Painting Chaos miniatures - to boldly go...where ever you please !

The Daemon army might not be as all conquering in the 8th edition of Warhammer as it was in the 7th but there's still one big reason to continue to envy a Daemons of Chaos player and indeed, to some extent, Warriors of Chaos generals...

They can paint and even construct many of their miniatures any which way they choose. With daemons, every paint pot can be used, no colours are out of bounds (imagine painting your Dwarf Hammerers pink !). Similarly with Warriors of Chaos characters although you probably have a little less scope with the rank and file who would also look a bit silly dressed in pink !

Here are a few examples to inspire...

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The New Daemon Prince (released July 2010) painted and constructed by Dims (website: www.dimsgalleries.com). Dims painted this new mini at the request of his local GW hobby shop staff.

Check out the very original mottled effect wings and the variety of colours. It's all very pleasing to the eye and, Dims tells me, very enjoyable to paint.

You can contact Dims through the Battle Reporter forum or via Facebook (Pascal Rooze). He does commission work if you're interested.

The next example is from Alexi_Z's live journal (http://alexi-z.livejournal.com). Alexi has won numerous painting awards and is very highly rated on coolminornot.com (13th top artist out of thousands !).  Alexi has also just started selling her own DVD painting guide which you can find on her site or coolminiornot.com.

Khorne troops tend to be red, Nurgle green and brown, Tzeentch blue and pink and Slaanesh... actually there doesn't seem to be a general Slaanesh colour. However, I would argue that because they are from the realm of ultimate Chaos where there is little semblance of order then you can paint your Chaos miniatures any colour you choose.

And finally, some colourful examples from Chest of Colors just to give you some more examples of the striking look and feel you can aim for when painting Chaos miniatures. I wonder how many people select their fantasy battle army based on which models they will get to paint ?  After all, these models must be more fun to paint than hordes of gobbos, skaven or zombies that you have to remove from the battlefield in handfuls !

Note: there are a lot more pictures of these miniatures (and at a higher resolution) on the Chest of Colors website.

This last miniature has to rank highly in my all time favourites. It's not actually by Citadel / Games Workshop, it's a 28mm scale Hordes miniature (I believe Hordes is a PrivateerPress game). It's a superb model and has been given a superb paint job to match by Ana. They should really use this miniature pic in their advertising, it's better than the one on the official hordes site !

All miniature pictures have been used with the kind permission of Dims (Pascal Rooze), Alexi_Z and Ana & Mahon from Chest of Colors.

I would like to point out that I'm in no way associated with the painters (except for Dims being a member of the Battle Reporter forum which I administer) and I don't receive a commission or anything like that for showing off their miniatures, I just think they're great and thought you might think so too.

Expert Miniature Dioramas - A Masterclass Gallery !

Some of the best painted WFB Empire Miniatures you will ever see, all arranged into an amazing showcase diorama.

If you have seen a better diorama featuring Warhammer Empire miniatures I'd like to know where ! This is my favourite Warhammer Fantasy Battle diorama and here's why:-

1) The presentation, the terrain, the detail.
2) The miniatures.
3) The "story".
4) The monkey !

Firstly, this Empire unit looks quite battle hardened and experienced. I like the way that the musician and standard bearer both sport mustaches (a badge of rank) and the marksman a beard (only allowed for Sergeants in some forces). The handgunner on the far right is balding and grey, he has an eye patch / bandage and rotting teeth and, even though I don't think he's leading this outfit,*  I bet they listen to his hard won advice.

* he has a golden stripe on his leggings so I could be wrong !

These guys look like a cohesive unit, most of them share the skull unit motif somewhere about their person and they have a consistent "feel". Their uniforms are similarly coloured but some of them differ slightly suggesting (to me) that these guys have been around a while and the unit members are veterans. I imagine these guys to be no-nonsense, uncompromising "get the job done" soldiers.

The marksman is clearly lining up his shot and it looks like an important one because the banner bearer is staring intently, the musician is piping while focused in the direction of the target and the veteran on the right is clenching his fist urging his marksman to get a clean kill (they're probably aiming at a Vampire Lord if my experience fighting against Empire is anything to go by).

All of this is part of the story and it's really been brought to life by the way the miniatures have been presented. Check out the "powder monkey" his face almost looks human and he's either drunk or he's getting a bit of a fright - I wonder what this unit is up against ? It seems to me that these guys are taking a small window of opportunity to get in a shot from the top of a small ridge over looking the enemy.

