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lare2
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Blog Entries posted by lare2
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Been a while since I've ran my SCE but took them to a tourney recently. Remembered I'd never posted a full pic of my CV here so... et voila.
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Almost a full year since I've posted - oops! I got the army to a playable standard and then got sidetracked by other projects. Finally got round to pushing on to how I originally envisioned my SCE would finish.
There isn't really much more to them than what I've described in other posts. First and foremost, the whole model was gloss varnished. This was then followed by a dark brown enamel wash. Areas that I didn't want glossy were then brush varnished with an ultra matt varnish. Gems were then based in leadbelcher and then highlighted with aluminium from vallejo. Blood angels red contrast was then applied before a layer of 'ard coat.
Burnt umber pigment was then liberally spread on the base and worked up the legs. Foliage was then randomly placed across the base before a nice black rim finished them off. I'm now officially calling this scheme done.
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Been a while since I posted. I don't really want to spam the blogs section unless I do something new to my scheme which I want to log or if I've finished a unit. Just wanted to say that my army's tabletop standard now and took it to my first tourney in a long old while. Was great to get back into the swing of things. Went to Leodis Games' one dayer event. If you've not been, I'd recommend it. It's in Leeds and the guy who runs it was super nice. Anyway, I got mullered - ha ha! Lost 2, won 1. Was chuffed to get a win though. Lost against SBGL first game, lost against Tzeentch second, but beat Orcs game three. Got some pics of my army lined up on the day. Some close ups of my Lord Imperatant as well, who's pretty much finished.
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Just wanted to make a quick post about a new technique I tried out last night. This is my WiP of the Lord Relictor. There's still a fair amount to go and every time I look at the model I'm surprised by how much detail I've missed off. There's always something else which catches me out. Anywho, I've been trying a few techniques on stuff like cloth and whatnot and the normal layering or edge highlighting stuff I just can't get along with. It just appears unnatural to me on some materials and I can't seem to get the blend quite right. On the bone, for example, I'm really happy with the layering but my recent attempts at Yndrasta's cloak have told me I've a lot to learn. Consequently, I decided to give glazing a pop. You can see this on the below with the white pauldrons. Although I'm quite clearly still a novice in this, I'm really happy with how it's beginning to look. The white is Celstria Grey with a Drakenhoff wash. Celestria Grey is then glazed on with a mix of 4:1, Lahmian Mediaum:Celestria Grey. For the final highlight I'm gonna glaze on some Ulthuan Grey with the same consistency.
One thing I found difficult with the technique, however, was how runny the paint becomes. I found it really difficult to control the paint when it was so "wet". My experience developed as the session progressed though, e.g., I tried to make sure the excess on the brush was wiped away on a tissue. I also found it time consuming as well as it took multiple layers with drying time in-between. To pass the time though I would just work on something else on the model at the same time.
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I went a bit overboard. Signed up to a tourney which is happening next weekend. Set myself a target of getting this tabletop standard. I've done all sorts... nothing like a tourney to motivate you. Will make a post using tourney pics but I've not been keeping a photo log due to spending every spare moment painting. For now, here's some WiP of bases.
Bases were made by gluing cork down and filling out the rest with Agrellan Earth and Stirland Mud. The mud/earth was painted with zandri, which was great as I sprayed this as a primer... until I ran out. Then turned to Grey Seer primer and it then ran out. Can't afford more at the minute so this left me with Chaos Black primer for half of them. The stone was then painted in Mechanicus Standard Grey. All were then washed with Agrax Earthshade before drybrushing first with Tyrant Skull and then Terminatus Stone.
More needs doing in the future but this will suffice for tabletop.
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Christmas came and Christmas went. I did barely nothing over the festive period and it really took it out of me, hobby time wise. It's hard to get back into the habit when you've had a bit of time away but last week I forced myself to find my groove again. Felt really good to get back underway again. My motivation was also hit as at the minute I've zero opportunity to get a game in. My FLGS has been forced to relocate so until it reopens (hopefully, selfishly, somewhere as equally close to me!) I'll not be gaming at all. Real shame. Painting and whatnot, to me, is a necessary evil - something that needs to be done to get a lush army on the table. From past experience I know that if I'm not gaming then my painting slows down even further. I'm aware of it this time though so hopefully I'll be able to keep the pace up.
With that said, the below pics are where I'm at. Base colours done and done. Not all are, however, as some (e.g. the shoulder symbol), I want to do once all layering's completed. The last base colour was leadbelcher and I've also been tidying up models as I go as well. I've been uhming and ahing though as I kind of want to change to painting unit by unit. I'm finding it really hard to paint the whole army. The initial plan was to get all models with base layers and then washed. At this point I'd then put them on their bases, which would also have base layers and wash. To me, that would be table top standard and I'd be good to game with them whilst I continue. I'm thinking of getting them all to this standard one unit at a time though. I'm finding that trying to paint the whole army, I'm more slapdash than I ever was before. I want to give my all to my models. I want to do my best. If this means that I'm slow then so be it... I think I need to learn to love to hobby how I hobby - at my own pace.
