Shadespire Painting pt. 2

Worked for a bit last night on the Bloodbound for Shadespire. Here’s where I am now with those bad boys and a shot of where I am with all the bases.

The bases have been a delight to paint. Nothing fancy just some quick base colors/wash/hilight. Here’s what I’ve been using:
Base color – Badger’s Stynylrez gray aibrush primer
Wash – Nuln Oil
Drybrush 1 – Dawnstone
Drybrush 2 – Administratum Gray
Leaves – base color Elysian Green
Branches – base color X-88
Dirt – Mournfang Brown, wash Agrax Earthshade
Skulls – base color Zandri Dust, wash Agrax Earthshade, H1 Ushabti Bone, H2, Sceaming Skull

 

Garrek’s Reavers
I’m happy I finally worked out a flesh recipe that works for me and the time I have to get things done. I’ll get the blues and reds darker obviously. I had a ‘happy accident’ in the blues (ew). I’d painted two of the guys with black pants (see pt. 1) and when I went to look at doing a deep blue similar to Red Gobbo’s (pt. 1) I started painting this blue over the black. I am liking this much better than the blue then shaded with a black/blue wash (as you can see if you compare them in the group shot). I think I might go back and hit them with black and then blue over that. Debating…This is also serving as my test run for my actual Bloodbound army so whatever colors work here I’ll be carrying them over to the AoS figs.

Flesh Tones: base is Stynylrez light flesh, washed with Reikland Fleshshade, then drybrushed hilights of Kislev Flesh (need to double check that), and then Flayed one Flesh afterward, last was a thin wash of the Reikland Fleshshade again. I’m still messing with the scars, will post what I’m doing with them later. I might try an even thinner second Reikland on future models.

Shadespire Painting Fun

Started painting up the Shadespire models. The Bloodbound are, to me, more characterful but all have been fun so far. The bases are great, and except for a couple hiccups with the pieces being too tight on assembly I’ve had a blast working on everything so far. There’s not a huge amount of work done, but here are a few pix.

The bases primed. All are preformed for each model, and have great textures. 

Stormcast. Going for something white armored I think, hence the white primer.

Garrek’s Reavers in progress. Used the Badger airbrush light flesh primer, very happy I did so.

I was shooting for the black and red style but then saw these pictures from the Red Gobbo. I will definitely be using the blue/gray leggings in the mix, hits what I wanted perfectly. His S

hadespire album.  His blog.

 

GW’s Shadespire

When GW announced Shadespire I was relatively unimpressed. The initial images looked like a hot mess. An uninspired big hex grid map, some cards, some custom dice, and a few models. Nothing about gameplay initially, just ‘here ya go, buy this.’

I ignored everything about it after that, and then a demo copy showed up at Brookhurst Hobbies. I flipped through the box and was a little less sour on it and curious. The models were gorgeous (I’ve always been partial to the Bloodbound models even though I don’t have…didn’t have…any for an army). Then out of pure designer curiosity I sat down and tried the game out.

…and fell in deep like with it. The game is intended to play fast, roughly 20 minutes (GW says, I say more like 40 for 2 players) in length, and can scale up to 4 players. It’s not a miniatures game, it’s a hex map board game. Much more of an arena style combat game than anything else. The beauty of the mechanics is in how you the decks interact with the game elements and allow for some creative tactics. Whether you prefer to strike boldly or maneuver for objectives things can change based on the positioning of the boards at setup as well as what cards the players use to build their decks. I like cards, so this is a Good Thing to me.

Some folks have compared it to X-wing in the card customizing category. I think it should be more aptly compared to Runewars to a degree since you’re buying full warbands in the expansions and not single ships, but that’s a ticky tack debate. The buy model is what’s being compared here. Each warband, including those in the boxed set, comes with its own unique deck of power and objective cards (the two decks used), and generics of each. These generics can be used across all warbands, but no warband’s kit comes with every general card. If you want generic card X for your BLoodbound you may need to buy the Ironjawz box since that card wasn’t in the Bloodbound deck (or starter box at all). Sounds annoying for those who want to chase the cards and play more competitively. But wait, unlike X-Wing or Runewars that Ironjawz warband is self-contained and can be played out of the box as well. You have not only picked up the additional generic cards but another Warband to swap in and out. Since games are very short and the model count so low – currently we have seen the range running 3-7 depending on the Warband – some options for what you play are nice to have.

GW’s putting some effort into this game, even supporting competitive events in stores! Who do these guys think they are? 90’s GW?

This isn’t a comprehensive review of the game, but a quick heads up that you may want to check it out if you have the opportunity. It’s not for everyone, but I hope you find it to your liking as I have.

3 Keg Barrels

Finished a quick paint job on 3 keg barrels from the Pathfinder Deep Cuts collection. Painted up easy, they come pre-primered with Vallejo primer. Not 100% sold on their primer job but it was adequate. Looking forward to other items from the line.

Area Terrain for Blood and Plunder

Was looking for some area terrain templates for foliage/trees I wouldn’t have to build myself. I know that sounds lazy, but time’s not a big luxury for me these days. Was fortunate to be directed to Worldsmith Industries, and their area terrain templates. I received the order this week and thought I’d post what they looked like out of the box. Looking forward to cleaning and painting these up along with adding plants and trees.

I ordered the Base 3, Base 4, and Base 5.2 pieces along with 6 Bare Earth and 6 Tree Stump inserts. Here’s the three of them together, with the 50mm inserts spread across the group. As you can see, the casting is clean, few details needing cleanup/edges trimmed. The stumps fit the palms I picked up on Ebay nicely, and I can use the flat inserts for other trees I have with thicker trunks and/or clumps of plants. The resin is sturdy, but not too thick. Plenty of table coverage with these guys.

One other thought. The 50mm inserts are pretty stable alone. The blanks are great for 50mm foliage clumps, and the stumps for trees. Topheavy terrain may not do as well, but it’s a thought. Could always buy an assortment of both (the inserts are sold in packs separately so you can mix and match) to have on hand for the templates or as standalone scatter.

I did ask Worldsmith if they would be creating these without the rock formations sculpted in. At this time they have no plans to, but additional flocking/plants glued down will cover up the ones I don’t want showing easily. Look for progress reports coming (hopefully) soon.

Overall, definitely worth the price! Take a look here!

The Group:

Base 3

Base 4

Base 5.2

Checking the stump!: