The Plaguewrought Brotherhood

Last May I was very excited to participate in the series ‘A Tale of Four Warlords’ for White Dwarf. I loved the original series and was thrilled to be a part of the new incarnation and the relaunch of the monthly magazine.

One thing I knew I wanted to do from the outset was create a visually distinct army and decided on the blue/grey scheme you see here. I have received overwhelmingly positive feedback on the army from people, many of whom recognised me in my day job at Warhammer World. I’d just like to thank everyone who took the time to comment on the army, either in person or online.

Finally, I would like to thank my good friend and colleague, Louise Sugden, for taking the amazing photos you see here.

Ionus Cryptborn

Another Age of Sigmar model complete, this time Lord Relictor Ionus Cryptborn. I really love the skull mask on this guy which was painted Baneblade Brown, shaded with Agrax Earthshade and then worked up through Baneblade Brown, Rakarth Flesh and Pallid Wych Flesh. The rest of the model was painted the same way as my other Stormcast with an additional highlight of Mithril Silver on the armour and Vallejo’s Ivory on the parchments to make him stand out from the rank-and-file.

Age of Sigmar – My thoughts (part 2)

Welcome back. In my previous post I gave my initial impressions of Warhammer: Age of Sigmar from a painting and modelling perspective (spoiler alert: I love it). This post delves into the new background and rules that establish this exciting new age of Warhammer. I should also give a mention to the guys at Tabled Podcast who provide an excellent account of the background to Age of Sigmar which you can listen to here. Their podcast is one of the things that got me so fired up about the game.

A Brave New World

As I said in yesterday’s post, I have been steeped in the lore of the Warhammer World for twenty years now and fondly remember pouring over maps of the Old World in the Warhammer Quest Roleplay book (the first Warhammer Fantasy game I purchased). For this reason I was genuinely sad to see the world destroyed in the End Times. However, the Warhammer World had become static. We all knew what it was and its history and the clock stopped some time around (or just before) the Storm of Chaos. In my opinion, the End Times series was a fitting send-off for the Warhammer World and again I must praise Games Workshop for having the bravery to destroy their setting so thoroughly. Part of me worried that it would turn out to be a marketing ploy like the death of Superman or Knightfall in the ’90s and that after a few months the Warhammer World would be magically restored somehow or that Karl Franz would wake up in the shower and it was all a dream. However, GW have shown no sign of this happening and are instead committed to developing the Mortal Realms.

The new setting, with its diverse opportunities and mythic grandeur, has got me genuinely excited. We know that elves, men and dwarfs have survived but as yet have been told little of their history, territories or social organisation. Personally, I can’t wait for this to be revealed as GW develop their new setting. It finally feels like Warhammer is moving forward again.

The Warhammer World still exists as a ‘historical’ setting for those people who wish to set their games in the ‘World That Was’ (this is even made explicit in the warscrolls on GW’s website).

Stormcast Eternals

I couldn’t write a post about Age of Sigmar without mentioning GW’s new poster boys, the Stormcast Eternals. The company’s commitment to these new guardians of humanity is evident from the new statue at GW HQ shown above and these really are the protagonists of the new game.

I really like the background and models for the Stormcast and am eager to learn more about them. The idea of super-human warriors taking the fight to Chaos really appeals to me. At first I was a bit ambivalent about the models but after painting up a few units I have really fallen in love with them. They are fun to paint and, importantly as my gateway army back into Fantasy, look great with a simple colour scheme that is quick to apply. This means I can have an army of them painted up and on the table in next to no time.

Many people have compared them unfavourably to space marines and the moniker ‘Sigmarines’ is already a common pejorative term being used around the internet. However, I like the fact that 40k has started feeding back into Warhammer. Back in the days of Rogue Trader, many fantasy archetypes were ported over into a sci-fi setting and given lasguns and shuriken catapults. It’s nice to see this go in the opposite direction and for an element of warhammer 40,000 to be adapted to a fantasy setting.

The Best Things in Life are Free

Undoubtedly one of the major draws of the game is the fact that all of the rules are free to download. No longer do you need a rulebook, expansions, army books etc to play the game, cutting down the cost of entry. As someone returning to Fantasy after many years I no longer have to worry about which rulebooks are still current or compatible with the latest edition. I can simply download the warscrolls for whatever models I have in my collection and get playing.

