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.
If you've been following my recent posts you'll know I've been painting up a bunch of skeletons for my Vampire Covenant army. (If you haven't been following then now's a good time to get in on the ground floor of my readership, and tell your friends you knew the blog before it got big.)
Well, it took a while but here's the finished unit!
And a shot of just the command rank:
I'm very pleased with how they turned out.
As it takes me so long to paint stuff, I often find that my painting style and quality have changed by the time I paint a new unit for an army (or, in this case, the second half of a unit). I think with these skeletons I managed to stay very close to the original while still exploring some new things in my painting. Here I wanted to be a bit bolder with my colours, and I think the new batch of skeletons look more vivid, but not so much that they look out of place next to the older ones. Here's all 50 on a movement tray I promise to replace one day.
Together the whole unit looks cohesive, if a little hard to get all in frame.
I also spent a little extra time on the banner, on which I've painted a freehand design of a vampiric skull with a ribbon of yellowed parchment. The motto on the parchment reads MORS IN VICTORIA (Latin for "Victory in Death", or so the internet tells me), although it is hard to make out as the banner is old and tattered and also I need more practise writing on models. (The skeleton banner is also way too narrow for my liking, and the curve in it made it very awkward to freehand.)
Now I need to replenish my grass tufts so I can finish basing my barrow guard and put them on the "finished" vampire shelf.
Until next time, happy Samhain!
