Friday, 29 April 2016

April Challenge Complete!

Hey guys, managed to get through the April challenge of Rise of Empires by the skin of my teeth...

First up we have the Beastlord Gygax -



Really happy with this guy, aside from the terrible attempted fire on his base! Any tips on improving that? This is the first time I'd used the combo of Typhus Corrosion and Ryza Rust, I may have gone a little overboard on it... Also happy with the green gauntlet, heavily washed so as to hint at magical properties.

Next up we have Gygax's retinue of Best/Pestigor -




Not exactly happy with the green stuffed masks or paint job on these, they coincided with the birth of my baby so wasn't exactly in the right frame of mind. I intend to redo the masks as well as green stuff a little detail onto the banner, similar to how I've done in the next unit...

Finally we have a unit of Chaos Warriors. These guys are obviously converted from the Khorne Bloodreavers. Great models, I particularly like the helmets and weapons on them, and how they visually tie in with my Chaos Lord (pictured below for reference).






I removed any Khorne symbols, replacing some with my Nurgle symbol. Then when painting, I added more Nurgle elements, including green clothes, Rust, Nurgle's Rot and some blood for good measure. I've got another ten of these guys that I'll hopefully convert a little more thoroughly, maybe even using them as chosen?

Here's the price breakdown for the monthly challenge -

Beastlord - £9.50
Bestigor - £25.50
10 Blood Reavers - £17.50 (Half of the 20)

Total -52.50


My next post will be a narrative post on Cholothrax's very own Path to Glory...






Thursday, 17 March 2016

A Dark (Furred) Emissary

The next part of my Rise of Empires story is up here -


Painted up this little guy while I wait for more Beastmen to show up - 





Wednesday, 2 March 2016

Ungors Complete


Completed the Ungors, with added bellies, camping gear, fur and the occasional Nurgle symbol!
Fluff will be the next post after I post on Rise of Empires





Thursday, 25 February 2016

Chaos Lord Complete! + Ungor WIP's and Campaign Update!

Finished the Chaos Lord -




I tried a couple of new techniques on this guy, but also tried to keep to the feel of the sculpt as it's so great! Firstly, I used Ryza Rust for the first time on the metals, but really need to get some Typhus Corrosion to go along with it I think! I also painted some tattoos on his skin, and a green one on his helmet, to add a little detail to the model, whilst still not messing with the sculpt! Finally I used a green wash around the edges of the white section of his helmet, to try and show Nurgle's influence coming through!

Also started on a unit of Ungors. These guys are actually nearly finished by his a WIP with green stuff applied -








I wanted these guys to act as the scouts of the warband, so I made some camping mats out of greenstuff for each of them, and added extra fur to cover my shoddy assembly. I also added bellies where I could to enhance the Nurgle look.

I've joined an online campaign here - http://postendtimescampaign.blogspot.co.uk/
As part of this I've rephotographed some of my past completed units, I'll post about the missing units after I've posted them on the campaign blog! As part of the campaign I've been writing little stories as the warband transitions into the realm of Beasts! See below -



His personal retinue is led by his brother, who has absolutely no magical aptitude, and so compensates with a large two handed axe, threatening to start hacking at the tree whenever the two have an argument.


Notable members of his retinue are The Brothers, a group of three gors who are scouting out the warband in order to ascertain if the Rot Tree is a worthy cause for the rest of their herd to follow, and an Ogre who tags along for the laugh.

Other followers of Nurgle who have thrown in their lot with Cholothrax and his crew include the Papa Don't Preachers, a mob of Marauders (just don't mention tripping on cloaks!) and a hulking Doombull, sworn to the Rot through fealty to Cholothrax after his brother skinned his best mate and now wears his skin.




So The Keepers are happily Nurgle-ing away in Ghyran, protecting and nurturing their Rot Tree, but this may be about to change as the gaping pestilence within the tree continues to expand from such diligent Decay-work...

Cholothrax was first aware of the Orcs' presence on their first night's camp within the forest. He sensed a new species of Rot moulding into the earth as the Orcs created their waste from the spoils of pillaging a nearby town.
Ordering the warband to converge on the Orc's camp, Cholothrax's first thought was to parley with them, to tempt them into carrying out their particular kind of waste in the name of Nurgle and the Rot Tree. However, as the warband approached their camp, they were immediately set upon by the Orcs.
The Orcs quickly created a blockade to cut off the Rotbringers from their glade, Cholothrax was loath to let this happen as he would soon lose his grip on the warband as his power was derived from the Rot Tree itself.
Cholothrax soon sensed a powerful presence within the Orc ranks, and dispatched his personal vanguard along with a gaggle of Plaguebearers he had managed to summon.
In the centre he commanded the most powerful of his warband, the Blight Kings, to engage what he perceived to be the epicenter of the enemy forces, a large group of Black Orcs. These proved a persistent and difficult to dispatch enemy.
On the right flank, Cholothrax sent a small group of his Plague Ogres and their attendant Nurglings, their orders to break through the ranks of the Orcs to get word to the rest of the warband.
Cholothrax himself held back surveying the battle, only committing himself to a course of action when  needed. Throughout most of the conflict, he supported various regiments with his mystic shield, only committing to physical violence when the enemy general presented his rear, expertly using an arcane bolt to execute him. He then moved on to support the remaining Plaguebearers in assaulting the Giant.
As the opportunity to retreat to the glade was becoming ever more unlikely, Cholothrax, after bringing the Giant to it's knees, fled the battle back to the safety of the Rot Tree, following the remnants of his Blight Kings, Plague Ogres and Nurglings, ready to lead the assault on the remaining Orc forces in the forest.

