GALLERY VII 2005 to Present

BRETONNIAN LORD OF THE LADIES TEAR
This very subtle conversion was done to fit into a winged motif. I absolutely love painting Bretonnians, the potential for pattern work on the caparison is just amazing. I decided early on to paint the sword as a source of lighting. This always requires a bit of extra planning but in the end it was well worth it for this model. More pictures can be found here.

GORMAN Di WOLFE
This model was an interesting application of harsh object source lighting. His dark paint scheme really frames the lighting well, causing it to glow even more than normal. I chose red since it is on of the most dramatic lighting colours and would work well on the black model. More pictures can be found here.

GLADE GUARDS
These models painted so nicely. They were one of the few units that I could really see come together early. I guess that is because I have done so much in the Autumn tones now. There are so many colours and tones on these models that at one point I wondered if I had done too much. However, in the end they look great, in real life they are the best non-character figures in the force. More pictures can be found here.

GLADE GUARDS
More pictures can be found here.

GLADE RIDERS
More picture can be found here.

GLADE RIDERS
After having the horses on my table for so long it sure was nice to finish the unit. Once I started the riders I was able to see where I was going to end up and I was very excited. The riders are painted with a fair bit of rust, this balances out the liberal use of pastel greens on the barding. The blades of their spears are done in a green grey in an effort to eliminate the use of all metallic paints. The weapons turned out to look like worked wood which is exactly what I was trying to create. More pictures can be found here.

WOOD ELF DRYADS
This is the final unit of dryads. I decided to paint their extremities in a worn/old wood look. The purple tones blended to yellows make these drayds look the most menacing. More pictures can be found here.

WOOD ELF DRYADS
Just like the last unit of dryads I am very impressed with these figures. They have got to be some of the coolest figures GW has released in some time. These models have the first 'cool' colours in the army. I did this after a lot of contemplation on the colour composition of the force. The models still fit into the fall scheme but they also add an element that was missing before. Since they are woodland spirits I thought that the glowing blue would help to capture this element. I imagine that these dryads of the Blood Wood have only just been summoned from the essence of the forest. More pictures can be found here.

WOOD ELF WARDANCERS
I went with an early fall scheme for these models. A bit more in the way of green tones can be found on these than on the rest of the force to date. They still hold the fall look of the army but I wanted them to be a bit different. One of the nice things about doing an army all at once is you can make everything look cohesive and yet different at the same time. This can be hard to do when you do an army in a piece meal fashion.
I feel it is only fair to comment on the models. They look great on the table and in the end they hold very solid lines but they have many areas that I consider to be at fault. These models have numerous areas where there is no detail in the sculpts and others have broken lines of continuity. The models look great but they don't have the polished feel of the rest of the range that I have painted so far. More pictures can be found here.

WOOD ELF GENERAL
This model is another fantastic example of captured grace. Like the spell singer and the Highborne the pose of this model flawless and it just begs to be painted. As you can see I continued with the fall theme but moved from the golden brown seen on the other two characters to a rich orange brown. The red theme of the army is carried on in his cloak and flowing garb. This is the last character model for the standard 2000pt force. When I have done more of the basic foot troops I will build and paint a forest dragon and lord conversion. More pictures can be found here.

WOOD ELF DRYADS
The dryads have got to be some of the coolest models for this range. The unbridled savagery of the wood spirits has very effectively been captured by the sculptor. In keeping with the Autumn theme and the use of red I will be painting all the dryads with red torsos and faces. My thought behind this is that these dryads cultivate the forest at the sites of great battles. They force the rapid decomposition of the enemies of the wood and take on a blood red tone. Hence there title as Blood Wood Dryads. More pictures can be found here.

