Dreadfleet Part 10: Insert Twilight Reference Here

Part 10 of thoughts and tips on the latest mega-box from Games Workshop. This article deals with the Bloody Reaver.

Let's get straight to it.

This IS the most difficult model to paint and build that Dreadfleet has to offer, hands down. Save this monster for the end; you're going to need all the practice you can get. I've broken this article up by categories of learning.

Painting:

• The color of the sails that the 'eavy metal team used can be replicated with a base coat of Mechrite Red, a layer of Leviathan Purple, drybrush the corners down with pure black, and do a soft highlight with a 1:1 mix of Blood Red and Warlock Purple.
• The hull is a two-piece core with another two pieces enclosing it. After you assemble the core, double check all the joins and angles to make sure you didn't miss anything.
• Don't be afraid to use those green washes to help push the shadows. It adds a needed dimension and is an accurate translation of the 'eavy metal style. 

Assembly:

• Get help for the assembly. Whether that means having a buddy help out or just a few locking pliers is up to you, but it's nearly impossible to get everything in place at the same time to accurately assemble the model. 
• Yes, the sails are crooked. I checked the book and they're supposed to be.
• There are a ton of fragile joints on the outer hull. Remember that you can't muscle these pieces together; dry fit everything.

Photography:

• If you want to document this build properly, take a minute to photograph the sails before assembly. As you can see in the above picture, the main sails completely covers up the one immediately behind it. Once those sails are in place, that's it. 

This model seems to be where GW stuck the extras that didn't make the final cut. A lot of the other Warhammer races get their nod here. You'll see Empire, Bretonnian, Chaos Warrior, and other little touches that indicate GW didn't forget them. 

Only one ship and two islands left. I feel like I've painted an entire army here, and in some ways I have. Next week I'll have the Shadewraith up along with some concluding thoughts. Finish line here I come!

I can't believe no one has done this joke

Any excuse to draw evil robots.

Dreadfleet Part 9: Sail Like an Egyptian

Part 9 of thoughts and tips on the latest mega-box from Games Workshop. This article deals with the Curse of Zandri.

At first, I was unaware of how this ship earned its title. I now understand; anyone who paints this ship will be cursing like a sailor. 

Actually, it's a a relatively simple job, save for the alternating triangles that form the trim of the hull. The inexplicably baroque plan of building giant stone statues into a boat still yields an impressive result. After this project, I am going to hunt down a mini or two just to practice the jade/gold combination. The main ship is a paltry four pieces, with no sails to worry about. If it wasn't for the trim, this would be the fastest paint job in the box.

I really enjoyed what they did with the look of the model, working in the brand-new figures of the necrosphinx and ushtabi warriors from the recently updated Tomb Kings range. It's good to see that the sculptors were working closely on this project to make sure it was all in line with the parent range. I wouldn't be surprised if there were a few other clues in some of these models that give us an idea of where GW is heading next with Warhammer Fantasy Battles.

This weeks extra pieces were the monsters. It was nice to paint some figures that were a little closer to the 28mm infantry models I'm accustomed to, and the poses even allowed for two of the monsters to be single piece molds. The only real challenge was getting the color just right on the slugs crawling out of the undead serpent. They ended up being a combination of brown and purple, highlighted with magenta mixed with white.

That does it for the eighth ship in the box. Unfortunately, this marks the end of ships I can paint that don't have sails... and boy does next week's ship have some sails.

Dreadfleet Part 8: A Syfy Original...

Part 8 of thoughts and tips on the latest mega-box from Games Workshop. This article deals with the Black Kraken.

Because the paint scheme was so monochromatic, I was able to save time and effort by using a colored primer, in this case a metallic one. The islands recieved a similar treatment with a 50% grey primer, leaving the models partially done before I'd even lifted a brush.

I have to say, this is probablly the easiest of the ships that I've painted so far. Even without the colored primer, there's only four colors to the entire ship. A couple washes on the metal gave it some depth, and a single round of careful highlighting ensured the black armor looked appropriately vicious.

The Dreadfleet has been much simpler to paint than the Grand Alliance. The complete lack of sails on three of the five ships, coupled with the limited color palette, makes painting faster and easier. The results are just as impressive thanks to the wild sculpts, but the challenge is severly decreased. I know this will not hold true for the Capital Dreadfleet ship, but the other four will be/have been a breeze.

