Another Age of Sigmar Soul Wars Project

So I based and primed my converted Evocators. Been running out of scenic bases (and they weren’t cheap when I got them!) so I put what looks like extra scenic terrain that comes with the scenic bases on the regular bases and primed them all black.

Also finally started work on the git in the top hat from Kharadron Overloads… Which my brother got for me as a Christmas gift… maybe two years ago, maybe three…

Well, except for the two new models I got to convert into extra Evocators. But the rest of the robes are done.

Also I greenstuffed the second Evocator’s arm last night. Will prime him and his buddy tomorrow.

OK, long story shot. Stormcast Eternal army book says Evocators come in groups of five. Soul Wars box set came in groups of three, apparently to make me buy the Tempest of Souls wossname. Thing is,  I got insurance payments in November, Christmas presents for my family (including two nieces) in December, I have to get my assistance unfrozen tomorrow, and I don’t bloody want to buy another flipping box set full of Stormcast and nighthaunts! I barely got half the Soul Wars box set assembled, let alone painted and you want me to pay $100 Canadian for another one? I’d say what I’m thinking but I don’t want to get banned.

Point is, I’ve been paying points for evocators I don’t have and I found a solution, if not necessarily a good one. A GW store had what looked like WD mags (except not, they were kind of weird) that came with a model for $10.00 each. I bought 2, and now I had two models to convert to Evocators.

Her’s the first one, that went pretty well. I took off the top of the staff (and the bottom, which I regret but whatever, too late) and pinned a staff top from the Empire Wizard (I do something for the bottom, maybe a bead.) Then I swapped a head and bobs your uncle.

The second one isn’t doing so well. I Took off the spiky halo on the staff but left the rest untouched. My big mistake here was trying to reposition the arm. I shaved the plastic off the wrong side so now I have a gap I’m going to greenstuff once I let the glue dry.

Being pulled at a few different ends here. I wanted to get some painting done for tonight in case tomorrow had a hobby hangout (my luck, it probably won’t).

At the same time, I needed to do some late summer cleaning before I needed Indiana Jones to find anything. Also at the same time, I’m trying to get one lousy book written so I can get some bloody income and maybe afford to keep doing this hobby and because I’ve been trying to get something written I’ve been up late and sleeping until noon…

Bottom line, I’ve only got some painting done. Putting Celestial grey over the Mechanicus Grey and doing the little scrolls in Ushabti Bone, I think?

Lately, as I’ve been looking at my models, I’ve been thinking. I’ve painted the cloth Standard Mechanicus grey because when I start highlighting (and I will) I was planning to do stark highlights that look better on the table than up close.

You can see in some older pictures I tried that with my Lord Arcanum, I based him SMGrey and highlighted Celestial Grey, It’s supposed to loke white with grey shading, but really, it looks grey with weird white streaks.

So now I’m making more bloody work for me, base coating the cloth CG. Highlighting is a bridge I’ll just have to burn when I get there.

Basecoating the sword blades and some other bits and pieces with the steel/silver colour (Tinny Tin for AV, actually).

Starting to do the basecoating for my metals. Using Vallejo Hammered Copper for the gold, which may not be the best choice.

Please bear in mind this is not completed yet, I just wanted to upload some pictures before, you guessed it, the Hobby Hangout (Hopefully, there is one).

New photos of my guys with their robes base coated.

My Sequitors.

Will start doing metals next, then some highlighting.

Very sorry, had another tumble off the painting wagon. But I’m back on this project. Actually had a whole bunch of photos today of my work, but when I looked at them on my pc, most were very blurry, and I think they were the better ones. But I did upload this photo of my celestial ballistae with some basecoating.

Will post up more pictures soon, I promise.

Well, I made it onto the hobby hangout. I got panned, but I made it on. Note to self; never again bring up what games you’re playing, because Johnnylyons led everyone off into a tangent discussing No Man’s Sky, to the point of suggesting NMS was the inspiration of my chosen colors, even though there was a whole post showing test miniatures for the color scheme right here.

