Blog The Legendary Lord Project

It's the archangel Tyrael from Diablo.

 

Love how those Temple Guard turned out, well done!

 

Razordon Hunting Pack

Barbed Razordons are covered with a profusion of great spines – hardened spikes made of bone that project menacingly out of their bodies. As a defensive protection, this razor-sharp body armour serves to deter all but the most determined of creatures, and even the most monstrous of Lustria's many apex predators will think twice before attacking a Razordon. The Razordon's spines are not only a deterrent, however, they are also a deadly offensive weapon. By way of powerful muscle spasms, Razordons can discharge their spines, shooting them outwards in a deadly hail.

Razordons are most commonly found in swampy regions or tidal basins, and more of their number are concentrated around the Amaxon Basin than anywhere else in Lustria. In much the same manner as the Salamander, Skinks capture and train Razordons, although the spiky beasts have no domestic uses and are used exclusively on patrols or at war. Goading such a creature to shoot its darts is a simple, if somewhat risky operation: the Skink Handlers prod the Razordon with the sharp end of a spear, and then duck. As Razordons are mean-spirited creatures, it is not unusual for an occasional dart to be fired towards the Skink Handlers rather than the targets they would have chosen.

The Lizardmen use Razordons as living pieces of artillery, driving them towards enemy battle lines, all the while encouraging the beasts to fire a steady rain of spines into enemy ranks. A single dart can be deadly, as it is shot out with enough force to splinter a shield, or punch a hole clean through a man's body. However, even a creature that is hit by a Razordon spike and survives is still in danger. Each spine has tiny barbs that ensure that pulling it out inflicts even greater injury and loss of blood.

Should a foe be so foolhardy as to charge a Razordon, the spiky reptile has developed a fearsomely devastating reaction – flexing its scaly hide to blast forth a formidable volley. Those attackers fortunate enough to make it past the wall of darts fired at them find themselves met by the snarling Razordon. During the Battle for the Lost Plaque at Lacoussaint, Razordon Hunting Packs were massed together into a large formation and managed to stop cold a formation of charging Bretonnian knights, slaughtering them to a man.

Salamander Hunting Pack

Salamanders are giant, predatory creatures that stalk the swamplands and estuaries of Lustria's jungles. Propelled by four thickly muscled legs and a powerful tail, they are swift-moving creatures whether on land or in water. Salamanders are voracious hunters, and their favoured method of catching prey is to swiftly close the distance, moving through underbrush or even submerged under water.

Once within range, they launch a burst of highly corrosive liquid from their gullets, a substance so volatile that it bursts into flames upon contact with the air. The burning pitch-like substance sticks to victims, burning them alive, whilst already beginning the digestive process. The creature's neck-frills and back sails provide a cooling mechanism, ensuring the cold-blooded creature does not expire from the heat generated within its own body.

It is difficult to catch and train a Salamander, but Skinks known as Handlers manage to do so. Using sharp-tipped jabbing spears, Skink Handlers goad Salamanders into position, and then prod them until they are angry enough to spit flames. Although sometimes employed by Skink artisans to fire kilns, the Salamanders are most often used in warfare. Poking a beast as violent as a Salamander is a hazardous task, and over the course of their duties many Skink Handlers are eaten or covered in flaming bile themselves.

On the battlefield, Salamander Hunting Packs often cover the army's flanks. Skink Handlers attempt to move their beast into a clear firing position, a difficult task as the Salamander often wishes to charge straight forwards into combat. If the Handlers line it up correctly, they can coerce a Salamander to spout its flame upon the foe, before allowing the creature to finish the job with tooth and claw.

The Skinks have learned that Salamanders are particularly effective at burning foes out of fortifications. The burning liquid splashes through embrasures to burn alive any within. So were the wooden palisades of the Norse colonies destroyed, and defenders removed from the towers of the beached Black Ark, the Umbral Tide.

Ancient Salamanders
From Clay Project Miniatures (Wolf Drakes).


The death dealt by an Ancient Salamander is hideous to behold. From the fleshy sacs upon their necks, these vast and venerable predators are capable of belching forth great sprays of volatile acids that ignite into flaming life upon contact with the air.

Those unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of this deluge find themselves covered in the devouring juices. Armour and flesh melts like hot wax, sloughing away from the bone as the victim screams and thrashes impotently. These same corrosive fluids drip from an Ancient Salamander's jaws, beginning to digest any who are bitten while the hapless prey is still alive.

Ancient Salamanders are used by the Lizardmen to guard the flanks of their armies, or to incinerate the strongest points of an enemy line. Even the sturdiest fortifications can be melted down by these beasts' spouted flames, while those warriors who survive the initial onslaught find their flesh continues to slough away little by little wherever it was touched by an Ancient Salamander's fires.

Salamanders Size Comparison


Drycha Hamadreth

Only one twisted in mind and soul would seek the company of such horrors, yet Drycha Hamadreth has named herself their Regent. It is said that Drycha is a truly ancient spirit who fought in the wars at the end of the world-that-was. Many say she failed Alarielle at that time. Certainly, it was not until the darkest days of the Age of Chaos that the Everqueen relented and planted Drycha’s soulseed, releasing the Branchwraith from her millennial limbo. In truth, Alarielle feared the damage that Drycha’s firebrand madness might do and the horrors she might wreak. The Everqueen worried also that Drycha’s was a necessary darkness, and that by keeping her imprisoned, the mother had somehow weakened her children.

