An Imperial Knight and the Ortegas

Well it's been a hell of a long time since I posted anything on the blog... I've not given up on painting just yet though (although I haven't done any for a couple of months now and I'm really starting to get the itch). I'll soon be heading home for the Christmas break and I'm looking forward to picking up a paintbrush again - I think I have a copy of Space Hulk waiting for me... Can't wait!

In the mean time, I thought I'd just throw up a couple of things I did over the summer.

First, I had a crack at an Imperial Knight. These models are insanely detailed and it was really cool to work on a big model like this. Only have one picture of it as it was given to the customer upon completion...

Scary.

The flame effect was really fun, and fairly easy, to do. It just took time and a lot of carefully applied layers. But the beauty is that not a great amount more detail needed to be done and there was no messing around with transfers and such (usually these guys are covered in them - I know from experience, I've painting 5 of these guys now...).

If you haven't heard of Malifaux you really should have by now. It's a really enjoyable skirmish game for which they released a new rule-set about a year ago. In addition to the new rules, they have started producing (and re-producing) all their miniatures in plastic and the detail is INSANE. I have one or two plastic box-sets at home and will be returning to them over Christmas I'm sure.

Pictured here are the Ortega family in their original metal casting. I completed these just before Wyrd released the plastic version of the same gang... Sod's Law. The picture quality isn't great, so apologies for that.

As ever, thanks for reading. I hope to be posting up some more things over the Christmas break - we'll see!

Lemartes!

Started and finished this guy today. Way too hot to be painting... 

Relatively happy with how he turned out, I tried not to take too long but still get a good result. He just needs a bit of grass on his base and he's good to go!

Comments and criticism please people! Peace.

Hard at Work - Tomb Kings, Necrons and Imperial Guard

Hi folks, it's that time again - a long overdue post about what's been crossing my painting table of late.

First of all, I spent a bit of time finishing off some Imperial Guard I still had sitting in a box somewhere. I collect an Imperial Guard army but it's no longer in this colour scheme, so I'm considering selling these guys on sometime soon. 

I've got some more pictures, which I'll probably put up when I decide to sell these boys.

Since I last posted I also have painted up another set of Necron Barges for a customer who wanted a red and black theme throughout his army, with green spot colours in the shape of lights and dials and whatnot. Here is the finished result:

Apologies for the bad quality of the photos - they were taken on my phone...

I then went from painting futuristic skeleton warriors to Fantasy skeleton warriors for a Tomb Kings commission. Here is the host readied for war (and the tournament that the customer was taking them to):

Again, I apologise for the rubbish quality of the pictures, they hide some of the detail, but you get the general idea - I've been busy!

The next project is to be part of a Death Company Blood Angels army. The challenge here is to paint white - always a difficulty - as the customer wants his chaps painted in the colours of the Flesh Tearers' Death Company. Alongside 15 blood-crazed close-combat powerhouses I have Tycho, Lemartes, Mephiston and Gabriel Seth to paint, as well as a drop pod and a Furioso Dreadnought (both in white).

That's all for today everyone! I promise to post more regularly from here on in, but for now it's back to work. Happy painting!

Annihilation and Command Barges Completed!

Hello all!

It's been far too long since my last blog post and I must start off with an apology - I simply haven't had the time these last few days to post up any progress. The week before last was spent in Holland with my family; naturally not a lot of painting got done and the lack of internet connection meant I couldn't show any progress anyway. Last week's been spent seeing friends before they go back to university, as well as preparing for my own return. I have been painting however, and spent a good few hours across three days putting all the finishing touches to the last two barges.

There was one more Annihilation Barge to be painted and this one is exactly the same as the previous two so there isn't much new to see here.

I also painted up a Command Barge to match the original I was given by the client. I think it matches up pretty nicely (you can see them both on the right of the group shot) and I'm happy with the overall result. It looks similar enough to the Annihilation Barges to fit in well with them, but different enough (mainly in shape - the lack of a massive gun will do that) to stand out. It's going to look especially tasty with a Lord mounted on it...

