Welcome back to Bash the Backlog, a mini-series in which I try to correct that most egregious of hobby sins; the huge pile of unpainted plastic!
It's been over six months since my last #BashtheBacklog entry (see Sigmar's Storm for that one!), with most of my backlog work coming as part of Blood of the Angel and For the Greater Good series. I have, however, worked on a few other projects in between these major series; palette-cleanser models between projects or odds-and-ends that either needed tying off, or were supposed to trigger a bigger project that never took off.
As one of my final posts of the year I wanted to capture these one-off projects in a single post so they don't become forgotten, and can act as a little inspiration for what I hope will be a brighter 2021!
So let's jump into it!
The Last Wall - An Age of Darkness Imperial Fist
Years ago I had a significant Age of Darkness army, but I fell out of love with the project when towards the end of 6th Edition 40k. At the time Destroyer weapons were giga-busted, and Games Workshop were operating their "relentless salesmen" approach (One-man stores, no gaming in store, Warhammer Weekly magazines... it really was the Age of Darkness!) which really drove me away from the hobby altogether.
But all bad things must come to an end, and when I got back into Warhammer for 8th Edition I also got back into the Horus Heresy.
I started listening to the Audio books for the Heresy Series again (from book 1.... I know, I'm a madman!) and decided to invest in some heresy-mark armour for a new project.
I flip-flopped on a few different factions over the last few years, Ultramarines and Blood Angels have both featured on my older blogs, before settling on the Imperial Fists.
I seldom paint yellow, and I wanted to try to paint something different. After sitting on the idea (and a sizable collection of unpainted models) for over a year I finally decided to paint up a test model in April/May (during Lockdown 1)
I used a tutorial on YouTube for the Yellow Armour, opting to start from a Grey Seer base rather than White Scar as they recommend.
I also wanted to try my hand at a bit of weathering on this project, using the sponge weathering technique to apply battle damage, as well as adding a little freehand and some transfers to make the model pop.
The base is just cork painted up to look like cracked and damaged marble, aiming for an "interior of the Imperial Palace" look.
It's a model I'm particularly proud of, and I hope to some more in the near future!
Sigmar's Storm - Let the magic flow!
With most of the first part of the year dominated by 40k I decided to take a few small breaks with Age of Sigmar Projects. My Orruk Warboss was a welcome break, but I intended to get stuck in to more AoS with Sigmar's Storm - another Backlog series to help me crack through my Stormcast Eternals.
The project kicked off with me getting a decent chunk of my Warrior Chamber finished, which was a huge deal! Some of those models had been sitting unpainted for 5 years, and it was a great relief getting them battle ready.
Whilst I intended to do some more with the Stormcast, I only really managed to complete one Knight Incantor from the Soul Wars box before 9th Edition Warhammer 40k and the Tau really derailed me!
The Knight Incantor is a pretty great model; a really narrative model the invokes a lot of power despite being pretty static in pose.
I've followed the same paint scheme as usual for my Stormcast, but chose to splash in yellow as the extra robe colour for the Sacroscant Chamber.
The overall colour scheme for my Stormcast chamber is based on the family crest and iconography of Richard Neville, the 16th Earl of Warwick also known as The Kingmaker. In fact, a lot of the Lore and Iconography I've chosen to use for that project has been inspired by the same piece of history. My partner loves medieval history and grew up near Warwick, so she really helped me create the lore for this Stormhost.
I've got an ever-growing Stormcast Backlog to work through, with the Hatchette Partworks Mortal Realms subscription adding more and more every month, so expect to see a lot more of these models throughout 2021!
Secrets of the Underhive - The Sacred Flames rise again
I haven't played anywhere near as much Necromunda as I want to, and with all the new House books coming out I'm more excited than ever to jump back into the grim darkness of the Underhive.
Whilst I'm likely to start any new Campaign with my Black Roses, The Sacred Flame were my first foray into the underhive and will remain a special mini-project to me.
Back in 2019 I picked up some cheap plastic cultists from the Warhammer Conquest series with the intention of adding them to the Sacred Flames - a few extra Gangers never goes amiss! Lockdown gave me the perfect opportunity to paint these guys up!
By the standards of my other projects these buys are pretty badly painted - no highlights and just a simple base, shade and layer made them a quick a dirty project consistent with what I'd done before.
But to me, that's all that's needed for the Underhive. It's a dank, dirty, dangerous place for horrible people... and these gangers will look at home there!
A lockdown treat!
Way back in the distant past of Spring 2020 (yeah... feels like 100years ago, right???) Games Workshop released a few special Made to order models to make up for not hosting events, one of which was a pretty glorious Space Marine Librarian in Terminator Armour.
When mine arrived I knew I wanted to paint it up... but couldn't completely decide how. I was swamped in Blood Angels already (and to be honest... didn't see myself adding any more Firstborn to the force if I didn't need to!).
In the end I decided to paint up the model as a Grey Knight, adding a gorgeous model to a pretty sizable army I already had.
This did give me the option for a few minor conversions! I chopped off the eagle form the top of the amour and replaced it it a Grey Knight Paladin icon, and added a Grey Knight Shoulderpad to the staff arm.
Denizens of the Eightpoints
With 40k well covered during Lockdown I once again took the opportunity to head to the Mortal Realms - this time diving into Archeon's Stronghold to add some more mini's to my Warcry collection.
With only the Iron Golems and some scenery painted so far I needed to paint some neutral monsters to be able to play all the scenarios. I opted to paint up 6 Furies as a starting point, leaning on a contrast/ drybrush heavy style to paint them up quickly
So ends my rambling journey!
Moral of the story - Lockdown makes for strange brush-fellows!!
What random, eclectic combination of things have you painted to stave off lockdown madness?
I've still got a few posts to go until the end of the year, and a few projects left to complete, so I'll speak to you all soon!
In the mean time why not head over to my Instagram to stay up to date with my hobby updates.
Until next time, stay safe and happy hobby everyone!
Medge
No comments:
Post a Comment