Ho Ho Ho and Mer... what I'm too late!? OK, Happy New Year? Good? OK, cool. Well... Yes... anyway. Ahem.
Right, drum roll please... we have reached the finale of my painting challenge! Thank you, thank you, you can all stop cheering now! As we reach the pinnacle and sad end of this feat, let us first remind ourselves of the previous models that have already been completed...
41x Zombies (Vampire Covenant)
10x Knights of Ryma (Highborn Elves)
10x Wraiths / Spectral Hunters (Vampire Covenant)
1x Frost Phoenix + Rider (Highborn Elves)
1x Elder Dragon Centaur (Warriors of the Dark Gods)
5x Elein Reavers (Highborn Elves)
5x Barrow Knights (Vampire Covenant)
5x Wasteland Knights (Warriors of the Dark Gods)
(1x Lionguard Standard)* - This is not included in total model count but thought I'd add it in for shizzles and giggles
Which is 79 (including the Frosty Rider and not counting the lion standard) for the most astute of you. And now, after several more painting sessions we can add 21 more models to that total and reach that all important 100 model count. YAY!
Before we crack on though, a quick update on some previously painted models. More specifically, the Elein Reavers...
Now, if you cast your minds back to my last post, you will remember me saying that I wasn't totally happy with these models. In fact, so much so, that I couldn't leave them in that state and half way through painting the final models on my list I picked up my Reavers and took my brush to them. And without further ado, here they are:
Effectively I started by giving them a final bit of detail and then stuck some dark wash on them. WOW! What a difference it made, turning these cartoon looking critters into something a lot more realistic. Now the only thing I noticed when I did this was that it actually went the other way in terms of brightness. Originally, they were very bright and you couldn't really see a lot of detail. Add some wash and the detail comes out - but they did go a bit dark. So, I went over the white cloth again to add a bit of contrast and there you have it. I am much more satisfied with them now and even though they aren't my finest piece of work, they have drastically improved from what they were so I am happy.
Anyway, back on to the main event - lets start with the 17x Sea Guard shall we...
So, as you may remember I have started to test out a new technique with the High Elves using a system of paint-wash-paint-wash (and so on). The results of this was seen on the Phoenix Rider and seemed to add definition to the model and give it a much more real feel (ironic I know). Now the only difference between this model and my Lothern was that I added a final stage of white dry-brush to make them a bit brighter to hopefully soften the gap between them and my older models. In hindsight I'm not sure that this was the correct thing to do. Don't get me wrong, I am happy with how they turned out and they would stake a claim for the best painted infantry unit in my High Elf collection, but I can't say I'm 100% satisfied. I think maybe it's because there is much more white on these models (shield/robes) than the character model who is mainly armour. Perhaps one thing I would like to do is learn how to soften the white with wash, etc. - rather than brighten up the rest of the model? However, that being said, I am at least 95% happy with them, and I definitely think they are my best Elven work to date so I shouldn't grumble. And besides, that takes the total to 96, nearly there...
Character models next and let's do a running count down shall we. So, coming in at number 97 & 98 respectively, we have our two fight-y Elven characters - The Noble/Prince & The Anointed of Asuryan!
Both of these came out in a similar fashion to my rider and suffice to say I could not be more pleased with the outcome. I tried to keep them looking as similar in colour scheme as possible with my previous models, and again I'm pretty happy with how they came out - especially the Anointed, who I do think looks like an on-foot version of my rider, which is very handy indeed! I made up the noble/prince with sword and shield, mainly because I think there are some good combos in the rulebook and likely to be the case moving forwards as well. Adding to that a lion cloak, thinking that his role in future could very much be in lists with a 'Chrace' Lord or fight-y character in it, and the sword could easily pass as a great weapon as it is quite big after all. With the anointed, I went with the good ol' fashioned Halberd - as it is the most likely weapon that a member of the 'Phoenix Guard' and/or leader of them would use. Maybe I could add a bit more detail in the faces of both, but I could say that for all my models really, so a learning point there - but overall, as I said, pretty happy with these ones.
Next up, at number 99, weighing in at... I dunno.. 1 pound or something??... and completing the Highborn characters... it's the Mage! Whom I have dubbed as "Zaos the Fire Mage" - for obvious reasons. Not the Zaos part, the Fire part. Anyway, here he is...
As I already had a mage with the same model, I used this as an opportunity to experiment with some different colours than my usual white and blue combo, and I chose to go down the fire route because I like the magic lore / path and the idea of a few fireballs flying out here and there at the enemy. Also it made sense with the swirling magic energy at the bottom of the model, that it could quite as easily be a small ember of fire blazing from beneath him. I really like how it has come out and think it is of a much higher quality than my previous mage, so this, to me, shows I am doing something right. I took a picture of him with my old model (below) to show how much of a difference (in my opinion) this new style has made and helps to show that I am improving as a painter which is nice.
And finally, the last model painted to complete the challenge, presenting to you, the nastiest, filthiest, most undead Necromancer around - Henrich Kemmler...
I do like this model but had a lot of clipping to do to get rid of those annoying bits of plastic that they come with, but overall, this model really didn't take that long to complete. A big spray of black, with a large dollop of black as a second coat, a few details and then a dry-brush of white to highlight and there ya go! Still fun to paint and a cool model/character to have in my army. Can always double up as a normal Necromancer if needed as well so I'm pretty happy to have him as a tool of Undead destruction in my arsenal.
So, with that final model complete, here is a picture of how all the models look together just for you! You lucky dogs...
And there ya have it folks! All done and dusted. Didn't quite make the end of 2017 but a few days over won't hurt, and there was a fair amount of repeat painting which took up some of my time. Also, cavalry models take aaaaaages to paint haha. Overall, I am happy with how my models have turned out and while I need a bit of a break from painting, I'm sure it wont be too long before I put my brush back to work! However, with the release of the 2.0 update and *SPOILER* us signing up to a tournament in February, I am going to be putting my efforts into making some HBE lists and trying them out - SUPER EXCITED!!! More to come on this, watch this space...
Now don't cry too much, as I can imagine this is not going to be the last painting challenge I ever do, especially as I haven't in any way finished my collection yet so please watch this space for more painting updates to come in the future. In the meantime, please feel free to put your hints, tips and comments for anything that you've seen above or even your own experiences with painting models, I certainly would love to hear what you all have to say!
Anyway, as always, thanks for supporting and hope you enjoyed!
Lucky-Sixes
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