[Archive] The Red Queen's Wardens: Update - Artisans XXIV Golem

Darkmeer:

I picked this as my favorite entry. It was well done and I pictured it animated which was terrifying. Well done!

Jackswift:

I picked this as my favorite entry.  It was well done and I pictured it animated which was terrifying.  Well done!

Darkmeer
Much appreciated!  I too pictured this as an animated war-machine with the dragon head peering over the battlefield, flexing and curving this way and that with cringe inducing metallic screeches, groans, and an endless furnace roar; vehemently spewing superheated fire and liquid stone at anything that dares to approach.

As promised, I did manage to get somewhat better shots of the Vorpal (Infernal/Immortal) Guard unit:



Jackswift:

Progress update an Abyssal Dwarf List for Kings of War using Twilight Kin Allies (since they have rules that fit some of the models I am using).  This is a start based on what I have painted up, not a complete list.  I hope to have another 3-4 units completed by the end of June, which is ambitious given my normal speed of painting, but the wife and kids will be visiting family so I’ll have plenty of time to myself to paint.  I currently have the following ready or within a few hours of being done:

Completed (or 95% painted) CURRENT TOTAL: 530pts

Iron Caster (Stone-Breaker conversion)
Unit Size  Sp Me Ra De Att Ne    Pts
1    4  4+ -  5+ 2   11/13 105
Crushing Strength (1), Fireball (6), Heal (3 - works only on War Engines, Golems, and Immortal Guard), Individual, Inspiring (War engines only)

Blacksouls (Immortal Guard) - Infantry
Unit Size  Sp Me Ra De Att Ne    Pts
Regmnt(20) 4  4+ -  5+ 12  14/16 115

Blacksouls (Heartbreaker Evil Dwarves) - Infantry (may instead use these as Berzerkers; TBD)
Unit Size  Sp Me Ra De Att Ne    Pts
Troop (10) 4  4+ -  5+ 10  10/12 80

Twilight Dragon Breath (Converted Dragon Cannon) - War Engine ; May swap this for a similar CD Machine; not certain yet)
Unit Size  Sp Me Ra De Att Ne    Pts
1    6  -  4+ 4+ 15  10/12 90
Special
Breath Attack (Att)

Hydra - Monster (Hydra) - (Paint in progress; 95% done so pics to follow this week or next)
Unit Size  Sp Me Ra De Att Ne    Pts
1    6  4+ -  5+ 5*  15/17 140
Crushing Strength (2), Regeneration (5+), Pathfinder
*Multiple heads - in addition to the basic 5, the Hydra has a number of additional attacks equal to its current points of Damage

Aiming to finish the below units this summer (perhaps in June if I don’t get distracted with other projects).  All of these are fully assembled and primed or early stages PIP:

Basusu the Vile [1] (Lammasu) - Hero (Inf)
Unit Size  Sp Me Ra De Att Ne    Pts
1    10 3+ -  5+ 8   15/17 220

Blacksouls (Infernal Guard) - Infantry (will allow upgrade to Horde (40) size unit or 2 separate units)
Unit Size  Sp Me Ra De Att Ne    Pts
Regmnt(20) 4  4+ -  5+ 12  14/16 115

Immortal Guard (RA Great Weapon Troops) - Infantry
Unit Size  Sp Me Ra De Att Ne    Pts
Regmnt(20) 4  3+ -  5+ 12  -/17  145
Exchange Shields for two-handed weapons for free
(lower De to 4+, gain Crushing Strength (1)

Lesser Obsidian Golems (Fire and Frost Giants)
Unit Size  Sp Me Ra De Att Ne    Pts
Horde(6)    5 4+ -  6+ 18  -/17  210

Fuggit Khan:

That’s a nice balanced list (I also play KoW)…I’ve been seriously considering adding Twilight Kin allies as well, just because the models are really nice :hat off

Jackswift:

That's a nice balanced list (I also play KoW)...I've been seriously considering adding Twilight Kin allies as well, just because the models are really nice :hat off

Fuggit Khan
Thanks. Technically I will need to add in a couple of regiments of Twilight Kin if I am going to field a Warmachine and a Monster from that list. Not sure if I will use Twilight\Dark Elf units for this, or if I will likely proxy something else that fits the style of the army better.

