Thursday, April 29, 2021

Tabletop World Graveyard

tabletop world graveyard

It's time to share with you the  project that took most of my time for several months and kept me away from my Vampire Counts - the grand Tabletop World Graveyard! It was a crazy ride and I really enjoyed the whole process. After planning out the display board, I started by painting individual graveyard structures like the chapel, mausoleum, tomb, etc. Then I did all the smaller features: tombstones, vases, crows,... Finally, I painted all of the walls and fences and dead trees.

To create the flagstone walkways I used segments of Tabletop World Town Square.

I wanted the Graveyard to look pretty weathered, with lots of rusty elements and parts overgrown with grass, moss and lichen. I also wanted a lot of crows resting on the trees, tombstones and other graveyard features to give it that creepy feel.

Without further ado, I present to you the finished Graveyard:

tabletop world graveyard
tabletop world graveyard
tabletop world graveyard
tabletop world graveyard
tabletop world graveyard
Tabletop World Graveyard
tabletop world graveyard
tabletop world graveyard
tabletop world graveyard
Tabletop World Graveyard
tabletop world graveyard
Tabletop World Graveyard
tabletop world graveyard
Tabletop World Graveyard
tabletop world graveyard
tabletop world graveyard
tabletop world graveyard
tabletop world graveyard

As much as I enjoyed working on this big project, at the same time I was frustrated that my Undead are not progressing. However, now I have great scenic piece to use for taking photos of my future Vampire Counts characters and units! 🧛 

Very soon I will be posting painting tutorials on how I painted the stone, wood, rust and oxidized copper on this Graveyard! So keep an eye for it. ;) 

Now back to my beloved Undead! 💀
Cheers guys! 🍻

Wednesday, April 21, 2021

Nightfang Specter Lord

vampire counts wight

This horrible Wight champion only appears when summoned by Mortreich von Todtstein and the means of his magical blade "The Nightfang". By wielding this powerful ancient weapon and reciting but a few of his dark incantations Mortreich can instantly summon a great host of undead warriors to join him in battle. It is no wonder that this object remains one of the main reasons for envy and hatred towards Mortreich from almost every other undead commander serving under the “Night King”, especially his brother Kain. That being said it is not known where does this warrior captain originally came from and what was his role in the past life. Even his very name remains unknown both to the world of the living and the dead. He is mounted on what was once a mighty, heavy warhorse, but now a nightmarish steed, skeletal and sinister, just as his rider. Most often, when summoned, he comes forward leading the undead cavalry in unstoppable charge. The extraordinary helmet he wears and the mighty sword he is wielding tell the story of their own. Some believe these were forged in the heart of Dark Lands, near the foothills of Worlds Edge Mountains, by the Chaos Dwarves themselves and imbued with immense magical power providing him with unnatural strength and speed. Townsfolk whisper that by tapping into his true origin and rediscovering his real name one might achieve ultimate power and control over him. Is this really true or just some deranged dark fantasy of the common people hungry for power it is impossible to say, at least for now. Will it ever happen or will the world burn and become shrouded in darkness instead, we shall hopefully witness in the coming events. For the evil and the restless dead never sleep. And they never, ever, come alone...

One of those models I immediately fell in love with! The moment I saw this Mounted Wight for the first time in White Dwarf I was fascinated by it. It is hard to explain what is it exactly that I like so much about these 90's Warhammer miniatures. I absolutely love everything about them and this model embodies that style perfectly for me. I decided to paint his ancient armor in rusty tones and oxidized bronze. The only thing that is not from the original model, is the shield. I believe it is from Grave Guard upgrade kit.

