Wargames @ farfaraway.org » Khador

Kommander Strakhov: Video Painting Guide

owen — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 20:03:06 +0000

Here’s a video painting guide for Kommander Strakhov. Enjoy!

This video was embedded using the YouTuber plugin by Roy Tanck. Adobe Flash Player is required to view the video.

Don’t forget to watch the HD version if your internet connection can handle it!

Owen

Kommander Strakhov: Complete

owen — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 21:17:12 +0000

I didn’t time it too closely, but I reckon there’s about 3.5 – 4 hours work in this guy. He’s turned out beautifully.

Like the Widowmaker Marksman I need to complete the base, but I’ll wait until eButcher is finished before I do it.

Owen

Widowmaker Marksman: Complete

owen — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 21:27:17 +0000

Wow! I haven’t painted a Khadoran miniature since November last year, when I finished my Mortar Crew. I primed the Marksman, Strakhov and the Epic Butcher earlier and started painting the Marksman. It took about 1.5hrs to complete. The paint is still drying in the photos below.

I’ll complete the base when I paint the other guys.

As an aside – this miniature was proudly sponsored by Lost Hemisphere Radio – Episode 7!

Owen

Battle Report for Warmachine Beginners – Part 2

owen — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 22:01:15 +0000

Part 1 of the battle report is here.

Control Area and Feats: All warcasters have a control area which is a circle that radiates 2 x FOC from their base. In Rahn’s case that’s a radius of 16”. Only in this area can warcasters allocate focus to ‘jacks, so you need to move your ‘caster if your ‘jacks are advancing. Many spells and feats, a unique once per game mega-spell, effect this control area. A player may measure from his warcaster to any point in his control area at any stage.

Not a lot of damage done to either side so far, but Steve’s next turn would change all that. He allocated focus to the Chimera and Manticore and set about causing some mayhem. The Chimera charged the Drakhun and destroyed the horse. This left just the rider. The Mage Hunters zeroed in on the Juggernaut ‘jack and caused 15 points of damage with their crossbows (they get boosted damage rolls against warjacks) and disabled its left arm. Rahn activated next and feated. His feat is called Arcane Alignment and gives friendly spell casters +2” range on their spells and boosted attack and damage rolls for the turn. He then cast Telekinesis on the Devastator to spin it around so its back was facing the Battle Mages. The Battle Mages focus their attention on the Great Bears and the Manhunter (my assassination solo) and destroy them all. That’s the power of the feat. Ouch! The Manticore activates and puts 4 more points of damage on the Juggernaut with his Cyclone Cannon, taking out its movement.

Okay, I really need to respond before my whole army is gone. The Butcher loads up the Devastator with three focus and then he activates. He casts Full Throttle (three focus) allowing all of his ‘jacks to run, charge, slam or trample without spending focus and it also gives them boosted melee attack rolls. The Butcher shoots a Battle Mage for good measure. The Devastator activates and tramples towards Rahn. The trample is free because of Full Throttle, but uses the warjacks initial attacks, i.e. it counts as having attacked. Focus can be used to gain more attacks, so the Devastator makes three attacks at Rahn. Despite them being boosted (again because of the spell), he only connects with one causing 8 damage points. Rahn has 16 damage starting the game, so I’m only half way there. My Mechaniks run to engage the Battle Mages, in order to prevent them retaliating on their turn. Meanwhile the dismounted Drakhun does 13 points of damage to the Chimera tearing off its left arm.

It’s down to a slugfest at this stage and unfortunately for Steve his dice luck abandons him. The Mage Hunters only manage another 5 points of damage to the Juggernaut and the Battle Mages kill two of the four Mechaniks. As this is 50% lost in a single turn they must make a command check, which they pass. The Manticore manages to kill the War Dog. Rahn, loaded with focus, however only managed 14 points of damage on the Devastator. He could be in trouble next turn.

Time to finish this. I put three focus on the Devastator and activate the Butcher. He casts Full Throttle again (it isn’t an upkeep spell) and uses his feat, Blood Frenzy, which gives all models in his control area an additional die on damage rolls. The Devastator activates and does a special attack called Rain of Death where it lobs short ranged grenades. Everyone in base-to-base contact with it suffers a POW 18 blast hit! That would have finished Rahn except that the Force Field spell makes him immune to blast damage. Damn! I use a focus on the Devastator to buy an additional attack. It is boosted to hit because of Full Throttle and boosted damage because of the feat. Rahn is squished by the towering ‘jack.

The Aftermath

This was a pretty small game, but I hope it highlights some of the cooler aspects of Warmachine. It is a game of brutal damage and devastating effects, but it is pretty well balanced and no faction is considered vastly superior to any other. Steve played like a true gentleman in this game. He had a chance to finish things early on by hitting the Butcher with all of those Mage Hunter attacks instead of the Juggernaut. It would have been a much shorter battle report had he taken the easy kill, so if you suffered through the report this long you have him to thank!
Hordes is the feral cousin of Warmachine that features fantastic warbeasts and their warlock handlers. It has a completely different magic mechanic, but is fully compatible with Warmachine. Next time I’ll write about this other cutthroat game from Privateer Press. Whatever you play, remember to “play like you’ve got a pair!”.

Battle Report for Warmachine Beginners – Part 1

owen — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 22:00:07 +0000

The elves of Ios are angry, very angry. They believe that the magic wielded by mankind is killing their remaining god, Scyrah. The Retribution of Scyrah, once a small and outlawed rebellious sect, but now a popular movement amongst Iosans, aren’t willing to sit back and watch their gods die. Every nation of man that supports and promotes the use of magic is a legitimate target, particularly those who use magic to wage war.

The nation of Khador has been expanding their borders aggressively, having consumed the country of Llael and encroached into northern Cygnar. Their warcasters have been at the forefront of this empire building, leading massive armies to conquer their former neighbours. This activity has not gone unnoticed by the stealthy Iosans and their rapid armies have moved to intercept and assassinate these human warcasters. The Retribution of Scyrah cares little about the wars of other nations. It is the scalps of those warcasters that they seek.

The Protagonists

This battle report is aimed at giving an overview of how the mechanics of Warmachine combine to make a compelling, tactical and exciting wargame. Steve Coleman and I lined up two 25pt armies with a very simple mission – assassinate the opposing players warcaster. 25pts is a smallish game, but sufficient to show the main aspects of the game. I had my beloved Khadorans led by the walking beatstick that is the Butcher of Khardov. This warcaster lives for the sound of battle and the smell of blood. He is an unstoppable monster that can support his troops with his potent magic and push his warjacks to excel in combat. The rest of my force was comprised of two warjacks, a Juggernaut and a Devastator, a couple of small units and a couple of solos. The ‘jacks of Khador have the most formidable armour in the game also have the ability to absorb as well as dish out a lot of damage. They are typically slower than the ‘jacks of other nations, but what do you expect of constructs that are over 10 tons in weight!

