A classic Blood Bowl Elf team.

This project has been trundling along in the background for a while, mostly because the sculptor of these wonderful 80s Citadel Bloodbowl Elves, Jes Goodwin, decided to sculpt a whole load of tiny studs on their outfits. It’s hard enough to paint them all red, I wonder how frustrating it was to sculpt them all with green stuff. At some point he must have regretted doing it as the range grew. However I’m thankful now, because it adds to the character of the team, even if it was a chore at the time.

I’ve long admired these sculpts, from when I was a kid, as for me they could not be more Elven;  their sense of grace combined with prowess through the poses of the sculpts. There is a dynamic feel to the speed and agility of the catchers and yet the blitzers have enough intimidation in their coiled spring and clenched fist pose to do some damage. Then there’s their sense of superiority (we don’t need armour) and their slightly flamboyant and superfluous uniform; long boots, extravagant hairstyles, stockings with studs etc.

With this in mind I went for the most ridiculous and impractical colour scheme; white. Imagine all those grass, mud and blood stains. Who washes the kit? To keep a uniform look to the team, I decided that all the players should have the same blonde hair colour, as the Romanian football team did in 1998 and added touches of red to the cool blues and whites.

The majority of the team are of course Jes Goodwin Elves from the Blood Bowl range, but so I didn’t have to reuse the same models, there’s also a couple of his wardancers in here too with some additions of loin cloths and subtraction of weapons. 

As you can see, my phone struggled to capture the entire team, so here’s a few shots of groups of players.

Here’s one of those re-purposed wardancers, with weapon removed but sling retained!

The model on the right is a conversion I’ve had in mind for some time, I really wanted to capture the dynamic movement you’d expect in such a team sport as this, and I can imagine the Elves as acrobatic gymnasts working together to catch, intercept etc. Ps. One of my favourite models in the range is the kicker.

Another conversion here, this Elven coach on the left is for the Eternal Champions range, Elric Kingslayer. Just removed his weapon and made a trophy from a skull and some bits. Note, he even has studs on his sleeves.

Here’s the StarPlayer, Elril Sidewinder, a classic! I spent a little more time on him and decided that he should have a green hairstyle to set him apart from the team.

And finally a Treeman. I can’t even remember whether Elves/Wood Elves can hire a treeman but the model is so cool and I’ve wanted to own/paint one from whenever, that I don’t care. I went for an old wood feel in the paint job, for two reasons, one he looks old and wooden and two a pale, silver grey would tie him in to the uniform of the Elves. A few brown and green glazes were added and of course he retained the team colours on his helmet and shoulder pad.

Here you can see the small roots I added to his base.

And the two of them together, about to dodge and bludgeon respectively.

The approach to basing also helps unify a team and for these guys I decided upon a cracked earth base with tufts of static grass and a few white line markings on the pitch to provide the bloodbowl context and not just another battlefield base. A few birch seeds for leaves to finish.

Oh and I like the Elves style of play (and the contrast with my Orc team) so I can now play a game against my kids with two painted teams at some point over the lockdown. Yay!

Retinue Table Challenge: 8 Skaven

The last of this challenge is complete! With these 8 skaven I now have models for the the entire Lost and the Damned Retinue table to roll up and play with. It's also helped me keep focused in my painting exploits.

These Jes Goodwin Skaven sculpts were a joy to behold, loads of character and interest in them that reward a keen eye and earned some additional painting time. I was going to batch paint them but in the end painted each one individually, as seemed deserved for such unique and interesting sculpts. Of course now I want to add to these eight by makin an allied contingent, but that will wait for another day. Of course I'm sure you've realised that there is an odd one out here - the addition of a much newer GW SKaven sculpt - in truth he wasn't supposed to be part of he troupe but he arrived to me cheap and broken and just demanded to be converted, so he ended up with a claw and some additional skaven bits, in this case a plague censer attached to his belt and a beast man shield. I think he fits in pretty well and his extra bulk provides a bit of a beefier hero character (allied contingent commander?) to the gang.

On my return from holiday I'll take photos of all the models that represent the completion of this task and re-introduce you to some of the first models painted in this exercise. Many thanks for the encouragement and commentary along the way, much needed motivation to carry on...

