A Champion Arises!

OK,
As anyone knows from reading my last post, I was disappointed in the wow factor of the plague monk champion. (Not to mention the entire unit, out of the box)
I had a few choices. To just use the champion that I had painted up over the Christmas holidays. I didn't like that option much. A second option was to put together a champion that used the Ghoul parts that I have been combining into the unit. The addition of these parts always makes me think of feral creatures. And I know that the Skaven Monks are meant to be wild and crazy, but I can't help but enjoy the look of a scattering of the Ghoulish monks in with the more normal ones. Maybe only a few of them have gone feral enough to look like these abnormal monks.
This leads me to my third option. Last post I asked for ideas on a new unit champion...and didn't receive much in the way of inspiration (grrr come on readership!). So I started to comb the intraweb and the skaven resources I have, and decided on a Champion that is literally on the verge of bursting from some kind of growth. I imagine his robes as having become torn and barely holding together as they strain to cover the growth on his back. Wow, great idea Bard, maybe not very original, but should look good. And so I have started. Between cutting and pinning and green-stuffing I was painting...and house cleaning. I managed to get the chores done, 3 more plague monks, AND the following progress on the new Champion. I will post him as he progresses, and hopefully people give me their honest opinion of him.

 The Champion. At this point he is nothing more than a plague monk body, my favorite Skaven monk head, a large ball of green stuff and a single horn from a beastman. This is not the base he will be on in the end, but until all the green-stuff is dry and the model finished he will stay here.

 And assembly of parts. You can see the base I put together along with all the weapons I debated using. The shield will be one of the other remarkable parts of this model and will help him stand out.

The shield, with a trimmed nurgle icon.

 The base that will host the finished champion. The skaven horned rat symbol will be painted up in green, or maybe oxidized bronze. I want it to look like its stuck into the rock and is slowly being revealed by the weather.

 This is a rough idea of the weapon the champion will be using. I cut a blade off the original weapon arm. I then pinned the haft into the hand. Green stuff was added and will be cleaned up as soon as it dries. The mace will have room to hang downward because of the hight of the base.

You can start to see the cloth that will be across the bulge of the champ. It will need more chipping and less of the sharp edges. These same kind of strips of cloth will weave across the models back. I want the ones I put on to dry before I continue though.

Let me know what you think.
Cheers, Bard

Monktabulous

Over the holidays, (which I hope are going well for everyone!) that always seem so busy, and yet are such a fantastic time to recharge, I have managed to get some Skaven Monks completed. These "lovely" little fellows are sure to scream Christmas to everyone who checks them out! (More on the scream side)
The plan has always been to complete approximately 40 of the little frenzied fellows. This will allow for a great number of Monks to act as escort for the plague furnace, or later, if I paint a few more I can field 2 smallish units of 25 each.
The pictures I was able to get of the Monks shows lots of areas to touch up, and yet when they are ranked up who would notice? I am leaning towards just churning them out in order to get them done. Lets face it, the monk models are less than exciting. What does have me watering at the mouth are some of the new models that are supposed to be out right away. I will be definitely be getting my hands on some of the various war machines...maybe a certain A-bomb too?
Anyway, less talk, more show...Let me know what you think!

3d times the charm

Back

I started with a Purple Horned rat on a green banner. Was very unimpressed with the concept though. Meanwhile I added the checker board pattern to the back and liked that. My wife told me the purple symbol was less than thrilling. I took her advice and changed it up. My second attempt started by reapplying the green undercoat and highlighting anew. I then added a fresh checker pattern to the front and painted a "rat skull" with a long spinal cord looping around. It stunk. It was also too small. So I then took my art supplies, traced a circle over the rat skull abortion, and filled it in with black. This was not bad, and after I added the pestilence symbol it looked great. I am very happy with how it turned out. Maybe a tad dark from the devlan mud wash though.

Musician

Unit Champ (Highly underwhelming)

The unit champ is a very simple model. He underwhelms me. I like the looks of him, but he is pretty plain Jane, and makes me feel like designing and painting up something new in the future. The part I really adore is how the book turned out. Everything is stained and well used looking. Just what I was trying to achieve! Go Team!

Finished Filler

This one looks better than the pony filler if you ask me. I took Kuffeh's advice and tried to make the dwarf look more natural in death. You may notice that I repositioned his right foot. Apart from that I wouldn't have a clue as to what to change and where to start.

Generic Monks

Cheers,
Bard

Christmas and Monks WIP

As promissed, here are a few of the monks I have been working on including the two that are going to be on the unit filler. Every time I look at these work in progress shots I get depressed over the amount of work that looks like still needs doing. Oh well, it won't take a huge amount of time...but with Christmas almost here time is becoming harder to find.

And on this happy note, I wish everyone that reads this blog, a very Merry Christmas, and I hope everyone has a fantastic New Years too!!!

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Filler WIP



More Monk Rats WIP





 Cheers, Bard

Dead Dwarf Update

Still W.I.P

Here is an idea of the proposed skaven on the base. As I did this set up, I wondered if I shouldn't add a banner to the skaven on the left and add this unit filler / command group at the front of the unit. If not, then I suppose it will still look good mid unit. Would there be any issues with the base counting as 4 models if it was at the front? I don't think I would personally have an issue with it if it were explained to me at the start of a game.

SHOULD LEFTY BE A STANDARD BEARER?

Cheers, Bard

I'm sorry little Dorf!

