Kitbashing and Painting Wight King with Baleful Tomb Blade on Skeletal Steed

Happy New Year Fellow Hobby Enthusiasts!

Since there is only a very old model kit available from Games Workshop for a Wight King on a Skeletal Steed, I decided to kitbash one for myself. Since there is no points costs for adding a mount for the Wight King and I need a fast supporting hero for my Black Knights, it is a much preferred unit in a Legions of Nagash army where I include BK.

The Kitbashing

Even if the GW kit is old, I still used it as inspiration. As you can see, I used the Black Knights horse as a base for this model, I added the Seneschal head and a shield from the Grave Guard kit. For the sword I used the one from the Vampire Lord on a Zombie Dragon kit, carefully sawing the blade and glueing it to the hilt. For the horse's head, I used one from the Citadel Skulls kit, I cut down the original head and used green stuff to add rotten tendons and to cover any seems between the two pieces. I also cut down leather straps between the horse's head and the saddle, and added cut out chain pieces from the Hexwraiths weapons.

The Painting

I primed the model with Zandri Dust spray. I always like to start with the base of the miniature, since I find that the most messy part. I like Games Workshop texture paints, as those are easy to use and I had previous issues with sand and PVA glues just peeling of the bases. I used Armageddon Dust, shaded with Agrax Earthshade and drybrushed with Tyrant Skull. I also like to throw in some stones, and paint them with Mechanicus Standar Grey and Dawnstone.

I painted the armour of the horse and the rider. I choose gold and copper as the main colours. For the shoulderpads and helmet I used Gehenna's Gold, Balthasar Gold, Retributor Armor. I gradually mixed these colours together and applied incrementally, I can't tell you a recipe, because I don't have one. I used Agrax Earthshade and Reikland Fleshshade Gloss as washes. For the chestplate I used Brass Scorpion and Runelord Brass. For the steed's armour I used Screaming Bell and Hashut Copper. I used Nihilakh Oxide to weather the copper and brass. For the chainmail and chains I used Leadbelcher and Stormhost Silver, and applied weathering with Ryza Rust. I was a bit in the mood to experiment, so I added more battle damage and weathering to the copperplates, adding damaged effect by applying Agrax Earthshade in specific spots and highlight around those spots adding a dept effect in an otherwise flat surface.

I had a hard time picking a colour for the Wight King's robes, I already have two in green/red and didn't want black. In the end I went for a teal colour. I used Stegadon Scale Green, Dark Reaper, Sotek Green and Temple Guard Blue for the clothes.

The bone on the other hand was easy, since I painted so many skeletons I didn't even had to think about it. I base the bones with Rakarth Flesh, then gradually highlight them with a mix of Screaming Skull, Pallid Wych Flesh and Agrax Earthshade. I drybrushed the horns with Tyrant Skulls and Praxeti White, and applied glazes of Agrax Earthshade and Seraphim Sepia. I highlighted them with the Screaming Skull and Pallid Wych Flesh. For the rotten tendons I always use Pallid Wych Flesh and a glaze of Druchii Violet.

I painted the shield in wood colours (Dryad Bark, Gorthor Brown, Baneblade Brown), the leather in black (Abaddon Black, Dawnstone) and the skeletal symbol with gold.

For the horse's robes I used Abaddon Black, and gradually mixed in Stormvermin Fur and Dawnstone to add highlights. Then I used a sponge and added brown texture and drybrushed light brown to add dusted, weather effects on the robe.

For the leather parts I used Rhinox Hide, Doombull Brown, Tuskgor Fur and Mournfang Brown, Skrag Brown, Deathclaw Brown.

I left the trickiest part last, I tried only once NMM, but nonetheless went ahead and painted the sword with Abaddon Black, Dawnstone and Ulthuan Grey. I used very thinned down layers to feather the colours together and create a smooth blend between them. I wanted to create this evil, blackened blade effect, after all it is a Baleful Tomb Blade!

Finally added some tufts and painted the rim of the base with Steel Legion Drab.

Hope this helped you with painting your Wight Kings or Skeletons! Stay tuned for more building/painting tutorials!

Getting into the hobby - Building your dedicated hobby space

A very important part of this hobby's aspect is the hobby space. At first a desk or the kitchen table will suffice, but after a while your collection will grow, you will have more tools and paints at your disposal and you will need to create a dedicated hobby space.

I started out on a small desk, then I got a bigger one and then I just filled it up with paints, miniatures and tools. Recently I found an online store which sells hobby items like paint racks and some sweet modular workshop system. I ordered some items from them and I have to tell you, I got them from Poland after 5 days, including the weekend!

So this is how my desk looked before:

As I wrote, I ordered several modular paint racks from HobbyZone. The fun part of this was the assembly. I only needed some PVA glue and a hammer. I just followed the instructions, the racks were put together with ease. The parts fit perfectly, I only screwed up once with the magnets.

