Topic: The Road to Volganof (update 7Sep2023 - Swordsmen & priest)

[Victor]

Incredible! I bow to your dedication. The unit looks great!

[Rogers Kul]

This is terrifying brutally awesome 
How beautiful they look!! How much work on that!! Fantastic work on banners, each different but remaining the same style. Glorious.

[Zygmund]

Glorius truly is the fitting word here! 

-Z

[Xathrodox86]

This is passion. This is dedication. This is talent.

For the Emperor! I salute You.

[Naitsabes]

cheers guys, happy to see appreciation for good honest batch painting work. Maybe a bit of a lost art in this day and age?

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27Jul2018

Howdy. After pushing through that knight unit it was time for something fun. And, somehow Lord Mortkin needs to get his siege engines to Volganof. So here we go:



The Iron Daemon is one of those models where at some point one just has to stop and accept that there are too many details to highlight them all. I’ve certainly had my fill of rivets. The crew is quite fun and unique…but then they get glued so far into the machine, nobody will ever be able to get a good look. Overall a really cool model and I wouldn’t mind doing another one day.

As I was snapping these pictures I realized I’ve never put my steam tank up on the project log. And so, DEMOLITION DERBY:

(although they really don’t fight in the same weight class, I was surprised how close they are in size)

The steam tank I painted many years ago and it shows. And it wasn’t helped by me overexposing the pictures. Still, out of a sense of completeness, here it is:



I do have a second steam tank in the list and I only have tiny old tank as a second. So, maybe I will paint up another one to my current standards. But, not in the near future.

[Rogers Kul]

Wow! I love that chaos dwarf model! and very well painted too.
Keep working Naitsabes, you're close to finish the project. No pain!

[Zak]

wow one heck of a machine 

[Xathrodox86]

Wow, these machines are glorious! So. Much. Metal!

[Naitsabes]

cheers guys!

4Sep2018
A bit of a mini-update this time. On the Volganof side I shelled out for that fancy-pants cannon we’ve discussed before. It’s available from reaper.com (Could have spent the same amount for a used one on ebay...some traders on there don’t seem to understand that not all old metal models are OOP). Anyway, here it is: Ol’Puddings, the most famous cannon in Volganof (on maneuver out and about, Ostland isn’t all forest, apparently)




I am quite fond of the model, it’s a classic Bob Olley sculpt (of GW greenskin fame). They don’t make lovely, cartoon-y wood grain like this anymore. The details on the wheels are great too. The crew is obviously plain GW. Again I’ve opted against a base so the cannon can be put on the city walls one day.

The other addition today is a mighty Skullcrusher of Khorne. He might be one of the infamous Brass Riders Lord Mortkin is rumored to command.


I played around a bit with the reds on the jugger, mixing different kinds of 'dull' tones. Quite like the shade on the back leg armor. As you may remember, the manticore rider I’ve shown earlier came with two riders and I struggled for a bit to find an extra mount. This one of course won’t work for the sorceror but it fits the Khorne lord okay.

The official Volganof counter:
938/969

[Padre]

I love that cannon. Got to get myself one.

[Warlord]

Both really nice models.
Does it normally have a chain cloak? That is cool.
I do love that cannon though!

[orcyboy]

I have spent the entire morning (while at work) poring through your work. Amazing stuff, very inspirational. 

I'm feeling the urge to drop my greenskin projects and slip back into Empire.  Must resist.... 

[Zygmund]

The road to Volganof is paved with great models!

-Z

[Naitsabes]

Thanks guys, appreciate the comments!

I have spent the entire morning (while at work) poring through your work. Amazing stuff, very inspirational. 

I'm feeling the urge to drop my greenskin projects and slip back into Empire.  Must resist.... 

I kind of hope you are not an air traffic controller...but yes, come to the bright (and colorful) side of the force. 

Both really nice models.
Does it normally have a chain cloak? That is cool.
I do love that cannon though!

the chain cloak is the stock model, he won't be sneaking up on anybody.

[Irishzero]

Very very nice! Always inspirational to say the least.

And is it Ostland, its awsome.

Like the canon, might buy one my self!

 

[Xathrodox86]

Some really nice conversions in here. Love the cannon and its muzzle, as well as that Jugg Lord!

[Naitsabes]

cheers guys. Thanks for the comments.

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24Nov2018
The Road to Volganof is full of twists and turns and so today we won’t make much headway. I am still working on the full-peacock landsknechts. Past the halfway point and they should feature front and center in the next update. Today though we are in distraction land. First up, remember Holy Hilda of the Hassians from a couple pages back? Well, she has an entourage now of burly and not so burly tribesmen. I like the ‘acceptable in the 80s’ headbands the two on the left are sporting. And for once the striped pants turned out okay. Maybe I am getting better at this? Or I got lucky.


I am no expert on oldhammer but pretty sure the guy on the right is from a slightly different era..or potentially a Marauder sculpt? Certainly chunky enough. And now we let them walk off-stage (take one last look at Hilda’s fabulous braids, no wonder Sigmar was smitten).



