Vessel of Judgement - Done?

So after untold hours, I think I'm done with this model except for sealing it and maybe putting some tufts of greenery/plant stuff on the base.

Anyways, here it is:




I'm actually pretty happy with everything, especially all the golds. I've also learned why I will never play Menoth or Skorne. Painting that much filigree is dangerous to my mental health :p

Just a quick update - Vessel of Judgement Commission

So I didn't get nearly as much painting over the holidays as I expected, but I managed to put my brush back to the model this weekend.




I haven't really done any highlighting on anything, and I've really only been focusing on the top piece. Hopefully I'll be able to crank that piece out and have it done in the next week. I doubt I'll finish the whole thing before the end of January purely because of how busy this month is, but I'd like to get it done soon so I can get back to assembling/painting my own models again :p

Vessel of Judgement Commission - Part 1

So James, one of the guys at my LGS who plays Menoth, Retribution, and now also Khador, got a Vessel of Judgement and wanted me to paint it for him. He magnetized it up so that it wouldn't be such a pain to transport.

So here are all the pieces minus the priesty dude. I might have knocked his head off, so I'll have to go back and pin that so it can't happen again.

Now, with the magnetization, it should be easier to paint since I can just pull the people out of the way. It turns out that the magnets hold okay together, but not really strong enough to be able to move the base just by holding the top of the Vessel. To fix that and to keep the chains onto the buff dude, I put in some pins for this thing. I pinned the chains to the Vessel, and they'll also glue in to the buff dude. I put two little pins into the back wheel section so that the magnets holds the piece close, and the pins keep the pieces aligned. This way, a little sheering force won't knock the piece off. I also put in a big pin that runs from the bottom of the base, through the large wheel section to the pipes section. It's fairly snug, so now just holding the top of the Vessel can pick everything up.

As you can see, I have tile on the base, just done by using a lot of GS, some water, and a piece of screen. The rest of the base will hopefully be suitably deserty.

So when it's put together, it'll look something like this:

As for the actual painting, James wanted something like the studio paint scheme. Seeing as I've never actually painted anything Menoth before, and how large this model is, I opted for using the Army Painter Skeleton Bone Primer to get everything in the right shade. This is where I'm at so far after a thin layer of bleached bone on top of the primer (plus a couple washes on the base and buff dude).

It looks like the white color shouldn't be too hard to build up from this, which is nice. I'm going to try and finish a quick basecoat of the bleached bone all over the white sections of this model before busting out the metals on this bad boy.

Unboxing the Vessel of Judgement: Menoth Wheels it!

I was lucky enough to snag the Protectorate of Menoth Battle Engine at Comic-Con and now you are lucky enough to see a blurry video of me unboxing it! The video quality isn't great but it adds to the mystique.

Avatar of Menoth- Mosque Style

I've had this thing finished for about 9 months now but I held off on posting it because I was hoping to get it in the NQ player gallery and because I kept thinking I was going to go back and touch up the paintjob. I'm thinking neither of those are going to happen so here goes, my completed Avatar of Menoth conversion:

First Camel Built

I finished building my first Exemplar Camel Venger. Now to prime it and get to painting.

Call in the Camelry

I haven been the proud owner of a full unit of Exemplar Vengers for a while now. I think the Venger horses are some of the best 28mm horses out there, they really capture the fluid grace and strength of horses. So naturally I'm going to embark on a long and exhaustive conversion project to mount my vengers on camels. Yup, here's what I'm starting with 6 Imperial Roman Dromedarii from Warlord Games.

And here's what I accomplished before running out of glue. Not a big surprise, I've been milking the bottle for every last drop for over a month now.

The scale matches up closely enough, (the knight is a bit larger than the roman soldier). I've still got to glue on the shoulder pads and the hilt of the scimitar (which I may scale down a bit) and I might add the lance somewhere. Anyway, keep your eyes peeled for more Venger Camel insanity.

Minor Protectorate Conversions

Here are a couple minor conversions I did for some PoM models. First we have the KE and KEE Seneschals. I like the idea of the banners but they were too long and unwieldy for play and without the banners the models look too plain. Luckily Jon gave me the idea to just shorten the banners. Once the milliput dries I will sand it smooth, but here's what it looks like for now.




