The army of Spires; assembly time

[Prince of Spires]

No, there is no metallic on the barding. The aim was to create a kind of ebony / red armour with an otherworldly look. The picture is just fading out the colors a bit much. They're a bit better visible on one of the WiP pics earlier in the tread somewhere

Though in this instance they're maybe a bit overexposed...

I do agree that looking at the picture they can use a bit more definition, same with the golden details. I'll have a look a the actual models tonight to see if I can see some improvements there in either the barding or the gold. Thanks for the pointers.

Rod

[NexS]

Ah, well that's fair.

I'll keep returning for updates

[Prince of Spires]

A few post ago, I already hinted at a new terrain project (mainly for use in Mordheim or similar). Time for some WiP pictures.




It is turning out to be quite big... It does let me play with my glue gun a lot though, which is fun And I'm glad that for painting it I'll have my airbrush on hand.

Thoughts, comments, all are welcome.

Rod

[Jimmy]

Looking good sir.

Is the building type of ruin made from foam core? What will you texture the outside with do you think?

Looking forward to seeing the airbrush effects onto terrain.

[Prince of Spires]

Thank you, and welcome back

The buildings are actually just study card-board boxes. I find boxes shoes come in work great. A single sheet isn't the sturdiest. But once you make a structure out of it, it actually holds up very well. And most importantly, it's free (as is actually everything in that terrain piece, apart from the glue). Or at least, free if you don't factor in the money the missus spend on the shoes...

As for textures, one of the buildings is getting a rock/brick kind of bottom outer wall. The same (blue) bricks as make up the walled part, but then a lot thinner, are getting stuck on. The other I'm thinking a medieval stucco and timber outer wall. This direction =>


I'm looking forward to airbrushing the thing. Big, flat surfaces are easy to airbrush and give some room for playing around and trying stuff.

Rod

[Prince of Spires]

Time for a hobby-fix update. Though I haven't painted anything yet (I know, I should. I even pledged to do so this month...). Still, as said, some hobby news.

This week, the postman came knocking on my door, bringing a lovely, big parcel


Inside it was the winnings from an ebay auction. One where I am under the impression that the seller either really wanted to get rid of what he was selling (or his wife was making him sell, always an option), or he didn't actually know what he was selling or what would be a realistic price. Though I had to promise to my wife that I wouldn't keep everything in the parcel. I was only after a single item in there anyway. The rest was just a bonus.

As for what was inside:

Now, admittedly some of the stuff in there is worthless (or near enough to make no difference). There is a 7th ed WH BRB in there for instance. And a bunch of old armybooks (dwarves for instance) which are nice to have but not more then that. However, there are some little gems in there. The Gorka-Morka books for instance. And the warmaster rules (which look interesting) and something that looks like first edition 40k.

However as mentioned, there is only really 1 book in the pile that was the reason for me to buy it (and given the price, the other books are basically free). And, in case you haven't spotted it yet, it's this one:


Really happy to find this one for a decent price. The price some people dare ask for this is absurd. Which brings me back to the earlier point that the seller probably didn't know what he was selling. And as mentioned, I am looking at getting rid of the other books again, which would give me a great deal even if I don't manage to get a very high price for them. So in case anyone is looking for an old GW book, let me know.

Now to prod my regular opponent and get in a few games again.

Rod

[Shannar, Sealord]

It is nuts what people try to get for that one. And it's worse when you consider that for a long time it was a free pdf on the specialist games site.

[Prince of Spires]

I know. The pdf version can actually still be found for free online fairly easily. Which is the thing with the internet of course, once you put something on there free of charge it's almost impossible to get it off again.

Which is why I haven't bough it in the past and why I'm so happy to actually find it for the price I did. I paid less for the 20 books then you normally would for a single copy of Mordheim. Pretty much the only reason I bought it. Every now and then, browsing ebay, you find a great deal from someone who doesn't know what they have or from an auction which is not going as planned (because people miss it for some reason), like this one did.

As said, the next step is getting a game in again.

