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CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/06/11 05:28:59


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Navigation
Spoiler:
#1: That's this one. Guardian Defenders and HW Platform.
#2: Treelord
#3: Still Guardians, Image tests, Autarch, Fire Dragons, High Elf Prince, and IG
#4: Wraithlord and Old School Jetbikes
#5: Still Guardians, Warlock, Terrain, Falcon, Vyper, Striking Scorpions, and High Elf Phoenix
#6: Rock/Meteorite Terrain
#7: HW Platform and Hill WIP
#9: SoB/IG tests and Wraith-constructs
#10: Viking Historicals, SAGA, A-Frame Terrain WIP
#11: Progress on SAGA Warrior/Levi Archers and an Unboxing/Review of Gripping Beast Plastic Starter Sets, Harlequins
#12: Jain Zar WIP and Historicals built. Also, a Frost Giant.
#13: Jain Zar, A-Frame, and a reaper.
#14: Scratch-build A-Frame complete, trees and terrain, Dark Angels Primaris Chaplain
#15: Hills, Trees, and Elvish Things
#16: Spooky Maugan Ra and Swooping Hawk WIPs
#17: Maugan Ra Finished, Army/Group Shots
#18: Windriders WIP, historicals/3D printer tinkerings
#19: DKoK IG vs. Eldar Battle Report, Sandbags, and that Windrider stripe
#20: Windriders Complete, Craftworld Backstory Development
#21: WIPs: Thousand Sons and Bolt Action
#22: WIP Wraithguard/Wraithblades and DKoK IG vs. Eldar Battle Report. Also, Gobbos.
#23: Craftworld Televaan
#24: Phoenix Temple and Dragon Noble
#25: WIP White Lion Chariots: Paint Scheme Tests
#26: WIP White Lion Chariots: Carriage One Complete
#27: WIP White Lion Chariots: Lions, Pelts, and Mounting Complete
#28: White Lion Chariot Complete, Local Tournament, and the State of Elves
#29: Wildwood Ranger Warden
#30: Wildwood Rangers Complete
#31: Burrows & Badgers - Mouslings, Rabbits, and a Platypod
#32: Burrows & Badgers - Wildcat Warrior
#33: Burrows & Badgers - Owl, Mousling Bard, and Treasure
#34: WIP - Lord Kroak
#35: Lord Kroak awakens
#36: Wraithguard Complete
#37: Ancient China 15mm Project: Ready to Paint
#38: Ancient China 15mm Project: Imperial Foot and Steppe Horses
#39: Ancient China 15mm Project: Steppe Commander
#40: Ancient China 15mm Project: Steppe Commanders x3
#41: Ancient China 15mm Project: Light Horse
#42: Ancient China 15mm Project: Light Bowmen
#43: Ancient China 15mm Project: Medium/Heavy Horse; ChibiHammer 14,000 Ultramarines
#44: Ancient China 15mm Project: Light Missile Infantry; ChibiHammer 14,000 Ultramarines
#45: Ancient China 15mm Project Complete, The Glittering Host Project Begins: WHFB High Elves
#46: The Glittering Host: High Elf Lord on Griffon
#47: The Glittering Host: Odds and Ends
#48: The Glittering Host: WIP Archers
#49: The Glittering Host: Archers; Adventures in Ancient China: Imperial Chinese
#50: The Glittering Host: Wizard
#51: The Glittering Host: WIP Eagle Claw Bolt Thrower
#52: The Glittering Host: Eagle Claw Bolt Thrower
#53: The Glittering Host: WIP Silver Helms 1
#54: The Glittering Host: WIP Silver Helms 2
#55: The Glittering Host: WIP Silver Helms 3
#56: The Glittering Host: WIP Silver Helms 4, Banners, and Bases
#57: The Glittering Host: WIP Silver Helms 5
#58: The Glittering Host: WIP Silver Helms 6
#59: The Glittering Host: Silver Helms Complete, Army/Collection Images
#60: The Glittering Host: WIP Swordmasters of Hoeth 1
#61: The Glittering Host: WIP Swordmasters of Hoeth 2 and Kit-Bashed Imrik
#62: The Glittering Host: Swordmasters of Hoeth Complete and Kit-Bashed Imrik
#63: The Glittering Host: WIP Kit-Bashed Imrik 1
#64: The Glittering Host: WIP Kit-Bashed Imrik 2
#65: The Glittering Host: Lord on Dragon/Kit-Bashed Imrik Complete
#66: Orcs & Goblins: Goblin Shaman and Boss
#67: Orcs & Goblins: Goblin Spider Rider WIP
#68: Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard)


Welcome to Captain Waffle's Shipyard, where I log my miniature table-top gaming/hobby projects. The log features Warhammer 40k/Age of Sigmar (lots of Elves, but others too) and historicals/historically inspired projects. Also, 3D printer stuff. I sometimes jump around a bit with what I'm doing, but I always commit to getting things done in proper order. See the above spoiler for navigation to prominent posts. As always, comments and criticism welcome, enjoy the hobby, and take your time with it.


Original First Post

Introduction
Hello Dakkanoughts. Welcome to my shipyard - be it land, sea, or up in the cosmos. I've long held dear miniature painting, crafting, and wargaming, but I only recently was able to seriously pick it up again.

Over fifteen years ago I started playing Warhammer 40k with a brother. He learned of it from some of his friends. He'd send his Thousand Sons against my Craftworld Eldar nearly every evening. I hated his tanks, and he hated my Wraithlord. I still have all those old miniatures, and I've acquired (mostly through gifts) many more over the nearly two decades since. Life hit me hard at a point, so I had to set aside spending resources on playing wargames and purchasing new items. But I kept all the models tucked away in boxes and retained all the hobby supplies.

Over those years I painted in my spare time. People I knew would see me paint and would give me old models they had, or knew someone wanted to get rid of, or just as a gift. About a year and a half ago I was finally able to start wargaming again. I've expanded the collections I have, I've played quite a few games of 7th and 8th WH40k, and more than a few of Age of Sigmar. This hobby log will showcase some of what I've done over the past fifteen-plus years, and will note what I'm up to now in wargames.

I have twenty Craftworld Eldar Guardian Defenders undergoing a repaint. I have three heavy-weapon grav platforms, two that need some touch-ups and one that I found on ebay for next to nothing.Whoever had it managed to glue it together with the bits literally upside down/backwards. Some clipping, saw work, and filing and the platform was good as new. Why three platforms and only twenty Guardians? Because I have around 35 Guardians that I somehow acquired over the years. Also, weapons options. Magnetizing is a pain when I hardly play WYSIWYG.



The color scheme is sort of my own design. I played Alaitoc before it became cool with the 8th edition Craftworlds Codex. Some of my older models even have the traditional blue, bone, yellow colors. I changed the scheme around to replace the yellow with grey (mostly), added in some green, and kept some of the other colors here and there. I value history in objects, so I'm rarely keen on stripping and repainting models unless I really need to - and I've stripped these guardians three or four times over the years as I developed my paintng skills. When I began WH40k long ago all I had was one of the old Farseers, an old Warithlord, ten Guardien Defenders, and three Dark Reapers. I painted them as Ulthwe. Then, over time I stripped them and painted some as Saim Hann, then Biel-Tan, then as pseudo Alaitoc, and now they will be set as my not-Alaitoc. Some of my models show the wear, and I try to work around that.

Perhaps one day I'll come up with my own Craftworld, and maybe I'll name some characters. I do like to think of them as a raggedy group. They've seen some things and have to retrofit equipment and vehicles and such. Sort of a living with what little they have craftworld, probably related to Exodites. Colors have a loose theme. Style depends upon the historical use. I'll take ideas, if anyone has any.

These two Farseers exhibit some old and some recent work. The Farseer on the left I acquired many years ago - maybe ten? It was a test paint for a pseudo-Alaitoc Craftworld. The right Farseer was painted a little under a year ago and fits my set-in-stone Craftworld force. More images in my gallery.



I have a soft spot for medieval fantasy. The interest is all over - and I tend to prefer Elves. However, I also find lizards cool. Maybe it's because I grew up in the hills and mountains of north-central USA and met a lot of tiny lizards here and there. This guy I had sitting around for a decade or so completely unpainted. I rebased him for Age of Sigmar and gave him a nice paintjob around two years ago. He was sort of a quick test paint to get back into things seriously, and I wanted to see how quickly I could get him done while looking good. Lots of drybrushing, but it works on lizards. Another image in my gallery. Someday I hope to have a Seraphon army. I have the old, all-metal Lord Kroak with a few metal royal guard. I've poked myself so many times on those spears just by moving them around.




I intend to update this whenever I make enough progress that warrants an update, or if something really interesting comes up. Should be about once each week. I have plenty of other miniatures to work on, and plenty already done to varying degree. They can show how I've developed over time.

For Age of Sigmar/Warhammer Fantasy I have: Spire of Dawn (High Elves, Skaven), lots of High Elves from all the subgroups, all my Sylvaneth are currently done but I have plenty of Wanderers/Wood Elves, lots of Goblins from the old Battle for Skull Pass set (a brother was given the Dwarves and we sometimes wargame), a few Seraphon/Lizardmen, and some odd bits here and there.

For Warhammer 40k I have: a lot of Eldar (perhaps half of them finished), around 850 points of Harlequins (many from the Death Masque set that I split with a friend), a tiny 500 point army of Imperial Guard/Astra Militarum, about 700 points of Sisters of Battle, around 1,200 points of Thousand Sons with some Tzeentch demons, and odd bits about.

I also sometimes paint something up for a brother or friend. I'll showcase those sometime when I can. More to come next time. Slow and steady wins the race (or at least keeps you even keeled). Discussion, critique, and ideas are certainly welcome.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/06/11 10:25:40


Post by: Nevelon


Welcome to Dakka and back to the hobby. Sounds like you have an interesting collection of stuff. Nice work on the farseers.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/06/11 10:38:41


Post by: Lum


I really like your farseers, especially the newer one. Great sculpt, but your painting compliments it really well!


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/06/12 04:42:36


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Thank you both for the kind words. I do have an odd assortment of stuff, and I'll eventually get images of them all uploaded and showcased. Perhaps I'll do that a few times a week. The new Farseer sculpt is a great one and it was fun to paint and to have on the table, usually dooming things.

I don't like how... dark? the images came out, though. I have a home-made light box to diffuse the light, but the models lose some definition, I think. I spent an hour this evening fiddling with the lighting and the light box and eventually set aside the diffusing parchment. The result appears to have a slightly brighter definition, but now has a light haze due to the lack of light diffusion. I don't know which to prefer.



I can't help the shadowy bands that softly appear on the images. I have LED "natural" light bulbs in my desk lamps. The painting is much better than it is with other bulbs, I've found, but the phone cameras pick up the waves from the LEDs.

Here's a better image of some of my WIP Guardian Defenders and their heavy weapon grav platforms. My previous image of them does not reveal much.



Finally, here's my Sylvaneth Treelord. My Sylvaneth, and most of my miniatures, are autumn-themed in some fashion. The little spites are a neato addition to the Sylvaneth/Wanderers/Wood Elf lore, and I try to add them whenever I can. In the lore they are forest spirits that can take many physical manifestations, so I like to paint them as spirits. I just base them white, coat them with Nihilakh Oxide, then highlight with ulthuan grey and white. More images in my gallery.



As always, C&C welcome.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/06/13 01:40:38


Post by: CaptainWaffle


The trick with these "natural" LEDs appears to be as low-tech as possible. Quite the opposite of the Eldar predilections. Note the comparisons here:



The first image was taken without a light box and with only two lamps. One lamp was placed far to the left facing almost horizontal and slightly downward. The diffused light from one direction causes a glare, but because only one nearby source is diffused the color seems to come out more and the details shown better. The second lamp had some parchment taped in front of it to diffuse the light better and was positioned facing the front of the miniature and slightly downward. I also changed the background to black/navy blue which I think brings the color out better.

The second image was taken in a standard home-made light box setup (three lamps with diffusing parchment, one above, one on right facing in, one on left facing in). The light evenly hits the miniature, but is also dulled and detail/color is lost. Also, the camera is able to pick up the LED light waves due to the diffusion and white background.

The third image is like the second, but with the diffusing parchment removed. The detail and color are slightly more brought out, but the undiffused light particles hit each other from all directions creating a haze effect. Similar to the second image, the LED light waves are softly present.

The first image might be the way I go from now on, but it really depends on the model. The change in backdrop from white to black/blue certainly did wonders with the color. Perhaps I just need stronger bulbs in the lamps to make the other methods work.

Now that you've read through my experiments, here's a few older models I have painted up. The first is my converted Autarch Skyrunner. Too cheap to purchase the actual model? Why not make one from old parts! I really like the old (now Index) Autarch rules where you could give nearly anything to an Autarch. Really had the "walker of many paths" backstory to them. This guy is a combination of the old Eldar jetbike "sergeant" model, two Dire Avenger Exarch arms, and the lance part of a Bright Lance. It looks silly, but that's part of the old school charm. Too bad the Autarch Skyrunner can't actually have a shuriken cannon mounted on the jetbike. More in my gallery.



For a color variety, here's the Phoenix Lord Fuegan, "The Burning Lance", with a few Fire Dragon Aspect Warriors of the Red Wyrm Shrine. The image seems somewhat saturated, but I took it as it was. I tried to stay true to the original Fuegan color scheme, and spent some time on the gems all over his helmet. Most of my Eldar models are the old metals ones, and some have seen some wear. The paint can cover that to a point, but I think the pits and depressions in the metal add to the history of Fuegan. As always, more in my gallery.



Here's a close-up of Fuegan's helmet:


For something in need of work, an old Imperial Guard/Astra Militarum Lord Commander from my small IG force. I painted this guy when I was around 15 years old. That was a long time ago. Never chipped once even though I used to keep him in a plastic bag with a bunch of other Guard. I'll give that one up to the thick gloss varnish I apparently used back then.


I have just barely enough IG models to make a basic, exactly 500 point infantry force. Everything is on foot and it has one heavy weapon team and one Armored Sentinel. I usually run it with my small, roughly 700 points of Sisters of Battle/Adeptus Sororitas. They both need a decent paintjob, though, which will be a project for the near future. Sometimes I tire of painting elves. Even though this guy is painted, he most likely will get a repaint. I'm not sold on the red/black scheme. Once I figure out what my Sisters will be I'll have my IG suit accordingly. I might go with a green/white/gold/black scheme. I'll paint up some tests soon.

Finally, I like to add in some of my medieval fantasy stuff. Here's a High Elf Prince on horseback.


I painted part of this guy around 13 years ago, then kept all the bits in bags as I had moved around a lot. A couple years ago, as I was slowly getting back into the hobby, I dug this guy out and completed him. The color scheme is sorta standard for High Elves, which I like, but on his cloak I added some model putty to form a lion pelt. My goal was always to have a White Lions of Chrace themed High Elf army. I have a unit of White Lions that I'll show sometime, and a lot of other High Elves, but it's not themed as I'd want it to be yet. More images in my gallery.

As always, C&C welcome. Especially on Sister of Battle color schemes and ideas. There's not much out there apart from the standard black/red.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/06/13 11:22:03


Post by: Nevelon


Getting decent pics is always a challenge. No answer for it but to snap a bunch and tweak settings to figure out what works with the gear you have.

Nice work on all the gems. That’s a lot of tiny detail.
Building another bike autach is on my to-do list, but the lack of parts is a big problem. I’m spoiled by all the plastic kits marines get that can be mixed to make cool HQs. Eldar need a lot more plastic if they want to get anywhere near that level.

High Elf looks great.

I know I’ve seen green Sisters before. Here is at least one example Just because the classic colors are black/white/red doesn’t mean they all need to be. I painted a blue one once to use as a character in an RPG. But also a zillion in a more traditional scheme for a friend’s army.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/06/13 12:01:32


Post by: Sinful Hero


I love the treelord. I hadn’t thought of using the Nihillakh Oxide for spirits- I may have to steal that idea. Looks really good.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/06/13 17:38:06


Post by: theCrowe


Nice range of pieces on display. Always a challenge finding a photography style that works for you.

Love that old IG commander. What a classic sculpt! Would love to see you strip and redo that old fella. He deserves a revamp.
Though I note you're not a fan of that sort of thing.

I like your Jet bike. Nice blue camo pattern. I've been sitting on a squad of converted Harlies on bikes for probbably about seven years now and never got round to painting them up. I just can't face those large flat surfaces on the bike front ends because I know it'll have to be a real delicate pattern paint job to match my Harlequin troopers. Got a lozenge theme going on but a lozenge-based camo pattern might work well.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/06/14 05:14:57


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Nevelon wrote:...
Nice work on all the gems. That’s a lot of tiny detail.
Building another bike autach is on my to-do list, but the lack of parts is a big problem. I’m spoiled by all the plastic kits marines get that can be mixed to make cool HQs. Eldar need a lot more plastic if they want to get anywhere near that level.
...
I know I’ve seen green Sisters before. Here is at least one example...


Gem painting is one of the reasons I enjoy painting elves. I find the detail soothing, and the finished light effects fascinating. My main Farseer, the one in all those previous images, is covered in gems of all colors on purpose. I discovered that yellow and amber gems don't capture and reflect light as other colors do, so I painted those gems differently. Thanks for the compliment, it is a point of pride and joy for me.

Most of my Eldar are in metal, and I purposefully search out the metal models on Ebay and such as I don't like the resin. I don't really purchase much these days for Eldar, though. I'm hoping that GW, someday, comes out with more plastic in the line. I notice from your gallery and hobby log that plenty of your models are the old metal ones as well. Holding out in hopes of plastic too, eh? Great webway terrain, by the way.

I've seen those Sisters before, a few years ago. I forgot about them. I think I'd flip the colors and make the green primary, white secondary, and reserve the gold and black for trim/details. I'll paint up some tests in the coming weeks.

Sinful Hero wrote:I love the treelord. I hadn’t thought of using the Nihillakh Oxide for spirits- I may have to steal that idea. Looks really good.


Nihilakh Oxide has a bluish-green effect to it. It's great for ethereal looks when placed over a brighter color. The final effect depends greatly upon the underlayer, and what you can do to highlight it is completely limited by that under layer. I once attempted to highlight with blues over white-covered with the Oxide. Looked terrible. Thanks for the compliment on the Treelord. I took a look at your hobby log. What would you use the Oxide method on? I'd like to see more of your stuff.

theCrowe wrote:Love that old IG commander. What a classic sculpt! Would love to see you strip and redo that old fella. He deserves a revamp.
Though I note you're not a fan of that sort of thing.

I like your Jet bike. Nice blue camo pattern. I've been sitting on a squad of converted Harlies on bikes for probbably about seven years now and never got round to painting them up. I just can't face those large flat surfaces on the bike front ends because I know it'll have to be a real delicate pattern paint job to match my Harlequin troopers. Got a lozenge theme going on but a lozenge-based camo pattern might work well.


When I test paint my Sisters in the next weeks I'll paint a few Guardsmen alongside. The commander will have his deserved repaint. When I make an army I find that, after test paints, getting the HQ done first really sets the tone for the rest and it all falls in place. He'll be one of the first to be done. Sometimes, history is best honored by digging into it a bit more and finding previously unseen things, like a better paintjob.

The camo pattern is present on a few of my Eldar. I don't carry it across them all as it can obscure too much detail. For example, Wraithlord one of three has the camo pattern and I think it hides a bit much. Better suited for vehicles.


Why is the left arm of the Wraithlord bearing two guns, completely removing the potential to punch? I dunno, ask my much younger self why that decision was made. Rule of cool, perhaps. The camo pattern is much better on these oldschool jetbikes (Windriders):


I have six of the modern Windrider models, and a recently completely Farseer/Warlock Skyrunner. I'll showcase those another time, when the Windriders are painted.

I'm also currently struggling with patterns on my Harlequins. I don't have an airbrush, so stencils are out, and I really don't want to freehand all those designs. I have a few Harlequin grav models finished and varnished, just waiting for some sort of design on them. At least I can use them in a fully painted state, which is my initial goal with any model. Touch-ups and additions can always be made at a later time. I'll show them in the future. I don't want to overload a single post.

Thanks for your comments, theCrowe. I enjoyed reading your Eldar stories earlier today. Really put my mindset into that of the Eldar, and High Elves for that matter. Always loved Warhammer's elvish lore.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/06/14 12:54:34


Post by: Sinful Hero


 CaptainWaffle wrote:

Sinful Hero wrote:I love the treelord. I hadn’t thought of using the Nihillakh Oxide for spirits- I may have to steal that idea. Looks really good.


Nihilakh Oxide has a bluish-green effect to it. It's great for ethereal looks when placed over a brighter color. The final effect depends greatly upon the underlayer, and what you can do to highlight it is completely limited by that under layer. I once attempted to highlight with blues over white-covered with the Oxide. Looked terrible. Thanks for the compliment on the Treelord. I took a look at your hobby log. What would you use the Oxide method on? I'd like to see more of your stuff.

My main use for it would be the standard rusting bronze and whatnot, but I also have a massive backlog of Reaper Bones from several kickstarters that I just have no current interest in completing. But if I can knock out a few of the ghosts and spectres real quick that’s more I can throw in my completed pile. What would you recommend for the undercoat if not white? A similar light blue to the Oxide? Also, do you just slather the model on the oxide, or is it more like you would paint a traditional layer?


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/06/14 13:23:35


Post by: CaptainWaffle


 Sinful Hero wrote:
What would you recommend for the undercoat if not white? A similar light blue to the Oxide? Also, do you just slather the model on the oxide, or is it more like you would paint a traditional layer?


I've only ever tried it on brighter colors, and I know it works over a light blue. Alternatively, you cab mix a little of another color in (just a little) to alter the Oxide. However, if you mix too much in the chemical properties of the Oxide are changed and it won't flow the same. It's really your call on the affect you want, and it's straightforward to test on some bits.

Take the Oxide straight from the pot and paint it on in a smooth layer. Don't slather it, but don't go for the usual really thin coats. It acts like a wash, but isn't. Be brave with it! It's all plastic and acrylic, so no worries. You need only one coat of the Oxide, quick and easy.

Also, keep an eye out for the new AoS Nighthaunt themed paints. Dunno when they'll be released, but soon. Advertised to work exactly like the Oxide method. The info on them are 3/4th down the Soul Wars announcement page: https://www.warhammer-community.com/2018/06/05/soul-wars-announced/


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/06/14 13:33:45


Post by: Sinful Hero


Thanks for the tips CaptainWaffle. I don’t pay much attention to AoS, but those new technical paints may be perfect for knocking those minis out quick.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/06/20 02:04:39


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Ahoy Dakka! One week past and what do I have to show for it? Plenty! But, how does a Captain like myself keep his work on course when he has twenty Guardian Defenders and a heavy weapon grav platform in the yard? Perhaps pick a smaller project? Nay! Simply make progress, then take a break to make related progress elsewhere!

Behold! The fearsome Craftworld Somethingoranother Warlock!


I really need to get a Craftworld name figured out. Something to do with going off the beaten path (like the old Alaitoc fluff, but with less shenanigans and more Aspect Warriors and Exodites). This is an old 1991? Jes Goodwin RT Warlock model that I had laying around. The item can be seen in the lower right here: http://www.solegends.com/citcat1991a/cat1991ap093eldaravatrwarlks-01.htm. The model was in production for a few years, though, and I didn't catch the year on the tab before I glued it in. I just know it was 199.... I have a few other older Warlocks around as well, and I'll get to them in time.

Don't worry, I'm still working on the Guardian Defenders. All twenty are blocked in, shaded, highlighted, and have a few details done. Every one of them is at the detail stage. The helmets were line-highlighted, but I took to drybrush the rest of the bodies for expediency. I know, I hear you cry. "But CaptainWaffle! Eldar are sleek and glorious to behold! You can't drybrush them!" Fear not, for I progressively built from darker to lighter grays, which was very fast because gray goes on well. It almost looks like I did the highlights with an airbrush (but, sadly, I don't own one of those). Take a look:


I never liked making the weapons a different color from the main armor. It doesn't make sense to me. The older Eldar codexes have a lot more example images and suggestions and they have some shots of Guardians with weapon colors matching a main color. Looks a lot more elegant, methinks. The heavy weapon platform is all line-highlighted, though. No drybrush there.

I also took to crafting a small rock/meteor terrain item. I need more terrain, and will be working on larger pieces in the near future. Here's a WIP shot, and when it's done I'll have a step-guide with images:


I have an old Falcon (from back when they were 'Falcon Grav Tanks"). In fact, this was the very first Falcon I ever owned. I think I picked it up over 15 years ago from some hobby store that had it on massive discount. It's been through so many snapped parts, paintjobs, repaintjobs, cleanings, then more snapped parts and repaintjobs. The thing is a mess and I'd like to do it justice. Over the previous three weeks I've had it in a tub of Super Clean, from which I would periodically retrieve it and give it a good scrub. I cannot get all the paint off, and I think this will make recovering it difficult. The paint on there is from when it was a Biel-Tan vehicle, long ago. If anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear them.


