Stormcast Eternals: Justified Ancients

Posted on 31/08/2017 by sho3box

All aboard, all aboard, woah-oh.

Last year I painted Paulo Ringseeker, Knight Questor of the Justified Ancients.

Knight Questor with Warblade and Sigmarite Shield

Paulo was primarily painted to be used as a player character in the Warhammer Quest: Silver Tower game, but at some point, I’m not quite sure when, I decided that I wanted to paint a force of Stormcast Eternals and play Age of Sigmar with them.

Im pretty sure that it was about a year ago when I decided to do that, around the time that the Generals Handbook 2016 came out.

Liberator Prime with Grandhammer (who looks a bit like Brienne of Tarth) and Liberator with Warhammer and Sigmarite Shield

Time passed and I tried to paint a few more like Paulo, but felt that I needed to find another, more rapid way to achieve roughly the same effect.  So the project was put on the back burner while I did other things.  During this time I prodded and poked a few other people that I play games with, to see if they could be convinced to try AoS.

Two more Liberators, each with Warhammer and Sigmarite Shield

Some people took more prodding than others, but at the time of writing four of my local (as in, based in Ireland) mates are preparing AoS forces, with another four plus based in other parts of the world also panting figs for playing Age of Sigmar: Skirmish and Age of Sigmar: Paths to Glory.  With a bit of luck, that will lead directly into some larger AoS games, but we can take that as it comes.

Prosecutor with paired Celestial Hammers

A lot of different elements came together to bring the various elements that I am using to theme this force.  I will blather on about those in later posts.  For now I will just show you the seven (six new, plus Paulo) that I have painted ready for some AoS:S with PB in a couple of weeks.

The photo quality is a bit up and down, but hey ho, they get the message across I think.

Retributor with Lightning Hammer

More Of these guys should show up here in time, as I get ready for some Paths to Glory AoS games.  But for now these guys are ready to head to the ruins of Shadespire to take on PB’s undead in a couple of weeks.

Thanks for looking!

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35 Responses

  1. Captain Crooks, on 31/08/2017 at 23:48 said:

    These guys look ready to kick some butt. The purple theme has been cemented as my favourite look for these guys – and for some reason the grimy shields are my favourite element, it brings them down a notch into the gritty, blood-splashed reality of war 😀 These ain’t adorning some devotional fresco, they are wading through fields of mud and blood… sweet sweet blood. Mmm. Good work.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply
    • sho3box, on 01/09/2017 at 13:45 said:

      Very nice of you to say so Captain 🙂

      Im trying to convey a little bit of the angelic awe suggested by the lore, while also suggesting that they are not necessarily nice guys to deal with. Self righteous, superhuman zealots. Scary, rather than necessarily heroic.

      Im still feeling my way around a bit, future models may be more or less grubby. Ill see how it goes.

      Thanks for the feedback!

      Like

      Reply
  2. Alex, on 31/08/2017 at 23:51 said:

    Cracking job mate, they look really good with actual faces, and I do love that purple & gold scheme. Top-draw!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • sho3box, on 01/09/2017 at 13:56 said:

      Thanks Alex.

      I have seen very few purple Stormcast out there, and even fewer that I liked, so it sort of fell into place.

      Purple and gold is a combination strongly associated with religious affairs, so I think it helps to push the “angelic” vibe. The bare head on the Retributor has a statuesque look too.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  3. Gabbi, on 01/09/2017 at 08:09 said:

    Beautiful! Love them all.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  4. Asslessman, on 01/09/2017 at 08:16 said:

    You know where I come from with Stormcast eternals but giving them more character with the modifications and a more dirty look (dare I say grimdark ?) does make them work for me.
    Glad to be proven wrong.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • sho3box, on 01/09/2017 at 13:58 said:

      MOAR grimdark is fine, I like grimdark 🙂

      I know that Stormcast will never be your thing Asslessman, but Im glad that my take on them appeals to you a little all the same.

      Thanks for the feedback.

      Like

      Reply
  5. Curis, on 01/09/2017 at 10:15 said:

    These are great! I like the stippling you put in the cloaks and shields to get some texture and break up those uniformly smooth surfaces.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • sho3box, on 01/09/2017 at 14:01 said:

      Thanks Curis!

      The combination of the sacred (angelic and clean) with the profane (mud and blood) is a pretty highfalutin’ way to talk about gaming pieces, but that contrast also contributes to the effect I think.

      Plus painting white covered in dirt is a helluva lot easier than painting flat white.

      Like

      Reply
  6. imperialrebelork, on 01/09/2017 at 11:50 said:

    Great colour scheme and the eyes are really cool.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • sho3box, on 01/09/2017 at 14:05 said:

      It was important to me to try to make these guys look otherworldly, and glowing eyes is a standard trope for that sort of thing.

      There is also a piece in the Stormcast Battletome that states that as the Stormcast are reforged over and over they lose their humanity and eventually start to speak in rumbling thunder while lightning sparks from their eyes. Its a fun image.

      With that in mind I possibly should have painted the eyes glowing blue rather than green, but I had my reasons.

      Thanks for the feedback imperialrebelork!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  7. Azazel, on 01/09/2017 at 15:47 said:

    Great little warband of Stormcast. A very gritty, very “Warhammer” scheme and overall effect with the weathering added.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • sho3box, on 01/09/2017 at 16:22 said:

      Thanks Azazel.

      Im fascinated that you reckon that they have a “Warhammer” scheme. Im assuming that you mean an “Old World” vibe.

      Care to elaborate? I don’t object to that if it is the case, but it certainly wasn’t a deliberate style decision.

