Undead Spearhead 6 - The Choir of Ashes

 

Another small unit of skeleton warriors across the finish line. This time it's the Choir of Ashes, led by the bellicose Sergeant Wollf. 

This unit is the second ten-corpse group I need for the Spearhead project. It's a mix of ranges, from Citadel, Skull & Crown, Diehard, Bonefields and others. I do like to shop about. I have plans to boost these guys to a twenty strong unit in time. 

It took a while to settle on a banner design. I kept the colour scheme I used on Raoul de Tosny's Banner of the Horned Sun, I may use a variant of it on ghostly fellows too. The banner design really was the thing that needed some thought. Eventually, I settled on a portrait of Samael the fallen angel, though as Morr, (or Morrda in Age of Sigmar) God of Death in this setting. The Ashen standard is held aloft by Malach Veyr.

I'm very happy with the result. The banner itself is a chopped up ogre standard with some green stuff work and added grisly trophies. These old 90s Citadel standard bearer minis, more often than not, didn't come with a banner, just the banner pole. You had to add the flag yourself. With this being a particularly fancy banner pole, I felt it needed a nice flag. 

The Choir of Ashes is so named for the dirge that rises from it's members as they shamble across the land. A genial song of praise to Morr it is, that they may be released to his peace. Morr is not a vengeful God, but holds the choir fast to their oaths. Only when they are fulfilled will he let them rest, but, for the moment, the song eases their burden, as songs do. Wollf hushes them with a bark all the same, when focus is required. 'Enough whickering my morose fellows, there's sword-work to do. Step lively now!'

Undead Spearhead 5 - Melchior Dregomir

This project I’m working on needs a leader. A wight king, to be exact. There were many candidates, but in the end I picked this tall gent, a Heartbreaker undead lord from the 90s, sculpted by Chaz Elliot. As you can see, compared to his bony minion, he’s a fairly big mini, and a fine Oldhammer era commander for the host. His sword was missing its grip and pommel, so I picked out a new one. (I since found the original, irritatingly.)

Paint-wise, Melchior got the same treatment as my other wights, bar the white fur ruff and the glowing orb. The orb was my first time using fluorescent paint, and it was a bit of a learning curve. I think I’m getting the hang of it.

Melchior is a creature driven by sinister purpose. A towering wight lord of terrible aspect, made more awful still by the enormous sword he carries, the wight blade known as Absolution. This weapon passes harmlessly through the innocent, but wrenches the souls from the guilty. These shades are then bound to Melchior's magical phylactery, the Cweartern. There they dwell until such time as Melchior calls on them to perform some service, or until he deems their penance concluded.

Melchior is no cruel warden, but is unrelenting in his righteous castigation of the wicked. If one could get close enough to listen, one might hear him quietly admonishing his ghostly charges on the errors of their ways. 

So that's our champion of justice ready to lead this bony minions. More rattlebones soon.

Undead Spearhead 4 - Silas Harrow

A minor, but slightly oddball addition to the Spearhead today; Silas Harrow, skeletal fiddler for the second unit of skeleton warriors. 

Silas is a mini I have had for a very long time, and I can't recall what manufacturer he is from. He's been awaiting his turn at the painting desk for many a year, so it's nice to get him done. A simple enough fellow to paint, the only real head-scratchers were getting his fiddle bow to look something like what it's intended to be, and painting in the fiddle-strings.

The second unit is just about done, but still needs it's standard bearer. He's going to be a bit of a job, so, I'm going to put him off and paint the wight king leading the force next instead. Another old fellow come to his final reward.

Until next time, my dears.

Undead - Spearhead 3 - Riccar's Spears

Today sees the final members added to the first of the Spearhead units to be finished, a unit of ten skeleton warriors; Riccar's Spears. Let's look at the looooore of the unit:

Former men-at-arms of the house of Dreux, this unit has survived relatively intact down the years, thanks in no small part to the actions of Riccar de Purcell, the master at arms of the house of Dreux. So many of the warriors spirits still inhabit their original bodies that the burden of bearing the pain of undeath weighs heavily on them. It is only the protection of the Lady and Riccar's fastidious attentions that prevents them from becoming true undead, pliable and silent.

