my proposal for the "Mirror, mirror" challenge amongst polish bloggers - with an idea/character mirrored into something different, yet similar. So, instead of a chivalrous Green Knight, I have a cruel Black Knight, on the same horse model.

Three male vampires serve lady Ecaterina Sokolov - the red warrior, the white bodyguard and the black commander. The last of them, Karel the Black, is most usually tasked with leading his mistress’ forces. Brooding, cruel and with strong personality, this one, while still loyal, is the most independent amongst his comrades. Good quality for a commander, but this also makes him an unpredictable servant, ready to object Ecaterina’s orders more than anyone. She tolerates this, because in the end he cares deeply for her interests, even if he thinks his means are better. During the battle with von Greifens he was on a diplomatic mission, so Ecaterina had to lead herself. Next time Karel will lead and make sure that his mistress comes up victorious.

It was difficult to make photos of both models (the lance takes so much space!), so here they are once together and then separated.

Leader mode:

Fencer mode:

Iakob the Savage - WIP

After Havel, here I am with even more vampires! Just a conversion WIP though.

Back when WFB was a thing, there was a possibility to build a vampire character that's a murdermachine and melee and yet possesses the ability to use magic from the Lore of the Beasts. Thanks to the vampires' unique rules, they could retain their powers while using the spell that transformed them into monsters. A mountain chimera in this context was stupidly overpowered. Of course, it cost a lot and was very easy to counter, so nobody used it seriously. Still, I loved this idea so much that I wanted to at least model a vampire to fit that description, a powerful barbarian just barely containing his inner beast. And after that, of course, the transformed versions...

This is my take on this. The model is based on a Khorne Exalted Deathbringer from GW. I redid quite a lot with him, I expected this conversion to be much easier, but the ideas just kept coming. Because I'm using the same head as the one on Gavros, I kept his ears small and sculpted some weird tendril hair on his previously bald head. I'm really unsure if I like it... if it's bad after getting some paint, I'll just rip it off.

It's a miracle I managed to fit him on a proper 20x20mm base!

Havel the White, the Protector

It's been a very long time since I painted anything from my "mainline" undead WFB force... This guy has been lingering in the drawer half-painted for a while and I got just enough motivation to actually finish him.

Lady Sokolov from my collection has a red-black-white color scheme and she has one red-themed servant, Vaclav. When looking through eBay and looking for an excuse to buy more Blood Dragon miniatures, I decided to give her three servants, each with a dominant color. This guy is obviously the white one - and there's a black one on horseback that's in the queue to get painted soon as well.

The big cape on his back was the biggest topic here, I needed to make it special. Painting a big emblem seemed too simple and random scribbles wouldn't do, so I decided to make it a feathery pattern, inspired by the avian sigil of the family. This part probably made me stop painting him back then, but in the end, it wasn't that bad. To make the model a bit different, I switched his two-handed sword for a halberd, which also fits a bodyguard role I thought up for him.

Vaclav isn’t the only male vampire warrior serving lady Sokolov. While the red warrior soars through the sky obliterating her enemies in the field, the white one is her personal bodyguard. Havel the White, for that’s how he is known, is a silent and dutiful warrior residing usually in Castle Sokolov. Anyone intruding must be ready to face him and his halberd, one which split in two countless foes. Skilled as he is, he tends to be overly organized - while it makes him a perfect warden, it makes him also predictable. Ecaterina underestimated von Greifens and left him in the fortress during their battle - a decision which cost her dearly. Feeling guilty, Havel refuses to leave his mistress’ side now - ready to make those who wronged her regret it dearly.

FKB XCVII: Hero of the Background - Hunter Militia, command Group

Another polish Blogger, koyoth, proposed a new topic for this month, a "Hero of the Background". Seeing as my table is chock full od various Bretonnians at the moment, I had something just perfect for that - the peasants! The whole army concept revolves around the shiny knights on the front and dirty unfortunates behind them, useful, but never in the spotlight.

I actually painted a couple of them many years ago, but they were really flat and boring. To bring them up to speed (and make them match ones that I'll paint later) I added extra shading, some highlights, a little dirt and some simple OSL. The color choices and overall design stayed as it was back then - as well as those damned mould lines... I should have made a before and after comparison, but when I thought of that, it was already too late for the "before" photos...

