Jump to content

Jaze

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    48

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Blog Entries posted by Jaze

  1. Jaze

    Slaughterborn - part 1

    By Jaze,

    The first part of this project I am going to work towards is the Slaughterborn Batallion.
    Sub-Project breakdown
    Each battalion sub-project will consist of four stages. The first stage is the minimum size battalion, which is the minimum number of units/models required to take the battalion warscroll. The second stage is a 1k list built around the battalion, this will have two variations the first using the battalion warscroll and the other adding extra models from and running without the battalion rules, to allow some gaming into the project as a reward for getting a few units completed. The third stage is the maximum number of units at minimum size, meeting this requirement adds bonus rules for a few of the battalions. The fourth and final stage is the battalion at my full size, this isn’t maxed out it’s just taking units above min sized in a way that I picture suiting the battalions function In the narrative.
    Between each stage I plan to have a short break and work on a unit for a different army or game.
    Stage One - Minimum Size Battalion
    The components required for this section are one unit of five Blood Warriors with gorefists , two units of five Skullreapers and an Exalted Deathbringer. This stage has a starting bonus for me as I have already painted up the required Exalted Deathbringer as my initial test model.
    Stage Two - 1k point lists
    To expand the minimum battalion to be playable I added will add a second unit of ten blood Warriors, with axes this time, and increase the size of the original unit to ten as well. I find that this battalion does not work very well in isolation, without a stronger general to support. My non-battalion list adds in a Slaughterpriest and Bloodstoker who help strenghen the list by filling in some holes, these extra hero’s should also help to give a short head start on the Dark Feast battalion later on.
    Stage Three - Maximum number of units
    Adding two additional Skullreaper units, one of each weapon option, and one more unit of blood warriors with gorefists, bringing the total number to three. This battalion does not get a bonus for maximum unit numbers, but as the personal guard of the Warhordes leader they need the to be numerous  for their lords survival.
    Stage Four - Final battalion 
    The list
    Exalted Deathbringer, with Impaling Spear 10 Blood Warriors with paired goreaxes 10 Blood Warriors with gorefists 30 Bloodwarriors with gorefists 5 Skullreapers with gore slick blades 20 Skullreapers with gore slick blades 5 Skullreapers with daemon blades 10 Skullreapers with daemon blades My idea for the end battalion is that it will provide units of varied sizes to cover a variety of centre field roles, smaller units to throw away and larger units to die down threats for a few turns or mow down weak hordes. 
     
    Thats the outline of the plan, now  it’s time to get paining.
     
  2. Jaze
    When I play a game on the tabletop a minor issue that always gets to me is when two identical units end up in a combat and then everyone has to try to work out which models are part of unit A and which are part of unit B. My way to work around this at unit level is to add a distinct variation to each units models such as having a shoulder pad, plume or hilt a specific colour. This works well for a quick head count.
    In the bigger picture I find the same issue reoccurs at a larger scale where battalions give different units bonus rules. Where the question arises “were these blood warrriors part or the Slaughterborn or Red Headsmen?”, ok it’s Khorne so the question probably should have Gore Pilgrims In it. I thought that as this project is going to be running 8 different battalions within a super-battalion it would be best to add a layer of distinction from the outset. Ideally this should make it clear to both me and my opponent which unit is in which battalion. and, should I ever get all ~10k points done, look epic on the tabletop.
    i have tired to base the model variation around the wording and description on the description from the battletome
    Slaughterborn
    As personal bodyguard to the Mighty Lord of Khorne the Slaughterborn will have a ‘clean’ scheme, matching the lord, without any variation. These will be the first battalion that I put together, as I will be helpful to have reference models painted for other aspects of the project 
    Brass Stampede
     The Brass Stampede is the only faction source of juggernauts so does not need any scheme variation, if it’s on a juggernaut then it’s in the battalion. Saying that I will still look to add a brass  trim to the model, either on the hover or as an edging line to the armour.
    Red Headsmen
    These guys will have armour in a clean scheme but their weapons will have a  red hot glow effect to them. I plan to do this with a white metal base and then use glaze red and yellow to represent the glow.
    Skulltake
      This warband are dedicated to the collection of heads. To represent this I will  build all models  with the Skullreapers skull trophies, blood reavers etc. I will also  leave them off other skull reapers in other battalions.
    Dark Feast
     Add tattoos to all the models in this battalion, most the models are  pretty much topless so skin based distinction seems logical. This one is not so much based on description but just a means of distinction as nothing stood out in the fluff paragraph. Hopefully I will improve my freehand by the time I get to these guys, as currently I struggle with edge highlights.
    The Gorechosen
    These guys are the killers of the army so they will have Blades of a different colour/metal to represent their access to the best weapons. They will also have skull stacks on their bases representing how many heads they have taken,
    Bloodbound Warband 
    These will have  blood effect on the models and bases, representing blood rain. Use Matt red/brown blood for more or a drying blood.
    Gore Pilgrims 
    Blood rags, made of greenstuff, will be this units unique factor. The idea is for them to represent the scrolls and blood paths taken for the pilgrimage.
    Bloodforged
    This mob will also be covered in blood/gore with Blood for the Blood God technical paint. I am hopeful theses guys will be far enough from the Bloodbound warband to maintain a clear distinction
     