I started by cutting and prepping 10 more monks with ghoul torso's and creating a custom base for the unit. That will make two unit fillers for a unit of 40 Monks to run happily along side the plague furnace!! I appologize to anyone (Kuffeh) who has dorfs for what I did in making the base. To add insult to injury, was the dwarf stupid drunk when the attack came? Or was he simply overwhelmed by superior Skaven forces?? Hmmm the questions this diorama poses! As a Skaven convert I think I know the answer!



Finished base, a few fixes needed seen in close up

Top view, details missing

Front, missing details

Cheers, Bard
p.s. Incase you havent seen the new Skaven models, here is a link to the new rat beauties! Forofreakfactory

Rat Hordes Rule!

The first 50 man unit of Skaven is done!! I got the last 2 finished today!
This unit includes 2 weapon attachment choices: 1) Skaven Doomflayer and 2) Skaven Warpfire Thrower
It also has a completed Skaven warplock Engineer! Rik Rak.
Also finished previously is a Doomwheel and a plague furnace. The monks are mid way. What should be next? Rat Ogres? A plague ridden Doomwheel? More Clan rats? Finish the Monks? Characters?

Cheers, Bard

Skaven and the Statue

Finished my unit filler. I also got into a slug match with my Sorylians in a 3 way battle of Firestorm Armada. It was a blast. My unit of frigates boarded a R&D Relthozan shunt cruiser and captured it which was the highlight for me. A good portion of the game was watching everyone else but me role sixes unfortunately.

Here are some pictures of the counts as 4 base.

Cheers, Bard

A third filler

 Decided to go with the unit filler after all. Did this up tonight. Need add some weathering to the stone, paint the rat and attach the Skaven that will also be on the base. The stone base of the statue is a chunk of plaster. Its pretty simple but fits well with the unit.

Before

After, not quite finished

Seven more Rats

Seven more Skaven into the unit. 4 of them are as a unit filler, but I am still pleased with the quick results from these rats. I am debating about adding one more unit filler to the unit. Any thoughts? Are two unit fillers per unit more than enough? Or does more fillers equal more interest if you were playing against them?

Counts as 4, unit filler

Only one base finished

2 to the right have a new rust recipe I tried...which is better?



Room for six more. Another unit filler or 6 more singles?



 Cheers, Bard

Warpfire Thrower

Do you ever feel like you’ve taken one step forward followed by two back? Lord Chompy bits has officially p***ed me off! I don’t know if it’s the paints or the harsh ridges on the model, but paint keeps rubbing off. I ended up spraying the model with a sealer last night and will continue to paint him this week over the sealer. I don’t normally experience this problem, but maybe it is also the lack of practice lately in painting large metal models.


Ef you strike a thorn or rose,
Keep a-goin'!
Ef it hails or if it snows,
Keep a-goin'!
'Taint no use to sit an' whine
When the fish ain't on your line;
Bait your hook an' keep a-tryin' --
Keep a-goin'!                  by Frank Stanton

Thank you Mr. Stanton, I will keep a-goin! This week will see the arrival of some bases for my Malifaux crew, so Lord Chompy will be permanently attached and I have to have him finished for attachment. I think then it’s a break from Malifaux painting for a bit, and a re-focus on my Skaven. The other game some of my gaming friends have wanted to do again is Firestorm Armada. With all the new ships it’s become tactically more interesting.

Skaven however are still managing to keep me focused more than any of the other armies I have on the back burner. The latest addition to my force is the fantastic warpfire thrower. I have only seen it in action once in the new rules, but it did a real number on some empire clowns! Hopefully I will be able to use it this Christmas break, when some friends and I get into a 2 vs 2 game. That should be a blast, especially with the addition of some munchies and “pop”.

 I painted this weapon team in my usual colours. The only change is the design along the collar of the front rat. I love a few of the things I tried on this model though. The smoke looks nice and nasty. Green highlighted with white with a wash of Green/brown/black. My other favorite part is the verdigris I added on the copper areas. I started with a mixture of ice blue and goblin green. Heavily watered down and then highlighted with watered down white. I wasnt quite satisfied though, and added andother layer of watered ice blue. I think it looks good.

On another note, a blog that has really captured a lot of my attention these days is http://striking3agle.blogspot.com/ , which has some fabulous painting tutorials. The author Mike, focuses on painting rusted and weathered metalics so far, and I am going to try and incorporate these new techniques into my next batch of Skaven with spears. I might have to see if anyone wants to go halvsies with me on another starter box.

Cheers, B

All the ladies

I wasn't able to do any painting today, but I did manage to head down to my local gaming store and play some Malifaux (watched and talked tonight actually). But while I was there my freshly commissioned Collette war band made an appearance. Lucky for me I had a camera and was able to snap some pictures of all the ladies together. (I think they are also undefeated right now!) So without further ado, I present to you the famous, the one and only, Collette!

Cheers, Bard

WIP 2 - Argh! My stomach!

AARrRrrrrGGgggggH! MY Stomach!!...

Lord Chompy-Bits has his stomach more or less done. Unless anyone sees something that needs changing, I am going to keep it this way I think, maybe a wash though. Are the teeth too white? More yellow or just right? His loin cloth is almost done. I am debating on stains along the edge...will depend on the base too. The legs are almost done, just nails and a final highlight...its the arms that still need work, especially towards the hands. I also don't like the face, the molding is very rough in the mouth. I haven't forgotten the chains along the front either, and I have a few bits on the back left too, maybe a couple more nights worth. Maybe a Friday night finish, or Saturday at the latest!
Cheers, Bard