WOOD ELF SCOUTS
This is the first unit of the army and I am very impressed with how the models paint. Most of the time it is a chore to paint rank and file troops, not so for the Wood Elves. With all the various levels of cloth they are actually very fun to paint and they really look cohesive when done. I decided to add some free hand swirls to these models since they are going to have a special role in the army as the primary unit the general joins. I also wanted to emphasize the wooded nature of the bases and sculpted a tree for each base. This will be the only unit that features the trees as part the base. More pictures can be found here.

WOOD ELF SPELL SINGER
This is my favorite spell singer model. The implied power in the pose combined with the sense of motion make it one of the best models in the range. Continuing with the Fall theme she is painted in rich gold browns. Since the army will be composed of earthy browns and grays I decided to make red the unifying 'colour'. This is the reason why her hair is flame red, like an oak leaf in autumn. Unfortunately her skin tone is washed out due to my new camera. As I perfect the settings I may come back to this model so the subtle tones can captured. More pictures can be found here.

BANATH'ALIS DE'ARTH'LIR, WOOD ELF HIGHBORNE
This is one of the models that drew me to the fantastic new wood elf range. The studio did a great job of capturing motion in his cloak and the over all feel of the 'quiet, deadly warrior'. I decided to try my hand at a warm paint scheme for the army and this model shows that it will display very well. The fall forest litter really helps to complete the autumn look of the model. I added a twisted eerie tree to his base to balance the forward pose he has and to further emphasize the darkness of the elven wood. His blade is not magical but I painted it to look like wood since I see the elves limiting the use of metal. More pictures can be found here.

KOREN the CHOSEN ONE
This model is yet another excellent example of the dynamic poses Rackham can come up with. The pose combined with the fantastic detail of the model has seen this model on 'my to do' list for some time. I added some blue tribal tattoos to his dark flesh and they really accentuate the musculature of the figure. More pictures can be found here.

LION MASTER WIZARD
This model has held my fascination ever since it was released. It is simply amazing. Not only is the wizard a fantastic sculpt with tonnes of detail but the spirit of light is so cool. The entire set combines for a great visual effect. I went with a light scheme overall applying lighter pastel tones than normal. I felt that for this model that was the best way to capture the 'ethereal' nature of the spirit and the familiars. More pictures can be found here.

GARELL the REDEEMER
The art design folks at Confrontation never cease to amaze with the poses they come up with. This static single plane figure has way more life than it should due in large part to the pose. The sculpt on the cloak is stunning and also helps to convey a sense of motion. I chose to paint him in a colonial style and I think that suits him much better than the black that he is portrayed in. More pictures can be found here.

DARK ANGEL INTERROGATOR CHAPLAIN
Every since I have seen the new terminators I have wanted to paint them. I must say that I am very impressed with the new plastics. I chose to do my first terminator as a Dark Angel chaplain since it would allow me to do some minor conversions. The black amour really shows off the nice sharp lines of the sculpt. This is my first black/purple marble and I am very happy with it. I used some Forgeworld DA icons to really make the model look like a ranking DA model. More pictures can be found here.

PSIONIC MONK
This model was painted to fit a very specific character concept. He is a monk that uses the power of his mind to focus into being an axe of psionic force. I wanted to really emphasize the nature of the axe and I felt that object source lighting was the way to go. He is a good monk and hence the bright blue axe as this seemed to be the best translation of his alignment. More pictures can be found here.

EJHIN de VANTH
This very interesting model has been a figure that I have wanted to paint for a couple of years. From the pose of the arms with the staff to the amazing head piece this model is unique. I decided to paint her with object source lighting since I felt it was the best way to capture the various cloth folds and to emphasize the staff head. More pictures can be found here.

NECROMANCER on STEED
This is the model of the set that really drew my imagination. The steed is amazing in every way, from the dotting flesh to the fantastic barding. I went with many similar tones of green on this model, all of which are different enough to give the model a real sense of life. A new colour combination was to add brown to the greys for the faces on the barding. This yielded a soft purple tint to the grey...helping to make it look not so 'clean'. More pictures can be found here.

