It’s been a few months since my last update, but I’ve been busy working on a few squads from both Games Workshops Age of Sigmar and Warhammer 40,000 lines. Namely the Blood Knights, a Death Korps rider from Forge World, and the new Death Korps models from the Kill Team box set.

The Blood Knights were started with an airbrushed basecoat. I tried to get a fade across the armour to bring out its shape from a distance. There’s a lot of character in these models, but they’re quite easy to paint, as the different materials have nice textures to them that are brought out by easy edge highlighting and washes. The green cloth contrasts with the red armour and helps break up the model.

I also tried some new techniques with my Death Korps models. I started by working on a diorama type piece, which I hadn’t done before. The terrain was pretty simple, but with little details like the minefield sign, the craters and the dead soldier floating in the stagnant water, a complex story emerges. This was also my first go at using oil paints, which I used to wash the rider and his horse. Magenta oils really helped add a fleshy, irritated look to the horses skin. I painted the rider separately, before placing him on the base, and filling in the mud around the horses feet. I really enjoyed this diorama project, and I’m looking forward to doing some more.

After finishing this diorama, I started on a squad of Death Korps from the new Kill Team box set. I tried to make each base unique and help place the figures in the same muddy battle field as the rider. So some have barbed wire, and others have a layer of sandbags around them. I added some scratches and exposed metal bits to their helmets, and used ground pastels to add some mud and dust around their feet. Again I used oil washes for the figures, so after some simple basecoat layers they were almost done. They were quick and fun to paint. I’ve recently assembled the Orks as well, and I’m looking forward to painting them in a similar style.

During one of the warmer fall weekends I played a game of the new Kill Team with a friend. I like this version substantially more then the previous. You feel more engaged, and shots feel powerful. I broke out my old Death Guard kill team for this game, and they feel as durable and powerful as ever.