The rest of this update is all about evil of different sizes: A Gorebeast Chariot which I slightly modified by leaving off the giant horns that normally protrude from the chassis. That left the harness-to-chassis area a bit empty so I shortened it. And that in turn made the chain reins too long which lead to much swearing and fumbling while assembling painted parts (including the classic superglued finger comedic minute). worth it?



And then I finished up a bunch of evil dwarfs. A pretty hefty unit. Not sure at this point if Lord Mortkin can afford fielding them.




They line up in exactly one way and even that only with judicious use of unit fillers. My understanding is that Russian Alternative now sells an updated version of these guys with less oversized axes. That should help a lot with usability.
Here is the high command.



The sorcerer is straight out of the box Russian Alternative. The BSB is a regular Russian Alternative trooper with a bunch of GW bits to make the standard. Quite happy with how these came out. And, that is all. Hope you like it.

[Artobans Ghost]

Incredible is an overused word but they are....incredible.

[Rogers Kul]

Really awesome chaos dwarves

[Zygmund]

Those chaos dwarfs really rock! My love still goes to the human figures. Possibly nostalgia.

-Z

[GamesPoet]

Woah!  This is unbelieveable.  Well done is an understatement.

...

25Jun2018

At long last here is the Reiksguard. I’ve sculpted the sashes, I’ve painted the same tired horses over and over, I’ve pulled every last bit from the box to give them a sliver of individuality. My inner man separated from my inner boy and here we are: I’ve completed the unit of 45.



Long term readers may remember that this is actually the SECOND Reiksguard unit for the battle of Volganof is crazy like that. So, here is what I hope is Lord Mortkins view right as things go south for him. Each unit clocks in at 1245 points…before characters.



A gathering of standard bearers. Towards the end I was running out of ideas how to paint the same banner in the same colors. Can you tell I had my fill?



Like every little gamer I dream of one day playing the grandest battles of them all at the Gates of Kislev. Now, at least I have one unit of the appropriate size.



Lastly, a big thank you to the kind folks who have sent me bits (scabbards, pennants, shields etc.) over the years to kit out the Reiksguard units. I hope you feel I’ve put your gifts to good use.

The counter is ticking down. The official Volganof counter:
932/969

[Naitsabes]

Incredible is an overused word but they are....incredible.

thanks! I am incredibly stubborn and will keep on painting for the foreseeable future.

Really awesome chaos dwarves

cheers. Rogers, can't comment directly over there because I don't have an account so let me state here that I really enjoy your blog. Love the behind the scenes articles and pictures about the Kislev battles as well as the glimpses into a bright future of End Times gaming. Top notch hobby stuff!

Those chaos dwarfs really rock! My love still goes to the human figures. Possibly nostalgia.

-Z

I know, the nostalgia is strong with Hilda and her gang. I have quite a few more of these guys incubating away in the stripping bath. Takes a while to eat away their really tough paint coating but they will eventually be featured here. Stay tuned.

Woah!  This is unbelieveable.  Well done is an understatement.

Yep, those knights likely mark the high point of my hobby grind. Can't imagine doing something like that again...although, never say never.

Here is a sneak peak at the upcoming Landsknecht unit. 16 more to go, every last one of them insists on having unique colors and they have a bit of a 'gaudiest outfit' competition so, it takes a bit longer than usual.

[Zak]

 

[Naitsabes]

29Dec2018
Hello Gentlemen,
At long last I’ve pushed through the Landsknecht pikemen unit from warlords miniatures. Do you hear that? Here they come.
(  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOy48IlEbpE )

Wir zogen in das Feld,
wir zogen in das Feld, da hätt’n wir weder Säckl noch Geld.
Strampedemi!
A la mi presente al vostra signori!

Wir kamen nach Salzenmund,
Wir kamen nach Salzenmund, da hauten wir die Orks in Schund.
Strampedemi....



Really a labor of love but, also quite fun to play with the colors. I put in some GW guys to fill up the unit to forty. And, of course, the standard bearer is very classic GW. I imagine when the GW boss saw this glorious model for the first time he decided Empire puffy clothing was the way to go. And so it was for ~30 years (admittedly, I wasn’t actually in the room when that decision was made).


The musician is straight from the box. The champion is warlord metal. Here are some more close-ups.


See the guy on the very left in the last picture? That is Bob, he alone saw the dragon coming.

I’ve also painted up the last special character for Volganof, the venerable Captain Schwarzhelb (or  Schwarzhalb in other sources). He makes a unit he joins unbreakable…if he lives that long. I will find a  better unit for him to join, he will not command the pitchfork brigade.


Alright, what does this do to the Official Volganof Counter?

The official Volganof counter:
966/969

Hah! Almost there! Three demigryphs to go.

[Artobans Ghost]

The detail is amazing. I could imagine how a unit of the 42nd highlanders would look with your attention to detail.