Simplicity

Another common complaint. Again, as a painter and collector I really like the idea of not having to trawl through army books adding up the cost of units and picking out combinations of magic items. I know some people got a lot of pleasure from this, and it really is just a matter of personal preference, but as a casual gamer I am all in favour of it.

Conclusion

So there we have it. I can honestly say as a casual gamer who is mainly interested in painting and modelling this release is perfect for me as it does away with a lot of the problems I had getting into Warhammer Fantasy Battle. I understand it may not be everyone’s cup of tea but I for one will be embracing this new age.

Next time I will share my painting progress on the Stormcast Eternals. See you then.

Riders on the storm

Following on from Friday’s post, here are my Stormcast liberators ready to bring Sigmar’s justice to the Mortal Realms. The models were fun to paint. I used Games Workshop’s video guide which is a very quick and effective way to paint up Stormcast models, particularly when combined with Retributor Armour spray paint.

Here is a photo of all of the completed Stormcast models so far. Most of the army from the starter set is complete now, I just need to finish the Prosecutors and the two characters.

Retribution is swift

I am making good progress on my Stormcast Eternals and have completed the Retributors and the Liberators and nearly finished Ionus Cryptborn. I really feel like I have broken the back of this project and should have it finished soon. I must say, initially I was excited about the Khorne army in the starter set but I have really been enjoying painting these models; I may have to paint up some more Stormcast in the future.

Anyway, here are some more pictures of my finished retributors.

Retributors WIP

Work on the Stormcast Eternals continues. The base colours and shading on the Retributors are complete, just highlights to go now.

Stormcast Liberators

Yesterday I said that I would show my progress on the Liberators. Well, here they are. The armour is finished and most of the other colours have been blocked in and shaded. I followed the video guide on GW’s website but used Macragge Blue on the shoulder pads rather than Kantor blue as suggested. This is both because I wanted a brighter blue and because I want to differentiate between the blue armour plates and the blue leather elsewhere on the model.

Here’s a close up of one of the Liberators.

Rodents of Unusual Size

I have finished my Skaven Warlord from the Island of Blood boxed set. This is such a great character model and was a real joy to paint up. I’ve always loved Skaven (they were my first fantasy army) but don’t fancy having to paint up the hundreds of models required for a Skaven horde. However, it was nice to work on a single character model.

The model is painted in the classic red Skaven armour. This started with a basecoat of Mephiston Red washed with Baal Red. The armour was then shaded with Leviathan Purple followed by Asurmen Blue for the deepest recesses. Blue works really well as a shading colour for red as it is a cool colour and so contrasts nicely with the warmth of the red. After shading the red was highlighted with several thin, almost transparent, layers of Blood Red to build up the colour followed by Blazing Orange and finally the aptly Vermin Brown for the edge highlights. A final glaze of Bloodletter enriched the colour and tied all of the highlight layers together.

The dirt on the robes was painted using Mig weathering powders (Dark Mud and Dry Mud) mixed with Lahmian Medium and built up in thin layers.

Skaven warlord wip

Just a quick up date to show off the Skaven warlord model I am currently working on. The model is taken from the Island of Blood set. I’ve opted for a classic Skaven colour scheme of red armour and black fur. More details on the painting process once he’s finished.

All the best,

Andy.

Forever autumn

The blog has been focusing a lot on 6mm models recently so I thought for a change I’d showcase this WFB Wood Elf Lord. For this model I decided to use an autumnal palette of rich browns and orange. As the model is not for gaming I mounted it on a 40mm base which was built up with Milliput (you can see my guide here). With the base I tried to follow the flow of the model which sweeps down from left to right in order not to ruin the composition of the model. One of the things I really like about this model is the fact that it is quite stylised and painterly and the sculptor has clearly put a lot of thought into the pose and composition of the model, from the direction of the cloak and hair through to the position of the bow and quiver and even down to the angle of the branch that he is standing on. This is then all neatly bisected by the angle of the sword which cuts across the model.