Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Fantasy Adventures => Frostgrave => Topic started by: Koyote on October 30, 2015, 05:54:53 AM
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Part of this game's genius is that the world of Frostgrave and its history are deliberately vague. This frees gamers to play Frostgrave in whatever setting they prefer.
Mordheim has long been one of my favorite GW games and settings, so my plan is to relocate the ruined city of Felstad to the Old World and rename it Mordheim (or Frostheim if you prefer). Frostgrave's blizzards are now Storms of Chaos. Instead of uncovering strongboxes filled with gold crowns, expeditions into the ruined city retrieve shards of wyrdstone which they later exchange for gold crowns. Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. You get it.
For starters I need a Wizard, so my first Frostheim warband will be led by the Mordheim Warlock model that I painted several years ago for a Mordheim campaign. Likewise, many of my Soldiers will also be drawn from my Mordheim collection. Below are photos of some Averlander mercenaries and hired swords that I may press into service. Each model is identified by its Mordheim and Frostgrave title.
Warlock (Wizard)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New/warlock1.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New/warlock2.jpg)
Captain (Man-at-arms) (I need to equip him with a shield)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/finalcaptain1.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/finalcaptain2.jpg)
Sergeant (infantryman)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/finalsgt1.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/finalsgt2.jpg)
Mountain Guard (Infantrymen)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/finalmg2h1.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/finalmg2h2.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/finalmg2h1a.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/finalmg2h2a.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/finalmghalberd1.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/finalmghalberd2.jpg)
Bergjaegers (Archers)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/finalberg1.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/finalberg2.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/finalberg1a.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/finalberg2a.jpg)
Elf Ranger (Ranger)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/finalranger1c.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/finalranger2c.jpg)
Tilean Marksman (Crossbowman or Marksman)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New/TileanF.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New/TileanS.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New/TileanB.jpg)
More later...
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The first model that I assembled for Frostheim is an apprentice. The model's body and arms come from the GW plastic Empire Archer kit, which worked out great because I was able to position one of the 'arrow release' arms so that it looks like the model has its arm bent back, preparing an incantation.
After wasting a lot of time digging through my bits box and experimenting with different staff toppers, I realized that the model doesn't need one. He's a lowly apprentice. A fancy staff has to be earned.
I didn't have a proper staff but on hand so I made a GS staff. I started by cutting a short length of brass rod to the appropriate length and then, to give the GS something to grip onto, I used a coarse file to score the rod's surface.
The first staff I sculpted turned out okay, but because its cross section had a uniform diameter it looked more like bo staff than a wizard staff. The uniform thickness would be fine if I had a staff topper, but I didn't have a topper so I removed the GS from the top half of the rod and started over.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20App0_zpsbolx8d4l.jpg)
I sculpted the new section of staff so that it was thick at the top and gradually tapered down to the thickness of the staff's lower half. The new staff was an improvement, but without a topper it looked to me like a really long baseball bat. Grrrr!
Admitting defeat I removed the top of the staff so I could add a staff topper.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20App00_zpsctldvnia.jpg)
Typically, when I finish with a batch of mixed GS, I roll the leftover GS I into a sphere or a cylinder and place it into a tin. Later, when I need a piece of material for modeling I have a ready supply of spheres and cylinders of varying sizes. It was from this tin that I found a sphere to serve as a staff topper.
The apprentice is an explorer and an adventurer so I added a backpack and lots of pouches to carry supplies and treasure. For flavor I added a book made by Spellcrow Miniatures and the fun turnip and rat bit from the Bretonnian men-at-arms kit.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20App4_zpshphuuzyz.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20App1_zpsfx8ztldp.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20App2_zpshy6j3nqf.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20App3_zpsad7wvv5e.jpg)
More later...
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Repurposing some of my Malifaux terrain gives me I a pretty good start on my Frostheim table.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Walpurgis/T2.jpg)
I found the following photo during an image search for Frostgrave terrain. The crystals come from GF9's Battlefield in a Box Crystal kit. As you can see, when combined with plain stone ruins, the giant, otherworldly ice crystals give the table a cold, Frostgrave feel. And while I want to play Frostgrave in the city of Mordheim, I may want to add a frosty feel to my table as a nod to the game's original setting.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsxsxqwkhl.jpg)
Sadly, like all of GF9's best terrain kits, the Battlefield in a Box Crystal kit is no longer in production. However, while making a fruitless search for the GF9 Crystal kit, I found what looks like a pretty good substitute. These giant blue plastic crystals are sold by Gadzooks Games (http://www.gadzooksgaming.com/collections/terrain/products/tabletop-terrain-small-crystal-pack?variant=3444177729).
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsspv4fhde.jpeg)
I bought all of their current stock, but Gadzooks will probably make more. Probably...
(http://forum.ixbt.com/smilies/blush.gif)
More later...
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Twelve Wyrdstone counters give me enough Treasure Tokens to play a four player game, assuming of course that none of the four players successfully cast a Reveal Secrets or Fools Gold spell.
Hmmm, I may need a few more. (http://z6.ifrm.com/8152/110/0/e5017366/e5017366.gif)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20Wyrdstone%20Markers_zpstd32wtrq.jpg)
More later...
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great stuff Koyote! Your apprentice and the staff sculpt look ace! That Empire huntsman kit is a treasure trove for conversion parts. That's a good looking board and I regret never being interested enough in terrain previously that I didn't get my hands on some of those crystals. I know where I could get some purple GF9 ones but they are purple, labelled energon and it just wouldn't be the same :) .
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Great looking minis and really well painted. That apprentice looks spot on for an adventurer. Thanks for sharing
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This is some awesome looking stuff. The terrain looks like a joy to play on. Love the GS on the apprentice.
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Impressive. Looking forward to seeing some reports using these :)
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Looks great. Amazing green stuff staff.
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Really great work. I love your painting style. What figure is the Ranger?
Xin
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Thanks to everyone for the kind words.
@Xintao: I assembled the Elf Ranger from parts found in GW's plastic Glade Guard kit.
In addition to putting together my first warband, my preparations for Frostheim include gathering all of the terrain and models that I will need for the scenarios and the Random Encounter table.
I repurposed models and terrain from my Mordheim, Malifaux, and Hell Dorado collections. I have almost everything I need for the 10 Scenarios in the Frostgrave rulebook. One of the pieces that I don't have us a 6" x 6" building for The Mausoleum scenario, so I got to work.
Below is my WIP mausoleum. A 6" x 6" is a pretty small space to cram in all those skeletons, even if they are only 28mm tall. So, my mausoleum represents the ruined foyer to a much larger underground crypt. The crypt is accessed by a trapdoor that opens to reveal a flight of stone steps.
To add a bit flavor to this terrain piece, I've decided that a necromancer is using the foyer as workshop. And can you blame him? The location provides him both privacy and easy access to plenty of raw material for his experiments. The Necromancer's workshop also explains why the skeletons come marching out of the mausoleum during the scenario.
During this scenario the Necromancer is absent. By mere happenstance the arrival of the warbands coincides with the Necromancer's monthly trip to the zombie bordello for some much needed, albeit disgusting, R&R. This leaves the Necromancer's treasure the adventurers' the taking, assuming of course that the adventurers can overcome the Necromancer's skeleton guards. Bwah ha ha ha!
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20Mausoleum%201_zpsiyspqlm3.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20Mausoleum%202_zps5bwy7q7d.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20Mausoleum%203_zpss2qyjbw2.jpg)
And here are more WIP photos of the mausoleum after I've textured the base and added a few more fun details.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20Mausoleum%204_zps5qqlq1jl.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20Mausoleum%205_zpsnfiwrwgj.jpg)
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Very bright and crisp; my favorite painting style. Outstanding!
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Wonderful stuff here. Quite the feast for the eyes and very creative. Waiting for more. :D
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Wow what a great dioramic terrain piece, full of flavour and a neat little backstory to add to the scenario. Thanks for sharing
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Great bits of detail on the WIP 'mausoleum'. Looking forward to seeing this one finished.
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Love those old Heroquest rats :)
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Best use of a GW movement tray and some moria ruines ever! Very good work, the terrain, the warband, I love it all. It just oozes character! Pure awesome, and keep inspiring!
PS. Would you recommend purchasing the pegasus hobbies ruined building set? I have one "gothic building large" set lying around, but I figured adding a set of ruines and a set of normal would fill all of my frostgrave/mordheim needs in the foreseeable future.
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Great job all around. Crisp, clean paint jobs, fantastic sculpting on the apprentice and gorgeous terrain. I really love the movement tray as flooring and it reminds me that I still have some left over...
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Love those old Heroquest rats :)
You are very observant.
Many moons ago I bought second hand copy of Hero Quest from a thrift store. I knew that it was missing pieces, but it was only $3 and I am nostalgic for the pieces.
An interesting bit of trivia about the original Hero Quest game, which is now 25 years old, is that it includes one of the two Fimir sculpts that are scaled to the size envisioned by their creator. As the story goes, the original design and concept art (pictured below), depicts the Fimir as Orc-sized, but there was a miscommunication somewhere between GW and Citadel Miniatures. The end result was an ogre sized model on a 40mm base with near man-sized stats. The Fimirs' stats were published in Warhammer Armies (1988) before the ogre-sized Fimir were produced, so by the time the models hit the shelves it was too late to go back and change their stats.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/fimir_zpsouutklvz.png)
I have two of these little beauties:
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/fimir4_zpsv4sso03j.jpg)
I admit that it isn't a very good sculpt, but I have a tremendous amount nostalgia for the golden age of WFB and the Fimir in particular, so I'd love to see this model on a gaming board once again. Moreover, I believe that good paint job will help make up for some of this model's shortcomings.
As far as I know there aren't any White Gorillas running around the ruins of Mordheim, so based on the White Gorilla's stats and model size, I think that my Fimir model will make a good substitute as a counts-as White Gorilla. The Fimir is also described as being part demon, so I could use the model to serve as a counts-as Minor Demon, as well. We shall see.
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Best use of a GW movement tray and some moria ruines ever! Very good work, the terrain, the warband, I love it all. It just oozes character! Pure awesome, and keep inspiring!
PS. Would you recommend purchasing the pegasus hobbies ruined building set? I have one "gothic building large" set lying around, but I figured adding a set of ruines and a set of normal would fill all of my frostgrave/mordheim needs in the foreseeable future.
Thanks.
The GW movement trays do make great flooring. I used it as flooring for all of my Malifaux ruins. As you can see in the photos that follow, you can break up the edges of the flooring and use smaller pieces to make piles of rubble within the ruins or as scattered sections of floor tile on the base.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/ruinsa2.jpg)
And yes, I do recommend the Pegasus Hobbies Gothic City Ruins kit. Over the years I've used many Pegasus Gothic City kits and I've never been disappointed. In fact, a year or two ago I began a terrain project to add some much needed ruins and LOS blocking terrain to my 40K boards. I used two sets of Pegasus Hobbies' Gothic Ruins and two of Pegasus Hobbies' Large Gothic City Building sets. From these four kits I made 12 sections of ruins, all for about half the price it would cost me to purchase the equivalent size and number of GW 40K buildings. Amazon lists each kits around $23.
You can customize your Pegasus ruins or turn your Pegasus building kits into ruins with a pair of strong snips, a small saw, and a hobby knife. To customize the ruins kit I typically cut out sections of window frames. Turning the walls from the building kits into ruins takes a bit more work.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New2/WIPRuins_zps053818c0.jpg)
I never got around to putting the finishing touches on my 40K ruins. The 7th edition was the last straw for me, so I boxed up the unfinished ruins along with all of my 40K stuff and put them in the very back of my closet.
Recently, I've been toying with the idea of repainting a few sections of these ruins and using them for Frostheim.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New2/WIPRuins5_zpsfb41352c.jpg)
My only beef with Pegasus' Gothic Building kits is that they don't include roofs or flooring for second floor. The ruins kits do include flooring for the second floor, just not the buildings or cathedral kits.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/bigruins2.jpg)
When I was assembling Pegasus' cathedral kit for a Malifaux table, I built my own flooring. I used balsa wood for the planks and heavy-density balsa wood for the beams. I built the floor so that it can be removed. This makes it easier to position models on the bottom floor.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New/WIPcath8.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New/WIPcath10.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New/cathedral1.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New/cathedral2.jpg)
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Great looking scenery. I might have to get some to add height to my board. Thanks for sharing
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Spellcrow Miniatures is best known for its 40K conversion bits, but Spellcrow also produces a model line of quirky yet cool Fantasy minis for it's skirmish game, Umbra Turris.
A couple of weeks ago I was perusing FRP Games' Daily Specials and I saw that FRP was selling Spellcrow's Sasquatch miniature for 50% off. I couldn't resist the bargain.
The Warhammer fluff includes Yetis, so my original plan was to use the model as either a counts-as White Gorilla or a counts-as Frost Giant.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20Sas%201_zpsimqtrciv.jpg)
Well, it turns out that the model is too large to serve as a White Gorilla and too short to serve as a Frost Giant. Its torso and arms are really long, but its short legs are comically short. I knew this when I purchased model, but what I hadn't noticed is its small feet. Who has ever heard of a Bigfoot with small feet? Unacceptable.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20Sas%202_zps7c0pe9a4.jpg)
Making the model shorter wasn't an option so after mulling it over for a while I grabbed my hobby saw and went to work.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20Sas%203_zpsqu4gj5io.jpg)
I used a pin vice and brass rod to make a framework for leg and feet extensions.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20Sas%204_zpszv2clh5d.jpg)
This particular Yeti, which has grown to enormous proportions because of the mutating effects of Mordheim's warp stone, won't be as large as GW's plastic giant model, but as you can see, it looms large over man-sized models.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20Sas%205_zps2vcmpntg.jpg)
I used greenstuff to fill in the missing parts of the feet and legs. After sculpting the underlying flesh, I will add fur to the legs, from hip to ankle.
One leg...
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20Sas%206_zpszejodb1d.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20Sas%207_zpsbvv7k0f4.jpg)
"Two legs good, one leg baaad..." (http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/sheep-1.gif)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20Sas%208_zpsikhc4em5.jpg)
All that's left to do is add fur to its legs and it's ready for paint.
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Great looking conversion. Thanks for sharing
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Wow. That looks great.
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The kind of great modelling skills I can only dream about. Good stuff.
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very cool.
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Nice work! The sasquatch/yeti thing was a really cool model but you improved it. Very clean undersculpt with an almost classical musculature; Very impressive. Looking forward to seeing the rest of your process.
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Nice work! The sasquatch/yeti thing was a really cool model but you improved it. Very clean undersculpt with an almost classical musculature; Very impressive. Looking forward to seeing the rest of your process.
Thanks. This was my first attempt to sculpt bare legs. I'm still a novice sculptor.
I'm having trouble reproducing the look of the fur found elsewhere on the model, so there won't be much progress until I can do more research.
