February might be the shortest month, but this month was anything but short on hobby! We’ve got an absolute bumper crop of minis to show you this month. February was a great, busy month for the PaintSlam community and I’m honoured to present the following work! Want to get involved? Check out all the info here!
I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank the newest members of the PaintSlam Patreon from February: Alexis Westy, Andrew Birmingham, Trevor Harvey, Michelle Klinger, Natasha, and Ceda_Kuru_Qan! Thank you all so much, your support helps me keep bringing PaintSlam to the interwebs.
Back in the days when PaintSlam was still called Painthammer, I occasionally featured artists from the community here on the blog. With PaintSlam23 this is a feature I want to bring back! So I hope you all enjoy this first Community Spotlight of 2023, as we look at Terra’s Imperial Knights. And if you’re a member of the PaintSlam community and you want an army or collection showing off here on this blog, send me a DM in the Discord!
So, Terra, please introduce yourself!
Hi! I’m Terra (She/They), I’m a non-binary queer trans and poly gal. I’m 35 years old and I’ve been into the hobby since 2001, specifically I remember walking through Tesco and seeing Dark Elves on the cover of that month’s White Dwarf. And when you’re an impressionable emo/goth teenager, that definitely strikes an interest! Outside of the hobby I work in IT in London, I’m fond of cooking and baking when I get the time and I’m quite partial to a good charity shop!
Awesome, glad to have you as part of the PaintSlam community! Can you tell us about your Imperial Knight army, please?
The army itself is called “The Pride of Terra” (yes, it works on several layers) and consists of a bunch of queer and GNC* imperial knights! All the Knights have their gender on their right pauldron, and their sexual identity on the left. These knights are proud of who they are!
The lore behind the Knights is that they all grew up in the cis normative household of the great houses, but when they came out to their families, they were shunned and shamed for who they were. So, they took the oath of the Freeblade and wandered the stars, fighting against injustice and upholding their own honour.
Eventually, these knights found eachother, they re-painted over their household colours and formed their own found families. And now, they proudly display not their heritage, but who they are, on their might knight chassis.
That’s great! And I love how you integrated the flags into the design and backstory of the miniatures. Any other nuggets for us?
I made the army in a way to try to normalise asking about and using different pronouns. I found that a lot of warhammer players denote to calling their minis he or him as just the default. I don’t generally correct anyone on using the pronouns of my knights but I have noticed that at the start of the game opponents default to he/him, but after listening to me using she/they/it, that by the end of the game my opponent has picked up on it and genders my knights correctly.
I also make sure to crack a joke to ease tensions too, I find that most cishet folks are worried about making mistakes, so usually I mention that all the flags are painted freehand, and I get to make the joke of “yes they’re incredibly straight which is interesting really considering how straight I’m not” once there’s been a good laugh at the table people are usually a lot more interested in the flags and their meanings, and I often get people asking me about what all the different flags mean. This army has been a really fun experience to play, laugh with, and talk about.
Brilliant! And since these flags are often seen at Pride, what are you most proud about with this army?
As for being proud about this army, it was assembled and painted in just under a year. But if I’m honest there’s still little touches here and there to be made until the army is “finished” proper.
Thanks Terra for showing us your Imperial Knights! Keep it up and I’d love to see how the army grows in the future too! Terra is one of the members of the PaintSlam community, why not join us this year? Maybe you’ll be the next to have your collection in the spotlight!
It’s the start of Feb… one month down for the year of 2023 already. How time flies. So it’s time to show you all the wonderful work of the PaintSlam community, and because of the biting political commentary of it, things seem to be going backwards in real life I’m going to do the names in reverse alphabetical order today. Take that, people who want things to go A-Z. That’ll learn yer. Let’s get into it!!
It’s no secret that hobby discourse online can get a little… heated. Wars rage about model quality, release schedules, rules issues, representation, you name it. And yes, it can get quite draining sometimes and dull your enthusiasm for the miniature wargaming hobby.
So with that in mind, I put the question out on that one Bird AppTM, asking you folks what your favourite aspect of the hobby is. Let’s take a day out to focus on what makes us love this hobby, from the newest painter to the most experienced veteran of the tabletop battlefield. What brightens your day? Let’s take a look at some of my favourite responses (and check out the full thread for a smorgasbord of hobby happiness) right now!
(If I’ve included you in this article and you’d rather I didn’t, please do DM me and let me know and I will amend the article!)
Spending time converting messed up little guys that no one has made before. Like my chaos cybermutant with an arm where his head should be or my tiny marine sized tactical dreadnoughts.📯 pic.twitter.com/aTcWKMWSJM
@runesexplosive and @Chaosform1 were two of the many folks who expressed their love of the creativity afforded by kitbashing your miniatures, with some fantastic examples posted in their replies. Sometimes it can be daunting to try kitbashing, and it doesn’t always end up as you imagined it… but when it does, it feels great. I’d recommend giving it a go sometime – we even have our own Kitbash Garage channel in the PaintSlam discord!
The ability to be as creative as I want and tell a story though paint and context clues alone!!
