Blog Warden's Other Paint Log

The trebuchet are amazing! Really great job on these! They look fantastic amd you can't ask for a better price!

 

Thanks Bowser! They were fun to put together.

WIP Knights

Still need a lot of work, but they were cheaper than buying the expensive metal ones from GW.

My Grail Knights , with some home-brew Lizardy bits I cast myself.

Spoiler: Grail Knights WIP

the musician has a "Judge Dredd" look going on.


capes!


The current heraldry plan for the unit.

My Questing Knights are still in the development stages as well, lots of extra bits were used to make them more interesting! Building the greatswords was a challenge.

Spoiler: Questing Knights WIP

Forester, Test Knight, and Chronicler




Light Bearer, the Cook, and the Treasurer

 

Another WIP for a completely unfinished unit, my count-as for the Bretonnian Grail Reliaque. In the fluff, the Grail Reliaque is a mobile shrine to a deceased Grail Knight, taken up by his fanatical grail-pilgrim follower/worshippers, who carry the shrine into battle to defeat their enemies.


My own project is based off of the real-world King Baldwin IV, the Leper King of Jerusalem (if you have seen Kingdom of Heaven you might know what I am talking about. For all its historical flaws, I still enjoyed the movie). My own King Baldwin IV is also a leper, but due to some nefarious magical means he is able to endure and continues to rule his fledgling Bretonnian colony, despite his deteriorating health.

 

Sir Dredd the musician is hilarious! He does have that look though!

Your king Baldwin is amazing, I would like to see him next to a Slann who also has a carried palanquin! The two would be quite the pair!

 

That is a good idea! When he is completed I will take a comparison shot.

 

Just a little bit of extra fluff today on some of my Bretonnian characters...


King Baldwin IV- the Leper King of Jeruga, Lord of the New World- is the Lord of the Kingdom of Jeruga, the sixth crusader king descended from the original Bretonnian crusades in their mission to conquer the New World. He claims overlordship of the entirety of the New World, including all realms and cities currently existence on its shores (though they do not actually pay much attention to him, he has no way to enforce his rule other than making proclamations). Does hold control over the crusader states of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and all the princes and counts must swear fealty to him and serve as his vassals. Though he was an avid campaigner and led many expeditions into the jungles in his youth, he now is confined to a litter due to the advanced state of his leprosy, contracted on a long ago campaign. In the past he sent many expeditions into the jungles to find the fabled Fountain of Youth in an attempt to find a cure to his worsening condition, but in recent years has been forced to instead direct his armies against the growing threats of undead warriors, tribal incursions, pirates, and predators that swarm the borders of his realm. At the same time he is painfully aware that both his vassals and sons are consolidating their own private armies and maneuvering to seize power over the Kingdom after he dies. There is little he can do to prevent their growing independence without plunging the fragile balance of power into an outright civil war…

He has also recently been made aware of alarming reports of the large host of armed Lizardmen and beasts of war that are gathering along the borders to his realm, seemingly preparing for an invasion…

Unlike the kings of Bretonnia proper, the Kings of Jeruga no longer drink from the grail. This is a closely guarded secret, but the average peasant is too uneducated to notice. According to legend and the current discourse, the first king Godfrey was gifted a vision of the lady, but in truth he was never crowned king. The second king, Baldwin (I) was the first to declare himself the true king of Jeruga, but he was never given the grail. Since then each coronation ceremony has been held within the confines of the carefully guarded throne room of the king’s keep overlooking the great cenyote, paying lip service to their watery goddess but far removed from her presence.

Rumors abound that the current King has added vile hedge wizards to his court, instead of taking counsel from the handmaidens of the Lady. As is bretonnian law, all male magic-users are to be shunned, but who would dare question the king? Even now his small task force of hedge-wizards ply his kingdom to do his bidding. Some of the most secretive rumors amongst the nobility state that the king has even brought a necromancer under his fold to keep him alive even as his body deteriorates further due to the ravages of leprosy…



Prince Godfrey- King’s Heir, the Army Standard Bearer- Serves as the King’s Standard Bearer for the army. He is a great warrior but arrogant in the extreme. Has believed himself destined for greatness his entire life and therefore is not as great of a warrior as he really thinks he is. Attempting to marshal support to solidify his claim to the throne upon the death of his father, but because of his demanding style of leadership has few true allies save for his cronies, his childhood friends, and knightly companions at arms. Leads a lance of Knights of the Realm into battle, nominally owing their allegiance to the King but in truth are his own sworn vassals, preparing for his day to claim the throne of Jeruga.



