This series of posts will chronicle the progress of 4 intrepid hobbyists as they embark on the epic journey of building and painting an Age of Sigmar army from scratch. Each month they’ll be painting up new units with the eventual goal of having a full 2000pts force ready for the 2019 Blood and Glory tournament in November.

Month 3 has come and gone with everyone’s armies well underway now. Lets see what’s been added and how their forces have grown.

Alex: This month I learnt a valuable lesson. When faced with a large terrain piece including 100s of gold coins it’s not a good idea to individually highlight each one of them!

The Fane of Slaanesh is a great looking model with tons of details so I really wanted to give it the paint job it deserved. However at around the halfway point of working on all the coins I was quickly regretting this life choice and wishing I’d just drybrushed them. Nevertheless I powered through and here’s what I came up with:

My favourite part was painting the swirling vortex in the middle. I used Sotek Green for the darkest areas and then blended it all the way up to pure White. This was definitely time consuming but I’m happy with how it came out and it’s a great contrast area to the rest of the model.

Along with the Fane I also got a Keeper of Secrets built. This wasn’t just any Keeper though. Creature Caster were kind enough to send me one of their Pincer Demons. He’s bulkier than a normal Keeper but still fits in well and reminds me of the old artwork for N’kari.

He’s already proven himself the MVP of the army helping wrack up some more wins vs Skaven and Dispossessed. Though he has come close to getting 1 shotted by both a Skaven Warlord and an Unforged in those games. I guess this just means I’ll need a second one. The GW Keeper is too nice of a model not to have after all!

Army Progress:

Models assembled: 45
Models painted :13
Points completed: 370

Pledge for next month: It’s back to infantry next. I’ll be using a block of 30 Daemonettes at 2k so it’s time to get some more of those finished.

Paul: So this month I’ve completed Ikit Claw and ten Stormvermin as planned and I have to say overall I’m pleased with the end result. Also as a bonus I’ve completed 40 bases for the impending legion of Clanrats, that just leaves another 70 Infantry bases to go….

I’ve discovered two things about the metal Ikit Claw; 1) It is an awesome looking model (even with my mediocre painting skills) and 2) It is the most hellish figure I’ve ever had the misfortune to build and paint (cheers for the gift Alex), but it the end it was well worth the trouble.

This month myself and Alex managed to get get a few more practice games in and I had the opportunity to test 1500pts of Skaven with the core features of my final 2000pt force. The big takeaway from those matches is the Skaven Warlords are far more devastating than I expected so I might up the Warlord count from three to six in the final army list for Blood and Glory.

Army Progress:

Models assembled: 20
Models painted : 20
Points completed: 880

Pledge for next month: I’m going big next month. With the release of the new Gee Dubs contrast paints I’ll be aiming to paint up a mob of 40 Clanrats (mostly with one thick coat). As a side project I’ll finish off creating the infantry bases for the rest of the claw hoard and I’ll look at assembling a Screaming Bell for painting.

Dean: Hark, the third month has ended.

It’s been a pretty normal month for me. I’ve got a 40k tournament coming up which is consuming my hobby time, so I’ve kept myself to a sensible painting effort.

The terrain of many summons was pretty fun to paint, picked entirely for being a free unit which looks awesome. The brickwork has turned out pretty nice in my biased view. Not something I get a lot of chances to paint.

I’ve also got my teeth into the endless spell of endlessly replacing my ghouls when things go to full melee. It also helps the cup is a great looking kit.

Army Progress:

Models assembled: 33
Models painted : 33
Points completed: 740

Pledge for next month: It’s a modelling month. I’m making 3 Crypt Flayers and a Vargheist. I hear what your saying, a whole month to make 4 models? Well…. these are special models.

If you’re from the UK and owned white dwarf 306 (muffled shock as I realise that’s over a decade ago) you’ll remember the Sartosa article in the Lustria campaign. This is the basis for Total Warhammer 2’s Vampire coast and funnily enough a large source of inspiration for me. I like to customise any army I put together, and this one is no exception.

When I set out I aimed to create a list around the Bretonnia idea…. which lasted all of 3 test miniature before I realised I don’t have until 2025 to convert every model to look like a peasent militia/knight ect. So I’m shifting pattern for my none ghoul infantry units and giving them a touch of the coast. What exactly am I doing?

Well I’ve got 3 Fell Bats, an Ogre Pirate, a box of Zombies and a month to get this across the line. There’s no shades to put on but it is dark. Hit it.

Craig: So I said last month I was planning on doing another character; and I’ve managed to pull it out of the bag. I have finished what is a pivotal character in any Dispossessed force, A Runesmith.

This is one of the backbone characters who can give out a choice of buffs to units within 16”. He can either boost your rend on your weapons by an additional -1 or he can give you a mortal wound save of 6+. This save can be vital in the current meta of Age of Sigmar as Dispossessed lack any form of mortal wound defence leaving your units open to being wiped out by mortal wound dealing forces.

Army Progress:

Models assembled: 43
Models painted : 43
Points completed: 900

Pledge for next month: Next month I’m planning on looking at some magical allies. So stay tuned to see what I have decided to add into my force. I may even drop another unit of Irondrakes in there for some additional shooting punch now we are getting into playing games; and my recent discovery that Alex’s Slannesh are no pushover.

Have you started a new army of your own recently? Got any tips or tactics for any of the armies we’re using? Let us know in the comments.

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