The Legion of Dimitri (picture heavy)

[Vincenzo]

I am painting and playing warhammer since...well about 1993, when part of my gaming group was sucked in a Mighty Empire campaign. Soon after I discarded the Orcs and the Undead claimed me with their cold grasp and I became theirs, forever...
My skill isn't great as a general or painter after so many years. But still I love both the the Vampire Counts and Tomb Kings at heart and when I can I buy some piece on Ebay.
This is the latest incarnation of my army -many miniatures were sold once they became too old and my painting skill, albeit slowly, progressed- but the core is amost the same I begin fifteen years ago: 16 plastic skeleton horsemen and 80 skeleton warriors I "upgraded" with new arms, skulls and shields or transformed them in TK centaurs.
And I choose the Undead then because I wanted a small army fast to paind and deploy...

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[Trevy the Great]

Nice force you have there, Vincenzo. Those sixteen years of Warhammer certainly shows in the quality of the models.
You also have some old models in there, which is cool. I like to see old models standing proudly next to the new.

 

[Vincenzo]

Dimitri, Blood Dragon Vampire Lord on Winged Nightmare and now Ancestral Terror (I have to work on his base...mph).
This model has about 10 or more years (and showing..) and was often my army general. And beside my Black Coach is my the greatest conversion work.

I used the Red Duke body to start, cutting his head and using instead a plastic Dark Elf head from Marauder, sculpting (badly) his hair with greenstuff or something like that, maybe das. I was so young and inexperienced...The sword is from an old plaguebearer and the seat is Imrik's. The spear and shield (ugh! sooo ugly) came from Rakarth.

The beast was a lucky chance: a friend of mine gifted me with some GW monster spare parts from his bits box. I noticed by chance that the pieces could snap together lovely and so I begin the frankesteinesque Great Work...

The front claws, the left rear side and right wing are from a dragon. The right rear side and the left wing from a Deathclaw. The tail is an old Tyranid warrior lash. The lower torso/ribcage as two great eagle (?) claws. The upper skull is from an unknown non-GW dragon while the jaw is actually the cranium of an old Fleshound.

I have to repaint it someday...

---

Mannfred von Carstein on Ancestral Terror. Boy, I truly love/hate that little...
I had both the miniatures in the box for several years and only three or four months ago I choose to paint them and put em together as I am using an "history accurate" force frome the Vampire Wars and the new Mannfred don't fit. Yet I MUST HAVE that model, sooner or later...

While the photos aren't great I truly like the final result as I think both the minis are far better together than with their former partners. The base is a resin grave or something like of unknown origin.

 

[The Dark Sheep]

Wow! You've done quite a good job on those terrors of yours; they really live up to their name. Now I demand a picture of that awesome black coach.

 

[Vincenzo]

Hardly awesome anymore (at least to me) my Midnight Mobile Mausoleum was an experiment of sort and is about to be rebuilt. The model became bigger and bigger: to use it legally I have to change its base maybe cut to 2 centaur horsemen.

In 2001 or 2002 I was playing an amatorial theatre play and between the scenes I had a crazy idea about a big, rather inexpensive, warmachine. I didn't like the GW BC -too naive for my own taste and the gothic vampire in the coffin was absolutely inadequate- so I began to draw the first design of my nasty hard hitter over the back cover of the play!

The carriage and the columns are made exclusively by toothpicks, cardboard and DAS. The "statue" actually are halloween's fake vampire fangs upside down, gargoyle wings and unknown dragon's head. The too big, too brutish Wraith is a modified WH40K Chaos sorcerer with an old plastic skull and zombie arms.
I used the WH40K chaos vehicle sprue for the nasty looking side bars. The vampire body should be like a relic in a temple or something like that.
I put two varnished buttons with horse' tails above the column as flaming braziers and I rebuilt an old Skullchucka as yoke.
The "vampire" is a forniture piece from Hero Quest- I found another on this forum that used the same piece for his own Black Coach.
On the side of the carriage you will read in Dark Speech "One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them". A joke of sort.

 

[Trevy the Great]

Ooh, yay, closeups!

Those are awesome models you have there, Vincenzo. The Abyssal Terrors (it is abyssal, by the way) are absolutely awesome. The colors and minor conversions on them are very well done.
That Black Coach conversion is awesome as well. It looks very frightening and macabre and the skeletal centaurs are a nice touch. I look forward to closeups of more of your models.

 

[Jerek]

I admire your passion for the hobby aspect of the game. I, too, have been in the hobby for about 15 years although I did not start with undead (*cough* 40k *cough*). I think that, in order to stay with the hobby for so long, you have to be enamored primarily by the warhammer fluff and the models.

I like your conversions, especially the black coach. As Vekarin pointed out, it looks very true to the theme of the vampire counts. I hope to see more pictures of your models. Keep up the good work.

 

[Sanai]

Nice Conversions. Love the Black Coach.

 

[Vincenzo]

A very, very old ethereal host. I used every ghost I could find.

The new Dire Wolf, about a week old. Five days to make 'em.

Banshee and Wraiths. In my backstory the Wraith were Sigmarite monks corrupted carnally by a widow to take revenge for her husband's death. When the widow was accused by witchcraft and was burned to the stake her lovers did nothing to save her to cover up their guilt.
She later returned as a Banshee and put the monks one aganist the other until they killed each other in a crescendo of paranoia.

Unknown Liche Dragon with modified Blood Dragon rider with plastic Guardian Eldar head.

An old Dieter Hesnicht with Manticore. If GW doesn't release the Necromancer Army I will have to sell it.

Some of my vampires.

The (un)dynamic duo: Kemmler and Krell. I hope they will back.

Vampire hero on barded steed. I used an old Champion of Khorne with skeletal head and armor, a Dark Elf head from Marauder, an old Tyranid warrior sword, the gruesome banner from a metal Marauder Dark Elf standard bearer and some other little pieces. One day I will have to repaint him.

Evil Necromancers...

Nagash. Well, actually this plastic mini (from Heroquest or some other old board game) is a loooot cooler than the original Nagash.
I found him but I didn't paint him.

Bat swarm. The bats are from Warhammer Quest I believe. I truly like how I glued them.

 

[Trevy the Great]

Those pictures are too small for me to see. Is there a way that you could post them larger?

 

[Vincenzo]

My fault.

 

[Trevy the Great]

My, those Spirit Hosts and the Zombie Dragon are pretty awesome models. They aren't GW, are they, because they outstrip the current models by quite a ways?

 

[Vincenzo]

The ghost came from several unknown sorces, maybe Ral Partha, Grenadier and very old ('80 maybe?) GW. The Dragon Liche should be Grenadier too.

 

[The Dark Sheep]

Those are some really ghostly ghosts; they definitely do well as restless spirits. The dragon is also very appealing, and so are your vampires and especially the BSB.

 

[Jerek]

I love that vamp hero on steed and your version of Nagash. More close-ups maybe?

 

[Vincenzo]

As you wish

Gog and Magog
Gog should be a modified Titan Skeleton from Grenadier while Magog is a Giant Skeleton from Reaper.

I've used a Inquisitor skull for his upper head while the mandible is the original one: actually they match each other perfectly. Amazing.

It will be repainted someday. Alas is too much fragile for secure transport.

The sword came from a Great Unclean One. I hope to find an aegyptian sword someday for it.

Tomb Skorpion 1 from Reaper. The 2 is identical.

Akensettra, The Rebel prince, Renegade Son of Settra
Actually this conversion existed in my mind a little before I created it, while I was on a walk. Back home I built it in a few minute, maybe an hour or so for the last touches.
In the fuff story he was the thirdborn of Settra but he despised his father for his unholy acts aganist the gods. He formed a rebellion of Khemrian princes and gave siege to the King's palace but in the end he was betrayed by his own right-hand man in the last act and the rebellion was crushed. Settra loved in a cruel way his renegade son and respected somehow his failed attempt but he had to punish him in a spectacular way so he ordered his priests to mummificate him alive and secretly he was hidden with his dead soldiers in a tomb in the jungle, an upside-down pyramid covered by trees and vines.

Head: old mummy's mace
Left arm: Ushabti's and greenstuff
Right arm: plastic skeleton's and greenstuff
Torso: old mummy's torso
"Ribbons" from TK plastic banners
Crotch armor: Chaos Marauder's shoulder pad
Lower legs: green stuff
Backbanner: Crocodile Games Avatar of Thot's (I believe)

 

[The Dark Sheep]

Ooh! Undead consrtucts, and a whole bunch of them. I like the scorpion best as it looks like... well a bone scorpion.

 

[Vincenzo]

Two old GW Undead Chariot (waaay better than the late plastic ones) with old sketeton drivers with "upgraded" arms & skulls. I love 'em.

Casket of Souls

Old Grenadier Skull Catapults and various producer servants

"Undead swarm". Actually he's a chinese undead dragon toy. I used the ribcage for my Corpse Chariot.

 

[The Dark Sheep]

Another set of nice models. The "swarm" there is particularly inventive.

 

[Jerek]

Very nice. I love those old GW chariots. I agree with you, they look a lot better than the new ones

 

[Vincenzo]

Ushabti
I used the cheaper mini from Crocodile games and a modified Heroquest minotaur as a Khemrian version of Set. In Akensettra's army the Ushabti aren't created with ensorcelled bone, wood and metal but they are monstruous amalgam of man and beast, more flesh golems than holy statues.

Icon bearer and two Liche Priest (actually modified liche/skeleton mages from Grenadier).

Blood Knights. Damn, I worked on them for a full week and still they aren't finished yet...the Banner in ChaosVC-inspired.

 

[Trevy the Great]

Very nice. I like to Tomb Kingsesque models. Egyptian themes are awesome.
That 'swarm' is a very cool concept, by the way.

 

[Falahk]

My, those Spirit Hosts and the Zombie Dragon are pretty awesome models. They aren't GW, are they, because they outstrip the current models by quite a ways?

could it really be that much of a suprise? the large majorety of the 4th ed Undead models was superior to the current once we have (only thing thats better now is pretty much the plastic skelletons and the graveguards)

 

[Jerek]

My, those Spirit Hosts and the Zombie Dragon are pretty awesome models. They aren't GW, are they, because they outstrip the current models by quite a ways?

could it really be that much of a suprise? the large majorety of the 4th ed Undead models was superior to the current once we have (only thing thats better now is pretty much the plastic skelletons and the graveguards)

I agree. Quality of current models is better, although they lack a certain character that older models had.
Vincenzo, your log is looking great. Thanks for those close-ups

 

[Vincenzo]

Alas my photographic skill is raw at best. I will improve soon, I hope.

Broncosaurus.
Modified dinosaur plastic toy with horned skull from Orc's chariot and howdah from Grenadier's undead rhino. I had to finish this thing years ago. One day it will be the army general's chariot. My nephew will see it!

Setesque Ushabti.
Heroquest (?) plastic minotaur with weapons from orcish sprues and halo/crown/tiara from sebek miniature from Crocodile.

TK Heavy Cavalry
I had to upgrade one unit's shields with TK new ones.

Tomb Guard unit 1
Mummy warriors from Crocodile Games with TK skeleton warriors' shields.

Tomb Guard unit 2
Old GW mummies with musician from Crocodile games, champion and hero from Reaper (I love 'em!).

Mph. The photos are still fuzzy. I will try to make new ones ASAP.