The Sylvaneth of Springash – army log

It’s been months since I updated this project! I had a bit of a hobby drought in the latter half of last year, but lockdown gave me a bit of a kick in the pants, and my Sylvaneth have benefitted from it too.

For starters, I finished my Arch-Revenant, who has been sat half-painted for six months or so:

I’m really pretty proud of her. I have a second pair of wings, so I’m thinking of doing another one. Tempted to convert the second up as a battle standard bearer. BSBs aren’t a part of AoS, but I think it’d be a nice old-school touch to have a hero carrying the army’s colours.

I’ve also painted up a converted Branchwraith:

Ylthari’s Guardians have been sat half painted for a long time too. I forgot to thin the contrast paint I used on the pink areas, and now I’m too lazy/annoyed to go back and start again ??

I’ll get back to them eventually.

I also have a Spirit of Durthu built and undercoated. I hacked off a lot of his leafy bits, as I intend to paint him to look as if he’s charred and blackened after a forest fire.

I’m also working on a mildly converted Gotrek, who I suppose is technically a part of this army, since he’s a part of every Order army. 😛 Never fear, his beard and hair will be pink. 😀

After all this, I’ve got a box of Dryads, a box of Tree-Revs and the Endless Spells to work on. Can’t say I’m excited to paint more Dryads, but they are pretty essential ?

Thanks for looking <3

I took a break from painting my next set of Kurnoth Hunters to assemble Ylthari’s Guardians. I’ve been keen to include them in my army at some point, as I love the model for Ylthari – but they didn’t really fit visually. They look rather noble, and because they’re easy-to-build models, it’s not as simple as just swapping their heads for spite-rev heads.

So I’ve built my own by mashing bits of the Ylthari box with bits from a box of Tree-Revs:

Pretty simple, but I’m suuuuper pleased with them. Can’t wait to rattle through these K-Hunters I’m working on and get this squad on the painting table!

Thanks for looking <3

Finally finished my latest model – this time it’s Drycha:

I ended up rushing her a bit at the end, but I am at least pleased she’s finished.

Next on the painting table are three more Kurnoth Hunters to get me up to 1500 points:

And then what?  Probably some Khorne daemons.  But I’ve also got a big stack of Sylvaneth still on their sprues, and plans to expand up to 3000 points.  I did post a list earlier in the blog, but it’s changed a bit.  I’ve got my expansion planned in 500 point blocks:

• Spirit of Durthu 340
• Ylthari’s Guardians 180
• Vengeful Skullroot 40
• (remove the Branchwych -80)
• 480 pts

• Branchwraith 80
• Branchwych 80
• 20 x Dryads 200
• 5 x Tree-Revs 80
• Spiteswarm Hive 50
• Gladewyrm 30
• 520pts

• Arch-Revenant 100
• 6 x Kurnoth Hunters (swords or scythes?) 400
• 500pts

Lord knows how long that’ll all take me though – I imagine I’ll have to weave in some other projects in addition to the Khorne daemons to keep myself sane and make sure I don’t cause a world shortage of Seraphim sepia ?

Thanks for looking, comments appreciated <3

I split a Wrath and Rapture box with a friend, and got the Khornate side of the deal. From the outset, I knew I didn’t want them to be red, because every Khorne daemon and his uncle is red.

I also thought it would be fun to pitch this army as an adversary to my Sylvaneth, which definitely fits given that they live in Aqshy, Khorne’s favoured realm. Given that tree-folk probably don’t bleed red, this adds additional credence to my non-studio paint scheme. 😛

Karanak here was just a tester, and an excuse to try out some Contrast paints, and I like how he turned out, for the most part. There are more Sylvaneth to come, but from here on out this log will also contain the occasional bit of Khornate khonent, whether that be miniatures or some fluff exploring the Springash Enclaves struggle against the daemonic children of Khorne.

First things first though, what next? I’ve got Drycha and a unit of Flesh Hounds assembled. Who to choose? 😀

Thanks for looking <3

Bit of a milestone post, this one. I’ve finished my latest unit, and reached 1000 points! Here they are, a very grumpy and very spiky unit of Spite-Revenants:

Pretty pleased with how they’ve turned out, despite an early scare when half of them got cursed by some fuzzy primer. D:

I’m even more pleased with how my 1000 point army looks together:

Yowzer! 12-year old me would be losing his mind right now. 😀

So what’s next? Expanding to 1500 points, naturally:

But first, I think I want a little breather from painting trees. I’d also like to have a dabble with contrast paints.

Is that howling I can hear?

Something wicked is coming for the Springash Enclave…

It took a while – I blame the eighty-or-so (!!!) individual leaves I had to paint – but I’ve finished my Treelord Ancient.  I can’t remember the last time I painted anything this big, as I’m used to smaller models, but he came out looking pretty good.

My favourite part?

I’ve also done some work thinking about how the army will grow past 1000 points:

The only thing left between me and 1000 points is a ten-tree unit of Spite-Revs. Which are assembled and ready to go:

Exciting!  I can’t believe I’ve gotten this far this quickly.  Hopefully the momentum will keep up 😀

Thanks for looking, comments always appreciated <3

After what feels like an eternity, I’ve finished my unit of Dryads.  For 14-year old models, they hold up remarkably well aesthetically, but they are a slog to build and paint.  So I’m glad I won’t have to paint any more of them.

…

I’m sorry, what?

…

My basic troopers, you say?

…

How many?

Oh god.

Oh god no.

As you might have guessed, I didn’t have much fun painting these.  They ended up being a bit rushed, but they will certainly do, and they definitely don’t deserve competition-level painting. 😛

In other news, I’ve also created the obligatory Branchwych-to-wraith conversion, with some Dryad and Revenant bits.  Needs a few joins smoothed out with green stuff, but looking ok.

First things first though, after the energy-tarpit that was the Dryads, I think I deserve a little treat:

Thanks for looking, all C&C welcome <3

@angelicdespot requested some details on how I’m painting this army, so here we go.  I had a couple of aims for painting my Sylvaneth – a very woody look with accents of bright, springlike colours; and  s p e e d .  😛  I’m painting mostly with washes, shades and the occasional contrast paint.  First up is the wood, which is actually a couple of colours painted at the same time.  You can see them in this Kurnoth Hunter – the main, darker wood, and a lighter wood as an accent.

1. Spray with GW Zandri Dust, and touch up with the same colour out of a pot, to ensure an even coat.
2. Pick out focal areas (faces, chests, edging of ‘armour’ like on the KH, etc) with Army Painter Necrotic Flesh.
3. Apply two reasonably heavy washes of GW Seraphim Sepia, allowing them to dry fully in between.
4. Shade the darkest areas with GW Agrax Earthshade.
5. Blend branches/horns to a darker brown using multiple layers of Earthshade, getting darker further from the body.
6. Highlight the areas that started out as Zandri Dust with Zandri Dust.
7. Highlight the areas that started out as Necrotic Flesh with Necrotic Flesh.

The last two steps are optional, and I’ll mostly only be doing this on larger models and characters.  Hordes of Dryads will  n o t  be getting this treatment. 😉

I’m also more or less settled on the recipe for the green and the pink, which you can see in the Tree-Rev below:

The pink still needs some work for larger areas like this, but it goes something like this:

1. Undercoat White.
2. Basecoat with a 5:1 mix of White and Vallejo MC Pink.
3. Wash with GW Volupus Pink and Contrast Medium in a 5:1 ratio(ish).
4. Reapply step 2 as a highlight.
5. Shade deeper areas with Amy Painter Red Tone wash.
6. Highlight with White.

The green goes like this:

1. Necrotic Flesh basecoat
2. Apply two washes/glazes of Secret Weapon Fallout wash.  This is luridly, almost neon green – but we’ll knock that back with:
3. A wash of Army Painter Military Shader and Glaze Medium in a 1:2 ratio.
4. Shade the deeper areas with straight Military Shader.
5. Highlight with 3:2 Necrotic Flesh:Fallout.