Cholothrax was in a particular cheerful mood. The Rot Tree had never looked so bulbous in all the months he and his warband had tended to it. This was definitely a sign that the Rotbringers were especially blessed by Father Nurgle, and Cholothrax would ascend to daemonhood any day now.

Applying his usual ointment to the growth, he felt a trembling in the membrane of the growth. Peering closer, Cholothrax became elated as the growth burst all over him. Thinking his daemonhood iminent, he called over the rest of the warband to witness it. His rival in warband (and brother) Cholophract was naturally skeptical, as he ever has been when it comes to Cholothrax's perceived greatness. Inspecting the remains of the growth, as though looking through a distorted mirror, Cholophract spied a forest unmolested by the blessings of Nurgle.

Now arose a philosphical debate within the warband. Wait for Cholothrax's ascension within Ghyran or as Cholophract argued, travel through the portal to spread Nurgle's work to a new Realm. For 777 days the debate continued, until the stalemate was broken through Cholophract throwing his brother bodily through the portal, the rest of the warband soon followed...



















Wednesday, 10 February 2016

Chaos Lord WIP

Here's a WIP (actually just about finished!) shot of my Chaos Lord.



He's from Mierce Miniatures, called Carrowek of Carh Dhu. Was originally going to use him as a Lord of Plagues, but as Chaos Lords with the Mark of Nurgle just seem better in every way as far as I can see, plus he is about a head bigger than his Blight King retinue, I will field him as a Chaos Lord with MoN!

Will go into more detail on the painting of him after I have finished, but I will say I've struggled to "Nurgle" him up. This is mainly because I love the model as it is! So I've settled on adding tattoos of my Nurgle symbol to his body / helmet. These are still WIP as I try find the besy way to do these, but you can see one in the photo on his leg for an idea.

Another way I decided to Nurgle him up just on the spot last night, was a small green wash around the white edges of his helmet, as though the Rot is seeping through...

The main things I need to finish on the model is more rust/weathering on the axe, finishing touches on the base and work out how to add some Nurgle's Rot to the model. Probably around the bones/heads on the model.

Later today I'll be picking up the Ryza Rust paint, along with a box of Ungors that I have some good conversion ideas for! So will probably add some of that paint to the model too!

Thursday, 21 January 2016

Doombull - Complete!

Here's the finished photos of my Doombull!

To start with here's a suitably atmospheric one in the style of Iron Sleet.


Followed by a well lit version. Overall I'm very happy with how this guys turned out! I decided to try out a new technique on the armour. I would usually just paint armour varying degrees of Silver with a black or brown wash, but as the Doombull is part of my Nurgle army, I felt I needed something to visually tie it in there, as having the Mark of Nurgle if you like. I decided to mix silvers into a base of Waagh Flesh, having chosen this as I felt the tone of the green fit in better with the rest of the army, plus I didn't want it too bright.Starting off with a basecoat of WF mixed with Leadbelcher, I then mixed in varying ratios of Mithril Silver with WF for subsequent layers, finishing off with pure MS for battle damage.


The green "gems" were Waagh Flesh followed by Warboss Green, with a little Nurgle's Rot for the final step, I wanted them to look like they were oozing it! One of the gems I resculpted to have a rudimentary Nurgle symbol, instead of the stock Slaanesh one, and I intend to carry this symbol on throughout the army, starting with freehanding(!) it onto my next model's helmet.


The shoulder horn started with a base of Doombull brown, then, starting at the tip, pure Screaming Skulls, then reducing it as I went down the horn.The yellow stuff at the top of the horn is a little Nurgle's Rot, I got a little carried away.


The axe is my standard formula for silver, Leadbelcher then Mithril Silver and a wash, but I spent extra time building up areas on the axe with Agrax Earthshade, specifically the shadow around the raised area in the middle. I then added in some Nurgle's Rot into the crevices, as well as Blood for the Blood God for blood splatter. I don't think I've got the angle right on the blood but I'm not too bothered about that.



The last Nurgle element I added to the model was the wound on his back, painted with a base of Mephiston red, followed by BFTBG and Nurgle's Rot! 

Painting this guy has really got my imagination going on the Beastment element of the army again, resulting in the largest element of the army as seen on the plan below, being Beastmen! Next I intend to get a unit of Ungor Raiders and apply this scheme to them!


Tuesday, 19 January 2016

Army Plan Update

I've updated my army collection plan a little (well quite a lot) you can compare the two below, the top one being most recent! I'm looking to work towards two/three battalions across the army, a Daemon Cohort of Nurgle, an Ungor Raiders Ambush, and/or a Bullgor Stampede. The Bullgor Stampede in particular may be beyond my price range as Minotaurs are so expensive! I could look into alternative models or Ebay older versions.