Topic: Takenoko returns to the hobby

[takenoko]

Short minor update. I've painted a Bright Wizard, since I wanted to try the lore (also, because this model has been waiting in line for ages...). Got the model from a friend some years back, he got it when GW released a box of plastic wizards, mainly from Talisman. Not a particularly pretty model, especially the staff is aweful (nto sure if it's a dragon or a flying Skaven...), but I kind of like his pose.



Also, I usually don't do WIP pictures, but since this is only the second converted model in this army:



My old Averland army worshipped Ulric, but since I needed a BSB I decided to keep the model but tone down the wolfishness. Will paint the cloak in some feline pattern, not decided which yet. He is next in line to be painted though, really looking forward to the project.

[Ad A Dglgmut]

That mold line!  Make sure you clean it off before painting the figure as the conversion looks good.  Don't wont that to ruin an otherwise cool looking figure.

[takenoko]

You're right! hought I had cleaned it, but no... Should always take close-up photos of models before painting, I guess!

[Ad A Dglgmut]

At least it's been caught before you started painting.  That's one of the most annoying things every, when you find them as your painting.

[takenoko]

Ok, once again a minor update. It feels like all I do lately is paint characters. While I have been working on some rank-and-file as well, they will have to wait until I have finished units.

I have wanted the Witch Hunters Johann and Wilhelm since they were released in a White Dwarf ages ago, and I finally managed to get my hands on them on Swedish eBay a month or so ago. I painted Wilhelm first, since I use Warrior Priests much more often than I do witch hunters.



Also, I have painted my first 8th edition model! I'm not a huge fan of this model, but I wanted an engineer without any equipment, so he was my best choice. With a new head and no stupidly big pistols on his back, I think he looks acceptabel. There is something strange about this model, but I can't put my finger on what it is. Something that makes it feel more WWI than Empire.





I'm currently working on more or less everything, so I have no idea what will be up next. Or when. I'm not very good at keeping this project log running, I fear...

[Delthos]

Hey, I just realized someone used your userid for a boardgame! I've played it and it is a great game. It's all about bamboo farming.

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/70919/takenoko

Of course, after realizing this, I had to find out what that name means. I had my suspicions on what it means and now I know I wasn't too far off.

[takenoko]

Awesome, I might have to get that game.  I've been using this name on different forums for years, it's such a good word/name...

Also, that game sounds fantastic! The description is epic... I too want to feed the delicate appetite of a Panda!

[takenoko]

Right, time to revive my plog. I haven't had a lot of hobby time lately, but I've got some things done.



First out is my BSB. I still haven't designed his actual standard, but at least the model is painted. Brought him to battle today, where he was mercilessly thunderstomped to death by a Daemon Prince, but still. It felt good to let an actual Altdorfer carry the "banner" though.



I've also done a life wizard. I play with loads of unpainted models, but I have decided not to use any magic lores for which I haven't painted a wizard. I wanted to use Life in Storm of Magic a while ago, so I painted this old guy. Not a very interesting model, but the green does make him stand out nicely.



Right, so these are my first five "new" state troopers. They took me for ever, the ridiculous amounts of details almost made me give up, but now that they're finished I'm actually quite happy. Some aspects of the old troopers were better, especially the fluffy sleeves, but apart from that these guys are really well designed. Details can be a pain, but the result is really close to GW's artwork for the Empire.

I have decided to go to a tournament on April, so now I have to work on a bunch of boring stuff. Before that decision, I was going to do this unit for SoM.



Alas, now it shall have to wait...

[takenoko]

Once again, it has been much further between updates than I had hoped. At least I know the next one will be soon... Anyway, I have finally finnished my first artillery piece - a great cannon. The crew is a mixture of models, including a dwarf master gunner (actually a merchant, but whatever) to represent the dwarfish population of Altdorf.





I also painted my Truthsayer. Bought this model when the Albion campaign was on years ago, along with my first fen beast, and I stripped him last summer. Fairly happy with the new paint job, it was my first real try at free hand tattoos. Since one of my current projects is an AoW slayer regiment, I expect to get more practice soon...





I am now finnishing of a unit of handgunners and a whole bunch of characters, so there should be updates...soon 

[takenoko]

Ok, so after I wrote my last post, I was finally accepted to the PhD program at my faculty, and since then I've had very limited time. I decided not to prioritize the hobby for a few months (most of the summer and up until October, basically), but lately my fingers have started itching and so I decided to get back to painting. Still don't have that much time, but I try to make some slow and steady progress.

First of, I have finished my first Avatars of War models. Used to be a real GW fan boy and refused to touch anything else, but that is now changing. While I still think GW can do better, especially in terms of production, these models are pretty decent. I plan on using the slayers in games of Triumph and Treachery, as a mercenary band led by Gotrek. Did my first game a few weeks back, and though I was badly beaten, it was a lot of fun. Anyway:



Warrior Priest. Did him in the same colour scheme that I plan on using all priests. I like to keep my palette simple, not let characters go too far away from my uniformed troops in terms of colour.





I used the same colours as on Gotrek, but decided to do tattoos as well. Can't really do freehand well enough, but I feel that tattoos are a too important part of Slayer fluff to not paint. I am very happy that I don't have that many to paint...

[Mightymatt88]

I really like how you've done the woad tattoos on the Truthsayer and the Dwarfs. Did you use a specific technique? And that Warrior Priest is really good too - think I'll have to take a look at the AoW range now

[DariusZero]

1+ for the tattos.