And finally just a quick group shot of the four barges I had in my possession at the time of taking these pictures. Only one Annihilation Barge is missing. It's quite the fleet now! I've given all the Necrons back to the client and I'm hoping he'll be able to take a couple of shots of this army in action over the next few days so I can put up a few here - these things look a whole lot better on their bases!

I'm glad these guys are finished and, more than that, that the Necron Overlord is happy with the results on his models. May they be kicking asses and taking names on battlefields across Tolworth soon.

Just a final note to say thank you to everyone who regularly reads my blog or gives it the occasional visit to see what I've been up to. The middle of last week saw my thousandth page view, which is very encouraging and a great motivator to keep producing stuff and blogging about it. Once again, a big thanks to everyone that has taken an interest.

See you all soon.

Another Finished Annihilation Barge & Progress

It's been a couple of days and despite a busy schedule I've done a bit more work on the fleet of Necron Barges that has to be completed soon. After finishing one the other day, we now have two painted Annihilation Barges, one painted Command Barge, one half painted Command Barge that needs adjustment and one more assembled, and primed, Annihilation Barge. That's a lot of the word Barge... It's starting to lose meaning.

From this...

...to this!

Admittedly there is not a lot new to see here, as all these barges are tediously similar. That, however, is the point of this project - similarity is just very 'Necron'. It might not be the most interesting thing to paint the same model in the same way over and over again, but, having said that, it is a good opportunity to work on delivering consistency and accuracy - both of which are (in my eyes) necessary for a good painter.

Next up is the second Command Barge that was already painted but has to be adjusted to fit in with the new scheme. So far all I have managed to do to this one is to cover with black the areas that will need to be black (forgetting about the 'vinyl' - that comes later). With this one it is just a question of covering over the areas that need to be different colours, as well as cleaning up some of the highlighting in order to better resemble the other vehicles in the fleet.

I spent a couple of hours yesterday assembling and priming the last Annihilation Barge as well. Unfortunately I lacked an instruction manual, which made the whole process a little slower. I was being overly careful as a friend of mine had advised me that it is a notoriously difficult kit to piece together. In the end it came together fine, with no major hitches along the way. Time to break out the Dheneb Stone!

I also picked up a couple of the new Citadel Base paints yesterday at the shop, just to try them out. I bought  a white, a red, a bronze/gold (intrigued and excited about the possibility of a gold that covers well!) and a green. I was quite impressed on trying out the Base Paints when I got a chance, so I will be looking to use these in the near future. The green, white and red in particular will be seeing use when I paint the tartans on my Trollkin Champions.

That's all for today folks! Enjoy celebrating the possibility of zombies through the eating of chocolate, I'm going to get on with some painting.

One Finished Necron Annihilation Barge

It's been a long time since I've updated you all on my progress, so it's definitely time for a new post. I had flue for the majority of last week so I wasn't able to get as much stuff done as I would have liked... It was real flu, I promise! Not hypochondriac-man-flu!

Anyway, time is of the essence with these Necron Barges as they need to be ready before I go back to University - they are apparently needed for a tournament called Mayhem which the guys from Heroes and Legends will be attending in full force. Because of this I have been trying to up my pace without losing any quality (very hard, I can tell you!) and I have spent the majority of today at my desk.

The result? One finished Annihilation Barge!

I wanted to make it look as similar as possible to the Barge that's already painted to enhance the feel of the uniformity that is such an integral element of the Necrons. Unfortunately this uniformity does make for some rather dull painting sessions.... But it's all good, I'm keeping in mind the end result, which should be pretty solid.

Slowly the fleet grows...

These Barges are taking me somewhat longer than I expected... There's actually rather a lot of surface area on these vessels, despite them looking quite small. The other issue is that it takes about three coats of Dheneb Stone to get the solid layer and the crisp finish that I want to achieve. These layers have to be thin or else the paint will go lumpy. It's a necessary, but time-consuming, process...

I've also started work on the second Annihilation Barge and it's ready to have its 'tattoos' painted on, before I start work on the Skull White highlights. This one is going to be a bit more of a pain because, unlike the Barge I just finished, the cannon's already been glued in place on this one - this is going to make it really hard for me to get at the areas underneath the cannon and on the underside of it. 

