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Stevewren

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Blog Entries posted by Stevewren

  1. Stevewren
    I'd entered the Budget of Sigmar 2: Electric Boogaloo challenge a month or so ago. The challenge is to paint a small force where every model is converted. I thought my focus on Alarielle would put a fork in my hobby challenge, but I decided to try and get back on it. I've converted (barely) a unit of 10 chaos warriors and base coated them alongside finishing the test model for the army. The conversion is really simple - I just added savage Orruk spears and shields to the 10 guys. 
    The base coat is just green wash over the silver base coat and then picking out details. The top of the cloaks are white to tie in with my existing warrior army too. 
     



  2. Stevewren
    This was a little piece that I decided to do for the Facehammer GT Painting competition, but in the end I decided that I didn't fancy it as the basing was a bit quick and dirty and didn't really have much detail. The red faces and skulls really don't show up in the photos well either. I was really pleased with the flesh on the model, and she was a lot of fun to paint up.  
  3. Stevewren
    The return to school put a hammer blow into my regular updates here - I'm blaming that, but it's not really the only reason! I have actually done a few bits and pieces. I'm looking at taking my Freeguild to Blood and Glory in November so I've started prepping for the rebasing of these guys. I've slowly been adding in some new warmachines as well. I finished a Hellstorm Rocket Battery and a Dwarf Organ Gun. 

    As you can see these guys don't have their bases yet! I've bought the shattered dominion set to use with them. 
    Alongside this I also attended the Facehammer GT and I decided to try and get Alarielle finished, which I managed to do with a couple of days to spare. I'll put up a proper blog post about this later. 

    Since that weekend I haven't done any hobby except for assembling a Numinous Occulum. 
    The only other thing of note was that I'd entered the Warhammer Weekly army challenge to paint a converted army in six months. I was meant to get a unit done this month but oh agent managed it due to painting Alarielle, so I'm going to try and do two units next month to get back on track as I'd like to support this hobby challenge. 
    Oh, and I bought a bunch more dwarfs to so I can finish my Ironweld Arsenal...
    Maybe I have done some stuff after all ?
  4. Stevewren

    A cheeky Video!

    By Stevewren,

    I watched a few videos by @Vincent Venturella where he shows off his armies and it inspires me to produce my own. It's much easier to talk about the models than write about them! You can find the video here: 
     
  5. Stevewren

    Completed Maggoth Lord

    By Stevewren,

    I've finished the first model for my Rotbringers army. I had a maggoth that was being used as a demon prince, but I decided to put the rider on. I took quite a bit of time working on the riders armor, and then realised that the bone I'd done didn't match the bone on the maggoth. I went in and repainted these from black to cream, and I also had to rebase the model as it was on a 50mm square for 8th edition. Overall I'm pleased with how it came out and he will make a nice addition to my army that I want to do for the PMP challenge. One thing I did do was base the model to match my Sylvaneth rather than my chaos force as I'd like to play some of the scenario games from the realm gate wars books. 


  6. Stevewren

    War Wagon in AoS

    By Stevewren,

    I've painted a war wagon for my Free Guild army so I thought I should make some rules up for it. I didn't want it to be over powered as it is a made up scroll and I based it off the Gorebeast Chariot from the warriors list. I also wanted it to stay true to the old rules so put in each weapon as an individual profile. 
    What do people think? Any changes you'd make, does it seem over powered or under powered? And does anyone else have any home made war scrolls they have made? 

    Here is a picture of the model I've painted. When its rebased I'll add it in to the scroll as I think they look super cool with the pictures. However this is how it looks at the moment (sorry about the square base!)

     
  7. Stevewren
    I completed the Unit of Spite Revenants the other day. I think these are some of the best Sylvaneth models as I love the menacing look and feel they have. These are the last unit to be done. All I have left now is Alarielle, the leader. 

  8. Stevewren
    After my trip to Warhammer world for the AoS open day i was flicking through photos and came across this shot of the Ironweld Arsenal. 

    So inspired by this I have decided to start my own warmachine host. So far I have a mortar, a hell blaster volley fun and and Organ Gun with crew completed. 

  9. Stevewren
    These are copies of a discussion I've been having in a Google+ community about using Water Effects and my experiments so far. Hopefully others can add to it here. 
    Part 1: 
    Does anyone know any tutorials or videos for making pools and water effects on bases???
    Part 2: 
    Ok, here is the one I've started working on as a test. I've tried the Vallejo water effects first, but it isn't sitting flat. I'm going to keep adding to it. I've ordered some clear plastic beads to go in before I do the next layer and I'll top it up again. I've added some Nurgles rot to get the green tinge.

