Tale of OG Gamers - High Elves

[cunningmatt]

Cheers guys, much appreciated, am toying with painting it a slimey green colour, as I think yet more Beastmen Brown (an official colour which I have now invented) might prove my undoing!!

Safe to say you can consider me impressed.  When I first saw the model you bought I thought "that'll look gash". Then the conversion pics proved me wrong.  The one thing I'd say is the hacky claw arms look a little bit skinnier than the normal arms I'd put a bit more greenstuff on the transition between the two.

Also intrigued to see this wonderful griffon.

Cheers mate, I know what you mean, I'm not a fan of that Spawn model as an actual Spawn just looks a bit too comical, but works with wings!! Good point on the arms, will have a look, though have sprayed it black and the join looks pretty good.

I've possibly oversold the Griffon, but am personally pleased with it, hopefully the photos will get here for next week.

[fatolaf]

Lovely work buddy, we must have a 'jabber' off soon as mine is going back on the table to finish his conversion after the SCGT..

Flying Beasty with Orange Fur FTW! 

[cunningmatt]

Cheers mate, I look forward to seeing your Jabberslythe, they'll probably just both fail their leadership tests in the magic phase and rip their own eyeballs out at the disgust of each other. Come to think of it I've been on dates like that.

[fatolaf]

And consider yourself stickied sir....

[maelzch]

And consider yourself stickied sir....

well deserved!

[cunningmatt]

And consider yourself stickied sir....

Thanks very much, I am honoured. Though hoping you are refering to the thread and not your excitement about seeing my Griffon!

[Toast]

Love the conversion - rather impressive.  Keep jabbering on 

[cunningmatt]

Keep jabbering on 

Ah ha, I see what you've done there. Very good! Thanks for the compliment!

[cunningmatt]

Wednesday 20th April - WEEK 16

My plan to move into politics has now been well and truly destroyed, simply because I'm about to actually fulfil a promise. Yes, never will I now be able to grace the Houses of Parliament and get my moat dredged at your expense. All this is rather roundabout way of saying that the pictures of my finished High Elf Lord on Griffon that I promised you I'd show this week, are here, and I've got the Stage-by-Stage painting guide.

Before I show it to you, I thought I'd talk about Stage-by-Stage guides; it can't fail to have escaped your notice that I do actually try and put up a stage-by-stage guide for all my painting on this blog. As I suspect most of you probably skim through it to get to the funny bit (I know I do when having a quick proof read!) you may be wondering why I put them up.

Well the first, rather self centred reason, is that I find it useful to be able to refer back to them for my own reference. Not only does this have the added bonus that every time I consult my own guide I add to the "read" count for this thread! - But also it's pretty helpful if I want to replicate any paint scheme at a later date. Alongside the High Elves and Beastmen I also have a Dwarf and Tzeentch Warriors of Chaos army and try as I might my brain simply can't remember the paint schemes I've used across all four (to be honest it struggles with the model types of just one army, as anyone playing me when I've identified my unit as the Phoenix Lions of Hoeth will attest to).Yes I could keep this memory jogger on a scrap of paper somewhere, but I'd lose it - and the advantage of having it online is that from anywhere in the world (mainly my parents' house, but the painting tour of the world is growing), I can log on and remember crucially what the mid tone I used for the pale brown on an Elf's hair actually is.

Secondly and perhaps more importantly I hope the guides are useful for you. Not that I believe that anyone out there is slavishly replicating my army in all it's detail, like some kind of disturbed stalker - reliving my life as dictated in the blog. If you were doing this you'd currently be writing your own version of this blog, whilst sitting in your pyjamas, scratching your nether regions, wondering if you'll ever find love and looking at your own fully painted army in the colour scheme of your favourite ice cream based beverage eatery. Incidentally I should point out that if you are stalking me and trying to live out my life as described in this blog you will now need to go and find yourself a stalker to do the same to you, who then in turn will need to find their own stalker and so forth and so forth in a sort of conga line of stalking in which everyone in the world eventually ends up living their life through my ramblings. What a disturbing thought?!

