EDIT 03/09: These models are now sold! But I am always taking on commissions so please feel free to contact me if you would like to hire my services.
If anyone is in the market to expand their High Elf army and looking for a load of Swordmasters then I might just have the models for you!
A total of 33 Swordmaster models painted to a high-gaming stand from Island of Blood - 27 rank and file models and 6 command models (2x full command).
Looking for £250, but I am open to offers. They are currently listed on eBay but if anyone is interested I would much prefer to sell them privately via paypal to avoid the extortionate eBay fees! :P
Ooops! I completely forgot to post the other big bird that was a part of the High Elf commission. So here it is. Unfortunately it wasn't possible to use the Corsec rods for this model since you need two of them and what with them needing to be screwed in, well of course it wasn't going to work. However the two normal rods provide enough stability and is helped along too with a magnet connecting the two parts together.
Talking of magnets, all of the figures are magnetised and can be removed or switched around. I think I might be a little obsessed with magnets! But damn, they are awesome!
I've been fortunate to have received a commission for another Skycutter which I'm really looking forward too - and next time I'll try not to forget to post the photos!
Don't worry you haven't click on the wrong link or stumbled onto a Jem and the Holograms fansite (the High Elf post is below) this was just my theme song for most of the time I was painting these models. XD
Anyhoo... *cough*
Finally, here's the post on the three recently completed High Elf characters.
I was really looking forward to painting the two female models, Handmaiden of the Everqueen and Alarielle the Radiant, but and it's a pretty big but... they're GW's Finecast. BIG SIGH! Now, I'm no expert and granted have only recently started painting properly alongside Jay but even I had heard of the horror stories about this material and have to agree that "Finecast" is big pile of crap... and I never want to touch it AGAIN!
I got Jay to do all the prep work on these brittle fragile models, and he did his normal thang but, of course, it took at least double the amount of time than a "normal" model to get them into a workable state.
Once I got started I quickly realised these were going to take a long long time to get done to good standard, as for whatever reason it took a gazmilion layers to get a good base layer on them, and yes they were properly sprayed with a base coat. :P
The other thing that I was very wary of , especially with Alarielle who is standing on her tippy toes with only a couple millimeters of failcast material connecting her to her base, was SNAPPING HER LIKE A TWIG! Thankfully, I was gently and she survived the many hours of handling. :)
The Handmaiden is a lot more sturdier and looks awesome, but I really wish they'd made her in plastic like the Loremaster. Mr Hoeth was a dream to paint, so much so I'm currently working on another one!
As you can see from the photos I even took the plunge and managed to paint a couple of fine decorative lines on their cloaks - once they were complete it was like I had progressed to a new level and unlocked a special Miniature Painter's Achievement.
Yay for steady hands!
...there should also be an achievement for painting gems! Seriously how many do they need?! Mind, at least they're not skulls lol!
The birds will be up in the next post, but we're waiting on some new flight stands for them all since, well, the weird plastic stands that GW provide quite frankly suck and will only hold the weight of the birds once they're glued. Which is a little bit of a problem for storage and not to mention sending this commission through the post. But not to worry the new fancy flight mechanism will solve all these problems! :)
With a great new client on board who wanted to add to his existing High Elf army this commission provided us a great opportunity to see and paint all the cool new high elf models recently released.
First up is the Sister of Avelorn - x20 (2 boxes).
High elves have always had a good looking aesthetic with lots of flowing robes, ornate armour and gems out the wazoo and these latest models are of course no exception.
Before seeing the components, I had envisioned a magnetising trick for this expensive duel unit box set: my master-plan was to magnetise the sister and shadow warrior torsos to the same legs, which would have been awesome allowing the buyer to duel purpose the models from the box. Alas my plan was thwarted as unfortunately the models share the same components with regards to the cloak and the attached rear half of their torsos. -.-
A definite word of warning, since these models were not originally intended to rank up initially, they are a tricky puzzle to get them all in line. I suggest attaching them to their bases only when the models are fully constructed to ensure you can position them on their bases in conjuction with and without any interference from the neighbouring models.
