First Necrarch Vampire for my Undead Legion

Over the weekend I have painted my first Necrarch Vampire. Quite happy how he turned out. I own all Necrarch miniatures including Melkhior the Ancient and Zacharias the Everliving, so this is just the beginning of this awesome bloodline! These miniatures are from golden era of Warhammer IMO. Still need to name him and write his background story. :)

 

Oldhammer Undead pt.5

Another skelie from 1987 joins my Oldhammer Undead collection. This time holding a scythe. I really enjoy painting these old minis and I am taking different approach then to my main army.

Standard Bearer for Skeleton Sperman Unit

Quick update on my skeleton spearmen unit. Just finished painting this awesome mini from 1993. Always loved the model! Originally the mini had the banner pole only, so I had to do some cutting and adjusting the banner which I found in my stash of bits. Don't know where is it from but it fits the mini nicely. I also did some free-hand on the cloth. I'm happy with the final result.

Champion & Musician for Skeleton Spearmen Unit

Last few weeks there's been a lot going on in my life and I wasn't able to find time for the hobby. However, I did manage to paint the champion and musician for my skeleton spearmen unit. For the champion I converted armored skeletons standard bearer. I simply cut off the hand which was holding the banner pole and replaced it with one holding the sword. The musician is an old model from 1993.

Vampire Counts Banshee

Finished the first Banshee for my Vampire Counts army. At first I wanted to paint it in dead/pale skin colors but since Banshees are ghastly spirits of evil women (according to the Vampire Counts army book) I decided to try to depict that with bright green colors. I imagined the core of the creature full of energy that bursts out accompanied by the terrible shriek.  Not sure if it makes sense to have material clothes and jewelry on such a creature but I didn't want to paint the whole figure in green tones. I think it looks way more interesting with contrasting colors.

Oldhammer Undead pt.4

Painted another Game Workshop skeleton form 1987. This one looks like it might be from the Blood Bawl game rather then Warhammer but I'm not sure. Anyhow, I like the model and it will be added to my oldhammer skeletons unit. :)

Oldhammer Undead pt.3

Finished another oldhammer skelie. This time it's a skeleton warrior with an axe from 1987. Love the sculpt!

Skeleton Spear Unit Update

Here is a quick update on my skeleton spear unit. I'm done with 36 out of 50. 14 more to go. The last quarter is always hardest when it comes to the big units. It becomes grueling to paint the same models over and over again. 😫 The only thing that keeps me motivated is the idea that I'll be seeing the completed unit in all it's glory very soon. 🙂

Oldhammer Undead pt.2

So I recently finished two more skelies from the '80s and wasn't completely happy with them. I figured it's the glowing green in their eye sockets. While I use this effect on my middlehammer skeletons and love the way it looks, for some reason I dislike it on the oldhammer deaders. It's seems like they loose their face expressions (or should I say skull expressions :) ) when I do the "eyes" this way. I'll post photos with and without glowing eyes and you can be the judge. :)

Oldhammer Undead

I have started a new side project...and yes, it's deaders again. :) I am starting a true oldhammer Undead army. The army will comprise of miniatures that were released in 70s and 80s and maybe some from early 90s, up to '93. Miniatures that are released in '94 and onward will be a part of my main Vampire Counts army which is mostly comprised of midhammer models.

The main reason I am separating the to armies is the style and size. Older models are way goofier and smaller. Also I wanted to do different (forest) bases on these old models.

Here is the first model of the skeleton unit. Games Workshop skeleton with sword 21, from 1985.

Skeleton Legion is growing!

I'm halfway through with my skeleton unit! 25 done, 25 to go. I think I'm gonna take a short brake from the skeletons and paint something else and then get back to it. :)

Start of the new Skeleton Legion!

Humble beginnings of my new Skeleton Legion! These 90's Warhammer skeletons are definitely my all time favorite. The only ones that you can pose to your liking. The ones that followed were cool but to small. The newest ones with their Arabic swords and helmets don't fit the aesthetics of my army.

