The Vessel of Judgement

Vessel of Judement

With Warmachine: Wrath almost wrapped up and Privateer Press previewing it’s next Warmachine installment “Colossals”, which will introduce the next 120mm based model by the same name, I figured I has better get some better pictures of the current 120mm based centerpiece and battle engine for the Protectorate of Menoth- the Vessel of Judgement.

The story behind these models goes along the lines of the sacred bones of former priest-kings and visgoths of the Protectorate of Menoth are interred in these vessels, and the priests attached to them summon their wrath against the unbelievers and heretics. So what we have is a bunch of angry old bones that, when riled up, lash out against the enemies of their faith. Oh, and let us not forget the very large man at the fore- he apparently has enough faith to pull his Vessel without any help from any others.

That is one very large and very strong Zealot...

When models in my world get finished, I like to take them down to All About Games in Boise, Idaho, and show them off (I work pretty hard for “I hate you’s” for completing models). The other reason is that I get to take pictures on their one-of-a-kind Gale Force 9 custom Cryx table. While not the easiest table to play on, and just short of being ‘regulation’ (it is 42″ square, not 48″ square), it seems to serve as a very good backdrop to Privateer Press miniatures.

"Turn to the right..."

The Vessel of Judgement was pretty intimidating when I got it out of the box and mostly assembled. I kept asking myself how I was going to get it done and make it look good. The trick for me was studying its structure, and looking at various pictures online and in the book, and ultimately looking at the portion of the army that I have already painted.

"... turn to the left..."

Overall it went pretty fast. I dry-brushed most of the metallics, laid down some base coats, and an ink wash or two (Badab Black and Smoky Ink) on the main structure, and the priest and the zealot got painted separately and attached to the Vessel towards the end. I left the Vessel off the base until I figured out how I wanted that to look as well. It all came together fairly well, and if I ever do another one I know what changes I will make, and I even have an idea for an alternate color scheme. Funny how that works, right?

The part I see most on the table as it moves forward to burn heretics-

The filigree was possibly the most labor intensive part of the model. It boiled down to using P3 Blighted Gold, then dry-brushing Rhulic Gold over the top of that, and finally going over with an even lighter dry-brush of Solid Gold. I do have to say that I am impressed with the new, re-formulated P3 Rhulic Gold. It goes on smooth, and no clumpy mess to sort out. A lot less frustration than their earlier incarnation.

Close up of the Menofix

One of the tricks I have picked up along the way is to use a little dab of  ‘Ard Coat or other gloss varnish to shine up any gems on any of my models. Along with using a basic gem highlighting technique, this allows the surrounding light source to play into the model’s scheme.

I still have about two days to go before the local tournament where I want to field fully painted army lists- and I still have a Reckoner, Devout, Dervish, and a unit of Daughters of the Flame (nine models in all) to get finished. They are coming along nicely, but I really should be getting back to them.

 

Thanks for checking in-

Playing With Fully Painted Armies…

When I first got into Warmachine I boldly stated that I would assemble and paint my miniatures, but I probably wouldn’t get them painted. A lot has changed in that eight-plus year span, and I find I am addicted to fielding painted models, and it is so much sweeter when I can field a fully painted army. It is quite impressive for me to see models I have toiled over coming together as a cohesive whole on the tabletop, and the compliments I get from other players and fellow hobbyists helps keep me going.

The Fully Painted Protectorate Army of Doom... or something like that...

Last Thursday I played Sam and his 35 point list featuring the Old Witch. Sam has been playing and painting his Khador army for better than a year, and slowly amassing his collection. He is also a new father and all around great guy. I got to face two units of the new Kayazy Eliminators as well as a full unit of Kayazy Assassins with their Underboss attachment. I was really not looking forward to facing this army… Sometimes I don’t think Sam is all that great when he comes up with models I don’t want to face.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My list wasn’t something Sam wanted to face either:

• Severius
• - Vanquisher
• - Blessing of Vengeance
• Vessel of Judgment
• Wracks (3)
• Choir (4)
• Temple Flameguard (10)
• - Officer & Standard Bearer
• Holy Zealots (6)
• - Monolith Bearer

So all that comes to 35 points and 30 models on the table, which looks like this:

Deployed 35 point Severius army, sans Wracks

To be fair, I didn’t get a picture of Sam’s army because, as part of his new-found fatherhood, has not had the time to paint and there is no reason to show him up, at least here.

The Vessel of Judgement on the table

The focus of this game for me was to see what I could do with the Vessel of Judgement, Protectorate’s battle engine. It is pretty much a centerpiece for the army, and until the Colossals arrive this summer, it will remain so.

