Marienburg vs. the Undeadish (update: undead & spooky stuff)

[ZeroTwentythree]

Thanks again! I'm a huge fan of those old ogres.

Speaking of ogres....



Done painting. Once the bases are done, they should stand out a bit more.

Also finished a few more skeletons again, so here's a pic of the entire group so far.

[ZeroTwentythree]

I'm still indecisive about the elite/armored skeletons. The two ideas at the top of my list are to either use Perry WotR Foot Knights and pack them 4 to a base like the regular infantry, or get some of those Warmachine Bane Thralls and put them 2 or 3 to a base, depending on how many will fit.

Neither is exactly what I am looking for, but I could work with them. I would prefer if the Perry figures were a little bigger (or I could find some beefier/"heroic"/fantasy equivalents at a similarly affordable price.) My biggest concern with the size is that they will be in the army with those giant GW skeletons I just posted. (I suppose I could trade those in for some smaller ones, in the future...) The Banethralls might be OK if I could tone down some of the more ridiculous design elements, like the giant shoulder plates and the iron fences they seem to be wearing on their backs. Since they are plastic, this might not be too hard to deal with.

The deciding factor may be the number of figures per base and the total number of bases I will get for the money. I would prefer the look of densely packed infantry, though I am willing to make concessions on that for the Thralls. However, if I can fit 3 per base, and my minimum unit size is 4 bases, I'm still short by 2 figures for just a single unit. On the other hand, a box of Perry figures will get me 8 bases with 4 figures each, and I would still have some left-overs for other projects.


Something else I'm thinking more seriously about now is a group of non-human skeletons. I made a few skeletal beastmen with the GW kit (not in pics yet) and just received a few of the old Cursed Company figures. I could even mix in a few "normal" skeletons as some non-humans might still look pretty similar to humans when all their meat is removed. I still like those Ral Partha skeletal beastmen & ogres suggested earlier. But I'm still on a tight budget and looking to "get the most bang for my buck," so I am focusing on the things I can do with smaller cash outlay.


What I should really finish next is some cavalry. I have some Undeadish (more Germans) and some GW Black Knights to clean, assemble, and paint. I'd also like to paint that Colossal Skeleton from Reaper, but I haven't decided if/how to replace the big weapon (like a hammer made from a gravestone) and possibly do a bit of re-posing.

[ZeroTwentythree]

Still thinking about this and thought I would do a quick & rough touch-up on the manufacturer's photo to see what some subtle changes might do to those Bane Thrall figures....



Better, but I'm still undecided. Giant shoulder plates are sooooo '90s. (Seriously, what was with all the giant shoulder plates on fantasu miniatures in the '90s?) Maybe I should just get some anyway, paint them up and if I really don't like them I can sell/trade for a different option.

Further consideration... I will be adding more "regular" skeletons eventually, and they will likely be smaller figures than those hulking old GW figures. Maybe I am making more out of the scale difference compared to the Perry foot knights than I need to.

[beefcake]

I think someone else may have already suggested it but have you thought of red box games wraiths? I do t know if they are still available though. I can't see them on the website.

[ZeroTwentythree]

I found a pic of those and went looking for them. In some ways, I like them better than these guys above. But as you said, they don't seem to be in the shop. Probably a good chance they would be out of my budget anyway. (I hate having to say that, and would love to throw money at independent sculptors producing awesome work. But unfortunately I can't afford to do that anymore.)

[von Lucky]

Regarding the comment on 90's shoulder pads - I realise now that was 20 years ago.

I feel so old. (And yes, it was a silly fad.)

[beefcake]

I found a pic of those and went looking for them. In some ways, I like them better than these guys above. But as you said, they don't seem to be in the shop. Probably a good chance they would be out of my budget anyway. (I hate having to say that, and would love to throw money at independent sculptors producing awesome work. But unfortunately I can't afford to do that anymore.)

From noble knight games. Quite expensive though, $30ish for 6

[Smith]

Actually, from what I've seen, the shoulder pads are separate, and could feasibly be left off... There are some useful shots at this page:

http://losthemisphere.com/wp/2014/01/bane-thralls-plastic-resculpt/

Some work might be needed to remove the plugs on the model's shoulders (or they could simply be cleaned up and painted to match the armour).

The back spikes appear to connect with a small plug - my guess is the hole that would leave in the back of the armour could either be easily ignored or filled with a little nub of greenstuff.

[ZeroTwentythree]

Regarding the comment on 90's shoulder pads - I realise now that was 20 years ago.

I feel so old. (And yes, it was a silly fad.)

One of the funniest things I read about that fad was someone's description of a theoretical encounter between two opposing forces in which one side gets the others to raise their arms slightly and knock themselves out with their giant shoulder gear. Game over. 

From noble knight games. Quite expensive though, $30ish for 6

Doesn't seem unreasonable. But unfortunately I think I'm still going to have to pass for now.

Actually, from what I've seen, the shoulder pads are separate, and could feasibly be left off... There are some useful shots at this page:

http://losthemisphere.com/wp/2014/01/bane-thralls-plastic-resculpt/

Some work might be needed to remove the plugs on the model's shoulders (or they could simply be cleaned up and painted to match the armour).

The back spikes appear to connect with a small plug - my guess is the hole that would leave in the back of the armour could either be easily ignored or filled with a little nub of greenstuff.

Thanks for that link, I've been looking for something like that! Much better idea of what they're like now. The back spikes should be no problem, as I expected. The shoulders look more involved than I thought they would be. I didn't expect those big plugs. Maybe I could cut them off & put something more modest sized over the top. I may end up just having to pick up a box and see how it works out in the flesh plastic.

(Don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I dig the El Panda avatar!)

[Skrapwelder]

Have you seen the RAFM Dream Warrior army box?



http://www.rafm.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=RAF&Product_Code=RAF02008&Category_Code=rafboxgame
Small image, only one I could find

[Smith]

Thanks for that link, I've been looking for something like that! Much better idea of what they're like now. The back spikes should be no problem, as I expected. The shoulders look more involved than I thought they would be. I didn't expect those big plugs. Maybe I could cut them off & put something more modest sized over the top. I may end up just having to pick up a box and see how it works out in the flesh plastic.

(Don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I dig the El Panda avatar!)

Just a thought, but if the plugs were clipped off/filed down, you could look at the Kroot sprue from GW for shoulderpads:



They're slightly curved, so I'm eyeballing it a little, but they might be enough to cover the plug area. No idea how the two plastics go together, mind you - when in doubt, superglue, I guess!

Glad you like El Panda - Lucha Libre is one of my favourite comics!

[ZeroTwentythree]

I painted a couple of test undeadish cavalry. Not sure if I want to go with light horses, dark horses, or a mix of both...

[beefcake]

Very cool. I lke the light ones.. no the dark ones... No the light ones. Go for both, Maybe the odd mid grey as well?
Where are these ones from?

[von Lucky]

I'd go with a 3 tones mix too. All white would look a little bright (and horses are usually coloured in mid earthy colours).

[Mad Doc Morris]

There's some seriously good painting going on here, mixed with a lot of ingenious ideas – excellent project!
Re the horses: Are these horses meant to be undead as well? If so, I like the light tone for its ghostly appearance and also for a bit of contrast. The dark one looks more menacing, of course. But I would add a bit of colour, maybe classical red glowing eyes.