[takenoko]

Thank you for your comments! The reason I do "woad tattoos" is that they are simple and easy to do. The "dragon scale" pattern on one of the Slayers was much harder, and doesn't look nearly as good, but I want some variation. I do tattoos in two layers, first a slightly thicker and "full" pattern with darker blue, than a light blue high-light. The second layer also helps evening out the edges, where needed. Just try, and you'll see how easy it is. Since it doesn't have to be completely regular, you can sort of go where the brush leads you.

[Zak]

 

[anameisaname]

Tatts look great.

[takenoko]

New update! I have finished another warrior priest, the 8th edition finecast version. This is the first finecast model that I painted, and I must say that I'm quite happy with it. The amount of detail and the "crispness" is a little bit annoying at times, but on the whole I must say I prefer it to metal. Slight annoyance was that I realized his book was missing one of the corners far too late to be able to do something about it. You could assume that it has been cut of at some time during his career in battle, but I don't know. Anyways:





I also finished a unit of 12 handgunners. Don't know why they are 12, since I generally prefer units of 10 for my ranged weapons, but it can't be helped. Old starter models, found them fairly easy to convert. Some of them are also really nice models, especially the front rank handgunner without a plume is a great model.



I'm now busy with a planned move, but hopefully there should be a new update soon... 

[Zak]

 

[takenoko]

Update! I moved to a new place in January and have been generally busy with non-hobby related stuff, hence another long silent period. Anyway, I have a bunch of stuff coming up now, including flagellants and a Kislevites, but first a couple of new Engineers. I fielded one with a grenade launcher a while back, just for fun, and decided that I had to convert one for future use. I'm really happy with the result, he turned out quite masculine...





I have also painted one of my old favourites, Leonardo himself. Will use him as an engineer without equipment.



Next upload should be fairly soon. My track record stinks, but I'm kind of settled down now and I try to make room for the hobby in my life, so we shall see...

[takenoko]

It's been far too long between my updates recently, but I will try to keep this log a bit more active. I've been painting a bit more recently, and will likely soon have more updates. As if I've never said that before... 

I have done my first three flagellants. Planning a unit of 21, and I did these to try out my colour scheme. I also experimented a bit using three of the GW technical paints, and I quite like the effect. Not a great fan of blood on weapons, but in the case of these guys it kind of makes sense. What do you think? Is it too over the top?





Next update is very close. Just need to fix a few things, should be uploaded soon. That is, unless something gets in the way of my hobby time... 

[takenoko]

New update! Things are finally happening in my Empire cabinet! 

First: Finished my unit of "new" crossbowmen. Really like the models, but I can't say I enjoy painting them. Too much detail for core, it's hard to keep the interest going. Anyway:



I also painted one of my absolute favourites in the current Empire range. I just love his pose, his attitude, his moustache... He looks exactly like I picture Rodrik Cassel in A Song of Ice and Fire!



I'm not entirely sure about the paintjob, but I think he's alright. The bottle turned out to be much harder to paint than I thought it would be, much harder than gemstones. If someone knows a good way of painting transparent objects that are not gem-shaped, I would be happy for any pointers!

[takenoko]

Ok, so since my last post Age of Sigmar happened, and that kind of killed my interest in the game for a while. After much brooding I have now realized that a) Warhammer 8th still exists and everyone I play with still prefer this game, and b) EEFL is a thing and my favorite edition of the game is likely to live long and prosper on the web instead, now that GW has thrown it out. Hence, I am now back to painting again! 

Not a massive update, but I have focused on finishing of some models that have been half-painted for a while. First of, Felix Jaeger along with two more slayers. My unit is now up to a massive six out of 21 planned. Will take for ever to finish this unit, but then it's more of a fun side project than any seriously needed unit. Avatars of War slayers are nice for the most part, but the great weapon one looks a bit daft. Still, slayers are always awesome!





Second up, speaking of useful models, I have painted my first three Reiksguard foot knights. I have a dream to one day have a unit of those, but it seems oh so distant at the moment. Still, I like the models.



I'm going on vacation for a couple of weeks now, but after that I'll post some pictures of my work-in-progress steam tank. Classic tiny version, but a stank is always a stank!

[takenoko]

I have decided to revive this blog. My interest in the hobby waxed and waned during 2015, in large part due to Age of Sigmar, but also because of work and other stuff. I keep coming back to the cabinet however, and I have spent a fair amount of time painting over the last month or so. I will make no promises, but I feel like I might be getting the passion back. Painting is fun, and between the amount of models I own, EEFL, and 9th Age, I really don't need to care about GW at all anymore. Which is sort of nice...

Anyway, first out is a unit of ten archers that I have finally completed. A lot of nostalgia in this unit, some of the models have been in my collection for almost two decades. I'm working on their movement tray at the moment, and I will try to re-varnish a couple of them soon, since the matt varnish for some reason turned blank, but this picture will do for now. I really love those models, all of them... 



I have also painted yet another captain. I really love Empire character models, and painting heroes in between R&F is a nice way to keep the interest going. I now have way more painted heroes than I need, but anyways. Love all of the 7th edition heroes, this one is no exception.





Hopefully I'll be back with more pictures soon. We shall see... 

[Shadespyre]

Welcome back! Seems like you've been on the same journey a lot of us have. I'm back painting models because I haven't found anything else to replace it, the games are much less relevant to me now.

Nice work on the Captain's cloak, especially

[takenoko]

Yeah, lurking on forums have shown that I am in no way alone about my feelings. Still, I really love the games. Played a game of Triumph and Treachery a few weeks ago, and it was fantastic. I'm not quitting 8th/9th Age any day soon 

Also, thank you for your comments. I can't really make my freehand blend in with the background like all the talented people do, but it looks good enough from a distance, and cloaks tend to feel a bit empty without any pattern at all.

[mottdon]

I love your Truthsayer and Slayers!  Their tats look really good!  Have you progressed on the Fenbeastst?