Spikes Beer Bellies

hey guys! i've decided id give the gnoblog thing a try. i've already started my army so it wont be right from the start. i'll plan on doing my best to be better about getting WIP pics, and definitely some better lighting.

SO! to start things off. i got my first unit done and a general scheme for the army. its pretty typical at this point, but i am proud of it all the same. i do think the skin may need to be a touch more pale, but other wise im happy with the general dark look of the models.



not sure what i want to do with the banners as a whole, still working on the whole free hand thing.


pretty happy with the rust look on the weapons, i do need to make the verdigris stick out alittle more on the gut plates/other stuff.



i should have 2 mournfang and ironblaster up in the next few days. other than that, i plan to start work on a bruiser BSB, which will be a first for me as i've never used green stuff before, but im looking forward to the challenge. nothing too challenging, just gonna start with some slight arm repositioning and a cloak to start things off. then later i plan on converting some ironguts into some very drunken Maneaters with maybe a slight dwarven look. should be fun!

another note, is that i have decided this army shouldnt be left in primer like my 6th edition bretonians... i will not be hitting the table until they are painted! so i should continue rolling through these somewhat quickly.

please give me any advice or criticism you can along the way. especially with converting. it will be greatly appreciated.

Everything looks great mate, the rust in particular looks fantastic and you've done a good job.

Looking forward to seeing some green stuff work.

They look great! The rust effect in particular looks awesome 

As my esteemed collegues have stated its looking great.  Free hand banner wise the white is nice and bold and contrasts well.  (Remember it doesn't have to be uber neat I doubt odres are very neat them selves!)

If you feel the banner need more then maybe a symbol in the centre of the maw teeth.  Your tribe symbol perhaps if you have one in mind 

Kind regards Zolas.

Rust looks excellent. Painting is solid and as I've already said the skin is neigh-on flawless.

Over time I have painted a few of them banners and looking at yours I know how small and delicate   you have managed to go with all them teeth for that maw symbol...much better than I could have done if I am honest (I have the hand of an alcoholic epileptic when it comes to painting small stuff), that's why I am going to agree with Zolas here and say; I think that as you have done such a sterling job painting small teeth in a large circle, that banner is just begging for the tribal symbol in the middle.

If you can paint that well and that small then you should go for it.

Just my opinion though...

G_H

i finished up the two mournfangs this evening. not quite as pleased with them as i thought i would be. i think im going to have to come up with a lighter color for the fangs.... but they'll do for now.







i am quite happy with the way the verdigris turned out on these though.




ironblaster will be done tomorrow. i just dont have the patience tonight.

i should also be starting on the BSB tomorrow... wish me luck with it!

so i started work on my BSB. the arm didnt turn out how i wanted so i had to rethink that. but decide id drop a picture of where im at.

 just letting the cloak cure before moving on

I like these a lot. It looks like you and I have similar color palette styles. You asked if the verdigris needed to stick out more and I'd say you've got a perfect "less is more" look going.
You also said you may need paler skin. What I can see in the pictures looks good to me. They may look different to you in your real-life home lighting, but between the darker legs and ground I'd worry that the tops would stick out oddly if they were too bright.

I like these a lot. It looks like you and I have similar color palette styles. You asked if the verdigris needed to stick out more and I'd say you've got a perfect "less is more" look going.
You also said you may need paler skin. What I can see in the pictures looks good to me. They may look different to you in your real-life home lighting, but between the darker legs and ground I'd worry that the tops would stick out oddly if they were too bright.

thanks for the complement! i was going to address the paler skin when i posted up the ironblaster. i had originally tried to get a paler look with the leadbelcher and decided that it did in fact contrast alittle too much with the rest of the model. so i will be sticking with the original colors.

so although the bsb wasnt the success i wanted, im still pretty happy with him. i really need a way to practice sculpting muscle. it would have been so much better had i been able to do the arm as i wanted. possibly something i will redo later.






and then finally the ironblaster






and then i managed to get a slightly more contrasting drybrush on the mournfang. much happier with the final effect.


so on the agenda for tomorrow is to get started on the paint for the BSB and 3 guts, get started on some gnoblars if im feeling up to it, or maybe just take a break. havent decided yet.

so i was considering what my starting list would be and i feel i've came up with something i'd be happy with.

