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I think this is the right subforum for the topic; if not, Mods please put it wherever it belongs. Cheers!
Gardens of Hecate (http://gardensofhecate.blogspot.hr/p/gardens-of-hecate.html) is an independent setting I have been gradually developing since 2012 for my own amusement. My hobby blog bears the same name because its initial purpose was to document this very project. Gardens can be roughly described as a baroque horror-fantasy setting. The project has so far yielded several warbands of converted tabletop miniatures, a collection of tabletop scenery, some artwork, gaming implements such as playing cards and tokens, numerous pages of backstory about my characters and their environment, and more.
The Countess' was the very first warband I made for the setting. I played a short campaign with the minis this year, and the photos below come from those battles. You can read the whole story here: Monstrous Births. (http://gardensofhecate.blogspot.hr/p/monstrous-births.html) I don't have my own system, I used adapted Malifaux rules for the campaign.
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(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j88y3YxpCb0/Wm3YJHim6mI/AAAAAAAAEmE/rce00oIQlFgxHn2rH1FVy7-azY3BYlCSQCLcBGAs/s1600/slaughter.jpg)
The Countess and her etheric projection, the Beast.
The Countess is a member of the old noble familiy Vérzőfarkas. With her husband, count Waywode, engaged in the War that rages on the borders of the empire, the lady is left to her own devices in the safety of his castle. She is a person who loves being the centre of attention and very much enjoys throwing and attending extravagant parties visited by the highest classes of society. At one such gathering where she was a guest, she took part in a seance. This mysterious, morbid and spectacular event impressed her most deeply, and she developed an interest in spiritualism and the underworlds. Since then, Castle Waywode had been visited by many esoteric guests as the Countess sought to learn as much as she could of her new subject of interest. Eventually she succeeded in entering what she calls the Spirit World, and which is one of the deeper Underworlds. Nowadays she is able to visit it at will. What she also learned was how to summon its denizens and bind them into her service through ancient heathen rites.
(https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0Lds4jiHLw4/WlvGNjHPQSI/AAAAAAAAEX0/afXq5iRt8HwSvSb4YacfWMYI4aAg8LkfgCEwYBhgL/s1600/mb_act1_022.jpg)
The Countess, stalking the woods under the cover of the night with her spirit servants.
The Countess' main obsession, and her main motivation, is her search for everlasting life, beauty, youth and wealth. This desire for carefree immortality had been present in her since her early teens, and has only grown stronger with age. She is very interested in alchemy for this particular reason, and takes every opportunity to gather arcane knowledge and powerful artifacts that might help her in her quest. A small army of Spirits and the abillity to wade through an Underworld both come in very handy in this respect. Especially since she often has competition to fight off. Though she uses her occult knowledge and skills to create awesome entertainment for her aristocratic party guests, she keeps the true nature of her hobbies secret from the public. These days, when influence of the Church in the Empire is growing stronger and stronger, not even the highborn are safe from persecution.
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Nnn4SJvi4hs/Wm3QmlF0O0I/AAAAAAAAElk/6ubqBaV8L78ByY1Bjcot_yK1jw-a5Li_wCLcBGAs/s1600/mb_act3_05.jpg)
The Countess and a pack of Ravenous Bloodfients hunting a Unicorn.
The past failed attempts at achieving her goal through an assortment of magical and unmagical means have (ironically) had an unfortunate effect on the Countess' physical appearance. All her hair had fallen out, her skin has an unnatural hue, and her eyes are colourless. In order to conceal her grotesque visage, she maintains a magical illusion that prevents anyone from seeing her true face.
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zYcC9p2JInw/WmeeK37SxgI/AAAAAAAAEh4/b6U-wBzESRwoGJedbaBPaqO5oOAuAfZowCEwYBhgL/s1600/mb_act2_08f.jpg)
Crimson Sphynx, a powerful spirit, encounters a misshapen deer in the woods.
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That's it for starters; more coming in further posts. :-)
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Bloody Nora!
:o :o
This is a truly wonderful project.
I really like your style and am seriously impressed with your vision and skills.
:-* :-*
Gotta love your colour palette too.
So subtle, it suits the subject matter perfectly.