Alarielle planted her barbed seed in the hateful chasm known as the Hamadrithil. There dwelt an ancient and malicious sentience that Alarielle hoped would make Drycha strong. The Everqueen got her wish and more .What burst from the rift was no mere Branchwraith. Drycha Hamadreth walked in a body of twisted vines and gnarled thorn-root, the embodiment of the Hamadrithil’s malice given form. Ever torn between rage and depression, Drycha’s bitter soul drew deadly spites to infest her form. The flitter furies came to bask in the heat of Drycha’s rage, while the squirmlings suckled at her sorrow.

Drycha sang her own song, a discordant dirge of hatred for all those not of the Sylvaneth, and she drew the Outcasts to her in great number, along with other disaffected clans besides. Drycha’s host was uncontrollable, a force of nature’s wrath that ripped through the allies of the Sylvaneth as readily as their enemies. Unable to command her wayward daughter, but unwilling to destroy her, Alarielle was forced to name Drycha an Outcast herself. This seems only to have strengthened Drycha’s resolve, for she rules the other Outcasts as a twisted queen in the place of their estranged mother.

Drycha herself remains an agent of anarchy and destruction, though she retains a grudging loyalty to her mother goddess. She draws no distinction between Orc and Stormcast, Beastman and Dwarf, in her battles. Sometimes she fights at the head of Wargroves, other times alone or even at the side of those flesh-and-blood beings she hates, providing that to do so furthers her genocidal aims. Drycha seeks only the total dominion of the Sylvaneth over the Mortal Realms, and she will fight however and wherever she feels she must until that end is achieved.

Glade Lord on Great Stag
From Atlantis Miniatures Kickstarter.

Great Stags are magical beasts that are closely connected to the most ancient of forests. It is said that when a Great Stag emerges from its dark arboreal shelter, great deeds are at hand. Thus, in a great many lands, the appearance of a Great Stag is thought to signal the onset of portentous times.

This has led many an unscrupulous wizard to bind a Great Stag to their will purely as a means of gathering wealth and support from their more credulous allies. That such plans inevitably backfire in a spectacularly gory fashion – the Great Stag invariably chafes at servitude to an unrighteous master, and will likely trample the fool to death the moment the spell lapses – seems to serve as little warning to the next charlatan.

There is no chance of mistaking a Great Stag for any of the lesser herd beasts that roam the forests of the world. It is a powerfully built animal, whose every snorting breath releases plumes of steam. The antlers of the Great Stag are both impressive and formidable, about whose iron-hard points dances a ghostly nimbus of magic.

However, what is most remarkable about a Great Stag is its noble presence; the creature moves with an unsurpassed grace, for it is a king amongst beasts and the natural spirit of the world made manifest. Such a creature can be tamed for brief periods, perhaps, but never truly mastered. Only when the forests face imminent destruction will such a proud beast ever deign to accept a rider.

 

Fantastic work here mate. Really, really good.

 

Nakai the Wanderer
Today I am excited to present to you the world’s-first “official” model of Nakai the Wanderer. I say official because this model is straight from Total War Warhammer, 3D printed, and Creative Assembly (producers of TWW) have stated that Games Workshop approves every model they make, sending them back to iterations if they don’t agree with the artistic decisions made.



The ancient Kroxigor known as Nakai the Wanderer is a revered creature, regarded by Skink Priests as a powerful jungle-spirit made manifest. Though he has travelled all over the world, he is a mighty protector of the Lizardmen, appearing anywhere out of the jungle during times of need, before disappearing once more. He famously appeared at the Defence of Itza, wreaked havoc at the Red Fields and was recently reported at the Great Reckoning.

His presence is a tangible portent that a battle of great import is about to take place. In the aftermath of such major events, the Skink Priests treat Nakai with deference, adorning his massive, battle-scarred body with ceremonial tokens. Over the millennia of victories, Nakai has become quite festooned with such golden tributes.



I chose to make Nakai an albino like Gor-Rok because of these old rules. “Nakai is an albino, touched by the Old Ones.” “Nakai’s albinism marks his greatness and makes him easily recognisable to his allies and enemies alike.” This is the only time his colouration has been mentioned and it has never been retconned since, so I consider it canon.

I wrote a short story for the Legendary Lore mod where the two legendary albino warriors, Nakai and Gor-Rok fight in Itza during the End Times, which draws from semi-canonical musings by Josh Reynolds during a Q&A, who left Black Library in May 2020:

Nakai & Gor-Rok

Nakai coughed up blood. His scales cracked and oozed. Death was surely close for the legendary fighter. He had slain one of the hated Arch-Plaguelords of Clan Pestilens, Morbus Sanguis, though at great cost. The Yellow Death was upon him. But Nakai could not – would not die, not now, not here. The fate of Itza – no, the world – was at stake. In the distance, barely visible through the densely packed trees, Nakai could see Gor-Rok fighting desperately against the vermintide. Two Stormfiends were steadily advancing towards the Great White Lizard.

With a guttural roar that shook the leaves from the trees Nakai burst from the jungle, bounding across the bridge on all fours. Before the Stormfiends could bring their weapons around Nakai was upon them, slicing the arm off one while ripping the mewling Skaven Controller from the other. Gor-Rok joined his brother in combat, and the two stood back to back against the Skaven horde.

The reptilian warriors were soon buried in a mountain of Skaven corpses. Nakai's gore-slicked body burst from the corpse pile, raging up at the sky as a Warpstone meteor hurtled towards Itza. There the two legendary warriors finally met their end as Itza was wiped from the face of the earth in a massive Warpstone explosion.

Please enjoy some more photos of Nakai and short stories I wrote for him:

Nakai & Tehenhauin at the Red Fields

During the Emergence of Sotek the hated ratmen had at last been put to rout. Nakai and Tehenhauin encircled a great number of the fleeing Skaven at what came to be known as the Red Fields, due to how much blood was spilled there that day.

