Borgnine's Log: Forge World BSB + BB Star Players conversions

[Unas the slayer]

Infantry zombies from Kislev!
I really like them, to have a whole unit of corpses, raised from a specific defeated enemy, is just great. You can literally see the fluff of your army!

 

[Borgnine]

I see everyone has their favourites

@Adam_Barrow Glad you like the ghoul, shame I don't know who came up with the original idea. A whole army of those must look great The dragon will have red scales and black belly, while the rider will have completely red armor - he's not called Vaclav the Red without a reason

@EternallyUndying I think a freehand on red background should be pink, rather than white. Maybe some white highlights on raised areas of the surface. On the instruction step 5 and 6 is the glaze, two layers of it. GW glazes are used mostly to bring back saturation to a colour that got dulled with shades and highlights - that's why they are so neon bright. When I want to make a red glaze, I use 3-4 drops of glaze medium and then add a bit of Blood Red - which is the most basic, standard red you can find. By bit I mean just the tip of the brush - the pigment is very strong and you want the glaze to be subtle. And it's still easier to add some more paint if needed, rather than to remove it or to add more medium.
I also forgot to answer the question about planning the freehand - long time ago I sketched it with a fine pencil. It can be erased with a normal eraser without damaging the paint, but it's still rather messy and dirty in the end, so I wouldn't recommend it. I think you can paint a grid, or simplified pattern with a paint only a bit lighter than your background - it will be later covered with either freehand or glaze.

@The Gunslinger Big thanks! I am having heaps of fun with those, so I definitely recommend giving it a try - your zombies are pretty customized and interesting as they are now, so you have a good start

@Unas the slayer Thanks, glad you like them I would add much more kislev stuff, but it's rather difficult when there are not many decent miniatures for them. I will also try to build a winged hussar of some sort for this theme

 

[Irisado]

I'm looking forward to seeing how the Sorceress and her mount turn out. The dragon, meantime, is progressing really well and continues to look suitably imposing.

 

[Borgnine]

@Irisado Thanks! Glad you like it

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Okay, I reached some good milestones in my work here!
First, the building part on zombie units 3 and 4 is done. I made enough of them to cover 90 20x20 bases, which together with 10 dudes I have left from the previous unit, gives me a whole 100. Now to paint them But basing first - that will surely be very interesting....

I am happy that all the cutting is over for now. In the last week only I managed to accidently stab myself in the fingers three times...

Here are the two units:

And then some highlights. First, the cannon. Idea taken from @Mad 'At:

Then, a dwarven minecart from Battle for the Skull Pass. A really nice piece for a starter set. I didn't even know this thing exists until I saw it in @Lord Elpus' plog. I will try to have it submerged in water a bit:

And some smaller pieces. The one riding a horse would also fit well in an undead circus. At first I wanted to have a guy sitting on a horse normally, but first I tried mounting the one from the picture above. It did fit, so I thought, why not? Other than that, another guy with a standard sticked in his neck, a zombie that wanted to have a higher vantage point and a beastman:

And the second mile stone - regarding the dragon.

I finally managed to finish that trail of spiky scales going along his back, from the tip of the tail, up to the nose. I started somewhere in october last year... Now the other way around, the belly! After that, hands and legs. I also sculpted a bigger throat for him - I think it looks a bit better.

 

[Irisado]

Excellent work on those scales. They are very well suited to the such a fierce beast.

 

[Theerteen]

You keep pushing me to wanting more zombies while I still have the small classic ZD, I think I'll do something like your minotaur. Your dragon gets better and better, very nice to see it growing more spikes. But don't stress yourself with finishing it, there's no need to have it completed so fast

The throat turned out nicely, it definitely gives a smoother look. I'm sure you told it somewhere here, but I'm on my mobile and looking for it would take so much scrolling - did you model the scales and spikes before or after applying?

 

[Sessioni]

Very nice looking regiment of zombies! And seriously, you are going to make spikes for the belly too?? You are crazy if I understood correctly Keep it up!

 

[benvoliothefirst]

That dragon is phenomenal. And gorgeous work on all those zombies! Truly an awe-inspiring horde.

 

[Borgnine]

@Irisado Thanks! All that tedious work is slowly paying off

@Theerteen seeing how long does it take to sculpt it and how insane I get after doing it for too long, I think you don't have to worry about me finishing me on time. After sculpting there's still the base to build and all the painting... As for sculpting those scales, it's actually both. I rolled small tear-drop shapes on the table and then I was applying it on the dragon, pushing it with a flat tool from both sides to create that ridge on every scale.

