Malgarroth Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 Intro I've never played AoS or WFB before. I play 40k, I collect models from other ranges and my first wargaming love was The Lord of The Rings. I'm in this hobby first and foremost for the painting and modelling experience. Actually playing the games is a more recent development (except with LoTR way back when which I played religiously) What originally turned me off about WFB is the vast amount of boring, chunky, uninteresting models that one would have to slog through painting if one wanted to play. AoS piqued my interest a while ago, but as many of the ranges were still rooted in older designs for models from WFB, I held off. The Idoneth Deepkin have made me fall in love with AoS. I'm yet to play a game as my models are mostly Corax White in colour and I loathe playing with unpainted miniatures. So this is going to be my ongoing review/diary as i dive in (sorry) to this very new (to me) side of Games Workshop. What I Bought - "You have a problem." - Manager of my local independant hobby shop as I purchased all this cr*p at once. I'll just bullet point this: Battletome: Idoneth Deepkin Warscroll Cards: Idoneth Deepkin Akhelian Leviadon x1 Eidolon of Mathlann x1 Akhelian Allopex x1 Akhellian Guard x2 Volturnos: King of The Deep Lotann: Warden of The Soul Ledgers Isharann Soulrender Namarti Reavers x1 Namarti Thralls x1 Gloomtide Shipwreck As you can see this is almost the entire range, minus the Isharann Soulscryer and the Isharann Tidecaster. I'll be getting the Tidecaster when I'm through with this lot but I doubt I'll buy a Soulscryer; it just looks a bit too old-school-WFB for my tastes. The Battletome "I reckon there's elves and there's elves. They're all Elvish enough, but they're not all the same. " - Samwise Gamgee I haven't played a game yet, I don't understand the meta and I don't know anything about other armies that would allow me to compare rules. However, with the information contained within this particular battletome (combined with my knowledge of 8th Edition 40k) it has been fairly easy to glean via context how the game is going to work. Aside from the rules stuff, the lore is very easy for a newcomer to understand (especially since I already know who Slaanesh is) and the art is simply breathtaking. I particularly love the painting section which I found useful in figuring out how to paint these materials and objects that I'd never tackled before. This is something Games Workshop should include in the 40k codices, especially when new ranges are released, or ranges that haven't been updated in a long time #plasticsisters2019 I love the lore behind these particular elves (sorry "Aelves"). Elves are usually benevolent, graceful, beautiful and immortal whereas the Idoneth Deepkin are creepy, oppressive, mentally damaged, short lived and dreadful to look upon (specifically the namarti with their eyeless sockets). They retain an elvish sense of being at one with their environment, but rather than living among the creatures of the deep they have enslaved them as war machines. They also retain an elvish sense of grace and beauty in the designs of their armour and weapons as well as the howdah that are mounted upon the backs of the leviadons. Overall the battletome does a fantastic job of conveying who these people are and how they wage war, especially in their special rules. The Models - Design "The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever."- Jaques Yves Cousteau The reason I bought into this army to begin with. Every single model in this range is beautiful (Okay, not the soulscryer) from the mighty Akhelian Leviadon to the intricate Eidolon of Mathlann an even the lowliest Namarti Thrall. Every model is an individual, exquisitely sculpted and detailed beyond what I believed plastic to be capable of. Some personal favourites are: The void drummer: This namarti rides among the Akhelian crew atop the leviadon and with its eyeless mask proves to be one of the creepiest looking models I've come across in my 16 years in the hobby. The Eidolon of Mathlann: This model is what made me sit up and take notice of the range. The fact that looks so delicate and frail belies just how tough and sturdy this model actually is. It is a work of creative genius, one of the best (if not the best) looking models I've ever seen. The Namarti: Both the thrall and reaver boxes are very impressive. Even though they're a little mono-buildy, there are enough options in these boxes to double up and still have every single model be unique. The fact that the lowliest grunts of the army are treated with such care and attention in the design process has led me to take equal care in the painting where each is treated as I would a named character in other armies. The Akhelian Leviadon: At first glance this big-ass turtle seemed rather simple, but it is an incredibly detailed and beautiful model, from the rough texture of its shell to the myriad barnacles encrusting its body. Assembled, this thing truly is a sight to behold. The Gloomtide Shipwreck: Another