G’day Goonhammer readers! We’re back with another hobby update as the deadline that is ConVic 2022 draws ever closer. We’ve still got roughly two months to finish everything, and we’re pretending that we won’t end up painting the night before. Urr has been building up the Aztec Varangur, with a whole host of additions, while Cytoplasm has finally surmounted the mountain of Trolls for his Goblins.
In case you missed our last episode in the series, you can find it here.
Urr’s Progress
Last time we talked about hobby progress, I was planning on switching it up and painting my Lord on foot, using a fancy Jaguar Warrior model, but then my next order of models arrived, so I started the Spider Sisters (Varangur Snow Foxes). Again, all the models here come from the Mythic Americas range from Warlord Games.
Snow Foxes
These guys are an especially creepy set of models, and that’s been mentioned to me a few times by opponents, so I’m glad I could bring that out. These sculpts were a little bit less crisp than I would have liked, but it’s generally not noticeable when you don’t have the individual models up to your face.
They were a bit trickier to put together too. Generally, only one or two of the elbow/knee joints matched up perfectly, so I had to do a little bending on some, but most had to have a little blob of greenstuff to connect the arms and the legs together. While my little sculpting probably isn’t perfect, I’ve painted them up using the same skin colour scheme as the rest of my “undead” forces, so if there’s going to be any blemishes, it’s better to have them on the dead looking models than the human ones.
Other than that, they are great models, and very fun to paint. I did paint everything underneath then, too, just to make sure they look good from every angle. That might have been a waste of time, but I want my hobby points, so it was worth it to me.
Frost Giant
And here’s the big guy. You may have noticed him in some of the pics in our last article, but here he is all painted up. He was originally going to be a Jabberwock or a Cavern Dweller, but as can be seen from this Mindscreech size comparison, he ended up way too big for a little monster base.
The giant was a great kit to build, too. Very easy to put together, and to keep in sub-assemblies for painting. The only issue I had was some cracked resin on his lower abdominal area, where part of the model had broken off, but a bit of greenstuff sculpting has fixed that right up, and now his skull necklace hides that anyway.
Again, he’s painted like an undead monster to fit in with the rest of the force, with the same bright feathers that ties all my units together. He might be my favourite model in the army so far, though there is some competition with the heroes. Now I just have to get good with him in game so he justifies the painting.
Magus Conclaves
You might say “What’s that? You don’t have any Magus Conclaves in the army list you wrote about last time?” and you’d be right. But, I am sick of losing. Playtesting was not going well, and the list needed a bit of a shakeup, so there’s two new options going forward that, at the time of writing, have had a little success.
These guys are another flexible base option, in which the Magus models simply slot into a cut out on the larger base, with the texture paint and foliage there to hide the join, which it does pretty well. The altars are made purely from milliput, with the Aztec Texture Roller to add the details on the top and sides. It’s painted the same way as the hidden ruins on the rest of my bases, though Blood for the Blood God has been added for the blood effect, to make it look like there has been a sacrifice performed recently.
Lord on Foot
Next up we have the Lord on foot. He was an exclusive miniature to the Mythic Americas Collectors Edition, along with the model for the Lord on Frostfang, which will be coming up next time. He was a quick paint up, and done a little differently to the other Jaguar Warriors, as he had his own armour type, and only had the jaguar pattern for his helmet. I took inspiration from the box art for the scale armour part, and the rest is just painted to match the army scheme.
I did get inspiration from the Brains Trust to add some free-hand painting on the shield. A quick image search for a shape I could actually paint on, some practice, and I’ve now got a nice bit of free-hand in the army. Another hobby box ticked for the tournament!
So that’s it for me this time. I’m happy with my progress, and it’s just a few more models to go!
Cytoplasm’s Progress
When last I shared my army progress, it was mostly of the various individual models getting some paint, while whole units remained unfinished. At this time I had dedicated myself to finishing the Trolls, but the Goblin Rabble hordes remained, as did the plethora of heroes my army list possesses.
I am proud to say, that is mostly in the past! Mostly…
Troll Hordes
I have already detailed the myriad sources from which I have gathered the various troll models that I planned to use in the creation of my three hordes of Trolls. While I am proud of the collection, there was a point between the 12th and 13th models I started to wonder if such an eclectic mix would make for a horrendous looking final product. Hence, it was with no small amount of trepidation that I embarked on the arduous task of dissociating the Troll models from their temporary bases.