Well, that's it for now! I've also spent a bit of time working on assembling a Dire Troll Mauler for Hordes. My 'greenstuffing' skills leave a fair amount to be desired but I'm quite happy with how he's turned out. More on him in the future I hope.

Ciao!

Necron Annihilation and Command Barges

Hello again, I think it's time for another update.

So my Necron-collecting friend has sent another commission my way, and this is a big one. At the moment I have in front of me two Annihilation Barges and one Command Barge, with another barge of some sort to be built in due time. They are all to be painted in the same scheme as his Deathmarks, which means a lot of time will be taken up by painting layers and layers of Dheneb Stone to get a smooth finish. The Command Barge on the left is to be repainted slightly to match the style that my friend has now decided on.

The Necron Overlord actually painted up a Command Barge himself so I would have something of a template to go by, and it's very pretty indeed!

Apologies for the poor quality of the pictures, but I'm away from home and the light-tent I have set up there. I'm in Nottingham for the week and trying to make as much progress as I can with these guys, getting in a bit of painting here and there whenever my girlfriend's at lectures. I've got a bit of time over the coming days to pop into Warhammer World too, which should be quite exciting. I love the Miniatures Hall there - having some many beautiful models in one place is quite impressive! I might see if I can get to try out some of the new range of Citadel Paints. I must say I am most intrigued as to whether they will actually be an improvement. I suppose we'll see in due course.

Thanks for reading! See you all soon.

Necron Deathmarks - Done!

Definitely time for another update.

I've grabbed a hold of my friend's camera to take a couple of pictures of the, now finished, Necron Deathmarks. Progress has been slow of late, due to a bit of a pile-up in the essay department. It's getting near the end of term here at Durham and I've somehow managed to leave all my work till the last minute as per usual... Never seem to learn from my mistakes... 

But. They are finished! Hurrah!

Since last time I updated the blog I cleaned up the black areas with a coat of Chaos Black and I got started on the various bits of lighting and highlighting that are so important on these models. Inspired by the way I've seen them painted over on sites like coolminiornot and by the guys on the 'Eavy Metal team, I wanted to try and capture the idea of a glow coming from within the guns, without straying into the realm of object source lighting. That's a can of worms I don't want to open just yet!

So the original plan was to highlight their shoulder pads up to a white on the very edges, which I did on one model, before deciding against it. I'm not sure what changed my mind, I just thought it looked a little bit too bright... I wanted to keep the pads looking dark - a sort of mysterious, alien obsidian. To this end I highlighted them Scab Red, then Blood Red, Fiery Orange (just on the very edges and corners) and finally gave them a very watered down wash of Tamiya Clear Red ink. This last stage helped to mute the orange somewhat, and blend all the layers together. It has also resulted in a bit of a gloss finish that I think helps suggest the alien obsidian look I was going for.

To differ the hues of red (if only very slightly) I used some fleshy tones for the parts of their guns that give off light, before slapping some Skull White on to really get them looking a bit brighter. I tried my best to get a nice effect, but I suppose only you can be the judge of that. 

I'm quite happy with the finished result, and I can only hope that my client will be too.

I'm definitely glad to have got these guys done, despite having had a rather busy few weeks. It should quieten down towards the end of next week, deadlines will have been met and the pressure will be off. At least, until exams. 

Oh joy. 

Anyway, there's another project on my painting desk now, but more on that in the future, I'm quite excited about this one...

Happy painting!

Wizards! And some progress...

Hello hello!

So, progress has been slow of late. It's partly my fault and partly the fault of the mountain of work I need to get through before the end of term. Got a few essays to write, which requires reading, planning and all sorts of things I didn't need to bother with when I was at school - University is quite a different experience! I have managed to make some progress on the Necron Deathmarks though. Their metal parts, as well as the carapace, are now finished. The aim was to achieve a really clean, solid colour using Dheneb Stone, with a simple edge highlight of white to make it pop. As I've said, these are for a commission and credit for the scheme has to go to Jon - I love the choice of colours and I think they look fantastically appropriate on these robot-skeletons.

