On Tattered Wings - Valtteri's Undead Legion - June Leader month 2

Last month of the challenge and I chose my second leader month.
This time I painted the true leader of my army - a mighty Liche atop a Zombie Dragon!
And some extras of course, can't have a month without the minimum 10 models.

I decided early on that I would save the Dragon for the last month because I was worried that painting him would be such an effort that I would run out of steam for the next month. And I wasn't wrong, it took me two straight weeks to get the bloody beast done. Not only was there a lot to highlight but some places were quite hard to reach. I really should have painted in sub-assemblies.
Fun fact: the base colour the skin is the same green I use for my bases!
This gorgeous model is again by Red Bard Games.

After a day or two I had regained some of my strength and decided to paint some more models. These two Banshees aren't present in the 4th edition so these will proxy as Ghosts.

These were nice and simple to paint after the Dragon:
White base, Apothecary White Contrast paint. Some blue glazing on the skin and a really light teal on the robes. Drybrush with an off-white and white, followed by some layering with white to get a nice contrast.

After painting the Chariot in April I knew I wanted another one. I got a second one printed (this time with resin so I didn't have to smooth out any print lines). The pointing Skeleton Champion is by Celtic Miniatures, the one with the flag is an OG plastic skelly. 

Painting-wise this was identical to my first chariot. Near the end of June I realised I hadn't painted a flag at all! And what good is a 4th ed army without glorious banners? I had gained enough confidence with the previous flags that I decided to design my own. I took inspiration from an old Undead shield I saw somewhere, drew the design with pencil and painted it just like the previous banners. The catch was that I had to draw the design twice, only the second one being a mirrored version. In hindsight I probably could've used a photocopier for that.. 

Sadly, I totally forgot to take any WIP pics of the banner. But I did do a step-by-step of the freehanded shield which you can find a little below.

Lastly, I whipped up a bunch of Bat Swarms. These too are are 3d prints (link). Even though the old metal bats have their charm, I'm not a huge fan of them and didn't feel like spending that much on my bats.
They didn't photograph that well but they do look kinda nice in real life. I'll probably take some better pics for my Instagram account later if you're interested.

But why would I need 600 points worth of bats? Well, were planning on playing through the old Circle of Blood campaign pack this fall with my friend and the Undead side can field these at a 50% discount. *Evil cackle*

Painting

I know I've showed some step-by-steps on my freehand before but I thought it'd be nice to do a bit more detailed tutorial.

I find it easier to block out rough shapes first, then add some shading and do the edges and details last. It helps a lot if  you have a reference picture. Thin paints and multiple layers help to achieve a smooth finish.

1. Rough shape with a darker beige (Scale 75 Grau SW-29 ). This step isn't necessary but this particular paint has great coverage and it's easier to layer the next colours on top of it.
2. First highlight with  beige (AP Skeleton Bone). 
3. I filled in the shadows with a medium brown (AP Leather Brown)
4. Smoothing out the transitions with a mix of the previous two colours.
   
   
   
5. Another highlight with a light beige/off-white (AP Brainmatter Beige).
6. Details with black (AP Matt Black)
7. More details with black. I also strengthened the shadows with more brown. Forgot to take a pic before this :(
8. The finished shield with a better lighting. Some minor highlight corrections also applied.

Even though it seems a lot happens between steps 6 and 7 it's not much more than blacklining. And it makes all the difference!

Photography

In case you're interested, below is a pic of my photo setup for the scenic shots. I take over our kitchen table when the kids aren't home and roll out my game mat (Muddy Field by Deep Cut Studios, it's a great and really versatile mat btw!). A black cloth draped over some empty cardboard boxes and some of my terrain arranged in front of it. I try to position the woods and hills so that they create an immersion of depth. Natural light through the window and a cheap ring light for some extra illumination. I take the photos with my smartphone, with the ISO and shutter speed turned down so the pictures aren't too bright. Minimal colour correction with GIMP on my computer. I'd probably get better pics with a tripod but I'm usually too lazy to get it out...

Battle!

We finally managed to schedule a game with my friend. This time it was 1500 points of my Undead against his Bretonnians. This was sort of a practice match for the CoB campaign we have planned ahead.

The game started horribly. I was so excited about my new fast moving troops that I charged my Skeleton Horsemen against his Halberdiers in the first turn. The whole unit was instantly wiped out. No, not the Halberdiers... On his turn his Longbowmen opened fire on my Chariot and promptly destroyed one of the steeds, reducing it's movement to a measly 4 inches. On the the next turn the other steed was turned into a pile of bones as well. Bye bye impact hits!

Things looked really bleak for me when his Knights sandwiched my big unit of Skeletons, gaining all their charge bonuses and negating my ranks. It was at this point I remembered the main strength of my army - Fear! The Bretonnians had forgotten to take their Fear tests. So my opponent rolled some dice and what do you know, neither of the Knights had the courage to charge. After some backtracking we continued on with the game and I actually managed to charge the other Knight unit and the Halberdies, which promptly fled in fear. Things were looking good all of a sudden!

I kept winning the combats with my Vampire Lord and the Skeletons unit's rank bonuses causing automatic break tests with my big units. Sadly the Bretonnian's big unit of Knights finally found their nerve and annihilated one of my Skeleton regiments. It was at this point that I found out that a Vampire isn't immune to psychology unlike the thralls he commands. The Vampire failed his break test, turned tail and fled resulting in a narrow victory for the Bretonnians.

Once again the game was an absolute blast. We included some low-level magic items as well, but they didn't have much of an impact.
We also tried out a variant magic rule which lets both sides cast spells on each magic phase, their own and their opponents turn as well. This was pretty fun! Except for the fact that nearly all of my spells were dispelled. Where's that Total Power card when you need it?

Stats

And that's a wrap for my first OWAC. I was fairly sure I could make it till the end but I never dreamed I'd paint this many models! I just learned that I can paint even more models for July's wrap-up post but I really don't know if I will. I might just take a rest!

January
25 Skeletons w. Swords&Shields, including Command Group	214 points	25 models
Wight	40 points	1 model
Necromancer Champion	163 points	1 model
2 Skeleton Ogres	72 points	4 models
2 Mummies w. 2-handed weapons	90 points	2 models
February
2 Wraiths	150 points	2 models
Wight	40 points	1 model
20 Zombies including Command Group	88 points	20 models
Zombie Ogre	16 points	2 models
Screaming Skull Catapult	74 points	5 models
March	904	61
Chariot w. Scythed Wheels, Crew w. Shield & Bow	79 points	5 models
Skeleton Horsemen w. Shields& Light Armor & Command Group	276 points	10 models
1 Wraith	75 points	1 model
April
8 Mummies w. 2-handed weapons	360 points	8 models
6 Skeletons w. Swords&Shields	54 points	6 models
6 Skeletons w. Spears&Shields	60 points	6 models
3 Wraiths	225 points	3 models
Vampire Count	200 points	1 model
May
Necromancer	68 points	1 model
Battle Standard	90 points	1 model
Mounted Wight	46 points	2 models
2 Wights	82 points	2 models
3 Wraiths	225 points	3 models
11 Skeletons	88 points	5 models
April
Liche Priest on Zombie Dragon	850 points	2 models
6 Bat Swarms	600 points	12 models
Chariot w. Scythed Wheels, Crew w. Shield	77 points	5 models
2 Ghosts	70 points	2 models
Total	4472 points	137 models

Previous posts:
January - Rank&File

February - Rank&File

March - Rank&File

April - Leader

May - Wild Card