Prince Robert the Templar- King’s Second Son, Knight of the Temple- The first King of Jeruga was a great admirer of the piety and chivalry of the Knights of the Temple. Aside from his generous monetary support, the first king decreed that the second son of all noble lords must be promised to the Knights of the Temple, to not only bolster the ranks of the knightly order but also to prove the piety of the nobles themselves. Due to this decree, upon his birth Prince Robert was sequestered away with the Knights of the Temple, much to the displeasure of King Baldwin. Prince Robert bears little loyalty to the King, viewing him as corrupt and suffering for his sins. He desires the Kingdom return to its righteous mission of conquering the New World for the Lady. Prince Robert is much admired by the nobility of the kingdom, who secretly whisper that he would have been a better heir to the throne than current heir-apparent.


Prince Baldwin- King’s Third Son, the “Mud Knight”- Due to being the Third Son of the King, he does not hold a claim to the throne. As a result he was given to the household marshal-at-arms and King’s Steward for his youthful training, and gained a solid education and respect for the common men of the realm who keep it functioning. Is greatly loved by the common folk of the kingdom. In battle he most often fights on foot with men-at-arms of the King’s household or other vassals of the King, earning him the scorn of his mounted knightly peers and his nickname, the “Mud Knight.”



Count Raymond- Count of Luon, Bretonnian Lord- Ruler of the County of Luon, which also holds claim to and nominal control over the Principality of Castol. This makes him the largest and most influential landowner in the entire Kingdom of Jeruga, save for the King himself. Is the King’s most powerful vassal. As a young page and knight was a companion to the King, but due to the King’s infirmity has grown more distant and independent. Has a great mistrust for both the King and his sons. He is the King’s brother-in-law due to the King marrying his sister, the late Queen Syballa; but since her death the two have become distant. In battle leads a lance of Knights of the Realm, made up of his own closest allies and all sworn vassals.

Prince Stefan- Prince of Zaragon, Bretonnian Lord Pegasus Knight- richest noble lord of the New World thanks to his control over several lucrative gold mines. So rich in fact he has imported several Pegasus mounts for himself and his most loyal vassals direct from the halls of Paravon in far Bretonnia.


Bohemund the Evangelist- Grand Master of the Knights of the Temple- a pious but greedy Noble Lord, he pledged himself to the knightly order at an advanced age, Bohemund quickly rose through the ranks due to his great skill as an administrator. Due to his influence and eventual promotion to the Grand Master, the Templars have grown from a minor influence within the realm to a dominating force both through sheer military numbers, but also due to their vast monetary wealth. Thanks to tariffs enforced in the dock cities, tolls along the guarded roads, and routine treasure expeditions deep into the jungles, the Knights of the Templar are perhaps the overall richest organization in the New World.

King’s Bastard- Lord of the Quest- a result of one of the King’s youthful romances with the tribal folk of the New World, was raised in the King’s household but before his coming of age was denied any claim to the King’s throne due to the birth of his legitimate brother. Deeply resents the slight of his birthright, has dedicated himself to winning back the king’s favor by swearing an oath to rid the New World of its deadly beasts that lurk within the jungles.

 

And here is a genealogy tree that I created for the Royal family!

 

You've got n incredibly interesting backstory here! So much intrigue and hostory. Not sure who to root for, mud knight or bastard son! The genealogy chart is fantastic .

 

Thanks Bowser! Making the genealogy chart was an afternoon of feverish work, but the fluff just kinda flowed from there! I am hoping to use more of these characters as I expand upon my Lizardmen fluff. Glad you picked favorites, I am undecided on how I should approach the "bastards son" at this point, I really need to produce the model!

 

I think it makes for a lot of intrigue and so many story hooks, especially in a four wayrace for the crown. With two popular candidates and 2 less popular. How it would all play out. I am looking forward to more!

 

My other Golden Serpent Entry! This one was kind of a giveaway, how many other people model Bretonnians with jungle bases?

Spoiler: WIP

Very simple construction, made from 90% resin-cast I made myself, with a plastic helmet because the antlers never would have turned out right.

Sir Gavin Knavesmire

Spoiler: more shots!

It was fun painting this guy. WAY easier than his mounted version (see below for Sir Gavin on horseback, I even added the skull to his helm-crest!). I enjoyed painting the tiny little shield on his chest and the mini shield on his shoulder. Took a couple retries though.



Also after construction I noticed his sword-hand was a bit... club handed . Learned a lot though, and was too stubborn to fix him in time for the competition.



Hope you liked him!

 

I really like this model! I like how you have the on foot version as well as the mounted version, but the little details like the crest on the shoulder really made this stand out! The skull and antler helm is also just so cool!

 

I really like this project. The amount of thought and detail you've put into lineage and heraldry is absolutely astounding! Here I am undecided on a bloody skintone for my Lizardmen and you've created several generations of royal households!

Keep up the good work. I love it all!

 

So aside from my two WFB armies I also have a small 40K force. They were the first army I completed (as in... based...) a few years ago before I started getting back into Lizardmen/Bretonnians. Excuse the heaps of barely table-top quality miniatures.