Rod

[Elessehta of Yvresse]

Very nice, I'd love one of the actual books, but the PDF wil have to do for me until I find one.

[John Rainbow]

Nice work. Do you have a list of what was actually in there as its hard to see in the photo.

[Prince of Spires]

I do, but not with me. I'll put it up somewhere soon...

Rod

[Prince of Spires]

Time for a hobby update again. I seem to be doing a unit a year... It's been a busy year last year. So perhaps I'll get more out this year. I have been getting in more games last year though. So that's eaten into the hobby time (what was left of it that is). Anyway, I've finished my LSG unit, which was started last summer. It's a combined unit of 10 IoB sea guard and 20 metals.

The old guys


And the new


And the goup shot



I know, not the best pictures...

Let me know what you think

Rod

[SpellArcher]

I think the pose is good for Core infantry Rod and because of this the two sets of models go pretty well together.

It's quite a striking unit.

[Nicene]

Wow, the IoB models have so much more intricate detail. . . but the old metal ones do definitely have some charm of their own. I think it's a good combination.

[Prince of Spires]

I agree that the two sets go surprisingly well together. In fact, the observant watcher may have noticed that one of the old guys snuck into the picture with the IoB models... The pose works for core models. They don't need to be over the top active. They stand around, and do their job. It's part of the idea behind the paintjob as well. Nothing too flashy, no bright gems or gold bits. Serviceable and clean, that was the goal. I like how they ended up looking professional (as in soldiers, not the paintjob) and disciplined.

The IoB models are indeed more intricate and they are slightly bigger (guesstimate, I would say by 3 mm or so). But because they are posed roughly the same and borrowed heavily from the old models in look they work together as a unit. I find that if you mingle them, the main difference ends up being shields. The old ones don't have those.

I do find the old models to be slightly more elven in a way. They're a bit more lithe and graceful. But, all in all, I'm happy with the unit. Time to put it on the table I think. Perhaps I should go play 9th. They work better there then in 8th (which is what I normally play).

Rod

[SpellArcher]

They work better there then in 8th

Rod, you are going to love Quick to Fire.

[Prince of Spires]

They work better there then in 8th

Rod, you are going to love Quick to Fire.

I think I will Now I just have to convince my regular opponent to switch to 9th. Although I personally don't mind 8th. It's a good enough game for me. We play for fun, so the broken elements don't matter that much.

Time to update the model list as well I think. It's been over a year since I last updated it. Finished some stuff and added some models (a friend who plays skaven wanted to grab a last IoB set before it disappeared from the shelves).

index:
- finished
- asembled/in progress
- just owned

Characters
- Dragon (half metal)
- Mounted BSB (plastic prince / bsb kit)
- GW noble (plastic prince / bsb kit)
- eagle mounted prince / bsb (secret santa)
- prince (secret santa kitbash)
- Seahelm BSB
- Anointed on foot
- Griffon (IOB)
- Griffon (IOB)
- Loremaster
- Mage (elemental)
- Dragon mage
- Mage (IOB)
- Mage (IOB)
- Alith Anar (metal)
- Eltharion on Stormwing
- Caradryan (metal)

Core
- 16 archers, FC
- 8 archers (plastic monopose)
- 8 archers (metal)
- 16 spearmen, FC
- 8 spearmen (plastic monopose)
- 16 spearmen
- 20 LSG (metal)
- 10 LSG (IOB)
- 10 LSG (IOB)
- 8 ER, FC (metal)
- 5 Elyrian Reavers (IOB)
- 5 Elyrian Reavers (IOB)
- 10 SH (plastic)

Special
- 10 SM, FC (latest metal)
- 5 SM (metal)
- 10 SM (IOB)
- 10 SM (IOB)
- 10 WL, FC (latest metal)
- 5 WL (metal)
- 5 SW, champ (latest metal)
- 2 SW, (previous metal)
- 26 PG, FC (metal)
- 1 Lion chariot
- 1 Tyranoc chariot
- 1 Skycutter
- 10 DPs, FC (latest metal)

Rare
- 1 RBT
- 1 RBT
- 1 RBT (skycutter kitbash)
- 1 RBT (last metal version)
- 2 GE
- 27 Maiden guard, 2* fc
- 1 Frosthear phoenix
- 1 Flamespire phoenix (kitbashed)

By my count 278 models, 167 done, 16 in progress and 95 left to go.

