Sybou's rise of the undead part.2 or ... the short month (220pts)

Hello everyone,

so here we are, back for the 2nd month of the OWAC.

I 'm still in the race, painting my skeletons and undeads.

For this month I kept on painting my carrions which allowed me to finish the unit completly.

I 'm quite surprised that this is the first unit of undeads I finished because they're not my favorite.

Last Carrions

So, they still wear their yellow dress and hood. One of them is from Knightmare miniature. It was a present from their kickstarter Pantheon of chaos.

Carrions unit (180 pts)

So, this is my first unit for my undead army. Carrions are a really typical unit from the undead's era when i started warhammer. They were painted in all kind of colors by this time.

Then I got my skeletons, 11 more!

Skeletons

For this batch, I had 7 shields to paint. They all show the white swan of their former duchy. Only one of them has a kind of uniform, I stayed with brownish colors for the rags of the others.

Skeletons unit (232 pts)

Here is the unit so far. 22 skeletons. I still have 13 to paint to finish totally the unit.

I'm pretty happy with the result, I like seeing my unit growing in numbers with painted miniatures.

As a bonus, for the month, I painted my vampire lord. This guy is clearly out of the challenge because he costs a silly amount of points. He's sitting on a scibor base to make him stand out. 

All my heroes will receive this kind of base.

"Rise my slaves!!!"

Army group shot for end of february

So right now, I painted 420 pts of my army. Next month will be:

• 13 skeletons with banner and musician: 165 pts
• 1 skeletal champion: 55 pts

March's skeletons

I don't have the picture for the skeletal champion also this will have to wait for march.

I hope you all enjoyed my post. For the sequel of the challenge I plan to add other bonus like my vampire here and there. The plan is to take advantage of the energy given by the challenge to make big progress on the full army.

Soon ... Soon ...

Take care everyone, cheers!

Sybou

Andrea's Chaos Warrios (192 points)

Dear All, 

here is my February entry: a nice Chaos warriors units!

Well, back in the days there were pictures of Chaos army that fascinated me a lot and that will always represent, in my mind, THE Chaos army. 

Here are a couple of examples from the army book of the 4th edition WHFB:

massive use of red, black and gold/brass, bright colours, not entirely Khorne not really classic metal armour (as it will be later, in the 5th edition style).

Like a maniple of bastards that want to be seen in the middle of battlefield!

So, here my new unit, painted like those represented in the army book: red and black with yellow and grey highlights, respectively.  Oh Lord (of Change), what a joy has been painting them! This month was like an old  dream coming true, and now I am happy of the results.

Let me know introduce them (names taken from Stuff of Legends catalog pictures: Citadel Journal Spring 1987).

To start with, here are Eric Umbrand Earthshaker & Slambo. No need of too much presentations, especially the second. Very classic, very iconic, very simple painting to honour them. These, I think, are the quintessence of Chaos warriors!

Then, Morlock Soul Reaper and Krontharg Horhelm. These are two particular warriors, both with (ex)beastman pieces to ornate their armour: I like this mix of Chaos armour and beastman horns&fur (who knows how their future army mates beastmen will take it???). Moreover, I really like the weirdness of Morlock: a warrior fighting with a reaper is dreadful!

These are Haxrot Greenpiece and Khane the Mighty. They are the strange couple: the first is, comparatively, smaller than other warriors, the second... well, he's the Mighty! I particularly proud of Haxrot: I have painted, for the first time, a chess pattern on its shoulder pad and I am quite satisfied with the result! The second was gifted with the larger shield found in my bit box: it help to keep that mighty aura!

Finally, Marlockt Beastface and Boris Heartcleaver. Marlockt is a great piece: I really like that je-ne-se-quoi of orc-esque. Thus, I decided to at least paint hairs on the helm of orc-ish green. Boris is very elegant and simple: therefore, it was gifted with a shield with something particular on it, to break its monotonic lines.

Overall, here we have 8 warriors each worth 24 pointS for a gran total of 192 points.

So, I hope you like them as much as I like and enjoyed painting them! I think I need more of them... the list is not short, and it will be not for this OWAC but you never know!

Next month subject is still to be decided; the next two months could suddenly become intense, so I need to calibrate efforts and time! We'll see what happens and what will inspire me more.

Cheers, A.

AdamH's Brets - Sacrebleu! (219 pts)

Month two and I’m still here!

Even fewer models than last month I’m afraid although I am introducing a new unit; Knights Errant.

