Base or Diorama? That is the question

 I've found in my mans-painting endeavors that I'm starting to get really into base-building. Like, I have to be adding lots of trappings to them. I can keep them simple for basic 'filler' minis I do(the ones I paint that can act like proxies for TTRPG enemies, or extra PCs, and so on), but even then I try to give them a little depth and more than just the token grass tuft. For my more serious minis I've been getting more and more into doing all of the grimdark trappings and so on. You've seen some of my bases as of late.

It's at the point, though, where I'm starting to ask myself "...Should I just make this a diorama, and make the base, while still atmospheric and grim with lots of cool trappings, maybe a *bit* simpler?" One can only do so much with 28, 32 or even 40mm bases; in games that have set base sizes, it starts to become trying to fit enough ONTO the base. (There is an option here, which I'll get into.) 

And it's a tough decision sometimes, because 40mm+ bases especially do give you some decent room to play with. Like, while I'm still learning(I'll always be learning), and am only going on six months of painting at the end of this month, I think I did *alright* on this base, given the 40mm room:

The recent Hell Knight.

I managed to get a cursed altar, some trench wire and a couple of poles, some boards to stand on, and so on. You do get some wiggle room, especially depending on the size of the mini, and there are ways, like elevating them, as well. 

But for the 2nd Hell Knight, I had a pretty keen idea of a base and mocked it up with some unpainted pieces and wall tack. I wanted him to have messed up some Pilgrim's chapel, so I was going to set up an elevated part with a stone wall, ruined altar, and dead priest. 

And then I thought about it. The idea was really cool, but then I thought 'Maybe I could put him on the *path* to the chapel on the piece. And then build a much cooler looking ruined chapel, with the same idea, only bigger, and actually place all three Hell Knights around it. One already has the sorta 'trench' looking base, and he could be in an area like that off to the side(the ruined chapel could well be in an area that's somewhat fortified, given the world. I can put another on a haunted looking hill near the chapel, and the third on the outside.

And this of course lead me to think: when to decide to build a diorama? I don't think there's a cut and dry answer, sometimes "When the base gets too busy" might be one time. Again, you don't always get a ton of room to work with(especially when you're dealing with something like a 28mm base.) 

On one hand, it's actually really good practice to see if you can come up with a nice plan in a limited spot, practice and a nice creativity exercise. I had a lot of fun coming up with bases for the Rat Ogors, but those were 50mm, to be fair. On the other hand, 'less is more' does come into play from time to time, and there are times where a base can take away from the model(which should be the focus.) Like, a base can be SO elaborate that it becomes the centerpiece, and I think, at least for me, this is the line I've been trying not to cross. 

The idea I had with the altar I think might've crossed that. So I opted for the idea of the 'path to the chapel'(complete with some stones that might be a road, of course some skulls and branches scattered about, and I'll add a few more bits to flesh it out), but I think that scene will be heading into the diorama. And it'll be even cooler, since I'll have even more room to play with it!

So yeah, just me musing about stuff as I figure out this painting thing. Hopefully I'll have the 2nd Hell Knight based up tomorrow, and start figuring out something cool for the first Yoke Fiend, who I'd say is sitting at about 70% done? The 3rd Hell Knight I'd say is almost halfway there. (Oh yeah, all 3 HK's are getting metal hair, just because.)

'Til next time(when I can also get away from the retro handhelds.) 

Trench Crusade Part 5: The Base(And completion?)

 With any model, comes a good base! While tabletop ready bases is like, painted, rimmed(snorts in Uranus jokes) and perhaps with a token grass tuft, I hold that a good base should have time and care put into it. It's usual that I can take a couple of sessions to do a base(sometimes they need extra drying time, too, due to texture paste and so on.) It should compliment a model, though not overtake it completely. Sometimes I go simple with a base, like with my cavern elf warrior(a fighter/barbarian), Thanrel Zin, from PF2e: 

Just some skulls, blood and bones since he's a bit more of a chaotic neutral grim character(surprisingly, though to be fair I do play more pleasant characters as well, at least sometimes), and a...somewhat of a lumpy stalagmite(I was working with some other type of paste before I got my Vallejo standby stuff.) 

I've been going a little more in-depth with the grimdark-style bases, like on the rat ogors previously, since I really wanted to capture and atmosphere, and I find myself doing that with Trench Crusade, since that game oozes atmosphere. So I'm going for muddy, dusty, broken down, or otherwise messed-up looking bases. This is what I have so far(still unprimed. Also the Metal Slime coffee mug says hello.) 

Yeah, including one of my token inverted crosses, though the other two are going to feature other trappings. (I promise to have more on other figures, though.) Trench wire, some boards, I was trying to give the impression of this lad having cleared out some trench of faithful or something, hence the bones. (I'll be painting them up far more detailed, or at least trying to.) The inverted cross was probably him flipping one of their crosses and spiking the skulls on it. Like I learned as I've been doing research, trying to tell a little story with the base, too. 

