Hello All,
To mark the start of a new project, I thought I'd post some pics to share (and primarily encourage myself to keep making progress!)
At Carronade 2014, I placed a pre-order with Pendraken for a stack of 10mm Undead from the Fantasy Range, plus some extras like bases, etc. It's as part of a proposed plan to get some games of Kings of War (KoW) with Ric, a friend of mine from my gaming club (the Falkirk District Wargames Club, FDWC.) He's doing Goblins, I'm doing Undead.
I haven't gone near Fantasy since my early teens, back about 20-odd years ago(!) It was Warhammer back then, inevitably, but I had written off ever going back to it. Too expensive, of course. However, a few weeks back Ric pointed me towards KoW and the pair of us have been swept up in a little nostalgia-driven buzz! Pendraken seemed a good option to try it out in a cheaper range than 28mm, but also get good visual appeal and a bit of 'heft' for mass-battles!
The rules also appear adaptable to different scales without any problem, so we have decided to settle on 60mm frontages for bases. One base for a small-sized unit like a squadron or troop; Two bases for a Regiment; and Four bases for a Horde. Taking the plan of about ten figures a base, this fits with the KoW sizes of 10/20/40-models in a unit.
I'll post about the army shortly, to let you see the figures I picked. Short pause to follow, as I try and work out how to post photos.
First attempt!:
(http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg571/cra1gwt/a3fb35f0-5aba-4322-b89b-78a19ea1f816_zpsa694567b.jpg) (http://s1244.photobucket.com/user/cra1gwt/media/a3fb35f0-5aba-4322-b89b-78a19ea1f816_zpsa694567b.jpg.html)
Excellent!
Hordes of Zombies
What are the tall thin figures at the back right?
Success! I may master this technology gubbins after all!
(http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg571/cra1gwt/dba659c4-8d20-47f1-8c08-fceb4eb4d170_zps2b3f919d.jpg?t=1399839952)
Hopefully the above photo won't be quite so massive as the first, thanks to an attempt to re-size it. The first photo above is my full force, which I'll hopefully 'tour' around over the next few posts. The photo just above in this post (if it's worked right, and hasn't been too blurry) shows my three regiments of Skeletons. These are 20-figures each, mostly FU1 figures (sword & shield) plus some FU20s (pose 2) for some variety, and each regiment has a commander & Standard-bearer from the FU5 command pack.
Hi Fred - sorry, I'm going through the tedious practicalities of learning photo-posting formats here!
The figures I think you mean are the Skeleton Archers FU3 - they just happen to be facing dead-on into the camera, in that shot. I'll post a better pic shortly!
I was going to say they look like dead straight on archers by you beat me to it :) Looks good to me - let us know how KoW gets on :D
I now see that Ric, my co-collector for the project, is now up and running with his own force! His painting diary is at http://www.pendrakenforum.co.uk/index.php/topic,9976.0.html (http://www.pendrakenforum.co.uk/index.php/topic,9976.0.html) - just in case anybody wants to switch over quickly!
I've gotten the lot based, and have more photos which I shall pop up shortly - the plan is to talk through each unit, provide a picture, and say about the figures etc. selected, painting plans, etc. Perhaps the main thing to mention at this stage is that I have taken a lead from Ric's advice (he being the more experienced painter) and based the lot for painting and prepping. I would typically use sticks etc. for painting individually, but it can take a while to paint, finish, re-base, etc. As such, I'm trying Ric's tip of basing first, then painting - some experimenting with my methodology!
So far, thanks to the thin/cadaverous shape of the figures, I think it looks possible for them all without too much fiddling about. The only possible exception is the two large Zombie Swarm bases, but I have used pva glue for them so if the worst comes to the worst, I can simply pop a few off for painting to thin our the crowd, then re-glue at the end.
Such is the plan, anyway!
Craig
Nice plan!
Look forward to seeing the project progress, Craig.
Cheers - Phil.
I've taken to painting most stuff ready glued to the base, speeds things up greatly! Unless they're really densely packed it's ok...
Looks like you have things well in hand, Craig.
I have often thought of painting an undead army myself as it would be a very quick process to get troops on the table.
I'm a frightfully slow painter.
Enjoy! ;D
(http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg571/cra1gwt/IMG-20140511-00326_zps30e7873e.jpg)
Hello all!
I'm still fiddling around with my camera resources, but the ones above were taken with my mobile-phone camera - hopefully future ones should improve in clarity.
