Plaguebearers part 5

I’ve managed to get a fair amount of painting time under my belt this last week and, as a result, I’ve finished off the third Plaguebearer. It feels good to see another completed mini so soon after re-starting the project, but I think I’ll have to take another look at the Plaguebearers once they are all painted. I’ve a feeling that they will need some final retouching and finesse to pull them together as a finished unit.

I’ve also made a start on the champion. I’m trying a darker base colour for this mini, compared to the others, and I think it cuts down a little on the shading work. The only drawback is that I misjudged the colour. I think I would have had an easier time if the green had been slightly yellower and more desaturated. Having said that, once I got my head around the problem, things went a lot more smoothly. It’s early days but, so far, so good.

Project Nurgle - Plague bearers part 4

Getting to grips with Project Nurgle!

With the Golden Demon painting competition on the horizon I’ve dusted off my plans to paint a unit of plague bearers. Although the project has been on hold, I’ve been giving it some thought; in particular’ the matter of a champion to lead the unit.

At first I planned to make the champion stand out through giving him a predominantly red colour scheme, but as time has passed, I’ve decided that I need to do a bit more. To that effect I’ve customised a champion for the unit. This has enabled me to make him more physically imposing than the other plague bearers in the unit.

Creating a custom champion turned out to be an enjoyable little project, but I was surprised by just how many minis went into this one! The champion includes parts from; Plague bearers, Gutrot Spume, Putrid Blightkings and a mutant from the Chaos Warshrine. In total eight miniatures blended together with plastic glue, green stuff and baking soda! 

Once I gave the mini a coat of primer it became easier to see it as a whole.

At the same time as I’ve been rebooting ‘Project Nurgle’ I’ve been trying out a new miniature holder. It’s the Crazy Grip from CrazyWenky, which I first saw reviewed on Massive Voodoo.

My first impression is extremely positive! Previously I've been using a pin vice but with a mini in place it's top heavy and badly balanced. It can also be uncomfortable to hold for long painting sessions. Straight away the CrazyGrip had a really good feeling of weight and balance to it! For ease of use and comfort alone the GrazyGrip will make an indispensible addition to my painting kit. 

I also appreciate its stability (even without the stand provided) when I put it down on my desk during painting. When I’m not handling a mini for painting I tend to stick it into a cork. Now I can keep my minis on their corks all the time. It’s simply a matter of popping the corked minis in and out of the handle (using the stand) as needed.

Looking back... and forward.

About his time last year I’d reconciled myself to a less productive 2015, at least in terms of the number of minis I’d get finished. I decided to concentrate on quality and enjoy myself obsessing over Gutrot Spume. Gutrot was painted with an eye to entering the Golden Demon competition, whenever that happened; and I’d resolved to quite literally push the boat out for him.

As it turned out 2015 was a far more productive year than I had predicted! After a slow start, Gutrot came together and was finally finished in September. I’d already taken time out to paint Mole, but once Gutrot was done, I switched up in scale to paint Commodore Borgossa, and most recently Abalam Prince of Hell. I also started painting a unit of Plague bearers as part of the preparations for my Weekend Workshop in Cardiff.

And now we finally have a date for the next Warhammer Fest and the 2016 Golden Demons! Sunday, May 15, at the Rico Arena in Coventry. It’s been a long wait!

With Abalam finished, all bar his plinth, I am turning my attention to the next project. I was going to paint another mini for Salute (April 16) and then return to the unit of Plague bearers, but the Golden Demon announcement has changed everything. The Plague bearers have jumped right back up to the top of my painting priorities. Remembering 2014’s last minute Haemonculus, I want to try and complete them without putting too much pressure on myself.

Project Nurgle is all GO….again.

Abalam Prince of Hell - Part 3

Shifting my attention away from Abalam’s head to concentrate on the overall paint job proved to be a good move! I’ve made a fair degree of progress and the overall colour palette has come together. Most importantly, I’ve managed to avoid losing momentum. 

Sorting out the red/green balance was key to resolving the colour scheme. When I started painting Abalam, I hadn’t intended to use so much green; but as I’ve worked on the gold areas, the green swiftly became a key colour. With so much red used in the flesh tones and costume, the green introduces contrast and drama to the palette. Similarly the sash across Abalam’s chest is now painted in a light cool grey, rather than red, to add both colour and tonal contrast. 

With the bulk of the painting done, I’ve finally glued Abalam’s head onto the bust so I can better work on the piece as a whole. There are lots of finishing touches to do, but the project feels like it’s moving onto the final stage!