Tom's Dwarfs - Month Three (253 points)

March see's the arrival of a unit of 15 Warriors (three of which I submitted in January), so only counts as a unit of 12...

I love the imperial dwarf range, and whilst these models are not all of the same ilk, they fit together well enough. They're all armed with axes and there's another unit to paint up next month or so who are all armed with swords.

If I ever play a game with them, the weapons'll help differentiate between the two, and I could also seamlessly mix them into one big unit.

It's a blue and white colour scheme, in homage to Wayne England's classic paint - link. I feel a lot more comfortable with blue and white than I do with black and white. I think whenever I go to highlight black, it just doesn't look right - the grey highlight requires a much more accurate stroke, whereas the blue is far more forgiving!

Sometimes I feel that this colour scheme is like an 'easy out', as in it's not original, and can instantly  be referenced back to Wayne's army. This for me is no bad thing, as I already have a contingent of dwarfs not painted in blue and white, plus: the more I paint the blue and white, the more I like it :)

(For those who wish to know, I used P3 Cygnar Blue, shaded with the GW blue wash, and then highlighted in two or three stages to VGC Electric Blue. The white is P3 Menoth White Base, shaded with the GW Sepia wash, and then highlighted in two or three stages up to VMC Ivory. I love the Ivory - and, thinking about it, I've not used a pure white at all in my Dwarf Army to date. This Ivory is the brightest colour I've used).

Aaand how, here they are:

I really enjoyed the dwarf on the far left with all his symmetry. No real reason, he just finished up really easily!

For me, being super picky, in this picture above only the fully clad chainmail dude - second in from the right, fits into the unit I had planned. The others fit well enough though, they just don't look like they're crusading!

In contrast, I did not enjoy painting the unit Champion, Borax Bloodaxe (another Dwarf Lord of Legend). He's therefore not really finished as I would like, but I've left him as is so that he doesn't drain all my motivation! 

The dwarf on the far right has to be the smallest dwarf. He was super easy to paint though, being pretty much just metal armour and all.

I am pleased how the stripy banner pole came out. I was going to colour the stripe, but I think it looks good in white, so I've left it. The banner itself I think will come later on down the line, probably in the last month of the challenge. It'd be nice to paint all the banners together, and attach them as a finishing touch. I'm thinking a two tone banner, and then an 'army streamer'. The streamer could be exactly the same across all standards, and then the main banner specific to the unit...

And the group shot:

To go with these, I have painted this cannon:

The base is made from a square of plasticard, with some grey standard Milliput squished in on top - I like the bit of texture between the wheel and the tuft of grass on the left crated by the putty. I had some spare Milliput left over, so I rolled that into balls for the... cannonballs. 

I'm not a massive fan of painting war machines, but I feel this came out pretty good, and in retrospect it was easy enough to finish. I'm enthused to paint a few more! The cannon is by Alternative Armies, from their Flintloque range, but I think it is now OOP?

Here's the Cannon Crew:

That completes the 200 points for this month, now on to the EXTRAS!

First up, this pair of mantlets for protecting the war machines and crew. They're available from 

Foundry:

And a nice shot of them togevva:

I've also painted some more treasure. I don't think they could have enough treasure. Could they?

So, as a very recent development, my phone (aka my camera) has died and whilst I have painted up some extras, I've not got any photos of them - they'll have to wait until next month!

Anyhow - here's another cannon (still available from Alternative Armies) I did whilst riding the high of painting the first :)

I have really dragged my heels over painting the crew. I've two done, and the third sitting on the painting table. Sad times.

Actually, here's a picture of my painting setup in all it's formidable mess:

All the paints/tufts/glue/things fit into the cardboard box // sweety box and are pushed under the chair when visitors arrive. The light packs down and goes to the side of the chair and then the brushes and paintwater go on the windowsill - right next to the chair. Its super quick to tidy away and it remains the single most important thing to my productivity.

The ease of painting is not a thing to be underestimated with regards to poductivity.

I tend to try to do a little bit in the morning before work - it doesn't count if no-ones up, right?, and then maybe a little bit  (10-30min) after work. Mornings I try to do most days, and evenings maybe three times a week.

I work around 56hrs a week, with one day off, and love training a couple of things in the gym.  On the other hand, I don't have any childrens…

Next month most likely will see me paint Iannick's model - and I'll hopefully include some kind of stage by stage for it.

Goblobber crew are still just undercoated, so that's a thing that'll nag at me...

And, I'm half way through painting an EXTRAS regiment which I'm very excited about, so hopefully April's post will be chockablock :)

Till next time  Aaaidriieeeeennnnee!

January saw: 

130...Crossbowmen

54...Bolt Thrower

33...Warriors

link

February saw:

202...Slayers

link

March sees:

143...Warriors

110...Cannon