Anywho, hope everyone's well and enjoying 2022 so far.
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I've managed to get half the army to the below standard. That's all the Sequitors, Longstrikes and the 3 characters you see here. The gold I've went for is Retributor. I'm a little concerned about it, to be honest. I do like it but I never used it in any of my trials so no idea what it's gonna look like when it's finished. Working with it was a bit of a chore as well. Even with a wet pallet the stuff would dry out pretty quickly.
Once I get the other half of the army up to this, there's only really the steel to do. I say really because I'm noticing a lot of bits and bobs on individual models that I'd not previously considered. Note, for example the bags and wax on the Lord-Relictor. I was thinking though, following the steel phase, I'm gonna go through each model one by one to touch up mistakes (there's a fair amount!) and to do these miscellaneous bits.
Broke up from work today for the Christmas period. With the kids though, not sure how much I'll be able to get done. Ironically, I have more time when I'm at work to hobby. Will wish you all a very merry Christmas now. I hope you all have a great one, relax, and eat too much. A happy new year too. Here's hoping 2022 brings you many hours of gaming and some juicy news rules/ models for your army!
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Finished off the Rakarth flesh - areas covered were cream fabrics, rope, bone and flesh. Really happy with how they're coming on now. They're really starting to take shape and to begin to look actually painted. Next up I'll be painting all parchment using Zandri Dust but soon I'll be on the metals. This will be pretty much the final step in the base colours and I'm super excited to see how they'll all look with everything coloured in. I'm taking forever and a day to do this though so I got a little inpatient with them and I've started ripping some models off their perches to actually get games in between painting sessions. The Longstrike are just oppressive. I really hope they don't get hit with a nerf bat before the army's complete! On that note, I've had a number of games now with the new book and I really don't think this army will be fantastic... you can be sure that I'll still be running it though at tournies when it is done! I do love a good tourney. At one in Scotland this weekend. I'll be the one running a 1st edition SCE army - feel free to say hello if you're there!
The worst step about this phase was definitely the faces on the few models I've left without a helmet. I really struggle with faces, like most. You can see below the technique I've kinda settled on. Essentially, I just smack on a blob of white over the eyes and then I get out my 000 Winsor and Newton and carefully colour around the actual eye. A note on brushes, this is pretty much one of the few jobs I use my Winsor and Newton for... most of the time I just use Hornby brushes, which I think are a pretty decent medium ground between quality and expense. I've used expensive brushes and I've used cheap brushes. I've bought Winsor and Newton which die on me after a couple of sessions and cheapo ones which have been work-horses. I really do find that the Hornby brushes are pretty good though and they're cheap enough that I'm really not too bothered about replacing them every 6 months or so. Anyway, back to faces. Once this is done, I then just wash and layer the flesh as normal. You can't really see in the 2nd pic of the face below but the eye is left pretty white and if I'm feeling confident, I'll then get out my fine tipped black pen to carefully place a pupil. It's been a long old while since I've attempted to paint on a pupil and I honestly swear by a fine tipped pen for jobs like this. Once the model's varnished and whatnot, you really can't tell the difference.
Anywho, I hope you're all well and I wish you the very best for the rest of the week!
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Making good progress with the first layer for the white. What you see here is celestra grey. The good news is, the sections which are white are limited and I've made pretty good progress; the bad news is that it's probably gonna take about 3 layers to get a decent opaque base down. I remember this from doing the test model. It's a pretty messy step as well so I can already see multiple spots which will need to be touched up once all base colours are down. Felt really good finally getting some colour on the imperatant's good boy though.
In other news, faq today. Big news is translocation being nerfed. Hey ho, been in this game long enough to know how GW work. Onwards and upwards!
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Kids recently started back at nursery... first time since the pandemic. Needless to say the whole house has been very ill for about two weeks.
Was able to start up again this week though so thought I'd post an update. Managed to block out all black sections with Abaddon Black. This was mainly the guns for the Longstrike and the reverse of the shields. Both can be seen in the pics. Also made a good start with the first coat of red. I chose Mephiston Red for both the red fabric and also the red leather. This stage is both good and bad: good as you can really just whack the paint on and you don't have to be super neat, bad as the models really don't look too grand at this stage and you have to keep in mind the end goal.
I started for the red with the Longstrike and the Sequitors as they have by far the most red on them. My Thunderstrike stuff should be a doddle once I get another coat on the older stuff. I'm just really happy to start getting some colour on these bad lads.
