Something Wicked This Way Comes...

[old man doom]

Hello all. I wanted to get some feedback on my color scheme and theme.
I"ve wanted to start a Autumn/Halloween themed VC army for some time. I have so many great ideas for it, and with the new book and models being released soon, I think it might be the right time.
First up I have a zombie with a decorative base. I really like the yellow, orange and red turf (from Woodland Scenics) paired with the GW dead grass. It gives me the feel that the army is traversing a hayfield with animated scarecrows (my next model) and pumpkin horrors...

What do you think, sirs?

 

[Zhatan]

Arrghhh.... the light... :grave:

Well seriously it's a little bright and colorful for my taste but I see what you are goin for and if it were for say a goody two-shoes wood elf army I would be ecstatic. Wouldn't a halloween themed army be more dark though?

A tip is to be vary of the mold lines and trim them off carefully before painting as they become quite pronounced when you drybrush.

 

[Adam_Barrow]

I like where you're going with that. I think once there's a whole force based the same way you'll have a very eye-catching army on your hands. I'll be checking here often to follow your progress.

 

[darragh]

love the theme very diffrent from the usual keep going with it

 

[Baslakor]

My girl also wants to start a Halloween theme. Can you explain what stuff you used for base and tree? Thanks!

And the zombie looks awesome! Try some gloss over the blood!

 

[old man doom]

@ Zhatan- I can definitely see that it may be too light. It was a white undercoat and usually I do black for literally everything. The color scheme is being narrowed down, and it will definitely include darker models. Hell, if I could put LEDs in pumpkins and torch lights to represent night, then I would be stoked. Alas, my skills do not extend that far.

As for the mold lines- it was built and primed a long time ago, before I started to care about such things, and I was just doing a test model, so I could care less about it being perfect. However, the rest of the army will be cleaned and built well.

Thank you Adam_Barrow and Darragh

@Baslakor- Thanks man. There is gloss on the blood, however, I am not a good photographer and can never seem to get my lighting correct for my close-ups on models.

The base was done with GW dead grass all over. Then, I glued patches of Woodland Scenics' flowers on it:

The tree is from a scenics set that I found in the bookstore at my college, not sure the brand, but it could very easily be replicated by any of Woodland Scenics' products. I just brushed on some PVA glue to the branches and dipped it into each bag of flowers to flock itvand create an Autumn-like gradient in color.

 

[Baslakor]

Thanks for the info! Really helpful!

Good luck with the other 999 zombies! Will look out for an update!

 

[Unanswered]

i think the basing is incredibly eye catching! it definitely fits in a Halloween set theme but year round these beauties are gonna shine, keep up the good work, after seeing what this looks like i might give it a shot

 

[old man doom]

Here's a little update on account of the arrival of our new book (of which I'm very excited to read and build those awesome miniatures). I haven't progressed very much at all, due to a hectic college schedule, but here's what I have:

Cairn Wraith
- slight change in basing. I decided to go a little darker, and so I've used black primer instead of white (like with the zombie). I've left off the autumn colored foliage for now.

The main parts of the decrepit robes are painted orange and black. Orange and black will be my color scheme for across the entire army in order to tie it all together with some sort of uniformity.

And I finally found a "bone" painting technique that I am happy with (after trying out seemingly every method on my Tomb Kings to no avail):
- Denheb stone
- Devlan mud (heavy wash)
- Bleached bone (highlight/drybrush)
I actually followed the bone method from the new WD in the Mortis Engine painting section.

 

[Disciple of Nagash]

I quite like the theme, it is so very different from the norm. It makes me think, people always expect to the the dead at night, it might be a bit freaky to see them coming in the day as well when you think it is safe....

 

[old man doom]

I quite like the theme, it is so very different from the norm. It makes me think, people always expect to the the dead at night, it might be a bit freaky to see them coming in the day as well when you think it is safe....

Thank sir, I agree that it is very different. I got tired of seeing the purples and blues and snow bases that I had before, so I went with Halloween themed. So far I have dire spiders (goblin forest spiders as proxies for dire wolves), trick r' treat "ghouls", a pumpkin varghulf, and an all female cast of vampires, including the Coven Throne and Isabella when my order comes in.

Also, I might need a slightly brighter orange for my highlighting, especially on the cloth. I don't think GW makes a brighter shade than Blazing Orange. Does anyone know of any brighter oranges, maybe from Vallejo or The Army Painter or something?

 

[Disciple of Nagash]

All female cast of vampires, just the way I like it erv:

Look forward to seeing more

 

[Kurt_the_Corpsetaker]

Nice to see someone think outside the box with zombies. Great job on the cairn wraith, can't wait to see more!

 

[old man doom]

Nice to see someone think outside the box with zombies. Great job on the cairn wraith, can't wait to see more!

Thank you sir, much appreciated.

I forgot I had this guy sitting around from earlier:

Reaper Pumpkin Horror (not sure what he'll be yet, perhaps a necromancer)

The Isabella model is absolutely fantastic, probably my favorite of the new releases, and I am quite intimidated to paint her.
But damn she hard to build, and that sword is quite flimsy.

In the army, she will bear the title of Baroness Ilithyia von Wulfenstein.

The gloss varnish is a little too shiny (can't really see it in the picture), so I will most likely be investing in some matt finish spray sometime in the near future. Luckily, my college bookstore has a modeling and hobby section with all of that stuff.

 

[Kurt_the_Corpsetaker]

I think the pumpkin horror would make a fantastic necromancer becaus eit fits so nicely. As for Isabella just try your best and be careful with that blade. I accidentily broke one of the blades of my friends minis it took us forever to glue it back on.:'(

 

[old man doom]

Test Skeleton - the shield is black and orange (kind of hard to see in the picture)

I am really liking my color scheme as it comes together.

