The Lord of the Rings Stage-by-Stage Painting: Abrakhân Guard; converted Wood Elves
New to the Astronomican today is Jim Sowter & Christian Byrne's The Lord of the Ring Stage-by-Stage Painting: Abrakhân Guard article.
Last week I showed you some pictures of a few of the painted armies from the UK Warhammer 40,000 Throne of Skulls Tournament. Well tournaments and major events aside, Warhammer World is regularly packed with hobbyists and great armies. A few weeks back Matt Godlington, a regular gamer in Warhammer World, was in the hall with his Wood Elves army. Matt started the army as a way of learning to use Green Stuff. He felt that, as every Wood Elf would be called upon to protect their forest home there should be as many females in his army as there were males. This gave him a clear direction for his modelling project and added an extra bit of character to his army.
Here are a few of the units Matt was working on when I caught up with him:
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Matt made this unit's banner by making a sausage of Green Stuff and then rolling it out flat with a rolling pin. He stopped the Green Stuff from sticking to anything by coating it in petroleum jelly. Matt also used Green Stuff to model some of the Wild Riders as females. The logs on the bases were made from twigs from Matt's garden.
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This Glade Rider has been converted into a Pegasus-riding hero. Matt added the wings from the old Wood Elf Warhawk and the spear-arm from the mounted Wood Elf Lord. Click on the image to see the model in its entirety. Matt created the base by using Green Stuff to add thick roots to a twig.
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For his second hero on Pegasus, Matt again started with a Glade Rider but this time added a body from the Glade Guard set. Again, he's used the old Wood Elf Warhawk wings, but you could use the wings from the current Warhawk or wings from any of the Warmaster Giant Eagles.
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Matt used thin thread to add bow strings to his Glade Guard. As with his other units, he's used Green Stuff to extend the hair of his female Elves. Click on the image to see the rear of the unit - notice the arrows Matt made from dressmaker pins.
Your own local Hobby Centre is probably no different to Warhammer World (though it may be a little smaller) and will have its own batch of enthusiastic hobbyists with their own interesting modelling projects. Pop down and see what hobby tips and ideas you can pick up.