Next is a reclaimer. I got this guy in a big trade and the guy didn't have the right hand with him. He had it lying around somewhere and said that he'd try and get it to me if he ever found it. Rather than wait around I chopped off a extra Daughter's hand that I had lying around, added a crow from the Wracks and voila! Suitably themed for a morbid soul collecting chap like this here Reclaimer.

Essence of Dust: A Narrative Battle Report

Mesut Il-Khedira had served as a Venger of the Exemplar Order for the better part of his life. In those years he had personally driven hundreds of heretical Morrowans from the sacred streets of Sul. His own eyes witnessed the swift and terrible judgment of Menoth upon the unfaithful. Through countless battles the eye of his god fell favorably upon him and rewarded his purity and devotion with divine protection. As a Seneschal the brothers of his order studied his every move in order to better emulate the fervor with which he served his creator. Even under the closest of scrutiny his fellow Exemplar never had any reason to believe Mesut had ever wavered in his faith or for a single moment resisted the guiding hand of Menoth. Today as he faced death and humiliating defeat Mesut Il-Khedira hoped that his brothers could not sense the confusion and anger he felt towards his god.

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Mesut had been charged with leading a scouting force of Exemplar Vengers and Errants to clear the path for a larger Protectorate force sent to rendezvous with a supply caravan sent from Sul. The heavy infantry and warjacks at the rear of the Menite line were led by none other than The Testament of Menoth, the only living man who had passed beyond the gates of Urcaen and returned bearing witness to greatness of Menoth.

The Cryxian raiding party struck without warning and judging by their numbers and strength it must have been sent to utterly crush the Protectorate forward guard and pick apart the rest of the army at leisure. Swarms of the undead, skeletal knights, corrupted and bloodthirsty trollkin and monstrous Helljacks descended upon the Errants.. Driving this nightmare army was a hulking Lich Lord bearing trophies from his draconic conquests and hefting a massive blade. Mesut ordered his troops to assume defensive positions and await the arrival of the rear guard.

Separated from the main body of the Menite army the men and women under Mesut’s command resigned themselves to death, grimly determined to find their way to Urcaen with honor. As he scanned the horizon the Venger Seneschal was greeted with a sight that would embolden the most timid of hearts, the Avatar of Menoth. The warjack designed by the Harbinger herself, symbol of the power of his god and the strength of his people. Following closely behind was a group of heavy warjacks driven by the Testament of Menoth. As Mesut ordered his Vengers to encircle the Testament he did not hear a sound from the warcaster, only the chanting of the Choir urging the warjacks onward.

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Mesut recalled the hope and pride he had felt upon seeing the warjacks he had thought were his salvation but it did little to comfort him now. The Cryxian onslaught had been brutal and relentless. The hymns of the Choir had been replaced by the screams of Knights Errant as vile corrosion ate away at their flesh, their armor serving as little more than tombs. The Avatar, such a potent symbol of Menoth’s blessing, was nowhere to be seen. The battlefield was covered in unearthly ash, the dead erupting into clouds of charnel flame. Mesut and his Vengers remained back with the Testament, watching helplessly as the souls of the faithful were drawn to the warcaster, filling him with power that the Vengers desperately wished he would use to beat back the undead. Once again, Mesut prepared to die serving Menoth. There were pitifully few troops remaining and the only Warjack in sight was a Reckoner with a crowd of choir acolytes infusing it with Menoth’s power.

The weary Protectorate forces prepared to receive the final charge from the Cryxian army. Towering Helljacks and hordes of trollkin were bearing down on them in such numbers that survival was hopeless. The entire Cryxian army lay between Mesut and the enemy warcaster. Even if he could somehow drive his Idrian stallion through the swathes of undead the Cryxian leader was at such a great distance that his charge would come to a halt long before he could reach his target. Mesut looked to the remaining Reckoner preparing to follow its lead and charge headlong into the enemy. The warjack’s furnaces roared and with a great belch of steam the Reckoner charged, but not toward the enemy. Mesut watched in horror as one of his vengers was hit by a shell fired from the Reckoner’s Condemner cannon. In an instant the Reckoner was finishing off the wounded Venger with a powerful swing of its Consectrator mace. The smell of incense mingled with the scent of freshly spilled blood and before Mesut could react to the warjack’s brutal charge it had dispatched a second Venger with another swing of its mace.