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Fur is one of the most basic techniques. I use a dull blade or a fine point sculpting tool when I'm at it. Plan where you want the areas of fur on your models. Take a piece of green stuff and lay it over an area you want covered. It's important not to put too fat a piece on but you still need enough depth to a piece you can give it texture; Too thin and the detailing will appear flat and unconvincing.
Start at the bottom of your piece most of the time for humans in pelts. If you are sculpting on a "living" animal it is a good thing to look at your subject in photos; Google is helpful. Use the tool to "pluck" into the gs then pull down (if starting from the bottom of the piece. This will suggest the direction/lay of the strands of hair. It's a feel thing. By adjusting the length and direction of your pull you can change the texture considerably.
When you are happy with the low row do the same above it. By pulling subsequent layers over the previous you create layers that give your fur depth/fullness. Your "low row" can be at any point on the model as long as "up" is moving away from the last. Your best reference for the project is probably the model you are working on. Study the fur detail on the yeti and practice pulling a piece of green stuff while checking it out. Once you are happy with your match commit to it and work on the model. By the look of the yeti the sculptor used a fine blade rather than a tool. Their "pull" was almost a cut down the material with a curling motion as they drew it down to introduce a wave to their strands. There aren't many rows in the fur sculpt because they used longer strands.
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Wow. Thanks, horridperson!
I'll give it a try tonight and let you know how it goes.
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It's almost time to start painting!
I've assembled all of the beasties that I will need for the Random Encounters Table. My Frostgrave games will be set in Mordheim, so some of the critters from my menagerie will be counts-as models. The Giant Yeti (still pantless) is a counts-as Frost Giant. The Fimir is a counts-as White Gorilla. The Beastman is a counts-as Werewolf (both are a mix of animal and human and both have a bounty on their heads). The Cave Squigs are counts-as Ice Toads (both have wicked bites). And the rest are either generic or Old World versions of the creatures found on the Random Encounter Table.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20Bestiary%202_zps6631munn.jpg)
I've also collected and assembled the terrain and figures that I will need for the 10 Scenarios in the rulebook. Giant Worm? Check. Genie? Check. Mausoleum? Check. My ruined Cathedral should work for the Silent Tower scenario. I still have 4 statues that I made for Malifaux Special Terrain Encounter Features and enough bits to make two more. Together all six statues can serve as Living Statues or as columns for the Temple scenario. I used a 60mm Lost Souls base to make a pool/well for the Well of Dreams and Sorrows scenario. Once it's painted I will pour a thin layer of water-effect into the pool to make it appear as if the faces are just below the water's surface.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20Bestiary%201_zpsyecy1heq.jpg)
Lastly, I have ordered four 50mm domed Lost Souls bases to serve as the teleportation discs for The Keep scenario. Borrowing from the 40K fluff, I've decided that the teleportion discs open temporary pasageways through the Warp. Thus, the tormented faces on the disc are the denizens of the Warp pushing against the barrier that separates the Warp from the material universe.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/lost%20souls_zpslno6zuwy.jpg)
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Nice collection for the randoms. Wish I had things in order like that. I had some difficulty with toad collecting as well so I'll be using "Ice Newts" instead. The well looks like it will awesome; Really great idea and use of the base.
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It might become a bit repetitive, but I'd still like to say: AMAZING! lol
Your thread is a true inspiration and you seem very methodical (which bodes well for the frostgrave-eye-candy-department in the next couple of months! ;)). I'll be following all of it with great interest.
On a personal note, thank you for very much for providing the clear pictures and description of your endeavors concerning the pegasus hobbies kits. You've most certainly started me thinking!
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Fantastic additions. Thanks for sharing
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That's a fair collection of beasties - great stuff!
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Very nice! I am waiting to see them painted. ;)
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Impressive collection, inspiring!
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Thank you, everyone.
Even though Random Encounters is an optional rule that plainly states that players should feel free to alter the rule to fit the players' collections of miniatures, when I saw the table for the very first time I knew I had to collect models for each encounter type.
Over the years my model collections has ebbed and flowed and at this point in time my collection of Fantasy minis is fairly modest. My last few sprues of GW Vampire Counts minis gave me a good start by supplying me with some skeletons, zombies, and ghouls, but aside repurposing a handful of models from my other collections, I knew that I would have to purchase quite a few minis to complete my Frostheim menagerie. After a brief tug-o-war between my compulsive nature and the pragmatist in me, I decided to collect all the minis needed for the table, but I'd try to be smart about my purchases and seek out deals whenever possible.
I started by digging through my various collections and repurposing minis, like the undead, the Fimir, the Djinn, the Beastman, etc. I saved some money by buying the rats and the big cat from Reaper Miniatures' Bones model line. When the models arrived the big cat was smaller than I had imagined, so to create the illusion that the model is slightly larger, I elevated it by mounting it on a big rock. I also saved some money by buying my wraith and vampire models as bits from Bits World. The wraith is one of the spirits from the new Nagash kit and the vampire is the Corpsemaster from the GW Mortis Engine kit. Both models required some conversion work to get them table ready, but I bought them dirt-cheap and I'm very pleased with how they turned out. I bought my Giant Yeti on sale for half price from FRP Games, where you can find pretty good deals in FRP's daily/weekly specials page. And while there are many great boar sculpts out there (I love Otherworld Miniatures' boars), I settled for a Pathfinder Battles prepainted plastic boar model that I picked up for less than $3 on eBay. A bit of black primer and a new paint job and you'll barely recognize it.
I also benefited greatly from Games Workshop's disastrous Age of Sigmar and the death of WFB. Many of my friends love WFB, but for them AoS was the last straw. Consequently, I got a VERY good deal on the Trolls, Cave Squigs, and Giant Spiders from a friend who played Orcs & Goblins.
Below are some of my favorite 'bargain' minis:
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20Beasties%202_zpstxmhusoz.jpg)
So if you are on a budget or if you just don't want to spend too much of your hard earned money (or ill gotten gains) on models for the Random Encounter Table, there are ways to collect many of these models at a pretty deep discount. First and foremost I'd suggest that you look at your own collections and remember that using counts-as models is not only an acceptable choice, but in many instances a much more satisfying choice. You should also seek out online sales and deals. Many online retailers have clearance or overstock sales. Another alternative is to purchase models from less expensive model lines (e.g. Reaper Bones collection). You can also purchase and repaint inexpensive plastic models sold as children's toys. The Adam's Poorly Painted Frostgrave Adventures thread includes some good examples of this. And lastly, hit up your gamer friends and acquaintances; especially those who are disgruntled Warhammer Fantasy players.
(http://z6.ifrm.com/8152/110/0/e14136/e14136.gif)
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Friday my 50mm Lost Souls bases arrived in the mail. In The Keep scenario one Treasure Token is placed on each of the four discs. Below I've arranged a mock up of my thief dashing to the disc to retrieve the valuable wyrdstone. He's in for an unpleasant surprise.
Also pictured below are all of the Imps that I should need for my Summoner's warband. I don't care for the look of the original sculpt's strange, human-like nose, so I've removed all the noses and replaced them with more frog-like snouts and nostrils. I used greenstuff to patch the casting defects and to rebuild the original model's snout.
Lastly, I've made some progress on my giant yeti's legs. I experimented with a number of fur sculpting techniques before settling on one that I like. And then it took me a few more attempts to develop the proficiency that I need to pull it off. The new fur doesn't closely match the fur on the other parts of the yeti, but I can live with that. It cost me too much time and greenstuff, already. I need to finish up the legs and move on to other things.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20Imps%202_zpstucrgnsi.jpg)
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Nice progress, I like your green stuff fur. Thanks for sharing
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Well you really have got it all going on. :D
That is a great collection of models. I have pulled my mosters together from a similar range of sources and been chipping away bit by bit.
Glad I didn't put everything together in one place like that ... I might have put myself off the idea. :D I look forward to seeing these brought together by the painting.
Love the yeti/giant thing. Very cool.
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My only beef with Pegasus' Gothic Building kits is that they don't include roofs or flooring for second floor. The ruins kits do include flooring for the second floor, just not the buildings or cathedral kits.
Koyote,
There is a guy who makes laser cut roofs for the Pegasus Buildings. I saw them at a convention last week. I think they're so new he doesn't have them on his website yet, but just contact him thru the site for info.
http://www.davesbaggagetrain.com/ (http://www.davesbaggagetrain.com/)
Xin
Edit: Found pics on his facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/mygamingtablellc/ (https://www.facebook.com/mygamingtablellc/)
(https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xal1/t31.0-8/12183836_923975031024328_1550941585340911521_o.jpg)
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Wow! Thanks, Xintao. (http://z6.ifrm.com/8152/110/0/e14144/e14144.gif)
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Any set of house rules will always be better than the official rules because they are written by and for the people actually playing the game.
I don't know if the following house rules are better than the official rules, but I believe that my changes will address some of my concerns regarding campaign game balance and steer gameplay in a direction that my gaming group will appreciate.
We'll give these rules a test run this weekend as we play through the 'Hunt for the Golem' mini-campaign. We are all using starting warbands so I doubt that the underdog rules will come into play, but that's fine. It will let us focus on the my modifications to the more basic elements of the game.
I'm going to keep track of the xps and treasure tokens generated by both my rules and the official rules to see how they compare.
Koyote's House Rules
GAME LENGTH & VICTORY CONDITIONS
The cataclysmic spell that doomed the ancient city of Felstad has waned, but the tumultuous skies above Frostgrave remain unpredictable and lethal. Propelled by hurricane winds, ensorcelled cyclones periodically blast the city with snow and subzero temperatures. The arrival of the sorcerous storms cannot be predicted by magical or mundane means, so those who venture into the accursed city must be forever alert to even the slightest change in the weather. For when the temperature drops and the winds begin to howl, any living creature that does not take shelter is doomed to join the company of the city’s frozen dead.
Random Game Length:
The Random Game Length rules determine game length, unless:
• the scenario’s rules determine game length; or
• the last Treasure Token is carried off the table; or
• no model from any warband remains on the table; or
• all of the models on the table (excluding uncontrolled Creatures) belong to a single warband
Unless one of the aforementioned conditions occurs, at the end of Turn 5 the last player to activate a model rolls a D20. On a roll of 6-20 the weather holds and a 6th Turn is played. On a roll of 1-5 the scenario ends.
At the end of Turn 6, roll a die. On a roll of 16-20 the temperature begins to drop, but there is still time, play a 7th Turn. On a roll of 1-15 the scenario ends.
At the end of Turn 7, the winds begin to howl and the warbands must flee the battlefield or perish. The game ends.
Victory Conditions:
Unless the scenario states otherwise, the warband that recovers the most Treasure Tokens wins the scenario. If both warbands recover the same number of Treasure Tokens, the game is a draw. In multi-player games, if two or more warbands ‘tie’ for the most Treasure Tokens recovered, then these warbands ‘draw’ and the remaining warbands lose the scenario.
Carried Treasure Tokens:
If a model on the table is carrying a Treasure Token when the scenario ends, the Treasure Token is dropped. For the purpose of calculating experience points for ‘Exploits’ (SEE below), a Treasure Token dropped in this way counts as being ‘held,’ but for all other purposes this Treasure Token is treated as an unrecovered Treasure Token.
Last Warband Standing:
If a scenario ends because all of the models on the table (excluding uncontrolled Creatures) belong to a single warband and one or more unrecovered Treasure Tokens remain on the table, then the remaining warband recovers one of the unrecovered Treasure Tokens (chosen by the player controlling the remaining warband). This Treasure Token is treated as if it was recovered during the course of game play and it is removed from the table before experience points for ‘Exploits’ are calculated.
UNDERDOG BONUSES
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger:
”I love being the underdog, sometimes.” –The last words of the wizard, Graaver The Wise
Immediately after deployment, each player with a Wizard on the table declares his or her Wizard’s level. If the levels differ, then each player, in turn, determines his or her individual Level Difference by subtracting his or her Wizard’s level from the level of the highest level Wizard on the table. Next, each player consults the following chart to determine if his or her Wizard will receive bonus experience points at the end of the game.
Level Difference : 0-5 = No bonus experience points
Level Difference : 6-10 = 150 bonus experience points* to lower level Wizard
Level Difference : 11+ = 300 bonus experience points* to lower level Wizard
*Add another 100 experience points to this bonus if the lower level Wizard wins the scenario
This bonus applies to only those Wizards who directly participating in the scenario. If a Wizard ‘sits out’ the scenario because of an injury from the Survival Table, the absent Wizard cannot qualify for this bonus nor is the absent Wizard’s level taken into account when determining Level Difference.
The gods love children and fools:
As the members of the defeated warband limp back to its base they stumble upon a strongbox half buried in snow and rubble. When the strongbox is pried open, the disheartened warriors see something that makes them smile.
If a Wizard qualifies for an experience point bonus from the ’What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’ rule AND the qualifying Wizard’s warband lost the scenario, then the defeated warband is granted one additional roll on the Treasure table. The defeated warband receives this additional roll, regardless of how many Treasure Tokens it recovered during the scenario. The defeated warband does not gain experience points for this additional roll on the Treasure table, nor is it used to determine the scenario’s victory conditions.
Please note that a ‘draw’ does not count as a ‘loss’.
'You scoundrel!':
“That scoundrel deserves to be kicked in the butt by a jackass, and I’m just the one to do it.” – Merchant Prince, Hugo the Muleskinner
If the player who began the scenario controlling the highest level Wizard on the table believes that an opponent did not make a sincere attempt to win the scenario or at least play to a draw, then he or she may veto (i.e. cancel) one or both of the scoundrel Wizard’s underdog bonuses. In the event that two or more Wizard’s qualify as the highest level Wizard, then the decision by only one of these players is sufficient to cancel underdog bonuses.
EXPERIENCE POINTS
”Experience is the most brutal of teachers, but by the gods you do learn” – Cortland Andrus, Arms Master of House Deschain
Casting1
The Wizard or Apprentice casts a spell from his or her own school: 15 xp
The Wizard or Apprentice casts a spell from an aligned school: 20 xp
The Wizard or Apprentice casts a spell from a neutral school: 25 xp
The Wizard or Apprentice casts a spell from an opposed school: 30 xp
‘Taking Out’ Enemy Models 2
Enemy Soldier: 20 xp
Enemy Apprentice: 40 xp
Enemy Wizard: 100 xp
‘Taking Out’ Creatures
Starting Health 01-05: 10 xp
Starting Health 06-10: 20 xp
Starting Health 11-15: 40 xp
Starting Health 16+: 100 xp
+10 xp if the creature type is immune to non-magical weapons
+10 xp if the creature was controlled by an enemy warband when it was taken out3
Exploits
Each Treasure Token recovered by the Wizard or a member of the Wizard’s warband: 50 xp4
Each Treasure Token held by the Wizard or a member of the Wizard’s warband at game’s end: 25 xp5
Each unclaimed Treasure Token on the Wizard’s enemy’s half of the table at game’s end: 25 xp6
Notes:
1. A spell or spell effect that is “cast” automatically by any type of magic item is worth 0 xp.
Also please note that Spellcasters do not earn experience points for casting ‘out of game’ spells.
