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Made in us
Storm Trooper with Maglight





New Hampshire, US

NOTE: I am editing this blog to incorporate new thoughts on army construction as well as to include the backstory/fluff for this build. The original army was collected and designed using the Empire Army Book of 2000, over ten years ago. The army list and the BRB have changed a lot in the intervening years. The army is being changed and updated to reflect the new game environment.

Edits will be in italicized text.

This is my thread for all of my WFB projects. Currently I am getting things together for a big battle planned for mid-January. Since I hate playing with unpainted figs I am working hard to get everything done in time.

With the newest edition of the WFB rules (I've been away from the game since 2003), I have learned that minimum rank width is now five models, rather than 4, which messes up some of my deployment designs. But, re-arranging things has given me an opportunity to clean things up and make things nice and orderly, just how the Empire player likes it...

I call this army the Children of the Light, their general is Luthor Huss (Huss used to be a Lord + Hero choice) Vangar von Weismund, General of the Empire, and the units are mostly done up in white with purple and orange accents. Some of the older figs are done in regional colors, as I didn't have a plan when I started playing back in the 90's. Most of these State Troops will likely get stripped and re-painted.

This is the General, Vangar von Weismund:


(For those of you reading that weren't around back in the day, this is the "official" model for Elector Count on Griffon from 2000-2001...)

Vangar von Wiesmund is the seventh son of the seventh son of the previous Elector Count of Nordland. Without much in the way of political prospects, Vangar was shipped off to become apprentice to a blacksmith in the small town of Weismund, located on the edge of the Drakwald forest. His life as an apprentice was hard, his master cruel and demanding. Master Wetzlar kept Vangar as an apprentice much longer than was usual for the time, telling all that the "shiftless" grandson of a noble was not nearly skilled enough to begin his Journeyman piece. While Vangar was still suffering under his extended apprenticeship a band of Beastmen began moving through the area, wreaking havoc on isolated hamlets in the region. Soon peasants and woodsmen from miles around were flocking to the small burg of Weismund, seeking sanctuary behind its wooden palisade.

About this time a troubled young Sigmarite priest named Luthor Huss appeared, to bring about a turn of events that would change Vangar's life forever.



Huss had vowed to walk the length and breadth of the Empire in search of a sign from Sigmar and to prove his worth against the powers of Chaos. Finding Weismund in such a state seemed to Huss to be the sign that he was seeking. He entered the town and sought out the burgomaster. Offering to help in any way, Huss was gladly received. He took command of the defenses of the town and directed the defenders' activities, all the while exhorting the burgers with fiery speeches.

Young Vangar was awestruck by the imposing, confident figure of Luther Huss. As darkness fell upon Weismund, so did the Beastmen. Vangar stood shoulder to shoulder with the men of the town, wielding his blacksmith's hammer - as he had no knowledge of swordsmanship. Inspired by the courage of Huss, and impressed by his use of a mighty, two-handed warhammer, Vangar decided on that very day that if he survived this battle he would follow in Huss' footsteps.

After two days and nights of uninterrupted fighting, an imperial relief force reached the town and the Beastmen fled back into the forest. Huss and a group of soldiers followed the creatures of Chaos, and Luther alone went into the deepest reaches of the Drakwald to confront and slay the Beastman Shaman. When Huss returned to the town he found a hero's welcome, which he modestly declined. Instead he declared that all of the people that stood for the defense of Weismund were heroes and should be proud of what they had done together.

After the festivities Huss left the town of Weismund, but not before young Vangar sought him out. Vangor expressed tol Huss his desire to become a Sigmarite priest and follow him always. Huss looked deeply into Vangar's eyes, as though peering into his soul, "You have some work to do here first, my son," Huss said, "when you have completed the work you were sent to do you may follow me."

"What work is that? And how shall I find you?" Vangar asked, plainly confused and crestfallen.

