All Kinds of Stuff

This week I've finished off and taken pictures of a pretty eclectic bunch of models. So here they are, you lucky, lucky people.

The Dwarf with Inferiority Complex miniature. I owned one of these when it first came out back in the early 80's. This is a more recent casting. I started painting him for the Old Skool competition over on the Warhammer Forum but I missed the deadline and only finished him up this week. Really fun and characterful old model.





Fishman!
Classic Citadel model from the old Night Horrors range. Another one I started with half a mind to enter in the Warhammer Forum competition but only just finished. I've left him gloss varnished to, ahem, reflect his slimy nature but it's making him hard to photograph. I may try again tomorrow under natural light.




From a Mordheim civilans pack, the sulking/stubborn girl known throughout Mail Order as "Alison". I've painted her as a generic Dark Age or Medieaval peasant girl.





Gruzkup, my Warboss for my (slowly) forming Orc and Goblin Army. A Games Day model from a few years back, love the pose.





A Black Orc Warboss. I think also a Games Day model, but I'm not sure.
He'll eventually join my Orc and Goblin Army when I get round to painting some regular Black Orcs for him to lead.

Federals, Five of 'Em!

Flitting from project to project I bring you ACW. Some of the blue ones.
Jolly nice Perry plastics that the twins (well, one of them, Michael I think) gave me when they were released. Thanks Mr Perry Twins Sirs. So it's only taken me what, three years to get some paint on them.

I have some plans to play Blasthoff Bridge with them, then graduate onto the games from the Wargames Companion before finally playing a game of BlackPowder. I suspect I shall get old and die before completing this project.

I painted these using a simple basecoat and wash. For some reason I decided to use a white undercoat. It's very unforgiving compared with black (i.e if you miss a bit it shows), so I won't be doing that again in a hurry.

I've got a few more blue uns and some of the grey ones on the go at the moment, so unless I flit to another project stay tuned for updates!

Dwarf Warrior Step by Step

I've just painted this fellow for a painting competition over on Bugman's Brewery.
And to make my life more complicated I decided I'd do a Step-by-Step guide to how I painted him.
So if you want to know how went from this:


To this:






Read on...

I started wth a black undercoat and used Citadel colours throughout

Stage One



Metal Areas: Boltgun Metal
Sleeves and half shield: Scab Red
Metal Areas: Badab Back wash

Stage Two



Horns: Scorched Brown
Armour edges and half shield: Catachan Green
Beard Bindings and sleeve turnback: Snakebite Leather
Flesh: Tanned Flesh
Boots: Scorched Brown

Stage Three



Horns: Bestial Brown
Shield Edge and design: Shining Gold
Beard: Bestial Brown

Stage Four



Horns: Snakebite Leather
Flesh: Dwarf Flesh highlight
Armour edges and half shield: Catachan Green/Kommando Khaki highlight
Sleeves and half shield: Red Gore overbrush
Beard Bindings and sleeve turnback: Chestnut Ink wash
Shield Edge and design: Chestnut Ink wash
Beard: Devlan Mud wash
Boots: Scorched Brown/Bleached Bone highlight

Stage Five



Horns: Bleached Bone
Sleeves and half shield: Blood Red highlight
Axe edge: Chainmail highlight
Flesh: Dwarf Flesh/Elf Flesh highlight
Axe haft: Chaos Black
Beard: Snakebite Leather highlight

Then I based him with sand which I washed with Brown Ink, before drybrushing Vomit Brown followed by Bleached Bone and then added some static grass.
Overall I'm pretty happy with the result.

Painting and photgraphing Step-by-Step is, however, a pain in the bum.

Defiled Statues

My chum Stephen and I are about to embark on a campaign with my Orcs and Goblins fighting his filthy Skaven for posession of an abandoned Dwarf hold.
So thought I'd knock up a little themed scenery - some proud Dwarf statues that have been defiled and defaced by Ratmen or Greenskins (or possibly both).
The freebie Dwarf from White Dwarf when Skull Pass was launched (a terrible, terrible model it has to be said), three round bases, some sand, cat litter and a little scenic shrubbery and I reckon they look ok.
Far more pictures than really necessary now follow.

Got Wood!

In the absence of a real job I've lately spent some time doing voluntary work for the Woodland Trust in Grantham.
This has been data entry type stuff as they prepared to launch their new VisitWoods website. The site is a useful guide to free woodlands that you can go and ramble around in.
Anyways it all went live earlier this week (I got some cake) so if you're at a loose end and fancy some fresh air and a break from the land of toy soldiers go check out your nearest (free) bit of the environment for a stroll.

Normal toy soldier based posting wll recommence over the weekend, honest.