GW continues it's slightly disturbed love affair with the human skull in these gorgeous sculpts. Thanks to the texturing, these islands play well with dry brushing and washes. The dry brushing leaves a very gritty feel, perfect for stone, and different color washes give the finish a multilayered effect. I found the volcano island to be particularly rewarding, second only to the glowing double skull. 

Painting lava is tricky, but a little practice goes a long way. I found the key was to get the underlying color just right, especially the gradients. The shape of the pit actually lends itself to wet blending; mixing different shades of paint before they've set. You can mix and swirl the colors to your heart's content without having to worry about spilling. Anything the hits the inner wall of the volcano will become part of the ambient glow of the lava. Only when I was completely satisfied did I very carefully drybrush the top layer with black. 

That does it for now. Next up, more evil on the high seas!

Rant: Nurgle

Dear Sculptors,

Please stop having the belly rotted out of every large scale Nurgle model you make. You've beaten this particular undead horse long enough. Stop it.

I get it; this is not real. Clearly there are a number of biological observations one could make about this situation that would prevent it from becoming so. But there's a saying I've heard from many an author that applies equally well here: Ask your audience to believe the impossible, but not the improbable.

What does that have to do with rotten stomach syndrome?

The core.

The core muscle groups (abs, obliques, traps, glutes, etc.) are the point of origin for all motion in bipedal creatures. Without your abdominal muscles, you'd essentially be stuck where you were, incapable of walking, sitting upright, and certainly not fighting. Yes, it isn't real. You can't kill something and still have it moving around. I don't care if it hasn't got a pulse, nothing that relies on it's muscles to move around can do so without the Transversus Abdominis. Judging by the size of these guys, they're going to need the industrial-strength version of said muscle. 

And let's not forget that sometimes, when we play these games, normal people like to stop by and see what we're doing. How do you even begin to explain to someone that you are an emotionally stable human-being when you've got stuff like this covering the table? It's models like these that make other people take two steps toward the door before you've even gotten out a hello.

I think what really bothers me about all of this is the lack of originality. Clearly everyone who worked on these models are superior artists in their field. Some of them really went to town and sought to innovate. The model below is by far my favorite of all these due to the sheer number of extra touches you can see in the model. It makes me want to see what this guy/gal is capable of without the constraint of having to essentially produce something that already exists.

I think it's time to move on; to seek greener (literally) pastures. I challenge the next miniatures company that makes a mega-zombie model to do something we've never seen before. Make the whole thing mechanical and rusty, or a living swarm of pestilent insects, or go for the opposite and have a slightly sickly looking clean-freak who is infested with airborne contagions. 

Be crazy, be original, and be in love with what you do. 

...

Even if it's making slimy mega-zombies. 

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UPDATE: FURTHER OFFENDERS

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Willy Miniatures: Beast of Pestilence

Avatars of War: Herald of Pestilence

Scibor: Angel of Death

Avatars of War: Lord of Pestilence

5 Tips for painting for an existing army

I recently got a notification from the facebook that a good friend of mine was having his birthday: Kenton Kilgore of the Jungle fame. I wished him a happy birthday and asked if he wanted a painted mini, to which he (wisely) responded with a resounding yes, just pick an army and go for it. Kenton has a lot of really cool and unique armies, all filled with characterful minis. I thought to paint a space marine for his gigantic 10k point army, but I thought it might get lost among the masses. I elected instead to paint a mini for his space dwarf army, the Dvergar Steeljacks.

Tip 1: Research

It's important to know what elements of the army you're trying to emulate and what key points shouldn't be messed with. You want it to be your own, but ultimately it needs to fit alongside it's brethren.

I spent some time looking at pictures of the existing models, and reading the commentary on where Kenton had pulled his inspiration from. Several things I noted:

• Heavy use of metallics
• Gold stripe down the center of the helmet
• Based on the Pittsburgh Steelers color scheme
• Highly reflective black armor

Tip 2: Select the Right Model(s)

When it comes time to select the models, be sure to find something that fits your budget not only in terms of money but time as well. If you're dedicating the resources to supplement someone else's army, make sure you can do it in a reasonable time.

I ended up going with some of mantic games' excellent Forge Father models. They fit the theme perfectly, as they were space dwarves. As I did my research, I noticed that Kenton had yet to get his hands on any Flash Gits or Lootas. I took advantage of this by selecting the Storm Rage veterans, which came equipped with large and deadly looking guns. The only conversion necessary was to clip away the built-in base that they came on so the pieces would sit on a 28mm Games Workshop base. The extra material underneath their boots actually came in handy, as they put the models at the level created by the rock.

