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They look great dude. Really like the tiger.

EDC

Thanks, everyone. In retrospect, the models may have been closer to true 25mm, like Ral Partha models from the 80's. Still, that's pretty tiny by today's standards. I'll have to open up my set and check. Did I mention that? The guy I painted this set for had another, unopened box that he gave me as payment. That was a nice surprise, but it might be a long time before I actually get to play. Also, I was really pleased with the tiger until I did the stripes. They were much harder than I thought, even with photo reference.

As regular readers know, I don't like posting WIP photos, but it's been so long that I feel like I need to share something:





I went with a wood grain pattern rather than the traditional white so that these chariots would fit better with my current paint scheme for the rest of the elves. The wood grain was harder to paint than I thought, but it works well enough (IMO) that I'll keep it. I only have five horses total (four from the first set, but only one with the bits my friend found for me), so I'm doing them up as two-horse chariots for now. I need to mount the chariots on card to make them easier to move around. I also only have one set of scythes, but they were glued on too well to break off and copy, so the other chariot is scytheless. Finally, I have another of the drivers on order from Ebay. Once it arrives, I'll paint him up and call the chariots complete.

As always, comment, criticism, flattery and affirmation are all most welcome.

Looking good so far. You could always proxy scythes for the second chariot from spearheads, I'm thinking those 4th edition Starter High Elf Spearmen.

I like the way the "bumpy bits" you were agonising over look

And the flowery bases also look good,

Azazelx wrote:Looking good so far. You could always proxy scythes for the second chariot from spearheads, I'm thinking those 4th edition Starter High Elf Spearmen.

Originally, I used spearheads from the Undead Army box. I don't have any plastic elves from that era, so that's not currently an option. Of course, the scythes stick out really far, meaning the models won't rank up very well, so I may just leave them off for now.

Slinky wrote:I like the way the "bumpy bits" you were agonising over look

And the flowery bases also look good,

Thanks. It's just a medium brown with a wash, so the eye just sort of passes over that part. And I have to thank Azazelx for the flowery inspiration. I have some bigger tufts for when I get around to basing the chariots, as well.

As of today, summer vacation is officially over. We weren't able to travel to Kyushu this year, meaning I didn't get my 48-hour painting marathon, which in turn means that I don't have a big pile of finished models to bump up my numbers for the year. I do, however, have these to share:






Apart from painting the edges of the bases, I'm calling these finished. The wood grain works well enough, and I'll be using this technique in future terrain projects. The drivers are stuck down with blutac, and there is enough space to stick down a hero or wizard or something if/when I actually field these models. It's hard to believe that we are supposed to stick four models in that space-- how do they move or fight? Also, I have them all based individually. As predicted, the scythes stick out to far to really rank the models up, and I'll likely leave them off the second one.

Of course, these aren't the only things I have to share. There's also this guy:


This is the dog handler, a companion to the wildcat handler I posted a while back. I had been using him as the driver for the incomplete chariot, but ended up ordering a driver from Ebay leaving this guy free to run with his dogs. He was dead easy to paint, inspiring me to revisit this guy:



This is the bear handler from the same series. Again, dead easy to paint, being nothing but browns. There was one more handler in this series, but I thought he looked stupid and traded him off. Of course, I regret doing so, to the extent that I picked one up from Ebay, along with three boars. I currently have the animal companions for these guys based and ready to paint sometime this week.

One more guy to share:


I plan to have this hero riding one of the chariots. This was a strip-and-repaint, but whatever primer he originally had just wouldn't come off, so he's a little rough. The model looks good enough at arm's length, but up close it kind of breaks down. Ah, well.

Amazingly, I managed to play a game over summer break. Remember how I painted those boardgame models for a friend? Well, I convinced him to try Frostgrave. Knowing that I would actually play something inspired me to throw these together:


Ignore the Arcane Ruins in the background. I threw together some corner ruins using the ballpoint pen-on-foamboard method. The floors on the two-story buildings are removable, so these are easier to store than my Dave Graffam paper buildings. The corners on the bases are made from scrap foam mounted on scatter terrain bases from Miniature Scenery. These were remarkably easy to make, which is why I have several more in various stages of completion.



I had a lot of half-oval scraps left over from cutting out windows and doors, so I turned them into standing stones.



This fountain has been essentially finished for a couple of months, but I have never been satisfied with the water level. The statue is a Loka piece from one on my Mantic crazy boxes. The fountain is made from a container for strawberries and another for Camembert cheese.



I made this one from a tofu container with parts from the Maelstrom's Edge terrain sprue and some pipes from a Pegasus kit. I'm not wholly certain what the building is supposed to be.

Here's all the terrain together:


Thanks for looking. As always, comments, criticism, flattery and affirmation are welcome.

Really liking the chariots and looking forward to the creatures which will naturally give you some beasties for Frostgrave.

Buildings are v good - At first glance I thought they were plastic Osgiliath buildings!

The chariots and other elves look great Josh. The bases really pull them together and elevate the whole model nicely - especially on the chariots where they unify the entire set.

