Monday 18 March 2019

Warhammer Underworlds Shadespire Steelhearts Champions - TO DONE!

Second of my completed Shadespire Warbands - Steelheart's Champions.


And I know it's now Night Vault and the actual game is Warhammer Underworlds but these technically were Shadespire warbands and the name is just altogether better.


Just a reminder I [loosely] followed Rob Paint's Model's base guide for these.




He obviously did a much better job and I threw in some battle damage too but I'm more than happy with the result.


2 things about steelheart: 1. I love the blending on his sword - I wish I could do black like this ALL the time. 2. The pupils for his eyes or on his top eyelids. It looks OK, but it isn;t right and one day I may have to fix that.


The purple wasn't quite as smoothly blended as I'd hoped. It had been looking quite dire and just the edition of that white line across the bottom made it far more interesting and draws the eye away from the dubious blends...


I also glossed all the weaponry, again to make up for what I didn't explore on the Chosen Axes








Pics on the white background.


See what I mean about his pupils. However, do me a favour click on the pick and zoom in to the leather groin protector - see those individual brush stroke highlights? I love them! While you're at it look at the blend on that sword closely - I need to do all my blends like this!




Anyway, a Big Teal Stamp of Approval for these guys.

Friday 15 March 2019

Warhammer Underworlds Shadespire Chosen Axes - TO DONE!

I finished the Chosen Axes just before the end of the last Hobby Season, but I didn't take my TO DONE! pics, well apart from one for the end of the season review.


With Garrek's Reavers done I thought I'd do all three warbands in one sitting and I ended up loving the Camera360 shots so much I didn't even bother with my digital camera - too much faffing.


It's really weird to look at these now, I haven't really paid them much attention since I finished and I'm pleasantly surprised what I actually did.


I'm not 100% convinced about the grey on the base, but the flock and skulls are OK.


Individual facing shots [where appropriate].






Gratuitous 360° rotation.


I can honestly say right now I don't quite know how I did the gold on that axe head. I need to go back and see if there are any tips. It might just be my standard brassy bronze with some extra highlights but that's what I'll go for on my Deathwing Knights when I get round to them.





Gratuitous 360° rotation.






Gratuitous 360° rotation.






Gratuitous 360° rotation.


And on a white background, with more natural colours.




I had considered coating their skin in gloss varnish, glad I didn't now; although I glossed the armour on Garrek's Reavers so I got to see what it would have looked like.




That 'gold' tho!


Of course these were completed in my 2017/18 Hobby Season and as I've only just got round to taking some pics here's the appropriate Big Gamboge Stamp of Approval!




Wednesday 13 March 2019

The joys [and benefits] of being a hobby butterfly

Having set out my stall for my next projects and just finished my last Shadespire Warband I actually had a few nights off. With my son's initial treatment complete I'm back working normaly and my boss deservedly took a week off to recuperate from holding the fort. This left me to pick up the slack which was a little more tiring than I thought it'd be thanks to a staff away day to Birmingham and a frantic period producing materials for a road scheme public consultation.

Liam's Mortarion, just to illustrate 'butterfly'
So I spent some nights just going to bed, not necessarily 'early' but without going out to the man-cave. However, I found the motivation and time just to nip out with the intent to add a few small magnets to my Dark Shroud so I could swap out the Heavy Bolter and Assault Cannon. At least that was the plan. Go out, do some cutting and drilling add the 3 magnets job done! Except having cut a notch in the gun mount the gunners arms detached from the body. I glued them back in place but with the time for the poly-cement to set I was otherwise without a task.


Which left me looking around for something else and I went for my Sanctum Imperialis, it is afterall next on my list. It required some Warplock Bronze on its external 'skirting boards' and buttresses and I'd been actively avoiding it since the last time I applied some bronze over 2 years ago! And herein lies the joy of having a number of projects on the go/lined up. Flitting to this terrain and actually completing something long since consigned to the 'onerous task' lot, brings about a huge sense of completion. Sure, it's just a basecoat and I've another [bigger] piece that needs the same which will no doubt become wearisome, but there's some serious endorphin reward for getting past this hurdle.