Author: Chris B.

Kruleboyz Gutrippaz

On By Chris B.In Age of Sigmar, Kruleboyz, LEDs, Orruks, Technical2 Comments

If you go down to the swamp today: don’t!

Traditional Tallowlands children’s song

Today I’m looking at some Orruk Kruleboyz Gutrippaz for Warhammer Age of Sigmar. These are the next miniatures in my new Kruleboyz project, following on from the Swampcalla Shaman I posted earlier in the year.

The Kruleboyz Project

Earlier in the year my young son expressed an interest in having a go at the Warhammer hobby, particularly the painting, so we had a look at the starter sets. My son is more into fantasy than sci-fi at the moment, and the Stormcast leapt out at him as something he wanted to paint. I’m a fan of greenskins (as you may recall), so I thought painting some Kruleboyz might be fun. We bought an Age of Sigmar ‘Warrior Edition’ Starter Set to split. I couldn’t resist picking up a couple of other Kruleboyz bits too (like the Shaman)! Unfortunately the rule book in that set is now technically defunct, but I’m not too bothered about that as I knew a new edition was on the horizon and we were mainly interested in the models.

The concept of “swamp orcs” has really grown on me since they were introduced a few years ago. I used to play a lot of black decks in Magic the Gathering when I was younger, so that probably helped! There is also an area of marsh land on the edge of my childhood home town, so I took a few reference photos (see below) on a recent visit, just to give me some inspiration for basing.

Modelling

The main feature of these Gutrippaz is the LED flaming torches, so I’m going to provide a short-form tutorial below on how it was made. I don’t plan to have too many LEDs in this army – something that I always claim at the start of every project – but I’m thinking maybe around three or four flaming torches in every unit of ten.

I don’t really see the Kruleboyz using the torches to light their way through the mist. They prefer to remain concealed, after all! I imagine the Kruleboyz using them as a way to intimidate and confuse their victims; think the “Fire Dragon” in the film The 13th Warrior.

Flaming Torch Tutorial

Prepare the base, resistor (in this case a 47 ohm resistor), battery holder and switch for this miniature were prepared using the method described in Steps 1 – 6 of my LED Eye Lens Tutorial. The single LED in the torch will eventually be connected in series with the resistor, battery holder and switch, as described below.

1. The LED used is a Switch Electronics 3mm Yellow Flickering 2.2V LED in series with a 47 ohm resistor (as mentioned above). Select a Gutrippa with a spear that is pointing upwards, as shown in the above left image.

2. Cut the legs of the LED as short as possible and solder on two connecting wires that will be long enough to reach the base when passed through the miniature. It’s useful to colour code the wires to remind yourself of the LED polarity (red is normally positive and black negative). Cut the spear down so it looks like the correct length for a flaming torch. as shown in the above right image.

3. Glue the LED to the the ‘wood’ of the torch, and then drill holes to feed the wires down through the arm, torso and one leg of the miniature so they can connect to the resistor, battery holder and switch on the base. If you need additional hints on how to do this, check out Steps 7 – 9 of my LED Eye Lens Tutorial.

4. While I was working on this miniature, the upper arm pinged off and disappeared into whatever dimension dropped miniature components vanish to, so I had to use wire and putty to replace the upper arm. However – if you don’t drop it – you can just use the upper arm. Repositioning the arm to hold the torch at a realistic raised angle may introduce gaps, but these can be dealt with at the next stage.

5. Fill in any gaps around the arm and shoulder with modelling putty. You will also need to use modelling putty to sculpt the ‘burning rags’ around the top of the flaming torch, which will help to hide the legs of the LED. Finally, use modelling putty to cover up any exposed components remaining on the base. The images above show what this looks like from the front and the back.

7. Start sculpting the basic shape of the flame over the LED using Water Splash Effect Gel from Green Stuff World. This is best applied with a metal sculpting tool, thin plastic rod or stiff length of wire. When you apply it, the gel will initially appear milky white – as shown in the above left image – but once it is fully dry it will be transparent.

8. Wait for the initial application of gel to dry (this can take several hours) and then continue to apply successive layers until you are happy with the shape. Building up thin layers over time will give the best results, as show in the above centre image.

9. Once you are happy with the shape and the gel has completely dried, you can paint the flames. You only need to apply a light glaze – this will not inhibit the light of the LED and will also make the model look good when the LED is switched off. First apply a shade of Citadel Fuegan Orange to the lower third of the flames. Once this has dried apply a layer of Citadel Imperial Fist Contrast thinned down with water to a glaze consistency.