Huss reached into a pouch at his waist and brought out what looked like a charred, misshapen piece of stone or clinker and pressed it into Vangar's hands. It was nearly as large as a man's two fists together, yet it weighed less than a loaf of bread. "I followed this spark in the sky across the forest to your town," Huss said, his voice nearly a whisper, "I found it, smoking and stinking, on the edge of a pool of water where your people had built a basin. At first I thought it to be tainted with the foulness of Chaos, but the boiling waters were not hot, and they brought me great refreshment."

"Take this to your forge, for it will be yours soon, and discover the secret that lies within this sky-stone. On that day you will know your work is complete and your heart will guide you to me," Huss concluded, and with a clap on Vangar's shoulder he walked through the gates and returned to his monastery.

Master Wetzlar had been sorely wounded in the fighting and was unable to work at the forge, yet many repairs were needed to weapons and tools and structures. By day Vangar stood over the forge, working on the items brought to him by the burgers, repairing or re-creating them with as much, or more, skill than his master. By night Vangar puzzled over the piece of sky-stone Huss had given him. Winter came and went, while Master Wetzlar's health continued to fail. He died before the last of the snows were gone from the forest hollows. As he left no heir the Burgomaster decided that the forge would become the property of the town and that Vangar was ready to begin his journeyman piece. On it's completion the forge would revert to Vangar's ownership and the young man could take an apprentice of his own.

In the spring a wandering Minstrel came to Weismund and told many tales, sang many songs in the Inn. It was in one of these stories that Vangar discovered the secret of the sky-stone, the Legend of Markhof's Blade, an ever-sharp sword forged from a piece of metal that fell from the sky! Vangar knew what to do. In fact, he began to work upon his Journeyman piece that very night - a great warhammer of steel with a head forged of precious meteoric iron.

As Summer turned to Fall Vangar completed his work on the mighty hammer. When the metal had cooled he took his masterpiece to show the Burgomeister and tell him of Huss' words of the year before. The Burgomaster could see the gleam of determination in Vangar's eyes as he told his tale, knowing the young man was destined for great things.

The Burgomaster gave Vangar his blessing and wished him godspeed on finding his mentor.

With that Vangar von Weismund set out into the world to find Huss and aid him in his battle against Chaos. He began his quest with only the clothes on his back, a small pack of food, and his masterpiece of weaponsmithing. He was able to use the hammer many times as he traveled across the Empire, in so doing he attracted a following of men-at-arms, at first only poor, landless peasants that had no one else to turn to. Later von Weismund was able to call upon more and more professional soldiery and even the Sister of a convent-militant of Sigmar have taken up his banner and now join him in following Luther Huss in his battle against the powers of Chaos.


Most of this army was painted in the summer of 2001, after I had decided on a background similar to the above. To complete the various units I need a few more pieces, most of which are, of course, OOP.

I was able to find a vintage Command set to lead my ancient plastic Halbardiers:



Then I managed to get my hands on a Steam Tank, mostly built and painted, so I am just adding color to make it match the rest of the army (WIP photo)

The Steam Tank is pretty close to being complete. It looks like this now, I will be adding some color and detail to bring it into line with the Fluff.



The most ambitious project is currently the old War Altar, which I have made some additions and modifications to, making a larger platform, adding a larger, 3rd party altar and "sacrificial lamb" Oracle, and some candlesticks. Here are the WIP shots, from loose pieces through yesterday's work. The altar itself is pretty much complete, just a few more details, the bulk of the work is the Grand Theogonist himself and the horses.




You can see in the shot above that I am going for a marble-top look with the altar, then in the arches as if it is charged with eldritch powers, trying some OSL on the stone...below is a better shot of the marble effect:



Here is a close-up of the GT as he looked yesterday



Here is a front-view of the complete assembly



Side view



and a close up of the damsel - Oracle, a priestess of Sigmar who is able to enter a trance and aid in focusing the power of Sigmar into the Altar and the Golden Griffin.



I believe I'm getting the hang of layering techniques, working out the best thinning consistency and becoming more patient with the process. Also, I tuned up the thermostat in my office/workroom which has made a difference too.