Anyways, I put on of most, if not all, of the highlights and I repainted the Gryph Charger (John said it was clashing with the rest). I don’t know if I made it better or worse, but it looks more like the flycatcher bird I said I wanted to base it on, for better or worse.

Sort of fell off the wagon again. Partly because of No Man’s Sky, partly because Not Tonight finally was released. Anyways, here’s the Lord Arcanum fully (AFAIK) base coated, base included.

My plan is to paint the bases for each army in the colors of their opponents. So the Nighthaunt army bases will be green, purple and maybe white or gold while the Stormcast will have blue, red and bone.

This project’s still alive! I swear to Gork the Soul Wars set is coming, I just got distracted a bit, playing No man’s sky, almost 24/7 for several days.

Anyways, here’s the model with most of the gold basecoated in Vallejo Hammered Copper. Except for a few bits and spots I just have to basecoat the, um, base and then it’s on to highlighting.

Before deciding on the color for the griffin I googled “wild bird,” expecting to see some bald eagles, condors, hawks etc. Instead, the first bird I see is… something special. Something I’ve never seen or even heard of before; an Asian Paradise Flycatcher.

This weird, little bird with its little punk hairdo just flew into my brain and wouldn’t leave. So even though the color of the back feathers was too much like what the color of the robes would be (which is why I changed it) I knew once I saw it I found my griffin.

First off to whoever recommended my project posts, thank you, it is much appreciated.

Second, I’ve decided to go with the Celestial Vindicator scheme, in light of all the overwhelming feedback. The Lord Incantor is already primed (and so far no one else from Soul Wars is even built). I was thinking of forgoing a zenith spray since I completely skipped that with the test model and it turned out fine.

As for the Gryph, I’ve been looking up pictures of wild birds online for ideas. I’ve looked up Eagles, Golden Eagles, Black Eagles and even Blue Eagles. Against my better judgement, however, I keep coming back to this.

So far so good, this here project blog is going up nicely. I got a good idea on how I’ll bel painting the Nighthaunts (Blue, red and white) but I’m a little less decided with the Stormcasts. So I took a page from Johnlyons and made some test models out some Liberators I… damaged, attempting to strip their paint off (long story, very boring, MOVING ON!)

I did three test schemes but I’m really only feeling two of them. I’m almost decided on which one to use, but I’m holding off painting until I get some input so please, PLEASE feel free to endorse which one you like.

Starting off with the Lord Arcanum, so far the only guy from the box assembled. I tried using some liquid green stuff on the head and torso, with shall I say, mixed results. It’s stuff and it’s green but it sure ain’t liquid. And some regular green stuff under the rock because of course, I had to use the Shattered Dominion bases.

I initially was going to try and convert him by swapping his head and torso with the Knight Incantor. Then I looked at the pieces and dropped that idea quick.

I’m going to digress here a little. Even if you don’t think the new sculpts are busy and flimsy and have too many pointy bits (and I happen to think they’re guilty of all three,) that still doesn’t change the fact that for an amateur like me, trying to convert without destroying them is impossible. And this really bugs me because I remember when GW was all about converting. White Dwarf used to have Catachans with Ork arms and guns, Kroot with wings, Grimgore Ironhide in a chariot (Ok that last one was mine and never saw the inside of White Dwarf). One time I saw a Storm of Chaos era Archaon converted into a hero of the Empire, seriously. The new models are so wildly posed (like everyone’s flailing about in seizures) and have so many overlapping details (like the end of a staff fused to a cape in the case of the Lord Arcanum above) that you can’t even do a simple arm or torso swap.

There used to be a sense of freedom… and now it’s gone. Makes me wonder how long it will be before GW minis start coming pre-painted because our peasant delusions of creativity could never do proper justice to their glorious, Wagnerian vision of heavily over-armored juggernauts hitting each other with axes or hammers.