Here is the command group, which for some strange reasons, include 4 dudes on the sprue. 3 of them actually have specific functions in the unit, while the one on the right just kinda... hopes to blend in with the rest. They use the same color scheme as Earl Sagremor and they are meant to be serving directly under him.

Blood Bowl Nurgle Staff - Infectius the Plague Doctor

Now this model was actually painted before my hiatus - and even photographed, but I just couldn't go through yet another round of editing. So, using my new setup, I retook the photos and here he is, sorry for the delay.

The colors were chosen to fit my Putrid Punters, with the notable exception for the white cloak. I painted it this way to make him look just a tiny bit more like your usual doctor. Just in case his helpful nurse, a sign, a doctor's bag weren't enough of a clue. Now he can join the team as the first proper member of the staff - first one of the many more to come!

The WIP for him can be found HERE.

Even if you are not interested in Blood Bowl, Blood Bowl may be interested in you! Such is the life of poor Infectius, a quiet, nerdy boy who always had a passion for all things biological. That evolved later into devoting himself to Nurgle and studying all his diseases and peculiar physiology of his beloved creatures. He would spend the rest of his days cooped up in his laboratory if not a recruitment organized by one of the high-ranking daemons. He wanted to create a guild of Plague Doctors, as a Nurglite alternative to Blood Bowl apothecaries. Being too timid and awkward to refuse, Infectius went with the daemon - and unfortunately for him - proved himself to be an exemplary doctor, being able to patch up even the weirdest of bodies and injuries. Then he got together with the Putrid Punters and the rest is history. The jocks from the team still occasionally make fun of him, but at least they respect him as the last chance to get back, should their regenerative powers fail them. And Infectius, while stressed and anxious most of the time, can at least find some meaning and purpose in his difficult task, which also involves endlessly learning new things about Grandfather Nurgle and his devotees.

Malignant Plaguecaster - WIP

WH40K with Nurgle continues. I wanted to have more finished conversions before I start painting, so I did some other characters too, besides the Lord of Contagion two posts ago. Today comes the Malignant Plaguecaster, the simple psyker from the previous starter set.

I was mostly fine with the model, except for the puff of noxious gas that he was blowing from his hand - I hate painting such special effects. I decided to replace it with a writing mass of tendrils, which is both properly substantial and also a connection to the flesh horror theme of this army. There is a toothy maw between them - it was a perfect use for the little squig that I spared from Mollog's kit.

Lord of Contagion - WIP

The unexpected happened - I got myself some first 40k minis to paint, an actual collection!

Blood Bowl got me into Nurgle good and I just couldn't stop marveling over modern Death Guard miniatures - all of them full of little, unneccesary detail, holes and gribbles, with so many variants and options... Death Guard players are just spoiled with how rich the range is - so I decided to give them a go. I am quite fascinated with morbid combinations of flesh and machine and this project will be good for exploring that - once I get their style and theme right.

The big leader guy from the previous starter set, Lord of Contagion, seemed like a very good start. The current idea for their theme is white/wintery armor with an industrial and soviet feel to them - with some flesh&technological horror included. To get some of that that, I cut off the special effects from his back (I hate painting those) and replaced them with some smokestacks. He is standing on a T-35 tank turret I painted in middle school - to make him stand out a little bit more and get that some soviet points too. The original tank model was wrecked by a cat long time ago, so this is its new purpose.

Some more HQ will be coming up while I'll be exploring the color scheme and trying out some snow effects for the bases.

Hod the Chief Trumpeter

After Horik the Lord Commander and Knutr the cranky old slayer it's time for the third one of the heroes I painted for my 'Hill Dwarfs' project - Hod the optimistic trumpeter! Just like with the previous ones, it's a middlehammer dwarf on a bright green base, a nostalgic trip to the times when I was just starting with Warhammer.

The model is officially named 'King Kazador', but seeing how I want to make my 'hold' an unimportant, backwater one, I decided to downplay his royal characteristics and reduced him to being just a thane with a fitting role - the main trumpeter of Karak Valldar. In comparison with the previous ones, this one looks the most classic - with a simple pose and weapon held high, so to do him proper justice, I tried painting him as colorful as my painting style allowed for - he was pretty simple in the end, but enjoyable nonetheless.

