So for the month of January I was able to get the entire horde of Elven Archers done that I set out to do, and here is the finished product:
For this army I really want to develop the idea that they are in a Zen Garden kind of setting, complete with shrines and beautiful natural pieces, that have been landscaped to heighten a sense of serenity and focus. I also like mixing that up, with the fact that these guys are either in the middle of, or getting ready for, a fight. I think there is a good sense of situational irony that can be played up on these bases to good effect.
For this unit, I purchased the dogwood tree, but I had to use green stuff to build its roots, so that it would stand on the base. The Shrine was an added goody from the base of a dragon, from the Titan Forge Kicstarter, which is where I also got these archer models. However, I did have to green stuff the leaves, on the back of the bamboo shoots, on the Shrine. Lastly, I had to carve out the stone path, leading up to the shrine, once again using green stuff (I know I have a problem), and then I purchased some flower tufts and dark green static grass.
Something else I wanted to keep true to was the color scheme that Mantic had established with their elves, which is why there is such a heavy reliance on green, and some touches of gold. I felt that while these archers were professional, and some of the best in the world of Mantica, they wouldn’t have need of fancy garb, especially if you go with my fluff idea of them being refugees, fleeing The Rift in the Twilight Glades.
Overall, I’m pretty happy with the end result, and I’m happy to be done with the biggest pain in the neck for the army, no more infantry hordes for this project! With the completion of this unit, that puts me above the requisite 250 points for the month, that I have painted and based, which means I have max hobby points for the month of January!
For February, I’m thinking of going with a more traditional source for my inspiration.
While some may groan at this joke, it’s more factual than funny, take a look at the model:
My goal with this army is to push myself with every part of it and to try new things. I have owned an airbrush for the better part of 3 years now, and I’ll use it from time to time for small things, but that tool has intimidated the hell out of me for as long as I can remember. Well no more!
I plan on experimenting with this model, and really pushing myself to try some new techniques, mainly with blending between shadows up through highlights. I’m excited to see what I come up with, and nervous that it won’t be that dramatic of a difference for this model, as what I’ve accomplished in the past.
I’m going to be running this guy as one of the new Dragon Lords from CoK 19, which comes out to 340 points all things considered, so this model alone will fulfill my requirements for the month of February, which is good because a big guy, like this, is gonna require some pretty good one on one attention to serve as the centerpiece model of the army. Plus, I still have no idea what I’m going to do with his base, to make him fit in with the rest of the army, while still standing out.
So that’s been my month in the world of hobby!
If you guys have any ideas you want to share with me, that I may or may not use in my army (read: steal for my army), feel free to tell me in the comments. Thanks for reading, and until next time, I’ll just leave you with this ear-worm that I’ll be humming to myself in rhythm to the sound of my airbrush compressor this whole month!