Anyway, the above pic should show my undead cavalry (FU4) which shall form my fast-moving army element. It's actually two of the small KoW 'squadron' units, as Ric and I quite randomly selected a 1500-point starter army-size, and these were all I could afford. Shame, as I think a big cavalry unit would be very powerful - as it is, these guys will just have to get by as they are - more of a raiding and flank-protecting force, rather than a striking bunch.
Next to them, moutned on the coins, are the two 'Hero' characters I have selected for my force. Nearest the camera is my 'Vampire Lord' hero, who comes from the FU13 pack. Accompanying him are two non-Pendraken figures, from the Kallistra 'Undead Command' pack (I bought it at Carronade, basically on a whim.) I've added a standard-bearer and a skeletal champion, just so my vampire didn't look too lonely as he waded into the thick of the fighting.
Behind that I have my necromancer, who is the back-room guy in charge of using dark magic to motivate the troops into action - the 'Dark Surge' ability in KoW rules. The man himself is again from the Kallistra set I believe, but the little coven following him are Pendraken - two from the FU15 Zombie wizards set, and a standard-bearer from the command set, if I remember right.
Quote from: cra1gwt on 12 May 2014, 07:44:45 PM
I'm still fiddling around with my camera resources, but the ones above were taken with my mobile-phone camera - hopefully future ones should improve in clarity.
I'm not particularly knowledgeable about mobile phone cameras, Craig, but you
might get clearer results with one of those, by taking your shot from a little further away. :-\......Then crop the picture ?......That'll depend on the definition the phone is capable of.
From what I understand, a camera phone has a fixed focus that won't be able to cope with close up shots, nearer than a certain distance. (3 feet ?...said he guessing wildly)
Hope that helps (and makes sense..I'm not properly awake, this morning ;))
Cheers - Phil
(http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg571/cra1gwt/DSCN0308_zps71721c85.jpg)
Here we go with the better-defined pics! I have successfully spray-painted the whole force with Army Painter 'skeleton bone' - appropriately enough! The above shows three of the classic skeleton regiments, with my Vampire lord to the fore and the Bowmen in the background.
(http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg571/cra1gwt/DSCN0309_zpsb4c8a85b.jpg)
Here's my commander in close-up.
(http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg571/cra1gwt/DSCN0310_zps33f5e60a.jpg)
And here, for a comparative experiment with the photos, is his necromancer compatriot.
(http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg571/cra1gwt/DSCN0311_zpse164a1ca.jpg)
My skeletal cavalry
(http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg571/cra1gwt/DSCN0313_zps9c7e2f0a.jpg)
My unit of Wights (done with an Undead hero FU26 and some giant skeletal companions FU9.) On the right, my skeletal catapult - previously only photographed while being glued together.
(http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg571/cra1gwt/DSCN0314_zps8566fb38.jpg)
Zombie Horde!
Next up, the actual painting!
Coming along nicely, Craig. :)
Cheers - Phil
Coming up good, I find even just undercoat makes a difference in feeling they're getting done. I really do like the huge zombie unit - looks the part. Should be a great anchor unit that's impossible to shift!
Nice one ! 8)
Ta all - I think I'm getting a bit of a better grasp of the photo-posting, as well as pushing on with the army.
thanks, toxicpixie - the zombie unit is indeed a bit of a beast - 12cm by 6cm, as compared to a quarter of that for all the others - and generally possessed of all the tactical subtlety of a brick through the window. Which is as it should be, as far as I'm concerned! I like my minions mindless, numerous and expendable. :D
Subtlety is overrated ;)
Sometimes you just have to shamble up and bury them under tons of your cold dead flesh!
(http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg571/cra1gwt/4d75c67a-54ee-45c1-bc9d-5ac60670831a_zpsb96e659e.jpg?t=1400132110)
Boom! The army is, in just a single sitting, shaded! I think Ric was right with his idea to base them all up and paint them 'by unit'. Greatly adds to the speed, which keeps enthusiasm high!
(http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg571/cra1gwt/0b7f8e20-d499-466b-990b-374302017f08_zps2c509dd9.jpg?t=1400132058)
I sprayed them as mentioned previously, and then I basically gave them a quick wash using Windsor & Newton 'Peat Brown' from their range of drawing inks - actually general purpose art supplies, and nothing particularly hobby-specific. Looks excellent though, and really brings out the detail. I have started painting the odd detail, too (metal sword-blades, wooden bows, banners, etc.)