8) 8)
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Great scenes 8)
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This is why I come to LAF.
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Wow! :o :P
Love it! :-*
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Great pictures and a very interesting setting
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Thank you!
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Good grief, these are superb - good photography too. 8) 8) 8)
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Great Caesar's Ghost!
Very nice work.
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I'd love to do something like this but I don't have the skill, vision, patience or flair to do anything of the sort.
Wonderful. Thanks for sharing!
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Wonderful! Great minis AND background!
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Cheers!
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What they all said! The figures and terrain look amazing. It would be great to see some more photos.
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OK, I'm interested! :-* :-*
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Very nice.
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:o
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My goodness gracious me! You have an extraordinary talent for both painting and sculpting. Have you considered part taking in the Lead Painters Lead this year? See this link (http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=107918.0).
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My goodness gracious me! You have an extraordinary talent for both painting and sculpting. Have you considered part taking in the Lead Painters Lead this year? See this link (http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=107918.0).
Sounds fun, and right up my alley. But I missed the deadline already, I'm afraid. There's always next year! :)
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Brilliant :-*. Looking forward to more of this.
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Sounds fun, and right up my alley. But I missed the deadline already, I'm afraid. There's always next year! :)
Check with Overlord. I wager he'll let you take part anyway.
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You fellas are mistaken. Deadline is still many hours away, it's just before midnight tonight. Though, granted, that's rather a short time to paint an entry. :)
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Sounds fun, and right up my alley. But I missed the deadline already, I'm afraid. There's always next year! :)
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Blasphemia! Your sculpts, drawings and paintjob are some of the most creative I have seen in a long time! I especially like your animals and monsters with animal traits.
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:o Man that is just amazing :)
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You fellas are mistaken. Deadline is still many hours away, it's just before midnight tonight.
Yeah, but if I'm reading the rules right, I would need to produce two new teams of 5+ models by tonight. 'New' meaning never published online before. Meaning, I have to actually convert and paint at least 10 completely new miniatures. Is this correct?
You know what, that's actually a fun challenge right there. I'm off to rummage through my bits and kits, see what I can come up with.
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Yeah, that's true, which is why I edited my post. While entries are technically still open, it would take a herculean effort to get something brand new ready in time.
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Yeah, that's true, which is why I edited my post. While entries are technically still open, it would take a herculean effort to get something brand new ready in time.
Wish me luck then. lol It is on.
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Well good luck! Your work is absolutely superb. Wonderfully unsettling and creepy. Forgot to say that. among all this talk of the LPL. :)
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Hooray! I'm so glad that you've made it onto here Ana, I've been following your site for years now, lurking in the shadows and drawing inspiration from it. Without your conversions I never would've seen the potential in the Malifaux range, and your world creation approach to modelling has greatly influenced my own projects.
Love it all!
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Wish me luck then. lol It is on.
Great to hear! If your contributions are up to what seems your normal standards, you are a serious contender...
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Amazing stuff here.
Looking forward to seeing more.
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Highly atmospheric - the photography is wonderful. The Countess figure, in particular, is genuinely frightening. Bravo !
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Been a follower of your blog for years - love your work and whole approach.
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Just excellent! :-* :-* I love your use of a subdued palette.
LB
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Thanks everybody!
I actually managed to convert and paint those entries for LPL today. My back is killing me...
