A Second Summer of Citadel: Enter Ratman

 

Skaven are probably the one range I've painted the least of. I have a handful of painted models in my entire collection. I think its dealing with the fur. I was never a very good drybrusher on the smaller models. Even so, I think I did okay today with this chap. He is from clan Skryre and is holding a poison wind globe. In fact this was how this model was often labelled in the later '80s early '90s catalogues. He was one of my dreaded 'unfinishables' and has sat for many months abandoned in my workshop, along with the model underneath. Having awoken early in the morning and with the rest of the household asleep I worked on these two figures for a few hours and....

Presto, some scuttering ratmen for the blog.

This second figure is much older than the Skryre rat. He was originally called Carver and his body is the basis of many variant figures, though for the figure above this is also true. Both were painted pretty speedily with this one being the second figure of the day. For whatever reason, I prefer this model's paintjob even though he only took an hour or so to complete. My process for skaven starts with a brown undercoat. A quick ink wash (this process was already complete months back, hence the speed) and then highlighting each of the chosen colours up. I drybrushed the fur with a worm out tiny brush so not to get any contamination on the rest of the figure. I used another ink/paint wash of Chestnut and Hobgoblin Orange to create the rust wash I put over the sword. 

Another two figures complete! 

This figure, and the following two are all restoration jobs from my recently returned collection. For some reason they were all thick with dust which had bleached out a lot of the colour. A good dusting and a little water did the job. This one's called Gwrack by the way and appears on a September 1987 flyer. 

This skaven is Vermyn and that is probably the most ratty name going for these chittering horrors. I painted this figure many, many years ago as part of a Slaves to Darkness Warband. The type of army when you roll randomly after each battle. I ended up with three skaven in my army and these are the two models that survived. You can see that they both still have their campaign names painted on the base. 

This figure started life in the same range as Vermyn but has the longer, perhaps more intellectual (for a skaven, anyway) name of Malis Manwrack. This figure was released in 1986 and you can see the poison wind globes clearly on his side. 

Skewer you will remember from last year. He was the last skaven I painted along with Warpeye at the bottom. The photos I took of these final models were on the naff side so I've taken some better ones for the record. 

A Second Summer of Citadel: A Host of Horrors with Vampira, Devil Attacking, Werewolf 2 and Wolfman

 

Hey all, how are you doing? Is the paint on the tip of your brush drying at an alarming rate as you try desperately to blend the red on that cloak? Welcome to the endless, English summer. Even though it has been a week I have been busy restoring, sorting and painting those classic Citadel figures. As always I have a couple of projects on the go simultaneously... Vampira was the first to see completion. 

Over the last few months I've been buying up a fair few models in the Night Horrors range and painting them up. A Werebear, another vampire and of course the snakish Medusa figure. Vampira is another one of that classic range and strikes a rather strange pose. There is more of a whiff of '50s and '60s old horror films about her but after some research into these tropes I ended up ignoring them all. I've done black and grey to death recently and wanted something different to work with. Recalling Stoker's Dracula novel and the 'Bloofer Lady' I wanted to go for something a bit more glamourous. So pink it was!

Later on, when researching this post I checked out the model on Sodemons and saw that the late Orclord's example was also pretty in pink. So great minds clearly think alike. I went with an sickly green skin this time, rather than my usual blue vampire flesh. It gives her a more spectral look I think. She has a rather wonky tilt to her, which you can see in other completed versions of her. I think this is due to her base being really rather small. Forty odd years can be rough on a girl... or she's just had too much to drink.... (;

What do you reckon?

With Vampira in the bag it was time to clean up some of my other painted Night Horrors. Devil Attacking is shown here (also known as Daemon 3) and had suffered some serious scratching to his legs front and back. A quick touch of Blood Red soothed his devilish wounds, especially around the knees. It is hard to see from this angle but he is holding a bleached skull in his claw and his Bestial Brown drybrushed tail with the other. Not the most striking Devil in the citadel range but a characterfully goofy one. 

