Blood Bowl Down Kroxigor Marker

In Blood Bowl, most teams get one large model.  (Ogres get three)  It’s a huge pain whenever this model gets knocked over, because they are so much taller than other models.  It’s even worse for my Kroxigor, as he doesn’t like to lie on his back

Solution: a marker that replaces the Kroxigor when he’s knocked down.  The Blood Bowl Kroxigor comes with 2 pewter heads.  I puttied the head I didn’t use to a normal base, and painted it with the same scheme as the Kroxigor.  Now keeping track of the Kroxigor is easy.

As a bonus, last game my Kroxigor levelled up for the 2nd time, and now knows Block AND Guard!  Huzzah!

Focus on Faces

When you look at a mini, the first thing your eye is drawn to is the face (if it has one).  Faces are the most important part of a paint job.  A good face can make a mediocre paint job seem better, and a bad face can turn the most brilliantly shaded and dynamically lighted model into a strip-and-repaint job.

Even though it can be one of the hardest things to paint, I tend to paint the face first.  That way if I completely ruin the miniature, I can start over from a strip quickly.

So, what makes a good face?  Shading, detail, good eyes, and composition with the mini.

Shading

Most faces have detail, wrinkles, recessed areas, etc.  Unless it’s something like The Blank from Dick Tracy.

Detail and shading here is quite easy.  Start with a dark base and gently drybrush a lighter shade.  Then, drybrush even more lightly an even lighter shade.  This worked well in the below mini, whose face was Scorched Brown with a drybrush of Dark Flesh, and then a very very light drybrush of 50% Dark Flesh and 50% Bronzed Flesh.

You can also paint a medium shade, do an ink wash (light brown or chestnut) and then, if you need to, drybrush the original color over that.  GW’s new line of washes make this easy.  Scroll back to the top of this post.  Daniel was done with Elf Flesh, then a wash of 50% of the old GW Chestnut Ink with 50% water plus a drop of dish soap.  Then, Elf Flesh was drybrushed over that.

Detail

Faces usually have a lot of little things on them.  Take this for example:

In addition to teh flesh and eyes, I’ve made sure to pick out the interior of the mouth with black and the teeth with white, to make a sharp contrast.  I’ve also added a paler flesh color to the scar.  Little details make the face more visually interesting.  Compare that with this:

The Black Reach plastic Warboss is a great mini, and that tongue BEGS to be painted a nice brilliant pink or pale blue.  Leaving it black look bad because it is big enough to see.  There is also a lack of attention to the “good eye” on the Warboss’ right side (our left).  The shading on the skin looks fine, but the lack of detail makes it look sloppy.  If the face had been great, the less-than-perfect paint job on the rest of the mini would be less noticeable.

Good Eyes

The eyes are the windows to the soul, it was once said in the cheesy Fox television series Brimstone.  Good eyes can make a mini come alive.  Most eyes are too small for colored pupils, and so are usually black in the middle of a white eye.  There are two ways to do this.  Paint the eye white and put a dot of black in the middle, OR paint the eye black and put white on the outside.  I usually do the former, but I’m told the latter is easier.

One tip for good eyes is to make sure the black dot of the eye touches both the top and bottom of the eye.  Like this:

Piers above has a very relaxed feeling, as he’s balancing his hammer on his shoulder.  His eyes reflect this.  He’s not squinting, or wide-eyed.  Contrast that with the sergeant on the left in this picture:

Notice the black dot is not touching the top or bottom of the eye.  He looks wide-eyed, as if screaming with rage!

You can also have the dot off-center, to make the mini looking in a particular direction.  Check out Epic Caine below:

The dot touches the top, but not the bottom.  Because Caine’s head is tilted down, he looks like he is looking forward.  If he had his head held high, he’d be looking up.

Composition

This means that the colors on the mini work together.  Take this mini:

To do this, I mixed 75% Bronzed Flesh with 25% Sunburst Yellow.  I then washed it and drybrushed over it, but that hint of yellow makes the skin fit in better with the yellow of the cape.  This is a great tip for Space Wolves players.  Add Space Wolves Grey to your initial flesh color to make the flesh and the armor seem to go together.

