Corpse Cart WIP

I am currently working on the Corpse Cart for my Vampire Counts army. I really want to make it look gruesome and repulsive. Painting the corpse pile was real fun. :) I wanted to make them look decaying and putrid with all postmortem skin changes like livor mortis, vibices, etc. All in all, I'm happy how it turned out.

Moving on to the zombies pulling the cart...

Kehler Arhnoth

It all begun with a dream. Kehler dreamt of the whole world dead, with him as the sole living creature commanding vast legions of the undead. Kain Von Todtstein made the dream closer to reality by recruiting him in the ranks of the "New Night Order" and gaining him access to the powerful books of necromancy. Soon enough, this infamous and deranged dark wizard became known for his obscure, forbidden rituals which he performed in order to bring the departed back to life. However he didn’t limit his doings to the dead, but also the living! His sick and perverted interest in human body and a lifelong goal to achieve immortality led him to numerous and unscrupulous experiments. Even children were used in obscene experiments and unholy rites. His loyal gang of grave robbers begun a spree of kidnappings and murders throughout the land in order to provide new subjects for their master. They ravaged and pillaged, no ground was deemed holy and no deed evil enough. After numerous gruesome and inhumane experiments in pursuit of immortality, Kehler became a pale, hunched and soulless figure, with a cold stare, looking as though the life itself was sucked out of him. Kain Von Todtstein knew very well that Kehler’s talent and cruelty will be more than welcome in the service of "The Nameless One".  

For the Kehler character I decided to use a standard Games Workshop Necromancer. I always liked the model for it's expressive, old face and ragged look. His stuff made of a stick and collection of skulls fits perfectly with the rest of the character. I decided to paint him in earthy tones, black and browns, to make him look even more like a rough-looking man wearing ragged clothes. Also, this way the bright green glow from his skull is in contrast with the rest of the model and becomes a focal point. I also think that the model is very photogenic. :)

Undertaker's Hut

Working on this little corner of Tabletop World's upcoming Graveyard was especially joyful for me. I had a certain atmosphere I wanted to achieve and I think I succeeded. In my mind the undertaker of this Graveyard is a scruffy man, a misanthropic figure who likes to be left alone and avoids contact with other people. The crows are his only friends. He rarely leaves the Graveyard and most of his days he spends making coffins and headstones if not digging the graves. You could say he is a jack of all trades when it comes to anything corpse related. At night he guards the Graveyard, sleeping really little and always with one eye open. I wanted his hut to reflect his personality so I made it look really weathered and dark, almost abandoned looking.

There are lots of details that come with the hut: casket, shovel, saw, pick-axe, workbench,... all these accessories help bring the scene to life. The only thing that is missing is the undertaker himself. Thinking about it, one of the Dregs which I converted some time ago for my Undead Mordheim warband fits the undertaker role perfectly. :) I made him holding a shovel while guarding the coffins of his Vampire masters. Talking about my Undead army...my Necromancer will defenitelly pay him a visit. 🧟

Tabletop World Graveyard Sneak Peek

I am in the finishing stages of making a big Graveyard display base for Tabletop World. Two days ago, early in the morning, I noticed the sun rays hitting the Graveyard through the window making it look really cool and lifelike. I just had to take few shots, so I'm posting two of them here. Few more days of work, mostly adding vegetation, and this massive project will be complete!

Kruger "Der Nacht-König" Wärgner

The king of the eternal night and supreme leader of "The New Night Order"

It is believed that he presently abides in one of the ancient Sylvanian castles/ruins of the northern regions. The castle itself has its own forbidden legends and dark stories to tell. Apparently built by the first Von Carstein nobles, "The eldars", who performed horrible rituals and sacrifices during their reign within the castle walls. In order to achieve immortality in what they called "the pure blood rite", they slew thousands of innocents in the darkest era known to mankind – in pre-Sigmar times. The castle was burnt down and abandoned after the first fall of the Von Carsteins. Since the appearance of the Nameless one, the castle walls can be seen again in all their previous might and glory, but only during nighttime. What happens during daylight hours remains a mystery. Is the castle just an illusion? Does it exist for real? Is it trapped within parallel dimensions? This is a conundrum for sages to solve. Glowing green light can be seen frequently from inside the castle during long Sylvanian nights, suggesting powerful necro-magic within its fortified towers.
 

It remains unknown whether he was just another great fallen hero to become a Vampire count Blood Dragon by some foul play of destiny or it was something much greater, darker and far more terrifying - beyond the grasp of mortal comprehension - that spawned him. Is it a myth brought to life? A rumor? A story to scare children? Something else entirely? Nobody knows for sure. There were stories, legends and rumors back in the old days, many tall tales indeed, but most have fallen out of memory since. One of them still survived, though, and it speaks of the following:

Back in the old times lived a great hero. Whether of Bretonnian or Empire stock, it remains unclear. He possessed great strength and charisma and was considered a war-master. He honed his skills and tactics through countless battles against evil. However, it is said that one day he came in contact with Chaos so powerful that it was too much even for him to bare. He was last seen entering the great black pyramid of Nehekhara with the remnants of his once great army and was lost in the labyrinths below for untold centuries to come. Was it he that came to Chaos or the other way around, or was it some other foul and dark force that summoned him back to life wearing his body and armor remains a mystery. Some say he opened the portal to other worlds within the pyramid itself. From there he traveled to the distant future where the Chaos reigned supreme and "tapped" into it, returning with all its forbidden secrets far back into the past of the Old World in order to change the history and conquer all...only this time in the name of the Dead, rather than Chaos.

Throughout history, Kruger was known under various names and different titles. The common folk, mostly terrified out of thier minds and fearing for their souls, wouldn't dare to speak his real name out loud. So when they mentioned him in conversation, he was referred to as "The Namless One". One thing is certain, though. He is a horrible creature of darkness and undeath bent to a single purpose in the Old World - to create the "New Night Order". A world without life, forever.

For the Kruger character I decided to go with Mannfred Von Carstein miniature from Games Workshop. I really like the model, the character looks both as brutal warrior and a mage. However, this model is form the Games Workshop Finecast range. When ordering models from this range it's like playing the lottery. You never know what will you get in terms of quality of the cast. These models are cast in resin and often have small air bubless in the parts. This particular model was worse than usual and I had to fill many holes with modelling putty prior painting. There are still plenty of small air holes in the fur which I left as is, because it would take me ages to fill them all and it can pass as a fur.
My biggest challenge when painting this model was the OSL effect. I had to get out of my comfort zone, since I don't have much experience with this technique. I wanted to make the green glow from the staff reflect on the armored horse and Kruger. I'm quite pleased how the effect turned out.