I have some archers waiting in the wings, finish the detail work on the steam tank and move on to my most ambitious scratch-build yet, the Luminark of Hysh (http://www.games-workshop.com/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m2350522a_99120202031_LuminarkHysh03_445x319.jpg)

C&C welcome.

This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2013/01/24 19:47:23


   
Made in gb
Mutilatin' Mad Dok






Liverpool, england

Love your painting style dude! It's really old school heavy metal and I dig it a lot. Keep it up.

PS that marble looks awesome, any chance of a tut/quick walkthrough?

   
Made in us
Storm Trooper with Maglight





New Hampshire, US

Thanks, I appreciate the comment. It's funny, you're the 4th person to mention my "retro" style...I learned to paint in the late '90s, then dropped out until this summer. So I guess I am retro, and have missed out on some new techniques that I am trying to learn.

As for the marble, I learned that from Nerdfest - see http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/1710/356350.page#4994386

Keep in touch, I promise that my painting will evolve.

   
Made in us
Storm Trooper with Maglight





New Hampshire, US

[note: I will be updating individual posts to keep each type of miniature together to show the progress. Second update: Wood Elf Glade Riders, 27 Jan 2013)]

Now that the War Altar is complete I am going to start on some Wood Elves that have been languishing in storage for years. Back in the day you could order any bit you wanted from GW, so I picked out these glade riders and 12 elk-skull standard tops (don't even know if you can still get these). My original plan was to carve out the heads of the riders and replace them with the standard tops for some cool-looking helmets.

Here is what we are starting with:



I carved out all of the heads (yes I wore a face mask!)



and here is a close-up of the standard tops



due to the poses of the riders some fit in better than others. Once they are glued and filled I will post more pics before priming and painting. I will definitely need to pin the arms on, and drill holes for pinning the shields.

27 Jan 2013 update: Glade Riders

Here we have a Rider, the red, orange, and yellow have been done in base-coating.

Wood Elf Glade Rider Update

I am doing these models in an Autumn theme, just received my order of "Early Fall" foliage from Woodland Scenics!
The yellow and orange colors will be added to the branches of the treekin/treemen, and incorporated into the bases of the Glade Riders.

Here is a shot of the entire Wood Elf Force:


The characters include a Noble (Lower left), a Lord (right side) and a Spellweaver (with the big moose-horned staff), who will be mounted on an old, OOP Giant Eagle.



The unit will be dressed in scarlet and orange, with mustard yellow here and there. The elven steeds with be palomino (7) and light gray (5). The lord's steed is black, and has some scratch-built barding (I know, rules have changed. Too bad.)

The Glade Rider troopers will have scarlet breeches, orange surcoats, and mustard yellow accents. The elk skull helmets will be a tradtional bone color, with colored leaves for accents and possibly some colors on the antlers...
I am going to do the spear blades in brass and can't decide if the hafts should be orange or mustard yellow.



As these WE are designed to be allies for my Children of the Light Empire army, I may add some purple, perhaps on their shields.

The orange has had 2 thin layers added, the "dark red" has had one thin overlay of a brighter red. Since there isn't much room for the shading on the trooper models, the Command section and characters will get more attention. I will be adding more shading to all of the models, and washing with Agrax Earthshade.



In this next photo we have the Musician, and you can see the additional layers of bright red over the dark. I also hit the model with the Earthshade, to see what would happen, see where tunic overlaps breeches, and where breeches tuck into boots. This model, along with the Spellweaver (2nd image below) and Hero are the only ones with exposed faces. Both of the photos below show one thin layer of "bone" over black primer, followed by a layer of pinkish "flesh", then washed with Reikland Fleshshade. It worked very well on the faces and hands, less so on the exposed arms.



For the Spellweaver I am using the reverse of the color scheme from the Riders, his will be mostly yellow and bone with red and orange accents:




[dryad info moved to its own post]

I watched a couple of tutorial on painting horses which I trust will help me in getting a good look on the Elven Steeds. I am a little peeved about the latest Army Book, however, as characters can no longer take Warhawks as mounts and the Glade Riders have spears rather than lances and can't take shields...which affects my concept a great deal.

