Blood Bowl painting: Akhorne

The Warhammer World is not a nice place. It's full of terrifying creatures like greenskins, beastmen, the undead, daemons, and elves. But even in such a horrific setting, there is one being whose reputation puts it on a level above all others. A creature from before the age of men, dwarfs, and elves, when the world was young and untamed.

To paint such a being required an awful lot of paint:

There were four more used on top of this, including the blood...

But even with all of those colours, it came together rather quickly for me, and a primordial terror was ready for the gridiron.

P.S. This is the first Blood Bowl model I've painted since October 2019 :¬o

Painting: Salamander Intercessor

I've moved house in the last year and been plagued with other distractions, so didn't paint for most of that time. But I've managed to paint up one model to test a Salamander scheme.

This is also the first of the Primaris-scale Marines I've painted. I previously enjoyed painting some Stormcast Eternals models, and these also benefit from that larger scale.

Painting: Space Marine pierniczki

A little something I made for fun in preparation for Xmas!

In case it's not obvious, the one on the left is a green normal Space Marine, and the one on the right is a member of the Death Company.

Painting: Ylthari's Guardians

I started these four just before Xmas and, after not touching them for three months, I finished them just before Easter.

They're lovely models, although they're so detailed that it can be a pain to get paint into some of their nooks and crannies.

Contrast paint worked well on them: it formed the base for the wood of their bodies, and it's all I used for the loincloths and cherry blossoms. I also used it to (kinda-sorta) blend between the wood and tendrils on the body of Ylthari, the spellcaster.

Painting: Master of Ordnance

This is another model that I started years ago, but I only got as far as priming him black and doing the first basecoat layers of the fatigues and the armour, so this is effectively starting from scratch.

He's part of the Regimental Advisors set, the other two of which I painted back in... Jesus, early 2018! So this guy must have been sitting patiently awaiting his turn for five years.

Sorry.

Astropath

The back of the Astropath (probably the better view!)

The Officer of the Fleet

There's something very pleasing about painting these old, hand-sculpted metal miniatures. They're detailed enough without having so much going on that they're a chore to paint. They also have very open poses - being only one or two pieces - and so they're easy to paint without fighting to get the right angle.

Master of Ordnance, with a little bit of colour correction

It's also funny to look at scale creep when compared to the last model I painted. Or maybe Khorne just makes people taller as well as swoler.

Strangely, he looks better in this photo than the others

Painting: Slaughterpriest of Khorne

Pre baby I started work on this guy, but he ended up packed away while I learned how to care for another human bean. A human bean who has no emotional control and leaves a trail of destruction wherever he goes.

So when I decided I wanted to paint again it felt like this model's time had come.

I think I could have done the skin a lot better, as I had a lot of back-and-forth getting it right with contrast paints, layering, washing, and back again, and it still ended up a little chalky. But the reddening where the straps are attached to his skin and the corruption on his left arm worked really well.

This was also my first time using Blood for the Blood God, and it is easy to use!

I'm generally out of practice and so my hands felt more stupid than usual, but it was still fun to paint him up.

Aeronautic Imperialis: Thunderbolt

When the initial version of Aeronautica Imperialis came out in 2007 I had zero interest. It was all resin, a tiny scale, and I've never been that keen on painting vehicles. It's why games like Battlefleet Gothic and Epic always left me cold, and why 40k and Necromunda were so much fun.

Then a re-release with plastic models came out in 2019, and at a larger scale. I ignored it, although a friend bought the starter and showed me his tiny plenz with the clear intention to get me to join in. Nope!

It was only in 2021, having stumbled across an article on a website that usually focused on other stuff, that I realised something: I could paint an Avenger.

Avenger

😍

These are Imperial Navy fighter bombers / strike aircraft, loosely based on WW2-era fighter bombers like the Stuka and more modern aircraft like the A-10 Warthog (whose main gun shares its name with the main gun of this plane and, by extension, the plane itself). They are also, by far, the best-looking Imperial Navy aircraft and I've wanted to paint one for maybe 15 years at this point. But obviously I'm not stupid enough to buy one at 40k scale.

The 40k-scale model

So I bought some Aeronautica Imperialis kits, including the Avenger kit, and... had a baby.

Baby

Even before my son was born I had stopped painting, due to switching my free time to finally getting around to playing Skyrim on the (absolutely correct) assumption that games like that wouldn't be a good idea when you've got someone sleeping in a carrier on your chest. And so, since his birth, I have only played turn-based games (Civ5) or ones that are close enough to that (Stellaris, Crusader Kings 3, SpaceChem, RimWorld). That has also meant no time for painting.

