The Grymwatch

Wanting something small in number to paint up for ebay, I bought myself a few boxes from the Warhammer Underworlds series. Don't ask me what the game is like, there are cards in each box which are used pokemon/magic style, other than that I know nothing. The models look nice to paint which is why I bought them. The first set completed, which I should have posted yesterday for Halloween, is the Grymwatch.

These are effectively a handful of ghouls and some bats, and they would slot nicely into Undead collections. I went with a pale sickly pallor for the skin, dank and greasy long hair and a few splashes of gore here and there. The bases are illuminated by an eerie glow, which is just a wash of a blue/turquoise shade. Nice and quick to paint.

I find myself drawn to smaller groups of models, my patience to paint regiments has pretty much evaporated over the summer. So my personal work has been reduced to small bursts of activity on small numbers of models. Over the past three months I have painted three vikings, three dwarfs and one orc. That's the lowest level of productivity I can remember since starting the blog over ten years ago. The times they are a changing?

How to paint a Tomb Banshee

I have completed and uploaded a third video tutorial to my YouTube channel, this time on how to paint a tomb banshee, though the palette would be equally useful for Slaanesh daemons, maybe chaos and dark elf troops. I hope you find it useful.

If you want to support me in this time consuming endeavour, the easiest way is to click the thumbs up, subscribe to my channel and share with fellow hobbyists. The more support I get, the more time I can spend on producing tutorials like this.

My YouTube channel

After many trials and tribulations, my first YouTube video is ready. Click here to see the tutorial.

I had so many obstacles to overcome to get this far. Getting the photography right, learning how to use a video editor (well, trying four before I found the right one), problems with my laptop, trying to get a new microphone working (top tip - check a battery is included). It feels so good to have finally launched.

Please go and have a look and leave me feedback. If you want to support my efforts, please give it a thumbs up, and spread the word, share it with as many hobbyists as you can. Thanks guys. More to come.....

Painting tutorial video coming soon

Like many hobbyists, I grabbed a copy of the first issue of Mortal Realms to get my hands on some cheap minis. These are the nighthaunt chainrasp from that magazine, speed painted in the last couple of days. I have been taking video of the process as I go along and will be uploading a tutorial to Youtube, though I am still waiting for a microphone arrive in the post. Keep an eye on the blog (or my facebook or instgram) for further announcements.

It's quite amazing how these figures are engineered, they are two parts that simply slot together. And yet they are probably the best animated spirits you can get. They are quick and easy to paint too, as you will soon discover......

Return to Grimdal's Tomb part 2

A horn blast startled the rangers into readiness. They took up positions on the edge of the Oakenwood, peering across the dark glade. Slowly, their enemy hobbled into view. Zombies fell to the ground as crossbow bolts thudded into them. More zombies trailed alongside them, a wall of rotting flesh. Skeletons creaked forward, and wights seemingly floated across the ground, heading straight for the tomb. Behind them, the dark robed necromancer urged them on.

A cheer went up on the dwarf left flank, as slayers charged down from the foothills and made straight for the tomb. The dwarfs cheered even louder as a gyrocopter swept over the treetops. It flew straight over the zombie wall then a brief flash and an explosion rocked the night. Bones shattered and the necromancer stumbled to his knees, the whole Undead army faltered.

The dark robed figure gripped his staff and pulled himself up. Despite his wound, he was able to conjure a chill wind, the blast directed up into the sky at the hovering dwarf contraption. There was an audible crackling noise as the whole machine was covered in freezing ice crystals. The rotor stuttered, the pilot cried out and it careered to the ground. The foul undead creatures shambled forward once more.

Zombies were continually pierced by bolts and fell to the ground, but then rose again under the influence of foul magic. The slayers found their route to the tomb blocked by shambling corpse soldiers. Skeletons swarmed over the downed gyrocopter. Wights silently floated toward the tomb, just as the door creaked open. From that ancient portal, a hulking figure lumbered out, wading into the spectral warriors. The ogre hacked and slashed at the eerie robed figures, one dissipated to nothing as his cleaver struck, but their chill weapons pierced his flabby bulk. The ogre retreated back into the tomb, bellowing in rage. The wights hovered by the tomb door, awaiting a command.