Though I should point out disturbing as the concept of stalking can be, it is still nice to get some attention now and again. Though why is it that only ugly people are stalkers? Let's be honest if you receive the text "I'm lying in bed thinking of you", randomly in the middle night it's not creepy if it's been sent by a deeply attractive person, it becomes creepy when you add in the ugly looking weirdo part into the mix (or if they happen to be family members, then it's always creepy regardless of how attractive they are). Still either way I can't be the only person, who on no longer being stalked by an individual, feels a slight sense of disappointment. What have you done that makes you no longer irresistibly appealing to you? Is it the new haircut? The fact I've put on weight? My knee length shorts? Or the court injunction I've taken out against you? We may never know, but it does leave the tinniest of pangs of disappointment to know that as you sit here, no one is secretly imagining what it would be like to do despicable things to you a turkey baster and a 4-finger Kit Kat. No?

In case you haven't worked it out I've digressed. The point I'm trying to make is that hopefully my Stage-by-Stage guides provide you with a little bit of help and inspiration, not a template to copy, but a resource from which you can borrow some ideas. For my Lord on Griffon model I used a selection of Stage-by-Stage guides to give me a starting point for various bits of the model:

Turret – 'Eavy Metal guide for High Elf Lord from White Dwarf 335
Griffon Feathers and Saddle – 'Eavy Metal guide for Elathron the Grim from White Dwarf 337
Griffon Claws and Beak – Games Workshop website guide for Island of Blood Griffon
White Lion – Games Workshop website guide for High Elf Details
Elf Lord Hair – 'Eavy Metal guide for Prince Althran from White Dwarf 370



Invariably these were tweaked and combined with my own existing schemes and ideas, but they can give you a good starting point particularly if you're painting something new. Often I find they're extremely useful for "natural" things, by that I mean things like wood, stone or animals (or parts of animals in the Griffon's case), it's usually pretty straight forward to work out how to paint a blue cloth (all you need to do is find an existing blue you like), but how would you go about painting a birch bow, a tiger's hide or some marble? Simply finding a good base colour can be the inspiration you need.

That said nature can be a tricky thing to deal with, painting wise, primarily because it often lies. A lot of your preconceptions about nature are wrong, for twelve years at primary school whenever you've drawn a tree it's trunk has been coloured with that deep reddy brown felt tip pen (close to Beastial Brown) because that's how it's always been. Yet if you look at a tree you'll find it's bark is almost certainly grey or grey-brown. Similarly nature lies when naming it's creations, consider the Blue Whale, if you were painting such a creature, Enchanted Blue would not be a good place to start because a Blue Whale is really a navy-grey colour, though Navy-Grey Whale whilst being a better fit with trades descriptions doesn't roll of the tongue. A Red Squirrel, that's not really red is it? More browny-orange, a Bluebird is pretty much universally not blue, painting a Golden Retriever gold would be madness (and get you in trouble with the RSPCA) and as for a Blackbird... oh... well I suppose that is kinda black. Anyway you get the idea, be careful with natural things.

I should just say with the Griffon, whilst I'm really pleased with it I had intended to paint the lion body as a White Lion, I'm not sure if it's come out a little too dark for that (I think the Games Workshop web guide starts a little too dark with hindsight), but I'd appreciate your comments on the matter as will probably be painting some White Lions at some point soon so want to get right for them (as discussed above I won't be falling into the trap of actually painting them white!). Obviously the Griffon's legs can look more like a lion or lighter cat, so am not going to make a change to this model.

