Bloodbowl Orc Referee
Model: Shadowforge



To add a little spice to our Bloodbowl games I ordered a number of Referee models from Shadowforge Miniatures of Australia. Here in the UK its tricky to get Shadowforge models and due to the import, they usually cost a little more than other manufacturers but the models are nice and worth taking a look. Shadowforge only produce female models which makes a novel addition to market.

This model was very easy to paint. The black/white of the ref uniform was halfway complete with the black undercoat, so it was just a case of how to do the Orc skin.

There are several methods to painting Orcs, and each method achieves a different skin tone and look to the model. However you paint the flesh I recommend using 2 colours, one dark and one light and mixing the colours before you start.




Add the dark paint to the left hand side of your mixing area, and the light paint to the right. Mix the two in the middle, then paint your model starting with the darker side first and working along to the light. Having paint mixed like this means its easy to touch up any mistakes or areas that don’t look right without having to try and mix the paint all over again.



The white lines on the shirt were first painted a dark grey. Always try to step your shades, don’t paint white straight onto black as the contrast is often to sharp and the even small mistakes (painting straight lines) look like big mistakes. A wonky white line doesn’t show up so bad if its on a grey background as the colours blend easier.



The model was painted with Vallejo, the black/white/grey colours are pretty obvious, the skin tone was created with 72067 Cayman Green and 72031 Camouflage Green.





As always any comments, suggestions or questions are always appreciated.

Thanks for looking
Chris

GW Space Marine Captain, Dark Angels Chapter

Space Marine Captain
Chapter: Dark Angels
Model: Games Workshop



Like a lot people here in the UK, I started with Dungeons and Dragons and moved into Games Workshop, and while I only played 40k for a brief spell (I was always a WFB person) I have come across and painted a lot of these guys over the years, and in a variety of chapter colours.



I wanted to paint this Captain as a member of the Dark Angels Chapter, which when using Vallejo paints already poses one problem – the Vallejo Dark Green is a horrible colour to work with. Anyone having problems with a colour needs to look at and think of a base colour that would support the difficult colour. Shades and colours act differently when they are on top of a base coat and white/black is not always the best choice.

A flat dark shade of the colour you want is usually the best undercoat, but this often means you are in effect painting the same region twice...



The solution to Vallejo 72028 Dark Green I find is 72064 Yellow Olive, as shown in the photo below.

Once you have the armour down, there isn't much else to do on a model like this. A light dry brush on the metal weapons and a coat of flesh on the face.

It is important to focus a little extra effort on natural focal points on models (the area you tend to see first). On this model the central rosette, especially when painted red, attracts the eye and as a natural feature we tend to look 'upwards' so attention was needed on the crest on the models chest.



This was accomplished with a base coat of 72050 Cold Grey, then the details picked out carefully with a thin brush and 72047 Wolf Grey paint.






Thanks for taking the time to check out my work. Any comments are always appreciated.
Chris

One the Workbench: Lots!

I have plenty of work for the immediate future so I will be bringing plenty of new updates. A sneak preview of what I am working on at the minute -

Space Marine Captain: Going to be from the Dark Angels Chapter, model is GW

While some may argue Blood Bowl lacks rules and is more of a free-for-all-fight with a ball thrown in somewhere, this Orc Ref may disagree.. or maybe she is just there to join in the fight? Model is Shadowforge

Plenty of these guys, 28mm Picts, coming soon. For now I will be concentrating on these Javelin infantry. Models are Gripping Beast

Last but not least (well least in size!) we have a new unit for my own Carthage Army. Models are Baccus 6mm

Gripping Beast Saxons

Models: 28mm Gripping Beast Saxons



These models have been painted for a friend of mine, who I have done work for over the past few years and who probably owns more models painted by me than I do myself!



I like these figures, they look bulky at first and it feels like you get a lot of metal for your money, but they are nice scaled models.




The flash on my camera exaggerates the colours, especially the metal armour which is dry brushed lighter than it looks in the photos. I will try and take some better photos in natural light during the day time.




Still a bit of work needed to patch up the odd spot I missed first time round, but other than that I am happy with the way they look, except maybe the shields could do with a little more work.




Thanks for taking the time to check out my work. Any comments or feedback will be recieved gladly.
Chris

Coming Up: 28mm Picts

On the Workbench: Saxons

I have a lot lined up over the next few days and weeks. The first of which are these Gripping Beast Saxons, followed by more Picts, also Gripping Beast.

Undead Skeletons: Painting Guide

Painting Guide: Undead Skeletons
Models: Mantic Games
Scale: 28mm



I have had a break from painting for a while, and wanted something easy to start back up on, so decided to paint up a selection of the Undead. These models are very nice and if you check back in my blog you can find a full review of the complete boxset.

