Lilith Hesperax V.2 and Update

Its been awhile since i've posted anything, mostly due to my extreme lack of enthusiasm to paint anything worth sharing. On the miniature front, specifically in the area of painting, I've been working on some paint schemes for some Infinity models from the Aleph faction, i've decided on an off blue white that fades into a light purple, think polished ceramic armour.  I've also picked up a few items for the ogre kingdoms, which i have a feeling will be getting some attention this summer/winter if i can find a group of people interested in playing warhammer fantasy, i'm not sure how this new expansion is going to factor in the Ogres (or tomb kings for that matter) as both army's magic systems work significantly different than any other army's.  We'll see when it comes.

For today i have some pictures of the new Lilith Hesperax Model.  I bought this model at the same time as Urien, (see previous post) and painted her, at least partially, the week following.  In her current state she's usuable as a finished, fully painted model however there are areas on this model i feel could benefit from closer attention to detail or even just a touch up or two or ten. To be honest, i didn't like painting this model... it sort of fell through on me after 3 days of trying to work up the ambition to try and do something, (anything!) with this model. Her lack of attention to detail paintjob is also reflected in the less than decent performance on the table top, her rules are awesome, i just can't use her right for the life of me... even with 9 power weapon attacks, i only ever land 1 or 2 of them a turn... that archon is looking better and better all the time. now on to the pictures.

I've decided to go with a light blue skin tone on this model, which takes up the majority of the surface area on this model.  I decided to adhere to the GW colour scheme for the armour, her signature jade green armour plates.  I was tempted to model her with the provided pole arm weapon, but quickly decided against it as the weapon broke when trying to build the model.  This is also one of the last metal castings of this model, as all the current metal kits are being converted to "finecast" resin.

Depending on what happens next weekend i might have a few more models to show off, possibly even a finished song of which i currently have 3 different projects on the go.  So i'm back to the work table, i'll see you in a weeks time.

Urien Rakarth

This guy was more fun to paint than I thought he was going to be.  This was another early morning paint job, done somewhere around the time of 4am.  Late at night i tend to be most experimental with my colour combinations and this time i think it paid off.

I used a combination of P3, Citadel and Vellajo paints on this model using a combination of familiar and unfamiliar techniques.  One of the challenges with this model was the cloak. After several attempts i finally settled on a green colour, shaded with purple and highlighted with a light blue that I've used elsewhere on the model.

The skin tone was an adjustment to a scheme that i had once came up with for some wyches.  The skin tone on the wyches i founds was a little too contrast strong so i decided to go with a much more gradual effect.  The skin was base coated in Trollblood highlight (light grey-brown) and then shaded by adding Regal Blue to the skin tone and washing it into the recesses.  Different areas received different tones using the same technique, mostly purples and pink hues.

The face was especially detailed and interesting to paint, the exposed areas of scalp let me create a striking contrast even with the light colours already used in the models skin.  I rarely use pure white, but i decided to give it a shot here.  I later toned it down a bit with a wash which was dual purpose, also shading the recesses
around the areas of exposed bone.

Dark Eldar! The Wyches Have Arrived!

So there is quite a bit to cover in this little post, so i'll get with it. Recently i have not had much time to paint or really explore my hobbies in great depth due to "life events", but now that much of that is resolved i have some new pictures of some painted models to show off, some new and classic Wych models.

The pictures taken here were taken on the front hood of my car with a piece of sketch paper as a back drop, the only source lighting being that of the setting sun, so i apologize in advance for the shadows and any discrepancies there may be, i think only a bit of the vibrancy of purple armour was lost on the classic models due to improper lighting, but other than that, everything looks pretty bang on.

The first image here is a group shot of a finished unit of plastic wyches that i picked up back near the November release of the new line, you may recognize the model to the right of the center model as being one that i posted back when i was doing the initial paint scheme test for these models, well, for the most part they are finished (unless some time in the future a glaring detail pops up, and believe me they always do!).  The scheme is pretty consistent with that of the classic models only including the bluish black body suites of the new models.

the armour is lych purple, with warlock purple highlights brought up and down to varying degrees of shading and highlighting, the body suit is necron abyss, highlighted with fenris grey, washed with bedab black and brought up a bit with some more fenris grey.  The skin tones, is a amalgamation of tallaran flesh, ogryn flesh wash, and deneb stone (this skin tone may be changed for the one featured on the classic models a little further down on future plastic wych models) and of course the metallics are still just simply mithryl silver and Aysuran Blue wash.  I decided to continue with the frozen tundra basing motif, i find it is effective on these models.