Priming it up, I opted for gray, though I decided to mostly leave the wood-the soft wood gets stained very nicely by paints, and it'll be find to give the paint something to 'bite onto', so to speak. I have primed wood before, and it works, but I decided to try it without this time, to see what sort of effects I could get from it. 

I really like speedpaints on bases, though I use regular acrylics, too(and as you'll see, pigments.) I dunno what exactly it is, but I really like how speedpaints work on bases and over this rough terrain; it just ends up looking really good for that grimy, grimdark style, but it also works for other stuff, like ice and so on(my beloved Frostheart makes for a wonderful base ice color, with UV resin over it!) 

So I start with some nice grimy colors. Mummified Grime(which pulls its weight in this series), Desolate Brown, Brownish Decay, and Pallid Bone all come in handy for varying tones of earth and wood, with Burnt Moss giving that greenish, corrupted look. I just have fun here and lay out the colors, which I went over with a variety of earth tones and ochre acrylics with drybrushing and all of that. Added a few more odds and ends like dust via some light sienna pigment powder, a dyed strip of cloth draped over the cross(possibly from one of the corpses), and some other washes and thinned paints on the skulls to give them various states of aging and decay. 

And then finally, it's time to attach the model and do some more. Like, of course, comes more gore! Via my favorite stringy glue + AP Effect Paint method(I would like to try Dirty Down Gore one day), I put some around the model on the axe, the hook, and a scattering other places that might make sense. 

This one took me a little longer than I'd have liked, but since I'm not on a timeframe to get this warband done, I'm not too sad. I think doing a process blog for it was fun, and I'll be back with more painting stuff, possibly a gig review later(depends on my Thursday schedule) this week and whatever else! 

Trench Crusade Part 4: More Rust, Verdigris, and some Metal Hair

 Alrighty! Back with my next progress on this guy. I actually went and started to add rust to the other models, too, a bit, but I'll be coming back to those. My general plan is to get this guy done and based up as my 'Base Dude', someone who's base I'll be able to lift ideas from(they all are going to be a unit, and while I'm not going to copy each base verbatim, I'd like them to share a *somewhat* uniform trench-base appearance.) I might not get to finish the base until Monday, though, since I wanna grab some pigment powder besides the mossy-colored one I have(I need a slate grey one.)

So I started with...hair! I wanted to make him look uncanny, kinda disturbing, and importantly, black metal inspired(despite being in WWI, look, he's hellspawn), since I'm trying to keep with my brand here. So I took some colored(thanks, Mummified Grime!) Q-tip cotton and brushed it out(also thanks to the Grimdark Compendium.) I think it turned out pretty cool! I also darkened up the verdigris with a back-and-forth mix of Poxwalker+Pine Hollow Shade, Coelia Greenshade, a bit of Verdigris to grit it up and Mummified Grime helped darken parts of it. 

After this, I started adding blood-you can't have these guys without copious amounts of it. I did the ol' splatter method and used a messed-up brush. Also started adding some thinned-down Gun Metal streaks here and there to add to chipping, and kept going back and forth between Grim Rust, Dirty Down, and the Gun Metal after spattering. Also dyed the hair a bit darker, and added some of the glowing orange in the eyes(well, I don't have orange fluoro, but I tried with some Bold Titanium White and Emberveil.)

Also, this is where I started dusting the bottom of his fur piece and the bottom of the cloak with a mossy green FX pigment to make it look somewhat dusty. 

Finally, more blood, more back and forth. I'll probably be doing more of this tomorrow while at the same time, starting to craft the base! 

Alrighty! I think this lad is getting close to done, at least the figure. But basing is very important for atmospheric pieces, too, so I'll be coming up with a good scheme for it and snapping some pictures of that, too! 

Anyway, 'til next time! 

Trench Crusade Court, Part 3: The Rust Begins

And with a playlist heavily fortified by 1349(I am totally not getting an idea for a Black Grail army with this):

Rust. Lots of rust. I did some highlighting with a mix of Heavy Metal and Gun Metal, and then went in with some straight Gun Metal at parts. The horns are done with Dusty Skull. 

And then, started the rust. I actually had to come back to this after getting a proper mask. Using small amounts quickly is one thing, having to hold the mini up to your face and work with it for minutes at a time is another story entirely, even without an airbrush. Better safe than sorry. 

I cleaned up the blobs that were left behind after my first foray. Also messed with Grim Rust for some lighter parts. Mummified Grime Speedpaint came in handy for the deepest recesses, to show the really old, nastiest rust. 

