First try with artificial water

 Hi everyone, let's go for something completely different, something I've never used before: artificial water.

First time here? If you have a look at the rest of the blog, you will soon realize that I don't base my figures very often. The reasons why were already explained in several posts in the past, you can read some here. But I must admit that a well based figure is much more interesting to watch, so I wanted to improve my rustic technique. I've been watching several tutorials on the subject these past days, and my eye was caught by the representation of swamps, particularly putrid swamps... a good place for zombies :)

So I bought a bottle of still water, mixed some with black and green washes, and poured the result on a painted base: grey rocks, dark brown sand, some dark green grass and a light green area for the water itself. The result is this (28mm Mantic figure):

 

Since it is a first try, I'm rather pleased with the result, but it's far from perfect. Several problems:

 - I didn't fill the gap between the figure's round small base and the square base itself, so it is still visible under the layer of artificial water

- I stuck some adhesive paper on the edge of the base to prevent the artificial water from running off, but the surface of the water twisted along the edges - I had to cut the excess when dry to have a flat result

- I didn't think of simulating the mud created by the zombie advancing in the water

I'm not sure to know how to remedy these problems, and even less sure if it is reasonable to base complete regiments this way... but it was real fun to do :D

Hope you like this small experiment, any advice is welcome :) 

Deadcember... new zombies

Dear fellow painters and readers, let's dive into dark Fantasy again.

As you all know (and if not, see here, or there), Orctober has been a chance to complete an Orcs and Goblins army. In november, I came back to historical figures, but with unusual subjects (for me): Peninsular War and American War of Independance... and at last, the Ancients saw reinforcements with some Greek Hoplites. I've also painted many other individual figures but not units, so they probably will be displayed later on this blog. In case you're curious: a C'hin heavy warrior, two Norman foot warriors, a Spanish Caetratus, two servants for a Greek balista, a Samnite... to be continued.

But we are now in December, also known as Deadcember! I don't think I will spend the whole month painting undead creatures, but part of it, yes :)

I have an Undead army for HOTT which was almost finished, I only needed a few more zombies. Here they are!

These minis are a mix of several sets:
- Caesar Zombies
- Dark Alliance Light warriors of the Dead
- Zombie!!! boardgame figures

In the middle of the picture below, you will recognize Red Sonja as a zombie leader :)

The two Dark Alliance minis are in the center of this picture:

I already painted these minis as ghosts, they looked very different:

As written above, the Undead army is now complete: zombie warriors, skeleton warriors, ghosts, spectres, zombie dogs and a vampire lord to rule them all... but I still have to base them. And it might be that they lack strength against my Orcs, so I should probably paint some Undead riders, including some more vampires. I'm still looking for a good color scheme, any idea ?

Defenders of the Empire

Hi! After a few posts related to historical figures, I am back to Fantasy. Today, I want to show you pictures of my Empire longswords - for those who know the world of Warhammer, you may recognize the colors of the Talabecland, one of the provinces of the Empire.

These troops are veterans who saw a lot of action in many conflicts, and they are required whenever the situation is particularly perilous. In the pictures below, you can see them defending a village against frightening invaders.

The Longswords take position in the village

Everything's quiet, too quiet

Suddenly, a horde of Undead surrounds them

How could they come so fast ? There is some dark magic here

The courageous men attack their enemies

A vampire Lord appears - dark magic, indeed

The vampire engages one of the swordsmen

They are too many !

The zombie dogs are ready for the the final fight

The poor Longswords are submerged - may their sacrifice not be vain

The Longswords are landsknechts by Redbox and Dark Dream Studio.
Skeletons, zombies and vampire Lord by Caesar.
Zombie dogs by Zombies!!!

Zombies

I already posted these pictures in several places on the net, but since I wish to show my collection on this blog, I post them here too.Figures by Caesar, an excellent manufacturer.

Vampire lord and his dogs

The first character for my undead army is a vampire lord wearing a blood red armor. His zombie dogs are walking around him.
The vampire lord comes from the excellent adventurers set by Caesar. The dogs come from the Zombies!!! boardgame.