Alternately I am considering using the Neutral Forces of Nature in stead. They also have a hydra, and have regiment units like Salamanders (I would use mierce snakemen fit to a corresponding unit base size) and Fire elementals which work nicely for K'daai and fit the Fiery nature of
The army. Frankly I may make up lists that work in both directions, or have allies from multiple armies. The end goal (and still quite a ways off) is to be able to field a 3K pt list.

Abecedar:

This makes me wish that the young ones who were playing KoW hadn’t grown up and left the area. being able to use such variety is very interesting.

Jackswift:

Very much agreed.  The flexibility of KoW list building is one of the appeals of the game and allows the use of any models you might have available combined in a single army.

And now to unveil the Hydra which will take part in my KoW Chaos Dwarf Hydra as either and Abyssal Dwarf List - Abyssal Fiend, or as a Hydra ally from the Twilight Kin or Forces of Nature list.

The model is a Rackham Confrontation Mid Nor Hydra.  For those of you who are not familiar, the Mid Nor faction are the “Evil” Dwarves of the Confrontation world.  This is 98% complete.  I do still need to do some additional detail on the scales, teeth and claws, and add some object source lighting to the monster itself from the lava base.  And yes, I see that pesky mold line.  Let me know your thoughts:













Cheers!  JR

Fuggit Khan:

Very much agreed.  The flexibility of KoW list building is one of the appeals of the game and allows the use of any models you might have available combined in a single army.

Jackswift
Yep! I love the flexibility of KoW...it really reminds me of my beloved 4th edition army allies <3



Jackswift
And what a glorious beast of chaos if there ever was one! You should have entered this guy in Artisans Contest XIX !? It's a beauty of a model and the colors are astounding :o

Abecedar:

Lovely model. Only thing I’m not sure about is the big difference between the blue and black necked ones and the lava necked ones.

Just seems odd to me.

Admiral:

@Fuggit Khan: Indeed, it looks like a pure winner of a monster.

Lovely monstrosity! I always have a hard time swallowing hydras, but you’ve picked a good model and given it an even better paintjob to bring out the Chaotic nature of it. Very striking play with contrasts, and most fitting in with your uniform colour scheme. Well done! Looking forward to see it arrayed along with the rest of your army.

Jackswift:

Gentlemen, thank you very much for the comments.

You should have entered this guy in Artisans Contest XIX !?

Fuggit Khan
I would be lying if I said that I did not consider it.  However, in my mind, I didn’t really feel that this fell within the scope of what the Artisan’s Contest is about.  Artisans is about building, and aside from the base (and an inadvertent truncating of the 3rd tail), there is no custom work on the Hydra model.  Besides I have something that will hopefully be much more fitting to the theme in mind for the contest (assuming I find the time to build it).  
Only thing I’m not sure about is the big difference between the blue and black necked ones and the lava necked ones.
Just seems odd to me.

Abecedar
I agree the scheme is not for everyone.  I was going for something that crossed between Chaos and Whimsical.  The combination of the fluid color variation, bright colors, and the stark contrast from side to side, worked for what I was looking for.   I started out with only the orange/red, but it felt to uniform for the nature of the beast and my current army scheme.  I considered alternating colors across the beast’s heads, or doing the color gradation across every individual neck and head, but ultimately went for something a bit different, and ended up with what you see.  The black scales and whorls on every limb, give some core uniformity to the scheme even with the varied color pattern.  The colors do bleed and blend into each other from one side to the other.  Though you cannot see some of the transition well in the photos because of the placement of the central heads.
I always have a hard time swallowing hydras,…  Looking forward to see it arrayed along with the rest of your army.

Admiral
Conversely, I have always had a thing for Hydras… this is the second one I have painted and have a third in the works for my Harryhausen themed warband.  This is still hands down my favorite variation of a Hydra in 28mm format.

I took a couple of army shots, but the photos were not optimal.  I’m currently waiting to finish a few more units (shooting for that 1000pt goal), before I post an Army shot, but perhaps I will take a few more of the current status.

