Klamm

This is the first batch of my Slaaneshi acolytes; my 'Hedonaughts'. I want to proxy them as daemonettes (as I like the rules, but want the majority of my force to be mortal). Painting this starting batch of five has made me try several new recipes and techniques, to various degrees of success. White Cloaks Easily my fave aesthetic of the lot. The only negative to wet blending is that, in painting the cloaks first, I ended up getting errant smudges on them I would have to cover with more stark colour transitions. I like how the white is darker than the white of the shields, as this makes it feel like real clothing. I'm not sure whether the edge highlighting was advisable, but at least it fits with the TT style of mini. NMM Gold This was something I'd never done before. While not perfect (mainly due to my iffy judgement lighting values), it at least looks gold-esque. And it didn't take me too long. I'm mainly talking about the shield designs here: when it came to small and complex shapes like trinkets I muddled through, and it shows. NMM Steel I tried a kind of NMM metal once before, but that was for an ethereal effect on Shadespire Guard (see below). I tried something more conventionally metallic, and the results are mixed. It's too similar in colour to the cloaks, which is especially noticeable on the axe. I painted the sword with a more blue hue, which was a slight improvement. Let me know your NMM steel hacks. Gemstones This is one aspect which will be present on every single model in my army, so I had to get it right. I was surprised at how quickly the difficulty of achieving the effect becomes (booth because of brush control and visibility) at a certain size. The big gems be a little dopey in terms of verisimilitude, but I prefer them because I was able to paint them properly. Skintone I decided to go with an easier, layering system to save time. My Shadespire Targor pic below is probably my best flesh paintjob, and, while I'll be using a similar colour scheme for batch 2 of this unit, I've accepted that I need to keep it simple if I ever want to finish this project. Overall, this was a good learning experience for my project going forward. As you can see from the pink mowhawk dude (the first test mini I painted, which I dropped within 10 seconds of the final brushstroke and snapped his horn...)I was planning on free-handing cloak embroidery but it didn't quite work. On the other hand, I was nervous about the workload going into making the weird 'bumps' on the armour (easily the strangest aspect of the idoneth aesthetic) gems, but it turned out to be the most fun part of the project. I overdid the splash effects of the waves here and there, so I'll be more restrained in the future. And I kind of haven't nailed which direction the river is going, which makes it a little confusing to look at as a group. Ah well, live and learn. C&C welcome!

Hello all. Post two is about the battleline I'll be working on. First of all, Chaos Warriors. I already professed my love for the archetype in my previous post, but here I'm planning out my resplendent Slaaneshi champions. I'm using the model as basis for a kitbash: the helmet's horns will be shaved off and replaced by a plumed crest, the weapon replaced for a more elegant blade (I'm using Tree Revenant bits), the shield will have a Slaaneshi emblem (more on that below), the torn cape un-tattered (tried this with green-stuff to mixed results, but hey) and some extra gems added. Colour scheme is something I'm struggling with a little, though. I know the general colours I want: NMM purple for amour (still learning how to do that, though) Gold trim (also perhaps NMM, as I've tried the Valejo liquid metal range and it's such a pain to work with) Sea-green teal as the contrasting colour (gems and the basing water) Rich pink as the complementary colour White for cloaks and tabards to balance out the dark colour I've just not exactly worked out how this will all fit together. I'm currently thinking white cloak and shields, purple NMM armour, minimal gold trim, pink crests and teal gems. I've put together a rudimentary colour tester for the basic warrior in paint. Let me know if you have any thoughts. As for the shields, I sculpted 4 Slaaneshi patterns on filed down chaos warrior shields with the plan to try out resin casting them (though, funny story: I had them ready for a mold pour for a few weeks. The super-sculpey I was using as the base kinda melted the edges of the plastic, ruining the shields. I got annoyed, tore the green stuff off and stuck it on new shields, which is why the designs are a little janky and not quite symmetrical. Oh well). So far resin casting results are mixed, but some have come out okay, and it's the only workable solution to crafting bespoke Slaaneshi shield designs. In terms of the design, I wanted each to have the elegant curves reminiscent of Slaanesh's icon, but with slight design differences. I especially like first right and third right (using the prototype image). The first is supposed to resemble a melding of the male/female icon as symbol for gender-fluidity. The third is supposed to symbolize a unity with Chaos as a grand alliance, a Slaanesh icon with lines converging in a way similar to the classic eight-pointed star. Oh, and lastly: an indication of my marauders. I'm a lore gamer, with mortals being the focus of my army, but I'm thinking of proxying them as Demonettes (hence the choice to use their claws) since they are some of the best Slaanesh units. The base is the namarti reaver. I remember seeing them when the Idoneth previews came in. I was already considering some kitbash to make a Slaaneshi marauder, with little which appealed to me, but upon seeing these new Idoneth I KNEW: dynamic, mixed gender, and simply gorgeous models. True, the strange markings on the armour will be a little inconsistent with my army, but I think the models work as a kitbash. The recipe is basically Slaaneshi heads (hellstrider bits for men, independent female heads with horns added for women), hellstrider shields, revenant weapons and demonette claws. I'm happy with how these have turned out, and am already beginning the paint job. White cloaks and shields, purple armour (not NMM, just a simple bit of edge highlighting), pink hair and tassel, teal gems, black trousers, brown boots, and three skintones (dark skintone, tan caucasian and pallid). I'm starting the cloaks, going to give wet blending a try...