Painting

The troggoths that haunt the swamps of the Tallowlands are giant, purple-skinned brutes with great ivory tusks and beady yellow eyes. The Kruleboyz take great delight in terrifying the decent, hard working folk of the Tallowlands by fashioning their shields into leering purple faces and emerging shouting and yelling from the boggy mists to rampage through the villages built on the edge of the swamps.

Excerpt from ‘My Travels in the Tallowlands’ by renowned bard Jonathan Allen Bow.

I’ve opted for a primitive look with the Kruleboyz; leather armour, troggoth hide shields, black iron for weapons and armour, and bronze for other tools and trinkets. I was trying to give the impression of barbarian raiders emerging from their hidden villages in the swamps, rather than a well-equipped and well-supplied professional army.

I don’t normally paint in sub-assemblies, mostly because LED projects usually require the whole miniature to be assembled before painting begins. However, if I have one tip for painting the Gutrippaz, it’s to keep the shield arms separate, as this makes it a lot easier to get at all the detail.

Below are the paint recipes for my Kruleboyz project. All paints listed are from the Citadel range and are applied over an undercoat of Halfords Primer Grey (a Citadel alternative would be Grey Seer.)

  • Kruleboy Flesh
  • Waaagh Flesh base coat
  • Agrax Earthshade shade
  • 50:50 Waagh Flesh:Straken Green layer
  • Straken Green layer
  • 50:50 Straken Green:Nurgling Green highlight
  • Nurgling Green fine highlight
  • Leather Armour
  • Mournfang Brown base coat
  • Agrax Earthshade shade
  • Skrag Brown highlight
  • 50:50 Skrag Brown:Trollslayer Orange fine highlight
  • Stitching
  • Abaddon Black base coat
  • Eshin Grey highlight
  • Hoods & Cowls
  • Skavenblight Dinge base coat
  • Nuln Oil shade
  • Stormvermin Fur highlight
  • Karak Stone dot highlight
  • Wood, Wooden Tools & Corks
  • Dryad Bark base coat
  • Agrax Earthshade shade
  • Gorthor Brown highlight
  • Baneblade Brown fine highlight
  • Black Iron
  • Abaddon Black base coat
  • Nuln Oil shade
  • Ironbreaker edge highlight
  • Bronze Tools & Trinkets
  • Balthasar Gold base coat
  • Agrax Earthshade shade
  • Liberator Gold highlight
  • Runefang Steel fine highlight
  • Purple Shields & Troll Skin
  • Naggaroth Night base coat
  • Druchii Violet shade
  • 50:50 Naggaroth Night:Xereus Purple layer
  • Xereus Purple layer
  • 50:50 Xereus Purple:Genestealer Purple highlight
  • Genestealer Purple fine highlight
  • Yellow Eyes
  • Averland Sunset base coat
  • Agrax Earthshade shade
  • Yriel Yellow layer
  • Abaddon Black pupils
  • Teeth & Claws
  • Zandri Dust base coat
  • Seraphim Sepia shade
  • Ushabti Bone highlight
  • Screaming Skull fine highlight
  • Mossy Bone
  • Zandri Dust base coat
  • Athonian Camoshade shade
  • Karak Stone layer
  • 50:50 Karak Stone:Ushabti Bone highlight
  • Ushabti Bone hightlight
  • Muddy Base
  • Rhinox Hide base coat
  • Stirland Mud layer
  • Agrax Earthshade Gloss shade
  • Gothor Brown drybrush
  • Karak Stone drybrush
  • Rushes & Cattails
  • Deepkin Flesh base coat on stem
  • Rhinox Hide base coat on flower head
  • Athonian Camoshade shade on stem
  • Agrax Earthshade shade on flower head
  • White Scar highlight on stem
  • Doombull Brown hightlight on flower head
  • Tuskgor Fur highlight on flower head
  • Ancient Ruins
  • Mechanicus Standard Grey base coat
  • Nuln Oil Shade
  • Dawnstone highlight
  • Administratum Grey fine highlight

LED Palette

As I’ve mentioned before, I like to limit my LED colour palette for new projects. This is to ensure they don’t look like multi-coloured Christmas decorations when the army is fully assembled on the tabletop. My Kruleboyz will use the following very limited LED colour palette:

  • Green for magic and potions.
  • Yellow for fire and flaming torches.

As mentioned above, I don’t expect to use a lot of LEDs for this project. They will probably be limited to character models and flaming torches in units.

Future Army Plans

I’m trying not to get too carried away with this project. My first goal will be to finish the rest of the Gutrippaz and the Killaboss that came in the starter set. After that, I may look at the Kruleboyz Vanguard box and aim for my first 1000 points. I don’t want to get too carried away though, as I still have Tyranids and my Flesh Eaters space marines on the go!