 

[Tawg]

Glad you put some of the autumn colour back on the base, I think that was a really cool thing that'll tie the army together and look very nice (At least I think).

Do you have enough painted up yet to do any group shots? or just singles per unit type, testing out the theme?

EDIT:

If I may suggest, your paint jobs look quite nice, but with the amount of Drybrushing you put onto them for the higher layers (And in fact, in general), it may be worth it to give your models a once over with a hobby knife to remove any excess flash (Mold lines, or sprue junk), since the drybrushing can really bring out the mold-line if it is even a little pronounced. Such as in that skeletons right arm (His right).

 

[Brahm Tazoul]

I will agree with Tawg on this point. As frustrating as it is, I'll often spend more time with my hobby knife clearing mold lines than I will painting a model. Nothing is more frustrating than having a kick-ass model with a kick-ass paint job only to see at the end...that horrible mold-line running down the side of a leg (or cloak, or satchel, etc). This will become incredibly more pronounced with washes & drybrushing, as both tend to stick to any raised (latter) or recessed (former) area. Mold-lines will help a wash stick to an area you don't want it to, and will pronounce themselves (as if over a loud-speaker) with drybrushing.

I'm sure that because this was a test-model, you didn't put to it the detail you may have for something that was sure & definite. Just hope you clear those pesky mold lines for the rest of the army.

Cheers!
Brahm

 

[old man doom]

@Tawg and Brahm - thanks guys, I decided to put very small amounts of the autumn foliage on the bases for a subtle feel instead of the big clumps I've done before.

Unfortunately, I only have single models finished as of right now. I'm in college with a huge work load right now and can hardly find time to build my stuff let alone paint it.

I know what you mean about the mold lines. Typically, I take very good care of my models and scrape off every mold line and imperfection, however, this time, I was in a hurry and did not realize that I left the mold lines on until after the first wash had been applied. Not a big deal though.

I had a crazy idea last night that came straight out of left-field: I want to see about building some slightly modified Ungors as a unit of "Satyrs" or "Devils". I feel like it would fit my Halloween theme very well, and I could adorn them with pentagrams and perhaps some sort of altar as a unit filler. I know we already have Daemons in the fantasy (and 40k) universe, but I was thinking of these being something completely different. I'll paint them with a really deep, rich crimson and black horns and hooves (sounds like Bloodletters, but I envision it a little different). And then they fit in great with my Varghulf idea of using the new LotR "Dweller in the Dark" as a Night Gaunt or some kind of folklorish creature of the night.
Thoughts?

 

[Tawg]

The only issue you might run into with the Ungors is that, the VC army doesn't have any 25mm Infantry. Either you'll have to base them on slightly smaller bases (20mm), or if you're just doing it for show I guess it's ok

Could use them as 'GG' proxy, as long as your opponent knows what is happening, seems legit to me. Except that you'd have to model GW on them, unless you like Sword and Board better :ghost:

 

[old man doom]

The only issue you might run into with the Ungors is that, the VC army doesn't have any 25mm Infantry. Either you'll have to base them on slightly smaller bases (20mm), or if you're just doing it for show I guess it's ok

Could use them as 'GG' proxy, as long as your opponent knows what is happening, seems legit to me. Except that you'd have to model GW on them, unless you like Sword and Board better :ghost:

I just looked at them on GW again and it says they are supplied with 20mm bases, so that's kinda nice. I don't expect to game much with this army (when I do play, it's against my roommate) so rules and technicalities are not too much of an issue. And yes, I would use them as "GG" proxies.

 

[Brahm Tazoul]

...but I was thinking of these being something completely different. I'll paint them with a really deep, rich crimson and black horns and hooves...

Like Tim Curry in Legend?

Sounds great! Ungors come on 20mm if memory serves, but they don't really have the nice big horns you may be looking for (more satyr, less devil). The gors on the other hand have great horns for devils, but come on a 25mm base. So really, it's up to you!

Brahm

 

[Tawg]

I just looked at them on GW again and it says they are supplied with 20mm bases, so that's kinda nice. I don't expect to game much with this army (when I do play, it's against my roommate) so rules and technicalities are not too much of an issue. And yes, I would use them as "GG" proxies.

Like Tim Curry in Legend?

Sounds great! Ungors come on 20mm if memory serves, but they don't really have the nice big horns you may be looking for (more satyr, less devil). The gors on the other hand have great horns for devils, but come on a 25mm base. So really, it's up to you!

Brahm

You know, I probably say this every time I'm told his name, but I never relate that name to a face, let alone that one lol. Also, I think you're mistake, his name is Diablo :devil2:

Also, I think I was mistaken about the Ungors because I played Beastmen back when they were the Beast of Chaos, and Ungors and Gors formed one unit, so they all were on 25mm bases. I think since then (It's been two editions now?) they have been made their own unit and on 20mm (sounds like it anyways).


That's cool though about lax rules&such. You Warhammer more for hobby I take it? Sounds almost crazy, since the prices are as they are :grave: But I know at least one person who literally cycles through armies, painting them up and playing a bit while he does, then just selling them off to fund his next adventure lol.

 

[Brahm Tazoul]

Also, I think you're mistake, his name is Diablo :devil2:

No, Senior, 'is name is "Darkness". Diablo is his next door neighbor...


Brahm

 

[old man doom]

Like Tim Curry in Legend?

Yes, but a little more subtle. I think the Ungors will fit nicely.