Khaas:
Thanks Yodrin!
The Condemned are nearing completion, I’ve got weathering, magnets, and weapons to do to these. The bases need a little more attention too, but not a whole lot…
I gave a few models a snow job while I was waiting…
I’ll finish up these Warriors and the Gorebeasts over the next couple of days, meanwhile I’ll be doing a few touches to the display boards as I go. So yeah, expect plenty of updates.
Yodrin:
Very nice unit indeed, love em. Its good you didn’t give em b.job:)
Khaas:
It’s funny, my wife’s initials were BS when we met. She traded up, now they’re BJ.
But seriously, I got up early and did some highlights on the bases and weathering on the Warriors. The magnets have all been added to bases and weapon arms. I’ve also got the crew for the first chariot assembled and on cork. I’m still deciding if I want to magnetize them on the Chariot or just glue them in. I should have something to show for all of the hard work after lunch, quite possibly a complete Warrior unit.
Khaas:
I spent a lot of time on the Warriors this morning, a lot of magnets and a bit of glue now they all have weapon swap options and will stick to their movement tray (which I still need to make). I got to work on the weathering when I realized I still needed to wash/soak the Halberds before I could paint them, so it’ll be tomorrow before the unit is finished.
The Pigment Binder is drying on the Warriors, I’ll be adding a little Woodland Scenics Snow, but very small amounts to the bases to break things up and tie them in with the rest of the army and scenery.
Here’s the shields and Halberds magnetized and ready for priming after a bath this morning, I’ll let them dry tonight and hit them with paint in the morning.
Now to turn my attention back to Gorebeast Chariot #1, I bashed together the crew using the driver from the sprue.
For the other crew member I decided to use a Forsaken, I added a Knight Lance for the Halberd and a Beastman shield to give him a little touch of awesome.
Meanwhile, back to the Chariot itself. With the Scenic Snow dry, I could turn my attention to a bit of dirty snow on the chariot itself.
Tomorrow, the Chariot and the Warriors will be finished. I’ll then be working on the second Chariot and starting work on the Skullcrushers. So, stay tuned there’s a lot coming more on the way!
Yodrin:
As you know, I love your work ;), and omg you are a machine comming to painting speed!!!
Can’t wait to see more;)
Khaas:
The first Gorebeast Chariot is finished and on the shelf, the pictures sadly don’t pick up a lot of the color gradations. There’s a whole lot of subtle shifts that actually change at different angles, I may try a couple of rotating images later with the big camera to see how that looks. Either way, very pleased with the results and anxious to chew my way through the remainder of the army. Time for breakfast now, then I feed the baby and finish the Warriors. Tomorrow I start working on Chariot #2!
Included below are several detail shots, hope you enjoy!
Khaas:
This update requires a bit of background music, so here you go:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uecj1MN97oc
This morning I got to work finishing up the Condemned, I decided to take a page from Rusty in using Beastman shields for these. I’ve magnetized both shields and Halberds. I have also decided to use different polarities for each hand. So the Right hand for example will have the + side pointing out, the left will have the - side pointing out. Each of my guys are made this way, it keeps things tidy so I don’t have halberds in both hands, etc.
This morning most of what I had to do was adding weathering pigments to the halberds and touch ups on the shields, but I also added a small amount of snow to each of the bases. The snow is drying now, but also I added a bit of glow to Festus’s staff, which I think gave him a much needed touch of lighter colors.
Anyhow, here’s the pics…
This afternoon I’m on to the second Gorebeast Chariot, I’m now 62.5% complete with the army. There’s not a whole lot left to do, next week I’ll be knocking out the Skullcrushers and the extra DP. Trolls will be saved for last, as I’m still waiting on a couple of bases for the unit (since I added 2 Trolls at the last minute). I’ll also be putting together a third unit of Warhounds very soon. And of course the Display Board still has some work to go before it’s finished, so stay tuned!
Khaas:
Another quick update, I’ve got a lot of things in the air right now. First, there’s the display board…
I gave it a healthy dose of snow today, it’s hot outside so it should be dry pretty quickly. But, I also got impatient so as you can see it’s running down the sides, which I’m not happy about. As they say, when you rush - accidents happen. Anyhow, I’m out of snow now. Which is going to be a problem for the Trolls and Skullcrushers, but not an insurmountable one. I’ll have more snow sometime next week, meanwhile I can just keep plugging away at the models and hit them all with snow after I get more in.
Meanwhile (because you know I can’t just sit and wait for snow to dry all afternoon), I turned my attention to the second Gorebeast Chariot. 
Several layers of ink and weathering pigments later it’s close to finished. There will be some specific detail work (horn, eyes on the beast, leather) to do. And of course, more weathering. But, it’s essentially there.
