Kali Yuga: The Age of Conflict

I forgot to bring my completed minis to the FLGS in order to get them filmed (digital images, yes I know). It means that I’ll have double the points for next time ready for glamor shots. Five more points of minis with the Warlord base all done. I’m should also be on the cavalry by then. The only real issue I have is not having graph paper to get the unit banners out of the way. As we’ve seen before this is a generally last touch kind of detail anyway so no real worry. I am irritated that it won’t all be spectacular to show off “Right Meow!”.

As a side note to other small details I need to get some 3D printing done for the banner pole of my second Hearthguard unit. I might as well get some bipdeal Creatures and maybe that Kali statue if I have enough credit. I’m still holding out for the tigers to be created and it’s just a waiting game. I bothered Wargames Atlantic for their Vox Populi and MoM Miniatures with the last mention of it so I might as well be patient for Giftmas. *sigh* I could wish for a few things but I think the tigers are most useful models in the near future.

In the meantime I share something from Ye Olde YooToob to pique interests and whet appetites for the models I want to bring to the table.

OK, from the beginning of the project I meant to include this model and was disuaded because I could only find polystone maquettes or vinyl figures. Of course, leave it to just looking through different search results do I get the stl file for precisely what I envisioned. This will be added to the menagerie without question. The hunt for interesting things will be on standby now while I paint furiously in the background.

Good news on getting tigers, I found an intermediate to the mounts I want. MOM Miniatures from Spain sell files of Amazonian War Panthers on Myminifactory. They look good as a start to what I want but need faces and bodies that are a little more bulky. Bengal tigers just look more muscular than say Amur or Malay tigers but not nearly like Siberian ones.

I reached out and asked if they would offer a head swap or even full new models. I was given a positive response from their team that it was a good idea and that they’d run it by their designer. I really feel pleased about the whole thing as I keep painting. The riders for the tigers have been cleaned up and made ready. I just need the cats to put them on and that part of the project is a go.

My photography suffers as one of the diffused LED lamps decided this was the time to give up the ghost and die on me. I’m guessing there is a short somewhere as I get a much dimmer light than I should be. I’ve reflected the light back at my minis from the remaining light to try and not overpower the models and have sharp contrast and shadows.

I’ve decided to do a test unit instead of just one model. My Hearthguard clubbers make me happy with the way they’ve turned out.

The green surprised me with the way the intense highlight worked and how easy the whole process was. Using a wash to filter all the color was a change as well in painting the trousers. I think this might be a process I could use in the future.

• Base primer – AP Oak Brown
• Blocked in AP Commando Green
• Highlight fabric lines Cuttlefish Colors Gauc Green
• Wash AP Camo Cloak as a filter
• Highlight CC Gauc Green

I had a thought to go and use a seldom explored color. Orange isn’t something as difficult to play with like red, yellow, black or white everything will be fine. Oh how wrong I was when initiating that idea. On to the turban and sash, my orange of choice is as follows

• ProAcryl NOVA Orange
• A wash of Xpress Martian Orange (it really shifted with the red saturation but I’ve considered it good for the shadow)
• Some AP Warpaints Fanatic Soft Tone (good for subtle lining and might be substituted with a Greenstuff World wash)
• A finish with ProAcryl Orange with spot highlights that got a little desaturated yellow added.

I’ve decided not to wax idiotic about skintones. I’m dealing with a golden complexion darker than general Caucasian flesh. I’m not painting as dark as the Subsaharan Zulu I did for Shay because my army isn’t located in the southern part of India. The trick has been to find the middle ground and get the right warm yellow tone as Indian complexions vary. I think I have the right progression with the following.

• Base primer – AP Oak Brown
• Shade – VMC Flat Brown (70.984)
• Midtone – VMC Saddle Brown (70.940)
• Highlight – VGC Tan (72.066)
• Highlight 2 – CC Fried Adventurer

With that all out of the way I painted the clubs and called the figures good. This was all well and good until I dropped them,after I varnished them. The photos above show that the damage was minimal and I managed to get paint replaced properly. I need to magnetize these bastards to keep them planted on that base.