So with all that said, here's the guide hope you can find some useful titbits:

Stage 1 – High Elf Prince on Griffon







Base
Base: Khemri Brown
Rocks: Chardonite Granite
Turret: Calthan Brown

Griffon
Eagle Flesh: Iyanden Dark Sun
Talons: Chaos Black
Light Feathers: Khemri Brown
Dark Feathers: Scorched Brown
Yellow Beak: Tausept Ochre
Black Beak: Chaos Black
Tongue: Liche Purple
Lion Flesh: Dheneb Stone
Lion Paws: Dheneb Stone

Prince
Silver Metal: Chainmail
Gold Metal: Tin Bitz
Reins / Saddle: Scorched Brown
Blue Trim: 1:1 Enchanted Blue : Ice Blue
Lance: Khemri Brown
Yellow Cloak: Iyanden Dark Sun
White Cloth / Pennant: 1:1 Astronomacian Grey : Skull White
Hair: Snakebite Leather
Padding on Saddle*: 2:2:1 Mercherite Red : Scab Red : Liche Purple
Flesh: Dwarf Flesh

Stage 2 – High Elf Prince on Griffon









Base
Base: *NO CHANGE*
Rocks: Drybrush Adeptus Battlegrey
Turret: Wash Badab Black

Griffon
Eagle Flesh: Wash Ogryn Flesh, then wash Gryphonne Sepia
Talons: Highlight 2:1 Chaos Black : Kommando Khaki, then highlight 1:1 Chaos Black : Kommando Khaki
Light Feathers: Wash Ogryn Flesh, then drybrush 1:1 Khemri Brown : Bleached Bone
Dark Feathers: Wash Badab Black, then drybrush 2:1 Graveyard Earth : Scorched Brown
Yellow Beak: Wash Gryphonne Sepia
Black Beak: Layer 2:1 Chaos Black : Kommando Khaki, then layer 1:1 Chaos Black : Kommando Khaki
Tongue: Layer 1:1 Liche Purple : Warlock Purple
Lion Flesh: Wash Gryphonne Sepia
Lion Paws: Paint Dwarf Flesh

Prince
Silver Metal: Wash Badab Black
Gold Metal: Paint Shining Gold
Reins / Saddle: Wash Badab Black
Blue Trim: Layer 1:1 (Enchanted Blue : Ice Blue) : Ice Blue, then layer Ice Blue
Lance: Layer watered down 1:1 Khemri Brown : Graveyard Earth, then layer watered down Graveyard Earth
Yellow Cloak: Layer 1:1 Iyanden Dark Sun : Golden Yellow, then layer Golden Yellow
White Cloth / Pennant: Layer 1:1 (1:1 Astronomacian Grey : Skull White) : (2:1 Astronomacian Grey : Skull White) then layer 2:1 Astronomacian Grey : Skull White
Hair: Layer Desert Yellow, then layer 1:1 Desert Yellow : Bleached Bone
Padding on Saddle*: Layer 1:1 Scab Red : Blood Red
Flesh: Layer 1:1 Dwarf Flesh : Elf Flesh, then layer Elf Flesh

Stage 3 – High Elf Prince on Griffon









Base
Base: *NO CHANGE*
Rocks: Drybrush Codex Grey
Turret: Overbrush Khemri Brown, then overbrush Dheneb Stone

Griffon
Eagle Flesh: Layer Iyanden Dark Sun
Talons: Highlight 1:1 Chaos Black : Bleached Bone, then highlight 1:2 Chaos Black : Bleached Bone

Light Feathers: Drybrush Bleached Bone
Dark Feathers: Drybrush 1:2 Scorched Brown : Graveyard Earth
Yellow Beak: Layer Tausept Ochre
Black Beak: Layer 1:2 Chaos Black : Kommando Khaki, then layer 1:3 Chaos Black : Kommando Khaki
Tongue: Highlight Warlock Purple
Lion Flesh: Layer Desert Yellow, then layer 1:1 Desert Yellow : Kommando Khaki
Lion Paws: Layer 1:1 Dwarf Flesh : Elf Flesh, then layer Elf Flesh

