9/11/14: Finished: Nagash, Supreme Lord of the Undead

Howdy folks!

I was lucky enough to get a chance to work on the new Nagash model for a client! Finished him up a couple days ago, I'm a touch behind with posting pictures unfortunately! Speaking of which...

Nagash in all his glory! This model is huge, standing several inches taller than a Knight Titan! The base was done with some extra GW Zombie pieces, a gate from the Garden of Morr kit, and autumn leaves from Secret Weapon Miniatures. 

The client allowed for some creative freedom while still sticking mostly to the official scheme. I wanted both shoulderpads to be bone, while I opted for a brighter green for the ethereal spirits. 

He's incredibly imposing, and its best to leave him in pieces while painting. I did the robes first, then worked into Nagash himself. The head and book was done separate from that to allow work on his torso and arm armor. 

The gate looks so tiny behind him!

Don't mess with the biggest and baddest lich in the Warhammer World!

I can't wait to work on another in the future, I think a warm scheme with reds and oranges would look incredible on a model like this! 

Its starting to look like fall here in Colorado, so the rain (and snow?!) is starting to come. Shouldn't cause too many problems, but I've got a trio of Knight titans coming that need some primer! Lots of fun projects coming ahead, lets hope the weather doesn't get in the way!

Granesh

5/28/14: ROADTRIP! Finished: Good Games WHFB Table #1

Hey folks!

I know I promised this post yesterday, but I had a lot of unexpected stuff come up yesterday and, alas, I was unable to post. I'm pleased to report, though, that my car is now running in tiptop shape after making some strange noises coming back from Farmington! I also had to set up my new phone and get some supplies for the airbrush, along with some other errands. But I digress!

This terrain set is the first of five WHFB-themed tables for Good Games; you all might remember the 40k tables I did for them over the last year or so. The next four are going to feature scratchbuilt terrain heavily, which should be a lot of fun! This table had deadline written all over it though. They got to me late, shipping took a while, which left me about 3 days to try and get this table finished around other commissions. I threw on my Sonic shoes and got to work!

The table has a Garden of Morr theme; lots of dead trees, fences, mausoleums, and a foreboding wizard's tower, perfect for the Watchtower scenario.

The ghostly oxidized copper color is Nihlakh Oxide sprayed with an airbrush.

Who doesn't love trees?!

You thought 40k buildings had a lot of skulls? Think again!

This kit is really nice but, like GW's other circular towers, just doesn't go together very well! 

My favorite pieces are the hobbit hole hills. A combo of hill and building, I wish I'd had more time to spend on these; time constraints suck sometimes! The doors are two doors from the Fortress gatehouse trimmed and glued together, the bits are from the Garden of Morr kit, and the window is an old 25mm base!

I also dropped off the Legio Titanicus commission to my client! He was very happy, as you can see!

And they look great on any table!

Alrighty! Next up is more terrain, another Warhound Titan, some necrons, and some Daemons! I've also been working on my own stuff recently, I'll try and get a post up tomorrow of some speed-painted cultists!

Stay tuned!

Granesh

1/20/14: WIP: Water RoB Board for Game Space

Howdy folks!

First off, sorry for the delay in posts the last week and a half! My girlfriend was in town for a chunk of it, and the painting mojo was more assembly mojo, and there just wasn't enough to chronicle into a blogpost! Lots of waiting on pieces to come in though, which is always super annoying!

My big project, the last two weeks or so, is a new battleboard for my FLGS that I work at. I'd seen a really nice ocean-themed board on White Dwarf Daily back in December, and decided I would try to make one of my own.

I had a couple of key things I had to meet, though. I opted for less external details to make it less fragile. The boards had to match up with our existing Battleboard and add-on pieces to allow for bigger tables. And lastly, I wanted the hill water sections to  be able to link up to make a river, as well as a lake and an ocean. With that in mind, I dove in!

The two flat pieces had sand glued down around the skull pits to make little islands or sandbars. The hill pieces had sand applied where the hill met the flat piece to create a beachfront. I let these dry. When I do my battleboard, I spray the edges Black, then start on the top. The hills and islands were sprayed with Army Painter's Fur Brown, while the rocky areas were sprayed with a grey primer. The Water was sprayed with Macragge Blue. 

Ah, a completed tile! After the sprays dried, I broke out the GW Scenery Painting kit and got to work! The Brown areas were overbrushed with the Ochre color (old school Snakebite Leather), while the hills were brushed with a dusting of white to bring out details and highlights. as was the water. The beaches were dusted on the shoreline with white to simulate the foam created by waves; they were then dusted with a Bleached Bone spray, then drybrushed with white. 

The shark in the water was done with a quick-made stencil sprayed black.  

Here you can see the board as it sits now! The water was gloss varnished, and still needs another coat or two to really get the watery sheen I want! There's still some minor tonal distinctions on the rocks I need to fix up, and I want to add some special flock to some of the shorelines to look like moss and gunk floating on the water. May add some little details like treasure chests and crabs to the beach, but we'll see!