Back on topic. I'd like to show some scenery I made for Gardens. The Chapel of St Hubertus, built in 2016, remains my biggest terrain project to date:
(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zcEMtV07-sA/WB34td48_QI/AAAAAAAADWQ/geH8jyMS_NEGA79GLeuitIf5uQGfagx6QCLcB/s1600/PB050915.JPG)
(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bgoo4mcxUG0/V-kbNnuJFoI/AAAAAAAADUk/N5EHcWp5hPcMfiQof6n8IJnmAs7W_CulQCLcB/s1600/26092016001.jpg)
(https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HcmD9gU9_ow/V-kbS-v2gpI/AAAAAAAADU0/jLHmUJsX4oYJLJEF4_EsMUlr3Yn98DZiwCEw/s1600/26092016004.jpg)
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AEhJWMSpheA/V-kbV0dzfxI/AAAAAAAADVA/Fu4vnrA_dCUlmL2INFuUwkxNrOf_B0cQgCEw/s1600/26092016008.jpg)
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WaWGyjCricc/V81mPGGUEvI/AAAAAAAADTg/a7zDZyj634o4fuNNr6oNkrVm3PGYMzQ_gCLcB/s1600/P9050744.jpg)
I blogged about it back then, so if you want you can check it out in more detail in these posts here:
CVI. The Wilderness Project vol.5 (http://gardensofhecate.blogspot.hr/2016/08/cvi-wilderness-project-vol5.html)
CVII. The Wilderness Project vol.6 (http://gardensofhecate.blogspot.hr/2016/08/cvii-wilderness-project-vol6.html)
CVIII. The Wilderness Project vol.7 (http://gardensofhecate.blogspot.hr/2016/09/cviii-wilderness-project-vol7.html)
CIX. The Wilderness Project vol.8 (http://gardensofhecate.blogspot.hr/2016/09/cix-wilderness-project-vol8.html)
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Absolutely splendid 8)
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That has a very early edition Warhammer look about it, I think it's brilliant.
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Great first posts on the forum. A Cracking scratch-build. 8)
"There are close to 4.000 shingles in total, made of 1mm balsa and glued individually on the roof."
I think you will fit in well here...... ;D
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I really like your eye for colour and detail. Brilliant stuff!
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Wow, incredible. Loving the bloodfiends, reminds me of the Mari Lwyd.
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Freaking sweet! :-*
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That chapel is wonderful, truly wonderful.
:-* :-*
"There are close to 4.000 shingles in total, made of 1mm balsa and glued individually on the roof."
I think you will fit in well here...... ;D
Yes. I am sure that the 'Strange People' will reserve a bed for you in their holiday home.
'Nurse' will be around later to arrange things to your requirements.
:D ;)
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Nightmare becomes a dream! :-*
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That may be one of the finest fantasy builds I have seen on LAF.
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That's a beautiful build!
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Cheers, people!
After years of converting miniatures, recently I became serious about making complete sculpts from scratch. I'm currently working on the Countess' spirit minions. A Ravenous Bloodfiend and a Custodian, redesigned and sculpted:
(https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3sqL61FjJ54/WuAvRgvDfAI/AAAAAAAAE-Q/S4Eb5Xtbc1U-iArQ8dy3v5UvdgVH1Dk3wCLcBGAs/s1600/bloodfiendsculpt04.jpg)
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gZbqLIqqtks/WuAvRKon7_I/AAAAAAAAE-E/OFbsre5G-lQauzAKLMgmDiTbi61fdBxYQCLcBGAs/s1600/bloodfiendsculpt01.jpg)
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aZwJ2eapSnI/WuWDcnDxT9I/AAAAAAAAE_Y/18v03MR07EoJuUGdDL4skWSkNnYa8zgFwCLcBGAs/s1600/P4293488.JPG)
(https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G6bvIol78hI/WuWD7PJAwsI/AAAAAAAAE_g/iLwTbVEw_W0dLB4TQ7wYLb3qstJSAuK7ACLcBGAs/s1600/P4293491.JPG)
(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tauA45R1e9A/WuWD7EuxFYI/AAAAAAAAE_k/PqskyZwPaHYdMme-quu3omP8uD85cYwFgCLcBGAs/s1600/P4293495.JPG)
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Very cool. It’s great to see you moving into sculpting complete figures. You’ve always made really interesting use of proportion, and these continue that theme.
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Your work sir is truly wonderful :)
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@Andrew Rae - Thanks! I find that I really enjoy sculpting, so there's plenty more of this coming.
@Panama - *ma'am. Cheers, glad you like it! :)
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Wow, amazing stuff. :o :-*
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That building looks so scary I can imagine a bolt of lightning and some dude saying “gut evening and velkom to my khaus - what a beautiful neck you khev...”.
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Fantastic stuff. I’ve actually seen and read parts of the blog before, but not in major depth as I thought it was all about Age of Sigmar for some reason? I’ve missed out!
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Thanks!
