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Blog DragoDog's Lizardmen Army

Discussion in 'Personal Paint Logs' started by dragodog, Feb 9, 2013.

  1. dragodog
    Skink

    dragodog New Member

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    Greetings All

    Never kept a journal of my army before, but here we go. Hope to use it as a source of motivation to ensure I complete this project. I am currently working on my Lizardmen army. So far I have already completed on unit of Saurus Warriors as well as a Stegadon (their photos will be posted later. What I just finished, however, is my Cold One Calvary Unit. Photos below. But first a little background.

    This is actually the second Lizardmen army I have worked on. The first one was back in the mid 1990s and was my first attempt at painting miniatures. Although I thought I was doing great at the time, when I look upon them now, after having them in storage for several years, I gasp at the horror. lol. However, after winning a battalion box at a raffle at the Peterbourough GW in the UK, I decided redo the army.

    Looking at the figures, I am a fan of both some of the newer and some of the older models. For example, the saurus warriors now look a lot better than they did in the 90s, but I think the older stegadon looks better. So there is a mix. Most of the coloration schemes are based on research focused on earlier Mesoamerican cultures (Maya and Aztec), wildlife present in the Yucatan peninsula and South America as well as influences from artefacts and clothing of modern native tribes from the region.

    On to the models:


    ColdOneCalvaryUnit_zps23c54609.jpg
    This is my cavalry unit completed last night after two months of work. The saurus warriors all share the same scheme as infantry, based on a lizard found in the Yucatan. When I upload the saurus warriors, I will explain in further detail.

    ColdOneCaptain_zps3bd05340.jpg
    Here is the unit captain. Tried to evoke a sense of motion with this one by ensuring the chain like attachments were included.

    ColdOneStandard_zpsb56c8ae9.jpg
    This is the Standard Bearer. When it came to painting the standard, I was reminded of the Aztec Double Headed Serpent presented to Cortez and currently in the British Museum in London. I did my best to follow that scheme. The link to it is here: http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/aoa/t/double-headed_serpent.aspx


    ColdOneRider_zps08bf7857.jpg
    What a standard rider in the unit looks like.

    As noted above, will post the Saurus Warriors and the Stegadon as soon as I can. Comments welcome.

    Thanks for your time.
     
  2. thundercake
    Skink

    thundercake New Member

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    Looking good. I like the colors on the cold ones.
     
  3. Old Mossy
    Bastiladon

    Old Mossy Active Member

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    Looking good, great unit. The colours look great, particularly the standard. The jade and gold look spot on. It might just be the photos, but your riders look like they could use some highlights on the head, and weapon edge.

    What's the colour scheme of the cold ones based on?
     
  4. dragodog
    Skink

    dragodog New Member

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    Thanks for the comments. Old Mossy, the coloration of the Cold Ones originates from an old dinosaur book I had which contained some good conceptual color schemes for dinosaurs. The blades do have some highlighting. However, they did not turn out as good as I hoped. What I am trying to do is create an obsidian blade, as what was available to Mayans during pre-Colombian times. If anyone has any suggestions on how I can create the effect of an obsidian blade, I am all ears.

    Anyways, below are my weekend accomplishments. A salamander and a skink priest. The skink handlers are complete as well, just did not take any good pics of them.

    SkinkPriest_zpsc2e0ad57.jpg
    I attempted to include the multitude of colors found on several paradise birds found in Central America when it came to painting the cloak of feathers. Notice the unpainted salamander in the background...

    Salamander_zps0f7cb267.jpg
    As I mentioned earlier, I am a fan of some of the 1990s models. This includes the Salamander, with its Dimetrodon like sail. Added some element from the Citadel Death World Basing Kit (the other side has some skulls and more plants.

    As always, comments are always welcome.
     
  5. Arli
    Skink Priest

    Arli Moderator Staff Member

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    I am the opposite, I do not like the 90s model (especially the sally). That said, I think you have done a great job on painting and basing that one. It looks great!
     
  6. dragodog
    Skink

    dragodog New Member

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    Still working on my army. As noted earlier, I started the army with a Saurus unit that I have not been able to photograph. But now I did. Here they are:

    SaurusUnit_zps18ab765c.jpg

    When I set up the paint scheme, I looked into reptiles that exist in the Central American region. I found a cool lizard that is indigenous to the region that has a dark green back and head, but the tail is light blue. I did my best to replicate it with my Saurus. I kept this scheme for all the saurus, including the cold one riders above.

    SaurusBack_zpscd1fc8ab.jpg
    I also tried out the new texture paint for the bases of these models. Am not a fan of it and refrained from using it on my future models. Now I just use my classic painted sand technique that you may notice on other models.

    SaurusChampion_zps0868b015.jpg
    I used the classic command group for the unit, and will for the second unit, mainly because I like how the champion looked and to give the unit as a whole a bit of a more personal touch. Used a matching shield however.

    As always, comments and suggestions are always welcome.
     
  7. Old Mossy
    Bastiladon

    Old Mossy Active Member

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    Gotta love those old school unit champs. I really like the aged look you put on that drum, too. How do the old models blend in with the new ones, though? The musician's head kind of looks like it stands out a bit, but it's a little hard to tell from the angle. Would he look better if you sculpted a crest on him?