Ignore the blackout windows. In my youth I became lazy when painting the tank and "cheated". I didn't do so with this Vyper, however, still in its old glory from 8+ years ago, back when I really did have it as Alaitoc (again, before it was cool):


I've always ran my Eldar army lists with plenty of Aspect Warriors. I tend towards the dreaded Footdar. The intricate playstyle required is what interests me, as well as the elvish Warhammer lore. Standing back and shooting everything is boring. I prefer to engage at all avenues, when appropriate. Even though these Striking Scorpions are somewhat niche on the battlefield, their lore as the silent, and tough death are fascinating. These are Striking Scorpion Aspect Warriors of the Ebon Claw Shrine:


The 3rd Edition Striking Scorpions leave a lot to be desired. I really like the current sculpts, but I'd rather not touch that resin. At least Karandras, The Shadow Hunter, Phoenix Lord of the Striking Scorpions fixes the aesthetics:


The power of the Scorpions is not necessarily in their stats. They're really not that special, although they do tend to hold out and hit hard against the right targets. Their power is in the confusion and uncertainty it instills in your opponent. You're not just playing on the table, but also in the mind. The power of the Scorpions is also no good against cats. The tip of Karandras's chainsword was mangled by a playful kitten a year ago. Ho hum.

Finally, some Fantasy/AoS. Here's a Flamespyre Phoenix with Anointed that my wife purhased for me. She loves the Phoenix, and I enjoy High Elves. This was a thrill to paint, and I hear they're kinda powerful on the table too:


As always, there are more images of everything in my gallery. After I finish the Guardians I'll take a break from Elves to do some test paint on my Sisters of Battle/IG army. C&C whole-heartedly desired.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/06/21 06:03:54


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Rock/Meteorite terrain piece finished. Here are the steps:

First, gather your basic supplies. There is no set-in-stone way to build terrain, but you always need a few things. I used a wooden oval from a hobby store (Hobby Lobby for me), some bits of cork that you can get by tearing up wine bottle stoppers or from any number of online sellers, some wood glue/Elmer's glue, and your basic array of hobby tools (knives, tweezers, etc.). Most importantly, you need something to represent the rock. An actual rock could work, but they can increase the weight of the terrain piece and can be difficult to affix to the base. They can also be a pain to store as the rock might be shifted around and smashes things.

Instead, use spray foam insulator/sealer. I used Loctite brand "TITE FOAM" that I picked up for a couple dollars from my local construction/hardware store. Follow the directions on the can to prepare the foam. Have an area ready (I used a 4'x4' table) to spray on, and cover it with sheets of baking paper. I tested this with both waxed baking paper and "parchment" baking paper, and the foam kinda stuck to the waxed paper in places, but came right off the parchment. Your call. Spray the foam in rough shapes/sizes as you desire and wait for it to cure. Should be an hour to a few hours. I left mine overnight. Remember that the foam expands to twice its initial size, and perhaps even more. Wear tossable gloves for this, as the foam will stick to your hands and most other things before it cures.

I didn't take any photos of the foam spraying, but I do have an image of the result stored away. This is all from a single spray can:


Don't be alarmed at any shape oddities. You can cut the foam with a knife as much as your heart desires. Keep any scrap for later projects as filler or smaller objects. I did a small bit of terrain for this tutorial, and I was happy when I had a small boulder/meteroite shape. Cut one side to have a flat area, and sand it with coarse sandpaper as desired. Affix that side to your base with wood glue/your glue of choice, and add some other small bits as you wish:


The fallen tree but I used is a resin piece from Basecrafts. You could use twigs or whatever that you pick for no cost, but then you have to clean it and wait for it to dry and it might not match your aesthetic well so you'd paint it with dubious results. It's great when it works out, otherwise a cheap bit of molded resin/plastic works too. The shredded cork is from GreenStuffWorld, as I prefer to keep my wine stoppers in their rough shape for other purposes.

Next, get some ballast on it. You can get this stuff from anywhere, even your backyard if you feel like sifting and cleaning it. It's just sand/rock material. The stuff you can purchase from a hobby store/online has all that done for you, though, and you can find them in all sorts of sizes. I have a container with a mix of sizes, from fine (almost sand), to medium, to coarse. I find the coarse grit balast to be too large for most projects, but I used it in the mix here because this is meant to be a more rocky/meteorite piece. Lay down a layer of your white/wood glue and pour the balast on. Press it in a little if you want, and wait for it to dry. It should say on the glue bottle how long that is, but usually 30 minutes to an hour.


Get some white/wood glue on a plate/cleanable surface and thin it out with some water. Slather that on the foam and any cork/wood bits. This creates a surface that will take paint far better than the foam/cork would. It also protects the foam from any spray can paints you might use, as the aerosol eats most foams. I didn't use spray paint in this project. I also didn't take a photo of this step. It's thinned glue on foam, what more do you want?

Block in your base colors. I use cheap, $2 large bottle craft acrylic paint for terrain. Paint it on as you would painting a model, same concepts. To get the balast painted you could spray/brush on some primer first, but I don't always bother. Make the paint really thin, almost like a wash, and slather the balast with the paint. It will flow between all the grit. I used a burnt red for the balast, GW Dryad Bark for the wood, and craft paint dark gray for the stones. I also painted the rough rim to match my other terrain/model bases. Apologies for the unfocused image.


Get to shading and highlighting. I used GW Agrax Earthshade for the balast and the wood. The balast got two-three washes until I was happy with it. The rocks and some areas on the balast close to them were washed with GW Nuln Oil. Just go for it until you're happy, and catch those recesses. You can always fix mistakes, and you might see some in the next image that are resolved later. Highlight by drybrushing to keep it natural-looking. On the rocks I used a medium gray heavy drybrush, then a light light gray drybrush. The wood was drybrushed with GW Gorthor Brown, then lightly drybrushed with GW Sylvaneth Bark. The balast was drybrushed with a cheap off-white, bone-colored acrylic craft paint.


Now we get to the details. These are defnitely your choice. I used GW Athonian Camoshade to give a slight green shade to low areas on the main rock and in some recessed areas, then threw a little more GW Nuln Oil on some of those areas to get some variation. My goal was to create a mossy look. I love Autumn, and I'm from central-north United States where I'm surrounded by raw nature and the cold. I love it, and that's what I try to recreate on my table, so moss and dried leaves it is. Once the shade is dry, brush on some thinned out matte varnish to seal the entire piece, or spray it on.


Finally, add extras of your choosing. The autumn scatter from Basecraft was affixed with white glue first. Then, I emphasized the the mossy look with various turf from Basecraft and GreenStuffWorld, with thinned white glue brushed on to affix it all. Again, you can make this stuff yourself, but you'd have to wreck a blender by chopping up sponges, mixing in paints, and getting inconsistent results. If you want to, all power to you. Finally, I glued on some "leaf litter" from the vendors to imitate fallen autumn leaves. Again, you can make leaf litter yourself. Here's a great tutorial from Reaper Miniatures. But again, this takes time and can lead to inconsistent results. A tub of leaf litter costs a couple dollars and will last a very long time. Here are a few images to show the final result in different lighting and angles. The old High Elf Phoenix Guard is for scale.




You can mix some rubbing alcohol, water, and white glue in a spray bottle to add a cover layer of glue to make certain the extra stay stuck, but I don't think it's necessary. C&C welcome. Take joy in your work.



CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/06/22 04:32:44


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Bright lance HW platform is finished.The Guardian Defenders are nearing completion. I always struggle with how to base HW platforms. They sit so low to the ground that it's too easy to overload the base with visuals and it can be difficult to get anything meaningful under there. But, it looks terrible if there's little or nothing there.I might go back to it and add some moss or something.


One of my goals is to create a collection of outdoor terrain for my autumn-themed table. I've come to learn that natural terrain doesn't take much effort or hands-on time, but it can take some time to finish. Most steps involve waiting for something to dry for 30 minutes to an hour, or overnight. This allows one to build, paint, do house chores, or spend time with the wife in between quick five-ten minute terrain work periods. Since I finished my rock/meteorite thing, and I have plenty of that sprayed foam ready to use, I began work on a medium-sized hill in between painting Guardians and watching The Lord of the Rings with the wife:


It's a decent size, able to block LoS or have a unit (or two) positioned on top of it. I usually wargame with close family and friends on a 4'x4' table, and this isn't too large for it, nor too small to matter. After the glue dried on the layers I got to spackling the surfaces. This gives it a sturdy finish to support miniatures being placed on it, and evens it out a bit so it's ready for the balast and other bits. Spray foam tends to leave holes behind, and spackle fills those right up. This stuff goes on pink and dries white, and I'll sand it after it dries overnight:


A little work here and there, slow and steady with purpose, and it all will come out great. C&C always welcome. Take joy in your work.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/06/22 10:32:19


Post by: Nevelon


Nice tutorial on the rock. Terrain is something that is often overlooked, but a key part of the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/06/25 04:10:33


Post by: CaptainWaffle


The weekend was spent watching The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit with my wife, as well as working on the hill and completing the Guardian Defender unit. What a relaxing time.

The hill was finished using the same method as my rock/meteorite, detailed in a previous post. Ballast was affixed, and the foam coated in watered-down white glue...


...then the entire hill was painted. Shades were applied both to create depth and the appearance of moss. Spray varnish sealed it. Apologies for the fuzzy image.


The hill was completed with various flock and such to create moss, foliage, and other autumn aesthetics.


Just in time to showcase the completed unit. Guardian Defenders of Craftworld Somethingoranother with a Bright Lance lead by a Warlock take up watch upon a hill:


Too much or too little on the foliage? You decide. The hill can hold ten-plus 25mm bases (probably 12 or 13) at a time. The lower ledges are narrow and would prove difficult to place larger bases upon. That means that I'll need more terrain. Always more projects, otherwise it wouldn't be a hobby. Take joy in it.

The next project is to test color schemes on the Sister of Battle and accompanying Imperial Guard. Here's an army shot of everything I have relating to them, equaling around 1,000 points-worth (probably a bit more than that).


After that, I'll pick away at them and my other things. I got some metal Eldar Swooping Hawks that have my eye, along with Baharroth. C&C always welcome.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/07/01 00:38:16


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Paint tests for the Sisters and accompanying IG have concluded. I took a liking to the green/deep red with natural brown colors of Rohan from the LotR films that my wife and I recently watched. I already wanted a green SoB army, I just hadn't sorted the colors before watching the films again over the week. The wife also took a liking to Middle-Earth (she had never seen them before, a shame that had to be addressed) and wants me to get into the GW Middle-Earth games. I hear they're coming out with a rebranding and new box set or somesuch anytime now, so perhaps you'll see some of that on here over the next months.

Color scheme tests used mostly GW paints. I used Scalecolor white primer to get some quick white on them (and prime). The reddish-brown is Vallejo Model Color "Hull Red", which I did not like at all. Perhaps GW Doombull Brown or something would've been better, but even then I think the use of a reddish-brown is far better suited to more medieval and natural subjects like leather. Both GW Waaagh! Flesh and Caliban Green were tested, and I found the Waagh! worked best on the IG and Caliban worked best on the SoB. The red I ended up with was GW Mephiston Red with two layers of GW Nuln Oil washed over it. Black is just GW Abbadon Black. I hear other black paints are better, but I don't have much to offer locally and rarely order online. One day I'll try other paints.

The tests were mostly underwhelming, but you never know until you try:



Doesn't that Hull Red look terrible in this context? The IG gear most likely will be black as I really can't bring myself to paint it anything else. It's standard soldier gear provided by the Imperium to legions upon legions of average humans - why would it be anything other than black unless a specific environment calls for otherwise? Anyway, the final selections stood out immediately to me, and were the last I tested:



The actual paint jobs will be much more clean that these. Don't spend too much time on color tests or you'll go loopy.

While testing the Imperium armies I was frequently bothered by the state of my painted Wraithlord. Remember that guy from this post? Goodness, what was young CaptainWaffle thinking back then?! I carefully took my tools to it, and after some prying, clipping, cutting, filing, and gluing I repainted him. Now he makes a lot more sense, and I have a good color scheme for ghost-type weapons:


Doesn't he look so much better? I need to improve my blending skills, but I think it's a decent start. Next on the workspace is a bunch of Wraithguard that I need to finish, then perhaps some Wraithblades...


Finally, here's more Sylvaneth to scratch the Fantasy itch. My lighting needs work. As always, C&C welcome, especially on the Imperium tests.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/07/01 01:10:45


Post by: TheEldanariPrince


Great models. I think the foliage on the big rock is fine as it is, and cool colour scheme on those sisters.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/07/12 02:02:54


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Thanks for the compliment EldanariPrince. Sometimes I worry that my use of contrast isn't developed enough and that I overdo things like basing. It's all a learning process.

Time for something different: historicals. I'm burned out of fantasy and future-fiction... for now. Well, mostly I'm burned out of Warhammer and its high prices. After reading Maniac_nmt's Gesta Normannorum hobby log my Nordic heritage and long enjoyment of history was set ablaze. I've always wanted to build historical armies and engage in those wargames. Might at well pursue what is interesting. It is a hobby, after all, not a job. I can get back to the Elves and bolters anytime.

My goal is to have a few SAGA armies over time, the beauty of which is that the miniatures can be used for much more than SAGA and can often be used in multiple SAGA armies. Cool stuff and thrifty. I have the Viking and Anglo-Saxon/Dane 4-point plastic starter armies from Gripping Beast in the mail, as well as a shieldmaiden banner set from Footsore to add to my warlord bases. On a whim, and because it was a cheap find at a random store, I also picked up a bag of 29 Old Glory 25mm Bondi/Levi archers.

Ah, old lead miniatures.


There's even a lead warning on the back.


I am not all that pleased with the miniatures. They certainly are not the pinnacle of miniature modeling. Also, they are so soft that they bend very easily. Finally, the mold line removal and other cleanup work was a hefty chore. Since they're 25mm they sit slightly lower than 28mm miniatures, but throw them on a slightly taller base and they fit right in with 28mm miniatures. It was a cheap find while I wait for the proper miniatures to arrive.


A quick bit of paint and "brush-on" dip and they'll be decent basic levi/bondi or some other Nordic/Germanic low-level troop. The terrain WIP bit will be an A-frame storage structure over earthworks. After the white glue dries I'll throw some spackle on it and inside to make a pounded-earth floor. I'll also have a good idea of what the measurements for the A-frame will be once the earthworks are leveled. As always, C&C welcome. Enjoy the hobby and take it easy.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/07/12 03:47:52


Post by: Fango


Let the gamer ADD shine! I’m all about working on what interests you in the moment. Personally, I haven’t indulged in any historical gaming, unless you count Flames of War...which is basically 15mm 40K set in WWII.

Welcome back to the hobby CaptainWaffle, I look forward to seeing your progress on your current project.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/07/17 02:53:33


Post by: CaptainWaffle


 Fango wrote:
Let the gamer ADD shine! I’m all about working on what interests you in the moment. Personally, I haven’t indulged in any historical gaming, unless you count Flames of War...which is basically 15mm 40K set in WWII.

Welcome back to the hobby CaptainWaffle, I look forward to seeing your progress on your current project.


Thanks for the encouragement! The key to any hobby is to remember that it's a hobby. Get things done, but whatever you're currently doing make certain it's interesting and enjoyable to you. In the moment, I'm finding historicals more enjoyable tham science fiction. I'll bounce back to the rest another time.

I'd consider Flames of War a historical game, from what I've seen of it. There aren't any crazy aliens and such in it.

Progress has been slow going. I've been picking away at 24 Old Glory Warrior/Levi archers, and it's painful. The detail is decent, and the painting is actually easy. It's the mold lines and flash that's killing me, and having to work around the oddities. In some ways, the miniatures have grown on me. They do have some great beards. But in others they are such a pain, and unless something about Old Glory changes I won't purchase them again.

Here's two that have been "brush" dipped using Minwax, just so I can see how it'll look.
I always feel I must apologize for the fuzziness. Sometimes my hands are too shaky. Other times they're steady as a rock.:


This old guy is my favorite of the bunch:


I did receive the Gripping Beast 4 point SAGA army Viking and Anglo-Saxon/Dane starter boxes today. I thought I might review them here. The boxes are typical cardboard and both come with very similar sprues. Viking set:



Anglo-Saxon/Dane set:



Both sets have the same exact four-sprue-set of warrior/levis. Heads and all are exactly the same. Each sprue creates five whole warriors/levi. That's a lot of extra bodies across the two sets just from these:


Where the sets differ are in their warlord and hearthguard sprues. The Viking set has a suitable sword-and-shield setup (although I might swap an axe in) with fur cloak and rugged beardy heads (AS THEY SHOULD). There's also an extra body for a hornblower:


The Anglo-Saxon/Dane warlord sprue has everything to make a weapon+shield or Dane-axe weilding warlord, along with a banner-bearer. Note that the cloak on this one is very plain, and the Dane-axe is a metal addition in the warlord's base bag:


The hearthguard sprues are quite identical across the two box sets, but the Viking set has more axes whereas the Anglo set has more swords and spears. Also, the heads differ as the Vikings have more, well, Norse-looking heads while the Anglo hearthguard seem to all cower behind Roman-looking helmets with pathetic ear-flaps.

Viking hearthguard sprue:


Anglo hearthguard sprue:


The glorious Viking heads:


The cowardly Anglo-Saxon/Dane earflaps:


I jest, of course. In reality, although certain regions had dominant styles, trade and looting made these variations common across much of Europe at the time. Notice the mold lines. They are hit and miss across the sprues, with some needing little to no work and others needing a lot. However, it's quite comparable to, say, GW castings at a far less price. I purchased both sets for a total of $36, straight from Gripping Beast in the UK. What a deal for over 50 miniatures!

The SAGA rules claim that Viking and related shields were rimmed with iron. I know from studies that this was exceptionally rare. Shields had some care put into them, but were largely self-crafted and tossable equipment that would really only defend against so much before breaking. That iron would have been put to better use elsewhere. Also, the archaeological record supports common use of leather-bound/edged shields, not iron. I might file down the iron rivets on the shields where they are and paint them as leather-rimmed. There is some archaological evidence that the leather was kept in place by iron, though, rather than always the common sinnew. I'll see what I think when it comes.

Work is still progressing on the A-frame storage structure. Not much to post on it right now, though. 24 oddly molded archers takes some time. As always, more images in my gallery and C&C welcome. Enjoy the hobby and give it its own time.

Edit: Goodness, I forgot to showcase some of my older work. I split a Death Masque box with a friend over a year ago. I kept the Harlequins. Did you know that some crafty magnet work on the Starweaver allows it to become a Voidweaver too? And that the "riders" on the Starweaver can be adjusted and modeled on their own bases and added to the troupes in the Death Masque box to get more for your money? It's true! Anyway, here are the non-foot Harlequin units from the Death Masque box set, the Starweaver/Voidweaver and the two Skyweavers:




CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/08/20 04:23:11


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Captain Waffle is back in port. What has he been up to for over a month on the waters? Much with work and family. And some hobby time. Both boxes of SAGA Viking/Anglo-Saxon/Anglo-Dane starter armies were built:


That's at least 50 miniatures. All of the shields are blu-tacked on so they and the bodies can be easily painted while still used in games. The archers haven't received much attention over the previous month because I prioritize getting new models ready to use.

What's the big guy in the back? That's Reaper Miniatures' Frost Giant Warrior. Not to be confused with their Frost Giant Bodygaurd, which is also a very nice model. He fits with the Norsemen in a more fantasy way and makes the historicals fit in with, say, Osprey Publishing's Dragon Rampant. Also, it's a cool model that I wanted to paint the moment I saw it on the shelf at my local store for $13. He's also quite big:


There's a "Highland Heroine" from Reaper in there as well for a future Scotish/whatnot army. She's somewhat fantasy-ish, but not so much it's immediately noticeable. She also stands a little taller than the other guys, but that's just natural variety. Same case as the frost giant: I saw her at the shop for $3 and knew I'd paint her.

Some of these historicals were a pain. I wanted to make a unit of Dane-ax hearthguard for the Anglo-Danes, but the box set doesn't come with any Dane-axes. The amount of work to repose and build a Dane-axe might be doable, but none of the arms suit it. Then I discovered that the Viking starter pack has a single Dane-ax on the hearthguard sprue, even though the SAGA II rules for Vikings doesn't allow great weapons. Besides, it was just one with a single arm set that works with it. That was a lot of time and effort to make four Dane-ax hearthguard that ended up with nothing. Good thing those starter packs come with so many extra bodies. I still have enough leftover for a few more units of warriors/levy and hearthguard. Also, the mold lines were mostly easy to work with or not there, which is a plus.

The Footsore Miniature Viking Valkyries are beautiful metal models, and I added one to my Viking warlord as a banner bearer. There's plenty of recorded evidence to suggest that Norse women fought (although nowhere near as often as men), and records for what might be considered Valkyries (in a not-supernatural sense, warrior women of some reknown). Whatever the case, they fit in moderation, and I like to think of the warlord base as me and my wife, who loves it:


The Valkyries were also a pain, though. The models are beautiful, but the mold lines were terrible. You can easily see them right fromt the box. Beware that you might need to put some work into these ladies if you purchase the product:


After building all those historicals (and not-so-historicals) I needed to get back to my Elves. One of my goals is to have every Phoenix Lord painted, but I must have a related unit for that Aspect ready first. I have the Howling Banshees finished, but not Jain Zar. I'm sticking with the white armor, but with my Craftworld colors mixed in and matching the orange of my Howling Banshee's hair. I never liked the standard Jain Zar paint scheme, too dull. A WIP from this evening:


The model certainly shows its age. Jain Zar could use an update, but plenty of Eldar stuff could. It has an old-school charm to it, though, and I enjoy it. C&C always welcome. Take joy in your hobby, giving it its own time in moderation so you can truly appreciate it.



CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/08/21 09:31:05


Post by: insaniak


Ah, Jain Zar... I remember being blown away by that model that first time I saw it. Crikey, she's top-heavy, though...

I like your take on her. Nice contrasts.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/09/03 21:45:44


Post by: CaptainWaffle


 insaniak wrote:
Ah, Jain Zar... I remember being blown away by that model that first time I saw it. Crikey, she's top-heavy, though...

I like your take on her. Nice contrasts.


Thanks for the compliments. I managed to fit some bits of thick wire under the base to even out the weight a bit. She's still top-heavy, but only slightly now rather than entirely! I'll have to come up with some similar method when I get to Baharroth.

Here she is finished. Jain Zar, the Storm of Silence, Phoenix Lord of the Howling Banshee Aspect Warriors:


All I have is my simple phone, but someday I'll have a proper image-capturing device! The model quality is not the best at all. There are some areas where the mold was poor (such as the face on the headdress, it really is flattened from purchase). It's how I bought it a decade or more ago. The lighting doesn't do it justice, the white is really Ulthuan Gray and related paints shaded with blue shade and highlighted with white. Looks a lot better in-person. A group shot with my Howling Banshees of some particular shrine or another. I don't like the Howling Banshee's standard colors, so I made up a shrine (only the color scheme):


I've made progress on an old ancient/medieval A-frame structure. Simple stuff made from craft wood and chipboard. The plan is to add panelling to the front and back, a door, then use faux fur in layered strips to make the appearance of straw/hay/whatever over the roofing. A 28mm Viking warrior stands to give perspective:


It's a good idea to have a terrain project in the background. Gets the eyes off painting tiny details and results in something usable that adds depth and nice aesthetics to a board. Up next, the Harvester of Souls, Maugan Ra, to join my tiny three-elf squad of Dark Reapers of the Jade Scythe Shrine:


As always, more images in my gallery (see my signature). C&C welcome. Enjoy the hobby and take your time with it.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/09/22 04:07:00


Post by: CaptainWaffle


It's been a busy terrain month, with a lot of family business over the next few weeks. We'll see what I can get done. But, what has the captain been up to in the yard?

I finished the scratch-build A-frame. It works for historicals and could pass as a far off ag-world/frozen world for WH40k (since worlds in WH40k are entirely of one weather type). The door turned out a little large, but could be something like a barn/work shed, and could also work as a Space Wolf thrown together shelter:


I have a simple 3D printer that family gave to me last Christmas. I need to do work on the machine to get it to print better, but I have printed a bunch of barricades/walls and bunkers with it, including a missile silo with computer perfect for objectives. Those are now all painted in a simple manner and ready for the table. I got the files from SnowMan77's designs free on Thingverse:


They're perfect for the size of WH40k miniatures, as this Blood Angel attests:


The turrets aren't done yet. They are designed to rotate:


As always, hills are important and continue in development. Adding line of site blocking terrain that are thematic, natural, and can give a height advantage gives so much to the games. You do houserule these things to enhance the game, right? Trees as well! I have a bucketful of trees on their own bases. These can be used as scatter terrain, and can also be used on area terrain discs to create area cover or somesuch (also in development):


For a finished model, this is a Dark Angel Primaris Chaplain that I painted for one of my brothers as a gift. It's a decent model, although I think the cloak is a little too... flowing? The model seems like it's designed to be spinning to a target, but I never thought it captured that motion well:


Finally, I've been finishing a 3D printed Hogwarts Castle music box (with a mechanism I got online with Hedwig's Theme and a varnished wood base) for my wife, and been putting together a host of Swooping Hawks Aspect Warriors (in metal, never "finecast") for use against a friend's IG. More on those another time. Thanks for reading, more images in my gallery, and as always C&C welcome.



CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/09/24 22:26:16


Post by: Meer_Cat


Very nice work! I've been eyeballing 3D printers for awhile now, but the price is still a bit much for me. But you're doing some really great things with yours- very inspiring!


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/09/29 17:57:08


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Thanks for the compliment, Meer_Cat. There's definitely a learning curve for 3D printers, and I haven't figured it all out yet. I used to eye designs and wonder how I might scratch-build them myself, never actually considering putting the funds down for a printer. They are expensive! But getting one as a Christmas gift from the entire family put the funding consideration aside.

What they gifted me is a Monoprice MP Select Mini 3D Printer v2. It's a simple, low-cost 3D printer with a simple structure and software. The unique thing about this "low-end" printer is that its hardware is really top-notch stuff. The software is the limitation, but it can be worked around to get access to the high dexterity of the hardware. I just haven't done it yet. The printer also, notably, is very open in its design. I need to create a sturdy box with ventilation to protect it while it prints. I think the reason it's priced like a low-end printer is because all that quality-of-life and ease of access to the hardware doesn't ship standard with it. This requires the user to do more work to get the thing operating at a high level. But, unlike other low-priced printers this one actually can reach those high-end work levels. There are plenty of guides online detailing how to get the thing to operate better, I just haven't done it yet. It takes a deal of time and patience to modify and calibrate it.

All that said, with what I've printed so far the printer has more than paid for itself based on what I would have had to pay using one of those print-on-demand services. What a nice Christmas gift!

The area terrain with moveable trees are complete. I might add some grass, leaves, or shrubs to the tree bases, but a simple highlighted dirt base works well for directly beneath a tree. Here I've posed the selection of area terrain and trees with some of my Eldar. My photo options are still limited by my basically functional phone camera. The better half just got a nice phone with a superb camera, but she, understandably, always carries that with her. Someday! A Wraithlord and unit of Warp Spider Aspect Warriors of the Shade Gate Shrine march their path through a forested area:


I made a total of four of those area terrain items, each a little different, and a bucketful of various trees. There has to be over 50 of those things. They're just simple hobby trees that you can get from many producers. Most of mine are from Woodland Scenics because that's what my local arts and crafts store supplies.

The hill/rock has also been finished. I used the same rough hill/rock method that I used previously. I've been improving it to hide obvious foam-cuts and to fix air pockets that the expanding foam creates. The height gets up to an inch and-a-half, which can hide foot units behind it quite well. Here it's presented with a unit of High Elf White Lions charging over it, emboldend by a High Elf Prince and supported by a Flamespyre Phoenix. This is the same phoenix that I previously presented in this hobby log. The Anointed rider is magnetized so I can store it all more easily:


That camera really makes them blend in to the rock.

Current projects are still the Hogwarts castle music box for my wife, Maugan Ra, and a unit of seven Swooping Hawks (including Exarch) and Baharroth. I had three metal Swooping Hawks from an old blister. Not the old Rogue Trader style, which do look good, but the current style. What is that, 3rd edition? Not wanting to deal with "Finecast" resin I searched online for a while until a few months ago when I spotted someone selling four hawks and an exarch of the current style all in metal, for $20. I pulled that trigger very quickly. Baharroth is also metal, but I don't think they cast him in resin even now. Those hawks are far to spindly to be in resin, their wings just snap to bits from what I've read. I'm not certain what shrine I'm going to paint the hawks in, probably the Ashen Sky (see the 7th edition codex) as I don't want the baby blue hawks of the standard shrine. We'll see when I get to them.

Thanks for reading. More images in the gallery (see my signature). As always, C&C welcome.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/09/29 22:53:02


Post by: Meer_Cat


The terrain pieces and the Eldar look terrific- very well done! I loved the phoenix before and it was nice to see her again. And thanks for the info on the 3d printer- lots to think about (and winter is coming.....)!



CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/10/08 04:56:03


Post by: CaptainWaffle


I'm participating in this month's unofficial painting challenge over in the painting and modeling section, which has a spooky theme to fit this month. I mostly lucked out in the coincidence that I started Maugan Ra at the same time, and he's aptly spooky. I decided to raise him a bit so he doesn't look so much like he's short and broad, and to keep his feet from hanging off the edge of those tiny Eldar bases. I didn't want to cut him off the base as he's resin and seems to rely on the tab connected to his feet. So, I glued him to a 30mm base and wrapped the gap with putty. I also got to work getting the base colors in. Bone over black is rough stuff, even if the bone is GW's base Zandri Dust. I have shaky hands, but lots of patience to get clean lines, so I need to go back to clean this up. Maugan Ra has gone from this to this so far:


As I wait for parts of the Reaper of Souls to dry, I've been blocking in base colors for the Swooping Hawks and Baharroth. I made the mistake of priming them in white before I decided exactly how they were to be painted. Painting GW's Dark Reaper over white is requiring at least three layers on each of these guys. They're going to be Swooping Hawks of the Ashen Sky Shrine, which also looks somewhat like Baharroth's lore color scheme. The Hawks won't be so bright as the regular Ashen Sky theme, though. I want to keep their mesh armor closer to Dark Reaper and Baharroth rather than the sub-mesh being black/dark reaper and the plates being a brighter gray. Here's the line of them in progress:


Just a quick update during a busy month for me. Steady as she goes. Take enjoyment in your work. C&C always welcome.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/10/13 00:44:15


Post by: Captain Brown


CaptainWaffle,

Good luck with the Maugan Ra and the unofficial painting challenge. He does fit the theme.

Cheers,

CB


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/10/23 03:28:00


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Captain Brown wrote:
CaptainWaffle,

Good luck with the Maugan Ra and the unofficial painting challenge. He does fit the theme.

Cheers,

CB


Many thanks Captain Brown. I just finished Maugan Ra and posted the final submission in the painting challenge thread. Win or not, it was good fun and a great incentive during a busy month. Here's Maugan Ra again, and with Dark Reapers in a slightly out-of-focus rock-shot.



Notice the much better images? I got ahold of my wife's new phone. I took the opportunity to retake some images of Jain Zar and the Howling Banshees, which were far too bright and poorly imaged.



With the better imaging and setup I decided to get all my painted Warhammer miniatures for some army/group shots. This is all my painted, finished Eldar, which is about half of what I own. I have a habit of throwing paintjobs I don't like from years ago into Super Clean or somesuch. I used to have everything painted. The long painting project continues, and I much prefer my current scheme.


And here's the Age of Sigmar Order miniatures that are completed.


I have plenty left to work on, some half-finished. Just work on things as I feel the inspiration or need. There's a huge selection of High Elves (Spire of Dawn stuff, especially), Wood Elves, Skaven (more Spire of Dawn), Dwarves, Gobbos, Sister of Battle, Imperial Guard, and more. Maybe someday I'll do more than elves on here, but right now I'm enjoying painting them.

C&C welcome, more images in my gallery, and always take joy in your work. Little bit at a time, don't make it a chore.



CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/10/23 11:32:53


Post by: Nevelon


Nice work on the big reaper! and cool army shots.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/10/23 18:00:59


Post by: Fifty


That is a very nice Maugan Ra. Excellent edge highlighting.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/10/24 16:58:55


Post by: Tyranid Horde


Two great looking armies, great job on Maugan Ra too, love the model.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/10/25 00:28:08


Post by: youwashock


Never miss a chance to see a well-painted Maugan Ra, I always say. Nice job!


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/11/01 21:00:03


Post by: Captain Brown


CaptainWaffle,

The Maugan Ra is excellent.

Well you have a painted Eldar force that is large enough to field. Quite colorful as the Eldar have often been portrayed and how I always have envisioned them.

Cheers,

CB


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/11/02 14:00:25


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Nevlon, fifty, Tyranid, shock, and fellow Captain, many thanks for your kind words. They are motivation for certain. I also welcome any critique. I have plenty left to paint, and you'll see more soon. It was good to get all the warriors out, just to see what I've accomplished since last sending a bunch into a Super Clean bath.

Since it seems you're hinting at it Captain Brown, I do get the Eldar on the table from time to time. I don't get too many gaming opportunities living in the cold northern reaches of the US midwest, but I make them happen when I can. Someday soon I'll get a battle report with images on here. My usual opponent is a good friend that plays very fluffly Blood Angels, mostly Death Company.

No images right now, but soon. Currently I'm working on Swooping Hawks of the Ashen Sky Shrine and six of the modern Windrunners. I need to take a look at what you all have been up to. The last few weeks have been quite busy.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/11/08 05:15:47


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Quick update to the log on current projects. I've been picking away at those six Windriders. I'm debating adding a diagonal stripe of Kantor Blue across the hull, perhaps with a thin stripe of orange on the three Windriders marked as the second unit, so they don't look so empty. The unit markings are currently noted by the Kantor Blue-colored blocks on the fins (wings? what would you call those?). I might add the Eldar small triangle runes to the sides of the chassis as well to mark units as per Eldar lore. I did the same with the Harlequin Skyweavers and it looks useful on the tabletop.


If I do add diagonal stripes across the hull I'll need to do the same with my Farseer/Warlock Skyrunner (the heads are magnetized, so it's both) and post the results with new, far better images. If anyone has seen similar patterns on a Windrider, other than GW's Saim Hann standard, I'd be interested to see it. I'm concerned it will look too much like a race car, but I won't know until I try.

I also need to cut the ball connections at a bias and attach magnets to those and inside the sockets on the Windrider chassis. This allows the model to be easily removed from the base stem and stored, provides quick dynamic posing, and is what I did with the previously mentioned Skyweavers.

I have a couple Bolt Action items in the mail: the Band of Brothers starter set and an M4 Sherman medium tank. I definitely found these far cheaper than what Warlord Games is selling them for. My Blood Angels friend is a bit of a WWII history guy, having earned an education master's degree with a history focus, and he's been wanting to get into a suitable historically inspired game like Bolt Action. He'll be taking the Germans and I'll taking the United States (hence the Sherman). Just small games with quick paint jobs. More on this after the items arrive and the two of us sit down with it for a time.

I, too, have historical inclinations, having met my friend during undergrad studies in history majors (not a marketable degree, don't do it, treat history as a hobby unless you're a well connected individual). However, my inclinations are more towards the ancient, medieval, Viking eras. My SAGA models haven't seen much paint development due to busy times, but I have gotten a few games in of Vikings vs. Anglo-Danes with one of my brothers over the previous weeks. I'll get a battle report of the next game. We mostly play small, 4 point SAGA games that conclude within 90 minutes. Great fun.

Finally, I've been tinkering with my Monoprice MP Select 3D printer so I can get it running properly again and back to printing. I have a lot of terrain bits for Warhammer and historicals, as well as other ideas, and this thing has been holding me up from printing them. You can read more about my (brief) 3D printer experiences in a previous post.

C&C on anything heartily welcome. Enjoy the hobby, and take your time with it.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/11/13 06:45:36


Post by: CaptainWaffle


The previous weekend was somewhat productive hobby-wise. I'm looking forward to WWII wargaming with Bolt Action and have been working on sandbag terrain pieces for good soldiers to position behind. The Windriders have been tinkered with. My friend CPT Caine, and I were able to get a game in of WH40k, Eldar vs. Imperial Guard with DKoK flavor mixed in. That battle report, with fuzzy images, is at the end in a spoiler so it doesn't take up so much space.

The sandbags were made using a huge block of $10 air-dry sculpting clay that I picked up from the local Hobby Lobby. I followed the jolly old Terrain Tutor's sandbag terrain directions, which work very well. After three of the larger terrain items I planned (two machine gun nests and a basic, larger wall) I learned a few things. First, pay close attention to the bag seams. Just because it looks like they're staggered from above doesn't mean they actually are. Take a look from the front and side. Second, smush the bags down a bit when placing them so they lay like actual sandbags and naturally fill in any gaps (something I did not do well with on the larger wall). Third, air-dry clay can really dry out your hands, so wash them off frequently and moisturize, otherwise your skin will start to crack. It's a decent first few attempts, and I have plenty more bases ready for sandbags.

The Viking archer is for scale, not historical accuracy!



I made a go at making that blue stripe/line on the Windriders. I still can't decide if I like the style or not, although it does artfully break up the large grey front hull. I'm just not convinced it makes sense with Craftworld Eldar in battle. There's can be art in the war designs, but something that looks like a soda can design? Also, the combination of cold air (it's been around 19 degrees F here) and too-thick blue painter's tape created a ridge on the line that I have to remove. I'm not sold yet, but I'm also not rejecting it yet. Perhaps another go will solidify my conclusion.


Finally, CPT Caine (he's on Dakka, just doesn't use it much currently) and I had a very enjoyable Friday night beer and pizza battle. His Imperial Guard with Death Korps of Krieg flavor against a fast-deploying army of Eldar. We goofed up plenty of rules, or just forgot them a lot, as we kept recalling rules from editions ago and just played it for fun. I know I kept forgetting that units with fly have more mobility benefits that just an (usually) increased movement speed. The mission was rolled as The Scouring, where six objectives are present and after deployment one is randomly determined as the superior (worth 4 points) and another the inferior (worth 1 point). The rest are worth 2 points at the end of the game. We played to the beginning of turn five when, after a few rolls, it was clear who the winner would be. Explore the spoiler below for the report and fuzzy images taken from my phone.

Spoiler:

We battled at 1000 points per army and gathered our warriors:


The Imperial Guard fielded two commanders, four fully equipped guardsman units, three DKoK Heavy Mortars, four DKoK Earth Shaker artillery, and a Demolisher tank that my friend crafted from bits of Vindicator, Leman Russ, and polystyrene sheets. He’s not finished with his army, but he’s making progress and it is very obviously a labor of love. Those Guardsmen looks great on the table, especially the DKoK. It was very enjoyable to battle against such finely painted models.

The Eldar went with a very glass-cannon, deepstriking force. Everything was about speed and hoping to break through lines as quickly as possible to tie down key units. They fielded a Warlock Skyrunner, foot Warlock, six Windriders, a Nightspinner for support, seven Striking Scorpions, seven Swooping Hawks, five Warp Spiders, five Rangers, an Index Autarch with Warp Jump Generator+Mandiblasters, and Baharroth.

The field of battle was set up as an Imperial bunker system that I assume the Guardsmen are trying to defend.


The table I have is 4’x4’, so the deployment was restricted to 6” from each end. This could have potentially really hurt the IG, on hindsight, as if I had gotten first turn they wouldn’t have had their lines set up. They had to all be smushed into their 6” deployment. I’ll adjust that to something larger in future battles. The Eldar were largely not present due to deepstrikes, giving the IG only a few targets for their artillery. Click the images to open larger versions where you can actually read the text!


IG finished deploying first and won the roll off, with Eldar failing to seize the initiative. Guardsmen formed up ranks in front of the artillery, ready to weather the storm, and the artillery fired everything they had at the Windriders on the far-right corner, wiping them out. Ouch! Had they survived, the jetbikes would have been deadly to the Guard. The Eldar responded by deepstriking everything (we ignored most FAQ/Chapter Approved rules unless we remembered them, which we pretty much never did) in front of the lines, hoping to make some charges after laying down heavy fire.




The firepower from the Eldar assault weapons and Swooping Hawk grenades did a great deal of damage, but left enough to charge into. Disappointingly, the Ranger fire left the IG HQ commander with only two wounds remaining. All of the Aspect Warriors made their charges, but none of the Eldar leaders made their charges, leaving their vital support out this turn. The Warlocks did their best buffing and protecting the Striking Scorpions.


I should note again that I did not have access to my wife’s super fancy phone for this battle, so you’re all stuck with my old-school grainy images. I doctored some of them up with blur effects so the background wouldn’t distract from the battle.

The charges resulted in the decisive slaughter of three of the Guardsmen units. There were a few stragglers, notably a single Guardsman that must have been made entirely of steel that bogged down the Swooping Hawks. The intent was to drag enough Guardsmen into each melee so the Eldar would not be targetable by the artillery and tank, but the Striking Scorpions were much too efficient at defeating Guardsmen and were left in the open. The Death Korps fixed their eyes on the Scorpions, obliterating all but the Exarch. The Warp Spiders made quick work of their end, then were blasted and charged at by the Demolisher, beginning a tank versus rigid shell melee that would last the entire battle.



The Imperial Guard commanders ran into the thick of the melee, encouraging (forcing?) the Guardsmen to hold fast against the lightning quick Eldar. They held, with the Guard being forced to take many morale checks through the battle but never failing a single one. The leading commander bravely cuts down the Swooping Hawks.


The Eldar lay down what little ranged fire they have left, mostly just the Nightspinner arcing nets of monofilament across the artillery, slowly wearing them down. Ranger fire couldn’t target the commanders again as they were behind the bunkers, so they slowly wore down the artillery a little more. Charges are declared once again by the Eldar leaders, with Baharroth attempting to bypass the Swooping Hawk battle to lock down the artillery. However, the Phoenix Lord fails and is left in the open. The Autarch cuts his way into the remaining Guardsmen, intending to bog down the artillery, but couldn’t get close enough in the end. The remaining Swooping Hawks, confident in their melee skills and not wanting to attract the attention of the artillery, stay in combat and mange only to defeat the steel Guardsmen. We’re quite certain his commander would honor him at a later time.


At the end of round two, the battle is entirely in the Imperial Guard deployment zone. The objectives are neglected, for now.


Little remains of either force. It was extremely difficult to conclude anything at this point. The Guard has held, but at great cost, and the Eldar fared no better. At the beginning of round three, the Guard fell back with everything engaged with the Autarch and fired, killing the Eldar HQ. The artillery took three wounds off the Nightspinner (not an ideal artillery target, especially when it’s running Alaitoc Craftworld traits), and helped to make certain the Autarch fell. The Eldar responded with Warlocks throwing Singing Spears, Baharroth finally tying down the Earth Shakers, and the Rangers plinking away at whatever they could. Baharroth is a beast in disguise, having skillfully destroyed an Earth Shaker on the charge. A second fell to Singing Spears. Neither exploded.


Imperial artillery focused down the Warlocks, with whatever was left of them destroyed in a massed charge by the remaining commanders and Guardsmen. Monofilament nets from the Nightspinner hit vital mortar equipment, destroying one mortar and exploding it, causing mass wounds to all surrounding Guardsmen and felling the subcommander. The Rangers failed their shots, and had little to shoot at, Baharroth kept the remaining artillery bogged down in melee, and the Warp Spiders continued to spar with the tank in melee, neither able to meaningfully harm the other.


At the beginning of round five, the Imperials had only one chance to at least pull an equal victory from this mess. If the last two Warp Spiders could be ground down by the tank the Eldar would lose a standard objective, and if the Rangers could be driven off the superior objective the Imperials could pull out a victory. The tank failed to crush 3+ heavy Aspect Warrior armor, and even with all the remaining available firepower trained on the Rangers only two fell, saved by their camoleoline cloaks.


It was quickly concluded that the Eldar only had to make basic moves to capture more than enough objectives to win the battle, and the fight was called. The Eldar claimed victory, but at great cost and the death of their Autarch.


A memorable game, and my first against DKoK. Their artillery is something to be feared, and their aesthetics are grand to behold. Many thanks for the game CPT Caine!


Thanks for reading, C&C always welcome. I really do want to read your ideas. Keep at the hobby, giving it its time and nothing more or less. Enjoy it.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/11/20 10:02:06


Post by: Ilgoth


The blue stripe isn't bad! I think it is fine. Their general colorful look doesnt mind that soda can decor.

Those DKoK had dark blue coats? Me like.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/11/21 00:17:08


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Ilgoth wrote:
The blue stripe isn't bad! I think it is fine. Their general colorful look doesnt mind that soda can decor.

Those DKoK had dark blue coats? Me like.


I messed around with the blue strips more and it wasn't working for me. Then I thought about some sort of craftworld symbol - but not Alaitoc as my Eldar are not Alaitoc (the older ones are just painted that way). The problem right now is that I have no backstory or even name for the craftworld! I happen to like the backstory for most of Alaitoc, and their closeness with Exodite worlds, but I detest their current cheese-ness. One day soon I'll work on some backstory here.

That stated, I opted to leave the jetbike hulls blank for now. When I do come up with a an Alaitoc-splinter craftworld design I'll paint them on there. This decision required me to clean up the test stripe and sand it down until the paint ridge was gone. I'll have a completed Windrider image up soon. I've been busy with finishing this semester of my Masters program, and preparing fro some upcoming surgery that will leave me in bed for a couple weeks.

Cpt Cain's DKoK have sort of a Russ Grey cloak color. It's not quite as "bright" as Russ Grey, though. Also, he goes for a somewhat dirty look as the DKoK fearlessly jump into trenches all day. I think my poor phone camera doesn't do them justice!


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/11/23 13:52:35


Post by: theCrowe


As far as army back story goes I think you could throw it out the Dakka Fiction forum.
Give us some photos of your minis and some hints of what you'd like and see what the folks over there come up with. It's up to you what you take from those submissions of course (if you get any) but I for one would happily drop in a character profile or a story of a squad. You might be surprised the kind of quality that lurks over there. I've seen it done a couple of times and it's super fun.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/11/23 22:45:28


Post by: Tyranid Horde


I like the stripe on the windriders! I do see you've come across the same problem I had with putting stripes on models, all the tape I used was too thick and I ended up with a thick border and as I pulled off the tape I got a jagged edge. I don't know how to fix that unfortunately!
Saying that though, your blue stripe looks good and it does help a lot to break up the grey so if you manage a fix please let me know!

Like theCrowe says, if you do decide to write some fiction, throw it on the fiction forum!


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/11/29 05:08:14


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Thank you theCrowe and Tyranid Horde for your ideas! Sadly, Tyranid, I did ultimately leave off the stripe. But, they could be back! We'll see what the folks over at the Dakka Fiction forum do with what I gave them. Thank you, theCrowe, for your idea! I used it and I invite anyone interested to head over to that thread and flex your creative fiction muscle. Perhaps, one day soon, this rugged Eldar Craftworld will have a name, backstory, and symbol.

The contemporary Windriders are complete. I have been dealing with shaky hands for a while, so the shade and highlights are not always as straight as I want them to be. Doing six Windriders at once is taxing, and I've been in some soreness and pain due to a hip problem (I'm only 30, it's a unique genetic thing I have, I'll be fine). I won't be posting a painting update on here for at least a couple weeks due to this, as I will have surgery on the hip in a couple days and will be stuck in bed until I can walk and sit up again. Perfect time to work on a backstory! Anyway, no more of the sob story. On to the Windriders!


On my previous Farseer/Warlock Skyrunner I painted the controls green. That works, but it's dull against the grey and blue. The reds and oranges, especially the oranges, I've been playing with definitely look much better. I'll be incorporating more of those on future models.



I'm beginning to wonder if it might be easier to find a darker grey spray to begin with and layer lighter greys over, rather than use targetted Nuln Oil (or similar shades) that have a tendency to flow too easily. Those modern Windriders looks sleek, but they are very stuck in that one biker pose. I kinda miss the utility of the old design (which I have a bunch of) and the modifications possible with it, such as my (admittedly rudimentary) custom Autarch Skyrunner. I'd like to get my hands on some Shining Sears one day and field a wing of zooming Eldar, charging into ranks on their glorious steeds.

I have more things in the cue. Some historical vikings, and definitely more Eldar. But that's all for now. I look forward to your thoughts, ideas, comments, critiques, and so on. If you have the deisre, head over to the Dakka Fiction forums and create something for this Craftworld. Take care out there!


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/11/29 09:08:58


Post by: Ilgoth


They look good.

Good luck with the surgery, hopefully all goes well and recovery is fast and painless.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/11/29 11:32:54


Post by: Nevelon


Nice looking bikes! The blue/grey is a very subdued palette. On a white background they come across as a bit plain (which if you get time, I think the stripe would help with). Not that that’s a bad thing, I like the sleek, understated elegance. But I’d be interested in seeing them on something like a green battlefield, or a brighter backdrop. I think the contrast with more vibrant colors will make them pop more.

I would love it if they made more variant kits on the bike. We have the seers, but getting plastic spears and an autarch would be much appreciated. Such is the like of the Eldar; we have nice things, but so much of it is old resin/metal.

Hope everything goes well and you have a speedy recovery.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/11/30 00:24:50


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Thanks for your comments Ilgoth and Nevelon. I'll be back at the brush in no time.

After I submitted the post I realized that white may not have been the correct background for the Windriders, as you suggest Nevelon. I think I'll stick to the black or bluish colors I've been using in other images. I was trying out a new light box I got for about $30, and I just left the white backdrop in it when I took the images.

Agreed with the need for multi-use kits and bits among Eldar items. The Windriders are a kit that is used across Autarchs, Guardians, and Eldar psykers. I would like to get my hands on that Autarch Skyrunner kit.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/12/29 17:41:03


Post by: CaptainWaffle


December was an oddly productive month. My hip surgery took place right at the start, leaving me in bed for two weeks and able to sit upright for only short periods of time for nearly two weeks more. Not enough time or pain-free sitting to paint. Enough time to pick up a hobby blade and file and build.