I want to take some time, now, to sort of explain the 'story' I see for these guys. I'm a TTRPGer at heart, and this carries over into other wargames. Rather than just "Hell Knights", I like to think like, what happened to these guys? Hell Knights, in the lore....well, I'll let the Trench Crusade Official site describe them:

"The silent battalions of Hell, summoned when the Court of the Seven-Headed Serpent seeks sport, are composed of Hell Knights. Their ever-burning banners stream as they march to war, carrying out the bidding of their masters. They are the bannerets of the high lords of the Court, and champions who respond to foolish mortals daring to challenge the hunting parties of the Serpent’s nobility.

Heretic Priests whisper that these Infernal warriors were once lesser fallen angels or mighty mortal champions raised into devilhood, only to be cursed by their liege lords for some slight, real or imagined. Cast out from the burning palaces of the Pit, the alabaster architecture of their bodies has been twisted, folded upon itself a thousand times, entombed within their once-splendid armour which is now an eternal prison. 

To glimpse the body inside is to gaze upon the sheer horror of divine flesh warped beyond reason. Glaring eyes of light, mouths uttering blasphemies, and pulsating inner organs that gibber and shriek, all crushed into a space barely a tenth of their original form. Despite their reduction in stature, their inordinate pride remains unbroken, and they brook no insolence from the wretched mortals that serve them.

Once privy to the secrets of Creation, their minds are now clotted with endless blood-red waking dreams. Their thoughts are crushed to a singular, jagged prism of murderous obsession. Their form is tormented by the cold of the earthly realm, which they are forced to endure just as humans suffer in the flames of Hell. They are mighty still, yet mere shadows of their once exalted glory. Even so, they are terrifying and implacable foes to a mortal soldier."

So these lads are essentially single-minded killing machines, encased in armor that's probably bleeding(yes, that'll be coming eventually, along with some eye glow.) Their armor and weapons are going to be messed up because they're, again, single-minded murder machines permanently encased in their armor. This is not armor that is taken off and cared for. It's going to have trench battlefield mud, grime, and rust all over it. Despite being single-minded murderers, though, I like the idea of some of them keeping some semblance of their former lives as a slight subconscious thing here and there, in this case in the form of some grisly trophies(hence a few skulls hanging here and there, and the one that's probably getting pieces of a priest frock), or nastier weapon additions, like the rusty hook. I kind of want to let some of the design choices tell that story. 

Knowing all of this now, we'll get back to the model! I was a bit tired today after a bit of extra exercise and a rough night of sleep, so I just did a couple other things. Started on the fur-this is going to be done in a dirty ochre color(Tainted Garden so far, with a bit of Dusty Skull on the skull), and just washed with Grimdark Shadow. I'll be adding some drybrushing and stuff with it tomorrow, though it's going to be pretty dirty looking. Drybrushed a bit of the metal chain. 

Also started a verdigris recipe. Testing it on one lower part of the cloak, it's a drop of Verdigris, a drop of Temple Gate Teal, about 3 drops of stabilizer, and brushed it on. after it dried, drybrushed some Evil Chrome over it(which is really more of a bronze color, though I might fiddle with the color some.) Verdigris is still wet here, you can see. (Also messing with Grimdark Shadow on it, too, for a sort of unifying look, though I might work with the Mummified Grime here too.) 

Tomorrow, going to start manipulating some of the rust to lighten it here and there, and adding metal scratches around where there'd be battle damage, as well as work on both cloaks and the skull more! And hopefully start to add blood, of course. (I'm trying not to take forever on these models, since they're an army; I have no need to rush and I won't, but I'd like to see if I can not take my usual eleventy billion hours to finish.) 

'Til next time! 

Trench Crusade Court, Part 2: Drybrushing and starting metals!

Okay, continuing!. (Also, here's a picture of the primed flail. I put a jawbone at the end of one of the chains.) 

Decided to do my initial drybrush in AP's Banshee Brown, believe it or not. No, you don't see it *super* well, but the idea here was to have a reddish-brown undercoat for the rust, of which there is going to be quite a bit of. 

I then followed it up with an AP Grey Castle, picking out some details here and there, and particularly hit some things like the skulls and such with it. I also did a few things in AP's Abyssal Blue(which will be verdigris-laden bronze.) Each model has something that will be bronze-the Hell Knights with bronze chain cloaks, the Yoke Fiends each have a little something, like a trinket, or some bit of armor. 

I went heavier on the Grey Castle brush with the fiends' skin, which will be a very sickly pale, mottled color(at least, I hope) at the end. 

Next, I started do do a rust undercoat for certain things. The chains and barbed wire are going to get a rust undercoat(AP's Dark Rust), and drybrushed metal over it, but the rest will be painted first and then I will begin the rust applications with Dirty Down, Grim Rust and everything else. 