Focus: this represents magical ability in Warmachine. Every warcaster has a Focus stat and this finite resource is what they use to cast spells, boost attacks and support their warjacks. It is replenished every turn, but there is never quite enough to go around!

Facing the might of Khador would be Adeptis Rahn, an arcanist beyond compare. His ability to manipulate magic and support other mages in his force is stunning. He has amazing spells to support every element of his army and blast his enemy with arcane blasts while doing so. He has one of the highest focus stats in the game, so he can put out a lot of support and/or hurt every turn. Making up the rest of Steve’s army was made up of two myrmidons (warjacks to you and me), a the much feared Mage Hunter Strike Force with Commander, a unit of Battle Mages and a couple of solos. The warjacks of the Retribution tend to be more specialist and nimble than those of Khador. They also sport an Arcantrik Field that can absorb damage before the ‘jack itself is damaged. Nifty! One of Steve’s warjacks was a light ‘jack named a Chimera. This ‘jack has a couple of nice tricks, but it also has a feature known as an arc Node. All factions (apart from Khador, doh!) have access to arc nodes that allow warcasters to bounce their spells through the ‘jack. This are very useful in keeping your ‘caster out of harms way. Remember, the mission in this game is to assassinate the opposing ‘caster.

The Game

Warmachine is usually played on a 4’ x 4’ battlefield with deployment in 10” wide on opposing sides. Steve’s Retribution force deployed between a wood and hill with the large Manticore myrmidon in the centre of his army. It was surrounded by Battle Mages who had Rahn in their midst and a Soulless Escort capable of absorbing enemy magic attacks attached. The Iosans view the phenomena of Soulless being born as a true sign that Scyrah is dying. To the left of this unit is the Chimera and beyond it is a Magister, a veteran Battle Mage. deployed. The Mage Hunters and Commander are advance deployed (up to 6” beyond the standard deployment zone) to the front and right of the rest of the force. Finally, an Archanist, a Retribution mechanic deployed beside the Manticore.

Casting Spells: Every spell has a Focus cost and this is deducted from the wascaster’s total when cast. If the spell is cast on a friendly unit then only the range needs to be checked. If it is in range it’s cast. If a spell targets an enemy the ‘caster check range and then must roll to hit. They player rolls 2D6 and adds their focus (FOC). If this total equals or exceeds the enemy’s defense (DEF) it is a hit. Spell effects are then resolved.

Across the table my red Khadorans deployed beside a hill with the warjacks up front. Just behind them was a unit of Mechaniks, the Butcher and a War Dog. The Mechaniks, as their name suggests, are adept at repairing ‘jacks in the heat of battle. The War Dog offers protection to a ‘caster through counter charging the enemy if he gets too close and increasing the ‘casters Defense stat in melee. In my previous article I mentioned the stats briefly, but I’ll go through the basics of combat when the action kicks in. On the far right flank a mounted Drakhun was ready to chase down whatever came near it. On the left flank stood the formidable Great Bears of Gallowswood, a trio of battle hardened veterans with the capacity to utterly destroy both ‘jacks and units.

Steve won the dice off, so the first Turn would go to him. He allocated one focus, from Rahn’s eight, to the Chimera to allow it to run on its activation. Warjacks function like any other unit, but they can be allocated up to three focus to allow they to run, charge, boost attacks and perform power attacks, such as slams, throws, and headbutts. Rahn cast Force Field (three focus) which allows him to control the direction of missed blast shots. He also cast Polarity Shield (two focus) on the Battle Mages which prevents them from being charged. The remaining two focus are left on Rahn and they boost his armour. He then advanced forward. The rest of his force moved rapidly forward and the Arcansist assigned one focus to the Manticore to allow it to run.

On my first turn I allocated one focus to each ‘jack and then ran most of the army forward. The Butcher walked up behind them and cast Iron Flesh (two focus), from his total of six, onto the Great Bears, which added +3 to their DEF. I was afraid of the Mage Hunters firing their crossbows through the wood at my precious (and expensive) unit. The Commander with the Mage Hunters granted them the Phantom Seeker ability allowing them to ignore line of sight when targeting. Of course I forgot they have an ability to also ignore the focus boost to armour and spells that add to DEF and armour (ARM). They are Mage Hunters after all. Doh!

On his next turn Steve had Rahn upkeep both spells. Some spells can last from one turn to another. The ‘caster must spend one focus at the start of the turn to keep a spell of this type in play. Again his army advanced up, thankfully he wasn’t in range of the Great Bears. On his left flank he moved the Chimera up to arc spells at the Drakhun. Rahn first cast Chain Blast, an offensive spell, through the arc node. He hit the Drakhun with ease. This spell has a power (POW) of 12, so Steve would normally roll 2D6, add it to the 12 and compare that to my ARM. If the total exceeds my Drakhun’s ARM it does the amount of damage it exceeds by. The Drakhun’s ARM is 19, so Steve decided to boost the damage roll giving him an extra D6. Thankfully he only rolled 9 on the 3D6 and only managed to do two points of damage. The Drakhun has ten boxes of damage. Since that wasn’t enough Steve used the Telekinesis spell to move the Drakhun 2” and spin him around. This is important as models need line of sight (LoS) to charge. They can still walk into combat, but they don’t get a movement advantage or cause more damage on their initial attack. The Magister charged the Drakhun, but failed to cause any damage. He missed with his first attack and the second just bounced off of its armour.

The Drakhun got his revenge on my turn; he spun around and smashed the Magister, but the Chimera was still lurking nearby, so his vengeance was going to be short-lived. Again the Khadorans advanced forward. The Devastator is the most heavily armoured warjack in the game so it ran right up close to the Battle Mages. It couldn’t charge them due to Polarity Shield spell. The Butcher decided to send his Obliteration spell towards the Mage Hunters. I knew it would miss as they have the Stealth ability (all ranged attacks originating from more that 5” away automatically miss), but I was hoping for a lucky deviation. Attacks with a blast template scatter when they miss, just like in Warhammer, and I was hoping for a lucky deviation. However, I forgot Force Field allowed Rahn to decide the direction of deviations in his Control Area, so he sent it harmlessly away from the Mage Hunters.

Part 2 of the battle report continues here.