Buildings look ace as well. As Slinky says, they look like bought ones in the pics. Fountain is good - maybe layer in a few ..erm, layers of 2-part clear resin from the hardware store? Cheaper than water effects, anyway. The MEdge building is clearly a pump station control room. Hence the tubes. Because pumping!

Llamahead wrote:Really liking the chariots and looking forward to the creatures which will naturally give you some beasties for Frostgrave.

Also for Dragon Rampant. Beast handlers were never really a viable option in WHFB, so I'm glad to have a use for these models.

Slinky wrote:Buildings are v good - At first glance I thought they were plastic Osgiliath buildings!

That's high praise. I originally wanted to buy some of those kits, but GW stuff at Japan prices costs almost as much as a real house. These, I think, work just as well.

Azazelx wrote:The chariots and other elves look great Josh. The bases really pull them together and elevate the whole model nicely - especially on the chariots where they unify the entire set.

Buildings look ace as well. As Slinky says, they look like bought ones in the pics. Fountain is good - maybe layer in a few ..erm, layers of 2-part clear resin from the hardware store? Cheaper than water effects, anyway. The MEdge building is clearly a pump station control room. Hence the tubes. Because pumping!

I have you to thank for the basing. I never would have conisdered model rail stuff, and now I can't seem to stop buying it.

I switched to 2-part epoxy after the second layer of Realistic Water. And I think I agree that more is needed. I saw something on a Hirst Arts tutorial about adding waves to water effects that I might try.

Great stuff dude congrats on getting your mate to game

And now for something not-entirely different:


I decided to paint the animals to go with the handlers I've been doing. Here we see:
・ one hunting dog, based vaguely on the border collie
・ two wildcats that came with the relevant handler, and one saber-toothed tiger that originally came with a Pan Tangian handler from the Eternal Champion line. I have one more somewhere, but the handler is long gone
・ one bear from this same line, as well as a Grenadier werebear that I've been pretending is a regular bear.

The only one missing from the set is the boar handler. I picked one up from Ebay, and he's in the queue for painting, along with three boars to run with him. That should give me plenty of animal companions for Frostgrave, as well as a unit of warbeasts for Dragon Rampant.

I'm getting a little burnt out on Elves, so I have decided to work on some Chaos models to clear my palate. Here are the first five:




These first three are pretty straightforward wasteland savage/Road Warrior types. The mottling on the crab-claw guy didn't come out as subtly as I'd hoped, but it works well enough at arm's length. The bottom guy's outfit of fairy boots and leather straps seems somewhat impractical for battle, but I figure he's heading to the leather club afterward.



This guy is one of two bow-armed chaos thugs in my collection. I tried an abstract symbol over a Kirby-dot background for his shield, with unsatisfactory results. I feel like I should redo it, along with his bulgy right eye. I probably won't, though.



This last guy fits in with the Chaos jester types I've shown in the past. I went with a greenish tone for his skin to emphasize the Frankensteiny quality for his face.

Here's a group shot:


These guys made a nice change from all the elves. I have four more about half-finished. I hope to share them by the end of the week. After that, I'm at a loss for what to do next, so I'll leave it up to you, my loyal readers. Should I power through my Mantic Goblins? Ogres? More Chaos repaints? Samurai? Frostgrave soldiers/barbarians? I'll leave the poll up until the 1st (my time). Democracy in action!

I voted for Oldhammer Chaos since that's what I'm working on in my own blog right now. Lovely thugs.

 bbb wrote:
I voted for Oldhammer Chaos since that's what I'm working on in my own blog right now. Lovely thugs.

Thanks. Do you have a link to your blog? I always like to steal, I mean derive inspiration from other painters' work.

https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/531066.page

Chaos Warriors start page two. Still early stages, but I have a few to work through.

Brilliant and solidly beautiful work, really love the trip down memory lane, excellent work bud. Chariots are looking particularly good, basing is spot on.

Thanks, Cam. I'm still a little leery of overly-busy bases, but a splash of something here or there really does liven up the whole model.

So far, Chaos is in the lead, with goblins in second place, and no one in third. I have some more Chaos thugs soaking in alcohol, and will likely start them early next week.

Let fed my vote for oldhammer chaos. All the nostalgia!

Love the naturalistic look on the thugs.

Valete,

JohnS

Hey Josh - nice work on the animals and their handlers. I should try and complete my set of those as well. Seeing yours painted so nicely makes me want to work on my own ones.

I'll also vote for Chaos. Those old Thug models are uneven in their quality, but it's very cool to see them painted up. Let's see what else you've got!

I think the "bulgy eye" just adds to that one Thug's appeal as a Chaos-affected nutter

And I love the natural looking effects you have achieved on the various animals, those are great old figures and I look forward to seeing the boar too!

Thanks, Slinky. I like the bulgy eye, but I feel like I need to make it more visible or something. Maybe I'll make the cornea yellow or something.