Cheers, JR

Jackswift:

Another fun contest round with great entries across the board.  

The first thing that popped into my head was a mimic on an epic scale.  The original concept piece was 4-5 times larger than the final entry, and imagined on a grander scale.  Ultimately it came down to time available to complete the piece.  I knew going in, I wouldn’t have any to spare until the last few days of the contest.  

Compound my available time by the fact that I read the contest closing date wrong, and only the generosity of the entrants and staff allowed me to participate via the extension.  

Not unsurprisingly, it came down to 10:30pm the evening before the contest deadline, before I had a moment to sit down and work on the piece.  The afore mentioned generosity meant that I really needed to put in a best effort to get the model done.  I had another obligation on the evening of the 16th, so I wouldn’t have any other time to work on it.  I scaled down my imagined piece to about 25% of the original imagined size and set to building.

Core materials came from plasticard, stone stamped plasticard, reaper bones models, and bits of round plastic cut as bubbles (some of those bubbles are from the neck part of space marine heads… :slight_smile: did the job).

Once again I forgot to take a completely pre-paint shot.  Here is with primer partially applied, but you get the idea:



Build took a little less than 4 hours.  The bridge is layered plasti-card on cork steps.  I hesitated to put the tentacles in the lava, but ultimately decided they looked best there rather than coming from under the bridge (realism thrown out the window; it’s fantasy right?).  Perhaps with more time I would drilled them out and then bent wire inside them to reshape them to come out from under the bridge and curve over it.  The Paint job took roughly 1.5 hours, but it was approaching 4am and a busy day, so I crashed.  Had I more time, I also would have devoted several additional hours to painting, and I would have magnetized the creature pieces to so that it could also just be a bridge lying in wait looking ordinary.  

I was overall happy with the result, given the severe time limitations (start to finish <5.5 hrs).  Some things, like the flowing lava came out with a nice effect that I never would have tried had I more time.  I started out in the hobby as a very, very, very, very slow, and have spent many years teaching myself to paint faster (used to be, even 2-3 years ago, that a single 28mm model could take me 10-12 hours to complete).

And now the final model of the sinister bridge known as:

"Zhadkur-Enk’s Final Crossing"

It is said that creatures in unusual environments will sometimes take on unusual characteristics or uncommon size and scale as they struggle to survive and gain the upper hand against whatever nature throws at them.  Such is the case with the creature known as “Zhadkur Enk’s Final Crossing”.  Now known to be a mimic of unprecedented scale and unusual form, where once there was a bridge in a seldom used crossing.  No one knows what happened to the original bridge, or when the creature took up residence; but Zhadkur Enk, a hated and vile slaver cleverly discovered the creature’s residence mid bridge crossing whilst searching for a gaggle of escaped slaves.

His clever discovery was rewarded by conferring him with the honor of providing a meal to the creature which he so diligently discovered.  The other search party members fled, but never fully revealed the source of his demise.  The Crossing’s existence remains a poorly guarded secret, and is often used as a tool to rid oneself of hated enemies, in-convenient family members, and pesky government officials.  As a result the bridge has grown in size from mostly a foot path to a railed stone crossing.  It is said by some… that even those who step too near the shore on either side may be taken… by steaming tentacles that snap forth from beneath the very lava which the bridge crosses over; to hoist the unwary into the monster’s gaping maw.  How such a creature could survive the heat is a mystery, but the chaos that flows in haphazard design across of the northern wastes bestows many a strange and unnatural gift to the denizens that thrive therein.












Let me know your thoughts.

Cheers,

JR

Fuggit Khan:

So awesome.

Words fail me to express how much I love this model. You had my vote among some very strong (and well deserving) competition.

I love everything about it, there is absolutely nothing I would change.

My first thought as an entry was also a mimic of some sort…but I realized that I did not have the skills to pull it off, I’m very happy to see we had similar idea’s and that you managed to pull off an idea that I utterly failed at trying.

And the painted lava :o Gorgeous, it actually looks like it’s flowing in a current…gives such a great dynamic feel of motion.

