Batman's WIP (Update: 60 orcs and a Troll Chieftain 22/10)

templar_tony · **Posted:** Sun Jan 26, 2014 2:19 am

That's some classy painting Batman. I really look forward to seeing what kind of army you throw down when we meet on the battlefield. I painted an Isengard troll for my well, Isengard army the other week with just dry bushing and washing and it comes no where near close that that level. As along as my dudes have got their min colours and a lush grass base I'm happy.

Batman of The Shire · **Posted:** Tue Jan 28, 2014 1:00 pm

Thanks for the awesome comments

The ruin is still a work in progress, so expect to see some bushes, fallen leaves, moss etc in the near future.

Oldman Willow: I will definitely take some pictures for you

Dorthonion: Awesome links mate. I've mostly been using the appendices disks for reference, along with Lord of the rings conquest and Lego Lord of the rings.

Templar: Thanks mate, looking forward to what you bring too

Batman of The Shire · **Posted:** Fri Jan 31, 2014 9:09 am

Got a huge delivery today, just under 200 orcs ready to play The Last Alliance scenario. I think it's gonna be quit a challenge to get them all done, but with a few awesome conversions and a LOT of different colours. Should have them done soonish. Anyways here they are.

Here's a fell warg that i am working on, hopefully you guys like it.

Finally, after months of being on my shelf, I decided to paint my Saruman last night. I looked up a few guides online and in the white dwarfs/source books, but a lot of the had lots of mixing of colours. I started with a base coat of white, then Gorthor brown with Ushabi bone added, Gorthor brown into the recesses, then adding more Ushabi Bone until i got to Pure Ushabi Bone. After that, I added ceramite white to bleached bone until I got to pure white.

Me and my Girlfriend have been having arguments about it as I think Saruman should be white, but all of the pictures of the miniature are more cream than anything. I really really need help with this one guys. Anyway, her it is.

Crucium Giger · **Posted:** Fri Jan 31, 2014 9:36 am

Flat white is very hard to shade effective and still give it that 'pure' look which is why an off white or cream shadow works well on a miniature. Personally I'd start with a light brown base over which you'd put something like bleached bone, then progressive add white to the bone for the highlights. So pretty similar to what you've done so far though I'd perhaps have a bit more white but that's just personal preference.

Serovok · **Posted:** Fri Jan 31, 2014 3:29 pm

Your on the right track. Having recently completed a Saruman model myself, I did a similar scheme your doing, going from light brown to light yellow/creme to white. If your going for a more traditional white, then you'd probably want to start with a more grayish tone. From what I've observed, Saruman models usually go with a yellowish white while Gandalf the White models go from gray to white. Either way is effective.

Gandlaf the Grey · **Posted:** Fri Jan 31, 2014 6:20 pm

I'm with Crucium in the colour scheme, however I think you need to thin your paints, they look a bit thick. You want a milky consistency that is almost as much water as paint. Make sure you take the excess off the brush before applying to the figure.

templar_tony · **Posted:** Sun Feb 02, 2014 6:57 am

The man himself ^

Heavy Metal team, original release.^

OMG mate, dem orks!

Batman of The Shire · **Posted:** Sat Feb 08, 2014 1:53 pm

These 250 orcs are beginning to take their toll. My goal was to convert every single one of them to look unique, but after converting over 40 unique poses on top of the original 12, i'm beginning to lose my creativity. If anyone has any links to some converted orcs, it would be greatly appreciated.

After listening to a lot of peoples feedback, I decided to give my Saruman a little bath and start again. I started with a basecoat of bleached bone this time, watered down my paint A LOT MORE and it worked wonders (I think anyway). Anyways, here it is, hope you like it.

C and C welcome!

Gandlaf the Grey · **Posted:** Sat Feb 08, 2014 3:39 pm

That is starting look a lot better.
I think some mid tones will work nice. Mix bleached bone and white together, water it down quite heavily, about 3-4 parts water to 1 part paint. Now layer it between the darkest areas and the highest edge to the cloth. It will take a few coats but you will start to see a blend between light and dark.

Hodush · **Posted:** Sat Feb 08, 2014 9:56 pm

Much better!

hollowcrown · **Joined:** Mon Dec 30, 2013 3:52 pm **Posts:** 164

Second Saruman pic is better, I do think watering down your paints will help though, they look very thick currently.

Captain Andruil · **Joined:** Sun Jan 20, 2013 5:19 am **Posts:** 44

That is a great improvement! Well done!

Crucium Giger · **Posted:** Mon Feb 10, 2014 12:27 pm

Much better

rickybobby17b · **Joined:** Fri Jun 28, 2013 12:01 am **Posts:** 45

I was reading through did that say 200 orcs? Wow that would take me years at the pace I paint lol good luck saruman is coming along nicely as well

Dorthonion · **Posted:** Sun Feb 16, 2014 8:03 am

How the Hell did I miss this thread?
Saruman - completely with you on the difficulty of painting him as WETA provided him with a very rich garment - the fabric has great depth and texture and there are bands of lighter colour/tone in there too if you look closely. The cuffs on his inner sleeves need to be very pale to match the photo.
A trick GW's painters missed, and most I have seen have gone the same way, is with Saruman's beard and moustache. Look at the vertical centreline area - it is grey, with a hint of darker hair underneath. Tough to pull off at 28mm but it would be a very neat touch, adding to the realism.
As for the orcs - you can never have too many:)

Batman of The Shire · **Posted:** Sun Feb 16, 2014 10:46 am

Thanks guys for all your help, i cant believe how much I improved it just by feedback. I have a 1000pt tournament coming up at the start of march, so i will have to put saruman down for a while. Next up will be some rather evil heroes and a lot of orc conversions.

@Dorthonion: Saruman has caused me a lot of pain, but with everyones help, it helped so much. With every figure I paint, i look over numerous pictures of the subject and have them in from of me while painting. I have notices almost noone paints him with black eyebrows or his patch of dark hair, but i will definitely be painting it in. My big challenge now is painting his palantir so it looks like the movies. I gave it a bit of a try, butit really didnt work. I really dont want to paint the eye of sauron on him as that will be for anothwr project.

Batman of The Shire · **Posted:** Mon Mar 10, 2014 10:21 am

Sorry for the lack of updates guys, been working on a new army for a 1000pt tourney I had on the weekend. I played as Mordor and, after 2 major wins and one major loss, I won! As part of my prize, i won a lovely ruin made by Onyx, the guy who made the truly impressive Helm's deep a few years ago. Here's the prize that I won.

The tournament was really awesome, I cant wait to play another one. Here is the man of the match for my army. He did so well, I couldnt believe it. Elrond, Shagrat and a host of crossbowmen fell under his might. Here he is.

More to come guys. Soon, I shall be ready to show off my first 60 orc conversions. Stay Tuned.

Rognarr · **Posted:** Mon Mar 10, 2014 10:25 am

The weathered look of the stones is great!

Sithious · **Posted:** Mon Mar 10, 2014 5:14 pm

Nice, free premade terrain is a great prize, that onyx knows his game.

As for your orc converting question you asked previously, you can check out my site as I have converted many plastics and metal orcs myself on my orcs page, may give you some idea's and maybe not. I still have many to do as well.

Saruman was looking great, hope you kept up layering the white in thin layers as people suggested.

Gandlaf the Grey · **Posted:** Mon Mar 10, 2014 7:42 pm

That's a great prize to win, Onyx is a bit of a legend.

Batman's WIP (Update: 60 orcs and a Troll Chieftain 22/10)

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