@Sessioni Thanks! Not really spikes, but plates/segments. You can see those below

@benvoliothefirst Thanks, glad you like them

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Some more progress - and again, as usually lately - both zombies and the dragon.

First, the kislevite zombies. I built them using mostly the Empire Archers kit, with weapons taken from bretonnian Men-at-arms and the Free Company. The colour scheme is based on the polish infantry from 16th/17th century, which you can see HERE. After I painted them they looked way too tidy for zombies -that was a perfect opportunity to try out my new pigment set on their clothes and weapons. What do you think about it?

Those are worth 11 wounds. I managed to paint 29 wounds worth of zombies this week overall - but only those are a complete whole that is good to post. The rest will come later.

A small piece of fluff for my Kislev Infantry:

Spoiler

Von Greifens may have carved a pretty big domain for themselves in Varsavia, they are still small time compared to big players in the Old World politics - from which Kislev is their immediate neighbour. And while Kislev may be one of the weaker human realms, they are still a major local power with many thousands of soldiers available to them - which is still way too strong for von Greifens and their hundreds of troops. Brothers try to stay away from Boyars to avoid provoking them, but small skirmishes still happen from time to time. Reminders of those clashes remain in the zombie hordes that vampires drag along for their battles. They are immediately recongnizable by their blue clothes, fur-hats and kislevite sabers.

And some details:

You can see on them the rust pigment I started using - and I'm really happy with it. It's especially well visible on the cursed company orc here:

And of course, there's the dragon. I finally started going the other way, this time covering it's neck and belly with plates. I'm pretty happy with those

 

[Irisado]

All that intricate and time consuming work on the dragon continues to pay off. It's going to turn out really well, so keep at it .

 

[Sessioni]

Nice!

Would you say the Dragon is your biggest sculpt so far? It is almost fully covered in green stuff!

 

[InkubPendragon]

As usual, excellent, Kislevite zombies are really, really good.

 

[Unas the slayer]

As usual, excellent, Kislevite zombies are really, really good.

Yeah, the quality level is really high... and this just for a mere unit of zombies, the "low cost scum" of undead armies.
I love the work done with the mud, the effect is truly realistic .

 

[Theerteen]

I know, I know, this is getting old, but man.. I always become frustrated when I see your weakest units look better than my most time-eating-trying-to-do-my-best-undead-hero-lord-ultimate-monster-riding-paintjob :slapface: But I still try to take it as motivation what a human being can achieve by patience and learning Great Z's!

 

[benvoliothefirst]

If you mentioned it earlier in the thread I missed it, but I was reading through Monstrous Arcanum (great book BTW) and there's a description of a "Shard Dragon" that your ZD would work great as. The picture in the book looks more like an unholy cross between Cookie Monster and a snake but yours would be a much better/scarier version! I vote you paint him luminescent blue and bob's your uncle!

 

[Farmer7574]

@Borgnine It's been a while since I've checked out the forums and I'm now just catching up. You've done shed loads, it seems!

Great looking zombies, the array of conversions is pretty sweet and I love the comedy you've added into the gigantic mess of reanimated flesh and bone that they are. They're gonna look brilliant when complete, and your Kislev zeds are a nice teaser of that.

The dragon's turned out to be really impressive, superb modeling. The amount of time you've put into it already is pretty phenomenal, and I've got 100% confidence that it's all going to pay off when you finally unleash those finished pictures (eagerly awaiting those!)

Very inspiring work, it's giving me that kick to get cracking with my stuff once again! Keep it up buddy.

 

[Nagash Worshiper]

Every time I check this thread I'm left speechless! Those Kislev zombies are fantastic and the paint job amazing! Looking very realistic.
And that dragon! Awesome stuff! It's going to be a whole different mini than the original! So much looking forward to see it painted. I'm betting the paint job will be red... perhaps... Blood Red

 

[Unas the slayer]

So much looking forward to see it painted. I'm betting the paint job will be red... perhaps... Blood Red

Such an amazing work cannot be finished in a hurry.
Borgnine needs to take his time, without thinking at deadlines.

 

[Theerteen]

Such an amazing work cannot be finished in a hurry.
Borgnine needs to take his time, without thinking at deadlines.

Absolutely correct gentlemen, absolutely correct!

 

[Adam_Barrow]

That rust effect is brilliant! Is it difficult to make happen?

