The Red Eye Tribe

Ages ago I started a new army during a summer in London. I bought the tyrant, a basic ogres unit and cannon ogres. I only got the basic ones painted. This is the result.

I don't rememeber much about their creation. I remember painting the skin was major pain in the ass, and I remember didn't even had the tool for the basing, but the final result was not that bad in the end.

This army was ment to have every ogre named after a philosopher. The basic unit was named after pre-socratic guys, with Tales as Sergeant.

 Besing was also to use a new technique with cork, giving them a rocky looking more suited to their background.

 In painting techniques the main step forward was the use of an extensive skin tone, something completely new for the time. The faces were also painted half red and the weapons were to be orange-rusted. I expected all these techniques combined to look absolutely awesome when finished but in the end the overall looking is good but not so good.

In the end they are a nice unit. Nothing eye-catching, but up to the quality standards. Back in the days my main force were old and outdated dwarfs, so this unit really improved the overall looking of my troops.

This is a detail of the rust, a really easy technique with great effects. It is a pity that the contrasts used were so light for the whole group would had been astonishing. A nice one anyway

Karak Coors - Characters

Well, it is time for the special characters at last. Let's get this over with and finish the dwarfs cycle.

The first one is, as it should ever bee, the main general. The very owner of the Inn is the standard hero of the Games-Workshop range. Painted in the yellow and blue colours of the army, the overall figure is nothing special: a lot of metallic metal, plain textures, and a horrible yellow hair. Not a great start, but let's say it was a long time ago.

Another old one is my first runesmith. I remember the colour scheme selection was a pain in the ass, and in the end the result was not that brilliant. I had the idea of the green marble and blue cape, but the final result was not the expected. I like the miniature though, but I keep thinking it was a wasted chance. 

And before finishing the 'oldies' section, a trio of ancient ironbreakers, painted when I was living in London. So many years ago and these models still rock, waaaay better than the new ones. A pity I only bought three.

Well, here comes the new stuff. As I said in other posts, this past year I started a brand new rearming program for my dwarfs. I painted a new basic unit and a few characters: a master engineer, a hero, a runesmith and a miner officer.

The first one is my engineer. I like this one, with the nmm in grey and gold, some even crystalline textures and an overall good looking that I really appreciate. I think this miniature has some solidness, some coherence that gives a really cool look to the miniature. A really good one.

This might be my favourite dwarf. Incredible pose, amazing face, pose, hair...wow, I like it so much that I was scared to paint it but in the end I think it has come as one of my best shots.

Wake up and walk. Amazing.

My second runemaster is a special story. The miniature has been moving from box to box for around 15 years and I had lost all hope of painting it. The miniature itself is really ancient, with the cape and the weapons details, and of course the banner, which are details from the miniatures of the 90's. This is a truly for the collectors, and I am so glad that I could had painted it.

And why not saying it, the painting looks really cool. The scheme and technique are the same as the previous, and the execution is more than decent. A nice one for my front line.

I also completed a few thing I had pending from a long ago. I had a miner command group, without the officer, and I decided to give it a chance.

The result is, again, quite similar to the previous: a nicely blend nmm miniature. It is small, without many details, but the small things sum to the hero. The gloves, the leather, the golden nmm...I don't know but I am really happy with this one. One of my favourites, no doubt. I'll have to give it a whole regiment to celebrate!

These ones are much older, like ten years ago at least, so they are no big deal.

And finally, a really special one for me. This is from the ancient range on rangers command, painted like 20 years ago, and I am in love with it. The paint is plain, the metal doesn't even have shadows, but I don't know, it is something I can not explain. I simply love it and it my favourite hero so far. So much for painting techniques... hehehe

Karak Coors - Special and Rare units

When I started with dwarfs I started with the slayers. I still remember the impact when I first read about these guys, rejecting protection, looking for the greater death possible against the biggest enemy available. With an army being an Inn in the way of Karak Eight Peaks it was clear it would be always crammed with these orange soldiers, so the decission was clear.

 I started painting these guys so long ago that I didn't even recorded the date. They are the very best, my first warhammer square, but the starting/finishing dates are completely lost. I suspect it was like 20 years ago, aroung 1995, but I will never be 100% sure

I started with slayers, beast slayer, daemon slayers, dragon slayer...all sorts of troops regardless troop choices or rules. Back in the days I was not into playing so I really didn't care much about other things rather than background. The final result was a chaotic group, not really playable, and with huge problems to assemble together, their poses being too dynamic. In other words: purely slayer style. Lovely.

These two guys are the very first two miniatures I ever painted. Well, of course I painted a few space crusade marines and so when I was a child, but these two were the very first I painting using all my skill back in the days and with the purpose of creating a whole army.

The funny thing is that I had no idea how to paint or create bases (o magazines, no internet), so I used clay, painted green, and pierced with a toothpick to create the holes. I thought that would create a nice grass effect, haha. I even kept them in the fridge for a couple days to harden the clay. Another details is the black line in the base of the left guy. Back in the days I intended to represent the importance of the characters by using these codes: green, black/green, black, black/red, red. The daemon slayer bases are red for that reason.

This is one of my favourites. Really simple, but the face, the pose...I've always loved it. Notice I had already improved the clay base (thank God)

These are the heavy hitters, the daemons slayer. The first one has a black axe, a disgraceful choice I've been repenting about my whole life but the rules are clear: once finished never retouched.

With the lesson of not using black metal learned, I moved into the next one. This I'm really proud of. I know the black lines in the hair and the plain metal are somehow clumsy but well, back in the days this guy was a huge step forward.

The command group was one of the latest to be painted and I think it shows the improvement: clothes are no longer plain, weapons have a decent scheme (although still plain colours), skin tones are not that brownish and, in general terms, there is no huge mistake in the figures. Not bad for a kid

A later addition is Gotrek. He came a few years later, while I was at the University and used to read his books in the train. I loved the character and this was my way of paying respect. Felix? Well I never intended to paint him anyway so I don't even know where would he be now.

Another of my early units was the gyrocopter. Finally realizing that with my slow painting pace it would take years to achieve something worth seeing, I switched into machines instead of big infantry units.

It was the bigger unit in the dwarf range back in the days, so it was the greatest display for my scarce force. It has a nice colour choice in the rotors, and the wood is plain but not bad either.

Once finished I created a small clay ball attached to the top of the bomb, painted red, mocking a burning fire. Tip: never put clay without glue, it falls off eventually.

The second incorporation to my army was the great cannon. With an extremely basic metal scheme and the crew painted in the yellow and blue of the Karak, it was not a really difficult project. Basic stuff but an always welcoming unit in any army.

Originally the cannon didn't have base, and the crew had simple brown ones, with the same material as the infantry, but in brown. Yeah I know, not really inspired.

The cannon base was added a few years later, trying to create a more compact unit. I simply glued a few standard bases and I even tried to name them. As you can see, it never happened and I just left it that was. One day...one day...

A gunner with a purple beard. It is a pity because the blue was quite nice for the time.

And finally this guy. One of my all-time favourites, just lovely.

Finally came the organ gun, the last of my artillery pieces. Horrible work except the wheels, which are quite funny, but the rest is just low quality. I am not very pleased with it.

The best part is this guy, Gunther. I've always loved his face, with his beard and teeth. It could had made a nice hero if having been sold separately. Now he stands back in the expo. Life is such a bitch...