Then I got to organize my stuff around the racks. I choose to organize my paints by type and alphabetically - shades, base paints, layer paints, texture and dry paints.

The additional rack of the tools/brushes proved to be a good addition. As you can see I filled all the spaces with the paint pots, I even had a few remaining orphan! Overall I can wholeheartedly recommend HobbyZone. They provide a good choice in building a dedicated hobby space.

Painting Spirit Hosts

As I mentioned in a previous post I got my hands on some cheap second-hand miniatures. Overall they were in good shape, but the most important part was that I didn't had to strip the paint off, since they were unpainted. But they still needed some fix, I glued them together and bought some (overpriced) GW 50mm round bases, as the original bases were some cheap knock-offs.

So as per usual, I primed them in Corax White, base-coated them with Celestra Grey. I covered all of the miniatures with Nihilakh Oxide, just you would do with a shade. Then I went for 2 variants:

1. The first one was covered entirely with a mix of Lahmian Medium and Coelia Greenshade 1:1. It took less time, and the result was ok.

2. The second and third ones were shaded with Coelia Greenshade, but only the recessed parts. It took way more longer, but the end result were far better.

I dry brushed the miniatures with Celestra Grey, followed by Ulthuan Grey. I added to some of the recessed parts Waywatcher Green for some extra effects.

I added some plaster pieces to serve as broken off gravestones.  I added Armaggedon Dust to the base, and followed the usual steps to base the miniatures. I painted the stone with Mechanicus Standard Grey, shaded with Nuln oil, dry-brushed with Administratum Grey and a light dry-brush of Ulthuan Grey. I added with PVA glue some parched grass to it from Galeforce 9. Very easy miniatures to paint, highly recommend them for beginners.

Assembling and Painting Necromancer

I got this sweet Necromancer from my LFGS' manager, Raul as a gift. Assembling this miniature is a no-brainer, even the base is on sprue. As usual I primed the model with Corax White. I added the base colors:

• to the robe's upper part Incubi Darkness and to the lower part Celestra Grey
• to the staff Mournfang Brown
• to the skin and bones Rakarth Flesh

I created a mix of Lahmian Medium and Nuln Oil, 3:1. I added approximately 10 layers, gradually to the upper part of the cloak. Then I mixed Lahmian Medium with Coelia Greenshade, again to 3:1 and added about 15 layers to create a gradient color. 

I shaded the skin with a mix of Druchi Violet and Lahmian Medium, roughly equally. For the bones and staff I used Agrax Earthshade. After this I started to highlight the robe with Kabalite Green on the upper parts, Sybarite Green on the mid section and Ulthuan Grey on the lower parts. For the skin and parchment I used the dreaded Pallid Wych Flesh (I hate it as much as I hate White Scar). I highlighted the staff with Pallid Wych Flesh to further torture myself, and the skulls as well. For the little pouch I used the standard paints for leather.

 I painted his hair with Chaos Black, and highlighted it with Eshin Grey. I painted his eyes with Moot Green and added a bit of Waywatcher Green around it. The base was painted using Zandri Dust, Agrax Earthshade and a dry brush of Tyrant Skull, and around the base I used Steel Legion Drab as per usual.

Painting Cairn Wraith

I got a used Cairn Wraith and a set of Spirit Hosts very cheap, unpainted which was an added bonus. All of them were in good shapes, however the Spirit Hosts still needed to be glued together again, since they were assembled with super glue, which tends to break off. I also changed their bases, since they came with some cheap ones, which were a bit smaller and shorter.

I primed the miniature using Corax White, and then base-coated the upper part with Incubi Darkness and the mid-to-lower part with Celestra Grey. Then I mixed Lahmian Medium with Coelia Greenshade to a ratio of 3:1. I added approximately 10 layers to have a really smooth transition between the green and the grey. After that I started highlighting the upper part with Kabalite Green and Sybarite Green, and the lower part with Ulthuan Grey. On the cloak's rim, I also added a layer of Waywatcher Green.

For the scythe I used Ironbreaker and then added Waywatcher Green and in some of the recessed part Nihilakh Oxide.

For the base I glued together some extra skulls from the Skeleton Warriors and then base-coated them in Zandri Dust. Then I added Armageddon Dust all around the base and shaded the entire base with Agrax Earthshade. I dry brushed the dusty parts with Tyrant Skull and then I highlighted the skulls with Ushabti Bone and Screaming Skull. For the stone I used Mechanicus Standard Grey for base coat, Eshin Grey and Administratum Grey for highlights. Then I PVA glued some Citadel Grass on the base. I finished the base by painting it all around in Steel Legion Drab.

Assembling and Painting Arkhan the Black - Part 2

So it has been a long time since I posted anything, but rest be assured, I kept on painting my Deathrattle Skeletons.

Since then I completely finished painting up Arkhan, but I will go through briefly on the whole painting/assembly process after Part 1.