Here's a shot of the large sandbar pieces. I really like the rock in the middle, it just felt perfect for an island. Gotta hit the skulls, and will probably add some more detail of my own to really make this area pop. You can see the foam-effect I was trying for nicely in this picture and the next!

The beach looks calm....too calm...

Ah yes! The rocks on the hills and beach are large woodchips I grabbed from outside my apartment. I stuck them in the oven on low to dry them out and get rid of any gribblies living in them. They're glued down with woodglue, cemented with the additional sand, then overbrushed like the rest of the rocks. 

Alrighty guys! I should have more pictures of this board as I wrap it up over the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned for that, it should be pretty fun! Like I said, I've been waiting on pieces to arrive, so work on the Tau assembly commission has been pretty slow as a result. The Necrons are almost entirely assembled, and will start painting tonight! Got some stuff to wrap up for Genghis Con as well, so you know its gonna be a busy couple of weeks for me! 

Speaking of busy, I won't be getting any painting done on February 2nd! Why you ask? Well...

Our Denver Broncos are in the Super Bowl! Lets go Denver!

Granesh

12/15/13: Even More Terrain! Tundra Themed Terrain Set

Howdy folks!

So its a little later than I'd promised, but instead of showing off some WIP shots of the terrain, I decided I'd just blow through it all super quick-like! Really pleased with this project overall, this is a table and a half worth of terrain finished in under two weeks and, personally, I think it looks pretty sexy! Enough jabber, more pictures! And believe me, there's a LOT of them!

First off, the battleboard! The clients wanted a tundra themed set this time; my last terrain sets for Good Games in Farmington were grasslands and generic-themed (Links HERE & HERE!). I themed the set around pg. 23 of the Chaos Space Marines Codex and Abaddon's 7th Black Crusade, where the Despoiler aims to crush the Blood Angels, personally leading a group of Berserkers against Devastator positions. Having a theme in mind really helps keep a terrain set like this in perspective.

The Battleboards and any outdoors piece were primed black. They were then dusted with grey and brown spraypaint to create a subtle blending from frozen earth to snow and back. Finally, the grey areas were sprayed with white to create a windblasted snowscape look. The ice was based a deep blue, then overbrushed with Ice Blue up to a white drybrush. When that was complete, the icy areas were sprayed with gloss varnish to create a sheen. This step was a little haphazard, as it created the effect of snow covering more ice than just what was seen on the surface. Most troubling for the aspiring general...

And with terrain! It really looks complete with a mix of trees, rubble, and buildings!

Citadel Woods; the clients specifically requested no leaves. I don't blame them, just looking at the leaves funny cause them to fall off! I'll have to find a use for all the leftover leaf pieces I have lying around...

Like the other forests, the trees are, in fact, removable for easy gaming!

Ah, the buildings. The commission included an Imperial Sector, so I had some fun with this! I had to do another billboard, so why not throw one of my business cards up, much like I did with theirs last time!

And the back of the billboard! The billboards really help stop crazy advantages with LoS, while at the same time, still remain fun and realistic for the set!

Damn cultists broke all my monitors!

Man that glow! This building could be a speech podium for an Imperial Governor, or a wastewater plant for the local hab-block!

Obviously the remains of the Governor's Quarters; look at all that gold! I've been working on a quick NMM effect for terrain, I may have to share it with you all soon...

Perhaps the Governor's Bodyguard's Quarters, but its hard to tell, its taken too much damage!

As I said, I wanted the set to reflect Abaddon's assault on the Blood Angels on Mackan during his 7th Black Crusade. Having two Blastscapes, I figured I'd aim for a theme and run with it! 

Waterslides and extra care really help to add personality to a terrain piece, so sometimes, its worth spending the same time you'd spend on a regular model on a terrain piece!

*Boo Hiss!* The Black Legion symbol comes from the Chaos Accessory sprue, and helped convey the Chaotic feel without affecting playability!

The Barricades continue the theme; each group has a bike that matches either the Blood Angels or Black Legion! If I do more, I'll throw some other marine chapters in, but we'll see how that turns out.

Arkos and his bodyguard stalk the ruins of Mackan, searching for the Emperor's faithful!

Chosen track their targets with plasma and melta drawn!

Whew! I hope you all enjoy the terrain! If you haven't read my artist's statement (Read it HERE), I like to see the game as a couple hours of immersing yourself in a narrative, a cinematic experience, if you will. Terrain is crucial to this effect, and I love painting terrain sets to complete this goal. I'm hoping to do some more personalized terrain sets with more pink foam and sculpting down the road, so we'll see where that leads!

Alrighty! Next up is the 1st group of a 3 part Necron Commission. Get to paint some really fun models in these groups (C'Tan AND Night Scythes, you say?!), so stay tuned for that next week! I'm going to be out of town from the 15th to the 17th, and will be on holiday from the 24th to the 2nd of January, so there's going to be a bit of a break, but I won't leave you guys hanging; I've got some fun posts planned for the holidays. 

Over and out!

Granesh

10/16/13: WIP: Alpha Legion Warp Talons, Murder Lord, and Skaven Screaming Bell

Hey guys!

Just a quick post to prelude what should be coming tomorrow and the end of the week. After finishing those High Elves, I decided to take a little break to jump into one of my own projects I've had sitting around for quite some time. When the Chaos Codex came out, it took me a little time to really get into it. When I finally did, though, I picked up the Aspiring Champion clampack and a box of Raptors/Warp Talons to really get a feel for the book. I've had all 5 Warp Talons in various painting stages, and the Aspiring Champion had a Warriors of Chaos sword added in lieu of his axe and a Jump Pack added to make a super-dangerous Lord with Murder Sword. I finally decided to knock more of those Warp Talons out though, just to keep progressing on my Alpha Legion.

 

This is Warp Talon #3. The armor is done by basecoating the model in a 1:1 mix of Kantor Blue and Abaddon Black, then mixing Moot Green into the mix and gently overbrushing on the armor to achieve that nice blue-green. The trim is based with Leadbelcher, which is then washed with Nuln Oil. Once that's dry, I carefully brush Runefang Steel onto it, being sure to leave the shade around the bolts and middle of the metal. 

The Power Weapon effects are achieved by blending Abaddon Black to Warpstone Green, then into Moot Green and finally white. With the claws, I just stuck with a perfect blend on both sides to the tip. With the sword, I opted for a switch blend on each side. It creates a nice effect on the blade to switch the blending on both sides, as you can see with the Murder Sword in the picture.

You can see the underside of the sword was done in the same style, of course. I also did the Power Weapon effect on the Warp Talon's feet, as they're supposed to be Lightning Claws as well!

And the current group! The unit champion is in the back, so I only have 2 more to go. I also need to add a Sorcerer with the Burning Brand of Skalathrax, but we'll tackle that when I get there. I've been running the group as Mark of Tzeentch so the Lord gets a 3+/3++ (Sigil of Corruption) and the Talons get a 3+/4++. Sure they're expensive, but when they hit, they do a LOT of damage. I also like to take the automatic Gift on the Champion to give them a little extra oomph. 

This week has been an exercise in glow effects, as I've been rolling through a quick commission (super-secret on who its for!) of a Skaven Screaming Bell. First off, there's a ton going on with this model, so I found it best to leave the Rat Ogre, Grey Seer, and Bell off for separate painting. I started this kit in earnest Monday night after work, and spent all day Tuesday really getting it rocked out.

The highlight of this kit is the Warpstone. Games Workshop opted to paint the stonework in the middle as, well, stone! I decided I wanted to play a little more with the glow, and turned them into two gigantic blocks of Warpstone the Skaven had just tied to the contraption and built from. The glow effect was incredibly easy, and perfect for a gaming model; if this was more of a competition piece, I'd blend it by hand. The Warpstone was basecoated in Caliban Green, then overbrushed Warpstone Glow (fitting, right?), then up to Moot Green and white. The woodwork around it was lightly overbrushed with Moot Green to create an eerie glow. Focus on the areas that would take the glow from the stone, of course.

Here's the bell as it sits now. The bell was weathered and tarnished using Brass Scorpion as a base, then adding Gehenna Gold, dulling it with a black weathering powder, then washed with Nuln Oil, Agrax Earthshade, and watered-down Hawk Turquoise. Finally, Runefang Steel was sponged onto the model to create pitting and weathering.

All I really have left on the model is to get the Grey Seer finished up and to do any touch-ups on the kit itself. The picture above doesn't have the brazier added, and there's a little work that needs to be done on the straps and rope. Should have it done tonight, and will have pictures up on Friday, so stay tuned!

Next up is some 40k terrain, a little Forge World, and that charity Cygnar group! I may even get my Warp Talons finished, but we'll see!

And don't forget, we're just over two weeks from Extra Life 2013, so if you can afford it, swing on over to my page and support the cause! Anything is appreciated!

Granesh

9/8/13: Finished: High Elf Army Add-ons!

Hey guys!

Just a quick update today! Most of my painting week was spent rolling through some final High Elf pieces for my local client! Trying to figure out why my individual picture of Caradryan didn't load, but hey! There were some archers with the group, but I figured you guys would want to see the cool stuff instead!

This is an old pewter musician. Nice model, painted up pretty quickly too!

My favorite model in the group, I had a lot of fun trying a mix of techniques on him, from runes, to a glowing ring and a celestial effect in the orb on his staff, as you can see in the next picture.

Lots of fun, went pretty quickly too! 

Alrighty, next on the queue is a ton of terrain, as well as some more High Elves (a hero's work is never done, right?) and, hopefully, some more Astral Claws, as I try to get ready for Month two of our local campaign!

Granesh