The Quest for Warhammer Quest...

originally posted @ eldritch epistles. 

When I originally saw the photo of this diorama, I knew then and there that Warhammer Quest was the GW game for me. Unfortunately, it was the one GW game I have never been able to obtain as a boxed game. I have some of the models and pdf downloads of the books and tiles, but not the genuine article. 

And let's be honest, there is no way I'm plopping down close to $200 on Ebay for one.

So, the only way I'm going to get my Warhammer Quest fix on is to go full on DIY with it. 

As of this moment, I'm working on painting up a group of plastic Skeletons from the late 90s and a Vampire/wizard to lead them (also from the classic era). While I'm trying to stick with classic models, I do plan to add some of the newer VC vampires and ghouls in as well. Just wish I didn't sell off all my plastic GW zombies before we moved....but I can probably pick some up cheap on ebay. Or...I could use Mantic zombies as a worst case scenario.

I don't know whether I'll ever end up building 3D custom tiles..especially since there are so many tile sets for sale at Drivethrurpg. Literally...a shit ton of dungeon tiles.

I will however be building some backdrops for photographing the models (along with all my other fantasy models) using Mike McVey's diorama as inspiration.

Some guy and a pirate...

This week I've been working on a Steel Legion trooper from my Imperial Gu…errr…uh…Astra Militarum collection.  I picked this guy and a gaggle of his buddies up on eBay back in 2000 (I also picked up a Sentinel to go with them….but the asshole seller never sent it). 

I'm attempting to give the model a more modern style paint scheme…more warm muted earth tones inspired by World War 2 military color schemes. It's almost the same color palette as my WW2 Soviets…and my 40k Valhallans.

For the overcoat, I'm using Vallejo Khaki which was shaded with Vallejo English Uniform. I've added some highlights, but I'm trying to keep them subtle as I think "extreme highlighting" on cloth just looks awful (and apparently it's all the GW painters do now). I'm going to add another layer or two of highlights before calling the overcoat done.

His helmet, trousers, and large pieces of kit are Vallejo Russian Green. Normally, it's a color I'd only use for helmets and other metal objects…but I think it'll work nicely to break up all the brown on his legs.

The boots, gloves, and the rest of his kit are getting Ceramcoat Spice Brown with a bit of Ceramcoat Charcoal mixed in. I'm probably going to add a bit more to desaturate that brown. I'll highlight by adding a light gray to the base mixture…which should give it a worn and faded look. 

A side note, the models from 2000 pale in comparison to the more modern models. Heck, compare these to models from 2004-2006 and you'd think it was another company. 

This handsome bastard is a pirate from Wargames Foundry. He's painted in the usual Dallimore influenced style I use for those types of models (technically, I use that style for all my historicals). I kept the color scheme simple…Reaper Dragon blue for his head scarf…Reaper Orc Flesh for his shirt…and a custom brownish red for his pants. Trust me, it's there…you'll be able to see once I do the "glamour" shots of these guys.

That's all for this week. Now I'm going to run outside and cover the grill as I hear thunder.

In Russia…no I don't like this mini enough to even bother finishing this zinger...

Ever have a model that you start painting but then realize half way through it is gonna turn out like ass? Yet you still keep painting as you've already sunk a ton of time into it. Tons of precious time you could have spent on something else…but no you had to finish "it".

If you answered yes, then you will understand the situation I was in with Yuri over there. 

Just couldn't justify throwing him away after putting in some serious hours on him…although looking at him you couldn't tell. Detailing which I thought would look nice once it was painted did not…and those straps that make up his sleeves…ugh. The only thing I actually like about the model are the hard armor bits as it gave me an excuse to try out my Vallejo Soviet Armor Green (which I like). But the folds in the clothing…the face…the hands…not so great. Things like the face and hands I suspect were do to bad casting (smushed face, lack of clean detail in on the hands). Other stuff…who knows. All I know is while there were two of these guys in the package…I will only be painting the one. 

So in conclusion, I wish I'd painted another historical models instead.

Pee Shark and Crumpets....

First up are some Wargames Factory Viking Huscarls. These will eventually be part of my big Viking Raiding Party which I started collecting about 14 years ago (seems like only yesterday). I'm painting them in batches of 3 so I can mix up the color scheme a little in order to give them the crazy mismatched look the Vikings had.

From what I can tell, the colors I'm using are mostly historically accurate (I'm not sure what shade of blue they had access to, but they did have blue...and that sort of thing). 

As far as the models themselves go, I wish there were some more "heroic" scale and not realistic scale...those weapons are just so tiny and fragile. 

Next up is an explorer from Foundry for their Darkest Africa line. I've actually painted this model three times now...and not three seperate models...this model...three times. I finally have him the way I like him now.

