Dwarf Warriors, WIP

Right then.  Finally got the second batch of five complete.  Again, no base but they'll be done at the end.  So here they are:

I am not fully happy with parts of them.  For example, you can just about see my attempt at wood grain.  I need to practice this more, it came out OK in places but I had trouble with getting it to look like dark wood.  I did however do better at the runes on the shields.  Still cannot get them looking symmetrical or the same size, but they look decent.

Next up, after these is the front rank and command.  Still not decided what to do for their banner, but I have a few ideas.

Dwarf warriors.

I have done a small amount of converting to them. One thing you'll notice, when I get a picture of them, is the lack of horns and wings. Only a couple of my minis will have these added to the helmets. For the most part, I dislike them. I just really don't like them on the dwarf helmets, and want to come up with a better idea of changing them. Its something I want to do with my army. I have been playing collecting dwarfs for a long time and have recently realised that none of the army incarnations have actually been MY dwarfs. They've always been in the GW scheme or used a typical dwarf army straight out the box.

So, with this army I have a plan. I want to make it mine. Using what skills I have as a painter/modeller I want to make this dwarf army HUGE and MINE. So small conversions, and larger ones. I am not building it to game with (though, I will be doing so) but rather as a life long project that is Kuffy flavoured (with a hint of outsiders). Its a very long term plan and will be built alongside my greenskins, along with fluff and all other stuff. I want this army to hold a very personal connection for me.

As to your point about the longbeards, I still have a unit of the beautiful metal ones to repaint. But I will also be seeking a new method of making them stand out from warriors. I don't know just yet, so I'm not going to dwell on them until I feel I am ready to tackle them.

Another point, I never explained the runes from my army. The runes stand for "Ungorwutraz Karag" or "The Delving Spear Mountain". I have some skeletal outlines of fluff, but haven't really planned much further than that yet.

Hobby Experience

 In other news, I find myself liking the idea of Warmachine more and more.  I currently posses the MKI rules for both Warmachine and Hordes, and have always favoured Hordes (due to the stronger fantasy style link) but I don't possess any army or have attempted to make one.  In fact I own a single model, a Trollblood yeti creature (Frost Troll?) which I attempted to paint for a contest but just never liked it when I put brush to metal.  

One reason why I put the rules aside is that, I don't really game and I found the rules confusing.  I'd need to watch a game and probably have someone run me through the rules to properly understand.  However, I am now beginning to consider my hobby more.  I am, at heart, a GW fan boy.  I own all the Fantasy army and rule books from the 4th ed onwards (except 4th/5th ed Lizardmen and Chaos Dwarfs) as well as most of the Fantasy based background books and a lot of the novels.  The same goes for 40k, all codices since 3rd ed.  I also own various supplements and game add-ons (Planetary Empires and Apocalypse for example) and use a lot of their products (spray, paint etc).

So, my hobby experience has firmly been embedded in the GW world.  I have only recently begun to look outside their main two "headliners", so to speak.  I have played Mordheim a little bit, and have a great love of Blood Bowl (though, I am only currently playing it on FUMBBL.com).  These games are a lot of fun, don't cost so much and allow for more personalisation.  However, what do they all have in common?  GW no longer supports them, in fact they have seemingly recently shafted the BB community with the way they have handled the new rules set.  And yet, they all have a large cult following.  BB is perhaps the most supported by the players, with lots of tournaments going on and a very strong community.  Mordheim also has this, albeit to a lesser extent.  

I find these other games to be a lot of fun.  The rules are generally well done, with a few problems here or there.  I just wish GW would give them some love, rather than abandoning them in favour of 40K and Fantasy, and to a lesser extent Lord of the Rings.  A single updated FAQ or something each year would be great.  That said.  I have seem some great fan based websites and designs for Mordheim in particular.  I have also considered picking up LOTR.  I will admit that when GW announced they were making a LOTR system and it grappled its way into the third slot for the 'Headliners" I was a bit upset and annoyed.  Hoping it would die and swearing I'd never play it.  This was, and is, a naive and stupid view.  I still haven't played it but I have had a look at the rule set and I was impressed.  It is simple, quick and well written.  I think it sits sort of between Fantasy and 40k in that its simple, quick and easy to play - like 40k - but also involves some complicated rules to make it a bit more challenging - like Fantasy.  To this end, I have considered picking it up as another game.  Or just some stuff to paint.