    Part 3: 
    So the water effects experimentation continues. I added the microbeads to the water effects and it works but is very subtle. It also didn't really help having the sand on the bottom of the water as the bubbles and sand grit intermingle making it hard to pick them out. For the Allarielle model I think I will make the water deeper so the bottom can't be seen which will hopefully make the bubbles work better. I also think I overdid it a bit which gave a more crystalline effect in places where the beads piled up (this might make a great Ice Base...). However by continually topping up the water effects I have managed to fill the base and it does look slimy. 

    I also popped the model I painted in the 45 minute speed painting completion for the Painting Masters (an event we did in the UK at the start of 2015 alongside the Gaming Masters) just so the base dissent go to waste. I think I'll add some more plants as its a bit bare but I', not that concerned as its a basing exercise.

  10. Stevewren

    Spite Revenants WiP

    By Stevewren,

    These are the final unit I am doing for the army. I've tried a little cheat for these guys - I sprayed them green then overs prayed white and then used nothing but washes for the colours. The only highlights are on the face, the claws and the tabard section. The black bark and the brown bark is just drybrushed. I like the models so I might get a few more, but it's not top of the list at the moment. 

  11. Stevewren
    After having a week off on holiday I'm back on the Sylvaneth. I took these to Alliance, Ben Curry's one day event, but they were not finished at the time. They also qualify as my entry for our latest Hobby Challenge at Derby Wargames Club. When I got back I completed the banner and added the foliage so that they would fit in with the rest of the army. I went for a pale ethereal skin tone combined with bright green hair. I keep the weapons in a similar hue to hopefully give them the impression of being some what spectral in nature. I gave the blades a green glaze to tie them in more with the rest of the models. Overall I think these are great models and they are fun to paint, but they were not great in the games I used them. All I have left now are some Spite Revenants and Allarielle herself and that will be the army complete so I can start on something new (or more likely i'll be rebasing something older!)

  12. Stevewren
    Just a quick apology for not getting a post up over the last few days, but I've been busy and not had much time to complete anything! However this morning I was able to get the Hunters on to their bases. The bases are just smaller versions of the base that you can find details of how they are done in this Drycha article. One thing that might be of interest is how the flock stays on - I very rarely have any issues with the foliage falling off the models. I use Superglue Thick from GW and am quite generous with how much I apply over the branches it will be sticking too. The foliage then has to be pressed down firmly into it and this seems to give a strong bond that lasts. 
     

  13. Stevewren
    Here is a quick photo of where I'm going with the Kurnoth Hunters. I used the Airbrush to lay down some base coats and then went in with a dry brush of Underhive Ash. I then fixed the white areas which I had done in a very round about manner. I like the contrast between the White and the dark brown. The bow was done in dark reaper with the brown details picked out. Overall I am quite happy with the scheme so I'll be doing the others in the same way. 
      
  14. Stevewren
    I played my first game with the Sylvaneth recently against my friends Iron Jaws. I only took painted models for this game, so I was a little limited, but I could easily do the 2000 points we had decided on. We also played the comet scenario from the Generals Handbook. 
    My list consisted of: 
    Tree lord Ancient (Oaken Armor, an extra spell) Drycha (the spell that generates woods) Branchwych (regrowth) Branch wraith (Acorn of Ages, The Reaping Spell) Spirit of Durthu 3 x 10 Dryads 2 x 6 Kurnoth Hunters (Great Bows) Firstly the army felt small, although my opponents Ironjaws looked similar. He had: 
    Godrak Mega Boss Orc Shaman Warchanter 2 x 5 Brutes 2 x 10 Ardboyz 3 x Goregruntas Deployment: 

    Turn 1
    Pete went first and roared across the table. The move in the Hero phase that Destruction units get made the army super fast. Everything moved up and allowed Gordrak to attempt to charge, but he failed. In my turn I popped out a couple of woods and fired a few arcane bolts doing minimal damage. I ran Drycha up to attempt a turn one charge (which she failed - this was an error as you'll find out later). I moved the Kurnoth Hunters to allow them to shoot the Ardboyz on the right flank and the Spirit of Durthu moved into the Acorn of Ages Wood ready to charge Godrak. I thought that this was my chance to get him off with Durthus mighty sword. However I failed the charge (its important to note I also forgot the Spirit Paths rule that could have allowed Durthu to move and charge on the roll of a six). Still, there was the chance of the double turn....
    ...which I didn't get
    Turn 2

    When Pete measured for his spells Drycha was in range for Foot of Gork, which Pete got off due to the proximity of being near orcs and some arcane scenery. He promptly stomped Drycha three times and killed her dead. Gordrak tore into the son of Durthu, bellowed at him for 5 wounds, and then killed him easily with the attacks that multiply out to D3 on a 6 vs monsters, heroes and wizards. He also charged the Kurnoth Hunters. The comet came down in the square on my right flank which was good as it was uncontested, meaning I had a shot to get it with the dryads or the hunters if they could finish off the units they were fighting. He also charged my ancient who killed a Brute whilst taking two wounds in return.