2. If a Wizard X takes control of a creature or a member of an enemy warband and the controlled model ‘takes out’ a creature or a member of an enemy warband, then the Wizard X receives the experience points for ‘taking out’ a model, not the controlled model’s original owner.
3. This includes creatures that are treated as a permanent member of an enemy warband (e.g. summoned Constructs).
4. If Wizard X takes controls a creature or an enemy model and Wizard X makes the controlled model leave the table with a Treasure Token (SEE FAQ), then Wizard X earns the experience points for recovering the Treasure Token, not the controlled model’s original owner.
5. A Treasure Token is ‘held’ if at game’s end the Treasure Token is being carried but it has not been taken off the table (i.e. recovered).
6. A Treasure token is ‘unclaimed’ if at game’s end the Treasure Token is not ‘held’ and has not been taken off the table (i.e. recovered). In multi-player games, the players should mutually agree beforehand on the boundaries that define the ‘enemy’s half (portion) of the table.’
’We Are Immortal Until Our Work On Earth Is Done’:
When rolling on the Survival Table to determine the nature of a Wizard’s injuries, replace the ‘Dead’ result with the following injury: You Should Be Dead - The Wizard suffers two injuries from the Permanent Injury Table and the Wizard may not participate in the next game.
If at any time during a campaign a Wizard suffers a second ‘Lost Eye’ result, reroll the injury until the result is something other than a ‘Lost Eye.’
An Elixir of Life may be used to completely negate the effects of a You Should Be Dead injury.
RANDOM ENCOUNTERS
’More Monsters!’: (optional)
The denizens of the accursed city are drawn to the sounds of battle and the smell of bloodshed like a troll is drawn to the smell of stale ale on a dwarf’s beard. And the longer the battle continues, the greater the likelihood that the melee will be joined by the creatures that dwell among tumbled stone and frozen ruins of Felstad.
When a Treasure Token is picked up for the first time the player who controls the model that picked up the Treasure Token rolls a D20 and adds the current turn number to the die roll. If the modified roll is a 17 or above, a random creature (or creatures) has been encountered. Thus, if a Treasure Token is picked up for the first time during Turn 1 a random creature will be encountered on die roll of 16 or above (16 + 1 = 17). On Turn 2, a die roll of 15 or above will trigger a random encounter. On Turn 3, a die roll of 14 or above will trigger a random encounter and so forth.
Not So Random Encounters: (optional)
If the players mutually agree to use the Random Encounter rules, then the level of each encounter is not determined randomly. Instead, the level of the encounter is determined by the level of the Wizard whose warband triggered the encounter. If a warband’s Wizard does not participate in the scenario due to an injury from Survival Table, then that warband’s level of encounter is its Wizard’s level divided by two (rounding up).
Level 1-5 Wizards: Level 1 Encounter
Level 5-15 Wizards: Level 2 Encounter
Level 16+ Wizards: Level 3 Encounter
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It was the "Mordheim" feeling that made me fall in love with Frostgrave!
After the WHFB to AoS Charlie Foxtrot.....FG has become my DEFACTO fantasy game....I love the RPG feel that it offers.....
I can't wait to see how you meld the two together!
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Thug and Warhound
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/Thug%20and%20Hound_zps0vuvezhi.jpg)
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I really like the thug and the warhound. Nice pair.
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Nice thug. Is he a kitbash? Thanks for sharing
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Those guys look ace!
The Brettonnia set is a gem for Frostgrave.
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Nice thug. Is he a kitbash? Thanks for sharing.
Thanks.
The body and head come from the GW Bretonnian Men-at-arms kit and the arms come from the GE Empire Militia kit.
We played a couple of games using my house rules and so far I am pleased with how they worked. The two areas of improvement that I've identified are xp awards and Random Encounters.
The modest special xp awards in the official Frostgrave scenarios suggest to me that my xp scheme is a bit too generous. After two games my Summoner is level 7. This results in only 6 stat/spell boosts, but still I think that he has leveled up a bit too fast. Thus, I believe that some minor reductions to the xp awards are in order. Below are the new xp awards for spells and 'taking out' enemy models. The 'Exploits' xp awards remain unchanged.
Casting
The Wizard or Apprentice casts a spell from his or her own school: 10 xp
The Wizard or Apprentice casts a spell from an aligned school: 15 xp
The Wizard or Apprentice casts a spell from a neutral school: 20 xp
The Wizard or Apprentice casts a spell from an opposed school: 25 xp
‘Taking Out’ Enemy Models
Enemy Soldier: 15 xp
Enemy Apprentice: 30 xp
Enemy Wizard: 100 xp
‘Taking Out’ Creatures
Starting Health 01-05: 5 xp
Starting Health 06-10: 10 xp
Starting Health 11-15: 15 xp
Starting Health 16-20: 50 xp
Starting Health 21+: 100 xp
+10 xp if the creature type is immune to non-magical weapons
+10 xp if the creature was controlled by an enemy warband when it was taken out3
...
I love the mayhem caused by random encounters, but if I am going to tie the level of the encounter to the level of the Wizard whose warband triggered the encounter, I ought to improve the chances that said Wizard's warband will have to deal with encounter. Thus, I've changed to the rules that determine where the creature arrives from completely random to a little less random plus some fun surprises.
Not So Random Encounters: (optional)
If the players mutually agree to use the Random Encounter rules, then the level of each encounter is not determined randomly. Instead, the level of the encounter is determined by the level of the Wizard whose warband triggered the encounter. If a warband’s Wizard does not participate in the scenario due to an injury from Survival Table, then that warband’s level of encounter is it’s Wizard’s level divided by two (rounding up).
Level 1-5 Wizards: Level 1 Encounter
Level 5-15 Wizards: Level 2 Encounter
Level 16+ Wizards: Level 3 Encounter
Use the standard rules for the placement of creatures, but instead of determining the table edge randomly, use the following chart.
1 – The warband that triggered the encounter must place the creature in contact with the Treasure Token that triggered the encounter.
2-10 –The triggering warband's starting table edge
11-13 – The table edge to the right of the triggering warband's starting table edge
14-16 – The table edge opposite of the triggering warband's starting table edge
17-19 – The table edge to the left of the triggering warband's starting table edge
20 – The table edge is chosen by the warband that triggered the encounter
Please note that when the Random Encounter creature is placed on the table any model (excluding uncontrolled creatures) that is within 1” of the placed creature is now 'in combat' with the newly placed creature.
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I had hoped to paint a couple of models over the four day holiday weekend, but due to family obligations and some primering and modeling mishaps, I didn't get much done. Aside stripping the models that I screwed up and preparing them for paint once again (which included some GS work), all that I managed to accomplish was putting together some Avatars of War Dwarf Berserkers. The Berzerks are going to serve as counts-as Barbarians.
The AoW kit includes only one style of two-handed axe and neither the kit's 2H axe or 2H pose is that great, so I got to work converting.
The first two fellas are for my friend's warband. I think I'm going to redo the GS axe grip on the model on the left. I know that I can do better. (http://z6.ifrm.com/8152/110/0/e5017366/e5017366.gif)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20Dwarf%20Barb%201_zpskeyucebb.jpg)
These two fellas are for my warband.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20Dwarf%20Barb%202_zpssrtl4efi.jpg)
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Squire (Treasure Hunter) and Knight
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/KS1_zps1q0jhecb.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/KS2_zps6b9xao1u.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/KS3_zpsgcvh755d.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/KS4_zpspg81jhxl.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/KS5_zpsj6cvyntr.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/KS6_zpsdrlp6r1e.jpg)
Can anyone guess their names? :)
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Wow - great work. I particularly love those faces but lovely quality paint jobs all round. Another day started with unseemly envy.... :D
Doug
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Gorgeous paint jobs! I am jealous that you have that Mordheim model (the one with the fish shield). One of several Mordheim models I do not have yet.
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Can anyone guess their names? :)
Don Quixote and Sancho?
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Don Quixote and Sancho?
Si.
Years ago I converted these models to serve as part of an Estalia (the Warhammer's equivalent of Spain) themed Mordheim warband. I even built a special piece of terrain to match the warband's theme.
I started with a windmill wooden puzzle and then got to work 'Mordheiming it'.
The campaign ended before I got around to painting the warband or the ruined windmill.
Before:
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/windmill1.jpg)
After:
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/windmill4f.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/windmill4d.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/windmill4e.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/windmill4a.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/windmill4b.jpg)
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Wonderful Windmill!
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Windmill is awesome! I admire the clear and tidy paint job on the minis, too. Bravo!
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Beautiful work. Love the "Squire and Knight"! Great figures and great paint job.
I look forward to seeing more of your completed work. ;)
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Lovely paintjobs on those minis. :-*
Great windmill as well.
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Nice additions. The windmill looks great, would never have thought to look at 3D puzzles as scenery. Thanks for sharing
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Summoner Apprentice and Familiar
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/Apprentice1_zpshrq1x2aj.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/Apprentice2_zpsu5ttesok.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/Apprentice3_zpsjlopwi74.jpg)
The first photo looks a bit odd. The model's left thigh looks huge. This occurred because I didn't lower the light enough to illuminate the rear portion of the model's jacket that, from the model's front, can be seen in between the model's legs. This problem is compounded by the fact that the highlight's on the model's black trousers are too subtle and thus the outline of the model's thigh and groin wasn't picked up by my camera.
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Outch ! What amazing miniature :o
Where she come from ?
Furthermore, Tiny but Funny familar. ;)
Stéphane
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Outch ! What amazing miniature :o
Where she come from ?
Furthermore, Tiny but Funny familar. ;)
Thanks, Stéphan. The model is a conversion, using mostly Warhammer bits.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20App4_zpshphuuzyz.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20App1_zpsfx8ztldp.jpg)
The finished model's head differs because I wanted the model to have a more expressive face.
I added the toad familiar because the model that I'm using as my Summoner Wizard (the Mordheim Warlock) has a frog on its shoulder. I carried this toad/frog theme into the creatures that my spell casters summon, giant demon toads.
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He looks great, very characterful. Thanks for sharing
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At first I thought that his familiar was the rat hanging from his belt, but at second glance I spotted the frog. lol
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At first I thought that his familiar was the rat hanging from his belt, but at second glance I spotted the frog. lol
You are correct. The rat isn't his familiar, it's his lunch.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsh9prmx0w.png)
I was going to name the Apprentice Roland,but now I'm leaning towards naming him him Thomas. (http://z6.ifrm.com/8152/110/0/e5003765/e5003765.gif)
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That is some fantastic conversion work. Well done. He looks great, and I love how deep your cokours are, especially your reds. Gorgeous!
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Thanks, Stéphan. The model is a conversion, using mostly Warhammer bits.
...
The finished model's head differs because I wanted the model to have a more expressive face.
In fact, I love his headwear. Have you sculpted it or the "expressive" head has got it ?
Stéphane
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In fact, I love his headwear. Have you sculpted it or the "expressive" head has got it ?
The head, body and arms all come from GW's Archer/Huntsman kit.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps1lq9ooai.jpeg)
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I love how everything is so bright and clean. If I could emulate any painting style, this would be it. What's your general highlight/shading process as far as number of highlights, washes, etc?
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I love how everything is so bright and clean. If I could emulate any painting style, this would be it. What's your general highlight/shading process as far as number of highlights, washes, etc?
Thank you for your kind words.
The number of highlights and washes vary depending upon the color I am using, the properties of the paint that I am using, the results that I am trying to achieve and how bad I screw up my initial attempts to highlight.
Below are a few general tips.
For bright colors start with a white primer.
Never paint 'out of the pot.' Instead dab the paint on a pallete and thin it with a tiny amount of water. This allows the color of the previous layer to show through the new layer, producing a more gradual highlight. Thinning also gives you better brush control and allows you to apply multiple (thin) layers without producing a lumpy effects. I make my palletes from the plastic portion of blister packs. I cut the flat portions of the blister into rectangles and discard the rest of the plastic.
Use black/brown lining to define the borders between colors and objects.
Placing bright colors next to neutral colors (e.g. browns) can make the bright color appear more vibrant.
When thinning paint on your pallet you can mix in a small amount ink to a paint to deepen the paint's shade.
When mixing highlight colors use the correct combination of colors. For instance, don't mix red and white to make a red highlight. Red and white make pink. Instead, use red and little bit of yellow.
Companies, like GW, sell different shades of paint that are intended to be used together in order create highlights. Take advantage of this. For instance, to paint red I start with a base coat if Scab Red. Then I ink it with a brown ink (e.g. Agrax Earthshade or Army Painter Soft or Strong Quickshade). Next I highlight with a mix of Scab Red and Khorne Red. Then I highlight with Khorne Red mixed with a small amount of red ink. Finally I highlight with Wazdakka Red. Simetimes I add a tiny amount of red ink to the Wazdakka.
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Use black/brown lining to define the borders between colors and objects.
Thanks for the advice. How do you go about black-lining? Do you leave a black recess between borders, or do you paint it in? What color brown do you use for brown-lining, and when would you do that instead of black-lining?
Regarding highlights, how many do you usually use for faces? How many on clothing? (Average estimate, as you stated it varies)
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Great minis really looking forward to seeing the completed windmill.
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I'm a bit disappointed in how this model turned out. I don't care for some of my color selections, particularly the color of the padded armor. After an hour or so in I almost dropped it into a jar of Simple Green, but I still have so many models to paint and so little time to do it, so I resisted the urge to start over and pushed on through.
Treasure Hunter
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/TH1_zpsido4irte.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/TH2_zps6yn6zlvo.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/TH3_zpsvpkpcwph.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/TH4_zps8ggta8jh.jpg)
When I saw Dark Sword's Hans the Loner for the first time on CMON's webstore I knew that I had to have the model. I have a weakness for models with quirky, cartoony faces and this fellow does indeed fit that description. When the mini arrived I saw that it was quite a bit taller than even my GW minis, which are already on the large end of the 28mm scale. After a bit of research I realized that it's not a 28mm model, but instead a 32mm model. Doh!
Before the model was ready for paint I had to do a bit of conversion work. First, Hans is supposed to be tall and lanky, but I didn't want the model towering over the other models in my warband so I cut off the model's legs, removed a short section from the thigh and reattached the now shorter legs. Hans is still taller than the other models in my warband, but no longer freakishly so. I like how Hans' height and lanky build contrasts with my other Treasure Hunter's short and stout body type.
Treasure Hunters are armed with a hand weapon and dagger so I added long bladed dagger to the model. I used GS to add a cap to the bottom of the scabbard and a strap connecting the weapon to the model's belt.
The sword's scabbard is thinner than the sword blade so added greenstuff to the scabbard's back to increase it's thickness.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20Hans1_zpssixonie6.jpg)
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Sometimes it is better to just push on through. It's still a great looking model, even if you may dislike some of the colours. I do like him a lot. Keep it up!