Werewolf 2 had no damage save the need to clean up his base. There was a sticky, painters fingerprint smeared across the black. Something I'd clearly done way back in the day when I first painted this chap. Back then, I used to take scenic shots back in the garden so perhaps I was hasty in my eagerness to finish him. This figure, like Vampira, has the obvious nod to the horror classics. You have expect that head to pop off to  reveal some 1950s chap eager for a fag and a swig of mild ale. I painted him up rather fleshy back in the day didn't I? And in truth, the figure doesn't have a whole lot of hair for a true werewolf. He does have a modesty patch over his sensitive area that looks viable enough for an episode of Jilly Cooper's Rivals. I have little memory of painting him though I do like the yellow eyes I've given him... very wolf like. 

Finally, Wolfman. A figure very obviously linked to the famous film of 1941, though rocking more of a 1950s vibe. Funny how these creatures of uncontrolled evil never lose their trousers, though by the looks of things Wolfman is trying his best to audition for mid '80s Guns 'n' Roses here as he's forgotten to do up his slacks and they look likely to slither down to his ankles at a moment's notice. Risky for anyone, let alone a hungry creature of the night. Again, this figure had seen little on no damage but had splodges of paint along the black rim of the base. Easy to fix up.

Right, what to paint next?

Orlygg

A Second Summer of Citadel: C17 Skeleton Rising, LE12 Thrud, The White Dwarf and Gobbledigook!

 

What better model to represent the rebirth of my collection but C17's Skeleton Rising, sculpted in 1987 by Aly Morrison. All of his skellies have that signature skull on them and are full of character. This one was great fun to paint today and didn't take me very long. I played around a bit with my usual bone mix, this time adding a little orange/brown washes to the joints and rib cage. I've done things like this before and noticed it on some of my older undead models. 

I know how he feels pulling yourself out of the grave like this... There is a second model in this style that I know of that I sadly never got my hands on. He was from a later skeleton release and was called Dygger I think. He held a long lance and was also emerging from the ground. I'm pretty sure there was another one in this series too now I think about it. Grave Skulker or something like that.

Not much time in the workshop today. I've started another night horror and begun work on restoring some chaos centaurs. The following figures all escaped their five years in captivity unscathed and needed nothing but a little dusting down. 

LE12 Thrud with Axe needs no introduction. Released in 1986 in celebration of the popular comic strip character he is one a several Thrud inspired models to be released. There was an earlier preslotta model that I recall owning but I have no idea whatever happened to it as I don't think it ever got painted. This one is the best of the bunch in my opinion and is more important as it appears in a black and white shot from the Warhammer Fantasy Battle Third Edition rulebook. It was always a model I was interested in collecting long before I knew exactly what it represented. Thrud remains a link back to a more varied, community spirited era for White Dwarf where it was much more of a magazine than an advert/sales rag for a big compnay. 

I'm pretty sure this one was by the Perry Twins. It is the 10th anniversary model in celebration of White Dwarf. Based on the famous painting that adorned the issue number of the magazine for many years and released in 1987. He is a lovely and characterful fellow just yearning for some goblin heads to chop. 

And finally, Gobbledigook. This figure is a preslotta original and was part of the SS6 White Dwarf Personality set released in 1984. Like Thrud he was a regular character for a while in White Dwarf appearing in his own strange little strips. Considering this figure is so tiny, he survived the 'Lost Weekend' of my miniature collection really rather well. There is another equally tiny figure sitting with me who needs a little work before I share him again. 

Look out for that four legged friend next post!

Orlygg

A Second Summer of Citadel: A Box of Delights, Great Spined Dragon slain, Lord and Lady McDeath and a Zoat

So the summer has finally arrived for those of us classroom dwellers, only to disappear quite promptly. Gone are the blazing hot days of misery where we sweated half to death in Victorian built classrooms and here are the endless days over grey, overcast skies. Ah, the British summer. Still, things have suddenly changed here at Realm of Chaos 80s as my long lost collection of painted figures has made it back to me at last!

Now this blog isn't going to go into the hows and whys. All I am going to say is that I am delighted that they are all back in my collection. Nearly twenty-five years worth of painted models that were last seen in the display cabinet in my former home. However, the years have not been kind as we shall see. I intend to restore, repair, repaint all of these models in the coming months and photograph them properly here. I've also created an instagram companion to this blog after much nagging from Stuart where I will be sharing the photos too. I have models from the classic '80s era, the Silver Age and quite recent by the looks of things (recent being about 2019, lol).

