What I've been doing recently, a painting and modelling log...

[Raven Morpheus]

And Aenur, Sword of Twilight is done.

If Carlsberg painted eyes, they'd be the best in the world, but if I did them they'd turn out rubbish, so I don't do eyes...

Little bit peeved as I somehow got CA glue gunk on his feet when attaching him to the base, which ruins the look somewhat!

Other than that I'm quite happy with this.



Thanks as always for looking, C&C welcome.

 

[Pagumb]

Beautiful model. The transfer to a painted base ranks up there on the hobby stressor scale for me, especially given the low number of models I’ve finished over my hobby life.

 

[Sundown Dreamer]

I can only agree with what has already been said. A very well done miniature and I also think the coat is very good. I also like the blue. The whole miniature has a very nice effect on the table.

A good example and maybe I should dare to buy some Contrast Colours and try them a little more too.

 

[Raven Morpheus]

Thanks. Yes, I was very sceptical when GW released Contrast paints, but I am finding Contrast paints to be helpful, especially as I'm no Vince Ventruella, Darran Latham, Tyler Mengel, Juan Hidalgo, Sam Lenz etc.

The cloak, the light brown leather, the dark brown leather, the gold, the shading and red trim on the armour, and the shading on the face on Aenur are all done with Contrast. I actually used very little "normal" paint.

I was hesitant over doing the cloak with Contrast though, I envisaged it all turning out all blotchy and horrible and having to go over it again with "normal" paints, or having to strip it and start again, but thankfully it turned out pretty good. It's still a bit iffy looking in spots, but I could not have achieved that good a cloak using normal painting methods.

My only gripe with Contrast paint is that there doesn't seem to be any handy "go to guide" for what "normal" paint colours to use as a glaze over the top to smooth out any blotchyness. The only one I've come across is Mephiston Red thinned (something like 14:1 water to paint), to apply over Contrast Blood Angels Red if it goes blotchy - and that was only demonstrated in one video by a youtuber.

 

[sykoholic]

I've seen Contrast paint mentioned numerous times but know very little about it and haven't bothered trying to research it. What's the whole idea with it?

 

[Raven Morpheus]

Well, GW marketed it initially as instant talent in a bottle for noobs...

I think Contrast paint has a couple of uses, possibly more if you know more about painting figures than I do.

For me, using the cloak on Aenur as an example, using "normal" paint I would have had to put down a base layer, a shade (or a dark base layer to act as shading), then layer up the highlights in multiple layers, probably more than 3 or 4. So lets say that's 5-6 layers with repeated cleaning up of untidy areas and repeated reshading of areas I had accidentally gone over, along with repeated blending.

With the Contrast paint it only took 3 or 4 layers, and I didn't have to think about where to put the highlights, or do any blending, because over an airbrushed on coat of Citadel Wraithbone it did it for me.

I don't know if it was any quicker, but it was definitely easier and I achieved a better looking cloak than I would have using "normal" paint.


You can also use Contrast as a shade wash, if you apply it just to the crevices.


Vince Ventruella has a good video on Contrast paint -

 

[Raven Morpheus]

Seasons greetings all!

The past few days I've been trying to make the tavern from the OG GW Mordheim buildings set. I had to build my own corner pieces and beams.

And here it is -

Commissar Yarrick is a nice weighty figure so I used him to test the floors out -

The tavern pulled apart ready for storage -

It looks quite rickety but it's actually quite stable, and can be picked up by the top of the front wall.

I used magnets on this one, as I knew push fit joins wouldn't be a great idea. To be honest, I'm not all that happy with it, my method doesn't seem to work for making a nice straight building. Or it's just that I'm not competent enough. I also managed to get one wall on the front the wrong way round, so the interior is showing, rather than the red exterior!!

But it'll do!

Windows and the door will be added at a later date, and I'll scratch-build the dormer window for the front and also the partial roof. The corners, beams and interior angle magnet attachments, need some painting done on them.



Thanks as always for looking, C&C welcome.

One more GW building to make. Any further buildings after that though will be something else, probably Fat Dragon Games Ravenfell stuff, as I'll be able to ditch the quoins and beams construction methed.