1500pt limit

Bruiser - bsb, HA, GW, dragon hide banner 195pts (goes with ogres)

firebelly- lvl 2, dispel scroll (goes with guts) 180pts

gnoblars x24 - FC 60pts

Ironguts x6 - standard, bellower, Sod 293pts

ogres x6 - standard, bellower, iron fists 212pts

leadbelchers x4 - bellower 182pts

mournfang x2 - HA, IF - 140pts

tusk - 21pts

tusk - 21pts

ironblaster - 170pts

total 1499

so what do you guys think?

How did I miss this blog! Looking great. List looks a good start for you to get used to the play style and see which units you enjoy playing the most

so just a small update. i've been incredibly lazy this week as far as my models go so not alot of progress. but i figured i'd throw up a pic or two of my WIP.

just some slightly less than half painted ironguts


and alittle work on a butcher/slaughtermaster


im really liking the gnoblog. it helps keep me focused on finishing things... anyway. hopefully i will get alot more done this weekend.

I'm really liking the slaughtermaster/ butcher. Can't wait to see some paint on this guy when he is finished.

Keep up the good work mate.

G_H

These look awesome! I agree, the Gnoblog does keep you focused on what you are trying to do.

Wish mine looked this good though! Keep up the good work 

Definitely true, a Gnoblog does help you stay focused. And even if you occasionally paint models from another army, it's still a great place to get feedback and advice

Now, on to the real stuff! The army looks great! I like your painting style, as the result is a clean paint job. This works very well on Ogres, as there is a lot of large patches of the same colour. Compared to armies like Empire or Elves, the area to paint in one colour on an Ogre is almost the size of the models in the other armies! This means that the occasional mistake with a colour is that much more visible, and needs to be touched up. Your style works very well in this, and the models look amazing!

I really like the Butcher idea, and can't wait to see him finished. The ropy intestines are a nice touch And the belly on the fella looks great. A suitable beer belly for a food and ale loving Ogre

Keep at it!

- Loran

so i figured i'd leave a post of this weekends progress. sundays mostly. anyway, butcher/sm is done minus basing, the guts are done, and two out of four lead belchers are all wrapped up.









and my WIP


im really going to have to ton down the lighting abit with the snow bases. its washing out everything else. but on that note, everything is coming together nicely. hopefully it wont be too long now before my first battle report.

The leadies are really looking good now, the verdigris on the cannon is looking really good. I have to say it though; the SM/Butcher is looking great, I love the "snack-time" look he has going on there...and army marches on it's stomach or in the case of Ogres whilst eating someone stomach.

Keep up the good work mate

G_H

just caught up with this gnoblog, fantastic stuff! rust is great on the metal and the verdigris.
Gotta say i love the butcher/slaughtermaster, simple but very very effective. I REALLY need to learn to use green stuff, my one attempt turned into a big pile of dog s*** lol

the painting is lovely and smooth, skin looks great, keep up the good work, will be interested to see this one progress

so i havent really gotten alot done since my last post, life has gotten in the way alittle bit. when looking at my models i realized that my converted butcher makes a great butcher, i just didnt feel it was quite "beefy" enough for a SM. so, i'm making another.




still some work to do on that shoulder... i cant quite figure out what it is thats making it look off.. and then i have to figure out what to do with the other arm. the one already there will be holding a rather menacingly large cleaver made from plasticard. any suggestions?

things i have learnt with this model: patience is a virtue. im going to have to sand that nice big finger print off his stomach because i wasnt patient enough to let it cure. and, im not nearly as afraid of greenstuff as i used to be. might be time to start on some maneaters?

in other unrelated news, my brother has finally joined the tabletop gaming hobby! he bought IoB and was quite kind enough to give me the skaven out of it, and i have quite enjoyed painting a few of them. i might post a pic or two up if you guys wouldnt mind me sullying the mawlicious gnoblog with disgusting rats.

but anyway, any input on the new conversion would be great. especially what is up with his damn arm. its bothering me and i just cant quite figure it out.