After painting the sub-assemblies, I carefully glued together all Razarak's body.

I created two more sub-assemblies:

1. The head: I followed the same process as for the bone parts, the teeth and horn were base-coated using Chaos Black. Then I started lightly picking of edges and details with Fenrisian Grey and Russ Grey. I painted the eyes using a layer of Warpstone Glow and a tiny hint of Moot Green. I used Waywatcher Green to created a subtle glow effect.

1. The armor plating: I base-coated the plates with Naggaroth Night, and shaded the recessed parts with a mix of Nuln Oil and Druchi Violet. I higlighted the edges using Fenrisian Grey and Russ Grey, with more focus on the sharper parts. For the gold parts I used for a base coat Balthasar Gold, shaded it with Agrax Earthshade and highlighted with Gehenna's Gold. The bone parts were painted just as the bones in Part 1.

1. The saddle: I basecoated the lower part with Chaos Black and the upper part with Rhinox Hide. The black was highlighted with Eshin Grey and Skavenblight Dinge, while the brown area with Tuskgor Fur.

After this I started working on the Spirit Hosts beneath Razarak, since they are supporting it. I had some minor issues assembling it, but nothing will overcome some improvisation skills.

The upper-most spirit was designed very poorly, as it is too long and its center of mass is way too in the front so it just kept breaking off. If you check GW's website, you can actually see the painters overcome this by shortening the Spirit Host's body. (Sneaky bastards)

Long story short, this is the easiest part. I base-coated the spirits using Celestra Grey. I made a mixture of Coelia Greenshade and Lahmian Medium 1:1. I washed their entire body, after which I drybrushed them using Celestra Grey again. I highlighted some of the sharper parts with Ulthuan Grey, and added a nice glowing green effect with Waywatcher Green.

Before I assembled everything, first I finished the base of the miniature. Usually this would be the last step, but in this case I finished painting the base and then I glued the model down.

When I ordered the kit through my LFGS, GW actually forget to send it, so my store's manager, Raul stepped in and explained to them that I wouldn't get it in time for Christmas and this WAS my present (to myself). So they decided to send it with courier and add a little bonus - a Large Basing Kit. Nice!

I selected my pieces from the sprue and glued them down. I primed them using Imperial Primer, and base coated them with Incubi Darkness, respectively the golden parts using the steps described above. I dry-brushed the plates with Kabalite Green and Sybarite Green. I highlighted the edges using Kabalite Green, Sybarite Green and Ulthuan Grey.

After this, I used Armageddon Dust to create a wasteland-like terrain. I shaded it with Agrax Earthshade and dry-brushed it with Tyrant's Skull. I added some Citadel Grass to it, I used PVA glue for this step. I also used some bits and pieces from the Skeleton Warriors, just to add a little more detail to the base.

After all this, Razarak, the Spirit Hosts and the base was done. All it was just missing was Arkhan. Not a big deal!

In the next and final part I will go through on how I painted Arkhan the Black.

Assembling and Painting Arkhan the Black - Part 1

After the Start Collecting! Undead Horde finally arrived, I didn't hesitate and immediately started working on Arkhan the Black, Mortarch of Sacrament. Since it's going to be a centerpiece of the army, I decided to go for sub-assemblies to get better result and more details.

I will post the process in several parts, starting with the main body of Razarak, the dread abyssal mount of Arkhan the Black.

I started by cutting out the first pieces of the body, cleaning them with a hobby knife, then priming them with Imperial Primer. The reason I didn't use spray primer is because in winter the paint in the spray can tends to thicken.

After the primer dried, I based the skulls with two thin layers of Celestra Grey.

Then I applied Nihilakh Oxide all over the skulls, thinning it with just a bit of water to run into all of the crevasses.

After that I used a mix of Coelia Greenshade and Lahmian Medium to a ratio of 1:3 and applied it all over the skulls, making it sure it ran into all of the recessed parts.

After the shade dried, I highlighted the skulls using Ulthuan Grey.

In the second part of the sub-assembly, I based the bone structure with two thin layers of Rakarth Flesh. I painted some of the ribs and the pelvis with Zandri Dust for more diversity.

I applied a mix of Agrax Earthshade and Lahmian Medium to a ratio of 1:2, and applied 3 thin layers on the ribs painted with Rakarth Flesh and 5 thin layers on those painted with Zandri Dust. The reason why I did this way is because I didn't want the shade to pool up and to run into the area with the skulls. On the tail part I applied just Agrax Earthshade, without mixing it.

After the shade dried up, I highlighted the bones with a thin layer of Rakarth Flesh and on the raised areas, very carefully with Pallid Wych Flesh.

Note that I avoided to paint the parts were I would glue them together, as plastic glue melts the paint and won't be so efficient as on unpainted areas.

That's it, Part 1 of painting and assembling Arkhan the Black. Stay tuned for Part 2 in early January 2017!