Hakaar the Destroyer

I took a break from the Pink & Blacks to paint up Hakaar the Destroyer, an Ancestral Guardian solo.  He's a fantastic model, and has killer rules to boot!  He satisfies the criteria for Lost hemisphere's September Paint the Target:  a model that was released within the last year.  Hakaar was released in November 2010, so he's just about 1 year old now!

He has dual POW 13s, which he can combine to take on heavier armed targets.  He runs of friendly souls, and any friendly models that tie near him trigger a vengeance move.  Yep, his vengeance triggers off other models.  On top of that, the three souls can up his ARM stat, as well as buy him boosts and additional attacks.  Top all that off with Life Drinker for healing up those 10 HP he has, and this is one mean 4 pt solo.

I painted this guy up while watching the old Mel Gibson & Jodie Foster movie, Mavrick, which I received for my birthday this last weekend.

I have a minimum unit of Man-O-War Shocktroopers built, but they haven't seen primer yet.  I should probably get on that, huh?  :D

Skorne Group Pictures

I got those pesky Swordsmen done today, and I must say, those are the most detailed models ever.  Holy cow.  Just when I thought I was done and could relax, I'd realize I needed to go highlight all the black.  Then I'd forgotten to paint the pommels of their swords.  Then I noticed those big horn things on their one shoulder pad.  These things never end!

Using basic speed painting techniques really helped.  Work on one color, and do everything with the big brush first, then go back through on the same color with the small brush to get the smaller details.  Switching brushes on every models just eats up time.  Washes were also my friend.

Anyway, here's the majority of my Hexeris T3 force, all painted up!

After those swordsmen, I need a break from Skorne!  Our local group has a Slow Grow league starting in a week or two, and I'm doing Khador.  I'm doing a black and pink theme, and since I'm doing Butcher1's theme force, It will also work for Clash of the Titans!  The pink was chosen in support of PG_Wold's Paint it Pink:

The 2011 Paint It Pink painting contest is designed to help promote breast cancer awareness through the miniature wargame hobby. Simply paint one miniature or an entire army using pink as a prominent color, and enter your work into any appropriate categories.

I think big, burly Khador in pink will be fun, as well as support a good cause.  It's also a theme force for Clash of the Titans, and will be a great vehicle for the Slow Grow League.  Lastly, I should be able to paint the majority of my plastic Khador battlebox in the process, which gives me another demo tool.  Yay for ... three birds with one stone?

I've got a spare Man-O-War Demolition Corp model I've assembled and primed, and I'll be using him as a test model for the paint scheme.  The scheme will use mostly p3 paints also, which I'm rather excited about.  Look for pictures of the test model soon!

Skorne Praetorian Swordsmen WIP

I had enough time last night while watching Die Hard to get the reds done, as well as the touch ups on the brass.  All that's remaining on these guys are flesh, green highlights, silvers and black highlights.  I'll also need to do some free hand on the flag.  I'm hoping to knock most of that out tonight and have an update for you tomorrow!

Bask in their near completeness!

Lord Tyrant Hexeris and Friends

I think I've finally wrapped my head around Hexeris.  In theory, anyway.  As I may have mentioned, my first league game this last league was against Hexeris.  I got to see his feat first hand, so I now understand how it works, when to use it and how to use it effectively.  Also, since I have loads of experience with pMorghoul, I'd really like to play something different - something more spell focused.

I've read up some stuff about Hexeris' theme list, and overall I like it because all the tier bonuses get you further up the field, and get your stuff doing what they do best, faster.

Studio Hexeris

Faction: Hexeris - Kingdom of Shadow

Casters: 1/1

Points: 35/35

Tiers: 3

Lord Tyrant Hexeris (*6pts)

* Cyclops Savage (5pts)

* Razorworm (4pts)

* Titan Gladiator (8pts)

* Aptimus Marketh (3pts)

Paingiver Beast Handlers (min) (2pts)

Praetorian Swordsmen (min) (4pts)

* Officer & Standard (2pts)

Praetorian Swordsmen (min) (4pts)

Agonizer (2pts)

Ancestral Guardian (3pts)

Hakaar the Destroyer (4pts)

When this list deploys, the Swordsmen get AD, the Guardian & Hakaar (a Guardian model) get advanced move, and I can start with Hexeris' upkeeps in play, and don't have to pay for the upkeeps turn 1.  WHAT?  I know, right?  These models will be up the enemy's grill turn 2.