Now that those three are done, it's time for some troops - and war machines too! Still, seeing as this is a slow project in a particularly slow time in my life, it will take some waiting...

While subterranean dwarfs can rely on their strong lungs and good acoustics of their tunnels for communication, the hill dwarfs of Karak Valldar must use some help in that regard - that’s where trumpeters come into action. Using impressive horns, they sound elaborate calls that help their leaders command the troops on expansive, grassy hills. The current Chief Trumpeter in the hold is Hod, a relatively young Thane serving under Horik. What sets him apart from all his comrades in Karak Valldar, he is earnestly enthusiastic about his work here, immune to the grumbling attitudes of older dwarfs. Lacking resources, goblin raids, irritating inspections from their superiors, Hod can find something positive in all of that and more. Hill dwarves can laugh at his naivete, but secretly they admire his view on life and find some kind of comfort in it during all the hardships.

Underworlds - The K'nights of Kross

So, after scrambling my motivation and some paints, I finally managed to paint something to completion since my life became busier! After being told (thanks potsiat!) about the competition on the Warhammer Community page, with the theme being 'Crusaders', I thought that was the sign. I am also posting them all at once - there's a limit to how much I am ready to drag my projects along on this blog!

There was a long break after my last Warhammer Underworlds warband, but just that one, I decided to reimagine the models into something different (the game allows for some heavy dose of interpretation). So, today I present you the K'nights of the Kross - a brave warband of greenskins that's all about crusading and reclaiming the Holeeland, wherever that may be.

The original models were heavily armored already, so making them look more 'knightly' was mostly a matter of changing their weapons, adding some tabards, and painting them in the Templar color scheme. I had a lot of fun painting all the metal, with all the plates and flat surfaces.

Also, here I am, painting an S1 warband, happy with my progress, while GW is probably getting ready to release S4 of Underworlds anytime soon...

The peoples of Vechernya have a lot of problems already in their own realm, but sometimes they have to deal with outside invaders. One of those are the crusading orcs of Chamon, always ready to attack drier, coastal regions of the land. Clad in shiny armor and bearing red crosses, they seem to emulate some knightly order from a faraway time - but nobody can say if it's their own invention, a bizarre transformation of some knights or are they just a heavily distorted part of the Withered King's dreams. Nevertheless, they're very tough in combat and can't be bargained with, thinking only about following their unknowable ideals - more than a match for anyone unfortunate to find them at their doorstep.

Fitting 4 minis in the picture above made them quite small, so here are the close-ups, with the Grand Master first. You can see the WIP HERE.

This guy was the kickstarter of the whole project and he was surely the most fun to paint - the shield, the flowing cape, he was much more special than the rest. His sword, though... I cursed myself for not sculpting any extra edges on it.

The second most favorite, Sir Bonekutta wielding a greatsword to cleave the unbelievers - despite being new in the warband, he's more zealous than the rest. You can see his WIP HERE.

I like the pose on this one, raised arms made his chest and the tabard much more prominent - and the muscles on the arms which were a real pleasure to paint.

The third one, a fan of exotic weapons which still bash skull nicely, Sir Basha. His WIP post can be found HERE.

I struggled a bit with his maces a bit - after some options, I went for mostly black metal with very strong silver highlights on the edges and points, which seems to work quite well.

The last one, Sir Hakka, hiding a disfigured face behind a full templar helmet. You can see his WIP post HERE.

I considered him the least interesting of the bunch until I got a suggestion to put a feather on his head - which improved him immensely (thanks Pepe!). Now he looks very knightly with his helmet, strengthening the whole theme even further.

Underworlds - Hakka - WIP

The scramble with the crusading boyz go on - and the final conversion is here - welcome brave knight Hakka.

The whole idea with this one was to give him a big, boxy helmet, already building over his existing mask - I didn't want a crusader warband without at least one of those. Besides that, I didn't have anything special planned for his weapons, so I just changed the knife into a sword and the axe into a spearhead of some sort.

I pushed the conversions forward a bit because there's a competition on the Warhammer Community page, with the theme being 'Crusaders', lasting for July 2020. It motivated me to actually start painting seriously, instead of just kitbashing and converting as I was trying to over the last months. They are being done right now and they will be done and ready next week - on the last Sunday of July.