Amazingly, these are all individual models and yet they fit in seamlessly with the terrain and that's what sets this diorama apart for me - the setting. Frankly, the terrain looks real, it doesn't look modeled at all. The boulders, exposed roots, autumnal leaves, moss, grass and tree trunk all look perfect and that's what really attracts me to this diorama.

This is a master piece. There's more detail I haven't mentioned (just check the pics and click to enlarge them in a new window). The banner itself is a work of art - I wouldn't mind betting that these guys are called the Death Jesters.

Well, that's more than enough from me. Let your eyes do the talking and take some inspiration from what you see. A lot of love has gone into this diorama and it deserves a lot of credit for it (there are a lot more images of this diorama on the Chest of Colors website)

There will be more from the ChestOfColors.com gallery in future. I'm also going to try to contact some of the Golden Demon award winners to ask for permission to show some of their photos. Firstly, I have a particular Russian painter in mind, another lady in fact.

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All of the images are from Ana the owner of the Chest of Colors website and have been used with  their kind permission (all rights reserved by Chest of Colors) and many thanks to Ana and Mahon - the painter and site owner.

Ana, is clearly one of the finest modeler / painters in the world and she ranks in the top 20 out of thousands of miniature painters on coolminiornot and has been awarded several Golden Demon awards, including gold !

Note: see the Warhammer Fantasy Battle gallery at Chest of Colors for higher resolution photos.

Chest of Colors boasts thousands of miniature pics, a forum, blogs, mini auctions and tutorials. You can find Ana's miniatures on eBay by performing an advanced search by seller id "chestofcolors". 
Ana will paint for commission and can be contacted through webmaster@chestofcolors.com

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PS. I am not affiliated with Chest of Colors or any other miniature / terrain modelers on this site, I just enjoy talking about their accomplishments.

The Best of the Best Fantasy Miniature Painters ! (telling tales).

A truly magnificent miniature painting and modeling masterclass.

This is another post in my expert series which follows some of the finest Warhammer Fantasy miniature painters on the planet.

All of the below images are from Ana the owner of the Chest of Colors website and have been used with permission (all rights reserved by Chest of Colors)

The site's catch phrase "painting your imagination" is quite apt because what you will find below are not only inspirational examples of fantastic painting and modeling but a rarely paralleled attention to imaginative detail and, in my opinion, story telling.

Ana, is clearly one of the finest modeler / painters in the world and she ranks in the top 20 out of thousands of miniature painters on coolminiornot and has been awarded several Golden Demon awards, including gold !

Note: check out the Warhammer Fantasy Battle gallery at Chest of Colors for higher resolution pictures.

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Chest of Colors boasts thousands of miniature pics, a forum, blogs, mini auctions and tutorials. You can find Ana's miniatures on eBay by performing an advanced search by seller id "chestofcolors". 
Ana will paint for commission and can be contacted through webmaster@chestofcolors.com

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first up... a Golden Demon award winner ! (GW Poland - Gold in Monster category)

The more I look at this miniature the more I wonder at the scene. This diorama certainly tells a tale, it's not just a miniature, it's a story. Check out the daemonic looking dog - named "dog fish" :) swimming in the frozen waters. Now check out the Rhinox, it looks like it's sniffing at the ground... can it sense something below ? The "dog" maybe or is something else bothering the Rhinox ?

This Ogre is clearly a veteran of many fights, check out the bretonnian banner he's using as a saddle cloth. The shields strapped to his mount and his shoulder suggest he's seen off Empire, Dwarfs and maybe Skaven, it looks like he's managed to amass a fairly large sack of booty too, or is it full of human body-part snacks !?

The ogre looks pretty aggressive with his raised blade so I'm guessing he's psyching himself up for a fight. But who's he fighting and where are they. Why are they "risking it" on the ice, why is there a "dog-fish" moving in concert ?  Does the "dog" know something the rider doesn't ?

The gnoblar clinging to the Ogres's patchwork shirt looks a bit manic (or maybe he's nervous !), is he urging the Ogre onwards, or trying to warn him about something to the Ogre's right, while the Ogre is looking to his left.

Check out the drips of water on the wooden base from the melting ice. This diorama feels almost alive. Now read this....

"The inscription says 'And whoever stands here he will die, because it's curs....'  The end is intentionally washed off by the pool of water leaking from the crack on the back of the base."  (Ana)

Now that's what I call using your imagination !

I'll be posting my thoughts on some more of Ana's wonderful miniature modeling; you will find them all under the ** Extreme Masterclass ** label in this blog. Thanks again to Ana and Mahon for kindly allowing me to share their images with my readers.