NECROMANCER
Every since I saw this amazing set of figures I wanted to bring it to life. It is absolutely amazing how gaunt these sculpts are. It really emphasizes the nature of the model in ways that I have not seen in the past. I went with a more subtle scheme on the cloth letting natural light bring up my highlights rather than forcing the highlight. I really like the way it tunred out. More pictures can be found here.

MARNEUS CALGAR, MASTER of the ULTRAMARINES
This model was painted in the standard Ultramarines scheme. Blue, gold and white being the primary colours. All the golds were done in NMM, giving the model a very regal look. I am very impressed with the way the lines on this model hold colour and move your eye around. I also added some gold scroll work to the cloak that rally helps to set the model off. More pictures can be found here.

GRODUK the WORLD SLAYER, LORD of KHORNE
This amazing model has been sitting on my desk for quite some time now. I really feel that the pose of this model tells a story better than any single model I have painted. I painted him with NMM gold, center highlighted reds and many other not so common colours. While this model maintains the sense of darkness that is chaos it is also quite vibrant. The only bit that people may have a hard time in placing is the chain of skulls below the Axe of Khorne. They are form the FW Bloodthirster model. I really like the way the Space Wolf head sets off the model, it is a really good focal point. More pictures can be found here

SPACE MARINE COMMANDER AUREX
This is another model that I have had built for some time. There was an on line contest some time ago based around this figure. The rules were that you could only use parts form the original model. I built the figure and then was unable to paint him due to my injury. I used parts of the extra bases for the stone work of his base and also for the centurion head crest. I painted him in a very cohesive cool pallet that makes him look very regal. More pictures can be found here.

OGRE IRONCUTS
I have wanted to paint models from the ogre line since they were released. I really like the look of the models and feel they have lots of potential for future projects. That being said, they are not that easy to alter due to the way the shoulders join to the model. I had to do some deltoid and lat resculpts to alter the models for this unit. I also added a chain mail coif, extra armour bits and a large unarmoured belly to the models. This unit looks to be on the move, as if advancing on a battle field. I really like the depth I can get with the Valejo line of reds and feel that the red tatoos and face paint really make these models stand out. More pictures can be found here.

COMMISSAR THRESAK
This model is a mix of three IG models. I really like the Yarrick base sculpt but have never been fond of the huge power claw. I decided to swap in an right handed IG powerfist [not many to choose from since most powerfists are left handed]. While I don't mind Yarrick's face I wanted something different form his cadaverous face. I chose the Cadian officer face and added Yarrick's hat. All in all it looks like a model that GW could have in production wich is what I wanted. Pictures of the model can be found here.

MID-NOR CYCLOPS
This model was the most fun I have had in ages. He was a real study in colour blending and tonal highlighting. So many colours and at the same time a real cohesive look. He is done so that he looks very rotten with bruised skin and multi-coloured wounds. Many of the colours used were added in blocks and then faded into the bruised flesh by center weight highlights. More pictures can be found here.

UNIT of CONFRONTATION ORCS
These models are painted in a similar fashion to the orc warlord found in Gallery VI. The worn NMM combined with the brighter silvers and golds makes for a very cool final product. One thing about Confrontation models is that each member of a unit is individual and this is really appealing. I maintained a similar scheme throughout but was also able to make each one unique in some way. More pictures can be found here.

GREY KNIGHTS DREAD
The Forgeworld dreads never cease to hold my attention and always beg to be painted. They are all so very well done. This model was done in a similar style as the dread that I took to CDN GD. I really like the heroic base and the smaller icon in top seems to balance the model better than the large one I did for competition. More pictures can be found here.

LE SPACE WOLF LORD
This model has been sitting on my desk in a half done state for a few months now. I am very happy to finally have him finished. The model has some minor work to make it look more like a space wolf and I am happy that he looks like he could have been created this way. The paint work is very similar to my Space Wolf army except I did not use an airbrush on this guy. :) More pictures can be found here.