Warriors of Chaos: Marlockt Beastface

So, it's time to share the test model - Marlockt Beastface.

He's done with NMM but I think that needs to change on the next model as it doesn't quite suit the feel of what the army should be; which is encapsulating that late 80s feel for how things were painted. Loath to repaint him at the moment, so next test model will be the starting point and then I can make a comparison between them. 

The freehand on the shield is a bit wonky, but captures the late 80s vibe I'd like and doesn't feel especially polished, which is fine for me.

  

The model is metal primer (yes it's oldhammer), black primer for grip, white ink over the top of that for general volume and light, magenta on top of that (bear with me), blue in the shadow areas to create a more purple tone, then layer up the colours quickly atop that. Sounds arduous but it works well enough en masse, so I'm hoping it'll speed the project up long term. Even if right now I'm thinking "Dave, you're an idiot".

Basing is simple. It's a few pieces of cork as rocks, some gravel and tiny stones, then sand atop everything. Left to dry overnight then a ballast fixer applied to make it rock hard. But maaaaan that stuff smells AWFUL. Leave it outside if you can because it's stinky. After that, just a couple of earthy tones on the base and job done.

Warriors of Chaos

Starting one army and focusing on that would be perfectly sensible, so ... that's not happening. I'm also going to dive into the The Old World too.

I saw there's a fantastic challenge running on this blog (https://oldworldarmychallenge.blogspot.com) and realised this is the structure I've been missing from a lot of my projects. In my rush to demonstrate how clever I am by painting whole armies, I manage to actually achieve nothing but a series of half-painted or abandoned armies.

Their challenge feels a bit cluttered with so many participants, but I love looking at the results. For the second half of 2025 I'm going to follow along! I'll aim to paint a unit per month, starting with infantry. I've made headway in preparation and finally based my oldhammer metal collection.  

 

They're set up in units of 20, but I won't be painting them quite that fast! This is just to gauge the effect and how it looks en masse, and I adore them already. This will probably be plenty for the next 6-12 months I think, but there's more in the drawer - in desperate need of a paint strip and some pieces need fixing. No-one needs to see that though, it's quite boring.

In addition, I've created a unit filler for the four Chaos Gods to use in different sized units for variety and adding a more thematic approach. Khorne and Nurgle were easy enough to finish up but I need to decide how to enhance the Slaanesh and Tzeentch ones now. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The big challenge is sitting down to prime everything. It's going to take quite some time to go through everything and get it ready for painting. My silly brain also wants to ensure post-prime that everything is grouped up by Chaos God so I put the right colours on things. Well done brain, making my life significantly more complicated yet again.

It's Heresy, Brother ...

So now we're onto in-progress and upcoming projects. It's far less exciting at this stage now we've caught up on everything I've painted over the past year or so but it's going to get quicker in the coming months. Promise. Maybe ...

 With the previews on new Horus Heresy box and terminator armour, I was immediately smitten. Smit in full. Smited to 100%. The smooting was complete. Saturnine Terminator armour is a joyful throwback and I can't wait to paint up a few, it's a sculpt that definitely encourages opinion but that's fine - you enjoy your hobby, I'll enjoy mine.

 

It's nice to get excited about new models being released, as it doesn't happen too often. However! There is a small matter of a) waiting for the box to arrive and b) deciding what legion to paint and c) building bloody everything.

It has to be one of the original legions though, not a successor chapter. I already have a lot of Space Wolves, so they're out. I paint a lot of yellow for my Orks, so no Imperial Fists. Dark Angels irk me, so they're out. Alpha Legion & Thousand Sons are pearlescent so that can fuck off. Iron Warriors & Iron Hands are metallic and of no interest, Blood Angels & Word Bearers are red and I have too much red. Sons of Horus are right nobheads, so they can do one. No to predominantly white armour, cheerio White Scars and World Eaters. I want a bit of grit and weathering, so that rules out Emperor's Children. I want to do a 40k Death Guard force, so they're out. Raven Guard would drive me mad from edge highlighting to show off the black. Night Lords kick cats, so they're out. I've got a LOT of green on the horizon for an Orc & Goblin army, so Salamanders are out too.