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Thanks for the advice. How do you go about black-lining? Do you leave a black recess between borders, or do you paint it in? What color brown do you use for brown-lining, and when would you do that instead of black-lining?
Regarding highlights, how many do you usually use for faces? How many on clothing? (Average estimate, as you stated it varies)
Even though it’s traditionally called black-lining, the vast majority of the time I use a dark brown ink or, depending upon the colors that I’m separating, a lighter shade of brown or another color. I will use black ink to black-line metal armor or in areas where two darker colors come into contact and brown ink won’t cut it. If one or both of the colors are dark enough, you may not even need to black/brown-line.
I begin by painting a model by painting all or nearly all of my base coat colors. I don’t leave gaps between the colors. Next, I apply my inks/washes. Typically the inks/washes will create my black/brow- lining. I begin highlighting by applying one or two thin coats of the base color to the raised and flat areas that were washed, taking care to not paint over the black/brown lining created by the inks/washes. If I accidentally paint over the black/brown-lining, I fix it by carefully applying small amounts of ink/wash to the effected area. After this, I continue highlighting. During or after highlighting I sometimes use a thinned down ink/wash to lightly shade certain areas, such as shallow depressions or transition areas.
Depending upon how particular you are about your finished work, painting faces can be difficult. I still f*** up faces.
Sculpts with well defined facial features are much easier to paint than sculpts that are less well defined. I use the technique described above to paint faces. When painting faces or anything that is finely detailed, success requires a steady hand, a fine brush with a good tip, proper lighting, a proper brush load and paint properly thinned with water or a paint medium. If the paint is too thin it will flow like ink and get everywhere. If it isn’t thin enough, you will struggle producing a smooth coat and getting the paint where you want it. If your eyesight isn’t up to the task, get a magnifying lens. It also helps to steady your hands or wrists on the edge of your painting table.
I hope this helps.
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Thief
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/Thief1_zpsufszakyx.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/Thief2_zpsstsgiwsj.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/Thief3_zpsjocxgcfx.jpg)
This fella started out an Otherworld Miniatures Male Thief v2. I replaced the model's head with a head from a Bretonnian knight plastic kit. I removed the model's sheathed longsword and boot knife. Five blades are simply too much steel for a thief to be lugging about. Plus, a Thief is not armed with a hand weapon and while the short sword in the model's right hand might pass as a very big dagger, the longsword on the model's belt could not.
Lastly, I altered some of the model's proportions. The original model's legs are very skinny and they sprout from a torso without a groin. I used greenstuff to bulk up the model's upper legs, sculpt a groin for the poor fella and extend the padded vest below the model's belt.
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You are so talented! Thanks for sharing! He reminds me a little of Johann the Knife.
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Great stuff. Love that head swap.
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Wow! Excellent work all round.
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Great stuff - a nice bit of figure bashing.
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your painting is great , makes me ashamed to post my stuff !
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Dwarf Troll Slayer (counts-as Barbarian)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/trollslayer1_zpsallt5gkw.jpg)
I don't have much to say about this fella. The model is an Avatars of War plastic Dwarf Berserker. Not a lot of conversion work on this one. My original plan was to go sans mohawk (SEE below), but at the last moment I decided to remain true to the traditional GW Slayer imagery.
Troll Slayer WIP
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsluj14hl1.jpeg)
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Nice. ... and a happy new year to you too. :D
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Halfling Ratcatcher (counts-as Tracker)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/ratcatcher_zpsawc5iftn.jpg)
I painted this sleepy little fellow several years ago to serve as a hired sword for my Averlander Mordheim warband. I am very fond of this quirky little model and I'd like for him to see some more table time, so tonight I pulled him out of my display cabinet and touched him up a bit.
Equipped with staff and sling (counts-as bow), he's armed like a Tracker. Moreover, since his trade requires him to hunt rats in city streets, buildings and sewers, he's probably pretty good at stalking and tracking down prey in an urban environment. And when it comes to a fight, what he lacks in size and strength he makes up for with his propensity to strike his two-legged prey in the family jewels. (http://z6.ifrm.com/8152/110/0/e5003775/e5003775.gif)
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A lovely, characterful figure, and a great paintjob!
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Nice work so far :-*
Regarding "Hans", your treasure hunter.
I was also planning to get him and was wondering if you would work scale-wise with the old Confrontation-minis, as these minis are also on the larger side ;)
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Regarding "Hans", your treasure hunter.
I was also planning to get him and was wondering if you would work scale-wise with the old Confrontation-minis, as these minis are also on the larger side ;)
I think that Hans will scale well against the Confrontation human minis. Hans may be a bit taller, but I suspect that's by design. He's tall and lanky.
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If I'm going to be ready for Adepticon in April, I need to get back to work on my SAGA Irish warband (http://studiotomahawk.freeforums.org/koyote-s-saga-irish-terrain-and-other-stuff-t5027.html). Before my Frostgrave hiatus I thought I'd give you a preview of my future plans for Frostgrave.
When I get back to Frostgrave, my first order of business will be to paint a Minor Demon and Imps for my Summoner to summon.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20Frog%20Demons_zps5xfbhhxe.jpg)
And now that I've painted Sir Quixote and his squire Sancho, I want to add a few more Estalian mercenaries to my warband. I've ordered some Gamezone Miniatures models pictured below to serve as Sir Quixote's Estalian Men-at-Arms.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsmxpc6ycq.jpeg)
I in addition to the Estalian Men-at-Arms I also need to add a Templar and Marksman to my stable of painted 'Frostheim' models. Below are an Empire Captain and a converted Bretonnian man-at-arms model that should fill these roles, nicely. Like Quixote and Sancho I am going to paint this pair as a team - a Knight Templar and Sergeant-at-Arms. They won't be Estalians or Averlanders so I have to decide on a new color scheme.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20Templar_zpsgfpcczsu.jpg)
My second 'Frostheim' warband was going to be a Rankin/Bass-esqe Dwarven warband, but then I was lured away by the amazing Frostgrave plastic cultists and the new metal cultist Soldiers.
My cultist warband will be led insane and diabolical Necromancer (really, is there any other type of Necromancer?). There are many great Necromancer models out there, so it was a tough choice, but ultimately I settled on Custom Made Mini's Necromancer.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpslxdiabq3.jpeg)
Selecting a model for an Apprentice was a bit more tricky. I like the Frostgrave Necromancer Apprentice models, but since so much of my cultist warband is going to be 'right out of the box" (i.e. little or no conversions), I want Spellcasters to be a bit more customized. I got the idea for my Mad Jester from a similar conversion that I saw in another thread, several weeks ago. I've tried to find that thread again so that I can credit the hobbiest that I inspired my conversion, but can't find it. If that hobbiest is you, thanks for the idea.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20Necromancer_zpsutaay666.jpg)
Original model:
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsl4fkvmgb.jpeg)
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Great thread, really inspired painting and conversion choices. :)
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My goodness what nice conversions. Never seen those gamezone "Estalians" before but definitely keeping them in mind for a future Mordheim warband.
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Sadly, I had to cancel my plans to attend Adepticon. The silver lining is now that I don't have a painting deadline I can alternate between painting my SAGA Irish and my Frostheim warband.
I'm almost done with my first unit of Irish Bonnacht. In between painting Irish warriors I cranked out my first two demon frogs/toads for my Summoners to launch at their foes.
Demon Toads (Imps)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/IMPs1_zpsy7curomt.jpg)
Is it just me, or does the demon toad on the left look a lot meaner than the demon toad on the right?
I was planning to use the Otherworld Miniatures' Type II Demon as my Minor Frog/Toad Demon, but then I stumbled upon these beauties:
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/Toad%20King%20Toads_zpsw6umnm0u.jpg)
These models fit my kooky frog/toad theme, perfectly. The smaller ones can serve as Minor Demons and the big one will be a Major Demon. They were made by manufacturer called Toad King Castings as part of its Warts & Wings Kickstarter. Toad King doesn't appear to have a webstore yet, but I'm in contact with them and hopefully I will be able to get my hands on them very soon.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/frog.gif) ...KILL. KILL. KILL.
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FYI toad king castings website is live
http://www.toadkingcastings.co.uk/
:)
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FYI toad king castings website is live
http://www.toadkingcastings.co.uk/
Thank you, good sir. I will be placing my order today.
(http://z6.ifrm.com/8152/110/0/e5016526/e5016526.gif)
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He does look meaner! Funny, I was just looking at Toad King the other day. He makes nice stuff.
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I just finished painting my first unit of Irish Bonnacht. Before I start on my next unit of Irish I'm going to knock out a couple of Frostheim models. My next Frostheim project WAS going to be a couple of Estalian men-at-arms. The plan is to convert and paint 2 Gamezone Minatures Imperial Pikemen (pikes will be replaced with spears), but CMON screwed up my order and sent me the wrong blister. Instead of Pikemen, I received a blister containing a mounted knight on a barded steed. How does a order picker confuse Pikemen with a mounted knight? Strange.
While I wait for CMON to sort this out, I'm going to move my Templar and Marksman to the front of the painting queue. As I mentioned earlier, I don't want to paint my Templar and Marksman as Averlanders or Estalians, so I need to decide on a different color scheme and origin for these two fellows.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20Templar_zpsgfpcczsu.jpg)
As I was admiring the Sylvania uniforms on page 57 of The Uniforms and Heraldry of The Empire, I remembered that Mordheim is set in the year 1999 of the Imperial Calendar (which also coincided with the year that the game was released). The year 1999 is a couple centuries after Vlad von Carstein took the throne of Sylvania, but a decade or so before he truly revealed himself by raising a massive undead army and starting the Vampire Wars. This means that while the devastated city of Mordheim was being scoured for warp stone, Sylvania was still a province of the Empire and as such it still had human nobles, knights and state soldiers. Bingo! I will paint my Templar and Marksman in Sylvania's colors and they will represent exiles or simply mercenaries from Sylvania,
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/Sylvania%20Uniforms_zpscghpxatf.jpg)
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I've also been thinking about which models to use as a Crow Master and Blood Crow.
I purchased the Crow Master as part of the Nickstarter, but when it arrived I realized that the model doesn't scale well against the other models in my warband, which are primarily GW models. So, if I want my Summoner to hire a Crow Master I need to find some different models.
Several years ago I started playing Hell Dorado. As time passed I realized that after Cipher Studios wasn't really that interested in promoting or expanding the game. Thus, Hell Dorado withered on the vine. This left me with a couple dozen models and a game that nobody, including myself, was interested in.
A year or so later I found a use for some use of my Hell Dorado models. With a little bit of conversion work I had myself an Arab themed Mercenary Crew for Malifaux. Pictured below are a few of my favorite repurposed Saracen models.
Von Schill
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New/vonschill2.jpg)
Ronin (left) and Freikorpsmann (right)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New/RandF.jpg)
Misaki
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New/misaki2.jpg)
Freikorps Specialist
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New/friekorpsspecialist4.jpg)
One of the Saracen models that didn't make it into my Malufaux Crew is Tarik ibn Malik's hunting eagle. It's a great model, sculpted so that it's tearing the head off a zombie-like figure. If I paint it black and straighten its beak, it can pass as an enormous corvidae (although corvidae do not have raptor-like talons so a certain amount of suspension of disbelief is required).
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/10011970019/hunting%20eagle_zpsq1hhgrln.jpg)
After deciding on a "crow" model, the next step was to find myself a counts-as Crow Master. I began by associating crows and ravens with characters and races from the Warhammer world and other fantasy worlds. One of the strongest associations to float to the surface of my little mind is the long relationship between the Dwarfs of Erebor and the sentient ravens of Ravenhill, near Lonely Mountain. If memory serves, after Smaug's death, Thorin asked the king of the ravens to send a messenger to the Iron Hills to summon King Dain and his warhost.
The Warhammer is not Middle Earth (although some would argue this), but I like the idea of a Dwarf with enormous raven companions, so I got to work. I started with a Mordheim Dwarf Treasure Hunter Beardling model.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/beardling_zpskxdjsb3z.jpg)
I gave the model a more respectable beard by adding a braided end of a beard from an Avatars of War dwarf model. I used greenstuff to to patch the beard, add a falconry glove, increase the length of the model's tunic, increase the size of the hat and to add a leash to both the raven on the dwarf's arm and the model of the hunting eagle (now turned raven). I also added a scabbard so the little fellow has somewhere to put his sword when he's not sticking people with it.
I used the Blood Crow (BC) from the Frostgrave Crow Master for the raven perched on the dwarf's arm. I was worried that the small surface area under the BC's feet and the model's thin ankles would cause problems in the future, so I drilled two small holes into the dwarf's hand, cut off the BC's feet, added a dab of superglue to each stump and inserted them into the holes. Lastly, I used greenstuff to sculpt the BC (now raven) some new feet.
Hopefully this little extra bit of work will create a fairly strong bond between the two models. And since the remaining portions of the BC's legs are a bit thicker and coated in glue super glue, the BC's legs will be less prone to bending or breaking.
WIP Dwarf Roost Master and Giant Ravens (counts-as Crow Master and Blood Crow)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20CrowM1_zpso8gfduqg.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20CrowM2_zpsbikfp2p6.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20CrowM3_zpsbp0x3jbw.jpg)
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Good conversion!!! :o
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I'm looking forward to the Sylvanians. Do you have any plans for a Stirlander, or perhaps a witch hunter?
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I'm looking forward to the Sylvanians. Do you have any plans for a Stirlander, or perhaps a witch hunter?
I do like the colors of Stirland's uniforms. Green is a relatively easy color to paint, but painting yellow makes me grumpy so I try to avoid it. Why I decided to paint an Averlander warband, I'll never know.
Typically, Witch hunter models have a lot of character so they'd be fun to paint and play with, but my current warband is lead by a Summoner who conjures demons to do his bidding. In the world of WFB (I refuse to call it Age of Sigmar), witch hunters don't mix well with spellcasters who have dark congress with demons.
It's funny that you brought up witch hunters. I love GW's new(ish) Witch Hunter model (pictured below), so my plan is to use it as my warband's Captain. He won't be a witch hunter, but rather a landless noble turned mercenary captain. The model's pistol will serve as a counts-as crossbow.
I haven't decided whether to paint my captain in the colors of one of my existing human mercenary factions or paint him as belonging to a different province. Hmm?
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/GW%20Inquisitor_zpsybm5tyaz.jpg)
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Well, if you're playing Frostgrave in the Warhammer setting, perhaps random cultist encounters could be represented by witch hunters trying to hunt down your wizard.
If you want a non-Averlander Captain without yellow, then my vote would be for Ostermark (purple and cream variant).
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Well, if you're playing Frostgrave in the Warhammer setting, perhaps random cultist encounters could be represented by witch hunters trying to hunt down your wizard.
Thanks Philhelm, that's a clever idea.