(http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg571/cra1gwt/e8e38c4c-49f4-40a2-9e9f-605fd0e6327a_zps9997a6ea.jpg?t=1400132004)
Here is an experimental 'finished' base! I wanted to get a sense of what they'd look like at the end of the day, so here is a base where I dry-brushed a lighter shade over the bones to bring up the edges (bit of a tough one for me, as I've always struggled with dry-brushing highlights for as long as I've been painting.) I also painted the shields a dark-purple colour, as this shall be the colour 'motif' for the army on all the banners, etc. I think they look pretty good, relative to my normal standards at any rate, so I hope the photo comes out okay.
Oh, and the base is just painted green for now. I've never liked that 'Games Workshop'-ish version where the undead are in an Ancient Egypt-style desert, so I'm definitely avoiding that. I'll be gluing on a little sand plus using 'steppe grass' which has a good mix of brown grass among the green, which should give me a rather forlorn, 'blasted heath' moorland sort of look.
Very tasty, that man.
Can't wait to see the bases finished off.....They'll look cracking !
Cheers - Phil
Looking awesome mate! 8)
Cracking, the base coat > wash > detail > drybrush is really rewarding!
Like the idea of them shambling from some blasted moor land up t'north. Ahhh, fracking, what have you awoken?!
No pictures this post, but I have managed to spend part of the evening doing the dry-brushed highlights on the entire skeletal part of the army. I had initially thought plain white would do for a skeletal finish, although Ric had advised me to do a mix of white and the light brown base-coat.
Turns out he was right, in the end! I tried plain white, but it looks too sharp wherever you dry-brush - as if the skeleton has been scuffed. I quickly gave in and tried the brown-white mix, which blends in far better. No harsh lines wherever you apply it, and it just generally gives the raised edges a subtle lift. Good advice, Ric!
Next up is the shields & banners for the army, which I have done on my experimental base (pictured above) as a red/blue mis with a little bit of brown, to create a dark purple. Over the raised timber surface of the shields I later dry-brushed over a lightened version of the same mix, but although it looks nice when you look up-close at the base, how often will you do that? Viewing an army on the tabletop (as well as in the photos, now I look at them) the detail doesn't stand out, so it could well look like an army carrying dark purplish-brown shields. I'll need to have a think on how to do a stronger highlight, to make them appear far lighter
Nearly the weekend, too - I'm hoping for a major push on the Saturday, with a bit of luck!
very nice. I am really interested to see how your painting goes for all the bases with the figures fixed to the base. I have tried twice and felt is was harder rather than easier to paint in that way. I think the next time I try, I will undercoat everything in black and drybrush in off white before gluing, so that any missed bits are taken care of.
Nice though.
Hi all,
Sorry about the total lack of photography - hopefully before long!
My planned weekend binge was all lost to me, sadly due to other things in 'real life' - isn't is always the way?
I have however managed to snatch the odd moment here and there to get stuff underway. All the bases are base-painted green now (dull, but necessary drudge-work!) and all skeletal troops are highlighted. Apart from the shields and banners, they are basically set for some sand & grass on the bases!
Leaders are still to be done, but I plan to 'save' them until last as a reward for myself. In the meantime, I have to wrestle my way through the tedious business of painting up all the zombie hordes! Bit of a problem, in that once you do all the 'dead flesh' colours and the decayed rags they wear, the overall effect tends to be rather drab - browns, greys, etc. I'm wracking my brains for some way to 'colour them up' and add a bit of life to them (irony not intended!)
So, there's that still to do. I'm planning to do the shields and banners in one go, to keep the colour-scheme 'uniform' for the bases. I'm planning on a purple background, with some light purple (or electric blue) highlights to make them brighter, and generally add a splash of colour to the bone-white hordes!
Photos to follow shortly, as soon as I get a chance! :-)
Quote from: cra1gwt on 21 May 2014, 09:10:19 PM
In the meantime, I have to wrestle my way through the tedious business of painting up all the zombie hordes! Bit of a problem, in that once you do all the 'dead flesh' colours and the decayed rags they wear, the overall effect tends to be rather drab - browns, greys, etc. I'm wracking my brains for some way to 'colour them up' and add a bit of life to them (irony not intended!)
Good to hear progress is being made!
I would maybe add some blood to the zombies to brighten things up a bit?
Zombies will be dull, if you have any spare other races to add to the bases as victims or corpses, or build mini dioramas that always helps.
