Tuesday 14 February 2017

"Skeleton Warriors Were Known As Spartoi..."

"Skeletons are the animated bones of the undead."
These two multi-part 28mm hard plastic skeletons have been built using pieces taken from the sprues found within the Frostgrave Cultists boxed set by "North Star Military Figures", and are just some of the undead warriors I need in order to game The Mausoleum scenario from the "Frostgrave" rule-book. Used by Necromancers as "servants and guards" these "lesser undead" were originally humans and randomly emerge "through one of the doors in the central building" as a result of the event's special rules...

Comprised of cultist henchmen body parts, and then converted into "undead monstrosities" using skeleton heads and arms, these miniatures were primed with "Vallejo" Heavy Violet and "Heavy Sienna" respectively. They were then painted using a dark muted palette in order to better represent them spending a significant amount of time decaying beneath the soil.
"...mindless automatons that obey the orders of their evil masters."
As a result I predominantly used pigments such as Dark Grey, USA Olive Drab, Heavy Sienna, Charred Brown and Heavy Red, and washed their attire with either "Citadel" Nuln Oil or "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade. The skeleton's bones were painted using a four-stage process which consisted of "Vallejo" Iraqi Sand, Strong Tone Quickshade, a dry-brush of more "Vallejo" Iraqi Sand and finally a light highlight of White just around the skull's eye sockets and teeth.

In order to give the 'swordsman' a more interesting shield than a simple leather-skin one, I glued an old "Games Workshop" dwarf insignia onto it and then painted the emblem using a combination of "Citadel" Ironbreaker and Nuln Oil. The rest of the round shield was then given a coat of "Vallejo" Heavy Sienna and washed with "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade.
Plaguebearer WIPs - These daemons just need all their sores and zits 'picked out' and washed
In addition to another dabble with my "Frostgrave collection I have also managed to finish 'picking out' all the open sores, teeth and intestines on three Plaguebearers. These lesser daemons will provide my "Age Of Sigmar" Nurgle Host with some much needed resilience. However, before they are finished they will all need to be washed and bloodied, as well as have all their numerous yellow heads 'popped' and inked...

28 comments:

  1. Lovely looking conversions Simon, very nicely done Sir.

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  2. Great work on the skellies, Simon. I like them a lot.

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    1. Thanks Bryan. The "Frostgrave" Cultist plastic kits are great fun imho.

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  3. Skele's look great Simon, they have a very Oriental feel to them, which is probably the styling. Plaguebearers are coming on, what mix are you using for the blood ?

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    1. Cheers Dave. The blood mix is simply "Citadel" Carroburg Crimson with some Reikland Fleshshade and Agrax Earthshade thrown in. I use it for all my Nurgle and seems to work well enough.

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    2. That's cool mate, glad you got a way that works for you

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    3. To be fair, its taken a coupe of Plaguebearers to get the mix just right though. That's why I wanted to try them before turning my attention to my Great Unclean One :-)

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    4. Makes a lot of sense before starting such a large model with so much detail

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    5. I've a Herald of Nurgle to paint up beforehand too, so plenty of practice yet to come :-)

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  4. Lovely stuff...especially the plague bearers (in particular the one in the middle)!

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    1. Cheers Gordon. The three Plaguebearers are now finished and awaiting varnishing, so I'll try and post up the middle one soon ;-)

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  5. All good stuff Simon, I like the Skellies a lot, love the tones you've used on the skulls. The plaguebearers are getting there too, how is your "Analogue challenge" going by the way?

    Cheers Roger.

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    1. Thanks Roger. As for the AHPC I'm on track for the points target of 500pts, but doubt I'll attain my personal goal of 100 new 28mm models over the three months. Even with all the "Doctor Who" stuff I've been doing, I've still found myself going back to semi-finished minis and completing them instead of new ones.

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  6. Skellies are dark and foreboding, perfect for the job. I like the addition of the shield - often strikes me a strange that a lot of skeleton/undead miniature lines have their undead all dressed in spikes and obviously "Evil" armours and equipment, but would they have borne those items in life? Or would they have been just regular warriors, just fallen and now risen in undeath with their original "normal" gear and clothes?

    I think I'm overthinking this...

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    1. Thanks Dai, and yes, you're overthinking this ;-)

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  7. I really like the "Freostgrave" take ont their skeletons - a refreshing change from the more traditional "Jason (and the Argonaut types.
    Your Plaguebearers are truly revolting (in a food way) - a job well done on both accounts.

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    1. Cheers Joe. I certainly like the "Frostgrave" skeletons. plenty more Plaguebearers to come too :-)

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  8. Very nice, Simon. The skeletons have a nice 'barrow wight' vibe, so would be good for some Norse or Tolkien gaming, along with Frostgrave. And your Plaguebearers do look nice too, if you can use that word for pustulent demons.

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    1. Many thanks Jez. The "Frostgrave" skeletons are really nice sculpts when added to the Cultists' bodies. I'm obviously a big fan of the Plaguebearers too!!

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  9. so.. apparently all you need to beat these is a duck with a chainsaw?

    lovely stuff Simon!

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  10. Excellent work on the skellies Simon. Very cool. Well done mate. :)

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