Irusk vs Shae (25pt Battle Report; VASSAL)

owen — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 20:50:33 +0000

Irusk did not like the south of Khador in the middle of the, albeit short, summer. It was hot, too damn hot, and was frequented by the most villainous filth. These pirates were men without honour, fighting for coin and caring about nothing but their own hide. The clear weather allowed them to hit the coast wherever the chose and flee back to the see when the army closed in on them. Repeated raids in this area, and specifically on this Khadoran military outpost, had drawn his attention here. Every raid had a purpose that revealed these pirates to be more than mindless thugs. They were planning something big. Large amounts of black powder had been stolen and they came close taking cortexes in transit past Kulvorn Bay.

They would not get away this time. The ambush had been primed. Irusk could sense the Devastator twitching – it’s boiler was at maximum capacity and it knew battle was about to commence.

Yesterday I smashed my long distance VASSAL record! Admittedly it was only my second game, but this game had 6500km, of mostly ocean, between the players. I had a fantastic opponent in Clayton, who is based in Orlando. He fielded a Privateer force lead by Shae. They would face Irusk in a 25pt ‘caster kill game.

THE ARMIES
Here’s Clayton’s list. I think Clay would agree that the list had one ‘jack too many for Shae to adequately allocate focus to. That said all of the other elements are solid and the Commodore really frightens me. That cannon has some nasty options.

Phinneus Shae
- Freebooter
- Freebooter
- Buccaneer
6 Sea Dog Crew
3 Sea Dog Rifleman
First Mate Hawk
Commodore Cannon and Crew
Lord Rockbottom

This is a pretty standard list for Khador, but again it probably has one ‘jack too many. Irusk has one great ‘jack spell, Superiority, and on the Devastator it is fantastic. The IFP will go head to head against the Sea Dogs. I don’t have the solos to go up against Hawk or Rockbottom, so I’ll have to try other tricks to get them!

Kommandant Irusk
- Destroyer
- Devastator
4 Battle Mechaniks
6 Iron Fang Pikemen
Iron Fang Officer & Standard
Widowmakers

THE GAME

The pirates had with them one of the biggest cannons Irusk had ever seen. It looked to have the potential to total a ‘jack in a single shot, so he was careful to keep the Devastator out of range as it advanced along the wall of one of the outpost.

He initially sent the Iron Fangs to deal with the cannon up the right flank, but thought the better of it when he saw the speed and ferocity with which the pirates advanced through the middle of the battlefield. He made the ground soft under their feet and ordered all infantry into the centre to meet the pirate threat.

The Destroyer dropped a bombard shot on the cannon and seemed to almost destroy it. It was with dismay that Irusk saw the ‘jack hurled to the ground by return fire from the artillery piece.

On the left the Devastator ran to engage both a Buccaneer and Freebooter who had earlier cleared out the Widowmakers. Their blows bounced off it’s thick armour and when it opened up to rain death on them they were almost crippled.

Out of nowhere another Freebooter trampled aside infantry to end up standing right in front of Irusk. The undisturbed Iron Fangs swung at it and severely damaged the enemy ‘jack. Irusk and the remaining Iron Fangs finished it.

The Destroyer stood up and exacted it’s revenge on the cannon. The pirates in the centre were cut down by the disciplined strikes of the well trained Khadorans. The pirate warcaster’s force was now severly depleted.

Realizing that living to fight another day was in his best interest he fired a couple of menacing shots towards Irusk and fled the field.

All of the screenshots are in this set. In the images each round is broken down into two turns a (Clay’s) and b (mine).

That was a good game and Clay is an excellent opponent. My dice luck was ridiculously good. I made an unholy number of tough checks on my feat turn and every damage roll I rolled was massive! Against that kind of luck it was hard to formulate a response.

Sending the IFP against the cannon would have been a mistake. It’s spray attack would have decimated them. The Destroyer did a good job taking out the Commodore and the Devastator gets MVP for taking out two ‘jacks. He had Superiority up all game. It’s a great spell.

Thanks again to Clay for such a great game.

Owen

PS I don’t know why some of the screenshots have white areas. Must be a VASSAL issue.

Butcher vs Kaelyssa (35pt Battle Report)

owen — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 21:40:02 +0000

This is just a short battle report of a game Steve and I played before Christmas. It was a 35pt game between Khador and the Retribution. Steve’s army was -

Kaelyssa, Night’s Whisper
Chimera
Griffon
Hydra
Dawnguard Invictors (Leader and 5 Grunts)
Dawnguard Invictor Officer & Standard
Soulless Escort
Mage Hunter Strikeforce (Leader and 9 Grunts)
Mage Hunter Commander
Arcanist
Ghost Sniper
Mage Hunter Assassin

The Mage Hunters scare me. Advance deploy ‘caster killers with Stealth. When they lined up across the table I knew I’d have to keep a distance between them and the Butcher. The Ghost Sniper frightened me too.

The Butcher of Khardov
Devastator
Juggernaut
War dog
Battle Mechaniks (Leader and 3 Grunts)
Great Bears of Gallowswood
Iron Fang Pikemen (Leader and 5 Grunts)
Iron Fang Pikemen Officer & Standard
Widowmakers (Leader and 3 Grunts)
Man-o-war Drakhun (without dismount)
Manhunter

Okay, my battle plan was to keep the Butcher behind my ‘jacks and let the rest of my army run interference. If I can stall Steve’s ranged threats and let the Butcher get to the heart of his army then I might have a chance. The Manhunter and Drakhun would act as flanking threats.

THE GAME

This shot is from about half way through the game. The Widowmakers were to the right of this picture, but fared badly against the Mage Hunters. One of them did manage to take out the Commander and the Manhunter killed a couple before he was killed.

The IFP performed much better storming forward to kill a couple more Magehunters and take out the Chimera.

The Great Bears stormed out of the woods into the Hydra and wrecked on their charge. One of them was picked off, but the next turn the remaining two were within walking distance of Kaelyssa, who had feated. The Butcher cast Fury on them and feated. The Great Bears missed with three of their four Backswing attacks, but the one that contacted nearly killed the Retribution ‘caster. The Drakhun hunted down the Ghost Sniper and Assassin and was now close to Kaelyssa.

Steve’s retaliation was swift. The Invictors wiped out the remaining Great Bears and the remaining IFP. The Mage Hunters dropped loads of shots onto the Drakhun, but barely managed to damage him. Kaelyssa sensed real danger and charged the war rider. She completely stuffed up her attacks and was now standing in front of an angry horse.