Riccar de Purcell was once responsible for the martial training of all the noble sons of the house of Dreux. It was he who trained Stephane in the use of arms when he was a youth. Riccar, now a mail-clad skeleton, leads his dead-at-arms in battle after battle. These once-men, by their very success, have begun to slip into true undeath as their spirits grow weary from such a long period of wandering the world of the living. They invest more and more of their will in Riccar, who bears this responsibility with no small sense of unease.

I wrote that many moons ago. So many. 

The last two undead to be added were another two lovely Roy Eastland skeletons.

I've painted five of the six of this small set now. The last left unpainted is a fellow with a two-handed axe and googly eyeballs. He'll have to wait until I paint up a unit of skeletons with double-handed weapons. 

All the details on these are just a delight to paint. Nice chunky bones and hefty scale mail. I've taken to glazing the bone with a very thin (4:1) mix of Medium and GW Skeleton Horde Contrast paint a couple of times between highlights. It smooths the layers nicely and generates that aged bone effect I'm after. 

I've also changed out my background. I've retired the blue gradient for something a bit more neutral. I took a while deciding on a light or dark grey textured backdrop, but the vote went for the light background, so here we are. The next thing is upgrading my lighting setup options.

My skeleton swordsmen also approach completion, just awaiting the standard bearer and musician. A violinist, no less. 

Fancy. 

More on that soon!

Undead - Spearhead 3

Lars Vallhund, Raoul de Tosny and Tormund Stahl

Some new recruits for the Horde of Dreux today. Three minis I have had awaiting the attention of the brush for a long, long time. It’s a little surreal finally getting to them after all these years, but very satisfying indeed, my lovelies.

This delight in metal form is a 1986 sculpt by my man, Aly Morrison. I love the undead from this era with a deep and inappropriate intensity. You often hear from old Grognards like myself; 'They just got more character they do, my lad, ah, them were they days.' Well, in this case, they do. Look at this guy, with his punky mohawk, mysterious robes and head collection (lifted from the Dead Men of Dunharrow Lord of the Rings range, I hasten to add.) He's the business. 

His paintjob followed my usual recipes, but this time I added a couple of glazes over the bone. A 1:1 mix of Skeleton Horde contrast paint and medium. Then a mix with less medium for recesses. Works a treat to add a little richness to the bone.

The banner was a new direction. White Dwarf 512 had an article on painting the new Soulblight Gravelord minis, and part of that was the banners. The faded look to these banners struck me as just super cool, and contrasted nicely with the rust, robes, bone and armour of the undead. I changed it a little, but it's pretty much the same recipe. I really like how it turned out.

Next we have Lars Vallhund, who hails from the same range as Raoul. Like the standard bearers, there are three variant musicians. This one is by far the most metal. I got great amusement from painting his goaty accoutrements. He looks a bit wild for a skeleton warrior, and is certainly a memorable sculpt. I hadn't seen a version of him painted that I can recall. I thought his drums would be nice as aged bronze, so that's what I went with.

This rather non-descript skeleton warrior is one of the many little beauties they produced in the 80s. I don't know the sculptor I'm afraid. He's a nice hunched fella, and has a lot of visual interest from the back. See for yourself:

Cool huh? The skulls on the base are from old square base resin base toppers. I've taken to clipping them up lately for adding little points of interest to bases.

So, that's the latest. Lots more undead on the way. I still have quite a few Morley grave guard to paint up, as well as the wight king. Then we get onto some cavalry. I'm having trouble selecting my horsemen, there are many wondrous candidates. More soon, and happy Deadcember!

Undead - Spearhead 2

Another undead minion rises from the painting table! This time it's Riccar de Purcell, skeleton champion. He's going to be leading one of my skeleton units for the Spearhead force, Riccar's Spears.

Riccar is one of my favourite skeleton miniatures of all time. One of Aly Morrison's sculpts for Citadel, if I'm not mistaken. Look at those janky swords. That collar! He most likely calls his enemies 'YOU FOOLS!' a lot. It's well past time he returned to the gaming table after some paint love. 

He'd been languishing in a tub for some time now. I had to break him out of his old square base and clean him up a little before getting some Wraithbone primer on him. His paint scheme wasn't anything magical, but Contrast paint washed and glazes do jazz up these old boys something lovely, in conjunction with drybrushing and layering.

