9th Anniversary Repost. Darnog the Dank....

On this very night 9 years ago I posted about my feeble efforts in painting a figure for the first ever Golden Gobo Painting contest that was run from the Oldhammer Forum back in the day.  Back when Oldhammer still meant something specific and not the confused mess it has become these days...

But I digress...it was in the early heady days of the Oldhammer Community that a group of us conceived of this painting contest and made it a reality.  For this Painting contest I chose to paint one of my favorite Marauder Goblin figures...and recently I decided to update his flesh tone with my current recipe for Goblin Flesh.  

So, I'm going to take the opportunity to reuse my Blog post from October 12, 2012...which includes some background for this Goblin Wizard, a 3rd edition Statline for the figure, and even a narrative bit that I wrote for the contest which required no only a painted figure but also the associated Fluff.

Here are are pictures of the new paint job...below them you will see the 2012 pics, post, and story.

Cheers,

Blue

Glam: My Oldhammer Day Golden Gobo Entry

Hello,

Time for a proper painting thread....it sure has been awhile!

As we are all now aware, the end of August saw the first of what I hope is many Oldhammer events...though this one will be hard to beat.  The Bring Out Your Lead event was held at the Foundry facility in Nottingham England...it featured all manner of Old School goodness....great games...displays of many epic figures and armies....discussions with some of the artists and games designers that made the games we all love so much unique... in short it sounded like a fabulous time.

Sadly it was in the UK...

....and I am not...sigh.

So in a desperate effort to participate on some level I painted up a figure and shipped it off to jolly old England so that it could compete in the Golden Gobo contest at the event in my stead.  Thankfully Thantsants was kind enough to act as caretaker and transporter of my figure to and from the event.  I received the figure back from his trip to the olde world a couple of weeks ago but have only now had the time to take quality pictures.

I chose to paint the, to my mind, iconic wood elf wardancer Glam who was sold as the Champion to the ubiquitous Skarloc's Wood Elf Archers RoR.  As you know my heart lies with the dwarfy species of the Warhammer world...both Chaos and otherwise.  So the choice of a Wood Elf for this contest was a bit of a stretch for me...in fact I don't know that I had EVER painted an elf before this one...but I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed painting this figure and can't wait for the excuse to paint a few more like him.  Jess Goodwin's talents as a sculptor are very well represented in this figure and have really captured my imagination.

...anyway...here is the final product.  Below you will find a discussion of how he got to this point.

Alright...lets step back to the beginning.  Here we have Glam in nothing more than his Dark Gray primer and with a base color of VMC Chocolate Brown (872) applied to areas that would end up being gold, wood or leather.

Here he is with most of the base colors in place.  For the skin I base coated with the old GW Foundation Paint Tallarn Flesh with a bit of brown mixed in.  The hair is Vallejo Panzer Aces Light Rust (301). Glam's Pants are another military color...VMC German Fieldgrey (830).

I highlighted the pants by adding Citadel Foundation Dheneb Stone to the Fieldgrey...I highlighted it up pretty far......too far in fact...

Glam was wearing a pair of faded out Dockers...sigh...(luckily I didn't take a picture of this travesty) So... in a bid to save this situation I quickly gave the pants a coat of heavily watered down Reaper Green Ink mixed with Delvan Mud.  This seemed to even the pants out a little and brought some green back into the cloth.  Crisis averted! 

I find that the Reaper inks are quite glossy as you can see in places where it pooled like at his ankle cuff.  While this annoys me, and looks weird, I try to remember that the matte varnish at the end will even all that out.

Highlighting of the flesh continues by adding Dheneb Stone to the base coat color

And more Deneb Stone is added to the flesh.  The hair was highlighted by adding a rich yellow to the Light Rust base color...I would tell you what that yellow was called...but it was months ago and I don't remember...:)

 

Next I got some base colors on the metal portions (Bolt Gun Metal, ancient Armory Gold Paint) and finally added some off white to his teeth and eye balls... that helped him seem a bit more life like. I also started to pick out some of the finer detail like the fletchings on the arrows and the scabbard for his dagger. 

Note here that I painted the Oval decorations on his "belt" and wrist guards black.  I had originally thought to paint them metal but at this point I decided that they should look like gems...so I went with the black base color.

From that black base coat I highlighted the gems up through grey colors to bright white...remembering that that the shading of a gem is backwards from normal shading....the light actually collects at the bottom of gems instead of on the the top. 

(In hindsight I probably should have gone a little heavier with this highlighting to make the gems a bit brighter but I'm still happy with the result.)

....at this point you're saying  "Hey Blue....why are your gems grey scale?!?!"

...good question.

....this is where the Tamiya Clear Red (X-27) comes in....this is a neat product that is available in a  number of different colors and is great for getting realistic and quick gem effects with little effort.

