# A Tale of Four Armies



## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

This is a a tale of four Armies, One Builder-Painter, and Four Players. After a eight year hiatus from all things GW, I have gotten involved once more. earlier this year I built a game table, mostly for Flames of War, and decided it was time to teach my two kids about the joys of miniatures gaming. I figured if the wife got in as well, it would be a family activity, and family activities make for family harmony. 

First I built the table. I was sure I hard more WIP pics, but this is all I can find.

Some of the materials:









Framing the board:










Painting the basic table. It is blue so we can use it for ship combat:









Oh, before I forget, this is a 4x6 table set about four feet high. Too high, as I found out, I will be making a box for the kids to stand on while they play... it is built out of 1x4s, and luan plywood. I built a basic box from the 1x4s, then glued and screwed the top piece down. The legs are each out of a 1x4 and a riped in half 1x4. I glued and screwed the two together to make a L-shaped leg for each corner. Then I bracd each corner with 1x2 stock bolted to legs and top frame. I added chuncks of 2x2 material with bolts in T-nuts for levelinf the table. All screws are counter sunk and filled. The top is painted a vague light blue, and the sides a a close equivelant to OD green.

The legs attached, and more painting in progress:









The table is now finished, and I have built six boards for the table. The table is just that, a table. I will be building 2x4 boards to cover the table with, so I can get nice relief in the landscaping. Each board is built from a 2x4 pice of luan plywood, reinforced on the long edges with a piece of 1x2 lathe ripped in half. The lathe pieces allow the most availble blue styrofoam at my local DIY to fit perfectly. The styrofoam the always carry is for basement insulating, and it is designed to go over lathe strips nailed to walls. And it comes in 2x8 sheets, so each sheet gives me two boards with one cut. Perfect.

Three of the six boards are for Flames of War and represent Utah Beach at WN 67.

The other three are just flat boards for Fantasy. I have about twenty pieces or terrain in various stages (need to take some pics) of construction. Next post and I get a few pics of minis in.


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

I just may be the slowest painter in the entire gaming world, but here are some finished minis.

My son's High Elf Hero:









And the hero's shield:









Back detail:









I just realized that these pictures do not do justice to the mini. Sorry. It really is much better in real life. 

My daughter's Men-at-Arms:









A close up:









The sargeant:









An Empire Captain:









About the painting. 
All the colors are Vallejo Game colors.
All priming is done with Valspar light grey spray.
Vallejo washes kinda suck, IMO, so I need to order some Citadel washes.

The elf armor was painted silver, washed with a thin black, then dry brushed silver again. Elves are clean and shiny, and he looks it. The gold was painted, washed with Sepia ink, then highlghted gold. The blue is painted Night Blue, washed with a 1:1 mix of N. Blue and Black, then another blue layer is added. Highlights are a 1:1 mix of Night Blue and Shadow grey. I guess everthing is too subtle, so that is why it doesn't photograph well.

The flesh is Basic Skintone, washed with sepia ink, the highlighted with basic skintone.

The ahir/mane was painted 1:1 mix of Orange red and Beasty brown, washed with a heavy sepia wash, layed with the mix and then highlighted lightly with Ortange red. It is a close match to my son's red-brown hair, which he thinks is cool.

The gems are painted with Orange Red-Bloody Red mix, shaded with staight Bloody Red, highlighted with Orange Red, and the white dot. The got a spot of white, and of course, gloss varnish after a matte spray on the whole model.

I free handed the cloak edge and shield rune in white. 

The base was painted with some cheap craft paint in dark brown. A Woodland Scenics green blend flock was added, along with a tuft of grass from somebody I can't remember.


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

More painting details.

The Bretonnians had to pink and purple, my daughter's orders. I tried to argue, but she insisted, and her only concession was to let me use green, too. She is six, and is pretty sure everything should be pink and purple, and all shades thereof. :so_happy: Geeze. 

The cloth is painted with Vallejo heavy green or purple. Then they are layered with either Roal purple or Dark Green. Highlights are Hexed Lichen or a mix of Dark Green and Scorpy green.

Skin is Basic skintone with a heavy Sepia ink wash. No highlight. They are dirty peasants after all.

Armor is painted with Gunmetal, washed black. It leaves a nice, dark, tarnished-looking metal color. Other metals are painted with Hammered Copper, I think. No shiny gold for these poor guys.

Leather is painted in one of several browns. Highlights with a lighter brown.

The shields are painted with heavy purple and Squid Pink. I know, I know... The edges are the same as the armor. The back is painted Charred Brown with a highlight of Cobra Leather. Decals applied as normal. 

Bases are the same as the elf hero above. I am planning to paint all four armies with the same base technique. I will only use the grass tufts on heros and lords, and war machines because they are too expensve for every model.

The Empire Captain is painted as so:

Clothe with Imperial blue. Washed in black, highlighted with Imp. Blue again. He may need another highlight, I haven't decided.

Armor is Gunmetal, washed black, highlighted gunmetal. His armor isn't is shiny as that wuss elf, but cleaner than those dirty Brettonians.

Leather is mixed browns again. 

Sash is painted bloody red, highlighted with a 2:1 mix of B Red and Orange Red.

Details are painted in bone white, Charred Brown, Gold and a couple others.

Base as above.

I have 16 High Elf spearman, seven Empire state troops with swords, and 10 Wood Elf Eternal Guard in various states of painting.

Built but not even primed yet are 16 Brettonian bowmen, 16 Wood Elf Glade Guard, 8 more state troops, 10 Empire Handgunners, 4 HE Spearman, and a couple random models. 

Bought but still on the sprue are 16 HE Spearman (we are going for a block of 35), Empire Knightly Order box, WE Glade Rider box, Brettonian Knights box, and HE Silver Helms box. A Bret Battle Standard bearer, Bret Damsel, WE Standrd bearer, and a WE Spellsinger just showed up yesterday. 

Wow. When I look at like that, I don't know when I will ever finish. In my next post I will outline my philosophy for how this is starting and the randomness of the minis.

KT out.


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## CLT40k (Jun 18, 2010)

I totally dig the pink Bretts.... and at the end of the day there are only a few people we need to make happy...


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## PanzerPig (Apr 15, 2008)

I like all the minis and the whole idea. I'll be following the log. Pinks Brets is novel


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

I appreciate the comments. You're right, CLT, and when they are happy, we are all happy! Plus, it makes it easier to buy more minis when I can tell the missus "These are for the kids, dear." :victory:


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## Blackhiker (Dec 28, 2007)

KjellThorngaard said:


> I appreciate the comments. You're right, CLT, and when they are happy, we are all happy! Plus, it makes it easier to buy more minis when I can tell the missus "These are for the kids, dear." :victory:


best excuse ever to increase the army sizes in the house. :laugh: As for the models they look incredible.


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

I had a lengthy post about my history with gaming and philosophy about this start into family wargaming, but the interwebs ate it when I truied to post it. So here are couple of WIP pics from my Utah Beach boards.

One board plastered, with sand dunes added.










The second beach board roughed in, with the seawall added and a cutout for a a resin bunker.










Behind the dunes, cutouts for flooded areas showing.











That's it for now. I will try and get some more pics posted, more recent beach board shots, and WIP Elves.


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

A couple more pics:

Looking down the beach.









Aerial shot over a PaK bunker.











Looking at beach exit 3.










Down the road behind the beach.










The finished fantasy board.










Board closeup. I wanted a random, rough, wild feel. First it is painted with a tan latex paint. Then I used four colors of Woodland Scenics fine turf: Green Blend, Soil, Burnt grass, and earth. Plus, some lizard sand. I coated the board with watered down PVa, flocked it, wet it with alcohol in a mister, then saturated it with scenic cement. The scenic cement mades the nasty PVA shine go away. I resoaked a couple areas for more flocking.











Board detail. That is a half lathe board glued and screwed to the luan sheet with the blue board laminated in place.










Last, a pic of a WIP half-timber Empire house I have started. I severely strained my neck this week and couldn't paint, but I could work a little on the house.










That's it for now. Merry Christmas all!