The WWII-buff friend wanted to get into Bolt Action, so we ordered the Band of Brothers Bolt Action starter kit. I also ordered a Sherman as it wouldn't be right for his half-track and panzerfaust-equiped Germans to not have armor to deal with. Warlord Games' kits are well-detailed with lots of options, and the armor comes together smoothly. The infantry, though, often require trimming and green stuffing to get firearm-holding arms into place. Beware of that if opting to build these.


Next up was the old Thousand Sons. These were handed down to me by my oldest brother, along with the Sisters of Battle. Traded, really, as he got my large, unused Star Wars X-Wing collection in return. He actually played that, and I actually played Warhammer, so it was a sound trade. I have many fond memories of battling against these Thousand Sons. When I started playing Warhammer 40k, just beginning my Eldar, my oldest brother would field these soldiers. Many evening battles after chores and homework were finished. When I was given them about two years ago I realized just what sorry shape they were in. The paint was poor and chipping, and the models themselves were in complete disrepair. I threw them all in a bucket of Super Clean, and when they were finished and scrubbed nearly all of the foot-models fell apart, the Defiler essentially exploded, and mountains of caked-on epoxy barely holding things together was revealed.

It took a lot of work (and sessions since I could sit only so long without pain), but they are in order again. Roughly 1700-2000 points worth of Thousand Sons, old-style. I really like the new Thousand Sons kits, and perhaps someday I'll expand on this army with them. For now, I'll work with these models and over time give them a decent paint job. Be certain to click the image and zoom in. Dakka's thumbnails make the actual image look low-resolution for quick loading, even when the image really is a higher resolution.




The previously finished Windrider images were washed out by the white backdrop I had used. Since I had the black backdrop out I took another image. Perhaps I'll try a blue one next time. Let me know if it's still off and I'll get it sorted.


Finally, the great folks over at the Fiction forum have given a lot of suggestions, insight, and stories (theCrowe's stories are very enjoyable) in response to my Craftworld backstory request. Take a look at that thread if you're interested. I'm still mulling things over, including the Craftworld name, although I think I'll stick with the name Televaan and the majority of the conclusions. Once I finalize my thoughts I'll write up a backstory here.

As always, C&C and ideas welcome. Enjoy the hobby, and have a wonderful rest of the Christmas and New Year holiday!


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/12/29 21:46:08


Post by: Ilgoth


Most excited for your Bolt Action stuff!


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2018/12/29 23:01:06


Post by: gobert


Loving the gray on your Eldar, quite a contrast to the usual bright colours you see, but I think it works well!

Your Maugan Ra looks great too nice crisp highlights in the black and smooth transitions on the bone!

Good luck with your surgery and fingers crossed for a speedy recovery!


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2019/01/01 08:09:00


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Ilgoth, it'll be a slow burn on the historically-inspired stuff. I'm more of a science fiction and medieval guy. What historicals I have are mostly for SAGA, and it's all gray plastic. The current, cold northern winter prevents spray can use. I do fully intend to give the Bolt Action soldiers a quality tabletop painting ASAP, and to get some small games in. The friend and I are both history buffs, just in different eras, so I can appreciate the Bolt Action draw.

gobert, the gray does subdue the colors a bit. I'll be incorporating orange as a tertiary color to brighten in up with a Spear of Kurnous craftworld symbol. The background discussion on the Fiction forum solidified that. I'll also be using more red on gems, control panels, and ghost/seer blades. The green I've been using is nice, but it's not complimenting the blue well enough. The models look decent, but a bit dull as a result. The healing is coming along well, and thank you for the kind words. I'll be painting again very soon.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2019/01/07 03:37:48


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Good Sunday fellow dakkapersons! The surgery recovery is going along well, I'm back to the office for work, and I have a couple more weeks until my final semester of my Masters' studies commences. More build up on the projects this past week, and I'm feeling in a good place with it. Still much too cold to spray paint, and will be for some months, so I'm stuck with building and painting Elves.

Or... DEAD ELVES. Well, worthy, deceased Elven warriors that have had their spirits interred in wraithbone. I'm working on a unit of Wraithguard and a unit of Wrathblades. The base colors are pretty much done on both. Next is recess shading, then highlighting and detail work. Feels great to be able to sit down and paint again since the surgery, for what I can manage.


With the news of the Gloomspite Gitz battletome, and spare time, I've been working at re-basing all my old Battle of Skull Pass gobbos. I sorta painted some many years ago, and sorta primed most many years ago. Younger me obviously didn't care for removing mold lines and conveniently neglected removing all the sprue connecting points. It's been more work than I thought it would be. I've 50 gobbos still left to clean, clip off the old plastic tabs for the old slotta bases, and re-base them on the round MDF bases.


A few of the little gobbos have decent paint jobs from way back when, so I'm going to keep 'em. But, I m going to touch them up in time. I have no idea why I painted the Mad Moon on the banner red.


The past weekend, CPT Caine and I (he's still not all that active on Dakka) had another skirmish. He brought his DKoK IG again, with some adjustments. His army contained a commander, four infantry squads, a Leman Russ, two small DKoK heavy mortar things, and three DKoK Earthshaker artillery pieces. My Eldar army was a Farseer, Warlock Skyrunner, six Windriders, a largish unit of Guardian Defenders with platform, small unit of Rangers, Vyper, Wraithlord, and unit of Wraithblades. The battle was Contact Lost with tactical objectives.

The DKoK form lines with artillery firing from the back.


The Eldar make ready to charge up their left side of the battlefield.


I'm not certain what CPT Caine's plan was, other than get objectives, keep the Eldar from the artillery, and blast the xenos from afar. The Eldar plan was to use the Vyper as support, the Guardians to run around holding objectives/earning tactical objectives, and attempt to smash through the DKoK via the left side with the Windriders and Wraiths. The Psykers threw a couple smites, but spent the rest of their time supporting the Wraiths. Eldar got first turn and began the slow Wraith march. Windriders blitzed, did a little damage to the front infantry, and were blown off the battlefield in DKoK's first turn. Basically summarized by the following image:


Ignore the Nordic-heritage guy with the Nordic shield on the wall in the back.

Ranged fire from the rest of the Eldar's first movements almost entirely whiffed. The Rangers managed to take only one wound off the DKoK commander (who then tactically re-positioned so the snipers couldn't see him). The Vyper hilariously missed everything. The Vyper was eventually blown off the field as well, but before it fell combined fire in turn two took down the Russ. Here's the DKoK staring down the Vyper, mockingly:


At first, it looked like the DKoK had the upper hand. tactical objective pulls were not in the Eldar's favor, and the first turn was basically just a little movement from the Elves. However, the Elves are extremely mobile and the Wraiths extremely durable. I'm not meaning to put the DKoK in a poor light or speak for CPT Caine - it was a very enjoyable battle with a great person. However, I do think the rooted nature of the DKoK's army eventually was its downfall. The Eldar were able to quickly react to the changing tactical objectives and the tough Wraiths posed a very real threat that proved difficult to remove as they lumbered up the battlefield. What began as a battle that looked very much in the DKoK's hands (due to the rolled tactical objectives) quickly turned into an Eldar victory.

The Wraiths made some long charges, crashing into the remaining front infantry squads. The Wraithblades worked through the infantry, and the Wraithlord managed to drag the Russ into the thick of it. The Wraithlord quickly destroyed the Russ with its Ghostglaive.



Before the Vyper was destroyed it reduced the force of the right-side infantry squads, and the Guardians further reduced them and took the hill. The Wraithblades on the left continued into the DKoK backline and pinned the Earthshakers in melee. The Wraithlord began to make its way to the remaining artillery. With that, we decided to call the battle and discussed the aforementioned conclusions.

It was another fun afternoon, and the general conclusion is that perhaps against Eldar some more mobility might be more useful in these tactical objective matches. Target priority might be another concern. Windriders with shuriken cannons can be frightening, but those wraithbone units will destroy a line/armor when they reach them. Windriders can be taken out with common guns, Wraithblades and Wraithlords reliably cannot. Do any of you have any other ideas for the DKoK? Let me know what you think. C&C always welcome. Take your time with the hobby and enjoy it!


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2019/01/27 18:07:58


Post by: CaptainWaffle


The wonderful folks over on the Dakka Fiction section continue to help with a custom craftworld, and it's been solidified with the creation of a craftworld symbol. Many users helped, and theCrowe took a particular liking to it, having written two tales of my Craftworld Televaan and tossed symbol ideas around with me. Below is Craftworld Televaan, the star-ward spears (among other names).

The first attempts at hand-painted symbols:


Although the new jetbikes are very sleek, the old styles have much more hull room for symbols and designs. The orange symbol is too bright on the light gray and will be changed, but is included here so I know what it looks like having tried it. As I become more experienced painting the symbols they'll look more and more like theCrowe's elegant design. My first attempts are too wide.

Craftworld Televaan's history:
Spoiler:
Disagreement between factions of Alaitoc Farseers began to simmer sometime in late M39, which lead to effective political rifts in small sections of Alaitoc life. The culture of some Alaitoc denizens shifted from the hard-nosed isolationism and what was deemed a reactionary approach to handling encounters to a confused, some would say naive, focus on Eldar tradition mixed with the typical Alaitoc suspicion of anything other than themselves. Some Rangers that returned to the craftworld from their self-imposed exile brought descriptions and tales of times past from Saim-Hann Eldar, sparking a debate over the role of Eldar history in Alaitoc daily life. The new firebrand Farseers claimed that the Alaitoc adherence to vengeance and seething in the shadows did not honor their heritage and uphold their birthrights, in contrast to the strong traditions in the tales from Saim-Hann that affirmed Eldar heritage rather than reacted from it. Farseers that were firmly entrenched in Alaitoc traditions strongly disagreed, stating that the Alaitoc way was the old traditions in action, being upheld in conjunction with the need to survive the grim darkness of their future.

Nothing can truly reconcile such deep divisions. These were not heated arguments over some surface philosophical concept or of a manner of doing things. These were deep disagreements over the very foundations of Eldar life. What does it mean to be of the Eldar? What does it mean to be of a craftworld? Where does one derive their motivations and purpose from?

The majority of the Alaitoc seers did not desire to lose their kin, but the division was so great that the upstarts had to be swept out of the craftworld. These few younger seers and their followers were ordered into a sort of exile from the craftworld. Neither side truly wanted to lose the other, both out of respect and love of their kin and out of the necessity to survive. The firebrands dutifully left their home.

They were not driven necessarily by wanderlust, like many Rangers and Corsairs, and they were not driven by a desire to live a rudimentary life, like the Exodites. They were driven by a common culture, what of the Eldar traditions of old they knew, and a suspicion of the rest of the universe shared with their mother Alaitoc. They formed a craftworld of their own and gave it a crude name: Televaan. The name was thought to embody both the star-stiding nature of their Alaitoc roots and of their heritage of old. The name was, admittedly, very simplistic in nature. The Televaan were aware of their Eldar tales and the at least basic (to the Eldar) meanings attached to them. They did not have the deep experience and culture of maintaining the old traditions, like the Saim-Hann. However, they were confident that as the Televaan matured and interacted more with the Saim-Hann, Exodites, Harlequins, and other groups, they would find their place in this shadowy universe.

Craftworld Televaan was immediately beset upon by strike forces from the Thousand Sons and their Tzeentch minions. In their search for more about their past, the Televaan must have crossed into areas that Ahriman had interest in. These were dire times. The Televaan had barely left the hand of the Alaitoc and had only just set in its arc of flight. But, with careful, precision strikes, and covert help from the Alaitoc Craftworld that still held them dear (largely unbeknownst to the Televaan), that arc went to the heart of their prey. The Thousand Sons were forced away, back to the warp, and have rarely been encountered by the Televaan since.

During these times, the Televaan were a mix of Alaitoc colors and flailing attempts at creating something that fit more with their own culture. Alaitoc colors, designs, strategies, and tactics were employed in many variations. As the craftworld experienced and learned they found their own path. When they struck the heart of the Thousand Sons force, they decided who they were: Craftworld Televaan, the embodiment of the Spear of Kurnous, thrown by the Master of the Hunt. The Televaan dug deep into their Eldar traditions and pulled the Wild Hunt into M41. They revere the old Masters of the Hunt, where they came from, but have found (deemed?) themselves to be the new season's Master.


Multiple Dakka Fiction forum users helped with this backstory. These forum users are epronovost, Bharring, Fifty, theCrowe, and Asherian Command. Thank you all very much for your ideas, narrowing the backstory down to something of a cross between High Elves and Wood Elves mixed with Eldar. The Craftworld Televaan development thread is found here. theCrowe wrote two tales. The first is a story told by a Harlequin Troupe of a Guardian Windrider that performed great acts of valor, titled "The Lay of Curufin the Windrider, Master of the Hunt". The second tells of a Warlock's struggle to convince a spirit in the Infinity Circuit to walk with him again as a Wraith, titled "The Ghost of Taurlineer". Thank you again everyone!

The Wraithguard are still a work in progress. I was getting into painting highlights when I realized that the spray primer blue I had used doesn't match Kantor Blue. That's what I get for starting a unit a while ago and picking it up again far later. At first I thought it might not be noticeable, but the splotches became very apparent. I had to start from scratch on the Wraithguard. They're back up to base coat, shade, and the fabric done. Still dealing with shaky hands.


Life has been busy. Wife and I are working on purchasing a house, we have a kid on the way come autumn, and my Master's program is in its last semester. Lot's to do. Enjoy the hobby everyone. Till next time.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2019/01/29 08:47:42


Post by: theCrowe


Wow, congratulations man. Sounds like you're doing life like a pro. If you drop off the dakka radar at some point for a long while we'll understand why. Though some of my best dakkanauting has been done in the Wee hours up with a sleepless baby. All power to you. I hope you find time to hobby when you can between the madness; you're doing some sterling work on these Eldar for sure.
And I'd like to see more reclaimed goblins too. My own goblin reclamation project has been years in the making, about as many years as my kids are old funnily enough!


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2019/07/10 02:47:38


Post by: CaptainWaffle


 theCrowe wrote:
Wow, congratulations man. Sounds like you're doing life like a pro. If you drop off the dakka radar at some point for a long while we'll understand why. Though some of my best dakkanauting has been done in the Wee hours up with a sleepless baby. All power to you. I hope you find time to hobby when you can between the madness; you're doing some sterling work on these Eldar for sure.
And I'd like to see more reclaimed goblins too. My own goblin reclamation project has been years in the making, about as many years as my kids are old funnily enough!


Thank you for the encouragement! It's been a busy six months, but things are finally settling down. The newborn will be here in ten-ish weeks as well. I'm looking forward to not being able to sleep, but getting lots of painting done.

Here's the results of the last month-and-a-half of work, my finished Phoenix Temple with Ebay-salvaged Dragon Prince/Noble:


I did not include my Flamespyre Phoenix (seen here). Another time I will. Close ups of a couple miniatures:


Fielded all the Phoenix Temple plus my allied Treelord against some beasts of chaos the past weekend. Small battle of 1,000 points. I won through objectives and grinding down the beasts, but not before the Treelord and Phoenix fell. Good times.

My next project is three White Lion Chariots. No progress images yet, still on the sprues. Thanks for reading. C&C always welcome.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2019/07/11 19:23:00


Post by: Captain Brown


Very nice CaptainWaffle.

Cheers,

CB


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2019/07/12 05:59:34


Post by: gobert


Great looking Phoenix temple, the salvaged dragon lord is a good advert for eBay salvages! Keep them coming!


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2019/07/20 06:36:17


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Thank you both, Captain Brown and gobert. I'll need to explore what you and others are doing more on Dakka. My one unit of White Lions are actually E-bay salvages. They were up for sale for about $30, slightly broken, on rough square bases, and needing paint touch-ups. The original owner didn't do a bad "tabletop sorta+" paint job, so that saved some time. I have a few other E-bay salvages somewhere that I'd need to find. I'd like a second unit of White Lions on foot, which will be a project someday. They need a proper Hero unit rules-wise, though. Currently they have to be allied into an army or part of a general Order/Aelf list.

My end goal is to have numerous finished units to build High Elf armies from for Age of Sigmar using the general Grand Alliance Order as the shared keyword. I've done similar with my 40k Eldar, of which I have about 9k points worth built and primed and about half fully finished. I usually field at most 1.5k at a time. The extra finished units give me options. My armies are based around fluff, not tabletop-effectiveness. If a unit's look and lore interest me I add it. I interpret elves as Tolkien elves, not the silly dainty elves that many seem to think of today. I blame DnD for that.

The three White Lion Chariots are in progress. Proof it's all built is this box of the components built in sub-assemblies and primed. The bases are actually completed, so that image is old. I struggled a lot over the previous week or two deciding on a paint scheme. The White Lion Chariots as advertised on GW's site are quite a bright bone color. My goal is to imitate that. However, the brightest bone GW makes, Screaming Skull, does not match that image at all. It's too dark. I also did not want to spend a long time layering bright bones and whites on these three. I painted some swatches to compare options which might be useful to others for their projects and for me in the future:


Acronym Key:
MG: Morghast Bone
UB: Ushabti Bone
FOF: Flayed One Flesh
ZD: Zandri Dust
BB: Baneblade Brown
KS: Karak Stone
SS: Screaming Skull
WB: Wraithbone
CW: Ceramite White
AE: Agrax Earthshade shade
SS: Seraphim Sepia shade (same acronym as Screaming Skull, difference should be obvious)

I just played around with the paints to visualize how they look layered and next to each other. Wraithbone is a high-pigment base paint, and looks a lot more like the advertised chariot image, so I opted for that. Highlights will be done with some white mixed in, then perhaps full-white if necessary. Shades won't really be used as the chariots won't need them apart from the rune designs and the lions are natural, large beasts that should have softer shades. The goal is something like these tests:


GW makes Wraithbone spray, but GW sprays are not primers. So I primed all the parts white using a Krylon matte paint + primer spray. At first, in the interest of saving $20, I tried painting the potted Wraithbone on the white. However, even though it's a base, it was taking a very long time with at least four layers to get a proper coat without clogging details. I called around to what relevant stores nearby might stock the Wraithbone spray and none of them had it. They only had the Grey Seer option. I guess no one in my area wants to paint bright colors. I went to a general hobby store and purchased the closest-to-Wraithbone Krylon spray I could find: Modern White in matte. Here's a comparison with the Krylon Modern White on the left and the Wraithbone painted over most of it on the right:


It's so very close. The lighting is odd in that image, but the comparison should be apparent. Brushing Wraithbone over the Krylon Modern White takes one coat, maybe two in spots. This is saving me loads of time. I still would have preferred the GW spray on white primer, but it's not an option for me at the moment, so I'll make things work.

I also realized that I was using Kantor Blue on my previously finished High Elves. It's too dark for what I want. The Phoenix Temple is finished, so they will stay Kantor Blue. All my future units will use the Caledor Sky paint process. I've begun painting the details on the chariots. No image of that yet. Thanks for reading, C&C always welcome. Take joy in the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2019/07/24 04:14:06


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Making progress. Completed one White Lion Chariot carriage and have begun work on the lions themselves and the White Lion charioteers' pelt cloaks.


This first chariot is my test run for the other two. I've already identified ways to paint them more efficiently. Once this first one is complete I can batch-paint the other two. I was surprised at how many fiddly details are on these things. I'm used to painting elfish miniatures, but these just seem more fiddly than the average elf model. It's a joy, though.

I planned to be further along, but natural weather cleanup and family slowed things down for a time. C&C always welcome. Enjoy the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2019/07/31 03:48:58


Post by: CaptainWaffle


More progress. Completed the White Lion chariot pullers and the charioteers' pelt cloaks. Mounted the lions and chariot car on the base:



Slow progress is still progress. I was busy past week helping relatives clear their property of storm damage and whatnot. All that's left are the two charioteers and the driver's axe sheathe that sits behind him. I'm liking how this is turning out, although I think the shading is a little harsh on the lions. Parts of the shading also didn't turn out how I expected it would. Learn for the next one. I'll get the lion's eyes painted in when I do the charioteers' eyes.

I have many ideas to make the next two chariots unique and more efficient to paint. First, need to finish this one. C&C always welcome. Enjoy the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2019/07/31 14:29:29


Post by: gobert


Lovely progress in the lions so far, their shading looks just right to me. Must’ve been a brave elf that braided their manes under their chins! They were a bit keen as they look like trip hazards with their length! What’s your plan to distinguish between the chariots? Changing the blue for green/yellow/red?


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2019/07/31 15:16:49


Post by: CaptainWaffle


A massive elfish sedative. I don't know if lore-wise the lions are trained or just have their ferocity directed. They must be trained to sit still, though, right?

The second cariot will have more white-white lions with more silver and less gold details. The third will be somewhat a mix, maybe with more red detais. When they are all done I'll pick the one I like the most and prepare a banner for it so it can lead charges. I figure each chariot team needs a unique bond between them and their lions, so their details would be unique. Also, white lions have some interesting color variations, which I want to try my hand at.

Nearly there with this first one. I hope to have it done before the weekend. We'll see.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2019/07/31 20:04:01


Post by: gobert


That would be one strong sedative, or Elven Mead! I guess some training would be necessary, or perhaps they’re addicted to the Mead, so the Elves can do what they like whilst tempting then with a vial of mead!?!? Cool sounding plans for the rest of the group, can’t wait to see them


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2019/08/04 20:19:50


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Finished the White Lion Chariot and had an eventful weekend at a local store’s Age of Sigmar tournament. First, comments on the recent removal of nearly the entire elf line in the spoiler below. It is lengthy, so ignore it if not interested.

Spoiler:

GW is a company, and companies need to make a profit to survive. They don’t need to seek constant massive growth, and GW doesn’t seem to seek this, but they do need overall goals that allow the company to continue to relevantly provide something that consumers desire/need. However, the recent removal of most of the remaining “Old World” warscrolls and kits is not about maintaining relevancy or a new look for Warhammer. It is entirely about profit, and it was deceitful.

In the announcement for the new Cities of Sigmar battletome it was advertised that the common people of the realms - the humans, dwarves, and elves - will finally have a coherent set of rules and deeper lore. Many were excited that after years of being part of the backbone of the lore and for the love of the miniatures. We would finally be able to have meaningful rules, and perhaps more reason to expand with purchases. We would have the down-to-earth, everyday man of the Age of Sigmar setting that makes society run. The Imperial Guard of Age of Sigmar, if you will.

Finally, all those miniature options, some that we have wanted for a long time but had no reason to get (I wanted some for nearly 20 years in cases, but never could get until now for a variety of reasons), would have decent rules that would warrant a kit purchase. The backbone lore would be developed more for all those kits. We would be satisfied, and if future offers based on their merits came along (such as the “light elves”) we could add them to it.

We were deceived.

“Deceived” is used purposefully. The announcement for Cities of Sigmar stated specifically that “a handful” of the line would go away. Forty-plus options is far more than a handful. It’s multiple entire armies of offerings worth. The announcement stated that we could make the cities represented in official lore and artwork that we wanted to. But most of those options have now been removed. It was expected that warscrolls related to kits that have long been unavailable to purchase, such as Spire of Dawn options, would be removed, and old kits that perhaps could use an update would be updated. A great deal more was cut.

Spire of Dawn was advertised not even two years ago as a way to get into Age of Sigmar. Skycutters were baked into the Malign Sorcery lore. The Age of Sigmar 2.0 Core Rulebook, the bedrock of the lore setting and launching point for getting into the mortal realms, has every elf model that was recently removed literally called out by name as important components of society and story. Artwork, including staged photos with now-axed miniatures, such as the entire High Elf Order Draconis line, were used for advertisements and Warhammer Community posts just recently. The General’s Handbook 2019, which only recently came out, has rules specifically for Glade Guard, and mercenary companies requiring the dwarven cannons that were cut. People purchased these items for these purposes. There are many more examples that have been noted on Dakka, Grand Alliance, and elsewhere. All of these important-to-Age of Sigmar examples are now, at the least, rendered inaccurate. This is deceitful.

Why would GW do this? Some attempts at game-rules reasons have been posited. Each of these is handled in turn here.

“The High Elf line and parts of human and dwarves were redundant. There is no need for multiple ranged dwarf options, and nearly every high elf has a dark elf counterpart.”
This reason falls flat immediately. GW has shown no interest in making rules based on what is and is not already represented in an army. See “Stormcast Eternals”, which has tons of redundancy in different flavors. Other armies have similar items. A model option appears to be more about flavor and sales than rules.

“The kits never sold well.”
This is perhaps true. But it’s also because GW never bothered to give decent, even competitive, rules for them.

“They don’t fit GW’s new aesthetic.”
And Skaven do? They just had old kits returned to the line. The “aesthetic” has been thoroughly described in the lore, and the humans, dwarves, and elves as average denizens fit completely. If anything, I’ve read reports from many, many people that new items, such as the Idoneth, don’t fit. They are too outlandish. I tend to agree.

“The models were old and needed to be retired.”
Perhaps the “Karl Franz” loaded Freeguild (old Empire) needed some revision. However, many mainstream and advertised armies still today have old models GW still makes. In some cases, extremely old. Additionally, many of the High Elf line were very recently updated or even created (Skycutters). There is no argument for retiring kits because they are old, and plenty of the kits are very new, newer than those from other, supported armies.

