The Ground Shakes With Every Step

Colored illustration for the original design by Christopher Burdett.

The Skorne army I've been working on since late fall is coming together very nicely - many units finished, warlocks finished, and tons of beasts finished. I did manage to paint my Molik Karn so I have a centerpiece model... but now I have a TRUE centerpiece :P


The airbrushing class we took with Mr. Justin from Secret Weapon Miniatures really provided some inspiration for me on this piece. I decided to airbrush the skin to give it a mottled look and draw focus to the face. I also airbrushed the bronze armor to give it a used look; I wanted to do some weathering but decided I really liked it without that.

First things first: Privateer Press outdid themselves with this model. The level of detail is insane. There must be 200 scale yards of rope on this model and 40 pieces of jewelry.

The epiphany I had after seeing Mr. Justin airbrush was that you really have to thin the paint, use lower PSI, and do layer upon layer to get a sweet look. The mammoth was a big target to try this out on.

I started with a tan skin look. I really didn't like it because it was too close to the bronze color, so I chose to work it up to a gray with white highlights. It worked somewhat well for me - better in some places than others. I think painting this thing in pieces would have been much easier.

The base is HUGE. I cast a big rock for this dude to stand on so he could actually rank up against other big models, otherwise he'd be fighting in butt-mode all the time. I put extra pieces of rock on the sides where his feet are so that it looks like they're crumbling under his weight. The trees are bending from the force of him climbin' up over the big cliff. The idea is this dude is getting ready to charge some Iosans near their wall.

I love how the bronze armor turned out on this guy. I chose to really take my time and add a ton of detail I wouldn't normally do - usually I just like to get things done. I added quite a bit of Skorne red that really isn't present on most of my other beasts to really set this guy apart.

I really like how the back turned out. This model will be super imposing on the battlefield :P

Some side shots. You can see all the rope and the little jewelry pieces embedded in his skin as well as the crumbling rock under his foot.

Some more detail shots. I like how the skin tones turned out on his crown; this really forces your focus towards his head, in my opinion. Check out the dude's championship belt!

My first list with him is based on Xerxis because I know him pretty well. Marketh is there to cast extra spells and upkeep things, the agonizer and Midwinter enhance the brick. The Willbreaker gives Mammy extra shots.

Tyrant Xerxis - WB: +5

-    Aptimus Marketh
-    Mammoth - PC: 20
-    Basilisk Krea - PC: 4
-    Titan Gladiator - PC: 8
Agonizer - PC: 2
Orin Midwinter, Rogue Inquisitor - PC: 2
Swamp Gobbers Bellows Crew - Leader & 1 Grunt: 1
Cataphract Cetrati - Leader & 5 Grunts: 11

Mortitheurge Willbreaker - PC: 2

Paingiver Beast Handlers - Leader & 3 Grunts: 2

I am really pumped to try to figure this guy out - he is supposed to be the best gargantuan. Keep an eye on the blog to see how he does!