It was only once all the Trolls were on there and the foliage applied that it all came together; truly a misfit horde of Trolls that provides plenty of visual interest. A journey through the ages of Troll design, with a detour to Mantic as a treat. Sure, a fully cohesive unit of the same make and model would be more aesthetically pleasing, but Goblins rarely achieve such dizzying artistic heights.
Goblin Rabble Hordes
If the Trolls weren’t mixed enough, then the Goblin Rabble hordes might be my crowning achievement; simply because there’s more of them. Goblins from across the ages of Games Workshop combined with the latest in Goblin-rendering technology that Mantic has to offer. The massive infantry horde bases provided an opportunity to have a lot of fun with the basing, creating a real scene to evoke the dark realm of the Goblins.
As you can see, paint is being applied and after a few rounds of dry brushing the whole model will be ready for the Goblins to be applied. And they better be, we have a little tournament soon here in Melbourne!
Gorp’s Explodo’matic Bangstiks
Speaking of units that need to be ready in less than two weeks, the Goblin formation that is Gorp’s Explodo’matic Bangstiks are suddenly taking shape. This formation contains two regiments of Fleabag Riders (Goblin cavalry) and a Goblin King on Fleabag. I went for the Forest Goblin Spider Riders, as they certainly look creepier than the old Games Workshop Wolf Riders, and I had plenty lying around from my brief stint at using them in Age of Sigmar.
The painting of these spiders was vastly simplified by my most recent paint acquisition: Grim Black from Army Painter’s Speedpaints. It’s thick, it’s slimy, but by all the gods of Pannithor, it makes painting black so easy. To be sure, painting black isn’t the most difficult of shades. ‘Two thin coats’ of black paint then dry brush some lighter greys and you’re done, but the idea that instead all I need is one thin coat? Saves a lot of time for the 17 spiders that needed it.
The basing is in very early stages, but for this unit in particular I wanted to add dimensionality. I want the spiders creepy over slopes and trees, not just confined to the flat ground. Hence I used some dense foam to sculpt some gullies, chopped up some standard Woodland Scenic trees and added some 3D printed scatter terrain. A thick application of grit and small stones and it’s starting to look like something. One more coat of polyvinyl acetate glue and I can get painting!
Groany Snark
The terror of the Goblin army, Groany Snark is the Goblin’s answer to the Avengers. He is a Goblin King equipped with a Mini Winggit Flightsuit that comes packing a whole lot of Blast and Thunderous Charge for maximum damage. The model has a lot to live up to for such a crazy hero, and so I set to work raiding the bits box.
The Forest Goblin Shaman from the Arachnarok Spider kit seemed like a good base. Like the newer developments in Spiderman’s suit, this Goblin was ready to fly by web. I exchanged the little wand in the right hand for a massive club from some River Trolls, and trimmed away all the stuff around his feet.
The final question was: how to pose him?
Groany needed some indication that he could fly, or at least fall slowly. I tried posing him on tall rocks, or on branches, but it all looked like he was doing bad parkour. Then I remembered the tried-and-true method of ye olde Games Workshop – clear plastic flight stands! They suck for holding up entire tanks (the woes of being an Eldar player), but for a tiny Goblin they are perfect.
Troll Bruiser
The humble Troll Bruiser has made its way into my list at the expense of poor Magwa & Jo’os. I found myself in need of a scoring unit and all the individuals in my list were eating up the points. The best thing is, I already had this beast of a troll painted up, missing only some cohesive basing to make it feel part of the army.
Wiz
The humble Wiz is integral to this army, but all I had regarding such models was the Night Goblin Shaman from Games Workshop’s Battle for Skull Pass box of 2006. Although a classic model, it was just a bit too goofy for my liking, and might be a bit too incongruous with the aesthetic I am attempting.
The Green Hag from Nolzur’s Marvelous Miniatures is just the right level of slightly creepy. Again, reaching into the imagery of the Witcher, the Hag fit the whole theme perfectly. I painted her up to appear more like an oversized Goblin, and made sure she looked suitably hag-like.
The Final Sprint
The final month, despite all planning and forethought, will most likely devolve into a flurry of model-painting and list tweaking. By our next article we hope that much of this will have been ironed out, and the armies very nearly done: Urr definitely, Cytoplasm probably. It’s been a lot of fun so far, and having this avenue with which to share our progress has made sticking to the painting that much easier, so thanks to all of our dear Goonhammer readers!
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