I've also been thinking about how soon I can get these to tabletop standard. With the new book (I think it's mint - love it) out I'm really eager to actually play with the new stuff. I've a tourney in Scotland in November so my aim is to get them to tabletop standard for that. Nothing quite like a tourney to really get you motivated.
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I mean, honestly, if the spears don't get snapped off at least once before this is over I'll be super surprised! They're not Nighthaunt fiddly but those spears are awkward! Lush models though.
Managed to get a second layer of grey seer on this week. Finished up last night and started work on laying down the black contrast. I managed to get half the army done - the other half I'll get done tonight. It felt so good getting the grey seer stage out the way. So far I'm pretty happy with how this phase went. Using black contrast for these areas is very satisfying. I just take it straight from the pot for this and allow the natural flow of the paint to really fill in the areas. I find it can really flow into the nooks and crannies, allowing you to really see the shape and also revealing where you've went wrong, helping with the touch up stage.
Initially, for the sake of making things simple, I had decided to just do all straps in this colour as well, as you can see in the pics. Looking at it though, I've been uhming and ahing for about a week. With the new Thunderstrike stuff, there really isn't much colour to them. I want red to be one of my main colours, along with the green armour and the silver (maybe gold?) trim. With older models this isn't an issue, what with tabards and what-not. Thunderstrike though, there really isn't that much fabric. I was going to have the belt as red but then this made me look at the bags, scabbards, etc., hanging from them. Then this made me look at the straps again... I think I've pretty much decided all of these are now going to be red. This isn't really much more work and I can just redo the straps when it comes to doing all red. However, I don't really want this red to be the same red that I'll be using for tabards and plumes so I've been researching red leather, which I feel would be more fitting. I came across the following two recipes: Khorne Red - Nuln Oil - Pink Horror; Mephiston Red - Agrax - Evil Suns - Wild Rider. I think I'm leaning towards the latter as this is already the scheme I use for fabric but I'll be using Carroburg Crimson rather than Agrax. That being said, I do really like Khorne Red... that'll be a decision for next week though.
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... with an apology. My phone really doesn't have the best camera and I'm far too poor to invest in anything to improve the situation. Plus, any spare cash I do have, I'd rather spend on modelling gear and paints. Not really buying models at the minute. There's no need really with the amount of grey I have. I totalled up the other night and my unpainted SCE alone sits at over 7k. Ridiculous. That's kinda one of the main reasons why I'm pushing myself with this blog. I've so much SCE suddenly that I've written a new list to just run in friendly games whilst I'm painting all this. If you're interested, it looks like the following:
Knight-Incantor
Knight-Vexillor with Banner of Apotheosis
Lord-Arcanum on Celestial Dracoline
Lord-Ordinator
Judicators x10
Liberators x5
Liberators x5
Evocators x5
Evocators on Celestial Dracolines x3
Celestar Ballista x3
Comes out as bang on 2k and will be next up for painting after this.
Anywho, onto the main reason for this post. I'll not be doing anymore painting this week so thought I'd give an update. One of the main reasons for this blog is to be brutally honest with myself and to maybe help others like me. I've probably put in about 5 hours of painting and all I've managed to do is one layer on the underarmour and straps. I've absolutely no idea whatsoever how people paint fast. It seems to take me bloody ages to just do one layer, let alone everything that's required.
You can see in the pics that this looks terrible. The idea is to do them all in black contrast. With these areas, they're so hidden away that I'm not too bothered about them and black contrast is perfect for them, especially with everything else that comes later. The only problem is that you need to prep the area. I normally go for grey seer (seen with the sequitor) but on Monday night my pot was so dried up I abandoned it and moved over to corax white (as seen with the vindicator). Both paints are horrible to use and even with a wet pallet they dry up so fast.
I'm not too bothered at this stage how bad they look as I know they'll be alright in the end. What concerns me more though is that they all need another coat of grey seer, especially the white which is far too bright for contrast black. I'll be able to pick some up tomorrow but that means I'll need to spend another ca.5 hours doing this... that's another week. Another week behind schedule.
Alas, this is the tales and rambling of a mediocre painter so I'd expect nothing less than delays to the schedule. I hope you get something out of my mediocrity.
Until next time and take care of yourselves.
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Managed to get my target for the week done - basecoat the armour. Process started with a zenithal highlight using vallejo model air chrome. This is an absolutely lush colour. Would very much recommend it. Used the air brush for this step - something new for me except for test models for the project. Previously I said I'd been prepping for this project for about a year. Most of that was saving up for the airbrush and compressor and trying to figure out what to do with it! I reckon I've a fair amount to learn still but I'm getting there.
Before the highlight though I used silly putty to block out any faces. Don't want too much paint on the faces with the risk it could affect detail. Again, first time using it but it seemed to have worked a treat. There's a lot of negativity about Stormcast masks but I'm a fan and I've not many bare heads. Plus, I suck at painting faces!