Adding to my previous month’s unit of Knights of the Realm are another three knights, however after looking back on the knights I painted for last month I wasn’t 100% convinced the coloured armour on the knight itself was working. So, this time (although hard to see in these pictures) I painted almost all of the armour itself silver picking out only the knee and elbow joints/pads in colour. The chest tabard is still coloured either as the primary or secondary colour with the knights individual Blazon.

I also went with some non-basic colours on these ones to try and break up the unit a bit, there isn’t really a theme of colours or shades I am going with so honestly, I am not sure how everything is going to look when completed. I always intended the army to be bright and colourful (clown barf is my reference point) however I still want to make sure they all look coherent as an army. At the midway point of the challenge I think I will do a group shot so you can all tell me if you think it is working or not.

Next up we have the freshmen of the knightly order; the Knights Errant. These guys the colours are pretty similar as before however there are no Blazons and the extravagance of their markings is kept to a minimum. Lovely models these in my opinion and I really enjoyed painting them up. Although without the little plastic nub underneath they are not going to sit snugly on the horses until I glue them, which I am hesitant to do until I am finished with the army and everything is final.

Finally I wanted to make a note on a few things people may have noticed, I haven’t put any pennants or banners on my models yet and with this month I have introduced some inconsistency on how the models have been painted. As mentioned before I am effectively re-learning the hobby after many years away so with each model I am working out how I want the future ones to look. My current plan is that on my mulligan month, when I don’t have enough time to start new models I will go back and add these details and make everything consistent.

This month I am submitting:

117 - 3x Knights of the Realm

38 - Knights Errant Champion

32 - Knights Errant Standard

32 - Knights Errant Musician

For a total of 219 points.

Once again, hope you have enjoyed my entry for this month; I’m certainly enjoying reading all of the others. Also I wanted to give a special mention to those fallen this month, always a shame to see people drop out of a challenge but I hope you guys will stick around and continue commenting and being a part of the challenge even if you can’t join us painting.

-        - AdamH

James' Raising Horses (207 points)

Joined by his quiet new friends, Slange headed south toward the Empire. He could already tell that it would be difficult to control all his thralls at once and decided that it would be wise to add lieutenants to his force along the way.  His book spoke of an artifact, an orb known as the Noch-Larr, that would help him bind more powerful unnatural beings to his will and its last known location is where he headed next.

Upon finding the orb he spoke mighty incantations that would also make for an epic movie soundtrack and summoned a hero of undeath, the Chaos Deathmaster (or so the catalog said).  Slange would count on the Deathmaster to control his ranks of Grim Reapers.

 

They would be heading into more populated areas soon; bony farmhands and a single undead middle-manager wouldn't be enough to get them through the realms of mortal men and out onto the open seas where they were headed.  Slange scoured the area and found enough 'raw materials' to construct  some Death Riders as well.  A mounted champion to lead them would be of great value...perhaps a detour through Bretonnia was in order.

-February's Progress-

Lv 5 Hero: 30 points

6 Grim Reapers: 72 points

5 Death Riders: 105 points

Total for Feb: 207 points

Aside from the Grim Reaper in the classic black robe, everything for February are Ral Partha  figs that I bought for TSR BattleSystem back in the early 90's.  It's a little surreal to finally have them painted.

Anthony’s February Orcs - Big ‘Uns and Boulders (137.5 pts)

Hi guys, and welcome back to the continuation of my Orcs and Goblins saga. This month, my offering consists of 10 big 'uns and an orc stone thrower. These guys will join the chariots and crossbow orcs I painted last month.

I've been itching to get my hands on these orcs ever since Diego released them a few months back. Thanks, OWAC 2, for giving me an excuse to paint them. I started on these guys late in January and I'm quite pleased with how they turned out. While they are quite a bit bigger than 'regular' 3rd edition orcs, their Oldhammer vibe makes them well suited for use as big 'uns. I love their pointed snouts - it gives them a feral look that fits the orcs perfectly.

10 Orc Big 'Uns (95 pts)

In order to break up the monotony, my OWAC painting strategy consists of painting a mixture of rank and file troops and 'special' pieces (characters, war machines, or even other pieces from other armies). We'll see how well it turns out.

Front glamor shots ...

... and arses.

More fronts ...

... and more arses.

Keep your eyes peeled for their mounted brethren who will be making an appearance later on in this OWAC.

What's an orc army without some artillery that is just as likely to wreak havoc on your own troops as it is is to damage the enemy? I present to you the Marauder orc stone thrower. 

