OK, so new year, new projects, some dating from way back and some brand new. Well, this one is actually a bit of both.
I've been toying with the idea of an undead force for a long time now but with my "armies" days behind me, I just didn't have the will nor stamina to do a big project like this anymore.
Good thing is, Frostgrave and Mordheim followed by Dragon Rampant with the Champions of Law have tought me small forces can easily made and augmented if you want to scratch a special itch.
With that in mind, since I had painted a zombie for deadcember, I just had to paint a model now and then to slowly but steadily grow my group into a playable force.
Frostgrave being centered around the wizard and his(her) apprentice, I opted for a pair of vampires. Vampires are cool. Well they can be.
Some are. OK ?
My kind of vampires is the one I read about in the Ravenloft novels (back in the early/mid 90's):
They had just the right ratio of archetype and new take on a canonical genre which I really fancied. But more than that, they had a real depth and character.
My Vampires are built in that kind of fabric.
The countess Laura de Saintclair and the Baron Minzara are both descended from Bretonnian nobility but have seen their titles and land taken from them because of a series of crimes against nature. Far from being let down by this, they actually used that opportunity to start afresh in imperial cities, keeping some of their former loyal servants around them. Both don't seek to get any sort of revenge or even their lands and titles back, such petty motives are behind them.
Power is the key, whoever has even a fragment of it has all that goes with it, they seek cursed tomes, unholy artifacts and any mean to strengthen their grasp on others.
So here we are, that's already 3 members for the band. As usual, I haven't really cared about building a list beforehand and I will only car about it once I have a few more members under the belt. I want to build the identity of the band before the list.
I'm still not sure what to paint next but I suppose a couple more zombies could be useful... ^^
In the meantime, I'm also working an a couple more projects which are quite fun (for me at least). Hopefully they'll prove fun for you too !
OMG!Excellent work on these vampires!
ReplyDeleteregards
M.
Well thank you ! I hope you'll like the other guys then !
DeleteThey are nice JB. THE male is a particularly nice fig, but both are great.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of the human that looks after the vamps during the day, either due to blackmail, threats to family or promises of immortality.
"Renfields" are an evocative part of the lore.
But zombies are fun too :)
Hadn't thought about Reinfield but it's indeed a very good concept to dig. I supose that's what Dregs wee all about in the first place...
DeleteExcellent stuff. I look forward to watching another of your 'slow grow' warbands developing!
ReplyDeleteOne (or two) at a time ! ^^
DeleteCheers !
Lovely work JB, looking forward to seeing this warband develop organically as you chose your favourite miniatures. I'm still fascinated by the tessellation of your hex bases too, when conga-d they look very appealing!
ReplyDeleteI don't tire of them really !
DeleteCheers mate ;)
Lovely vamps JB - so cool! With such a strong theme, these make a great centre piece for any war band :-)
ReplyDeleteand an army who knows ? ^^
DeleteThanks !
Very nice indeed :)
ReplyDeleteThank you !
DeleteGreat painting as usual, they are full of character.
ReplyDeleteAnd I am very much with you on your selection of bands: Find the models that you like first and decide on their character, theme etc and then work on the list for them.
Much more satisfying that way.
:-)
It's the only way I know for sure !
DeleteThanks a lot, I'm really excited to move on with those !
The male vampire is just brilliant. I love the sculpt, I love the colours, I love his ruff and skull cap!
ReplyDeleteThe girl is nice too of course ;)
Excellent start to the warband.
It is a fantastic sculpt, bought him right when he was released, at first I wasn't sold on his cap and finally it grew on me.
DeleteThanks !
Must admit i've never been a huge fan of the sartosan vampire, but your female blood-sucker is looking ace! I love Von Carstein vampires, much more than WFB 8th ed chaos warriors shaped vampires. Probably because i love Ravenloft too, the AD&D setting i've spent the most time in and mastering ^^
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see your take on human servitors/dreggs! They are the kind of stuff you excel at (yes, you kind of excel at human wreckage!)
I knew I could count on your impeccable taste again. 😊
DeleteI see I can't really escape Reinfield can I ?
how could you ? i see no options here, only fate, and then self-disgust
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ReplyDeleteThese are fantastic! Nice models, and lovely paint work. Don't know what I like best, the reds, the skin tones, the blacks, the grubby robe on the male. All very impressive!
ReplyDeleteThat's OK, you don't have to pick. ;)
DeleteThanks a lot !
Great looking vampires.
ReplyDeleteI particularly like moldy the graveyard earth stained clothes, makes it look like they've just dragged themselves from their graves. Very effective.
Well, they've spent quite a while looking for the grave of that formidable warrior... ^^'
DeleteThanks !
Very nice interpretations of these vamps JB. In my opinion a vampire should be of the classic variety and they fit the bill perfectly. The Sartosan vamp is a particular favourite of mine and one I regret not buying while it was still in production.
ReplyDeleteCheers, I'll try and keep the same vibe with the new members. ^^
DeleteThese are great. How did you achieve the skin tone?
ReplyDeleteVery easy, I started on a base of Stone grey (PA) and washed the whole skin with a mix of blue wash from GW and lahmian medium. I then glazed some parts like the tips of the ears and the eyes with purple. A couple of highlights with the initial stone grey and that's all !
DeleteAhhh! I think the background them of the photo makes them looks green but I see the blue now.
DeleteThe stone grey actually has a tint of green in it which is reinforced by the blue indeed.
DeleteI love the conversion of the female vampire, and how excellent is it to use two now rare figures to make a unique one?
ReplyDeletePaint jobs are excellent as always, and I will have to use the grey skin some time.
Well to be honest, I used a copy of Lucreza Bellodona's torso hence the poor quality and the other vampire is still in the current range. Just trying to use the best of both worlds really !
DeleteThanks a lot !
Wow these look great! What a smashing idea for a very fun theme'd Frostgrave warband. (Really liked that fluff too.)
ReplyDeleteCheers, FG allows for really personalised bands. ^^
DeleteYour work using pastel-like colour schemes continues to astound me. One day ... one day I'm gonna achieve the pastel masterclass look that you so (seemingly) effortlessly churn out. Great, great work! :)
ReplyDeleteWell the red still are pretty saturated, I just love to work them this way and it offers a contrast with other colours, the only real secret being to highlight with grey if you want to get tone them down.
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