Dankelblarg » Warmachine

Visgoth Rhoven & Honor Guard

Dankelzahn — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 16:51:21 +0000

I painted Rhoven and his Exemplar honor guard up at the tail end of my Protectorate collection. I've only fielded them once or twice since they were first released, and as such they kept getting pushed back to the end of my painting queue. But as PP's release schedule slowed the past couple years I was finally able to get to them.

The Exemplar are pretty standard at this point so I didn't spend as much time on them as I did on Rhoven himself. I think I'm the most happy with how the robes over Rhoven's legs turned out.

Manufacturer & Line: Privateer Press - Protectorate of Menoth
Mini Name: Visgoth Rhoven & Honor Guard
Painted: 2010

Gorman di Wulf, Rogue Alchemist

Dankelzahn — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 19:00:09 +0000

Although my first try at painting a light source, I was rather pleased with how Gorman turned out. All of his garments were painted in various browns to create a dull, utilitarian look. This was meant to contrast the glowing vials hanging from his waist. I think the end result really highlights the vials.

The glow itself was done by blending the bright green into a mix of that green and the color of whatever it was on top of. So for the front of the tabard I mixed that brown with the green and blended that up to pure green at the edge. It was a somewhat simple process from a technical standpoint but took forever as I tried to make the glow look right.

Manufacturer & Line: Privateer Press - Mercenary
Mini Name: Gorman di Wulf, Rogue Alchemist
Painted: 2006

Captain Bartolo Montador

Dankelzahn — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 12:00:07 +0000

As Privateer Press Weekend at DieCon 8 was being planned, the organizers approached some of the local painters with an idea to give away models as door prizes and as an overall prize over the weekend. I had enough on my plate that I had to finish before DieCon that I couldn't do too many figures, but I did agree to paint Broadsides Bart here.

In order to have the army that was being given away look coherent, another local was building and painting all of the bases. He did the deck work and painting on the base seen here.

Manufacturer & Line: Privateer Press - Mercenaries
Mini Name: Captain Bartolo Montador
Painted: 2008

Eiryss, Mage Hunter of Ios

Dankelzahn — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 10:00:39 +0000

Eiryss, dubbed the Soulless Elven Hooker by those in the know, was originally purchased to use as a character when I started re-running Privateer Press's Witchfire Trilogy again. Eventually as we started playing Warmachine she transitioned to a wargaming piece.

I had always wanted to have this miniture leaping off of something when I based it, but when I originally began looking at basing here I realized there was a problem. Normally Eiryss's feet are meant to attach directly to the base. Because of this the cape was sculpted with a flat bottom at foot level where it to would rest on the base. So before I could attach this to the base, I had to file down the large flat attachment area on the cloak and resculpt the bottom portion of it. A relatively simple step, but it without it the cape would have look far more awkward.

I decided to do this miniature in a scheme that's far different than the dark green studio paint job. As a mercenary she's not actually a part of my army, but I wanted her to look similar enough to my other figures that she looks like she belongs. So I decided her cloak - her most predominant feature - would be off-white to match up with my army color selection. I used a mix of Delta Ceramcoat's Parchment and Quaker Gray to create the base color, then highlighted and shaded from there. The end result is close enough to look nice next to my army, but have just enough different about it to set her apart.

Manufacturer & Line: Privateer Press - Mercenary
Mini Name: Eiryss, Mage Hunter of Ios
Painted: 2006

Reclaimer

Dankelzahn — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 18:00:17 +0000

The Reclaimer was actually a pretty quick figure to paint considering a vast majority of it was either black or metallic and there was very little exposed flesh. Still black can be a tricky color to paint. I went ahead and went the wet blending route since every time I try to layer black it seems to turn out poorly. The result is subtle but present, which was what I was going for so I'm happy with it. On the down side the highlighting on the teal trim of the stole doesn't show up well, which is dissapointing.

Manufacturer & Line: Privateer Press - Protectorate of Menoth
Mini Name: Reclaimer
Painted: 2006

Temple Flameguard

Dankelzahn — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 17:00:22 +0000

I painted the Temple Flameguard up during a business trip in 2006, back when taking fluids on an airplane wasn't restricted. They were done with what is at this point my standard Menite process. They flew home with me just a little short of complete but I finished the shields and spears and attached them all soon afterwards.

In 2007 I added the Temple Flameguard Preceptor and Standard Bearer to the unit. These two models were painted useing the same techniques as the original members of the unit, but my skill had improved a lot. Even though I painted them quicker than their earlier bretheren they turned out better on the whole. Signs of improvement like this can really help motivate you to keep painting.