Nurgle Chaos Champion #073201/113

The elusive one. This model has taken me years to own and it was thanks to a certain Graham Bailey from the Oldhammer Community who sold me his, that allowed me to complete the collection. I have no idea why he is so rare (when he does come up on auction, you're looking at close to £50 for him), maybe he was just released in limited numbers? He's not only rare, but also a very cool sculpt (perhaps his rarity adds to this though). The Nurgling holding onto his horns is pretty cool and allowed me to get some nice contrast with the greens and Browns of his weathered armour. I also like the fly design on he face of his helmet, and talking of helmets he has that phallic Nurgle symbol on his axe shaft. Steady.

On other nice detail is the small face carved into his knee armour. Here you can also see that I went for some classic Nurgle transfers for his shield (I'm a bit bereft of ideas at the moment and I'm also keen to complete the collection and move onto other pressing projects).

All in all a wonderful model thst I'm so very pleased to eventually have in my collection and to have finally painted. He's an iconic and  original RoC Citadel miniature that helps link and  illustrate my last post which showcased the wonderful sculpts from the Pantheon of Chaos range over on Kickstarter.

Right last two to paint up to finish this project..

Nurgle Chaos Champions #'s 073167/2 & 073167/6

These two champions were ignored by me as a kid because they had guns! I was strictly fantasy then and now (although I have a few Rogue Trader projects I want to embark on for this year's BOYL - watch this space) but of course Realms of Chaos let your champions have access to archaic weapons such as bolters and the like. I didn't really like the crossover between the two universes back in the 80's but have lessened my resistance a bit over the years. So these are pretty much the first guns I've painted:

I've gone for some real weathering here, both with corroded bronze and orange rusted armour. I used the sponge technique for this attempt; layering lots of oranges and silvers over each other in small quantities. The final layers were pure red oxide dry pigment bound in a little matt varnish.


 I wanted to avoid the obvious green armour on the right figure, but in hindsight wish I'd added some coloured trim or something to break up the rust. The guy on the left came out better than I'd expected, I wasn't really looking forward to painting him as the pose is a bit shit and the body is the same as I'd previously painted for the fly headed standard bearer, but the two faced head came out pretty well and I quite like the three jewels on his front.

So just 3 more champions to go. I then plan to kitbash/convert some modern plastics into homages to these classic models. As well as those 40k mercenary gangs I mentioned earlier. (At this point I stop myself from even thinking about other, unfinished projects that are in the queue..)

Retinue Table : D4 Cultists (plus a Magus Warrior/Sorcerer)

One of my favourite options on the LatD Retinue table, is the D4 Chaos Cultists (with option to be led by a Chaos Sorcerer or a Chaos Warrior). There is so much potential with this as I can imagine the cultists in the midst of a human population, covert and looking to recruit further cultists to the cause of the Chaos God. Perhaps these Cultists have some hidden deformity, that outcasts them from ordinary society but that may lead them to follow a particular Chaos Deity. Or maybe they have just have Chaotic tendencies in their thoughts or personality that would draw them to becoming  a cultist.

In terms of model choice it was an absolute shoe-in that I would be using the Disciples of the Red Redmption for my cultists. Oldhammer to the core with their hooded capes and distinctive masks, they were perfect for the role. So I rounded up one plain disciple, one drummer, one standard bearer and one champion. For the Magus or Warrior I had to do a bit more thinking. I wanted to retain the hooded and possibly masked theme (they need to hide their identity from the public to a degree too, and in the end plumped for the jester like Sorcerer (very much fitting in with the theme of the Nurgle Carnival) and for the warrior, the iconic Goodwin model with jezzail. Mainly because it's such a damn cool model, even though it does not really fit my original fluff. Hardly a discreet weapon. 

I painted the robes in my Orc skin colour, I wanted them to be drab but with a hint of green and decided to retain the green colouring in the corrosion on the brass masks. The idea being that these hints of green would complement the reddish skin of the models.

For the banner bearer I did my usual perusal of my growing Fighting Fantasy collection of books and found a great illustration by Bob Harvey from the Talisman of Death that perfectly fits in with this idea of the hooded cultists trying to reach out and recruit you:

So I freehanded a copy of this onto a very small surface:

I plan to extend these 6 models into a unit of diseased flagellants in the future, as per the LatD Nurgle Army list. I've been inspired by this image:

And have a bucket load of plastic flagellants, hounds and even a screaming bell somewhere to make it happen... probably a long time in the future....

