Warriors of Chaos, A Beginning

This afternoon I finished up one of the new Citadel Finecast models, the Chaos Lord on Daemonic Steed. I was impressed with the quality of the cast; however, I was disappointed when part of the armor on the Daemonic Steed around the neck snapped off under a slight bit of pressure. Other than that issue it was much easier to assemble than metal models and much easier to hold while painting. I'm entering this model into a Finecast painting competition at my local GW store (Westminster, MD). It's also the first step in a Warriors of Chaos army that I'm just beginning the assembly process on. On to the pictures...

I'm the Juggernaught!

Been working on one of the new plastic warjacks, this one's assembled as a Juggernaught. I had some issues during assembly so one of the arms looks pretty weird. I think I have a pretty solid recipe for the reds. All of these colors are Reaper. Basecoat of Bloodstain Red, then 1:1 mix of Bloodstain Red and Clotted Red, then Clotted Red, 1:1 of Clotted Red and Carnage Red, then a final highlight of Carnage Red. I wash some Devlan mud around the joints and in the shadows. On to some photos...

Ishvaar the Twisted, fluff

I was bored in class today and wrote a little bit of background fluff for a Chaos sorcerer, Ishvaar the Twisted. I'll keep trying to do little pieces like this as the mood strikes me. I really want to paint up something chaotic now...

Ishvaar was born into a small village in the Kislev border regions. As an infant he was cast out to die because he bore the mark of the dark gods upon him, twisted limbs and a crooked spine. His gods had other plans for Ishvaar; despite the harsh elements he managed to survive for 9 days in the snow, the sacred number of Tzeentch. On the ninth day he was discovered by barbarian horsemen who were devoted to the dark gods. They saw the mark of their gods upon the infant and took him back to their village.

As a child it was obvious that Ishvaar had the favor of the gods. He was quickly more advanced in the dark arts than the village shaman. By the time he was a young man he was ready to journey into the Chaos wastes on his own. Though the warriors of the tribe knew that Ishvaar was marked by the gods they did not believe he could survive a solo trek to the Eye of Chaos. After three years in the wastes Ishvaar returned to his village a changed man; to this day he still will not discuss the things he saw and experienced.

Upon his return Ishvaar spoke much less and became short-tempered and taciturn. He had a dark aura about him. His twisted limbs became even more twisted. His arms in particular seemed to be constantly shifting and changing shapes. Those who looked upon them too long soon lost their minds, it was said that to look upon the arms of Ishvaar the Twisted was to look into the insanity of Chaos itself.

Within days of returning to the tribe Ishvaar gathered up a band of warriors and horsemen and marched through the snow towards the Empire. The first village that the band came across was the very one from which Ishvaar had been cast out as an infant. His warriors roughly herded all of the inhabitants of the village into the town square and looked on as their dark master decided what to do with them. With a flick of his twisted arm Ishvaar immolated the townsfolk in a pyre that reached thousands of feet into the sky. This act cemented Ishvaar in the legend of the northmen and earned him an even larger band of followers.

So begins the tale of the horrors wrought by Ishvaar the Twisted...

Painting Progress, January 2011

Here are some of the photos from the work I've been doing this month. The first few photos are the Butcher of Khardov from Warmachine.

I also finished up one of the Widowmakers and started on a second. I really like the way the highlights are blending together on the wide areas of the coats. In retrospect I probablyshouldn't have painted the jacket on the second one red, but I really like the way it turned out.

The last photos are from my first set of 20 Skaven Clanrats with spears. I don't have the shields done yet but I will put up more pictures when the unit is done. The fur ended up with a bit of a red tint due to the undercoat I used. For the next batch I'll use a different primer and hopefully end up with more of a brown color.

The Ratmen Cometh

Within the past few weeks I've sold off all of my dwarves as well as some extra space wolves I had laying around. I kept a few of the wolves to paint up as display pieces when I need something different to paint as a change of pace.

I've been working bit by bit on some Khador widowmakers for Warmachine, I'm not really in a hurry to get them painted so it's been nice to work on my techniques. Right now I'm really working on blending highlights from dark to light on larger surfaces. When I have some time I'll try to get some pictures up. I also finished another Widowmaker as well as the Butcher of Khardov.

My main project right now is working on some Skaven. I have 20 clanrats with spears that are just about done (15 completed, 5 in progress). Once I have them done I have the Skaven from Island of Blood on the way, should keep me busy painting for a while to come. I'll get some pictures up of the completed Skaven when I have some extra time.

New Brushes!

My amazing wife just gave me the thumbs up to order some Winsor Newton Series 7 Kolinsky Sable brushes! I can't wait! I've really been trying to push myself on each new model I paint so I really think these brushes will help a lot.

I've been seeing green a lot lately, with the new Orcs and Goblins announced for March I'm trying to paint up a bit of a Waagh! I'm also hoping to start working on Orks as well, would love to get my hands on some of those amazing Forgeworld Ork kits.

Completed Thunderers and Organ Gun WIP

Last night I was able to finish out the unit of 10 Thunderers and then began work on the organ gun and crew as well as a movement tray for them. Here are some photos.