Countess Abigail's Black Coach

When Mortreich was roaming the lands of the old world in search of a magical blade “Nightfang", he never expected to find a partner in his un-life. In one of the temples of Lahmia he encountered Abigail and was instantly stricken by her beauty and charm. Abigail was a Lahmian Vampire and she felt immediate infatuation towards him. Thus Mortreich returned to Sylvania not only with an ancient relic of great power but also an eternal companion. Soon after his return, they became a famous couple, inseparable. Abigail was Mortreich’s most valued confidante, and the only vampire whose advice he trusted. For decades they fought side by side until the fateful day when in the battle at the gates of Wolfenburg, Grandmaster Boris Von Raukow of Ostland decapitated Abigail. Seeing this happen, Mortreich’s eyes became bloodshot and sudden deafness engulfed him. After few moments of disbelief he went into a frenzy, piercing Von Raukow’s full plate with his fist and ripping his heart out. After letting out a terrifying shriek, he ate the Grandmaster’s heart and stomped his head to a pulp. On that day Mortreich swore to kill every member of the Raukow family. Abigail’s loyal Dregs collected the remains of their bellowed mistress and retrieved them to Sylvania. Mortreich ordered the best carpenters in the province to build a magnificent Black Coach which will hold her remains inside the ornamented casket. The Black Coach will serve to transport the remains of Abigail into places of slaughter, for a Vampire can never truly die and can still be resurrected should all his remains be placed in a casket and sent to places saturated with Death Magic. In order to transport Abigail's rejuvenating form to places of slaughter, Black Coach is always present when Mortreich’s Legion marches to war. Driven forward by a pair of Nightmares and a scythe-wielding Wraith, the Black Coach soaks up the dark energies slowly revivifying Countess Abigail.

For me this is one of iconic Warhammer miniatures. The classic Black Coach is just perfect. I decided that my coach will be predominantly made of wood, so I carved the wood grain in the plain surfaces. At one point I was thinking about replacing the skeletal steeds with black horses covered in black cloth, but in the end I decided to keep the original Nightmares. I ditched the impaled skeleton which originally goes behind the wraith. It seamed somehow out of place to me. Overall I am very happy with the result. 

Black Coach WIP pt.2 + New Necromancer

A little update on my Vampire Counts. I continued to work on my Black Coach. I have painted the Wraith, two torches and the coffin. The flames on the torches I painted in vibrant green color. I use the same green color on the eyes of the skeletons and everything magic related. This way I get a nice contrast with the red/black color scheme of my army. Next I need to paint two Nightmares and make a base for the model.

I also painted another Necro for my Undead force. This time it's a Heresy Lab miniature. Usually I am not a big fan of those crazy, over the top flaming crowns, which you can also find on some of the Age Of Sigmar miniatures, like Flagellants or Hexwraiths, but it kind of fits this mini. I wanted to make a blood dripping effect from the skull so I experimented with a small piece of plastic nylon which I glued to the necro's hand and reinforced with super attack so that it doesn't bend. Then I painted it with Blood For The Blood God color. I think that the effect turned out ok. Now he needs a name and a background story. :)

Working on the next big skeleton unit

So for my next big skeleton unit I am going to be using Games Workshop Grave Guard models from 1999. I like the models. However, I don't think they fit perfectly in style with other Vampire Counts miniatures from that period. Perhaps that is the reason they were very short-lived and were replaced in 2001. Also they newer made a command group for this unit which is kind of annoying.

At first, I painted all the clothes in black, and armor in dark metallic color. I wanted to add some red, since all my units have some red on them, so I decided to paint the straps in red. However, after finishing first four, I wasn't 100% satisfied. It turned out I didn't really like the red straps in the end. It just wasn't realistic since these would be definitely made in leather. So I decided to paint them in brown colors. However now I was left without any red, so I decided to ditch the rusty shields and replace them with Empire spearmen shields which I then painted in red color. These shields have the symbol of a lion on them which kind of looks like a dragon, so I think they fit quite nicely with the unit. I also decided to add some rust to the armor plating. So here is the final paint scheme I'm satisfied with: