Big break, big(ger) update!

Hello,

First of all, yes it has been months, and I am aware of this. Whilst I would be able to come up with several excuses for this, I will make it short and mention such as end of term exams, moving to a new student flat, and laziness.

I have got something done, too. I have been focusing on trying to base my already painted models, and getting some formations ready from the new Eldar codex. I will be having a break from Lizardmen at least until I have around 2000 points of Eldar, and/ or when the possible Warhammer Fantasy changes are revealed.

Wraithknight base

I decided to go for a rock-like basing on my models, apart from some special bases I have, such as the Farseer one. I haven't decided on the rim colour yet, but I think a brown one would possibly go well with most of my bases for a unified look. On the Wraithknight's base, I cut out some pieces of cardboard to form a bit more layered- look before gluing on some sand. I then primed the base black and dry brushed it with two different shades of grey.

I finally got to work on the Farseer I got for Chrismas. I decided to paint the entire model by hand, not entirely because of an o-ring of my airbrush breaking making it impossible to use, but also due to wanting to try out painting a model entirely by hand. I am fairly satisfied with the smoothness of the paint layers, and the model in general. I will not go into detail of what colours were used etc as it is basically same to how most of my other biel tan units are painted, apart from minor details.

Back + rune

Front

Top + base

With the introduction of different formations, I decided to aim for those that I am already closest to, or which are easiest/ cheapest to get. These were the Aspect Host and Dire Avenger Shrine ones. With the former, I will make a formation consisting of Warp Spiders, Dark Reapers and Fire Dragons. For the Dire Avenger one I will be naturally needing 2 more painted squads of Dire Avengers. After these I will be most likely focusing on getting a Wraith Host or a jet bike formation (yes, yes, overpowered bikes).

Start of the freehand

Basic colours

All models ready, before basing

Anyway, I did get a box of Warp Spiders before, and was happy to paint something that isn't green once in a while. Airbrush is still on hiatus. I primed the models black, based them with Khrone Red, followed by a layer of Evil Sunz Scarlet. I used several shades of orange/ and red combined with a Bloodletter- glaze on the weapon, trying to blend them as well as I can with a lighter core expanding to the darker shades. Most challenging task was to try and make the weapons look similar, as I didn't originally write down which colours I used exactly and in which order whilst experimenting on what would look good. I stepped out of my comfort zone with these models by trying to add shades of grey onto the helms and by highlighting the red armor with grey, instead of going for my usual 'slightly lighter shade of the main colour'. I think it made the highlights more defined, giving the model some more depth and detail. I also highlighted the weapon with grey a bit more than I usually would on parts that didn't have a clearly defined edge to add some extra definition. I attempted to free hand the Warp Spider - sign on their jetpacks, yet another task I found difficult to duplicate in equal size on other models. I do think I managed to do this to an acceptable degree, though I do see some room for improvement. Overall I am happy with how these models turned out, despite having some issues basing the exarch.

Back, symbols slightly different

Basic models

Basing done

Finally, some initial progress on my Dire Avengers, which I have actually managed to paint a bit more than what is shown on this post. I should get them done in the next few days. I managed to fail several parts of the assembly, should have paid more attention instead of trying to remember by heart. I accidentally glued the exarch body on a normal model, and forgot to glue the piece of cloth on their backs before gluing on their upper body. However, with a little bit of modification I managed to glue them on a later stage after doing two layers of blue paint on them. Additionally, I have primed my Dark Reapers which I got as a present from my boyfriend as seen on the last picture. You can also see an Autarch I painted together with the Farseer, but I am not quite happy with the result and will be making some modifications on it, so do expect a close up picture in the next post.

Some have only one, others two layers

Like a month or two back I did also finish painting my Hemlock. The process itself was very similar to painting the other Eldar vehicles, but I am overall very happy with this model and had fun painting it. I used my airbrush to finish the entire model apart from smaller details, such as the red gems. I hope to get it working before I continue painting my Fire Prism and second Wave Serpent, as in case of vehicles it does speed up the painting a lot.

Still in progress

Ready to fly

Close up 

Upon deciding to try and start a second army this year, the new Adeptus Mechanicus codex was released. I think it is a sign, as I had mentioned about possibly wanting the said army the day before the new codex got out. Ah well. 2000 points of Eldar, first.

In progress + Warp Spiders

Until next time! (I promise it will be soon...)