Tehenhauin scaled the great Kroxigor's back and lept up onto his shoulder, thrusting his sacrificial blade high into the sky, inciting much chirping and chittering amongst his red-crested Skink brothers.

"Skink has climbed high. Must be careful. The fall would hurt," Nakai grumbled in his ancient tongue.

"Fear not, great one," Tehenhauin chirped, "We have surely received Sotek's blessing this day!"

The two gazed across the bloodied fields. Skaven bodies were everywhere. Great columns of defeated Skaven were being led to the sacrificial altars. The Prophet surely spoke the truth.

"Come, little one," Nakai rumbled. "Work still to be done. The Great Plan must continue."

The Battle of the Eclipse
The rotting ogre swung its oversized claw clumsily. Nakai effortlessly side-stepped the blow, then struck the dead-thing with his blade, lopping its misshapen head clean off. Nakai roared in triumph. All around him was the din of battle, as the Lizardmen cohort engaged the vast Undead host in a deadly ambush under cover of darkness, a darkness brought about by the solar eclipse that was predicted, or, perhaps, orchestrated by the Slann Mage-Priest of Itza, Lord Xltep.

A massive, bloated creature dove into the ranks of the Lizardmen and exploded, an entire regiment of Saurus Warriors disappearing in a shower of gore. An intense, white-hot shaft of light burst from a Bastiladon's Solar Engine, arcing across the blackened sky, slamming into a Rotting Leviathan and igniting the hellish monstrosity. Yet still the thing fought on, scything down Skinks and Saurus alike with its massive pincers. Lord Xltep's voice filled Nakai's mind.

"There is a vampire among them, the one called Luthor Harkon. He is your prey. Slay him, and the rest will fall."

Nakai went down on all fours and charged across the battlefield, knocking over the shambling hordes of zombies effortlessly as he forged a path straight to the vampire. Luthor pointed his pistol at the charging Kroxigor and fired. Nakai didn't even feel the shot. In moments he was upon him. Luthor, with his vampiric swiftness, was able to dodge some of Nakai's blows, but then made the mistake of trying to parry Nakai's blade with his own. The force of Nakai's strike ripped the blade from his grasp, and Nakai's follow up swipe with his clawed fist launched Luthor bodily across the field.

And then Luthor's countenance changed. Gone was the cocky vampire. Now, he reeked of fear. Nakai slowly advanced. The Great Plan left no room for mercy. Zombie Deckhands swarmed him, but Nakai hacked them apart with little effort. Yet as Nakai raised his arm for the killing blow a Fell Bat swooped down and plucked Luthor from the battlefield, carrying him high into the air.

Nakai roared in frustration. The battle would be won, but Luthor Harkon had cheated death yet again.

The Hunter & The Beast
The blue and silver scaled warmblood ran at Nakai with his sword raised, yelling incoherently in man-speech. Nakai raised his spiked maul as if to strike predictably, but at the last second swung his thick tail forward, tripping the warmblood and sending him sprawling to the ground. Nakai's maul came down, and the intruder was no more.

The Saurus legions moved forward in orderly fashion beside him, cutting down the onrushing warmbloods. The ambush had been successful. The warmblood's leader had been drawn out of his spike-walled city, thinking they had caught a wounded Carnosaur out in the open. But the beast was merely bait. The Slann Mage Priests had decreed that Carnosaur was too tainted by Chaos to be worth healing, and so the trap was laid. It was when the warmbloods were returning home from their kill that the Lizardmen had struck.

Nakai grunted in pain as an arrow thudded into his shoulder. There, high in the trees, a horned warmblood with a bow. The creature moved to fire again, but was struck with a barrage of flaming bolas as a trio of Terradons flew overhead. She fell screaming from the canopy, engulfed in flames, before falling silent as she crashed into the undergrowth.

Markus let another arrow fly from his Amber Bow, shooting a charging Bastiladon straight through its eye. He witnessed his stalwart companion fall from the trees.

“Kalara!”

His knuckles whitened as he gripped his bow tightly, shaking with rage.

“Send in the War Wagons!”

He nodded grimly to Jorek and Hertwig, who charged forward on their horse-drawn wagon, long rifles at the ready.

Nakai witnessed the rickety carts heading towards him. He grumbled an order in his ancient tongue, and Skinks and Sacred Kroxigors formed up alongside him, their metal gauntlets shimmering with the ancient magic of the Old Ones. He went down on all fours and charged forward, the rest of his kin following close behind. The two forces collided in an explosion of splinters, blood and bone. Skinks fell to the ground like marionettes with their strings cut as they were torn down in a hail of gunfire. Horses scattered as wagons were shattered into wooden shards by the pulverising blows of the Sacred Kroxigors. Nakai smashed another War Wagon, its two occupants finding a swift death at the end of the Ancient Kroxigor's spiked maul.

Markus cried out. That cursed banebeast had taken everything from him! He raised his Amber Bow for the final time, string pulled taught, the arrow glowing with amber light. He let go.

Nakai looked down at the Skink before him, an arrow piercing its heart. It had dived in front of him, sacrificing its life for his. Nakai followed the thin line of amber light back to its source. The warmblood leader. The one they called the Huntsmarshal. He roared at his prey and charged forward.

Markus fired again, but this time Nakai saw it coming, and deflected the arrow with a swipe of his club, moving with a speed that belied his impressive stature. Markus lowered his bow; it was over.

“Do your worst, beast.”

Nakai's jaws snapped shut over Markus' head, ripping it off in a spray of gore. The Great Plan left no room for mercy.