    In my turn I found that I couldn't escape from the Brutes with the Ancient due to the rule of being 9" away from models. This has been an issue in all my games with the Sylvaneth since AoS dropped - its really hard to move around if your opponent pops a model or two in the middle of a wood. The new rules allowing up to three woods to count will help, but then it becomes very difficult to place them. Anyhow, I'm digressing from the game, which was spiralling out of control fast! The Treelord missed with all his attacks (standard fare), and the Kurnoth Hunters did minimal damage with the bows. The Dryads failed their mystical terrain test for the second turn in a row and got wiped out. The unit in the centre stood and moved to contest the comet the had landed in the middle of my lines. The Branch wraith and Branchwych took up station to try and stop Godrak charging the ancient, knowing full well they were being sacrificed for the greater good! 
    Turn 3

    I lost the dice roll for turn three, but we were still drawing at this stage. The orcs continued to pour forwards. Gordrak went into the Branchwych, killed her and then charged again into the Branchwraith and killed her too. I was pretty sure Pete could have got into the Ancient, but I think at this point he was easing off the gas and didn't do it. This didn't matter as the Ancient went down to the two units of Brutes. I had successfully failed 12 3+ armour saves over 4 rounds of combat. This is a solid effort, even by my standards. The gore gruntas finally removed  one unit of Kurnoth Hunters, and the Megaboss got into combat with the others to help out the Ardboyz. The Hunters had proved to be surprisingly resilient with the preroll on the saves, which made up for the fact they couldn't hit a barn door with their shooting! 

    Turn 4
    Turn 4 I lost the roll off again and the Gore Gruntas claimed the objective on Petes side of the board. Gordrak smashed my Dryads in the centre allowing him to claim that too. With only a Kurnoth Hunter and 10 Dryads left we called the game. The Ironjaws had been victorious! 

    Conclusions
    1. Man, I could not roll dice today! However I also forgot a lot of rules and I'm not sure I considered my army combos well enough. By my own admission I've spent a lot more time painting than I have reading the rules! 
    2. Kurnoth Hunters were very resilient, and would have been better with hand weapons in this game. Saying that I think that the bows are still a good option. 
    3. I'm not sure what I could have done against Gordrak other than run away and arcane bolt him. He was horrendously destructive. The fight with Durthu would have been better if I had remembered the rules and I think there may be ways to get him closer and make the charge more viable. I also played Drycha wrong. She would have been better being held back, although I didn't realise the potential of Foot of Gork. This meant I had lost my two best combat pieces before my second turn which really left me on the back foot. 
    Overall there are a lot of things I learnt. Hopefully we'll get a game in next week and I can try out a few more things. 
  15. Stevewren
    Ive been making steady progress on my entry for our clubs Paint a Silver Tower Hero competition ready for next month. So far I have made reasonable progress on the metals, although I do want to go in with a bit of weathering and some scratches in places. Ive also finished the red robes, although its pretty subtle and doesn't really photograph well. One thing I wanted to try and create was a Golden Demon style base for him to be displayed on. I found a chunk of wood that I cut and sanded to shape and then went to town with some play bark and cork which is topped off with some plasticard. I then filled the whole thing with filler so it could be sanded square. Tonight I've added in the pipe and the rocks to start to add some Duardin ingenuity to the whole thing. I have to add a small overflow pipe coming out of the rocks and I'll be adding some water effects to the base when its finished. Whole thing needs to be completed by the 7th June....



    IMG_6292.MOV
  16. Stevewren

    Drycha Completed

    By Stevewren,

    Completed Drycha last night. She was pretty fun to do. I put all the Flutter Flies and Squirmlings on so it was a pain to get them paint. I really didn't take that much care with them. I then went and did all the basing, which again was a lot of tufts, clump foliage and flowers. I also added the Woodland Scenics tree foliage to the top of Drycha and around her back so that she would fit in with the rest of the Sylvaneth models. Overall I am pleased with the model. She fits in nicely and looks pretty dynamic. 