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## Otep (Mar 18, 2008)

how you managed to corrupted your whole family into warhammer is beyond me... you are either a genius or found the easiest method to financial suicide!

i really dig the models and Utah beach looks fantastic! you my friend are getting a slight clicky of rep!


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Ok, a few more shots. I haven't gotten much done lately, no time to paint. But here are more photos of what is slowly progressing.

First up, my son's High Elves. Can I say that I hate these models? The have so many details! All those stupid gems, little buttons, etc, etc... Man, they are killing me!

These will have the same general scheme as the Hero above.

A Warrior Sentinel:









A warrior:









The standard bearer:









Pointy-eared death!











And the start of som WE Eternal Guard.

Group shot:









An EG:









A Noble:









Armor detail:










And some Empire.

A Swordsman:









The musician:









The sarge:











And the standard bearer:









The sword line:











As much as I don't like the High elves, I really, really dislike the state Troops. Who carries an hourglass into battle? The guy who designed these was never an infantryman, that is for sure... They are so time-consuming I am debating even taking them to 1,000 points. Maybe a nice skellie army instead. We shall see. 

Obviously, all these are WIP. Comments and ctiques are welcome and needed!

KT out


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

just noticed, and edited, the double post.


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## CLT40k (Jun 18, 2010)

They are all looking great though. You might consider the army painter dip in order to speed up production time. It's what I'm using on my minis now since I have Space marine, guard, Bretonnian, Skaven and lizardmen projects on the fire. My Skaven plog (linked below) has a tutorial


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

I actually have considered it. But with all the little details, hilts, gems, pouches, belts, etc, etc, I still labor slowly.... Looking at the minis, I think they really need it to pop a little. I have read you Skaven plog, great read BTW, and I have to ask you: Which shades would you use for High Elves, Wood Elves, Empire and Bretonnians? That stuff seems pricey, especially if I need several. I have toyed with making some Magic Wash, which I have used to good effect with Flames of War minis. I think everything need a good wash, for sure.


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## CLT40k (Jun 18, 2010)

I use the strong tone - It seems to work really well execpt on things painted with a lot of white (ie, large white pieces, little things look good)... For the pieces I use the dip on and want to paint white... I just went back over it (a good example is in my Marines plog... The Grey Knight - the white and the purity seals looked too close, so I had to go back over the white and then hit with devlan mud, badab black, and a little highlighting...)

I don't actually dip them... I paint it on like a wash... so I haven't even made a dent in it. 

With the magic wash... I think it's the same thing really... but it saves me from having to experiment to find the right one... so $30 seemed worth it... 

Also, in terms of time saving... It really just means that I can skip the wash and highlight stage for most stuff... I might drop a highlight here and there to make something pop a little better... but for the most part, it's just a matter of painting them a little brighter to start with and staying in the lines...

Here's a pic of a high elf my buddy block painted and then gave to me for experimentation.... I used strong tone on him and kept it pretty light during the application... unfortuantly, I don't have a before pic... cause I was excited to get him done and didn't think... but there was no shading or highlighting on him at all... *Link*


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

I was looking at the shades again, and noticed that the Strong tone was listed as such:

Especially great on Pure Red and Desert Yellow and all manner of Greens

While the Dark tone was:

It is brilliant for grey, blue and all types of armour for instance

Do you have an experiance between the two?


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

I just realized how long its been since I posted, and then realized how little progress I've made too.... Sad, really, but I just haven't had that much time. I did start painting the gems on 16 High Elf warriors, so the end is near for that batch. I'll get pics up in the next day or two, because now I'm motivated to finish them as they are so close.

KT


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## vulcan539 (May 17, 2010)

Looking good, loving the terrain +rep


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Ok, here is Kjell's ideas on teaching non-gaming wife and children how to play Warhammer Fantasy.

*First*: Have enough cash to build four armies at the same time. I spend $1-200 a month on models, paints, modeling materials, and books. I could have one rockin' army by now if I had spent all the cash on one.

*Second*: Start simple. Start them with one basic infantry model. Learn how to move it, what LOS is and what the basic stats are. Then rank up five models. Move with a line. Make a block of troops. Figure out how to move a whole block. Go back to one model and teach them combat. Figure out the differant weapons. Fight unit on unit combat. Repeat until they have a pretty good grasp of it.

Move on to ranged combat. Figure out bows, crossbows, handguns, etc. Learn to shoot. Add shooting to hand to hand. Add in a leader model and start gaming very small actions. 

Add in cavalry models. Learn mounted movement and combat. Teach my daughter about the Lance formation. Regret it when she smashes everyone's foot troops with punishing charges. Add all three units together and keep gaming.

*Third*: Magic! Teach 'em magic and throw wizards, damsels, spellsingers and mages into the games. We still won't be counting points by this time.

*Fourth*: Everyone picks their next unit. It gives them ownership of the armies, even if Dad is slaving away over the painting table. Then they pick enough units to get to 1,500 points. 

I was shooting for 1,000 but I can't add and missed with the Wood Elves horribly, so we will just skip 1,000 points.

*Fifth*: Add BSB models and teach them what they are for.

*Sixth*: Add war machines, or something nasty like Treekin.

*Seventh*: Have fun!


Along the way I will keep adding in rules for the game. we will leave out anything too complicated at first, and just add things in as the "get" the game. I want to take the armies to 3,000 points each for their three, maybe starting an evil army for me sometime down the road. :so_happy: 

My son already wants a dragon in his army, and my daughter wants "lots of damsels!". My wife really doesn't care that much, but she is willing to play if it keeps us doing something together.

In a nutshell, that's it. If they like it, maybe later they can start their own army, learning to build and paint the models. And then we can try out 40K, naval combat, or my fav Flames of War. The possiblities are endless! Mwwaahahahaha!


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Ok, I finally have a few more pics to add. All I can say is holy smokes, the closeup pics sure showed me some areas that need touch up. I saw a spot where a blue wash got on the armor, where I was a little over anxious with gold paint, and that most of the faces need something, maybe a highlight or general touchup with elf flesh.

Also, I am not happy with the feathers. On my empire figs I hid them with a wash of Devlan mud, but I want a bit cleaner for the high elves. Any suggestions?

Here they are:

Warrior









Nearly done-









Nearly finished Sentinel:




























And starting the sheilds. They will have a Night Blue face, the emblem will be gold with red-orange gems like the warriors.










That is all for now. I need to go back and do some more touch ups before I paint and flock the bases. I am still debating the Army painter shades. I need to just try it on one model and see how I like it. I would just hate to screw up that slowly painted model I guess...

KT out


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## Phil73805 (Feb 28, 2010)

Some really awesome work KjellThorngaard! Have some +rep on me.

Another Flames of War player, nice. Fantastic work on that beach by the way, really impressive!


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Thanks for the compliments!


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

*Finished another unit*

Another update, one that has been slow in the making.

First off, is a pic of my "work space" which is really the kitchen table. Part of my problem is that I have to set up and take down every time I want to paint, which eats into the little painting time I have. There is a nice bench in the basement, but it is away from everything and the family. Oh well.

Painting area:










Bases finally painted on the first batch of High elf Warriors.










Ranked up warriors.









Shields almost done:









A modular move tray built, painted and flocked:









And..... FINISHED ELVES!!!!




























Finally, another finished unit. Of course, this is supposed to have 35 warriors, but I am happy to have a regiment box finally painted.

And here is the next batch:










Thanks for watching and commenting. On to some Wood Elf Eternal Guard!


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## CLT40k (Jun 18, 2010)

Looks great... Like the white spears... Unit looks super crisp.


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Thanks, I like how they turned out. It took several coats to get them to look good, white is such a pain to get to look good. I think they are really going to look great once 35 are all ranked up.


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Well, the kiddos had their first games. We played a couple mini games with a hero and one block of troops on a 2x4 table to get started. Then another with five archers each. I didn't count points, which favored the High Elves, but they got the basics. We played two games. Then my son played another by himself before bed, and then they played another gasme the next morning by themselves. I have a couple pics, but I am loathe to post pics of my children online. They did aseem to enjoy it, and both wanted to know when there archers would be painted. My daughter wanted to know when here knights would be dopne, and if they would "trample her brother's guys". Her words. Daddy is proud. It was a sucky week here with all the bad weather, so I got very little painting done. I hope to get a fresh start this new week and knock out the Eternal Guard. 

KT out


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## CLT40k (Jun 18, 2010)

Sweet... glad to hear the kids are digging it... There is nothing better than playing with painted pieces... it makes the army yours.


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

So after a long two weeks full of Scouts, snow and work, I have nothing to show except for these few pics. I am waiting on green wash to keep going on the Wood elves, but here are a couple pics.

First game, and yes, those are pink dice.









The battle line:









Wood elf Eternal guard. The armour just needs a lst highlight of 1:1 Bright Bronze and Silver, and the cloak is just basecoated in Sick Green.


















And the start of a Bretonnian paladain. My daughter has been bugging me to paint her "king".


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## Master of Sanctity (Nov 11, 2010)

Great stuff, good to see that you are still progressing. Top job on the beach! You are extremely lucky to have all of your family involved, I hope I can have the same some day! Keep up the good work!:grin:


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Finally I ahve some very nearly finished Wood elves. All they need is bases and matte spray.

Some pics:


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

I forgot the Highborn:

Hope you guys enjoy these. Critisms expected and accepted.


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## Meldon (Dec 21, 2010)

You could try to pick out the leaves on the Eternal guard a bit more, as it is now you barely see them on the cloaks. Otherwise its good work


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Thanks, I wasn't sure how much they would show up, and obviously not enough! :blush:


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## Meldon (Dec 21, 2010)

If I had done them I would have startded with a basecoat of dark angels green, and then work it up to my desired colour, leaving a bit of the dark green showing in the middle and the connecting lines between the cloak and leaf. That would make it a bit more defined I think


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

I could hit the vine/leaf area with Thraka green again, full strngth with a detail brush, then another highlight on the the leaves when that is dry.


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## Meldon (Dec 21, 2010)

I think that would do the trick


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

I haven't been around much lately, non-stop water in the basement, endless rain (too much humidity to prime), taking car of a buddies dog (a 40 minute round trip twice a day) and a pinewood derby have kept me from any painting at all. 

Here is what I finished:







Bases are finished.









Different angle

@ Meldon- I forgot to take pics of the repainted vine detail, next time if I remember...

WIp Bretonnian lord and horse.



























And what kept me really busy, Derby cars for the kids.









My daughter's pizza car









Son's TOW lauchin' Humvee.


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## Meldon (Dec 21, 2010)

Are you planing on adding more of the eternal guards or is that going to be all of them..??


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

I've got a command group and two more EG to fill out a unit of 15 for now. They will probably aquire another five eventually for a good round five by four unit.


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

B asement is finally dry, and I had a day or two of semi-decent weather to get a few minis primed. 

While I was waiting, this is what I got started on.










Which progressed to this:









And then this:









For scale:









This is my first try at Hirst Arts casts. I was very pleased with how they went together and the detail. I am waiting for some more casts to finish the stairs before I make a stab at painting it. I found a site that sells the plaster casts in quantity, which saved me from having to learn how to cast! Great stuff.

I did finish the Bret lord, minus the flocking. I need a matte varnish to brush over the decals to hide the edges better before I hit the model with spray matte and finish the flocking. My daughter requested unicorns despite the dragons on the men-at-arms. Never try an explain heraldry to a seven-year-old...

A tiny painted unicorn...









Decals:


















And the next batch or archers all primed:









I am going to paint samll batches of Brets, High Elves and Wood Elves. I have put one coat of fleshtone on all the skin, but that's it so far.

KT out


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## Hammer49 (Feb 12, 2011)

Nice work on the bret lord. I like the colour scheme your using. Im currently using a similar purple on my skaven.


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## Chaosftw (Oct 20, 2008)

Wow very nice work! Loving the knight and the chick with the golden "Tawtaws" she single 0.o


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

@Hammer49
I would not have chosen purple, but it did turn out pretty well.

@Chaosftw

Pretty racy attire for a Wood Elf!


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

After a long break due to RL, I finally have a few finished minis to put up.

I have been toling away at some archers for three of the armies, WE, HE and Brets. Finished are six High elves and six Brets. I just realized the Bret pics are pretty sucky so I need to dig them out and retake a couple pics.

First are a couple WE WIp:

















Some High Elves:

The archers-



























And three more spears-









The Bretonnians:

Based Lord-


















The archers-



























Thats it for now. I have ten WE Glade Guard about half done, and the stakes for the Bret archers just need the little shields painted before I can take some better pics.

One question for the Bretonnia players. which transfer sheet has the unicorn on it? I used it on the lord and my daughter wants the unicorn on the archer banner, so I need two more transfers and can't remember which sheet it was on. The online pics suck since the white transfers are invisible.

Thanks for looking!!

KT out


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## Chris Guard of Mardat (Mar 6, 2011)

Lovely models, makes me want to play Fantasy, not that I can afford to, will definitely be watching this thread

+rep


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Another update. I have finally finished an actual complete unit! WooHoo! Here for viewing and comments positive and negative is a unit of WE Glade Guard ten strong.

The whole unit:









Looking down the line:









A couple close ups:



























One with afternoon color (not sure what the camera did here...)









And the cloak gems. I went with an amethyst-look because I couldn't do the complimentary color red gem. Too Christmasy even for elves. Red-violet is a split-complimentary and I think it works nicely.










What do you guys think?

KT out


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## Saulot (May 25, 2011)

I think your WE color scheme is great!! I love your vivid greens! Good choice with the amethyst. You can touch up on some of the finer details but over-all an awesome job! Looking forward to more minis!


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## Meldon (Dec 21, 2010)

Looks great


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Thanks! painting all that green is going to get tedious, but I like how it turned out. 

I need to clean up the skin. Alot. For some reason the wash ended up very dirty.


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## viking blood (Aug 13, 2011)

Lol, luckyman to have the family involved. My wife hates it and the kids are too young. Only paint on Friday nights. Awesome job though, everything looks phenomenal.


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Small update. I haven't put paint to minis in a while, but I did finish a tower for my daughter's Bretonnians from Hirst Arts castings.

Lady Samantha's Tower









Vines and front door









Archers on the roof









The roof is removable









Upper floor









The stairs to the ground floor and the archers level inside








Lady Samantha's banner. 









I painted the banner using a gif I found online asa rough guide. I like the unicorn, don't like the background. I may have to either try again or add some paint to the 'fabric'. It is my first time painting a paper banner and I am not really happy with how it turn out...

The tower was fun to build and I have another Hirst Arts project built and waiting for paint.

KT out


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Looking at the banner pic I realized 1: the pole needs paint and 2: the pole needs a topper. Stupid close ups make me notice more work...


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

I was finishing up a Bret damsel last night when I grabbed white primer instead of clear coat....

Fortunately I noticed after a light dusting to the front of the mini and stopped before further stupidity ensued. I debated stripping and starting over, then figured "What the hey, if I can't fix I can strip it" and made an attempt to fix it. I am back to inal highlights and another attempt to matte varnish it. Pics possible later today.

fething stupid can of primer...


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Finally... Pics of a Bret damsel -the Damsel Olivia according to my daughter, and a Spellsinger.

The Damsel Olivia




































The Spellsinger













































That is it. I have another damsel and a HE mage in progress. The damsel is done, her noble steed is awaiting mane and tail colors. The mage is barely started.

KT out


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## Disciple_of_Ezekiel (May 23, 2010)

Awesome job on the castle and the banner (Even tho not finished) the free hand unicorn looks great man. Your daughter must be happy to have a nice looking army. Keep up the good work mate!

+Rep


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## Daemon Prince Paintbox (Feb 21, 2011)

It's nice to see a family of gamers. I love the "it's for the kids" bit. You must have had some fun battles. Keep up the good work.


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Thanks for the encouragement. All it get at home is "Are they done yet?" " When do I get a dragon?" and "I want the damsel on the unicorn." 