I am fast at pulling up minis for reference and I am slow on painting right now. I have found a figure that would be great for a Hero to throw into the mix of my army under the command of Lord Boobs.

Crooked Dice is offering an Avatar of Kali, from what was Harwood Hobbies’ collection, which will fit in with the rest of the army. It plugs the gap for my previous notion about Harryhausen I had given up on for lack of space because of the prevalence of monster units. I could easily get a model for the stone statue but it would have just been boring visually. I think a certain amount of liberty can be taken as I did with Polly Famous in the Harryhausen Hellenics. She works as another cyclops after my “7th Voyage of Sinbad” model but I think the nod to the troglodyte I referred to is better. Here I feel the same is true and will run with with it in due time. As I remind myself, I will not pick up more until I get stuff done.

In continuing on the inspiration I went to research Kali and have decided to make my Hearthguard from a command unit of Shieldmaidens. Four figures makes all I need and I can go further afield in kitbashing a standard. I’ll be using a toothpick cut to length, a resin skull from the Secret Weapon haul (before the company assets sold to Elrik Hobbies) and get a trishula (Hindu trident) for the ornament printed to attach to the banner pole.

Avoiding the temptation of “Da Powah of GooGuhl” (a heavily modified orky search engine painted an obligatory red) I opted for a game using DuckDuckGo to find what other things were associated with Kali to give more depth for the army build. I found tiger skins being mentioned on mystic literature and I thought back to the leopard standard from Irregular Wars as inspiration in their Yakshi maidenguard. I will have that be my standard for the Hearthguard as it can also tie in the rakshasa.

So I decided to do some modification to my chariot idea from Bahubali 2 and some art. After dropping it and breaking off the spar I said “nuts to this noise” and have decided on a hollow square brass tube. I have also decided to build up the chariot proper with what are generally useless plastic Renedra 20x45mm bases I’ve gotten from Gripping Beast kits. I’ll get some 3D work done and get a canopy printed based on images I’ve collected.

I found good models for the cutting blades and here’s some inspiration. I’ll DL something and get it printed along with the leading bulldozer blade. Thinking this is heavy I’ll get a pair of water buffalo if they aren’t too big for a monster base.

As a foray into the fantastic on a larger scale to make my monster standout I have inadvertently stepped on a landmine I had avoided pretty well in the past. The discussions on painting faces had often included suggestions of doing research on makeup. Being focused on 28mm minis which were mostly men, I disregarded this. Going to paint women I paid a little bit more attention to faces. Now, I have what would be a bust attached to a crazy human torso and snake body. There are so many things going on I need to arrest attention naturally (in terms of the human brain). Back to basics of “bases and faces”.

I’ve done my due diligence of going far and wide mentally to think of anything useful that would work on blue skin. Starting with the Indian goddess Kali, makeup used in the adult film “Zazel – The Scent of Love” and then going to the series Farscape for images of the character Zhaan. Yes, having a mental visual library requires a breadth of crossreferences. I believe I’ve narrowed down things to a point where I might manage some good results.

Of course, the internet research throws a curveball and nearly sidelines the whole thing with an image from a makeup tutorial on how to enhance one’s face. The upscale nature of the figure actually requires me to think in these terms.

Thankfully I have two photos of Harryhausen and the model in question to get a read on the face. I also have an closeup of the vinyl model endorsed by the Harryhausen foundation which gives me some help in my decision.

I have found the best mount that I think I could to make this visually interesting on the army theme. Lord Boobs can ride into battle atop his elephant Dropapu… or a keenly preened peacock. I was rolling around on the grassy fields of the mini pondering plane and thought about what else is distinctly Indian to incorporate visually. This came up and I’m running with it since I found an appropriate stl file on Myminifactory.

From there I came across another beautiful model to add as it will be unique. This is inspirational to do a build like the high elf eagle chariot and it should be pretty simple once I get parts together in hand.

Going back to the article on ancient Indian warfare and the mention of chariot warfare, I feel I need to add one. There is now precedent for this from my Harryhausen Hellenics and I will have fun making myself frustrated.

Now, my FLGS started carrying the Ral Partha Legacy range and I’ve found a winged chariot that I can use for this case.