You may remember in August 2019 I excitedly claimed to have completely my Legendary Lord collection of the Lizardmen, only for CA to release Hunter and the Beast DLC days after. Since then they’ve gone on to release yet another Lizardmen DLC adding Oxyotl to the game as well. I am proud to finally show off a completed Legendary Lore collection again. Welcome to the family, Nakai!

Faction Complete!


For completeness, here is a group photo of all the major named Lizardmen.


THE JOURNEY
I had actually been sitting on this for a while (early 2021), but didn’t have a 3D printer and the one person I did attempt to pay for it to be done gave me my money back as he couldn’t get it to come out right. I tabled it and one day I was attending a LAN with my mate and he had a 3D printer and we got to talking and eventually decided to give it a go.

First one came out too small, second one is what you see today! Honestly, I think it’s now too big, but it was “good enough” for me. I aimed for him to be a bit higher than his Kroxigor kin, since he’s a hero unit version of them, but I didn’t realise how WIDE he was too. He’s easily the biggest Legendary Lord in my collection! If I was to ever attempt to print him again, I’d make him a couple cm smaller so he was only slightly taller than his Kroxigor buddies.



LOST IN TRANSLATION
You can see in the below screenshots of Nakai in-game that some things were lost in translation. 3D printing still has a ways to go, but in saying that, I am a complete beginner and someone with more skill could one day pull off a much better Nakai.

Things like the triangles on his arm band, the details of jewellery, even his scaly flesh is all lost. They are textures applied to a flat surface. Additionally, he was very polygonal going into the slicing software, and so I did a quick and dirty smoothing effect to make him look not so blocky. Unfortunately, this smoothed everything across the board, all the sharp corners became closer to rounded curves, and this actually drastically affected the painting process as well...



GAMES WORKSHOP MAKES YOU FEEL LIKE A PAINTING GOD
All that sharp definition in Games Workshop models actually makes your job as a painter so much easier. It helps so much to just make painting like a colouring in book, where all you have to do is “stay within the lines”. It also allows their shades to work really well. And, well, hard to edge highlight when you don’t have an edge! They really know what they’re doing when they’re designing their models, trust me!

With my poor smoothed Nakai, I suddenly found myself confronted with the realisation that I was basically having to freehand and wet-blend everything. His “eyes” were sunken hollow pits in his face, his jewellery was featureless, his muscled skin had minimal definition, his green ropes sometimes melded into his flesh. On top of this, I had foolishly decided to make him an albino – whites are notoriously difficult paints to work with and I was only able to salvage this thanks to Vince Venturella’s video! He looked so damn nasty when I just smacked down some chalky white paint and a Nuln Oil shade! Thank you Vince!


So to future printers, I offer this painfully learned advice:

• If you are going to smooth out your character, use it minimally, and isolate it to the areas you want smoothed rather than the entire model.
• Try and add in defined lines back into the model (like the armband triangles which are present across many Lizardmen models) so you can paint within the lines and shade and edge highlight, instead of having to freehand it.
• If you have a cheap printer like I did, it will struggle to get these details for minis. Instead, go for bigger models like Nakai, where the cheap printers are able to still get great detail (ironically, I think my Nakai looks best from the back or top down, not the front!).
• Measure your model’s dimensions, not just height but width and length as well, and try to really mentally visualise what he is going to look like next to other models. There is an old saying in carpentry, “measure twice, cut once” – that saying can definitely apply to 3D printing and will save you time and resin.
• F**k white paint!

Nakai, having emerged from the resin spawning pool, bathes in concentrated light in order to fully materialise into the mortal realm...


IS THIS THE FUTURE OF GAMES WORKSHOP?
I was honestly amazed with how easy this was to do. I’m kind of worried I’ll get sued or something, because really if the technology keeps improving and the price keeps coming down Games Workshop will be out of business unless they adapt. Think about it. Why choose from a selection of models from Games Workshop when you can choose your own model and your own pose and print it yourself?

The way I see it, this is just a natural evolution of miniatures. First we had mono-pose “Attack of the Clones”, then we started getting options to swap heads, weapons, different variety in the models. Now even their huge monster-sized models have multiple options to choose from. This is just the final iteration of evolution: being able to pose the model in any way you want.

Technically, it is not “any” way. Though I could have posed Nakai from his t-pose position into any position I wanted, the way animation skeletons work, it is very difficult to get this to look natural, and very easy to make it look unnatural (limbs not bending correctly). What I did was use the animations already in the game, paused them at a specific moment in time I liked, and then printed that frozen animation. So although it’s not “infinite” options to choose from, it is a huge variety of options to choose from.

I imagine in the future, if 3D printing becomes superior to injection moulding, Games Workshop will adapt to be a 3D printing business that makes the models for you, gives you a set of animations to choose from, and then you choose what you want in their digital store. Then it gets printed by them and you pick it up. It’ll be pretty similar to now, but instead of choosing between model X or Y it’ll be choosing model X and Y and then choosing the stance you want them in as well.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this essay, and Games Workshop/Creative Assembly please don’t sue me lol.

 

Indeed, white paint is the hardest to make right

Also curious, did you export the model with bump-maps baked and tessellated of just the base polys? Base polygons are not that detailed nowadays due to multitude tricks of the rendering. You still did quite a good job on the model, despite having to basically free-hand most of the model!

 

Great work on your Nakai!!
White is always tough to paint. I mostly think it is all about the light greys more than the actual white

I love the group shot of all the named heroes, they look awesome.

Grrr, Imrahil

 

Don't even know what those words mean so prob not.

I'd be keen to learn any tips or tricks for the future. I'm trying to print Ariel now and she's a nightmare. 0 thickness cloth everywhere

 

Great work on Nakai!

