Joining the Choir of Menoth

On the YouTube channel WargamingForFun we have recently started covering Warmachine Battle Reports. I am a noob when it comes to Warmachine but with the help of Andy and Chris from the Wargaming Club I am starting to get to grips with the gaming system.

After posting a two part battle report, using the starter force for the Protectorate of Menoth, some viewers commented that a Choir would be a good way to expand my small force. An order was promptly placed and received. Today I painted one of the models as a test piece for the rest of the unit.

I pictures on the box use a more 'reddish' colouring for the garments than the purple that I have used but I wanted the unit to blend in to my other Menoth figures. For the purple garments I started with a Hexed Lichen base coat followed with a layer of Warlord Purple, both of these from the Game Colour range from Vallejo.


The white areas I completed using a base coat from P3 of Menoth White Base (Basically a bone colour compatible with the new ushabti bone.) followed by a layer of 'White Scar'

Gold was straight forward with Balthasar Gold base followed with an Auric Armour Gold highlight, focusing mainly on the upper surfaces to indicate a light source.


The text on the banner was drawn using a 0.1mm technical drawing pen.


The model isn't based yet but overall I'm pleased with the test piece.


Links to the battle report.
Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EKWUNKIREw
Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkvNdYrlFfY

Kit Bashing To Build Empire Characters

For a while now I've toyed with the idea of making an Empire 'fast response' army where everything is on horseback or other mounts. This would represent an army designed to protect outlying villages and towns. It is not going to be the most competetive list, lets face it I'm stuffed when it comes to the watchtower scenario, but it will be very playable down at the club.

In order to do this I have had to organise rides for several characters so that they can keep up with the regular units. I have done this using bits from other kits and a couple of recycled soldiers from other factions. This has two advantages in that your army will have a unique look and it also keeps the cost down.

The characters I am going to discuss here are a couple of Battle Wizards, a Warrior Priest and a BSB for those important re-rolls.

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The first Battle Wizard shown above is made up from the torso of a great sword, head and hands from the battle wizards kit. The arms and cape are spares from the pistoleers/outrider box. Finally the the legs and horse are recycled Marauder Horsemen from the Warriors of Chaos faction. I removed all the arrows, symbols of chaos and the armour off the legs and legs. These legs were chosen over the empire legs as they are relatively armour free and suit the 'fluff' of wizards better that plate armour for the knights.

Close inspection of the photos will show the bare grey plastic where the symbols have been removed.

The procedure was pretty much identical for the second Battle Wizard. I have spent more time on this model however using some of the empire extras from various sprues to further hide any reference to chaos on the model. 

I feel both have given me a model that is dynamic and narrative as they race around the battle field casting all important spells.

The next model is that of the Warrior Priest. I already have Luthor Russ and wanted the new warrior priest to be similar yet different. The legs and arms are that of an inner circle knight. The torso is from the sharp shooter of the outrider box and is suitable as it has a great cross embossed into the chest plate. Ideal for a priest. The head is from the great sword sprue. .Bald with a scar across his face. The perfect selection for a priest. Finally the sword and dagger fixed to the barding if from the swordsmen sprue giving him the option to use a shield without blocking the view of his breastplate.

The final model to discuss is that of the BSB and the only one that I am not 100 percent happy with. The banner for a BSB has to be prominent but I just cannot tell if the banner will work until painted. I feel like it looks clumsy the way the banner combines into one. Still I will look at it with a fresh pair of eyes over the coming days.

I have been wondering what I could possibly use this 'clock work cupid' for.

I will definitely be changing the head. I built this guy first before using the same head of the Warrior Priest and will give him a shield so that too may mean the removal of the models left arm as well. This guys in for a rough few days.

The Vampire Counts Corpse Cart - Gorgeous and Gross at The Same Time

The Corpse Cart from the Vampire Counts faction of Warhammer Fantasy was the last model that I had to complete from the Battalion Box.

The way the model goes together, the interaction between the figures on the cart, the dynamic poses, and the narrative story the model tells are fantastic.

I have to say that this is one of my favourite models of all my years of modelling. I would also like to add that this is one of the grossest models that I have ever painted. I know that this seem a contradiction but not when you look at the model. 

The fluff behind the cart is that the Corpsemaster (The guy on the back) gathers bodies of the fallen ready for fighting in the future. The cart also acts as a focus point for 'dark magic' (remember vampires are monsters not romantic boyfriends) giving nearby units protection and boosts.

The corpse cart is pulled by undead warriors that are tied and nailed to the front. 

I wanted the bodies to give the appearence of former soldiers that had been harvested after a battle so used one colour throughout on any fabric associated with the corpses. This would give the impression that they were formally in uniform.

A close up view of the bodies on the cart shows the grossness of the model where rats emerge from rib cages among twisted bodies.

  

The rear view of the model shows the 'Balefire' upgrade added to the model.

