Figure Feature: Mannikins & Sentry Stone

The druids of Orboros are known for their constructs.  Though the stone wolds are the more famous of their creations, the wooden Mannikins and their Sentry Stones are feared as well!

I love this little unit(yes unit...why is it still under 'solos' on the PP site?).  You have to love the character of these sculpts...
(click on images for large versions)

And I have to show them in 'dancing' formation...

Here's a look at just the Mannikins(I love the head sculpts!)...

And just the Sentry Stone...

Thanks for taking a look!

Oh, and as a die hard League of Legends player, I have to point out that...

'Fiddlesticks' was inspired by the PP Mannikins(in my humble opinion!).

Figure Feature: Widowmaker Marksman

Well, as the Widowmakers are all "marksmen", to be singled out as a "Marksmen" amongst marksmen...you must be something special.  Although he's a nice little solo, I plan to make him the "5th man" in my Widowmakers unit.

I waffled on what color to paint his armor plating...Khador Red seemed too conspicuous for a guy trying to be a stealthy sniper.  However, in the end, I went with it...my story being that he has been dragged out a Widowmaker Military Academy(where he is an instructor) for an emergency assignment(kind of like Thorwald being from sniper school to hunt Zaitsev at Stalingrad).  

Here he is...

The bronze Metallics are mainly by Howard's Hues*Bronze and Gold) with the steel hues mainly old Reaper Pro Series(paint pots) and even a very old Ral Partha silver!

Figure Feature: Tharn Bloodtrackers

Tribal allies of Circle Orboros, the Tharn Bloodtrackers are female warriors who are swift-footed spear-throwers.  They will make a nice addition to my Baldur army as they will enjoy the damage buff that he conveys as well as his armor bonus(Stone Skin).

Here's my version of the unit...

I gave the leader of the unit a streak of red in her hair...you have to love her howling war cry pose...

Here is a shot of one of the warriors for a closer look at how I did their bases.  The grass are tufts by The Army Painter and the flora are bits of a an old wedding bouquet that was on clearance at a local craft store...

One thing to note about a little "fix up" did with the painting(in case this ever happens to you):
I wanted my Bloodtrackers to have pale skin as shown by PP but after painting and highlighting I found that I'd gone too far...and their flesh was more white than anything else.  To fix this I made a very watered-down glaze of P3 Red Ink and washed it over the skin areas...presto...a more normal color without having to start the whole painting process over again!

I Spy Game(Work in Progress) #1

O.K., in a new blog installment, let's play "I Spy".  What work-in-progress minis can you identify on my painting desk?  Let's put your Privateer Press miniature knowledge to the test!  Bonus points will be awarded for identifying the non-Privateer Press minis on the right hand side. Click on the image for a larger picture...

Add you guesses in the comments section...

Figure Feature: The Piper of Ord...

I hear music when I see this figure...really...o.k., not really.  However, Rhupert Carvolo(The Piper of Ord) does, in game, get to choose from three songs to play to boost friendly units.  His "Dirge of Mists" grant a defense bonus to allies(and terrorizes foes), his "Heroic Call" tune grants Fearless and Tough, while his "march" song grants Pathfinder to friendlies.  He's a great addition to a Merc army(or 'paying' faction) and I love the figure.  The metallics are Howard's Hues which I love(not many fantasy gamers use them but a lot of Historical Wargamers know the paint line well)...

Figure Feature: The Good Nyss

Well those of you who know the Hordes lore know that most of the Nyss(Dark Elves) were blighted with evil.  Well, I love the story of the "good Nyss", Cylena Raefyll and the Nyss Hunters....who escaped the blight and now fight for coin.

The Nyss are tricky because they have black body armor...and making the details 'pop' is a challenge.  I actually base-coated the figures black and then dry-brushed(YES, dry-brushed!) the figures with a medium grey.  To clean up the dry brush strokes and darken the armor plates back up, I went in and blocked in the inner surfaces of the armor with flat black. The bases included some hand made rocky outcroppings crafted from modelling clay, and set in place with Mod Podge(otherwise they dry up, crumble or slide off the plastic base).

Come on Privateer Press, we want more nice Nyss models such as these...

 

Post Hiatus Momentum...

...yeah that post title sounds like a Harry Potter spell doesn't it?  Seriously, it has been many months since I posted and there's a good reason...I haven't painted for many months.  I used to fight it, but I've learned to accept that I'm a "hobby in spurts" kind of guy.  There are sometimes four month periods where I churn out dozens of painted models, and then I need a few months downtime to recuperate...then the cycle starts over again.  The only downside is that I don't want to let people down who follow this blog...but...well, it's how I do it. 

Anyways, here are my latest figures(excuse the rust, I'm getting my painting mojo back gradually)...
(Click on pictures for slightly larger images)

Herne & Jonne(Warmachine Mercenary Unit)...

Runebearer(Trollblood Warlock Attachment Solo)...

Trollblood Skinner(Trollblood Solo)...

Druid Wilder(Circle Orboros Solo)...

Baldur the Stonecleaver(Circle Orboros Warlock)...

Megalith(Circle Orboros Character Warbeast(Wold))...

Well that's it for now, but I've got a Circle Orboros unit on the front burner that I'll be posting pics of when they're done.  Thanks for viewing!

A Year's Progress...

Well, I've been painting Warmachine miniatures for about a year now, having adding Hordes into the mix this past Christmas.  Here's  a screenshot of my Collection Manager from the Forward Kommander program for a sense of what I have done...

 (yeah, that's 188 WM/H minis that I own now)
As you can see I've accomplished a lot...but I have many unpainted minis awaiting my brushes.  I keep my "minis in waiting" on pegs on the wall...

As my collection list above shows, I really like "dabbling" in building many armies rather than specialize in one faction.  Actually my big Merc(and growing Minion) collection speaks to this...as I like to fill out many of my faction armies with Merc/Minion support.    I've really enjoyed approaching the hobby this way...it keeps me from getting bored with the same scheme(red for Khador, blue for Cygnar, etc.) and allows to me to pick and choose some of my favorite sculpts.  Plus, its fun to hop around from faction to faction and grow my armies little by litte.

So what's in the works right now?....

Figure Feature: Grim Angus and Janissa Stonetide

Well, we all know that the Trollbloods ooze character...that's probably why I ordered too many for Christmas!  Now I'm backlogged on painting them(along with various Minions, Circle, Warmachine figures) but I am getting them done slowly but surely.  Below is a video clip showing my newly finished Grim Angus and Janissa Stonetide figures...I can't wait to field them!

Figure Feature: Minion Solos

I recently uploaded a video on my Youtube Channel of various Minion Solos that I finished painting(Pendrake, Gudrun, Rorsh & Brine) and thought folks here might be interested...
(double click video window to enlarge)

Simple "Supply" Cover Terrain for Warmachine/Hordes

I have been spending the last two months furiously painting minis for use with my gaming club so I haven't done much in the area of terrain. While some basecoats were drying on some solos the other day I threw these together and thought I would share...

They are VERY cheaply made from wooden craft bits from Michael's(the barrels, pot-shaped barrels) and modeling clay(the grain/supply bags). I am sure I could make them look prettier with a little more time but it was a quick little project.

They are meant as simple cover pieces, but I was thinking they could also make nice objective markers...or even mod a game to give the person who captures them some sort of resupply bonus.

Spell Tokens for Warmachine...

Inspired by this great work at the Warmachine forums, I set out to make some custom spell tokens for Gorten Grundback.  I am very new to any kind of sculpting but I kind of like the results anyways...
From left to right the tokens represent the following spells: Molten Metal, Strength of Granite, Solid Ground, Rock Wall, Eruption).  I used a wooden craft piece for the metal pot and green stuff/modeling clay for the other items.  Lava/molten metal was simulated with a little white glue that I painted over.


I am sure a second attempt would be prettier- but it was a fun little project!

Shoutouts to Two Amazing Artists...

In case you never noticed the links to the side, I'd like to point out the amazing work of two gifted miniature painters whose sites I visit often.  Looking at their painted minis can be humbling but it also serves as inspiration to improve my own work.  If you think you're good, be sure to look at their skills for a reality check.

First up is Marike Reimer who can do things with a paint brush that I didn't think was possible...
(be sure to click on the image twice to see the mini its its full-blown glory)

Visit her site "Destroyer Miniatures" and take a look at her gallery!

Equally impressive is the also award-winning work of Jen Haley who also impresses with her skills...

You can visit her wonderful site, Paintrix Miniatures,  to see her great gallery and read her interesting personal background story. 

I normally reserve my blog for my own painted minis and terrain pieces but sometimes you need to take a moment to pay homage to the  masters who "push the envelope" in the miniatures painting hobby.  If I ever come by some disposable cash, I'll be emailing both of those ladies for commissioned pieces for a display case!