“Generic fantasy shouldn’t exist in AoS.”
It does exist already. It’s baked into the lore. There also must be everyday people to make societies run (e.g., “Cities of Sigmar”). These everyday people in a torn existence will need to take up arms. There’s a massive market for selling down-to-earth, “generic fantasy” kits, and very few companies make them, at least few quality kits. GW’s have been a great standard for quite some time.

There are likely other posited reasons that do not hold up, and I do not recall them at the moment. If these reasons do not hold, then why would GW, a business, to the ire of many, end a massive portion of the line, cut out huge backbones of the lore, and remove the potential for more sales of these items if only we were provided decent rules? The following are the only reasons I can see that hold.

“IP protection.”
I can argue against this lunacy all I want, but this is ultimately a choice by GW C-suite and legal. I do think this argument is completely ridiculous, as nothing GW does will prevent other companies from making “not-Stormcast/Space Marines”. It is also a decision completely beyond the main focus of the product offered. It has nothing to do with lore, relevant rules, or aesthetics. GW’s apparent IP concerns are not about actual need to defend themselves legally (as there isn’t a need), it’s about them wanting to be the only game in town with an iron fist. It is what it is.

“Purchases.”
Ah, the heart of the matter. Many kits that were removed have been in the market for some time. Third-party sellers cycle used stock. Sales are not necessarily going to the stores, and to GW for these kits. It’s too difficult for GW to control these older items’ sales. Molds might be breaking and it is relatively costly (nowhere near as costly as it used to be, though) to make new ones. This is somewhat a junk argument as tons of new kits and armies are also reselling. More importantly though, there are plenty of people that have had old armies from these kits put together for some time. Perhaps they would purchase more if they were encouraged, or forced…

This is where the final point of deception comes in. The removed miniatures were baked into the lore, specifically named in the Core Rulebook and elsewhere, part of major plot developments, advertised with official art and miniatures staging, and assumed to be part of the Cities of Sigmar as “a handful” means nowhere near 40+. Then, they were all dropped. GW has plans on the horizon, and they need the old elf, and possibly dwarf and human players to buy new stuff. If they can proxy things they won’t make purchases. If their miniatures are still relevant, and able to find games at the local store they won’t buy new things either. They must be brought in line. Remove their relevancy. Deceive them, even if unintentional, with the aforementioned lore and advertising. Force them to choose between narrowing their gaming options and relevancy or purchasing what is to come.

It has been brought up by others that there is one important thing that this action confirmed about GW. In the name of profit, prepare to have any warscroll, any miniature, axed at any time. Nothing is technically safe.

I already don’t trust most businesses. It’s a good stance to have as one uses their offerings. I have lost nearly all trust in GW. “New” GW is only new in appearance. I am disheartened at these recent events. Many of my future plans were dashed. Years of work rendered irrelevant. It was already difficult for me to find those to game with, and now in the name of relevancy it will be much more difficult. I don’t know if something I like from GW that is even more recent will be put on the chopping block within five years, so I am wary of purchases. I can’t reasonably use the recent purchases I made. There are many others in a similar situation as I am. I am lucky that I was wary when Cities of Sigmar was announced and managed to purchase all the kits I wanted but had not been able to for years before they were dropped. Many others are not so lucky.

I am aware I can always use the models I have to play with old or legacy warscrolls, or even other games. I like that. However, relevancy is key as well. My primary, in fact, my only ability to wargame so far is at a local store. If I don’t have a currently supported Warhammer army it will be extremely difficult, more likely impossible, to find someone to game with. No one plays anything else in this area. I’d love to find or start a historical, old Warhammer/AoS, or other game group, a “wargaming club” that isn’t restricted to GW, but so far there is no reception here. I, and many others are at the mercy of GW to find players to wargame with. I think GW knows of this effective power.


On to hobby-cheerful things. The White Lion Chariot is finished. The chariot crew are apparently modeled squinting against the wind, or something. There’s no way to properly paint the eyes. I think it turned out very well anyway! What do you think?




Due to the recent dropping of nearly all elves, I am unsure where to put my hobby focus and I am disheartened. My intention was to develop a group of lion chariots and rangers, and then move on to Order Draconis items that I recently purchased from GW. I usually build and paint both out of interest and out of discipline. It relaxes me as I am poor at relaxing from work, and it makes things I can game with. Now, I can’t really game with anything else I have because no one in my area would play against the non-supported stuff. I do not know what is next on the table. I might become a random miniature painter for a time. I’ll have to look through my storage bins for something that interests me. Someday I will go back to the lions.

Yesterday, I participated in a local store’s Age of Sigmar tournament. It was a 1,000 point meeting engagement format with three rounds. There was also a related painting competition. I fielded the following army.


That’s A Flamspyre Phoenix with Anointed, two Anointed on foot, two units of Phoenix Guard, and one allied Treelord. Comes out to 1,000 points exactly. General was the Anointed on Phoenix, took the Obstinate Blade artifact and the extra command point general trait.

Points were earned for games (played a game, tied, or won), painting quality, and painted army. Milestones, such as winning best painted or winning a game, earned tickets, just joining earned a ticket, and tickets could be placed into bins for the chance to win prizes at the end.

I lost my first game against a good opponent playing mounted Stormcast, but it was a very close game. I won the other two, one against Khorne and the other against Sylvaneth. Also won best painted. Overall, I took second place for the event. I’ve never been to a tournament of any size, and I have not played many AoS games at all. It was quite surprising. To top it all, my name was pulled for one of the prizes and I went home with a new box of the Forbidden Power AoS expansion. Perhaps I’ll paint some of that next. We’ll see. It was a very enjoyable experience.

Thanks for reading. C&C on anything always welcome. Enjoy the hobby, and I look forward to seeing what everyone else is up to.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2019/08/06 12:43:17


Post by: theCrowe


Well Captain. Firstly, Stirling work on that chariot, on all your pointy-heads in fact. My goblins would gak a load of fungus spores and run if faced with that force. Not to mention my own shame-faced embarrassment at having my shabby rabble on the same table.

This message was brought to you by the following spoilered rant.

Spoiler:

Your investment of time, effort, skill and money in putting that force together has obviously been a big one and it really shows and anyone who loves the game and the hobby (as many here on Dakka obviously do) will agree it's a great achievement and should be celebrated and encouraged and supported.

Maybe this is why the decisions of the big GW feel like such a betrayal. They're not based on the same love of the setting and the game and the hobby but on sales targets and Business development plans and it feels heartless and cynical and greedy. Not to mention how manipulative you feel they've been about it. While I've never been a tournament player or attached to any particularly in-the-pocket GW gaming community i can sympathise. You've made something really beautiful with what they've given you and now they're taking the elves off the table and denying you (and hundreds of others in your position) the opportunity to enjoy it in the way they promised. I'd liken it to a sports promoter selling tickets and programmes and merchandise for an event that got cancelled. And you're left holding those things you bought and cherished but in the end couldn't really use. And I don't have any answers for you, there's nothing you can do about GW doing what they've been doing for years.

All you can do I suppose is enjoy it where you can. Finding someone else to game with would be ideal. Keep the rules your using and let GW take it where they will without you. I had that luxury long ago and now just enjoy the games I know in my own way. Write my own stories in the worlds GW created and just appreciate the things about it I love without being subject to the changes and updates imposed by the business.

Maybe it's an opportunity to branch out and try something new. Investigate a different kind of game. Look into age of sail naval battles or 15mm historical skirmish games. Card games or X-wing or Zombicide or D&D. There's sooooo much more out there than GW and maybe all you need is someone to play with.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2019/08/06 17:29:37


Post by: CaptainWaffle


You are very right, theCrow. It is best not to attach one's hobby to particular businesses. I recently spoke to a family member that very casually wargames, and was encouraged to remind myself of why I partake in the hobby. I certainly don't do it for GW's sake. I'll keep working on my collection. I acquired the kits and models because I enjoy them for many reasons and find them relaxing to work with., That's the point.

Doesn't take away the sting. Things heal with time, especially what is ultimately a minor thing in life, such as the recent GW actions. If GW were to offer a product I enjoy I might purchase it in the future. Not for their or their game's sake, but for mine.

I was not devestated in any way by the events, as some others were. It certainly is an opportunity to remind oneself of what's actually important. Besides, my Phoenix Temple, Sylvaneth, and most of my Wood Elves (not yet painted) are still supported and part of the upcoming battletome. I also have all the old and current warscrolls/rules saved for my use, before GW modifies them to remove their important keywords.

I built the Forbidden Power set that I won at the local tournament, but have not primed it due to weather. The weather is slowly becoming stormy, and with that autumn is coming fast where I live this far north. My ability to spray prime is quickly diminishing. I'm somewhat focused on building things to prime soon so I can paint over the long winter. Next up is a Dragon Noble on foot that I'm equipping to more match the White Lions.

Haven't felt a 40k drive in a while. I've missed medieval fantasy for a long time, so I'll stick with that. Besides, my firstborn will be here soon, and I'll be reading to him important tales with great morals, historical and fiction. Tolkien falls into that. I might be stuck in medieval fantasy for some time!


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2019/08/06 21:23:45


Post by: theCrowe


Lots to look forward to as a gaming dad.
My oldest is 8 and loves playing my "daddy games." I just make up some dice rolls on the spot that make sense and he goes with it. Soon I'm sure he'll want to look at the rule books a bit more. I'm hoping to get him into the LOtR strategy battle game collecting his own force. He liked the look of the Gondor minis. He's a big LOtR fan. Been reading the books at bedtime and we're nearly done Two Towers.

On the theme of other Important tales with great morals "The Wind in the Willows" comes highly recommended. Both my boys loved it and it's a delight to read aloud.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2019/08/12 00:12:05


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Thanks for the good words again, theCrowe. I recall reading Wind in the Willows when I was young. It's been a while.

I've been working on getting Wood Elves painted up for the Cities of Sigmar battletome. I have 800 points of High Elf Phoenix Temple done, and about 750 points of Sylvaneth done (both in my gallery). Getting these Wood Elves together will give me a sound 2000-ish point force. I have 10 Wildwood Rangers, 5 Sisters of the Thorn, a Nomad Prince, and I intend to get a box of Eternal Guard. Just need to get them all painted. First up, a Wildwood Ranger Warden (unit leader). The rest will be painted up similarly, but not to this high standard otherwise I'd never finish them.



More images in my gallery under Wood Elves (see signature). For my record, and in case anyone else is interested, here's the paint process. All paints are GW unless otherwise stated (also used Reaper and Vallejo, glazes and varnishes are Liquitex). Steps are base, shade, mid highlight, highlight.

Skin: Reaper Fair Shadow, Reikland Fleshshade, Reaper Fair Skin, Reaper Fair Highlight
Hair: Zandri Dust, Seraphim Sepia, Ushabti Bone, Screaming Skull
Eyes: Corax White, Skarsnik Green
Cloak: Doombull Brown, Nuln Oil equal mix glaze medium recess shade, Skrag Brown (did not highlight further)
Leather: Rhinox Hide, Agrath Earthshade, Gorthor Brown, Baneblade Brown
Cloth: Jokaero Orange, Reikland Fleshade in recesses, Jokaero Orange mixed with Reaper Fair Highlight (did not highlight further)
Blades: Leadbelcher, Drakenhof Nightshade equal mix glaze medium all over, Stormhost Silver
Hafts: Zandri Dust, Reikland Fleshshade all over, Ushabti Bone, Screaming Skull
Armor: Vallejo Bronze, Athonian Camoshade in recesses, Vallejo Bronze equal mix Stormhost Silver, Stormhost Silver
Gems: Caliban Green, Kabalite Green, Warpstone Glow, Sybarite Green, Corax White

Now to work on the next nine. C&C always welcome, enjoy the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2019/08/27 04:04:47


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Completed Wildwood Rangers unit. Took about 15 hours spread over the previous two weeks to complete the other nine members. Roughly tabletop+ quality. I left the banner blank because I don't know what to do with it. I'm thinking of painting the Wood Elf stag on it, but I'll wait to see what the Cities of Sigmar book has to offer.


I'm not entirely sold on the colors used, but that's what they are. Next on the paint table are some fuzzy creatures. Mouslings from Reaper and various creatures from the likes of Dark Sword Miniatures and Oathsworn Miniatures. Getting some options ready for Burrows & Badgers, which I recently purchased a copy of. What a great book! Painting progress to come on those soon.

Comments and criticism always welcome. Enjoy the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2019/09/09 02:22:26


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Made significant progress on Burrows & Badgers related projects over the previous two weeks. My first task was to fix up a bunch of critters I, family, and friends had painted well over eight years ago. Old paint jobs are always a fun thing to look at.


The Mouslings are from Reaper Miniatures. I have way too many of these little things gathered over the years. The frog creatures are also from Reaper, being their line of Frogmen, or squogs, or whatever they call them. The metal bits are works in progress from Dark Sword Miniatures, and more will come about them. The platypus is the old Platypod (I think that's the name), one of a very brief run of anthropomorpic miniatures Reaper did many years ago. Looking back, I wish I was able to get more of them. I don't think there's any way of getting those miniatures anymore. All of these Reaper critters are much more fantasy/comical than those from other companies, but that doesn't matter. They're animals in medieval fantasy - it works.

The Burrows & Badgers rulebook states that small and medium-sized creatures should be on roughly 30mm bases. I think that's too large for Reaper mouslings, so I mounted them on 25mm bases then mounted those on 32mm bases that were painted black. Oathsworn Miniatures, Dark Sword Miniatures, and other companies' mice appear to be a little larger than Reaper's mouslings. I suspect the non-Reaper offerings would fit a 30mm base just fine. The platypus technically is a medium-sized critter, so should be on a 30mm base. I put him on a 40mm because he's a big guy, all metal, and I put him on that larger base many years ago. He wasn't coming off. It works out just fine.

After a paint touch up, varnish, and re-base many of these critters are ready to go.

The mouse at the front left is "Martin the Warrior", and the rogue next to him is "Squeak Softly, and Carry a Sharp Stabber". Strangly, he's the only one with eyes large enough to get comical with.

I also painted four new-to-me mouslings and touched-up old Platypod.


At a local Michael's craft store, I found a few Halloween-themed owls meant for those seasonal miniature towns that some people like to make tables for. They are appropriately-sized to be small or medium owls/raptors for Burrows & Badgers, and were on sale for $4 for three. After some clipping and Milliput they are ready for paint. Always keep your eyes open when out and about! I coated them with white primer after I took this image.

I'm thinking something like an owl sneak, owl fighter (dracula-owl), and an owl mage for these three.

Finally, I painted up a Rabbit Warrior from Dark Sword Miniatures. He has an old grump sort of look to him. I painted his eyes looking down with indignation, I assume at a mousling, somewhat by accident. I think it works out, though.



More critters on the way. Thanks for reading, and dealing with the very-bright images (too late to re-take them). As always, comments and criticism welcome. Enjoy the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2019/09/11 22:18:06


Post by: theCrowe


Those mousing are adorable. I could really see my youngest lad getting excited to play with those. They're much more in keeping with his cute and cuddly personality. If anyone does a collection of anthropomorphised penguin warriors he'd just loose his mind over them.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2019/09/12 17:14:59


Post by: gobert


Great choices to paint given GWs recent behaviour p’ing you off. Really liking the platypus wizard, he’s very cute! The rabbit hero looks great too, though the paint on his sheath looks a bit thick, apologies if it’s a texture underneath though.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2019/09/14 04:09:08


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Thanks for the kind words, theCrowe and gobert. I'm sometimes mentally torn at the idea of the fuzzballs going into battle and dying. But, just like the ultimate morals and tales of Wind in the Willows and Redwall, there really is evil in the world and life is full of sacrifice. Sometimes they are big. There are no exceptions. Important lessons.

The black paint really isn't thick, gobert. I thin all my paints, no worries! It's the result of the metal cast underneath. I didn't notice the roughness until after it was all painted and varnished and in my lightbox for images. If I caught it sooner I would have filed it down. Oh well, it's all leather so perhaps it's aged. Ya, let's go with that. If I were to redo the rabbit (which I won't), I'd also paint the brown leathers in a warmer color. It turned out a bit dull for my tastes.

theCrowe, I have great news! Dark Sword Miniatures makes an anthropomorphic penguin thief. Looks a little goofy and isn't quite a warrior, but it's perhaps a start.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2019/09/14 20:00:00


Post by: theCrowe


Yeah I followed your handy links and looked and spotted that. Showed it to him but he's not impressed. It's not cute enough apparently. Kids!


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2019/09/22 04:16:41


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Completed the Wildcat Warrior from Dark Sword Miniatures. Citadel Contrast paints make the fur very easy, but I misjudged how dark the red/orange fur would be. I intended to copy the fur of one of my pets, who has brighter fur. It worked out anyway. More practice is needed to get those colors right - it's not a strong point of mine.

I might go back sometime to paint a pattern on the fabric. Also, the sword is resting angled, effectively with the point between the left foot claws, because the miniature is not modeled in a way where the sword can go straight down and rest on the base.The in-built dirt mound on the base doesn't extend out to where the sword point would rest. I could have built out the modeled base portion, but I think that would look odd.

Size comparison of the rabbit, wildcat, and a Reaper Mousling for reference purposes.


Also managed to get a first game of Burrows & Badgers in against a brother. He took a warband filled with frogs and defeated my mixed warband. It was a terrible loss on my part. The game can be very brutal if you make some mistakes. We didn't use objectives, though, to keep it simple to learn. The game is definitely not meant to be a slaughterfest, but rather a tactical objective based skirmish. Looking forward to the next game, and perhaps a proper skirmish report. Even though it was a learning experience to my brother, and my first game for me, we both got into how it operates and completed a full game within two hours. Very fun stuff.

C&C always welcome. Enjoy the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2019/09/22 21:24:27


Post by: Wirecat


Beautiful! (Yes, BnB can be very brutal even without the big Bs! Good luck!)


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2019/09/23 04:05:25


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Thank you, Wirecat! Your works are great, and your hobby log is one I enjoy reading late at night.

Today was rather productive. I've been caring for my wife, who is pregnant with our first child. She's due literally any day now. I think I've been trying to keep myself busy just so I'm not overwhelmingly anxious about it all. I've been doing chores, running errands, and hobby things all day. Here's what I completed:


The treasure tokens are my first attempt based on methods detailed in a Black Magic Craft video on Youtube. I think they turned out OK, and I have ideas for far better tokens. The owl is from that set from Michael's craft store I mentioned in a previous post. The Mousling is a lute-player from Reaper Miniatures. Close ups below. I am well pleased with how the owl turned out, even though I mostly used Citadel Contrast paints and the miniature itself is just some cheap seasonal item from a big box store. The new paint job did it wonders. I do need to clean up the base edges a bit on all the completed items.



C&C always welcome. Enjoy the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2019/09/23 06:38:57


Post by: gobert


The owl and mousling turned out well. You wouldn’t believe the owl was a Halloween model!

Thanks for the pointer to the treasure tutorial, I’ve got an old dragon I’ll get around to at some point and thought he’d look great on a mound of treasure! Hopefully you’ll not be finding glitter around the house for the next 20 years!

Good luck with the new arrival! Kids are great, but you won’t believe how much hard work they are! Luckily they’re cute enough to get over the sleep theft!


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2019/10/27 19:34:44


Post by: Wirecat


That bard takes the cake (and eats it too!) - great execution!


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2019/10/27 19:57:12


Post by: theCrowe


that owl is a super improvement, well done. All the best to you and your wife for the baby on the way. Get your hobby time in while you can.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/01/14 05:05:21


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Thank you both for the compliments and the kind words. I need to catch up. I've been creeping on what you all have been doing, but little else with Dakka over the previous months.

Having a newborn is a lot of work. A little over three months in and he finally goes to bed at a mostly regular hour and sleeps for 4+ hours at a time. Perfect for getting some hobby time in after spending some quiet time with the wife. She's doing well, too. Everyone is healthy, and we are blessed with a son.

I had a desire to work on some lizards and dug up old Lord Kroak. Below is a WIP of him. This is the old metal cast of the guy. I have him pinned to a metal rod that runs through the base and bends around to keep him upright. The base is really just there for show and balance. I think I purchased this guy from some old brick and mortar shop at least 15 years ago for maybe $6. I also have five of his temple guard lizards, all in metal, to go with. The parts didn't fit the best, and I think he's missing some odds n ends, but looks good anyway.


I received an Anycubic Photon as an early Christmas gift. I've experimented with it quite a bit and have the process from digital file to final product down well. More to come from those results in the future. Some of the test items were things my wife asked for, as decoration. I printed and painted the below dragon and dragon egg from Thingiverse files that I modified slightly to suit my needs. I painted them with a Vallejo Game Color starter set that I also received for Christmas. The Hogwarts castle is an old FDM print I did a couple years ago. I'll likely redo it someday. I mounted a little wind-up tune box under it and it plays Hedwig's Theme, which the wife enjoys.


C&C always welcome. Enjoy the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/01/16 19:48:38


Post by: gobert


Welcome back CaptainWaffle! Excited to see what magic your 3D Printer will bring. The Harry Potter music box is a great little gift.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/02/04 03:28:57


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Thanks gobert. It's good to be back. I've managed to explore around and post a little since my last update.

Lord Kroak is complete. I considered highlighting all the bone, but my wife said that would make the eons old guy look too new. Good call, I think. The paintjob is nothing fancy, but I think it draws the attention to where it needs to be. The cast is so goofy and appears a little unlike the current resin counterpart. I enjoy its charm, though, and it's good to have this guy done after all these years.


Next on the paint table are those old Wraithguard I keep taking out and putting away when something comes up. I decided that one reason I kept putting them away is because I grew tired of edge highlighting. I think I'm tired of the method in general. It's not realistic except with a few materials in some lighting. Also, it just takes too long, especially for something that I think looks weird in the end. So, I've taken to doing more highlighting from a source. I've been watching various painters on Youtube do that, and I think it looks great with practice. Just need to learn how to see where the light falls. Still working on that, and still building up the layers, but I'm enjoying it much more than the old GW edge highlight method. It looks much better to me, is far more fun, and is actually quite fast.


Finally, this update took so long to make for one reason: printer troubles. I had hoped to have a WIP on an Eldar Hornet proxy I've been printing components for. But after doing a few prints for a different project the print head went out of whack and doesn't stay level. I recently disassembled the print head, cleaned it, and confirmed that it's slipping where the friction screw meets the pressure plate that holds the ball joint is. After some cleaning and tightening I'm hoping it will be operational again. That was quite a few prints that went wonky, with me trying to troubleshoot the thing, but I think I have it now. The only downside is that if my operation on the print head doesn't keep it level, I'm out of luck for a while. I'd have to find some other way of forcing the level or purchase a new print head. Ho hum.


I have a ton of previous prints that were completely successful. They are from creators on Thingiverse, CastNPlay, and Artisan Guild. I have found Artisan Guild to be a little lackluster or overdone lately and have ceased supporting them for a time. They are doing fine without me. If I get around to painting those items I'll post with them. I'm not one to post grey plastic or resin on its own. Thanks for reading. As always, C&C welcome and enjoy the hobby. I look forward to seeing what everyone else is up to.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/02/04 06:55:47


Post by: Viterbi


Kroak is looking really sinister, well done! Even the little skink looking round the corner is scary.

Good luck with the print head, hope you fixed the problem!


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/02/04 14:41:23


Post by: Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll


Great job on Kroak!


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/02/05 16:15:11


Post by: gobert


Nice work on Kroak, I think your missus was right with the bone highlights. Whilst your fixing your printer, have you seen the new High Elf stuff? I’m not sold on Tyrion and Teclis, but the rank and file look cool


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/02/05 19:43:03


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Thank you for the words on Kroak! I did not consider him being "sinister", but now that you mention it, Viterbi, I can definitely see that. Almost looks like something that could serve as a Halloween ornament.

Still working on the print head. I've researched a scheme involving sanding some parts for grip, and replacing some screws that appear cheap and have slipped. Should save money and is simple to do. Just waiting on the order of set screws.

gobert, I usually listen to the missus when she comments on my work. I can't count how many times she's come up with an idea that has saved me in the end. I have seen the new High Elf (or "the Lumineth Realmlords") reveals. I'm not one to care for GW's rules anymore, but the models look great and I can use them alongside all my current High Elf stuff. I do not care for Teclis's new model, and if I were to ever posses it I'd do some heavy conversions. I'm not aware of a Tyrion model. The "Light of Eltharion" model is Eltharion the Grim, Prince of Yvresse and Warden of Tor Yvresse reincarnated. The big sphinx thing with Teclis is stated to be "Celennar, Spirit of Hysh", which I take to not be Tyrion. If it is meant to be Tyrion I'd be very disappointed!

The kind missus and I have already set aside funds for the new High Elf models, and I have a long-term plan to make an army based on the new and old models. I'll use it with One Page Rules, Kings of War, maybe a homebrew of GW's High Elves and whatever they come out with for the Lumineth. Right now I'm focused on finishing some Eldar stuff I had started but had not yet completed. One of my brothers is getting back into Warhammer after a few years off. He plays Tau and is getting his stuff ready. Hopefully you'll see more of all that here.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/02/06 19:32:56


Post by: gobert


Ah, I must’ve mistaken Eltharion for Tyrion that’ll teach me for skim reading! Of the two characters previewed the hollow Eltharion is the nicer model. The snippets of the normal minions looks cool though


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/03/17 02:39:07


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Wow, it's been over a month already! I've been productive on the hobby front even though life has been busy. First, a completed unit of Wraithguard.