This is a Classic wych model, one i painted last wednesday while on an excursion to Black Knight Games in Hamilton ( I love that store, great people, great gaming, great stock, just great in general).  This model features the skin tone i mentioned above a much more pale tone and less tanned (and less work intensive) than the above models and previous wyches i have painted.  The tone is achieved by painting all areas of skin with deneb stone, wash with asuran blue, and highlight with deneb stone, DONE, simple.

I also included a picture of a painted classic mandrake, which i'm using as a wych model in the current edition.  It still has some finishing touches left to be done, but i'm enjoying how well these models sort of bridge the gap between the classic and the new wych models, the guns are still horendously large, the models still incredibly 2-D, but they work.

Well thats all for now, i'll be sure to update more when i get more painted!

Dark Eldar Warp Beasts (Khymera/Dire Wolves)

Here is a few pictures of my most recently painted miniatures for the Dark Eldar force, A pack of five Khymera Warp Beasts ripped straight from the nightmares of a beastmaster.  I decided to go with a contrasting and vibrant paint scheme on these models trying to make the different elements of the sculpt stand out.  The Dire Wolf models are not my favorite, however i believe they support the materialization of a beast from the warp perfectly and view these beasts as "creating themselves" rather than the decaying imagery of the dire wolves.  I decided to go away from natural tones (as the warp is all but natural) Going for a predominately Blue/black, Purple and Green colour scheme.  The bone was painted a light grey washed with green the same time as the muscle and then further highlighted with more of the same grey colour.

Reavers on Parade

So here is the Reaver Jetbike group shots as promised, there isn't a succubus model in the group yet, although there have been a few ideas floating around in my mind for some cool conversions. Here you can see the simple blaster conversion completed by adding one of the plasma pods of a starcannon to the front of the splinter rifle. There are two more models left that need painting to complete the unit, and i have ideas for creating a second unit, or even just adding another five models to the current. I'll probably do this by purchasing a second battle force, you can't go wrong with a spare raider and extra jetbikes.

A Darker Kind of Lance

Today, I'm showcasing something of my own creation, or shall i say borrowed and then added upon. This darklance warrior was inspired by the current lack of an accessible or even good looking model at that. The current Metal mini which is not supplied with the plastic box is disproportionate and lacking in detail in my opinion if not even disproportionate, seeing the gun is larger than the warrior by far.(the only upgrades available int the box are one for a sub par looking sybarite, and a splinter cannon, which effectively is a 4 shot bolter). This conversion incorperates a quick removal and repositioning of the hand holding the splinter cannon, then the standard rifle support arm placed on the underside. the end of the barrel was then flattened to allow for an upside down splinter pistol to be attached. This goes against the current look of the dark lance, but i feel that it adds a bit of detail to what in my opinion is a very bland gun to begin with.

The Paint scheme as shown on this model is what i have in mind for the warrior units, predominantly blue with hints of red and metallic blue, the models feature none of the purple that is shown on the wyches. I wanted to make a contrast between the units, just to show that they are separate from the army and not the mainstay.

In the picture above you can see that relatively little work needs to be done to convert a splinter cannon into a dark lance, there is no green stuff applied no shaving or reworking of the joints, just a simple maneuvering of the arm to hold the gun over the shoulder.

Hopefully by the end of today i'll have some more pictures of the completed unit of reaver jetbikes to post, till then, food is in order, so i'll leave it at that, hope you enjoyed this simple conversion, very effective in both cost and visuals. Take care!

Reavers on the Ready

After a long day spent painting and debating the finer aspects of roleplaying on various forums (believe me i'm in favour of making roleplaying and accessible hobby) i have a quick post with a couple pictures of a recently painted reaver jetbike. This is the first plastic model i've posted on this blog. I'm a big fan of these particular miniatures as i find them to be the most ingenious and interesting of the dark eldar models, this model is probably the reason behind the line getting much of it's attention just because it looks so cool. Who wouldn't want a sky faring "ninja" bike adorned with plenty of awesome spikes. I've painted this model in the usual blue and purple paint scheme with blue armour for the rider just to contrast the bike. the bike itself transitions from midnight blue to lych purple, then warlock purple highlights, the same scheme that can be found on the other vehicles in the army, ie raiders. I hope to have a whole unit of these painted up for tomorrow including a bike with converted blaster, which i will detail in the write up as to how it was made.