The Khadoran ‘jacks were primed to cause havok. The Juggernaut was loaded with focus and had the Griffon in it’s sights. The Devastator was about to show some Invictors was it was like to be up close when he rained down some death. However, before they could do their thing the Drakhun ended it by trampling the Retribution ‘caster with his horse’s attack!

It was a good game. A lot of Khadorans died to the Mage Hunters, but it was necessary to keep them away from the Butcher. The only damage done to the Butcher was with Whiplash and the Ghost Hunter. My ‘jacks were completely stalled by Kaelyssa’s rough terrain AoE. Steve cast is on my Devastator and completely stalled their movement through a narrow gap between rough terrain. They never got into the game and this in turn stalled the Butcher. It meant I had no use for Full Throttle, which was the spell I really wanted to try out!

Owen

PS Sorry for the poor quality photos – I took them on my phone.

It’s Official: Khador is pronounced KAY-dohr

owen — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 10:44:33 +0000

The MkII rule book clears that up. Thankfully that’s how I’ve always pronounced it! The Brew City Gamers (see video below) posted a nice overview of the book for anyone who doesn’t have it yet.

On a side note – I’m going to stop talking about MkII now. As of this month Warmachine is MkII. If I need to talk about the past (and why would I) I’ll explicitly mention MkI.

Owen

Forces of Warmachine: Khador Cover Art

owen — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:43:13 +0000

I’m really looking forward to this. It’s like getting loads of new toys, but they aren’t new – they’re just seriously revamped. I’m particularly looking forward to running the Butcher with several ‘jacks.

Owen

Khador Mortar Crew: Painting Guide

owen — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 21:00:30 +0000

I bought these miniatures ages ago, but finishing painting them is pretty momentous. I’m am now fully painted before MkII. Okay, there are a couple of caveats – first one, that’s all of my Warmachine stuff painted, I still have some Hordes miniatures to do. Second one is that I’ve bought the miniatures for my MkII project, which I’ll start in January.

I painted these guys to test out the paint scheme for the Winter Guard I’ll pick up to add to my army. I like the look of the Rifle Corps and will probably grab a unit early next year. The colour scheme worked out pretty well. Here are the paints I used -

Skin: Khardic Flesh / Dwarf Flesh (Highlight) / Elf Flesh (Highlight) / Ogryn Flesh Wash
Coat: Great Coat Grey / 1:1:2 Water:Shadow Grey:Greatcoat / Shadow Grey (Highlight) / 1:1 Shadow Grey:Space Wolves Grey (Highlight) / 3:3:1 Water:Asurmen Blue:Badab Black (Wash)
Red Areas: Scab Red (2 watered down coats) / Khador Red Base (2-3 Watered Down Coats) / 1:1 Base:Highlight / Highlight (DB) / Baal Red (Wash)
Caps, Gloves and Armour/Coat Edges: 1:1 Space Wolves Grey:Chaos Black / 2:1 Space Wolves Grey:Chaos Black (Highlight)
Beards/Hair: Bestial Brown (DB)
Fur: Codex Grey (DB)
Leather: 1:1 Scorched Brown:Bestial Brown / Bestial Brown (Hightlight) / 1:1 Snakebite Leather:Bestial Brown (Highlight)
Gun Hilt: Bestial Brown (DB)
Boots: Codex Grey (DB)
Everything Else (apart from Coat, Skin and Red areas): 1:1 Badab Black:Devlan Mud (Wash)

Okay, that’s Khador and Cryx fully painted. Now, I need to get some more Legion assembled – I want to get them done next. I’m looking forward to painting eThagrosh, though assembling him looks like it’ll be unpleasant!

Owen

Seeing Red – Painting Khadorans

owen — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:09:11 +0000

Let’s face it, painting red is a pain in the backside. There are some really good thick pigment paints such as P3s Khador Red Base and the Foundation Mechrite Red, but painting them straight over a black undercoat leaves a dull and flat finish (and still takes 2-3 coats!). I don’t claim to have stuck upon a magic formula, but here’s my approach to painting red on my Khadoran models.

Before I get into that I did something very dumb. I needed to paint a Drakhun for a tournament about two years ago, but for the lists I made up I only needed the dismount option. So, despite having the Man-o-War Shocktrooper dismount miniature in a blister, I only assembled and painted the mounted Drakhun and horse. Now, about two years later I’m trying to get all of my Khadror miniatures finished before MkII and the dismount has found it’s way onto my painting list. Thankfully I have painting notes (the virtue of which I’ve talked about before), so at least I know what colours I used on the mounted Drakhun. Here’s that original miniature -

It was a quick paint job, too quick, but the result was decent. I need to reproduce this look in the dismounted version. I’ll focus on the red, but will mention the other colours later.

PAINTING RED

Image 0 Undercoat in black – I sprayed the minaiture with GW Chaos Black and the painted it with a watered down black to get all of the recesses.
Images 1-4 I’m going to suggest something that many painter would baulk at. As red is the most prominent colour I’m going to get it onto the miniature quickly with the biggest brush I can find! To that end I grabbed the Citadel Tank Brush, some watered down Khador Red Base and lashed it onto the miniature in four light coats. This way you get the majority of the miniature painted very quickly. The secret is that the coats should be well watered down, so not to obscure the detail. Don’t worry – the ‘mess’ can be cleaned up later.
Image 5 Next I made a 1:1 mix of Khador Red Base and Khador Red Highlight. With a smaller brush (let’s face it, there are few bigger!) I highlighted the raised surfaces. Be careful not to have too much paint on the brush and draw it slowly along the edges.
Image 6 Up next is a highlight of pure Khador Red Highlight. This highlight is finer. Again, don’t overload the brush.
Image 7 The next two stages are washes. Here’s where I grab the Citadel washes. Baal Red, watered down slightly, is washed over all of the red surfaces.
Image 8 Once dry I then add a small bit of Badab Black to Baal Red and do a deeper wash.

That’s it, the red is now painted, but the miniature does look a mess! I grab a fine brush and clean it up with Chaos Black and then begin painting the remaining colours (Image 9). The steel is Boltgun Metal washed with a 1:1 Badab Black/Devlan Mud wash. The gold is Shining Gold (painted on in 2 watered down coat as it doesn’t go down well over black) washed with Brown Ink. The handle of the pike is painted Bestial Brown and washed with the same wash as the steel areas. Finally the horse emblem on the shoulder was painted Codex Grey and washed with Badab Black.

Quick and easy. Basing is all that remains, but I’ll wait until I have a few miniatures to base before I get out the glue, sand and flock.

