Farmer's Undead

[Borgnine]

After seeing those spirit hosts and cairn wraith, I'm really looking forward to those hexies Also, adding pauldrons to that skeleton champion made him really bulky, very nice conversion!

 

[Nagash Worshiper]

Been a long time since I checked this forum, wonderful work on the ethereals! I've been planning to do something similar on one of my characters and might try and copy your technique. Very much looking forward to see the bat swarms since I planned on getting the reaper ones myself.

 

[Farmer7574]

It's been ages since I've gotten anything done, but here we go - my Hexwraith concept mini:

Just like the Cairn Wraith, dark blue robes, blue flames and light blue everything else.

Some more shots:

And here's the before shot:

I green stuffed flames on the horse's eyes & snout and also on it's robes, nothing big but having blue flames over the entire miniature instead of just the rider makes it look better I think. I'm happy with the mash of blues at work here but still think my fire needs improving, so hopefully I can hone my skills on the other 4 Hexxies I've got in the works.


Regarding earlier posts:

@Irisado Thanks mate. I can see how he has an old school appearance in a modern way

@Borgnine Cheers buddy. The spearmen champion is mix n mash of black knight, grave guard & skeleton bits along with the scratched up skull from the ghoul kit. I wanted him to stand out as the champion whilst making him look noticeably different from the previous swordsmen champion. The pauldrons also help to show his status amongst the other guys

@Nagash Worshiper Glad you like it mate, I look forward to seeing what you do with the scheme. The bat swarms are quite a way away right now as I'm still aspiring to get these ethereals squared away and have a few minis that have been lying around for way too long that they're overdue a paint job.

Cheers for taking a look, let me know what you think. Meanwhile, work continues on the remaining spirit hosts.

 

[Irisado]

That Hexwraith looks great. Those dark blue robes, in particular, look very impressive.

 

[Adam_Barrow]

Good call with the added fire! It's subtle and really works. This is an awesome model, man. Can't wait to see em all lined up.

 

[Borgnine]

Farmer is back! Yay!
That hexie really turned out great! That etheral coldness looks really otherworldly and the fires were really a good call The whole unit will be surely something to behold!

 

[Farmer7574]

Some progress on the other two spirit hosts:

The victims are all done with glow in their chests like before, and the spirits are ready for the blue layering - a time consuming process but worth it in the end.

I've also been assembling the wraiths and have decided to make the Hellwraith stand out a bit more by elevating his mount a bit:

Not very clear from the angle I took the shot but he stands out amongst the others quite well.


@Irisado Cheers mate. I was a bit unsure whether it would work on the horses or not at first, but I'm quite happy with the dark/light tones at work here.

@Adam_Barrow Cheers buddy, I've got a bit of a schedule made up to complete the three units I've got on the go; spirit hosts, hexwraiths and skeletons with spears. I'm aiming to have them all done in time for the 2nd year army shot in October.

@Borgnine Aye, I'm back. I think that's what I find most attractive about this scheme; the coldness in comparison to the warm colours on the bases. The whole unit is currently WIP, but behold it you shall, sir!

Thanks for your feedback gents, more stuff on the way

 

[Irisado]

Those spirits emerging from those skeletal remains are very well constructed. I'm not a big fan of the Spirit Host models, but you may be changing my mind with how you've sculpted them. I'm looking forward to seeing how they progress.

 

[SkinAndBones]

They're modeled like that off the sprue. That's how they come... Or do you mean the fallen logs and such?

 

[Irisado]

I didn't realise that the skeletons were part of the model. Thanks for pointing that out .

 

[Farmer7574]

Here's the two spirit hosts that I've been working on over the past few weeks:

A before shot:

And then the whole unit together:

They took a bit more time than I usually like to spend on three miniatures but the end result makes it worthwhile. They're awesome sculpts but have zero alternative pose options - that got me thinking about some cool conversion ideas, so the chances of me doing another box of spirit hosts later on down the line are pretty good.

I've also done some green stuff work on the standard and musician for the skeleton spearmen unit:

More or less the same as on the zombie standard, I sculpted vines & leaves onto these guys. I may have gone a bit overkill on the musician's instrument but at least it makes it quite different from the sword 'n' board unit's musician.


@Irisado Nothing special conversion-wise on the spirit hosts mate, just the forest basing But thank you kindly.

@SkinAndBones Yeah, the spirit hosts are vanilla as far as the spirits go. The Hellwraith too, although he's been elevated to help show his status. The previous image didn't show this very clearly but I'll post a WIP shot of the Hexwraith unit soon, that'll give you a better idea of it.

Thanks for taking a look, more coming soon.

 

[Theerteen]

Boy I wish I'd have your sculpting skills. I tried the ivy thing on my Blood Red entry, and was not very satisfied with it. Your SH look awesome as usual, for the alternative basing or positioning, have you considered bending them with heat? I rearranged most of my Z's arms positions that way, not very carefully because I wanted to get rid of the work, but it's not that difficult to do it with those filigree models I think.

 

[Borgnine]

Great work on the spirit hosts! I commend your perseverance and patience, I almost killed myself doing something similar but you managed very good, they look very clean and well done! Vines are also a nice addition.

As for @Theerteen 's suggestion, I used a hair dryer to bend dragon's wings one time and it turned out really nice, the temperature makes it easier to work with but it isn't enough to melt it. Still, I am wondering what conversion ideas you have for them. And to think you want to paint them again

 

[SkinAndBones]

Those spirit hosts are rad. Wish I had went that way with mine.

 

[Farmer7574]

For anyone that might be interested in this scheme I took step-by-step pics of the spirit hosts this round, so here's a guide I've been able to put together.

