Shadespire - Sepulchral Guard Finished

These lads were supposed to be deep in the heart of battle at this moment, but life sometimes makes plans without consulting us, so instead I found myself with the time to take some photos of my finished Sepulchral Guard. The last three I painted were the Warden, Champion and Prince of Dust.

The Warden is a cool looking skeleton. I love his pose, the armoured boots, the fur, the shield, all suitably epic. That cloak in particular is mightily heroic. I painted him in two parts so I could get at his armour, shield and cloak. There was no way I could have levered my brush into some of those crannies without severe mental damage. As a grognard, I was not raised with all these holes in cloaks and super dynamic poses. My undead had to rank up, by Nagash!

I'm not really a fan of assembly after painting, it's always a risk. This time though, he went together just dandy. Look at that cloak though, what a sculpt.

The second of these final three was the Prince of Dust. Less detailed than the Warden, the Prince is still a great mini. The slightly askew jaswbone is a nice touch, it makes him look like a bit of a madman. I reckon he's the skeleton that charges in with the high pitched scream, Harryhausen style. This guy was also painted in two parts so I could get at his shield and cloak.

The final of the three is the Champion. The goth of the group. He's got that art nouveau thing going on with the pointed helm, tall elegant broadsword and flowing cloth. He was also painted in two parts, and was a true bastard to put together after.

You know, I've been at this miniature painting lark for a long time. Over thirty years. I like to think I'm a bit of a veteran. I know a few things. Like how to dry fit parts, I know how to do that. I shaved the plug on this guy before I started painting so that it would fit nice and easy after I'd finished painting both parts. Did it? No. It did not. It did not.

So, with the plug half way in I think 'I'll pull it out, shave it some more and go again.' Nope. No budging. I did scrape the paintwork trying too. The only thing for it was to push it and hope it moved far enough. By the grace of the Gods, it did. Not perfectly though, it left a gap of two or so millimetres where the hand joins the wrist. Some glue (glue on painted parts, good Christ) and I held that sucker tight for about five minutes. More paint damage. With the parts finally together I repaired the damage to the paint and hit him with a fresh coat of varnish. A close call.

With the Champion defeated that was the warband complete. I'm pretty happy to have a Shadespire warband ready to go, and I fancy doing another in the near future. Skaven perhaps, maybe even Stormcast. They're such great little painting projects. Before that though, I think I'll have a crack at some terrain for blocked hexes. I have lots of ruins and statuary that's crying out for use in something like Shadespire ruins.

Next up though, something from the circus.

Shadespire - Petitioners and the Harvester

I'm back working on the sepulchral guard for Shadespire now that the Shadow Dragon Tong project is finished. I really like these minis. Most of the Shadespire models are cracking, though the sepulchral guard and the skaven are probably my favourites.

I've finished the petitioners and the harvester. As with a lot of the modern GW sculpts, you really have to consider sub assemblies or buy magic brushes to get at some of the parts. None of the lads above had to be painted that way thankfully, but the other three require sub assemblies for painting.

The harvester is a fairly simple model, though his half cloak makes me a little uneasy. It's like watching someone walk about with a vest on but no underpants. For all his simplicity though, he's a really nice sculpt. Super delicate though, as most of the sepulchral guard are.

This petitioner is half the job, but trying to paint his hips and the underside of his rags is a bit fiddly. 'Nobody will see them!' you say. I know. I know. The wee gravestone is cool though. I added a little ivy to it for the craic.

The second petitioner is a bit more meaty, painting wise. He has furs, leather, cloth, metal and bone. I added a couple more quick steps to my rust technique and it turned out well I think. The fur I painted as wolf pelt. I might do the same on the warden. (I see I've missed the leather strap on his sword. Goddammit. Back to the painting table with you sonny.)

I have the prince, warden and champion on the desk at the moment. They are little more involved than the fellows I've done thus far, but the sub assembly approach should help. I have a little over a week to get these finished before they step into battle for the first time. Some serious painting sessions ahead.

Shadespire - Petitioner 1

So, I've painted a model I bought only recently. What? Crazy! Surely the sky, surely it is falling. I've been quite enamoured by Shadespire, and I love the Sepulchral Guard set. They're amazing miniatures. This is the first model from the faction, a lowly petitioner. I used my tried and tested bone technique on him, and use my ages bronze recipe from my terracotta warriors on his shield and sword hilt. The hit of green from the bronze sits nicely with the orange/red rust and on his tattered, what? Loincloth? Shorts? Baggy trousers?

The base is already sculpted, so I just added a few old leaves.

Painting this guy has me wanting to get the rest of the set on the table. You gotta be careful assembling and cleaning though, this guy is quite fragile with all his thin parts. With Legions of Nagash out too, jeez, well, undead have always been a cherished faction of mine. Once the book arrives it'll be hard to resist getting a warband together. For now though, I'll paint this guy some mates for Shadespire.