Here's the link if you are interested in Instagram. 

Right, I have begun this post with a lovely picture of a beautiful model. The Limited Edition Fantasy Zoat from 1987. I am sure those of you who love your WFRP will recognise the shape of this figure as being very similar to the famous illustration from the rulebook. The model appears briefly in White Dwarf 89 and was sculpted by Bob Naismith. It is a lovely single piece casting full of character. Simple but highly effective. Citadel put out a number of zoats over the early years, both for Warhammer and Rogue Trader. But this is by far the best of the bunch. Opinions can vary about these models, with some enthusiasts calling them rather ugly but for me they are one of Warhammer's more intriguing and bizarre creations. 

It was also the first model I plucked out of my 'box of delights' as I am calling in. More a pile of despair in reality considering the damage done, but I am confident most of it can be repaired and restored. This Zoat model survived untouched which was probably because he was right on the top. He needed nothing more than a quick dusting off and he was off to the workshop for his photoshoot. 

Here is the reverse shot. I was rather struck by how good I was at painting by this stage of my career. I've used drybrushing and layering to get the best out of him and stuck to naturalistic colours too. I'm rather past it now but it is interesting to look back and try and remember the skills I once had! I'm also very pleased with the colour choices. A bright, scaley green, a yellow belly and the reddish hew of the staff is a bright, eye catching scheme I'd definitely use if I have the chance to paint any further draconid type creatures. 

The McDeath's have arrived everybody. I have the full set of these as far as I can tell, save Sandra Prangle, though I use a rarer figure than her as a proxy. Many have fallen it disrepair through neglect but these two figures were unscathed thankfully. Out of the two figures, Lady McDeath is the better sculpt in my opinion. She has a wonderful colour scheme which I took directly from the late, great John Blanche's masterful painting. Female characters are rare in this era of Warhammer and those that we have are a joy to paint and field. In time, and if I can restore all of the figures from this range, I wouldn't mind playing through the scenarios again. They are great fun. McDeath was more of a pain to paint. Gold armour! My nemesis!! But I think I have done a good job here. The free hand stuff on the shield still holds up now and I can remember not wanting to cut off the shield boss when working on him, something I had been prone to do in the early Oldhammer years when old figures were much more easy to source. Now everyone thinks a standard dwarf or gobbo is just as rare as these two figures.  

I'm not quite sure exactly what Lady McDeath is supposed to be wearing. There is a Tudor feel to her clothing, especially around the bodice which would make sense considering the link to Shakespeare. Her shoes though strike me to resemble '80s Reeboks or even Brothel Creepers from the '70s. Very odd but great fun to work on. Her crown perhaps foreshadows the grimdark of the future with the spikes but they are nicely understated here. In many ways, McDeath is just a standard fighter figure save for his helmet which as a War of the Roses crown-helm feeling to me. A nice nod to history there and as I have said over the years, the more seeped in history a fantasy figure is the more believable and relatable it becomes. 

 

By now, I am sure you have been wondering about the package my collection came in. A battered old Amazon box that was falling apart at the seams. No support, no wrapping, just dumped in a box and crushed by goodness knows what. My standard bearers have all be badly damaged as have many of my plastics and larger, multi-part models. The Great Spined Dragon's wings are badly broken and detached. Yet, incredibly so many have survived with little more than a few scratches and dents. Lots of weapons are bent and arms missing. The bottom of the box (which I haven't got to yet in my careful, archaeological excavation of it all) is littered with snapped of shields and bits of skeleton horse figures. 

Here are some of the first models I removed from the initial layers this morning. All of these will be checked and repaired in the coming days, starting with the simplest jobs and then working up to the spined dragon itself. Not that I'm not painting up new stuff as well mind you. In the workshop I have selected a series of excellent figures from my growing collection that make interesting painting projects. I will, of course, try and continue on those skellies too. 

A miserable dragon. Slain by Amazon of all things! Not that you can see it in this picture but both wings are badly damaged. When I got the model this was the case and I built up a plasticard and greenstuff skin to support the wings. All of this will need repairing and repinning. The paintwork itself looks untouched though. More on this project in future posts.