Next up was Akhelian Green Contrast, shot through the airbrush at 2:1 with contrast medium (medium:Akhelian). Love this colour, especially over metallics. Thought this bit would be a doddle... 3 hours later I was almost in tears! Glad the airbrush is going away now until further down the line!
Anywho, hope you enjoy the pics.
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Just a quick one as I spent last night cleaning and corking the army. Had contemplated subassembly when making them but have tried it in the past and, unless it's a special model, I really can't be bothered.
What I did discover though is vallejo plastic putty. I mean, this stuff is revolutionary. I've had it sitting around in preparation of this project but never got round to using it. It's unreal. Previously I'd used green stuff for gap filling but it can be a right royal palaver. Liquid green stuff i find to be utterly useless. This stuff though, squeeze it on, wipe it off with your finger, and you're generally good to go! Cannot recommend it enough!
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Managed to get everything undercoated with Leadbelcher. Used a rattle can for this. Know they get a lot of stick online at times but I've never had an issue with Citadel sprays. Suppose I'm fortunate to live in a place that, despite the rain, is pretty ideal for them. One thing did annoy me in this step. For each model, I will dust them off using a soft brush prior to spraying. I used to have a dog and it's become force of habit - I've painted far too many dog hairs onto my minis in my time! I dusted all of these models and when it came to Yndrasta I did exactly the same. I was super confident she was good to go so stepped outside and sprayed. I noticed afterwards however, that from the time it took to dust to spray, a random hair had landed on her - super annoying! Out came the tweezers to get the rogue hair off her. Took a while but think she's OK now.
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I wanted to do this blog just to reflect on the creation of my new army. I'm aiming for ca.2k (as it stands currently) of Celestial Vindicators. I was hoping to start this project when the new SCE tome came out but due to delays... who knows when that would be. I'm good to go now though so thought I'd just push ahead. No doubt the points will be all skewed by the time the book finally does come out but, hey ho, what you gonna do?
The list I'm aiming to build is a mix of of new and old. For a while now I've been stockpiling SCE due to Mortal Realms and have a vast amount available. I did buy Dominion with the intent of starting SCE in 3rd but I've no intention of buying anything new until I make some decent headway into my backlog. Essentially, although I play other games and armies, I really just want to focus in 3rd on getting a decent Stormhost up and running. That probably gives me 3 years to paint as much as I can. I'm really not the quickest painter (due to time restraints more than anything else) but will try my best as I currently don't have a fully painted AoS army. I foolishly sold off my Legions of Nagash just before Soulblight Gravelords dropped as I wanted the new shiny Death models. When everything was released though, I really didn't feel the new stuff so decided to spend the money on Dominion and jump head first into Sigmar's finest.
Originally I was aiming for Anvils of the Heldenhammer but during my colour testing I accidentally did a scheme that looked like the Alpha Legion in 40k (I've always wanted to create an Alpha Legion army but never got round to it). I thought it looked cool and did a bit of research and found the Celestial Vindicators. Their fluff is pretty awesome so I thought, what the hell. I really like the idea of one day also expanding into Cities and including some Devoted. If you don't know, the Vindicators went nuts in Vindicarum and massacred a whole bunch of the citizens. Consequently, those left became extremely religious to prove how loyal they are to Sigmar. The initial list I'm aiming for is:
Lord Arcanum on foot
Lord Imperatant
Lord Relictor
Yndrasta
Sequitors x5
Sequitors x5
Vindictors x10
Annihilators x3
Praetors x3
Vanguard Raptors - Longstrike x 6
This comes out currently at 1985. I'm going to try and paint the whole army in one go, something I've never previously attempted before. I was always very much a unit at a time kinda guy. Who knows what this will be with the new book and who knows if it will even be viable. As of now though, I've been winning all my games with this list except against, ironically, Soulblight Gravelords.
So my painting style to date has relied heavily on drybrushing and washes but I wanted to really challenge myself with this army. I wanted to get away from drybrushing more than anything and I decided over lockdown that I should focus on pushing my painting to the next level. I've never been a fan of the 'Eavy Metal style though (I just do not understand edge highlighting... it looks so unnatural) and about a year ago I stumbled on YouTube channels like Grimdark Compendium, Gravehammer, and Paint it Black. These chaps blew my tiny little mind and I decided there and then that I wanted to push ahead in this style. To me, not only did it align with the grimy kinda style I was used to but it also looked more natural than what is more commonly seen. Over the last year I've slowly prepared, watching turorials and buying paints, tools, etc. I've a young family and I can't commit a massive amount of time and money to the hobby anymore. It takes me a long time to get everything needed but I'm hopeful that moving forward I'll have a lot more time to paint and whatnot. I'll post weekly in here of my progress and when I get home tonight I'll post some pics of what I've got so far.
Anyway, I think that's all I wanted to say for now.
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