Ulthuan

It's been a life-saver for a lot of our guys, hasn't it.

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It has. It's a great basis to cheaply expand your army. Especially when they were new and you could sell the skaven and rules etc for almost as much as the cost of the box itself. That was great.

And the fun thing for a hobbyist is that with getting so many duplicate models for cheap you have a lot of stuff more kit-bashing and building your own models. I'm still planning on thinking of something fun to do with my duplicate lord on griphon.

Rod

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Actually I have two of that lord on griphon too. So I was wondering how I could modify it enough to look different from the first one. I looked for some inspiration and I found a gorgeous one that's actually from this forum: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=39094
A lot of what Traxo did is awesome and I think I'll often go back to look at his/her topic.




I really like the Ellyrian reavers and Lothern sea guard but I have mix feeling about the swordmasters. I really like their sword and the helmet tail but the armor is a bit too simple compared to the previous edition Swordmaster.
And also I don't know if this is something true for all the "newer" models but it looks like you can't really customize them. I mean the arms or weapons can only be attached in one position. It's definetely easier to build but it lets less place to more unique models. That's one thing I really like about the spearmen I have, you can choose in which direction they face or look, how they hold their weapon, if they hold a shield or not, ...

It looks like I'm complaining but I'm really happy with what I have now.

Also I almost finished my last 4 swordmasters and I bought a couple of new paint to help me in the whole process

My last 4 swordmasters are done !
I started painting them with the idea of spending only one hour per figurines. But I made the last brush stroke after 8 hours in total so 2h/fig. I don't feel like I spent too much time on one thing tho. I think I'll try again sometime to check how much time I spend. What about you ? Do you do it ? How much time do you spend on a "normal figurine" ?





I don't think they're as good as the command group and there's a lot of details that I'm not really happy with but they're well enough.
As you can see I changed again the way I painted the swords. On the second picture you can see the evolution from left to right (2 of each style). I like the first one but it feels too special and so I want to keep it for more important figurines. I like the white sword concept of the second type but something feels off. I don't know if it's the paintjob, the lack of difference with the armor or simply the shape/thickness of the sword. Any idea ? The third style is a bit like the first one, I like it but it feels a bit too special again. Seeing the whole unit, their outfit gives them enough unity so I'm definetely okay with them having different swords. I guess I'll test some other colours soon enough.
Also you may have noticed that the scalemail is lightly different. This is the new paint I bought. Until now I was using a mix of Citadel Ushabti bone with white for base color and was highlighting with Ushabti bone with even more white. To highlight the scalemail I used Vallejo Model Color Buff. Tbh I find it a bit yellowish but I'll try on a wider area to see how it looks.

So next step is basing ! I'll play a bit with cork, modelling paste and milliput to see which one works the best.
As usual, I'll keep you updated

I easily spend 10h per model when I'm fast! I'm stupidly slow.

Really nice Swordmasters Azaam, looking forward to seeing the based effect.


I sometimes take that long, though my work is basic compared to you guys.

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Absolutely fabulous unit.
Very neat and precise brush stroke. Apart from the technique, the colour scheme is unique and well thought.
I take probably longer than you to paint, but not because I work more on the miniatures, more because I am slower.
In fact, my miniatures are not as clean and detailed as yours (perhaps also because I cannot see well up close due to age).

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My WHFB armies:
High Elves
Dwarfs
Orcs and Goblins

Thank you for all your feedback. It actually made me wondering a bit : why do I need to time myself ?
The only good reason I found is about organisation but in the end it doesn't even matter

I didn't really paint lastly but I played and experienced a bit with what I have for basing.
My first experience was with cork. I was pretty excited and the preparation was going pretty well.


I even cut some base size hole to see how it would look like.




And then came the cutting time ... That was a disaster. Very difficult to cut properly, sand paper doesn't really work and the gap between two pieces is too deep.
As my wife has a some kind of soldering iron for plastic, I tried it on the cork instead of cutting it. I think it worked better but that wasn't enough. Maybe it wasn't hot enough for cork.
I tried to paint it anyway but that looked bad.
Conclusion : I'm sure cork can be useful but not for this. Or at least, it's for me.

Few days later, my coworker came back with the 3D printed object I asked him.


As you can see it's not a roll as I intended to do in the first place. I thought that for the first time I'll go with something easier to use.
With that I could start experimenting with modelling paste. I built some basic shapes that I used for drilling and cutting test. I even let it fall on the ground several times to see if it would break or not. All tests clear ! So far so good. So I went to the next step : using my big stamp.




Used it in 2 different ways : directly on a base and on a wider surface. It's a bit more difficult to put the right amount on a base but the afterwork (is it a real word ?) is easier. And here the wider surface is not thick enough so the pattern isn't clear enough.
In the end, here's how it look like on some bases.