The non UA swordsmen are a tarpit - souls to fuel the Guardians and Marketh.  They'll likely start with Death March (+2 MAT, Vengeance) so if the enemy doesn't kill the entire unit, they're going to see some retaliation.  Turn 2, the UA'd swordsmen will get Death March cast onto them, and use their mini-feat to lawnmower their way through the enemy front lines.

Amongst the infantry are the two Guardians who will gather souls along with Marketh, and add to the retaliation.

All the while, the Agonizer is causing havoc, spells are channeled through the Razorworm (who has Eyeless Sight & Dig In), and I'll have some beast cruise missiles ready to launch once charge lanes are opened up by the lawnmowers.

I'm very excited to try out the army, and have all the models needed.  I just need to find some time to actually play a game with him!!

Speaking of Hexeris, here's a recent picture of my Hexeris and his favorite pet, the Razorwurm.

I used the same black gradient paints I used on the Sorylian space ship.  I'm trying to paint the gems like Onyx, emphasizing the Void and emptiness of Skorne's theocracy.

Here's a closeup of the gem:

Lastly, I'm very happy with how the Razorwurm's flesh turned out.  It was Citadel's Foundation Tallarn Flesh, washed with Ogryn Flesh Wash, and then picked out with more Tallarn Flesh.  I painted the little claws on the Razorwurm black to mirror the nails on Hexeris.  The Razorwurm's horn bracer thing also has an Onyx set on the front.

I'll have a post about my LGS's Slow Grow League that's starting in a few weeks, and all weekend long, I'll have updates from the NoVa Open 2011!

Sorylian Frigate and Skorne Swordsmen WIP

Since I've been itching to try out the highlighting black recipe Ghool mentioned on Hand Cannon Online, I couldn't help myself when I got my hands on the Sorylian spaceships.  This is a frigate, and all I've done is pick out the armor panels.  I think it looks pretty sleek:

SPACETRAINS PEW PEW!!

Also, work on the Skorne Swordsmen continues.  I got down a base coat of Red Gore over the weekend:

I'm not sure yet if I like this whole "base bronze before red" method, but I'm going to hold final judgement until I see the end product.  So far, I think the balance between red and bronze is working.  Remember, the model will be a bit lighter overall once I get the flesh tones in.

The unit is coming along faster and more painless than I had anticipated.  This is a good thing!  Yay!

Basecoats and Trainboats

I carved out some time last night to paint, and was surprised how much I got done.  I think my productivity was increased by the fact that I wasn't watching a show, but instead listening to Jim Butcher's Q & A at a recent book signing - ie, something I didn't have to watch to understand and fully enjoy.

Anyway, I wanted to get some base coats down on my minimum unit of Praetorian Swordsmen, so I got the big brass basecoat done.  Brass takes two layers, since it's coverage is horrible.  Because of this, I usually only do the first coat half-heartedly, and thus rush it.  Thus, it's sloppy.  So, instead of doing metallics last, I did the brass first.  I think it's the much better way to go, since I got all six models base coated in about an hour.

Of course, now I'll spend an entire night cleaning up all the sloppyness with my Windsor 7 and black, but that's OK.

Once these were basecoated, I decided to finish up a side project I started earlier in the week.

You see, last weekend, the Good Lord Faultimus and I got in a small game of Dystopian Wars.  We shot eachother's boats (or flying boats in his case) and rolled some dice.  His tactics were superior to mine, however his dice failed him miserably.  Regardless, it was fun, and got me inspired to finish up a small 3-member squad of Trainboat Frigates!

Honestly, the hardest part of these boats, is an original stripe pattern for each one.

A local store had Spartan Games stuff 60% off, so I picked up a set of Cruisers for the Trainboats, which are medium sized models, and will help me balance out my force (since I didn't start off with the starter kit).