Tip 3: Be Original

Part of the gift is what you can bring as a personal interpretation to the existing theme. With the core rules of the aesthetic in mind, do something that you want to do. Have fun with it, and you'll end up with a superior experience and a superior product.

One thing I wanted to avoid was having the black armor simply be black with a glaze over it. That being said, I didn't want to violate my first rule by not having the reflective armor. I comprimised by undercoating the models with several layers of increasingly lighter shades of blue before completing the look with a layer of pure black, leaving the armor with gradient highlighting on the edges.

Tip 4: Get It Done

No one likes having an offer revoked or even worse, simply unfulfilled. Even a 'free' offer should be treated just like the person was a paying client. It will avoid procrastination, keep your paying jobs on schedule, maintain a good working mindset, and generally enhance the effect of your initial generosity. Anyone can make a promise; be one of those rare people who keep them.

All in all this project took me two days. The largest chunk of time was spent waiting for the pieces to arrive from England, but once they were here I was off. I knew it would be a belated birthday present the second I made the offer, so I didn't want to make it any longer than it already was.

Tip 5: Document

Just because you painted the model for someone else doesn't mean you don't deserve credit for it. Avoid the temptation to ship the model out the second you complete it and make sure you've photographed EVERYTHING you want to. It's probably the last time you're going to see that model in your studio, make it count.

It was a great experience and great fun to paint something for someone like Kenton who gives so much of himself to the community. I encourage everyone to undertake a project like this every now and again. It's a good way to stretch yourself creatively, build networks, and celebrate all the wonderful individuals that make up our community.

Dreadfleet Part 7: Zombies!

Part 7 of thoughts and tips on the latest mega-box from Games Workshop. This article deals with the Skabarus.

Gloriously disgusting.
For those of you who aren't familiar with the lore, the Skabarus is an undead whale filled with the undead remains of an entire Skaven warfleet it consumed who then promptly killed it from the inside. Noctus raised the whale with a huge necromancy spell and the Skaven popped back to life as well. Thus, we have the Zombie Whale...

Gross, yet awesome.

It's actually not as bad when assembled. The part of this model that really disturbs me is the base. For some reason, GW chose to sculpt intestines and who knows what else on the base of this model, which I painstakingly painted, thinking that the open top would show the work. As you can see in the above picture, even bright lights won't show any of the insides of this thing.

Big tip for painters: just throw down a single color and a wash on the base and be done with it. It's impossible to see all the work I did, save for the copper sphere that's sticking out from the back of the base. After you get that piece done, you're free to move on.

I painted the wrecked ships for my accessory, which was a great highlight to this week's job. The super rusted, dwarven warship is a standout piece, not only for it's color, but the character of the waves that engulf it. Just beautiful.

The bad guy ships continue next time with the Mecha-Kraken!

Dreadfleet Part 6: 168 Gun Salute

Part 6 of thoughts and tips on the latest mega-box from Games Workshop. This article deals with the capitol warship of the Grand Alliance, the Heldenhammer.

Holy. Goodness.

This boat is easily the most complicated I've undertaken to date (for the record, I have now completed all the ships in the Grand Alliance.) The level of detail that has been added to this model is staggering. I counted 76 guns per side. Add in the 16 on the back and you're looking at a mind-bending 168 cannons and their gilded arches. My recommendation: patience.

The sails of this vessel are particularly difficult to paint as they require a heavy amount of freehand design and shading. Again, patience is key. 

My only real complaint with this model, which extends to dreadfleet as a whole, is the warping that has taken hold on many of the masts. It's hard enough to get the pegs to fit just right (in most cases I actually clipped them out), but it's nearly impossible to do so when everything is at an angle.

The weather token is my favorite piece from the entire box. It's stylish, well designed, and functional. This is the gold standard that every game piece should be held to. 

The Grand Alliance is now complete. The box is one half done, and I can't help but feel I picked the more difficult half to start off. We'll see next week when we take a look at some truly stomach churning sculpting work from the twisted minds at GW.

Charity Auction: Thank you

Happy Thanksgiving.

Thank you to everyone who made the charity drive a success. Thanks to your efforts, I was able to raise the money I needed to help Ohanamalu Tae Kwon Do. As always, you all amaze me. Have a wonderful weekend.

-James

Dreadfleet Part 5: Feeling Thirsty?

Part 5 of thoughts and tips on the latest mega-box from Games Workshop. This article is about, you guessed it, water.

Let's just get this out of the way now: The Heldenhammer is a beast. You need about as much time to paint this ship correctly as you would a Space Marine Land Raider. More on that next week. This week we're going to examine one of the most important aspect of any naval-based game: water.

If you look at any picture of the ocean (that isn't photoshopped to death) you'll immediately see that blue is not the only color. In fact, most bodies of water aren't blue at all, depending on the angle and time of day you observed them at. If you've ever seen an ocean sunset in July, you know there isn't a spec of blue in the tides of fire that are rolling in with the evening wind. Sidenote: Someone should totally paint a source-lit version of dreadfleet at sunset, you'd win awards with that done properly.

In any case, the biggest thing is to start with the supporting colors that are going to be showing through after the final washes. I used scorpion green and hawk turquoise as a glaze, laying it on top of the basic white undercoat. After that, I put down several layers of necron abyss and washed it with asurman blue.

The final step was one big layer of necron abyss that covered the entire base. The resulting color was united by the strong foundation layer on the topmost level while still showing elements of the colors that began the project. I then took a brush of space wolf grey and patted down the crests of the waves. A final smaller application of pure white at the very apex of the waves gave it the turbulent look.

Not technically complex, but an important technique for your toolset as a painter. Now, if I could just finish the boat that's supposed to fill this base!

Dreadfleet Part 4: There be Dragons

Part 4 of thoughts and tips on the latest mega-box from Games Workshop. This article details the High Elf vessel, the Sea Drake.

This boat has been the simplest I've undertaken so far. If you're just getting ready to crack open this box, you'd do well to start with this guy. You wind up with a beautiful piece with a minimum of headaches. And let's not forget the biggest reason to paint this boat...

Packing the heaviest load of awesome into a single model, the Dragons in this kit have an elegant and powerful look, just like the ship they accompany. Because this ship is built with a fast and deadly aesthetic, you don't have a lot of filler to take up your time. It's a simple, yet effective statement.

Make sure you get the gradients on the sails perfect before trimming out the rings and runes.

Be aware: The joins between the sails create some strange flat areas that aren't really anything but negative space that are needed for structure and support. These areas are on the undersides and backs of the sails, out of the way. You'd do well to throw in some dark paint to keep the area de-emphasized (I used Necron Abyss.)

My game piece for this round, the rulers. I left the contact points bare as any paint would only gum up the works and get scraped off during use anyways.

Painters beware: The tick marks on the sides of these ruler sections are sharp enough to draw blood. Handle with care and refrain from whipping any errant hands with these deadly weapons!

The grand alliance is almost complete, now if only we had a cathedral with sails...

Warhammer Fantasy: Dwarf Warrior

Inspired by Brian Niro's "For the Love" series, I decided to dig up some of the Warhammer Fantasy mini's that I've painted just because I really wanted to.

I love the look of GW dwarves, and I love how much weight they've managed to put into even the most basic warrior. I don't have the time or money to build an entire Warhammer army at the moment, but if I did, the Dwarves would be in my top tier choices.

Dreadfleet Part 3: Get in the Boat (Fish fish!)

Thoughts and tips on the latest mega-box from Games Workshop: Part 3. This article deals with the Alliance pirate ship: The Swordfysh.

There just isn't much to say about this guy. It's a black ship with black sails covered in skeletal imagery. Yup, that's a pirate ship alright.  

Going on looks alone, I actually thought that this ship was one of the bad guys. I wanted to paint up one of the evil ships to mix things up, but when I looked under the auxiliary table, I saw that it sailed with an alliance cog. Oops. 

Easily the most time consuming part of this piece are the sails. The slightly raised images are fantastic when they're complete, but a bear to work with. I've tried several ways of painting them so far, and there just isn't an easy way to do this. That being said, a little bit of patience goes a long way, and the results speak for themselves. I got the sea-green color on the masts by putting a wash of Thraka Green over a base of rotting flesh mixed with scorpion green .

These treasure tokens were a fun little distraction one Friday evening. They're detailed just like everything else in the box, but not painfully so.

3 ships down, 7 to go. I decided after this that I'm going to aim to complete the Grand Alliance before going on to the dark side. Next up, Elves! I've cut, cleaned, and primed the Seadrake for it's tour of duty. Thankfully this time I don't have any massive images on the sails, and for a bonus I get to paint dragons!