PS

I almost forgot, but I will be painting Harlequins as a 'extra' right now, due to finding them difficult to paint and their fine cast rather annoying to work with. I am excited to get the new non-fine cast ones in the future, and finishing these off eventually. However, I did finish off one apart from the rock on the base, and am currently working on the second one.

Not too happy, not unhappy

From the back

From a hobbyist to an antique owner

Hello everyone ~

Sorry for a slow update, there have been several little issues including, but not limited to, travelling, paints drying on the plane, problems with airbrush and of course, laziness. However, I have managed to get something done, most notably a squad of guardians (excluding their helmets, as white paint got destroyed on the plane). I also managed to start painting my harlequin troupe, and for once, started from basing!

So to start off with the harlequins, which have so far been my most challenging models to paint. I decided to go for a look, in which each model has a separate colour (pink, mint, light purple, light blue and most likely a light red/orange-ish + troupe master as darker/ black). For weapons and other decoration I'm planning on going for golden look. As a contrast to the colourful parts I will be using white. I wanted to go for a unified bases to make the models look more like a consistent unit despite different colours on the models. Paints I still need are Genestealer Purple, Lothern Blue and Sybarite Green, plus an additional red-ish colour, which I haven't fully decided on, yet. The model I have started on has been painted with Pink Horror + Carroburg Crimson - shade.

In terms of the bases, I wanted to go for a harlequin themed base with dark red and white. I found a guide that recommended cutting square parts of the box the models came in, glueing them to the base, cleaning up the edges and then painting them red/ white. I will later dry brush the surface to create a bit more of a 40k trampled warzone - look instead of a clean one. And to paint the rock, I just happened to forget my grey paint elsewhere...

About to glue on the squares.

I started painting the model from the bottom up. I still need to finish the mask, and everything else that is currently black. On the hair braid I painted three different colours. I'm quite happy with how it has turned out so far. I was panning on leaving the boots black, but I am happy I picked white. Think it makes the model stand out better.
Whilst painting these, GWS of course decided to announce the new Harlequins, so basically my models are... outdated. I will probably need to get the new ones too, as the Solitaire has a unique part in the lore... And they look awesome! I also assume they would have slightly smoother surface not being Fine Cast, as even after trying to clean all the extra bits on these models, the surface was uneven on some, making it really difficult to paint on. 

From the front.

From the back

Guardian squad. These were a fairly easy one to paint, not only because I have done a squad of them before, but also because they are essentially only green, I did some highlights and painted the weapons metallic. Helmet will be painted white now that I have the white paint to replace the one that got ruined on the plane. I also need a few paints to finish the Heavy Weapon Platform's gun. To shortly summarise the painting process of these ones, I did two layers of green with airbrush, highlighted with a mixture of Warboss Green and White. Gems I did similarly to those on my Wraithknight. Additionally, I decorated the platform itself to go with the thorn - theme of the bikes I have. I did also consider painting thorns on rest of the platform but concluded that would be a bit too much. Not sure if it looks plain now,..

Helms to go. And eyes.

Heavy Weapon Platform

Close up.

Next time I should have the Guardians completely done, an update on the Hemlock, and hopefully more on harlequins, once I get the paints I require. Until then ~

Eldar here, Eldar there, Eldar everywhere [Eldar]

Hello and greetings from my holiday abroad! (Thus a late update, apologizes!)

What a better way to spend one's holidays than to paint and assemble models. I do need to transport some of them on the plane, which is not on the top of my wishlist, but at least I will have the joy of examining the security control's faces when they have a look at my bags.

I have added some highlights on my Wraithknight, I decided to go with a slightly lighter tone than what the actual paint was, as they were hardly visible without adding some white, I debated long whether I will paint all the spirit stones red, or only some of them. I decided to paint at least most of them, as I don't want to end up with just a 'green blob' (Is a green blob with chicken pox better? Not sure.) I tried to make them shiny/ gem- like by doing a fairly thick layer of Blood for the Blood God - technical paint, which is usually used to create blood effects. Helm has obviously been painted white, though I still need to fix some parts of it as it required several layers to look acceptable. I also repainted some of the black parts which were stained with some green paint during airbrushing. I still need to do some of the joints etc. On the back of the model, I painted the spirirt stone/ gem/ whatever it is black and the carving golden. I might still wash the golden paint later on. I decided to add some additional biel-tan look to the model by free-hand painting some thorns on his private- parts - protector.