I love seeing my armies come together and the narrative I've created for them too! 📯 pic.twitter.com/bCuFMpwLgH
— FunnyBonesMcJones (comms open!) (@Bones_Jones69) January 24, 2023
I have five kids, so I have used painting miniatures to relax, destress, and find peace. Even after they have grown (I do still have one at home) I enjoy just painting. 📯
@bones_jones69 and @amorell expressed their own love of painting their miniatures. There’s tons of great reasons to want to paint your models. Do you want to tell a story for that one miniature? Paint a whole army to fit your own narrative in the world(s) of your choosing? Or perhaps like @amorell it’s a way to unwind and let the cares of the real world melt away for a few hours at a time! I find painting to be very theraputic and calming, it’s surprising how fast the days can fly when you’re sat at the paint table.
The competitive play! Even those months when I'm not avaible for playing very often, I can spend hours and hours just listening to podcast about tournament and how players make their choices when they are preparing their rosters📯
On a more gaming focussed note we’ve got @Stiem_Gaming, @TDS_Gwen,and @MoriaWargames – wargaming brings people together, both in competitive settings and tactical discussion and more casual gaming as part of your local friend group or hobby club. Even us generally introverted and shy folks can find ourselves opening up and making genuine, close friendships both across the table and our screens. And any trip to Warhammer World or an exciting hobby show or event is better with friends! There’s often those experienced hobbyists who love sharing their passion with new starters. Those folks who give up their time to help new folks learn the ropes deserve medals!
It's 70/30 between community and expression. I'm from Ukraine and during this period of war, our local community supported each other and grew really close. I got into this hobby to escape from reality but found an outlet to express myself and some of the best people in my life
@TheBeardedLynx shared his experience from Ukraine, and shows the strength a community can provide. The friends we make in our hobby can support us even when times are extremely tough. Treasure those people!
I get so much dopamine from showing off my models and knowing I did something to improve my paint jobs
@LiamWritesThing and @John09748783 both enjoy the spectacle of gorgeous models. It’s so satisfying to share sometimes you’ve worked so hard on, especially if you can see a notable improvement over some of your older work. And when you have two or more players dropping gorgeous, fully painted armies onto a scenic battlefield, isn’t that just the greatest thing to see? I can’t be the only person who finds themselves unable to avoid stopping to crouch down and take cool models-eye-view photos of the action!
My dad got me into warhammer when I was a kid. A few years ago he showed me how to paint like he does. I've always admired his painting, so It's something I share with him. When I paint i still think about being in that dusty old shed next to him. That's my favourite thing. 📯 pic.twitter.com/0wbvtnHjD7
The hobby is generational too! @Mettatrack here tells of how they were inspired in the hobby by their dad! It’s a great hobby to share with your kids if you’re a parent, and how proud you can be when you see your kiddo finish their first ever miniature. It’s a wonderful family activity that crosses that generation gap.
These examples were just the tip of the iceberg for the replies in the thread, I tried to cover a number of aspects of the hobby when picking these out! Again please do check out the full thread and see the inspiring replies – and maybe let us know what *you* enjoy most about the hobby too!
Gloom Tench 1926 is a game that takes the grim real world setting of WW1 and introduces an alternative history, where human science has resulted in a world overrun by fearsome monsters known as “The Scourge”. The upcoming Kickstarter for the Russians is due to launch at 1pm GMT (8am EST) on the 7th Feb 2023. You can follow this campaign right here!
In this article I will show you how I painted an Enforcer for two of 3 Russian factions from the game. This painting article uses Citadel Colour paint names, although you can apply the same techniques to your own preferred paint brand.
The model was attached with Superglue to a piece of slate which I had attached to the 25mm plastic base. We’ll be adding more detail to the base near the end. The model was primed with Mechanicus Standard Grey hobby spray. I then went over the model itself with the same colour from the pot, to ensure an even finish. The paint from the pot is also a slightly warmer tone.
To bring out the details and highlight all the fur/wool parts of the model, it was given an all-over drybrush with Dawnstone. This was followed by a lighter drybrush with Screaming Skull, this off-white again adds a little warmth into the otherwise cool scheme.
To fully bring out all the details, I then applied a shade of Nuln Oil over the whole miniature. This settles into the recesses without overly staining the raised areas. I used a little Basilicanum Grey to give a blacklining effect around the edges where fur meets coat trim and gloves to help define these edges.
The gloves and coat trim were then painted with Thunderhawk Blue, a grey-blue paint perfect for our wintery themed model.
The blue areas we just painted were given a shade with Gryph-Charger Grey contrast paint. When this was dry, an edge highlight was applied with Fenrisian Grey. I also picked out the knuckles and fingers a little with this colour.
With the blue areas done, I moved onto the leathers by painting them all with Wyldwood contrast paint. This included the pouches, belts, and sword scabbard. This was highlighted with Steel Legion Drab.
To finish the leathers, I used Karak Stone to apply smaller highlights to all these areas. It’s ok to be a little rough with this, since you will create a worn leather appearance.