He is accompanied by an old GW Blood Bowl Orc player. The model is slightly modded as his helmet spike broke...so I smoothed out the top and voila! I went with a painting style and color scheme that was used during that time. I like to think of it as a "Classic McVey" styled paint job...lots of bright color, cleanly painted and blended. You can't see it in the photo, but there is about 5 shades of red on those shoulder pads and three shades of brown around the toes of those shoes. I won't even go into the fleshtone. My intent was to make the orc look like it would have back in teh day when I bought it...if I could paint as well then as I do now. Trust me, that made sense.

What a difference 15 years can make...I hope...

Lately, my thoughts have been about one thing and that is Blood Bowl. Was it that I had eight full teams sitting there in various states of being painted...or maybe I wanted to paint something from the era when I had a full head of hair...who knows. Honestly, I have no idea why I do what I do...I just kinda stumble from one "adventure" to another.

So, I grabbed an orc lineman, pulled his old plastic slotta base off, and tossed him into a jar of Simple Green. I had originally thought I could just touch up the paint job I did the first time...but as you can see...no way that would have worked. After he soaked in the Simple Green for a few days, I scrubbed the old paint off and set about giving him a facelift. 

This time around, I actually scraped and filed off the mold lines (shock!). I also removed what was left of his little Kaiser spike and smoothed out the top of the helmet (took about a half hour of scraping and sanding to get it just right). I then undercoated the model with Citadel Black Primer and touched up the spots I missed with Apple Barrel black paint (if you don't have Apple Barrel black in your painting arsenal, I highly recommend you get it).

While he is still in progress, I will share the color mixes I used for his flesh and armor. The flesh is a custom color I made by combining Ceramcoat Kelly Green with a drop of Charcoal and Antique Gold. I shaded this color with Ceramcoat Pine Green and added Old Parchment to create the highlights. A much more natural look than what I achieved by just adding yellow to the green all those years ago.

The Red is Ceramcoat Barn Red mixed with Bright Red. I shaded it by adding light glazes of Burnt Umber to the recessed areas. I highlighted by adding amounts of Apple Barrel Flag Red to the mixture.

The look I'm going for is a sort of 'Eavy Metal look from the mid 90's (or the McVey era). I could have used a lot of advanced techniques on this model...but I am of the mindset that a lot of the models from that time just don't look quite right with advanced weathering or shadng on them. I've taken to calling this whole thing Era Appropriate Painting. I deliberately kept the painting simple in order to achieve the look that was the standard when these models were in production. I tried to capture that Pre Bryan Nelson phase where the orcs where more goof ball savages than feral killing machines. I guess it's sort of me painting them the way I'd have painted them back then if I had the skill I do now...if that makes any sense. 

Gonna wrap it up as I need to get a little sleep as Monday is going to be a rough day to say the least.

Painting Update...and dick jokes...

A look into what I've been working on lately. 

The most recent addition to the group is the fellow on the left (the dude with a torch). He is a Transylvanian Villager from Westwind's Vampire Wars line. As with all Westwind models, I kept the detailing extremely simple and didn't bother attempting any blending (not that you could see it from the photo as I don't have my "proper" photography area set up at the moment). Didn't bother dotting his eyes or or adding any additional shading...very simple Foundry styled paintjob. The only thing I put any real extra effort into was the flame on the torch...although that's mainly due to me having a couple of GW models with flaming braziers on the bench. He's based on a plastic Wargames Factory base and thus far I am really loving those...the thickness and style of the base blend in with the prepainted D&D models.

In addition to painting Vampire Wars dude and Surly the Undead Pirate, I've been going through my collection and slowly rebasing all the models I've painted for D&D/Mordheim/Fantasy Heroes/etc. The skeleton you see there was from 2004. I painted a batch of models for Gen Con d20 demo for White Wolf...although I can't remember what d20 line we were demoing with minis. These were after my big Exalted painting gig (never will I paint more than 20+ in two months).

The next model I work on will more than likely be another Westwind model...although I have no idea what line...possibly Berlin or Bust as I need some more historical stuff for when I relaunch my site and commissions page.

Freebasing....er uh Rebasing

After basing my Vampire Wars Transylvanian guy on a flat plastic base from Wargames Factory, I decided to start rebasing a lot of my D&D/RPG models with these types of bases.

I have to admit....I really like these bases. I'd always had a soft spot for metal washer bases and still use them for about 90% of my Historicals basing (I paint...I don't play...so it's cool).

I've actually been thinking about basing my 40k Chaos guys on these....just to shake things up a bit.

Meh...anyway...not a real post but more of a thought and random babbling.