I plead to being the slowest painter here, and with RL and the season of the leaf I don't forsee getting much done for a couple weeks. I wish I had more free tiem so I could knock these out and be ready for winter game time, but I don't think I will even have the first mopunted units finished by the new year.


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

I finally had to quit for the night. It seemed like every time I touched one color to that stupid HE mage I ended up with color where I didn't want... I've spent as much time touching up mistakes as completing that fething model. 

I wish the instructions had said "Paint this bastard in seperate parts. Unless you are insane or very stupid. Sincerely, GW" So many parts tucked behind other things. it doesn't help that my hands seem to be super unstable tonight. 

In reality it is nearly done, but after much frustration. I have to paint the haft on the mace/rune staff thingy and finish the actual base. I am not happy with the swirly cloud of magic but I may leave it be for a while.

Just had to vent. Nights like this make it hard for me to pick up a brush tomorrow.

KT out


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

A couple more minis. i finished the HE Mage Lord and another Bret Dmasel, this time the mounted model.

First up the Mage:






















































And the damsel:













































And the horse. It had to painted as a palomino. My exact instructions were "Paint it like Spirit's Mom from the movie."









My daughter will probably pick the coloration of every horse in her army... No big block of dark colored chargers. Nothing easy like that.

Comments and criticisms are welcome!!

KT out


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## lunawolf (Sep 30, 2011)

Really neat stuff. only thing . that horse doesnt have eye 0.o ! but i understand you , i also hate to do eyes ( crap at doing them ) . otherwise nice stuff


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Yeah, my son pointed that out while we were taking pictures. Back to the paint table we go...

Thanks for looking!


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## Saulot (May 25, 2011)

I'm loving how your painting skills are improving with every new post you have! Great job!


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

@ Saulot
You think so? Sometimes I swear my painting is regressing! :biggrin:

Thanks for looking.


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## Samules (Oct 13, 2010)

Nice job! There aren't a lot of people with the dedication to do a good job painting an entire army let alone four.


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Dedication or lunacy. I haven't decided which yet!  

Thanks for checking out my plog.


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

A no picture update just to keep me motivated. I have five Silver Helms and five Knights of the Realm crowding my painting board. 

I have started painting the horses for the KofR after a thirty minute discussion on heraldry with my seven-year-old daughter. These knights wil go to battle in non-traditional heraldry, much like their archer and men-at-arms buddies. Pink and white, white and pink (is there a differance?), purple and electric blue and dark green and purple, among others. She is very particular about the colors and charges. They seem to make perfect sense to her, I just hope she doesn't develop an interest in the subject and decide she wants more traditional colors, etc at some later date.

Had I thought about it, Bretonnia would not have been a choice for my kids to choose from. Too painful to paint. Oh well, I am commited now!

cross-eyed KT out


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## Samules (Oct 13, 2010)

Sounds like your kids really have a passion for those armies! Keep up the good work and I hope for pics soon.


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

I can't believe how long it has been since I posted some completed models. I just put flocking on these today, the first of forty-five knights for my daughter's Bretonnians.

Here is a group shot:









A little closer:









The rest:









The command group:









The other two:









And the paladin:









What say ye heretics?


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## docgeo (Jan 8, 2010)

I really really love the knights and the varying color patterns!!!! Makes me want to do Bretts!!!


Doc


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## Inari82 (Dec 6, 2011)

Hey there. I'm wondering how old your kiddies are. I've got a son turning 7 and he loves looking at dad's armies, but I'm not sure exactly if he'd grasp everything, or stand to play a game for an hour or so. Though I do he has a deep interest in the orks, and I like how you outlined how start teaching a game to the little ones.


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

@docgeo- Don't!! They are a pain! You need to think long and hard about Brets. Remember, every model is really two- knight and mount. Then you have to find a way to keep the color combos unique. If you have an 8 year-old daughter, then fair game to ignore proper heraldry colors, otherwise, yeah... A 2500 point army will have 47 mounted models. It makes me cry just thinking about it.

@Inari My son is 11 my dughter is eight. They don't get every rule, but they have fun anyways. I figure we will play as long as we need to, and quit if they get bored.


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## Meldon (Dec 21, 2010)

They look great I must say. Hows the other armies coming out..??


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Slow. I haven't had any time to paint this last bit. Now I have a friggin' eye infection... I am never going to finish these armies. thanks for askin' though! :grin:


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Another small update. I finished five Silver Helms and finally got some pics. 

The Unit:


















Standard Bearer:









Musician:










And Leader dude:


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Almost forgot. I had Dream Spirit War Studios make some Wood Elf Boundary Stone terrain pieces for my wife's army. I have a couple pics to share, the terrain is still inbound.

Here they are:


































I couldn't be happier with these, and I think they will be an outstanding addition to our terrain collection.

KT out


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## Meldon (Dec 21, 2010)

The armies are growing I see, How large are they by now..??


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Counting a couple unbuilt boxes High Elves, Wood Elves and Brets are all right about a 1,000 points. Total painted is a bit under that. 

My goal is 2,500 points each, so maybe in another year I'll be there.


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## Skari (Dec 20, 2011)

This thread has been a fantastic read. I love this kind of project. +rep!


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Thanks Skari!

Another small update. No painting but I have built a few models, including my first unit for the Painting Challenge.

Up for the challenge isa unit of 18 halbierdiers.

























A unit of Glade Riders for the Elfsies:

















A cannon:









And some Knights of the White Wolf with some minor mods:









I did some GS work to the panther cloaks to make the heads look more lupine:









And made a couple half-cloaks since there aren't enough in the box for all the knights:

















The standard bearer hasa reworked left arm carrying a hammer. The musician was modified to hold the horn in his left hand. Just a couple minor tweaks to make them mine. 

Enjoy. Complain. Critique.

KT


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Bump to test my new sig.


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

and again...


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## Meldon (Dec 21, 2010)

You have done a very good jobb on the cloaks I think. they look really good


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Thanks Meldon. I know they are pretty weak compared to some of the GS studs on Heresy, but I hope once they are painted they will look better.


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Got my first unit for the 2012 Army Challenge done, plus another unit of five cavalry models.

First up a unit of Empire Halberdiers:

























The command stand:

















And a single mini:

















I am trying a differant way to paint to speed things up and skipped some of the details and some of the highlights I did on earlier models. I am not sure if I am totally happy with the change, but I dig the increase in speed. From three feet they still look good, but up close, not so much. I am in self0debate mode now about what to do,

I also got a unit of Glade Guard done a couple weeks ago, but couldn't get them matte coated due to cold and rain.

The five:

























Singles:

















I ahd a priming error with the unit leader, standard bearer and one regular elf. I had to strip them and haven't had time to repaint the models. Their horses are done, though, so I hope to get the last three done in a couple days.

Thanks for looking Heretics!!

KT out


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## Saulot (May 25, 2011)

Always great seeing updates on this log, KT! Slow and steady builds you an army. hehe

I also joined the Army Challenge here for the first time. :grin:
I hope it can encourage me to paint more of my Brets! hehehe



KjellThorngaard said:


> Bump to test my new sig.


BTW, how do you get a sig for the challenge?


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Saulot-
Varakir made mine. Go here : 
http://www.heresy-online.net/forums/showthread.php?t=106412

and ask nicely. You need a piece of art to go with it and your phrase, and he works the magic.

Joining the challenge has been great so far. I finished ten times as much work on the Empire army in just a week or so as I had done in a year in anticipation of the challenge. And I even finished TWO units in the time I usually waste thinking about painting.

Good luck!


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## Saulot (May 25, 2011)

KjellThorngaard said:


> Saulot-
> Varakir made mine. Go here :
> http://www.heresy-online.net/forums/showthread.php?t=106412
> 
> ...


Thanks! Wouldn't be able to find it without your help!


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

You're welcome. I knida stumbled across it one night or else I would have wondered myself.


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

I didn't get any painting done this week, but did get 6 wood Elf scouts built, the priming error models cleaned up, and then primed 8 horses, 11 riders, 17 cloaks, 10 foot soldiers and 4 sheilds. Eight of the riders and the horses are my entry for the April challenge and the rest are models for my family's armies.

If I don't post whatever progress I make, no matter how small, it kills my momentum. 

