Chaos Warrior riding (Wingless) Toad Dragon

 This has been one of those pieces that has been cluttering up the desk for a few months now and I'd decided that nothing else will get my attention until it's sorted.
 The Citadel toad dragon has sat in my Chaos box for about 20 years since grabbing him in the GW trolley dash and had always foreseen it to carry some kind of rider.

 I think my main problem was finding a suitable rider as the dragon itself has been the best part of painted for a few weeks. I'd shortlisted a number of the Jes Goodwin Khorne champions to play the role and had even got half way through painting one I'd converted up but I ended up abandoning it.

 I decided to search elsewhere for the right candidate and as so often before, the AD&D range came to the rescue!

 It's probably because the bulk of the AD&D figs never made it to the later catalogues that I've often overlooked them as ideas for projects. So with a little careful bending and twisting this AD&D stage 2 Evil Fighter was just the job.

 There's no specific purpose to this fella really but he is versatile enough to fit into a future chaos warband or part of the ever growing horde of chaos. Plus he makes the desk just ever so slightly clearer.

Possessed Warband Update - The Possessed themselves!

 Okay, so possessed aren't renowned to have wings but hey, who gives a shit? This pair fit the aesthetics of my growing possessed warband.

 Both are Nick Bibby sculpts and from the C34 Elementals and Demons range; a Deamon (sic) and Pit Fiend respectively. I don't recall ever seeing either of these models painted before.

The warband grows

 The Deamon has a bit of a grim mould line across the wings but I can't really be arsed to do anything with it now.

 The Pit Fiend's skin was looking at little chalky (Rakarth Flesh/Pallid Wych Flesh) so I had to calm it down a bit with a very thin layer of Druchi Violet.

 So here I take a break from the possessed; roughly half way through. There are a few half finished projects beginning to clutter up the desk so it's time to sort that out.

Possessed Warband Update - Dark Soul & Beastman

 I've struggled over the last couple of weeks to knock these two out due to suffering with proper flu and I've probably not felt this shit in 20 years. But soldiering on, I have added the first of the Magister's followers; a Dark Soul and beastman.

 I've always been a big fan of the Chaos warrior I opted for to represent the Dark Soul but I never really felt he fitted in with the rest of the guys from the same range; having the look of a chaos thug more than a warrior due the the lack of plate armour.

 The plan was to paint his tattoos in blue ink (which I actually did) but having already shaded his flesh with chestnut ink, it didn't really show that well. Never mind, he'll do.

 I really enjoyed painting several Bob Olley beastmen last year for a warband and this chap was no exception. The armour is such an innovative design and I'm planning on adding another to the group before the end.

I'm going to stick with this lot for a while and the plan is to add something large and brutish into the mix for next time.

Mordheim Possessed Magister

 Despite the Frostgrave boys coming along nicely, my urge to take time out and get this lad done to kick off a Mordheim Possessed Warband has been far too great.

 As expected, despite a personal liking towards the Mordheim Possessed figures, I'm going old school with the entire warband. I don't think there was any hesitation on choice for the magister in the Shreve the Inquisitor figure from the old Chaos Sorcerers range.

 I replaced the, call it, talisman hanging from his waist with a green stuff mould press of a chaos champion's hammer head to serve as an amulet. And then there's the sword; a bit OTT maybe but it fits like a glove.

  I'm torn right now between resuming the Frostgrave warband and getting one or two painted up to accompany the magister and there are some belters lined up in the queue for this too.

Frostgrave Warband Update - The first two recruits

 Continuing with the Frostgrave warband, I've added the first two followers of Ivan and his apprentice Waldo - a templar and a man at arms.

 The initial plan here is to paint eight members of the warband and then one of each of the remaining characters at a later date.

The templar is a lovely sculpt by Jes Goodwin from the F2 Paladin range and the man at arms, by Aly Morrison, is part of the F2 Dogs of War series.

 I decided to try a bit of freehand of the templar's shield; this is about as technical as I get when it comes to freehand but it'll do.

 I love this fighter with all his little details. Until I bought him I had no idea there was a helmet and axe tied to his belt around the back. This is also the first plastic shield I've painted since the late 90's.

 So at the half way stage, I'm taking a short break to paint the leader of another warband (that's all I'm saying for now) as the urge is just too great. Then it'll be back to finish this lot off. There's some interesting figure selections to come yet.

Finally I Jump on the Frostgrave Bandwagon

 It's been a frustrating month or so. I've been flat out getting nowhere with several projects that have stalled on the very first figure. I've probably been guilty of trying to take on too much at once and not being able to focus properly.
 Anyway, I've been keen on starting a Frostgrave warband for a good while now and like everyone says who has done, it's a great excuse to take on potential one off figures you wouldn't normally paint.

Up first is the wizard and apprentice. Now another great factor of this project is selecting the figures to represent the characters. I've gone for two of my favourite wizards here; Ivan Bloodblast, (I've used the original name given by the citadel staff here) who I think will suit the role of an Enchanter, is a peculiar sculpt to say the least. He looks more like some kind of Kislevite war veteran than a mage. I shall endeavour to think of some fluff down the line at some point.

 Ivan's apprentice is Waldo (also original staff name) who was extremely fun to paint, has been lumbered with carrying his master's belongings. The pair (both Aly Morrison sculpts) together make rather an odd couple but both have a lot of character and I'm pleased with the start of the party.

 There'll be another couple posted up next week which I have made a start on. It's good to be back making progress instead of staring at a dozen half painted miniatures on my desk.

Classic Citadel Chaos Army - Group Shot

 With the latest phase of my long running Chaos army at an end, I thought it was high time for a group shot.

 The last one was over three years ago and it's grown a bit in size since then. It's 20 years now since I first made a start on them and the early ones are some of the oldest paint jobs I have in my cabinets now. With one or two exceptions, everything prior to 1997 has been stripped and repainted.

Chaos Knights including Army General 

Chaos Warriors 

Chaos Warriors 

More Chaos Warriors

 There have been a few repaints in this army but I've kept it to a minimum and looking at it, I'd probably only opt to put two or three more through that.

Jaek and Helwud 

Chaos Beastman and Broo unit

Chaos Sorcerers with a demon and familiar

Chaos Battering Ram 

Giant Demons, Amratha Mangorer and Dematt Ghoulchewer

Flying Gargoyles of Barda 

 The Chaos Battering Ram isn't exactly usable in a game on that massive base but I thought I'd chuck it in for good measure. You can see more images of it here.

 There's still plenty to add in the future; plenty more beastmen and broo, some more gargoyles (Barda and the C48 range), one or two chaos warriors, a chariot another war engine perhaps, the odd demon etc etc....

 So now it's time for new projects for the time being. I've lots of ideas planned for the next few months but I need to decide what's coming first. Decisions, decisions....