#18: Red Bull gives you...

Well, I must say, it has been a mental week. And while work, wife and minor home renovations have occupied my time almost completely (and let's be honest here, they are far more important than our beautiful game), I have managed to jam in a few minutes here and a few minutes there to work on my many, many projects. And while my primary projects, High Elves and Necrons, are taking up prime positions, somehow I ended up painting an arbite-style bullgryn and an Ulthwe Farseer that turned out significantly better than I expected. And before you shake your head at my complete lack of attention span, these are not new armies I'm starting. I have neither the time or money to support two more armies right now. 

As for my two main projects, I have not lavished much paint upon my necrons, instead investing time into assembling a Triarch Stalker, a unit of tomb blades, and a handful of Destroyers, all of which were a joy to put together, being really straight forward and well designed. 

When it comes to my high elves, though, I've painted what is so far my favourite unit in the range. The Sisters of Averlorn.

These lovely ladies with their sure eyes and magic flaming bows that shoot magic flaming arrows bring an extra little kick to the shooting phase, as well as some vital flaming attacks for any pesky monsters who have drawn the attention of some bolt throwers who don't want to chew through a regeneration save. To top it off, they get bonuses against forces of disorder, and come out of rare, which is not hugely competitive for high elves, particularly because I'm not including Phoenixes of either variety. 

I love the models too. When I first assembled them, I was thinking to myself, "There is no way that these girls will rank up in a unit any bigger than five". But there is a way. And I fully intend on filling out this unit, almost exclusively for the reason that I have never seen a unit of them put on the table of any decent size. When painting them, the thing that makes them stand out is their long, flowing blonde hair and the flashes of white on their sleeves. The purple that I've used on their bows is the same purple of the arcane blast being summoned by my Loremaster as well as the roiling ball of energy holding my Mage aloft. I think it ties the army scheme together with yet another strand of continuity, which I like. 

There has also been an influx of photos just today from participants of Border Wars, the ongoing army builder challenge that I've been running these last couple of months. We have just passed the 1000 point mark, and the guys have not failed to impress. 

Josh: Legions of Chaos

With the addition of an Exalted hero. And some demonic friends, Josh has filled out his force, sporting not only plenty of armour but also a devastating magical barrage thanks to Dr. Festus and his Tzeentchian allies. The almost bleached flesh ties the mortal and immortal factions together in a uniform display of colour.

Liam: Orcs and Goblins

You may remember Liam's last installation in border wars; a massive slab of night goblins with a majestic rank filler in the form of a crazed shaman working madly staring into a huge cauldron of potion. Well, he has continued to produce spectacular work and really show off the whacky nature of Night Goblin culture, as well as the awesome models they have at their disposal. 

Aside from the Forgeworld Night Goblin character pack, there is no alternative model when it comes to Battle Standard Bearers. Liam has cleverly used a handful of elements from his bits box to extend this little guy's gruesome trophy rack (already adorned with skulls that he probably stole rather than claimed) into an impressive and unmissable banner that will stand tall in the midst of his comrades. 

No self respecting night goblin player leaves home without at least one of these terrifying balls of destruction, and Liam is not one to buck the trend. Everyone I know has a healthy fear of these toothy wrecking balls, and for good reason. 

Continuing the trend of "night-goblin-ifying" common goblin units, Liam has delved into the vaults of Forge World to get this monstrosity to represent a Doom Diver. Instead of a slingshot flinging winged goblins with self-destructive tendencies into the ranks of heavily armoured Knights, this beast spits Squigs over large distances, who can and will bite your head off as they are crushing you into the ground.

To close it out, he's includes another regiment of Night Goblin bowmen to join his newest character, a deranged shaman. 

Glen: Beastmen

This. I have been sitting on these photos for days now and cannot wait to show you. Glen has gone above and beyond and really showcases his extensive painting abilities! 

Overlooking the slightly mental GW Razorgor models, he's chosen these furry bush pigs to represent, well... Furry bush pigs. 

Showcasing his spectacular free hand abilities, he has lavished this Wargor BSB with love and attention, his banner adorned with half of a chaos star. 

Then there's this bray-shaman, holding his barbaric staff aloft as if mid-casting. What leaps out to me with this model is actually the chaos star he has carved into his chest, giving the model a sinister vibe.

Now, you may notice a lot of these are not Games Workshop models, and there is a reason for this. Beastmen (and I believe I have mentioned this before) are one of the very few armies that has next to no model support. With the exception of a few plastic kits for core units and useless monsters (oh, for a rare choice that didn't completely suck), there are no models for many units in the army book. Glen has looked outside the usual range and selected some spectacular miniatures from other ranges. Just look at his Razorgor chariot. If that three-headed beast doesn't represent the stat line of the model, I don't know what does. 

And to close it out, check out his Doom Bull on a Flying Carpet!!

This guy is just a death-dealing cannonball of a character, capable of ripping off a dragons head and eating it's rider. But have a closer look...

Fantastic. Red bull. Flying carpet. The jokes tell themselves! Great attention to detail, and I am so excited to see the finished army!

Thanks so much for reading, and I'll talk to you again next week, dear reader!

Until then,

Gabriel