 

Hello everyone. I have been hard at work on the Legendary Lore mod for Total War Warhammer 3.

I do not have any minis to share today, but I do want to share some art that I had commissioned for the mod (artist Ruo Yu Chen). This art is for Legendary Lords in the game that never had any art made for them in the history of Warhammer (or only black and white art). These Lords are Helman Ghorst of the Vampire Counts, Alberic de Bordeleaux of Bretonnia, Tretch Craventail of the Skaven, Malagor the Dark Omen of the Beastmen, and Cylostra Direfin of the Vampire Coast pirates. Enjoy!






Also, my brother Lizardmen, I have bad news... I fear I have fallen under the sway of the Ancient Enemy... I just... feel... SO... ANGRY!

Yes, that's right. After an epic Legendary Khorne campaign in Total War I decided to purchase and start painting Skarbrand, the Exiled Bloodthirster of Khorne! I have decided to make a small Khorne army consisting of Skarbrand, the minis from my Age of Sigmar starter kit, and a few other choice models. But I will return to my beloved Lizardmen once I finish this task, I swear! I hope to share these models with you soon™...

Thanks for reading!

 

Those look pretty damn awesome... especially that Bretonnian one!

 

These are incredible! Absolutely gorgeous artwork. Looking forward to seeing your Skarbrand!

 

@Oh_Man I love your new army choice! I have a Khorne-themed Daemons of Chaos army myself!

 

I have been spending most of my time playing Total War Warhammer 3 and working on the Legendary Lore mod and now the Victory Conditions Overhaul mod, but I managed to get some painting done over the holidays!

Korghos Khul

Of all the Lords of Khorne across the Mortal Realms, the name Korghos Khul stands alone. A thousand empires have fallen at his command, and numbers untold have met their end at the edge of his Axe of Khorne.

During the Age of Chaos, Khul assembled a vast Warhorde known as the Goretide. At the front of this army of blood-seeking madmen, he began slaughtering his way across the unbound vastness of Aqshy, tearing down all kingdoms and empires that stood in his path, his ultimate ambition to attain daemonhood.

In addition to being granted an unnaturally long lifespan, Korghos Khul’s service to Khorne has earned him many boons. His reality-splitting axe was bestowed upon him after the slaughter at Scorched Keep. His suit of blood-soaked armour was earned through his besting of eighty-eight rival champions. The Flesh Hound Grizzlemaw was gifted to Khul following his horrific purge of the Direbrand Tribe. This muscular daemonic beast can tear a man to shreds with its razor-sharp teeth and claws, while its barbed brass collar negates magic cast in its presence. Grizzlemaw delights in devouring terrified mages who find themselves suddenly stripped of their power.

When the gates of Azyr reopened, it was Korghos Khul and the Goretide who first opposed the Stormcast Eternals. During the Realmgate Wars, Khul’s Warhorde faced off against the Hammers of Sigmar many times, their rivalry pre-dating even that era; Vandus Hammerhand, a Lord-Celestant of the Hammers of Sigmar, had in his mortal life almost met his end at the edge of Khul’s axe, before his salvation came at the hand of the God-King. Although Khul has suffered setbacks against the Stormcast Eternals, and foul magics robbed him of his rightful victory at Orb Infernia, he has sworn to get revenge for his defeats, and dedicated himself anew to blazing a murderous path to daemonhood across the realm of Aqshy and beyond.

Skarbrand - The Exiled One


The Bloodthirster Skarbrand was once the greatest of all Khorne’s Daemons. An eternity of battle in the Blood God’s name had brought Skarbrand victories uncounted. It was he who tore down the gates of Slaanesh’s first palace and visited ruin therein. It was he who led the eight Hosts of Murder to their triumph over the combined armies of the other Chaos Gods. In all the endless years of Khorne’s existence, no other had piled so many skulls before the Skull Throne, or spilled the blood of so many warriors and innocents alike. Thus did Skarbrand enjoy Khorne’s favour like no other.

Alas, so proud was Skarbrand that it was a simple task for Tzeentch to fan the embers of his hubris. One dark day, when Khorne’s back was turned and his attention elsewhere, Skarbrand’s fierce pride grew hot and, blinded by rage, he smote the Blood God a mighty blow. Powerful beyond measure was Skarbrand, and he had toppled cities with but one blow apiece, but even he could not pierce Khorne’s brazen armour. Only the smallest of chinks was cut in the Blood God’s armour, but even this was sufficient to draw the terrible fury of Khorne’s gaze.

Incandescent with wrath, Khorne seized the Daemon by the throat. The Blood God cursed Skarbrand’s name and choked all personality from him, leaving only the bottomless rage that had caused him to attack. Climbing the uppermost tower of the Brass Citadel, Khorne cast forth his arm and hurled the Daemon deep into the Realm of Chaos, banishing the Bloodthirster from his presence.

For eight days and nights Skarbrand plummeted, a fiery comet of ill-omen streaking across the unchanging sky. The impact of the Bloodthirster’s landing gouged a canyon in the landscape and left his wings tattered and torn. Since that fateful day, Skarbrand has wandered the mortal and immortal realms, drowning his sins in the blood of the slain – though he no longer has the wit to fully understand why.

Ariel - Mage Queen of Athel Loren




Ariel, also sometimes called the "Queen in the Woods," is the mage-queen of Athel Loren and the Wood Elves. She presides over the realm together with her consort Orion, the "King in the Woods." Ariel is one of the most powerful wizards in all of the mortal world. She is an immortal demi-goddess and the avatar of Isha, the ancient Elven goddess of nature, and acquired the Aspects of Isha through the strange magic of the Oak of Ages at the same time as Orion gained the Aspects of Kurnous, the Elven god of the hunt. Thus, the magical force of nature flows through Ariel as if she were the goddess Isha herself.