I'm really, really enjoying this batch of undead. I've had some of them for decades, so it's very satisfying to finally get some paint on them. More fodder for the skeleton units to come!

Undead - Spearhead 1

Today we get into some Oldhammer, and as it’s getting onto the spooky season, what better than two old honest-to-goodness skeleton warriors. You can’t get more wholesome than that.

This pair of rusty rattlers were sculpted by Roy Eastland back in 1990, and appeared in White Dwarf 133. He only did a few of these undead, and they were easily the best skeleton Citadel had produced for many years, though I recall them being hard enough to get. They are still very highly regarded by Oldhammer folk, and rightly so.

I’m lucky enough to have the full set of these lads, so I think 35 years later is about time to get them painted. I’m currently building a Spearhead force for Age of Sigmar, and it requires a few skelly troops. It’s really just a nice concise list to hang a painting project from.

There’s a lot of fun to be had painting old minis with more modern paints and methods. I used a lot of contrast on these two for glazes and recess washes.Typhus Corrosion technical paint from GW is a wondrous help for weathering and general grime. 

I’m pretty content with my rust technique too, which is mostly red and orange washes over dark silver that has had a brown wash. Then a couple of layers of drybrushing and maybe some edge highlights.

I have quite a few more undead on the paint table, and I’m loving the everyday joy of raising the diminutive dead to do my bidding. 

It’s the simple things, eh? 

Undead - Jarl the Gatekeeper

Leaving the gleaming spires of the neon future, it's now time for something more... autumnal. Heading back to my first love, the undead, I give you Jarl the Gatekeeper, Seneschal of the Order of Dust, formerly the Knights Hellion.

Jarl was a wight champion in my old Warhammer Fantasy Battle army, and fought over several editions. Having recently painted a new version of his master, Stephane Dreux, I decided to add a new take on Jarl to lead the wights of the Order of Dust in my little Soulblight Gravelord Spearhead force.

Sculpted by Alessio Cisbani as part of his undead Mordheim range, I was very taken with this mini as soon as I saw the green. It's a lovely sculpt. Painting-wise, I updated my black iron armour recipe a little, adding more reds and brown, and another layer or so of highlights. On the advice of a friend I used Cadian Fleshtone to highlight Barak-Nar Burgundy on his surcoat, and I'm glad I did, it sits nicely into my colour scheme for the army.

I'm feeling the undead mojo right now, so I think a few more members of the Spearhead might be in the offing. As nights draw in and Halloween approaches, it's only right, don't you think? Here's Jarl with the nascent but revitalised Order of Dust. More Gary Morley wights on the way I reckon.

Undead - Vampire Knight

Today we have a miniature I've been slowly ticking over in between other projects. It's taken months of five minutes here and ten minutes there to complete him. But finally, Stephane Dreux, vampire knight, is finished.

This fellow is a mounted vampire knight by Reaper Miniatures. I picked up the model many years ago. I originally started him to use as my champion in games of Full Tilt (and I still may) but life got in the way and he never got finished. Rather than have him linger in the half-done box, I resolved to just pick away at him when I had a minute. 

He's a metal model, and required a fair bit of clean-up and some lance repair. Colour-wise I used Juan Hidalgo Miniatures' 'Eavy Contrast - Blood Dragon Vampire Lord tutorial (mostly) for the knight's armour. The horses armour I got from the Citadel Colour App for Blood Dragon horse armour. I wanted a darker, more sombre red for the horse armour.

The black horse was a bit tough, as I wanted it to have some reflection to simulate the sheen from a horse's body. The lance I painted as a kind of semi-fossilised bone. The shield is black, but has a few gradiated coats of red glazes. All the tackle, straps and belts etc. are worn brown leather. 

Purple cloth, some aged brass and a vibrant orange jewel for contrast finishes him off. 