I still have to glue them and drill some holes in it before even starting to paint but I'm really happy with the result so far. And of course I'm also really afraid of ruinning them when I'll start painting.
I'll come back with some news soon enough

Oh and we (French people) are starting lockdown season 2 from this week Friday so I guess I'll have even more time to paint now

Looks good.

I think cork is used more to create natural looking height than fine details. It's great if you need a rock a model is standing on or similar. But the grainy texture means that fine details are tough to create. It's a bit similar to the regular white polystyrene. It's not that great for details.

Also, a friend with a 3D printer is always great to have. Keep him

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For Nagarythe: Come to the dark side.
PS: Bring cookies!

Check out my plog
Painting progress, done/in progress/in box: 167/33/91

Check my writing blog for stories on the Prince of Spires and other pieces of fiction.

And here's the final result !

After drilling and glueing them to the bases, I primed them black and paint them grey.




As it was looking good enough, I glued the swordmasters on it and repaint some parts that couldn't stand my cutter/x-acto knife skill




I like how it turned out. The base could be a bit brighter but I like the black trim, that makes the figurines pop more ! Although I might give them a better finish for the messy ones.
You may have noticed that all the base are not the same height. That wasn't really intended. As I'm making them in different batch, they're coming in different quality. Thinking about it now, I should have tried to have at least a rank with all the same size.
Also the whole process of making the base is not really fun. The part with the paste and the stamp is nice, the painting too, but all the trimming to cut it to the right size then the drilling is annoying. So I'm thinking about making different moulds and use the modelling paste to fill them. Or use the modelling paste to make the moulds. Or not using the modelling paste for that ^^ Anyway, with a mould I'll be able to have more homogeneous bases.


Soooo, I think I'll let the swordmasters rest for a bit now. I want to experiment a bit more for the sword but I also want to have fun with a different unit. And I was thinking about the archers as they are really different : lot of clothes, no armor, no sword. I'm planning to start with the second-hand ones as they are partially assembled so it'll shorten the first step though it'll give me a bit of experience too. I think I'll paint 15 in total, 3 batches of 5.
Can't wait

They look great. The bases turned out very nice. I don't think it's much of an issue that they are not all the same height. I hadn't noticed it until you mentioned it. So I think they're fine. Thanks for sharing!

Rod

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For Nagarythe: Come to the dark side.
PS: Bring cookies!

Check out my plog
Painting progress, done/in progress/in box: 167/33/91

Check my writing blog for stories on the Prince of Spires and other pieces of fiction.

This works really well with your Swordmaster colour scheme Azaam.

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Wow one month since the last post !! It really took me a long time. I have to admit that I didn't spend as much time on the hobby as I though during this period.

So, the archers ! I could only build 12 on the 15 so I made 2 batches of 6. And here is the first one :






To be honest I'm not as happy with them as I was with the Swordmasters. A lot of mistakes were done. I can't really call them happy accidents but I guess that learning opportunity is close enough.
First : too thin paint make it really annoying to paint these surfaces => Thinning is good, too much thinning is not bad but annoying.
Second : washes on that wide flat surfaces like the robe don't work well => On that wide flat surface, it's better to work the shadow by yourself.
Third : "stale" paint (= left too long on the wet palette) doesn't dry the same way as "normal" paint => Don't be cheap, throw the stale paint and put some new.
Forth : I like mixing paint but it can be hard to make some kinda realistic skin tone consistently => Find a good mix and make a lot of it or buy a base paint and add just a bit of other color for some variety.
Fifth : There's some accesories I could have added. I realized that when I was in the middle of the painting process => Think and plan it before doing it (who would have guess ?!)
Sixth : The photo doesn't make the orange belt really ... orange => Use your wife phone when it takes better pictures than yours.

So now that I know all that, no reason not to make the next batch better ! Right ? Right ... ?

They look pretty good. Maybe not Swordmaster good. But still great for a core unit. And learning something in the proces is always nice. After all, that's the only way to improve. I recognise a lot of the points you make. Thinning paint too much is really annoying, but it's also hard to fix once you get to that point

I'm curious. Did you alrealy tell your wife about your plans with her phone?

_________________
For Nagarythe: Come to the dark side.
PS: Bring cookies!

Check out my plog
Painting progress, done/in progress/in box: 167/33/91

Check my writing blog for stories on the Prince of Spires and other pieces of fiction.

Thank you Rod.
Also I'm glad that someone can relate ^^

And for the plan to use my wife's phone, don't worry, she knows Almost all the previous pictures were taken with hers actually. She was the one suggesting the idea.

I agree. Firstly the models aren't as good as the Swordmaster models before painting. Secondly the Swordmaster unit has the benefit of command etc. and of being fully based and finished. I'd be interested to see the whole 12 archers with bases finished.

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I still think they look great, I agree with your second issue as I have often had that problem, I need to work out in advance the areas I want to shade. The bone colour goes great with red though, reminds me I really need to start painting my archers!

