2016 round up, Death! And Death to the bringers of Death!
I painted a few Death models... Quite a few actually. I started painting Death in 2015, after AoS dropped. I had originally started in the hobby with Tomb Kings, and now was the perfect time to refind that love. But since TK were on the way out, I went with pure Death. That didn't last... But for today, here's all the regular, non TK stuff I've painted!
First up today are the troops!
40 skeleton warriors... Ugh. This was a grind! I wanted skeleton hordes since I started the army, but I got distracted by all the shiny stuff. So for the RAW:16 event, I decided to finish a proper unit. I'm not a huge tournament player, but I do like units to have some punch. Hence the 40. In one game at RAW, they threw out more than 140 attacks against a single Arachnarok! It was glorious. And perhaps not fitting for a 1k game... Oops. I could have used TK skeletons for these guys, but those skeletons are so ugly. Very dated and weren't great on release. But the TK shields are cool. So a simple swap made them look great.
I had painted up the first 10 Grave Guard in 2015, including the command. But I wanted more! Each has been converted and reposed to do something slightly more interesting. The original GG models were a bit static for my taste, but these guys with mixed weapons are a lot of fun. I experimented with the cloth, and was pleasantly surprised when it worked out.
Continueing the Deathrattle theme, Black Knights! Like the Grave Guard, the Black Knights are a custom job. They've been mixed with Dragon Prince models. This is the dragon prince half of the unit, whilst the Black Knight half was finished in 2015. A lot of people take them for Blood Knights, but no. That's usually a cheap conversion, if it's a conversion. But these guys are definitely Black Knights, as I've got the proper models for Blood Knights painted. Really pleased with this unit, though I won't be adding any more in a while...
This is definitely a Wight King, right? Definitely not a vampire repurposed as a Wight King with Infernal banner... This is what you get for buying models before you check the rules, kids. All in all though, I'm happy. He works. This was one of those models I needed to have. But I was never a fan of the flayed skin banner, so I switched it out for the Orruk boss banner. The symbol is the Pyramid and Moon common on a lot of the banners in the army. To make it stand out, I gave it Morghast wings. I'm no good at freehand, but this guy was a success. The red on his pole indicates that he's actually a vampire. You won't see red on anything that isn't Soulblight!
And the last Deathrattle is Krell! Or rather, a Wight King with Black Axe. But it's Krell. The 2007 Vampire Counts update brought in some of the best character models in the business. Krell, the Von Carsteins... I needed all of them! Really pleased with how he turned out. Though I haven't actually gotten him into combat yet.
Spirit hosts! 3 more, bringing me to 6. They've gotten a few conversions. Nothing special, though I have written a spirit host guide somewhere. What else have I for Nighthaunt?
Mourngul! Why would a narrative guy like me get one? Funny story really. At SCGT, some guy stepped on my Skeleton Archers. You may know him, 'cause it's Joe from the Bravery One podcast. As the great guy he is, he decided to buy me a Mourngul. Thanks Joe! Now I have all the filth... As for painting, I always thought the spirity versions lacked something. They weren't as scary as maybe they should be. So I figured a flayed-flesh version would be very, very creepy. I think it worked...
The first Nighthaunt hero is the Cairn Wraith. I'm not really a fan of the model. But I had it. So I decided to make teh best of it, and try to do something cool. The result was this floating guy. Now I sort of like him. He's just pinned to the side of the building, but it's something a little different.
The last Nighhaunt hero is my Banshee. I've tried for a sort of narrative base. There's a story here, but I leave what it is up to you. Note the rusted blade that, unlike all other blades in the army, doesn't have shiny spots from use. Not really fond of the Banshee model, but it's a huge improvement over the older ones.
Now we're getting to the heroes. This is my necromancer. He's really just an Empire Wizard with a different colour scheme. The door really brings out the spookyness though. I like him, but this is a terrible picture.
Next up is Soulblight, and my first award-winning model! So proud. This is Lahmanet, my Aspirant for the RAW: 2016 event. She won the people's award for Aspirants, which was pretty amazing to me. There were so many good entries. She's got an empire general's horse, Coven throne body and elven sword. Also note the red, it's the first red since the "wight king" to bear red!
And here she is again, now in Legendary form! Note the bigger hair, bigger sword, and bigger mount. This model was a lot of fun, but doesn't have any good picture angles. In-game, it's an Abyssal Terror. They're supposed to be weaker than Dread Abyssals, so I left off the armour and gave it wings. This Lahmanet also won a trophy! She won the best Legendary hero at RAW:16. I actually got both prizes there. That was pretty shocking. Thanks to everyone who voted for me!
For some reason this picture is sideways... It's not in the original. Sorry about that. This is my Vampire Lord on Zombie Dragon. Everyone keeps talking about how good this guy is, but he usually fluffs his attacks. But his ranged threat is huge. He was a treat to paint though. Gigantic! My first properly large model. Highlighting the wings was an absolute terror though.
Then there's these guys... The Morghast Archai. They never dissapoint. Amazing to build, awesome to paint. Love everything about them. Though highlighting the wings was a pain. First time trying out the blending technique on the weapons, so that worked. Just very pleased overall.
Last out the door, first in my heart, is Nagash. He's huge. Such a brilliant model. When it came out, it really sealed the deal about starting Death. I can't not own this model and an army with it. Spent months on this guy. So many new techniques and tricks. I may do a bigger post about him if there's interest. Somehow this picture also ended up sideway, which I don't understand. So you just crane your necks or something...
So how'd we turn ou.... 3500 points? Whoa. That's a lot. And 2000 of them are characters. Mighty pleased with that, though I don't need any more characters for a while.
That's it for today's Death extravaganza! Tune in later for the Tomb King update.
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