My order from Toad King Casting arrived today. The medium toad is a tad smaller than I had hoped. Nevertheless, there's a large enough difference in size between the Heresy Miniatures Demonic Toad Familiar (left) and the TKC Giant Toad Medium (center) that I shouldn't have to worry about my opponents distinguishing the Imp from the Minor Demon. The different bases sizes will also help distinguish the two.
ALL BOW DOWN BEFORE THE CROAKING MIGHT OF THE TOAD DEMONS! (http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/frog.gif)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20Demon%20Toads_zpsagdmtjxw.jpg)
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Thanks for the pic. I have my eyes on those toads. Are the base sizes (left to right) 20mm, 30mm, 40mm?
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Thanks for the pic. I have my eyes on those toads. Are the base sizes (left to right) 20mm, 30mm, 40mm?
You're close. The pictured base sizes are 20mm, 25mm and 40mm.
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Exiled Sylvanian Noble (counts-as Templar)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/Templar%201a_zpsu4bawxvy.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/Templar%202_zpsgouxpvu0.jpg)
This surly gent is the first member of the Sylvanian contingent that will be joining my Summoner's warband. The red skull appears in some of the heraldry of Sylvania, so the crimson skull heraldry will be used to identify the other Sylvanian Soldiers.
I am fairly pleased with how the model turned out. I wish I had done a better job on the shaft of the great weapon. Another layer of highlight will improve the look of the wood grain.
I've been experimenting with some techniques to make my models' hands look a bit more realistic. I'm pleased with how this model's finger joints and fingernails turned out.
I still can't get my camera to capture the correct shades of red, which in person appear deeper and a bit darker than they appear in these photos. I need a new digital camera.
Time to get to work on a couple of Irish Curaidh.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/rebel_gaeroas_zpsxauuu2pw.gif)
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If the Curaidh are a tenth as good as the Sylvanian/Templar they'll be brilliant.
Glad you mentioned the hands or I wouldn't have looked that carefully - the right is perfect. Love the bottle lable too. 8) 8) 8)
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Someone on another message board asked me how I painted the wine bottle's label and the fingernails. On the off chance that someone here may also be interested in my recipes for labels and hands, below is a copy of my reply.
LABEL
The writing on the label is nothing special, but it does require a sharp eye, steady hand, properly thinned paint and the proper brush load. A sharp eye does little good without proper lighting, so I always paint under a couple of desk lamps, one on either side of my paint station. To steady my hand I typically rest both wrists against the table edge and and bottom two fingers of my painting hand, curled and resting against the curled fingers of the other hand. This way the only parts of my hands in motion are the 3 fingers manipulating the brush. The paint should be thinned on a palette with a little water. The paint should flow smoothly off the brush, but not so thin that mere contact with the mini makes all the paint flow off and pool up. Lastly, your brush is properly loaded for fine detail work when the very tip of the loaded brush is finely pointed, not rounded.
The label itself was painted with Reaper's Aged Bone. The red writing is GW's Scab Red and the rest of the text is GW's Rhinox Hide. For aged text I use a very dark brown paint for the ink, not black. When painting text I make short, thin strokes, dots and small curves. Leave a tiny bit of white space between each letter or letter grouping and between each "word." If I smudge a letter or fail to leave enough white space between letters, I simply fix my error with a tiny dab of Aged Bone. To keep the letters on each line of text a fairly uniform height, once I'm done painting all the text, I paint a horizontal lines of Aged Bone between each line of text. This line covers up at portion of the text that is too tall or strayed into the white space between the lines of text.
When I am satisfied with the text, I "age the paper" by brushing on a coat of watered down Army Painter's Quickshade Soft Tone. It's important to dilute the wash/ink so that it looks almost clear. When first applied it won't look very dark, but when it dries it will darken up. If, after it dries, it's not dark enough, apply a second coat or simply dab recesses and small flat areas of the paper to create uneven shading and aging.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/Bottle_zpstmhqyw74.jpg)
HAND
Painting finger joints and fingernails is quite easy. Once you have finished shading and highlighting the hand, use undiluted flesh wash (I use GW's Reikland Fleshshade), to paint thin lines on each finger where the finger joints should be. Also paint a small rectangle at the end of each finger where the fingernail should be. These rectangles should be a little bit larger than the fingernail. Lastly, use a light flesh paint, like Elf Flesh to paint the fingernails. Each fingernail should be slightly smaller than the underlying rectangle of flesh ink/wash. This will leave you with fingernails outlined by narrow lines of ink.
Please note that this technique uses ink/wash more like a paint rather than a wash, so you should keep a few things in mind. First, use a detail brush with a fine tip and don't overload it with ink/wash. Second, inks and washes are designed to flow off of flat and raised areas, so when painting the finger joints and fingernail outlines you may have to apply 2 or 3 coats. Second, ink adheres to dry ink better than it does to dry paint so, if, after application, you can barely see your first coat of ink, that's ok. Once the first coat is dry you will find that each subsequent coat of ink goes on darker.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/Hand_zpsvz8mzzgu.jpg)
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Fantastic stuff Koyote!
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Amazing work and thanks for the detailed tips.
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That's the most poorly painted miniature I have ever seen. You should give that one to me, and practice painting a new miniature.
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:o Very impressive 8)
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Time to get to work on a couple of Irish Curaidh.
After finishing my two Curaidh, striped pants, tattoos and all, I got right to work on the latest addition to my Frostheim warband.
You've already met Sven, the Norse Dwarf Berserker (counts-as Barbarian). Below is my second counts-as Barbarian, Sven's Dad.
Dwarf Berserker (counts-as Barbarian)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/DWB8_zpscsautqjn.jpg)
And like many father-son Berserker teams, the two don't always get along.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/Sven%20Temper_zpsv21n2msz.jpg)
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I've taken a short break from the paint brush to prepare two more minis for my Summoner's warband, a Captain and a Ranger.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20Cpt1_zpssiokqasb.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20Cpt2_zps1eho6toq.jpg)
My Captain is GW's newest Witch Hunter model. It's one of GW's Finecast models, which means that I had to do quite a bit of flash removal, patching and filling. I also had to entirely rebuild both pistols' barrels, parts of the belt and a section of cloak edge. This model can be assembled with either a two-handed sword or a saber & pistol strapped to its back. My Captain will be armed with sword, dagger and crossbow so chose the latter configuration (the brace of pistols will serve as a counts-as crossbow). The only real bit of conversion work that I performed on this model was to replace the saber (which came out of the mold deformed) with a larger sword.
My Ranger is the classic Mordheim Kislev Ranger. I really like this model, but I've always thought it a bit odd. First, the model's boobs and cleavage are ridiculous. She looks like she has a pair of bad implants. Also, nothing aside from the fur fringed boots and perhaps the shape of her sword, nothing connects this model to Kislev. And while the sword's curved blade does hint at Kislev its blade is ridiculously long and clunky. Finally, this model is supposed to be from frigid Kislev yet she's wearing a tiny halter top? I suppose that compared to Kislev, Mordheim feels like the balmy tropics so she stopped by Old Navy and bought some summer apparel.
I used GS to cover up the halter top with something a bit less revealing. This let me widen her waist so her measurements aren't quite so Barbie. I also extended the top of her cloak and added a circular broach. She's still big on top, but out of respect for this classic model I didn't change that much. Besides, big chested women can be warriors too.
Lastly, I strung the bow with some fine copper wire and replaced her ridiculous sword with a proper Kislev weapon, an axe. The axe is a bit fancy for a Kislevite, but I wanted a weapon a bit more proportional to the model's height and build. Even so, the axe haft is still a bit too long.
I may lower the model's hairline in order to soften her visage some.
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Can anyone tell me what the yellow "LDL" heptagons beneath my avatar are and why they are there?
Thanks in advance.
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Nice conversions and painting!
I'll look forward to future updates :)
Andres
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Wow very nice stuff! Very very cool!
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Totally looking forward to the Witch Hunter.
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Thanks, guys.
Sylvanian Foot Sergeant (counts-as Marksman)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/Marksman1a_zpsttqkeyhk.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/Marksman2a_zpstafjgz0d.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/Marksman3a_zpsktblapdm.jpg)
Not my best work, but he'll do.
I'm sure that my exiled Sylvanian Noble will feel more secure with one of his fellow countrymen watching his back.
It's funny, I keep telling myself that it's time to wind down work on my Summoner's warband and to get to work on my Cultist warband, then I spot another model that I want to add to my Summoner's warband and the cultists get pushed back a little further. Poor neglected cultists. :(
It's time to turn my paintbrush back onto my Dark Age Irish for a short while. My timing couldn't be better. Season 4 of Vikings premiered tonight here in the US and that show always gets me jazzed for SAGA. :)
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Ceril Stormbringer, Dark Elf Exile (counts-as Treasure Hunter)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/dark%20elf%201_zps0w787lln.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/dark%20elf%202_zpsuequhf1c.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/dark%20elf%203_zpsc56xnnff.jpg)
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Wow, heaps of inspiration in here. Hope I can once day get as good at conversions as you! Great work!
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I've updated my Frostheim campaign rules. I've removed the underdog rules, simplified and reduced some xp awards, got rid of the 'Not So Random Encounters' rule, and clarified some of the language.
GAME LENGTH & VICTORY CONDITIONS
The cataclysmic spell that doomed the ancient city of Felstad has largely subsided, but the tumultuous skies above Frostgrave remain unpredictable and lethal. Propelled by hurricane winds, ensorcelled cyclones periodically blast the city with snow and subzero temperatures. The arrival of the sorcerous storms cannot be predicted by magical or mundane means, so those who are foolhardy enough to venture into the accursed city must remain forever alert to even the slightest change in temperature. For when the hoarfrost blooms and the winds begin to howl, any living creature that cannot find shelter is doomed to join Felstad’s numberless frozen dead.
Random Game Length:
If a scenario’s rules do not specify a turn limit, then game length is determined by the following rules.
At the end of Turn 6 the last player to activate a model rolls a D20. On a result of 6-20 the weather holds and a 7th Turn is played. On a result of 1-5 the scenario ends.
At the end of Turn 7, the last player to activate a model rolls a D20. On a result of 11-20 the temperature begins to drop, but there is still time, play an 8th Turn. On a result of 1-10 the scenario ends.
At the end of Turn 8 the warbands must find shelter or perish. The scenario ends.
Please note that a scenario will immediately end if any one of the following conditions occurs:
The last Treasure Token is carried off the table
No model from any warband remains on the table
All of the models on the table (excluding uncontrolled Creatures) belong to a single warband
Last Warband Standing:
If a scenario ends because all of the models on the table (excluding uncontrolled Creatures) belong to a single warband and one or more unrecovered Treasure Tokens remain on the table, then the ‘last warband standing’ recovers one of the unrecovered Treasure Tokens. This Treasure Token is chosen by the ‘last warband standing’ and for the purposes of gaining experience points and determining the winner of the scenario this Treasure Token is treated as if it was recovered during the course of normal game play. Recovering this Treasure Token does not trigger a Random Encounter roll.
Victory Conditions:
Unless the scenario states otherwise, the warband that recovers the most Treasure Tokens wins the scenario. If both warbands recover the same number of Treasure Tokens, the game is a draw. In multi-player games, if two or more warbands ‘tie’ for the most Treasure Tokens recovered, then these warbands ‘draw’ and the remaining warbands lose the scenario.
EXPERIENCE POINTS
”Experience is the most brutal of teachers, but by the gods you do learn” – Cortland Andrus, Arms Master of House Delain
The following experience point scheme replaces the scheme found in the core rulebook. If the following scheme conflicts with all or part of a scenario’s experience point system, then the conflicting portions of the scenario’s rules govern. For instance, if a scenario’s rules incorporates Skeletons (which have 1 health point) and awards 10 xp for each Skeleton ‘taken out’, a warband will earn 10 xp rather than 5 xp for each skeleton ‘taken out.’
Casting1
- The Wizard or Apprentice casts a spell from his or her own school: 15 xp
- The Wizard or Apprentice casts a spell from an aligned, neutral or opposed school: 20 xp
‘Taking Out’ Enemy Models 2
- Enemy Soldier: 15 xp
- Enemy Apprentice: 25 xp
- Enemy Wizard: 50 xp
‘Taking Out’ Creatures 2
- Starting Health 01-05: 5 xp
- Starting Health 06-10: 10 xp
- Starting Health 11-20: 20 xp
- Starting Health 21+: 50 xp
+10 xp if the creature type is immune to non-magical weapons
Exploits
- Each Treasure Token recovered by any member of your warband: 50 xp3
- Each unrecovered Treasure Token on your opponent’s half of the table at game’s end: 25 xp4
- If your warband wins the scenario: 50 xp
- If the scenario ends in a draw: 25 xp to each warband that ‘draws’ (SEE the Victory Conditions rule).
1. ‘Out of game’ spells and spells cast automatically by a magic item are worth 0 xp.
2. If a Wizard X takes control of a creature or a member of an enemy warband and the controlled model ‘takes out’ a creature or a member of an enemy warband, then the Wizard X receives the experience points for ‘taking out’ a model, not the controlled model’s original owner.
3. If Wizard X takes controls a creature or an enemy model and Wizard X makes the controlled model leave the table with a Treasure Token (SEE FAQ), then Wizard X earns the experience points for recovering the Treasure Token, not the controlled model’s original owner.
4. A Treasure Token is ‘unrecovered’ if at game’s end the Treasure Token has not been taken off the table (i.e. recovered). A Treasure token removed from the table under the Last Warband Standing rule is not an ‘unrecovered’ Treasure Token. In multi-player games, the players should mutually agree beforehand on the boundaries that define each player’s portion of the table.
SURVIVAL TABLE
Survival was my only hope, success my only revenge. –Warlock Prince, Yric the Faithless
’We Are Immortal Until Our Work On Earth Is Done’:
This rule applies only to a warband's Wizard. When rolling on the Survival Table to determine the nature of a Wizard’s injuries, replace the ‘Dead’ result with the following injury:
You Should Be Dead - The Wizard suffers two injuries from the Permanent Injury Table and the Wizard may not participate in the next game.
If at any time during a campaign a Wizard suffers a second ‘Lost Eye’ result, reroll the injury until the result is something other than a ‘Lost Eye.’
An Elixir of Life may be used to completely negate the effects of a You Should Be Dead injury.
RANDOM ENCOUNTERS
The denizens of the accursed city are drawn to the sounds of battle and the smell of bloodshed like a troll to the smell of stale ale on a dwarf’s beard. And the longer the battle, the greater the likelihood that the melee will be joined by the creatures that dwell among tumbled stone and frozen ruins of Felstad.