I learned two things from these Wraithguard. First, layering grey is very difficult for me to do and I need to work at improving that. I repainted those heads so many times and eventually left it with a basic base layer with simple edge highlighting. I'll let the ambient light do the highlighting. Second, painting by value or light source rather than edge highlighting is very quick and fun, but easy to go overboard on. I think on some of the Wraithguard I got it mostly right, but on others I covered too much of the previous layer and it looks too bright. Next time I should begin with a darker blue rather than the base blue I'd use as if I were to paint in the GW method. Still pleased with how these came out.

I repaired my Anycubic Photon. The trouble was the print head slipping. It's a common problem, and the design of the print head is flawed. Something that undergoes as much stress as a resin print head trying to hang onto a print while peeling it off the vat film and dealing with the suction involved should not be mounted via a simple ball joint made from smooth metal. I replaced all the set screws and regular screws on the entire print head manifold with better alternatives, and I took a coarse grit sandpaper to that ball joint and its pressure fitting socket to give the thing some bite. The repairs were a success, as attested to by these Eldar Hornet proxies from Thingiverse:


I messed up on some of the parts, and I should have printed the option with the cockpit as a whole piece rather than with the glass separate. Nothing some modelling putty and elbow grease couldn't fix. The proxy file is great, even if it doesn't have all the details that the official model has, such as the gems/sensor nodes. I could add them with some work, but I have enough projects right now. I'm more pleased with the money I didn't spend on GW's models. Purchasing two Hornets would have cost $140+. Including averaged maintenance costs on the machine and the few failures until I got the model supports right and the printer fixed, those two models cost me about $10 to print. The machine basically paid for itself with these two, and over all the prints I've done has far more than paid for itself. That is, if I were to make money from this hobby (I don't).

All my Citadel paints (except for the shades and "technical" paints) were moved to dropper bottles. The missus opted to help with that. It was a nice family project over some hours on a weekend. All 100+ bottles took some time, but the reward is easier to use paints. I detest those old pots and am glad to see them gone from my hobby space. The image is just an in progress shot for effect. The project completed a few weeks ago.


Next up will be more Eldar that I began some time ago and need to finish before new projects. I'm planning on getting some historicals done soon, and perhaps some old High Elves. More to come. As always, thanks for reading, comments and criticism welcome, and enjoy the hobby. Don't rush it.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/03/17 04:28:35


Post by: Arakasi


Wraithguard came out nice. Love the autumnal bases.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/03/17 08:27:43


Post by: Viterbi


Great work on those Wraithguard, the heads are painted so smooth, it's amazing!


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/04/06 00:08:59


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Thank you for the kind words Viterbi and Arakasi! I enjoy viewing your works as well.

Just a small update to keep on track.The previous weeks of hobby time have been full of metal filings as I work at a 15mm historical project. A brother and I have been getting into Art De La Guerre (ADLG). We're saving 28mm for European historicals/history-like such as SAGA, and we're focusing on ancient Asia for the 15mm projects. My brother insisted on going for 1000BC to roughly 400BC-ish Spring and Autumn Chinese. Naturally I took the northern "barbarians" from the steppes and am creating a proto-Mongol group. They had many names back then as cultures and groups shifted, so they were not quite Mongols, but they were the impetus for the ancient Chinese people to begin building what would eventually become what the West calls "The Great Wall". For this time period ADLG has general rules for the Scythians, which were actually closer to Europe not Asia, but the rules for this group are generic and include the East Asian ancient options.

Today I finally got the force ready for primer and paint. These are a combination of Essex (purchased from their official U.S. distributor C&BMinis) and Khurasan miniatures. My brother's Spring and Autumn Chinese force is also from those lines.


That's what I have for this update. Steady as she goes. Enjoy the hobby, C&C always welcome.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/04/06 12:06:15


Post by: gobert


Soo tiny! Neat way to prime the riders straddling the lollipop sticks.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/04/06 13:50:15


Post by: Fifty


 CaptainWaffle wrote:
Wow, it's been over a month already! I've been productive on the hobby front even though life has been busy. First, a completed unit of Wraithguard.



These guys look really good, especially on those bases. Fantastic contrast of colours.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/05/11 15:37:01


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Busy times for me. Lots of home maintenance projects and taking care of the family. I manage to sit down to paint now and then. Progress report on the Ancient China 15mm project.

My brother in this project, who will field the Imperial(?) Chinese force, has completed a tabletop-standard paint job on all his foot soldiers. he still has multiple chariots to work on and I imagine those will take some time due to their complexity. He kindly provided an image to share. Basing will come later. These are all Essex Miniatures. There are not many manufacturers when it comes to Ancient China, and what is available is of uncertain historical accuracy. Best not to dwell on such things too much. He did do his research and took some liberties, and I think these look nice. They will look better ranked up.


I worked all month, when I was able to, on the steppe horses for my proto-Hun/Mongol/Xia-Xia/many of the names ancient Chinese steppe people went by. base coats revealed all sorts of oddities on the Khurasan Miniatures casts. Strange divits, extra bits that I couldn't see before, and all sorts of pains. I can't tell if the Khurasan Miniatures casts were trying too hard or not enough.


Steppe people put together what they could with what they found and could create as they nomadically traveled or lived in small locales and raided/traded. This provides a lot of opportunity for variation, which I've discovered is a theme of the projects I take (my Eldar are by no means consistent!). Those Khurasan horse casts were such a time sink, though. I kept going back to previously finished models after discovering that a particular item was something I didn't think it was, or having to cut away something that shouldn't be there and I didn't know until after more paint was on it. Here's me exploring whether doing another base layer after a wash did anything on three of the Khurasan horses. You can see some bits that should not be there and details I missed. I catch all these later and fix them:

Before additional layer, after wash:


After additional layer, after wash:


Perhaps I spent too much time on 15mm models, but then again I sit down to paint for a couple hours maybe once or twice a week. Plenty of time in between to think about the project, catch things, and make adjustments. I decided that the additional layer post-wash brought the colors back just enough to matter, so I went back on all the horses after the wash. After a little over a month of work, at my slow pace, here are all 23 horses that half the force rides complete. Basing to come later:


The Essex Miniatures horses are so much better than this selection of Khurasan Miniatures horses. These three were such a joy to paint. If I ever add to this force, which might be likely as we're starting small to grow and the miniatures are sort of period agnostic due to the limited manufacturers for ancient China so they can have wide use, I would opt for more Essex horses. The Khurasan soldiers and riders, however, are much better than what Essex's are, so there is a conundrum as they usually come paired with the horses.


I considered adding more color and designs to the saddles and straps, but at 15mm on such tiny areas any detail would be lost. Also, nearly all the saddle will be covered by the rider's legs. So, I decided not to for these horses. Next up are the riders and foot soldiers for the steppe warriors, and at some time an update from my brother on his chariots. Thanks for reading, comments and criticism always welcome. Enjoy the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/05/11 17:09:49


Post by: amazingturtles


Those are lovely little horses! I like seeing that much effort put into those guys, and it really did pay off here.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/05/11 20:31:57


Post by: gobert


Cool little horses, I think you’re right about the layer after the wash. That said, it might though be a way to add variation to them, paint a couple the same, one gets a layer post wash, another doesn’t?


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/05/12 01:46:39


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Thanks for the kindness, turtles. You bring up an idea I had not considered, gobert. Leaving the model alone after the wash certainly makes it look darker and usually dirty. But, if that's the look I was going for - and it very well would have fit with some steppe people - I could have gotten away with it. My mind defaulted to "if I do one this way I have to do them all this way", so I added the layer to all. I'll keep that in mind for future projects. I need to look around at what everyone has been up to and stop being such a lurker.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/05/15 12:24:36


Post by: CaptainWaffle


In an hour and a half I took a command from just primer to completed:




It's amazing how quick these 15mm models can come together. This is a Khurasan Miniatures cast, holding a gold bow as a symbol of authority. As is my usual custom, I painted a leader first to get a feel for how to paint the rest of the army. They all won't have black armor with red hair, I just did that for the command.

Historical research has so far concluded that most body armor in ancient China from 1,000BC - 200BC was leather, with metal (bronze, then iron) helmets. The armor was sometimes large panels, but often was small shapes laced together and sometimes included or was replaced with metal shapes. In most cases the armor was painted, so there's no need to represent them as metal. They can be any color. Since these are steppe warriors, not Imperial Chinese soldiers, I take it that I can get creative with the colors and give each warrior their own character. I think I'll need to give the unit types some sort of color consistency so I can easily note which unit is which on the field. I'll figure it out.

Comments and criticism always welcome. Enjoy the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/05/16 16:07:39


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Another day and another couple hours I managed to fit in to work on the ADLG 15mm Ancient China project. The Essex Miniatures Mongolian command comes with three commanders. Even though my army has only two commanders (we're using the 120 point two command rules to start with ADLG) so I only needed on more, I completed all three for future expansion:


I am aware that these are "Mongols", which would be around a couple thousand years in the future from the roughly 500BC setting this project is in. The people I am fielding would be proto-Mongols, or Donghu/Xia-Xia/Xiongnu/Xianbei//Wuhuan/East-Asian Scythians/many other names. However, there are not many miniatures options for ancient Chinese steppe warriors, and really the aesthetics of such warriors have been quite consistent for a long time. The astute will note that these commanders have stirrups, which historical convention holds did not exist until the first few hundreds years AD. There is actually great debate about this as earlier stirrups would have been entirely organic (leather or rope) and would not last in burials. I am not concerned about it and these models will fit in just fine with the project.

I've also realized that the middle commander looks like Mongolian Santa. At least I didn't give him anything green to complete that aesthetic.

Comments and criticism always welcome. Enjoy the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/05/18 14:54:44


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Over the weekend two units of Light Horse were on my hobby table. These will screen my other horsemen from any Imperial Chinese, especially their heavy chariots. I have yet to play ADLG, but in all the battle reports I've read (mostly from Madaxeman and PHGamer on Dakka in the Historicals section) I've noticed that chariots pack a punch even if they are difficult to maneuver. I'm a little concerned about them. Hopefully these two will be able to do their part (and likely die to the chariots).


Comments and criticism always welcome. Enjoy the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/05/18 18:58:25


Post by: gobert


Good progress on the little Chinese Steppe people, you seem to be able to really crank them out at this scale! It’s also impressive that you manage to get so much detail on them. What sort of presents does proto-mongol santa bring?


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/05/21 12:52:52


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Ancient Mongolian Santa's sack is full of arrows. Nice folks have their quivers filled with them. Naughty folks receive them via bowshot.

The 15mm scale certainly paints much more quickly than larger scales. Fewer details and smaller surface area to cover. The details are kept by thin paint applications, of course. I really am enjoying painting at this scale and might do more at 15mm or less for future projects. I've been eying some Epic 40k ideas or Warmaster. Both would make a lot of use of my Anycubic Photon and/or ebay diving. For now, I'm focused on this project. After it's done I plan to complete a few more Eldar and High Elf units. After all that... we'll see.

Since I had the light horse paints out I transferred those color schemes to the light infantry. Similar to the light horse units, the light infantry's job is to screen my block of foot warriors from undesireable charges. Such as from those frightening chariots. I completely expect these guys to be routed/expire, but hopefully not before the rest of the army gets into position.


These are "Tang and Sui Chinese Bowmen" (TSU4 product item) from Essex Miniatures. The Tang and Sui period was in the 500-1000AD period, which is over a thousand years after the ancient period we are setting our armies in. However, we're talking ancient steppe warriors here, and these guys look the part.

I almost think I should paint eyes on all these warriors, but the detail is so small and I have plenty more to go. Maybe in the future. Three more batches of miniatures to paint and then this army is complete. The batches are large, though, so my speed in updates will be lessened. I have a large group of heavy/medium horsemen, medium foot bowmen, and medium foot warriors. Hopefully they don't take too long.

Comments and criticism always welcome. Enjoy the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/05/31 00:49:18


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Finally, all the horsemen are complete. One unit of medium horse archers and four of heavy horse archers for the Ancient Chinese Steppe warriors. These are all Khurasan Miniatures casts with the goofy horses but well done riders.


This leaves just the foot warriors left to complete this 120 point ADLG army. Almost there! WIP army image:


I like to keep busy and am not satisfied sitting on the couch just watching TV. To keep my hands doing something while I oversee my 8-month old son's attempts at crawling, I've taken to papercrafts. In particular, Space Marines. I've always wanted to have an Ultramarine army, but I can't financially support one (especially not with the recently announced price increases). Realizing that it might be years until I could explore getting an army in plastic I took to papercrafts. After just a few hours of work spread across the previous week and a half I have completed the following so far:


I am aware that I put the terminator's pauldron insignias on the wrong sides. I thought terminators also have the chapter symbol on their left pauldrons like everyone else. Apparently they are supposed to be flipped. I'll have to print and glue some symbols to fix that and make certain the future terminators have it right.

These paper models are from the community Chibi Hammer 14,000 project. A user by the handle UpsilonMann posted about this project back in 2017 on these forums, and I found posts elsewhere from 2015 about it. The paper models have sort of a niche community of enthusiasts. Aside from UpsilonMan other people/groups have worked on or are still contributing (slowly) to this community with internet handles like Newobmij (original creator of the idea, I think, aka Jim Bowen), OgnennyAngel, Chibiepic, Smurf Marine, Momwent/In This Moment (aka Borkorus), G24, Adeptus Papercraftus, and Gearman32 (Korean from what I can tell). It's a lot of effort just to track all these down.

I've made some modifications, such as a Chaplain's bike so I can have him ride it, and minor recolors of some helmets so I can have sergeants. I still can't find a good Predator or Land Raider papercraft that fits the Chibi Hammer aesthetic, although I have found papercrafts of high quality for basically every 40k vehicle one would want even if they don't all fit the aesthetic. I'll keep looking. This papercraft project is just a way for me to get an army that I might one day replace with actual plastic. It provides good relaxing times doing crafts while sitting in the living room with my family. It will continue to expand and I'll include milestones on it with posts here and there.

Thanks for reading. Comments and criticism always welcome. Enjoy the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/06/03 22:31:32


Post by: gobert


Good job with finishing off the cavalry unit, they look good, even more so for being so small! I’m liking the papercraft bits too, particularly the rhinos, certainly a much cheaper way to get some ultramarines in the field!


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/06/04 12:40:28


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Thanks, gobert. Looking back on them I could do things better, like detail the skin more I think. But it's decent enough for now. The skills I'm learning painting this small are making me much more confident painting tiny things. I'm looking forward to painting more 28mm elves after this project is done and seeing how those skills translate.

The papercrafts certainly are dirt cheap. I could go all in like the papercraft enthusiasts do and trim the shadow space around the weapons, black line the folded/unprinted edges, and so on. It's just for fun and I don't want to spend that much time on it as a main hobby at the moment. There are some really clever papercrafts out there for wargaming. It really is a niche within a niche in this hobby.

I've been lurking your hobby log and am enjoying the terminators. When they're done I'll have to hop over there to comment.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/06/08 01:16:26


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Another week, another batch of warriors complete for the 15mm Ancient China project. These are bases of "light missile infantry" or "bowmen", not to be confused with the previous "light infantry" which are just scouts. These are line-warriors that specialize in supporting with ranged weapons. The miniatures are Khurasan's "Mongol dismounted archers", which were the closest I could find that fit the unit type and time period.


Turned out a little out of focus and washed out with the lighting. When the army is complete I'll take some time to get better images. All that's left for this project are units of "medium sword". Hopefully complete in another week.

I also churned out a handful of papercraft models. Here are five scouts, an apothecary, a chaplain, a librarian, and two champions.


Comments and criticism always welcome. Enjoy the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/06/08 16:16:02


Post by: gobert


Good work getting a bit of variety in to the unit, I could only spot 2 or 3 different sculpts but they all look different. Cool stuff continues with the papercrafts!


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/06/11 01:48:50


Post by: CaptainWaffle


You got it, gobert - there are only three variations from that product item. Helmed guy aiming, hooded guy after firing, and hooded guy reloading. Similarly, these Essex Miniatures "Mongol dismounted cavalry" have only three poses. Bet you can't spot the third pose. It's only an extremely minor variation.


Yes, I did notice I neglected to paint the moustaches on these guys. I don't how I managed that. I'll have to fix that. If you'd like to see what these guys look like with mustaches right now you can check Essex's product page. Maybe it was because none of the archers had sculpted facial hair I just didn't look for it on these warriors. EDIT: Managed to find time real quick to add the mustaches.


These are fielded as "medium sword", "sword" being a generic term in ADLG meaning "not pike or two-handed great weapon". I don't like using metallic paints on historicals. I guess it's because I want these guys to look more simple and I think metallics are too fancy. So, I painted the spear blades grey. Ancient Chinese did paint everything, including metals, so maybe they did paint their blades to keep the sun from glinting off them. We know so little about this people group from this ancient time period, so who's to say otherwise. I really didn't know what to do with the shields because, again, we know so little about these people. Explains why no one has a dedicated "Ancient Chinese Steppe Warrior" line that fits 250BC and previous.

With that medium sword done (not including the moustaches I need to paint), this Ancient China adventure in 15mm is complete, for now. When my brother completes his ancient Imperial Chinese force perhaps I'll be able to share images of that. Here's an image of the 120 point, two-commander (with spare in the back corner) ADLG army:


Some thoughts: Is the army viable for ADLG/other historicals? I don't know, but it sure looks interesting to me and I am looking forward to fielding it against the Imperial Chinese. Why green? I really don't know. I tend to gravitate towards earthy colors with bright colors here and there for some interest. Initially I was going to make each troop type its own color, but as I went along I thought that might look too silly. This morphed into painting all armor green, and letting the cloths have some color variations within a limited pallette. I think it keeps the force unified while giving each member their own character. Nearly the entire army uses bows. However, nearly every model has a melee weapon somewhere sculpted on it. I drew attention away from those items by painting the melee weapons that were sheathed in a simple manner similar to the leather. Again, ancient Chinese folk tended to paint everything, so perhaps that makes some sense rather than having metallics everywhere. Also, it keeps me from having to frequently deal with metallic paints, which I often loathe.

What's next on the paint desk? ELVES.


Ever since I was in my early teens, many years ago, I would take occasion to open my old WHFB High Elf books and dream of fielding a High Elf army. I never have, even if I do collect them. I have played WHFB, but only in the context of the old Battle for Skull Pass box set which I purchased new in box for $30 from a long-gone brick and mortar store long ago. I am going to change this. I am in a position to build a Glittering Host, and even if many of the old models I've always wanted are likely out of my grasp, I'm going to do what I can. Thankfully, a brother or two are also joining me in this, their armies to be decided. I have the old 6th and 7th edition WHFB rulebooks and some army books. We're more looking at playing the Warhammer Armies Project's (WAP) Unofficial 9th Edition rules. We're not beholden to only GW models. Non-GW is OK. The old GW High Elves have an aesthetic that I think can't be beat, however, so most if not all of my force will be GW.

Over time, I've been ebay diving and seeking out old models. I have plenty done already, as can be seen in my gallery and previous posts, but a whole lot more still needs to go across my desk. The old Isle of Blood kit, Dragon Knights of Caledor, Lords and Wizards on Dragons, Silver Helms, Spearmen, Archers, bolt throwers, and more. Some of it I was able to get before GW axed the line, others I've found on ebay. Sadly, I never was able to get the old Alarielle, Tyrion, or the Lothern Skycutter. Prices for the Skycutter have increased dramatically due to the axing of the line and scalpers jumping at them. Maybe one day I will find a much less expensive ebay salvage of it. Who knows.

I'm looking forward to getting these elves going. More to come on them in time. As always, comments and criticism welcome. Enjoy the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/06/11 09:06:17


Post by: theCrowe


Love the Chibi Papercraft marines. I am all for encouraging such fun substitution of overpriced official products as this. It's great hobby craft and you've produced a delightful result. Grim-cute! Fantastic.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/06/12 22:39:28


Post by: gobert


Ooh a challenge! There’s two types of chap with their spears more upright, one has more of a pronounced nipple to his condom hat than the other. Excited to see you back on the Elven trail, and with a griffon no less!


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/06/17 14:26:23


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Good to see you around again, theCrowe! The papercrafts are good fun. Not a main focus of mine, but it does provide some time to relax from the hobby vigors of dealing with hard plastic and metal. I imagine you might feel the same about your tales and drawings. Sometimes you need to take a break from the brush and glue to actually relax during hobby time.

You got it, gobert. The one slight variation is also looking slightly more to one direction than the other. I did not notice the "pronounced nipple" to the hat, though, and I can't say I was looking for it!

Another week and another project completed. After roughly two hours each day (after the 8-month old is in bed, mostly) for the previous seven days I present High Elf Lord on Griffon:




A few notes: I made an attempt at sprucing up the backdrop. I want this project to appear as if it really were taking place in the High Elf realm of Ulthuan. I think I need taller trees and some smaller rock formations, or runestones. That one rock on the side took up almost half the space of my lightbox. The ground is just felt. I think it works, but I need a bigger sheet so I don't need two with overlap in the middle. Turned out nice anyway, I think. Regarding the feathers - I have a love-hate relationship with drybrushing. I really only use it when painting "natural" things that have variation and a sort of "dustiness" I suppose to them. I can't help but think it comes out looking somewhat dirty. I was definitely not going to spend a lot of time picking out all the feather details. I very well may be a painting enthusiast, but I have my time limits and drybrushing serves its purpose. The blues and greens could perhaps use more highlighting. I'll keep looking at it over the following weeks to decide. In my mind, fabrics don't take sharp highlights like metals and varnished or lacquered wood.

I must note that this partcular model was an absolute pain to paint. It's the hero model from the old Island of Blood/Spire of Dawn box set, which was an entry set of High Elves and Skaven. Everything was "easy to build" which means very few to only one part per model. This model has only four parts: the two wings and the main body which was, admittedly, cleverly bifurcated roughly down the middle and snaps together. This means no sub-assemblies. Getting the brush where it needed to be without getting it where it shouldn't was nearly impossible and I had to fix many errors. I'm convinced I could have had this model finished sooner if there were more parts for sub-assemblies.

Comments on the basing: I intend to use the model for Warhammer Fantasy, or other rules systems like Oathmark, Warlords of Erehwon, SAGA Age of Magic, and the like. Not all are rank-and-file systems, but most are or at least are made more convenient by them. I have had a bunch of round and oval bases already finished prior to engaging in this project and I didn't want to discard them. I purchased a large sheet of HDF to make movement trays from ($6 for a large sheet that I can cut any size from vs. roughly $8 for one pre-made movement tray is a no-brainer to me) and cut some custom-sized trays for the large ovals. They just rest on the trays and are positioned by use of the stones (cork bits glued onto the HDF). The tray was painted burnt umber, stones painted, varnished, and flocked. Through this I discovered that GW's Rhinox Hide paint is basically just burnt umber - compare the oval base rims (Rhinox Hide) to the tray rims. I made one for my White Lion Chariot as well.


This Warhammer project will use 25mm bases, preferably squares but rounds will be kept as most of those will be on square movement trays anyway. Using 25mm as the standard, rather than the conventional 20mm, gives more room on the base for the autumn scenery I enjoy, and allows me to keep those that are already on 25mm rounds and have them match up with the 25mm squares that I'll be basing all new models on. Also, I think models overhanging their bases too much looks odd, and 25mm prevents that. The "acceptable" basing rules in the Warhammer Armies Project's Unofficial 9th Edition rules state that 20mm is the standard, but 25mm is OK and as long as a model is not based on something smaller than the standard it all works. It's just models anyway.

About half way through the Griffon I realized that I wouldn't be able to field him until my brothers and I grow larger armies. The cheapest melee general for High Elves is a Noble, which cannot take a Griffon mount. My brothers and I are starting with 1,000 point armies, and taking a Lord on Griffon would eat up 1/3rd of the points. Not something I want to do yet. That's OK, he'll see the field at some point. On that note, one of my brothers, the one that is completing his side of the Ancient Chinese project, will be fielding Dwarfs, and the other is dead-set on Tomb Kings. Likely going to need a lot of non-GW models to fill out those armies, especially the Tomb Kings.

Next up, I need to fill out the core units of the High Elven army. A box of Archers is on my desk. As always, comments and criticisms welcome. I enjoy seeing what you all are up to. Enjoy the hobby.



CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/06/17 22:43:20


Post by: gobert


Griffon Lord is looking fantastic! I agree on the drybrushing being best on natural materials, it certainly worked well on the wings. Fabric highlights are tough one to get right I think, subtle works for a natural look, but sharp highlights can give a more noticeable and magical/sci-fi look. The natural works well for this particular Lord. Looking forward to more elven troops!


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/06/18 12:43:39


Post by: Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll


Very classic paint work! The feathers came out fantastic, don't worry about those!


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/06/18 17:29:03


Post by: Vermis


Wonderful stuff, from the wingtips down to the movement trays.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/06/21 21:55:19


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Thank you for the kind words! I'll likely leave the paint job on the Lord on Griffon as it is. No need to fuss about it any further. I recall a lesson from long ago in grade school where the whole class made sculptures then the teacher had us smash them at the end of the class - without warning anyone that we were to do that. The lesson was that at the end of the day, it's not good to obsess and you can always improve for the next project.

