Necromunda diorama revisited (1)

Leftfield ‘Melt’

I wasn’t entirely happy with the Necromunda bridge which I made last year. I had wanted it to look like a lifeless wasteland – but after thinking about it, derelict areas tend to be the opposite: overgrown, as nature reclaims ground which no longer receives much human activity.

It also looked very grey, and a bit sterile:

So, I’ve begun reworking it a bit, to look more colourful:

The water effect was given some more saturation by painting over it with Tamiya clear paints.

I watch a lot of (fairly bad) horror movies; and carnivorous plants feature quite often – so I thought some sinister looking vines would look effective:

And I’ve re-done the signs – I thought Spanish would look more fitting for a wild-west style showdown:

Plus, although I’m not overly keen on blood and gore, I figure if you’re going to apply it, you may as well be hyperbolic:

The rest is just a case of adding more detail:

A fair bit to go yet; but I hope to make a couple of short tutorials over the next few weeks.

Make the dead glorious again (16)

Vashti Bunyan ‘Love Song’

It’s taken so long since the last update as I had a lengthy bout of painter’s-block. None of my original ideas for the freehand design on the cloak really worked-out, due to the heavy folds.

I had tried to make an arabesque pattern, which I didn’t really like:

Then went through the initial stages of various other designs; which didn’t look very effective, either:

So I decided to change approach slightly – instead of using an Arabian design, I used a Khemrian one instead; based on the Tomb Kings imagery:

 

I think it’s a shame that the Tomb Kings were discontinued by Games Workshop; so this serves a duel purpose, as a homage to the Khemrian monarchs. It also prompted me to change the name of the diorama to Make Khemri Great Again.

Step-by-step (give or take):

It’s not quite finished, but the rider shouldn’t take too long now. The display base needs some slight revisions; but hopefully the next update won’t take two months.

 

Make the Dead Glorious Again (9) – Undead Horseman finished (give or take)

Fourwaycross ‘shimmer’

I’ve finished the undead horseman; though some aspects don’t look quite the way I want them to, so I may adjust these at a later date – but taking a break by working on something else often helps, as it grants you a bit more objectivity.

As it is, however:

To be honest, this was a real pain to paint; and I’m glad to put it aside.

I will begin painting the Arabian horsewoman now; though I haven’t planned it out fully yet. Hopefully it will prove a bit less arduous than the undead horseman did, though.

Make The Dead Glorious Again (6)

Built To Spill ‘carry the zero’ 

Just a work-in-progress update, really.

The folds on the steed’s caparison made a freehand design look too disordered – so I decided to make an ethereal glow effect, instead:

It’s maybe too faint, but until the rest of the figure has been painted it’s a bit difficult to tell:

I used these paints for the OSL – and found a gel-based glaze medium helpful, as the undulations of the plastic can make thin paint run uncontrollably:

 

Worth a look:

Painting metal armour (AlmostPerftec)

Making a forest backdrop (GardensOfHecate)

Using plastic sprues to create scenery (Weemen)

Making scenic bases (ColouredDust)

 

Make The Dead Glorious Again (1)

Sleater-Kinney  ‘Start Together’

I’m a bit wary about introducing political themes into miniature-painting – partly because politics can prove deeply divisive; but also due to the question of taste.

However, I usually paint models in order to escape from the more unpleasant aspects of life – and these are in no short supply at present; but some things which are happening maybe shouldn’t be overlooked.

There have been proper artists who’ve used miniatures to explore serious themes – such as Jake and Dinos Chapman‘s various depictions of hell; Banksy’s Dismaland model of a crowded refugee boat; or street artists, creating comparatively light-hearted social commentaries.

This isn’t quite what I have in mind. I don’t really want to use Warhammer models allegorically; just to allude at a broader issue, in order to enhance a diorama. I figure that as long as the theme remains understated, then it shouldn’t be a problem. Plus, rather than model a duel where violence is the central subject, I thought I would make a representation of courage, instead.

So, one model is an undead horseman, with a distinctive head of unnatural hair; aiming to make the land of the dead glorious once more:

The other is going to be an Arabian woman:

Araby remains under-represented among Warhammer projects – but I prefer the ambiguous artwork depictions Games Workshop produced, to the Dogs of War/Warmaster models; which tended to be a bit Disney-esque. I don’t want the finished model to resemble the more obnoxious, long-standing stereotypes surrounding Arabs and Muslims; but equally, not to be overly romantic, either. While the motifs of femininity and Islamic culture have obvious points of resonance at present, this is still meant to be a Warhammer project.

The Golden Magus in Dreadfleet is a good example to draw upon here – as he was both on the side of the Grand Alliance; but also a character with mysterious intentions. Less esoteric, perhaps, are Kay Nielsen’s illustrations of 1001 Arabian Nights; which were fantastical and ornate:

I haven’t quite figured-out a base for this duel yet. A desert wasteland-theme seems the most fitting; but we will see.

Night Goblin Shaman (3) – work in progress

PJ Harvey ‘Cat on the wall’

Just a work in progress, post. I’ve finished the base, barring the possible need to tweak it once the goblin is finished:

The spiders were painted using the same basic colours as the Necromunda plague zombies from last year. I may adjust the largest green orbs slightly, as they’re not quite looking right; but we’ll see.

 

 

Mountaineer – Work In Progress (2): making a snow base

Medicine ‘Fried Awake’

Odd as it may seem, before making a snow base it’s important to decide what type of snow you want to represent – whether pristine, powdery snowdrifts; or slushy ice and snow, which is thawing. I chose to make this look like the snow had melted slightly:

Materials used – still water, on the left, which is smooth and clear; and the gel-like version, which can be used to create texture, on the right:

Crushed glass, on the left – this isn’t strictly necessary, and it’s quite dangerous; so it’s purely optional, but it does add a nice sparkle. On the right, snow flock:

Pre-made icicles: 

You make these by cutting small slivers of transparent plastic – such as the kind you get on blister packs – then painting them with successive layers of still water-effect. There is a short tutorial about this on SproketSmallWorld.

If you want snow to look white, rather than transparent, add some white paint to the water effect when mixing it with flock. I wanted it to have an icy appearance; so left the paint out of the mix.

Anyway, first attach the icicles using water effect as an adhesive – water effect shrinks slightly when it has cured, and so can change the angle of the icicles. To keep them vertical, I just use a bit of blue-tack to hold them in place:

Building successive layers of snow is more effective than daubing-on one heavy application of the snow-mix. So, the first layer was stippled on using an old paintbrush:

You can see how the snow becomes more opaque with additional layers:

I dotted some onto the bridge, and the rails – a cocktail stick is helpful here:

Finish by placing water effect in places where the snow looks heaviest, and sprinkling pure snow flock over these areas.

Finally, paint a thin layer of satin varnish over the snow:

 

Done.