And a nice story/background bit of fluff too:

"and is often used as a tool to rid oneself of hated enemies, in-convenient family members, and pesky government officials"

Perfect Dawi Zharr fluff :hashut

:hat off

Abecedar:

I agree, the lava is truly beautifully done. I didn’t think of the whole bridge being a mimic, just that a critter had taken over part of the bridge.

Great entry.

Admiral:

You built and painted that marvel in 5.5 hours?! Most impressive, and now I can’t but hope for some similar largescale mimic project complete with magnets and longer work time in the future. Fantastic terrain, and like Fuggit I liked that particular background bit in particular. As someone who takes 4-12 hours to paint a single 28mm infantryman I can’t but hope to reach such quality paintjobs achieved in so short a time as one and a half hour. Well done!

Darkmeer:

Nicely done! I really like this, it fits the terrifying nature of the Chaos Dwarf territories.

Loidrial:

Damn, i discovered your gallery just now. So apparently stuff like the mechanic dragon is just your standard in picture and model.

that’s just great. all of it.

TheHoodedMan:

Your bridge is an absolutely brilliant terrain piece. Really good work. Have some slaves for that!

I also like your hydra. I know a lot of Rackhams models but I didnt remember this one. Great idea and Kings of war is a nice game, too.

Jackswift:

Gentlemen, Thanks very much!  

I was surprised by all the comments on the lava, but they are much appreciated.  I suspect that you will see that style of lava on additional future basing for large models.  

My first thought as an entry was also a mimic of some sort…but I realized that I did not have the skills to pull it off,…

Fuggit Khan
Given the skilled scratch building in your last Golden Hat entry, I am certain you could put together an awesome mimic!  You should definitely give it a try at some point in the future.
…I can’t but hope for some similar largescale mimic project complete with magnets and longer work time in the future…

Admiral


It’s definitely still on my list.  Though I tend to need a good incentive to complete projects like that.  I find I end up completing commission projects for others in a timely fashion, and my own projects and ideas fall by the wayside unless I have a specific game, or competition that I am painting towards.  It’s to easy to push timelines when they are just for myself.  These contests have been a good excuse to actually work on my army.  :P

As for speed of painting and building.  It has taken years.  And the afore mentioned commission projects are what actually forced my hand to learn to build and paint (to a good quality table-top level) faster.  Take on some projects where you actually have to work faster, and suddenly you find yourself refining techniques to the essentials that get it done, but still look good on the table-top.  
So apparently stuff like the mechanic dragon is just your standard in picture and model.

Loidrial
It definitely does represent a style of model and how I like to work.  I got into the conversion and scratch-building side of the hobby before I got into painting, and I still enjoy building and assembly of models, quite a bit more than painting (though I do really like the finishing stages of the painting process).  You should see the number of assembled models I have laying around waiting for paint.  I keep fantasizing that I’ll find someone who is a fantastically awesome painter but hates the conversion and assembly side of the hobby that I can trade work with.  Granted I would miss the satisfaction of a 100% self completed model. :wink:
I also like your hydra. I know a lot of Rackhams models but I didnt remember this one.

TheHoodedMan
Thank you!  If I am not mistaken, the Hydra was a very late sculpt and there were either very few made, or it was only manufactured once Legacy Miniatures picked up the license.  It’s a great model, and a very unique take on the hydra concept.  Really a pain to paint however… lol.  SO many undercuts and pieces crossing over in front of each other.  I couldn’t even think about basing it until the paint was done.

Jackswift:

Groups shot of currently completed Chaos Dwarf (Abyssal Dwarf) Army units, monsters, war machines and character.  I don’t currently have the right number of troops (infantry or cavalry) to monsters, heroes, etc. so I need to get some additional infantry or cavalry units done.



What you see here:

- Iron Caster (Stone-Breaker conversion) - Hero (I know.  Bases size is wrong, but my gaming group isn’t that picky).  I may later field him as a Fire Djinn from the Infernal list.

- Blacksouls (20 Immortal Guard) - Infantry

- Blacksouls (Heartbreaker Evil Dwarves) - Infantry

- Twilight Dragon Breath (Converted Dragon Cannon) - War Engine; May revise this as a similar Abyssal Dwarf Machine

- Hydra - Monster (Hydra; Elemental List)

- Basusu the Vile