  17. Stevewren

    Drycha WiP

    By Stevewren,

    I've bought some of the new kits for the Sylvaneth - basically I got one of each except for Allarielle with a goal to get them all painted for Alliance, @Ben event at the start of August. My Sylvaneth have always been a fairly fast army to add to as I tend not to spend a great deal of time on them, although with these new models I will be trying to make sure that I focus on some of the details as the models are too nice to just rush through haphazardly. 
    I started with Drycha as she was the main character in the army that I will be running. The model went together OK, although there were some pretty tricky assembly parts. I'd give it the usual 8/10 for how cleverly it is engineered, but probably a 6/10 for speed and ease of assembly. I really like the pose she is in now that I have the model assembled after not being a fan in the photos that I had seen. 
    I started out with a black and white undercoat before busting out the airbrush to do the first few layers. I base coated the whole thing in Vallejo Air Mahogany and then started hitting spots with lighter browns and camo green. Then it was a case of quickly dry brushing everything and doing plenty of washing to get the variation in colour. I've gone in and added some line highlights to the claws and tidied up things like the head dress and the loincloth, but otherwise I'll be leaving it as it is. Next up was the honeycomb. This was done in Troll Slayer Orange before being washed heavily with carrouburg crimson. I made sure to get the wash in all the holes. I then went back over with the orange followed by Firedragon Bright. 
    For Drycha herself I just base coated her with a couple of layers of Palyd Wich Flesh and then washed her with Drakenhoff Nightsade. She then highlighted up quickly. I need to get some of the Green gem paint to do the eyes. And that is her pretty much done. I just need to base her and finish the bugs off which shouldn't take too long. After that I'm going to crack on with my Kurnoth Hunters
     



  19. Stevewren

    Dragons...?

    By Stevewren,

    With Orion finished its time to move on to another old school wood elf model. I use the carmine dragon as my lords mount, but I've always wanted to paint the old big hand 4th edition one too. This is where I'm at after the first session on him. 

  20. Stevewren
    Finished my 10 Eternal Guard for this weekends tournament (Call to War at the end of June). Not sure how much I'll use them, but definitely going to try and squeeze them in as objective grabbers. Paint scheme is the usual quick wood elf scheme I've been using. I do need some more forest meadow flowers for the bases. I also haven't done a rune on the banner yet as not really sure what to go for! 

  21. Stevewren
    Continuing the wood elf theme for another month or so I have been working on the Eternal Guard. I only want to do 10 of these guys just so I can use them for fun. I've finished the seven regular guys. I've just got the command group to go and add in the foliage and flowers to decorate the base. 
     

  22. Stevewren
    I feel like I'm getting nowhere fast with this Dragon. I love the chance to go back and look at these old sculpts, but they are difficult to paint compared to new models because of the lack of defined detail. The scales don't seem to take washes very well, and parts just seem to merge into other areas. I still think it will look OK when its done though! 






  23. Stevewren

    Screamers of Tzeentch

    By Stevewren,

    I was sorting out the Hobby Room last week and I came across six screamers that I had built, but never done anything else with. So as part of my #365Challenge I decided to prep and paint these as I assumed that they would be quite quick to do. the first thing I did was drill out the bottom of the screamers so that I could insert some 4mm acrylic rod that I had rather than using the usual flying stands. I then wrapped these in masking tape and drilled out some corks to support them so that I could easily hold them to spray. The undercoating did a lot of the work for me. I sprayed the top blue, then a lighter blue, and the bottom was done in Zandri Dust and Averland Sunset. I then used a white spray and a purple spray to do the tails.
    Once these were dry I washed the underside with Sepia and the tops with Druchi Violet. I drybrushed the models with Bahoroth Blue and Hexus Pale Sun after this. The sepia and area always looks a bit dull after this, but Lamentors Yellow glaze is amazing at making things look yellow as its so strong. I also pulled some of this onto the top surface to give a green tint to the edges. 
    I started off undercoating the horns and teeth brown and then using a bright bone to highlight them, but I really didn't like how it looked: 

    So after showing the photos to some of the gaming group I decided to just go dark with the whole thing so I just went for a glossy black which I highlighted with a purple and black mix. I used bright blue for the raised areas and did the eyes a bright yellow. The last thing to do was just get some nuln oil and run that all over the fins on the top to darken that area. 
    The bases were my usual recipe, although I added some little blue mushrooms to these (and I still need to put the tufts and grasses on)

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