Stephane Dreux is another long-serving character in my armies. A former knight of Bretonnia cut down and turned into a Blood Dragon vampire, he amps up the self-pitying anti-hero schtick to eleven. You can read more about Stephane in my old page on the Horde of Dreux. Here's a snippet:

When Stephane grasped the grail it burned him terribly, but he would not release it. His body smoked and blackened as the new-born vampire clung onto the holy object. He wanted to die rather than exist as a perversion of the man he had been only scant hours before. As he burst into flame the lady moved to save him. Aregisel was built over a spring sacred to the Bretonnian deity, and she had sensed the host of men battle valiantly against their enemies. Stephane had defended her shrine until he had been transfixed by his enemies blades, and she resolved that his fate was not to die in agony and failure.

Oh yeah, feel that angst. I bet he broods a lot on cliff edges.

Anyhow, there you go, that's another Mumble in the bag for now!

Silver Bayonet - Serzhant Ursov's Bearform

On this most appropriate evening, I present Serzant Ursov's cadaverous were-form, the undead Russian bear. Amazing what niche rabbit holes you end of going down in this hobby.

The stinky giant is from Diehard Miniatures. He's a great sculpt, and has been lounging about morosely on my painting desk for months. He's big enough too, sitting on a 50mm base. I resolved to get him finished for Halloween, and lo, here he is.

Ursov's fur is drybrushing and thinned contrast paints, which is a very pleasant way to paint. Ratling Grime contrast makes for a great recess wash for mid-browns. Lots of red, purple and green washes on the flesh over a Rakharth Flesh basecoat, a Rakharth Flesh highlight, and the soggy bear flesh was done. The old exposed muscle was Khorne Red with purple, dark brown and red washes, highlighted with Khorne Red and a little Corax White. The usual bone recipe, some maggots and claws, and that was about it.

This fellow wraps up my my minimum required minis for my Russian Silver Bayonet squad. Huzzah! I have one more character I want to add for now though, and she'll be along presently.

Silver Bayonet - Serzhant Ursov

Good day to you all, I trust you're well? This day I have a strange fellow for you. Serzhant Ursov, undead shapechanger and hard-nosed (it's made of bone) sergeant. 

Ursov is a were-bear, and as soon as I read about this entry in the Silver Bayonet Russian list, I knew this was my guy. Technically an undead dogman from Flintloque's 666th foot box, he's just the ticket for my particularly eccentric unit. 

Trudging up the snow-laden hillside, the jerky, ungainly infantry were having a hard time of it. Though indefatigable, they were making slow progress as they stumbled and occasionally fell, vanishing into the white drifts with undignified puffs of snow.

Morozov would have been hugely entertained if it wasn't costing them so much time. They'd never make it to the forest by dawn at this rate. 

Near the base of the rise, Ursov sighed heavily as he righted a groaning private and barked orders at the flailing soldiers nearby. It was taking too long. Far too long. Desperate measures were called for. Handing his rifle and sword to his ensign, a sudden ripping sound exclaimed his drastic solution. 

Morozov's eyebrows raised slightly as he beheld the huge cadaverous bear bounding up the hillside, several zombified line infantry gripping it's flanks or simply riding on its back. A novel solution to be sure, but one that would see them make the cover of the forest eaves with time to spare. As the huge Ursa thundered past, Morozov was certain he heard one of the privates make a 'Wooo!' noise. 

Just the wind, he reassured himself.

The sculpt is surprisingly detailed, so took me EVEN LONGER than normal to paint. It does suffer from Bob Olley syndrome (and I love Olley sculpts) of wondering, is that bit a fold of cloth, or flesh, or billowing smoke. Or all three? I acquired a new love for the Contrast paint Garaghak's Sewer painting Ursov. Duly thinned with medium it makes for a fine weathering wash.

Finishing Ursov gives me, finally, a full unit. Almost. I still need the bear form for Ursov. 'Where will you get an undead bear, eh Dave?' Hah I would say to you. HAH. In this age of miniature abundance, undead bears are no challenge. It is on the painting desk as we speak. But, here is the final unit for your interwebby judgement.

Do svidaniya!

Silver Bayonet - Gunner Three

Another member of the unit rises from the cold Russian soil. Gunner three, my artillerist.

Three is another Flintloque miniature, this time from the Corpseov line artillery set. The set has quite a few crew, bit this guy, with his ramrod, (which doubles as a handy two-handed weapon) looked like the very fellow for the job.

