Vastarian: Cultist Painted

Lonely vigil.

At long last I have found the time to paint one of the resin casts of the generic cultist model I converted for our Vastarian setting! It was refreshing to paint a model based off of an older sculpt since it lacked a lot of the superfluous detail seen on some modern sculpts. I decided to paint the model red, so that they would fit nicely beside two models I converted for the Pilgrym event, also using old metal Brian Nelson sculpts!

Mordheim 2022: Elf Ranger

An elf ranger next to Mad Meg!

Continuing on the theme of Mordheim, since the Mordheim 2022 event in Houston, Texas is less than a week away, I wanted to showcase an old model I found when looking through the models I painted before starting Between the Bolter and Me. Specifically, I am referring to one of the Hired Sword models Games Workshop released alongside the other Mordheim warbands, the elf ranger. Although I was not playing Mordheim at the time, I painted the model some 15 years ago simply because I liked the model. Upon reflection, the model is a little wonky, with an odd pose and proportions, but I still generally like the model, and even think the paint job holds up. If I were to redo the model, I would give the elf a smaller sword, more befitting his lithe frame.

Oldhammer: Oldenhammer 2021

A Rogue Trader era Imperial Guard model next to an ork of the same era.

Although we are usually quite focused on converting models to improve their proportions and improve their weaponry, it is fun to put that aside sometimes and just paint an old Games Workshop model, celebrating a time before digital sculpting. In 2017, we found a small game store selling blister packs of Rogue Trader models and purchased a bunch of them and have been slowly painting them. Last year, I painted Slambo, and last month I painted an old Imperial Guard model to honor Commissar Molotov. Towards this end, we saw that chilvers_industries was holding a painting competition again this year called Olden Demon 2021, that asks you to paint an old metal model with a green base (as was prevalent in the 90s). Having not participated last year, we were eager to this year, painting another one of our collection of forgotten metal models!

Mordheim 2019: Additional sisters painted

By the manner of their death we shall know them.

I am still furiously painting models for my Sisters of Sigmar warband for Mordheim 2019, which is happening in just a few weeks! I am pleased to show the next two finished sisters. They were actually the first two I built for the project and it is awesome to finally see them finished!

Mordheim 2019: Sister Superior one painted

Sigmar's Fury.

After finishing painting the first sister in my Sisters of Sigmar warband for Mordheim 2019, I quickly jumped into painting the next, this time one of the heroes, a Sister Superior. This sister was converted from one of the original Sisters of Sigmar models from 20 years ago. In homage to the original warband from all those years ago, I decided to paint the model in a scheme that was reminiscent to those models, with cream colored robes accented with red. Despite largely being a single piece metal model, the Sister Superior took much longer to paint than I had expected.

Mordheim 2019: Choir member painted

“It was a promise unasked for and it was a wall of sound, unbroken.”

With Mordheim 2019 rapidly approaching, I have finally begun painting the Sisters of Sigmar warband in earnest. I decided to paint the last model I converted for the warband first, a member of the Choir, who guards the inner sanctum oubliette of the Rock. As something of an outsider in the group of traditional Sisters of Sigmar, she was a good opportunity to try out some things and get accustomed to painting again. Having come up with the concept behind the Choir, Alex Winberg had already come up with a somber looking paint scheme of black leather and white masks (the flavor text from the first image was penned by him too!). I was excited to try my hand at the monochromatic scheme, knowing it would add a sinister element to the warband.

Mordheim 2019: Painting begins - Bases

The painting has begun!

When spending so much effort converting models and making cool characters, it can be easy to forget about the bases for the models. Anyone who has been painting models for awhile knows that a nice base can really tie a model together and make it look complete. It is important to not get too carried away with a base, lest it distract from the model as a whole. With this in mind, to ensure that the bases were cohesive and tied all of the models together, I opted for a relatively simple stone-tile theme. To do this, I used a combination of GW scenic bases from the Eyes of the Nine warband and ones I sculpted by hand. To ease into the painting process for the Sisters of Sigmar warband, I decided to paint a few of the bases, and wanted to showcase them here!

Imperial Guard: Painting an infiltration expert

Only in death does duty end.

Recently, I converted a reconnaissance soldier out of one of the newly released Van Saar models. The Van Saar armored bodygloves seemed ideal for converting a oberative that engages in all manner of espionage and infiltration missions. I am happy to say that I was able to find the time to paint the model recently, and wanted to talk a little about it!

