In their wisdom the Old Ones gifted us with comets. Would you like a closer look, warm-blood?

Itchibitz, Skink Starpriest

Happy New Year everyone! This is my first post of 2021 and it’s time to talk about #NewYearNewArmy. I’ve been promising myself a Lizardman (or should that be “Seraphon”?) army for Warhammer Age of Sigmar for many years now. The beginning of a new year combined with my eternal quest to clear the Shelf of Shame seems like a good time to start! I’m planning the army to mainly be composed of Skinks and Dinosaurs. They will be setting out into the Tallowlands (my gaming group’s Age of Sigmar custom setting) in search of the missing saurus warrior Xali-Qhops (my character in our group’s re-skinned Age of Sigmar themed D&D campaign). You can read more about the Tallowlands setting for Age of Sigmar on our joint blog here. First to march forth from their temple-city will be Itchibitz, one of the Skink Starpriests leading the Seraphon on this sacred quest.

LED ‘Blazing Starlight’ Spell Effect

I’m going on record now and saying I don’t want to go too nuts with the LEDs in this army, although we’ll see how that sentiment holds up over the coming weeks! However I do want to include some LED weapon and spell effects to help my heroes stand out on the battlefield. In this case we have the Itchibitz conjuring the ‘Blazing Starlight’ spell.

The LED used is an ‘Ultra Nano’ 3V blue LED from Small Scale Lights, my favourite LED supplier. You can see the LED emerging from the left palm of the model in the ‘work in progress’ image above. The palm on the left hand of the standard Skink Starpriest miniature is facing down, but I cut the wrist between the two bracelets and rotated it through 180 degrees so it could be “holding” the spell effect.

The wiring for the LED in this miniature was achieved using the techniques explained in my LED Psyker Tutorial. The shape of the comet was produced using the same techniques as described for flames in my LED Nighthaunt Candles Short-Form Tutorial. I went for the twin-tailed comet as this is an important symbol of order in the Age of Sigmar, as well has being significant for the Seraphon (representing the forked tongue of Sotek) and also in the story of Xali-Qhops.

Colour Scheme

The planned colour scheme for my Seraphon is heavily influenced by the toy Jurassic Park Tyrannosaurus Rex from 1993. When I picture dinosaurs, this is one of the first colour schemes that spring to mind. I chose the rest of the colour palette for this model as analogous harmony colours with the red. Whenever I record my painting recipes on this blog, it’s not so much to give out advice on what is a “good” colour scheme, but mainly as a reminder for myself! But I also think it’s nice to share in case anyone is interested how a particular colour was achieved. The recipes are shown below. All paints referenced are Citadel paints.

• Undercoat (all areas)
  • Grey Seer contrast undercoat
• Bright Red Scales
  • Contrast Blood Angels Red
  • Wild Rider highlight
  • Fire Dragon Bright highlight
• Dark Brown Back Scales
  • Rhinox Hide base
  • Agrax Earthshade shade
  • Doombull Brown highlight
  • Tuskgor Fur highlight
• Orange Crest
  • Contrast Gryph-Hound Orange
  • Fire Dragon Bright highlight
• Pink Feathers
  • Screamer Pink base
  • Nuln Oil shade
  • Pink Horror highlight
  • Cadian Fleshtone highlight
• Black Claws / Leather Straps
  • Contrast Black Templar
• ‘Gold’ Staff / Jewellery
  • Contrast Aggaros Dunes
  • Screaming Skull highlight
• Yellow Eyes
  • Averland Sunset base
  • Fuegan Orange shade
  • Yriel Yellow layer
  • Abaddon Black pupil
  • Wild Rider Red veins
• Human Skulls
  • Contrast Skeleton Horde
  • Ushabti Bone layer
  • Screaming Skull highlight
• Ancient Stone
  • Contrast Skeleton Horde
  • Screaming Skull highlight
• Base Texture
  • Sand & PVA Glue (before undercoat)
  • Contrast Snakebite Leather
  • Zamesi Desert drybrush
  • Ushabti Bone drybrush
  • Mordheim Tufts
  • Steel Legion Drab rim

That’s it for this week. More Seraphon to come over the next few weeks, as well as more Crimson Fists and Lamenters of course!