Owen

Karchev the Terrible: Painting Guide

owen — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:44:14 +0000

Here’s a quick guide for painting some of the details on the mammoth Khadoran ‘caster Karchev the Terrible. The secret to painting a miniature of this size is to get the larger areas painted quickly (and sloppily!) using a large brush and then painting the remainder with as much precision as is needed in order not to mess up the earlier work. It means you get progressively more careful, but thankfully on progressively smaller areas.

The head is the natural focal point of the miniature. I basecoated it with Khadoran Flesh and progressively highlighted with Dwarf Flesh, Dwarf Flesh/Elf Flesh (50:50) and finally with Elf Flesh. It was then washed with Gryphonne Sepia and the scar precisely washed with Baal Red. For the eyes I used Kommando Khaki as a base and dotted the eye with Chaos Black.

The fist was based with Vallejo Hull Red (985), highlighted with Red Gore. I then used a Badab Black/Devlan Mud (50:50) wash. The brass bolts were dotted with a Brass Balls/Graveyard Earth blend. The spikes and large bolt are simply Boltgun Metal (which I always water down quite a bit) washed with Badab Black.

The shoulder pad military markings were painted with the same Brass Balls/Graveyard Earth mix as the bolts and washed with Gryphonne Sepia. The green is Vallejo Russian Uniform (924) highlighted by adding a small amount of Bleached Bone to the base. It was then washed with Thraka Green.

The ‘skirt’ again is pretty straight forward. Based in Scorched Brown, drybrushed with Bestial Brown and then drybrushed with Graveyard Earth. Codex Grey was used for the fur endings. It was finally washed in the Badab Black/Devlan Mud wash.

Sunder was painted with a combination of the techniques described with the exception of the gold on the axe which was painted with the brass base then highlighted by adding some Shining Gold. Here’s the final miniature – nothing too fancy, but it turned out well.

Owen

Karchev the Terrible: Complete

owen — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:21:07 +0000

The glue holding the flock is still drying on the base, so this guy is fresh off the painting table. He is a mammoth miniature, but surprisingly not that bad to paint. I’ll post a painting guide when I get a chance to take a few more shots. After painting the Wood Elves Forest Dragon and now this guy I think it’s time to paint something a little smaller next. I’ll assemble the Khador Mortar and crew next and probably some more 15mm WWII Germans.

Owen

Karchev the Terrible: Assembled

owen — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:00:46 +0000

This miniature wasn’t as bad to assemble as I thought it’d be. 24 pieces (including the base) makes for a pretty big metal miniature, but it goes together quite nicely. The pieces slot in logically and there is little green stuffing required. The green stuff is drying at the moment. Once it is I’ll wash the miniature (you can see the release agent on it) and prime tomorrow. As you can see I’ve deliberately left the ‘skirt’ and arms off the miniature to ease the painting. I’ve pins sticking out of the arm sockets so that I can attach exacto-blade bodies to in order to have something to hold while I paint them.

I’m probably going to paint him predominantly in a maroon and army green colour scheme, similar to the Butcher of Khardov (below).

Karchev is the first of three Khadoran miniatures I want to paint to get my Warmachine stuff fully painted for MkII – my Cryx are 100% painted, there are these last few bits for Khador and the Swamp Gobbers. I have a new project lined up for MkII, but I’ll blog on that when MkII launches in the new year.

Owen

Karchev vs Asphyxious (500pt Battle Review)

owen — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 22:10:56 +0000

Okay – I’m too tired to write a proper battle report, so here’s a quick narrative review of tonight’s game. Dave’s army consisted of -

Karchev the Terrible
Behemoth
Kodiak
War Dog
Widowmakers
Mechaniks (5)

I had a slightly altered list from that which I ran recently -

Iron Lich Asphyxious
Skarlock
Gorman di Wulfe
2 Defilers
Bane Knights (6)
Bane Thralls (6)
Bile Thralls (7)
Mechanithralls (6)

Here’s another foray into the narrative battle report …

Was it recently or long ago? Time was inconsequential to the Iron Lich. Immortality was his blessing from Lord Toruk and Asphyxious has embraced it and the opportunities it affords. It was the silliest thing how a shape, a dark shade or a scream could ignite a memory, but his immortal memory spans such a long time that he was not sure when these events had happened. He recalled how Tartarus fell upon and slew the snipers after they had dropped several of his Knights, their deaths reanimating the fallen Banes. These newly risen continued the carnage ruining the man-machine’s entourage of Mechaniks. Mechanithralls had died to the the large ‘jacks bombards. Bile Thralls exploded in a glory of destruction and gore, but they had killed little.

The man-machine’s mechanical cohort was more difficult to vanquish than his flesh and blood troops, particularly the large one with the guns. It had destroyed one of his arc nodes at range and had charged the other. It amused him to remember how it had pounded its large fists down, only to hit nothing. It had not amused him to see the Defiler crumpled as it backed away from the lumbering beast. It was all coming back to him now.

He could see the man-machine limping. The searing blast of Hellfire had done its worst, but with the arc nodes destroyed it would fall to him to finish the job. Yes, yes, he had been hard to damage, but before they were destroyed He had used the arc node to channel his destructive powers at the enemy ‘caster. Tartarus engaged the smaller ‘jack and his Bane Thralls totalled the larger, just after the mercenary had blinded it with one of his concoctions. He knew even in this damaged state that Karchev… yes, Karchev is what they called him… would be dangerous. Asphyxious had ensured the Knights moved to block the man-machine’s charge lanes and finished him with his magics. He was not sure why these memories came to him now, but they pleased him.

Gorman di Wulfe proved invaluable in throwing down smoke clouds and in blinding the Behemoth with Black Oil. He was hurt by Asphyxious’ feat, but it would take a very unlucky role to kill him. He’s ARM12 with 5 boxes and the feat does POW5 to living models. If he is unharmed a role of 12 on 2D6 would be needed to kill him. I’ll take that risk everytime!