Oldhammer Chaos came out way ahead in the poll. I suppose I had better honor the will of the electorate. Here are some more thugs:



This guy is another Chaos Jester themed thug. He reminded me of Mr. Punch (of Punch and Judy), so I tried to emulate the garish colors while keeping the dirty, tattered feel of all the other thugs I've repainted to date. I'll let you judge how well I did. His feet are somewhat poorly sculpted and/or cast, so the flowers help hide that particular flaw.



This is one of three female Chaos Thugs in my collection. Much like the leather daddy guy I painted last week, her butt and hips have been lovingly rendered, to the point where I felt like a creep painted them. Note also her form-fitting chainmail teddy. The sculptor put a lot of work into it, including the g-string and crotch. That outfit must chafe like the dickens, which is probably why she looks so angry.



This guy apparently suffers from some sort of skin condition, which is why his face is all bandaged up. His sword looks identical to the one that comes with Mantic's mummies for Kings of War.



This last one is a variant of the guy just above. It took me a while to get the skull right.

Finally, a group shot:


I have another five thugs primed and ready for paint, and a unit of Chaos Knights soaking in alcohol. As always, comment and criticism are welcome.

Very nice work Josh they looks like a great group of violent weirdos. It's always good to see old school minis painted well. The older I get the more I seem to be drawn to older sculpts (or intentionally old fashioned modern sculpts) I'm not sure what it is but they seem to have a lot more character than a lot of modern minis.

The chaos rabble look great. They will look the part of unhinged ruffians in almost every game imaginable. Well done. Particularly like the guy wearing the skull.

I love that everyone is digging out their old chaos and space marine stuff. Great nostalgia and those figs are getting awesome updates with newer painting styles. Chain mail teddys were always in style .

Love the bandage dude.

Love your Oldhammer stuff dude

Nick Ellingworth wrote:Very nice work Josh they looks like a great group of violent weirdos. It's always good to see old school minis painted well. The older I get the more I seem to be drawn to older sculpts (or intentionally old fashioned modern sculpts) I'm not sure what it is but they seem to have a lot more character than a lot of modern minis.

Thanks, Nick. I think of a lot of the character of these older models comes from so many of them being unique sculpts. So much modern stuff is multi-part plastic, which has merits but limits how you can design models so that they look natural. That's why I don't have any of Warlord Games' plastic samurai-- they only really go together in few different poses.

Archer wrote:The chaos rabble look great. They will look the part of unhinged ruffians in almost every game imaginable. Well done. Particularly like the guy wearing the skull.

Theophony wrote:I love that everyone is digging out their old chaos and space marine stuff. Great nostalgia and those figs are getting awesome updates with newer painting styles. Chain mail teddys were always in style .

bbb wrote:Love the bandage dude.

That's Chaos in a nutshell-- something for everyone, and madness and damnation for everyone.

JoeRugby wrote:Love your Oldhammer stuff dude

Thanks, dude. One of the few benefits of being as old as I am is all the classic toy soldiers I have managed to accumulate.

Yeah, I have to agree with everyone else - your old chaos thugs look great, and very much the part of a gang of thugs or brigands. You can really see the Mad Max-inspired post-apocalyptic influence crossed with an admiration of Boris and co in these early figures.

Boris and co?

Another week, another set of finished models to share:


I got this guy in a two-pack of "Chaos Thugs," but I've always treated him as a Chaos Marauder instead. In the olden days, Chaos warriors came in five levels: Thug, Marauder, Warrior, Champion, Knight and Lord. The final three were generally pretty well labeled, but the distinction between thugs and marauders was vague at best. I thought of Marauders as being more heavily armored with closed helms, so this guy made the cut, despite the bare legs and furry diaper. Chaos being and equal opportunity exploiter, this guy is showing some buttcheek. It doesn't show in this photo, though.



This guy seems to be an up-armored version of the bandaged-up guy I posted last week. When I first painted him many years ago, I filed down his shield boss and filled the hole with putty to make a flat surface on which to paint a terrible freehand design. I opted to give him an arcane armorial for his shield this time, despite not managing to get the surface as clean as new.



Another Mad Max thug. He has warpaint and/or mascara and a single fang, none of which you can see because of his shield. The shield design is taked from an Edward Gorey illustration, but it's pretty much impossible to tell at this scale.



Another marauder. This was the more boring model I've painted in a long time, to the point where I couldn't think of anything to put on his shield. He looks almost like an automaton, so he will pull double duty as a construct for Frorstgrave.



This one comes from Citadel's Norse barbarian line. Way back in 4th edition, there was a Norse army list in White Dwarf, and I had planned to build an army, but lost steam after about three models. This one got repurposed as a Chaos Thug. Note that instead of a thong, she merely has a terrible wedgie. She makes up for it with some serious underboob. Again, I felt like a creep painting it, and I can only hope the sculptor felt the same.

Finally, two group shots- one of this week's models, and one of all the thugs I've painted since August:




As of this writing, I have three Chaos steeds based and primed, with the riders soaking in alcohol. Feedback, criticism, and flattery are welcome, as always.