The downed gyrocopter pilot furiously tapped on dials and hammered on levers with one hand, swinging his axe at the skeletons with his other. Somehow he had survived the short descent of his machine to the ground. Even more miraculously, with a juddering wheeze, it suddenly started back into life, the rotor spinning once more. The dwarf gyrocopter swayed back into the air again, skeletons scattered beneath it. With steely determination, the pilot aimed once more at the dark robed figure and tossed a bomb straight at him. The bomb rolled right up to the feet of the figure, then lay there. There was no flash, no explosion this time. The icy blast must have rendered the bomb useless!

Dwarf rangers finally threw down their crossbows and hefted their huge axes. They charged toward the zombies, determined to sweep them away and carve a route through to the dark robed necromancer. Slayers joined them. At the tomb door, there was a frightful noise, as a pack of gibbering, howling gobghouls emerged from the darkness and threw themselves at the wights. This attack was surprisingly vicious, the wights fell back under the onslaught of rusty blades and scabrous claws.

As the zombie lines thinned, the dwarfs crept ever closer to the necromancer and his depleted bodyguard. For the first time, he stepped back, hesitating. A glance over to the tomb told him that his wight servants had failed. A faint glow in the east heralded the new dawn. The darkness would soon be gone. The grating sound of a huge rock door closing signalled the end of the battle.

The robed figure took one last, wistful look at Grimdal's Tomb, then melted away once more. The foul undead plodded after him. As the pink tinge of dawn intensified, dazed dwarfs stumbled over corpses, discovering fallen comrades among the rotted dead. Many had given their lives to protect the ancient tomb, and yet had it all been for nothing? The sacred site had long ago been defiled and infested by other dark creatures. The survivors solemnly began the grim task of gathering their dead for the long trek back home.

Return to Grimdal's Tomb part 1

Long ago, there was a great battle at Grimdal's Tomb, between the dwarfs and a race of men, now long forgotten. The men came seeking dwarf treasure that was rumoured to lie in an ancient burial mound; the dwarfs came to protect their ancestor's resting place.

Grimdal's Tomb lies beyond the eastern fringes of the Oakenwood, roughly half way between Oakenheim and the abandoned hold of Helheim. As a sacred dwarf monument, it is not usually marked on maps, lest any treasure hunters or other undesirables should attempt to visit. Dwarfs far away from home, notably rangers and wandering slayers, often visit the site to pay their respects. It was during one such visit that they first discovered another at the site, a dark robed figure poking around under cover of the night sky, who melted away into the shadows when challenged. Alarmed at this intrusion, the dwarfs doubled their patrol of the area, and sure enough, a few nights later, the dark robed stranger was back, but this time he was not alone.

I first discovered Grimdal's Tomb back in 1992, in White Dwarf issue number 153. I had bought the magazine to further investigate the "new" Warhammer Fantasy Battle game - in reality it was the fourth edition, but it was all new to me as an occasional player of Heroquest.

Grimdal's Tomb was the setting for a battle report between Dwarfs and Bretonnians, with a slight twist. Both sides were trying to get into the tomb, thought neither knew that they would also have to contend with the tomb guardians - a troll and a handful of skeletons.

I adapted completely stole this idea for a battle, though I would be using the Erehwon rules. Dwarf rangers and slayers would join forces to face the intruders, with support from the newly painted gyrocopter. It was also a chance for me to play a first battle with the Undead in this system. A necromancer, leading two units of zombies, skeletons and wights, would be attempting to break into the tomb. And the tomb guardians? A hulking ogre and a pack of ghouls would randomly turn up to attack whichever unit was nearest to the tomb entrance.

As the gloom of night descended on the trees, the rangers settled in for a long wait. Accustomed to the darkness of their underground homes, they could easily see across the clearing to the stone monument of the sacred tomb. Hours ticked by, and it seemed that it would be another fruitless vigil, when a chill descended on the glade. Snorri drew his cloak around him, and lighting his pipe was surprised to see his breath in the night air. It was mid summer, yet suddenly as cold as a mountain peak. Furtive movement across the clearing caught his eye. He nudged his companion to be ready to give the signal. The dark robed intruder had returned to Grimdal's Tomb.