Gunner Three had no memory of his former life, he was named for his function once raised to undeath, that of servicing the mighty cannon to which he and his companions were bound. To say he performed this function dutifully would be to give him too much credit. It was no more dutiful than a mill wheel turning. He had little awareness of the tasks he performed, and no sense of  the passage of time.

This was all to change one bitter morning as their line was raked by enemy fire. The baleful metal monster he and his fellows were slaved to took a direct hit, and as it was blasted to spinning shrapnel the grim hold it had exerted over its crew simply ceased. Along with many of the crew, it must be said.

Gunner Three was released from his fugue, his senses and thoughts boiling back up to fill his mind in a wave of renewed self-awareness. Skills long forgotten crept back into his remembrance, there to augment his now expert knowledge of artillery and explosives. Such a useful soldier was not left idle long, and soon he was sequestered to Morozov's retinue.

He never could remember his name though.

Once again, I dove into the historical internet ocean for info on the correct uniform for a Napoleonic artilleryman, and applied… elements of it to the artillerist’s ragged gear. 

For painting, I continue to work contrast into my style, especially on the skin. I’ve recently taken more to dry-brushing again, after listening to Byron from Atris Opus on The Painting Phase podcast. I really need some better dry brushes. Mine are a disgrace.

This guy brings me up to almost unit strength. One more character and they are good to go, though they have already seen action in reduced unit co-op games, which were excellent.

So, next up, the Russian were-bear!

Silver Bayonet - Rasputrid

Continuing on my Silver Bayonet buzz for the moment, I've finished another member of the squad. Morozov's second, the liche Rasputrid. I’m using him as a champion of faith in the game. 

Rasputrid is ostensibly under Morozov’s command, but in reality they are more partners serving a common cause. His knowledge of the esoteric is profound, and his great red book contains the accumulated knowledge of generations of masters of the arcane arts. He can call back undead soldiers that have suffered the most grievous damage, bone and sinew re-knitting as he extorts them to heroic feats in service to the Tzar. 

Rasputrid’s necromantic powers take the form of rousing oratory. Such is his fiery conviction that it can invigorate the dead and still the hearts of his enemies. Little wonder that Morozov places such worth in his counsel. 

For his part, Rasputrid sees great potential in the vampire, if he can reconcile his past and learn to tame his demons. 

Rasputrid is another Flintloque miniature, from the Deadloque set. (God damn I love that set.) Despite being mostly greatcoat, I’m very fond of this guy, and it was a treat to finally paint him.  

This brings the squad to six. I have two more to paint, the were-bear and the artillerist to bring the squad up to full strength. I do plan on adding a couple more though. Maybe a mounted Cossack or the Baba Yaga herself.  

Ghost Archipelago 9 - Boarding Hooke, the Drowned Ogre

 

After a slight hiatus, the Mumblings returns with another undead offering for your perusal. Allow me to present Mr Hooke, or as his crewmates know him, Boarding Hooke.

Sloughing and slouching his way around the deck of the Kraken, the lumbering form of Mr Hooke is not a sight for the squeamish. His flesh, softened by his long slumber in the ocean depths, is saggy and reeking. 'Like a big loaf o wet bread ee' is.' Bosun Woodlock has been heard to say of the ponderous ogre, not entirely without affection.

Even though Hooke seems constantly on the verge of disintegration, he is shockingly resilient and devilishly strong. His flesh swallows weapons lodged in his sodden bulk while he pulverises their wielders with his club. The crew know him as Boarding Hooke due to the massive rusty hook that serves as his left hand in part, but as much for his talents in boarding actions. Despite appearances, Hooke is a strong swimmer, and can scale the side of a vessel and annihilate half the crew before they've even loaded a musket. When Hooke and Smiling Jack work in tandem they can clear a vessel in jig time.

When not splattering decks with brains and offal Hooke tends to the Kraken as a master rigger. He is quite dextrous, considering.

Hooke is a rather large resin Ogre from Warploque Miniatures. His large expanse of flesh was most pleasing to work on, and he is packed with detail, such as his little octopus friend on his back. I used my usual palette, though I did take GW Screamer Pink out for a spin on his intestines. It's a brilliant colour I plan on using more often. That and GW Contrast Volupus Pink are my new best pals.

