Thursday, 2 February 2017

"A Swirling, Violently Swaying Vortex Of Fell Energies..."

"...Summoned by a wizard as a platform from which to cast powerful spells."
This 28mm scale Balewind Vortex has been assembled from the "multi-part plastic kit" produced by “Games Workshop” and can be summoned onto the “Age Of Sigmar” battlefield by a (non-monster) wizard successfully "casting [a] value of 7". A "terrifying sight to behold" the spell immediately creates a howling gust of wind to "push any aggressors away from the wizard who called it" and leaves "him unmolested to blast away with the amplified magical abilities he gleans from the Vortex."

Having decided to paint the piece of scenery in three separate stages, and then super-glue the pieces together at the end, I initially primed the model's wonderfully detailed base with "Citadel" Abaddon Black and dry-brushed it with "Vallejo" Turquoise. I then carefully tried to highlight the stone skull's finer detail by lightly drawing my brush over these areas with Verdigris.
"A wizard atop a Balewind Vortex can banish it and return to the ground."
With this stage of the painting complete, I subsequently 'picked out' all the tiny skulls with a combination of Iraqi Sand and "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade, and all the metalwork with "Citadel" Ironbreaker and Nuln Oil. As I wanted the metal to look neglected and dull, I decided against dry-brushing these areas with more Ironbreaker.

In order to paint the spell's fell energies, I undercoated the vortex with two coats of "Vallejo" White, and washed it, first with "Citadel" Thrakka Green, and secondly with "The Army Painter" Strong Tone Quickshade. The entire model was then roughly dry-brushed with some additional "Vallejo" White to help make the sculpt's fantastic-looking screaming faces all the more spectral.
Shanty Hut WIP - The dwelling's corrugated iron needs dry-brushing with more "Vallejo" Gunmetal Grey
Finally, I turned my attention to painting the wizard's platform in precisely the same manner and colours as I had done the Balewind's base. Unfortunately, this took several attempts to get right, as I seemingly had forgotten how to create the dark blue effect with the "Vallejo" Turquoise I had achieved a couple of weeks earlier. In the end though, perseverance paid off, and having varnished the entire ensemble with "Coat d'arms" Gloss Varnish, my 135mm tall Vortex was complete and ready to allow any wizard atop it to "double the range of any spells they attempt to cast."

With this particular piece of scenery finished, I have been steadily progressing the first of four Post-Apocalyptic Shanty Huts by "Wargames Terrain Workshop". Incredibly detailed both inside and out, I have almost finished the dwelling's roughshod roof and liberally washed all the structures corrugated iron panelling with some "Mig Productions" Extreme Rust Wash...

28 comments:

  1. The vortex is beautiful = not something I'd buy myself, but the painting is superb and well worth the time you took on it. And your shack is looking very nice too, lovely and rusty looking.

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    1. Many thanks Jez. Glad you like it. Painting it was certainly an experience - not one I want to repeat any time soon either.

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  2. I agree the colours you have used on the Vortex and the 8 pointed star are exceptional.

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    1. Cheers Clint, that's high praise indeed :-) Tbh I got the colour scheme from the suggestions on the back of the box, and simply tweaked them so I could use the "Vallejo" pots I own... Plus I didn't like the green/white mix, so added some brown in to give the ghosts more gravitas.

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  3. Loving the turquoise on the spell vortex thingy. Really nice

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    1. Thanks Andy. I hope to use the grren/brown/white mix on any "Bushido" spectral minis I encounter ;-)

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  4. The Vortex has a real magical glow to it Simon Great job. Hut is progressing nicely

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    1. Cheers Dave. I was hoping to have the hut finished by now, but the ruddy sculpt is simply packed full of detail which I don't want to just paint over ;-)

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    2. OOPS, sorry about that ! I will tell the wife off on that one as that's her sculpt

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  5. Really like the vortex itself...though I must admit I'm not a big fan of Warhammer terrain.

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    1. Thanks Gordon. Tbh I only bought it as it was discounted on pre-order and I thought it looked whacky. At the time I didn't realize it actually allowed my wizard to do what it does (i.e. double spell range).

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  6. Chaos Vortex certainly looks very impressive. It is, however, a model I would never buy. Great work on your shanty hut. I can see already it's going to look great once it's completed. That rust effect you're using is very good indeed.

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    1. Cheers Bryan. I knew the Vortex wasn't your thing, so I'm pleased you still like the paint-job. The Hut is coming along, and my experience with it should help me be a bit quicker on the others as I've gotten used to all the little details on the sculpts.

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  7. The vortex is great and I like the shanty

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    1. Thanks Martin. The vortex was worth the effort in the end.

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  8. Excellent work. The vortex looks great!

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  9. I do like that vortex and y=the colours you've used on it really sets it off a treat, I t would work well in Jez's Ghostbusters games I think. Personally I'd like one with Sharks in it (but that might just be because I've been watching Sharknado 4).

    Cheers Roger.

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    1. Thanks very much Roger. I'm rather happy with the Vortex. I've actually got some sharks prospectively in the pipeline... I still have a bit of work to do on the Hut, but I'm hoping it won't take as long as the Balewind did.

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  10. Now that Vortex is a bit special Simon, nicely done. I really love the shanty, wonderfully weathered and beaten up, perfect for any discerning Road Warrior.

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    1. Cheers Michael. The hut is currently a bit dark for my liking but a drybrush of "Vallejo" Gunmetal Grey should do the job.

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  11. Excellent work on the terrain Simon. Love the colours and I am always impressed with this fantastical/magical terrain pieces from GW. Great stuff mate. :)

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    1. Thanks very much Leon, it was rather time-consuming to paint, but I'm very pleased with how it turned out.

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  12. You really nailed the colors on the vortex, Simon. Very convincing.

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  13. Okay, I have to say that this is your best work that I've seen you post to date. That swirlyskull thing looks bloody brilliant.

    The Shack is progressing nicely too. I really need to spend more time working on terrain pieces - everyone else's tables look better than mine! :)

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    1. Thanks very much indeed Dai. That's extremely kind of you to say, especially as I'm not a fan of painting scenery as a rule.

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