Back to my first point about Warmachine.  I like the minis and the rules, from what most say, are easy to understand and play quite smoothly.  So, I am considering picking this up.  Khador appeals to me.  It will also be something extra to expand my gaming experience and perhaps stop me viewing GW quite so often through my rose-tinted glasses.  We shall see.

Oh yeah.  [SHAMELESS PLUG]   Go check out the Fantasy Hub of http://the-tradingpost.blogspot.com/ and tell others to join.  The more the merrier!  Any ideas, blogs to add or anything please email me on thetradingpostblog[at]googlemail.com

Dwarf Warriors WIP.

Right then.  I finally got some painting done, uni has been keeping me busy, and I have five whole warriors to show for it.  I am pretty happy with them, however I have noticed that my bronze is not consistent across the board.  I need to sort that out. I need to keep practising on my freehand.  Its OK at the moment, but still quite sloppy really.  Anyway, three pictures of five dwarf warriors, sans bases.

 

  

  

 ___________________________

Tutorial - Making flagstone bases using green stuff stamps

This tutorial is for the making of flagstone style bases by using a green stuff stamp.  This is a simple, but can be a slightly lengthy method of doing this.  However, once the stamp(s) are made the ability to make bases is quite swift.  You just follow the last two or three steps.

Stage 1

The first stage is to mix up enough green stuff to cover a base.  You make to make sure it is the right height and covers the base well.  And leave to cure for about 10-20 minutes

Stage 2
This stage we mark on the design you want.  At this point you don't want to drag the green stuff too much, it is possible that you will cause it to stretch and will warp your design.  Once you are happy leave it to dry over night.

Stage 3
This is where the etching begins.  Use a tool (I used a couple of my sculpting tools) to deepen the markings you made previously.  They don't actually have to be that deep, just enough that the next stage will be effective.

Stage 4
Once you have etched in your design to the base, you then need to use something to make sure the mold will come free with minimal fuss.  I used the below, Vaseline.  Spread it over your base, making sure you get it into the gaps you have made.

Stage 5
Now, put another ball of green stuff onto your newly greased base.  Push down to make sure it goes into the gaps, which is the important part.  Push this down firmly, and leave to dry for about 10-15 minutes.  I found it handy to make sure there is an edge on the stamp, it makes it easier to line it up in the following sections. 

Once you remove the stamp, this is what you should have (but with your own design).  Then leave to dry over night.
 

Stage 6
This stage is where once you've made the stamp you can just repeat to make multiple bases.  I used milliput myself, but you can used green stuff just as well.  Make a small amount of your material up and apply it to the base, much like the first step.

 

 

Stage 7
Take your stamp and push into the milliput firmly (first picture).  Leave this for about 30 seconds or so, then carefully remove.  Be careful not to drag or pull the stamp too much, this might cause the gaps it leaves to warp.  (second picture)  Then leave to dry over night.  Once dry it will be available to paint. 

 

In the end the bases should turn out something like this:

Runesmith - nearly complete

So, more on the runesmith. The mini itself is complete, and I am quite happy with him overall. The runes in the book I do feel are a bit too big, but I am not that good at freehand just yet, so it'll have to do. Otherwise I am pretty happy with him, the shield worked out well enough again. Though I am aware that I haven't explained the runes meanings. So, they stand for = Ungorwutraz Karag [Khazalid], or The Delving Spear Mountain. Here are the pictures of him, the base is still being done. I am writing my own tutorial for the stamping method I use for them.

 

   

Irregular Magazine - Review

 The magazine's layout is very well done.  The articles all have a consistent and well balanced layout, with the good use of images and text.  I found the pure black and white colours of text and page a bit boring but it works well enough, and perhaps other colours would distract from the content.  The images work well; all of them fit the text on the page and are formatted to be an accompaniment to the text.  Something they do very well.

The tutorials and painting articles are quite simple to follow and understand, along with good pictures for each step in the guides.  They make good reads and I believe most with a decent understanding of highlighting and shading can follow them to a decent degree.  There are a couple that are for the more advanced hobbyist - such as the casting article.  In the future I would like to see a better range of articles, going from some quite basic or beginner articles all the way to advanced/expert ones.  In addition to these articles there are some good gaming articles, a lot dealing with RPGs, something that seems to be a trend with the previous issues also.  Personally, I’d quite like to see more varied gaming articles, incorporating other gaming systems.

Overall, the magazine itself is pretty damn good.  I enjoy reading it and think its great to see a hobby heavy webzine being produced and look forward to more issues in the future.