Oh,well, I am going to put the shields on anyway. If I had finished this project nine years ago, they would already have been on.

UPDATE 29 Jan 2013:

I made some real progress lately, they are really coming together. Here is the command unit:

This message was edited 5 times. Last update was at 2013/01/29 23:27:42


   
Made in jp
Fixture of Dakka





Japan

Not to rain on your parade, but chaos is into sacrifice not the imperials, maybe you should put some chaos runes on her to make it an execution of a chaos witch.

Squidbot;
"That sound? That's the sound of me drinking all my paint and stabbing myself in the eyes with my brushes. "
My Doombringer Space Marine Army
Hello Kitty Space Marines project
Buddhist Space marine Project
Other Projects
Imageshack deleted all my Images Thank you! 
   
Made in us
Storm Trooper with Maglight





New Hampshire, US

>Jehan-Reznor: you know, I have been thinking about that... I haven't clear-coated it yet, so I can still get in there with a pen and give her some Chaos runes. Thanks for the push!

   
Made in us
Storm Trooper with Maglight





New Hampshire, US

The Glade Riders are waiting for some blu-tac so I can prime them, so I started on some archers. These will be painted up in the "Children of the Light" white/purple/orange color scheme. Since I have time and have done some research I am going to invest some time in the faces and eyes of these models. I don't normally paint the eyes, it's been too much trouble.

Now, it's nine years since I've done much painting and my 43-year old eyes definitely need a magnifying glass! The eyes gave me a headache!

Here is the entire unit



The hero, and a close-up of his face. I am glad that I followed the instructions and did the eyes before finishing up the face. Now I can get in there and clean things up.




C&C welcome.


   
Made in us
Storm Trooper with Maglight





New Hampshire, US

Progress continues on the archers. I have put on two coats of purple and about 4-5 coats of white. Starting on detail work, accessories and so on:




The commander's face is coming along nicely, I did the best I could on the eyes...I need more practice!



I have been sitting on this standard bearer for years, I have no idea what range/manufacturer it is from, but figured since I was at it...



I am going to free-hand the crowned skull icon on the banner... I'll have to post a pic of one I did 10 years ago.

C&C always welcome.

   
Made in us
Storm Trooper with Maglight





New Hampshire, US

Work continued on the standards, they are pretty much done now. I took some pics on Friday, before the 50k WFB extravaganza at the FLGS:



and here are the completed Archers with their standard



[I removed the Dryad update from here, added it back in above with the rest of the Dryad work]

Finally, my 90's vintage General on Griffin (I know, how tiny...) is supposed to be on a 50mm x 100mm base. This gives me a lot of room to make something interesting!



Please share any ideas that you may have for a scene or mini-diorama to add to this base.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/01/27 12:13:52


   
Made in us
Storm Trooper with Maglight





New Hampshire, US

I've added some background fluff to the beginning of this thread, concerning my general and his origin http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/496305.page#5106667

   
Made in us
Storm Trooper with Maglight





New Hampshire, US

Re: Dryads

Some are primed in white, which I tested out a wash using fountain pen ink. I will not be doing that again, as it just didn't dry very well and is staining the heck out of the "birch" look that I am going for. I may have to clear-coat them before I go any further.



the rest are primed in black, so they will get a slow build-up of browns and grays



The "bare wood" parts and "claws" of each color will be very close to the same to tie them together.

All of these will have a Fall theme, using reds, oranges and yellows. I had seen some done up that way at a con some years ago, and Dakka user Xanthe93 has a very cool plog going here http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/491055.page for some inspiration.

I will be doing some more work today, will attempt to get updated pics up later on. As always, C&C welcome.

UPDATE: Pics of Dryads




The brown ones were murder getting a lighter shade to contrast on the bark



Update: Dryads - converting to Treekin

I also started working on basing the OOP Dryads, which I have decided will become Tree Kin, as they are larger than the new Dryad models and a lot tougher. Of course, I need to get them on 40mm bases...



I am using some old Woodland Scenics trees to add some depth and character to the bases, both for the Treekin and one of the Treemen ("Oak"). The other Treeman, "Birch", is now perched upon an outcropping of dirt, as he strikes out with his roots...




UPDATE: 31 Jan 02013

Finished the riders, so I thought I'd take a little break before I started on the steeds and work on the bases for the Treekin:

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2013/01/31 21:40:00


   
Made in gb
Slaanesh Havoc with Blastmaster






Dude loving the purple scheme, really vibrant I like it. Keep up the good work. And loving th addition of wood elves just wish gw would hurry up and do a new book!

black legion 2000pts
Kabal of the shattered soul 1000pts
Empire WIP
https://www.facebook.com/ARGMcLeod?ref=hl. Check out my novel!
 
   
Made in us
Storm Trooper with Maglight





New Hampshire, US

Thanks Darkmoonlight, I appreciate the feedback.
I have been looking over the "current" army book, and I think it stinks, if I had my way I'd go back to using the older book, from '96!

   
Made in gb
Slaanesh Havoc with Blastmaster






Lol see I love the new book, but I've not played a game with it yet. And also I don't know what the 96 book was like not having read it!

black legion 2000pts
Kabal of the shattered soul 1000pts
Empire WIP
https://www.facebook.com/ARGMcLeod?ref=hl. Check out my novel!
 
   
Made in us
Storm Trooper with Maglight





New Hampshire, US

Feb Update to all Plogs:

My Lovely Bride has been offered a new job! A "promotion" to the next level up in her field, with a nice, fat raise. So, of course, this means that we are moving. It's only a couple of hours away, still in NH, but it means that we have to pack everything up and relocate...

Therefore, all modeling and painting is going to be on hold for a while, until we get settled in to a new place. I am going to be bringing a "portable" version of my workshop to the hotel where we will be staying until we find a home, so there may be some occasional updates.

In the meantime, I am going to be working on some 40k and Fantasy scenarios, missions and maybe even a podcast. Is that something anyone would be interested in tuning in to?

Please leave a reply and let me know. Thanks!

   
Made in us
Storm Trooper with Maglight





New Hampshire, US

Good morning Dakka! It's been a while, our move was successful and I finally have my workshop put back together!!

I have been working on the Wood Elves and the Command Section is done (gallery link) except for the shields - I need to get them primed and figure out the design...

Here is the musician



I will be finishing up the rest of the Riders this week, and the steeds.

In other news I picked up a magnifying lamp over the weekend, which has been helping A LOT with detail work.

UPDATE: The riders are done, except for the shields...




Now I need to finish the steeds, I am basing the paint scheme on a "real life" Palomino:



Each steed will have an individual look, especially on the face:

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/04/03 18:16:20


   
Made in us
Storm Trooper with Maglight





New Hampshire, US

We are moving along nicely! I have finished painting the steeds, and am working on the bases. I took a break to complete one model for a pic (again, shields are going to have to wait til tomorrow):



Of course, from this angle you can't see the shield plug anyway...



Update: you can see all of the Wood Elves (except the Spellweaver) in their final form at the #AprilVows tag.

Here is the final version of the hero:

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/04/07 18:37:54


   
Made in us
Warning From Magnus? Not Listening!





IL

Wow, great work man. You've done an amazing job bringing these oldies back to life. In particular, i really like the vibrant color scheme. That close up on the musician really pops, especially the blue.
This blog is getting me motivated for my own salvage project. I'm fixing up 3-4k of Empire from about 6 years ago that I got from a friend.
Keep up the good work!

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Made in us
Storm Trooper with Maglight





New Hampshire, US

Thanks, Freytag, I worked hard on these, I have held this project close to my heart for a long time. I think I was afraid to start, then life events put it on hold for years.

Now I need to strip and re-paint some of my other oldies, ones I painted way before I achieved any sort of skill level.

   
 
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