Yeah Craig, I was thinking about your grubby zombies earlier, and a nice bright base with loads of little details will help set them off, but like Fred said you could add blood on their hands and mouths (but not too much) and you could even use a teeny, tiny dash of gloss varnish on the blood splatters to give a slightly lighter effect..
Not all zombies are human... Blue skinned elves, green skinned orcs, and as for clothes perhaps several were landsknects in their previous life... Let them dress like peacocks, for tomorrow they will die! And come back from the grave looking like a massacre in a peacock sanctuary...
definitely blood and gore. I mix red paint with brown ink. Gives a dirty blood colour that has a bit of gloss to it. Apply liberally.
Got plenty of modern zombies on the painting board at the mo, I like zombies :D
Thanks all for the excellent Zombie advice - I'll have a go at them when I next sit down with them!
In the meantime, the promised photos:
(http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg571/cra1gwt/addd0aee-211f-4467-a9d0-df41a5d18cb8_zps37efba03.jpg?t=1400737721)
The skeletal main battle-line - three regiments infantry, one regiment bows, and two squadrons of cavalry.
(http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg571/cra1gwt/DSCN0320_zpsb9874835.jpg)
A rather more experimental photography close-up, to try and show some more of the detail (I think I'm slowly getting the hand of this photo-posting business!)
Great stuff ! :-bd
Cheers - Phil
Very cool 8)units!
Lovely stuff! Coming on really quickly :)
How're you finding the dry brushing & painting on bases technique - well, from the look :D ?
Looking great mate, can wait to see them in the flesh... :p your dry brush highlights are spot on - comfort zone be dammed!
Hi all, and thanks for all the kind words!
I have to say, toxicpixie, that the dry-brushing actually went surprisingly well! I had a fair bit of advice from Ric to see me through it, but basically the Undead are remarkably fast to do in this way. The undercoat, shade, highlight process is very swift and after the last odds & ends like brown for spears or metal for swords, I actually found myself staring at them, thinking "I can't be finished already!" :o
Of course, I've still got the bases to do, which may be a whole different story! The skeletal undead do give quite a bit of space to work around, but I expect there'll still be a bit of struggling to fit in between gaps with a brush. My normal basing method is to roughly PVA the base and cover with sand to dry, then tip off the excess. I then repeat with an even sparser PVA-ing and add some grass, then turn the base upside-down and give it a few taps to shake off the excess, and make the grass stand upright. It has worked well enough for me in the past, so I was planning to repeat it here. I'll need to have a think about what brush I'm prepared to sacrifice to all that PVA, while I work into the narrow gaps! :-\
I have a shot 2 and a dead 00 for that job!
I use pretty much the exact same method, and have a series of increasingly knackered brushes to do it with. The advantage of never throwing anything away...
Can be tricky though, with big dense units, but most of the PVA and sand splatter can be wiped off quick or passes for mud and muck at gaming distance, I find.
That said I did do my Italian Wars pike on painting sticks this time round, then glued them on in ranks, sand & PVA the base around the rank, glue next rank on, sand & PVA etc. Worked well, if a bit slower than my usual "stick to base > paint > base effect" process.
And back to the actual thread point, the techniques come up good, cra1gwt! Kudos to you and Ric - and once more I have army creep and fancy some undead, some orc/goblins and some dwarves, for randomness :D I'm thinking Northern Crusades, Teutonic Dwarves, Slavic-Baltic green skin hordes, The Kiev Undead...
I also have a 'dry' 2 that is used for removing excess sand and/or flock.
The title of this thread always puts me in mind of a zombie sweatshop.
Craig, if you don't want to waste a brush you could always use a cocktail stick to spread the glue around..I've used that before as the length of it is handy and the point can be used for tight spots!
It's great how quick we've put these armies together, and without a doubt, this has rekindled my enthusiasm for fantasy, ive planned out armies for wood elves, dwarves and orcs already!
Your photos remind me of my own hassles trying to decide whether to base first or paint in ranks. Base first and the innter faces of the two ranks suffer a less satisfactory paint job, while basing one rank then painting makes it harder to get that intervening space decently based...
Nice result in your pics though. I have to have another go...
I can definitely see Ric and I winding up - almost by accident - with a selection of fantasy 10mm armies each, battling over some fantasy continent. These projects always tend to grow legs once they get going!
Anyway, basing should happen this weekend, but for now - here's a pic of the banners and shields. Hope it comes through, but basically I went for a deep-purple base and then put on a sort of electric-blue highlight, as I thought it looked nice and also implied something of the evil magic keeping them active!