Skeletons

This unit popped up from nowhere, almost. I have had the skeletons assembled for a good while, but no real desire to paint them. But then I suddenly found that I had two commission jobs for Undead, so I grabbed these as a practise session, just to get the feel for a bone palette again.

It was also an opportunity to practise speed painting. I set myself the task of painting 30 minutes each day on them, the first few sessions I documented on my facebook page. In the end, it took nine sessions to paint and base them, so that's 22 minutes per model. They are not technically difficult to paint, but still I think that's a fairly good pace. You could say a rattling good pace....if you like corny puns. Which I do not, obviously.

These will be added to my Undead collection, which is starting to "flesh out" quite nicely. Alongside these skeletons, I have two units of zombies, a unit of ghouls, a necromancer, wights/elite skeletons, a few spirits and the Lord of Bleak Fell. That's just about enough for games of Saga and Erewhon.

The Red Death

A blood red moon hangs in the night sky as the Lord of Bleak Fell continues his journey into the ancient catacombs deep inside the Helsridge mountains. More spirits have been awakened. These creatures were once executioners, the swish of their scythes the last thing heard by many a victim, their robes stained red over a lifetime of bloody decapitations. The Red Death has been unleashed.

Four more spirits added to my Undead army. These wraiths are lovely models - they have so much movement and animation, a great improvement on the clunky old metal figures. When it came to painting them I was torn between two possible schemes. I did think that they were little bit like Harry Potter dark wizards, black robes and mist floating through the sky. But I thought that might be a bit dull and not really fit in with the rest of the army, which is quite colourful considering it's dead! So I went instead with an old school vibe of red robes, coupled with the ochre brown tones from the Warden's robes.

In truth I am unsure if the scheme works that well. I can never quite decide if high contrast is a good thing - the dark red and the light blue mist are poles apart.There's also a slight gloss sheen on the robes that I cannot get rid off which is distracting my eye. I am going to put them to one side, call them done for now, maybe tinker with them again at some future point.

They took a while to get painted, what with the recent heatwave and the usual summer time distractions. There's a handful of figures still to do from the Soul Wars set, including the pick of the bunch for me, the mounted spectral knight. Hopefully I can get them painted before another distraction comes along. I am already starting to think about another two factions to add my fantasy collection!

The Warden and the Awakener

The Undead are stirring from their slumber. In the long hot summer days, life is good and few mortals give any thought to the terrors of the dark. And yet, deep in the Helsridge mountains, untold horrors are about to be unleashed. The Lord of Bleak Fell has been searching in the cool darkness, for burial crypts long forgotten. Protected by magical wards even he cannot fathom, these tombs are the resting place of powerful warriors and dread sorcerors. He must find the Warden, the Key Keeper of the burial grounds. Only this creature can locate and unlock the ancient sarcophigi. Even then, the spirits entombed will remain at rest. And so the Lord of Bleak Fell also searches for the Awakener......

The lure of the new Games Workshop nighthaunt range proved too much for my weak resolve to not buy any new figures. In my defence, these are my first major purchase of the year. I thought they would make a nice addition to my Undead force. These are a couple of the models from the Soul Wars beginner boxset. I have kept a few of the spirit models and sold on the rest, to keep the cost of my impulse manageable.

I managed to carve out a little hobby time over the weekend and rattled through this pair in a couple of sessions. The Warden I imagine to have been a lowly prison keeper in his time. When death came, his spirit wandered, unable to rest after the unspeakable cruelties he had inflicted during his miserable lifetime. The palette had to be something a bit grimey and dark. The green cast of the ghostly vapours echoes the green glow I have used on all my undead figures.

In contrast, the Awakener was probably a sorceror or magician in his lifetime, perhaps attached to a royal court or palace. His purple robes reflect a comfortable, opulent existence. His magical staff is now used to rouse the spirits that the Lord of Bleak Fell requires for his army. A magical servant in life, unable to escape his role even in death.

I am really impressed with the figures from the Soul Wars boxset. The fact that they are press together models is quite astounding. I did actually glue mine, as much to disguise the joins as to keep them together. Some are a bit fragile looking, hopefully they will stand up to the rough and tumble of transportation and gaming. As usual with my own collection, they are glued on to two pence coins rather than the supplied bases.