A fairly heavy "drop" of this was applied to each of the "gems" making sure to cover the entire surface  Since this paint is clear, the greyscale shading shows through the glossy red coating and and provides for realistic gems with minimal hassle. 

Please keep in mind that this is a solvent based paint...this is not your friendly acrylic paint.  Use a throw away brush (I know you have some kicking around too...from the looks of my painting desk I think I have every brush I've ever owned since I starting painting in the 80's!)  Also...Don't try to clean your brush in your regular water mug....you'll just get your mug all gummy.  And for God's sake keep that paint brush out of your mouth! :)

After the gems all I did was add the pupils to his eyes...highlight and wash the Gold and Silver portions.... matte varnish everything (except the gems!) and then applied my normal basing technique.

There is one part of this model that seems "not finished" ...and I would like to have your thoughts on ...I need ideas on some sort of decoration for the scabbard of his dagger...right now its just yellow...and flat....and begging for some sort of freehand... 

I suck at freehand...particularly on something this small!

...I tried a few things and they just came out looking sloppy... but I'm willing to try again!

If anyone can suggest some examples of simple, elfish, looking designs (line art?) that might be appropriate here I would love to hear about them.

All in all its was great fun to paint this guy up and to have him represent me at the Oldhammer Day...I certainly look forward to painting up some more Goodwin Elves in the future...(those Mounted Personality figures are high on the list!)

Thanks for watching!

Cheers,

Blue

Loorassh...Friend of the Trees...Golden Gobo II entry

Howdy all,

As the Batch painting continues to cruise along (perhaps 30 mini in a group is a FEW too many!) I thought I would fill the gap by posting the pictures of my Golden Gobo II entry.  For this contest I chose to paint a unique miniature in my collection...the classic Zoat Wizard sculpt.  A truly classic figure and a new challenge for me as far as painting goes...I've never painted a Zoat before!  Now I just need to finish collecting and assembling a Wood Elf contingent to go with this guy.

Anyway...here are the photos and below is a bit of Fluff I wrote about this character and his stat lines.

"Thats MY marble Mother F*&#er!"  :)

Loorassh  20^th Level Zoat Wizard

Spikk cowered under the over turned wagon.  Around him was a scene from a nightmare.  The rest of the orc wood cutting team lay in tatters around their work site, pieces of equipment and bodies were scattered about.  From behind him he heard the sharp sound of another blue bolt of electricity tearing one of the ladz apart.  He scuttled a little further back under the wagon.

Spikk whimpered uncontrollably, terror stealing what was left of his wits.  They were only cutting firewood for the armies’ camp over the hill!  They hadn’t harmed anyone or anything (well, today at least!)  The wood cutters had been hard at work when the creature suddenly emerged from the forest.  With an enormous mace in its right hand the abomination smashed anyone who was within reach; with the lightning from the red orb in its left it smote anyone who attempted to run.  It was a bolt of the lightning that had flipped over the wagon Spikk had been riding.  The wagon that now hid him from the view of the creature. 

The tread of the beast was amazingly light considering its enormous size.  As it came around the wagon Spikk was not aware that it was drawing closer until it entered his field of vision.  It had a huge four legged body as large as a bull but with a torso, arms and head like orc attached to the front, but more “reptilian.”  It was mostly covered with thick dull grey scales which Spikk had seen the axes of his mates fail to penetrate.  The torso and head were more greenish in color but were heavily muscled. The monster’s face was surprisingly gentle looking considering the destruction it was currently inflicting on Spikk’s mates.  Perhaps more disturbing than its size or obvious power, was the fact that the creature had made no noise as it went about destroying the woodcutting party.  It had remained completely silent. 

Now it was looking for survivors.  Spikk saw it examining each of the bodies to insure it was dead.  It also seemed to sample the air, its head and neck swaying from side to side as it sought its prey.  Perhaps it was his stench that gave Spikk away?  Whatever it was the monster’s head snapped to the right and peered under the toppled wagon looking Spikk directly in the face, its eyes glowed with massive intelligence, and flared with massive fury.  

It turned and approached the wagon.

Spikk wanted to run but his legs wouldn’t respond, though his bladder did.  He was frozen in fear.  With casual ease the beast grabbed the edge of the wagon and flipped it up and off of the cowering orc sending it crashing off behind him and leaving him curled in a ball on the bare ground.  The reptilian centaur gazed at him for a moment, examining him.  Spikk felt as if the monster was looking straight through him at his black shriveled soul. Not knowing what else, but knowing he must break that aweful gaze, the orc gulped some air and managed croak:

“Wwwwot da ‘eeell are you? Wwwwho da ‘eeeell are you?”

The creature was roused from its revelry by the orcs words.  The orb in it left hand glowed and crackled with energy, it raised the mace in its right hand high, and the same time it lifted its right leg off the ground, the enormous “foot” casting a dark shadow over the whimpering orc.  Still it uttered no sound, but as the foot descended on him an enormous rage filled voice exploded inside the orcs head.