(http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg571/cra1gwt/DSCN0321_zps4fc61209.jpg)
Those look excellent mate, can't wait to see them amassed against my greenskins! And yes, while I've just ordered more Goblin bits to get me to the new 2000 point target, ive already got my eyes on a wood elf army...these projects always see to escalate haha!
They are looking really good now, the banners and shields set off the rest of the bones very nicely.
Quote from: Ric on 24 May 2014, 09:12:01 AM
And yes, while I've just ordered more Goblin bits to get me to the new 2000 point target, ive already got my eyes on a wood elf army...these projects always see to escalate haha!
Don't fight it accept that it is the natural way of the world!!
Its great to see how quickly you have both put together decent sized armies.
Looking good - the deep purple > bright blue pops nicely and looks like a really deep set of shading to boot :)
Oh yes - MOAR ARMIES PLZ! Hope KoW plays well, make sure you pop us a few bat-reps please :D
I actually think that the forum diary and posting here has provided an important spur to action! Most of my painting projects lose steam at one point or another for at least a little while, but this one has been swift and encouraging.
I don't think the growth in armies is really a problem! Ric appears to be thinking Goblins, Wood Elves, Dwarfs, Orcs. I'm more minded along the track of Undead, Dark Elves, Humans (probably an 'Empire' faction, and maybe a 'Barbarian' one).
Anyway, if I can stop myself from gluing together various other model collections, I'll get the bases done. The zombie hordes are painted up around 80%, which was the last big mental hurdle. Before long, we shall hopefully switch from the 'painting diaries' forum and switch to the 'battle reports' section!
Yeah, it definitely gives you motivation :) Good stuff, and good luck with the megalomania :)
It has been a week or so since I had a chance to post, thanks to various odds & ends getting in the way. However I have been plugging away at it, and - barring the odd bit of detailing here and there - think I'm basically complete with my undead army. At least as it currently stands - following my battle with Ric the other Monday there are already plans afoot for an expansion and overhaul! (Incidentally, thanks to Ric for posting on the forum about the first clash we had!)
http://www.pendrakenforum.co.uk/index.php/topic,10089.0.html (http://www.pendrakenforum.co.uk/index.php/topic,10089.0.html)
Here, then, are the painted and based hordes of the undead:
(http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg571/cra1gwt/DSCN0333_zpsdc409e1d.jpg?t=1402032578)
The massed hordes - skeletal regiments, zombie hordes, revenant cavalry, wights, catapults, a vampire and a necromancer.
(As you may read in the battle report, the Necromancer wound up being stamped into the ground by Ric's giant - he's back, though. Of course.!)
(http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg571/cra1gwt/DSCN0334_zpsdd643055.jpg?t=1402032524)
An attempt at a bit more close-up detail on the hordes...
(http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg571/cra1gwt/DSCN0335_zps58340dd6.jpg)
Skeletal regiments! The banner symbol actually came from the Pendraken figures for 'Armed Zombies' where some had a shield with five circles molded onto the surface. I painted then red to add a bit of brightness next to all the blue/purple background, found I quite liked it, and so have taken it as the army-wide symbol. The banner circle-outlines here were added with a fine Rotring pen, after I just added the red paint and realized it looked too undefined on its own.
(http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg571/cra1gwt/DSCN0336_zpsdef21b8d.jpg)
Some slightly blurry zombies! I have finally managed to mostly finish them off, and they are a nice mix of blues & purples (to fit in with the army colour-scheme), plus some greys & browns (they are the risen dead, after all), and the occasional pink flesh-tone (with hint of orange) for the skin of the recently dead (as it compliments the blues).
Very tasty !
Great job !
Cheers - Phil
They look excellent Craig! I like the use of those pens on the banners, it really helps define the red dots. The zombies are looking very nice indeed with all that colour. Too often zombies are just boring brown, so it's a refreshing take on the classic look! Looking forward to a rematch soon!
Yep, looking good right enough! Very impressive array.
Quote from: Ric on 06 June 2014, 07:41:32 AM
They look excellent Craig! I like the use of those pens on the banners, it really helps define the red dots. The zombies are looking very nice indeed with all that colour. Too often zombies are just boring brown, so it's a refreshing take on the classic look! Looking forward to a rematch soon!
Indeedy - whilst they look like a shambling horde, they don't look like an *undifferentiated" shambling horde :D
Really good stuff, nice one on both speed and quality of the paint job, and getting a game in so quick too. I like the look of those really big regiments :)