Faces make the model.  Do it right.

New Image Gallery

In case you hadn’t noticed, up on the right there’s a new link: Image Galleries.  Unfortunately only one is up right now, the Battlefleet Gothic gallery.  Check it out.

http://fourstrandshobby.com/battlefleet-gothic-image-gallery/

GOTHIC DONE

I can’t believe it.  I’m done with Gothic.  Low Orbit Table defenses and Mines are above.

So what’s next?  I’m definitely making a Gothic Gallery for all the images, but what do I paint next?  My Menoth starter box?  Necromunda?  Start my Orks again?

Transports and Orbital Defences

Included above:

-Space Station or Orbital Dock (can be either)

-3 Orbital Defences (Lance, Torpedo, Battery)

-Heavy Transport Argosy

-8 Out of print pewter transports

Next: 16 Orbital Mines, 8 low orbit Missile Silos, 8 Low Orbit Lance Batteries, and 4 Low Orbit Airfields, and then GOTHIC IS DONE!

On my plate: 3-31-11

-Battlefleet Gothic: Space Station, 8 transports, Heavy transport, 3 orbital defenses and 20 low orbit table ground defenses.  THE END IS IN SIGHT.

-Warmachine: Upgraded priorities.  Next project after Gothic is Kreoss, 2 light jacks and heavy from Box Set.  Then I can Demo Warmachine.  Cygnar on hold.

-Necromunda: Need to finish my Orlock gang, and start painting Delaques.  I also need to get more tabs from Jen so that I can use the Necromunda board she made for me.  Status: In progress. Orlocks are 1/2 painted.

-Azure Flames: Need to convert a stand in for Kor’Sarro Khan, and mod up a Chaplain on Bike.  I also need to conceptualize an Honor Guard unit for Perseus.  Status: ON HOLD. The Flames are complete enough for now.

-Orks: Need to complete painting all minis, possibly buy one more box of Boys but no more. Status: ON HOLD pending spring.  I need warm temperatures outside to do dipping, as I cannot do it indoors due to cares.

-The Saratogan 58th: Need to build most of the minis and paint up at least 1500 points to start learning how to play Guard.  Status: ON HOLD.  Way too much on my plate to start an army from almost scratch.

-Epic 40,000: Have to get more Space Marine Rhinos, and paint both a huge Space Marine army and Ork army.  Status: ON HOLD.  Once again, too much on my plate.

HOO HAH.

Finished Chaos Fleet!

The above ordannce markers are the last thing for my Chaos fleet!  20 fighters, 21 bombers, 20 Forgeworld Dreadclaw assault boats (yes there’s one per base, they’re expensive) and 8 count ’em 8 custom converted torpedo bomber bases!

All were glued to 20mm fantasy bases.  The torpedoes for the torpedo bombers are bristles from a $3 woman’s purse hairbrush.

The final picture is the fleet!  There are fewer escorts for Chaos compared to my Imperial Navy fleet.  However, I do have the Repulsive Grand Cruiser re-based onto a large base so I can buy the 3rd shield.  I also have a LOT more ordnance because my Chaos fleet is pretty carrier heavy.

Next: Defences!!

The Azure Flames Color Scheme

Back when I was first getting in to 40K (in 2001), I bought the games Workshop Mega Paint Set (which for those who don’t know is one of every GW paint plus burushes, etc.).  After painting several minis from the old board game HeroQuest, I sat down to make a scheme for my newly chosen Salamanders Successors.

But I didn’t want them to be green.

So, I just copied parts of several other schemes and blended them together, with a hint of inspiration from Mega Man.

Could you tell?

Anyway, the scheme is as follows:

-Storm Blue undercoat (now discontinued by GW, substitute Stormy Blue by Vallejo)

-Blue Ink (also discontinued, washes from GW don’t do the same thing, so use P3 blue ink)

-Enchanted Blue details (wrists, helmet ridges, aquilla, etc. with ice blue highlights.

-Chainmail drybrushed over black for metal. (backpack, gun, etc.)

