Today I’m showing a pair of Endless Spells that I’ve had sitting around since I got the big box, several years ago. The Prismatic Palisade had been started a couple of years ago, while the Chronomatic Cogs were painted quickly in the last few days.
The Palisade was largely an early Contrast Paint experiment, while I was still very much learning to blend it into an existing base, so it’s a little rough in the finer blends, which frustrated me at the time. But you know what’s better than an infinitely stalled, imperfect model? A finished, table-ready model – even if it’s imperfect. Especially for something like this that’s almost scenery. So when I dug out the Beastgrave scenic elements, I also dug out this thing, and made a mental committment to getting it finished.
There’s another I didn’t get done, but it should hopefully be done and dusted in the next week or so. Anyway, the rainbow colours at the ends of the crystals aren’t perfectly blended in, but the piece is good enough to drop down on a table for a couple of turns, is a decent size to stand out on the table which sort of minimises the blending issues, and so I’m calling it “good enough”, and I’m also calling it another down for Dave Stone’s annual Season of Scenery challenge.
This next piece. Chronomatic Cogs was a quick one. I’d not started it due to not quiet being sure how to paint the blend from dark metallics into a ghostly colour. It was actually one of those “laying in bed it came to me” things to use the same paint to represent both verdigris into a more typical “contrast paint” effect into the ghostly smoke-ectoplasm …stuff. In the end I just used Citadel’s Nihilakh Oxide, mostly because I like the colour. So.. that was that!
This one was completed this past weekend, so misses out narrowly on the Season of Scenery, but that sort of thing is always going to happen with so many little projects on the go. Still, another pair of Endless Spells done! Will I get the introductory box done before 2022 ends? Probably not, but I can always hope.,.
Azazel's Bitz Box. 
Both very nice! 🙂
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Thanks John!
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Awesome work on both models.
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Cheers for that!
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Both works look pretty effective, I love them!
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Thank you! I think I might now try to make a final push to get the last of this set actually painted!
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Looks great- finished and table ready is the best state for any model.
Cheers,
Pete.
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Thank you Pete – and Absolutely!
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Love the work on both. I have had similar issues about finishing some things and agree with your sentiment about “just get it on the table”!
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Cheers – and yeah I’ve still got too many more models (and scenery) that I’m still stuck unfinished on for one reason or another. Just need to pull my finger out and force myself to get the models to completion!
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Really nice mate, the cogs are ace, and I like that prismatic doodah as well. It’s a bit of a head-scratcher – not sure how I’d tackle it, but your version looks great
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Thanks Alex. Yeah, I took inspiration from the box art for the yellow base, and then just went all rainbow flag on the ends because prismatic. I can’t even remember if the boxed one had something like that or if it was my own idea it’s been so long… 😮
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The endless spells both look great. These are definitely nice painting challenges and the crystals are a tough one as the only ways I can think to paint it and make it look nice would be really time consuming. I like the final result you achieved and as you wisely said, the fact that its done is the best part of all.
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Thanks mate. That’s the thing I’m always weighing up – how much of my limited time is this particular model (of whatever type) worthy of? Since Endless Spells occupy a weird space – about equal to a cooler bit of scenery or maybe an objective marker in my opinion – it still places them as supporting players compared to the important models in a force. On a par with Mordor Orc #17 or Imperial Guardsman #32 but not worth the time or effort that could be put into a hero model, player character figure or elite trooper.
These aren’t going to win any prizes, but they both look a hell of a lot better than they did 2 weeks ago – let alone mid-2018 when I got the Malign Sorcery box!
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That is all well said and that is how every person painting to game should look at it, I reckon. You need it done efficiently and at a standard you’re willing to accept. It also helps if it doesn’t take years to actually play said game too!
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And sometimes with a mentality like mine (and I know you’re quite similar) you want to have stuff painted before you use it a lot of the time – so a “compromise” from doing the absolute best work possible on every piece down to “good enough” is needed to actually manage to play the game that we bought in the first place!
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Excellent work on both mate, shame you didn’t finish the cogs intime for the challenge, but at r finished now.
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Thanks Dave. I started and finished it just after – but rest assured – there’s no danger of me running out of stuff for the next Season!
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The oxide choice was a great one. It’s one of those paints I really like too. I’ve tried using Nighthaunt Bloom to get similar effects, but I imagine blending the two might work nicely. Having a model done is what it’s all about at the end of the day. I imagined that Prismatic Palisade to be at least double that height for some reason, so it was a bit of an eye opener to see it side by side with the minis!
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Thanks mate! I did consider using Nighthaunt as well but I liked the brighter blue effect that NO gave, so stuck with that in the end. 🙂
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These are cool.
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Thanks mate! 👍
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I really like your take on the palisade, there’s something very wholesome about it. It’s like a bunch of colored pencils. Or candies.. Also, I had to look very closely to spot any rough blends, so it’s definitely “good enough”!
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Haha thank you! When you get closer the transitions are rough, due to the way that Contrast dries. The contrast on these pieces were left to dry upside down to avoid drips dowm the shafts – so the denser colour would be towards the tops. Still a nightmare, though – so very happy they turned out good looking to an eye like yours. 🙂
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