His base is encrusted with marine debris, including some real crab shell that's been in my bits box about thirty years. I knew I'd get to use it one day.

With the addition of Hooke, that brings my band of undead pirates to completion for now. I do plan on coming back to add a couple more members, but one needs a change to refresh the hobby mojo. Hopefully I will get to use them in a game of Ghost Archipelago in the not too distant future, but for now we will step down the gangplank and bid the Kraken farewell as she vanishes over the horizon.

Ghost Archipelago 8 - Jarl Hakon

 A red letter day for the Ghost Archipelago project today. With the addition of the hunter, Jarl Hakon, the crew finally becomes useable in games, having reached ten members. I do plan on adding a few more, but it's nice to have  game-ready crew.

Jarl here is another Arcworlde sculpt. How that rope cast is a mystery to me, but it looks cool. He'll join the crew as another specialist.

Jarl is only nominally a member of the crew of the Kraken. Though willing to pitch in when required, he is his own creature, and is oft left to his own peculiar devices. No member of the crew is ever foolish enough to touch Gertrud, Jarl's viciously barbed harpoon.

The Kraken came across Jarl Hakon floating on a battered section of ship's hull. He stood astride the wreck, harpoon in hand, as if waiting. When called out to, he shouted back that his ship, the Naglfar, had been attacked by a great beast that morning, and he was the last surivor. He had driven it off with his harpoon, but it was a cunning devil and would wait until he grew weary and attack again and again.

As Jarl roared back this answer The Old Man of the Sea leaned in close to Captain Wither and informed him that Jarl had, in fact, been keeping vigil on the limpet-encrusted remnants of the Naglfar for more than eighty years. Such had been his punishment at the hands of the wight whale. But his penace was at an end now, and the Old Man had need of Jarl's skills.

Thus the Old Man whispered down over the side of the Kraken and across the waves to the agitated Norseman. No soul aboard the ship heard what bargain passed between them, but soon enough Jarl was clambering aboard. Since that day he has proven his mastery over beasts of land and sea, and while he is not to be drawn to discuss the fate of the Naglfar, he is stalwart and reliable, which is enough.

Jarl has an old school whaler thing going on, so I painted his coat like old oilskins. The rest pretty much followed the recipes used on the other crew members. He's a big lad, so he went on a 32mm base. I try to keep base sizes consistent, but sometimes you have to go with what looks best.

So there we have it! The crew of the Kraken is ready to explore the Ghost Archipelago in search of redemption, and possibly booty. I have a few more pieces to add, some treasure and one or two more crew. Or several. I have fishmen (Like the lads from The Flying Dutchman in Pirates of the Caribbean), more undead pirates, and various sea creatures and monsters all vying for a place on the Kraken. With a few choice additions I can have a viable Warcry band shortly.

So, I hope you've enjoyed the slow muster of the Kraken's compliment, sure twas only a joy to work on me hearties! Yo-ho!

Ghost Archipelago 7 - Undead Deckhands 2

 

Yo-ho ye sea biscuits! Another pair of old salts here for your inspection. I need at least four deckhands for the crew for Ghost Archipelago, and these two swabs complete that compliment. As the others, they are armed with cutlasses to keep things nice and simple. I might add some deckhands with other weapons once I get a few games in, but for now I'll introduce you to Bilgewater and Ned Mawgan.

Ned Mawgan is the youngest of the crew that sails aboard the Kraken. Barely out of his teens when the curse struck the ship, Ned is particularly bitter about what might have been. Perhaps due to his lost youth, Ned is full of vim and vinegar, always first over the rail and always advocating the most straightforward action. With his mortal life so close to his thoughts, the curse lies gently upon him, and there are times when he can even pass for the man he once was. It is this ability that allows Ned to venture ashore now and then, to secure such supplies as the Kraken might need, and hound the locals for news. The Kraken's crew might be dead men, but they still love gossip.

Ned even convinced the captain to allow him to visit his home once. It was against his better judgement, but the Captain harbours no small amount of guilt for Ned's fate, and so allowed it. Slipping silently into a lonely cove in the moonlight, the ship waited on Ned to return. So he did, and rather than the expected tale of horror and woe, Ned returned with a tale of a mourning family joyous at their son's return, however briefly. They await him still, and this knowledge steels Ned's heart against whatever trials the Kraken must face.