“I AM THE LOORASSH!   I SPEAK FOR THE TREES!”

Stat Line:

M

WS

BS

S

T

W

I

A

Ld

Int

Cl

WP

Pts

7

7

4

5

6

6

7

2

10+2

10+3

10+2

10+3

335

Equipment:

Loorassh carries only his large mace as a weapon (treat as a hand weapon) though he can choose to wield it with both hands if he feels he needs the S bonus.  The orb that Loorash carries was a gift from a woodelf mage, and though the item itself does not contain magic, it acts as a focal point for the Zoat’s own massive magical powers.  The Zoat wears no armor.

Cheers,

Blue

Its not easy...being Green...

For the first iteration of the Golden Gobo Painting contest that us fans of Oldhammer have participated in I had to really do some soul searching to pick a suitable figure.  This is a somewhat unique contest in that not only did participants have to paint up an Old School figure but we had to create a stat line and background story for our character.  This made the contest quite fun and proved to be a challenge for me as I'm not the best and coming up with "fluff" for my figures or armies....but I gave it a go.

As I ruminated on my figure choice I kept coming around to one of my absolute favorite Marauder Goblin Sculpts....an uncatalogued Goblin Mage.  I had painted a version of this figure back in the late 80's and he served my evil armies well on many a battlefield.  Luckily I liked this figure so much that I managed to hold onto him for all these years...and I can even share it with you...here he is in all his late 80's glory!

haha...as you can see at the time I was fully on-board with the Green base edge and the neon green Goblin skin that was so popular in the 3rd edition...but despite that you can see that this is a VERY cool figure that just oozes character...love this guy.  In fact other than the skin color I like my color choices for his robes...and kept them for the new version I painted for the Golden Gobo.

In a trade on Frother's late last year I stumbled into another copy of this great figure....so I didn't even have to strip this guy down to paint a new version for the GG.  Here is my new version of the figure...I call him Darnog the Dank.

So...I've toned the skin down a bit and given him Dark grey sleeves instead of all blue...and WOW...looking at them next to each other you can really see the value of decent basing...so much better!

Once the painting was done I started to think about the Fluff for Darnog...first I came up with a Stat line for him and a short background.  Once the juices were flowing I also cranked out a brief story describing how Darnog came to posses his powerful protective magic item. 

I should note here that the place names used in the background and narrative are not ones you will find on any map of the Old World...but are of my own creation...and will be more fleshed out as I continue to work on a campaign to play with my local crew...hopefully over the coming winter.

DARNOG the DANK Level 20 Goblin Wizard

Stats
M   WS   BS   S   T   W   I   A    Ld    Int    Cl     Wp
4       4      4    4    4    4   4   1    7+2  8+3  7+2   8+3

Equipment
Darnog is unarmored and carries only a staff as a hand weapon. He is, however, equipped with a Bracer of Protection which gives him a saving throw of 4+.

Background
It is rumored that Darnog the Dank was spawned in the depths of the eastern Grimwald…the great forest to the north of the city of Culhaven. Reportedly his magical abilities manifested themselves early and he is said to have had considerable control of them even at an early age. Some say that he consumed the rest of his littermates…and some say even his parents.

He first became known to the men and dwarfs of the region when his tribe was instrumental in the destruction of a relief column of troops from Finhoff marching to break the siege of Culhaven in 2367CE by the army of Larlog Kahn. Rumors of the hideous experiments carried out on captives of this column by Darnog did not take long to reach the council chambers of Culhaven where vengeance was sworn. When Larlog’s army was later destroyed by a coalition force of troops from Culhaven and Woodelves from the western portions of the Grimwald, it was hoped that Darnog had fallen in battle. But his Dark magics have been reported as instrumental in a number of other actions since then…though no credible witnesses have survived to report it with any certainty.

The few firsthand accounts that do exist from individuals who have encountered this powerful goblin all mention the pungent odor that seems to permeate from him. It is as if he has absorbed the very essence of the deep, dark, wet forest into his being. Perhaps it is through some twisted form of primal connection with the forest around him that has allowed such a debased being as this goblin to achieve such unheard of power. The most recent reports have placed him with a small but growing band of goblin raiders on the fringes of the Grimwald where they meet the Blighted Hills which also includes the notorious unit Skliff’s Shootas. His destruction is still of the highest priority for the city councilors and residents of Culhaven.

Narative
Erich watched in bewildered fascination as the goblins swarmed over his wagon load of good and his dying horses. It reminded the trader from Culhaven of a pack of five year olds let loose on a pile of sweet meats. Squabbles erupted over particularly shinny bits of loot, distracted goblins walked into each other or tripped over tidbits of gear that were strewn about….and the Noise! It was an endless din of gibberish mixed with squeals of delight, as treasures were discovered, and grunted curses of anger as they were snatched away by another greenskin.