Ariel wields tremendous power over the forces of nature, and could weave them according to her will. She commands the trees of the forest to grow, and vegetation to spring forth from the ground. It is Ariel who weaves enchantments around the Forest of Loren to delay and mislead intruders, or lure them onwards to their doom.

When enemies enter the Forest of Loren, Ariel shifts shape into her sylph-like War Aspect. She grows almost twice the height of an ordinary Elf and unfolds huge wings like those of a gigantic moth, covered in tiny scales of shimmering, iridescent colours. Upon her wings are strange markings known as the Eyes of Isha, and the Spirals of Isha can also be seen in the patterns of her wings. Sometimes, Ariel's wings display the markings of the death's-head moth to indicate that she is enraged and in a vengeful mood. Moth-like antennas emerge from Ariel's head, but her face remains that of a beautiful she-Elf with piercing eyes. The upper part of her body is clad in shimmering scales of incandescent green, while the lower part trails away into infinity — like an ethereal or elemental being. She appears to glow with an inner light like the moon and trails raw magic in a shower of glittering stardust. In this form, Ariel can fly around the battlefield wielding her magic. The wafting of her huge wings over the heads of the enemy fills them with both dread and awe.

Ariel's Journey from the Digital to the Physical Realm
This model was a 3D model extraction from Total War and 3D printed. I have been wanting to do this model for a long time because I really didn't like the old Ariel model by Games Workshop (and also couldn't acquire it anywhere except Ebay for extortionate prices). The model was very difficult to extract as it had 0 thickness wings and cloth. I actually ended up paying an expert to make the model printable and then paid to use a high resolution printer.

Despite all this, I am not super happy with the model. As you can see in the below screenshot, detail was still lost, such as the eyes. These models really push my limits as a painter. Since I had no eyes I attempted to freehand them, but it didn't look right so I abandoned the attempt. Ditto with the wing detailing. I did attempt it but I really was not happy with my own skills so ended up leaving it as you see above.

Ultimately, I am unsure if I even achieved my goal of making a model that looks better than the Games Workshop one - I will let you be the judge of that. Nevertheless, I am still happy that Orion finally stands alongside his wife on my shelf.



Hopefully I will be able to get more painting done in 2023! Thanks for checking out my models.

 

Also as part of my work on the Legendary Lore mod I have commissioned more art (artist Darko Stojanovic). Here they are, alongside some excerpts from the mod:

Azazel - Captain of the Ecstatic Legions

Azazel sees into the very hearts and souls of men, and even their deepest desires and hidden passions are plain to him. With his warm, silvery voice Azazel whispers to his opponents, promising them all they have ever desired if they abandon the folly of opposing Slaanesh and embrace the mercy of the Prince of Chaos instead.

And there are very few that can resist his temptations. All who know of him dread to face him in battle, for the cost of losing to Azazel is not only the death of the body, but the damnation of the soul as well.

At the Battle of the Moors a force of zealous Templars of Ulric had made vows before the Flame of Ulric in Middenheim that they would banish Azazel or perish trying. But before the battle ended the Templars had been reduced to gibbering imbeciles, slaves to the slightest whim of Azazel. He set collars around their necks and made them walk on all fours like dogs to amuse his patron Slaanesh.

The Questing Knight, Guido de Brionne, sought out Azazel, intending to challenge him to single combat to fulfil his grail quest, but instead he kneeled before the Daemon Prince, begging him to accept his undying devotion. Laughing, Azazel severed the head of the Bretonnian Knight, who stood unmoving, convinced in the justification of the act. Woe to those who face Azazel, the right hand of Slaanesh.

Repanse de Lyonesse & Henri le Massif
(The Desert Crusade)


Repanse stared up at the towering spire, hatred and revulsion building within her. For too long have these lands worshipped the Lord of Death. Today the crusade will restore purity, light and true faith to the repressed peoples living here under Arkhan's shadow. She turned to face her troops, many of them commoners from Bretonnia who had followed her across the ocean to fight for a noble cause.

“People of Bretonnia! See the reason why we fight! This here dread monument was built by thousands of enslaved folk, victims of their cruel overlord. It blights the lands with its dark magic. It represents everything the Lady wishes to see gone from this world.”

She urged her warhorse, Suleman, to rear high in the air, while she thrust her blade, the sacred Sword of Lyonesse, toward the heavens. It glowed with radiant light, leaving none to doubt that the Lady's favour was with her.

“Draw your swords, fellow crusaders, and follow my banner into battle! We will face many monstrosities in the coming conflict, but know that the Lady is with you! Let her divine light fill your soul, and let her divine wrath flow through your blades! Forward march!”

