Melkhior On Winged Nightmare pt.2

...and he is done! First I painted the Winged Nightmare in purplish colors, same that I used on Vengorian Lord but somehow it didn't feel right. In the end I decided to paint the beast in black which I think was a good choice.

After finishing the Winged Nightmare, only thing left to do was painting Melkhior's staff and mounting him on the beast. And here is the final result:

Melkhior On Winged Nightmare pt.1

I started working on one of the iconic Vampire Counts models from the 90's era: Melkhior the ancient on his Winged Nightmare! I really enjoy painting this model. Since Melkhior is truly an ancient vampire, the first vampire of the Necrarch bloodline I wanted to make his skin look very old, almost corpse-like. I like the final result. I also wanted to give him a magical blade, so I painted it in my signature green tones. :) I just realized while posting this that I missed to paint the stone on his necklace. Apart from that, he is done! Now it's time to paint his bellowed beast, the Winged Nightamre that he rides. 

Kehler's Skeleton Warriors

Skeleton warriors are horrid servants of mighty necromancers and vampires of the New Night Order and represent the backbone of vast undead army lead by Kruger. This unit of skeleton warriors risen by infamous necromancer Kehler Arhnoth is especially terrifying. Their standard bearer is carrying the magical Banner Of The Rising Dead. Imbued with dark necro magic by the necromancer himself, the banner is allowing the ghastly warriors to instantly rise again after being cut down by their enemies in battle. For this they are known to spread terror and desperation in the ranks of men.

I am finally done with another big skeleton unit! These 90's Warhammer skeletons are definitely my all time favorite. You can pose them to your liking and be creative. I also love their face (scull) expressions. Skeletons that followed were cool but to small. The newest ones with their Arabic swords and helmets don't fit the aesthetics of my army and have veird poses IMO. I couldn't decide which photos to post, so I'm posting them all. Hope you don't mind. :)

 

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. :)

 

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.

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. 🙂

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.

Zombie Horde Is Growing!

I am happy to present you the current state of my zombie horde! Few days ago I finally reached the number 50. However, the final goal is to have a unit 100 zombies strong. For now I'll take a rest from zombies and paint some skeletons (I just love skeletons, I can newer have them enough! :) ).

So here are some shots of the unit:

Oh and by the way, I wasn't completely happy with my Landsknecht zombies, they were to clean. A bit of rust, dirt and blood goes a long way. So here they are updated:

And finally, a cool shot of Arachtian raising the dead in the local cemetery:

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.