Hello, Ultramarines.

I'm as surprised as you.

I've always had them down as the full-fat wankers of Space Marines, but working my way through all the Horus Heresy books and currently on Know No Fear, and they're great. It doesn't hurt that Dan Abnett's no slouch at writing, and this novel appears to have avoided the curse of him picking a phrase to use and beating it to death through the book ("how's your choler, brother?"). It also helps that at the halfway point of the book, they're having the snot beaten out of them and I do love an underdog.

While the GW studio paintjobs, and a lot of the online community ones are a touch too clean cut for my liking, that can be solved with a more interesting paint job. I've been looking for schemes that have visual interest, a little character for each model, and shift in hues to make it more fun to paint. I came across this piece by Paul Dainton, I think, and in the shadow areas there's a touch of purple or magenta and boooooy I'm a sucker for magenta. The high-shine on the metallics works well too. The armour itself is still quite tidy though.

But then I came across this old post on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/p/C0jtaTNs10M/) and it captures the look I wanted from a Horus Heresy force, and for an army I was hoping to find reason to paint. The colours aren't quite there for me, but I think we can address that with the colours above, and it's a great starting point. I like the individuality of the markings, and a few of the embellishments, in particular the crests and flag. It says "we're a small, elite force, and we look fucking AWESOME" to me.

I'm not wild about the blue here, but it's the overall aesthetic he's achieved with this scheme that appeals. I'll have a think about adding richness (see: magenta) into this scheme for depth to complement the warm golds. With only a couple of days until the box arrives, the next step will be to dig out a test model and try the scheme to see what works and what needs adjustment.

Freeguild Marshall

 When I saw the Cities of Sigmar box released in 2023, I required it. I'd failed to connect with Age of Sigmar as a game because it lacked character for me. The main army of Stormcasts just lacked oomph and never appealed. Then I bought a Kruleboyz army and completely forgot about it (whoops) then picked these handsome fellows up.

 More to follow in time, but I started with the best model in the box. Swapped the standard head for one of the fancy helmets for the cavalry. Beyond that it's a case of trying to find the focal points then spending a little more time on those - face, sword, and gold plates on the leg.

I want this army to feel fancy and not downtrodden, but they're also on the edge of a horrible surprise ot find themselves in swampy environons. Possibly more suited to swampy orks ... 

  

Alchemite Warforger

 It started as a one-hour speed paint, but it was far too cool a model to leave at that. Glad I spent the extra time on it to improve everything. I wish more modern sculpts were like this - it has a ton of detail and yet remains reasonably uncluttered.

  

Flower Queen II

The model I was pleased to take to to Fen Model Show (https://fenmodelshow.co.uk/) this weekend. I received a Silver in Standard at Fen for this.

It's a sculpt from the talented Romain Van Den Bogaert (www.instagram.com/romainvdb1) and I've only seen two other versions to-date; Ben Komets (https://www.instagram.com/p/CH-WskZniko/?img_index=1) and Roman Gruba (https://www.instagram.com/p/CSEXHWotGjs/?img_index=1) so ... no pressure, hey?

I've used a more harmonious colour palette than usual, and definitely benfeitted from more thinking prior to painting. It's Kimera Magenta and Pthalo Blue at the base, then Caribbean Blue, Ice Blue and Greenish White for most of the remainder. The only outlier is a Dark Vermillion on the headdress fabric and hair to offer something a little different.

There's a hundred things I could improve, and the judges found every single one but that's a problem for Future Dave to address before it goes to SMC (https://www.scalemodelchallenge.com/) later this year. It was a real experimentation on getting better at texture, contrast and I'm genuinely pleased with the comments from fellow painters and judges on this.

  

Ultramarine Captain

With Fen Model Show (https://fenmodelshow.co.uk/) last weekend, I thought it would be fun to paint a light-hearted entry to go alongside my main entry.

A friend had a few spare original Epic models and was kind enough to give me one of the Space Marine captains as a painting project. They're very small and trying to work out what the shapes are was sufficient challenge alone.

I drew stripes over the banner to give a feel of fabric. It's hard to gauge success of painting techniques on something this size, as I can't decide whether I should be assessing the impact close-up, as per the photographs, or from tabletop, when you need a microscope to see the damned thing.

