Classic Eagle's Claw Repeater Bolt Thrower

 

2-D Bolt Thrower from 1993.

I have always loved the design of this weapon. The twin balista has the appearance of something that could actually do the work of killing a lot of things simultaneously. Although I question how two guys can reload this thing quickly.  Regardless, I have always preferred this miniature over the ones that followed it, mainly because they all seemed to have less bolts to fire. I image this thing laying waste to the rampaging horde foolish enough to be rushing towards it. 

Attached to 50mm base and with grit. 

I basecoated the entire model using Contrast Paints. Asuman Blue for the armor, Space Wolves Gray for the cloth, Guilliman Fleshwash on the flesh and Aggarros Dunes for the gold armor. 

Basecoats. 

I finished these guys using the steps I laid out in the recent Swordmasters posts. The big difference being these guys required a lot more white paint. 

Finished and ready to deal death.

The white areas were basedcoated using Space Wolves Gray Contrast Paint followed by (the appropriately named) Ulthuan Gray. This was followed by a thinned application of White Scar. That was all topped off with a heavy layer of White Scar for the highlight. 

Crew Commander. 

Wyldwood Contrast Paint was used on the bolt shafts. They were given a layer of knight Questor Flesh to complete their look.

Loader.

I found the skull pile in the old Citadel Basing Kit. It gives the impression that the battlefield these High Elves has been used for these grim purposes before. 

Don't step on a skull!

This thing is now done. They lack the red color of the 2-D version, and the banner, but somethings might be best left back in the '90s. 

"Ready, aim..."

Little Big Guns Never Tire (Part 1)

 Behold, a completed battery of dwarfen cannons! May the grudges be settled with gun powder and thunder! 

Cannon #1.

This first cannon is a repaint. It's part of that set that I got last summer and decided to just paint over the existing paint.

Each of these cannons and crew are matched up by the stuff on their bases. This set of models has nothing extra on their bases, just a few grass tufts and a few pinches of static grass .  

The crew were probably the least outlandish of the used dwarfs that I painted over. So much so that I apparently never took a "before" pic. The engineer had a metallic beard and I decided I like it. An ink wash was the only thing I did to it and I was happy with he result. 

Cannon #2

Crew #2 and #3 were both bought from a long gone bitz seller that used to have a big bitz store on eBay about 20 years ago. It was a cheap way to build up squads and these Skull Pass cannons were going  for "cheap" back when they were part of the current starter set. After years of neglect it was finally time to get these thing built and painted 

Skulls are what sets this group apart from the others. Each miniature has a skull on it's base. In addition to that the cannon also has an ammo trolly (I think that's what it's called?) carrying some wicked looking cannon shells. 

I used a few different schemes on the flesh of the crew to create not just a sense of diversity but also to establish a bit of individualism. 

Cannon #3

The models in this set all have large chunks of building debris on their bases to tie them all to each other. 

The cannon has a telescopic range finder as well. I don't think there were ever any rules or benefits for having this with your models, other than the rule of cool. 

This is probably my favorite set of crewmen and I am just pleased with how they turned out, especially the engineer. I'm thinking about adding some fallen leaves to some of these bases just give them a bit more kick. I'm going to think on that for a bit longer though. 

And there we have it, a battery of cannons waiting for their opportunity to get into a battle where they can humble me with MISFIRES and low Damage rolls Actually, that's typical game for me so...

"Wait!" I hear you say with a hint of confusion in your voice, "If they're done, why is this a Part 1?"

Ah, glad you asked. You see there is a fourth war machine, one that isn't a cannon, that I worked on alongside these things, that deserves a post all on it's own. Look for that in the near (ish) future!

Hobgoblin Khan (Part 1)

 My fledgling army of Hobgoblins needs a leader and it just so happens I have a guy who's up for the task. 

Scream loudly and carry a big stick.

Well, he maybe eager, but he'll need some work first. These first two pics were taken after I stripped the model of it's gloriously bad paint job. The stuff I strip paint with also has a way of dissolving superglue.  In this case particularly the glob of goop that was holding the cloak onto the Khan's body. It was also pinned in place, which I can still use. 

The cloak is temoved.

Whomever owned this prior to me removed the head of the axe. I thought I had an appropriate replacement, but I couldn't track it down. So I took the head off of a plastic dwarf axe.  I like the idea of this being a corrupted old dwarf weapon. 

Axe head attached. 

After adding the requisite skulls and basing grit to his base, I decided to prime this model using Wraithbone spray. 

Primed. 

And this is where I am paused, contemplating the color scheme I want to run with. I am thinking about attempting a metallic red on the armor, but some experimentation needs to happy beforehand. 

The Swordmasters (Part 3)

 

Okay, on to unit 2. I was quite pleased with how unit 1 turned out and I was going to repeat the process I had developed on unit 2. However, I need to note that these models were purchased secondhand with unit 1 primed white and unit 2 primed black and base-coated. This is a scenario I'm fine with as I like the idea of the two units being subtly distinct from one another. Another difference is their shoulder pads: this unit has theirs painted in gold whereas that previous unit had gold trim on their left pad with the rest conforming to the over all color of their armor. 

I decided to start with two test models to see how my ideas will work out. 

Contact Paint over metal paint produces a very interesting effect. I did the one on the right first using the technique laid out in Part 1, using Ultramarines Blue Contrast Paint over the metallic silver paint that was already there (Leadbelcher?). 

The one on the left however was done using Asurmen Blue. And I got to say, I was really wowed by how much that color pops on top of that silver color. So much so, that I had to rethink this whole scheme. But first, I wanted to take both miniatures through to the end. 

Next I added Polished Blue onto the armor as a mid-coat before finishing it off with my old and trusty Mitheril Silver. 

 

Looking at these guys, I just had to say that I think I love that Asurmen Blue so much that I decided to do something a bit bold and skip the Polished Blue on the next guy. That worked out so well, that I ended up finishing off the rest of the unit using this technique. 

And here is the finished unit. As you can see, all together it's a bit challenging picking out the first two chaps, as they do a good job blending together. 

Well, hold on, I haven't done the command section yet as their bases need a bit of extra work. Look forward to seeing them in Part 4!