The models come 10 to a sprue and require a little assembly. For this guide I am going to concentrate on one model and how the job progresses.



Planning ahead is always best when starting to paint. Select some colours that you like and have a general idea of what you want to achieve. This is as simple as saying 'I want blue uniforms' or 'All the belts will be brown'. Once you have a good mental picture you can begin. For this I chose the following Vallejo paints -



72051 Black – for the undercoat
72060 Tiny Tin
72054 Gunmetal - for the armour
72043 Beasty Brown
72062 Earth
72063 Desert Yellow – for the bones
72022 Ultramarine Blue – for the uniform
72045 Charred Brown – for trappings like boots and belts
72047 Wolf Grey – for the shield detail

I pictured these models as being dirty and grimy, fresh from the ground. Their tattered uniforms, damaged equipment and rag tag armour, all hint towards them not really caring about their appearance (no military drills for the dead). Therefore I also chose to finish them with a dark wash, a varnish/wood stain, similar to the 'dip' but my own method. The white tub is Matt varnish to take off the shine from the first varnish.

Step One – Old Armour



After the undercoat, the first part I started on was the armour. I dry brush most armour so wanted to get this process over before I started on the bones, to avoid any paint splash. I already decided that these models where going to have old damaged equipment and one way I achieve a kind of stain on the metal is to use a colour such as Tiny Tin painted in random areas. If you dry brush the silver lightly over these areas it will look as though the armour is a little rusty or dirty.

Step Two – Old Bones



As this regiment was going to be scruffy in appearance I figured shiny white clean bones wouldn’t work. I wanted to stick with the theme so I decided to build on the bones starting with the Beasty Brown and working through with the Earth colour on top. Individual ribs and vertebrae and the final coat on the more exposed bones was done with the Desert Yellow, the lighter shade of the 3 paints.

Step Three – Uniform and Trappings



I had already decided to dirty these models up at the end with varnish, so only block colours were required here as all the shading would all be done by the varnish later. A good solid coat of Ultramarine Blue was given to the tattered uniform, while Charred Brown did for the belts and boots.

Step Four – Stain and Varnish



I use a very basic, easily available, quick dry varnish form a national chain. Rather than dip the model in completely I prefer to paint on the varnish, pretty much as I would when doing an undercoat. I use a large old brush, but one with which I can be a little more discriminating getting the varnish more or less where I want it, and in the right depth, rather than all over the model. Once dry the Matt varnish is applied to take away the shine.

And that’s pretty much it! A simple job with only a handful of paints. Hope you like the photos below, any feedback is always appreciated. Thanks, Chris

Mantic: Undead Warhost Review

Product: Undead Warhost
Game: Kings of War
Manufacturer: Mantic Games

Contents: 50 plastic models (20 Skeletons, including Command. 20 Revenants, including Command. 10 Ghouls. 1 Warmachine with 2 Crew)

RRP: £29.99

I have always had an interest in Fantasy and Sci-fi genres, and sometime in my early teens this interest formulated into miniature gaming. Growing up during the 'GW era' these models became really easy to get hold of and over the course of many years one purchase has always stood out as being of great value, a plastic skeleton army box which at the time cost £9.99 and had a gazillion plastic skeletons, horses and even a chariot (gazillion being child talk for a lot). This childhood memory has stuck with me and has become a kind of bench mark by which I judge other box sets in terms of value.

I first came upon Mantic after seeing a selection of their models on theminiaturespage.com early 2010, from there I checked out their website, liked what I saw and kept the page as a bookmark on my web browser. Although I don’t play any 28mm fantasy game involving large armies, I do like to paint the odd selection of models from time to time, and after a quick search of Mantic website (which is a very good site) I decided on the Undead Warhost box set, 50 models for £30, a nice selection to get a good feel for the models, and a fair price.

First Look – Packaging

When the models arrived a few days later, the first observation that struck me was 'Wow, nice box'. Upon opening the main box I was even more surprised to find two solid plastic cases that housed the sprues, not some flimsy piece of cardboard (think a really fat DVD case, shoved full of minis). 20 skeletons and the war machine in one box, 20 Revenants with the Ghouls in the other. Both boxes clearly marked with wrap around art work. Both cases are sturdy pieces of work, and stand nicely on a shelf for storage. Great work Mantic on your packaging.



Inside each box the sprues fit perfectly and you can open and close the box without any fear that the models will get damaged or that the box wont close properly again. The sprues are cushioned by foam sheets at the front and back of the case. Also included are the models bases, shield stickers, and a nice little introduction booklet to Mantic Games and the Undead, which features brief but more than adequate assembly instructions and a mini painting guide.



