Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Am digging the honour guard, are they stock or kit-bashed? The Wolf looks fine to me, is he on a 40mm base?

The Honour Guard are mostly Anvil Industries armour, with a couple of GW heads and weapons. I'll get some better pics next time I get the camera out.

Yeah, the Wolf is on a 40mm, with the upscaling he was too big to fit at all on a 25 and I have no 32s arounc (I need to get some at some point, they do make the world of difference).

Just a quick side note, if anyone has any Empire or Bretonnian Knights they'd be interested in selling, or knows of some company producing similar ones as GW have axed both, let me know! I've got plenty of sources for GW and non-GW Empire infantry, but the cavalry are proving difficult to get hold of.

Perry Miniatures sell mounted Knights.

Absolutely love the Crimson Fist honour guard. Really great unit and will make a fabulous centrepiece for the army.

And so it begins...



Introducing Baron Leopold Von Grusse VI of Azyrheim, self-styled adventurer and perhaps the most dangerous mortal ever to venture beyond that great city's gates and into the Realms... Leopold is a man who knows no fear. He knows no danger. He knows... almost nothing! Having led a sheltered life of luxury prior to the unexpected journey that sent him half way across creation with only a handful of loyal (or at least well paid) companions, the young Baron throws himself into the role of warrior hero with little more than a remarkable enthusiasm and a very expensive sword...

Will he undergo a journey of self-discovery and find his way back home a true hero? Or will he remain an incompetent ignoramus, haplessly stumbling from misadventure to misadventure and somehow avoiding a tragic fate? For the moment, I'm leaving that in the lap of the (dice) gods, his exploits on the tabletop will form the basis for his story going forward....


On the painting front, I'm dead happy with this guy for the most part, I think I've managed to pull off a balance between muted/realistic and fantastical, which hopefully I'll be able to keep across the rest of the army. On that note, I'm still waiting for the MOM miniatures stuff (any day now! ) but I've got the other half of the Empire command set and a box of Sisters of Avelorn/Shadow Warriors to work on (I'm unsure whether to build a unit of 5 of each or a full unit of Sisters... anyone with AoS experience able to weigh in?) to work on in the mean time, so expect more soon!

That's all for now, thanks for looking, and any thoughts of course welcome! I'd love some votes on this guy if anyone can spare a moment, too!

Very nicely done Para. Nice seeing some rich splashes of colour in there. Especially like the feathers and the face is excellent - realy nailed it

The Baron is one of your best pieces yet! Looking forward to more AoS stuff!

Thanks chaps! Should have a few more minis to show later on...

Nice little bit of backstory there Para. Great job on the mini. I always liked that kit, shame GW stopped doing the dual hero kits.

My preference is shadow warriors over the sisters, but that's just based on aesthetics. Looking forward to it either way

Yeah, it's a lovely kit, the only trouble I had with it is deciding what weapons and parts to use! Still, gives me plenty of nice spares to bling up unit commanders and such.

Productive morning, got the other half of the command set done and a couple of test Elves. Pics later, I'll see what else I can get done first!

That turned out beautifully Para, very dynamic.

Been following this thread with awe...

One question - how do you desaturate/mute the colours so heavily? Mix with the complementary colour, dark wash, or are there paints that come that muted straight out of the pot?

Thanks!

Cheers!

The muted colours come through a variety of methods. To take the model above as an example, the muted reds are done through mixing with brown or grey rather than black to desaturate and darken them for a basecoat, the highlights then add in more of the original red rather than a brighter colour, so it brings stronger colour but keeps the whole palette from getting too bright. Washes play a part too, if something gets too bright I use a black or brown wash to take it back down.

Thanks for that - I have a couple of new projects I can try those techniques on!

Baron is looking really nice Para

Could have sworn I posted this morning. Anyway, love the model, you've got the mix between realistic and fantasy perfect. Well done!

Thanks guys!

Productive day today!

First off, Theodore Graff, Master At Arms. The duty bestowed on Master Graff is twofold; to carry the standard of Sigmar into battle, and to send to the grave any foe who would dare come near this holiest of relics. Graff's swarthy complexion and prodigious beard have led some to speculate that he has more than a little Dwarf blood in him, but such remarks are soon met with flying fists and hurled curses. To many, this only provides more evidence of his Duardin heritage...


This model was simply a product of my urge to use both that awesome warhammer (it is still the name of the game after all) and the frankly amazing battle standard piece, after much pondering and dry-fitting I struck upon the idea of having him in the action of defending the standard having planted it in the battlefield, which I think has come together well enough... it's a little precarious, but so long as I'm careful it should survive.


Next the first 5 Sisters of The Watch, no real fluff for these models yet as I'm still working through the Empire portion on that front. The Elves in the army will be the last remnants of an expeditionary force stranded after the Realmgate they were defending collapsed, but that's as far as I've got with that. The models are mostly stock, though I did use a couple of the Shadow Warrior helmets as they're too cool not to use!

That's a wrap for today, thanks for looking! Any thoughts welcome!

Your minis are stunning as usual, Para! Love that standard bearer!

Cheers!

You really are a machine mate. Stunning stuff

Wow. Those elves (I refuse to call them Aelfs.tm) look pretty awesome! Usually not a fan of GW's high elf aesthetic, but you make them look cool.

Good looking Empire guys Para!

Thanks folks!

@Brushcommando: Yeah, the Aelf name does bug me, but I figure I might as well go all in on this AoS thing and embrace it anyway! The minis are actually pretty fantastic, if models of this quality were around back when I actually played HE I wouldn't have shelved them in the first place!

Omg that standard bearer is beautiful! I need one right now

Amazing work Para.

Baron Leoplod looks great, that dual character boxed set was always one of my favourite Empire kits.What manner of beast has he killed for his cloak?

Is there a fair bit of NMM on the mount as well?

Ta guys!

@Thraxas: All NMM all the time on this fantasy stuff actually, though it's deliberately a little shinier on the Baron than I normally do. The cloak is meant to be leopard pelt.

While I'm here, does anyone have any experience with Scibor Miniatures Dwarves? There are a couple I'd like to add to the army and I think I've seen plenty of good reviews, but I just thought I'd ask in case anyone's had any horror stories!

Great stuff Para

Ta Joe!

Just a quick one today, finished up the Sisters of the Watch. Pretty happy with them overall.
Hopefully some more stuff should be arriving tomorrow, and I'm putting together plans for Part III of the army, Mad Prince Grundi and the House Guard of King Gundrik... Might not order that until this previous lot has come in though, just to avoid a massive unpainted pile.

Thanks for looking, any thoughts welcome!

Man I've tried to stay away from AOS just out of spite to what they did to the old world, but you are making these look awesome. I'll have to play wit the desaturation you've been talking about, it really gives a nice effect.

Cheers! Must admit a lot of my enthsiasm for AoS probably does come from the fact I had no real reason to miss 'traditional' Warhammer, either the fluff or the rules, as I found the former interesting but a tad generic and the latter boring as hell! AoS on the other hand is my kind of game, a sandbox setting that allows me to build and justify an army that is at first glance completely random, but that can easily be explained within the boundaries of the setting...

It's also an excuse to buy all those cool Fantasy models that I've always thought 'nice, but I don't really need it'... now I do!