The Undeadish

[ZeroTwentythree]

@Farmer7574, I agree with you. I even tried it on my first two test models' teeth. But the detail just seems to be too shallow for anything other than picking out the individual teeth one at a time with a tiny brush. I will try again on the next batch, as my application of primer on this first set was... less than perfect.



I counted up my Mantic skeletons and discovered I will be one base short of having a nice round number of units. So I painted up an old Citadel figure to use with them, as a leader type figure, along with one of the "emerging" skeletons from the Mantic sprues.

I also dug out an old (already painted) swarm to accompany the undead.

 

[Farmer7574]

@ZeroTwentythree nice work on that filler/diorama there, that old citadel figure is cool and blends well with these Mantic guys too.

@Farmer7574, I agree with you. I even tried it on my first two test models' teeth. But the detail just seems to be too shallow for anything other than picking out the individual teeth one at a time with a tiny brush.

Insane that I do this anyway :lol:
I put a lot of time into the face of a model.

By the way, how are you painting up your bones on your minis?

 

[wheeljack]

Loving the colour scheme you have going, and the clean painting

 

[ZeroTwentythree]

Thanks!



I finished up five more bases of Mantic skeletons, and finally based the undeadish ogres (Golgfag v.2.)

I'm thinking about starting a gaming club. I'm chewing on some names like Lonely Attic Wargaming, or Lonely Attic Wargaming Group. The former has the advantage of a great acronym ("I am the LAW!") but the latter has an amusing irony, since I will most likely be the only member.

 

[Farmer7574]

@ZeroTwentythree You could put a mini bar in the corner and make it a perfect man cave.

A suggestion for the logo; a silhouette of an orc and a man fighting inside the white area instead of that box.

Nice work on those undead ogre guys. Keeping the Undeadish theme alive!

 

[ZeroTwentythree]

Slow going, but I did just a few more skeletons. The photo makes them look a bit darker, but they look like they fit with the previous skeletons in real life.

 

[Shadespyre]

Looking good. I'm enjoying how we are currently painting the same skeletons and yet making them look quite different!

 

[Farmer7574]

@Shadespyre You're totally right, both takes on the Mantic skeletons look a world apart. Good job guys.

 

[Mad 'At]

Must say that I really like what you've done with those mantic skeletons. Great rust and fantastic black. How did you achieve that nice faded look on their shield? Though while I do like that effect I also think that the shields look a bit plain, would be nice to see some kind of emblem on them.

 

[Borgnine]

You certainly have a lot of interesting models here, very much different of what is usually seen here Must be quite a hassle to get them all - or maybe I am mistaken? I am really curious what function will the giantess have? I really like this model, now I want to see how you will tackle it

Also, very good painting and the composition of units. Nice work with the painting, especially on those cold white grey ones, like the human warriors on the first page and the ogres here. Also, a terrific alternative to current crypt horrors, those ogres are I also like the composition of warm rust and cold grey on the skeletal units.

Definitely a fine piece of good work here, keep up the good work.

 

[ZeroTwentythree]

How did you achieve that nice faded look on their shield? Though while I do like that effect I also think that the shields look a bit plain, would be nice to see some kind of emblem on them.

The shields are painted dark grey, washed with black, then highlighted back up with a combination of layering & blending. Sort of like two layers, with a third blended between them, and then a final highlight on the top edges of the shields and some of the slashes in the shields.

I've been keeping them black to fit with the background I'm working on, and the idea of a largely mindless force of undead that have no use for decorations, insignia, etc. I like to think of them as being more alien to living human concepts than normally portrayed.