With that drying I turned my attention to the crew, again I’m sticking with the driver out of the box (with minor modifications) and the second crew member is based on a Forsaken, I’ve gone with a more dynamic pose for this one and I’m quite happy with him, unfortunately there was a slight bit of greenstuff work needed to fill a gap in his chest because I can’t be bothered with assembling these in a standard configuration.
That however will be the last update until Monday, my wife and I are taking a little day trip in celebration of surviving her first week back at school. Summer really spoiled all of us, my son cries when she leaves in the mornings and it’s heartbreaking. So, a little time with all three of us is definitely in order.
Enjoy, and let me know what you guys think!
JMR:
I keep saying this, but I keep getting impressed by the rate at which you finish your stuff. It’s pretty crazy. I can’t get anywhere near your efficiency. Do you feel there are certain products or techniques used that really speed up your painting (all the weathering products maybe?), or does it just come down to discipline?
I really like the bright colours on the tentacles in your warrior unit. The snow on their cloaks looks great too.
I think your rusted metals, especially the weapons, would look a lot better if you’d apply some small lines of metal paint showing. Like where the rust has chipped away or has been scratched. Not only would it confer the illusion of rusted metal better, it would also simply make those surfaces more interesting to look at. For example, on your most recent gorebeast chariot: the blades on the end of the beast’s wrists and the chariot’s wheels are “dull”, and they stand out because of it when you look at the thing overall.
Khaas:
Thanks JMR, as for the rust I’ve been using some rusted farm tools as reference. However, I think you’re right, I will likely go back and dry brush a light metallic edges on a couple of pieces. I’ve been holding off on doing that on the weapons because I’ve been deciding if I wanted to add some gore to the edges or not, I’m still on the fence there.
As for the rest, a big part of my speed comes from time management. I call it Chaos ADHD because I have a tendency to paint multiple units simultaneously, working on a layer of ink on one, then switching to the other to do some airbrush work and ink, then on to another, etc. By doing that, I maximize my work time. Additionally, I do use some techniques that really speed things up. The first and most obvious is the airbrush, I can’t overstate how much of a difference it makes when I can blend layers on masses of models quickly. Additionally, I’ve started really focusing on watered down inks to achieve the color I want, it’s a bit like doing water color and sounds tedious at first but gives a great effect when complete.
Khaas:
So, I lied. My wife was at the school until 2am. So, I stayed up and finished the second Gorebeast Chariot. That leaves the Trolls and Skullcrushers to have the army finished. I’ll still have the display board and turn counter (not even sure what I want to do for the turn counter just yet. Anyhow, here’s the finished Gorebeast.
Now, I really am out for the weekend. Enjoy!
Willmark:
This is pretty damn cool.
Yodrin:
This is pretty damn cool.jupp jupp
Willmark
Khaas:
Our air conditioner is out, and has been since Friday. I’m still waiting on the landlord to get it fixed, and it’s really getting tiring. Anyhow, while fighting the heat I painted a test model for my Skullcrushers, honestly I probably would’ve had them all finished today if not for the heat. Either way, here’s the first standard bearer…
Detail Shots…
I’m going to go dump a bucket of ice on my head now, enjoy and stay frosty!
Yodrin:
Looks awesome as always!!!
Khaas:
Since posting the test model of the Skullcrushers I’ve had a lot of questions, so I figured I’d take the time to address them in a little step-by-step.
First, there’s the bases. These are the standard bases, I’ve added the faces from a Scibor basing kit, these are resin bits that match well with the other Scibor bases throughout my army. After that I added some pieces of Pine Bark, then cat litter (yes, cheap cat litter) to make some large stones. Then I filled the rest of the bases out with sand (playground sand from the hardware store).
For painting, I primed them all black, then dusted them liberally with white, below is the result:
While the airbrush was handy I added some Vallejo Air Sandy Brown paint, very light spotty dusting. This gives the stones a really natural look.
Then I dry brushed them with Ceramacoat Drizzle Grey by Delta, this is a super cheap paint that I use for bases and terrain. I get it for about .75 cents per 2 fl oz tube from a local hobby store.
After this, it’s all about adding some snow and grass. I’ll be doing that after I add the crushers however. And speaking of crushers…
The color scheme on these guys is actually pretty simple, and very similar to the way I’ve painted the rest of my army (the Warriors especially). Though, with red instead of green, obviously. I start with black primer, then a zenithal spray of white. I pay particular attention to the exposed skin and skulls at this stage, they will have to be touched up before I work on them specifically, but if you’re careful it won’t take much more than the airbrush…
Another angle…
After that, I hit the darker “shadowed” areas with the red, for this I’m using Vallejo Air Fire Red, I chose it specifically because it’s a nice dark red and the other side of the bottle says ROT on it (seriously) so I took that as a good sign. Here you use darker spray in the lower/darker areas. Then dust other areas (such as the torso/shoulders of the rider.