 

[Ben_S]

Straight buildings aren't necessary for Mordheim. If you look at old Tudor buildings, they're often wonky even when not ruined.

 

[trollmeat]

Really nice! Looks just like the originals.

Are you going to put paint on the corner bits, or leave them as the grey plastic?

 

[Raven Morpheus]

They'll get more paint. The grey isn't plastic, it's a Vallejo Model Air grey I put down as an early undercoat over the white styrene, before assembly.

 

[Mr. M]

That looks great! Your quoins came out very nicely, and if you have a stable platform, a rickety look in Mordheim is a feature not a bug!

 

[Raven Morpheus]

Monday night madness...

Decided to stay up and watch the Monday night NFL on Channel 5 for a change, whilst doing some painting...


Tyler Mengel has two methods posted on Warhammer Community for painting Steel Legion, one seems to be a long and labourious way, the other is a Contrast paint way. So tonight I gave the Contrast paint way a go.

Remember this guy? Yep, he's my Steel Legion paint mule.

I'm not sure why, but certain Contrast paints tend to dry with a bit of a shine for me. Might be because I'm drying them quickly above a radiator, might be something else, I dunno...

I overdid the black on the face of the helmet a bit, probably could have done with 1 less layer of Black Templar, and I'm not too keen on the helmet colour, it turned out too green imo. For some reason the dark leather has come out in places like it's worn - happy accidents and all that. Other than that I think this looks OK, I will certainly be using this method when it comes to painting the 10 man infantry squad I've got - should make things move along a lot quicker than usual.

Just for reference - the coat was done with Aggaros Dunes thinned 50/50 with Contrast medium and had 3-4 layers. And the helmet was painted a very rough 50/50 mix of Basilicanum Grey and Creed Camo, and then thinned 50/50 with Contrast medium (probably needed a bit more Basilicanum), with several layers also. The dark leather is straight Cygor brown. All over a Wraithbone undercoat.



I also finished up Salome Kohn for my Mordheim Witch Hunters warband -

Reasonably happy with how she turned out, but I don't like the pistol, it's a bit too steampunk looking imo. I may at a later date chop it off, but retain the grip, and replace it with a plastic GW pistol...



Thanks as always for looking, C&C welcome.

 

[Punktaku]

Witch hunters need steampunky-arcane pistols (and other weapons) to kill the witches. Inquisitors too. It is known!

 

[Raven Morpheus]

Spent tonight at the table...

Between waiting for paint to dry on the Reiksguard Knights' horse shaped objects, I managed to get the Pit Fighter conversion for WHQ '95 painted.

Not too bad, but I feel it could have turned out a little better in places. That's the last of the WHQ '95 boxed set expansion adventurers that I needed an OG figure or substitute of, so, that brings that quest to a close.

Final photos of the Reiksguard Knights to come, as they're all but finished now, but I am waiting on the bases drying, ready for a drybrush and clear coat...

It's funny how you have multiple projects on the go at once, and then all of a sudden a couple get finished...



Thanks as always for looking, C&C welcome.

 

[Mr. M]

Great figure! You nailed the shading on the red knee armor, and the handle on the flail looks excellent too!

 

[Raven Morpheus]

And the Reiksguard are done, finally!

Reasonably happy with how they look as a unit and at tabletop distance. But they're not brilliant as individuals up close.

Just Kurt Helborg to do for my WFB Empire army, currently consisting of him, these knights and an empire captain, and then I'll need to buy some more stuff for it...



Besides terrain/scenery, I'm feeling like starting the new year with either a Witch Hunter (when I receive it from Mom miniatures), or 3 Flagellants, for my Mordheim Witch Hunters warband, or something Steel Legion...


Thanks as always for looking, C&C welcome.

 

[Raven Morpheus]

And here we are, 2022...