model that, at first glance appears to be rather simple and yet is replete with lots of detail that gives the thing a sense of character and history in a way that I really didn't expect. The Models - Assembly "You can't cross the sea simply by standing and staring at the water" - Rabindranth Tagore Assembling this army took the better part of two days. I managed to "watch" both seasons of Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency while gluing these bad boys together and boy was it a treat. For the most part the instructions were very clear and the kits went together very easily. The only reason it took me so long was the cleaning and filing of so many components. One wrinkle in an otherwise flawless range (assembly-wise) is the eel-riding Akhelian Guard. After showing the assembly of the first eel the instructions tell us to repeat twice more rather than show us exactly what components (the head most importantly) to use for which eel and which eel to use for which rider. This results in confusion and ball-ache when it comes to getting the reins to line up with the rider's hand. The correct information is supplies in the instructions but it took a few errors to figure out in order to make the building experience a smooth one for the second box. Not too much of an issue for me as I managed to fix my biggest error by replacing one set of reins with green stuff. However this is definitely something to keep in mind when it comes to building this kit. One very nice aspect to the eels is that their bodies are a single solid piece of plastic rather than the expected two halves. This lends a nice weight to the models. As mentioned, aside from the eel riders, the entire range goes together like sh*t to a blanket. Some of these models may appear fragile but don't let appearances fool you. Every model is sturdy and solid. If transported correctly you won't get random little pieces breaking off, requiring plastic-glue-triage when you get to the table. In addition, all the models are very well balanced. Your Eidolon won't be falling over at every passing breeze. (I'm looking at you OG metal Nazgul on Fell Beast) The Models - Painting “Painting is easy when you don’t know how, but very difficult when you do” - Edgar Degas This is going to be the part of this review that I regularly update. As of the time of writing I have three Namarti thralls and the turtle portion of the Leviadon kit painted to completion. This is after roughly 20 hours total painting time. Your mileage, of course, will vary but it's taking a very long time for me for a few reasons: This is a state-of-the-art range of models, I want to treat it as such by matching the most technically impressive miniatures Games Workshop has ever made with the absolute pinnacle of my, admittedly mediocre, painting ability. Aside from some Imperial Assault stormtroopers (Fantasy Flight) I have never painted on white before. I wasn't prepared for how unforgiving of mistakes and shortcuts a white undercoat would be. I have never painted models in such bright colours before. In 40k and Lord of The Rings I've never been called upon to paint anything orange or turquoise. It's been a thrill to take my time and experiment with various techniques and ways that different, previously unused by me, paints play together. These models are more detailed than any I have ever painted before. I refuse to batch paint the Namarti. As mentioned previously, each of the grunts in the range are beautiful models in their own right. I want to paint them as individuals to reflect this while also unifying them under the Ionrach colour scheme. (I know Ionrach is the most vanilla nation of Idoneth Deepkin but it is also the Enclave that I most identify with as a person. Also I adore the colour scheme) Basing In a move that's unprecedented for me, I've foregone my typical brown-edge, Lord of The Rings sand-and-static-grass technique in order to add more of a sea-dwelling flavor to the Idoneth. In that spirit I've chosen blue for the edge of the bases; Incubi Darkness to be specific. This is a blue that is very close to black and helps invoke that darkness one would expect at the bottom of the deepest oceans. On top I've gone for Armageddon Dust since, when dry, it looks like wet beach sand anyway. Combined with a blue/green and varnish wash, this really helps sell the idea that they've just brought their forces onto the beaches in preparation for a raid upon the nearest settlement. Akhelian Leviadon (Turtle only thus far) So how's that big-ass turtle to paint? An absolute joy. The scales and flesh between the shells is relatively easy for an experienced painter to bring to life in a natural hue. The texture lends itself well to drybrushing, washing down and glazing. The shell can be as easy or as difficult as you wish to make it. I personally elected to have the gaps between the plates retain a lighter, yellower, fleshier, less worn tone than the dark browns of the segments themselves. This required painstaking work tracing around the edges of each plate in order to leave the gaps