A view from the left

Now, of course I am stalling and posting pictures, because once we started the game I failed to take any more picture. The army is pretty solid with Severius at the helm, and I feel I can never really go wrong with the Temple Flameguard or Holy Zealots in my list.

... and how I see the army deployed.

The game went back and forth, and it was a tough fight. I ended up being able to hurt the Kayazy Assassins and mitigate their threat, and one of the Eliminator units was *ahem* eliminated. The other unit ran down my left flank and was able to engage Severius, who was skillfully hiding behind the Vessel of Judgement. Sam was able to use the Old Witch’s feat to keep me in place, but I countered with Severius’ feat to deny him focus on his turn. Around turn three I was able to put damage on the Old Witch and back her up and away from my force. I think the funniest point in the game was when a Widowmaker Marksman missed the Vessel of Judgement with a ranged attack. I think I ended up winning based on points, but the more important aspect of this game was that we both got to see how our new models interacted and worked, from both sides.

I can’t say the Vessel was the MVP of the game, but it was a cool piece to have on the table and I can see good potential within the army. I think it fits best with Severius, but I have yet to try it with any of my other warcasters. I think it is also more viable in a larger game, but that is me thinking. I plan on fielding this particular list alongside my Thyra themed list at an upcoming Tournament this Saturday. I will be sure to take pictures and notes so I have something for next week.

On the painting table this week are my third and fourth units of Daughters of the Flame, a Reckoner, Devout, and Dervish so that I can field both army lists fully painted.

Also, our Journeyman League ended, and it turns out there was a tie for first place. We both had the same amount of overall points- I had one more hobby point and Chris had one more gaming point. Chris took first because of the way tie-breakers work, and yours truly ended up in second. I played zero games in week four. That will teach me. With my winnings/ prize support I picked up a Mercenary Plastic Heavy Warjack kit and the add-on kit for Rocinante, Captain Damiano’s character warjack. He has been assembled and the painting started, and of course I have no pictures. Next time…

 

Thanks for checking in-

 

Now, where did I leave off?

It’s been a little crazy, and the painting desk has become eclectic again. I owe those that keep up with this (not difficult, I know) some updated pictures of stuff I have completed- mainly the Protectorate of Menoth painting I have completed- so here we go:

Thyra, Flame of Sorrow

Blood of Martyrs

Thyra, Flame of Sorrow and Blood of Martyrs

Nicea, Tear of Vengeance

The first Choir of Menoth

My second Choir of Menoth

First unit of Daughters of the Flame

The second Daughters of the Flame unit

Group shot

As to what I have been working on this week- I picked up the Mercenary Plastic Heavy Warjack box, and since I have two Mules and three Nomads and zero Rovers, I built and painted a Rover. I made the joke when I heard the name of the new ‘jack: I will have two, but the first one I will name “Red”.

So I present to you Red, the Rover:

Red, the Rover Mercenary Heavy warjack

Turn to the right...

Turn to the left...

Red's backside

Now I will say hear that very few of my models get names right out of the gate. In some cases I have a plan, such as the Mercenary Privateer models and warjacks that I decided to name after Coast Guard ships. Somewhere floating around I have a mostly painted (see also: Seasoning) Mariner that is called “Healy”, after the US Coast Guard Ice Breaker that has been in the news lately. I should probably finish that model…

This brings up a quandary I am having with regards to playing and painting. I have set a goal of getting an army fully painted in 2012. I have a Circle of Orboros army that is about 70% completed and I could probably cheat a little and get that done fairly quickly. I may use them to break up the monotony of what I think I really want to get done: my Protectorate of Menoth army. Weighing in at well over 300 models and an army I have been playing since I got into Warmachine almost 8 years ago (if not more- I am terrible with keeping track of time), it looks like I am 38% fully painted. This last Journeyman League has inspired me to keep painting on them and get the whole army painted by the end of the year. Of course, I have a lot of Exemplar models to finish (again- seasoning). This is going to be quite a challenge, but taking on a model/ unit at a time I should be able to work my way through the sea of assembled and primed models. Add to that that as much as I want to play Protectorate currently- I will only play fully painted Protectorate from here on out (you can hold me to that).

The hardest part of doing this is that I like painting and playing a faction at the same time. I am going to break that and play with another faction, more than likely Mercenaries (my second largest army), while I work on my Protectorate army. The other thing I have to resist is new releases. I am going to pick up the new releases along the way, but I am making myself paint older stuff in order to be able to buy new shiny models, as a reward.

So… about 210 models to get through in 10 months. Roughly 21 models a month… I can do this.

Thanks for checking in-

Painting, and not posting…

Curses! I let another week or two slide by without posting anything.