You certainly have a lot of interesting models here, very much different of what is usually seen here Must be quite a hassle to get them all - or maybe I am mistaken? I am really curious what function will the giantess have? I really like this model, now I want to see how you will tackle it

The figures are a big mix. Some of them I've had for ages, like the old GW skeletons, ogres, etc. I played Skaven for many (many, many...) years and when I sold off my army, I kept some odds & ends like the giant rats and The Caller's mount. A few of the others are newer, like the Mantic figures (the undead army was too good a deal to pass up,) the Warmachine Bane Thralls, and two of the Reaper Bones biggies. Everything's a bit different because I'm not necessarily putting it together for Warhammer. I may use the army for Warhammer (or Oldhammer) at some point, but I'm sort of working on a concept & campaign, and will probably play a number of different rule sets.

 

[Mad 'At]

The shields are painted dark grey, washed with black, then highlighted back up with a combination of layering & blending. Sort of like two layers, with a third blended between them, and then a final highlight on the top edges of the shields and some of the slashes in the shields.

I've been keeping them black to fit with the background I'm working on, and the idea of a largely mindless force of undead that have no use for decorations, insignia, etc. I like to think of them as being more alien to living human concepts than normally portrayed.

Oh, never thought of it that way. Cool idea, it does make them feel quite otherworldly.

And thanks for the recipe, doesn’t sound too different from what I do when blending.

 

[ZeroTwentythree]

A very quick paint job on one of the current Citadel plastic chaos knights. I had this single knight left over from other projects & figured I could use him as a leader of some sort. Stuck with the usual color palette.

Also, a little behind the scenes photo from when I was painting the horns on his head. I used a few layered washes and hung him (and his magnetic base) upside-down from my light (which is steel.)

Speaking of my light, I finally replaced the two fluorescent lamps in it. They were probably older than I am. I got the same lamps as I had, but the new ones are so nice and bright!



I keep a "wanted" list of miniatures and related items. My budget is extremely small, and I'm trying not to outpace painting too much, so items are only slowly removed from the list. I've recently started feeling nostalgic and have decided that I really need to have two pieces of the past that I honestly can't afford. Unless I find some hidden bargain or manage to arrange some sort of swap for figures or painting services, I'm not sure I will be able to cross these off my list any time in the foreseeable future.

The first is the old Regiments of Renown Nightmare Legion. I had this (painted!) when I was younger and bought minis without much concern for focusing on large armies. I eventually sold or traded it away. But now I am dying to get a set for my current project!

The other item isn't actually miniatures. Long, long, loooong ago I worked in a store and we had a (sealed) copy of Ratspike. I should have bought it. I didn't. I've been thinking about it lately, and would really like to get it.

 

[Mad 'At]

Chaos knight looks really cool. You've really nailed the limited colour palette painting. Nifty idea with the horns too, letting it dry upsidedown.

Good luck in finding those antiques. Happy hunting

 

[Farmer7574]

@ZeroTwentythree Nice chaos knight you've done there. He will fit in well with your army. I like your trick on the horns, pulled off really well. I'll bare that in mind when it comes to painting horns in that style.

Your idea of having a wanted list including some vintage items is cool, I never bother

You can find some of those cool classics on eBay, but you'd probably have to sell a kidney the way they're usually priced... There is always that off chance of scoring a great deal though, so good luck with that.

 

[ZeroTwentythree]

Mail day! Thank you Ral Partha Europe!

I can't seem to take a clear photo with my phone for days now, so it's a bit blury, but the Meier dragon and two skeletal ogres arrived. I'm dying to start on these right away, but have some other things to work on first. I am also thinking about taking a shot at sculpting the ogres a couple of friends before I paint them. Not saying that I will be successful... but I think I'd like to take a shot at it.

The ogres are a little bigger than the old Golgfags I'm using with the Undeadish, but I'm OK with that. Scale is all over the place in this project, and it still looks OK. The dragon is the perfect size for me. In fact, it's close to the same size as The Caller's mount that I previously painted up. I will post some better pics with other figures for scale at some point.

Also of note, the dragon is in four parts, and they key into each other really well. They need t a bit of filing to get them to fit, but once that's done I shouldn't need to pin the pieces. Very well sculpted. But I suppose that's to be expected. Tom Meier has always been one of the best.