Thorns & highlights

Whole beauty

Better look at highlights

Gold is the best thing ever

  Visiting one's family for Christmas - or a bit later, carries the positive possibility of getting presents. 40k presents. I was fortunate enough to arrive home with an additional Wave Serpent and Crimson Hunter/ Hemlock waiting for me, the latter being my first ever flyer. I made my decision to build Hemlock Wraithfighter purely because of the looks, the thing on its back does resemble a shark's fin... And that is simply awesome. Assembling was otherwise fairly straightforward, but the fin itself didn't quite attach to the rear of the flyer as it should've. I ended up cutting up a small piece of the clip supposed to be attached to the rear part, making it finally reach to it, but still not staying in place. I will be going to buy some liquid green stuff - technical to make it into a correct shape.

Assembled Hemlock and primed guardians

Close-up of the fin problem

There would be no holiday without having at least a small look into a local Warhammer/ 40k retailer's store. Holiday becomes much better if you can get something into your hands, and further improves if you can take that something home. After getting some additional Eldar vehicles for Christmas from my family, I decided it was a time to get some troops. And some more vehicles. I really do need some more troops now... yet again.

I never tought I'd need pink paint. Harlequins...

My plan of action is to get my guardians and Hemlock painted simultaneously, possibly a bike too from the Battleforce. If I have time I will try to start with the Harlquins before going back home next Saturday, hopefully without breaking any models on the way!

The Guardians [Lizardmen]

My order is finally here, meaning that I can finally start finishing some of my models for good. My order included an orange paint to finish off my Skinks, some Warpstone glow for Wraithknight and of course some Purity Seal varnish to avoid paint cracks. A Temple Guard squad would be nothing without a Slann Mage-Priest and his buffs, so it's not hard to guess what I had coming home with all the paints! This is the first finecast model I have actually opened so far, and I must say that while the details are indeed very fine and stunning, there will be quite a bit of work to remove all the extra resin around the model.

That is a lot of detail

Home at lunch time...

In terms of painting, I have been working mostly on my Temple Guard Squad, which has been taking longer than I had estimated before hand. I first painted the skull/ bone- parts with Ceramic White, then washed them with Agrax Earthshade and finally dry brushed with Ushabti Bone for a cleaner look. All the nails I painted with Ushabti Bone only and then washed them. I thought that it was unnecessary for a Lizards' toenails to be equally 'clean' shade as their head ornaments, assuming they roam freely in the jungles (yes yes, it did save me a little bit of work, too!)

White parts done!

After finishing with the white parts, I moved on to painting all the details on the models, including their eyes, weapons/ instrument/ banner, decorations etc. I coated all the gems with a layer of Blood For The Blood Good - technical paint, leaving them with a look of a wet paint, hoping to create a shiny effect. My painting process was fairly painless, apart from the banner. The stick the banner is on decided to break into half not once, but twice (so far...) Trying to glue it back on also proved a challenge. It is now in one piece, but I wouldn't be surprised if it broke on the field. I do not understand whose idea was to have a long thin stick and a massive heavy banner on the top of it. That is asking for problems. Despite that, I must say I am fairly happy with the way it turned out. I decided to go for golden/ red theme on the decorations of the banner and the unit overall, as the term 'Temple Guard' reminds me of ancient temples which I associate with these colours.

Shield and done!

Now I just have the shields to glue on and add a final touch to them when glued in place. Just so that my painting life wouldn't be too easy, it seems that one shield has gone missing, too. I have plenty of spares, but after all my banner - problems, I am not looking forward to repainting one shield, not even one.

Champion and Musician

Will be focusing on Eldar next time, as this post was taken over by a lizard swarm!

May the Lizards Rise [Lizardmen, Eldar]

A random Tomb King has appeared

Happy New Year! ~

New Years Resolution: More painting, More Wargaming. 

One cannot win a battle with skinks only. Thus, whilst waiting on my paint order to arrive I have been working on my Temple Guard - unit, consisting of 10 models. The squad consists of a musician, a champion, a banner-bearer and rest of the models are warriors. I am painting them in 2 parts, shield on its own and the rest of the model pre-assembled. I used airbrush to paint their skin blue (same colours as used for Skinks), rest is done by hand. Will next start working on the finer details.