Mesut frantically turned searching for the warjack’s master, there must be some explanation, cortex damage or perhaps some dark Cryxian magic. The Testament locked eyes with Mesut and for a moment the Exemplar hoped he would gain some understanding, that Menoth had some word of direction for him. In the warcaster’s eyes Mesut found no encouragement, no comfort, no wisdom or explanation. All there was to see behind that mask, inside those eyes, was power. Power fueled by the sacrifice of the men and women sworn to bring the light of Menoth to Northern Immoren. After the most fleeting of looks the Testament of Menoth advanced past Mesut and with a single determined swing of Requiem crushed one of the few remaining Vengers. Behind his mask Mesut’s face contorted with disgust and shock. Ibrahim Gazahli had been a true and devoted servant of Menoth, an exemplary soldier who would have served as an excellent candidate for a Seneschal. Mesut could not understand why his god would choose to cut Ibrahim down in cold blood.

Mesut was prepared to die fighting for Menoth, he was pure of heart and mind always willing to heed the call of his maker. This however was too much to bear. Good men, faithfully devoted to Menoth mercilessly slain by those who were supposed to be the servants of their god. A lesser man would have fled in terror, but Mesut was an Exemplar and those who belong to that order know no fear. His faith faltering and all hope lost Mesut Il-Khedira gripped his lance and prepared to charge into the enemy and into Urcaen.

Mesut fixed his gaze on the nearest trollkin and lowered his lance. Before he could order his steed to action a blinding light erupted from the Testament and Mesut lost sight of the enemy. Souls swirled around the Testament dancing madly through the air and dissipating with blinding flashes. His eyes blinded by the spectacle and his ears filled with a sound like rushing wind Mesut was left to stand hopelessly by until the chaos subsided. Just as abruptly as it began the outpouring of power was cut off.

Mesut looked toward the enemy once more but rather than seeing the unholy hordes bearing down upon him he saw three lone Vengers thirty yards ahead of him, their armor glinting in the sunlight and an ethereal mist swiftly dissipating around them. Mesut recognized these soldiers instantly as the very same men he had seen with his own eyes being cut down by his allies. Before they had been hopelessly far from the enemy but now they were now close enough to threaten even the enemy warcaster far behind the frontlines. Mesut stared at the Testament in awe, truly this man had been granted the keys to the gates of death. Though the Testament looked drained of the power Mesut had seen burning in his eyes he summoned one last burst of divine power, raised Requiem high into the air and brought it crashing down sending a shock wave radiating around him.

As the wave of power washed over Mesut he felt a strange sense of detachment. He looked at the world around him and it somehow felt thin, he sensed he could move effortlessly through it and see for miles unobstructed. Feeling as though he was having a taste of the absolute mastery Menoth has over this world Mesut shouted ahead to his Venger brethren ordering them to charge through the Cryxian ranks making for their leader. Mesut sensed the speed of his stallion and the familiar rhythm of its gallop. Gone was the sense of the wind whipping past his armor, the sound of hoof meeting earth. Bracing himself for impact Mesut charged into a waiting bane knight. Expecting a jarring impact Mesut was startled to feel only the slightest resistance, like sand pouring through open fingers. Onward he charged through countless undead horrors not slowing for an instant, drawing ever closer to the heart of the enemy. Ahead he saw his fellow Vengers reach the Lich Lord and one after another they thrust their blessed lances into the monstrous affront to the Creator.

Suddenly the world seemed to slow, the chaotic sounds of battle returned to Mesut’s ears. His limbs felt heavy and his heart was burdened with longing to continue his ride beyond the bounds of Caen and into the realm of his maker. A unexpected jolt caused him to cling tightly to his reins. The legions of undead he has passed through effortlessly moments before were swarming around him fleeing the battlefield. The lich lord was nowhere to be seen, the Cryxian army was broken.

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Mesut Il-Khedira had served as a Venger of the Exemplar Order for the better part of his life. After every battle he had ritually cleansed his weapons and armor. The ritual had always brought him comfort, a reassurance of Menoth’s blessing and a hope to serve him again. Today he had cleansed his weapons three times, his armor seven but he still smelled the stench of impurity clinging to him. He had doubted Menoth and his appointed servants. When they reached Leryn he would bring himself before the Scrucators to be cleansed. He hoped that he would be able to serve Menoth once more on the battlefield, whether mounted on an Idrian stallion or on a wrack.