Bilgewater is the most forlorn of all the Kraken's crew. In stark contrast to young Ned, Bilgewater retains no memories of his mortal life. He rarely leaves the ship, and only very occasionally appears above deck. His penchant for haunting the deeperst parts of the vessel earned him his nickname, but in truth, neither he nor his crewmates can now even recall his real name. Bilgewater sees to his tasks without complaint, and his eerily detached manner is a grim warning of what awaits all the crew sbould they slip too far into despair.

These two fellows bring the crew up to nine, almost minimum size for a game. I have my final member, the as yet unnamed harpoon wielder getting some paint at the moment. With luck the whole crew will be done shortly. Of course, there are a few more I want to add after that. The drowned ogre for one, then perhpas another specialist, and I have a sharkman that would look nice with a bit of paint.

On a side note, I started using a new varnish, AK Interactive Ultra Matte. It really means it, the finish is  very matte indeed. I've been using Daler Rowney Matt varnish for years, with no complaints. AS the AK Ultra Matte is water-based, my only concren is that is won't be as hard wearing. Have any of ye had any experience with it? 

Ghost Archipelago 5 - Hiram Gunwalloe

Another crewman drags himself out onto the deck today, the steadfast Hiram Gunwalloe.

Hiram is a long-serving hand aboard the Kraken. He is known for two things: his deep affection for all things blackpowder, and his sonorous singing voice.

Hiram lovingly maintains an ancient musket he refers to as Wee Belle. Despite Hiram's attentions, Wee Belle still works mostly due to the enchantments laid upon the Kraken. The gun fires wraithshot, and with each hit the rust and corrosion on the gun recedes just a little. It is the same with all the Kraken's guns, from pistols to eight pounders.

Often is the chance you'll come across Hiram sitting on some rail or spar cleaning and oiling Belle while regailing those in earshot with some tragic ballad or lusty shanty. The crew, prone to strange reveries that can often see them fall motionless, find themselves lifted from the fug at the sound of Hiram's voice. For that he is well loved among the ship's crew, and even the captain has been noted to pause for a verse or two.

Hiram was sent to me by a good mate, you can see his mighty blog, Leadplague, here. He's a straightforward enough fella, so I just painted him with the palette I used on the rest of the crew. Again, I used thinned contrast as a recess wash on the pants and bone. It's great for adding definition. 

Almost looking like a crew.

Next up, it's time for the Captain.

Ghost Archipelago 4 - Sargento Alejandro Mortéz

Joining the crew of the Kraken today we have the former Estalian adventurer, Alejandro Mortéz. 

Found marooned on a sandbar, Alejandro was only too glad to join the crew in return for passage away from his sandy obliette. 

It did't take long for Alejandro to tell his story. (There's a lot of time to kill on board the Kraken) It transpired that while looting a temple deep in the steaming jungles they had discovered a number of glowing green statuettes. Soon after leaving with their haul, Alejandro and his men had begun to grow ill. Terrified they had called down some terrible curse upon themselves, they made for their ship. As they journeyed to the coast some of the men expired, while others began to change, much to the horror of their comrades.

By the time they reached the beach, only Alejandro was left, and was much altered. Breaking the tree line, the last of his strength deserted him as he reached the shore.

He awoke on his lonely sandbar, nothing but bleached bone and rusting armour. he still had one of the tiny statues in his pouch, and it is this, he reasoned, that brought him back. Alejandro has had a very long time to consider his fate. Maybe if he returned it, he might be restored?

The crew reckons that ship had sailed, as it were, but they are very interested indeed in the location of that temple.

Alejandro is another of the marvellous undead from Marauder Miniatures. MM50/1 C, undead hero, sculpted by Aly Morrison. He's a particularly characterful fella. The mutated legs and ornate armour, combined with the cutlass and pistol make him a favourite. I was most gratified to find a home for him in the crew.

I painted him up with my usual undead scheme. I've taken to adding a little thinned Skeleton Horde contrast paint to parts of the bone I want to tone down or deepen the shade. It's great stuff. 

That brings the crew to the half way mark. The next fellow is not far from done, so hopefully another crewmate will be along presently Cap'n.