Orc Stone Thrower (42.5 pts)

Until next month, happy painting!

Lissanne's Chaos Demons- Cheerleaders of Chaos! (205 pts)

 

Another relatively easy month for me, before I start the big, complex pieces

Let's start with the last 2 Flamers of Elias' 6 Flamer band, for 100 pts.

Which I put in a rectangular movement base for forms sake.  And that is all of them, this unit is done!

  

And so, onward to some cheerleaders of Slaanesh,   And by Cheerleaders, I mean Demonettes. With the exception of Ignatz the boss, the rest of what I plan to paint seems to be rather Slaaneshy too.

I have a unit of 10 of Tony Ackland's original RoC Demonettes, sculpted by Jes Godwin and Mike Perry.  They began life with one breast to show they were hermaphroditic,  that's it.  Which is pretty pathetic if you think about it.  Don't create a depraved and perverse army if you are a PG company.   But since they did, I added the other breast and the parts GW couldn't on all my Demonettes to better illustrate them properly.  They are supposed to be super attractive, so since I am already altering them, I am making them more manga girls than bald bondage maidens.  Here is the catalogue pic for the purists.

I had mentioned I play D&D, actually I started out long, long ago painting my friends minis for that game (and still do).  'Here, you're an artist- you paint these!'  and lead was first thrust at me.   If you paint D&D minis, you start converting nearly as soon as you start painting, because everyone wants something to better match their character.  Fix the weapon, fix the hair, fix the clothes, etc  So I often find it hard NOT to convert.  I have noticed people feel strongly about this, one way or the other, but I am firmly in the cut-em-up and green stuff camp.

On their original catalogue page you can see they seem to have been given names, also pretty dull.  So I will give them all new ones as I go along.  Lewdfang -now Snaketongue, Fiendthrob -now Mohawk Mama, and Fleshthrob -now Sally Satan- (although her expression came out like 'Oh Lucy, what have you done now...)  As I only have 6 different sculpts in my stash, one being the unnamed 'Miss 13' who was added a little later, this will help with diversity, so each can have their own special sexy style.  And I am greatly enjoying painting them, although I wasn't sure at first I would.

And fluff...

Attracted to the spectacular 'attributes' of Ignatz, and since neither he nor the Flamers were the least bit interested in pursuing any fleeing villagers while they were busy creating havoc....these opportunistic demonettes have become sort of camp followers. They make sure no fun toys (or tasty tidbits) leave the vicinity of the ongoing atrocity, and are always lively cheerleaders urging the band ever onward to more mayhem!

Mohawk Mama is a strong leader, and always the first to think of a new game to play with the toys!  Just looking at her, you can see she up for anything.

Snaketongue is the plain girl of the group, and usually has to settle for the leftovers.  She is rather quiet with a black sense of humor.  Her sword is reserved for those who joke about her looks.

Sally Satan is a new recruit, a blessed ex-victim, and a bit unsure of what she should be doing.  But she is pretty enough she can always find a willing playmate!  The whims of Slaanesh are strange...

So-

2 Flamers 50pts each

3 Demonettes 35 pts each

205 pt total

Next month I hope to do 2 Dragon Ogres, another demonette or three, and more work on Ignatz.  My hope is to get better at painting tiny faces, and get to practice some techniques I learnt online to improve my figure painting!  We will see...

Relatively slow going too, because I am trying to do Karandras for the 20 year challenge- my last old Phoenix lord to be painted.  I'm a sucker for challenges, but no more till the OWAC ends.  I really want to paint lots of demons!

Tom's Dwarfs - Slayers! (202pts)

Ooh - month two! And a second shot at writing this all out, as for some reason this post didn't save first time round. *weeps

However, fortunately, this month sees me paint the unit I've been looking forward to the most: SLAYERS, and I don't mind looking at them all again!

Here they are:

This dude with the massive axe was a little odd, as his face was not as detailed as the others. He's also got an enviable forearm girth... This chap on the left has his top tied by the sleeves around his waist, which I thought was a really nice touch...

Throbbin Death Eye here pictured on the left is one of the dwarf Lords of Legend. He makes a good slayer, although it does seem as if he's been shot with an arrow to the beard. Someone obviously will have to pay.

The dude on the right is just very, very upset.

I loved painting the large guy on the right. He's probably my favourite of the bunch. The left oine...not so much.

Kimril Giant Slayer is a dwarf hungry for giants, and also a L:ord of Legend whereas this guy on the right has just seen it all and perfected the 1000 yard stare...