Thorn Moons Crusade: Elder One Othalanga Painted

From Throne to Thorne.

Elder One Othalanga is complete! At times it seemed like he would never be done, with all the  sculpting, casting, and experimentation on the proportion of Space Marines, but after 8 long months, he is done. He was created for Iron Sleet’s upcoming Thorn Moons Crusade, a collaborative event where the Imperium, led by a horde of Vlka Fenryka, is attempting to the expunge the Green Mechanicvm from existance. The Elder Ones are a mysterious Space Marine chapter dating back from the time of the Great Crusade, who were separated from the wider Imperium until the late 41st millennium due to warp storms. Although few in number, each Elder One is a prodigious warrior that towers above most Astartes, fitting well with the gigantic marine I sculpted. All of the other Elder Ones were created by the esteemed FPOA (who is now a member of Iron Sleet), and painted mossy greens and browns, suggesting their ancient lives amongst trees and thorns. When painting Othalanga, I wanted to achieve a similar look to FPOA, so that he would fit along side his brethren. To do this, I experimented with a few different techniques, focusing on using stippling to create variation in color rather than traditional highlighting. Below I will talk a little about the paints I used and how I went about the entire process.

Dragged into Turbolasers Episode 25: Painting is more than just acrylics!

When painting, there is always something new to try.

In this episode we talk about our journey through painting, how over the years we have developed our own style, but also how we have started to experiment with different types of paints and products to push our skills further. We spend a lot of time talking about our efforts into using enamel and oil based paints, as well as some resources that you can use if you want to learn more about them or how to best use them.

Curse of the Alabaster: More Arbites enter the field

To be just, our law must be cruel.

With the Alabaster event less than a week away, I figured it time I share a few more of the Arbites that I painted for it.  The first is the only male in the group, Marion Helm, the group’s medic.  The second, Valentina Radonovich, is the team’s demolition specialist.  Both were painted like first, with drab earthy hues, covered in dirt and grime, befitting the long operation into the cursed hive.  Rather than drone on, I will let the pictures speak for themselves!

Curse of the Alabaster: First Arbite painted

The Emperor's work is never done.

While it has been a long time in coming, I am happy to say that the first of my converted Arbites is painted! I started trying to paint three of them at once and when I got to highlighting their jackets I had to stop and paint them one at a time; otherwise I feared that the quality of the painting might suffer.

The Pilgrym: Bronwen vox-owl

Burn the Witch.

While I am still hard at work creating more members for the Church of the Red Athenæum, I realized that I never posted any finished pictures of Roland's owl companion, Bronwen.  I painted Bronwen to look like a Great Horned Owl due to his pronounced ears/horns.  What do you think?

The Pilgrym: First Congregation Member of the Church of the Red Athenæum

The only cure is dying.

Having painted Samael the Church’s Chronicler, and the first two members of the Order of the Crimson Hour, I decided that it was time to paint one of the regular members of the congregation (which happens to be the only one that I have built thus far).  I wanted the regular members to fit naturally beside the ranking officials and the fighting order of the Church, but I also wanted them to be more subdued and impoverished looking,  with a focus on drab earthy colors.  And so, Matthias Stillman was born.

The Pilgrym: The Order of the Crimson Hour Painted

Blood Simple.

Progress continues steadily with the Church of the Red Athenæum. The two Order of the Crimson Hour battle sisters are now complete. They mark the first time that I painted two models simultaneously in years! And while they took much longer than I was anticipating, I am happy with how they turned out.

Iron Sleet Invitational: Painting Inquisitor Soljic, Ordo Xenos

Inquisitor Anton Soljic - Thorian

In the 15+ years that I have been a part of this hobby, I have always been building and converting models.  Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about painting them.  There were a few good years were I was consistently painting, and managed to enter some models into the Golden Daemon painting competition at the Baltimore Gamesday, but that was over 7 years ago.  Since then, I put the brush down, citing a lack of time due to graduate work (which is the truth!).  But over the last two years since starting this blog, my desire to take up painting again has steadily increased.  After an absence of so many years, it is a difficult thing to start up again. In fact, all of my paints were dried or misplaced, along with all my brushes! Despite this, I began to collect new supplies towards the end of last year, including getting my first airbrush!  With new painting materials gathered, all that was left to wait for was some inspiration to trigger my foray into painting again.  As it turns out, that muse was being invited to participate in the first Iron Sleet Invitational.