Dark Eldar Archite and Wych Group Shot

Today, an addition to the Dark Eldar army in the form of an Archite and a completed Wych unit for the Wych Cult. Ideally the Archite is painted in a scheme that highlights both elements of the Wych units with their predominantly purple armour and the warrior units with the predominantly blue armour. Both the wyches and the warriors use the metallic blue weaponry as shown and has become something of a central theme to the army. The Vehicles in the army use a similar paint scheme, but i will show more of those as i complete them down the road.
The first view as shown above, is of the Archite from a side perspective, showcasing the facial features and metallic flesh snares on the flowing gown. I wasn't a huge fan of how off balance the gown was on this model, all in all it seems rather poorly sculpted and did leave some casting issues as far as the wires holding the hooks on her side. It seems there were some air bubbles that made this line rather disjointed. it also hides a lot of the great details in the dark eldar armour.
As seen from the front angle the Archite has a rather wind swept motif going on with her hair and gown flowing to the right of the image. I think it's a little quirky, the mohawk is neat, and the bare scalp could leave some room for some freehand tattoo work, however i didn't paint any this time through as i though it would make the model feel somewhat crowded on the gaming table. Little details look great on showcase minis, but when it comes to gaming pieces its a shame to have the model fall over and get scratched or all the little intricate details you spent so much time on just look like visual clutter on the battle field.
Here is the Completed unit of Dark Eldar Wyches, the one to the right back was the first painted of its kind, painted in the summer of 2009 with the initial purchase of the models, note that its weapons are not painted with the trademark metallic blue weaponry, this was developed at a later date in the fall of 2009. There are currently seven more models like these in intermediate stages of being painted on my painting desk, I'll take another group shot once the army gets up in a few more numbers.

A Blast From The Past, and More DE

Here is just something simple to start off with, a blast from the past. A re-shoot of the classic Hive Tyrant model, this time with a few photo editing lessons under my belt the levels should be just right on this one. I apologize for the burriness in the top right hand side of the image, I've made sure to turn off the time and date settings on the camera so that i no longer need to do messy edits as seen here. It's going to take awhile to get used to using this camera, i just recently found it floating around in my possession, but at 5 mega pixels, it's a little on the lacking side. Maybe i'll have to see if i can snag a digital slr somewhere.

Now on a different note, here is a conceptual paint job that i'm currently using on my Wych Cult army, let me know what you think, lots of purples and blues used in a similar manner as to the warrior squads in the army, with red highlights on the muscle fibre body suits that remind me a great deal of the vlad body armour in the 1990's film version of Dracula. I might even put on a coat of gloss varnish to really bring out the macabre nature. I've based the model on a snow base, I've always wanted to base an army on snow themed bases, just never really followed it all the way through. Somewhere around the second unit or so the bases usually fall out of my grace and i end up changing the whole thing. We'll see how long this lasts. As for the paint job, the metallics are simply mithril silver with blue wash, the suits are painted with midnight blue, worked up to lych purple, then warlock and finally a very bright pink highlight. The hair is painted black, the red is mechrite with blood red highlights, some fenris grey here and there and Talleran Flesh for the skin

I will more than likely be posting a second post today a little later in the day when i finish a little more of the unit that the model from above belongs to.

POST 1.01 The First

so now that we've gotten the introductions out of the way I've decided to post the first of my mini posts. This miniature is one that i'm not particularly fond of, released with the dark eldar back in 1998 yes over a decade ago. The sculpt in itself is great, except for those hideous hands that i've thought of cutting off and replacing several times over now, but till then these giant mitts will have to do. The colour scheme is simple, and as it is a work in progress (They're always work in progresses till i decide to stop working on them), so take it with a grain of salt it isn't going to be the best paint job ever... pretty much everything about this photo is sub par, my painting, the miniature itself, and of course my superior photography skills (the sarcasm is thick isn't it).

I took three different angles of this picture to show you all the curves of this buxom beauty. Comments are welcome, email me for any questions about the paint scheme.

-Mallius