Manufacturer & Line: Privateer Press - Warmachine
Mini Name: Temple Flameguard, Protectorate Unit
Painted: 2006, 2007 (UA)

Daughters of the Flame

Dankelzahn — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 16:00:21 +0000

The Daughters of the Flame, aka Menoth's Angels, were a relatively dainty unit to paint compared to the bulky knights and spearmen that are more common in the Protectorate army. But they fit together well and once I got them on my painting desk it I was able to work through them relatively easily.

I decided to use my Reaper colors on the purple cloth areas on all of these miniatures to see how they looked next to units like my Temple Flameguard who were done in the Delta Ceramcoat line. They matched up well enough Idecided to switch to the Reaper paints as my primary ones for this color. If only I could find a version of Goosefeather in one of the good paint ranges...

Manufacturer & Line: Privateer Press - Protectorate of Menoth
Mini Name: Daughters of the Flame
Painted: 2007

Wracks

Dankelzahn — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 15:00:19 +0000

Despite the amount of skin that I had to paint I was able to work through these guys pretty quickly. They also gave me a good opportunity to work on using the P3 flesh line (Idrian, Khador, Midland, Rin).

Manufacturer & Line: Privateer Press - Protectorate of Menoth
Mini Name: Wracks
Painted: 2008

Choir of Menoth

Dankelzahn — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 14:00:23 +0000

With the exception of the Mangled Metal format (which doesn't allow infantry, just jacks), I don't think I've ever fielded an army without the choir. They're just too good and too utilitarian for their points not to. So since they hit the table so often, they definitely needed to get painted. I started of with what has become my standard paint scheme for the Protectorate, throwing in the accent color on their sashes since according to their fluff they're warcasters in training.

The Choirs' scrolls were my first attempt at painting parchment on a miniature. . I started by base coating them in Delta Ceramcoat Papyrus, which I let try thoroughly. After I was sure it wouldn't smudge I took out my Micron pen and added the text. I decided each acolyte had a different litney on his scroll, so each scroll starts out with a different letter from the Menite alphabet. After the ink had dried overnight, I washed the scrolls with a mix of an Applebarrel brown and GW Chestnut Ink to age it, making sure to force the mixture into the tattered edges of each scroll as well as the creases where scroll meets scroll case.

Manufacturer & Line: Privateer Press - Protectorate of Menoth
Mini Name: Choir of Menoth
Painted: 2006

Knights Exmplar Vengers

Dankelzahn — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 14:00:20 +0000

The Exempler Vengers took forever and a day to paint. They started out relatively quickly - the horse flesh and hair came together well but once I hit the armor (on both the knights and the horses) progress stalled. That said I'm still rather pleased with how the figures turned out. My only real complaint is that the horses themselves came out far redder than intended.

asdf

Manufacturer & Line: Privateer Press - Protectorate of Menoth
Mini Name: Exemplar Vengers
Painted: 2007

Knight Exemplar Seneschal

Dankelzahn — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 13:00:17 +0000

I wasn't a big fan of the stock pose of the Knight Exemplar Seneschal figure. Extraneous back banners aside, there was just something about how it held its swords that didn't work for me. So that meant breaking out the jeweler's saw and some putty and making some changes.

The first and most obvious change I made was to leave the back banners off of the figures. That left a couple of slots on their backs though where the flag posts were attached. To cover the holes I took some casts of the menofix-shaped decorations from their chests and used some greenstuff copies to cover the banners' attachment slots.

Afterwards both figures had their arms reposed. The first figure Had some putty applied to the joins so I could re-position the arms. The second's conversion was a bit more involved. For that one I tried to duplicate the concept art on the model's stat card, particlularly in the way the arms were posed. The right arm had to be cut around the elbow and rotated before being pinned back together but the left arm was far more troublesome. In the end I had to use the Seneschal's shoulder and hand, a Exemplar Errant elbow, and some greenstuff to resculpt the model's bracer to get the arm in the position I wanted.

Manufacturer & Line: Privateer Press - Protectorate of Menoth
Mini Name: Exemplar Seneschals
Painted: 2006, 2008

Devout

Dankelzahn — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 19:00:44 +0000

Compared to the rest of the Warmachine warjack, the stock Devout pose is actually pretty dynamic. Unfortunately the Running Man thing doesn't do anything for me so I decided early on to convert this miniature into a more static pose. Since I had a pretty large backlog on my painting desk I decided for the quick fix - file and bend some joints and attach the leg so that it's resting on a raised surface. But what to prop up the leg with? A stone was the easy solution, but seemed to plain. Enter the bonejack.

Seeing as my most commonly faced opponent fields Cryx, I decided that placing one of his warjacks dead at the Devout's feet would be the most appropriate. Once I had the model it was just a matter of pinning and attaching all the limbs so that the Devout stood triumphant over the wrecked bonejack. A quick dingy paint job - including the oozing necroslime - and I had a trophy for my Devout.