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Your archers are good.
We are never 100% happy with our work, but looking closer you have worked the detail neatly. The gems are gorgeous.
It is true that the miniatures look a bit "flat" as in the shadowing and contrast is not great, although in part this is due to the quality of the phone images.
Based on what I see (that could not match reality) I think an easy fix could be to do more highlights on the skin using colour straight from a bottle and also brighter highlights on the red clothing mixing some yellow to the red.
Or you could just leave the miniatures as they are, and put in the front ranks those you will paint later, which will likely look better. After all this unit will never be the centre piece of your army.

Your learning points are spot on, I never spelled them out this clearly but they match perfectly my experience.

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My WHFB armies:
High Elves
Dwarfs
Orcs and Goblins

Thank you all for your feedbacks, I really appreciate it.

Here is the second and last batch of my archers. No command group yet, I'm still thinking about how i want to make them.








For all the red surfaces I shaded them without washes. I wanted to try it and I really enjoyed doing it. It may be a bit too dark but at the end I didn't want to spend much more time on them for something like that. The highlights were a bit trickier on the flat surfaces. I mixed my red with orange and I think that was the right move (thanks MoN ! ) but now I think I was just kinda scared to put too much paint and make it looks like a pattern more than some highlights ...

And the last picture with the ones I painted previously.


I like how the red looks on the earlier ones but I'm happier with the more finished look of the later ones.
I sometime felt down painting them because of the flatness and the lack of details, but actually I enjoyed testing things on them and the result matches my expectations so I guess that's a win


For the basing, I'm gonna continue with the same look but I'll literally make them differently. I plan to ask my collegue to print a dozen of bases I designed (same pattern as before) and then make a mould from them so I can cast as much as I want without bothering him anymore ^^ But I still have stuff to figure about the cavalry bases so I'm gonna start working on the next project while I think about that.
Speaking of next project and cavalry ... Ellyrian reavers ! I'm sure half a dozen would be largely enough. And after seeing Antelano's job I'm eager to give them a go.

In the meantime I talked with a friend that used to paint and play. And he told me how much he loved making terrain. And actually that's something I'd really want to try too. I think I have enough on my plate now so that's definetely not gonna happen any time soon but I'll keep the idea in a corner of my head so it can grow a bit unti I start.

They look great now Azaam, some real depth to them.

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My most recent purchase : Phoenix guards. This was the last unit I didn't have and whose I felt like I needed. Of course there's stuff like Skycutter and some cool mage models that would be great but I don't really feel the same "need" so it should be my last purchase before long.

I spent a lot of time looking for a decent price on the internet and at some point it became really heavy. Especially after seeing good deals but being beat by someone else by just a couple of minutes. I was checking FB groups and shopping site like Craiglist in countries around France at least twice an hour. And it was just frustrating and not healthy. So I decided to post on several FB groups asking if someone has some 6th ed. PG to sell.
I was kinda expecting to get some really expensive offer because usually people on these groups know what they have. And I had. But in the end, one guys offers me 20 PG for only 30€. It was even less than the best price I was expecting. They were already painted but he showed me a photo of 15 of them and it didn't look that bad and not that far from my colour scheme so I felt pretty lucky. He said the other 5 wasn't really finished and that 3 weapons were missing but for the price I didn't really mind. In the end, I gave him more than what he asked because it really felt like I was scamming him.

I received them today and when I opened the box I was first disappointed because that wasn't the 6th ed. ones but the plastic ones. I took all of them out and there were actually a lot of 6th ed. and few plastic (are they 7th or 8th ed ?). And that kinda felt more than 20. So I counted and indeed, it wasn't 20 but 27 PG that I got : 21 metal and 6 plastic. And I have to say the paint looks a lot better than on the photo he sent ! It's far from perfect but it's great and I'm definitely gonna use some of his idea. The bases are amazing tho !

So here's one picture as a tribute to Julien F. that permitted me get some closure on my hunt for PG with an amazing deal :

(To be fair, I should have take the capes too because even though they're just plain blue without any pattern, his highlights are simply gorgeous !)


Back to my own work, I'm still in the process of cleaning and making my Ellyrian reaver pretty to get primed. The gap between both parts is sometime pretty huge and I'm using some milliput to fill them. I'll show some picture before I prime them (if I don't forget).

Congrats on your find. 27PG for that price is awesome. I stumbled upon a similar deal when I got mine. That was just after the 8th ed. ones launched. I found 25 on ebay for cheap. Sometimes you get lucky

The new plastic ones are 8th ed miniatures in my mind. I think they were launched around the time we went from 7th to 8th. We got a wave of new models around that time. Just not sure exactly when. It may have been the last set of models before 8th hit. I think these were launched before the island of blood set (which added the new SM to complete the new elite infantry models). Which makes them 7th edition oficially. But only just.

Rod

_________________
For Nagarythe: Come to the dark side.
PS: Bring cookies!

Check out my plog
Painting progress, done/in progress/in box: 167/33/91

Check my writing blog for stories on the Prince of Spires and other pieces of fiction.