A couple of weeks later, I had all of the finished entries on my desk, luckily I didn't have to pick a winner myself, I'd managed to acquire the services of Pete Foley (one of our talented Eavy Metal painters) to act as judge. Some of the guys who entered were more than happy to write up a quick explanation of how they went about painting these great kits.

Tom Waddington

Maneater by Tom Waddington Click for a larger image.

Tom Waddington: I used more or less the same flesh tone as suggested in the Ogre Kingdoms book, just adding a drop of Rotting Flesh in the later stages to give it a slightly greener tinge. A mix of Black and Brown inks, heavily diluted, served as a wash for all the metal and the red bandages, which were first highlighted up from Dark Flesh, through Red Gore, to Blood Red.

The Gnoblar looked a little odd to me, delivering a flying kick to thin air, so I reposed a Free Company soldier (the most easily abused of all Citadel plastics) and glued him in place on the receiving end.

Kev Beadle

Kevin Beadle: Ever since the first drawings and models for the Ogre Kingdoms range appeared around the building I've been intrigued about painting them. Unlike almost all the other Warhammer armies, the Ogres are almost entirely larger figures, and therefore you can really spend time on each one without worrying that you've another 60 to paint to finish the first regiment! So when the opportunity to paint these two fantastic models arose I could hardly say no, could I?

My painting style tends to be a little different to most, as I like to drybrush most of my figures where I can, as opposed to actually painting each layer onto the figure. This fits in perfectly with the Ogre range, since the large areas and muscles give a great surface for drybrushing.

Ninja Maneater by Kev Beadle Click for a larger image.

Both figures were prepared in exactly the same way, with a Chaos Black undercoat followed by a base coat of the new Dark Flesh paint on the skin. Grabbing the trusty large drybrush I first used Bronzed Flesh, followed by Bleached Bone and finally a light brushing of pure Skull White just to pick out the edges. This gave me very effective skin tone that I was extremely pleased with. A few details such as eyes and teeth needed picking out and then the skin was all finished - onto the rest of the figure.

Of all the colours to paint, I tend to find red the hardest. Not sure why, I can just never seem to get a decent coat with the colour. Never one to step away from a challenge, I decide to use red as the colour of the clothing for my female Maneater. Taking the advice of a friend, I adopted a different approach with this figure and started with a basecoat of Scorched Brown, followed by a heavy drybrush of Scab Red, then Red Gore and finally Blood Red. The result was quite a brownish red (as you'd expect really) but, for the first time ever, a finish that I liked. So much so that my whole army will have red clothing!!

The metal was by far the simplest element of the models, simply done by drybrushing Boltgun Metal directly onto the Chaos Black undercoat, and then a fine highlight of Chainmail to define the edges.

Female Maneater by Kev Beadle Click for a larger image.

The various wooden elements to the models and, surprisingly, the fur on the female Ogre, were painted in pretty much the same way. A basecoat of Scorched Brown (I quickly learnt that this army would be using a lot of this colour) followed by drybrushing Graveyard Earth, Desert Yellow and finally Skull White gave the desired effect. The only difference was that, for the fur, a little more pressure was used to make it look more striking, as opposed to the gentle blending of the wood.

By this point the figures were practically completed, and just a quick coat of Snakebite Leather over the leather belts and stitching finished the job. One thing that I've become a strong believe in over the years is making sure the base of your models is up to the standard of the model itself. A poor base lets a figure down, and after you've gone to the effort of painting the figure you certainly don't want that. I paint my bases in exactly the same way, regardless of army so they all have a uniform feel. Starting with a Chaos Black undercoat, I drybrush Bubonic Brown over the whole base, being careful not to get paint onto the model itself. Then, without cleaning the brush, I go straight into Bleached Bone and pick out the rocks on the base. This gives a good look without too much effort, and finishes the model nicely. A little bit of static grass glue onto the base finishes the effect, and then a quick repaint of the base edges with Chaos Black completes the model!

Pete Jarman

Maneater by Pete Jarman Click for a larger image.