’MORE Monsters!’: (optional)
When a Treasure Token is picked up for the first time the player who controls the model that picked up the Treasure Token rolls a D20 and adds the current Turn number to the die result. If the modified result is a 17 or greater, a random creature (or creatures) has been encountered. Thus, if a Treasure Token is picked up for the first time during Turn 1 a random creature will be encountered on die result of 16 or greater (16 + 1 = 17). On Turn 2, a die result of 15 or greater will trigger a random encounter. On Turn 3, a die result of 14 or greater will trigger a random encounter, and so forth.
’Expect the Unexpected’: (optional)
Use the following chart to determine where each random encounter appears on the table. If a random encounter appears on a table edge, then the creature(s) should be placed in the center of the table edge or as near to the center as logically makes sense.
1 – The warband that triggered the encounter must place the creature in contact with the Treasure Token that triggered the encounter
2-10 – The table edge of the warband that triggered the encounter
11-13 – The table edge to the left of the warband that triggered the encounter
14-16 – The table edge opposite of the warband that triggered the encounter
17-19 – The table edge to the right of the warband that triggered the encounter
20 – A table edge is chosen by the warband that triggered the encounter
Please note that when the Random Encounter creature appears any model (excluding uncontrolled creatures) within 1” of the newly arrived creature is automatically ‘in combat’ with said creature.
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Karina, Kislev Ranger (counts-as Ranger)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/Ranger%201_zps7wiogqlj.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/Ranger%202_zps4dk9muvw.jpg)
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Wonderful paint job and a great base. Keep feeding us more of your fantastic work.
= )
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Wonderful paint job and a great base. Keep feeding us more of your fantastic work.
Thanks. Feedback, particularly positive feedback, is much appreciated.
I am almost ready to shift away from painting my summoner's warband and starting work on my cultist warband. I want my cultists' backstory to be rooted in the Warhammer World, but I don't want my warband to be run of the mill chaos cultists.
After a quick internetz search, I discovered a cultist group created for Warhammer Online, the Drakk Cultists. This cult worships Azorgaron, the Great Drakk. Ages ago, Dwarven Runelords from Karag Dron battled the black dragon Azorgaron for the dominance of the territory around Thunder Mountain. Azorgaron was triumphant, but so severely wounded that the he retreated deep within Thunder Mountain to sleep away the centuries and recover from his wounds.
As Azorgaron slumbered, his dreams called out. A wizard's apprentice named Rahkuul came to worship Azorgaron after weeks of visions of an ancient conflict between the Dwarf Runelord and the Great Drakk. Convinced the images that plagued his mind were a gift, he set out on foot to find the source of the visions. Eventually, Rahkuul and the followers that he gathered during his travels found their way to Thunder Mountain. Rankuul and his followers believe that when he wakes, the Great Drakk will bestow upon them great power and the non-believers will be consumed by the wyrm's fiery breath.
The model that I've selected for my Drakk Cult Wizard is CMON's Sorceress with Familiar. The model is 32mm model and Northstar's Frostgrave minis are on the smaller end of the 28mm scale, but because the model is female and crouching, the height differenceb etween the CMON sorceress and the Frosgrave plastic cultists height isn't too noticeable.
Below is a photo of the model from CMON's webstore. The rock base doesn't come with the kit, so I will probably mount the model on something similar, but not quite so tall.
(http://miniset.net/files/set/cmon-e0013.jpg)
I'm still trying to decide which model to use for my cultist Apprentice. Hmmm?
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Below are WIP pics of 300 gc of Soldiers for my starting Cultist Warband. The doggie is a Malifaux model and the two Thugs are WFB Gnoblars with FG Cultist heads (I stole this idea). Aside from those three models and a few doodads here and there, everything else came from the FG Cultist and FG Soldiers box sets. Most of the FG bits are straight off the sprue, but a few of the bits have been modified.
I used GS here and there to fill joints, bulk up some of the models' shoulders. You can't see it in the photo, but the Treasure Hunter is wearing a backpack. I used GS to make straps for the backpack. The Archer's right arm looked really short compared to the outstretched left arm so I cut the hand off the bit and extended both the upper and lower portions of the arm. I used GS to pretty it up.
I don't care for the Thief's hood so I'm going to use GS to make the top of it taller and conical like the hood on my archer.
Warhound, Thug, Thief & Thug
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20Cultists%201_zpscorks1lc.jpg)
Treasure Hunter, Crossbowman, Infantryman & Archer
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20Cultists%202_zpsk6pg3uar.jpg)
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Your Kislev Ranger came up a treat - she's a much more interesting character than the boobs-out original. The axe replacement looks much more fitting than the original weapon, and the paint job is great!
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Koyote, what brand of bases are these?
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Koyote, what brand of bases are these?
The bases under my painted models are Dragon Forge's Parched Wasteland bases.
LINKY (http://www.dragonforge.com/Painting%20service/for%20sale/gaming_bases.htm)
The bases under the cultists are just GW 20mm squares. The GW bases are temporary. Once I decide how to base the cultists I'll put them on their permanent bases.
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I really like the dynamic pose of the CMON Sorceress, but the crouched pose looks odd when the model is mounted on a flat surface. So, like model in the official CMON photo, I've mounted my Sorceress on an inclined plane.
I was worried that the added height would make the 32mm scaled Sorceress look much larger than the 28mm FG minis (which are on the small side of the 28mm scale), but now that I look at them side by side, it isn't too bad. The crouch helps with this. The Sorceress is taller than the cultist models, but not by too much and it looks like this is mostly due to the rock she's standing on.
I've also added a rock to the base of my Apprentice, Mîm the Twisted, but this time for the opposite reason. I want him taller. The added height makes him look a bit more imposing and allows the model to draw LOS over low obstacles.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20Cultists%203_zpsx0glire4.jpg)
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Excellent brushwork and nice conversions. Interesting idea with those gnoblar-thugs.
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I've assembled more models for my cultist warband. I very much like the cultist metal models, but their heads, feet and sometimes their hands are a bit small. As such, I used GS, and in the case of the Tracker a head swap, to c this. I also revisited the cultist Thief pictured in my earlier post. I used GS to increase the size of the Thief's hood and replaced his puny knife with a wavy kris dagger. I'm still not 100% sold on hood. I may have to give it another go.
Not even in death does service to the Great Draak end, so I put together a couple of zombies to represent reanimated cult members. My Witch will begin the campaign with the Raise Zombie spell.
Barbarian, Thief, Zombie and Zombie
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20Cultists%204_zpsq6uak2sh.jpg)
Tracker, Man-at-Arms, Knight, Marksman and Ranger
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20Cultists%205_zpsqa0yhsuz.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20Cultists%206_zpsoq8upljf.jpg)
As for bases, I've decided to go with Micro Art Studio's 20mm square Ancient Bases.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpswf78fczm.jpeg)
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Still going strong ... good to see.
Love those bases .. frostgrave written all over them.
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Excellent use of parts.
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I finally got around to finishing the two giant toads that have been sitting on my paint table, half painted, for over a month. Two more Demonic Toad Imps and one really big demonic toad and I'll have all of my Summoner's Demons painted.
Demonic Toads (counts as Minor Demons)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New2/Toads%201_zps8prj2yq3.jpg)
I've also assembled my last few cultists. For this fellow I used the two handed sword arms from the GW Empire Militia kit and swapped the original sword blade for a blade that looks more wicked.
Cultist Infantry
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New2/WIP%20Cult%20Inf%201_zps339bel8f.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New2/WIP%20Cult%20Inf%202_zpsoo3teuel.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New2/WIP%20Cult%20Inf%203_zpsmazvxbw9.jpg)
I have two ideas for a cultist Captain. The first is villainous mercenary who is more assassin than fighter. He's a killer and a clever tactician, but he's not at all heroic. His preferred tactics are ambush and his preferred fighting style is striking from the shadows or shooting his victim from a safe distance.
For this Captain I'm going to use a Rackham Cadwe Assassin. Rackham models are 32mm scale, so to better match this model to the height of the FG Cultist I will shorten the model by removing the sections of his legs that run from the top of the feet to the bottom of the cloak.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New2/cadwe%20assassin_zps2linwkgy.jpg)
My second idea is an anti-paladin. A fearsome fighter and megalomaniac who considers himself to be the human avatar of the Great Drakk.
For this Captain I will use Rackham's Cadwallon Noble. The weapon bearer will accompany the Captain on the table but for all intents and purposes the model will be treated as if it's not there. If it gets in the way, I'll simple move it or remove the model from the table.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New2/cadwallon%20noble_zpsk6w3mduy.jpg)
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I finally got around to finishing the two giant toads that have been sitting on my paint table, half painted, for over a month. Two more Demonic Toad Imps and one really big demonic toad and I'll have all of my Summoner's Demons painted.
Demonic Toads (counts as Minor Demons)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New2/Toads%201_zps8prj2yq3.jpg)
Lovely paint jobs on these two toads. How did you find the quality of the resin to be?
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My toads could use a few more layers of highlighting, but thanks.
The resin and the casts are quite good. I also purchased some of their Bone Debris scenery pieces. I am very happy with all of my Toad King Casting purchases.
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While waiting for my Hearthguards' bases to dry I took a long overdue group shot of my Summoner's warband. I left out the Averlander models that fill in as Infantry and Archers.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/groupshot6_zpsx40rfa4r.jpg)
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I've made some good progress on my SAGA Irish warband so now it's time to change gears and work on some Frostheim minis.
Before I begin painting my Cultist warband (aka the 'Bad Guys'), I want to paint a number of Wizard & Apprentice teams for my non-Cultist warband (aka the 'Good Guys'). This plan let's me play around with different types of wizards and tactics, but really it's just an excuse to paint some wizard models that I'm fond of.
The first new duo both come from Spellcrow Miniatures's Umbra Turis model line.The Wizard is Spellcrow's 'Gnome with Book' and the Apprentice is their 'Halfling with Pig' (minus the pig).
Dwarf Sigilist & Apprentice
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/Sigilist1a_zpsp1iv8jlg.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/Sigilist2a_zpstqushegi.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/Sigilist3a_zpsejxtfq9e.jpg)
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That's a cracking wee warband! :-*
The two new dwarven wizards are nicely painted too! 8)
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Brilliant stuff 8) :o 8) :o
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Very characterful models, brought to life with brilliant paintwork - great stuff!
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Damn, those are excellent! Love vibrant colours.
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Wow! You are ssoing some fantastic painting man. Really beautiful colours you have going on there. And an excellent selection of miniatures.
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Awesome stuff. I think this may be better than your saga stuff. 8) 8)
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Wow. Thanks everyone. I'm glad that you enjoy my work.
The Mordheim Witch has long been one of my favorite models from GW's Mordheim line, so I am very pleased to have finally gotten around to painting her. This is the third Mordheim Witch model that I've owned. The other two were purchased and later sold unpainted.
The Apprentice is Stonehaven Miniatures' Dwarven Witch model. For my purposes she's not a Dwarf, but rather an orphaned girl adopted (or stolen) by the Witch and trained in 'the craft'.
The Apprentice's cauldron is also made by Stonehaven. It's difficult to see in the photos, but I painted the interior of the cauldron bright green (GW's Putrid Green that is almost 20 years old and still perfectly usable -gotta love those old hexagon bottles), and poured in some Magic Water to create a water effect.
Witch and Apprentice
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsytghpgen.jpeg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsn125njkz.jpeg)
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Lovely paintwork and colour scheme! The skeleton crow is a nice touch on the wizard model! :-*
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It has been too long for me. Glad to see you and everyone else here still going strong! Always inspirational.
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Agreed - they look great!
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Amazing witch and apprentice, love the painting.
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Dwarf Raven Master (counts-as Crow Master)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/raven%20master1a_zps9lbzt1zb.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/raven%20master2a_zpsrxqzocin.jpg)
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Gruesome! .....but nice painting! 8)
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Love it - best flight stand I've ever seen!
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Thanks, all.
The bird and flight stand are a Helldorado mini. I gave it a corvus beak by snipping off the curved end of the beak and then elongating it with greenstuff.
The zombie's neck was too bendy and fragile so I snipped the vertebrae off at the shoulders, drilled a hole down into the body, and then inserted the end of the neck bones into the hole. This shortened the length of the vertebrae being ripped out of the body, but made that part of the model much less prone to bending an breaking off.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/10011970019/hunting%20eagle_zpsq1hhgrln.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20CrowM1_zpso8gfduqg.jpg)
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Very nicely done and the Helldorado miniature is a great one.
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Dwarf Treasure Hunter & Halfling Hornblower (counts-as Treasure Hunter & Bard)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/dwarf%20halfling%203_zps2jqb2vaj.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_1815_zpssebgbkwi.jpg)
These fellas are a couple of late 80s Citadel miniatures, much deserving of paint and a place on my gaming table.
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Lovely work!
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Smart choice of miniatures and lovely painting.
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bird gig is just badass..."he will pluck yer eye out kid" lol
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I've assembled my first 4Ground Mordanburg building for my Frostheim table. It was a bit daunting at first, but once I got into it, it turned out to be a fairly easy build. The instructions recommend wood closepins, so I used them and they worked like a charm.
You can save a few bucks by purchasing the buildings unpainted, but as far as I'm concerned the extra money is well worth it.
I forgot to snap a photo of the finished product, but once I've finished assembling the other four buildings I will post a group shot.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_1796_zpslholh5x5.jpg)
In addition to the ruined buildings, I purchased two 4Grounds 6" Linear Fire Wall markers to use as markers for the Wall spell and two 4Ground 6" linear smoke markers to use as markers for the Fog spell. The smoke markers are ok, but the fire wall markers are awesome.
I also bought six 4Ground 1" Burning Wreckage markers which I can find a use for in other games (e.g. marking burning buildings and fields when playing SAGA's Harry & Burn scenario or as the burning ghosts for the ZBP The Crimson Twins quest).
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/burning_zpseabbrwo5.png)
4Ground is quickly becoming one of my favorite toy companies. (http://z6.ifrm.com/8152/110/0/e14144/e14144.gif)
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I've finally settled on a Captain for my "good guy" warband. This little fellow is from Forgeworld's Manann's Blades Command kit.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/manann%20cmd2_zpsxaen60al.jpg)
I've replaced the model's peg leg with a boot, added a dagger, and swapped out the left hand and shield for a hand holding a pistol. For game purposes, the pistol will count as a crossbow.
I've also decided to finally put some paint on Yorick, the war-monkey. Years ago, I used Yorick as a counts-as warhound in my Mordheim Kislev warband. It's a fun little model. Now, me-thinks that Horatio would make a good counts-as warhound or thief for my Frostheim warband.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/Captain%20Monkey%201_zpsarcpzxy2.jpg)
Pictured below is the progress I've made on my new Frostheim terrain. The building in the center is still under construction. I've ordered two more buildings from 4Ground, along with some carts and crates that I can use as scatter terrain in between the buildings.
My plan is to fill up the rest of the table with repurposed ruins and sections of short walls from my store of Malifaux terrain, along with some additional terrain that I've collected along the way, but haven't yet painted.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/Frostheim_zpsts0up25f.jpg)
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buildings look fab....great job.
and gotta dig the monkey!!! :D
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Yorick the War-Monkey (counts-as Warhound)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/Yorick%202_zpsfjrvv8k4.jpg)
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splendid work...love it!!! :o
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splendid work...love it!!! :o
Thanks.