Recently, however, work has been a bit up and down, meaning that I've been able to carve out some time to paint. But I didn't crack open my Avengers and paint them, as I thought I'd start with a plane that was already built, given that I'd received it already assembled in a trade with the aforementioned friend in exchange for a Lightning: a Thunderbolt.

Thunderbolt

Thunderbolts are the poster child of the Imperial Navy, yet I've always found them a bit boring. They're just a WW2 fighter like the (not-at-all-coincidentally-named-I'm-sure) Thunderbolt, with a hot rod aesthetic at the front.

 

Having now painted one, though, I have begun to see their appeal, and I've really enjoyed painting at this scale. It reminds me of painting Airfix model planes as a kid (a Spitfire and a Harrier, naturally), but I'm sooooo much better now and have pushed myself to add various types of weathering to make the plane look more lived-in than my usual clean lines style of painting. I'm looking forward to doing more of them... hopefully before my son is at university.

Painting: Myrmourn Banshees and Glaivewraith Stalker

I've finished my Nighthaunt!

These are nice models, especially the Banshees, but they are a pain to paint when all glued together due to some very fiddly angles. However, I got them and their scenic bases done, and so now here is the whole warband of 18 models.

Wide formation

Tighter formation to avoid the corners

I don't know what to paint next...

Painting: Grimghast Reapers and Spirit Host

 This is the first batch (of two) of the bigger models for my Warcry warband.

Painting: Chainrasps

These guys are super-quick to do, but I have been distracted by Total War: Warhammer 2 and Stardew Valley so they took a while to get done.

So in terms of models for this warband I've now done 10 out of 19, although all the others are bigger and more complex than these guys.

Painting: Chainrasp

Just a quick one, but I'm very proud as I painted this guy in one short painting session, which is nothing like me.

My wife was very shocked that I'd finished him whilst she'd been sitting painting next to me!

I'll go easier on the Hexwraith Flame (the green) next time, but otherwise I'm very happy with how he looks given the fast painting time. A lot of the time was waiting for things to dry, so these guys will really shine with batch painting. It's just a shame I only have three painting handles ;¬)

Adventures in Contrast: Warcry Chaotic Beasts

I painted my first Warhammer model in 1998. Since then, I have painted over 300 models, covering:

• Over a dozen Blood Angels (when I was starting)
  
• A full 4th Edition T'au Empire army
• A full 4th Edition Space Marine army of my own Chapter
• A handful of random Space Marines from different Chapters over the years
  
• Four Deathwatch Marines
  
• An Ork warband for Combat Patrol
• Three Dark Eldar
• An Orlock gang
• Three Ratskins
  
• Two Saurus Warriors
  
• Random Imperial Guardsmen in different colour schemes
• Two Regimental Advisors
  
• A squad of Tempestus Scions with a Commisar
• Some random Tyranids
  
• A squad of Genestealer Cult Neophytes
• A Goblin Blood Bowl team
• An Orc Blood Bowl team
• One Craftworld Eldar
• Círdan the Shipwright
  
• A Moonclan Grot warband for Warcry
• A Stormcast Eternal warband for Warcry
• Four trees
  

Notice anything? I have never painted a single Chaos model, even though they exist in every. single. one. of GW's settings. I guess I have always been more of a xenos player, but this is crazy. The closest I've ever come is my Space Marine chapter, who use the odd bit of Chaos Marine wargear as they're short of supplies.

So Warcry has given me the chance to finally paint some very naughty boys, and here they are:

Natural

Flash

Yes, my photo-taking set-up is still rubbish.

In order of painting, we have:

• Nurgle Fury, who was done entirely using classic paint
• Khorne Fury, who was mostly Contrast other than the wing membranes
• Dark brown Fury to test out Wyldwood Contrast as skin
  
• Tzeentch Raptoryx, using classic paints
• Slaanesh Raptoryx, which is classic other than on the feathers and the bone / claws
• Fleshy Raptoryx, who is almost entirely Contrast and was a real experiencing in shading up rather than the classic approach
  

They were a lot of fun to do, and I loved the chance to paint similar models in very different schemes.

Warcry: Sacrosanct Chamber

I've been quiet, but busy. Since getting extremely proud of my bases, I've spent the last month ruining them by adding some less-well-painted models to the top of them!