His fascination was broken by the scream of Pie Eye as a goblin repeatedly stabbed the wounded horse in the neck…attempting to finish the poor mare off. Erich cursed between clenched teeth as the goblins began cutting chunks of the animal off before she was even dead. Occasionally one of the vermin would throw a glance at Erich…he knew his time would come before too long…but for now they seemed content with rifling through his belongings. They had caught him off guard, half asleep on a hot summer day driving his wagon through the dense woods north of Culhaven. This road was supposedly safe but the dense woods in this part of the province were occasionally infested with groups of greenskins, he should not have been traveling alone…but guards were expensive and profits were slim. If he somehow escaped this nightmare he would personally volunteer to lead a force of retribution to rid the wood of this foul group.

After another ten minutes of rooting through his wagon load of trade goods, and stripping his team nearly to the bone, a group of five of the larger goblins turned their attention to the trader who lay trussed like a hog at the edge of the forest. As the group ambled over to him, Erich tried to shake the sleeve of his tunic down over the thick gold bracer that was fitted tightly around his left arm. Sadly the motion seemed to attract attention to the only valuable piece of equipment that Erich actually owned.

“Wots dis den eh? Got a bobble der do ya?” the largest of the filthy figures barked at Erich. When he failed to answer the goblin went on “Gif it ‘ere or I’ll stick ya good” he said as he pulled the long curved blade knife from his belt. The cruel looking blade was still sticky red with horse blood.

The goblin’s feeble mind failed to understand that with the fetters they had secured him with he couldn’t possibly comply…even if he wanted to…so again he kept his silence.
 
“fine den…its da ‘ard way den is it?” the goblin spat, glancing at his neighbors to insure that they would back him up.

“ya Skliff…the ‘ard way it is..I’s like the ‘ard way” one of the others muttered, his face twisted into a cruel smile… and they moved to pin the merchant to the ground by piling on top of him. The one apparently known as Skiff pulled his bound hands out in front of him and knelt on Erich’s elbows. The pain was intense but he knew worse was to come.

“right den…lets git to it den..dat bobble gonna look right nice on me own ‘and” Skliff growled as he brought the knife down to severe Erich’s forearm just above the bracer.

The bracer that had saved his Erich’s life innumerable times was about to become the end of it as well. It had been a gift from his uncle Heinrich on his deathbed. The old man swore it had some charm that had kept him safe during his years with the mercenary outfit he had spent his youth serving with, and Erich had no reason to doubt him. In many bar room brawls, scrapes with highwaymen, and that unfortunate incident during the Brewery Riots, Erich had emerged unscathed and he could only attribute that to the “charm” of his uncle’s gift.

It was just as the knife was about to cut into his arm that Erich became aware of the smell. Not the rancid body odor smell of the filthy goblin who was kneeling on his arms, but a wetter, mustier, earthy smell that suddenly seemed to fill the air around them. At first Erich could not locate the source of the smell…not until he heard the loud crack of wood on skull and Skliff suddenly pitched to the side…out cold…could the trader determine its origin. Looming over him…filling the space above him where Skliff had knelt…was an ancient Goblin dressed in heavy dark blue and grey robes…a gnarled wooden staff clenched in his wrinkly hands. His face was slack and expressionless, but his eyes glowed red with pure malevolence. As the rest of the Goblins holding Erich down backed away, giving way entirely before newcomer he heard several of them mutter the name “Darnog.”

Even though he was no longer restrained by the pile of goblins that had been sitting on him, Erich was frozen in place by some unearthly power. It was as if the gaze of Darnog alone had the power to hold him motionless. As the wrinkled green skin stepped up to stand directly over him, Erich now knew where the wet musty smell that permeated the air was coming from…this was Darnog the Dank…a powerful goblin wizard and scourge of the Eastern Marches. Erich’s bowels suddenly turned to water and it was all he could do to keep from soiling himself. Where before he had considered escape an actual possibility he now knew that a quick death would be the best he could hope for. Darnog's reputation was well known to all...

Darnog seemed to sniff the air around the merchant…and his gaze suddenly shifted from Erich’s eyes to the golden bracer on his arm…and there it lingered for a long second. With careful precision Darnog brought the end of his staff up and gently tapped the bracer twice. Immediately the ornament sprung open in a way that Erich had not even known was possible. Darnog bent over slowly and pulled the bracer free of Erich’s frozen arm…and as he straightened the wizard fastened it around his own forearm. Without so much as a word Darnog turned and walked away…taking Erich’s last hope with him.

Once it was clear that the grizzled goblin was done with him, the remaining greenskins closed in on the hapless trader…No Charm would protect him now...

Well there it is...I hoped you enjoyed the story.

Cheers,

Blue