Looking back at old paintjobs: Sylvaneth

Sylvaneth are my primary army — and the main reason why I started playing Age of Sigmar back in its 1st edition. They are also the closest thing to the Wood Elves I loved in Warhammer Fantasy Battles. I have a few other armies that I enjoy collecting and painting, but there will always be a special place in my heart for the forest spirits.

However, Sylvaneth were also the first AoS army that I fully painted. Most of that work happened between 2016 and 2019, and my painting skills have progressed significantly since then. As time went on, I started noticing that the paintjobs on some of my favourite models no longer matched the standard of my more recent work. That left me wondering how I should approach the problem.

I did not want to fully repaint the miniatures. That would feel excessive and, in a way, those older Sylvaneth models are a snapshot of my painting skills at that point in time and a clear reminder of how much I have improved over the years. At the same time, I also did not want to leave them completely untouched.

Eventually, I realized there was a middle ground. Instead of repainting the models from scratch, I could strategically touch up certain details and areas to make them stand out more while still preserving the character of the original paintjob. 

The first of the models I worked on was the Treelord I wrote about some time ago. Next were the unit of Kurnoth hunters with scythes. I love those models - Kurnoth Hunters are my favorite Sylvaneth models as wells as some of my favourite Age of Sigmar miniatures. The original paintjob was a bit "flat" when it came to the details: everything was precise and clean, but there were no highlights or emphasis on specific parts of the model. Also, the bases were pretty simple and did not help in makind the model stand out. Below you can see the pictures of the models before the refresh: 

I wanted to perserve the original identity of the model (which I liked a lot), while improving "readability" and atmosphere. I think the bark has much better texture now, the green foliage/branches are not so overpowering, the weapon gradient is much better and the base actually frames a miniature (instead of being just some mud with grass).

Looking at the models side by side, the changes are not too dramatic, but they make a surprisingly large difference overall (at least to me). The original version was already clean and precise, so I did not want to repaint it from scratch. Instead, I focused on improving contrast, adding selective highlights, and making certain details stand out more clearly. I also reworked the base to give the miniature a bit more atmosphere and visual framing.

The end result still feels like the same model I painted years ago, just viewed through the lens of the experience I gained since then. And that was exactly what I was aiming for (and seeing the result, it's clear that the repaint would be such a mistake)!

Pink Horrors

Over the past few weeks, I have focused on painting my Disciples of Tzeentch models - primarily the daemons, since I can use them both in AoS and TOW games. My plan is to have fully painted Tzeentch army by the end of the year (or be very close to that). I made some pretty good progress and this week I have also managed to finish a unit of Pink Horrors. I was able to find colour scheme that I could replicate quickly, with just the right amount of details. On the pictures below, you can see them on the movement tray I painted as well. 

Brimstone Horrors

Today I have painted a unit of Brimstone Horrors for "Warhammer: The Old World". These little guys were fun and quick paintjob, done within an hour. I just need to buy another pot of Yiriel Yellow, because I did not manage to do the highlights I wanted. I wanted to represent the "Swarm" rule, so I placed two models on each 40x40mm base. With 6 wounds and ward save, thes guys should be pretty annoying on the battlefield. I am also finishing the unit of Pink Horrors, so expect more photos soon! 

Painting Tzaangor Skyfires

Over the weekend, I painted the first of six Tzaangor Skyfires. I consider Tzaangors among my favourite AoS models and together with Kairos Fateweaver and Lord of Change, they are one of the main reasons why I am playing Disciples of Tzeentch. However, they are really tricky to paint. I think GW went a bit too far when it comes to amount of details and different materials/textures on these models. You have skin, cloth, metal, horns, tentacles, feathers, flames... At the same time, while they technically are Beastmen, you really cannot go "quick & dirty" with Tzaangors, like you can with their cousins - that approach won't work here due to model design. This was the main reason why I had my 20 Tzaangors comission painted - I simply didn't want to spend so much time painting all those models. However, I wanted to paint Skyfires and the Shaman myself. 

I tried to strike a balance between doing too much and doing too little. I wanted to paint the model reasonably quick, but I also wanted it to look good and not deviate too much from what I usually do. I have manged to finish it in a few hours (between 4 and 5) and I expect other models to be done in less time (because now I have the colour scheme and approach figured out). I really enjoyed painting this guy and I am very satisfied with the end result. 

Painting Sigmarite Chapel

Recently, I have finished painting Sigmarite Chapel. This is one part of the "Fortified Manor of the Empire" kit, but you can also buy it separately (the other part is the Watchtower). I really love this terrain piece and in general, since I don't have almost any buildings in my collection of scenery pieces, I bought it as soon as it was released (I have mostly ruins and forests). The paintjob was quick and easy (I utilized drybrushing a lot). I am now finishing the watchtower and working on the walls and fences - expect some pictures on the blog soon. 

