“Still here eh? You must be tougher than you look. Few that depart from El-Kalabd make it past the Pillars of Kahied, yet here you are. Thirsty? Of course you are. Come, take a drink and let me continue the story, for we have a long way to go yet.”
Paint Splatter
Although it’s only been a few weeks since the project began, hobby progress has been significant. I’ve landed on a color scheme and finished five of the Skeleton Warriors with bows. Looking for inspiration I dug up some old Paint Splatter articles and am using the Matt’s Minions method for my army. Unlike many of the methods to paint bone, Matt’s Minions pushes towards pure white instead of tan.
Although this way to paint bone takes longer than most, I am thrilled with the results. Next, I picked a spot color. Something that would both contrast to the bone and give a classic Tomb Kings feel. As a test I painted just one bow with a base of Stegadon Scale Green. I didn’t even attempt another test model, I was sold. With the base applied I worked up two layers, one of Sotek Green and then finishing with Temple Guard Blue. I then added the same color to the fletching on the arrows. The final details were picked out in bronze using Warplock Bronze and Hashut Copper. With these three base colors – teal, bronze and white – I have the triad that I will expand and apply to the entire army.
For basing I am following (with a few tweaks) Tyler Mengal’s excellent tutorial from the Endless Deserts project. I was drawn to this base scheme because of the warm tone. The skeletons in my army are painted in a dry, harsh white and the teal spot color further cools the model. Using the combined warmth of Balor Brown and Mournfang Brown brings balance to the overall composition. Nothing solidifies a paint scheme more than lining up five completed models and appraising the group. At this point I can proudly say I am thrilled with this first batch.
Beyond painting progress both the unit of three Ushabti and the first Tomb Scorpion have been built, based and primed. I added a few extra details to these bigger bases to help break up the sand texture. Things like skulls and bits of shields buried in the sand will add extra character to the bases.
Next steps are to finish this unit of Skeleton Warriors with bows and then shift to paint my first Lich Priest and a Tomb Swarm (both these models are needed for my 250pt list). After that? I’m not sure! Maybe more Skeleton Warriors, maybe something bigger? Maybe swing back to building and work on a unit of Chariots? We shall see!
Progress Report towards May Meetup
Heroes:
Liche Priest – 115 – Primed
Core:
x10 Skeleton Warriors with Bows (80), Standard Bearer (10) – 90 – x5 Done, x5 Basecoated
Tomb Swarm – 45 – Primed
Total: 250pts
I’m confident that I will have my initial 250pts ready to go by the end of May. In fact, I’m sure I’ll have those units completed much sooner. As I am not one to take half-measures, I’ve already started dreaming of a much, much larger force. A force led by none other than Settra The Imperishable.
As Settra clocks in at a massive 625pts and takes up an unprecedented TWO Lord choices the bare minimum sized army to field him is 3,000pts. With this lofty goal in mind, let’s take a look at the overall progress of this Tomb Kings project.
Progress Report towards Settra’s Legion
Acquired:
x16 Skeleton Warriors with Hand Weapon & Shield
Liche Priest on Foot
Tomb Guard
Chariots
Skeleton Horsemen
Built:
Tomb Scorpion
Primed:
x3 Ushabti
x16 Skeleton Warriors with Spears
Tomb King
Tomb Prince
Chicago Dice 