The face was started by giving it a paint with Tuskgor Fur, a nice reddish fleshtone. Be careful not to get it onto the fur areas!
The raised parts of the face were painted with Cadian Fleshtone, followed by a smaller highlight with Kislev Flesh on the ends of the nose and cheeks. His moustache was painted with Corax White, implying age and experience on the battlefield.
The eyes got a little bit of Wyldwood dropped into the pupils, then the whole face including moustache were washed with Targor Rageshade, a reddish-brown shade paint.
I then picked out the badge on his hat, his shoulder plates, belt buckle and weapon handle with Blood Angels Red contrast paint. This contrasting red colour helps round out the colour scheme of the whole model.
The red areas were given an edge highlight of Evil Sunz Scarlet, then a few dot highlights with the Cadian Fleshtone we used earlier on the face.
All the metal areas such as the breastplate, pouch buttons, and pistol were given a coat of Leadbelcher.
I used Nuln Oil over all the metal areas, then applied a little Basilicanum Grey contrast into any scratches and dings on the metals to add a bit of depth.
The metallics were then given a highlight with Iron Hands Steel.
It’s time to return to the base. I used a Vallejo textured paint to add in some battlefield mud over the flat areas and on some of the slate. You can use a Citadel textued paint like Stirland Mud if that’s what you’ve got to hand. Once dry, this was given a wash with Agrax Earthshade, before it got a drybrush of Screaming Skull.
Finally, I applied snow effects with Citadel Valhallan Blizzard. This texture paint dries to give a realistic snowy-slush effect that really helps ground the model. The rim of the base was given a couple of layers of Abaddon Black to finish the model off and call it ready for battle.
And that’s it! Our Russian Enforcer is now ready to face the horrors of the grim dark battlefields of 1926 and all the terrifying creatures that lurk on them! As you can see in the picture above, this scheme can be applied just as easily to both the 28mm and 15mm versions of the Gloom Trench 1926 miniatures.
All that remains is to once again thank Fickle Dice Games for sponsoring this content, do go check them out and get ready for their kickstarter in the first week of February. Have fun painting your own miniatures!
Games Workshop kindly sent me the special boxing day miniature, the Abhorrent Ghoul King with Crown of Delusion (henceforth to be simply refered to as Ghoul King!) for free, and I painted it up as my first miniature of the year! This is a beastly ruler of the Flesh-Eater Courts, depraved creatures that skulk in the night believing themselves to be noble knights and chivalrous heroes.
So, here’s how I went about painting it!
Firstly I primed the model with White Scar spray – you could also use Grey Seer for this, or Wraithbone for a warmer finish. When this was dry I shaded the whole model with Nuln Oil. This helped me identify areas of detail and define the key shapes. From here, I moved onto individual elements.
The Throne For the Throne I began with covering the whole thing with Basilicanum Grey contrast paint.
I followed this with recess shades of Poxwalker where moss would gather, and also ran this around the bottom of the throne to indicate climbing moss.
I used Mantis Warriors Green contrast paint in smaller areas within the poxwalker areas to indicate denser moss.
I then drybrushed the whole throne with Grey Seer paint from the pot, before re applying a little of the greens to re-establish them. This gave the whole throne a nice weathered and overgrown appearance.
The Flesh This distinctive orange flesh colour was achieved by using Gryph-Hound Orange contrast paint all over.
I then highlighted this with Jokaero Orange, Cadian Fleshtone and finally some small highlights of Pallid Wych Flesh.
To add variance to the skin tone I thinned down Volupus Pink contrast and applied it to the face, hands, knees etc to get a reddish tint.
Bone Areas Bone areas such as the ones hanging on the throne and his piercings were first painted Corax White, then given a coat of Skeleton Horde contrast paint.
I built up Skeleton Horde in thin layers here and there to increase saturation and achieve a rough gradient effect.
A few highlights of Screaming Skull on the key edges finished this off.
The ropes binding the bones were painted with Gore-Grunta Fur.
Black Cloth I painted all the cloth with Corvus Black, which is a deep grey rather than a pure black.
I washed it with Nuln Oil to deepen the recessed areas.
I then highlighted up with Mechanicus Standard Grey and Dawnstone.
A little Poxwalker was stippled onto some of the areas to imply the cloth was old and mossy itself too.
The Metallics All the metal areas were painted with Leadbelcher to start with.
To turn some of the areas gold such as the crown and sword hilt I applied a few thin layers of Skeleton Horde over the top rather than use a gold paint, this dulls the gold down nicely.
I washed the silver areas with Nuln Oil, and the Gold areas with Poxwalker to add a greenish hint to the worn, aged gold.
Final highlights were done with Iron Hands Steel on all the metallics.
Rust was stippled on using Jokaero Orange.
The Base After applying a grey base texture paint, I washed it with Nuln Oil, then drybrushed Dawnstone.
Finally I used Mantis Warriors Green contrast again to add mossy areas to the ground.
The model was finished off by painting the rim with Corvus Black.
And that’s pretty much it! If you’ve painted one of these yourself, why not show it off on our discord, or use the #PaintSlam23 hashtag on social media!
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.