Once that dries it’s time for ink washes, I start with Secret Weapon Drying Blood. It’s slightly watered down, but I apply it liberally to all of the red plates. After that dries, I apply a more watered down layer of Secret Weapon Red Black, this is mostly for shading in darker recesses. After that I start detailing the metallics, those I do with Vallejo Model Color Oily Metal (for the weapon and underside metals, also lightly drybrushed across the red areas) and Vallejo Game Color Brassy Brass (coppery/gold for trim). At this point I do my flesh and bones and wash it all with some watered down Army Painter Strong tone.
From there it’s on to the Weathering pigments and mounting the crusher to the base. This first unit should be complete tomorrow, then I’ll start working on unit 2 which should take two days, since I’m getting a late start on them. Which means I’ll have only the Trolls and the display board to contend with. Anyhow, hope you enjoy and if you learned something… Bonus.
Khaas:
Quick update, the first unit of Skullcrushers is well on it’s way to completion. #2 is already mounted/pinned to his base and ready for weathering pigments. #3 will soon follow, I’ll be hitting both with pigments simultaneously and finishing them up (edging bases, etc) this afternoon.
Before we get into the pics I would like to address a couple of issues with yesterdays tutorial. First, for the silver metallic that I’m using on the crusher armor it’s Vallejo Model Color Oily Steel, this is drybrushed on, but in some areas (legs and belly of the Jug for instance) it’s applied much more heavily.
Additionally, on the bases I left out one small detail. Specifically plaster, I use broken bits of plaster not unlike those from GF9s Concrete Rubble pack. In fact, some of these might even be from that, as I just keep a large container of rubble around just for things like this. When making things like the stalactites for my board I broke excess pieces and placed them in the bin. And even go as far as to make large flat pieces that I break apart with my hands and a rubber mallet. The debris adds a little interest to the bases themselves, and also take up some room that would normally just be uninteresting bits of grit. They do not add a whole lot of weight, as I’m only using maybe 4-5 pieces per base, which is a really good thing.
You’ll also notice I’ve changed the eyes on the Juggernaut, the yellow just didn’t sit right with me. I decided instead on using GW Sybarite Green, which gave me a nice little glow that I also applied to the underside vents of the Jug.
Now, on to the actual model. Here’s the second Skullcrusher, like the first I’m using a shoulder bit from the Forsaken kit on the shield side, I do the same with the third crusher as well. The head is from Spellcrow, I’ll be using these on the rest of the Crushers, though the one on the standard bearer I painted previously is actually from the Forsaken kit. There are two pins holding the crusher on the base, very important when attaching to something so fragile as pine bark. Here’s #2.
And here’s how they rank up.
Enjoy, and if you have any questions or comments feel free.
Yodrin:
They are SO cool. Great painted and fantastic bases!!!
Bloodbeard:
The faces on the juggernaugt bases are super scary! Works very well. It get the fealing of something being abandoned, left and sadly forgotten - and the chaos forces moving in and corrupting it.
Khaas:
Here’s a big one… the Skullcrushers are finished! First, let’s start with a pic of the two I worked on today. Here they are before weathering and mounted to their bases, this gives you a good idea of how they look after the ink layers, etc. You’ll notice they do look a bit darker than before, though they do certainly have a more “red” look than “pink” as they did before. That’s because of the Secret Weapon Drying Blood and Army Painter Strong Tone layers, those washes are a sort of filter for the color (a bit like playing with layers in Photoshop). It’s absolutely necessary for the dull red/faded red look I’m going for on these guys.
Now, I’d like to take a moment to introduce my friends. These are the Vallejo Weathering Pigments I use on these guys, and of course the applicators I use. These I believe are from Tamaya. I get them cheap online from overseas. Once the pigments are applied, I spray the entire model + base with the Pigment Binder in my airbrush. I use an older airbrush that’s on it’s last legs, this binder can gunk up a brush pretty badly if you’re not careful so clean clean clean!
After the binder has dried, I added some gore with a little Tamaya Clear Red, I just edged the weapons then got dipped my junk brush in the paint again, I smacked the end of it with the handle of another brush repeatedly to get the splatter/spray on the edge of the blade and on the rest of the model. A little goes a long way…
And now, without further ado, it is my pleasure to present the Oathbreakers!
These pics were taken with my iPhone, I’ve put together a movement tray for the unit already but need to magnetize these and finish it off still. I’m so incredibly happy with this unit really. I’m going to take the next couple of days off from painting I think, I want to get some things done around the house before I work my way through the remaining models in the army. Just three more Skullcrushers, a Daemon Prince, and Trolls to finish!