My only gripe here is the painting instructions, which are, well, not instructions on what colours to use but more an instruction TO PAINT your models. Step 2 (of 3) in the guide simply stating 'With a fine brush, paint your Undead models', but in Mantics defence the small print underneath does guide the reader to the website, where it is claimed there is more information.

The Models - Assembly

The sprues range from 2 part models (upper torso and legs) to a small selection which have a choice of interchangeable arms, weapons and heads. This seems like a 'meet you half way' approach, not having all the models multi part and interchangeable means less time spent constructing but also less possible variations. The majority of models (which are 2 part, torso + legs) are also cast in such a way as to make it difficult to convert should you wish to add a little more variation, but by far the biggest problem is that the skeletons are all cast with shields. It would be a lot of work should you wish to have model or two without shields mixed into the units. It also means there is no variation in shield position should you buy additional models – two identical models may be able to have a different weapon, sword, spear or even an axe in their open hand, but they will always have the same positioned shield. Some variation of shield arms would have been nice.



Sculpting and Poise

Skeletons – seem tall and thin, which looks a little odd at first, but once assembled and painted begins to look very impressive. Their battered shields and tatty uniforms are draped across their bones, belts seem fastened tight and hang of the hip bone rather than fastened around waists. The only armour that seems to fit, apart from the odd shoulder pads are the helmets. Overall the look of the models is very good. The sculpts are impressive and they look and feel like a real undead medieval infantryman.

Revenants – these guys seem to have a bit more about them. Their sidewards, almost uniform, pose, indicates they had (during their living days) a higher standard of training than the basic skeletons. They look more elite, and more battle ready, like they remember more of their training. However, what is lost on these models is the shabby feel of the skeletons. The armour on the Revenants seems to 'fit' the model (i.e. isn’t too small) and loses the rag-on-bone effect that works so well on the skeletons. It is an odd contrast considering both sprue s (Rev and Skele) use the same 'legs', and even the same character parts are found on both sprue s, leaving only 6 torsos and heads – the heavy armour – to be different. Shields are again all cast on the models, so there can be no variation here without some skilled crafting. One aspect which I think could have been improved for these models would have been on the legs. A separate sculpt could have added more leg greaves or similar armour.

The Ghouls – my least favourite models of this set. The ghouls look like weird people doing bad 'ghost' impressions, and with only two variations of torso and legs, one gets the feeling the budget ran out by the time it came to commissioning these models. Aside from the fact the models seem to have hammered nails through themselves in places you would think would disable limbs, my main dislike is the weapons that are included. Not that there are only 3 to choose from but that all three options require you to cut off the hand on the model itself before you can add the weapon as each weapon is cast with a clenched fist holding it. An open palm on the model itself (like on some of the skeletons) would have made it far easier to add weapons to these models.

The War Machine and Crew – The catapult, and the crew are very nice. The machine is a very simple design and easy to construct (thankfully as there are no assembly instructions in the box). If I was to find fault it would be with the shields added to the front of the machine for protection. These seem like they have been added to the machine by the crew rather than a design of the catapult itself. I would have left them off the sculpt and allowed a conversion minded person to craft these on if they wanted. Not to have a dig at the Ghouls again but its surprising to note that the 2 crew sprue has more weapons and options than the ghouls do.

The Extras

Aside from the usual extra weapons, there isn’t that much in the way of extras spread across this set. The 2 sprues of skeletons have a skeleton rising from the ground, and a skeleton rat. There are a couple of scenic skulls (one with an axe through its head), but nothing that can be really added to the models, besides odd weapons, or added to the bases

The Models Overall

The basic skeletons are superb, they look and feel like a medieval infantry killed on the battlefield and later returned to life. Their battered shields and ragged uniforms fit perfectly onto their bones. The armoured Revenants begin to move the box set to a more ordered feel, now these elite skeletons take care of their armour, but are let down on the whole by using the same battered legs as the first skeletons, whose rags, torn boots and piecemeal armour doesn't fit with the nice armoured upper torso. The War Machine is nice, but unfortunately the ghouls aren’t. Two biggest gripes with this box set: lack of variation in the weapons, and no chance at all to change the shield positions.

Value

I am a historical gamer as well as a enthusiast who buys sci-fi and fantasy models. One part of the hobby that always confuses me is the price difference between the genres for what is in effect the same material (and similar sculpting/production costs). In the world of historical miniatures a plastic box set, containing around 50 models would set me back just over £20 (Victrix Waterloo). Plastic Fantasy from the likes of Games Workshop would cost a staggering £60 for a similar amount of models (Vampire Counts Battalion).

Taking into account these two prices, and all that this Mantic set includes, from the packaging and the excellent plastic cases, to the actual number and quality of the models themselves I would say that this box set, rrp £29.99 represents excellent value for money. Good job Mantic!

COMING UP SOON: My painting guide to the Undead