Urkra'Gom, Bloodthirster of the Second Host

Wow, this is a huge relief. Urkra'Gom is a model that I started late in 2017, so nearly four years ago. It has been a difficult model to get right. Building it was tricky, involving lots of sculpting, sourcing of parts, and repositioning of limbs. I actually had to heat up the (plastic!) right arm and twist it round to get the axe into the right position. 

The model is based on Dorghar, Archaon's mount, with the addition of parts from the Bloodthirster kit. I removed the two extra necks and sculpted over the hole, and found a new piece to serve as the Bloodthirster's rump, instead of the tail.

Deciding on how to get it fixed to a base and what sort of scenery to include was the most difficult thing to get right. The model was laying down on its back for a couple of years while I mulled over ideas. Since the model's tail had been removed, it was without a strong base mounting point. Originally, I put a brass rod pin in the bottom of one foot, with the intention of pinning it to an mdf circular base. However, the length of pin that was exposed wasn't really long enough, and the base wasn't thick enough, so it wasn't holding the model up properly.

I left the model alone for a while (which was probably about a year!) until I could return to it and fix it. Eventually I had the cunning idea of building a base that had a flat surface to which I could glue the lower foot. The foot had a flat surface, and using poly cement to secure it to something plastic would surely work. After drying, the model was secure! Now I could happily paint it. Painting wasn't easy, but I perservered and eventually got a paint scheme that surpasses all of my previous Bloodthirsters. 

Urkra'Gom is an imposing model with a huge wingspan (it was difficult to get it in shot!) and will join my cohort of Bloodthirsters, representing the second rank of the Bloodthirster hierarchy. There are only 64 of these Bloodthirsters in Khorne's Legions, so second rank Bloodthirsters are quite rare. There is no record of what weapons they traditionally carry, so I decided to arm Urkra'Gom with two axes of Khorne, painted in glowing blue. 

He's finally done!

 

 

Necron Cryptek

Just a short one today. I painted up this Necron Cryptek. I painted the blade in a similar technique to the C'Tan's body that I did, by using yellow, but glazed with the green technical paint, Hexwraith Flame.  Just a neat little Cryptek. I have one more Necron model after this and then I think that'll be it for Necrons...

 

Vrayaxian firepower

The Wings of Vrayax were in dire need of some armoured support, having only a Valkyrie so far, so here comes some heavy stompin' support in the form of an Armoured Sentinel. 

The model itself is a standard build, but with a neat paintjob, a little weathering, and some Vrayaxian iconography. The base involves a bit more experimentation. I created a shoreline with some cork, and then created water texture with some Vallejo water texture. That stuff is really good! Have a close look! A little bit of foliage completed the miniature.

 

 

 

I added some further firepower by finishing a squad of special weapons troopers. They have the maximum number of meltaguns allowed (3) and the other troopers have lasguns. Quite simple, but another squad to add to the growing army.

 

What a smashing mace!

Work continues on my 40k Khorngors! This model, from the Warcry range, has been subtly converted to hold an autopistol, but the rest of the model is unchanged because it looks so good. I mean... look at that mace! Ouch!

Hopefully I will be able to present the centrepiece miniature sometime this year. It's on my painting shelf, but is a little way down the queue...

 

Vindicare Assassin

I like Vindicare Assassins. I like sniping characters from the safety of a tall building and causing havoc with an exitus rifle!

I already have a couple of Vindicare assassins, but I really wanted to add the classic metal model. So I hunted one down on the second hand market and finally found one, and here it is! 

I painted them in a very similar way to the way I did the new plastic Vindicare, with the little red straps and the grey face mask.  The base is an area that I really like. I used some thick cork and added some detail with the "Armageddon Dunes" technical paint. The base looks pretty realistic and gritty, and works well with the miniature. Each time I finish a miniature like this, I tend to start thinking about painting more individual models such as inquisitors and bounty hunters!

 

Here are all my Vindicare Assassins, posing like they're on the cover of Vogue!

Taking command

Today's post is a chunky post! I decided to put a few models together, since they are part of the same squad. Each one is a character upon whom I lavished quite a lot of attention, and so they are worth showing off indvidually, but I've done a lot of painting recently, and these go together, so why not make a big post showing them all off?

 First up is the Company Standard Bearer. Marfa Prince is proudly waving the company standard, showing the Vrayaxian colours and the emblem, which shows a flying fish, symbolising the Vrayaxian people, soaring above a broken hammer, that symbolises the Imperium. The miniature comes from Victoria Miniatures.

I took this photo just before deciding to repaint the base rims black. Something wasn't quite right, and after repainting the rims on a couple of test miniatures, it was clear that the rim colour was that something. The whole army now has black rims.

 

Next up is tough Veteran, Tessa. Tessa wears a respirator mask to protect them from toxic environments, and often leads the way through unknown environments, where they can smash foes with their huge hammer and annihilate them with their bolt pistol.The miniature is from Forge World.

Next is Ulanya Tremayne. She is an Astropath who can unsettle enemies with telepathic murmurs, or project orders to the minds of friendly units. She carries an autopistol, just in case the ememy get too close.The miniature is from Artel_W.

Finally, we have Kuklina Morton, another Company Veteran. They carry an autogun that they fire with the help of their bionic left hand. Their original hand was lost in the battle of Stergan, where it was cut off by a Catachan knife.I think the miniature came from Bad Squiddo Games.

Those are the new characters, so let's see them all together! I have made some progress on the Lyubay (capital of Vrayax) gaming board, with some potted trees and one island completed. I have just applied black wash to the remaining islands and will drybrush them soon. I will then start working on some buildings (one has already been primed). 

The first island makes an excellent place to show the Command Squad in all their diverse glory!

Vrayaxian art

Today I am showing something a little different. I am pleased to be able to show you this wonderful sketch of one my characters, Olenya Heldane. The sketch is by Harry Boddice, who can be found on Instagram or Artstation, at the username, @pencil_sword_paints. I showed him a 3D render of my miniature for Olenya Heldane, commander of my Wings of Vrayax army. 

I sent Harry an image of Olenya and another of the Wings of Vrayax emblem, and he came back to me with this fabulous sketch. It's so good! I like how he worked the emblem into the background, and how we're staring down the barrel of the bolt pistol wielded by this fierce and bitter former commissar. 

I always envisaged her as being quite practical in her clothing. It's relatively unadorned, since she shuns pomp and ceremony, and Harry has captured this well. Her coat looks worn but comfortable, and her hair hangs down loosely, as if she doesn't fuss over it often. Her only items of embellishment are her weapons: her power sword and bolt pistol. Whilst the sword is a reminder of the Imperium she has left behind, she still carries it as a symbol of the struggle she and every other citizen of Vrayax has been through. 

It's a great sketch and I am really pleased with it! Thanks Harry! Contact him for commissions on Instagram or Artstation.

(click/tap for a larger image)

This is the 3D render on which the sketch is based:

And this is my painted miniature. Harry didn't know how I'd painted her, but he serendipitously painted her in almost the exact same colours! He said he just felt like painting with those colours... spooky!

This is the emblem of Vrayax: