Stormcast Liberators (Swindon - Con hold)

With one Naughty List item under my belt, I confidently awaited my next roll: another Naughty List.

Oh Come, Only The Faithful!

Namely, the Stormcast Liberators I've had sitting around since June. To arms, brothers!

In case you're wondering about the title: this painting challenge hasn't driven me loopy (it's only day 3; wait for around day 12 for that to happen).

You may recall, unless self-preservation has blanked it from your mind, that the UK held a General Election on 8 June 2017. I always stay up to watch the results come in, but given that the whole night is usually dull as Doncaster North (Lab hold), I thought it would be productive to glue together my Age of Sigmar starter set.

With the combination of plastic glue fumes and sleep deprivation, I'm amazed I ended the night with a fully-completed set to my credit. When each unit rolled off the assembly line, I noted the latest election result. For these guys: Swindon (Con hold).

As for the models themselves, I'm already falling into a very comfortably rhythm for the Hallowed Knights (although if I'd had a little more time to paint them, that would have been nice).

They're such enjoyable models to paint - big, bold colours and easy blocking. The whole thing is like a palette cleanser, and even if you have no intention of collecting Stormcast, I encourage you to grab one and give it a go.

Colours as before:

• Armour: Leadbelcher base, Drakenhof Nightshade wash, Ironbreaker drybrush, Stormhost Silver drybrush
• Skin: Bugman's Glow base, Kislev Flesh highlights
• Hair: Skavenblight Dinge base, Celestra Grey highlights, White Scar highlights
• Sword: Skavenblight Dinge base, Abbadon Black/Dawnstone layering.
• Gold trim: Retributor Armour base, Reikland Flesh wash, Golden Griffon drybrush
• Kilt: Wazdakka Red base, Nuln Oil wash
• Plume: Khorne Red base, Nuln Oil wash, Mephiston Red drybrush
• Shoulderplate & Shield: Macragge Blue base, Drakenhof Nightshade glaze
• Cloak: Calgar Blue base, Drakenhof Nightshade wash, Calgar Blue drybrush
• Sash: Flayed One Flesh base, Seraphim Sepia Wash, Flayed One Flesh drybrush

One that that would have made the process easier is leaving the shields off until the very end, but in the wee hours of June '17, I was on a mission and sub-assemblies were furthest from my mind.

I had a try at something different with the bases too. I'm sticking with the Agrax-soaked sand, with dabs of static grass (the uniform colour for all my Order bases), but as these are very large bases, they could do with something else to enliven them.

I put down patches of Mars Ironcrust (which didn't crackle quite as much as expected - this is why I've abandoned 'crackle' paint as a primary basing material), then painted over it with 'Kraken Stone' (Steel Legion Drab base, Reikland Flesh wash, Deathclaw Brown drybrush, Karak Stone drybrush, Eldar Flesh drybrush, Terminatus Stone drybrush).

Finally, to bring it in line with the sand, I gave it a lick of Agrax, with I could have probably done in the first place.

So that's my first proper Stormcast unit done, and very happy I am with it too. I'll look forward to whenever I get around to the remaining lot (hopefully not under the cosh so much).

And what of my next challenge? I received my order from Kraken: who had rolled for me again on the Naughty List.

Oh Santa, what did I do to deserve this? Was it because I've been skipping the two thin coats?