The extra IOB set means I haven't reduced the amount of work left in any meaningful way (finished 30 and added 27 new ones). But it's a decent enough collection and it allows me to field. Quickly added up the points and (assuming some stuff on characters) I can get a fully painted 4000 pts list on the table. There might of course be some core / special / rare / character issues in there. But the points are actually surprisingly evenly divided between the different categories, especially considering the fact that I basically just painted what took my fancy. The divide is:
- characters: 1160
- core: 1050
- special: 1425
- rare: 635

Next up, my dragon mage. One of the earlier models I put together, but I've never put a brush to it. At first I didn't feel competent enough to do so. And after that I never got around to it.

edit: last update, Dragon mage done!

Rod

[Prince of Spires]

I just remembered that I have a few WiP pics of my secret santa project lying around. I figured I might as well share them in case someone is interested in the different stages. Also, even though I don't have the model anymore, some pictures of the finished model do deserve a spot here I think

Initial concept:

Right from the start I had the idea I needed a bit of height in the base. My initial idea was a kind of ruined temple. Create a bigger display base in which the model on base itself was then placed. This would have allowed some more elaborate stuff on the base. This is what you can see in the pic. Some kind of stairs, a pilar of some sorts. The whole models itself is simply stuck together with (white) blue tac. I like dryfitting like this. It gives me a feel for how it will all come together. And while getting the measurements right is nice, nothing beats looking right.

However, I ran short on time, so I decided to simply focus on the model + base itself and leave out all the extra bits. And then I realized that there is actually not a lot of room on a base. So, it needed to be much simpler.

Which led to this result:

The idea was a rocky base, with some water effect on it flowing round the model to keep it interesting. Simple, but good fun to do. Of course, part of the challenge then became how to glue the model to the base. With the Styrofoam rock, both plastic cement and superglue were out of the question. In the end, I pinned it, gluing the pins in the model with superglue and in the base with PVA glue. Crude perhaps. And not the strongest of bonds. But it doesn't need to hold a lot of weight, not a lot of movement, so I think it will be all right.

For painting I simply picked a set of colors I liked and something that was different from my regular red and white. Which gave purple. Which gave this end result:




Thanks for watching

Rod

[Prince of Spires]

Another dragon, but this time my own. A dragon mage. Put together a long time ago (before realizing they weren't much good), only just got round to painting it. Next up of course, getting it featured in a game.

I'm happy with how it turned out. Painting it went pretty fast if I just stick the hours together, though sitting down and painting it took long enough...







Close-up of the rider


Rod

[RE.Lee]

Great dragon - especially those wings look fantastic, whats the recipe?

[Myth]

Few days ago I wanted to criticized you since there weren't new entries in the plog for a long time, but you forestall me
Nice work and good combination of colors.
I plan to use similar for my dragon mage (Jade green and red) which should be done by the end of year.

[Prince of Spires]

Thanks for the complements. And I agree, I should paint more and faster...

The wing recipe is roughly (old GW paint names)
- undercoat in black
- full covering of Scorched Brown
- layer of Bleached Bone
- wash of Nuln oil / Badab Black
- several layers of Bleached Bone, taking care to not get any paint in the recesses and gradually only painting the higher parts (to get a slight gradient on each wing membrane).
- careful drybrush / highlight of white on the extreme top parts of the wing. Only a very thin layer to be more a hint that it's lighter then to actually look white.

Rod

[Prince of Spires]

After finishing my secret santa, it's time to start thinking about the next project. (Yes, pictures of my SS will follow, as soon as the recipient posts any...)