Also, Faultimus ditched his Firestorm Armada Sorylian Fleet in favor of some newer ones that are coming out.  The Sorylians look like trains also, so naturally, I had to have them:

So, in the near future, be on the lookout for SPACETRAINS!!

CHOO CHOO!!

Hexeris & Razorwurm WIP

Spent some time enjoying the new wet palette and glazes as I worked on Hexeris this week.  At this point, he's about 90% done.  Some details need to be fixed, and I have to do the black undergarmets, but that's about it.  Oh, and the green bits need highlights.

One of the crucial beasts for Hexeris is the Razorwurm.  It has eyeless sight, and since Hexy can make one of his beasts a channeler for his spells, this little guy essentially becomes an arcnode that ignores concealment, cover, stealth and other shenanigans.  All for 4 pts.

This guy's around 60% complete.  I need to do metallics, highlight the belly area, and do the little nails on his feets as well as the big ol' spike on his head.

Lord Tyrant Hexeris WIP

As I mentioned last time, I've been painting Lord Tyrant Hexeris.    His armor's a bit more intricate than pMorghoul's, so I'm taking a slightly different path.  On Morghoul, I put down red first, got my reds done and them moved on to the metallics.  This time, I started with the metallics, and I'm going to do my reds last.  I have lots of infantry coming up, and I'm hoping this method will be a bit faster, since I won't have to be so careful with the 3-4 coats I need to get good metallics.

Anyway, enough jibber-jabber.  Pictures!

So, obviously quite a bit of that armor will be red, but by doing the bronze all at once (over a Boltgun Metal base) let me do the two solid coats Bronze needs very quickly.  I'll then be super careful doing my reds, which I have to do anyway since I'm glazing.  I'm hoping that overall, it'll be faster.

*shrug*  

Resistance

... is futile.

A detailed unboxing and look at the parts, soon.  I'm also considering not building a trench for the base.  *gasp*

Lastly, I'll have Hexeris & Razorwurm WIP pictures up before the weekend is out.

The swing?  I am back into it.

Skorne Flesh

Skorne flesh in the Forces of Hordes: Skorne book has a bluish, almost undead feel to it.  I, of course, had to do something different.  Instead, I went with a paler, fairer skin.  In the background for the Skorne, it's clear that they are an offshoot of the Iosian elves.  They had different religions beliefs and left Ios in order to pursue their own ideals.  They ended up in the far reaches of the desert, surrounded by strange creatures and over time, developed into their current society.

Rather than go the "undead vampire elves" direction that Skorne always gets lumped under, I went the opposite direction.  These folks revere their elders, the ancient warriors, their ancestors.  To me, that means they also take very good care of themselves.  Not because of arrogance or vanity, but so that they are as capable and worthy to carry out their daily tasks.  So, in that regard, I went for a lighter, fairer flesh.  To me, that played off the red and bronze better.  Since they live in the desert, having some dirt and grime in the creases of their skin made sense too.  So, the end result was something very light on the edges, and very dark in the creases.

Here's how I do my Skorne Flesh.

1. Prime Black
2. Two light coats of Foundation Tallarn Flesh
3. Two coats of Citadel Elf Flesh
4. One coat of Citadel Gryphonne Sepia
5. Drybrush / highlight with Citadel Elf Flesh
6. Details (White Eyes, red scars, silver piercings)

Step 1 & 2:  Prime Black, then some Tallarn Flesh to set the base tone

Step 3: Two coats of Elf Flesh to get that fair, light skin tone

Step 4: Gryphonne Sepia wash to give us some depth and dirt in the creases

Step 5: Highlight parts of the face with Elf Flesh, the base color

When highlighting the face, I pay special attention to the cheeckbones, jaw line, eyebrows, nose & nose ridge (think Worf from Star Trek) as well as the ears, crown and center head ridge.  Also, hit the top of the upper lip, and the top of the bottom lip.

Step 6: Details

All my Skorne are getting white eyes.  They're creepy desert elves who have no afterlife!  Of course they get creepy eyes!

Also, the scar on Hexeris' head was hit with Citadel's Red Ink, so it looks nice and fresh.  I also blacked out his fingernails, so I can paint them later.