I got all the High Elf Archer bits cleaned up and ready to build, but the 25mm square bases I ordered had not yet arrived. So, I took the opportunity to complete some odds and ends related to the project, getting them all out of the way so they don't nag on my mind.

First, using 1/3rd of a $6 sheet of high-density fibreboard (HDF, MDF could also be used) and a $2 pack of 3mm (aka, 1/8 inch)/3mm/3ft balsa wood I built an assortment of movement trays. Then I painted them up and varnished them. I think on future trays I'll spend some time adding spackling compound to smooth out the surfaces. These work just fine, anyway.




I then crafted a few more custom-sized trays for various oval and circle bases that I had already completed and had no desire to re-base, similar to the tray I created for the Lord on Griffon and White Lion Chariot. I also got two Great Eagles I acquired via ebay over the years up to my painting standard. Strangley, both were painted as Bald Eagles. Now I have nothing against Bald Eagles, me being in the USA, but that really doesn't make sense for these High Elves. So, I repainted them as various Gold Eagles.


You'll have to pardon the odd lighting for these shots as I really didn't want to break out the light box kit just for this smallish update.

The Lords and Heroes options were on ovals/rounds, which will not do as they could be out on their own on the battlefield. They are too small to make trays for, and not all facilitated being cut off their bases. So, I handled them each in turn. First, the Phoenix Guard Anointed and Caradryan were simply glued on 25mm square bases, of which I had a few laying around. They fit right in with the rest of the Phoenix Guard on the movement trays and don't look bad on their own.


Then I took my three Lords/Nobles and attempted to cut them off their bases with a fine tooth handsaw. They had already been rebased once before or were just on ovals and had to be removed. This did not work well, so I took some channel locks and a disc cutter mounted on a rotary tool (Dremel) and carefully cut them off their bases. Then, I mounted them on the few proper 25mm bases I had left using Milliput and super glue. In the process, the noble "exploded", making me wonder what I used 10 years ago to glue him together. It was a simple repair, along with some paint touch ups.




I opted not to repaint any of them, just simple adjustments in a few spots. These models hold nostalgia to me. I painted the banner-bearer many years ago, the "official" mounted noble a little after that, and the ebay-rescue "noble" (which is really a cross between a Dragon Prince and Silver Helm I picked up for $2 I think) which I painted less than two years ago. The three of them show some of the progress I've made over the last 15-plus years.


After all was complete, the 25mm squares arrived. Now I can get back to the archers. C&C always welcome. Enjoy the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/06/30 13:20:54


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Archers are coming along. The most frustrating part, blocking in colors, finished over the weekend and now I'm into targetted shading. After that, a little cleanup, bring out the colors and capture light with highlights and layers (especially the white), pick out details, varnish, and base. Hopefully by the end of this week all the archers will be complete. I really should have stuck to working with the ten models I need for the unit rather than all sixteen that the box makes. Live and learn.

I had a strange spray primer result where some of the models turned out just fine with a smooth finish while others have tiny bumps from the paint crystals that - I assume - resulted from reacting with local humidity while drying. They were all spray primed and stored in the same place, though, so I wonder how that happened. No worries in the end. You can only see the bumps in these convenient not-to-scale close-ups. From even one foot away they are hardly noticeable.


As is my standard method, I added in color variations that still tie the unit together but give each their own unique presence. The army goal is to have varied color, but not too varied so they don't look like they belong. Hopefully the end result will be a sort of spring/autumn aesthetic that will tie into the current (and future project) autumnal Wood Elves and Treefolk I have.


I had played with coloring the designs on the bows with many options. Nothing looked right to me. They are bows, meant to bend and flex, not be reinforced with metal as most seem to have done with these models. I've decided I'd bring out the designs with targetted shades, then highlight them with a woody-bone color when I highlight the rest of the bows. We'll see how it turns out. Try not to look at the floating quiver too much. Some of them were trouble cases that had no good place to glue onto near their strap, so I had to make do. It will look fine when they are all ranked up.

A lot left to do, but these archers are in the final stages. Comments and criticism always welcome. Enjoy the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/06/30 22:07:59


Post by: gobert


The grey base coats look really nice and smooth to me, I certainly couldn’t notice any lumpy bits. The washes on the bows work really well, I hadn’t really thought about the metal reinforcement around the handles before. You make a really good point... I might have to redo mine now!


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/06/30 22:50:27


Post by: Vermis


No criticism, everything looks great. I like your idea for the colour variations and themes - the two painted archers look good and I'm looking forward to see the rest.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/07/06 23:43:28


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Thanks for the comments, Vermis! I'm looking forward to your progress on your Elves as well. Multiple thin coats there, gobert. The sepia shading on the bows really did turn out well. It's not that there are no real bows that use laminated layers to increase durability and force, but those layers are not in the shape of fancy designs. I'm really glad the shading worked.

Archers are finished. All sixteen of them, which provides extra models if I want a larger unit. I need to get a better camera than the one on my phone - there's some very noticeable fish-eye going on.






Some thoughts: The white cloth was not brought to full white. I left it at GW's Ulthuan Grey, built up from GW's Celestra Grey with targetted shading of 1:1 mix of GW Drakenhof Nightshade and Vallejo Glaze Medium. When doing units I don't usually bring them up to full white as it attracts too much attention. I did the same with my Phoenix Guard, but the Phoenix Guard characters do have full white. The leather bits didn't turn out how I'd like. I tried more of a grey-brown look to them and I think they are just washed out among everything else. Perhaps next time I'll make them a bit darker. Otherwise, for 2.5 weeks of work I'm quite pleased with how these came out. They were all very pleasant to paint.

The only command I included was the Hawkeye (unit champion). Do archers need a banner or musician? Time will tell.

My brother that joined me on a journey through 15mm Ancient China completed his Imperial Chinese force. Historical battles to commence soon. Also, an image of the entire project. Nice to have this project wrapped up. We already have some ideas (and spare models) for additions to these armies. A very elite Imperial force versus a rabble of skilled horse-archers and unskilled foot warriors.



Next up, a High Elf Wizard to help lead the army, primed and ready for paint. This is one of the mid-2000s High Elf Mages on Elemental Base. I really enjoy this sculpt and am looking forward to painting it. Especially since it's just one model rather than sixteen. Comments and criticism always welcome. Enjoy the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/07/07 02:42:34


Post by: Syro_


The archers look nice, and it's really enjoyable seeing that big force complete. I hope you get to enjoy some battles with them soon.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/07/08 00:48:18


Post by: Vermis


The archers look excellent. My eyes are drawn to those gems. The robes look very clean and bright - I would've assumed they were full white if you hadn't said.

The chinese chariots look intimidating! Good looking forces overall. And that's the elf wizard I would've used as an Everqueen stand-in, if I could have got one for a reasonable (i.e. stingy) price on ebay! If that's painted up like the others, but with extra character attention, it'll look spectacular.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/07/08 02:35:29


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Thanks for the compliment, Syro. We're hoping to get a historical game in soon. I might take some photos and give a battle narration. It'll be a couple guys bumbling about the rules.

Vermis, thanks to you as well. I do take some pride in my gems. It doesn't matter how many are in a unit, I paint them all and I find the process very relaxing. Gem painting is, I think, a simple series of steps that quickly leads to a very pleasing result.

Regarding Ulthuan Grey, it is a deceptive sort of white. Things that are actually white rarely appear fully white to us unless in direct sunlight. That's why the slightly blue-grey off-white Ulthuan Grey looks like white (white in shadow is usually a bluish-grey). An example of this phenomenon is a recent photo of my Phoenix Guard with Anointed and Caradryan. Most, if not all the Phoenix Guard are brought only up to Ulthuan Grey. Caradryan on the far left and the Anointed on the far right are brought to full white. At a glance they look similar, but the character's whites are much more pronounced after a closer look.

I am very glad I checked this before blocking in colors on the wizard, Vermis. Your idea of using her as a potential stand-in for Alarielle is a great one. I think I'm going to go for more greens on her just for that purpose. Prices for Alarielle on ebay are ridiculous. The older sculpt looks fine, but is never sold for a reasonable price. The very brief, newer run of Alarielle rarely shows up. When it does, a bidding war begins and sends the final price into the multiple hundreds. Ridiculous. I'd love to get an actual Alarielle model, but I'm just a humble guy with a young, growing family. There's no way I'd get one of those at the current prices. One can dream.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/07/09 11:47:42


Post by: Vermis


 CaptainWaffle wrote:
I do take some pride in my gems.


It shows!

I see what you mean about grey vs white (nicely painted). And still looking forward to see the wizard painted, but more so.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/07/15 18:59:32


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Another week, roughly, another High Elf finished. Here is Alarielle's lesser known twin sister Balarielle. She's in the lore, I swear. If you look really close between the lines you'll see mention of her.



I really need to source a better image capture device. My phone's lack of image quality and capture options are really starting to show. It certainly won't keep me from this project, though.

I decided not to paint this wizard as Alarielle 100% (no blonde hair). My initial plan was to roughly capture my wife's look. I ho-hummed about the cloth colors until Vermis mentioned an "Alarielle stand-in", which sealed it as green. The elemental base was a fun thing to paint. I had initially painted it with a select few GW Contrast paints, but I didn't like how they turned out. My thoughts on those paints are that they work for some things - mostly fur - but they don't work at all on most other things. At best, they give a quick base to work from, which is how I ended up using them. There is actually a bit of light pink on her lips, cheeks, and above the eyes, but I don't think the phone camera captured that color very well.

Since I had the backdrop set up I had some fun and took a few unit glamor shots with the archers and Phoenix Guard.



Painting this wizard was a nice way to relax hobby time after those 16 archers and was a joy. If any of you have those old metal casts laying around I recommend dusting them off and taking some time with them. There's a character to them that I think is difficult to find in more recent miniatures.

Up next, an Eagle Claw Bolt Thrower to provide some heavy supporting ranged fire. Comments and criticism always welcome. Enjoy the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/07/25 14:33:18


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Hobby time has largely been taken up with non-hobby things this past week and a half. Progress has been made on the bolt thrower. If this were a home blog I'd have tons of family and home maintenance/improvement things to talk about. Since it's not, here's an image of the Eagle Claw Bolt Thrower war engine complete. The two crew members are in progress.


Dakka's auto-correct really cranks the contrast, but my phone really washes it all out. There's no winning! The image is servicable, at least. This is sort of a ho-hum unit. War engines are cool, but they don't have much going for them model-wise other than their static representation. They look nice on the battlefield and are very useful, but they are nowhere near as interesting to paint as other things. So, I have the engine out of the way first and the two crew will follow soon. Then I can move on to some cavalry for the High Elf army. That will be interesting.

What is interesting about this bolt thrower model is how it functions. I can't tell. The main representational components of a ballista-type war engine are present, such as the arms, the bolt rest, the lock/release levers, but it's not clear at all how they combine to function. A little silly to think about.

Comments and criticism always welcome. Enjoy the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/07/25 16:30:30


Post by: gobert


It must work by elven magic, obvs! Either way it looks cool all painted up, particularly with the autumn base. Hopefully real life gives you a bit of hobby time soon!


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/07/26 00:03:40


Post by: theCrowe


The loader offers a theme or a subject for each bolt he lays on the machine. The shooter then has to sing a song of release weaving each theme into the melody, often incorporating words of power and swiftness into the rhyme scheme. The weapon is triggered when, moved by the tragic and unsurpassed beauty of the song, the first tear falls upon the mechanism and the bolts fly in the order in which they were sung of. Accuracy largely depends on the amount of poetic lisence employed by the singer.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/07/26 11:41:51


Post by: Vermis


 CaptainWaffle wrote:
Another week, roughly, another High Elf finished. Here is Alarielle's lesser known twin sister Balarielle.


Man, sorry I missed this. The painting is great. I especially like the particular shade of green, the complementary purple, and as ever, the gems.

The units and bolt thrower are the same: bright and clean but not garish or too busy. Just nice.

I really need to source a better image capture device. My phone's lack of image quality and capture options are really starting to show. It certainly won't keep me from this project, though.


I got a Lumix GX80 a few years ago, with more settings and boosts than I know what to do with; and while it's a big improvement, I still have to run contrast and colours through GIMP and worry about blowing the whites out.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/07/31 15:16:20


Post by: CaptainWaffle


I often wonder if my painting and basing are too busy, Vermis. They're fantasy High Elves, so in my mind they need lots of color and brightness. Good to know I'm not going overboard in someone else's eyes.

theCrowe and gobert, you both must be correct. There must be High Elf magic as an integral component to the function of the bolt thrower. As usual, Crowe, your wonderful story telling has affected (positively) how I perceive my elves. I used to see the pointing crew member as just shouting. Now I see him as singing whilst his crewmate contemplates the words for the next bolt. Here they are all finished:


A little out of focus as the bolt thrower is so big. No fancy background this time. I'll set that up after the next unit and get some fancy images then. These, like many of my High Elves (and other miniatures), are ebay rescues. There is a lot about the plastic that is off, or were built strangely. Can't complain when I paid $10 or less for this unit, though. I painted the robes blue because I am a little tired of painting white - it takes a lot of work and so many of my previous models are mainly white. I'd like to mix in more greens and blues in future High Elves.

Up next: Silver Helms. This will be a small unit of five to get started, with full command. I learned from those sixteen archers. I only need five Silver Helms for the starting 1,000 points. Even though I have enough for ten of them, I'll leave the rest for the future. These elves are still on the sprue, mostly, so it's not much to look at. The horses will be white and/or grey, and the main cloth color will be green for this batch, similar to the wizard I recently completed. Comments and criticism always welcome. Enjoy the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/08/01 11:06:47


Post by: Syro_


I agree that the bases aren't too busy as well, especially since you keep them consistent which is more important. Since your high elf archers are on square bases where the edges meet the bases flows together and looks great. I don't want to give you anymore work, but I would love to see some custom movement trays that the round base guys slot into, which are flocked in the same way. I don't know how practical this is for the game though...


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/08/01 12:07:54


Post by: Vermis


Syro_ wrote:I agree that the bases aren't too busy as well, especially since you keep them consistent which is more important. Since your high elf archers are on square bases where the edges meet the bases flows together and looks great.


Yup. The bases are noticeable, but not too distracting. (Sort of 'I'm here too' rather than 'me me me') I think it helps that they're not straight-up lemon yellows and blood reds. In my eyes they help ground the elves, maybe more than a simple layer of static grass or sand, with a kind of slightly-otherworldly sylvan autumn feel. Which is all appropriate for elves, IMO.

Tempted to pick up one or two of those leaf punches from Green Stuff World and do something similar for my own.

CaptainWaffle wrote:These, like many of my High Elves (and other miniatures), are ebay rescues. There is a lot about the plastic that is off, or were built strangely. Can't complain when I paid $10 or less for this unit, though.


You're more patient or more fortunate than I am, or both. I've just about sworn off rescuing plastics from ebay because they're often more styrene cement than styrene.

I painted the robes blue because I am a little tired of painting white


There are worse reasons for going off the beaten track.

Up next: Silver Helms... These elves are still on the sprue, mostly, so it's not much to look at.


Are those another ebay rescue? If so, nice!


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/08/01 13:29:53


Post by: Fluid_Fox


Some good looking High Elves going on here


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/08/02 03:51:45


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Good to see you around Fluid_Fox. Keep up the great work on your daemons. It's always nice to see something you created from scratch come to life.

Vermis and Syro_, it took me a good year of miniatures to settle on the current autumn fantasy base style. It came about only because I would collect the remnants of all my previous methods in the same container with the result being roughly what you see now. Probably six months ago I realized that I can create my own basing mix from various sources and throw that in one step on top of the grass. Glad it's working out. The more I look at those round 25mm bases that a bunch of my models are on the more I loathe them. Based on your suggestions I tested some movement tray designs, but I don't currently have the proper tool to make holes in MDF/HDF. The one I do have just tears the material to shreds. In doing that, though, I realized that creating a movement tray with one-inch diameter holes would create more problems. What would I do if I wanted a character to join the unit? Rest their square base awkwardly on top of the custom movement tray?

At the end of the movement tray tests, I decided that I'll end up re-basing those models that are currently on 25mm circles to 25mm squares. It will provide the opportunity to re-base them with my current basing scheme as well, rather than the older autumn methods. Thanks for the comments and suggestions. I might need to revisit those big models that I have on ovals as well.

Vermis wrote:Are those another ebay rescue? If so, nice!

They are from ebay, although I don't think I'd call these particular Silver Helms as "rescues". It looks like someone considered building them, but stopped after clipping and cleaning the horses. All the Silver Helm knights are still on the original sprues and all the horses are loose. Everything is there though. Two additional Silver Helms, that are not part of this batch of five I am working on, are true ebay rescues. They are going to need a lot of work. I have the time to clean ebay rescues up, but not the funds to purchase new usually. That's how I can get away with dealing with poor builds and bad paint jobs while saving money.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/08/02 12:36:50


Post by: Syro_


Sorry to be suggesting extra work for you. I normally prefer round bases for all things, but that ordered rank on the square bases looks really good together. The round bases look very nice on their own, I just think they stand out on the movement trays. It seems a shame to waste your nicely flocked round bases. Do you think it would look good enough to flock the interior of one of your movement trays with the same color scheme but keep it flat? Or do you think the base edges would stand out too much? If you really want to go down the rabbit hole, I wonder if there are clear acrylic movement trays?


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/08/02 13:41:30


Post by: Vermis


 Syro_ wrote:
Sorry to be suggesting extra work for you. I normally prefer round bases for all things, but that ordered rank on the square bases looks really good together. The round bases look very nice on their own, I just think they stand out on the movement trays. It seems a shame to waste your nicely flocked round bases.


Pretty much this. Looking at the number of minis you've based already, I don't want to say 'yes you should definitely rebase', but you and Syro are vocalising some thoughts that I've also had about my own stuff. Round bases look nice, but when you need to form them up...


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/08/03 00:27:10


Post by: CaptainWaffle


To me, the bases are just plastic or MDF. They are so cheap that I don't mind rebasing. It also doesn't take all that much time to rebase. There is the risk of destroying feet and other parts, though. After considering it more today I realized that there is a problem: my current circular-based models have either metal tabs that hold them up (the old school Phoenix Guard) or have solid Milliput at the feet to help hold them up (the Lothern Sea Guard and White Lions). Milliput is basically impervious unless you cut at it with a power tool or sturdy saw. That leaves my choices to either flock the movement trays, which is the easiest option but will leave the model base rims showing, or glue the circle bases right to squares and Milliput the corners into small hills. That isn't much work, but it would make them all look like they are standing on their own earth mound. If I try to remove them from their circle bases I'd likely end up destroying parts and would definitely need to use Milliput to hold them all up again. No winning.

You might be right, Syro_. The best option, given all the pros and cons, might be to just flock some of the movement trays for the circle bases. I'll add some of my current autumn fantasy mix to the older bases as well so they blend in better. This, to me, strikes the best balance between additional work, aesthetics, and risk of destroying my finished models' feet. Going forward, all new models will be on 25mm squares, so this trouble won't come up again!


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/08/03 00:35:53


Post by: Syro_


Best of luck
Keep us posted.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/08/09 16:12:20


Post by: CaptainWaffle


The previous week resulted in built Silver Helms and some rebasing. The Silver Helm horses had quite a few gaps due to their design. Nothing that some Milliput couldn't handle. Hopefully the banners on the lances stay put. If they come off during painting I'll replace them with printed designs. Might do that anyway. We'll see. Here they are ready for priming.


As Syro_ and Vermis suggested, I modified the bases of my other finished High Elves so everything matches better and added grass to some movement trays so the round bases wouldn't stand out so much. Here are the before images:



Here are links to my gallery images on the before models on the before movement trays.

The after images:



While messing with the bases I thought more about my current and future White Lion Chariots. The ovals they are on are huge. The Phoenix and Lord on Griffon base ovals neatly fit my appropriately-sized "adapter" rectangle bases, but the huge ovals on the chariots look ridiculous. More importantly, they could have a strange affect during gameplay, getting too many opposing models in melee with them or blocking too much room. I think I'm going to (gently) pry the chariot off its base, or cut it off, and get it on a rectangle. Something for the future. This is what happens when you leave AoS.

As always, comments and criticism welcome. Enjoy the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/08/09 18:16:35


Post by: Vermis


 CaptainWaffle wrote:
While messing with the bases I thought more about my current and future White Lion Chariots. The ovals they are on are huge. The Phoenix and Lord on Griffon base ovals neatly fit my appropriately-sized "adapter" rectangle bases, but the huge ovals on the chariots look ridiculous. More importantly, they could have a strange affect during gameplay, getting too many opposing models in melee with them or blocking too much room. I think I'm going to (gently) pry the chariot off its base, or cut it off, and get it on a rectangle. Something for the future. This is what happens when you leave AoS.


This is another basing problem similar to one of mine. Funny, it ended up by deciding on a rectangle too.

The movement trays are looking great. The grass underneath looks novel and interesting. Bad luck on the SHelm gaps, but looking forward to see them painted - and based, too!


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/08/10 07:37:57


Post by: theCrowe


Props for putting so much thought and time into your basing. It's hard to be excited about bases when the minis are where it's at and especially when there are new and more exciting projects waiting in the wings. But the work you're putting in is paying dividends. I really like your bright autumnal bases. (And any opportunity to use the word autumnal) Great fantasy look to them.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/11/29 14:56:39


Post by: Anathir


Hey man, I love the thread.

Can I ask the exact process of how you applied milliput to the horses? I've been trying to do a few of the same horses but been having some difficulty with the gaps.

Also I'm kind of curious on the order in which you assembled the horse. You know how awkward these models are with the tabs on the tail and head.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also I'm kind of curious on the order in which you assembled the horse. You know how awkward these models are with the tabs on the tail and head.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/11/29 15:17:50


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Thanks Anathir! Been busy with family lately, so I haven't posted anything for a time. Still have all the hobby stuff, though, so I plan to have more up sometime.

The old horses are very fidly. I dry-fit all the components after cleaning from mold lines and such. If the tabs on the tail and head were too thick for a proper seating in the body I cut at them or sanded them to shape. Once I have a pose I sort of loosely glued the head and tail to one side of the body using just a few tacks of glue to hold them in place. Then, I kind of quickly spread a layer of super glue on all the meeting surfaces of the other side of the body and used a toothpick to get more glue on the "tacked" side, and pressed the two sides tight together. That's the only way I found that works.

If the pressing of the sides together goes well there will be a minimal gap between the halves. Otherwise, the gap will be larger. Minimal gaps need only one layer of Milliput, larger gaps will need two or more. After mixing the Milliput, I rolled it out into thin cylinders and pressed those in the gaps. Using a small sculp tool, or a small metal spoon or butter knife would work, moistened with water I smoothed out the Milliput and removed excess. If another layer is needed wait until the previous layer is dry. It's just a matter of giving the stuff time to work.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/11/29 15:27:45


Post by: Anathir


Thanks for the response.

I've had all sorts of issues including excess superglue from the body joint overflowing onto the top of the horse and looking quite bad and conspicuous.

I may clean all the mold lines, then cut the tab from the head entirely, then dry fit and glue the body parts/tail like you described and add the head at the end.

When you press the miliput into the gap, do you use fingers? Any fingerprint issues?


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/11/30 10:15:47


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Cutting the tab might work. It's all just plastic. Cut away and make it your own! If it comes down to it you can always pin things if you remove too much. For Milliput, use moistened fingers and/or sculpting tools. A little water keeps the putty from sticking so much to the finger/tool. Get the putty in place first, then use a little more water and rub your finger/tool across the putty to smooth it out.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2020/12/02 12:13:53


Post by: CommissarKhaine


Nice! Almost makes me revisit my High Elves. I'm loving both the painting and the basing on these!


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/06/23 03:31:47


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Thank you for the kind words, CommissarKhaine! I encourage you to revisit your High Elves. They are well done miniatures with great old fashioned lore and art. No school like the old school.

It's taken me only about a year to get these swords and shields for the Silver Helms done. Interesting how the rest of life can so easily place the hobby on hold. All is well, and I'm back to painting. Really, this was a few hours spread over a few days. Little bits are done, next up are the Silver Helm riders, High Elf princes and nobles fulfilling their duties and/or seeking glory. Their trusty steeds will come after. Enjoy the hobby.




CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/06/23 12:49:19


Post by: Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll


Those shields and matching swords are gorgeous, can't wait to see them on the units! Are you gonna also vary the heraldry on their coats, or are you gonna keep those consistent and let the shields and swords be the distinguishing parts?


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/06/23 17:14:49


Post by: Olthannon


High Elves were my first army and still my favourite. Nice use of colour on the models and I love the forest bases. Good luck with the silver helms!


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/06/26 18:58:43


Post by: gobert


Good to see you’re still about. The shields and swords look great!