Painted Knights Exemplar Errants

I rushed this unit out to get it painted for Kingdom-Con and I never posted pictures. These guys have so many parts for basic infantry (I at least 8 per model) but there was nothing particularly tricky about their assembly, just a little more time consuming than normal. I think the models are totally worth it though as they are the coolest looking exemplar models in my opinion. I haven't had a chance to really get much out of them in game play but from what I hear they can be a very useful little toolbox.








Speaking of Kingdom-Con, here's one of my submissions to the painting competition. This was for the small based fantasy model category. I also entered my Dire Troll Mauler (which is posted on this blog somewhere) and it won the open category. A good time was had by all.

Soaring, Tumbling, Freewheeling

I found a pretty good solution to my minaret problem. Once again, breaking out the hacksaw. I chopped the larger smokestack into its 4 individual stacks and viola, minarets.

Things are drawing to a close on the conversion side of things. I have A LOT of cleanup to do and little gaps to fill. I also need to raise the height of the gap for the head because it's a little small. Other than that, just gluing on the little cloth bits and general repair work and I should be ready to touch up the primer and get to painting!

A New Fantastic Point of View

I got a little crazy yesterday, crazy like a fox. I knew what had to be done. I had to chop off the cathedral peak of my Avatar. The only problem was I really liked that part of the model, however it didn't really fit with my theme. I finally mustered enough courage to whip out the hacksaw and sculpting putty and an hour or so later this is what I was looking at.

I'm working on some minarets and clean up right now, but I'm pretty happy with the direction this is going.

Give It up or Turn It loose

My Avatar was converted, based, primed and ready to hit the painting table and yet I still felt like I could have done more. After posting my progress on the Privateer Press forums the same comment kept cropping up like the proverbial cowbell "Fine, but needs more minaret." Then in my hour of darkness, Godfather Brown came to me. Speaking words of wisdom, Give It Up or Turn It Loose. I decided than rather than settling I would try to Mosque out my Avatar a bit. I turned it loose and here is the result of my first night's work.

Things are still very rough, but you get the picture. I'll be sanding the milliput dome to get it nice and smooth and evened out. I also plan on adding some thin minaret style spires (if I can find somewhere on the model where it would make sense for them to be). I have lots of things I would like to be able to do to imitate some of the more famous mosques in the world, but the biggest issue is real estate on the Avatar's back. So do you think I made the right move or did I just butcher a neato conversion?

It's a Creator of Man Man Man's World

Here is my Avatar all assembled and primed. I would have preferred to prime black, but I'm all out of black. Also my white primer starting sputtering mid-prime and I was worried that I'd have to strip the primer and try again, which would be no fun and seriously kill my motivation on this project. Luckily I think it turned out okay. Now to get down to painting!

I Can't Stand It (up without pins)

Here's another update on my Avatar conversion. I made a base for him to stand on and starting piecing things together. He's finally at the point where he can stand up on his own two feet. I still have a lot of work to do, filling in gaps in the rubble on the base, more putty work to cover up my joins, positioning the sword arm and so on.

The biggest obstacle is going to be staying focused on this project. I won a Legion battlepack at Kingdom-Con and traded it with a swell gentleman on Bartertown for the Malifaux Death Marshall's box. The urge to start modeling and painting those up is strong, but I must resist...

Oh, and here you go.

Get It Together

I got some work done on my Avatar conversion yesterday and even remembered to snap a few pictures

Here's what we're working with, one chopped up Avatar. Remember, before construction there always has to be destruction.

The head is glued on, and rods are used to connect the torso to the legs. I was trying add just a bit of height without making the avatar look too spindly. I am still working on bulking out the gap a bit more.

Both arms were re-attached to their shoulders. I was going for the option to have a different pose with the arms and a bit more length. I don't know if I really accomplished either goal just yet, but we'll see in the final steps of assembly.

One leg was straightened out but still needs to be bulked out and refined a bit more.