  3. Jaze
    With AoS 2.0 I really enjoy how the realms are coming to life, with more description and even bonus rules. Because of this with each army I start work on I try to pick a realm and base them accordingly. I put most of the realm representation in the basing of the army.
    I have a bigger picture idea working up to ArchAeon and the Everchosen where I want each of the non-daemon chaos allegiance factions based on being from a distinct realm, from each other,  and the daemon side to be the same realm as the mortal halves but with a realm of chaos twist. So for example Nurgle Rotbringers May have realm of life bases and the Nurgle Daemons would have the same realm of life base, but with corruption and decay added. Then Archaeons basing would be a circle of transition between the 8 basing designs,4 realms both with and without chaos taint.
    I already have allocated Aqushy, realm of fire, to Tzeench Arcanists which ruled out that as an option. I wanted a darkish basing so that the lighter bone elements of the armour contrasted. I eventually chose Chamon, the realm of metal, as I thought this would be a great setting for an army who through known for being crazed have a large dependence on the forging of weapons and armour. It will also, over time, be a good realm to be able to build up a faction narrative beyond drinking blood out of gathered skulls.
    For the basing I used cork with texture/grit paint to represent the earth which I dry brushed with metallics and finally applied a gloss black wash to darken it down. Then I mixed metallic paint, in this case Vallejo gold, with gloss varnish to created a flow of molten metal within the cracked earth. I allowed the metal to dry and then reapplied 1-2 more times to create volume. 

  4. Jaze
    For me doing any army the first step has to be to do a scheme test model, usually a character. For this army I picked the Exalted Deathbringer which seemed to be a great choice, the first think I love about the model (the spear one) is that the weapon does not block access to the chest of the model, secondly he wears armour which is a mix of what a lot of other units wear so is a good reference model when rolling out the scheme and finally there are only two exalted Deathbringers in the ‘Super-Battalion’ so will have one as the first model and one as the last model to compare development of skills throughout the project.
    I had an old scheme which was blue and silver which a few people liked locally, but I wanted to move away from it as though it looked good on tabletop I found it difficult to improve it from the level it was at to something better. The new scheme is bone with a dark metal trim, which I feel makes the army fit in with the Khorne theme. I think the new scheme has potential to improve and have enough possibilities for variation to stay interesting throughout the project 
     





  5. Jaze

    Building my first Ironclad

    By Jaze,

    This vessel is the most important part of my project so far. If this did not work, getting a skyvessel sea worthy, then the project as a whole would be a none starter for me.
     
    First of all I wanted to build up the helm of the vessel and fill in the main gun turret to make space for my hero to stand, at this time of the creation process this was going to be one of my stormcast narrative characters though as progress went on that changed. I used part of the staircase from the cauldron of blood kit to make the staircase up to the raised helm.

    I found the grots from the leadbelcher kit were about perfect night for the helmsman job and two of them even came holding the wheel.
     
    I now had the basic layout of the deck covered so I moved to attach the Ironclad to its base. I sawed off most of the keel at a slight angle, trying to get the turbines as low down as possible and raising the prow a bit. I then drilled holes under what remained of the keel and glued in brass rods to give it additional stability, I then used plastic glue to stick all the contact points to the base.

    Once the areas to place the crew were built up I worked on adding the primary weapon back to the ship. I chose the aethermatic volley cannon, this was mostly out of simplicity as I had a half built redemptor dreadnought on my desk who’s arm looked like a perfect donation to this project.

    I added a railing to the back of the helm as I felt it made the area feel more enclosed, I also added one to the front where the whip-master now stands but that one was to exposed and snapped off.

    Using the statue from the centre of the Cauldron of a blood kit I added a broken figure head to the front of the vessel. This was the last piece of assembly before beginning painting.

    For the colour scheme I went with purple and green, as it would not clash with the water effect on the basing which was to come next. The grot helmsman was the only part of the crew glued on, all the aelves were pinned for easy transport and were painted separately. The initial section of painting was just to get all the parts in or near the water done to allow for the basing to start.

     
    The basing did not quite got to plan as, due to me not being patient enough, I managed to get the masking tape, used to keep the liquid resin in place, trapped within the resin. I worked much of this out but a fair amount is very much a feature of the base now. Overall I am happy with the turn out of it, at a later point I would like to come back to the basing and try to add some wave like motion or interaction to it.
    Once the base had cured, enough for my lungs to be willing to be in the same room as it, I finished off painting the remaining details and crew.

