Green Stuff Day!

I wasn't really planning on doing any green stuff on these guys, but I had some time so I jumped at it. I always seem to mix up too much putty for what I need, the spare was plastered onto bases to create uneven ground.

The odd blanket roll helps with the campaign look.

I thought I would add some straps for the shields, again this wasn't really nessacary, but they do look better with them.

This was the main reason for all the sculpting, I like this GW iron breaker dwarf with his big axe. Unfortunately he is wearing thick plate armour which isn't really Middle Earth. I needed to cover most of it so the figure would fit into the chain mail posse.

A quick job but it looks better than heavy plate. The rest should be quite hidden when on the base.

The Alternative Armies dwarves are great, I have a soft spot for them. This lightly armoured dwarf sports a new axe and a bedroll.

 It was a bit of extra work but I think when the figures are painted, the time would of been well spent.

Axes of the Dwarves

 

It's time to roll my sleeves up and wade into this project. I've been a bit lazy to date, just painting the bare metal figures, but now it's time to start getting creative.

The first step is to get rid of this ugly mace and replace it with some dwarven forged iron.

I have a small collection of spare GW dwarf bits I bought from eBay around eight years ago. As GW weapons are quite oversized, they make good 'great' axes for the standard sized figure. This double axe looks much better than the morning star to my eyes, much more in character.

I actually like the figure now and he stands a good chance of jumping the painting que. He is a huge dwarf and must be a hero of many battles.

Home sweet home.

Balin has asked me to gather some veterans to create a troll fighting company. "How big are these trolls I asked", the answer was "very big!."

Right I thought, let's get something thing very big and sharp to stick in them with lots of long spears to keep them busy. While they fight off the forest of spears their soft belly will be vulnerable, this is where the Dragon lance comes in, with its fire hardened point.

Talking of dragons, if one does show up, these guys will be well geared up to deal with it. They have large shields and some have face armour to protect them against the heat.

Once the troll is down on its knees from the stomach wound, the second rank of axe armed dwarfs move in to finish the job.

Blood, sweat and tears have gone into this project. That and a little lead poisoning.

I think this double dwarf figure is from Ral Partha.

A tunnel fighting unit is a must for trying to retake Moria. Axes can handle waves of shrieking goblins, but for trolls, something different had to be conjured up.

I bit the bullet and started to cut and drill into these old Grenadier dwarves. Many of the figures could be styled into holding long spears once their axes had been removed. Large shields were also added to some to complete their dragon proof look. I will probably add some bed rolls and furs to some of these too.

UPDATE: After the success of the pole arms, I was encouraged to push these figures a bit further by adding more shields. This helps the look of them being tunnel fighters, spealising in large foes. These extra figures will form a protective shield wall Infront of the spears.

The shields are from Scribor and are beautifully detailed. This will save a lot of time by dry brushing them and not worrying about painting shield patterns.

This dwarf had another mace, well this had to go and was replaced with a GW plastic axe. He will be quite hidden in amongst the base, so no-one will see him, but. Know it's there.

Some of these larger axe armed figures work well with shields too.

This guy had a chunky shield so I decided to file it down with a Dremel. This worked really well and ensured the Scribor shield had a good fit.

I did try to stick the resin shields over the lead one but you could still see the original. Then I had the idea to file it away and the results were much better.

These two figures look like we're sculpted off the same dolly, this happened a lot back in the day to produce a larger range quickly. Every manufacturer in the Eighties did it I think, the old Fantasy Tribes range springs to mind.

A wall of shields to protect the dragon lance, some of these warriors have already seen some action by the looks of things. 

The resin shields from Scribor are very delicate and snap easily. I'm always too impatient to cut them off properly and always manage to damage them. This just helps with the look and I exaggerate this to form dents and nicks.

He does look better with a bigger more detailed shield.

This Dremel is actually a tool for doing nails my wife gave me, but it works the same and is a great boon to the hobby desk. I've started using it a lot for just about everything....except nails.

Painting a Dwarf

I found a dwarf who I thought would make a good member of Balin's company.

 Funny enough, he was bought, based and ready for painting with the previous army of Dain. However, he was not needed and skipped the process. Now that Balin is off to Moria, he is ready to join the ranks.

 I was surprised to find that he was a resin figure when he arrived from eBay. However, I loved the old school veteran look he had and so signed him up for the journey. 

I had also added a green stuff snap sack on his back. This was done when I was working through Dain's army, as they were going into battle straight from the march. In Balin's force this travelling vibe is still good.

 Going forward when I have more time, I might add some bed rolls etc to the Nick Lund figures to help with this campaign look. For these first couple of bases, I just wanted to get them done so I skipped the green stuff process. I do plan to have a couple of bases of pack ponies though for this expedition.
 This will be something a bit different for the dwarves.

There's not much new about my painting process so I won't write too much, I just thought people might be interested in how I go about things.

The first step is to dry brush silver over the black undercoat, picking out the chain mail and axe.

My next step is to block out all the other equipment in their basic colours. These are straight from the pots to save time.

The nice thing about these figures is that they are 90% armour, so dry brushing does almost the whole job. Especially the mail clad Nick Lund figures.

The flesh is then added,  GW's Bug man's Glow is the classic first layer as always with dwarves. This is then highlighted with a lighter paint tone. Cadian flesh tone I think is the name.

I also add the details on the equipment such as patches etc. I tend to add my highlights before I do any washes, I just find it easier that way. If the wash is thin enough, the highlights will still be seen and will feel more blended in.

These effect paints are great for adding a little extra something to armour and weapons. I used a bit of the green on the axe.

The model is given a shading wash of light brown. This is great for the snap sack and pouches.

I also give the armour a wash of Nuln oil. I think all armour looks better after a wash with this stuff, it just helps to define the details.

Here is is looking as grumpy as ever. I dotted some blue into his eyes, nothing too crazy, just to give him a bit more character.

The Nuln oil went over the snap sack too helping to define it. Chrome paint was run along the edge of the blade to give it a razor sharp look.

I used a bit of this shifters effect paint to give the axe a blue hue. Looking at the picture, I see I've missed a bit off his boot, I'll have to fix this.

Off he goes with his friends to have some fun, all done.

Here is an idea for Balin's standard. The orcish looking sword isn't great for the standard bearer, so I might source one from the plastic Oathmark box. One that's a little more dwarfish in it's appearance. A hammer springs to mind.

It's always good to take pictures and review your painting. At the time I couldn't think of anything else to do with Balin, but on looking at the pictures I can see lots.  A mithril border on his golden mail would be a nice touch.

UPDATE: well after looking through these shots I went straight back to the Painting table and tweaked some stuff.

Balin now has a few extra red highlights on his coat. This will get an ultra Matt varnish to flatten everything out when dry.

King Balin now has some expensive mithril trim on his mail corset. Also a subtle bit of burgundy on his red leather armour too. While I was using the chrome paint, I realised his axe hadn't got it's edge, this was easily fixed. Now it really does look like Durin's axe which Balin's company uncovered in Moria.

" Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas!" 

This was a tricky one, I decided to just cut the blade off rather than the whole hand and replace it with a dwarfish one. I used the hilt to provide more surface area for the glue. I'll have to place it back away from any edges on the base so it doesn't get knocked. Hopefully, it should be okay tucked away back there.

It's just a tad too small to pin, but I'm going to risk it.