Dwarfs of Karak-Mingol (Updated April 22nd; more scratchbuilt mortar WIP)

[Luigi]

You definitely should be proud of that force, they look good and you’re making progress!

I think putting time in to complete the bases will be a good investment. Bases are easy to overlook, but they make a big difference for pulling the figures together into a unified force. I think cohesive basing provides a sense of context for a collection (some of the collections by folks on LAF, such at Knight Commander Tyr and Koyote, among others, really show that - the basing is almost like a character of its own). It doesn’t have to be that detailed to work, though, just consistent across the army.

I’m looking forward to seeing how your army develops (that other 85% still to paint is intriguing)!

Thank you Pattus, it was nice actually seeing all the miniatures out together.
I agree with the bases as it's one of those things that won't take too much time but will truly pay off.

As for the rest of the army... it's slowly coming. I've been mostly pulling and stripping miniatures at random, but with the upcoming tournament I might be a bit more targeted in my process.

[Onebigriver]

Looking great Luigi, and I'm pinching the idea of the priming board for the shields!

[voltan]

Looks great and you can never have too many warmachines.

[Luigi]

Looks great and you can never have too many warmachines.

Thanks Voltan. I can definitely agree with that. I have plenty more incoming, both black powder ones and more traditional pieces.

Looking great Luigi, and I'm pinching the idea of the priming board for the shields!

Thank you! And yes please, it's such a simple yet effective idea. I'd love to see other people's take on it.

Another update for today, nothing too big.

I finished batch painting the 37 dwarfs from last time.




I then fished 3 out of them and focused on them till completion, finishing off a miner that had been waiting for far too long on without his eyes.





Here they are, from the right...




and from the left.
Whomever sold me these REALLY went heavy with the primer, some of the details, especially at the back are almost entirely obscured by te primer

[Luigi]

I didn't paint too much these few days but I did manage to finish a single miniature this morning in between dropping off my daughter at daycare and starting work.



You can tell he's really worried about that mass of thickly and glossily primed miniatures he himself has just emerged that's lurking behind him.

lovely little sculpts. When I first started I used to dislike musicians and standard bearers models a I considered them "wasted" models as opposed to the actual troops you always need more bodies of.

It just never occurred to me that I could have multiple musicians in a unit or multiple standards.

Plus it's very refreshing for once not having to paint a weapon or a shield

[Luigi]

Another small update, only thing I've managed to paint is another thunderer.

Here he is, I really couldn't get the camera to focus and he's since bene placed into a unit in the cabinet and I don't really want to go take him out.
The background probably didn't help either.



As you can see from the back, the previous owner had attached shields and what I assume is a bandolier of ammunitions.
I also had to clip the sight off of the rifle since the model was already glued and it prevented me from otherwise reaching the face.
I like how the double coloured helmet came out

[Pattus Magnus]

He looks great! I  have liked the colour palette for your army since the beginning and it works on this figure, too. The colours on the gun barrel and other metal parts also look good.

[Luigi]

He looks great! I  have liked the colour palette for your army since the beginning and it works on this figure, too. The colours on the gun barrel and other metal parts also look good.

Thank you Pattus! Then i'm sure you'll like what's coming next.

Another update, fairly big this time.
I have a tournament to attend to at the end of November. I technically have all the miniatures I need fully painted to field a rather nasty list, with multiple pieces of artillery. But where's the fun in that?

I decided to experiment with a list completely void of warmachines and that would allow me to play dwarfs in a way you would not expect.

So I spoke with the tournament organizer who like my idea so much he offered to 3D print the missing miniatures.

Here's the first (of many) flying contraption I'll have to paint in the next 2-3 weeks.




I specifically requested the version with the balloon because I already have several gyrocopters and ornithopters with rotors and/or wings designs.

I've never worked with resin and I am extremely impressed with it.
Good thing I never had a 3D printer otherwise I'd be literally submerged in unpainted models.
 
I was so excited I started assembling it before any painting (which I never do).

this immediately fired backward after I realized that doing so prevented me from inserting the pilot in the cockpit since he wont fit through the ropes.



No one can convince me that he was not sculpted to be a commuter standing on the bus and holding onto one of those loops hanging from the ceiling.

Digging through my bits I found the solution though; a drinking dwarven pilot from Black Tree Design.



He's so small he fits without issues, actually he was too small and needed a tiny cork booster seat to be able to see through the cockpit.

[voltan]

Awesome, is it going to count as a gyrocopter or are you using some other rules for it?

[Luigi]

These will by gyrocopters, and I have a coupe of slightly larger ones with an elongated tail/platform that will be gyrobombers.

I'm planning a flying circus list with 6 gyrocopters and 2 bombers. It will lack any sort of serious punch and staying capabilities that dwarfs are renown for but for once I'll be able to move.

But for regular games and scenarios I'd be more than willing to look for alternative rules or even come up with some myself

[Pattus Magnus]

That’s lucky you had a suitable crew figure! The original and the replacement are both fun sculpts. I think I prefer the replacement, though. I suppose if a pilot is going to be under the influence, a balloon is probably the least hazardous contraption to be flying!

It sounds like it will be a super-characterful army for the tournament!

[Luigi]

That’s lucky you had a suitable crew figure! The original and the replacement are both fun sculpts. I think I prefer the replacement, though. I suppose if a pilot is going to be under the influence, a balloon is probably the least hazardous contraption to be flying!

It sounds like it will be a super-characterful army for the tournament!

thanks Pattus, I agree on the balloon and its relative safety! Hopefully this is reflected on the tabletop game wise

Sunday up(date)day,

I've made some progress on the first balloon.

I had started working in batches on all of them (a total of 8-10 flying machines) thinking I'll make fast work of them all.

I soon stopped when it turned out that batch painting models larger than infantry (which is realistically all I've ever painted before) is much more draining, so after having slapped the first base coat on one model i decided I was going to focus on one or two of them at the time till completion.


here's some pictures






the green is 90% done (missing a yellowish highlight here and there, the shields and the interior of the cockpit)

the blue is on the second layer.
It's slowly coming together.


I also assemmbled and modified the bases and stands.

As you can see here



The stand has too thin a peg and the model too wide an opening for it to be stable in any way.

So I took a few of these plastic beads and widened the hole with a drill bit.


a drop of thin plastic cement and and it makes for a much snugger fit



I also weighted down the bases when plastic and hollow



Or put a washer directly in between the base and the stand when MDF.


These models aren't really heavy (the resin is extremely light), but they do stick out quite a bit in height from the rest of the army and there's a real risk of brushing an arm or a sleeve against them when moving miniatures around, so a but of bottom weight isn't going to hurt.

I might finish the first one tonight if I get some time for painting, the model has finally entered the stage where I can actually see some progress and I think it's looking rather nice.
 

[Luigi]

A very quick update on my work break.

A couple of nights ago I finally finished the first Gyrocopter/Hot air balloon.

I think it came out rather well and am particularly satisfied with the painted wood-pattern, it was the first time I tried this technique and the results are excellent, if I say so myself.

I was worried about following the "grain" of the prints on the shields, but I think the model would have benefited with a vertical grain, so I'll try that on the next model.

Doing the ropes grey was also another thing I'm not too pleased with, and will probably switch to brown or brown+grey on the next on/

[Old Hob]

That dwarf blimp has come out really well. Love the blue. It really pops on this one.

[Pattus Magnus]

I agree with Old Hob, that looks great! It’s a very interesting model, too, blending the dwarf style elements in a new way (or at least new to me, I haven’t really followed how the GW dwarves’ style shifted during the AoS years).