Anyway on with the painting. The client wanted the traditional scheme for the Sisters and also went for the standard painting option we offer and so we stuck with the dark greens and browns with a golden colour (Foundry Ochre iirc) for the hair as our base colours.
The Foundry Forest Green shade on the inside of the cloaks, I think, helps frame and contrast the body of the model. I also got Emma to do some of her crazy detail work on their eyeballs, so they don't look so manly. We probably should've also added a bit of lipstick too to help with that lol! (When will GW learn that female figures are more than just hair and shaped boobs? The face is what counts! And unfortunately these have very angular faces, which granted is the look of High Elves, but come off as being too extreme and ultimately male imho.)
All in all, a nice set of models - the quality of the plastic is good and theres a lot of detail you can pick out plus with them being plastic they are relatively easy to put together however problems do arise when it comes to ranking. Lastly they are expensive for what you get. If GW had any sense, they would sell extra leg bits so people can use up all the leftover components to get the most out of this product...
For the movement trays we used the Mag-Flex range from Back2Base. This range gives you everything you need for a magnetised base - the magnets for the bases, the self-adhesive magnetic plastic strip, and the mdf pieces that make up the bulk of the movement tray. They are very easy to put together, a reasonable price and come out looking great.
In our next post Emma will be featuring the character models she did as part of this commission.
Yup, more on the White Lion Riders. The standard has since been painting and bases grassed, so looking better. Will have shots up soon for the completed army!
Magnetized lances and standard come highly recommended, it avoids strain on the model and breakage during transport and can even be reposed to make room for charges on the table.
Here are some work in progress images from a High-elf commission. Shown is some of the conversion work for the White Lion contingent for a heavily Chrace themed High-elf force.
Starting with this lion-mounted character model with components from the chariot and new White Lion boxes:
Below are the suitably themed bolt thrower and its crew:
Lastly, we have one of the Dragon Princes (lion riders) that has been converted with a saddle and two magnitized arm options - including a standard from the new White Lion box.
Lets kick this off with yesterdays project, a unit of 20 High Elf Spearmen for a current 2000 point commission. This includes construction and painting to a tabletop standard. (My tabletop standard at least)
Naturally, the building of any plastics comes with an element of customisation and conversion. My overall plan when modeling this unit was to demonstrate their martial prowess and ability to fight in multiple ranks. With the battleforce as my source of models and components this included kneeling front rank spears with the archer bodies, the rest of the ranks were posed to be trusting spears and looking to the front and flanks to form a bristling wall of spearheads and a more dynamic unit.
This may not be displayed well with the picture above, but more pictures to come. Another use for the wealth of swappable components in the battleforce is the Bolt Thrower crew bodies, these I tend to use amongst my command unit as below. The arrow loading goons can always make do with regular spearmen armour.
Note the simple champion spear made by replacing the spearhead with runed blade of the generic champion sword. Far more of a distinctive spearman champion than a "I'm going to stand in the front rank waving a sword for attention" usual rank and file champion. If the champion is distinctive, we can only describe the long haired musician as 'flamboyant'. As for the standard bearer I like the very staunch and shielded pose and will continue this throughout the army.
ON WITH THE PAINTING!
STAGE ONE - Metals
Spearman models are mostly metals, scale armour skirts, shiny breastplates, wrist guards, and speartips. With this in mind the first base color is to be a metalic, this can them be inked and glazed quickly with no required care of other parts of the model. I use a complete Wargames Foundry paint set so these colors may be unfamiliar to many, but I certainly recommend these.
So we start with a blitz of 'Chainmail'
As you see I am pretty scruffy with my bases colors but this is all tidied up later.
STAGE TWO- Inks
Games Workshop inks action here, firstly two coats of Asurmen Blue. Leaving a coat of ink or a wash to dry and applying a second coat will always build up a far greater defination of shading. This takes up time over the day but theres always other bits to work on.
This provided quite a strong tint that should blend in with the overall color scheme.
Once dry again a final ink of black was used to define the armour, specifically the scales.
Talking of letting coats dry I have completed the base drybrush of the bases at this point with 'Peaty Brown Light'.