Hello all. Having just begun a busy MA, I'm of course trying to cope with the pressure by taking on a massive hobby project I've started a lot and completed a little, but, as my holidays begin, I've decided to commit and finish my project. Slaanesh has always been my fave Chaos god, so when I returned to the hobby, I knew I wanted to finally realise my vision for a warband of slaaneshi mortals. Lore and other models forthcoming, I decided to start off by simply enjoying/getting to know the mini of the chaos warrior. Seems odd to start off a Slaaneshi plog by painting up everything but. I have this odd neurosis about my painting shortcomings, and so put off the things I WANT to work on as I'm afraid I won't do them justice. Either way, though, since my glorious Slaaneshi warriors shan't be sporting tattered capes or Viking horns, I wanted to paint up some more 'traditional' warriors (stinky bois, nerdy bois, angry bois, and one hipster who thinks the old four are too 'mainstream'). I'll probably use them as unit fillers, though my Glitterhost is sure to get a perverse pleasure from tempting worshipers of other gods to fight their battles. The basing is that of a Hyshian alpine river, the realm of light being this host's home. I've made some generic terrain to fit with it: grassy outcroppings and corrupted tar-pits. Coming up: Slaaneshi Chaos Warriors and Marauders (kitbashed Namarti reavers)

To play devil's advocate as someone who doesn't want more SC releases crowding out fresher prospects, I think the biggest draw for more would be lore-flavoured. From the fluff I've read in the last battletome, Azyr is more fleshed out and interesting than ever (chain-gheists immediately add a level of morbidness to this gleaming paradise). And yet, I think it's the paradox that the SC are the most developed army in the lore, and yet the cultural and geographical backdrop of Azyr is proportionally underdeveloped. So, every cavalry release introduces new Azryite Fauna, the chambers each gleaned some insight into Azryrite society (though I think people would have little issue of an Azryrite Free People's army release). Stormcast don't NEED a single new model. But because of the sprawling SC lore, we have a great many dangling threads which would be interesting tp pursue. What are the redeemed SC like (the one's post Tornus)? How exactly do they coordinate lightning strike navigation? And, to me the most interesting: Is there 'classcism' (my pet theory/question) Stormcast can come from any realm. Well, almost: there probably aren’t many from Azyr. I assume those Azryrite heroes who marched with the Pantheon of Order were later reforged as Anvils of the Heldenhammer once Sigmar loots Shyish for the souls of heroes old. But Sigmar shuts his gates and thus prevents Azyrites from fighting against Chaos for about 500 years or so. So, other than that period where they purge Azyr of dragon ogors and beastmen, Azyr itself lacked the environment of conflict to foster heroes, and thus lacked Stormcast candidates. The Stormcast we’ve read about were heroes battling against Chaos across the other seven realms. Is it possible for some “Azyrite brat” to train themselves in battle and valour, becoming worthy of getting reforged? Maybe, but there hasn’t yet been a character like that in any of the books. So, it would follow that Stormcast who were neither souls stolen from Shyish (which seems like a minority) nor recent Azyrite settlers of the Free Cities CAN’T BE FROM AZYR. In Spear of Shadows, many characters share the perception of Azyrite society as haughty, status-driven and proud. So, the question is, how do they square their “realm-superiority complex” with the fact that the Stormcast are predominantly NOT from Azyr? Obviously, both their power and their faith in the God-King commands respect. And yet, when ‘pure Azyrite stock’ is overlooked in favour of these foreign barbarians, do the people raise a brow? And, now that the younger generation of the reforged could be Azyrites, they will invariably be a junior rank within their Stormhost. Do they question Sigmar’s judgement in this? I doubt there's an entire chamber idea in this, but it's an example of fleshing the SC out further which, if not for diverting precious resources from more deserving armies, I'd love to see. I know this isn't a rumour, but in terms of possible new SC, I'd be looking at the threads dangled in the fiction.

That Thunderscorn origin tweak was on my wishlist for ages. After all, they're all about the storm, so why not lean into the animosity with Sigmar? It's funny, I made a for-my-eyes-only wishlist of pretty much exactly this last month (well, with new models too). Didn't expect them to actually make most of it! What I hope is the case is that they're setting up three different faction "focuses" to keep them distinct: Brayherds are the despoilers, hating civilization above all. Warherds are the bloodthirsty, seeking slaughter to glut themselves on. Thunderscorn are the betrayed, the proud ancient natives of Azyr in exile, and seek to reconquer it. If there's one thing that's a missed opportunity, it's not having the Herdstone be a multipart kit that can better reflect one of the three aspects (a bloodied altar for Bullgors, a storm-conduit obelisk for Dragon Ogors). Oh, and I'm a little sad there was no Stardrake sized Shaggoth ancient model, but oh well.

Making the jump from lurking to posting with my first two warbands Painted up the SE and Skellies. The Stormcast are supposed to have a colour-shifted celestial vindicators scheme (teal to green and red to pink). Not happy with the gold, I'm having trouble with ink-shading the Vallejo liquid metal paints. Skellies are ethereal (therefore easier to paint) except for the warden, who I thought would make a good undead chaos warrior with just a little kit-bashing. The helmet is a *little* big, what with the Chaos Warrior kit being a pre-digital, heroic sculpt style, but it doesn't bother me too much. (Colours may be off due to using two different coloured bulb lamps as makeshift lightbox)