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/07/01 02:23:13


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Thanks, Gwyn. It's nice to see you around and still on your hobby log. The High Elf miniatures don't give much room for custom heraldry, but I did try to keep the bits somewhat consistent for each Silver Helm. Thank you as well, Olthannon. I encourage you to get back into the High Elves if you are able and enjoy them. The high fantasy bases draw together the many colors on the miniatures, I think. If I used a plain base the rest of the miniature might have too much color and look strange. That's my hypothesis, anyway. Finally, good to see you again, gobert. It is nice to be painting again.

The Silver Helm riders are done. Here they are matched up with their shields and swords. Those will be attached after they are mounted to keep it simple. These guys could use banners, but I don't like the plastic banners that come in the sets. If anyone knows a decent place to get quality High Elf images that can be used for banners please let me know. I've scoured the internet and haven't found much.


They will no doubt need touch ups after seeing them posted. A few thoughts follow. Vallejo Model Air Silver is the silver that beats all silvers, I have discovered. I wish all paints flowed with the consistency, coverage, and vibrancy that this silver does. The models are older, and come from older manufacturing processes. This meant many details had to be painted in, or approximated, the casts of the faces are wonky, and all sorts of fun things. Still looks nice from three feet away. After a year off painting I am a bit rusty. Lines aren't as straight as I'd like, I had to do way more touch ups and do-overs than I am used to, and I mistakenly didn't thin the blue shade with glaze medium as I used to always do. This made the blue darkness very harsh and wouldn't flow how I want over the metals. Ho hum, learn for the next time. Final note: one morning I found that one of the fuzzy denizens of the house wandered onto the paint table and bit in half both the blue guys' lance blades after I painted them. I did some quick repair and a hiding paint job, but you'll probably still see the marks!

Up next I'll be breaking out the airbrush for the horses. I'm excited to be in the final stages and am looking forward to getting the finished Silver Helms posed for a proper photo. Enjoy the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/07/01 14:31:29


Post by: Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll


Looking great! You gonna do some nice horse patterns for variation?


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/07/01 16:24:49


Post by: CaptainWaffle


The horses will definitely have some sort of unique designs. They actually do have broad open cloth areas that take to that. I think I'll give the horses differing socks, spots, and such as well for interest. Good idea, Gwyn.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/07/06 02:14:36


Post by: CaptainWaffle


The five horses are in varying states of progress, with one completed. I got into a groove painting this horse and I kept with a focus on it until it was done.


Its Silver Helm was then affixed. I need to straighten the black line on the banner, so try to ignore that for now.


The banners are a mix of what I have access to laying about. Some are poor quality images from the Uniforms & Heraldry of the High Elves book. Others are items I purchased from Flags of War that fit the High Elf or Wood Elf themes. I used the old print and glue to aluminum foil trick (see below), then wrapped it around the lance shaft, glued the banner sides to each other, and finally shaped the banner.


Finally, I've been tinkering with rebasing the White Lion Chariot. It's on that horrible oversized 95mm x 120mm oval base. I'm using a 25mm square standard, but the chariot looks a little cramped on a 50mm x 100mm base. I am considering a 60mm x 120mm base instead, image reference below, but I have not put saw blade to HDF board yet. Going a little larger than 50mm x 100mm is not a problem, it just can't be smaller.


Comments and criticism always welcome. Enjoy the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/07/06 16:02:39


Post by: Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll


60x120 looks best easily.
I also love that the horse isn't white, you always see these guys on only white horses, they look so interesting on the grey.

... I'm dating a horse girl, I should be know actual coat names by now xD


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/07/08 02:39:05


Post by: CaptainWaffle


A second Silver Helm complete. I really am rusty at this - I struggle to paint a straight line! It will hopefully come back to me. Won't be noticeable on the tabletop, at least. I used the Citadel Contrast Gor-Grunta Fur to get the horse color, but then I needed to smooth out and add highlight to the top of the horses' back. Contrast paints don't seem to take well to paint additions - it really doesn't blend in with the rest on closer inspection. Again, likely not noticeable on the tabletop or shelf so ya gotta let go at some point.


Hey, thanks for the comment and base size recommendation, Gwyn. I think I will go for the 60x120 base for the chariot. Regarding the horse coats - I have no idea if the grey horse is an actual type that can occur. After limited research, I did determine that this second horse is roughly a "sooty chestnut/bay" coat. In the old Warhammer lore, the steeds of Ulthuan are mostly white, fitting with the bright, shining aesthetic of the High Elves. It's more those horses that they brought with them to the main land and then abandoned (also resulting in the Wood Elves that stayed on the mainland) that tend to have more earthy coats. The last three horses will be white variants and I'll work on them as a batch.

Comments and criticism welcome. Enjoy the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/07/08 06:14:29


Post by: FrozenDwarf


I rememmber these guys, for when i first got into the hobby. silverhelms, dragon riders and the lion chariet was my dream models, nice to see someone applying 2021 painting knowlage to 15-20 year old models.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/07/11 03:39:52


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Hello FrozenDwarf! High Elves have also been my hobby dream models. I have fond memories of a much younger me flipping through the only thing I owned, an old High Elves army book, wondering if I'd ever get an army made. On the note of White Lion Chariots, I rebased mine from the terrible oval to a 60mm x 120mm rectangle. Huzzah!


A third Silver Helm finished. The final blue one, and this one likes fire. While exploring horse coats I found some artistic fantasy works with a white horse with reddish hair and socks, so I gave it a try as it fit the rider. I also tried some freehand on the fabric draped under the saddle. It's meant to be an icon of a flame, the other side has the same. Love it, hate it, you decide. Two more to go, both white horses with green bits.



As always, comments and criticisms welcome. Enjoy the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/07/14 00:24:17


Post by: Syro_


I'm glad you are able to build up your dream army so beautifully, CaptainWaffle.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/07/14 03:10:54


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Thanks for the comment, Syro. It's been an enjoyable and relaxing way to spend some free time over the past few years. I don't plan on stopping anytime soon.

The final two Silver Helms, one being the "High Helm" of the unit, complete. I discovered that if I paint the edges, including a bit onto the back, of the banners black before wrapping them around the poles then the border lines that hide imperfections come out much better. I also discovered that I'm stretching the limits of my only camera unit: my phone.


Now that the Silver Helms are complete (for now, I have the bits for five more for sometime in the future), I set up the light box for the glamour shots. Here they are: Silver Helms in all their varying focus glory! Perhaps I should ask for a more suitable camera for Christmas or something.





Those readers with a keen eye will note that the models are staggered on the movement tray. Who knew that the riders' legs would bump into each other on 25mmx50mm bases? I know who, all those rank-and-file players that have experienced this long before I did today. Ho hum, I'll have to be more mindful about how I place the miniatures on bases in the future.

The Silver Helms were the last unit I wanted to fill out a basic 1,000 point High Elves army under the Warhammer Armies Project Unofficial 9th Edition rules. I'm not certain when, or if, I'd ever field them, as I no longer have others able/available to actually throw dice with. Out of curiosity I threw all my painted High Elves into a Battlescribe roster and discovered that the bunch can easily break 3,000 points. I never intended that, and it won't stop me from painting more. With all this in mind, I took some army/collection images (again, on my poor phone camera). I couldn't use the light box, it's only useful for small model counts:


However, a bit of white project board as a backdrop and we have something suitable:



Ah, all those models of varying color coherency, camera focus, and base shapes. What do you think the stats of the Mod Podge are? Up next: Swordmasters of Hoeth. Primed and airbrushed silver... so they're basically done already, right?


Comments and criticism always welcome. Enjoy the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/07/14 15:16:21


Post by: Olthannon


Wow, amazing stuff, love your silverhelms, the banners in particular are just wonderful. The army shot looks excellent too. Can't wait to see more.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/07/18 04:09:45


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Hey Olthannon, thank you very much! I enjoy lurking your thread as well.

I began to batch paint the Swordmasters of Hoeth, but after getting a bit into it I figured I should take a closer look at their lore so I could paint them something fitting. Turns out that those samey units that are featured in most armies don't fit the lore at all. Swordmasters are highly individualistic and they join to battle in groups based on the area they are currently in when the call comes. They are seekers of lore, secrets, and opportunities to test and hone their martial prowess. As such, they shouldn't be painted similar even within a unit. In fact, they are known to be flamboyant in their aesthetics. Their armor and swords are forged uniquely for each individual, so no two will look alike.

So, I gave it a go on one of the ten models. I must have repainted him three times until I got something that isn't too gaudy or too simple. You can be the judge for yourself. Nine more to go, and hopefully I'll find a way to batch paint them while keeping them different enough to have individual personality.



Comments and criticism welcome. Enjoy the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/07/22 22:53:00


Post by: gobert


The host is looking great CaptainWaffle! The variety of the silver helms is really cool, but they still maintain a cohesive look. It’s definitely a theme to carry on with the Sword Masters, maybe adding freehand symbols to each of their swords?


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/07/28 05:29:45


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Thank you very much, gobert! I might do some freehand on the swords, but I'm currently leaning towards no since they would look strange next to the unit champion's sword. It has raised Elvish runes as part of the sword blade.

I think I might not post enough on everyone else's hobby logs. I tend to just lurk a lot. One of those logs that I grace with my lurking is yours, gobert. You keep up the nice work!

A little-more-than-one-week hobby update. The Swordmasters of Hoeth are coming along. I average about an hour a night, so all the details and colors are taking their time. At first I was concerned that all the colors made the unit too dissonant, but after getting most of the gold on and keeping the gold placement unified across the miniatures I think they stand together really well. Still plenty to do on them.


I've also been bouncing between the Swordmasters and the next painting project, just to keep sane from painting all those metallic details. This will be a kit-bashed High Elf Lord on Dragon that is actually a kit-bashed Dragonlord Imrik. I have the later lord/wizard on dragon kit, but I never liked how its wings are in a gliding pose when combined with a lord. I think it works for a wizard, so I'll use that kit for that at a later time. For this project, some time ago I got an ebay rescue that was labeled "wood elf lord on forest dragon" for dirt cheap. Whoever had it attempted to combine an old Wood Elf horse lord with Imrik's dragon, and used a lot of epoxy glue and some sort of brown modelling putty to smash things together. It was a struggle of scraping, cutting, drilling, prying, and so on to get it apart.


Eventually, I got it all in bits, ready for some mold line cleaning and gluing together. I don't think it's all of Imrik's dragon bits, but most are there and enough to complete a dragon. Of course, I don't have an actual Imrik model, and the going price for such is insane. I hobby on a small budget - a purchase is out of the question. So I have to kit-bash that. To do so, I took the lord on dragon bits from that kit and an extra head from the mounted/foot High Elf wizard kit. I think the combination will approximate Imrik's look well. I'll have to create a saddle for the lord to sit on the dragon, too. I'll also cut a larger base from HDF that is appropriate for a dragon.


Steady as she goes. Comments and criticism welcome. Enjoy the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/07/28 21:09:57


Post by: Olthannon


Nice work on the swordmasters, good luck with the not-Imrik. Looks like most of the dragon is there. My Imrik is sat patiently waiting for me to start work on my Asur. One day!


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/07/29 00:35:53


Post by: Meer_Cat


I like what you've done with the Swordmasters and impressed with your keeping them true to their lore. In many ways, they sound like the Greek heroes of the Iliad and Odyssey- armed and armored in similar fashion but entirely individualistic so as to stand out and be approached only by other heroes to fight.

Except the Myrmiddons- basic black is so boring!

Very nice work and I really like the basing.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/08/01 10:18:26


Post by: gobert


The sword masters are looking great. The Metallics being the same really help tie them together I think. For the freehand you could maybe just do one symbol to still allow the champion to stand out?

Great work rescuing the dragon, its funny how someone would go to the lengths of converting so extensively and then leave mould lines visible. Still, it got you a cheap dragon!


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/08/03 03:06:50


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Olthannon, I'll keep an eye on your hobby posting for that Imrik! Thank you for the kind words. Same to you as well, Meer_Cat and gobert. I think there is something very interesting about a group of very-much-so individuals that can, at a single call, stand next to each other and trust in what they can do. Hopefully some sense of that was captured in this group.

Gobert, I really played around with symbols on the swords, and I really like your idea. The trouble I arrived at was twofold. First, I don't know what to paint - or even if I should - the Elvish runes on the leader's sword. Since I don't know what to do about that I don't know what to do about all the other blades. Second, I really burned out on the metalics and wanted this unit done. There's only so many flakes, bouncing between water jars, soaping brushes between everything that I can take, and this unit did it. It turned out above tabletop standard, though, and I'm happy with where it's at. If, at a later date, something strikes me about those Elvish runes on the blades, I'll revisit these.


Fun fact: Army Painter apparently uses finer sawdust (I assume it's sawdust) in its "Grass Green" basing. The tub I've been using for many years was getting low (as-in, halfway), so I picked up a new one. On the left is the new one, the right the many-years-old. One of the Swordmasters has the old stuff, the rest the new. I don't think it's readily apparent, but if you look for it you'll see it.


Next on the table, the High Elf Lord on Dragon, A.K.A., Not-Imrik on Not-Minaithnir. The ebay salvage had only one hand and one foot/leg that actually belong to Minaithnir. It came with both hands and feet of the regular, older dragon kit. So, I used the old hands and feet with Minaithnir's tail and head. A great deal of putty work was involved, especially for the saddle. I'm no sculptor, but I gave that saddle a try and I am "OK" with it. Thankfully, it will be almost entirely covered by the rider. Multiple base sizes were tested, and it turns out that my 120mm x 60mm custom chariot base works best. One was cut, some putty work around the feet to secure it in place added, and it's primed and ready to go.


Minaithnir will be painted in his white/blue lore colors. Imrik has had various looks, but all featured mostly white with some silver and blue, a small amount of gold, and red gemstones. That'll be the plan. Thanks for looking. Comments and criticism welcome. Enjoy the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/08/03 22:14:55


Post by: gobert


Sorry you burnt out on the swordmasters, fwiw, they look great! The silvers you get are so smooth. Can’t wait to see how not-Imrik turns out


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/08/04 14:38:44


Post by: Olthannon


Great work on those Swordmasters! Wonderful regiment. That was my problem as well, eventually hit that limit.

Can't wait to see the not-Imrik painted!


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/08/08 00:19:05


Post by: CaptainWaffle


I can't take too much credit on the smooth silvers, gobert. That's all Vallejo Model Air Silver. I based the models with it, and any silver touch ups or highlights were also done with it. It's the best silver paint I've ever used, and it's very bright, perfect for High Elves.

Thanks again, Olthannon. Your wish is granted. Here's Not-Imrik prepared to ride Not-Minaithnir. The white alone took as much time as painting everything else. It's a little rough in parts. I'll touch things up when it's mounted on the dragon.


Now I can focus on the dragon. That will be lots of airbrush work and Contrast paints for the scales. Enjoy the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/08/11 11:50:50


Post by: Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll


That white is glorious, great job on the folds and flaps!


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/08/11 14:13:08


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Thank you, Gwyn! I think it looks a little comical with the lack of blending. Then again, not everything will blend in reality, especially with hard folds. I think my painting style is a bit "comical" or "cartoony" anyway, so I won't sweat it.

Small update on the big dragon. The basic plan has been to airbrush the white skin, then use contrast paint (Talassar Blue) for the scales, clean up the edges between the scales and skin, then pick out details. After the scales dried I decided the sharp jump between the white skin and the blue scales was too much, but I didn't want to dull down the scales a lot or change their color. Color transitions were tested, such as oranges and purples from the scales. None of them were desirable. Note: these images were auto-adjusted with darker/more contrast when uploading to Dakka. The true color is a little brighter, but not as bright as what my phone camera picked up.


From a distance the colors look OKish, but closer they are terrible. It begins to look like a neon party. Through these tests I realized the problem wasn't a lack of stark color, but rather the dragon as a whole was just a big blob of bluish cool white that was dull to look at.


It's a clean white, for sure, but just dull on a large model. I have little experience with warm whites. After some research, I mixed a sandy color with a light gray to get a slightly warm/brown/yellow grayish white color and airbrushed that into the shadows. This required me to airbrush the white base and highlight again with white. So, naturally, I repainted the entire model. Again, the color is more pronounced in person. I am at the mercy of my phone camera.


Was it worth it? It looks warmer to me. Whatever the case, it's what I'm going with. Comments and criticism always welcome. Enjoy the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/08/12 18:34:06


Post by: Olthannon


Wow, that white on the banner is obscenely good! Great work.

The dragon is looking fantastic as well, the blue of the scales is a real shock of colour. I think with the rider and the base painted it'll all mesh together wonderfully.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/08/14 09:11:11


Post by: gobert


That blue is really cool! I think the problem is that the white is a bit flat still. I reckon adding more shadows will help loads. I’d probably go with blending blue towards the white, as though as his skin gets older it turns to scales, if you’re after a bit more warmth, then perhaps a bone colour instead of white?


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/08/15 03:42:10


Post by: CaptainWaffle


The blue certainly is striking over the white undercoat. Thankfully, it seems to match the brighter blue that nearly every one of my High Elves has. gobert, I did just that with shadows. I emphasized the white highlights as well. One evening I tried many scale-to-skin transitions, but nothing worked for me and I eventually went with the sudden transition. Maybe that does work, maybe it's just grown on me after looking at this model for a while. Also, when ho-humming about the colors I completely forgot I'd be painting the horns, spikes, and such a bone color. Of course that would bring the warmth back to the model in the end! At least one of our heads was on task, and it wasn't mine.

Thank you, Olthannon. Here's Not-Imrik attached and Not-Minaithnir based. You can decide if it meshes! When I get a batch of models done I'll get the light box together for a proper capture. For now, a brown hobby foam sheet will do. Both images are a bit washed out from the light, but only the second is "color corrected" so the wing webbing is more visible. Also, white is really difficult to capture with a goofy phone camera.



How did I get from where it was a few days ago to this in so short a time? The young-un is spending the weekend with grandparents, and after a morning of hiking the lovely wife and I just wanted to sit on the couch. I re-purposed a wood tray into a simple mobile paint station and painted for at least six hours straight. That's the longest I've painted in quite a while. Combine that with my steady, hour or two of painting each night and the project is done.

Up next is something other than High Elves. I'm burned out of painting highly detailed metals and white. Also, my main goal is to get other forces up to at least 1,500 points worth painted. The next targets are Wood Elves, which are a mix of Games Workshop and out-of-print but dirt-cheap Runewars "Latari Elf" models, and Orcs & Goblins, which are a mix of Games Workshop, Oathmark (North Star Military Figures), MOM Miniatures, and probably other things. It's what I have found over the years on ebay that I like and are in my budget (i.e. cheap). I have a lot of models for both these forces waiting to be painted. It's amazing what you can find if you are patient and keep looking.

To start, I'll probably paint some single characters from each. Simple ones to get a feel. I want the Wood Elves to be Elves with a lot of trees. I want the Orcs and Goblins to be some comical Orcs (usually on boars) and many comical Goblins riding spiders and wolves and such, backed up by foot units. If you readers have a preference let me know. I don't have a hard army list that I want to work from, and I most likely have the models for any suggestion. I build armies from what I have painted, and I paint things I find fun and interesting.

Comments and criticism always welcome. Enjoy the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/08/16 19:06:27


Post by: gobert


Not-Imrik came out great! A child free weekend where the wife lets you paint is pretty great. You certainly made good use of it. The blue did settle in once the rest of the mini was done. Great job!


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/08/17 18:14:37


Post by: Olthannon


Absolutely superb work, hope you are proud of it! Looks like a centerpiece mini should look!

Shows what a weekend to relax and paint can do eh?


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/08/27 04:29:18


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Thanks a bunch you two! It was a very relaxing weekend. I took it easy on the hobby front the last week and a half. I was going to work on a bunch of Wood Elves but I was so worn out of painting elves that I decided to work on silly goblins instead. Here are two shamans (one GW and one from MOM Miniatures) and a sort of re-based goblin boss that I painted years ago.


The MOM Miniatures goblin is a little chunkier, and more angled, but is roughly the same size as the rest of the goblins and has an interesting 70s or 80s medieval fantasy feel. I wonder why only the left hand has nails, but that's how it was sculpted. The other two are GW from the old Battle for Skull Pass set. I didn't touch up the boss at all. He refused to be removed from the round base he is on, so I stuck it onto a square base and used my patented "Milliput the edges to make a rough small hill" method. At least it gives the guy some stature. The shaman is newly painted. I have memories of looking around a brick and mortar shop in my area some 10 years ago, a few years before it closed, and finding a dusty, unopened, Battle for Skull Pass set on a top shelf priced at $30. I've had the whole thing ever since. It's nice to work on them.

I also built 30 goblin spider riders. I think I'll paint those next. Comments and criticism always welcome. Enjoy the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/08/27 07:36:28


Post by: theCrowe


 CaptainWaffle wrote:
Thanks a bunch you two! It was a very relaxing weekend. I took it easy on the hobby front the last week and a half. I was going to work on a bunch of Wood Elves but I was so worn out of painting elves that I decided to work on silly goblins instead. Here are two shamans (one GW and one from MOM Miniatures) and a sort of re-based goblin boss that I painted years ago.


The MOM Miniatures goblin is a little chunkier, and more angled, but is roughly the same size as the rest of the goblins and has an interesting 70s or 80s medieval fantasy feel. I wonder why only the left hand has nails, but that's how it was sculpted. The other two are GW from the old Battle for Skull Pass set. I didn't touch up the boss at all. He refused to be removed from the round base he is on, so I stuck it onto a square base and used my patented "Milliput the edges to make a rough small hill" method. At least it gives the guy some stature. The shaman is newly painted. I have fond memories of looking around a brick and mortar shop in my area some 15 years ago, a few years before it closed, and finding a dusty, unopened, Battle for Skull Pass set on a top shelf priced at $30. I've had the whole thing ever since. It's nice to work on them.

I also built 30 goblin spider riders. I think I'll paint those next. Comments and criticism always welcome. Enjoy the hobby.


Love those gobos! Enjoy them! And there’s so many great options out there for fun goblin minis. They’re so full of character even the rank and file are fun to paint, in manageable batches of course. Those giant mobs can suck your will to live.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/08/27 22:13:14


Post by: gobert


Oooh gobbos! The boss looks very commanding on his little hillock! I’m looking forward to seeing all of those spider riders too


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/09/12 20:08:03


Post by: CaptainWaffle


Great to see you around, theCrowe! I am both excited and not excited about painting a lot of goblins for that exact reason. Thank you as always, gobert. I have 31 spiders for you.


Various browns to fit a northern forest. At least, that's pretty much the only color of spider we have here in the northern reaches of the mid-west USA. The spider colors are purposefully simple because I want the focus to be on the goblins that will ride them and so they look like they would blend in with the deep forest, much like a real spider. These came together quick. I don't think their goblin riders will be as quick, but we'll see. I would have had these done even more quickly, but my eyes were hurting too much trying to paint. Turns out I needed glasses. I'm not old, but I'm not young anymore. Got that sorted and I can paint again.

Enjoy the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/09/12 22:52:57


Post by: Zywus


Lovely old-shool high-elves.

Have you considered filling up the gaps on the moving trays holding the circular based elves and basing them like the model's bases?


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/09/14 19:05:41


Post by: gobert


That’s a lot of spiders! Smoothly painted too. Good plan to get the focus to be on the gobbos. Hopefully the glasses help with the strained eyes


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/09/18 01:10:30


Post by: CaptainWaffle


I have considered that, Zywus, and thanks for the compliment on the elves. I don't like compromise, but I think adding a grass base on the tray itself is an OK solution for the round bases even though I know it would look a lot better more closed up. I really don't want to spend a lot of time on movement trays when I don't paint/play professionally, though. Maybe one day. I'll keep lurking your hobby log as well, as those 15mm elves of yours are wonderful.

gobert - the glasses are certainly helping, but they are taking some getting used to. Thank you!

Interim between painting Orcs & Goblins, a Wood Elf wizard. Apparently I am incapable of being too far from elves. This is a Runewars "Latari" spellcaster. The miniatures are dirt cheap, even though they are out of print and are quite well done. The PVC material used to create the miniatures is kind of a curse when it comes to mold lines, but it's not too bad. They do stand a little taller than GW Wood Elves, but most of those are old and scale creep is a real thing. I'm not concerned.


Back to the gobbos now. Comments and criticism always welcome. Enjoy the hobby.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/09/18 01:35:05


Post by: Zywus


 CaptainWaffle wrote:
I have considered that, Zywus, and thanks for the compliment on the elves. I don't like compromise, but I think adding a grass base on the tray itself is an OK solution for the round bases even though I know it would look a lot better more closed up. I really don't want to spend a lot of time on movement trays when I don't paint/play professionally, though. Maybe one day. I'll keep lurking your hobby log as well, as those 15mm elves of yours are wonderful.
For sure (the elves are 10mm though, but I'm sure they like the compliment, everyone want to look taller right?

There are those hole-saw's that can be used to pretty easily cut suitable holes for models, and also readymade MDF trays with holes.

https://www.ironheartartisans.com/shop/round-base-to-square-movement-tray/
But as you say, that's time and money not spent on painting more troops, so it's a question of prioritizing of course.


CaptainWaffle's Wood Elves: Wizard (Runewars Latari Wizard) @ 2021/09/18 19:57:05


Post by: gobert


The wood elf looks cool. I’ve not done any pvc minis, but I can imagine the softness makes mould lines a !