The last step will be to paint all his piercings silver, but I'll do that with the rest of the metallics later.

Agonizing

I've been working on this guy for a few days now.  Since the skin was the same as on the titans, this model really had no surpises.

Except for those expression-filled eyes.  Talk about puppy-eyes, eh?

And, with the addition of the Agonizer, I have a nice, fully painted 15pt Battlebox Skorne force!

So, despite the 5 days since the last post, I'm still alive and kickin...

At this point, I'm feeling the need for a change in palette, so I may paint something completely different just to take a break.

Skorne Beast Handlers

These guys took about a week - 2-3 hours a night.  Since spending most of my time on the Snotling Pump Wagons, I;d forgotten just how much detail was packed onto PP minis.  Sheesh!

No new color recipes or techniques on these guys.


And they look pretty cohesive when you put the whole unit down.

I need to touch up the bases before sealing them - some of the red got onto the sand...

zomg update

My apologies for the severe lack of bloggery lately.  It's been almost a week since I updated, shame on me.  I've been working my way through Wrath, trying to wrap my head around the new hotness and I've been working on some models.  It's been so nice to work on my own models.

I have my Beast Handlers almost complete!  While they're only worth 3 pts, they are a 6-man unit, and will be my first PP unit completed!  Yay!  I tried taking WIP pictures, but my mixing medium is just too glossy, and they looked horrible, absolutely horrible.  I just need to do their skin, the green bits, touch up the metallics and do arc markings.  Should be easy to do tomorrow, on my day off.

Tonight is game night!  The league is still going strong, and the standings ladder is all over the place!  I have plans for the finale event, and I'll be discussing them with the players tonight.  Here's what I'm planning:


Portals


Standard 4' x 4' table
6+ players
15pt MM / TC lists

6 numbered portals (large base) are placed evenly spread out along a 36" diameter circle, centered at the middle of the table.

Each player begins at a portal, and deploys within 3" of the portal.  All players deploy simultaneously.

Players earn 1 pt for each warcaster / warlock they kill, and suffer -1 pt for each death of their warcaster / warlock.

When a warcaster / warlock dies, remove their battlegroup from the table.  At the beginning of that player's next turn, they roll a d6, and deploy with full health at the corresponding portal.

First to 10 points, wins.



Thunderdome

4' x 4' table, filled with linear obstacles
6+ players
Deployment zones are 10" bubbles at table corners and center of table edges (allowing 8 players per table)

Each player brings an "army" consisting of 3 warcasters / warlocks from the same faction.
 - Warlocks use the Focus mechanic, not Fury.
These models all count as a single battlegroup.
Yes, players may triple feat.

Last person with a model standing, wins.


Those will be next weekend.  This weekend, I'm running my first tournament!  It's a simple one, 35pts, two lists, Death Clocks.  I have no idea what the turnout will be, but I'm hoping for the best!

League Night

I was astounded at the response I got from players wanting to play the league.  When I sent out an interest check e-mail a few weeks ago, I only got a handful of responses.  Enough to order the basic 8-man kit.

I was not expecting to get 15 players, with a few more that haven't completely made up their minds yet.

Wow!  I guess that's a product of having lots of new faces at the store - not many of them are in our Google group and a part of the e-mail list.  I fixed that though, I took down e-mail addresses and sent out a link to the Google group to all of them last night.  They should be in the loop now.

Lost of players!

Down at the far end of the room, two guys were playing a non-league game, trying to learn their battle engines.  Dave (Khador) vs Caleb (Cryx).  Dave's had his Wagon for about 2 weeks now (maybe longer) but Caleb's Wraith Engine had arrived just before he got to the store.  Both of them seemed pretty happy with the learning process, and I was very excited to take a picture of the store's first game with battle engines on both sides of the table!

I got a game in against the only other Hordes and Skorne player in the league, Hawk.  The game was fun, my pMorgs versus Hexeris.  I lost by scenario.  Pulling a refused flank type maneuver on a scenario where there are two control points was a bad idea.  It was nice to put some painted models on the field and get a game in!

His converted Titan Gladiator was pretty awesome: