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!