These arrived in the mail last week:


Got them for the gift vouchers I received from various people (see also If you could get any GW model... for a whole discussion about it). So I could start with them. Or I might go for one of the models I still have left to do. I'm thinking Eltharion on Stormwing. But if anyone has a suggestion about what to do next let me know.

Rod

[RE.Lee]

In case of doubt, always go for the Garden of Morr! Its such a great set and really easy to assemble and paint. Mine came together in a couple of days really - drybrushing grey stone can go a long way

[Prince of Spires]

#Blows dust off plog after having found it back at the bottom of page 3...#

Time to get some life back into my trusty old plog. It's been over a year since the last update. No painting update for the moment though. So sorry if you were hoping for some pictures. At the moment painting is a bit tough since my second kid (also well over a year old by now) lives in what used to be my hobby room. Especially undercoating / airbrushing, which is not something you want

Instead I have decided to go ahead and try to get all models I have assembled. So at least they are useable in game instead of sitting in a box on a shelf. It's also a goal I've set myself to achieve before I'll purchase new models.

Though of course, when I say all models I actually mean "all" models. There's a bunch in there that aren't in much of a rush or are more likely to be scavenged for parts. For instance, I have a second set of plastic multipart spearmen still in its box (a couple already have been used for parts). And between 24 already assembled spearmen and 30 LSG and 27 maiden guard that will get done at some point I don't really need more of them right now. Same with the IOB LSG. They will get assembled at some undefined point in the future I'm sure. But not right now

I have started with my SH unit. I had 16 lying around somewhere. And since they are a very useful core addition (I currently use my DP's as stand in SH, but they complain that this is actually beneath them...) they are a good starting point.

For completeness of this post, here's my model list:

index:
- finished
- asembled/in progress
- just owned

Characters
- 1 Dragon (half metal)
- 1 Mounted Battle standard bearer(plastic prince / bsb kit)
- 1 Great weapon noble on foot(plastic prince / bsb kit)
- 1 Eagle mounted prince / battle standard bearer(secret santa)
- 1 Prince on foot(secret santa kitbash)
- 1 Seahelm battle standard bearer
- 1 Anointed on foot
- 1 Griffon (IOB)
- 1 Griffon (IOB)
- 1 Loremaster
- 1 Mage (elemental)
- 1 Dragon mage
- 1 Mage (IOB)
- 1 Mage (IOB)
- 1 Alith Anar (metal)
- 1 Eltharion on Stormwing
- 1 Caradryan (metal)

Core
- 16 archers, full command
- 8 archers (plastic monopose)
- 8 archers (metal)
- 16 spearmen, full command
- 8 spearmen (plastic monopose)
- 13 spearmen
- 20 Lothern sea guard(metal), full command
- 10 Lothern sea guard(IOB), full command
- 10 Lothern sea guard(IOB)
- 8 Elyrian Reavers, full command(metal)
- 5 Elyrian Reavers (IOB)
- 5 Elyrian Reavers (IOB)
- 16 Silver helms(plastic), full command

Special
- 10 Swordmasters, full command(latest metal)
- 5 Swordmasters(metal)
- 10 Swordmasters(IOB), full command
- 10 Swordmasters(IOB)
- 10 White Lions, full command(latest metal)
- 5 White Lions(metal)
- 5 Shadow warriors, champ (latest metal)
- 2 Shadow warriors, (previous metal)
- 26 Phoenix guard, full command(metal)
- 1 Lion chariot
- 1 Tyranoc chariot
- 1 Skycutter
- 10 Dragon pricnes, full command(latest metal)

Rare
- 1 Repeater bolt thrower
- 1 Repeater bolt thrower
- 1 Repeater bolt thrower(skycutter kitbash)
- 1 Repeater bolt thrower(last metal version)
- 2 Great eagle
- 27 Maiden guard, 2* full command
- 1 Frosthear phoenix
- 1 Flamespire phoenix (kitbashed)

I am wondering if I should differentiate the "in progress" part of the list above further, since it can mean a lot of things. The SH's I started for instance are in progress. But here it means I have put 3 horses together but not much else... While the in progress SM are assembled and ready to be used in battle.