The Journeyman League has come to a close, and I think there are a few of us waiting on results. I didn’t get in any games that counted for this weeks scoring, but I did get a lot painted.

I have been working on the Protectorate of Menoth, Thyra “Black Widows” theme and getting it to tier 4 and fully painted. OK, so I didn’t quite get everything painted, but there is a 35 point SR2012 tournament coming up on the 25th, and all I need to paint to finish is three warjacks (though I will get four done).

One of the benefits to the Journeyman League is that any faction model painted counts towards hobby points. How could I resist? I wanted to get the Vessel of Judgement done-

This is a “huge-based” model, 120mm base. I am being slightly lazy and haven’t uploaded better pictures, so I will save that for next time. I haven’t had the opportunity to actually play this model on the table, but I am about as anxious to field it as my fellow gamers are loathe to see it across the table from them.

Blood of Martyrs - WIP

Other things that I managed to work on that are part of Thyra’s theme are the Blood of Martyrs; Nicea, Tear of Vengeance, a full Choir of Menoth (though I only have a minimum unit in the list), and two units of Daughters of the Flame. The additional warjacks I have worked on for the list, but aren’t finished yet, are a Reckoner, a Dervish (or two), and a Devout.

So… the list:

Thyra, Flame of Sorrow

- Blood of Martyrs

- Reckoner

- Devout

- Dervish

Nicea, Tear of Vengeance

Choir of Menoth (4 models)

Daughters of the Flame (x2) (12 models)

This gets me to 35 points, 22 models, and “Black Widows” tier 4. It has been moderately successful against a number of armies and opponents, most notably one of their hardest match-ups: Blindwater Congregation, or Gators. Multi-wound, high armor, and if they can hit them, instant death to my troops. My best bet is to out-maneuver and get behind them, and quickly. It happens, and when it does, well, it can be just a little glorious.

Not a lot of pictures and things to show off this go around. I will save that for next time. As to what I did get painted over the last four weeks- Vessel of Judgement; Thyra, Flame of Sorrow; Blood of Martyrs; Nicea, Tear of Vengeance; Choir of Menoth (6 Models); Daughters of the Flame (x2) (12 models). Hopefully I will have the results of the League towards the end of the week as well.

Thanks for checking in-

Changing Things Up- Journeyman League

Apparently I neglected to get this posted last week- I am working on this weeks entry and have been pretty busy painting even playing a few games, but I can talk about them later.

Thanks,

~S

The Favorite Local Game Store (FLGS) started up a modified Privateer Press Journeyman League this last week. The league will run 4 weeks, and participants are encouraged to play games as well as model and paint, showcasing all aspects of the tabletop wargaming hobby. Each player scores points for playing games and painting models of their chosen faction.

I struggled with what faction I wanted to paint and play for this event right up until the day the league started. Mercenaries looked promising, I could finish my Circle army, maybe get some Cygnar done, or go with Protectorate, as that army has sat in it’s respective cases for the better part of a year. I also had an itch to build and play a Thyra themed force, so Protectorate won out. Our local Press Gang Volunteer, DiceWraith, and I made a trade for some models, and I ended up with Nicea, Tear of Vengeance, and my third unit of Daughter of the Flame.

Nicea and the unit of Daughters have been assembled, and the local weather is not cooperating with getting a primer coat on the models- it has been far too cold and wet to use spray primer. In cases like this, and through most of the winter months, I use black gesso.

It brushes on very nicely, and gives the paint something to adhere to. I keep my brush a little wet to get into the fine crevices, and it doesn’t take too long to dry. By keeping my brush a little wet, I mostly avoid the gesso shrinking while drying, but it still happens once in a while, so I will go back and touch up the models where shrinkage has occurred. Most manufacture’s recommend allowing twenty-four hours of drying time, and that is possibly the hardest part when I have models I am anxious to paint- so it is on to other distractions-

Gesso is dry and ready for base coats.

I managed to finish painting Lord Runewood for my Cygnar army, as well as making good progress on Constance Blaize who will pull double duty in both my Cygnar and Mercenary armies.

All prettied up and ready for the tabletop. Soon.

I will be focusing on getting a good amount of Protectorate models done over the next four weeks, and at some point after this there will also be a straight up Warmachine & Hordes gaming league- War Torn Alliances: Gnarls. I will keep you posted.

Thanks for checking in-

The Khadoran Influence… and More…

The Gruesome Twosome: Vlad & Drago.

It has been a long week, and a longer weekend. I did manage to get seemingly a lot done, and I am apparently on some sort of roll.

Along with the Uhlan cavalry I started Drago, Vlad’s character warjack. For whatever reason this model went quick. Probably because I had a pretty good idea of how I wanted the finished model to look, and also because warjacks are pretty easy to paint up.