Farmer's Spirit Host Tutorial:

Before painting I prepared & assembled them as normal then filled the spirits' eyes & mouths with greenstuff.

1/ Undercoat the spirits white. I used Vallejo Surface Primer and applied several thin coats.
2/ Basecoat Baharroth Blue. Again, a few thin coats work nicely.
3/ Wash Vallejo White Primer 1:1 Water (or medium) - don't let it pool too much or you could get these ugly white rings when it dries. You can enhance whiter areas by applying the wash several times (allowing it to dry completely each time). This is actually how the inner half of the strata on the blades is created.

4/ Layer the majority of the miniature with Baharroth Blue 1:1 Water (or medium). Be sure to leave the deepest areas white, and to not apply too much paint around these areas to give you a nice transition between the tones of blue. Remember to hit the weapon blades too, to start creating the outer half of the strata.
5/ Repeat the previous step using Temple Guard Blue 1:1 Water (or medium). Remember to be careful to keep the transition as smooth as you can.
6/ Layering again, but this time using Teclis blue 1:1 Water. This is the last colour I layered the blades with.

7/ Go over the spirits again with Caledor Sky 1:1 Water. I didn't layer the blades with this.
8/ Same again with Incubi Darkness 1: Caledor Sky 1: Water 2. I used this colour as the main highlight on the weapons' edges.
9/ Incubi Darkness 1:1 Water for the final layer on the ghosts. I basically used this on the highest parts of the miniature – the face, weapon points, fingers, etc. Things like that.

And there we have it, after basing them I end up with this:

@Theerteen Cheers mate. I used to just use green stuff for gap filling but over the past few years have tried my hands at slightly more daring stuff. I'm far from some of our members' level of skill here on CN but it works for what I need it to do.

I hadn't actually considered repositioning the ghosts in future conversions, but it totally makes sense. I'll have to try out your suggestion!

@Borgnine Cheers buddy! Patience is needed aplenty for them, but it's worth it in the end. It's funny how it goes... I was just going to stick to three spirit hosts but once finishing them I just thought 'Wouldn't a big block of them look awesome!'. I really understand how it's impossible to finish an army

Using a hairdryer – top tip! I wouldn't have thought that would've applied enough heat to reshape our plastic kits, but as it's tried & tested, I'll be sure to give it a go in the future.

@SkinAndBones Thanks a lot mate, I spotted Rafal Maj's (AKA Bloody Beast) spirit hosts on the net a few years back and since then wanted to replicate them. I've taken a while to do so (like I usually do!) but am glad that I eventually did.

Thanks for looking and cheers for you comments as always .

 

[Adam_Barrow]

Brilliant! Thanks for the tutorial. Your ghosts are awesome, man. Never would have thought to gs the mouth and eyes.

 

[Borgnine]

I often thought about painting skeletons with glowing, white eyes, but I was discouraged because there will always be a shadow in their eye sockets. And it never occured to me to fill it with greenstuff! :slapface: Thanks!

And about the hair dryer - one still needs to apply some force to bend plastic. It wasn't as soft as I expected it, but it could be bent much more before it could break and it would stay in the new shape easier. Good luck with it

 

[robtion]

Everything looking above board here. Carry on.

Also, love the spirit host, great effect

 

[Irisado]

Those Spirit Hosts have turned out superbly. The way in which the colours give them both an ethereal and spectral effect is excellent. That's really good work .

 

[Sharkbelly]

I like it! Almost looks like it's glowing.

 

[Sessioni]

Some high class stuff here, I have never seen this kind of ethereal theme. Those blades look unreal in the last picture!

 

[Farmer7574]

A quick progress update - I've had these remaining 12 skeletons on the go for the past week or so and this is where I'm at so far:

I've managed to slog my way through all that layering on the bones and get the blue basecoat on, so it's pretty much downhill from here. A little tidying up required then it's all the fun stuff left to do


Cheers for all of your feedback & comments chaps:

@Adam_Barrow Totally welcome about the tutorial. CN has given me lots of tips & ideas over the past few years and it's good to give some back. That's really what it's all about – pooling our ideas, tactics and work and keeping the community alive.

@Borgnine Glowing white eyes would be interesting to see on skellies. I've never seen this but I've seen them with blue/green glazes around their eye sockets which look pretty cool.

@robtion The inverted colour effect really stands out amongst the rest of the units in the army.

@Irisado @Sharkbelly Cheers, I'm glad you like them guys. The aim was to have them appear as though they're glowing with ghostly light, so if that's how they appear then the plan has worked

@Sessioni Thanks a lot for your praise, mate. Glad you like the spirits!

Thanks for looking, back in the near future with more pics to share.

 

[Borgnine]

Looking good! Are you planning some kind of symbol on that big banner? Or will it stay blue like the first one?

 

[Farmer7574]

Here's the final batch of skeleton spearmen:

12 makes my biggest batch of skeletons yet. They took a while but can finally join their undead comrades.

Then we have a shot of the converted command group:

Made using parts from about five or six different kits plus greenstuff vines to add to the forest theme. They were fun to work on and have given me ideas for a grave guard standard bearer I'll be doing in the future.

And last but not least, here's a shot of the whole unit:

Next on the desk is the remaining Hexwraiths...


@Borgnine Cheers buddy. I want to add art to the banners in the future but I'm not sure what I'd like on them for now. I've done the same thing with my O&G banners but have actually decided on a design for them now... it's just getting around to doing them.

Cheers for taking a look, more in the works.

 

[Sessioni]

I like it a lot. Traditional Farmer7574 quality, which is great! The blue is enchanting.