Sunday 20 April 2014

















Cults of the Naggarothii: Assassins.
Midnight Black.

It is well known that the Elves long ago attained mastery over the winds of magic that ebb and flow through the great weave of reality. All beings of that race is in some way touched by that warping influence and all are capable to minor magics; the simple summoning of a spirit to heal a wound, an elemental to fill the sail of a boat, or the drawing of a Djinn to immolate an enemy, are common practices amongst their kind. The Death Cults of the Naggarothii make use of these minor magics, none more so than the Assassins known as the Midnight Black.

Each Cult has its own preferred method of death, some esoteric and most eccentric. The Druchii's natural competitiveness forcing each Cult to ever more ostentatious uses of their skills. The Pale Seers famously boast they can poison the surface of a mirror, so that the reflection of the viewer poisons him. The Scarlet Kiss make use of their many whore assassins to entice the chosen victim into sexual congress, and then dispatched. 

The Midnight Black make use of ensorcelled cloaks that allow the assassin to bodily dissipate into shadow. The mental disciplines enabling this practice are the culminations of decades of training, forgetting the self, completely dissolving one's anima into the shade between life and death. Once this has been achieved the Assassin may move between shadows, disappearing and reappearing at will. They become living shadows with all the fanaticism and killing finesse of Naggaroth's most supreme murderers. 


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This is my second take on Shadowblade. This model still feels fresh and I'd love to paint this guy up again in a different colour scheme. I used the same scheme as the last one as I felt I had some unfinished buisness with this model. This model was inspired by Loler's take on Shadowblade. I nicked the base idea and the freehand - damn I wish I thought of those touches first. 

Myles


Tuesday 15 April 2014














A unit of renegade Chaos Marine fighting for fortune in the midst of the Eye of Terror!

Once upon a time I had a Black Legion Chaos marine army that I gamed with quite frequently. They were a collection of 2nd edition plastic miniatures and terminators on the smaller bases led by the pre eminent miniature that was Abaddon the Despoiler. I tried adding to this army when new Chaos releases came out but they didn't sit right against my older collection. I had moved onto a different place in my life and the army came to be a milestone for me. It had fought through Abaddon's great Crusade and would now reside on the display cabinet for all eternity, gods of their own kingdom. 

But I couldn't resist playing with the new Chaos possessed kit. The details reminded me of the older Space Crusade models and I wanted to create marines that were equally as strange. So these W.I.P's are a mixture of vagabonds, traitors, liars and warped souls. I have a sizable collection of dark Vengeance Chaos Marines still on srpue tucked away in one of my many boxes. Perhaps the Black Legion will get a second birth as something far stranger than before? 

Myles

Friday 4 April 2014












"Kill for the living, kill for the dead.

 The sacrifice which they collectively made was individually repaid to them; for they received again each one for himself a praise which grows not old, and the noblest of all tombs, I speak not of that in which their remains are laid, but of that in which their glory survives, and is proclaimed always and on every fitting occasion both in word and deed. For the whole earth is the tomb of famous men; not only are they commemorated by columns and inscriptions in their own country, but in foreign lands there dwells also an unwritten memorial of them, graven not on stone but in the hearts of men. 

So say I again, kill for the living, kill for the dead."

Horus Lupercal Funeral Oration After Ullanor

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This is the second of my Horus models painted up. I knew that I wouldn't be content with painting Horus in Black or White so I had to do both. I airbrushed them in tandem and applied the brush work individually to each piece. I could never reconcile the figure of Horus as a magnanimous compassionate person. I could certainly believe he liked to project that aspect of himself to others (certainly outside of the military) but anyone who holds so much power has to be a bully. 

Not that bully's are all bad. Julius Ceasar is a heroic character who performed brutal actions to ensure the power of Imperial Rome. For good or ill he was a man of power and influence and guided others along his vision of what rome should be. I like to think of Horus perusing a dream, but realizing it is his not his own dream that he is fulfilling. It is not Horus Lupercal's ideal of what the Imperium man should be, but his father's. 

This was playing at the back of my mind while painting these models. Where Horus the traitor has garbed himself in a purple cloak reminiscent of the ruling Emperor's of old, this Horus is a servant wearing the Imperial red of his Father (who in the art wears exclusively a red robe). 

Enjoy. 

Myles

Tuesday 1 April 2014



















"...And so I will deal with all tyrants and deceivers."


Epic is a word that fits this model.

From a single sentence in the background history, the Heresy grew. Over 25 years ago Horus would make a single appearance as a Heretic, which echoed to this day spawning a multi-million selling series of books. The character is integral to the 40K universe and needed a suitably impressive model. 

This model has an epic pose, arms sweeping over the conquered, or alternatively pointing toward the void that will be dominated by the Imperium of man. There are wonderful details that echo the character's past allegiances. 

It's easy (well, easier) to paint these model as the sculpt is so superb. The emotion is already there, the movement and the character is developed. All the artist has to do is stay faithful to sculpt and you cannot go wrong. Horus was incredibly pleasurable to paint as I started re-living parts of the 40K history. I remembered the first time I learned of the Heresy and the long shadow this Primarch cast over the universe. Very few models have such an evocative history.

As for the painting - I started by layering the armour adding white until I was spraying pure white. I then washed the armour with turquoise and re-applied the highlights with a paint brush. I chose to paint this model with a purple cloak to echo his status as the would - be emperor of Mankind. In the roman empire only the Emperor could wear a purple robe so having Horus wear purple places himself as a master, not a servant. 

The marble base was created layering oil paints that were dried and then spread out with turpentine. 

Myles