Viking Hearthguard 3

November 10, 2024

Taking a break from Warcry miniatures, mainly as I’m hesitating to attempt assembling my Corvus Cabal Shadow Piercer and Strike Talon, some more Vikings for my Saga warband.

This time, another four hearthguard, so another point’s worth of troops, taking my force to seven points.

As usual, quick painting neatly hidden behind the excellent shields and transfers from Victrix and Little Big Men Studios, respectively.

Next up will be a unit of four shield-maidens.

Late-90s Brian Nelson Orc Heroes

November 10, 2024

Some of my favourite, and possibly most popular, work was the mid-90s orcs sculpted by Brian Nelson. He successfully managed to redefine the look and feel of orcs (and goblins), moving away from the more comical character of Kev Adams miniatures to a more brutal, dynamic aesthetic.

Of those orcs, my favourites were the shaman Nazgob from the Idol of Gork campaign pack and the warlord on boar, Grotfang.

I really enjoyed painting these, paying homage to the fabulous pale orc flesh tones perfected by the legendary Frazer Grey, and was happy with the results; especially with Nazgob.

To this day Nazgob remains an incredibly popular miniature, often popping up at painting competitions and on Instagram feeds.

Although these two miniatures were often featured in White Dwarf, the page I was most proud of was this catalogue advert, rather any of the full page spreads or ‘Easy Metal pages, as it felt great to see my orc characters featured alongside Mike McVey’s Grotfang Rotgut and Morglum Necksnapper, two paint jobs that had awed me when I was still in school and dreaming of joining the ‘Eavy Metal team.

The end photo is a Grotfang that was re-based sometime after I’d left GW.

*Nazgob and Grotfang (Citadel Miniatures)*

Corvus Cabal Spire Stalkers

October 19, 2024

After a hiatus of several months due to travel, a wedding and a move, I’m back to my painting desk and two Spire Stalkers for my Corvus Cabal warband.

Although these are really great miniatures with dynamic poses and atmospheric details, they were difficult to assemble. In fact, I failed to have them fit together properly, leading to some rather ugly gaps and misalignments.

Although I’m happy enough with the end results, the early autumn humidity caused the spray varnish on the second of the two Spire Stalkers to become a layer of white dust, effectively ruining the miniature from all but a distance.

Old West Civilians

May 14, 2024

These civilians from Foundry’s lovely Old West range popped up on the company’s Instagram recently, reminding me that I’d painted them many years ago.

These were likely done sometime around 1999-2001 during my freelance years.

Neat little miniatures with plenty of character, sculpted my Mark Copplestone if memory serves.

Will look forward to future unexpected trips down memory lane with Foundry.

Ultramarine Primaris Sergeant

May 10, 2024

Another attempt at a Primaris marine, and this time better than the previous Ultramarine and Space Wolf, although the photography doesn’t do it justice.

Fun to paint, even relaxing when working over the armour’s edge highlights, but a little awkward to put together (troubles with assembly are becoming a frequent occurrence…) after painting as sub-assemblies.

Thanks to my (admittedly overdue) discovery of Micro Sol and Micro Set the decals were easier and more successful this time. If only we’d had such solutions back in the day!