I think that the monkey's eyes make him look a bit sleepy. It's not what I was trying for, but I know that if I try to fix them, I'll just screw em up. Looks like I'm stuck with a sleepy war-monkey. :)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/SleepyMonkey_zpsnopfiatb.jpg)
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Love the monkey -- too cute! Nice ruins as well.
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Empire Mercenary Captain (counts-as Captain)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/Merc%20Cap1_zpsd9pnewi6.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/Merc%20Cap2_zpscpyg7vli.jpg)
When planning my colors for this model's uniform I knew that I wanted to use red so that the model would fit in well with most of the models in the warband, but I struggled with the second color. I settled on tan because I don't want his livery to tie him to any particular city-state or province.
One can tell from his bearing, ruthlessness, and grasp of military tactics that he was a veteran line officer in one of the Empire's provincial state armies, but where he served or under what circumstances he resigned his commission is a mystery. He's not a taciturn man, but he is conspicuously tight-lipped about his past.
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Nice - he'll really cut quite a dash among the ruins!
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Flippin' 'eck...."nice?" He's bloomin' gorgeous.....
I'll pm you my address so you can send him to me immediately.... :D :D :D
Great work...
Doug
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Very nice painting :-*
And I must say, much as I dislike MDF buildings by and large, those ruined timbered houses do look rather good...
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Very nice painting :-*
And I must say, much as I dislike MDF buildings by and large, those ruined timbered houses do look rather good...
The 4Ground Fabled Realms buildings are quite good. The kits include a lot of fun detail, such as hinged doors and trap doors that actually work. They buildings were designed with wargamming in mind, so the interiors include a lot of flat space for the placement of models and the roofs or floors can be lifted away to facilitate the placement of models within the structures. The kits do take a bit of time to assemble, but once you've finished your first the rest go much faster. And despite the fact that they are constructed out of MDF, the buildings are surprisingly durable. My 3 year old daughter loves playing with the Damaged Mordanburg Highstreet House when she is in my office/hobby room. She calls it the piggy's house. She hasn't hurled it across the room (yet), but like all toddlers she is a bit ham-handed; nevertheless, she's yet to do any noticeable damage to it.
In my opinion, the products' best feature is that they come pre-painted. This means less time preparing and more time playing.
Oh, and thanks to the Brexit vote, the British Pound has taken a POUNDING. Consequently, if you live in the US your dollar buys you more in the UK than it has since the mid 80s.
4Ground's shipping rate to the US is £20, but orders of £70 or more ship free. So, £50 of products sent to the US costs £70 shipped. However, if you purchase £70 of products you pay £70 shipped.
Here are some photos of the "piggy house" from 4Ground's website. The bottom photo shows you how it comes apart.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/dbuilding2_zpsy618xo6c.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/dbuilding1_zps2u0jgvhw.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/Dbuilding3_zps88wmsp4s.jpg)
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In my opinion, the products' best feature is that they come pre-painted. This means less time preparing and more time playing.
Interesting you say that. You're clearly someone with the talent and time to create and paint your miniatures to a really high standard - and very lovely they look too. Most gamers / collectors I know who model and paint to this kind of level, apply the same degree of creativity and love to their terrain and buildings as they do to their figures. Is it just not something that interests you? (I'm not criticising your choices - just curious :))
I'm glad to hear Brexit has done some good for somebody somewhere. Enjoy it while it lasts ;)
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That's a fair question. No offense taken.
Over the years I've built and painted quite a bit of terrain, but now that I am a father I find that I have much less hobby time. I enjoy building terrain, both from kits and from scratch, but I've never really enjoyed painting terrain (probably because I'm not very good at it), so the hobby time that I do have I prefer to spend painting minis and playing. With that said, I do have a Games Workshop Garden of Morr that I desperately want to include in my Frostheim terrain, so you can expect to see photos of it here sometime in the near future.
Below is some of the terrain that I built and painted several years ago for my Malifaux tables.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New/graveyard6.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New/gy5.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New/minerscabin.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New/mcno3c.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New/mcno3b.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New/WSwip7.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New/ws1.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New/ws2.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New/ws3.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New/ws4.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/mortws1.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/mortws5.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/mortws6.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/mine.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/minefinished2.jpg)
Below is some of the Worldsmith Industries modular terrain that I painted for my SAGA tables.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20Terrain5_zpspxvzbg3z.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/WIP%20Terrain3_zpsf83h0wzb.jpg)
And here is some of my Worldsmith Industries terrain along with three prepainted 4Ground buildings from their Saxon Village collection. Sorry about the poor quality pics.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsklr0amlb.jpeg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps7cu7hwla.jpeg)
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:-* That is all good looking.
From what I am seeing, you are doing a more than adequate (Ie. even good) job at actually painting terrain. But I can certainly understand the aversion. To me, I always spend a lot of time and energy worrying about how cumbersome and tedious painting my terrain will be, but then when I actually get down to it, it ends up being done to a standard I am happy with in almost no time. (½-1 hour, etc.)
This is still a rockin' thread. Is there somewhere with pictures of your saga and malifaux miniatures?
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This is still a rockin' thread. Is there somewhere with pictures of your saga and malifaux miniatures?
Thanks. The link to my SAGA thread and my old Malifaux thread are in my signature line. It's been 4 years since I've played or done any work on Malifaux.
It looks like one's signature only appears once per page, so to find my sign scroll up.
Here's a few of my favorites.
Seamus (alternative)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_1964_zpscw1gvfnd.jpg)
Seamus Avatar of Dread
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_1962_zpsuh5osnb1.jpg)
Madame Sybelle (counts-as)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_1961_zpsjvirymmh.jpg)
Convict Gunslinger
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New/convictgunslinger2.jpg)
Nicodem the Undertaker
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New/nicodem1.jpg)
Lady Justice (alternative)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New/LJ1.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New/LJ2.jpg)
The Judge and Death Marshal
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/New/judgeDM.jpg)
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Love it all, but Madame Sybelle is my fave! :-* In particular, how did you do the scythe and skull face?
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What did you use to base your graveyard?
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Thanks. The link to my SAGA thread and my old Malifaux thread are in my signature line. It's been 4 years since I've played or done any work on Malifaux.
It looks like one's signature only appears once per page, so to find my sign scroll up.
Oh yeah, d'uh. I should have realised that myself. ::) Thanks for sharing anyways. All good looking stuff.
The Sybelle counts-as is also such a nice miniature.
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Thanks all. My counts-as Madame Sybelle model is the Undead Lady model made by Freebooter Miniatures.
Painting the scythe blade is quite simple. I started with a basecoat of GW's Boltgun Metal (now called Leadbelcher). Once the basecoat was dry I applied a generous wash of GW's black ink (now called Nuln Oil). I created the rust/tarnish effect by dabbling the blade here and there with a brush loaded with GW's Declan Mud (now called Agrax Earthshade). I repeated the process with an orange ink. It's important not to ink the entire blade with the brown and orange inks. You want to leave some areas untarnished in order to provide a contrast between metal and the tarnishing.
I cut the graveyard base from a sheet of 0.040" thick styrene. I've found that the 0.040" thickness is just the right thickness for basing terrain. Not too thick, not too thin. I bought my styrene sheets from an art supply store, but they are also sold at model train and hobby stores.
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Two more WIP Frostheim models.
The first is Skoll the Protector, my Witch's Troll bodyguard, bound to her by powerful enchantments. If you play Zombicide Black Plague you may recognize this model. Skoll is a Survivor from the Paolo Parente special guest box. Dust Studio and Anastyr partnered to cast copies of two of the models from Paolo's ZBP box in resin (along with two alternative versions) and sell them as numbered box sets. Here I've armed Skoll with the alternative weapon. The blade is ridiculous large, but that's part of the model's charm. I thickened the weapon's handle so that it's not quite so spindly.
Skoll the Protector (counts-as Bear Animal Companion)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/Skoll1_zpszntldloo.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/Skoll2_zpshdmncod2.jpg)
My second WIP model is Pol the Gnoblar Trapper. The way I see it Pol isn't a hireling in the same way other soldiers are, but rather a pet trained to sniff out and set up traps. I gave Pol this particular Gnoblar head for no reason other than I really like it. I figure that Pol is screaming for one of two reasons. Either he's celebrating his triumph over the trap or this pose is Pol a fraction of a second after he realized that he's triggered the trap and he's about to have a really bad day.
Pol the Gnoblar Trapper (counts-as Trap Expert)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/Trapper1_zpstgcd0zc8.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/Trapper2_zpsjzvyrxs3.jpg)
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I figure that Pol is screaming for one of two reasons. Either he's celebrating his triumph over the trap or this pose is Pol a fraction of a second after he realized that he's triggered the trap and he's about to have a really bad day.
I know which interpretation I prefer ;)
(http://i.imgur.com/3kmfhZu.png)
Both are some nice conversions. Looking forward to seeing them with paint on.
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That Trap Expert is both brilliant and hilarious! 8)
Can't wait to see that one painted.
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I really like the painting style you have. Wonderful.
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My cobblestone textured sheets of styrene showed up in the mail today. The sheets are a bit more flexible than I wanted, but they should work well enough..
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_2095_zps8kaxj0b5.jpg)
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Gnoblar Trapper (counts-as Trap Expert)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_2104_zpsmvohgyfc.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_2102_zpsosjzsm0s.jpg)
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_2103_zpszzp6zivc.jpg)
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Excelent painting! :o
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Very nice
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Awesome 8)
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What they said - very characterful and painted extremely well!
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I absolutely love this thread! :-*
Very inspirational!
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Thanks for the kind words, everyone.
Frostgrave came and went pretty quickly at my FNGS, but time has passed and supplements have been added, so I think there's a good chance of resurrecting it.
We are currently in the midst of a short Mordheim campaign. Once the campaign ends, I think I can use it as a springboard for a Frostgrave campaign or at least making a few new converts. Adapting a Mordheim warband to Frostgrave warband shouldn't be too hard, so long as one is pretty liberal with the counts-as rules.
Below are some models that I'm working on for my Mordheim warband, two of which can be used in Frostgrave as well. The Averlander Captain (far left) is a converted standard bearer from FW's Manann's Blades Command kit. In Frostheim, he'll make a good, unarmored or lightly armored Captain model. His big pistol will be a counts-as crossbow.
The Road Warden is the Mordheim Reiklander Captain (foot & mounted). I own the actual Road Warden models, but they are kinda boring. Plus, I've waited a long time for an excuse to paint the Reiklander Captain, who's an ugly fella, but has lots of character. The Roadwarden infantry model can be used as a Frostheim Marksman.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/Avers%20WIP_zpszeffagbd.jpg)
Mounted miniatures are rarely sculpted holding reins, which has always kind of bugged me, so I made some using greenstuff.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_2084_zpsc4smv76p.jpg)
Roadwarden
(http://imageshack.com/a/img922/7489/9g4QAm.jpg)
(http://imageshack.com/a/img924/9563/uOSFLW.jpg)
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Wow, love the reins, great pose. how did you made them? It's plain greenstuff? I'm totally unable to work with gs with so little support.
Also, nice painting, of course.
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Wow, love the reins, great pose. how did you made them? It's plain greenstuff? I'm totally unable to work with gs with so little support.
When I'm finished working with GS I typically have a bit left over. Rather than toss it, I roll it into a ball or a dowel, of varying sizes, and set it aside to cure. I use the cured GS shapes to serve as the foundation of other sculpting projects.
In this instance I started with a very thin dowel/snake of GS. I used a new xacto blade to slice down the length of the GS dowel/snake, flattening one side and then the opposite. The end result is a ribbon of GS, from which I cut the lengths of GS that I used as reins.
I made the reins bend by drilling a hole through the model's hand. I stuck an end of the GS ribbon into the hole and glued it in place. This let me compress the GS slightly, creating the bend. Once I figured out how much bend I wanted and the length needed to reach the horse's neck, I trimmed the GS ribbon and glued the loose end of the reins to the side of the horse's neck. Voila!
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More new additions to my Mordheim/Frostheim warband(s).
I need all three of these my models for this week's campaign games, so over the long holiday weekend I painted em' up. I knocked them out pretty quick (for me), so they are pretty basic.
The Bergjaegers' heads are Lykan Tribal heads made by Mad Robot Miniatures. Just a heads up. Before you order the heads you should know that they are a tad big for Games Workshop heroic scaled models, so they are going to be far too big for Frostgrave plastics.
Bergjaeger (counts-as crossbowman), Bergjaeger (counts-as ranger), and Mountainguard (counts-as infantryman)
(http://imageshack.com/a/img924/4564/QLdvL7.jpg)
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Here's a couple of models that I'm working on. Both would make pretty good Captains.
(http://imageshack.com/a/img922/4456/G2ti0e.jpg)
My Frostheim table is coming along nicely, but I still need more buildings. I have at least two of each of the ruined building kits that 4Ground makes, so to add a bit more variety to my board, I've purchased some of 4Ground's intact Mordanburg buildings.
I created the discolored roof tiles and charred edges with a lighter -easy peasy.
(http://imageshack.com/a/img924/8025/gFaAx7.jpg)
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pyro. :o nice work looks really good.
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Human Scout (Ranger) and Freelancer (Knight)
(http://imageshack.com/a/img924/5428/HlDLOk.jpg)
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By the Gods...greenstuff for shield design...I've never thought of that! :o
Epic thread!
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By the Gods...greenstuff for shield design...I've never thought of that! :o
Epic thread!
Thanks.
GS shield emblems aren't too challenging. You just roll the GS out on the shield fairly thin and start carving.
If you pick a simple design, like a tower, it's all right angles, so the toughest part is centering the motif on the shield. Even that can be fixed fairly simply by letting the GS cure and then carefully cutting it off and gluing back on in the right position.
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Another pair of characterful models - great stuff in this thread.
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Oh man I love your knight !
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Oh man I love your knight !
Thanks. The model is Scibor Miniatures' Knight Jurand. I bought it months ago at 50% off from an online retailer. When I bought it I didn't have any specific plans for it, but the price was good and the model awesome, so I couldn't pass it up.
(http://imageshack.com/a/img924/4360/bDtufz.jpg)
Scibor's minis are on the large side, and Knight Jurand is no exception. He makes GW scaled minis look a bit weedy and he dwarfs the Frostgrave/Ral Partha scaled 28mm minis.
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One of the best figures Scibor has ever done.
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I added 5 more 4Ground buildings to my 4' x 4' Frostgrave/Mordheim board. I want the terrain to be a bit denser and I want to phase out some of the stone ruins, so it looks like I need to place another 4Ground order.