KT out


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

A small update. I finished the last four Bretonnian Men at Arms for a unit of twenty. And I built an Empire cannon for my May or June Army Challenge entry.

The Men at Arms:

















And one with a model I painted a year ago for comparison:









The unit of knights pre-primer:









And the cannon on a move try/base:









Thanks for looking!
KT


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## Disciple_of_Ezekiel (May 23, 2010)

Hey KT,

Stoping by to let you know I really like your glad guard mate. The green cloth with the soft light color of the horses goes very well together. As for your men-at-arms, well the purple and pink is a little odd, youve done a good job painting them tho. The cannon, that removable base is great! For the longest time I couldnt figure out how people were making inlaid bases...well now I know!

Keep up the good work!

Regards,
DoE


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Thanks for checking out my plog DoE. 

I wasn't happy at first with the horses, but they grew on me, and they were far easier to paint that some of the other horses I have painted. Glad the Glade Guard appeal to someone besides me!

Pink and purple aren't my choice, they wee my daughter's... She picked Bretonnia becuase of the "princesses" (damsels) and a unicorn. Then she makes the poor guys wear pink and purple. Whatever, she likes her army so I am good! :victory:


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## Meldon (Dec 21, 2010)

Looks great, and people will surely not miss those Men-at-arms on the tabletop!


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## Disciple_of_Ezekiel (May 23, 2010)

Awesome, it's the little things we do to keep the little ones happy! Plus, it gives you someone to always play against =)


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

@Meldon- no way you can forget a pink and purple armmy that isn't Emperor's children...

@DoE- that was my sneeky goal. I work too much and our family is too busy to have time to travel to a store to play against half-painted armies against unwashed heathens.


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## Chris Guard of Mardat (Mar 6, 2011)

They look great, there's some rep coming your way :good: keep up the good work :good: I really like your glade guard, and despite the pink and purple, the Brets look great too, even better than the old ones. I do have one small nitpick though (this is probably my OCD), but one of the transfers on a shield is on the wrong way (second from left).


Out of interest, which is your favourite army to paint, and will you be getting any of the new Empire kits?


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Chris- I was waiting for someone to notice the transfer! And thanks for the rep.

I ran out of the other ones and I refuse to buy another box of minis just for the transfers. If GW would offer them up I would get a sheet and fix the wrong way dude. Otherwise I won't fix it until I buy another of whatever box that transfer came in.

Favorite army to paint? Probably the wood elves. I think the minis are very fiddly and tiny, but I like painting them. Until I latched onto my new way to paint the Empire I hated painting them. Now, not so much.

As for the nw Empire minis, probably. I think the demigryphs are kinda cool. I might grab the forgeworld armoured handgunners, too. And the witch hunter, priest, and Markus finecast models. They look cool, too, Geez, I guess I will be getting a bunch...


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## shiftystylin (Mar 24, 2012)

Looks awesome! I love the contrast of those purple gems on the back of the wood elves and they're really well done. I have a set that kinda need doing... :wink:

I get the feeling your daughters army is going to start a trend of pink for every fantasy player............................


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

I choose purple solely off a color wheel and I am really happy how it turned out. Plus the idea of amethyst stones is appealing. The are very natural and abundant and I always see them in crystal shops, so they must be "spiritually sensative". :wink:



> I get the feeling your daughters army is going to start a trend of pink for every fantasy player............................


Somehow I don't think so!


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Another update. I finished my Knights of the White Wolf for the Army Challenge. I have three more glade Riders and a unit of six Wood Elf Scouts that are really close to finishing. Should have pics of those in a few days.

The Knights:

















Front Rank:









Rear Rank:









Closeups:









































thanks for stopping by!


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## Minizke1 (Feb 7, 2010)

love it love it love it.


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## Disciple_of_Ezekiel (May 23, 2010)

SUPER! Did those knights come with the woves? If not that was a bloody brilliant idea, well done Sir!

These guys have a medievalish look about them with the color scheme you choose.

+Rep, wolves are my fav!

Regards,
DoE


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## Saulot (May 25, 2011)

Looking great!!

Those wolves add so much character to the unit! And it shows off your painting wonderfully!


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Thanks for the comments! :victory:

The wolves are the new fenrisian wolves for 40K, but I love how animated the models are. I picked the two that looked like they were running to make them fit in more. 

I wanted 10 knights, but I didn't want to buy two boxes or waste money bitzing them out. I thought this would be something to make my army mine. I am glad ya'll like them.


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## Chris Guard of Mardat (Mar 6, 2011)

They look great! especially love the wolves, they add that little extra to unit  keep up the good work, really considering starting an Empire/Wood Elf/High Elf/Bretoni army now


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Thanks Chris!

All four armies have nice models to paint. The Brets get a little tedious, but once you get painting horses down it will go faster. The High elves have so many cool models and all the baners and sheilds give you a place to try free hand stuff. The Woodsies are fiddly little modles but I think they paint up nicely. As for the Empire, well, the core mdels have some many little bitz and bobs on them they are kind annoying to paint. On the halberds I painted for last months challenge I went with an Army painter spreay and I swear by tat now. Getting the whole uni base-coated quickly made all the little stuff seem not so bad. YMMV. 

Thansk for looking!


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Another update finally... I have been remodeling a half-bath in my house and had a plumbing misadventure that took some solving, but I am done now and got some Wood Elf models finished and the May challenge model done.

The Wood Elf Glade Riders. These got a weird finish with the spray initially so I had to strip them and start over.

Group shot:

















Glade Rider commander:

















A unit of six scouts:


























And for May's Army challenge I painted a Great Cannon. I am calling it Wyrm Slayer to get my son going. He wants his Dragon Knights on Dragons, so I figured I twist him up a bit.

Based up:

































The cannon:









The crew:

























Thanks for looking, and critique away!
KT


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## Hellados (Sep 16, 2009)

The eyes is the only thing i can see missing (but i tend to not bother with mine either  )

Also you could make the gunners more sooty but i think they look amazing the way the are, grimy


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Hellados, help me with sooty. That is what I was going for but ended up grimy like you said. Do you have any tips that might help?

Oh, I never paint eyes. Too ham-handed and shaky to even try...


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Another update finally. I've been so freakin' busy...

I painted 12 more Halberdiers for June's Army painting challenge.


























A comparison shot between the first and second batch:









And a couple pics of the whole 30 man unit:

















Comments always welcome! 
KT out


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## Meldon (Dec 21, 2010)

They look great but I can´t really make out what the wording on the banner.. The picture is a bit to bright.. But as far as the models go, great work


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Thanks Meldon.

The scroll says "ulric" as these boys are keen on the god of the north over sigmar.


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## Chris Guard of Mardat (Mar 6, 2011)

Some more awesome Halberdiers, they blend in really well with the rest of your unit - keep up the good work





KjellThorngaard said:


> Thanks Chris!
> 
> All four armies have nice models to paint. The Brets get a little tedious, but once you get painting horses down it will go faster. The High elves have so many cool models and all the baners and sheilds give you a place to try free hand stuff. The Woodsies are fiddly little modles but I think they paint up nicely. As for the Empire, well, the core mdels have some many little bitz and bobs on them they are kind annoying to paint. On the halberds I painted for last months challenge I went with an Army painter spreay and I swear by tat now. Getting the whole uni base-coated quickly made all the little stuff seem not so bad. YMMV.
> 
> Thansk for looking!


Thanks for the reply, I've just bought myself some Knights of the Realm, and I'll be drawing inspiration from this thread (although not necessarily pink and purple), and I hope mine look as good as yours


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

> hope mine look as good as yours


Thanks for the compliment. I don't paint half as well as many of the Heretics, but I think my models are a good gaming standard. I like washes alot, and use them on pretty much every color. For flesh, leather and even wood I use Vallejo's Sepia Ink, possibly my favorite wash/ink. It shades and darkens and self-highlights and makes me look like a better painter than I am!


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Finished another unit for the empire. Summer has not been good to my painting and such. I am getting some models ready to start (HE Bolt thrower, Bret knights) but I have had so little time to paint and August is pretty much out... BUT- I got ten handgunners done for the Army challenge. 

I was aiming for twenty but had some primer issues. A nearly full can of Army painter UM Blue ran out of propellant . Second can to do that to me. Any solutions Heretics? I like the primer because it does speed up my Empire painting, but losing a $12 can of paint pisses me off.

Here they be:


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## Disciple_of_Ezekiel (May 23, 2010)

Hey Kjell,

Swell looking unit of handgunners mate! Maybe a little less flock though as it seems to overwelm their base. As for the primer issue, well I moved away from cans along time ago and highly recommend an airbrush. More bang for your buck and last ALOT longer.

One last thing, have you tried doing the eyes or thought about doing them? I think it will help add alot more character to your models, nonetheless, keep up the good work!

Regards,
DoE


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

DoE,
Yeah, I get a little crazy with basing materials. It be even worse if I ever get the urge to put static grass on too! Are you talking specifically the flock, or the clump foliage?

As to eyes, well, I don't have the patience or skill to pull it off. I might try the horses, but for the men, I don't want to end up with a bunch of surprised dudes. Maybe sometime down the road when my skils get better or I figure out how to steady my hand.

I want an airbrush. Bad. I just need to stop buying models for a couple months and put my hobby cash towards one. I know I would get tons of use out it, espcially for Heer camo for my Flames of War armies. 

What primer do you use? I was using the AP colors to put prime and put the clothing color down to speed up my incredibly slow painting. I could priem and base coat easily with an airbrush and not be limited to AP sprays.

Thanks for the comments!


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Just finished a pair of mages for the army painter challenge. 

Pasty look, all washed out...









Regular look:









Celestial wizard:














































A Bright wizard:













































The OSL work on the Celestial dude is less than stellar. I need practice on that technique, and will probably revisit that model eventually. The fire on the other guy is my firat real try on fire as well. Too many new things? Probably. 

Anyways, critque away!


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Another update. I finished a unit of Nuln gunners to support the boys in blue. Somehow the Baron found some spare coin to hire these guys. Enjoy and comments welcome!





































Close up of the sergeant:



























And the muscian:


















http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/l549/borderguy190/The Empire/Nulngunnermusician3.jpg

Thanks for looking!


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Finished another unit of Empire troops. Actually there were done weeks ago, but a strained/pulled muscle in my back kept me from taking pics or finishing anything else last month. O have some residule pain, but tried sitting for a painting session today. we'll see how I feel tomorrow and if I am ready to get bck at it.

Empire Hunstmen painted in the livery of the Province of Stirland.

Group:









Leader dude:









Closeups:

















Comments always welcome!

KT


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Next installment. I just finished up a unit of Empire Pistoliers for the Army Painting challenge. Still plodding along at 8 Knights Errant and a single Knight of the Realm for my daughter's army as well. I hate painting horses. A High Elf bolt thrower is sitting in my tools box at my feet and I swear I hear grumbling from those pointy-earred twits, so I might get that unit built and start work on them soon.

Then there is my empire lord. I used the Valten mounted model and GSd some wee hammers on his armor since he hails from Middenland. Then I added a wolf pelt slung over the barding as another Middenland indicator. WIP pics included.

Lastly, I have a Helblaster and some Militia inbound as reinforcments and items for two of the final three painting challenges. And an ebay bid for Ar-Ulric. I want to use him as a Warrior Priest since he is such a cool model.

And to the pics!
Pistoliers:

































Champion dude:

















Individuals:

































My fav model. He just looks like he is saying "Get some!!"









Thanks for stopping by!

KT out


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

No pic update, though I am done with nine Bretonnian horses sans decals/transfers. Which is the reason for a quick post. 

I got on the horn with GW Customer Service today because I couldn't find the Bret decals on the site. When I talked to David at CS, he informed me that the decals are no longer sold serperately. drat. My eight-year-old daughter had chosen the white pegasus decal for the whole unit on Knights Errant, and I might have one pegasus transfer on hand....

Well, after a brief dicussion, kind David told me he was building a Bretonia army himself, and had loads of transfer sheets. He was planning on using the dragons only, so he said he would cut out the pegasus transfers and mail them to me. Awesome. Super awesome. David saved me from trying to convince my little girl she needed to choose other icons for her knights. 

So, in the end, we all might have beefs with GW and their unholy ways. But this week, CS David made my day! Thanks David!!


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Well, David sent 5 decals. Thanks dude! Still need three more, though.... Anybody have the white pegasus decal from the Bretonnia knights they want to sell/trade/gift? 

After seeing a another plog where someone listed the many, many units sitting on the painting table. So I checked my pile o' crap and lead.

Bretonnian Knights Errant
Empire Lord
Emp. Warrior Priest (using Ar-Ulric)
Emp. BSB (using SpEd Tuetogen Guard banner dude)
Emp. Helblaster
Emp. Militia x20
HE Bolt Thrower
HE Swordmasters x21
x12 North American Indians (Mohawk and Huron)
x12 Canadian Militia
x6 Colonial Rangers
x12 Colonial Civilians with firearms
x6 British Provincial Troops

Added 2/22/13
HE Mounted Lord
HE BSB
HE Mounted Mage
Bret BSB
WE BSB

12/5/13 Update
HE Phoenix Guard x10
HE Reavers x5
HE Shadow warriors

Still boxed:
WE Glade Guard x16
WE Dryads box
WE Eternal Guard x5
Bret Trebuchet
Bret Pegasus knight
Emp State troops x10
Bret Questing Knights x6
German Festung Company
US Beach Assault Co.
US Rifle Company
US Para Company
x4 M5 Stuarts
x5 m4 Shermans
x2 Tiger I
x8 SdKfz251s of various types
x3 Wespe
x3 M7 Priests
x2 Panzer IV/70(A)
x2 StuG IV
200+ 40K IG figs
Baneblade
A whole pile of Dark Elf WFB models a guy at work gave me...
4 Point SAGA Vikings
4 Point SAGA Anglo-Saxon
GW Watchtower


Buy list for the new year (WFB only):
Empire state troops x40
Emp Great swords x20
HE Phoenix Guard x10
HE Dragons knights x10
HE Bolt Thrower
HE Lord on Dragon
WE Treeman
WE Wild Riders x10
WE Wardancers x7+
WE Treekin x4
Bret Knights x11
Bret Grail Knights x9
Bret Quest Knights x3
Bret Lord on Hippogriff
Bret Bowmen

Plus I want to build a pair of 200 point Muskets and Tomahawks forces, a quartet of SAGA warbands and whatever else shows up during the year.... I will never finish this pile o' lead, plastic and resin.


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## Hellados (Sep 16, 2009)

We need more WHFB on this forum imho, I have a small army but they're all made and I love tanks

I love these guys though, horses are hard to get right, gl and keep it up though.


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Agreed Hellados. More WFB!! I miss some of the guys who were painting stuff up (talking about you Midge), it was inspiring and kept me painting. 

Horses are my bane. I have painted 16 Bretonnian horses and have about 34 to go.... All told for the four armies I have painted at least 37 Fantasy horses and have at least 70 to go.... Aw crap, that is just depressing.


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Another update. I finished my helblaseter volley gun and have some pics to share. The 8 knights errant are finished save basing and decals on two of them. I still need two of the white pegasi decals from the Bret knights decal sheet if anyone has them spare. I finished one more Knight of the realm, but he too awaits flocking.

The volley gun and crew:









The gun:

































I went for an oppositecheme from the 'eavy metal one. Brass banding and iron barrels. I finally got a bottle of hawk tourquise so I could do a little corrosion around the rae of the gun, though it doesn't show in pics. Looks pretty cool in person.

The crew:

























































Looking back I realize I never posted pics of my slightly modified Valten, so here the are.

































Last tidbit, I won that ebay Ar Ulric. He will be built without those two things on his back (holes filled with GS) and used a Warrior Priest. He is a pretty cool model and will help give the army a more Middenhiemy feel.

Comments, critiques and questions always welcome.
KT out


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## Turnip86 (Oct 7, 2011)

I like the Helblaster, a small suggestion would be to be a bit more selective with your Badab/Nuln wash as it's pooling up on the flat areas and detracts from the overall look. Apart from that though it looks great


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Thanks Turnip. It might be more noticable in the pics. Now I need to take a closer look at it and maybe do some touchups. I truly prefer the Badab wash to the Nuln. I don't care what GW says, there is a differance in the washes.


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Proof that this plog IS about more than a single army/

A just completed High Elf mounted mage awaiting a paint job.









Still plodding along on the nihe Bretonnia nights. I was waiting for more grass tufts to finish basing them. Tufts arrived yesterday, but I had no time to work. In the mean time i built twenty Empire militia, the HE mage, and a HE bolt thrower. 

Of course I got sidetracked again today by a game of Battle Cry (ACW by Richard Borg) and another turn of the full Axis & Allies with my son. In Battle Cry he thoughly trounced me six flags to two, but we really enjoyed the game. I think it is going to be our new favorite.

In A&A we are 14 turns in. France fell early. Italy fell a couple turns ago. Japan has been forced back to their home islands. The Russian bear has finally gone on the offensive and is driving the Wermacht back. 
Facing a growing Allied army in Italy, and the Russian juggernaught, Germany is playing for time. Japan awaits the inevitable invasion. A massive fleet of warships is awaiting streams of transports and their cargo of ground troops.

The next couple turns will decide the fate of the world!

KT out


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Almost finished with my militia unit. I wanted to base them on 40mm bases, so I painted them seperate and wwell, that was a mistake. I am having trouble getting even three models to a base. The poses are cool, and really dynamic. But these are a pain to rank up!! I was only going to put three to a base anyways, but I think a couple may only ft two. Models are waiting for glue to dry aon the bases right now to see what else I can do. Update soon.


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Another no pic update. Themitia are waiting for glue to dry on the flocking. The only need grass clumps to finish them up. Pics tomorrow.

I cleaned/assembled three banner bearers, a warrior priest and a Wood Elf Lord. Desprued parts for the High Elves Lord box to finish previously-started BSB and Lord. I need to check with my son about arming the Lord. Lance, spear or sword? And I need to check the Woodsie's book. Spear and shield? Or two hand weapons?

I had to do some mods to two of the BSBs. The Tuetogen ZGuard army BSB was a bit of a mess. Something was wrong with the hands and pole piece, and the banner is so friggin heavy. I was drilling out the hands to pin the banner on when the hands seperated. More drillng. Finally got that all lined up and glued when I tried to fit the banner. The pole was too short and the fringe was in the way. So I dremeled off part of the fringe, attached the banner, then recreated the fringe and reinforced the jon with GS.

I used the Ar Ulric model for my Warrior Priestm all I did there was filled the two holes on the back from those strange rods.

On the Bretonnian BSB i reinforced the banner pole with brass rod, pining the arm and banner top. The rod will allow me to remove the banner for storage. I green stuffed cloth onto the knights chest plate just to add ripples for definition, blending that into the GS around the waist and into the banner arm filling gaps and reinforcing both joints.

I will paint a "command group" of Lord, BSB and priest for the monthly army painting challenge, then finish the other BSBs and Lords as time allows.


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Pics!

First up are the Empire Militiamen, I painted them in several state colors to give a "pulled from the tavern" look. There is Middenland, Middenheim, Reikland, Nordland, Ostlad, Stirland, Altdorf, Talabheim and I think even one dude from Wissenland. It was enjoyable to paint figs in differant schemes rathe than more Middenland blue.

Enjoy,and comment away.


















































































The last guy needs a pal. I need to find a model for that base.

Last row of support militia.


























And the Brets. Six knights have all their decals. Still lokking for two more sets of white pegasi to finish the last models.

















Individuals:

























Another Knight of the Realm. Please don't look too clse, my first attempt at a busy scheme.

























Thanks for stopping by!
KT


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## BlackGuard (Sep 10, 2010)

Very good photos and minis!


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## Saulot (May 25, 2011)

The KotR unit looks great, KT! Did you do any special preparation for the decals/ It turned out really really good! And it just looks amazing with a full 5 heraldic charge on each knight!

Looking forward to more!


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Thanks for the comments guys!

Not really Saulot. I tried using gloss-coat onc, and it went bad. I put the decals on directly over the Vallejo paint. As soon as I apply the decal I blot it dry then apply Micro-Set setting solution. I often touch up around the edge of the decal with more paint, it helps hide the edges sometimes. Then they just get matte coated with the whole model. Mico-Set is my trick to making the decals snug down and lie well.
And I agree, fully decaled Knights look cool.


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## Turnip86 (Oct 7, 2011)

Nice idea to mount the militia on 40mm bases. It really does make them look more dynamic and I imagine them running into battle shouting 'rabble, rabble, rabble!' 

The knights look great too, the highlighting on the horses looks good and the half-chequered pattern looks nice as well. Yellow is a pain in the ass to do at the best of times let alone in a scheme like that (I know from experience  ) so you've done well to pull it off. Have you considered outlining any future chequered patterns? On my knights it changed the look quite dramatically but depending on the look you were going for it might be worth looking at.


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Turnip- what do you mean? Do you have any photos posted that show it off? I don't know that I want to do it again, it was such a pain, but it does look pretty good on the table, and I have lots more knights to paint, so I might try it.


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## Turnip86 (Oct 7, 2011)

Well there's more in my plog starting from page 6 onwards but what started as:









Ended up as:










I used black because with 4 colours anything other than black would have looked fairly terrible but you could essentially use any colour really. It makes getting the squares/diamonds' edges straight much easier as you can just cover any wobbly lines. Also it should be easier on a bret horse because of the flatter surface, the barding on empire knights is a pain


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Gotcha. I hadn't considered it, but I might now. That would mak it a bit easier to get right. Well, I have plenty of horses to try it on. I had seen a set of pics somewhere on how a guy painted his Questing and Grail Knights, using more inicate schemes, and so I might use this on those.

Thanks!

And I am running through your plog right now, I had kinda forgotten about it. You have some really nice stuff on there.


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## Saulot (May 25, 2011)

KjellThorngaard said:


> Thanks for the comments guys!
> 
> Not really Saulot. I tried using gloss-coat onc, and it went bad. I put the decals on directly over the Vallejo paint. As soon as I apply the decal I blot it dry then apply Micro-Set setting solution. I often touch up around the edge of the decal with more paint, it helps hide the edges sometimes. Then they just get matte coated with the whole model. Mico-Set is my trick to making the decals snug down and lie well.
> And I agree, fully decaled Knights look cool.


Got it! Thank you very much! That should be enough to put me in the right direction.


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## Hellados (Sep 16, 2009)

I'm stealing the idea of the malitia but with a twist and I was SO tempted to do that with the knights! But I brought the box set 

Loving the complex pattern on the blue and yellow dude too


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Thanks Hellados. Will be looking for your twist.


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Finally posting again. I finished the three command models for my Empire army. A mounted lord, the BSB, and a warrior priest. I am trying to keep the Middenland feel and used the mounted Valten model, the special ed SoC Empire BSB, and Ar Ulric for the priest.

Pics:

















































































































Aslo found another decal set for the seventh Knight errant.

















Thanks for looking and comments welcome.
KT


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## Saulot (May 25, 2011)

Great update, KT!

I love your Empire colour scheme! The dark greys and blue sets of the bright gold wonderfully. Also, very characterful minis!

And hurray for tracking down another decal sheet! I feel I'll be facing a similar dilemma in the near future since my KotR are next on my painting table! hahahaha


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Saulot- If you go with lots of a single decal send me a pm, i have plenty of extras laying around. And thanks for the kind comments. I really like the Middenland lore and the dark blue just has a nice look to it IMO. Now if I could just find a bunch of Tuetogen Guard models for my great swords...


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Posting a couple older pics that were eaten by the hack-time on the site. Humakt is kindly going to add those into the finished threads for the army painting challenge.

Crossbows of September:









And the boys of late fall Oct/Nov:









Thanks Humakt!


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

This bumped becasue I updated my to list back on page 13. It is a way for me to keep motivated, so sorry for the self bump.

Minor update sans pics: I primed a HE Mounted Lord, Mounted Mage and Bolt Thrower. Started and nearly finished a HE BSB, and got primer and first paints on a WE BSB and the Bret BSB. I'll be entering High Elves for the 2013 Army painting challenge, so the newly primed HE models will have to wait for there respective entry months for paint. Like usual, I bought more models than I finihed painting this month...


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Finished a pair of BSBs, and just need to decal a third BSB. I ran out of distilled water and haven't hada chance to pick up more for decaling. Small update with the finished BSBs

First up, a noble of Ulthan.

























Closer of the noble, his sheild and the banner.

























A noble of the Woodland kin, the Asrai:

























Closer:

















The Bret BSB is finished, he just needs decals. Pics to follow hopefully by this weekend.

Comments?


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## Saulot (May 25, 2011)

Can you please post army shots of each army?? I love all your colour schemes (yes, even your pink Brets!) and I bet it looks great all together in one shot!!

And very nice clean work on your HE noble!


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

I need to. I have nearly 2,500 points of Empire now, and a legal 1,000 point Wood Elf army. Not sure on the points for High Elf and Brets, though I have at least two core units for both, plus a mage and noble/paladin, and a bsb. I will try and get pics taken this coming week and get them he Saulot.

BTW, how are your KoR coming?


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## Saulot (May 25, 2011)

KjellThorngaard said:


> BTW, how are your KoR coming?


Stalled, as usual. Been travelling the past few weeks for work, so I had little time to paint. Will probably put up a mounted Damsel soon, she's nearly finished, just working on her horse and staff.


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Work sucks. It lets us pay for our toys, then takes us away from important stuff like _painting_ our toys. Looking forward to your progress.


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Hey ya go Saulot, a few piucs of the whole army, or rather all my painted models together.

This is a link to a rather large panoramic shot:
http://s1123.photobucket.com/albums/l549/borderguy190/Army%20shots/?action=view&current=pano1_zps382f4dd8.jpg

Here is the Empire force of Herr Albrecht

































All the models:

















































My camera and lighting suck for taking pics this big...

Anyways, those are the forces of light I have painted so far. Enjoy!


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## Saulot (May 25, 2011)

Oh WOW!! That's awesome, KT!! You should be really proud of your work! 

As I've said before, I love all your colour schemes! I like how you went with dark blue on your HE, Middenheim for Empire, summer-themed for WE, and pink & purple Brets for your daughter! 

So, what's next? I hope you expand your WEs! I rarely see that army and I just love how you did yours!


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Thanks Saulot, coming from a guy who has an incredibly painted Bretonnian army, that means alot.

I only picked the schemes for the Wood Elves and the Empire. My two children picked the schemes for their respective armies, and I have to agree, they look pretty cool.

Whats next? Continued plodding along. I am going to hit the High Elves in nethe next Army Painting Challenge and finish that army. I will continue to paint bits and pieces for the other two as well. My hope is to have 2500 point armies for all four by the end of the next challenge, like April 2014. 

I pretty much have all the models purchased, it is just a matter of building and painting in my limited hobby time!


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Two months without an update, or a finished model for that matter.... I have been busy remodleing the kitchen and besides not having any place to paint, I haven't had a spare minute to even try. Here are a couple pics from the last photo session:

A complete 1,000 point WE army.









Same pic with flash:









The Bretonnian BSB:









Now that the 2013 Challenge has started I hope to get back into the swing.


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Small update of High Elves from the Army Challenge.





































Thanks for stopping by. KT


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## Hellados (Sep 16, 2009)

These all look incredible but those High Elves head, somethings not right, the skin colour looks similar to the helmets unless it's the camera taking the colour out of them.


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Thanks Hellados. And it is my crappy camera washing out color. The are actualy a little more highlighted than usual, maybe that is it.


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Finished a bolt thrower to support my son's High Elves. A couple crappy pics.


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

After a busy month an almost no painting I did finally finish a mounted Lord for my son's High Elves. And just in time for the Army Painting challenge...


























Thanks for stopping by.

KT


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## Saulot (May 25, 2011)

Well, it seems like I picked the right time to log in again on Heresy-Online! 

Great to see an update from you, KT! The HE Lord is looking great! I like his fancy helmet very much! :laugh:

Are you getting any of the new HE units release recently? Those are some pretty nice models!

Cheers!


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

I have the Reavers from the Island of Blood box, but that is it. I haven't paid much attention to new GW models lately since I have so many still unassembled. Any new HE in particular that I should look for? I don't new Sword Masters, I have 21 of them in metal. I already have one box of plastic Phoenix guard, so I need another of those guys, but would prefer them to be the same models.


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Just finished a unit of HE Reaver knights for my son's army. Comments always welcome.










































Thanks for stopping by.


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## Meldon (Dec 21, 2010)

Those looks great! I just started painting HE myself for my girlfriend so I know how fiddely they can be


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Finished the first ten Phoenix Guard. Real buggers to paint. I had to paint them in three parts each, and once I did final assembly they don't rank up... Not sure what to do, except make some funky base like I did for cannon and bolt thrower. I will wait until I get another ten finished though. Enough rambling, the pics!










































































Thanks for checking out my humble offering.
KT out


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Just finisheda unit of Shadow Warriors. Quickie pics for now.

































Thanks for looking. KT


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

No updated models, just working on my to-do list back on page 13. Sorry for the useless bump.


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## Jacobite (Jan 26, 2007)

No need to apologise, it's reminded me about this, really nice work on the elves. That musician from the PG in particular looks great with the freehand on the drums. How did you find the Shadow Warriors kit? Ive been very tempted to get one to convert up to =I= henchmen.


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Jacobite said:


> No need to apologise, it's reminded me about this, really nice work on the elves. That musician from the PG in particular looks great with the freehand on the drums. How did you find the Shadow Warriors kit? Ive been very tempted to get one to convert up to =I= henchmen.


Jacobite, Thanks for the kind comments. I really like the Shadow warriors kit. Very dynamic poses, alot of conversion potential, cool outfits (espcially the SW helms). The chick parts add even more to the package, allowing female models that have a female look versus just a dude with long hair. Since both hands are gripping weapons, you would have no problem adding 40K-style weapons to the models without having to detail fingers around a grip. And, the flaming swords of the Sisters of Averlon would make a pretty cool pyrokine sword for an =I= henchman. I'm just sayin'.


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Two new finished units for fantasy. A Bretonnian trebuchet and ten more High Elf Sword Masters. I need to get out the tripod for some real pics, but here are a couple teasers:


























You could still see wet scenic cement in that pic...

















KT out


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

With no time to paint for a month... all I have to show is a HE Great Eagle.


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## torealis (Dec 27, 2006)

Loving the trebuchet mini diorama!


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Thanks torealis!


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

So a bit of threadcromancy. Resurrecting this thread from the deep recesses of H-O for the 2019 Painting Challenge.

These first models aren't part of the challenge, but I did paint them in 2019, and are some of the first WFB models i have painted in years.

12 Dryads


























Part of the reason i have not painted WFB models is i have been busy painting historicals, including buildings for bolt Action, like this stable.










What do y'all think?

KT


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

First 2 units from February's goals: Anglo-Saxon and Viking warriors for Saga.


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## High_Seraph (Aug 28, 2009)

Very nice! . How long did it take to paint those guys?


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Thanks! I keep meaning to track time spent painting models. Is say about A week of one and off painting. Maybe 10-12 hours total. Possibly a bit more with the shirlelds. Those always take longer than I think.


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Here are February's final two units:

Feb:
WFB War Dancers









































FIW Armed Civilians -Galloping Major models


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

March completed models:

Saga civilians:



























































A Charlie Foxtrot building:


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

Finished my primary unit for March. x15 Wood Elf Eternal Guard with command. The trick was matching these to ten others i painted more than 4 years ago. The last pick is a comparison shot. What do you think?


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## Old Man78 (Nov 3, 2011)

Those photos are not showing in this thread or the competition one mate


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## KjellThorngaard (Oct 4, 2010)

So bizarre. Showing fine for me. Hmmm.


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