 

[Borgnine]

@Irisado Thanks! It's really nice to see more and more of him 'emerging' out of my visions and sketches

@InkubPendragon & @Unas the slayer Thanks! Well, it's not the first time I spend insane amounts of time on the smallest amounts of points Zombies are really fun to work with, so it's all good in the end.

@Theerteen Yeah, it's getting pretty old And you know what, those zombies are painted with the same techniques Duncan is showing on Warhammer TV. Basecoat, shade, cleanup, highlight. Check it out He's keeping it quite simple and the effects look really good. Especially frustrating when my 'going-all-out' minis look only slightly better than those zombies - and only when looking really up close

@benvoliothefirst thanks for the info! I had Monstrous Aracum stuffed somewhere, I'll have to check it out

@Farmer7574 I had a free week during which I mostly did hobby stuff, so I had it easy producing so much stuff. Thanks, I appreciate that you like the funny ones And if those inspired you to paint some more, then my work is done here

@Nagash Worshiper Thanks! Glad you like them The dragon and the rider will be probably the reddest piece in my whole collection when it's all painted

@Unas the slayer & @Theerteen It seems you really want to keep me from entering the competition I am a pleasant person, so I will make it so Well, truth to be said, it was always tight with that deadline and last 1,5 weeks I was sick and unable to get anything done. And this weekend I am away. It seems I overestimated how much work this dragon needs Maybe next time, if the next topic will allow for that

@Adam_Barrow Thanks! It's really easy peasy. I put a blob of pigment mixed with matt varnish in the most recessed spot on the weapon/armour and then spread it out slightly with a wet brush. Then it dries and that's all.

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Sorry, no update this time. As I wrote above, I was sick and unable to get anything done lately. Now I need to get back into hobbying...

 

[Unas the slayer]

@Unas the slayer & @Theerteen It seems you really want to keep me from entering the competition I am a pleasant person, so I will make it so

I know that you know I was kidding...

 

[Borgnine]

Okay, I am back and I'm bringing new painted zombies with me!

First, the Striland Expenditionary Force

Spoiler

Recently some provinces of the Empire were waging a war with Kislev - and it was a Strilander force that was moving through Varsavia. Von Greifens kept themselves hidden, not wanting to go between two large realms' war, reacting only when absolutely necessary. After those small skirmishes and after the land itself took many of the imperial soldiers, Kislevites easily crushed this force and moved away. Since that time the yellow, green and brown of Striland became a very popular colour amongst the zombies' ranks.

Through the years I managed to buy and collect many kinds of empire bodies and minis and naturally I used them later in the great zombie project. I think the cannon was the first, bought back in Poland. They fit right in I wanted to use colours of a province neighbouring Kislev, but those didn't appeal to me. Unlike Stirland, which fits my scheme nicely, but doesn't make sense geographically... of well

First, the cannon:

Then, some pikemen. Historical-style pikemen. Kinda unwieldy

And the rest, with one guy touched by chaos. The idea with the guy holding his own head is taken from a similar dude from @Mad 'At 's collection.

 

[Borgnine]

And next update! Moved here for easier indexing.

The hardy minotaur

Spoiler

Numerous places in the world are festering with beastmen, and Varsavia, being a woodland close to Chaos Wastes is certainly not an exception. Von Greifens often fought with them and it usually involves facing minotaurs. Those large, ravenous, bull-headed beastmen are very tough and can take a lot of punishment before they are brought down. One was exceptionally resilient and it took almost an armoury of weapons to kill the beast. Constantin found the beast especially impressive and raised it into his zombie legions, with all the spears, swords, arrows and axes still lodged in him. They severly limit it's movabilty, but that doesn't make a big difference for a brain-dead zombie.

A single minotaur I bought once of ebay. It was really fun to convert him and painting was much easier and faster than I expected. Well, except for those large muscles. I pity orc and beastmen players sometimes

 

[Farmer7574]

@Borgnine Brilliant stuff! @Mad 'At 's inspiration strikes again

The array of zombies from different regions is becoming pretty broad within your army, and its cool how they're all individually different yet there are groups that bare resemblance to each other. Uniform in a mass of bloody mess - I like it!

That chaos banner is cool, appropriately mud-spattered and filthy. One thought though - maybe a touch of verdigris on the pikemen's shields? The turquoise could really offset the brass nicely and tie in your ethereal colour here

Great job on the Minotaur too, you don't see many of those around here. Stabbed to death works nicely for him. Top job as always mate.