Right I'm off. I've got a few simple pieces to get painted today to get the creative juices (now mostly dried up) flowing. I'm hoping to be more ambitious with my painting after last year's Summer of Citadel was rather uninspiring. I know I was learning to do everything again but I feel I've made sufficient progress to do more. 

Speak soon,

Orlygg

More for the Horde, 1989 Witch Elf and Foundry Fighter

After an incredibly prolific May, June ended up being a ghost town here at Realm of Chaos 80s. What with the two heatwaves (one of which I remained in school as we closed), landscaping the back garden (trying to keep newly laid turf alive in said heatwaves) and the normal end of year at school nonsense I've hardly had the time to pick up a paintbrush. 

Of course, I have dabbled. The workshop is now well organised and set out for serious miniature painting. I've managed to pick up a few random pieces of old lead too, though I will be staying well clear of the new ogre re-release by Games Workshop. I thought it rather cynical of them to separate the Jes Goodwin classics and merge them with the Marauder sculpts. In odd moments, I've slinked off to the workshop and finished off these three skeletons for my long delayed Skeleton Horde project. 

They were completed in much the same way as my other skeletons. Exact same colour recipe of Orc Brown and Bleached Bone over a chestnut wash. Of course, I took the opportunity to create some more freehand shield designs. You can see my efforts below.

The centre example is my favourite ever painted skull shield. After eighteen months of dabbling, I am getting the hang of the shape and character of a good skull. Having a large shield with plenty of painting space also helps as painting smaller skulls is much more of a challenge, as you can see from the yellow background and green background examples here. Still, they are in keeping with the era I love and am inspired by. Hope you think so too. 

Here are the new skellies ranked up with their comrades. I've still go a fair few skeleton infantry to crack on with. Perhaps inspiration will call over the summer which is mere two weeks away?

I also finished off this Bob Naismith Witch Elf. She was one of my dreaded 'unfinishables' and has been sitting gathering dust for many, many years. I have a large cache of unwanted figures from the glory days of Oldhammer. Unwanted by me I should point out. All started and never finished for whatever reason. Some of them I dread to even look at but they sit now in my workshop in my eye line and I will slowly work through them which inspiration strikes. 

The colour scheme remained exactly as I have envisioned all those years ago. I just completed the highlighting on the hair, armour and books. The sculpting on this model has a chunky feels, especially around the arms and the knives she carried and that makes her feel quite different from the Goodwin style elves. Even so, I am glad she is finally free to face the tabletop. I've got other dark elves kicking about and I think I'll stick with this colour scheme if I ever get around to painting them. 

Of course, she appears in White Dwarf 109 (my first ever issue) and I can remember the article well from my youth. It explored the background of the evil side of the Elf family and I can recall enjoying peering at these models with the hope of young, that perhaps they would all somehow fall into my possession for free. I ended up with the clampack of Mengil Manhide's Dark Elves and I still have a few of the models kicking about today, unearthed in a packed of photographs in my mother's loft not that long ago. Bizarrely, the photographs were not even mine! 

Finally, we have this rather lovely fighter. He is not Citadel but I am sure he was part of the Fighters range and some point. He comes from Foundry and was in one of their ranges. I expect I was given him years back and made an attempt to paint him up all Landsknecht style. My concentration or skill level was clearly lacking that day as I gave up on him at the shading stage. I was lovely to work him back up over the last few weeks, dabbling and taking my time. I found an old plastic Citadel shield and restored that up for him, keeping the hole and the socket on his arm sound. I usually file them off and fill in the gap but didn't worry about it this time. 

As I said, the end of the school year is fast approaching and I am hoping for another 'Summer of Citadel' though I am going to be more focussed on painting up interesting figures rather than trying to relearn my painting skills. Looking back, last year's figures weren't really the most interesting or inspiring pieces. But that was due to how limited my collection was at that time. I also hope to carry out a couple more of my scenery hopes. I have the ruined temple and hedges, fences and walls to complete as well as my new gaming table too. 

Just got to get through another heatwave first! 

Orlygg