Shadespire Terrain Pt. 1

I thought the Shadespire Terrain set was cool, but it was kind of spendy for something that had literally no game effect, so I wasn't sure if I was going to pick it up or not. But then I won a set of it at the last Tournament I went to as the prize for Best Appearance with my Chosen Axes. Got the first couple of pieces of it ready to go:

This one was pretty simple, but surprisingly satisfying. Nice little bit of hazardous Terrain.

This one didn't quite come out like I was aiming for, but it's still pretty cool. I think I needed to start with something lighter than Stegadon Scale for what I was going for. I am very happy with the effect I got on the mist flowing between the two broken crystals, tho.

Got a couple more of these painted and waiting to get photographed, and a couple more things that just need be written up and posted. Hopefully I'll be able to get through that faster than one a week. But whenever the next time ends up being, until then, y'all have a good one, y'hear!

First Model of 2019: Inquisitor Daemon Huntress

Over the summer, Mordian7th suffered some unfortunate house damage due to frankly ludicrous weather, and raised some cash to help cover the repairs by putting a few things up on eBay. His misfortune was my second chance to get a couple of the minis from the regrettably short-lived 54mm Inquisitor game GW came out with back shortly after the turn of the century.

Of the two I got, the first I've finished is the Daemon Huntress. It was a little odd working at a different scale like this, but I've painted enough monsters and Dreads and such that it wasn't a huge shift. Honestly, I was kind of disappointed by the sculpt. Some of it, I was able to fix (nipple armour is no better a look for her than for George Clooney), but other stuff, like the ridiculous high heels, I just couldn't manage the work necessary on such a large metal Model. And then some of it is just plain sloppy work. A lot of the skulls and purity seals and such are really poorly done compared to those on many 28mm metal Models I have from the same era, or even substantially earlier.

All that said, tho, I'm pretty happy with how she turned out in the end. It was definitely cool to get to work on one of these Models that I've wanted for so long, and to get a bit of variety from working in a different scale.

The layering on the blended parts didn't come out as well as I'd wanted. With so much more space to cover on that blade and horn, my usual methods left each colour having too big of a chunk.

It took a lot of google image searching to figure out what's in her backpack there. It's a tiny little reliquary-type thing, but with a statue of an armed and armoured warrior instead of just a little piece of a saint.

She's technically not quite in the subject matter of Azazel's January Challenge, but I'm going to count her anyhow, since the amount of work involved and her stature are on par with the sorts of things that would qualify as centerpiece Models. I've been plugging away at some more of Rogue Trader and the start of Blackstone Fortress as well, along with some Terrain for variety, so hopefully I'll be able to get some of the finished, photographed, written up, and posted soon. Until then, y'all have a good one, y'hear!

All Things Gross and Gribbly

Well, not all of them, but this is most of the little gribblies from Rogue Trader. The Cursemites, Eyestinger Swarms, and Sludge-Grubs.I'm going to put all the pics of them under a cut, because some of them are, if I do say so myself, pretty damn gross, and I don't want to inflict them on anyone without fair warning.

Dauntless December: A Few Elucidian StarStriders

The last group of Models I did for Dauntless/Diabolical December, or at least, the last I got photographed. I actually finished them before the Ogroid Thaumaturge, but posted him first. For Dauntless December specifically, I painted up Voidmaster Nitsch, Knosso Prond, and the Galaxy's one and only Good Boy, Aximillion. (Voidsman Riguez is also included in this post, but does not count for Dauntless December, partly because he's just a squaddie, but mostly because the background describes him as being as much of a whiner and slacker as possible without getting sacked for it.)

I decided to change the Elucidian colour scheme to primarily white, since I haven't ever done much in white, and it seemed like a good chance to do some without having to do up a whole Army in white. I'm glad I made that decision, because not quite halfway through, and I'm already kind of sick of dealing with it.

First up is Voidmaster Nitsch. The sculpt kind of reminds me of John Wick, but with the white colour scheme, there wasn't really much I could do in that direction other than giving him black hair. I tried to do a bit of a wood grain effect on his shotgun's stock. Didn't come out as well as I wanted, but it did come out better than any previous attempts I've made, so I'm calling that a win.

I really wanted to do a pic in this pose, but couldn't get my camera to focus properly, and it sort of makes his cranial implant look like he's got cornrows.

Next up is Knosso Prond. The decision to go with a white colour scheme really changed the look here, but I like it. I also trimmed away the head she was holding, because it just didn't really feel right, and I liked it better as merely a counter-balancing part of the pose. I also had to perform some "breast-reduction surgery" because I couldn't deal with the fact that her nipples were sharper than her sword.

Dammit, just noticed I forgot to do the darts in the little holder on her left shoulder.

And now, what you've all been waiting for. The one, the only, the Galaxy's favourite Good Boy, Aximillion! I was a bit worried about getting his fur pattern to look good, but it was actually surprisingly easy. Very pleased how he came out.

Last, and least, the slacker Voidsman Riguez. He was my test Model for the group, which is why he's done ahead of the rest of the squaddies. I'm of two minds about my approach to new colour schemes, especially when they seem like they might end up being a serious pain to deal with. On the one hand, as in this case, I can do the least important Model first, in case I screw something up. On the other hand, I can do the most important Model first, so it will still be done properly in case I decide it's too much trouble and start cutting corners later on. What do y'all think about it?