While it didn't win anything, and I had no expectation it would, it was a fun one to have on the display.

 

Cap'n Annie of the Bad Squiddo

 This was the model you received free for attending Salute in 2024 courtesy of the fabulous Bad Squiddo (https://badsquiddogames.com/shop) and it's a great one. Not enough female pirates out there, and I'm a sucker for piratey sculpts.

However! I have two problems with this model. The flag is at the wrong angle to benefit from a golden angle shot, so everything points in a particular direction apart from the absolutely MASSIVE flag over her head! The second issue is the sheer thickness of the flag. I tried to bend it a little, but it was fast becoming a chore, and I didn't want to sand it down or replace with foil. Two minor details overall on a nice model.

   

Slightly worried that I accidentally turned her into Liz Truss at one point, but going back over the hair with red saved the day. Phew. 

 

Bugbear Chieftain

It's another one from Fenris (https://fenrisgames.com/shop) and yet another Kev Adams sculpt. Really, really happy with how the copper NMM turned out, and his club. The face is decent too, and overall it's a decent piece. My photography continues to let the side down, but that's fine.

I will never be a fan of sculpted fur. I get the reason for it; basecoat, drybrush, wash and win, but when you want to paint it with a bit more detail, it's a real pain in the bum.

   

At the end of a project I often (most of the time) forget to take a picture of my palette as a guide for what colours I used. There's a good amount of mixing as the project develops,

 

Army of Duckness

I don't get to paint many models for companies. I'd like to do it more often. These were for the wonderful Ian at Fenris Games (https://fenrisgames.com/shop) for his Army of Duckness range, and I was pleased with the result.

It's such a characterful group and glad I had the opportunity to paint them and do something a little different from what other people had done. The sculpts are fantastic but a touch frustrating in a couple of places where a detail feels unfinished. Not a major problem, but the rest of the sculpt is so good, you feel the pain of small irritants more. If you see Fenris at a model show, you may see them in a display cabinet too!

But honestly, you can't beat a nice selection of D&D ducks, can you?

Trying to determine which elements should be the standout is tricky in a group setting, but the beaks and weaponry felt like the natural choices. The feet and basing don't need much attention. Chief Duck was a touch harder as it has so many fantastic elements that I wanted all of it to be the focal point! In the end I opted for the beak, speartip and helmet.

           

 

Eru-Kin Elite in Guardian Power Armour

This splendid model is from Die Hard Miniatures (https://diehardminiatures.com/). When I saw it at Salute in 2024, it was quickly up the to-do list. Can't decide if I'm reminded most of an angry badger, a Mondoshawan ... or yes.

I tried for shiny power armour, and I know the angles are unrealistic in places but this is more a rule of cool than an attempt at accuracy. Would definitely paint more of these, it's a fun sculpt.

    

Logan

Logan, from Hera Models. This is a great academic bust and I originally painted it at a workshop a couple of years ago, but wasn't happy with the result.

I wanted to try painting a cooler skin from a green base, and doing the classic yellow spandex X-Men outfit would have felt at odds with that. Instead he's painted as Ultimate Wolverine using an old comic cover from Arthur Adams as my guide for the uniform. Pleased with the result. Even the badge turned out okay considering it's freehand.

   

The badge was a challenge though! The sculpt is smooth at that point so I had to gauge what worked then paint a big fat black X across my handiwork. Urgh.

 

 

N-gauge Railway Shed

 Not for the faint hearted. N-gauge railway scenery for a friend. But it's done, complete with weighing station out the front. Fun as a one-off for a friend's burgeoning railway board but I won't rush to paint more - it's just too tiny! Nice brass etched kit though.

Hard to convey how small this model is, even using paint bottles and coins for scale. There should be two weights, but I lost the smaller of the two. You can understand how. There was much cursing. Especially after I'd painted 1kg on it; only one side, not two - I'm not a madman ...

There's no value in painting fantastic detail on models at this scale, you simply can't see it. You have to paint blocks of colour, then add a little differentiation. Too much subtlety and it isn't readable as the piece you intend it to be. Colour and value alone do enough to make visual distinction.