My collection of space marines began as the boxed set for the Battle of Maccrage (tyrannids and Ultramarines). Being fan of the color green (and not wanting to paint blue), I came up with a dark green color scheme with a gold maltese cross as the chapter symbol. Later I discovered this was very close to the scheme for the heretically-secretive Dark Angels, as well as using the chapter-symbol of the mighty Black Templars. The collection has expanded to include neophytes who look suspiciously like cadian shock troops, more marines including a box of the old 13th company storm claws (wolfy bits mostly left out), some heroes, and some scratch-built stand in tanks because I didn't want to spend $40 for a single tank at the time.



After doing more research over the years I decided to give them a Black Templars bent. The (*cringe*) Sons of Zeon started out as a DIY chapter of space marines fighting tyrannids on the fringes of the galaxy, having been a successor chapter to the Black Templars. Since the Black Templars don't necessarily have successors, the "chapter" was later retooled to be a doomed Black Templars crusade now seeking redemption. Now known as "the Remnant" (as they call themselves), the fluff of the Zeon Crusade is based on the real-world loss of the Holy Land during the medieval crusades era, specifically on the Order of St. Lazarus.


More pictures and fluff to follow!

 

They look really awesome and that is a fantastic back story.

 

Green is the best colour! I l really like your choice of colour scheme, it's not quite as depressing looking as the Dark Angels .

 

Got some time, so... SPACE MARINES! Starting with the squads

Squad Bouillon

As per the fluff, each of my Templar squads/squad leaders is named for an ancient Terran crusader. Squad Bouillon takes its name from Godfrey of Bouillon, first king of Jerusalem (who actually refused to use the title "king" during his lifetime, because there is no greater king than THE EMPRAH!). As you can see I also made up some squad banners that have been yet to be created, displaying heraldry that has yet to be repainted on most of the minis. Its a work in progress, I promise!



The squad packs a meltagun and a (rather wolfy) powersword, wielded by Brother Godfrey (the chap with the Templar cross on his helmet). Squad was a great deal to paint! Also travels into battle with a crusty contingent of imperial guard-equipped neophytes, ready to die for their masters!

Spoiler: Squad Bouillon

Squad Domesday

The second power-weapon wielding combat squad, this one is inspired by Tancred de Haueville, the crusader who became the Prince of Galilee and regent of the Principality of Antioch.



Gotta change out those old axes on their right shoulder pads at some point. Brother Tancred happily sports a power-axe into battle while wielding a bolter-counts-as-bolt-pistol due to lack of bolt pistols at the time. I need to cast one and change it out. Squad also sports another meltagun in case they run into tanks or large beasties.

 

Squad Curthor

Carrying with them the legacy of Robert Curthose, the crusader-duke of Normandy and at the time a claimant for the throne of England when he went off on crusade, Squad Curthor is one of the two shooty-templar squads from the old book when six-man las/missile-plasgun squads were a thing (and still are if I remember the current rules correctly).



Brother Robert is nominated as squad leader, mostly because I liked the missile launcher model from the old Battle for Maccrage set so much.



Squad Capetian

Squad Capetian and its leader Brother Hugo take inspiration from Hugh of Vermandois, crusader who I think was related somehow to the Capetians of France. They are the second shooty Templar squadron in the army, ready to rain down bolters on the enemy at range for their brethren to charge in.



Brother Hugo is my attempt to use the extra plasma pistol bits from the old space marine box. Also I didn't have a second plasmagun at the time, so in my mind back then two plasma pistols counted as one plasmagun. Also he looks so COOL!

 

Finishing up with the final two combat squads.

Squad Toulon

Heavy hitters, thanks to their power-fisted Brother Raymond, Squad Toulon takes its name from Raymond IV of Toulouse, the Count of Tripoli.



Brother Raymond sports another boltgun-counts-as-bolt-pistol due to lack of funds, but considering he is missing have his head no one has taken the time to point this out to him.

Spoiler: Squad Toulon

Squad Ardent

The fourth and final combat squad is led by Brother Baldwin, named for Baldwin I of Jerusalem, the Second King of the crusader states. Like Squad Toulon the squad sports a power-fist and a flamer.



Brother Baldwin has plenty of extra crusader-seals as well as his Templar-chained powerfist. Also I really loved the old Cadian Imperial Guard sergeant head so I had to use it for my marines. Probably one of the best paint-jobs I have ever done on a mini's face.

Spoiler: Squad Ardent

One of the first true conversions I ever did was the marine with the flamer! Took me forever to position him, it was a trial in patience to put him together. Rewarding though!

 

The squads look great. I like how you have given each one a story and a heraldry. Just adds that much more depth! Two plazma pistols as a plazmagun for the win!