Krognak
I decided to take a break from Vikings this week and try my hand at a more “involved” paint scheme. As it was the spookiest week of the year, I decided to paint a Hexmark Destroyer. I chose to try out a new colour scheme instead of following the speedpainting guide that I produced earlier this year. Inspiration came to me in the form of a giant mechanical spider from one of my favourite games – Factorio.
Using the above image as a reference I gathered my paints and set to work reproducing my version of this industrial scheme. I am quite pleased with the result – especially the mustard yellow that makes up the majority of the carapace. If anyone out there wants a guide for this particular scheme let me know in the comments!
After the abomination above had scuttled into my heart it was back to Vikings. You’ll no doubt be aware that I’m shopping around for suitable archers if you’ve read my recent post bemoaning the state of the Warlord metal archers. I’ve since assembled a small batch of Gripping Beast’s Dark Age Archers and, after a few crafty head swaps with their viking kit, I’ve ended up with the boys below:
Expect to see at least one of these painted in a post next week in which I’ll be comparing the various plastic kits on offer for the aspiring Viking miniature collector.
I’ve also assembled my SAGA leader and his hangers-on from the command sprue in the Victrix kit.
They are excellent minis (although this is to be expected from Victrix at this point) and I’ll be sure to post some updates once I’ve started painting them and their base. Speaking of which here’s a look at what Wash has been up to…
Wash
Heathens! Heathens everywhere! I’ve been working on my Saxons this week (though there are some space marines in the works, but I won’t subject you to them until I know they’re going somewhere). Like Krognak, I wanted a warlord with a large base for games of Saga, but as those of you who have been reading my other posts know, I already have a warlord, who is on a normal 25mm base. Behold my solution:
I’ll be going into more detail (read: waxing lyrical about my genius) in a post later this week, but essentially it’s a magnetised multibase allowing me to decide whether I want Oshere on a large base for Saga or a normal warrior sized one for skirmish games. Other than that, I have been pressing on with the next batch of hearthguard. Here they are before oils:
And after:
This puts them largely finished, with another coat of varnish needed to seal the oils in, then a quick coat of basilicanum grey on the maille, after which it’s just faces and bases. With this batch I experimented with really bright colours on the clothing, partly because they work well with oils, and partly because, as members of the Anglo Saxon elite, they should be in the brighter, more expensive dyes. I’ll be saving the dull browns and greens for the more peasanty types. Like these boys:
As with the thegns, they are a mix of Gripping Beast and Victrix plastics, with brass rod spears. As you can see, helmets are a rarity, and only one has a sword. Nonetheless these would not be the abject poor, so I still have a little room for colour when it comes to painting. After they are done, I have a mind to make more hearthguard, and I have an assortment of 12 Viking Age archers from V&V miniatures on the way, who I might attempt to sneak into Krognak’s review. All in all, it’s a good time to be a Saxon. Apart from all the Viking raids, of course.
So that’s it for this update, though there is a lot in the works that will be coming through over the next week or so. Look out for Krognak’s archer extravaganza and my step by step for character multibasing, and stay safe out there. Don’t let the sword-Danes catch you unprepared…