The next stage is to clean up the black areas, which are to be highlighted with red, through to orange and white, in the style that is often used for Dark Eldar armour. I love the very alien effect that such a style produces. Next, I will be taking care of the various orbs and lenses dotted around these models. Some of them will be pulsating with electrical energies and some will be painted as sources of light. The plan is to get these finished in the next week or so, but it might be a bit tight what with various deadlines creeping up on me...

Empire Wizards

Aside from current projects I have a few more completed models that I wanted to post up here. These two are Empire Wizards from the Warhammer Fantasy range that I painted a while ago, just for kicks really. They live at Heroes and Legends while I'm away looking down on that bustling world of hobby from their towers... well, cabinet.

I tried my best to achieve a really smooth gradient of dark to light on their cloaks and to just keep the paint-job generally tidy in all areas. For the fire I took my cues from an old Masterclass from White Dwarf, where the 'Eavy Metaller used this effect on Skulltaker. I'd always wanted to try it out and there was plenty of opportunity with this Fire Wizard. For both these models I wanted to paint them in the style of 'Eavy Metal and get them looking as much as possible like the pictures on the box. It's not the same standard of course but I am still fairly happy with these models and I'm proud that they're still on display in the shop.

I was asked recently how I did the stars on the cloak of the Celestial Wizard so I thought I'd just mention it here. Essentially it's quite simple: Using a very thin brush, and a steady hand, make a faint cross shape using a lighter version of the cloak's highlight colour - in this case a bright blue. The trick is to paint the cross 'from the outside in', which is an abstract way of saying that when you finish a line, your brush should finish at the point where the horizontal meets the vertical. Usually this will mean that a small blob will amass in the centre of the cross, which is what you want - this looks a bit like the way a star might glimmer. If you feel your star needs more shine, using the same technique to paint an 'X', centring on the mid-point of the cross will make it look more like those stars you used to see in primary school nativity plays. After doing all this in the same colour, use white to do the same thing again, but much more faintly, allowing some of the colour underneath to show through.



While this wasn't the exact technique I used for the Celestial Wizard, I 'refined' it, if you will, when painting Jon's excellently converted Necron Cryptek.

Anyway, I better get on with some work... Does blogging count as procrastination?

Adios!

Some Malifaux Zombies and Current Projects

Hello all,

Two Death Marshals

So it's been a few days since my first post and it's about time I put something else up here for you chaps and chapettes to have a look at. As I've mentioned before I do a good deal of commission painting and this 'Dead Justice' set from the skirmish game Malifaux was one of the first jobs I got through the guys at Heroes and Legends.

I had a lot of fun painting these miniatures, the sculpts were really nice and there's always something darkly humorous about the models that Wyrd produce. I must say however, I had rather a lot of difficulty with a certain zombie who seemed intent on removing the various arrows and spears from his body that were making him into something of a pin-cushion. Honestly, I'm pretty sure every single extremity of this miniature was intent on falling off... Anyway, a lot of super-glue later and I had a model that would actually hold together long enough for me to get some paint on it. Talking of extremities, I was somewhat surprised by the size of Lady Justice's, shall we say, 'weapons'. I'm very much of the opinion that such over-sized additions to female miniatures are somewhat unnecessary and don't do a great deal of good for the way that the war-gaming hobby, or its main players (I mean the companies) are viewed by others. That aside, I realise that Wyrd's approach is often comical and tongue-in-cheek and quibbles like this aren't a serious problem.

Lady Justice and her blade-swinging compadre

As you can see, the three dead Death Marshals are painted predominantly in shades of brown, against which the blue flames of the chap emerging from his casket, and the gore of the fellow having a little snack, contrasted well. All their skin was done in a similar style using mostly Citadel's Rotting Flesh with some shading in purple hues and a highlight up with Bleached Bone. I wanted to keep the colour palette fairly limited in the same way that the guys at Wyrd had painted these models, which limited me to browns, reds and blues, along with the grey of the metal and the coat of the zombie on the far left. I wanted to maintain a realistic level of lighting and kept the overall tone rather darker than the style in which models like this are sometimes painted. As I hope you can see from the above photo, I'm trying to learn that not every fold or crease on the clothing of a miniature need be highlighted, it can just be a little bit too much sometimes. I won't take you all through an exhaustive stage-by-stage painting process as it would be far too long and boring, but if you have any questions about the techniques used please feel free to comment or drop me an e-mail and I'd be more than happy to share what I did with these models.