      Gritty was though 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      • Azazel, on 01/09/2017 at 22:02 said:

        Well, more of a low fantasy, gritty, WHFB/RP vibe, as opposed to the cleaner, more high fantasy, AoS thing that they have going these days. I mean I know it’s all “Warhammer”, but to me AoS isn’t “Warhammer Fantasy” but a newer relative. “Warhammer” being the thing that I knew for 30 or so years, despite the many changes it went through. (And I’m not even overly down on AoS as a system, and I like the Stormcast models, so it’s not “bitter-ex” hate, either!)

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
  8. Lasgunpacker, on 01/09/2017 at 18:07 said:

    Stormcast, boo hiss. Well, actually with the real heads, and the grimy paint and such, they do not look so bad. Properly suited for oppressing some vile peasants or something.

    Particularly like the look of the Prosecutor. I imagine he would sway juries pretty easily. 😉

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  9. Suber, on 01/09/2017 at 20:30 said:

    Wow. I have to say I was never sold with the Stormcast ranges, I have no particular love for them. But I strangely like what you did here. A lot. Unsettling.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • sho3box, on 02/09/2017 at 12:16 said:

      Its all about perspective Suber. I like the concept of the Stormcast, so I played around with the figures to see if I could find ways to make them more appealing to me.

      I’m pleased with how it has been going so far 🙂

      Thanks for the feedback!

      Like

      Reply
  10. Warburton, on 02/09/2017 at 08:30 said:

    Very nice. I must admit that the whole AoS vibe is growing on me… which is bad as the last thing I need is another project. Interested to hear if the game itself is any good or not. I agree with the other commenters; the bare heads look good, and give them a bit of a different look.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    • sho3box, on 02/09/2017 at 12:29 said:

      I have played a few small AoS games so far. Its simple and straightforward, with a few easy access elements that appeal to me and my gaming group: we don’t want to agonise about army lists and minutiae, we want to paint the miniatures that appeal to us and then play games with them. AoS is a straightforward conduit for that at the time of writing.

      As for the vibe, I never had much interest in The Old World. The low fantasy, faux historical setting didn’t grab me enough to get a force together for it in the last thirty years.

      The Mortal Realms is completely over the top and appeals to me as a result. That’s my two cents.

      The head swaps were the defining moment for this project. Once I confirmed that they could be done reliably without massive effort, then the rest came together.

      Thanks for the feedback Warburton!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  11. Luke, on 03/09/2017 at 02:42 said:

    I know a few people who have struggled to get personality across with the Stormcast Eternals, however as other commenters have said, the bare heads really get an awesome kickass personality across. Kudos on the builds and paint jobs!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • sho3box, on 05/09/2017 at 20:24 said:

      Thanks Luke!

      I think that there is certainly a time and place for the fully helmeted Stormcast, but like Space Marines, realistic (in context) or not, I like a few bareheaded Stormcast.

      More to come Luke. Thanks for the feedback!

      Like

      Reply
  12. Thomas, on 03/09/2017 at 09:37 said:

    Excellent work, mate! I especially like the shields. The dust looks great and the bright base complements the regal purple and gold.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • sho3box, on 05/09/2017 at 20:59 said:

      The regal look was intentional, I’m glad that you mentioned it Thomas.

      The concept is that the very regal appearance – which represents an oversimplified view of the their task – may not be surviving contact with the enemy/real life.

      Its maybe a little arty farty, but the tension of those two aspects colliding is one of the elements that makes the figures work as a group I think.

      Thanks for the feedback Thomas!

      Like

      Reply
  13. mrsaturdays, on 04/09/2017 at 15:15 said:

    These look great. They look less like parade armour stormcast you see so much, and more like ploughing a metal hammer through your skull on a muddy battlefield stormcast. They have a crusader vibe that I like, and the grime on their swanky shield must be driving them nuts. I’m sure they can get some stormgroupies to clean them up for them later.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • sho3box, on 05/09/2017 at 21:10 said:

      Between the regal/religious palette and the campaigning look that the grime and dirt generates, the crusader vibe is definitely there. The Stormcast were “cast” to function as crusaders and its funs to see them look a bit like that they are in the middle of their holy war, and that perhaps they are not as squeaky clean as some of their other incarnations suggest.

      I have *definite* plans for stormgroupies 🙂

      I also deeply long to separate some of your Bloodbound heads from their bodies soon. It will be glorious!

      Like

      Reply
  14. tinpotrevolutionary, on 10/09/2017 at 12:43 said:

    Brilliant colour scheme and excellent painting! Well done!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  15. arkhanhobby, on 28/11/2017 at 18:06 said:

    Very cool, I really like alternative colors on Stormcast

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • sho3box, on 29/11/2017 at 08:27 said:

      Thanks arkhanhobby.

      I find painting things as they appear on the box an unfulfilling experience. Putting my own spin on my toy soldiers is more than just fun for me, it’s essential for my enjoyment.

      Thanks for the feedback!

      Like

      Reply
  16. Logan, on 27/05/2018 at 07:20 said:

    Wow, these look great. I especially like the look of the bald guy, the glowing green eyes on him just look great. Say, do you remember which head you used for him?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • sho3box, on 27/05/2018 at 13:47 said:

      Hi Logan, thanks for the compliments.

      I’m sorry to say that I don’t remember where that particular head came from. It’s a Citadel head and its likely to be a Space Marine head, but I honestly can’t be certain. I got the heads for this project from spares from friends and similar, so they come from all across the Citadel range.

      Like

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