Owen

eIrusk vs Severius (750pt Battle Report)

owen — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 19:54:23 +0000

During the week Phil and I fought a 750pt game over my newly constructed battle board. The last time we played my Cryxian force got the better of his Menites, but this time I would be using my old reliable Khadorans. We rarely play 750pt games, so I took this opportunity to field eIrusk. I really like his non-epic version and have really good success with him. Both versions are support ‘casters that frustrate your enemy and buff your troops and ‘jacks. They can get stuck in when needs be, but you’d want to be sure they get the job done as any retaliation will hurt. I talked about my force construction already for this game, but here’s my list again -

Supreme Kommandant Irusk
Destroyer
War Dog
Great Bears of Gallowswood
8 Iron Fang Pikemen
Iron Fang Officer & Standard Bearer
3 Man-O-War Shocktroopers
Greylord Ternion
Widowmakers
4 Battle Mechaniks
Man-O-War Kovnik
Man-O-War Drakhun (+dismount)
Manhunter
Eiryss, Mage Hunter of Ios

That leaves me just a few points shy at 747 points comprising 34 models and 29 VPs. We’re going to play for the ‘caster kill so VPs aren’t going to matter. Phil’s army was relatively ‘jack heavy with four arc nodes, but these were balanced by some solid troop choices -

Grand Scrutator Severius
Guardian
3 Revengers
Choir of Menoth (6)
10 Holy Zealots
Monolith Bearer
10 Temple Flameguard
Temple Flameguard Officer and Standard Bearer
6 Knights Exemplar
Reclaimer
3 Wracks

That comes in at 25 VPs and 46 models and whilst ‘jack/troop balanced is lacking in the solo area.

For this battle report I’m going to try something different and write it as a fictional narrative. It’ll probably be rubbish, but here it goes.

Irusk had his eyes closed. The wind was picking up and it carried the undulating chanting of the approaching Menites. They had strayed into this newly acquired region of the Khadoran Empire and trespassers, even those who claim to have a God at their side, will not be tolerated. Irusk could sense his men’s readiness. They were a hammer that was poised and he would decide where the blow would land. No one understood the lands and terrain that armies fight over better than he and it would act as his anvil. He would channel the enemy to the point where he wanted them and would then release the hammer, striking them, smiting them.

Even with his eyes shut he could see every detail of the low hill with ruins atop that stood before him. Whilst it might appear to be a strong defensive position to an inexperienced commander, he saw it as a means to divide the enemy’s strength. He committed the Widowmakers forward on his left flank and sent the mercenary Elf with them. He did not trust her, but knew she could slow any opposing ‘jacks that advanced that way. Behind the hill he deployed the Destroyer with whom he had developed a strong bond in the last months. He could sense it’s strength and it’s eagerness to surge towards the enemy. He would have to work to control it as his plan was to use it as a pivotal point in his army, the centre about which he would divide the enemy. The Great Bears had the Iron Fangs under their command and he had ordered them to advance on the right along the dried river bed when the saw enemy in numbers. He was confident that they could deal with any that came that way. He and his entourage, consisting of of a Kovnik, Drakhun, Greylords and the Wardog Ronoyxa, would stay flexible, ready to react to where the enemy sent the bulk of their force, but he was sure it would be the river bed.

On the wind he caught the acrid smell of coal smoke and as he opened his eyes he could see the massive Guardian ‘jack followed closely by spear-armed Temple Flame Guard and possibly Exemplar Knights advancing towards the Widowmakers. So it began.

He barked orders to the Men-O-War to move to the centre, willing them forward with extra speed. His ‘jack held steady whilst the Bears and their Iron Fangs rush up the right. In front of them he could see the smoke of three small ‘jacks in tight formation as they moved along the riverbed. The chanting seemed to be coming from that direction and he knew that the choir of Menoth had strange powers the thwart the efficiency of the Khadoran guns. The Iron Fangs would have no such trouble. A glint of light flashed from atop the hill and amongst a large group of zealots he spotted Severius. He knew the threat range of this old man and his ability to drain magic from the air was disconcerting. He moved his entourage along the river slightly careful to keep the enemy ‘caster in his slights.

The report of the Widowmakers guns caught his ears and he hoped that signified the deaths of Menites. If the Elf did not delay that Guardian ‘jack then he could be in trouble, but the smoke from it did not seem to be closing quickly. In the centre, the Men-O-War were quickly enveloped by the Zealots. Even these maniacs were not foolish enough to use their fire bombs in close combat and the highly armoured Khadorans began wading through them. Irusk ensured the advancing trio of ‘jacks were slowed by turning the previously dry river bed into a quagmire below their feet. The Iron Fang Pikemen charged to engage one of these smaller ‘jacks which now appeared to be Revengers. He would have to deal with all of them as having even one nearby was as dangerous as getting too near Severius. The Great Bears dodged and weaved through the pikemen to engage the second Revenger, but they did not seem to be dealing with it as quickly as he’d expect. More sporadic shots could be heard from the Widowmakers, but they were now less in number. Irusk feared that the left flank would not hold much longer and as if to add insult to injury he felt all the magic surrounding him dissipate forcing a temporary retreat.

The Iron Fangs and Great Bears became enclosed in clouds of ashes as some troopers seemed to disintegrate, but those remaining were slowly dealing with the enemy ‘jacks. Irusk could see Severius focusing his energies towards them. In the centre the Drakhun launched forward towards the third Revenger and totalled it, but the horse fell in the assault. The Guardian appeared on the hill as, almost simultaneously, the depleted Flame Guard and Exemplars rounded its base. This was bad. Irusk only had a few Mechaniks and the Destroyer in that area as the Men-O-War were still engaged with the Zealots in the centre. Without even being ordered the Mechaniks launched themselves at the enemy spearmen, but were cut down to a man.

This bought a little time and he focused his mind on the Destroyer levelling it’s bombard towards the enemy unit. Four fell in the explosion. As they crowded together and began advancing he attempted to halt them, but only felled one. He urged the Greylords forward and they took care of the rest, but were almost wiped out in the process. Eyriss and the Widowmakers were nowhere to be seen, but they had at least reduced the now leaderless Exemplar Knights to three. On the hill the Guardian engaged the Men-O-War over a ruined wall and killed one of them. The others repositioned to engage the remaining Zealots, who had managed to throw some bombs towards the dismounted Drakhun and the Great Bears. Between the bombs and the magics of Severius the right flank wasn’t looking great either.

Urged on by their leader the Exemplars engaged the Men-O-War to the rear and obliterated them as the Guardian rounded the wall in the direction of the Destroyer. A foolhardy Monolith bearer surged towards the Khadoran ‘jack, his attack barely scratching it’s armour. The dog Ronoyxa bounded towards him and lunged at his neck, felling the fanatic and returning to his master’s side. Irusk saw his chance and focused all of his mind on the Destroyer. Through it’s eyes he could see the Guardian become nearer as the Destroyer hurtled at it. He swung hard rending the lance arm from the Guardian’s body and on the backswing took it’s other arm off. The ‘jack wasn’t disabled, but it was essentially neutered. Just as he returned to himself he was nearly thrown off balance by a fire bomb that landed at his feet. He drew his handcannon and dropped the lone Zealot. The Iron Fangs and Great Bears could not be seen from where he was, but there were several casualties lying near the now destroyed Revengers. Again he fired his handcannon, this time killing a Knight. The dog killed another and with an almighty swing of the axe the Destroyer finished the Guardian and the final Exemplar.

