Happy Spooktober! Part 4: Space Vampire

Happy Samhain all!

The Spooktober season has a few hours left in it, just enough time to share another spooky miniature. For a change, this one's a Blood Angel, but if a monstrously-sized superhuman clad in armour better suited to a tank waving a glowing hammer and driven by the twin fuels of grief for a long-dead father and a need to drink the blood of his enemies isn't scary to you, then you and I are going to have difficulty relating to one another.

I've been working on a painting style that makes use of a lot of black to create shadowy, grimdark atmosphere. I've also been taking photos to accentuate that, but thought you might like to see how this model appears on the tabletop under more normal light conditions.

As you can see, light makes a huge difference. In the darker light he's pushing display standard. In brighter light he's still good, but he's clearly a tabletop standard character, which was the intent. He's an improvement on my previous Blood Angel captain and I'm about ready to apply this red to a full army. Keep an eye out for that!

Until next time, happy Samhain and happy painting!

Happy Spooktober! Part 3: Ghosts!

It's starting to get cold and dark as Samhain approaches, but there's still a little time left to post some more spooky seasonal models! Let's go old school with a classic spirit host model that's been kicking around my collection since it was in production.

This was a good opportunity to try out a new colour scheme. I think it's a big upgrade from my previous ethereal colour scheme. I applied Terradon Turquoise Contrast over a zenithal highlight, then slapped on a load of turqoise oil paint which I gradually made brighter by adding white. Once it was dry I touched up the brightest parts with white acrylic.

One thing I'll change for next time is the oil colour I applied - it was too dark. I had to add sooo much white to get it bright enough, which made the final result a bit messy and sketchy, and also made the drying time much longer than it could have been (several days!). Still, the effect kind of worked with the old sculpt, and I think the colour gives a great ethereal effect. I look forward to using it on some new ethereals I'll be adding to my army in the near future. These ghosts, however, are a stand-alone model to enjoy!

Until next time, happy painting! 

Happy Spooktober! Part 2: Sepulchral Guard

All the Underworlds Warbands have gorgeous models, but there's no way I could pass up getting my hands on the first undead warband GW released!

One thing that really excited me about Underworlds is the idea that I might get an actual entire force completed in good time (because it's only like, 3 to 9 models!). But, as usual, I've instead sat on these guys for about 2 years before finally getting them done. Still, we're working our way through the backlog and these guys are looking great!

Group shot!

Lots of photos but very appropriate for the continuation of Spooktober! I hope you like 'em.

Until next time, happy painting!

Happy Spooktober! Part 1: Terrorgheist Rescue

Way back when the terrorgheist model was released I picked up one for my vampire army. I loved the model but - like most of my collection - despite seeing many games it remained unpainted for a very, very long time. After a couple of house moves and a period spent in storage it was also starting to look a little worse for wear, with bits breaking and a thick layer of dust caking it in texture Nurgle would have been proud of.

When I got round to looking at my beloved bat again I wasn't sure I could save it. At the very least, I didn't think I would get it to a standard that I'd be happy having in my army. So I decided to rebase it, take the square base it was on for another project, and try out a grimdark, dirty, grimy style using mostly oil paints. I figured it was an appropriate style for painting the undead and it'd give me a chance to try out some new techniques.

I was very, very pleased with the results.

Photos taken with a dark atmosphere to show off the terrorgheist to best effect.

This one taken in full light so you can see it in less favourable conditions - still looks pretty good!

As you can see, it came out really well! I couldn't easily fix the broken wing-tip but the rest of the repairs aren't noticeable, and the dirty painting style really suits the piece, I think. Even in harsh light it looks pretty good - I'm actually regretting not keeping it on a square base so it could be part of my army after all (but rebasing it was such a hassle I am not doing that again).

I hope you like this first installment for Spooktober (is that a thing? If not, let's make it a thing.). There'll be more to come before the month is out!

Until then, happy painting!