Since, for the most part, I'm not placing buildings on the roads, I also need to add more road debris. (http://z6.ifrm.com/8152/110/0/e5017366/e5017366.gif)
(http://imageshack.com/a/img921/5171/eWVmfk.jpg)
(http://imageshack.com/a/img921/6378/FZeCUB.jpg)
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That table is beautiful. The "shapes" are convincing but the colour in that bird's eye is what gets me; It's like the building have warmth and it is bleeding into the cooler board. The knight is a real character and the shield is impressive.
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Wow!! That looks awesome for a table, for both Mordheim and Frostgrave. Well done man.
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This model turned out ok. Painting plate armor has always been a challenge for me, and this model's armor is no exception. The only part that I really like is the model's head.
I'm still on the fence as to whether or not to use this model as my Averlander Captain. Without any yellow and black, he doesn't really fit in with the other models in the Averland warband. However, the model would make a pretty good captain for one of my other Frostgrave warbands.
Armored Captain
(http://imageshack.com/a/img921/862/uZ6Pob.jpg)
(http://imageshack.com/a/img922/5133/WQ51ir.jpg)
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Last Tuesday my local gaming club held their annual 'Dirty Santa' gift exchange. I ended up with a 4Ground High Medieval Cottage. It doesn't quite fit in with my fantasy urban ruins table, but it will be a nice addition to my rural and wilderness tables.
I could move some of my scenarios outside the walls of Frostgrave and into barbarian territory. I have 3 smaller 4Ground cottages that I use for SAGA. Together, these cottages can serve the homestead of a wealthy barbarian thegn, Ulf the Unlucky. In recent months Ulf had seemingly defied his moniker by leading a number of successful expeditions into the frozen city, but unbeknownst to Ulf, news of the thegn's growing hoard has reached the ears of not one, but two warbands. And, as luck would have it, Ulf and most of his huscarl are away when the two rival warbands arrive to raid the hapless thegn's hall.
(http://imageshack.com/a/img923/7623/xXt0DR.jpg)
Here's a peek at the second floor and part of the ground floor. The partial second floor and connecting eaves can be removed for better access to the ground floor.
(http://imageshack.com/a/img921/1041/pGGctO.jpg)
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Nice board and love the minis! :) About how much does each 4ground piece cost you on average?
This model turned out ok. Painting plate armor has always been a challenge for me, and this model's armor is no exception. The only part that I really like is the model's head.
I'm still on the fence as to whether or not to use this model as my Averlander Captain. Without any yellow and black, he doesn't really fit in with the other models in the Averland warband. However, the model would make a pretty good captain for one of my other Frostgrave warbands.
Armored Captain
(http://imageshack.com/a/img921/862/uZ6Pob.jpg)
(http://imageshack.com/a/img922/5133/WQ51ir.jpg)
This armor looks perfect! How did you paint it like that? I have a mini I want to paint and have its armor look different than the typical lighter versions. It's awesome! :)
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Nice board and love the minis! :) About how much does each 4ground piece cost you on average?
I love 4Ground's products, but they are a bit expensive.
The value of the pound is at a three decade low against the dollar, so if you live in the US, now is the time to buy. Orders of 70 pounds or more ship free to the US.
Below is a link to 4Ground's City of Mordanburg products.
http://www.4ground.co.uk/city-of-mordanburg
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This armor looks perfect! How did you paint it like that? I have a mini I want to paint and have its armor look different than the typical lighter versions. It's awesome! :)
I want to paint the knight on the right in the following photo, the same color as your guy's plate armor. Did you apply gunmetal and then a dark wash? Love the dark look.
(http://oi63.tinypic.com/2vvuud0.jpg)
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It's a fairly simple recipe. I begin with a basecoat of Citadel's Leadbelcher. Next I apply Citadel's Nuln Oil wash, straight out of the bottle. Once dry, I apply thin lines of Citadel's Agrax Earthshade wash to some of the recesses and add a dab here and there to create spots of tarnish. The flatter the recess, the more you should water down Agrax. Once that's dry, I thin some Leadbelcher with water on my pallate and use this to create bands of highlighting on the raised areas. Next, I do the same with thinned Citadel's Runefang Steel, but since this is a brighter highlight, the highlight bands are thinner and restricted to edges and the highest points of raised features. My final step is to do some touch up. If the bands of highlight didn't blend properly, you can correct this by applying a thinned down wash of Nuln Oil, sparingly, to the transition area. Of course, you can always apply a little more Leadbelcher or Runefang to those areas that need it, but if you do, thin it down some so you don't end up with too much paint build up.
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I finished another Averlander.
Corporal Emrich
(http://imageshack.com/a/img923/9083/1w8bW9.jpg)
(http://imageshack.com/a/img922/3756/sEHdO7.jpg)
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There are quite a few recasters selling OOP Mordheim and WFB minis on eBay right now. One sells from Serbia, one or two from China, another from Brazil, still another from Canada, several from the UK (I think the UK folks are working with the same supplier or they are the same person), and one selling from a New York address. You know that their models are recasts by the depth of their supply and the fact that all of their minis are really, really shiny. Almost like they were cast yesterday. The Serbian recaster is a bit more clever. He advertises and sells his minis coated in white primer.
I've purchased models from a few of these folks, and overall the quality of the minis is pretty good. The only trouble I've run into is a purchase I made from a Chinese recaster who sells his minis-prepainted. After stripping the paint from my purchase, an Empire Captain with Gory Sword, I noticed all the flaws. The model's feet and legs were in the worst shape, but it didn't bother me much because I was already planning to replace the model's stumpy, little bird legs with longer and more muscular legs. Also, I wanted to swap out the Orc head for a Beastman head.
I think that this fellow will make a fine Captain or Men-at-Arms.
(http://imageshack.com/a/img922/1262/LC62ZW.jpg)
(http://imageshack.com/a/img923/1121/YO3YP9.jpg)
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Ranger
(http://imageshack.com/a/img923/9692/edsKYU.jpg)
And...
Everyone knows, the bigger the feathers the greater the warrior.
(http://imageshack.com/a/img923/7396/eaajj2.jpg)
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(http://imageshack.com/a/img921/5229/Y7pbrQ.jpg)
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I purchased some scatter terrain from THMiniatures (http://thminiatures.pswebstore.com/en/). After some trial and error, I think I've settled on a paint scheme.
(http://imageshack.com/a/img921/5210/3opxKC.jpg)
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Looking good!
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I still have more scatter terrain left to paint, but I managed to get a dozen pieces painted in time for tonight's gaming.
(http://imageshack.com/a/img923/338/d0a1nb.jpg)
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A few weeks ago someone pointed out that my Frostheim terrain could use some wooden walkways to connect some of the buildings to one another. After a bit of searching I found some terrific, pre-painted resin cast walkways made by the UK company, Apocalypse Miniatures.
And yes, I know, walkways are simple to make and paint, but I would rather spend my hobby time elsewhere. Plus, they are painted quite nicely. I like that the planks vary in colors.
(http://imageshack.com/a/img921/7497/MmJfCk.jpg)
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Good stuff by any measure, let alone pre-painted. Nice find!
Decent haul of scatter terrain too - the more line of sight blocking in Frostgrave, the better.
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GW's Dreadstone Blight ruined tower is my next terrain project. It will make a nice centerpiece for my Frostheim table.
My modifications are are fairly simple. I added to the third floor some additional rubble to create cover on three sides. I can see getting this model painted and then accidentally breaking off the third floor, so I added a vertical support to strengthen GW's poor design. I also added a ladder.
Down on the bottom floor I covered up the shallow pit to make the floor a bit more level. Tippy Model Syndrome in pain in the @ss. I also created a 28mm man-sized breach on the backside of tower to let more light in and to give models an additional entrance/exit.
(http://imageshack.com/a/img923/9900/3QQB06.jpg)
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I've finished the last of my THMiniatures terrain. Time to get to work on my tower.
(http://imageshack.com/a/img922/8619/0368L2.jpg)
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Koyote, how dou you paint your rocks? Just black + more white + more white, or dou you use specific greys? I'm asking becuase I like how they turned out :)
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If your tower looks as good as those ruins, it's gonna be awesome!
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Great modelling and paintwork :)
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Koyote, how dou you paint your rocks? Just black + more white + more white, or dou you use specific greys? I'm asking becuase I like how they turned out :)
I begin with black primer and a dark brown (GW's Rhinox Hide) base coat. Next, I dry brush with olive green (Vallejo's Olive Grey), then a medium grey with a blue tint (PP's Greatcoat Grey), then medium grey (GW's Codex or Dawnstone grey), and then light grey (GW's Administrum Grey). You don't want the layers of highlight to completely cover the last layer, so each successive layer of dry brushed highlight is applied a bit lighter and with greater focus on the edges and highest points.
When dry brushing, its a important to give layer a little bit of time to dry before applying the next layer.
Finally, I apply brown ink (GW's Agrax Earthshade) to the deepest recesses and around the base of the rock. Sometimes, I apply a bit of watered down brown ink to the center shallower recesses. If needed I may hit just the highest edges and points with one more dry brushed layer of light grey (GW's Asministrum Grey).
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(http://imageshack.com/a/img921/6749/8hwhJh.jpg)
(http://imageshack.com/a/img922/3824/CHbcXH.jpg)
(http://imageshack.com/a/img922/416/eS00uR.jpg)
(http://imageshack.com/a/img924/5140/O9G1yy.jpg)
(http://imageshack.com/a/img924/9656/gZQUdH.jpg)
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tower is fab!!! awesome work!!! :o
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I concur - bravo!
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Very nice work! Will you mount it on a "base?"
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Thanks, everyone.
I don't know when or if I will base the tower. Even without 'bases', my 4Ground terrain looks pretty good when set up on my cobblestone mat. Then again, I 'based' my other stone ruins...
Also, basing the tower would let me fix a mistake made during assembly. The tower wall sections were warped so I had a hard time getting them fit together properly on the foundation. I was able to force them into the right shape by fitting the pieces together and holding them in place while the glue dried. Maintaining the correct shape required me to apply a bit of pressure on the model, which more than once made the assembly come apart in my hands. After several attempts I finally got it right, but I was so focused on getting the walls to fit together properly, I failed to notice that I had failed to properly align the tower door with the steps and landing (see below).
If I were to mount the tower on a base, I would place a pile of rubble adjacent to the landing at the top of the steps, so that it appeared as if part of the landing had been destroyed and was now piled up against the side of the tower.
(http://imageshack.com/a/img923/2235/V6o9Ei.png)
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Shiver me timbers! Looky what arrived today, my Black Scorpion Miniatures pirates and Aintsy Casting sloop.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/pirates5B15D_th.gif)
(http://imageshack.com/a/img923/8613/3iRKc0.jpg)
I hope to have them ready in time for the release of Ghost Archipelago.
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That is hot Koyote! Can't wait to see what you do with it. I have to build mine out of crappy old foam and other junk :) . I think it will turn out OK but the "crappy old" part is the crap measure/plan/layout faze which is less fun than actually making and it is getting old.
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A thread full of win! :-* That's a lovely paint job on the tower!
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For others interested in ships (and given the possible new game later this year, who wouldn't be) these (https://darkops.myshopify.com/collections/ships-boats) might be of interest.
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For others interested in ships (and given the possible new game later this year, who wouldn't be) these (https://darkops.myshopify.com/collections/ships-boats) might be of interest.
Wow. Thanks! I just ordered one large galleon and one small galleon. (http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/piratecannon.gif)
What I like about the Dark Ops model is that you don't really need to paint them. I'll paint the masts and whatever rigging I add, but I'll probably leave most of the wood as-is.
I find it odd that the small galleon has a ship's wheel and the large galleon does not.
Also, the small galleon will look a lot better with a railing running around the main deck. The really low freeboard combined with the lack of railing makes the model look odd. I'll have to fix that.
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Here's yesterday's progress on the sloop. The hull, mast, bowsprit, and metal bits are part of the kit. The rest, I added. As you can see, I have a lot more work to do.
(http://imageshack.com/a/img923/2089/Oi9zPw.jpg)
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Now I need to figure out what to do for the yards, sails, and rigging. (http://z6.ifrm.com/8152/110/0/e5017366//e5017366.gif)
(http://imageshack.com/a/img923/9756/vDewqY.jpg)
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Wow, the tower is amazing! :o
And the ship looks extremely promising.
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From the various shipbuilding threads I've been researching rigging is a great compromise. Attempting to duplicate authentic line configurations looks beautiful but is time consuming and can cause problems with playability. The easiest game friendly solution seems to be with furled sails to keep them from interfering with the models on deck but seeing a full rigged ship under sail seems too majestic to let it go that easily. I'm interested to see what your choice is especially if you choose the latter because I'd like to know how much cursing is involved :) .
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When it comes to making terrain, play-ability is one of my key concerns. A piece of terrain can look absolutely amazing, but if you have difficulty standing models on it's uneven surface or reaching into the terrain piece of position models, then your terrain piece can interfere with the flow and enjoyment of the game.
As you noted, unfurled sail and realistic rigging makes for a handsome model, but it's a poor design for this type of wargamming. As such, my plan is to model the sails furled and not go overboard on the rigging.
(http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/thbf-pirateraft.gif)
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When I made sailing vessels I had sails down, and no more than four lines for rigging, just to give the 'effect'.
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Got any pics?
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Got any pics?
The Mariner's trimaran:
http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=41740.0
I don't think I have any pics of my dhows I made, I'll check. If I do they're on an old hard drive.
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Thanks for the link. Your stuff is amazing! Love it.
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Progress.
(http://imageshack.com/a/img924/4912/e2vCXO.png)
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Looking good.
I'd call that Goldilocks rigging - not too much, not too little - just right.
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Looking good.
I'd call that Goldilocks rigging - not too much, not too little - just right.
Thanks.
The plan is to attach a furled sail to the boom and the headstay and leave it at that.
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That looks great to me, should be easy enough to work around and will help keep the masts where they need to be :)
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Once my nifty new bases arrive, I can get to work on painting my pirates. . (http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i200/10011970/pirateparrot.gif)
(http://imageshack.com/a/img924/4271/FkiFA3.jpg)
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Once that new piratey Frostgrave book hits, you will be ready! :D
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Agreed on the rigging; perfect balance.
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Thanks.
Here's something that future captains might find useful. I used black elastic for my rigging. It's cheap and readily available (I purchased it from the craft/sewing section of a department store). It stretches, so it a bit more forgiving of big clumsy hands reaching into the ship to move around models. Also, you can make your rigging taut by connecting it to two points under a small amount tension. I don't know yet how it takes primer and paint. I'm on the fence as to whether I'm going to paint my rigging, but if I decide to I'll have to report back to you on this.
(http://imageshack.com/a/img923/6113/9MHimA.jpg)
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Just found this thread. (Not a FG player) Wonderful. Exactly what captivates me about this hobby.
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Oooh, that sloop looks very promising.
Do you think that elastic rigging might still be usable for 15mm or would it look to out of scale?
Cheers,
Stroezie.