    I like your green and blue colour scheme for the scales. The whole unit looks good!
     
  8. dragodog
    Skink

    dragodog New Member

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    Thanks for the comments. The models do blend in rather well when using the similar paint scheme, but, with hindsight, I would have modded them musician to include a crest. But then again, when I used these models with my original saurs warrior unit back in the 90s, they did look a lot more awkward. I attribute this to the fact that the command group was sculpted in a moving style while the old saurus warriors (at least the plastic ones) were in static poses. The modern saurus warriors have a much more active pose to them and thus world well with the classic command group. Other than that, I think they look good in the larger unit.

    Another unit I completed prior to starting this blog was my Stegadon.

    Stegadon1_zpse81f6119.jpg
    I prefer the classic stegadon model over the new one. I like the Triceratops/Styracosaurus steadily pressing on forward look to the behemoth look of the new one. I may use the newer model for a Machine of the Gods later. I have not decided yet.

    Segadon2_zps013292d7.jpg
    I applied my color scheme for the skinks first on this model and kept them throughout the army.

    Thanks in advance for looking any comments!
     
  9. freizeitschamane
    Skink

    freizeitschamane New Member

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    Just saw them now! They look really nice and I really like that you are using nature as inspiration! I envy you about the old salamanders which I always loved, but unfortunately, the only old models that I got my hands on were the old teradons.
    Which ones will you use here? Old or new?

    The only thing, I would adjust a litte are the bases. If I were you, I would try to create a more jungle style look.
    A hint I recently got at a workshop is using regular soil instead of sand. It really creates a much more detailed ground (you can have a look at my bases).
     
  10. T`hinker`er
    Salamander

    T`hinker`er Active Member

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    Looks like you are off to a great start, and it's nice to see another gamer basing a lizard army off the old models. I love the old ones too and have been very busy converting and sculpting to mix the old and new styles. And we also seem to have a very similar color scheme for our skinks ;)
     
  11. dragodog
    Skink

    dragodog New Member

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    Thanks for the feedback. The dirt for a more natural base look is a good idea and may implement it on my next army. Well, I am about to leave to work overseas for six months and will not be able to paint during this period. However, I was able to finish my army's first skink unit. Comments and suggestions are always welcome.

    Skinks2_zpsec7425a2.jpg
    I followed the same color sceme as I did for the other skinks.

    Skinks_zpsae14cb2a.jpg

    Have a great summer and will post after I return.
     
  12. Fhanados
    Terradon

    Fhanados Well-Known Member

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    I really like the jade/green "tags" you've done. What colours did you use to get that?
     
  13. dragodog
    Skink

    dragodog New Member

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    Thanks for the comment. The tags were done like this: Basecoat white. Then ad a at least three to four layers of green wash. If you are going for a blue green jade, the second wash should be a blue one. After that, highlight the edges and bumps with a light green paint. I have experimented with adding a final coat consisting of a green glaze, but this has had mixed results. Several Mayan jade sculptures include carvings in them, usually highlighted in red. To get this effect, add a deep red highlight over certain bumps. Hope this helps.
     
  14. newscales
    Kroxigor

    newscales New Member

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    definite props man. some killer looking pieces. cold ones my favs
     
  15. dragodog
    Skink

    dragodog New Member

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    So... back from my deployment to Afghanistan. And ready to paint. Out of the loop for so long that new Lizardmen models are out. Mixed feelings about them. Like the terradons, neutral about the bastodon and not liking the new carnosaur. But will build the army as I go on. But for now, her is a fun pic:

    UndeadSaurusWarrior2_zpsbab01e65.jpg

    A Saurus Warrior from my Cursed Company unit I put together. So rare to see skeletons of non-human characters in this game. The Cursed Company included skeletons of dwarves, elves, skaven, orcs and goblins. This is just cool.

    Currently working on my second block of Saurus Warriors w/spears and shields. Will post their pics as soon as done.
     
  16. dragodog
    Skink

    dragodog New Member

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    Just finished up on another Skink Priest. Kinda following the same scheme as all the other figures, so no big news there.

    SkinkShaman_zpsc089e240.jpg
     
  17. dragodog
    Skink

    dragodog New Member

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    Just finished up my Carnosaur and Saurus rider. Feel good to get it done.

    Carnosaur_zpsc820c3cd.jpg

    Just don't like the look of the new carnosaur model, but I do like the rider. May use the remaining bits of the model to make the new skink oracle model.
     
  18. Caprasauridae
    Stegadon

    Caprasauridae Well-Known Member

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    Very cool looking Carno, I like the cold, blue colours! I like both the old and new models, but for different reasons. But I agree with you that the rider is really nice. Was it easy to fit on top of the old Carno or did you have to adjust it with green stuff or something?
     
  19. Zwuppie
    Razordon

    Zwuppie Member

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    the carnosaur looks brilliant! Love it!
     
  20. The Hunted
    Carnasaur

    The Hunted Active Member

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    Raaawr! That Carnosaur looks ferocious, love it!

    The white and blue-ish colors are absolutely brilliant, and I really like the way the shield pops out. It's as if it's screaming "Hit me here!" :)

    Yep. I am a fan of this model. Props.

    The Hunted
     

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