-Scab red with Red Gore highlights for purity seal wax, and bleached bone with skull white highlights for paper (cracks inked black)

– Bolters are Blood Red over Mechrite Red, eyes are Mechrite, Blood red and then Blazing Orange (lighter near front) with skull white dot.

-(not shown) Company is marked on kneepad or greave with Enchanted and Ice Blue symbol.

-(not shown) Squad number is on shoulder pad (and bottom of base) in Roman Numeral with color denoting company

-Veteran’s Shoulder Rims in Vallejo Gold

Chaos Escorts

Next: Ordnance and then Chaos is done!  Then defences and Gothic is complete!

Kajun Gogwurr, da Zombee Masta

Modeling

Kajun was modeled mostly from the Ork Nob box.  His snapping fingers are a hand holding a combi-weapon with the gun carved out of the palm, and the fingers custom sculpted.  The Skull is from the Ork Trukk sprue and the cane is brass rod with putty.  The Suit is sculpted out of putty, as is the hat.  The brim of the hat and the red ribbon are plasticard.

The Zombee is the Zombie Champion from the old Fantasy Zombie Command Blister.  The Shield arm was modified with a rokkit and putty to be holding an overflowing beer stein.  The Mardee-Grah Beads are putty.

The “voodoo dolls” are a placeholder mini designed to represent Kajun’s extra attacks.  They are a mix of Epic minis and putty.

Background

Smartyskull’s rise to power involved incorporating several other warbands into his. Mostly, other Ork Warbosses resented a Boss who was a dirty stinkin’ Humie lover.

Gurrshak Wart-rot was one of these. He and Smartyskull raided each other for resources until the clash came to a head at the battle of Da Great Round Clearin’, a clearing in Wart-rot’s forest that was generally squarish. Smartyskull dueled with Wart-rot, and managed to get the upper hand. His Ork instincts telling him to kill competitors overrode his Humie-machine logic preaching mercy, and Smartyskull killed Wart-rot.

As the death blow was struck, green lightning pierced the sky, and a strange Ork appeared. Surrounded by a green haze of psychic energy, he wore a tattered black suit coat, and face paint like a skull. He doffed his strange stovepipe hat and proclaimed to his tribe that Poindexta Smartyskull was their new Warboss. The tribe answered with a joyous WAAAAAAAAGH!

Suddenly, a large KLANK sounded as a Power Klaw impacted Smartyskull’s back. One of Wart-rot’s drinking buddies decided that he would be a better candidate for Warboss.

*SNAP*

As the strange noise echoed through the forest, Smartyskull rose to his feet to find the Nob who had backhanded him replaced by an emaciated rotting shadow of his former self. The strange Ork in the hat approached.

“You not lissen what I say, an’ dat’s da las’ mistake you goan’ make. I’s Kajun Gogwurr an’ you’s a Zombee, so you’s do whatta I says oh you’s goan’ stay dat way, heah?”

The zombified Ork moaned and lunged for Smartyskull. Kajun shot forth his hand and sprayed a reddish powder. It covered the Zombie from head to toe, and he burned with green fire. A bit of the powder got into Smartyskull’s nose, and it burned hotter than the hottest pepper-shroom. After a mild sneezing fit, he turned to Kajun.

“Kajun Gogwurr, you gotta lotta mojo. How’s about you be my number one advizer?”

“Das’ jus’ fine. Come, we celebrate wif’ mah fahnest Squig-Gumbo. Fire up da pot, boys!”

After barely choking down the hideous spicy goo, Smartyskull and Kajun Gogwurr made a pact. Smartyskull would allow the snakebites to keep to the old ways if they wanted, but to give them newer supplies if they wished, and lead them to battle. He would also let Gogwurr organize Mardee-Grah, a festival of masks and heavy drinking. Gogwurr would keep uppity boys in line, and dish out gumbo. He is Smartyskull’s wisest source of council (not difficlut considering the competition) and the warband’s greatest chef. His Gumbo is so spicy you can’t tell it’s been rotting.

Gogwurr has also made a habit of making little dolls of all the powerful Orks in the camp. After all, one day he might need to do something to them…