His boots could use some touch-up. I'm sure Nitsch will have words with him about that later.

I like painting cigars. Trying to get the glow effect is fun when you only do it a little, but can become tiresome when you have to do a lot of it.

And a group shot to round things out

Incidentally, I didn't actually use white for any of this. After an article over on FLG a while back, I started taking Cavalier's advice and working just with off-whites instead. In this case, it's a Celestra Grey base coat, then Ultuan Grey over everything except the shadowed areas. As long as there are some strong contrasting colours, the eye pretty much reads it as white.

Well, that's it for Dauntless/Diabolical December. I have a few more minor things, some of the little gribblies from Rogue Trader, and then I should be done with my first Models of 2019. Until then, y'all have a good one, y'hear!

Dauntless December: The Chosen Axes

I didn't think of these guys as suitable for the challenge at the time I painted them, but really, nothing says "dauntless" like Dwarves. And they are all basically named characters. I certainly put as much work into them as I do most characters, which is one of the things I like about stuff like Shadespire and Kill Team. I can really take the time to get into every single Model in a force without it taking years to finish. I did a few group shots of them along with Spiteclaw's Swarm earlier, but just now got around to doing individual shots. Anyhow, on to the pics:

First up, Grimnir himself. I had to cut off and reposition his left hand to be able to get in there and sculpt his boot, in addition to the primary conversion work. The rune on his back is  unfortunately somewhat obscured, because I need to get some sort of diffuser for my light box, but it's Gebo, which, in addition to being his initial, represents the connections between gods and mortals, and the gifts the gods provide to mortals.

Next, we have Vol. The overall idea for this colour scheme, as far as I can reckon, I came up with on my own, but the decision to lock it in and some of the details of the execution owe a significant debt to Spooktalker's Fire Giant. His rune is Thurisaz, associated with the god Thor, and strength/power, particularly in defense of the home.

Tefk Flamebearer is my personal fave. The smoke didn't come out quite like I wanted, because I had to trim it a bit more than planned, but I'm still pretty happy with it, and love the overall effect. He wears the rune Kenaz, the rune of fire, because, really, what could be more appropriate?

Last and, yeah, pretty much least, we have Mad Maegrim. I wish they had differentiated his rules a little more, letting him, say, hit hard, but have substantially worse defence, or something like that. He also has a more two-dimensional pose that leaves him with fewer angles worth photographing. Incidentally, shortly before finishing these guys, I found out through a completely different source that "megrim" is an archaic term for a migraine, with, since it pre-dates modern medicine, more connotation of madness. Maegrim is marked by Naudiz, a rune signifying need, obsession, or distress, a combination that felt appropriate.

And the whole lot together

I've got one more set of pics for Dauntless December, and then it's going to be on to new stuff. My goal for 2019, inspired by a number of the end of the year posts and Azazel's regular tracking of his productivity, is to record everything I finish in the year, see what my productivity is actually like, so I can set reasonable goals for improving it. As we move into 2019, y'all have a good one, y'hear!

Diabolical December: Ogroid Thaumaturge

Another finished Model thanks to Azazel's Hobby Challenges! I've been procrastinating on this guy for literally years because of all those damn tattoos/scars/whatever. Finally forced myself to go through and get them all, a little at a time, in perhaps a dozen sessions over a week or so. He still wants a shitload of touch-up and some more detailing, but I can't deal with him any more, I need him to just be done. So I have commanded. So let it be.

I was trying to do a flame effect in pink coming out of the eyes of the skull. It's harder, because in normal fire colours, our eyes can accept a certain amount of simplification and still recognize it as something we're familiar with, but with different colours, we can't lean on that pattern recognition as much.

I was trying for a bit of a glow effect on the tats. There are a couple of layers of pink in there, but it doesn't come out well here. My camera seems to treat thin layers as being more translucent than they are to the eye.

Kinda washed out, unfortunately. Downsides of a cheap lightbox.

This one is probably about the closest to how the colours look in person

I kinda wanted to show off the eye on his Championship Belt. I'm also pretty happy with the work on his claw and hooves.

Holiday stuff, and the way I tend to work on multiple projects means I tend to get things done in bursts, so there's more almost done. I've got a couple of the characters from Rogue Trader ready, and I'm hoping to get one more in under the line. Might be able to finish the Gaunt Summoner and his Familiars, too, but not as likely. I also need to get around to doing individual shots of the Chose Axes still, and I've got pics of some of the little gribblies from Rogue Trader that I need to process. Hopefully I'll manage some more posts without quite such a long gap this time. In case I don't get around to it, tho, y'all have a happy New Year's, y'hear!

Beneath the Mirrored City

In long-forgotten tunnels and catacombs and basements, connected by gaps in crumbling, time-eaten walls, the search for the secrets of Shadespire goes on, just as it does in the streets and ruined buildings above. And so too do the battles between those who wish to keep those secrets from all others...

I'll put up individual pics of my take on The Chosen Axes sometime in the next few days. Right now, they're packed up for tomorrow's Sparkle Party Death Match. I must admit to being a bit nervous about this one, since I won the last one, but this time I'm bringing a couple of Bands that I'm still getting the hang of and I'm not entirely confident in my decks for, rather than Magore's Fiends, who I know inside and out. I don't feel like I need to win this one, I just don't want to completely embarrass myself with an 0-3 finish or something. I'll let y'all know how it went soon. Until then, y'all have a good one, y'hear!