Maciek's Undead - skeleton warriors (343 points)

 Rank and File Month #1

(Art from Warhammer: Dark Omen)

Hello everybody, 

I decided to start OWAC with a full unit of infantry and what is more iconic of undead armies than regiments of skeleton warriors marching with untiring resolve to the sound of rattling bones and raspy whispers. As my entry for January, I present you a regiment of skeleton spearmen clad in corroded light armour and lead by a skeletal hero - altogether 343 points.

 I liked both black and dark grey as complementary colours for the omnipresent bone, and since I could not decide which to choose, I opted to use both. 

Apart from the command group, I opted to paint the gear visibly rusted. Shields (mostly) are 90s style with a simple skull design achieved with old school undead decals. The shields still looked a bit empty so I added some freehand "vortex" design to complement the skulls.  

I do love the character of the old chainmail clad Harlequin skeletons. The new GW skeletons were a pleasure to paint and with old-school shields they do look the part in 90s style army. I could not resist, so painted one shield is super old-school style with black rim and flaming skull. Bases were intended to have autumnal theme with dark grass and yellow fallen leaves, to match the dark mood of the undead. 

 The command group represents fallen warriors of greater renown and as such got more attention. For plate mail I used the old "tin bitz" paint.  I've hardly ever used it, but it just became my new favourite :-) A rich, warm brown with strong metallic sheen and high gloss. Works great for bronze armour. I think photos may not fully do it justice, but the same can be said about some other colours where subtle colour transitions are not visible (possibly its reflective surface, more likely my lack of camera skills). The banner is painted and inked on a design template from a 4th edition Undead army book - I loved the old school "burning skull" design the minute I saw it and had an absolute blast painting it :-). While these old banner designs are quite complex, they are not difficult to execute with inks, thinned paints and a good brush. I definitely will be using more of those in the future. The champion's shield is freehand and goes for the stylised skull with eyeballs design to complement the banner.

Last are the bonus models - two skeleton test models and two skeletal dogs - likely looking for a bone to pick.  

That's it for January. 24 models in a month, and lots and lots of bones. Referencing another Warhammer classic from the 90s (Warhammer: Dark Omen), the fitting way to conclude my January entry is a raspy skeletal whisper: "Weee aaare victorious!".

Next month I will be picking a lighter target for OWAC - most likely five cavalry.     

Cheers, 

Maciek