Good luck in finding those antiques. Happy hunting

You can find some of those cool classics on eBay, but you'd probably have to sell a kidney the way they're usually priced... There is always that off chance of scoring a great deal though, so good luck with that.

I've been looking on eBay. The low end of the eBay prices seems to be around $150-$200 for a full set/box. I've seen them for even more, but not sure they're actually selling at that price. In fact, even some of the lower priced sets are being re-listed, so obviously not selling. In any case, I've recently gone from a small budget to no budget. Not unless I sell/trade something else or work out a painting trade or something. But I'm in no hurry, I have new stuff to paint! (And more old stuff, too...)

 

[ZeroTwentythree]

I just put the dragon together, and it took a bit more work (and will require some filler) than I had anticipated to get the pieces to fit.


I also stumbled upon one last, and very small, dragon from my old collection. Old enough that I had painted it with enamels! It's a Grenadier figure, and I think it was called a young forest dragon or something along those lines. Smaller than the Meier dragons. I'll get a pic sometime soon.

---

I finally put some varnish on the table, and to celebrate, I set some terrain and many of the recent figures out on the table. The Undeadish are on the march, coming down from the foothills. A small cottage is in their path...

 

[Borgnine]

I know that dragon! A fine model, good for you for getting it! I wonder and I am looking to how will you paint it. I like the terrain too, it gives some kind of a classic vibe, but maybe that's also your troops

 

[Farmer7574]

@ZeroTwentythree They're looking great all ranked up together

 

[Blutsauger]

Looking really good!

 

[Sessioni]

I just took a road-trip to northern Norway, and your army truly looks like a marauding varangian undead force Your gaming table is also awesome, maybe another field and a house with a lake would fit right in.
Very nice! I would like to see a closer picture of your painted army

 

[ZeroTwentythree]

I painted up the Undead Dragon in similar colors to the rest of the Undead(ish.) I've got mixed feelings about the results. I think I may end up putting a little more (brush)work into it. I'm trying to find a balance between wanting to add detail, but keeping the simple character and palette of the rest of the Undead. Maybe I should hold off and put that effort into one or two of the living dragons first, and then take another look and see how I feel about this one?

He/she needs a name. For the moment I'm referring to him/her as "Calgon the Black" until I think of something more appropriate.

I just took a road-trip to northern Norway, and your army truly looks like a marauding varangian undead force Your gaming table is also awesome, maybe another field and a house with a lake would fit right in.
Very nice! I would like to see a closer picture of your painted army

Thanks! I'm having some photo problems at the moment, but I'm going to try setting up some better lamps and a background on the table with some more terrain and get better photos of the undead in groups, plus some of their living opponents, as soon as I can.

 

[Farmer7574]

@ZeroTwentythree I think you've achieved a decent looking paint job on the dragon. I think if I were to change anything about it I'd spot-colour the eyes to make them stand out and look more undead. Perhaps with straight up red or yellow serpentine-style eyes.

 

[ZeroTwentythree]

Thanks. I might do that with the eyes. I was a little indecisive about how to paint them.


A comparison of scale. These two make an interesting, if odd, pair. Seeing them together is making me reconsider my decision to paint the rat-beast meaty instead of black or grey.

While digging through boxes of old figures, I came across this guy and think I should find a spot for him in my current plans. It’s an unreleased (AFAIK) “Bramble Demon” from an also unreleased game called Warlocke: Rise of the Young Kingdoms.

And sometimes my work table looks like this….

(Any guesses what's in the jar?)

 

[Farmer7574]

@ZeroTwentythree I'm liking the fleshy paint job of the rat beast thing, the colours are a nice break in your army's palette so far.

Is your paint station by any chance in a mad scientists laboratory? I'm guessing you've got a Titan Forge Drakskull's Menace flying squig-like thing in the pot...

Speaking of which, the Bramble Demon looks like a chaotic giant cave squig! Pretty cool seeing these minis in your plog as I'd never seen most of them before.