Another slayer - on the left, and a butt naked one on the right. Thankfully he has a modesty cloth.... Most likely he could also do with some tattoos, but I'm not brave enough just yet!

Another very, very upset dwarf. He might be upset because I dropped him on the floor and chipped the paint off his nose... The dude on the right looks like someone at some point chopped off Kimril's mohawk. Who know?

Here's a shot of the similar sculpts all together:

And a glorious shot of them all!

I've also been painting other non-slayer type figures. 

Most notably this wizarding Gnome (painted for this challenge, but also painted for the facebook Middlehammer groups monthly painting challenge). Challenge. Lots of challenges.

On a magical theme, I also painted up this dwarf wizard:

He was in amongst a bunch of figures at my LFGS, and was sold at the princely sum of 50p.

He completes* my collection of Citadel wizards - here he is amongst them all:

This collection of models is very special to me, as it represents a turning point in my painting. I didn't lose any enthusiasm for painting them when I was in the middle of painting them (which so often happens). They painted up relatively quickly (just over an hour or so each), and they photographed really well! I'm very proud of them, and they're usually the first thing I'll show others if they ever ask me what I do for a hobby (yet to happen).

Also, I have found that dwarfs like treasure.

Here's some treasure:

Looking at this treasure, it seems the big pile could do with some grass or something to soften the edges...

Also, I have found that they have a great love for food

Here's some food:

The spit roast will be a stand in for The Meat, cooked by the Chef who is part of the Goblobber crew. Hopefully they'll make an appearance in March, as they're on the painting table at the moment...

Talking about painting, A few friends of mine have just recently started back into Blood Bowl, and they're painting some teams up for the first time since they were kids (so like...25yrs ago). I joined them, and was surprised at how my own painting habits have changed.

My friends set up was exactly how I used to paint as a kid. Lots of super tiny brushes, a desklamp and dining room light, a tiny jam jar and a big palette. To me, now, this feels all wrong.

I usually use three largish looking brushes, a massive pickled gerkin jar for washing them in, and greaseproof paper as a palette. I don't use a wet palette, (but I most likely would if I was painting one model to a mush higher standard). I use the greaseproof paper over and over, so it's really stiff from paint.  The bigger water jar lets me easily thoroughly wash my brushes. 

Actually, here's a pic of my brushes:

The first one is my CHAMPION. It's a Rosemary and Co #1. I do everything with it. Base, wash, layer and details. Eyes and everything. Much love.

The second is my metal paint and small drybrush brush. I think it's a WAMP detail brush.

The last one is a super cheap synthetic for large, textured surfaces, or larger drybrushing

Next month I'll take a pic of my painting station - it's probably not the usual set up. But then again, it's what works for me. Aaaanyhow - more on that next month.

Aaaaand, talking of next month, I'll most likely be painting up a unit of Warriors and a war engine of some kind. I'll also probably paint a few EXTRAS too.

I took a pic of some more extras that I might paint along the way. Here they are:

Keen eyes will see I've already painted some of the treasure up... 

I put them on this months White Dwarf, as a kind of datestamp. No pre-painted models here please!

Look at that cannon! It's one I never found as a kid, but saw in the battle reports at the time. As a heads up, it's still available from Foundry but DOES NOT come with an axle to fix the wheels to.

Props to Jaeckel for pointing this out in his blog Jaeckel Alone. (If you've not seen his dwarfs you need to stop, search it out and go look at them. Actually....here's a link. Click it!)

So, wrapping up!

January saw:

Crossbowmen 130points

Bolt Thrower 54points

Warriors 33points

Pony

February sees:

Slayers  202points

Treasure

Food

Pony handler

Gnome

Wizard

I note that I neglected to show the pony handler. I'll rectify that now:

See - I've added some string to act as a rope. I'd like to take them off this base, and create a vignette. Most likely it'll be a skeleton rising up behind the handler and startling the horse. It would make for a nice memorial piece, as Iannick's (founder of the OWAC) army has skeletons in.

Here's a pic of all the counted, painted models so far!

And look at that there, in the top right hand corner. That there is my kitchen table. To create this shot, I have angled some A4 paper on some of my priming spray cans (Hycote plastic primer - grey, available from The Range), arranged models on it. Then I've awkwardly angled my daylight lamp at it with one hand whilst taking a pic on my phone with the other.

Anyhow, jobs a good un (or good enough at least!)

See you all next month for more Dwarf goodies :)

Laters

*citation needed. I already see some more in amongst the extras pile....