Painting Kroxigor

Ever since I saw Lizardmen for the first time, I loved the look of the Kroxigor - giant liazards armed with huge clubs. I considered starting an army severl times, but always decided against it (for various reasons, main one being my focus on other armies). However, I never completely abaondoned that idea. And so, two years ago, when GW revealed new Seraphon/Lizardmen models for Age of Sigmar, I finally decided to start building an army. 

I love the idea of Saurus-themed force: Saurus Warriors, Kroxigor, Aggradon Lancers and some heroes, backed by Slann Starmaster (and maybe some Skinks). I mean, big Lizards are going to war, Jurrasic Park meets Aztec - what's not to like? Not to mention that all these models are really interesting to paint and also let you experiment and use some interesting colour combinations. 

On the pictures below you can see the unit of Kroxigor that I have finished few days ago. All miniatures from the new range are beautiful, however - I like Kroxigor probably the most. Similar to Sylvaneth Kurnoth Hunters, these models were one of the reasons to start collecting the army. They are large, look menacing and have really nice poses. I liked the original colour scheme and went with something similar. I also had a lot of fun painting them and I'm really satisfied with the end result.

I have also magnetized the bases, so I can attach them
to square bases for games of WHTOW

And now, here are some details (these little frogs are lovely and I really enjoyed painting them): 

Painting Saurus Oldblood

More than a year ago, I started painting my Seraphon (you can see the post here). However, for various reasons, that work has been going really slow - one of the reasons being that I paused working on that project multiple times, to paint some other models (some of which you can see on the blog). However, I kept working on Lizardmen/Seraphon here from time to time and now I have several units which are almost finished and few others which I am actively working on.

Today, I wanted to show one of my finished models - it's Saurus Oldblood, Kro-Jax, from the Jawz of Itzl WHU set. I wanted to use him as a regular Saurus foot hero and I really liked the colour scheme shown on the box, so I tried to do something similar. 

I am really happy with this paintjob - so much that I consider this one of the best I've done this year (and the model itself is amazing). I also magnetized his base, so I can attach the square base when I use him in my Old World games. And since I have been working on some other models as well, here's one small teaser of things to come: 

I expect to finish most of these models by late December/early January, so expect to see some more pictures soon! 

Painting Glade Guard

Recently, a few friends and I started preparing for a small Old World campaign. I wanted to try Wood Elves and realized I could field an entirely painted army using my Sylvaneth models - but I was missing one thing: the Glade Guard (which is mandatory unit for Wood Elves). So, I bought a box of Glade Guard and started working on the first unit. First batch of 5 models is almost done, and here's the test model that I used to set the colour scheme for the unit: 

Angron

Last summer I have painted Angron. I already had some Chaos Space Marines and Khorne Berzerker models lying around and by adding Angron I would have nice, small, thematic World Eaters army based around the angry Primarch. I was very excited about the project and was looking forward to painting all these models.

However, after I played my first game of WH40K 10th edition, I abandoned the idea of World Eaters army. Not only that, I realized I do not like (at all) where WH40K is going and decided to focus on The Old World and AoS for the time being. If I play any WH40K games in the near future - it's going to be 4th edition. I'll just skip 10th edition entirely and wait for the next one (but the chances of things improving are pretty slim). I will write a larger post about why I think the current edition of 40K is the worst one I have ever played - that topic deserves a dedicated blog post.

So, since the World Eaters army is not happening, Angron just sits on my shelf now. It is a great model and I am very happy with the paintjob. I can still use him as a pretty unique Bloodthirster, so at least he won't gather the dust forever. I tried to sell it once, but I like the model a lot and it decided to keep it - at least for now. 

Painting Great Eagle

Recently, I painted one of the Great Eagles from the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game. I don’t actually play MESBG, but I plan to use the model in my Warhammer: The Old World Wood Elf army—after all, Wood Elves have Great Eagles too! 😄

This was a quick paint job—about 2.5 hours total, including the base. The model is very drybrush-friendly, so you can get a great result with minimal effort. It’s a good example of how effective drybrushing can be: fast, simple, and still visually striking.

Painting Chaos Knights

I love big robots. Since I was a kid, there was something cool about the idea of big robots fighting against each other. I have always loved Transformers and Battletech was one of my favourite games (both the board game and card game). 

So I guess it's not surprising that I also own a small Chaos Knights army. I mean, Chaos and big robots - how can you possibly not like this? I sold or traded most of my WH40K armies since I play WH40K rarely and don't really like 10th edition (and my main focus is on Age of Sigmar and Old World) - but this army is among those that I want to keep. At the moment, I have 1000 points of Chaos Knights: one big Knight and 4 War Dogs. I am not sure if and when am I going to expand the army, but I would definitely like to add one more big Knight some time in the future (because big Knights are, well, big and incredibly fun to paint). 

Below you can see the pictures - I really wanted to paint almost every model in different way, because the idea is a ragtag band of renegade lesser nobles gathered around a powerful Knight. The army is almost finished: I need to add some finishing touches on one Huntsman and finish painting the other one.