Looking good so far, suitably menacing for a SM/Butcher.

I am not sure what you feel is wrong with the arm. Anatomy is a constant headache when doing greenstuff work on a model. I think in this guys case it may be that his bicep is pointing straight forward, which even if you try and do with your own arm, it will be angled slightly upwards. If you square your bicep off so it is pointing straight forward then your hand tends to point downwards. Maybe its because the arm is very central rather than being slightly higher/ beefier on the shoulder side (top), as your arm is more connected to your shoulder (it's upper pivotal point) than your traps (side).

In honesty I don't think it's that bad at all, maybe you are being a bit over-critical. Looks good to me.

On the weapons front; why not try double cleaver? Clubs are always a good choice with ogres. You could go with some sort of meat-based product? Either a piece of meat or a part of a human/ thinling body?

I am really pleased that you are getting more comfortable with greenstuff. It is a great hurdle to get past, because once you do the world starts to become your oyster! The first few things you make out of greenstuff will never be your best, but the more you use it the more you will learn and the better you will get!

Keep up the good work!

G_H

I think in this guys case it may be that his bicep is pointing straight forward, which even if you try and do with your own arm, it will be angled slightly upwards. If you square your bicep off so it is pointing straight forward then your hand tends to point downwards. Maybe its because the arm is very central rather than being slightly higher/ beefier on the shoulder side (top), as your arm is more connected to your shoulder (it's upper pivotal point) than your traps (side).
G_H

Nailed it. All it took was someone saying it and that is exactly what is bothering me with it.

And I've been contemplating him dragging a chain hooked to a disemboweled body.. thought it might make for a nice gruesome addition. Although double cleavers might be what I need.. I think it's going to depend on what bits and old models I have laying around

so before i go any further i really wanted to apologize because i havent been to great about acknowledging everyone's posts, so thanks all for the kind words, and i promise to be better about it in the future!

now, aside from basing the butcher and leadies i havent really made much progress on the ogres. just kinda taking a short break to prevent burn out on them, and painting some skaven as a kind of change of pace for a week or so, then i'll be back on to the ogres full blast hopefully. but in the meantime i wanted to post up some pics of my gnoblar hero! i didnt know if it would be appropriate to post it on the main thread so im gonna leave it here for now.







let me know what you guys think!

He looks really cool!  And yes you can post it on the main thread so get it up there!  I love the gut plate as a shield that's a really cool idea!

Kind regards Zolas.

Agreed, he is brilliant - very cool work 

I've posted over on the main; but he is brilliant mate a really cool looking model and a lovely base.

But how would he fare in an arena? Hmmm, Gnoblar hero or Skaven scumrat? Scumrat or hero.....there is only one way to find out......

 
G_H

Thanks for the praise guys! I really enjoyed building a model for a themed game/contest.

And you're right G_H.. only one way to find out 

just a small update, really not much goin on over here lately.

So I'd like some oppinions guys. I'be been trying to make a list to build to so I can start playing at 2500pts since that seems to be my flgs typical point range and here's what I've come up with.


Slaughter master - 380
  Lvl 4, Gruts sickle, talisman of preservation, GW. (Goes with guts)

Bruiser bsb - 145
  Heavy armor, GW (goes with guts)

Ironguts x7 - 346
  Full cmd, banner of discipline.

Ogres x9 - 318
  Full cmd, iron fists.

Mounfang cav x4 - 350
  Standard bearer mus, drangonhide banner

Leadbelchers x6 - 268
  Bellower

Maneaters x6 - 416
  Full cmd, BoP, poison, scout, flaming banner.

Sabertusk - 21
Sabertusk - 21
Sabertusk - 21

Ironblaster -170

Grand total: 2456pts

So I still have 44pts to make up.

What do you guys think? And what should I use the pts for?

Any suggestions are welcome!

I figured this list would Gove me everything I ended to deal with whatever was thrown at me pretty well.