It was only now that Irusk noticed that the choir was no longer chanting and that Severius had retreated into a defensive position on the hill. As he surveyed the scene he noticed that there were no other Protectorate troops standing. Severius’ anger caused him to surge forward frying a Manhunter that Irusk himself did not even spot until he went up in flames. This was the chance, time for the Destroyer to Blitzkrieg the enemy warcaster, who would now be finding the ground under his feet turning to thick gorse. The Destroyer swung, but before it could connect the enemy ‘caster dove out of the way and quit the field as quickly as his aged feet could carry him. The day belonged to Khador. Irusk felt every the pain of every man lost, but he was relieved to see the Great Bears pull themselves to standing from amidst the corpses of fallen pikemen. Many good men of the empire had died today, but losing the Bears would have been a severe blow.

So, there it is, my Khadorans emerged victorious when Phil conceded with only Severius left alive (and standing in combat with my Destroyer). I had the Wardog, Kovnik, one Greylord, the Destoyer and the Iron Fang’s Standard Bearer left alive with Irusk. The bit above about the Great Bears is just character fluff. None of them passed tough checks during the game! It was a hard fought battle, but by performing a refused flank and not attempting to take the hill I was able to only fight half of Phil’s force at a time. That said, when the TFG and remaining Exemplar Knights appeared around the hill in good numbers I thought I was in trouble. The ranged ability of the Destoyer and Greylords, coupled with some shots from Irusk and the Kovnik really took care of them. I forget how good Khador can be at range when needs be. Here are all of the photos I took -

That was a epic game!

Owen

Koldun Lord

owen — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 21:39:24 +0000

I finished this guy this evening and I think he turned out well. He’s consistent in colour with the Greylord Ternion, so will compliment that unit nicely. I need to reread his rules as other than being a pretty decent ‘jack marshal who has some spells and buffs the Greylords, I’m not sure what he does.

Owen

750pts Khador Army (Epic Irusk)

owen — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 19:59:47 +0000

I had a great 750 point game against Phil’s Protectorate of Menoth force recently which I’ll post photos from in the next few days. I wanted a chance to field Epic Irusk as I’ve only had a couple of opportunities to use him before. He is still an excellent troop ‘caster and his abilities are geared to buffing his own army and controlling the battle field. In his non-Epic form I’m a big fan of Inhospitable Ground and I was initially disappointed that he didn’t retain it as a spell. That was until I read Artifice of Deviation! At a focus cost of 3 I can cast it up to twice per turn and not only hinder my opponents movement, but also open up difficult terrain for my own troops to move across. Battle Lust is another great troop spell, as is Tactical Supremacy. His feat is quite good in many situations, but I think his most powerful ability is Martial Discipline. He has to be close (within his CMD range of 10″) to his troops for them to benefit from it, but it stops units of troops from getting blocked by each other. This is essential if you are fielding a large troop army and want to funnel your opponent towards it. Here’s the 750 point list I went for -

747/750 points, 29 VP, 34 models
Warcaster

Supreme Kommandant Irusk

Battlegroup

Troops

Solos

I only went with one ‘jack and I think Fire For Effect is a great spell to put on the Destroyer, with his first (and only) ranged attack auto-boosted and the blast damage boosted. This is a devastating combo for even well armoured enemy troops. The War Dog is something I quite new to and it’s role is primarily to screen the warcaster and help hinder anything nasty that gets close to him.

For me the IFP and UA are an auto include. The are fast, can charge across (even if slowed) rough terrain and have 2″ reach. Couple that with Battle Lust and Artifice of Deviation to open up charge lanes and they are a powerhouse. The Great Bears are again new to me and I wanted to see what they could do. On paper they are excellent troop and light ‘jack killers who work very well with an IFP unit escorting them. I have mixed results with the Shocktroopers and it is their lack of speed that tends to frustrate me. Tactical Supremacy (a free 3″ move after all activations) should enable them to get moving. They are a great tar pit unit and can really hold up an enemy on the flank. The Grey Lords are almost an auto include for me too. They are delicate, but the ability to buff the defence and provide concealment is great (for a faction that tends to have poor DEF). Their Frost Bite Pow 12 spray attack is great for clearing out infantry. I’m usually careless with my Widowmakers as they tend to die early. That said they’ll shoot a good few enemy troops before they die and their high DEF means they are not easy to kill, so they can act as a road block. I had points left over, so the Mechaniks were included. In MkII I think I’ll try to include them in any army that has two or more ‘jacks. In this army the role of the Destroyer is to pound the enemy at range until the endgame, so I hope the mechs won’t be needed. They can act as a cheap speed bump to delay inbound enemy troops or ‘jacks.

For my solos I included a Kovnik, but opted not to have him control the ‘jack. He was going to act as further protection for Irusk. The Drakhun has many functions and a great threat range. His role is to take out light ‘jacks and be a fast moving headache for my opponent. Speaking of headaches both the Manhunter and Eiryss are in the army to harry my opponent by skulking forward and getting near the ‘caster, or in Eiryss’ case taking out unit leaders or disrupting ‘jacks.

Owen

Great Bears of Gallowswood: Painting Guide

owen — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:55:30 +0000

The Great Bears are in many ways a very typical Khadoran unit that have several of the traditional colours you might use in painting the Khador army. I painted these guys using pretty straight forward techniques, so hopefully this guide will be easy to follow.

Step 0: Clean, Assemble and Undercoat
I’m not going to detail this step other than to say you should always -

Wash miniatures to remove mould release residue
Use a hobby knife to remove flashing and venting
File back any mould lines
Dry fit the components
Glue (and potentially pin) the components
Apply several light sprays of undercoat (Army Painter’s Black Spray in this instance)
Paint a watered down coat of the undercoat colour (GW’s Chaos Black mixed with water (3:1))

Step 1: Faces and Flesh
I subscribe to the “inside to outside” painting approach where you paint the miniature as though it were getting dressed, i.e. do the flesh first, then the next visible layer of clothing, etc. The flesh was base coated using P3 Khadoran Flesh (in 2-3 slightly watered down light coats), highlighted with GW Dwarf Flesh and then a lightly highlighted with GW Elf Flesh. That was then washed with a watered down Devlan Mud. I wanted these guys to look weather beaten so the deep wash and darker flesh colours makes it look like they’ve bivouacked for many years. The finished effect gives a slightly ruddy look appropriate for severely weathered skin. I wanted their hands to be gloved, so I didn’t paint them in this step. For the hair and beard of Volkov I used GW Bestial Brown as the base, highlighted with Snakebite Leather and washed with a 1:1 blend of Badab Black and Devlan Mud (if you only own one wash it should be this blend – it works on almost any colour). I also painted the neckerchiefs at this time using the same technique as for the cloak (see below).