    Overall I am very please with how my first Ironclad turned out. It showed me that my plans for the project as a whole have potential. The only issue I have is that for each vessel size (Ironclad,Frigate,Gunhauler) the base size is quite limited which restricts space for adding a bit of a diorama and character to the  base.















  6. Jaze

    Unit: "Grungestock" Thunderers

    By Jaze,

    My first fully built unit is my Grundstock Thunderers.

    These guys were a rough kitbash from the 40k poxwalker models and the weapon components from the Thunderers set.  I think they have a bit of a Davy Jones crew feel to them with all the tentacles and bits.
     
    I still have most of the rifles remaining so will hopefully get round to building 4 more at a future point. Since the GH2017 has made the rifles a good choice I am just weighing up wether I want to do the remaining as my pox guys or add them to a different race.





  7. Jaze

    First water basing attempt

    By Jaze,

    First part of this project was to see wether waster basing was possibly, as if it was not then having a water free sea based army would not feel worth while.
    I bought some Water Clear Casting Resin (do not recommend opening this in the house, took about a week for the smell  disappear) for the base effect. I had previously tried pva as well as some water effect  basing stuff which did not need any catalyst, I found  both were prone to clouding when going for a deeper than a few mm water source.
    I part assembled a Gunhaulers and painted it very minimally with just red and a bit of silver in the water. This is not the planned scheme it was just two light colours so I  could get an idea of visibility through the resin. I cut off most of the models keel, filed the stub flat and glued this to the base before painting.
    For this attempt I used frog tape to build a barrier around the base to contain the  liquid resin. And poured in the first layer of resin.

    This was just as thin "see what  happen" layer
     

    For the next layer I mixed in some nuln oil GW wash, I noted that they GW washes made the liquid colour quite merky.  This worked quite well to mask where the ship was glued to the base.
     

    The merky effect worked well for the lower layer, but I didn't want it for the rest. I switched to using Vallejo blue and green inks which reacted much better with the resin. i built up about three layers of this to get to the desired depth.
     

     
    It set solid after around 2 hours, but took about 4 days to harden to the point of no longer having a tacky/sticky surface.
    The end result was better than expected, success was not an expectation. My one regret. Was not painting the gunhauler fullly before the attempt.
    Next time I plan to do a larger batch of resin with the inks so that I have better control of the amount of clearness.





  8. Jaze

    Project introduction

    By Jaze,

    To start with this project seems like a totally crazy goal well above my  current hobby skill levels, but I have wanted to do it since I first heard that the Kharadron overlords were coming out so I figure give it a go and worst case outcome will be some fairly pricey AoS scatter terrain. Related to this I  always welcome any comments, suggestions and criticism (constructive is good, but I accept it in all forms).
    Currently my narrative is in its early stages but I will try to outline its concepts and expand in later posts,
    Faction is based out of a single port city currently named Lucegate. The city is costal and ran by a council made up from two members of each race (or subfaction, yet to decide) who is an accepted formal group in the city plus each fleet Admiral. The Freeport population is made up of break away groups who left their starting faction for various reasons such as disagreeing beliefs, dreams of wealth and prosperity or exile. Many will be next generation rather than initial joiners. All now live or fight for interests of the port rather than base faction interests, though rivalries still exist. Two main characters are two Stormcast characters "The Guide"(Veritant) and "The Light"(castelant). Their story is based on them being twin brothers in the old world. The veritant by chance finds his and recalls his brother on the battlefield but the castellant no longer recognises him, due to the effects of reforging. The veritant takes his brother and flees with him to try to not lose him for ever. Now long standing members of the Freeport "The Guide" is a strong spiritual leader for the members of the port, while "The Light"  stands at the bow of a vessel and illuminating the way forward and warding away the darkest dreads of the sea.  
    Plan for the hobby side of the project.
    Overall theme is a Freeport sea/water based faction where the port will be Order based but be built from all 4 Grand Alliance races, general idea being runaways and deserters from their original factions. Currently planning to have each vessel based mainly around a single faction from within the game (grots and goblins will be part of all crews as ship hands, mostly for ease as they are about the correct scale for the models) Scourge Privateers, Fyreslayers etc. 
    Plan to then have each unit to be tied to a single race, so like may have witch, corsair and wyldwood ranger based models making up one "Arkanaut Company" and Fyreslayers and Dispossessed making up another. This is partly to make it easier to keep track i.e. If I make 40 Aelf based Company models with 10 of each from 4 base kits then is easier to break down into small units or run as a blob without having confusion, it is also as I want the faction to feel a bit more like disordered raiders than a martial military faction.
    To start with  I am planning  to be doing Order based starting units then spreading out into other factions.
    I currently have a lot of ideas in the air for repressing the other units/characters. 
×
×
  • Create New...