vampire counts wight
vampire counts wight

Sunday, April 11, 2021

Franz the Mutant

mordheim
Recently I have painted this awesome character from Dunkeldorf Miniatures. I really enjoyed painting this guy. The mini has that Lovecraftian feel to it, at least in my opinion. From the moment I saw him, it reminded me of characters in one of my favorite Lovecraft novels - The Shadow Over Innsmouth and the movie Dagon which is based on this story. I wanted to paint the mini and set it in the scene which has that certain cold and damp atmosphere. I envisioned a "fishman", a man who started to mutate into a sea creature and is constantly trying to find places to hide from the eyes of the common people. I enjoyed the process and I am happy with the result. This is the third mini I have painted from Dunkeldorf Miniatures and I can highly recommend them. Especially if you are looking for characters that are not so common - anything from the rat catcher to the hat maker. The terrain pieces in the scene are Tabletop World Stable and Outhouse models.
scene from movie "DAGON"

Tuesday, March 30, 2021

Project Log: Altburg - Townhouse I, Part 5

...so I finally found the time to finish the cross-vault. I have also rebuild the walls and added a couple of shield reliefs as decorations. I am planing to extend the room in the upper floor, so I made some preparations by adding two supporting beams coming out of the wall. I also left a hole in the wall where I am going to put a sign.

Here are the photos of the house so far:

Tuesday, March 16, 2021

Panzer IV

Far back, since I was drawn to painting miniatures, I was always interested in scale modeling as well. I was amazed by incredible dioramas people make. However painting miniatures for my Warhammer armies was priority and I newer found the time to try myself in that field. All that changed about three years ago when I finally decided to pick one of the kits and just do it! Since I was always into WWII armored fighting vehicles, I decided to make a tank. So for my first kit I was thinking about German Panzer IV or Russian T34. In the end I decided to go with Panzer IV. Regarding the brand of the kit, I had to do a little research on the internet. Dragon kits seemed like a top tier and a good choice.

Once I got the kit it was time for assembly. I was surprised how many parts were in the kit. The parts fitted together perfectly and the instructions were very clear so I didn't encounter any problems. However, it took me awhile to complete the build because the kit is really detailed.

I wanted my Panzer to look a bit battered, as though he has seen some battle so I bent the plastic and did scratches on some parts (like on these fenders). Also this was the first time I was working with photo etched parts. These are really fine and thin parts that make your model look very realistic once it is painted.

During the building process I lost two handles that go on the turret. I couldn't find them anywhere, so in the end I had to make my own using two pieces of wire. They turned out pretty good I think.

I decided not to use plastic tracks that come with the kit and bought the metal ones from Friul Models for maximum realism. These are very expensive and the process of putting the tracks together is tedious but really worth the effort! These tracks when assembled act like real ones and sag naturally between the wheels.

Since the tracks are made of metal, instead of painting them, I decided to try the burnishing liquid method to naturally weather them. I dipped the tracks in the liquid for a few minutes and the metal began to appear dark and rusty. The process is easy and effortless and the result is perfect. To finish them off I used the sanding paper to rub off some of the rust and reveal the metal on external surface.

To make the Panzer really alive I wanted to add some crew members. I bought the SS Panzer comander from Alpine Models. Really nice model, very crisp and detailed.

Once I acquired all the products I needed and the model was assembled It was time to start painting. Since I didn't have a clue about AFV painting techniques, I searched the net for tutorials. I came across Scale Model Guide website and the guy there made I complete tutorial, covering all techniques using non other then the same Panzer IV I was going to paint! This made me pay for the tutorial. :) I can honestly say that the step by step video was worth every penny. I recommend it to anyone who is new to the hobby and is into AFV. It is really straightforward and easy to follow.

I was really pleased with the final result, especially since this was my first scale model and most of the techniques were new to me. So with no further ado here are the final photos:

panzer IV scale model
panzer IV scale model
panzer IV scale model
panzer IV scale model
panzer IV scale model
panzer IV
panzer IV scale model
panzer IV
panzer IV scale model
panzer IV
panzer IV
panzer IV
panzer IV
panzer IV
panzer IV
panzer IV
panzer IV scale model