Here's a picture of the Lord of Bleak Fell with his bodyguard and new recruits, heading deeper into the catacombs in search of more spirits. And maybe a few more mundane troops too. Who knows what else they will find in the deep, dark places?

X.VII - Men, Elves, Dwarfs and so much more

It's time for another look back on the ten years I have been blogging. 2014 was an excellent year to be sure and I had lots of painted items to choose from. At the start of the year I painted up a block of 36 skeletons for my Vampire Counts army, quickly followed by a couple of characters. A few weeks later I painted up a dwarf character, one of my finest ever beards I think. My chaos army got some love too, with marauders, marauder horsemen and a chariot added. I even managed a unit of finely painted high elf archers. All this in the first half of the year - if only every year could be this productive!

Historic gaming was becoming more of a staple for me and I finally found a range I was very happy with - Drabant Miniatures Vikings. I also added a few more plastic dark age warriors and some metal archers to my growing collection.

But it was a further expansion of my Lord of the Rings collection that really pleased me in this year. Having collected a decent size Orc force, I made a start on a small Rohan warband. And then later in the year I painted up these dwarf rangers - and having visited Scotland that summer decided that they would look really good in kilts!

I cannot imagine any year being surpassed by this one, in terms of the quantity and quality I achieved. It was peak hobby performance in 2014, a fine vintage.

More Bleak Fell Guardians

The second set of Bleak Fell Guardians are almost finished. I say almost because I am not happy with the cloaks, especially the front centre example. And the shields are a bit rushed and could benefit from a little more attention. But for the time being, they are done. My aim when I started out with these figures was to come up with something that was different to my usual drab browns, and also not just the oft-seen ghostly effect. I have definitely achieved that on this unit, but I think it worked better on my first attempt.  A few little tweaks still to do here.

All twelve guardians with the Lord of Bleak Fell at their centre - I have to admit this is not the usual palette for an undead force. Once those pink tones are adjusted I reckon it will look just fine. That's a job for the new year.

For now, in Beardecember, another set of hairy chins! Yep, I was pressing to finish these purely for that reason. I bet few people would think of these models when thinking beard.

I do have a few more beards to come, much more stereotypical than this lot, but with another little twist. That should have you tugging on your chin hairs in contemplation.......

X.VI - More Undead

Hobby time has been a bit thin on the ground - thinner than a skeleton's bicep - so it's time for another scrabble through the archive. We have reached 2013, which turned out to be an excellent vintage for a variety of reasons.

This was the year in which kickstarter really took off - I painted up some of the now forgotten Sedition Wars figures. There was plenty of fantasy painting, including a tentative start on an Empire force. 2013 was also the year in which I really made a significant dent in my collection of Lord of the Rings figures, with hordes of orcs poring out - Morannon orcs, Mordor orcs and uruk hai. And finally I painted up a decent viking force for Saga gaming. Phew, that was a very good year! I was tempted to choose the orcs, but I think in the end my most prized painting of that year was more units for my Vampire Counts, including this mighty varghulf and a unit of grave guard built from Lord of the Rings plastics.

X.V - Ghouls

It seems a fitting day to be posting another look back at my ten years of blogging. We have reached the halfway point, the year 2012. So far, the majority of my favourite work has been related to my chaos army and, true to form, I did paint a large and rather splendid unit of marauders, which almost made it to the top slot. 2012 was also notable as the year I made my first steps in playing historical games, most notably collecting a Saxon force for games of Saga. But it was this unit of ghouls painted at the end of the year that I have chosen to showcase.

There's something really nice about having the figures posed on these multi bases, they seem more alive. They are fairly flexible too, using wound counters, though not much good for skirmish games. But at the time I had no idea that massed fantasy gaming was on the way out. The ghoul hag/necromancer was a later addition, but she was always meant to be the leader of this horde. I should really repaint the edge of the base to blend in more!

These figures also reflect a continued change in my painting technique. I had for years slaved away at the old method of base coat, shade, layer, layer, layer. But after reading articles on painting armoured vehicles I had started to glaze more and more. It had always been my aim to be able to paint figures purely on glazing from white, and these figures reflect that. White primer, glazes and some stippling were all it took. The character had some more traditional layering too, but again it was nearly all simple glazing and stippling. It's a technique I use almost exclusively to this day.