between. The effect I ended up with is rather nice (in my humble opinion) and its natural green and brown look will give a nice contrast to the bright turquoise and orange hues of the Ionrach Enclave's colour scheme. I think I'll do this for all of the other monsters in this army, choosing colour schemes from real sea creatures to contrast the gaudy, bright colors of the Ionrach themselves. I can't wait to see how the model looks when I add the completed howdah and crew as well as finish basing and painting the fish that swim in the shadow of this leviathan. Namarti The Namarti, as mentioned, are also a joy to paint. Deceptively simple to look at, there's a lot of work involved in making these models look as good as possible. Basing in a bright silver and then washing the metal components in blue-green; highlighting after, really helps sell the "of-the-sea" theme when there are no fish on the base or other indicators that these guys live beneath the waves. 6 hours per model can seem like a daunting prospect when there are 20 (or more!) in your collection, but trust me when I say there's an immense feeling of pride when you add a completed Namarti to your display cabinet. Of course it's up to each individual hobbyist to decide how much effort they put into their grunt troops but for my money, these grunt troops are very well deserving of the extra attention. [Picture Incoming Soon] And that's all for now! So far I am extremely happy with this army. I've not played them yet but already I feel immense satisfaction in the fact that this painting project will be my greatest work so far. I love the look, the theme and the lore behind this sad and twisted race of aelves and this carries over perfectly to the miniatures themselves as well as their special rules on the battlefield. I'm very excited to dive deeper into Age of Sigmar as I learn the strengths and weaknesses of the forces I'll come against as I play. This range feels like an embodiment of what Age of Sigmar is all about. It is a range of miniatures that physically could not have worked in the old system (can you imagine the eel-riders on square bases?!) While this 2000 point force will take a very long time to complete, I feel no need to rush through; the act of painting them is pleasure enough. I hope you've enjoyed this rambling so far and hope you'll stick around for future updates. They'll be fairly regular as I get through the big character models. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offroadfury Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 Pros: Amazing write up, detailed and very personable. I will be following for sure! I cant wait to see the pictures. I really like seeing a write up along with WIP pictures. Everything is so much more real when you relalize all of us are going through this ridiculous hobby together taking two ays to glue grey plastic together. Cons: Lack of Little Mermaid quotes Thoughts: shouldnt this be in the Order section? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz Taylor Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 3 hours ago, offroadfury said: Thoughts: shouldnt this be in the Order section? Yup and done. ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freddy25 Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 Despite in all honesty I'm not very interested in the Idoneth range (apart from the "sharks". The sharks are wonderful), this is so well-written and passionate that it has completely got my attention! Looking forward to hear more from you, see a couple of pic and (in the future) maybe here your opinion on how they behave in the table! P.S. Since you don't like to play with unpainted miniatures (and I agree with you, I hate it) and you need some time to finish your entire army, maybe you could think about trying some units in Skirmish mode! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malgarroth Posted May 30, 2018 Author Share Posted May 30, 2018 6 hours ago, offroadfury said: Pros: Amazing write up, detailed and very personable. I will be following for sure! I cant wait to see the pictures. I really like seeing a write up along with WIP pictures. Everything is so much more real when you relalize all of us are going through this ridiculous hobby together taking two ays to glue grey plastic together. Cons: Lack of Little Mermaid quotes Thoughts: shouldnt this be in the Order section? 3 hours ago, Gaz Taylor said: Yup and done. ? Yeah, oops. This is my first post and I'm still learning the ways of the forum. I've edited my post a few times to fix some grammatical errors and I've noticed a few more, but seem to have reached a limit for editing. Is this a per-day limit or something? If not, could a modministrator help me out? Since I'm gonna have to edit with updates in the very near future (today) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz Taylor Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 20 minutes ago, Malgarroth said: I've edited my post a few times to fix some grammatical errors and I've noticed a few more, but seem to have reached a limit for editing. Is this a per-day limit or something? If not, could a modministrator help me out? Since I'm gonna have to edit with updates in the very near future (today) It's just to stop people going in and saying one thing, then editing several times and annoying people. Probably the best way for you to do this review, is like a blog/diary of you going through the book and models? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malgarroth Posted May 30, 2018 Author Share Posted May 30, 2018 3 hours ago, Freddy25 said: Despite in all honesty I'm not very interested in the Idoneth range (apart from the "sharks". The sharks are wonderful), this is so well-written and passionate that it has completely got my attention! Looking forward to hear more from you, see a couple of pic and (in the future) maybe here your opinion on how they behave in the table! P.S. Since you don't like to play with unpainted miniatures (and I agree with you, I hate it) and you need some time to finish your entire army, maybe you could think about trying some units in Skirmish mode! I appreciate the positive feedback. To begin with I wrote, in all honesty, from a need to gush* about my new toys, and then I noticed a distinct lack of in-depth reviews from people who'd bought the range and were deep* into painting it. This absence has definitely been felt on the Youtube side of the community, though I imagine that will come along as more people actually get through their gargantuan workload. And I appreciate the positive feedback especially since you're not into the range yourself. I think that's the beauty of going in-depth like this. People will be able to relate how I feel to their own love for their favourite ranges/kits and so see the positive aspects of something they don't necessarily have any interest in collecting, playing or painting themselves. Also, that's sort of the plan! To paint up some of the bigger, more expensive units first so that I can get a small 1000 point force on the table as soon as may be. 7 hours ago, offroadfury said: Pros: Amazing write up, detailed and very personable. I will be following for sure! I cant wait to see the pictures. I really like seeing a write up along with WIP pictures. Everything is so much more real when you relalize all of us are going through this ridiculous hobby together taking two ays to glue grey plastic together. Cons: Lack of Little Mermaid quotes Thoughts: shouldnt this be in the Order section? Again, thanks so much for the positive feedback. The fact that there are folk who will enjoy reading this is all the more encouragement to get kraken* with the painting and also surge forward* with updating this post. And you're absolutely right. Knowing that other people don't just magically end up with painted miniatures and getting to see that we're all experiencing this (frankly a little bit mad) hobby together really helps to bring people together. The main reason I've decided to go so in depth* into the process of buying, building and painting is that it's so rare that most of us get to buy and entire army in one purchase. The last time I did was about 10 years ago when Grey Knights went plastic. I still play purely GK to this day in 40k and have since only bought bits and bobs for the army to update the look to be more in line with my skills as they've progressed over the last 10 years. So for me to be able to drop just over £300 on an army and myriad new paints and tools (only a 10% discount at my local store, but hey! Support local business!) is a big deal and I felt the need to mark the occasion by going waay into detail with my experience delving into this brand new range and (for me) game system. 8 minutes ago, Gaz Taylor said: It's just to stop people going in and saying one thing, then editing several times and annoying people. Probably the best way for you to do this review, is like a blog/diary of you going through the book and models? Fair enough, I'll do that as and when I update the thread. In that case, if you could remove the "reserved for future use" posts for me, I'd appreciate it. It would keep things a bit more tidy in here I think.*Obligatory apology for all the sea and water-based puns and references. (I have a feeling I'm going to make that my sig) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz Taylor Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 1 minute ago, Malgarroth said: Fair enough, I'll do that as and when I update the thread. In that case, if you could remove the "reserved for future use" posts for me, I'd appreciate it. It would keep things a bit more tidy in here I think. Done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malgarroth Posted May 30, 2018 Author Share Posted May 30, 2018 3 minutes ago, Gaz Taylor said: Done Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arnied3 Posted November 20, 2018 Share Posted November 20, 2018 Loved this post - i know its gone quiet but if @Malgarrothis still alive i would to see an update! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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