All three Death Marshals - guess which one caused me the modelling trouble!

The above set of models are the standard to which I paint my commissions for such games as Malifaux, Infinity or other skirmish war-games where the squads are small and the models are somewhat more expensive than your average plastic infantryman for games such as Warhammer. I charge the box-RRP for painting commissions such as these.

Work in Progress

As for my current projects I have a Leman Russ on the painting table, to be added to my (ever so slowly) burgeoning Imperial Guard force. So far I've given it a Catachan Green base-coat, a cursory drybrush and a light wash of Badab Black in the areas that needed more shading. I've picked out the metal areas, which have been washed with black also and the first layer of the mud on the tracks has been painted. There's still a way to go with this girl but hopefully I can have her looking battle-ready soon.

Deathmarks on the desk

For my next commission, I have a squad of Necron Deathmarks to paint for a friend of mine. I have already painted 20 Immortals and a Lord for his army (pictures of which will have to wait I'm afraid as they've not immediately accessible, being around 350 miles away), as well as the Cryptek which I posted a few days ago. These guys will be done in a similar scheme with a few small differences to mark them out from the rest.

Thanks for reading, let's get to work.

A Beginning

Beastman Lord

Dear readers,

This is most exciting and a little bit unnerving. Starting a blog for the first time is quite unlike any other feeling - you'll probably know what I mean if you've done a similar sort of thing. Putting a bit of yourself, or your work, on the internet feels like exposing oneself, not quite in the way that that flasher sitting next to you on the tube will expose himself, but in the way of laying bare the workings of one's mind to a world full of people. Certainly I am somewhat nervous about this but I hope that I can settle into it as something that I will come back to regularly to post little bits and bobs about both myself and the miniature-painting that is both my hobby, and, if you consider the earning of money to be indicative of such, my job. I find it hard to consider painting as 'work' in the sense that an office-job might be considered, it is just far too enjoyable! The reality is that painting is my hobby and I am simply lucky enough to be able to make some money from it.

Necron Cryptek

I suppose that seeing as this is an introduction of sorts, I should tell you all a bit about myself. My name's Ollie and I have recently turned 20. Miniature-painting and war-gaming have been a part of my life for half of those 20 years so I should say I have had some experience. While I enjoy the gaming aspects of hobbies such as Warhammer, Infinity, Malifaux and Hordes to name but a few, the creative element is my gig. I think the reason behind this must be obvious when I think back to how much time I spent with Lego as a child (honestly, vast quantities of the stuff) and how much I have always enjoyed creating something where previously there was nothing. When it comes to miniatures, they are the blank canvas onto which I can paint whatever I want, in whatever way I like. It might sound cheesy, but it's the truth.

Lizardmen Saurus Warrior

For a while I have been frequenting a delightful centre of gaming and hobbying called Heroes and Legends Games. Their prices are great and the atmosphere in their store is always fantastic - if you are in the neighbourhood of Surbiton head on over there and check it out (this is not an advertisement spiel, I am genuinely recommending you better your life by paying them a visit, you won't regret it.) Anyway, having been going to the shop regularly for a couple of months I was asked whether I might like to do a bit of commission painting on their behalf. I duly agreed and, Heroes and Legends coffee mug in hand, sat down to paint a bunch of models for display in the shop, as well as launching straight into a few commissions. Of course, it is not only myself that paints models for the store, but Ed and Animatronica also, who should be duly given credit for their great work. I do not, under any circumstances, want to sound big-headed enough to have you conclude that I am the only commission painter in town - I am one of the Heroes and Legends team and we offer our services to all.

I should probably conclude this first post by saying that I hope you have enjoyed the beginning of my blog and that I hope you will be coming back here now and then to see whether I've made any progress. The aim of this whole malarkey is really to display some of the models I have painted in the past, as well as showing you lovely people some of the current commissions (and hopefully some of my own stuff) that I will be working on in the future. If you have anything to say or ask please get in touch, it's always appreciated!

Thank you for reading,
Ollie