Prince
Silver Metal: Highlight 1:1 Mithril Silver : Chainmail
Gold Metal: Wash Gryphonne Sepia
Reins / Saddle: Highlight Scorched Brown, then highlight 1:1 Scorched Brown : Bestial Brown
Blue Trim: Highlight 1:1 Ice Blue : (1:1 Skull White : Ice Blue), then highlight 1:1 Skull White : Ice Blue
Lance: Layer watered down 1:1 Graveyard Earth : Bleached Bone, then layer watered down Bleached Bone
Yellow Cloak: Layer 1:1 Golden Yellow : Sunburst Yellow, then layer Sunburst Yellow
White Cloth / Pennant: Layer 1:1 (1:2 Astronomacian Grey : Skull White) : Skull White, then layer watered down Skull White
Hair: Wash Gryphonne Sepia, then wash Devlan Mud in recesses
Padding on Saddle*: Wash Badab Black
Flesh: Wash watered down Ogryn Flesh

Stage 4 – High Elf Prince on Griffon



















Base
Base: Drybrush Bleached Bone, then flock with Static Grass
Rocks: Drybrush Fortress Grey, then wash Badab Black
Turret: Overbrush Bleached Bone

Griffon
Eagle Flesh: Highlight Bleached Bone
Talons: Highlight Bleached Bone
Light Feathers: Drybrush 1:1 Bleached Bone : Skull White
Dark Feathers: Drybrush Graveyard Earth
Yellow Beak: Highlight 1:1 Tausept Ochre : Bleached Bone, then highlight Bleached Bone
Black Beak: Feather (1:3 Chaos Black : Kommando Khaki) : Bleached Bone then feather Bleached Bone
Tongue: Wash Leviathan Purple
Lion Flesh: Layer 2:1 Kommando Khaki : Skull White, then layer 1:1 Kommando Khaki : Skull White, then wash heavily watered down Gryphonne Sepia
Lion Paws: Wash Ogryn Flesh

Prince
Silver Metal: Highlight Mithril Silver
Gold Metal: Highlight 5:1 Shining Gold : Mithril Silver, then highlight Mithril Silver
Reins / Saddle: Highlight Bestial Brown
Blue Trim: *NO CHANGE*
Lance: *NO CHANGE*
Yellow Cloak: Wash Ogryn Flesh, then highlight 1:1 Sunburst Yellow : Bad Moon Yellow, then highlight Bad Moon Yellow
White Cloth / Pennant: Highlight Skull White
Hair: Highlight Bestial Brown, then highlight Skull White
Padding on Saddle*: Highlight Blood Red
Flesh: Highlight 1:1 Bleached Bone : Elf Flesh, then highlight Bleached Bone

*The padding on the saddle is almost completely concealed by the model, I've painted it as described so you get a flash of red should you see it. So don't worry if you can't find it in any photos.

With the extra Lothern Sea Guard painted up this takes the army, as of the end of May (I know, I'm ahead whoever thought it possible?!!), to:







The astute amongst you will notice I have taken the 15 points of magic items off Wizbit, this was so I could afford some equipment for my High Elf Prince who despite weighing in at 365 points is looking decidedly naked! And at this point that just leaves the final 200 points to be painted (in June) to finish the army off. Will I get it done? What models will I paint? Does anyone care? Who knows?

As the end of April is looming it must be time for this month's What's In The Box competition. If you've forgotten how to play you need to pick a number between 1 and 36 (but not 3, 6, 11, 14 or 25) and post your pick on this thread, remember all votes from previous months have been discounted so: IF YOU DON'T POST YOUR CHOSEN NUMBER THIS WEEK, IT CAN'T BE DRAWN, just to clarify there so don't moan if you forgot to post!!!

For your reminder here's what the wall of boxes looks like now:



In case that pattern of opened boxes influences your decision.

Before I go, I should, as OG Games official representative from children's television, say how sad I am to hear of the death Elisabeth Sladen who played Sarah Jane in Doctor Who and CBBC's The Sarah Jane Adventures. Not only was she a wonderful actress, but she expertly proved that people on children's television don't have to be 17 to gain the respect of children. She will be missed by many adults and kids alike.

With Easter looming upon us I intend to post a special Easter edition of The Tale of OG Gamers – High Elves over the weekend, please look out for that (there may be chocolate involved), until then enjoy your Bank Holidays and the sunshine – though I suspect you'll be lucky to get them together!

[StarDragonFTW]

I'll have a vowel please Carol