The crusaders cheered as one, a mighty roar that surely shook the very foundations of Arkhan's Tower, and charged forward into glorious battle.

~~~

The mighty Sun Dragon flew overhead, its red scales glittering in the sunlight as it rained flaming ruin down upon the men of Bretonnia. Mounted knights scattered in all directions to avoid the scorching heat, though for many there was no escape, and they were charred to ash where they stood, their remains scattering in the desert winds.

Henri knew not where Repanse was in all the chaos. He could only pray that she was safe. No one knew why the High Elves of Ulthuan had fell upon their crusade with such fury. Perhaps the madness of Khaine had struck them. Perhaps they mistook the Bretonnians for another foe. It made no difference now.

Henri spied a group of Elven archers manoeuvring towards the scattered men-at-arms. He gathered what knights he could and sounded the charge. Sand sprayed in all directions as dozens of warhorses churned up the dunes in a desperate gallop. The Sun Dragon circled around and dove straight towards them from the opposite direction.

“You are knights of Bretonnia. No force on this earth shall break your charge. Do not waver now!”

The arrogant Asur rider had grown cocky during the course of the battle, and had urged his mount too low and too straight. It was a fatal mistake. With a great roar Henri threw his lance with all his might, praying to the Lady for strength. It flew through the air with unparalleled accuracy, the Elf's eyes widening with shock moments before it struck him straight in the chest. He toppled from his mount and fell to the earth with an unceremonious thud.

At that very moment the dragon opened its jaws and bathed the charging knights in a pillar of flame. Henri drew his Sword of Heroes and held it aloft. Many of his comrades fell to the dragon's flames, but many more were saved as Henri's holy blade quenched the dragonfire. With unparalleled equestrian skill Henri stood up in his stirrups as the dragon flew overhead, and he cut the beast's belly open from stem to stern with his outstretched sword.

Blood and viscera fell to earth as the dragon collapsed from the sky to come crashing into the desert sands. From that day forth Henri was hailed as a dragon slayer by his peers. Thus, when battle arrived, he would seek out and slay the most horrific beasts the crusaders would face, strong in the knowledge that the Lady was with him.

Ungrim Ironfist - Slayer King of Karak Kadrin

The icy mountain winds howled. The claws of winter tugged at Ungrim’s dragon cloak and ruffled his beard, but he kept his eyes fixed on the beast. He had pledged an oath before Grimnir’s Altar. Either the Wyvern would die, here and now, or he would.

Azhag urged his mount forward, and its jaws yawned open as it lunged. Ungrim threw himself to the left, moving towards the Wyvern’s blind spot as it bore down on him. Its jaws slammed shut behind him with enough force to snap a tree trunk. It was then that Ungrim bellowed wordlessly and brought his axe down on the beast’s neck.

The Axe of Dargo bit deep into reptilian flesh, cutting through skin and sinew and striking bone. He raised the axe and struck again, nearly tearing the huge creature’s head clean off. As it reared back reflexively, the last remaining strip of flesh gave way completely, and its head came clean off, coming to rest at Ungrim’s feet.

Azhag was bucked off his mount amidst its spasming death throes. The Slaughterer rose, a jagged blade in each hand, and stared down at the Slayer King with a look of extreme displeasure.

“My axe still thirsts, urk,” Ungrim taunted, planting his boot on the wyvern’s forehead. “Come give it a drink, eh?”

Azhag’s eyes glowed with sorcerous light and the wyvern’s head began gnashing furiously, searching for Ungrim’s foot. Ungrim glanced down and shouted in alarm, then kicked the head away in disgust, cursing. He glanced up just in time to see the Slaughterer leaping towards him for the killing strike, and only just jerked his axe up in time to parry the blow.

Back and forth the battle went, with both warriors scoring blows that sheared armour or sliced flesh, all while the undead Wyvern thrashed around them, buffeting them both with uncoordinated beats of its wings. Occasionally the runes on Ungrim’s armour would flare brightly as they countered the effects of some deathly spell from the sorcerous Orc.

“You are a vexing little creature, Slayer King,” Azhag said imperiously. “I trust you will be as stubborn in death as you are in life.”

This is no ordinary urk, Ungrim thought, noting, not for the first time, how the crown atop Azhag’s head glowed with dark light whenever the Slaughterer spoke. His armour crackled with runic energy as the Winds of Death rushed over him. A spell meant to strike him dead succeeded only in ruffling his beard. Yet Ungrim was concerned; his armour could not take much more of this. His Runesmith had built it to withstand the rigours of hand-to-hand combat, not a sustained sorcerous assault.

“Come now, Azhag,” Ungrim implored. “Are you too scrawny to best me the old-fashioned way? Must you stoop so low as to use magic?”

He put particular emphasis on the last word, his tone dripping with derision. Ungrim watched with curiosity as the beast shook its head and the glow left its eyes.

“Azhag ain’t no scrawny gobbo wot needs use stoopid magic! I could cave ya zogging head in right ‘ere, right now!” he shook his blades, emphasising the point. “Get out of me zogging ‘ead!”

Azhag’s arm moved to tear the crown from his head, but stopped halfway. His hand shook violently as he spoke again.

“Silence, you stupid creature!” Azhag said, seemingly referring to himself. “This is a fight to the death, not some ridiculous test of strength!”

“Aaaagh!” Azhag roared. “Lemme go! I’ll show ya how da Slaughterer gets it done!”

Ungrim would never know how long the Slaughterer would have stood there talking to himself, because he chose that moment to relieve the Greenskin of his head. The Wyvern ceased its thrashing at once, and the dark crown bounced across the ground, tracing a bloody path across the floor.

The Slayer King looked down at the crown, and knelt to pick it up. As his fingers got close, whispers filled his mind, dark words in a foreign language that Ungrim could somehow understand – promises of death and destruction. He quickly decided against that course of action and withdrew his hand. Better a Runesmith than a Slayer for this task, Ungrim reckoned.

Rakarth - Beastlord of Karond Kar