I hope that’s useful, or at least interesting!

Finished my first unit of Tree-Revs today (asides from the banner.  Really pleased with the spring green – I’ve got that colour recipe down now 😀

And here are some better pictures of models I’ve already posted:

1. Next up is my first unit of 16 (eyeroll, thanks GW) Dryads.  I’d intended to finish the whole of the Looncurse box first, but I’m still waiting on some bitz to convert the banner and musician for the second unit.  So I guess I’ll do some basic tree girls in the meantime.

I’ve also had a comment asking for some notes on the colours I’m using – that’ll be coming in the next post.

Thanks for looking <3

To get myself into the mood, and unify/justify my aesthetic choices for the army (Spite-themed, Springtime colours), I wrote some fluff for my army.  I hope it’s enjoyable!

Excerpt from Intersections: A treatise on these interwoven realms by Sandoval Lightfast, initiate of the Luminous Ark

And yet, as we have discussed, the conception of the Realms as ‘islands’ afloat in the ‘sea’ of the Great Nothing is poetic, but not necessarily accurate. It is, we would venture, a matter of perception. For one who might travel between the realms, perhaps on some great stone ship, the Realms might appear as orbs in some vast void. However, this is but a trick of the mortal mind, reinterpreting an ineffable experience beyond its ken into something the traveller can conceive of.

Throughout this treatise, it is our intent to provide a primer on the truth of the matter, as plainly as we can, for novitiates and the more curious layman. Our thesis is this: the realms do not stand apart, as objects in a physical space, but rather occupy the same ‘space’, intermingled like strands in a piece of cloth, touching here and there, sometimes softly, sometimes more tightly interwoven.
The Realmgates are the most obvious examples of this, allowing physical passage between realms as one might step from one room to the next. There are other examples of such direct portals, such as the Necrotic Falls at Gnashvar, where a torrent of bone dust empties from Shyish into Ghur; or the Mirror of Wisdom’s Light, so carefully guarded by the children of Alarielle in Ayadah, where the light of Hysh shines upon Chamon. We will return to nexuses such as these, but for now we will remain with the Sylvaneth, to illustrate a more subtle principle.

The Realms do often directly interconnect, but in other places they merely brush against each other, not quite rupturing into one another, or even blending together, but each merely colouring the character of the other. To this author’s mind, the most beautiful and salient example of such influence is the Everspring Holt, at the edges of the Realm of Fire. Here, where the heat is less scorching, Ghyran exerts some influence on Aqshy, suffusing the land with the energies of life. Life has thus sprung forth in the form of a lush and verdant forest, forever on the verge of summer’s full bloom. Due to its proximity to Ghyran, and enjoying the near-tropical climate at the edge of Aqshy, this place never knows the decline of autumn into winter, and rather finds itself locked in a near perpetual spring. I say ‘near’, as the life-magic in this area still pales in comparison to Aqshy’s fiery nature. Every year, as spring threatens to burst into riotous summer, the firestorms descend and drive the forest folk to the caverns below, burning their forest to the ground. Aqshy will, of course, be Aqshy. And yet, from the fertile ashes that remain, Ghyran prompts new life to spring forth with breath-taking speed, regrowing the Holt in a matter of weeks.

Everspring Holt stands as a grand illustration of two principles that we will return to later in this work: first, the subtlety with which the realms can exert influence upon each other; and second, the tendency of the Realms to push back against such encroachment. For now though, in our next chapter we will start with the basics, and consider the character of the Realmgates…

*****

“In common parlance, spring is seen as a time of rebirth, and greeted with joy and celebration. I am reminded, however, that mortal birth is an almost uniformly painful experience…”

Naeve Blacktalon, Knight-Zephyros of the Shadowhammers, upon fighting alongside the Sylvaneth of the Springash Enclave

*****

The Springash Enclave of Everspring Holt

The lush forest of Everspring Holt is the child of a paradoxical relationship between Aqshy and Ghyran. The warmth of the climate in this far-flung corner of Aqshy, together with the influence of a metaphysically-nearby Ghyran, prompts a perpetual state of spring. The forests are a riot of blossom and flower as nature strains towards the crescendo of summertime. And yet, as if guided by some unseen hand, Aqshy snatches this victory away, as every year, violent storms of fire engulf the region, driving nature back and asserting the primacy of Fire in its own domain.

