WFB: Dwarf Dragonslayer

This is another of GW's (relatively) new plastic character models which I can't get enough of at the moment. Although I am trying to spend less time just doing scheme-matches, when I saw the Obelix-inspired scheme that the GW painters had used I had to give it a go.

The painting time on this mini was approx 8 hours 30 minutes,

The ginger beard was a particularly satisfying bit of painting. I used the GW recommended scheme for Space Wolf beards - Jokaero Orange with a brown wash followed by Trollslayer and Fire Dragon highlights. I do struggle a bit to get decent coverage with Jokaero but I got there in the end.

The Obelix trouser stripes where a great test of free hand which I really enjoyed, I only remembered after I had finished that the GW version also has a really nice free-hand tattoo which I had meant to have a go at. I may yet go back and add it to the mini, but for now its time to move on.

 I've been trying to improve my metallics and although they aren't as good as I want them to be yet, I am quite a lot happier. The gold detail on the axe is built up from GW Warplock, followed by Gehenna's Gold, Auric Armour Gold with some Runefang mixed in for the final highlight.

The stone dragon was surprisingly time-consuming but worth it overall I think as it is actually a big part of the mini. If I was going to be critical I would say GW are over-using the idea of having models vaulting off pieces of masonry just at the moment, but it is a fun look so I will let them off.

There's so much going in this sculpt that you can photograph it from pretty much any angle. It is one of my all-time favourites and I am very pleased to have a painted one in my collection.

Fittingly, I had a rare visit from Warhammer Fantasy Battlecat while I was working on this one.

WFB: Nurgle Chaos Lord

A year on from painting my first fantasy Chaos Lord, I got around to painting to another fantasy mini that came out at about the same time.I really enjoyed painting the rotting flesh which is actually very simple to do. Similar to the Navigator I posted last week, this is based around a Rakarth Flesh base and a crimson wash, followed by some highlights.

The really rotten patches have been given a touch of flesh mixed with yellows and reds before the wash goes one. I've also used touches of blue and red glaze sparingly, particularly where stomach is torn open to show his innards.

This week I am experiment with a new version of my little photo setup. I know that serious bloggers take take all their pictures on a white background. Unfortunately my camera isn't up to much so I am still not that happy with these but I will continue to experiment.

WFB: Warriors of Chaos Lord

I've never played fantasy, but I do think that there are some very nice models in the range, and it is time to give one a try. This is one of GW's new style plastics which I am a big fan of... I haven't seen a bad one yet and I am planning to collect and paint a few more even if they aren't in armies (or games systems for that matter) that I collect.

My co-defendant Poot has to take a lot of the credit for the ideas behind this project. I wouldn't have noticed how nice this mini was if he hadn't picked one up when it came out, and he showed me how to do the minotaur-style armour too. Below, I've written up two of the key features of the project - the home made "presentation base" and the bronze armour.

Minotaur-style Armour using GW Nihilakh Oxide

This mini was originally intended be an entry into a painting competition at our local GW, which had to feature one of their new weathering paints. In the end I was too busy with other models and with real life to enter it, but I still wanted to play with the new GW technicals. A while ago, Poot had painted this Minotaur Space Marine using a From the Warp scheme.

I was very impressed with this, and Poot suggest that this scheme using the Nihilakh Oxide for the verdigris would be good for the painting competition, so it was decided that the Chaos Lord would get Minotaur-style bronze armour. Firstly he got a basecoat of GW Tin Bitz / Warplock Bronze.

Then the whole thing gets covered with the oxide paint...

...and then a drybrush with Tin Bitz again, with some GW Gehenna's Gold as a drybrush highlight and this very simple but effective armour is done. A side note - I was really impressed with some of the more unusual metallics in the new(ish) GW range which Poot lent me for this project. I find a lot of their hobby stuff pretty average, but the number of different tones of GW metallics available  is excellent and I will be investing in a few more.

The Nihilakh Oxide is a much more delicate oxide effect than the watered down Hawk Turquoise that Ron and Poot used, but for this mini I think it works very nicely. I can't see myself using it that often, but it is a nice tool to have available and well worth picking up.

Cheap and Cheerful Presentation Base

To my 40k-player's eye, the little square base was nowhere near grand enough for such an imposing mini. I didn't need to worry about using him in games so I set about making him a cheap and cheerful presentation base. The bases on these new plastics are effectively part of the model, and they look amazing, so I wasn't going to do away with it completely. Instead, I mounted it on a 40mm round base, and trimmed off the corners.

Next, several layers of fine gravel are added using PVA to gradually build up the round base to the point where it meets the sculpted GW base and covers up its sharp edges. This took a lot more layers than I was expecting, and if you including drying time it takes ages, but its very simple. Once the final layer is on it needs an extra coat of PVA to seal the whole thing and make it nice to paint over.

Finally, here is (most of) the mini in its new home. Far more fitting for such a fine model if you ask me!