Dry brush & first wash done

I started painting the shields before I even managed to bother getting my airbrush out for the lizards themselves. I have done a layer of brown, painted the bone-parts with Ceramic White (managing to get it on some of the brown parts, too, will be fixing later), and finally did a wash on the entire shield with Agrax Earthshade. I will be later adding more details to the shields and dry brushing the skulls and other bone- decorations with Ushabti Bone -colour.

Skull-shrinkers in action (or dead Tomb Kings...)

While I was working on my Lizardmen, I couldn't help doing 2 paint layers of my Wraithknight's body; first with Caliban Green, followed by Warpstone Glow. I will next begin highlights with a lighter shade of green, together with a darker wash. I will also paint the joints and several other areas black (they got green during airbrushing) and the helm white & black. I used far more green paint to get an even layer on the model than I had expected - will be adding another pot of Warpstone Glow to my order...

Still a long way to go...

...But he does already look better

Next time: Will New Year's Resolution hold? If so, expect so see some Lizards, and Eldar. If not. Expect the same. Maybe Wraithknight will even reclaim his arms, and weapons!

Progression on Lizards & Wraithknight

Slow but steady I will truly have to work faster if I plan to have my models done by the end of my holidays in mid January. Maybe my goal was a bit too optimistic, maybe I am being lazy (cannot be the latter, right?!)

 

Bases and fin to go!

Either way, I have completed my Lizardmen skink squad up to the point of needing an extra colour of paint for their head fin. I painted their eyes and mouths & teeth when visible. For weapons I went with a wooden look with a metallic heads on spears and copper-gold melee weapons. I order to add some details to the models I painted their jewelry with Gehenna's Gold - paint giving them a slightly copper- golden look (apparently I didn't shake the pot of paint enough, thus making the colour appear  more red/ copper than intended, however, I quite like it this way). For shields, I based them with Steel Legion Drab - paint(brown) and dry brushed them with a red-brown paint, finally washing them twice with Agrax Earthshade. Once I get my hands on the bright orange I will base the models before varnishing them.

Slightly different point of focus

Having many unopened boxes of models always creates the problem of what to open first. Though the colourfulness of Lizardmen draw me into giving them a go, the big box of my Wraithknight has been calling me to get into assembling this even bigger than expected model. With some 150 odd parts (out of which some were optional), I had my hands full of work with this beauty. I must say, that after finishing with the assembling process, I am once again happy for choosing Eldar, the agile yet powerful look of the model makes the army look stunning yet beautiful.

Upper body is not yet glued on

~22cm tall work of art

Arm & weapon, consisting of more parts than I dare to admit

I will be painting Wraithknight in 4 separate parts, plus some additional smaller parts that I haven't yet glued on the model as they obstructed certain parts of the model and would have made the painting very difficult. For weapons I decided to go for Heavy Wraithcannons, though the melee weapons looked very good, too. Maybe I'll be needing another Wraithknight in the future...

Luckily the weather is on my side today; may the priming begin!

Christmas

Hello and Merry Christmas!
Santa did not indeed forget to stop by, and even gave me some extra painting to do. I got a Lizardmen Batallion box containing a nice collection of models to start up my first Warhammer army, together with Wraithknight (!!) and Farseer to compliment my Eldar army. I cannot describe how much I have wanted to have a Wraithknight in my Eldar collection. It looks so... gorgeous. However, I still couldn't help digging my hands into the box of Lizardmen, they look so colourful and fun to paint!

Lizardmen Batallion, Wraithknight and a Farseer

May the assembling begin

...Some had even more...

I decided to start off by assembling the Lizardmen as far as I can before painting them (I will be painting shields separately, as well as the mounts of the cavalry). I decided to first focus on the Skink - models. After priming the models with Chaos Black, I base coated them with Macragge Blue and added a layer of Temple Guard Blue. 

Right: Black primer + base coat, Left: An additional layer

After finishing with airbrushing, I washed the models with a dark blue wash to create some shades. This made the models much darker than I wanted them to be. I decided to dry brush the entire model with some Skink Blue colour, instead of just the scales in their back. I then mixed some white with the dry paint to dry brush the scales with a lighter shade. 

Darker than expected

Some dry brushing done

The final version, so far.

Next, I am planning on painting the face of the model, then moving onto the weapons and other smaller details. I still haven't quite decided whether I want the 'fin' on the head to be a lighter shade of blue, or some other colour. I have seen some models with a bright orange one, which seemed to bring the model alive and add a nice detail. Will see how the model looks with the other parts painted, and decide afterwards.

Until next time ~