And therein lies the paradox. By reducing Everspring Holt to cinders, the storms only assure that it will regrow. And regrow it does, at an astonishing rate, the fertile ashes returning the region to its year-long springtime in a matter of weeks. A finer example of the complementary-yet-antagonistic relationship between the Realms is hard to find.

Such verdancy marks a natural home for the Sylvaneth. Everspring Holt is claimed as the domain of the Springash Enclave, a collective of forest folk who dwell within the cycle of rebirth and immolation that grips the area. Throughout the year they tend to the forest and defend its borders, and retreat to the caverns below to wait out what they call the Searing Season.

The Sylvaneth of Springash are beautiful, ever-garlanded with blossoms and the vibrant greens of new growth. And yet. Perhaps it is the inescapable devastation of the flames, or the denial of the release of summer. Perhaps it is simply the nature of Aqshy, seeping into their heartwood. These are a dourly mistrustful people, xenophobic and quick to wrath. Their beauty is marred in battle by the spiteful, screeching cast of their war-aspects and the ferocity of their war-song. Amongst their wargroves you will find many Spite-Revenants, and the vicious undertones of their war-song harmonise closely with the song of Drycha Hamadreth, Regent of the Outcasts. Often she can be found leading their chorus, and their headlong charge into battle.

The Enclave’s relationships with their neighbours are often fraught, but in times of war common cause can be found. This is particularly true against Chaos, whom they abhor as do all their kind. They care little for the local humans, who know better than to harvest timber from Everspring Holt, which they know as ‘the Wickedly Winsome Wold’. The nearby Duardin of Hermdar Lodge are cautious allies, with whom they share firebrand personalities and a hatred of Chaos. Roving bands of aelven Wanderers are also tolerated, as they will come when called to defend the forest. Springash warriors of somewhat milder temperament can sometimes be found in the company of the Stormcast, honouring the Everqueen’s ancient alliance with Sigmar. Lastly, some warriors of the Holt find a certain kinship with the Idoneth of the Nautar Enclave, in whom they sense a mutual inevitable waning, and of course a primal loathing of Chaos. Some nobles houses of the Springash have even forged pacts with the Nautar, secretly aiding them in their raids on human settlements in return for a vow of non-aggression against the people of the Holt.

*****

That’s it for now – hopefully I’ll have an update later this week with some more painted miniatures.  Thanks for reading!

I’ve always loved the Sylvaneth range, and the recent Looncurse box finally sucked me in and made me commit to a Warhammer army.  In the past I’ve always stuck to skirmish games, and had the idea that I’d struggle with painting a larger army.  It’s going well so far though, and I’m enjoying a simpler and quicker approach to painting.  Hopefully the process of writing this log will keep me motivated!

Here’s the progress so far:

The Arch-Revenant felt a bit too noble and goody-two-shoes for my liking.  I’m gravitating more to the wilder aspects of the Sylvaneth, and later in the growth of my army my lynchpin character will be Drycha.  Bearing that in mind, I made some changes to the Arch-Revenant, and have renamed her the Arch-Malevolent.  Quite pleased with the result, given the simplicity of the conversion, and will be going all-out when painting her.

Work in progress shots of my first unit of Tree-Revenants.  I’ll be using Spite-Rev heads on all my Tree-Revs.  Really happy with the skin colour – it was easy to do and will be simple to paint with more layers of highlights and shading on characters etc.

That’s it so far.  The Tree-Revs will hopefully be finished soon, and the next on the table will either be the second unit of Revs, or the Arch-Malevolent.  I’ve got a Start Collecting box coming my way, ready for when they’re finished.

Next post will include some fluff I wrote to get me into the feel of my army.