It's been a while but there's lots to show so let's get to it!
Every vampire army needs, well, vampires. I haven't got round to working on my characters yet, but I have polished off my Vampire Spawn:
Models courtesy of Games Workshop. I really like these models I just wish they were a bit more poseable without more modelling skills than I really possess (or at least more dedication to modelling them).
I'm pleased with how they came out. I thought the pale skin would take longer to achieve, but it turned out to be pretty quick between airbrushing highlights and skipping layers I used to think were essential before brushing on the last highlight (Vallejo White Grey). Just be sparing with where you place it and you don't have to worry about making mixtures of 1:2 and 1:1 White Grey:Wolf Grey to make it look smooth.
Unfortunately, one of the buggers broke a nail during final assembly (I painted them with only one wing attached) and despite a lengthy search and rescue the missing piece was declared lost. This was particularly annoying as I had gone to the trouble of buying new vargheist heads because one of the ears had its tip bent off while it was on the sprue. Oh well, at least it's not very noticeable.
Until next time, happy painting!
Among my collection of models still on sprue were some Games Workshop Crypt Ghouls. I don't really like the idea of ghouls in my vampire army (my Vampire Lord is something of an elitist) so they've been sitting unmade for some time. Since finishing a lengthy project I decided it would be nice just to bang out something quick and ghouls fitted the description. I decided to use the round bases they came with as I figured I'd flog them to an AoS player when they were done. I don't know but I imagine 10 ghouls make more of a difference in AoS than in The Ninth Age, where it'd need to be at least 30 for a unit.
Anyway, a couple of days cursing at the models for being so annoying to put together (I really didn't see that coming, but none of the parts seem to actually fit) followed by having fun with an airbrush and washes and here they are!
For quick-and-dirty painting I am impressed with how they came out (and slightly regretting putting them on round bases). I haven't had much call to use the Blood for the Blood God technical paint before this either, which is something I will try to change in future. That paint is fun and if you're liberal with it it can hide a multitude of mistakes. At least I have some Ghast models I can try this colour scheme out on again. (My Vampire Lord will tolerate ugliness if it's in low numbers and has better combat potential.)
Until next time, happy painting!
It's been a long time since I really tried to push my painting ability, but a while ago I started a model with the intention of doing just that.
Well, here's the finished piece!
[EDIT - I was a bit overexcited to show you this model and took the photos in a hurry, making them more than a little overexposed in the process. I decided to take some new pics which I think are better (i.e. darker) and while I may have overcompensated some (I may have made them too dark) I think they fit much better with the theme of the model. I've decided to leave the original photos at the end of the post should you wish to see them, but the top ones are the better ones.]
OK, he's not perfect, but there's a lot of improvement on previous efforts. The silver NMM was something I really wanted to get the hang of, and a think it's fair to say I've turned a corner there. The OSL effect is something I've not done much with before but might want to think about trying in future - it was kind of fun and easier than I thought it would be.
It was also fun to paint with a lot of greys. Almost all the colours were mixed with black and white to change the tone and I think, especially with the skin, it gives a really interesting effect. Definitely something I'll try again.
In any case, it was nice to have another miniature to add to The Gallery and I've got lots of impetus to get painting more display pieces.
Until then, happy painting!
The original, overexposed photos. Still not terrible, but the other ones are better.