Two Castigators and a Greatmace Sequitor

Two Evocators and my counts-as Evocator-Prime

The gang all assembled

Overall I'm happy with these guys and gals. I'm not a Stormcast fan, but they're fun to paint. But I messed up some of the modelling so please don't look too closely at them!

Painting: All about those bases

Just a quick update, as here are the scenic bases I've painted for my upcoming Stormcast Eternal Sacrosanct guys and gals:

I'm very happy with how these turned out and they're very easy, with drybrushing bringing out most of the detail. The only big change I made was applying texture paint over the soil areas, so that they match the base of the Stormcast I painted previously.

Warcry Goblins: Da gitz are ready!

My Grots are finally ready to take to the Eightpoints! The final batch were these three 'knights', which were as much fun to paint as the original one I did last year as my test model. This really is a lovely kit with so much character, and it's just fun to build your own customised models.

And here are all da lads assembled, after only ~4 months:

The above is obviously too much for a starting warband, but it gives me options both for starting and for expanding.

The list

Gloomspite Gitz are apparently the most powerful warband in Warcry if you build them accordingly. As I'm looking to keep it fun and narrative, I've therefore chosen a starting list which has some of the good models, but isn't crazy-good:

1. Boingrot Bounder Boss
2. Squig Hopper
3. Squig
4. Netta
5. Stikka
6. Stabba
7. Shoota
8. Shoota
9. Shoota

Nine models, 985 points, and one of everything but a Herda (who will come later). Nice!

Warcry Goblins: The other lads

Due to paint supply issues I've worked on two batches of three models, finishing both of them within a few days of one another, shown here with and without flash.

Six models in a month is close to a record for me!

Warcry Goblins: Shootas

After a break over Xmas, New Year, and my birthday (where I got the Warcry starter!), I've got back into painting and have painted up the next three members of my Gloomspite Gitz warband: da shootas!

Warcry Goblins: Squiggly beasts!

So after last time, I've decided to keep on using Mechanicus Standard Grey as my undercoat, which leads me to my next two models, who are adorable...

Their names are Basha and Nasha.

Adventures in Contrast: Squig Hopper

Just a quick one to post the latest model I've painted, this time going back to experimenting with Contrast paints but combined with some traditional base+wash+highlight.

These are gorgeous models, with this squig's pose and face being the most vanilla of them all and still full of energy. The customisation and dynamic poses of these are really something special, and show that GW can do some amazing work these days.

My painting started from a base of Mechanicus Standard Grey rather than the off-whites that are usual for Contrast paints, inspired initially by this guide and further reinforced by this video guide. However, it's clear that the video's zenithal highlighting with Grey Seer made his colours a lot lighter, as the red on mine in particular is very dark (in the flesh it looks even darker than in this photo).

For the other Contrast areas - the gums, robes, shoes, and the wood - this was fine, as I could highlight back up and get the look I wanted. But the darkness of the red means they don't have the visual pop of the classic squig hoppers.

'Eavy Metal-painted squig hoppers

So now I'm not sure whether to carry on as-is, or try another one using Wraithbone as the primer.

Painting: Stormcast Eternal Liberator

I'm a sci-fi person by default, be it Star Trek, Star Wars, Babylon 5, Battlestar Galactica, or 40k. Fantasy settings are fine, but they just don't get me as excited unless they're the Discworld.

Bearing that in mind, this is the first Warhammer Fantasy model I have painted in probably 20 years or so. I painted two Saurus Warriors when I was first starting, and they are now very outdated models and were very basically painted by me (they're in a box somewhere and I can't be bothered to hunt for them to prove this point).

So here is everything bang up to date, with a new-style GW fantasy miniature (got free from the front of the White Dwarf when Age of Sigmar first launched), and my improved painting skills. Unfortunately my camera skills are still shit, as I swear he looks better in person!

It has to be said that I generally hate Stormcast Eternals. It might be the fact that they're usually bright gold (never a good look, especially in a post-Trump election world), they're supposedly super-lawful good, or their obvious spess-mareens-but-in-fantasy-omg design aesthetic.

But this guy was a lot of fun to paint, and he came out even better than I hoped, as I really like this scheme. It's how I'd always intended to paint a Sister of Battle if I ever did one, and it's nice to know it works.

He's not as grungy as I'd considered going (see this guy for a source of inspiration), but as the metal is muted I think he avoids the too-shiny look that I personally dislike (see this guy as an example of that, but which was otherwise a very helpful bit of inspiration for me).