Drago, in all his completed glory.

The ‘seasoning’ of last week’s projects were found in the Vlad models I had started sometime last year- the original sculpt, the Katrina variant, and the epic version. Vlad 2 still awaits a shoulder pad for his completion, but the other two got finished.

Vlad, Katrina Variant.

... and his flowing cape.

Original Sculpt (Pelvic Thrust) Vlad

... and his flowing cape.

To round out the “things I finished” category- Sylys Wysh…. Wyshnyl… yeah, OK… Sylys the Seeker.

Sylys Wyshnylyr- frontside.

I really like how the cloth turned out. Maybe that's just me.

I made progress on the Protectorate’s Vessel of Judgement which, when I get to it, seems to paint up pretty fast. A quick brushing of Badab Black and Vallejo Smokey Ink on the Vessel itself, and a light Badab Black and Gryphonne Sepia on the living models and I should be ready to start bringing out the details and highlights.

First wash of Badab Black

The view from "My Side of the Table"

Of course, in my crazy world, on my crazy desk, I can always find more distractions and things to start. Lord Runewood, Constance Blaize, and her warjack Gallant for Cygnar, and Thyra and her warjack Blood of Martyrs got a solid start.

Thyra, Blood of Martyrs, Runewood, Gallant, and Constance. Why can't they all just get along?

I think if I sat down for a good hour I would get Runewood done and the rest to the wash stage. We will see if that happens…

Our local Press Gang volunteer will be starting a Journeyman League at our FLGS (favorite local game store) this Thursday, and I am still at odds with what faction and models I want to get painted.

Some folks are using this as a way to start a new faction from the ground up, others, like myself, are looking at it as a tool to paint the models we already have. I will probably go with Mercenaries, but Protectorate is weighing heavy on my mind and I am somewhat anxious to get back into playing them, and I am still a mere twenty-some-odd models away from having my Circle of Orboros fully painted…. Then there are the Minions…

Decisions, decisions…

Thanks for checking in-

More Recent Projects

I left a lot of things unfinished last year- the Kraye themed list at 50 points still needs finished, the Orks lay waiting in a box somewhere… Dave’s Dystopian Wars boats need to be started and finished… and yet here I am looking at Vlad2 running two full units of Uhlans- Here is the test model for the second unit:

I have a unit started in the traditional red, but I thought about more contrast, and black seemed a likely color. Gloss Black from Vallejo’s Model Color line. I know I still have the first unit to finish, but for some odd reason they seem to paint up pretty quick, I will get to them when I get the second unit done. Kovnik Markov is awaiting his time (again) on the desk, and because I find humor in it, I will finish the War Dog to bring the whole “Dog & Pony Show” together. I may even pick up a second War Dog to match the new paint scheme. And now that I am pretty sure the next incarnation of Vlad the Umbrean Horse Lord is actually going to be on a horse, well, who am I to resist? This caused me to break out the versions of Vlad I had started quite a while ago (remember ‘seasoning’?)-

... On being a Dark Prince...

"Katrina" Vlad- The Shiny Prince

... and his flowing cape.

Vlad, the Dark Champion didn’t make the photo shoot because of a wardrobe malfunction. When I bought the model I dry-fitted and made sure everything was there, what I didn’t catch was that he had two of the same shoulder pad. So now he sits, awaiting the correct piece. He is almost as shiny as the “Katrina” Vlad.

I have been working on Drago as well-

Something about "Two Arms! Two Arms!... "

And this is where I left of with the Uhlan Cavalry:

About half the little ponies.

The Vessel of Judgement made its appearance on the desk. I was somewhat intimidated by the amount of filigree and details, not no mention the size of the model, but once I got going on it it seemed to go pretty quick.

I dry-brushed GW Tin Bitz where I decided to add gold, and almost everything else was based with Citidel Deneb Stone then a generous coat of P3 Menoth White Highlight.

I discovered that I should have left the wheels off for better access to the body of the model. Call it a learning curve, I know how I will paint the second one if I ever feel the urge to get another one and paint it. I am also feeling the itch to field Protectorate in the near future…

The Mercenary Iosan Sylys Wyshnylyr made an appearance, and after painting the model for Breast Cancer Brawl: Boise, 2011, I needed to paint my own. Funny enough, the second one seemed to go a lot faster.

It might seem like a lot, and it has been a busy week, both at and away from the painting desk. I feel like I am just getting warmed up and back into the swing of things- the New Year’s resolution is to get more models and armies painted before getting new models, though I have a short list of things I want in the next few months.

Thanks for checking in-