You didn't think you were getting off that easy were you? Listen

How To: Mosaic Tile Bases

I've had a few people ask me how I make my tile bases so I thought I'd put together a little tutorial.

1. First off here's what you will need need:
- A base (duh)
- An epoxy putty (like green stuff) or epoxy clay (I use Milliput because it's cheap and has worked well for this type of project)
- A scrap of window screen (I found a scrap at work, but I'm sure this stuff is dirt cheap)
- Wax paper or a plastic baggy
- Water



2. Mix up some of your putty and stick it on your base, like so





3. Use your fingers to spread the putty over the base (wear gloves if your skin gets irritated by the putty, it also would remove the chance of leaving fingerprints in your base)



4. Wet your fingers with water and rub the base in a circular motion to get the top of the base smooth and even (you could try baby oil, olive oil or any other kind of lubricant if you're using greenstuff)



5. Put some wax paper down over a table or some other hard flat surface, then place the window screen on top of the wax paper and wet it down. You want to use enough water (or oil) to make sure that the putty won't stick to the screen when you're pulling it up. You probably can't see how much I'm using in these pictures, but be very generous with the water.





6. Now the moment of truth. Flip your base upside down and set it on the wet window screen. Then take your fingers and press down on the base. Give it plenty of pressure. Make sure you push down on every part of the base. I usually run my fingers around the rim of the base and then give the center of the base a few good pushes. Also, be careful not to wiggle the base around or lift up pressure as this could result in wonky shaped 'squares' or double stamping.




7. Now gently peel the base up while holding down the screen. And viola! If you are unhappy with the way the pattern came out you can always smooth it out with your fingers again and go for another try. If you see depressions in the putty that weren't stamped with the pattern you can either try to fill them in with more putty and smooth the base out and stamp again, or just leave it. Unless I'm going for a perfect base for a special model I usually leave the depressions as is. When you paint up the base those areas look like they have been worn and smoothed out from foot traffic. I think it adds some nice visual variety.


8. If you are using Milliput you might want to take a paper towel or napkin and clean up the rim of the base. When I do this it makes me feel like I'm plating an entree at a fine restaurant, so that's exciting for me...


9. Once that's done you have your base! Leave it to dry overnight before you begin to paint, I usually wait 24 hours on mine.



10. Now that our base has dried we can start to paint (this is actually a medium sized base that was already dried, not the large base that I just made above). You can prime your base if you choose (I'd recommend it if you are using green stuff) but since milliput dries close to the same color I want my base to be I generally skip priming.


11. Start with a basecoat of Menoth Base (Or bleached bone)



12. Start painting on your pattern. A few things to remember:

- This is definitely a case of measure twice, paint once. Often times I'll draw out my pattern on a piece of grid paper or even paint it onto the base to test it out before putting on the base coat.

- As you are planning your pattern keep in mind that you don't want your entire pattern contained within the base. Let the pattern run off the edge. Don't center it, instead have about 3/4 of a pattern on the base. This is the same thing that artists do when they are planning a scene. If you have your painting (pattern) end right at the frame (base) it seems staged and artificial. If the painting seems like only part of what is happening in that world, that there is action happening outside of the frame, then the painting is much more real and immersive. I have to admit that I don't always follow this rule with my bases, but when I do I think the result is much more visually appealing.

- You'll want your paints a little thicker than normal to avoid runny paints seeping into the cracks. I'd say get your paint about the consistency of cream, rather than what you normally paint with being the thickness of skim milk. (You are thinning your paints enough right?)

-When you're choosing the colors for your pattern go about one shade brighter than what you want the finished product to look like. The Gryphonne Sepia wash we are going to use will bring the brightness of the colors down a notch.

-Use a brush with a nice sharp point, but that can carry enough paint to do multiple squares in a single load. I use my size #2 Windsor + Newton series 7, but then again I use that brush 90% of the time anyway. Get one, you won't regret it.





13. Once your pattern is complete load up your brush (any old brush will do) with Gryphonne Sepia wash and go to town. Really slop this stuff on there, you want to make sure it's pooling in the cracks because that will add the right depth to the base and make sure your pattern pops.




14. Let the base dry completely and then clean up the edge of the base with some black paint.





15. Pin your model's feet to the base, apply glue and you're done. Congratulations!