Speed Painted Elf no.2

I couldn't resist on two counts. One, this speed painting malarky really focuses me to paint and more importantly complete a miniature and secondly, I only have two of these Jes Goodwin wardancers (such great sculpts) and felt that I had to paint up the second one too before he got separated and potentially lost in the great, relatively static, painting queue.

So here's the finished miniatures:

Matching Hobgoblin Orange garments

And this is how I got there in under an hour:

Under a minute to apply a wash of Asurman Blue with some added washing up liquid to help keep a smooth drying

A couple more washes after the first one dries under the hot lamp.

Highlighted the skin by progressively adding some white to the Asurman Blue in the raised areas

Added some glazes of Druchii Violet to the eye sockets and the cheeks to give a bit of warmth and glow to his now quite pale face. 

Blocked in some areas of colour using Balor Brown for the basecoat of yellow, Titilating Pink on the stockings, Boltgun Metal on the metal and Warplock Bronze on the bronze.

Highlighted up the hair by adding progressively larger quantities of Sunburst Yellow to the mix. Eventually adding some white to the final layer. Highlighted the pink stockings too. 

Washing in some Chestnut Ink and Badab Black mix onto metal areas.

I had to stop here for the night, as I had to help put the kids to bed and after that, really didn't feel like carrying on (I was lured onto the couch to watch tv with the missus). But I did the following night. So where was I at 22.49...: 

Highlighting up the bronze with Vallejo Bronze and gold mixes. Hobgoblin Orange onto the gloves, highlighted with white added and applied two layers of green to his towel.

In the last 6 minutes I added eyes, gems and highlighted up the brown and black shoes.

And even painted the back side too. Happy with 51.57 on the trusty old 80's Casio!

 And here's the pair of them, pre-basing:

And both finished and looking quite hostile.

So obviously I made these fellas look like Drow with their blue skin; they'll eventually be part of my Lost and the Damned retinue table challenge, when I get around to painting the other 4 elves that will accompany them.

Thanks for reading. 

The 1 hour speed painting challenge

I remember the speed painting coverage in White Dwarf from Games Days in the late 80's and was always hopeful that one day I could enter. Well I didn't, but Orlygg at Realms of Chaos 80's has re-kindled that desire, so on a digital platform I had a go the other night...

I was certain that I wouldn't get near completing a model in an hour, being, I thought, quite a slow painter, so I chose a very simple miniature to speed paint up:

A model that's been in my painting queue for a while. It looks pretty simple, but can I complete it in an hour?

 10 minutes and 45 seconds, timed by my trusty Casio:

Skin. Several washes of Asurman blue (with a little bit of washing up liquid) to help get the depth of hue. Some Druchii Violet added  for the extreme recesses and to warm up the colour. Highlighted up with the addition of white to Asurman blue. 

 25 minutes and 54 seconds:

Most other areas blocked in and a combo of chestnut ink and badab black washed onto the metallic parts

My painting space with the paints I have used so far

This was happening in the evening, so not the best light to take photos - here's a close-up to try and show some of the subtleties of colour in the skin and hair

 35 minutes and 12 seconds:

Hair and boots highlighted up and the chainmail areas picked out with some appropriately named, chainmail paint

 42 minutes and 46 seconds:

Added eyes and painted the weathered bronze areas using a variety of Vallejo game colour and some green/blue corrosion washes. The sling got shaded and dirtied with some Earthshade.

50 minutes and 58 seconds. Finished - say what?

Hobgoblin Orange on the bandana, highlighted with orange/white and glazed with orange ink. Some black and purple inks were heavily diluted and added to create old blood on the sling followed by some spots of Tamiya Clear red for fresher blood.

 Seriously, apart from the base. He's done. Now my basing technique takes a while and I like to do this in batches so I'll base him later in the remaining 9 minutes.

And I even painted his back too.

So. I'm amazed I can paint that quickly when I'm being timed and not distracted by other elements of the hobby (including procrastination, bitz box rummaging and paint queue re-organising). It certainly helped that the mini is very straightforward, but I'm seriously impressed by myself!

Does this mean I can now work through my lead pile in double quick time?