For the base metals, as much as I love my beloved John Blanche Heavy Metal, my bottle is starting to get somewhat light, and I need to order some singles soon. They don't sell them in local stores around me yet. I want to also use this on the Praetor and the Saint, so to ensure I keep enough on hand, I used this as the base for the Yoke Fiends, which have less metal. For the Hell Knights, I opted for the excellent and aptly named Scale 75 Black Metal. I don't use a lot of S75, and I've seen some of their colors not do too hot, but I love this one and it goes on smooth and easy. It's also incredibly close in color. 

If you're a Citadel person, btw, the best suggest I have for you is 1:1 Leadbelcher(the Citadel Gun Metal equivalent) and Abaddon Black, and Leadbelcher straight instead of Gun Metal. (As for the other colors, I think Doombull Brown 1:1 with Rhinox Hide, Mechanicus Standard Grey and Thousand Suns Blue are close. All that said, I do not think I am someone you want to be taking paint advice from; I'm just listing color equivalents. There's a slew of way better painters than me online that give way better advice.) 

Anyway, here's the crew with some basic metal stuff done! (it's a bit messy, but I'll be painting over any of that, so I wasn't trying to be particularly neat here.)

And that's it for tonight! Tomorrow I am going to start the highlights and the weapons-Gun Metal for a lot of them, but I'll go over some other color picks. Note that starting then, I'm going to not be doing them as much in batches, due to the extra details I'm going to be doing. I want to give the three Hell Knights different levels of verdigris on the cloaks, for example, and they're going to have heavier rust in different places, and so on. But for the priming, drybrushing and base metals, it seemed good to do them together. 

Til next time! 

First real army getting painted, Trench Crusade Court, part 1

 So, while I've actually put paint on a lot of miniatures since late September, I have never painted a full, real army yet. Finally getting my Court of the Seven-Headed Serpent army in for Trench Crusade(I am partial to skirmish games a bit more than the Real Big Ones, and I like TTRPGs the most, even over wargames-but TC is awesome), I thought it might be cool to sorta catalogue the building, kitbashing, and painting process of a general noob in a little series. 

It goes without saying this army will be painted in the grimdark style. I have ideas on how I want them to look; whether or not I'll be saying "That's a fine looking army. WHY DOESN'T MINE LOOK LIKE THAT?!" will be up in the air. 

My chosen soundtrack for this is, surprisingly, a lot of 1349 and other assorted black metal. I know, shocking. 

So, the next photographs are just of the basic, new army; unassembled, I printed up the appropriate sized bases for them, and assembled the Praetor and the Desecrated Saint, both of which needed some. Particularly the Saint. I also filled in some gaps with Milliput. These are all the base models still. 

Desecrated Saint

Pic of most of the army. Then the Desecrated Saint(2 pics), Hunter of the Left Hand Path+Pit Locust, Praetor, and Sorcerer

Starting off, I decided to work with the Hell Knights and Yoke Fiends. I knew I wanted to add chains, barbed wire, skulls, inverted crosses, and all that good stuff to them, so I started attaching stuff to places, drilling out skulls and so on. Added a couple of demonic skulls as shoulder armor and a shield deco for the Yoke Fiends, as well as some additional weapon embellishments. Also was messing with some tissue + cigarette paper + PVA glue + water + a variety of speedpaints and washes to make flayed skin to add for cloaks and pieces later. (Grimdark Compendium Youtube Channel has been a wealth of ideas for this bunch.) 

After all of that, I added a few more embellishments, as well as a pass with some Green Stuff putty mixed with water(Tamiya + glue is stickier, but it's very cold out and my painting place isn't too well ventilated, so I went with the lesser fumes. I do use some fume-y stuff sometimes in winter, but this took me a little while to do, compared to the shorter bursts of working with things like a bit of Dirty Down or assembling models or whatnot.) I then carved up some of the putty areas to add some damage and weathering, and then some cheesecloth to a mace handle. (in hindsight, I shouldn't have dyed it yet due to it probably being hit by primer, but oh well. At least I see how the color looks.) Green stuff pictured in next bunch. 

From here, we did the other weathering passes. First with some AK corrosion texture to anyplace that seemed like it could be rusty, and then with some Vallejo Thick Mud to greaves and lower capes and armor and stuff. 

And the crew is now ready to prime! 

Part 2 soon, with the priming and drybrushing. Might go over the color choices then too, but I am still milling over a couple of those. 

(Bonus! I started to build a flail, though I'm not sure which yoke fiend is going to have this strapped to his back. Not primed yet because the green stuff isn't cured fully yet. Also I had decided to, after all, add some cheesecloth to one of the Hell Knights, since he had fewer embellishments. I think it looked pretty good in the end. I do have to prime him tomorrow morning, still, but hey. Also I am so thankful that I like skirmish and TTRPGs the most. If I had to hand prime and entire army I might walk into the sea.)