By my count I have 291 models. 167 are done, 33 are in progress and 91 are still in their box. The goal is (roughly) to get it to 94 models in progress and only 30-ish left to do (mainly the IOB core models and characters, which will be dealt with in different manners). A (very quick) count brings this to almost 9000 points of models that could be fielded in battle! (assuming some stuff on characters). Sounds like I need a mega-battle once I've got everything put together. Though perhaps it's also a reason to buy 1000pts more High elves to make it an even 10.000

Rod

[Luna Guardian]

That's a good starting goal, getting everything put together . Looking forwards to hearing/seeing your progress

[SpellArcher]

By my count I have 291 models

That's a lot of High Elves Rod!

Instead I have decided to go ahead and try to get all models I have assembled. So at least they are useable in game instead of sitting in a box on a shelf. It's also a goal I've set myself to achieve before I'll purchase new models.

Very laudable. Are there any in particular you are looking forward to fielding?

[Prince of Spires]

By my count I have 291 models

That's a lot of High Elves Rod!

It is indeed. I keep being surprised by my collection every time I add up what I have, both the amount of points and the number of models. I probably shouldn't mention this to my wife. She already thinks I have enough models as it is

As for what I'm looking forward to. Well, the SH for one. Though I have used SH in game, as mentioned they so far are always proxied, using whatever mounted models I have available. I like using the actual models instead of proxies. Or, alternatively, field a really big unit of them (take a unit of 25 for all SH core for instance).

Alith Anar is also on the "want to field" list. He's not the strongest character. But he sounds like fun. And he can bring some interesting mechanics to a HE list. With him and a reaver bow handmaiden you can have 5 Bolt throwers and a couple of S5 shots for a pretty awesome shooting phase. Add in archer core or maybe LSG have a role here. the 5+ AS and extra rank of attacks could be nice vs bigger units like clanrats(which are a weakness of this list I think), an archmage and a big block of PG in special and you're good to go.

Double dragon is another one that would be interesting (though funnily the star dragon would be the smaller of the two). It wouldn't leave a lot of points for anything else. But it would be fun

And of course, after adding up all the points, I now would love to have a 10.000 pts battle. It would be a long and not very tactical battle. But 10.000 pts! Also, from a HE pov, 290-ish models is actually pretty manageable. I've seen Skaven lists at normal points levels with more models. Imagine filling 2500 pts with Skaven core!

Rod

[SpellArcher]

I probably shouldn't mention this to my wife. She already thinks I have enough models as it is

And you have to make sure you don't run out of models to paint / assemble. So it's always a good idea to buy more.

unit of 25 for all SH core for instance).

Then go nuts with the characters!

With him and a reaver bow handmaiden you can have 5 Bolt throwers and a couple of S5 shots for a pretty awesome shooting phase.

Alith Anar and a Potion of Strength Handmaiden sounds very fruity.

[Prince of Spires]

I probably shouldn't mention this to my wife. She already thinks I have enough models as it is

And you have to make sure you don't run out of models to paint / assemble. So it's always a good idea to buy more.

Yeah. I never said I agreed with her More models is always good. Though I have reigned in my inner collector and managed to buy very little in the past couple of years

unit of 25 for all SH core for instance).

Then go nuts with the characters!

Indeed! The unit is just crying out for a BotWD BSB, giant blade prince and maybe one or two more nobles.

Hm, looking at my list of models, I only have 1 horse-mounted character. To the store!

With him and a reaver bow handmaiden you can have 5 Bolt throwers and a couple of S5 shots for a pretty awesome shooting phase.

Alith Anar and a Potion of Strength Handmaiden sounds very fruity.

Indeed it does. It makes for a potentially epic shooting phase. Especially with 4 more RBT on the field as well. And of course a big unit of sisters to accompany the handmaiden.

Though it must be noted that my archers normally never manage to wound anything at all. So making a shooty list is probably not the best of idea's.

I think one of the nice things about Alith Anar is that he truly is a budget lord choice. He's cheap enough to easily fit an archmage next to him.