Bleak Fell Guardians

The Lord of Bleak Fell is gathering his forces. Freed from his icy tomb, he wanders the dank caverns deep in the mountain, waking his legions of faithful minions. These guardians have lain quiet for centuries, sleeping, waiting for the return of their master.....

It seems like a long while since I started these figures, back in July. I have been working on them sporadically since then. My aim at the time was to paint them in an unusual (for me) palette. It would have been easy to stick to my tried and tested muted formula, but I wanted to inject a little more colour without them becoming garish. I stuck to the cool end of the spectrum - blues, purples, a little green and red. At times I hesitated and pondered, but finally they are complete. Well, these first six are done - there's another set waiting to be finished.

These are plastic Lord of the Rings Army of the Dead figures, with a few skeleton bits added here and there. They are lovely figures to work on, lots of detail but very easy to paint with a few basic techniques such as drybrushing or glazing. The shields are from various sources - some from the GW skeleton sprue, maybe a chaos shield or two in there, plus some historical. The designs are mostly inspired by my love of Norse and viking lore.

In gaming terms these figures are the elite troops of the army - the Lord's Royal Guard from days long ago, now risen once again through dark magics. They are well equipped and heavily armoured, hopefully the heavy hitters of the force - much needed to supplement the pathetic zombies and only slightly better skeletons.

I am pretty happy to have stepped out of my comfort zone and tried something a bit different. The end result I like. They are a real contrast to my previous efforts on these figures. It's good to try something new - proof that you definitely can teach an old dog new tricks.

Lord of Bleak Fell

Shunned by man, haunted by dire wolves and ice trolls, Bleak Fell lies deep in the jagged mountain range known to the dwarfs as Helsberg. At one time in the distant past, it was the burial place of kings, a place where the dead were honoured. Interred in palatial tombs, those people are now long gone, a lost and forgotten civilisation, whispered of only in ghost stories. And yet, a few still seek this place. Most perish, for the road is long and hard, the old paths are gone, and many terrors lie in wait. For any mortal foolish enough to seek out the rumoured treasures, there can only be pain, failure and death. 

Kulgin Bachensteiner long gave up his mortality. His foul necromantic rituals and unspeakable acts have extended his life far beyond the span of any mortal. He has studied old maps and lore for decades, to seek out the Lord of Bleak Fell, to enact the magic rituals to restore his corpse, to learn from him the deep, dark knowledge. And so he braved the dark forest path, hidden from the wolves and beasts by his magic. He ascended the long, icy road to the summit, the freezing winds and snow no hindrance to his cold, unbeating heart. He found the hidden entrance and descended into the dusty crypt, with no fear of the spirits haunting those old passageways. Finally, he unlocked the mystery of the tomb, chanted the forbidden verses, and saw the Lord of Bleak Fell rise once more, to do his bidding.......

Or something like that. This is an old metal figure from the 1990s, a wight. Back in those days, the Undead army book contained wights as a unit and a small number were released. At the time I thought they were really cool. Now I look back and think that the Undead were possibly the goofiest army ever released!

Still, when I was looking around for a figure to lead my new Undead force, I chose this old wight for nostalgic reasons. The Undead were my first fully painted army, the first army I took to a tournament. Though I never actually owned any of the wights at the time, I did pick up a few on ebay in later years, again mainly for nostalgic reasons. And finally one of them is painted. The only concession to the modern era is the plastic skeleton shield.

In truth, as an Undead lord, it's not a particularly special figure. The plastic army of the dead figures would have probably been better candidates. But I wanted to pay homage to the old times, so here we are, the Lord of Bleak Fell rises once more......

Skyrim fans will recognise the setting I have stolen from been inspired by - the Bleak Falls Barrow. I live on the edge of the Lake District in the north of England, and here our mountains are called fells. It didn't take much work to arrive at Bleak Fell as a location for my Undead Lord.

Two weeks later.....

It's two weeks since my last update and I really wanted to have this unit finished by now. However, as you can see in the photo, it's only just started. I blame too much work and home DIY projects. I did get a decent session in, painting on the robes, which I then roughly drybrushed over with some grey, then applied some inks for shading, and some matte varnish to remove the inky shine. And then just today I quickly painted the metal areas. That's it, just two painting sessions in two weeks.

I chose the cool colours of the robes as a change to my usual approach of going for a realistic, muted palette. I just wanted to try something a bit different. Recently I have been admiring different painters' work on the web and one thing that attracts me is the vibrant command of colours that many have. It's something I am working on myself in my own way. I had a stark reminder of my adherence to realism when I pulled out some Mordor orcs today, in preparation for a game over the weekend. The palette is so dull and murky, realistic perhaps but uninspiring. I will get some pictures in the game and post them over the weekend. Hopefully I will get some painting done too.....

Necromancer

Kulgin Bachensteiner has sought answers all his long life. From the deep, dank forests of RukenWood he journeyed across the Hard Hills to StoneGrave Moor. Here it was that he discovered the long lost cairns and barrows of an ancient civilisation. Within these cold tombs he sought not the tarnished treasure and ancient gems, but dark knowledge........

It's cheesy I know, but somehow it's fitting for a model like this. It's probably some kind of unholy sacrilege to criticise these much-loved classic figures, but I have always found the undead range to have that clunky, 1980's vibe. I did toy with the idea of removing the ridiculously large skull head and sword blade, but in the end decided to go full on nostalgia and just paint it up as it stands.

Painting the necromancer was a reward to myself for completing the zombies. However, as I have no real love for the model, it was a rush job completed in a couple of sessions. It's not my best work, but it's good enough and keeps the momentum going on the Undead project.

Here's a shot of Kulgin surrounded by his mindless minions. As I had my camera set up I took the opportunity to reshoot the zombies, the butcher and the ghouls.

Barrow Guardians WIP

A little progress on the Undead force. These are the Barrow Guardians of StoneGrave Moor. They are the elite troops, the one unit that might actually cause some damage on the battlefield. Originally I had intended just eight models for two Saga points, but decided that three points gave me more options and makes sense from a Dragon Rampant viewpoint - units of elites are six strong in that system.

They are built from plastic Army of the Dead figures from the Lord of the Rings range. A few have weapons from the plastic GW skeletons, plastic shields from Gripping Beast Saxons, plus a few other bits here and there. Nothing amazing or ground-breaking, but they do fit the bill nicely.

Zombies

Two dozen zombies speed painted. These are predominantly plastic figures, mostly mantic with some GW bits. There's also some Wargames Factory historical bits from their Saxon range. The two main characters in the centre of the front row are metal figures from the now defunct Rackham Confrontation series. It's tempting to spend a little more time on these two "leaders" but I am trying to whizz through these figures so will call them done for now.

My aim is to use these figures in several systems. In Fantastic Saga they are Undead levy troops, so two units of twelve - theoretically they could be split into smaller units but I would probably field them big as they are very poor and need the numbers. They would also be similarly used in Dragon Rampant. They could also be ranked up on magnetic movement trays to play mass battle games.

After just over a month I am pretty pleased to have painted up four points of my Undead Saga force - these two points of levy and the previously painted butcher and ghouls. I am continuing with the fleshy elements - some fliers and a necromancer are in my sights. Then I will move on to the bony bits - I have already started the rather tedious task of building a legion of skeletons. Onwards we shuffle!

The Butcher

The Butcher of StoneGrave Moor. You probably recognise this as an ogre kingdoms butcher, at least that was it's title when I bought it years ago. I swapped the head for a plastic one, think it came from the leadbelchers set. I also added a little greenstuff here and there to hide joins. Then it sat in the cabinet for years - I originally had intended using three as Nurgle ogres but never got round to the other two. Now that I am painting an Undead force, I thought it was the ideal model to lead a pack of ghouls. Yes, I may well have played Castlevania at some time in the past.

I am currently working on twenty-four zombies for the force, a task that is testing my resolve to the limit. Any excuse (like writing a blog post) to not pick up the brushes I am jumping at. I can happily paint commission regiments of twice this size, but am very impatient with my own figures at the moment.