Wardancers, Wood Elves

I don't elf as a rule. I can Eldar, but that's totally different because they're from space. However, this year on a Secret Santa, I drew a name of someone who is very much into elves, figuratively speaking. Trying to determine what people have and don't have on their armies, and what you can add as a guest painter, is a challenge.

Unsurprisingly, there's quite a bit of green present. I added a few different hues for variety, but the palette is essentially green, blue and a little yellow.

There's a little elephant in the room, or rather a normal elf among the dancing lads. Trying to track down the original wardancers was a real pain, but I wanted a selection of older, metal models and found this beauty from the very early elf range in 1987.

While I enjoyed the challenge of trying to paint it in a more modern fashion, the sculpt itself will not be remembered fondly in time. The hands and feet are oversized, the sword lacks definition, and the face and hair are awkward. But it's another of those projects where it's oaky to say "it's fine, we're done" and move on.

The sculptor? Jes Goodwin. I wonder if he ever did anything of note ...

King Diamond, Imperial Dwarf Commander

I've had a mighty need to paint a classic, oldhammer Imperial Dwarf for a few years. A mighty need. However, brushing through the cobwebs of nostalgia there's only actually couple that actually appeal as painting projects. This is one of two

The second challenge is how should it be painted, and why? I'm more mindful that painting projects don't always need to live in my display shelves, and if they can go somewhere to be loved, then maybe that's what should happen. A friend of mine is mad about old Warhammer dwarfs. His passion for oldhammer outstrips mine, so he felt like the natural recipient.

 

One error you might notice is there's a directional mismatch of the woodgrain front and back, so one to keep in mind for future projects, but my friend is a gracious fellow and I'm sure he won't grumble.

Matching to an existing army is always a challenge and moreso when my friend has opted for a quartered red and cream, AND already has this model! Here's the only shot I have of his troops by way of comparison.

 

 His is painted entirely in silvers with a brass rim to the shield, so I've opted to make this one a little brighter, and have a gold crown not silver then steel edging for the shield. Obviously the shield boss means I couldn't add a decal to match, but that shouldn't be a problem. Ignore the discrepancy in basing, as I've kept mine neutral and a boring square base as I suspect his army will move to The Old World very soon.

I'm pleased with this little fellow.

Slann Starmaster

A good friend of mine casually mentioned she had a Slann Starmaster just sitting around (lame pun intended), had no interest in painting it, and would anyone like it. "Yes please" said I, as after seeing the Marc Masclans one from Golden Demon (https://www.instagram.com/p/DQT6YVQDYvC/?img_index=1), realising it was pretty darned fantastic sculpt. I don't want to keep the beautiful frog, because it doesn't have a place in any of my collections, but painting it and giving it back to its rightful owner? Yes please to that.

 I remembered to take a couple of progress shots of the base build for a change.While the model's straight forward, the base was a head scratcher. I tried foam tiles at jaunty angles, but that didn't look right, so in the end I settled on larger foam blocks covered in texture, then carved lines in with a knife and blunt pencil.

 

Zombicide: Black Plague more heroes

And so, more heroes it is, and this time it's Beauregard, Cul'nar, Gurbak, Dravog, Brickborn, and Hildir. One hour each ... yes, the witch and goat count as one.

Less of a plan specifically, but more of a play with picking out an item of interest on each model and spending time on that to sell the effect at tabletop. I think a few of those elements are clear, with Dravog and Brickborn on the front row being the most obvious, whereas the other sculpts it wasn't as easy to find that one detail to jump out. However, another six down and more options for us on the table over Christmas when the games come out.

 

A small lapse in posting over the last few weeks, as I've been head down on projects for secret santas and found myself with no pretty things to post and share. Hopefully normal service should resume again!