I don't really do "New Years Resolutions" but this is my current "pile o'shame" -


For WHQ '95, basically what I haven't painted from the contents of the OG box set -
====

• 12 Bats
• 12 Rats
• 12 Spiders
• 12 Snotlings
• 5 Orc Archers
• 6 Orc Swords
• 3 Reaper Bones Minotaurs - Not keen on them, may well replace them in the future with Mierce Miniatures Minotaurs.
• 5 Black Orcs.

For 40k/Space Hulk -
====

• Metal Commissar Yarrick. 2nd sculpt, circa 2000. Not the lobster claw sculpt, been there, painted it in the 90s...
• 10 Deathwing Terminators - plastic. Equipped for use in Space Hulk. I think I have parts for the 11th Terminator for Space Hulk also.
• 25 Genestealers - actual Space Hulk 4th edition figures.
• 1 Master of the Deathwing - multi weapon option conversion using Deathwing Terminator bits.
• 6 metal Chaos Terminators
• Necron Command Barge - a somewhat abandoned at this point LED project...

For ORB/LRB Necromunda -
====

• 6 man Cawdor Gang to finish, maybe assemble the left over figures. Built to represent what my regular gaming buddy was playing as, hence only 6 figures, as in the last game we played I decimated his gang...
• Few bits for Van Saars - painting the arms/weapon(s) for the female ganger and painting the Heavy's Plasma Cannon.

I doubt I'll get the Necromunda and Space Hulk/Deathwing/Necron/Chaos stuff done, I just don't have the enthusiasm for them (I've had them for years at this point, more than a decade in the case of the Chaos terminators), but I plan on doing the Steel Legion stuff, the remaining half of my Mordheim warband, and maybe some of the WHQ '95 stuff, in this first half of 2022.

To that end I airbrushed a Wraithbone undercoat on the resin not-Steel Legion officer, the metal GW Steel Legion officer, and the 3 AoS flagellants last night...

Of course I have purchases planned, to expand the Steel Legion, and also the WFB Empire army that I have planned. So the "pile o'shame" may grow, but I have been crossing stuff off it as well this past year or two, and I hope to cross more off this year...

And of course I'll sporadically be making buildings for Mordheim as the year goes along.


Thanks as always for looking, C&C welcome.

 

[Raven Morpheus]

Midnight madness on New Year's Day...


I decided to open my 2022 account with some Steel Legion.

OG GW Lieutenant -

Resin Victoria Miniatures/Anvil Industries (the head) officer -

I'm not sold on the coats. I used Contrast Aggaros Dunes again and I seem to have achieved slightly too dark shading towards the bottom of the coats and in various other places.

However both models took me less than 3 hours to do, and there was far less faffing around, so, swings and roundabouts.

The helmets could maybe do with a tiny bit more green tint, but I like how they turned out.

Still a bit of work to be done though, on the Plasma Pistol on the resin guy and the GW model's Bolt Pistol needs it's ammo colouring and it's Steel Legion shoulder badge needs doing. I'm also considering tinting the "eyes" a dark red, to simulate lenses. Both need half-decent bases, so I need to see if I have a couple of 25mm bases I can slap some Armageddon Dunes on...


Thanks as always for looking, C&C welcome.

 

[trollmeat]

Is it a “pile of shame” when you have spent more time cataloguing it than it would take to paint them? (i dare not try such a thing)

As you said, for the coats, a bit too thick near the bottom but they’re still quite good. Would look good on the table with a few bolters aimed at them

 

[Raven Morpheus]

And here, ladies and gentlemen, we have an example of idiocy...

I thought to myself, "I'll have a go and try to sort out the dark areas at the bottom of the coat on the GW Steel Legion Lieutenant". So I laid some Wraithbone down with a hairy stick and started applying Aggaros Dunes. That ended up with brush marks all over the place and looked horrible.

So, I stripped much of the lower half of the figure using a q-tip, and airbrushed on a layer of Wraithbone again so I had a smooth coat. And then I applied Aggaros Dunes again. Aaaand, hmmm yeeeah -

So, morale of the story - if you have something looking reasonable, leave it alone!


I have stripped the whole model, re-undercoated via airbrush, and will try again, just hoping I haven't worn details away with my scrubbing or filled them in with my airbrushing!