That’s all for today. Thanks very much for reading, and please remember you can also find me sharing my work on Instagram, Threads, Twitter/X, Bluesky and Mastodon.

Also, if you have time, please consider voting for me as ‘Best Mini Painter’ in the CRIT Awards! Voting closes on 7th July, so this is your last chance to vote if you intend to but haven’t done so yet.

Sneaq Doomslit, Skaven Deathmaster

On By Chris B.In UncategorizedLeave a comment

If it hadn’t been for the sickly glow of their warpstone poisons, we’d have had no warning at all!

– Valk, Hammerhal Underwatch lone survivor

This week I’ve caught a case of rat-fever (hopefully not the fatal kind) from all the excitement surrounding the imminent re-release of the Skaven for Warhammer Age of Sigmar. I’ve always had a soft spot for the Skaven, especially for their origin story in WHFB and the way it intertwined with that of Nagash and the Undead. I did look into the feasibility of starting a Skaven army for WHFB back in the day, but was put of the huge number of miniatures required! I do really like the new Skaven releases for Age of Sigmar though, and hope to pick up some of them soon. In the meantime, consider this Deathmaster a taste of what’s to come!

Modelling

There are lots of fun opportunities for using LEDs in Skaven – everything from glowing chemicals to strange machinery, diabolical magic and chunks of pulsing warpstone. In this case, we’re starting with weeping blades dripping with warpstone poison!

Although the LED set-up may look a little complicated, it’s really just an extension of my Simple LED Muzzle Flare Tutorial. The three LEDs are connected in parallel with each other across a 3V CR2032 coin cell battery. The LEDs are Green 1mm LEDs from Green Stuff World.

While the electronics were fairly simple, the real challenge was the drilling and concealing of the wires. All the wires pass up from the base through the wall and into the Deathmaster’s torso. From that point they split to their different destinations.

  • The wires for the sword LED run up through the right arm and down the side of the blade nearest to the Deathmaster’s body. I then used modelling putty to extend the width of the blade slightly to conceal the wires. My original plan was to simply drill down through the blade from the arm, but it turned out to be too thin to allow that.
  • The wires for the shuriken run through the left arm then emerge from the palm of the hand. I again used modelling putty to conceal them, this time on the back of the shuriken.
  • Lastly, I cut the tail into sections and drilled through the middle of each of them to allow the wire to pass inside. The blade on the tip of the Deathmaster’s tail is sculpted from scratch using modelling putty to conceal the LED while trying to appear as close to the original tail blade as possible.

The drips of warpstone poison were sculpted in layers from Water Splash Effect Gel (just like the muzzle flares in my Simple LED Muzzle Flare Tutorial). I then painted them with a thinned down coat of Ork Blood from Green Stuff World, just so they still looked good even when the LEDs were switched off. You can see these stages below

I really love the design and pose of this model, particularly the way when viewed from the front the three poison weapons form a triangle – just like the Skaven symbol! Hopefully this effect is further enhanced by the LEDs.

Painting

I don’t have anything particularly groundbreaking to say about the painting. I knew the LEDs were going to be doing the heavy lifting for the visual on this miniature, particularly with large areas of featureless black cloth, so I stuck close to the box art scheme.

The black cloth is base coated in Abaddon Black, with highlights up through Eshin Grey (fittingly) and Dawnstone. The skin is a simplified version of my Pale Skin recipe, based on Bugman’s Glow and Cadian Fleshtone. I wanted the ruins to contrast with the dark colours of the Skaven, so they were base coated in Grey Seer, shaded in Nuln Oil, then given a heavy drybrush of Ulthuan Grey and White Scar.

I wanted to create a real sense of desolation and decay, so I painted the base in my standard ‘Urban Ruins’ colour combo (detailed in this post), and added a few tufts of sickly grass and some fallen leaves. This is definitely a basing combination I will return to for future Skaven projects.

That’s all for today, I hope you enjoyed my foray into the underworld of the Skaven! Thanks very much for reading, and please remember you can also find me sharing my work on Instagram, Threads, Twitter/X, Bluesky and Mastodon.

Also, if you have time, please consider voting for me as ‘Best Mini Painter’ in the CRIT Awards!

Sergeant Khons, Sons of Horus

On By Chris B.In Horus Heresy, LEDs, Sons of Horus, Space Marines, Technical1 Comment

This week I’d like to present Sergeant Khons of the Sons of Horus. This miniature and its LED effects have been specially commissioned by the team at Green Stuff World to show off some of their 3D printed accessories and LED kits. This is my second Green Stuff World commission after Themistius Kalden and his energy shield that I posted last week.

Modelling

This miniature was intended to demonstrate the Green Stuff World 3D Printed Plasma Effects. When I was asked to incorporate the plasma effects into a miniature, I immediately knew this effect would look awesome on a space marine with a plasma pistol. I settled on the Sons of Horus for the paint scheme as I really I enjoyed painting Brother Amset, and I’ve been looking for an excuse to paint another Sons of Horus marine ever since.

The equipment and pose of the miniature were influenced by sergeant on the Legion MKVI Tactical Squad box art, shown above. I swapped the mask for a bare head as a shouting or grimacing face combined with an LED muzzle flare really helps to sell the ‘mid-action’ pose.

As part of the commission I filmed all the stages of the build process, which you can see in the video below.

A full PDF tutorial for this build will be released via Green Stuff World soon. When it is, I’ll add it here and link to it from my tutorial section. In the meantime to get you started here’s a list of all the components and consumables I used. The miniature is from the Legion MKVI Tactical Squad kit.

Painting

My Sons of Horus armour recipe can be found in this previous post. For the face, I used my standard Pale Skin recipe. During the painting stage the plasma effect was given a thin blue glaze. This was done to help give the cool white LEDs a blue tint, and also to give the plasma effect some visual interest when the LED was switched off. The iconography on this miniature came from the transfer sheet included in the box.

LED effects aside, I’m really pleased with the paint job on this model. I think it’s one of the best space marines that I’ve painted to date – if I do say so myself!

That’s all for today, I hope you enjoyed this miniature and the demonstration of the Green Stuff World kits. Thanks very much for reading, and please remember you can also find me sharing my work on Instagram, Threads, Twitter/X, Bluesky and Mastodon.

Oh, and if you have time, please consider voting for my miniature painting in the CRIT Awards!

Nominated for ‘Best Mini Painter’ at the CRIT Awards 2024

On By Chris B.In CRIT Awards, Social Media3 Comments

I had a lovely surprise this week when I learnt I had been nominated as a finalist for ‘Best Mini Painter’ at the CRIT Awards 2024! I knew of the CRIT Awards as a way of recognising excellent TTRPG games, players and podcasts, but I didn’t realise they had a best painter category, so that came as a double surprise!

If you feel I’m worthy of a vote then you can find the voting form here (Google Form). If you want to refresh your memory about my painting before you vote then my Miniature Gallery is here. But also please don’t forget to check out the work of the other nominees: Figuratively Speaking Minis, Josh, and Mimicing Nemo.

The CRIT Awards are based on community nominations in the first round of voting, so to have got this far someone out there must have thought of me when the categories were announced. I don’t know who nominated me, but if you’re out there and reading this, then thank you very much! I’m both honoured and flattered that you’d think of me.

Voting closes 7th July, and the winner is announced at GenCon in August. I will of course keep you all updated!

Themistius Kalden, Custodian Shield Captain

On By Chris B.In Adeptus Custodes, LEDs, Technical, Warhammer 40,0002 Comments

I choose to interpret my title as Shield Captain literally.

Themistius Kalden, Custodes Shield Captain

Allow me to present Themistius Kalden, Shield Captain of the Shadowkeepers Shield Host of the Adeptus Custodes. This miniature and its LED effects have been specially commissioned by the team at Green Stuff World to show off some of their 3D printed accessories and LED kits.

The 3D printed Energy Shields kit was one of several I was commissioned to demonstrate. My first thoughts were a space marine with a storm shield, but after a bit more musing, I thought a Custodian with a shield might be more interesting.

Modelling

As part of the commission I filmed all the stages of the build process, which you can see in the video below.

A full PDF tutorial will be released via Green Stuff World soon. When it is, I’ll add it here and link to it from my tutorial section (EDIT: The full PDF tutorial can now be found here). In the meantime, to get you started here’s a list of all the components and consumables I used. The miniature is from the Custodian Wardens kit.

Painting

For the paint scheme, I followed a similar recipe to my previous Custodian Shadowkeeper. The only difference was I used true metallic rather than NMM, just because NMM is very time consuming and I wanted to meet my deadline. For the face, I used my normal Pale Skin recipe. The energy shield was given a red glaze and very watered down highlight to the edges, just to help give it a bit more definition without impacting the transparency.

That’s all for today. I’ll be back again soon with more LED miniatures, including more collaborations with Green Stuff World. Thanks very much for reading, and please remember you can also find me sharing my work on Instagram, Threads, Twitter/X, Bluesky and Mastodon.