Fantastic stuff. I’ve actually seen and read parts of the blog before, but not in major depth as I thought it was all about Age of Sigmar for some reason? I’ve missed out!
I added AoS to the blog only last year. Before that you have five years of just my Gardens setting.
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4 pages and only 3 posts about the project! Come on man lol
That seriously shows how good this is. The sculpting is outstanding as is the painting and photography. Very well done. Do you have plans to cast any of your creations?
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4 pages and only 3 posts about the project! Come on man lol
That seriously shows how good this is. The sculpting is outstanding as is the painting and photography. Very well done. Do you have plans to cast any of your creations?
Cheers! That's the plan. I'm working on my small range. I've done another version of the Bloodfiend, some changes on the Custodian and sculpted a Boschean imp in the meantime:
(https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--yG1xieVWvE/WxVGly7-EZI/AAAAAAAAFEw/v9F2GSvMHy45iPmAiGJxfcR1gzJYshT3gCLcBGAs/s1600/P6040211.JPG)
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I’d buy into some of this for my long mooted English Civil horror project
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That little demon guy is looking suitably creepy. :) Awesome work!
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Really enjoying this thread. Looks like the locals need a Witchfinder General to try to keep the spirits of darkness in check.
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Really awesome thread! Very atmosferic!
These sculpts are lovely btw!! :-*
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Fantastic great sculpts
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Love it all. Please keep posting. :-*
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Superb project! :-*
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Love it!
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Amazing project. Thank you for sharing the pictures with us.
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A great vision for a project....love it.
Your scultings a very cool too.
Cheers,
Don
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Just dropped by to visit this part of the Forum.
So many really neat posts.
I am just blown away by the Gardens of Hecate.
What vision, very very cool.
Now back to visiting the Gardens.
Thank you for sharing.
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think I said it in your AoS thread, but you and Deafnala - on another level, and it's truly something to behold.
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Thank you very much everyone!
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My sculpts came back in metal, so I finally get to paint them!
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cn00G0aym2o/XGaowGXS0OI/AAAAAAAAGBA/UZxpyBezmtgZ9V7AR6-VZMup-1WbGtwMACLcBGAs/s1600/P2152094.JPG)
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z4j2q-X7KDM/XGaoxfjiztI/AAAAAAAAGBM/8hdE9iBpK7MeBg8n_NUvlI06pDrUeh6GQCLcBGAs/s1600/P2152097.JPG)
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6HxfX5ma02Q/XGaozKDs_KI/AAAAAAAAGBY/3sEIqRE88bQiGTXR-JL_CesVy2Y8-vB-gCLcBGAs/s1600/P2152114.JPG)
(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KZWxYGO3-fM/XGaoyIseCdI/AAAAAAAAGBQ/QHjo3bpH0nAsGDlce6odwEVlZhx9flSUQCLcBGAs/s1600/P2152105.JPG)
More on the blog: http://gardensofhecate.blogspot.com/2019/02/ccviii-bloodfiend-and-custodian-wraith.html
And if you want to paint these things yourself, keep an eye on Harwood Hobbies for the release.
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Ace!
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Like a combination of Brueghel and Goya.
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Cute, in a funny sort of way.
I admire all that tiling on the roof, having tried something similar
I appreciate the effort involved.
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A new breed of spirit from the underworld: the Greater Bloodfiend. This one is a conversion I made and painted for an art trade, but I'll be sculpting another one from scratch later.
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UDq4x7aQdcY/XY9PFr-3ixI/AAAAAAAAGmA/WtH6K-WU4N4-OMhWvSkcHwJkDVMyMc-YwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/P9280564.JPG)
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CCfttefe8gc/XY9PGPH-ZbI/AAAAAAAAGmE/CcS_20B66dY0WqMMMTDiQFYnBp3BVOXmgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/P9280570.JPG)
http://gardensofhecate.blogspot.com/2019/09/ccxxxvi-greater-bloodfiend.html
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That's a dark marvel - especially the tail (like a coil of freshly spilled entrail or something ...).
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That is very cool and rather creepy. I'd be up for a few of those.
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I'm impressed!
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Works a treat 8)