The last remnant of the battered and bruised reptilian force charged towards Rakarth’s forces, led by none other than the great Kroxigor Nakai himself. Rakarth’s lips curled upwards into a triumphant smirk, and he raised a clenched, gauntleted fist.

“Darkshards, nock!”

Dozens of cruel-faced elves fed fresh magazines into their repeater crossbows.

“Draw!”

As one, the Darkshards drew back their strings and took aim.

“Loose!”

A blistering hail of barbed bolts arced across the battlefield. A score of Lizardmen collapsed and did not rise again.

“Draw... loose!”

Again the Darkshards reaped a bloody harvest, soaking the deck of the Black Ark in the blood of the Children of the Gods.

“Draw... loose!”

Nakai and his kin crashed into elven spear line, crushing and cutting the soldiers with their obsidian weapons or simply tearing them apart with tooth and claw.

“Draw... loose! Draw... loose! Draw... LOOSE!”

Rakarth had no mercy to give to the last of the reptiles who had sought to free their Lustrian kin, nor for his own men. Again and again he gave the order, until the Darkshards’ magazines were empty, and the deck of the Black Ark was awash with blood and bodies. Only Nakai remained, his hulking form festooned with no more than two dozen crossbow bolts.

“The Great Porcupine,” Rakarth jeered, advancing forward to confront the legendary warrior. “We meet at last.”

The Lustrian legend looked up, eyes narrowed and nostrils flared. The yellow eyes met Rakarth’s glowing stare, and something flickered across the ancient being’s scaled countenance. Doubt, perhaps, or fear? It lasted but a moment, then the beast shook its head, roared, and charged.

“No, no, no,” Rakarth tutted, and his Whip of Agony lashed out, tearing off chunks of scales to reveal the glistening raw flesh beneath. The beast faltered in its charge, and Rakarth struck again.

“I see you for what you are, reptile,” Rakarth said. “Not some reverent spirit, but a savage beast like any other.”

The whip struck out again, its every caress bringing fresh agony.

“And like any other beast, you can be cowed.”

Nakai roared and, in one last act of defiance, swung his great mace through the air, seeking to crush the Beastlord into a wet red paste. But Rakarth was no lumbering brute. He jumped back in one swift elegant motion, a motion seemingly impossible for one in heavy plate armour, but such is the effortless grace of elves.

The mace crashed into the deck, shattering the timber planks in a shower of splinters. Rakarth’s spear sung out, stabbing clean through Nakai’s arm and shoulder. The ancient beast, bleeding from a hundred different wounds and bristling with crossbow bolts, fell to the ground, exhausted and broken.

Rakarth turned away, his grin feral and lopsided thanks to his scar, and addressed the nearest subordinate.

“Bring out the Beastmasters,” he exulted. “This one will be the centrepiece of my menagerie.”

Victory Conditions Overhaul Mod
Anyone who plays Total War may be interested in the Victory Conditions Overhaul Mod I have also started working on. It gives you three different objectives, called routes, to choose from per character. After completing a route, you gain a reward. I have been using this mod in conjunction with Legendary Lore to create narrative campaigns in what is otherwise sandbox gameplay.

So for example, if you are playing Morathi. You have a route to kill Mazdamundi and capture Hexoatl. So you do that, you will get a flavour text pop up for capturing Hexoatl, and a flavour text pop up for defeating Mazdamundi, where you see Morathi sacrificing the Slann upon his very own Stellar Pyramid. Then you get a reward of powerful buffs to Morathi's magic to enjoy for the rest of your campaign.

If you choose route 2, you will be attempting to open the portal to the Dreaming Wood in the Witch Wood, to allow Slaanesh's daemons into the mortal realm. You will have to defeat the Heralds of Ariel. When you do so, you will unlock the ability to recruit Fiends and Keepers of Secrets. You will also have to defeat Alith Anar. Doing so gives you the Stone of Midnight, which he once stole from Morathi in the lore. Of course text events pop up upon doing this as well showing how the duels go down between Morathi and Alith Anar and the Sisters of Twilight/Ariel.

Lastly, in route 3, you will have to take back Ghrond and destroy Hellebron, who has always been a nuisance. You get the idea... text events and appropriate rewards for you.

Some routes even sometimes trigger dilemmas, where you are presented with more narrative and a choice to make, like Choose Your Own Adventure. For instance, we did a little event for Cathay to rescue the lost dragon, because I personally thought it was totally fail of CA to end the Cathay campaign with such a cliffhanger like that! I can only hope they continue this hanging storyline in a future DLC...

I will leave you now with some screenshots from the mod. I hope you check it out!

 

To celebrate the release of my Smart Throgg Voice Pack here is Throgg the Troll King, painted for the voice actor's birthday!

Throgg the Troll King

Even the most lackwit child knows that Trolls are grossly stupid beasts. Nonetheless, around the campfires of the north, there persist rumours that in the depths of Troll Country there is an elder beast whose mutations were not just of the body but also the mind – a Troll King possessed of a grim and malevolent cunning who seeks to grind the realms of Man under his monstrous rule.

At the heart of an icy labyrinth strewn with the gnawed corpses of once-mighty heroes, the Troll King, Throgg, sits brooding upon his rocky throne. No fanfare announces his arrival, no vassals pay him tithe, and no courtiers vie for his favour. His subjects are drooling, stinking monsters and his domain is a desolate and wind-whipped wasteland. A filth-encrusted crown rings one of the Troll King's tusks, a once-priceless heirloom taken from a great warrior whose quest led him only into Throgg's gullet.

There was a time when Throgg was content purely with a life of hunting, raiding and killing. He led his monstrous kin in ambushes and midnight attacks, each more successful than the last. Throgg had a knack of using the harsh climate of the north as his ally, for Trolls are quite at home in the numbing cold; to them a fierce ice-shard blizzard is no more troubling than a light summer rain.

Before long, the Troll King became infamous, known amongst the warriors of the Old World as Wintertooth. Every season, great and lauded heroes would ride northwards, brave knights and adventurers, all seeking out Throgg's lair to slay him. Every season, the Troll King dined upon noble flesh.

 

Great looking Throgg!

 

A great paint job for a cool looking miniature.