Working in White - Painting an Exemplar Cinerator Unit

I have been experimenting with some of the new paints from citadel. The Cinerator, from the Protectorate of Menoth, is around the size of a Space Marine Terminator. You will see that the base is still not complete but I took some photos to demonstrate the new 'White Scar' layer paint from Citadel. The paint itself spreads onto the miniature quite nicely then dries more transparent than the initial appearance would give the impression.

Initially the whole model was painted in 'Bleached bone' as I wanted to paint the highlights rather than shade the lowlights. This is a very similar colour to P3's Menoth Base. I then went over the entire model with white scar leaving only the areas that I thought would be in shade.

The shield still has lines rather froman even coverage. This is from the base coat though rather than the white layer.

 The gold is also done using a base coat and layer. First I used Balthasar Gold, a bronze metallic colour, followed by Auric Armour Gold, similar to polished gold. I found the base Balthasar gold to be very thick in consistency and had to dilute to avoid losing the detail of the model, but it was still smooth. Together these two paints gave an excellent gold appearance. I have tried several golds over the years and do feel that the new paint is an improvement on the lumpy acrylic metals that I have been used to.

The text on the linen cloth hanging off the shield was done with a graphics pen with a 0.1mm pen. A tip from ubique-mat.blogspot.com who has been using one for years giving sight to thousands of eyeballs. 


I will post more as I complete the unit. Like most of us I have a lot of projects on the go and really need to focus on a few things to get them finished.

Painting the Protectorate of Menoth

A month ago I bought the start 'Two Player Battle Box' for Warmachine. The box features two armies from the world of the Iron Kingdoms. I was over the moon with the content of the box and feel it offers surperb value for money. It's retail is £70 in the UK, I think it's $100 in the US, but if you shop around you will be able to pick it up for around £63.

The two factions that you get starter armies for are Khador (based on a Russian look) and that of the Protectorate of Menoth, a nation of religious zealots. Out of these I have decided to initially paint and develop the Menoth army. I thought that this would help me to develop my 'white' painting skills as I have always found this a tricky colour to paint in large areas.

The Menoth force in the Battle Box has three warjacks. A warjack is a steam powered robot with a basic brain that allows it to be given commands by a Warcaster, the forces leader. The warjacks all have a matching faction feel with does look good on the tabletop.

The Repenter is a light warjack, at nearly 3 metres (10 feet) tall and weighing a mere 4 1/4 ton. It is armed with a flame thrower type weapon and a war flail.  One of the benefits to his flame weapon is setting the enemy models on fire. Warmachine has a rule system where once on fire a model continues to burn from turn to turn, potential having a devastating effect on the bigger and tougher characters in the game.

A nice model looking like a heavy weight boxer walking up to an opponent. A limited palette of colours work well on the model highlighting the lines on the model.

The Crusader is all about combat. He is a large warjack being 12 feet tall weighing in at 8 tons. Moving 4 inches each turn (8 on a run, 7 on the charge) he is quite slow but comparable with similar size warjacks from other factions. 

I like the model but I am a little unsure about the look of the chain weapon. The chain appears that it is flying through the air however the arm holding it looks fairly sedentary.

The final heavy warjack is a Vanquisher 12 feet tall nearly 10 tons. This warjack has a mixture of a ranged weapon and a close combat weapon. The melee weapon has a 'thresher' attack that also negates shield wall bonuses in enemy models. The ranged weapon has a 4inch blast area and a ranged of 10 inches.  


The initial coats that I used on the white was bone-white from vallejo followed by stone wall grey in the recesses and Dead White for the highlights. The first model that I painted showed a few brush strokes but watering down the bone-white with multiple layers seemed to cure the problem. 


For the gold I used two of the new golds from citadel. Balthasar Gold as a base coat followed by a layer of Auric Armour Gold. To tone it down a little I used a sepia wash.


For purple I used a base layer of Hexed Lichen with a layer of Warlord purple both from the Game Colour range of Vallejo.

Which Witch Hunter?

The Easter Holiday has given me some extra time on the hobby, perfectly timed for the new Empire releases from GW on the 7th April 2012.

The finecast witch hunter is a great looking model with a huge amount of detail. There were some imperfections in the figure. Tiny air bubbles but on a miniature this detailed exaggerated any imperfection. 

I found the new Carroburg Crimson wash, or shade as they are now called, very intense but worked well when targeted into the folds of the miniatures cloak only. The new Khorne Red had an excellent coverage of the black undercoat. The Wazdakka red was the perfect compliment for the line highlights. I will get more as I need them rather than investing £333 in the whole range.

I've included some pictures below, I just wish I could do the model justice. 

I Ain't Afraid of No Ghost...

A pocket money raising project that I've had on the go for about a month is that of a starter army for the new Vampire Counts. I've also used the opportunity to film some painting tutorials in the 'Painting For Us Mere Mortals' series. Just the Corpse Cart to go. Here are some photos of the work so far.