Manufacturer & Line: Privateer Press - Protectorate of Menoth
Mini Name: Devout, Light Warjack
Painted: 2006

Redeemer

Dankelzahn — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 18:00:30 +0000

I didn't paint my Redeemer long after my first Revenger, but I still think it's a big improvement. The purple players especially are much better here. I was still having problems with the metallic golds spikes though; that's been a weakness of mine for a while.

Manufacturer & Line: Privateer Press - Protectorate of Menoth
Mini Name: Redeemer, Light Warjack
Painted: 2006

Revenger

Dankelzahn — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 17:00:31 +0000

This miniature sat unpainted in my army transport case for some time - I already had one painted Revenger and I didn't field two often enough to need to get it down. Once I got closer to caught up on my Protectorate forces I decided to go ahead and paint it up.

Looking at this and at my first Revenger - painted roughly a year and a half earlier - I can see a high difference in quality. I wouldn't say I've become that much of a better painter, but I'm far more familiar with how to paint a warjack now. I've also been able to pick up a few tricks and techniques to paint the constructs more efficiently.

Color-wise I decided to switch up the colors on the upper chassis to match my Repenter. It makes my Revengers similar enough in appearance to look like they're part of the same force while still letting tell them apart quickly without having to number their bases.

Manufacturer & Line: Privateer Press - Protectorate of Menoth
Mini Name: Revenger, Light Warjack
Painted: 2007

Dervish

Dankelzahn — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 16:00:29 +0000

Unlike the Devout - which is on a similar chassis - the Dervish's stock pose wasn't too bad. The only issue was the height of the model. The sword in its left hand was meant to be vertical, but this made the piece higher than the foam tray I use to store my light jacks in so I had to tilt it to the side.

Manufacturer & Line: Privateer Press - Protectorate of Menoth
Mini Name: Dervish, Light Warjack
Painted: 2007

Blessing of Vengeance

Dankelzahn — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 15:00:28 +0000

I don't want to think about how long it took me to paint my character jacks, but they're finally done and ready for the tabletop. Unfortunately Blessing lost a few of his cooler abilities in MkII, but he's still a solid jack with Severius.

This model came in more pieces than the other Protectorate lights. While that meant more customizability it also meant more tedious work. In the end I went with the current pose to try and minimize the amount of space he'd take on the tray, but now I regret it. I wish I would have shortened the spear shaft a bit and gone with a more vertical pose, but it's too late now.

Manufacturer & Line: Privateer Press - Protectorate of Menoth
Mini Name: Blessing of Vengeance, Light Warjack
Painted: 2009

Crusader

Dankelzahn — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 14:00:27 +0000

I painted this Crusader quickly to match my first one. The quality isn't as high as I could have managed, but I really just needed to get this one done so I could get it on the table. As far as posing goes, I decided to assemble this one as if he was in mid swing as opposed to the first crusader which was rearing back.

Manufacturer & Line: Privateer Press - Protectorate of Menoth
Mini Name: Crusader, Heavy Warjack
Painted: 2006

Crusader

Dankelzahn — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 13:00:26 +0000

The Crusader was the last warjack I painted from my battlebox, and I think it turned out better than the lights. After looking over the Repenter and my first Revenger, the first thing I decided was to do away with the razor highlighting. It just wasn't coming out as expected, so I moved on to wet blending. The blending is probably the most visible on the overhead hood in the first two images and on the shoulders in the fourth. Although I could have done a bit more contrast, I was happy with how smooth it came out using the craft paints I initially started painting with.

I tried to position the arms to look as if the jack was reaching for its opponent while rearing back to swing with the mace. I originally intended to convert the left hand so that the Crusader was pointing and 'calling his shot' Babe Ruth style, but decided that the work involved in cutting up the hand and re-sculpting it with my meager sculpting skills wouldn't do the idea justice, so I left it like this.

I used the same techniques and colors on everything else as on my first two light warjacks, and I think my execution was better than them. After this I'm looking forward to picking up a few more jacks to paint up, but have to get through some infantry first!

Manufacturer & Line: Privateer Press - Protectorate of Menoth
Mini Name: Crusader, Heavy Warjack
Painted: 2005

Reckoner

Dankelzahn — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 12:00:30 +0000

I definitely prefer the 'newer' Menite heavy warjack chassis features on the Reckoner and Castigator to the 'older' Crusader-based chassis. The gentle curves of the larger plates make it seem less boxy and more organic.

Manufacturer & Line: Privateer Press - Protectorate of Menoth
Mini Name: Reckoner, Heavy Warjack
Painted: 2006

Guardian

Dankelzahn — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 11:00:24 +0000

The Guardian was one of those models that say unassembled on my desk for so long that I wanted to get it finished just to have it finished. I'm not a fan of back-banners of any type in Warmachine or Hordes so I left them off, which had the side effect of making him far more practical to store in an army transport tray.

Unfortunately the Guardian never saw much table time. Other than pulling double duty as a heavy and an arc node for Mk I eFeora he doesn't leave his transport tray. Now in MkII he's even lost his job working for eFeora and is just outright outclassed by other Protectorate choices.

Manufacturer & Line: Privateer Press - Protectorate of Menoth
Mini Name: Guardian, Heavy Warjack
Painted: 2006

Hierarch Severius

Dankelzahn — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 17:00:25 +0000

Much like the Harbinger of Menoth, I wasn't a big fan of the extra people on the stock version of this model's base. The Hierarch standing on the backs of a couple zealots might be fluffy, but it's not what I wanted to put on the table. Instead I decided to model my conversion after Severius' encounter with Vlad in Warmachine: Legends. I build a large rock outrcopping for Severius to stand on out of cork, and fashoned a small book stand out of foam and cardstock to hold the Covenant of Menoth (bits ordered separately).

I'm pretty happy with the results overall. Bits prices are a little high and the conversion was more costly than I would have liked but I really wanted something different for my version of the Hierarch and I think it paid off.

Manufacturer & Line: Privateer Press - Protectorate of Menoth
Mini Name: Hierarch Severius
Painted: 2009

Feora, Protector of Flame

Dankelzahn — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 16:00:27 +0000

I did some further experimentation with the Reaper Master Series Dusky Grape color that I picked up to use on Severius and realized it was just too much of a cool tone to match my color scheme. After another trip to one of the local gaming stores I picked up Burgundy Wine to try out. Although the tone is ever so slightly off from the Delta Ceramcoat Royal Plum I used, the difference was nearly indistinguishable and the end result (especially once I mixed it with Dusky Grape for the base coat) fit with my scheme.

While painting Epic Feora I discovered how much I hate painting fire. For me, it's similar to painting NMM - while taken as a static image, painting realistic fire or non-metallic metal is quite possible. But as soon as your perspective on the subject starts changing but the reflections remain static, the illusion is dispelled.

Manufacturer & Line: Privateer Press - Protectorate of Menoth
Mini Name: Feora, Protector of Flame
Painted: 2006

Grand Exemplar Kreoss

Dankelzahn — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 15:00:28 +0000

As impressive as the concept art for Epic Kreoss is in the Apotheosis rulebook, his miniature is only so-so. Instead of being the giant, imposing symbolic bastion of the Menite faith, he looks like a squat child wearing his father's armor.

And other than painting his cloak in Reaper Master Series this miniature was painted in the exact same scheme as his non-epic version.

Manufacturer & Line: Privateer Press - Protectorate of Menoth
Mini Name: Grand Exemplar Kreoss
Painted: 2007

Feora, Priestess of Flame

Dankelzahn — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 13:00:30 +0000

Feora was the second warcaster model I painted after Kreoss and I think a bit of a step backwards for me. Maybe I was rushing too quickly or maybe it was just all of the mechanics (which I seem to struggle with) but compared to most of my other work Feora unfortunately just doesn't quite match up. Which is a shame since she won me the first tournament I ever attended back in '06.

I had dreams of converting Feora's right wrist-mounted flamethrower to be spouting a gout of flame into the air, but I realized that the time and effort to do them combined with my meager abilities in sculpting flame would result in the whole effect turning out gaudy and poorly done so I scrapped it early on.

Manufacturer & Line: Privateer Press - Protectorate of Menoth
Mini Name: Feora, Priestess of Flame
Painted: 2006

Lady Aiyana and Master Holt

Dankelzahn — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 19:00:28 +0000

I'm a big fan of the Aiyana and Holt. On top of being a solid unit on the tabletop, they're some of my favorite sculpts in the Warmachine miniature line. They're not swamped with accessories, but they're great sculpts and fit right in with the look and feel of the Iron Kingdoms.

Coming up with a color scheme for Aiyana and Holt proved difficult. I started with Holt - I knew I wanted to do a black overcoat but needed a highlight color and wound up picking the off white. But what I didn't want was for the models to be just black and white so I needed an accent color. My fiancee suggested the Delta Ceramcoat Victorian Teal that I had on my paint rack. Although I was skeptical, I've learned to at least give her color suggestions a try and once again she was right - the color fit in very well.

Once that was settled I began the task of wet blending Aiyana's cloak. I used Victorian Teal and Dark Victorial Teal for my mid tones, mixing in black for the deepest shadows and a little Satin Cream for the highest highlights. It was a tedious task but I'm very happy with the results. Once that was done it was just a matter of blending the black, doing the edging in Chainmail, and adding the finishing details.

Other than Aiyana's cloak, I think my favorite part of these figures is Holt's face. I tried to get a little cleft chin look going that came out nicely. It's a little detail that just makes the model pop that much more.

Manufacturer & Line: Privateer Press - Mercenaries
Mini Name: Lady Aiyana and Master Holt
Painted: 2008