Hordebloods - Forsaken Fennblades WIP

I've been working on my Fennblades for quite a while now and it's past due that I post a Work in Progress post about them, especially as I'm quite proud of how they're coming along. The theme of these miniatures is undead, deep blue armour, worn weapons, with a variety of skin colours

The first gentleman off the workbench was my Fennblade Kithkar - the hero. Didn't get much in the way of WIP for him, but I was mostly creating and using him as test case for the rest.

I'm also leaving the basing for when everyone's completed, that way they'll all be uniform.

I'll also admit to breaking one of my rules during this project. Usually, once I start painting a miniature, it gets pulled from the battlefield until complete. But I've been working on them for so long, they've continued to see their fair share of combat.

Hordebloods - Axer base and Final Photos

Wrapping up the Trollblood Axer, I'll touch on how I created his base before showing the final photos. It's another opportunity to see some of the uses of the many sculpting gels that I work with. Today I'm using it to add form and motion rather than using it as a special effect.

The point I want to make today is how miniatures can look so much better when they appear to be alive and engaged rather that static or stoic.

Realistically Wrapped Weapon Grips

I've used string before on bows, though that's a much more subtle use than you're going to see today. The idea here is to wrap an entire weapon grip such as a long axe shaft in this case, though you could easily apply it to sword hilts, terrain columns, large battlefield weapons like catapults and more. If you read my terrain tutorials, you'll see I often work with real supplies because I feel it adds an element of realism and credibility to your art which brings our miniatures to life.

What I'm trying to change is the basic sculpted leather wraps. As you can see in the photo here, there's a difference.

Boba Fett on a Floating Skiff

Dug up an old model and decided to finally give it a layer of paint. It's from West End Games, released in 1988.

I wanted to do something a little different from my usual aggressive highlight and/or shadow contrasts, so I played more with layered light coats and blends.

I feel the miniature is complete and aesthetically my wife pointed out he's got a bit of the look of some of the old school artwork. It's not a look I'm going to keep up with further miniatures.. I'm still so attracted to the high contrast stuff I'm creating these days. I am glad I tried another style though.

Midnight Court on Parade

Armies on Parade:
Count Vlagorescu's Midnight Court

A while back I picked up an Age of Sigmar army, King Vlagorescu's Ghoulish Host, mostly because of the guy who's opened our local Warhammer store. (Which goes to show you how much "community" plays a factor in which game system you choose to play.)  I've been looking for an excuse to paint them up and it finally came in the form of the region's first Armies on Parade competition. If you've been following the work in progress on Facebook, then you've already gotten a peak into what's currently unfolding on my desk.

For those unfamiliar, this is basically a painting competition on the scale of a small army with a display board component.

Curious to know more? (Like the unique colour scheme?) Keep reading!