Step 2: Chainmail and Mesh Armour
The next layer is the chainmail skirt underneath their armour. I used GW Boltgun Metal with a small bit of GW Chaos Black mixed in as the base coat. Base coat isn’t quite the right phrase as it is more of a heavy drybrush to pick out the details. I repeat this with pure GW Boltgun Metal, but with a lighter drybrush, i.e. more of the paint is removed form the brush. For the weapons I used the same colours, but instead of drybrushing I painted on a watered down coat and then highlighted by picking out the edge detail. All of these areas were washed with Badab Black.

Step 3: Cloak
Remember to change your water – otherwise you will have metallic flakes mixed into your non-metallic colours. The cloak was based with P3 Greatcoat Grey and highlighted by adding increasing amounts of GW Fortress Grey in 3-4 highlights. The whole area was washed with Badab Black. The fur edge was drybrushed with Fortress Grey and highlighted by adding a small amount of Skull white.

Step 4: Red Armour
Quite a bit of the miniature is covered in red armour and as red is notoriously hard to paint over a black undercoat a bit of patience is required. I use P3 Khadoran Red as my base coat, but I water it down and plan to apply 2-3 light coats. Patience is needed to not put on a very heavy coat that will dry in a blotchy manner and in ensuring the red doesn’t get on the finished detail (the chainmail is easily touched up, but the cloak isn’t, if you get red on them). Next I highlighted the red areas with a 1:1 Mix of Khadoran Red and Khadoran Red Highlight and then a highlight of pure Khadoran Red. All of these areas were washed with a mix of Badab Black and Baal Red (1:5) being careful not to let it run onto finished detail.

Step 5: Bear Pelt
The Bear Pelt was base coated with Fortress Grey in a very heavy dry brush. I had two highlighting stages – the first was a drybrush with a 1:1 mix of Fortress Grey and Bleached Bone and the second was almost pure Bleached Bone. The eyes and nose were picked out with Chaos Black and the visible leather was base coated with Snakebite Leather. All of the pelt was then washed the miracle wash (1:1 mix of Badab Black and Devlan Mud). I wanted the bears fur to look old and well worn. Polar bears (or whatever the equivalent is in the Iron Kingdoms) are not white, but rather a rich creamy colour. I deliberated washed it with a dark mix to make it look dull.

Step 6: Details
There are different metal areas on each miniature to be detailed -

For the ‘spikes’ I used the same process as for the weapon blades.
For the brass areas I used P3 Brass Balls mixed with GW Graveyard Earth (1:1) and a very light highlight of pure Brass Balls. This was lightly washed with Devlan Mud.
The brass buttons were pure dotted with pure Brass Balls and then washed with Badab Black
The Bottom of the chainmail skirt was painted in Greatcoat Grey and washed with Badab Black
The weapon handle was painted with GW Scorched Brown, Highlighted with Bestial Brown and washed with the miracle wash
For the strap on the weapon I base coated it in Fortress Grey with a bit of Chaos Black, highlighted using pure fortress Grey on the edges and washed with Badab Black

Step 6: Basing and Varnishing
I think that’s it for the miniature painting. The bases aren’t quite finished in the picture above (they are now, but I forgot to retake the photograph). I glued down builders sand, which is nicely textured and coloured, using watered down PVA glue. When dry I used a very wet Graveyard Earth to colour it. Being so wet it lets some of the natural colour of the sand show through. I sometimes will pick out larger stones in a grey colour and wash black. I then flock small areas of the base. The is a very basic basing technique, but it is consistent across my whole Khadoran army. All I need to do now is matt varnish the miniatures and the Great Bears are ready to join the rest of the army.

Here is a larger version of the above image.

Owen

Great Bears of Gallowswood: Who’s who?

owen — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 22:02:20 +0000

Larger image on flickr.com

Many people have difficulties knowing who is who in this character unit. If you have problems identifying the Great Bears – Volkov is the leader and is the miniature in the middle (with a beard); Kolsk is on the right (he is the eldest and is bald); and Yarovich is on the left (he the youngest of the trio). It is important to know who’s who as they each bring different abilities to the unit.

Owen

Khadoran War Dog

owen — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 21:55:36 +0000

The War Dog was an ‘in between’ project for me. I always try to have at least two different things on my painting table at once. That way if I get bored/uninspired by one I can fall back on the other. The War Dog was the fall back and it took quite a while to finish. I finally based it a few nights ago -

I haven’t matt varnished it yet. When I do that sheen, caused when you add more than a drop of water to the Citadel Washes, will disappear.

Owen

Great Bears of Gallowswood: Work in Progress #3

owen — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 21:16:23 +0000

This is the last of the three Great Bears finished (apart from basing which I’ll get to). He is the leader and is named Volkov. I finished Kolsk and Yarovich over the last few evenings. Here are all three from the unit -

Once they are based I’ll write a quick painting guide.

Owen

Great Bears of Gallowswood: Work in Progress #2

owen — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 20:54:14 +0000

I finished the next of the Great Bears (named Yarovich) this evening. I finished Kolsk a few days ago. Just the leader Volkov to finish now.

In case you are wondering, he is blu-taked to the top of an old GW ink bottle with some water in it. I find it’s a nice weight and easy to manipulate when painting character miniatures. I’m not so careful with rank and file!

Owen

Great Bears of Gallowswood: Work in Progress #1

owen — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 21:21:49 +0000

I’m currently basing my Cryx, but while the glue dries I’ve returned to the Great Bears of Gallowswood. I started these guys, along with a Koldun Lord, before I got stuck into the Cryx. I’m treating each as character, so this one (named Kolsk) is the first to be (almost) finished.

The others have their flesh, metal armour and cloaks done. I’ll give them the individual attention they deserve over the next week or so. I’ll produce a colour guide when I’m finished them.

Owen

Khador Photographs

owen — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 20:13:05 +0000

I’ve been painting these for a long time and the photographs represent what I’d painted up to the end of 2007. There are a few more bits painted. I’ll hopefully photograph them soon.

Owen