Photodump Vol.2: Fantasy

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Yes I said there was more.  Here some of it is.  I've left a couple of bits off this list, for, well, reasons.  But still, lots to show:

The Nighthaunt collection so far

Yes, I met at least one self imposed target for the year, and painted over a thousand points of spooky boys.  That said, GW also changed the rules in the year, so it's entirely possible these don't represent a legal army of any sort.  Not that it matters when to date they've only played games of Dragon Rampant!

 

 Loved painting this one

 

Then there was a little progress on the Turnip28 models.  These are slow burn thanks to being so heavily converted, and sometimes a slow paint job to boot.

Commander of the 51st Parchdale Regt.

I also worked on some Turnip-specific scenery:

 

Underneath it all is a Twiglets tube

I've done a couple of rescue jobs as well, figures with no real use other than as shelf ornaments.  I suppose the former could go easily in my Orc forces if desired.

Resin Grimgor Ironhide

1984 GW (D&D) Elf

The latter was a quick NMM practice piece, more on that below.  Next, two more characters for Blackstone Fortress:

Rein and Raus

Finally I finished the last model for a Warhammer Underworlds warband.  

Vasillac the Gifted

Another NMM (Non-Metallic Metal painting) piece, I decided to do all the Underworlds models this way as a learning exercise.  NMM is HARD, no two ways about it, but after a dozen or so models I think I'm beginning to get an idea for it.  The gold here looks pretty good, though the Iron/Steel needs a lot more practice!  This figure would also have been a lot easier to do if I hadn't glued it down immediately.

Ho hum.

Again, the Instagram (see previous post) has more pictures, including some other items that are a bit more off-topic.

Next time, some passing pictures of games...

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Through mud and blood, for Turnips...

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I got introduced to the weird world of Turnip28.

And momentarily I dismissed it.

But under the first impression, the soil was good.  After a little more investigation, I discovered a fascinating world of kitbashing, freeform creativity, in a bizarre post-apocalyptic, post-Napoleonic world.  The opportunity to build skirmish sized forces using the contents of my extensive bits box eventually proved too much to resist.

Consequently, I am here so far; the bulk of two different regiments: 

Chaff of the 51st Parchdale

A Stump Gun of the 27eme Oignans Blanc du Pied

Fodder and a Toady for the 27eme

Rootlings of the 27eme

Grogs of the 51st

Bastards [Heavies] accompanying the 27eme

The models above feature a range of parts from more or less every Perry & Victrix set I've ever bought, alongside some Fireforge & Northstar bits, as D&D Cannon barrel, bits of wood, card, sprue, lots of Greenstuff, grass tufts, UV-cured resin, and foraged roots and plants from my local woods!  When the rules are simply make what you like to no more than a general theme, the world is your oyster.  It's like 40k back in Rogue Trader times!

As to the painting, we are in rather more uncharted territory.  

The paint palette here is very limited.  I chose to try a thing called the Zorn palette; in essence restricting yourself to an extremely limited range of colours; in fact ideally only four: Black, White, Red and Yellow.  Other than metallics and weathering that is all I used; except that the 27eme got a small amount of Prussian Blue added, as that is one colour the other four cannot make, and I did add a basic Green for doing the foliage.

It is remarkable what you can achieve this way, and tonally it pulls everything together.  But what really kicked it up a level into a 'Grimdark' look, is Oil paint.  Everything was finished with a number of oil washes, which can be applied and then selectively removed to give a subtle, grimy look.

Nonetheless, I've ended up, after all my griming, dusting, and weathering, with what for the genre are still rather 'Poppy' models.  Not as grim as many.  But they've been a fun diversion.

Another 20 or so models and I 'll have two full forces.  Some of the remaining pieces will be rather more wacky; but that therefore means they'll take rather longer to finish.  Still maybe in the new year I can actually put them on a table...

Something to work towards.

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2021: Year of Diversions

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Or, I have a problem sticking to one thing.

Progress on the Africans continues well, but there is nothing finished to show today.  However any number of other things have either been started or finished - sometimes it's hard to differentiate between the two.

so, a couple of pieces of graveyard themed terrain got kinda out of hand:

The Realm of the Dead

Yeah, I ended up doing an entire table's worth of terrain; well to be fair, enough for two tables at least.  A solid mix of GW terrain sets, parts from Reaper and Mantic, 3D prints and scratchbuilt parts; plus a terrain cloth of similarly coloured faux-suede.  Good fun and other than railings and roses (and interminable skulls) easy to do.

a Reaper Miniatures graveyard walls set, plus lots of bits

Just part of a GW graveyard set

All this is leading somewhere surely?  Well of course, by a process of leftovers from commissions and financial spendthriftery I've ended up with a pair of 2,000 point Age of Sigmar armies.  At least I've made a good crack at one of them so far; the Nighthaunts, a.k.a. Spooooky Ghosts!

Crawlocke the Jailor

30 Chainrasps

There's a few more bits done, making so far for 44 models - about half the army, but mostly of the cheapest unit cost models, so a good 1,500 points to go.  And just as GW announce another edition of their chuffing rules (these of course could be passed over in favour of Dragon Rampant, given my past opinions on Age of Sigmar!)

As to the other force, it predictably is Stormcast Eternals, as they are so common you can pick them up cheap all over the place at present.  I've done a couple of test models, but that is all so far:

It was for a painting challenge however!

So I pushed out the stops...

I also turned some eBay money last year into Blackstone Fortress, mainly for painting.  I've done a few of the models so far, but this is the best:

UR-025

I'll continue to pick at these, but one of the models in the game reminded me of the Eldar I used to own (and love) and made me wish I could dabble in those again.  Well, 40K Killteams promised to scratch that itch, and soon I was working on some Exodite warriors as yet another side project:

Guardians of a Maiden World

Some ancient monoliths

Of course, they're Aeldari(TM) these days, but who's quibbling.

It's all a bit fantasy and Games Workshoppy by my past standards here.  And true, but of late GW figures are getting as good as their prices imply (sometimes!) and certainly get the painting motivation going.  Still one more 'fantasy' project kicked off and has no GW models in it, just an old-school aesthetic influence.

Turnip28* is a weird alternate history game based on a stagnated Napoleonic society infected by poisonous root vegetables, fungi and cultists.  The look is as if John Blanche was the Duke of Wellington's war artist and medieval armour was in vogue for trench warfare.  It's wild!  The Creator began with the world first, and then backfilled rules, the explicit initial intention being to kitbash models from the ranges of historical miniatures already on the market, which to gamers raised on a diet of GW and other fantasy miniatures' ranges, seem ludicrously cheap, encouraging experimentation.

Copyright: Max FitzGerald

Well, what do I have literally tonnes of bits lying around spare of?  It was a no-brainer to at least have a go:

Some Chaff

But history buffs, fear not; I still have hundreds of good proper Napoleonics to get to in time.  And as of yesterday, another historical project has been proposed, something perhaps with a more biblical bent...

I hope I can finish a few of these this year; and as the UK finally crawls out from under its COVID rock, play a few games with them too!

.*(scroll down for the free basic rules) 

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