Pete Jarman: First off, I began with a Chaos Black undercoat. From here, I chose to paint the clothing first. The black areas of cloth were touched up with Chaos Black then highlighted by mixing Bleached Bone into the basecoat. I worked this up through three or four highlights and finished it off by watering down some Chaos Black paint (so it looks like dirty water) and paint this over the cloth to bring the highlights together.

The bandages around the arms and legs were painted Codex Grey and highlighted by mixing in a little Fortress Grey. Then water down some more Chaos Black and paint this over the areas to pick out the recesses and to tone down the highlights for an overall dark feel to the model.

The scabbards and other brown areas were simply Scorched Brown highlighted with Bestial Brown. The hair was done similar to the bandages but was highlighted up to Skull White before it was washed with Chaos Black. The bandages on the handles of the weapons and the rope holding on the gut-plate were Kommando Khaki, highlighted by mixing in Bleached Bone in a 50/50 mix and then covered with a watered-down wash of Chestnut Ink (so it looks like weak tea!). The blue cloth began as Midnight Blue and was highlighted by adding Ultramarines Blue and again dulled down with a wash of Chaos Black.

The skin was painted as suggested on page 46 of the Ogre Kingdoms army book. I started with a mix of Graveyard Earth and Shadow Grey and highlighted this by progressively adding Kommando Khaki to the mix. Unfortunately I got the mixes wrong and didn't highlight the model right - I ended up making Codex Grey! From here, I just gave the model several thin watered down coats of Dark Green Ink to add some colour back to the skin. The Gnoblar's skin was simply Catachan green highlighted by mixing a small amount of Bleached Bone. The teeth and nails, Rotting Flesh followed by Bleached Bone.

The gut-plate and studded armour was Boltgun Metal highlighted with Mithril Silver and given a Chaos Black wash whilst the small arm and leg studs were painted Tin Bitz. The Cathayan Longsword was painted Mithril Silver and highlighted by slowly adding Skull White. Once this has dried, the sword was given a watered-down coat of Regal Blue (so it looks like toilet cleaner!) to add a mystic sheen to it.

Lastly the base was finished off to fit in with my gaming table. Graveyard Earth round the rim and the sand washed dry brushed Scorched Brown, then Bestial Brown followed by Bleached Bone.

The tattoo was painted freehand by putting some Chaos Black on my painting tile. I added a little water to make the paint flow more and holding my brush like a pencil, dragged it through the paint whilst twisting the brush between my fingers at the same time. This gives you the right amount of paint on your brush and also a rather nice point to your bristles. I started with a wavy line and then added the limbs. I used a triangle at one end for the tail and a 'v' shape for the head with added teeth, which are just simple lines.

THE WINNER!

Joe Sturge

Maneater by Joe Sturge Click for a larger image.

Joe Sturge: Ninjas have always had a dark, shadowy image, but then again an Ogre master of stealth and subtlety seems a little odd. I therefore wanted to keep the Ninja's clothing and decoration pretty bright, and yet still allow for a little freeway in terms of body art without cluttering up the model's colour scheme too much. Thus was the idea of a dark-skinned Ogre Assassin born.

Painting the Maneater's clothing was pretty simple - in fact, I wanted to keep it as simple as possible to give the decoration I was planning more emphasis. That decoration took the form of a very fine-tipped brush, and extremely thin paint. Indeed, the symbols on the chest were actually easier to do than those on the swords, simply because the dark background meant I could paint directly onto the model, rather than having to use a first coat of black.

Overall, I am pretty pleased with the way the Ninja turned out. Were I to change anything, it would probably be the varnish. Keeping the Ogre's clothing matt and just having the satin finish on his skin might break up the model a little more. Still, if wishes were horses...

Here are two more Ogre Maneaters that were painted for the competition. The one on the right was the work of Stuart McQuarrie and the one on the left was by Simon Fuller. Click for larger images.

Related Articles:
Ogre Kingdoms Miniatures Range | Ogre Kingdoms Artwork
Getting Started with the Ogres

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