We’ve talked a lot about Spearhead, the new game mode for Warhammer Age of Sigmar designed to be fast, fun, and accessible. It became so popular in the Warhammer Studio that they ran two different leagues – with the beginning of the second covered in White Dwarf 502.
This exciting new game mode has not escaped the eyes of our dedicated community, who have hurriedly been painting Spearhead boxes.
First up is one of our favourite Spearheads, the Seraphon Starscale Warhost – boasting one massive Carnosaur, three beefy Kroxigor, and 10 sturdy Saurus Warriors. Lloyd has made his especially colourful and threatening. Even more impressive is that he managed the project in just three days!
Lloyd: “My painting plan for this project was Contrast paints, drybrushing, and stippling. The textured surfaces were perfect for this. I primed everything with Wraithbone spray, apart from the Kroxigors, which got a Death Guard Green prime to try and match the box art and add more colour variation across the force.
“Contrast paints are great for quickly painting a project like this. I used Kroxigor Scales (what else) on the Kroxigors, blending the edges with Lahmian Contrast Medium for a smooth transition. The rest of the Seraphon were done with Akhelian Green, and the Carnosaur was done with Flesh Tearers Red. Drybrushing lighter colours created simple highlights, and stippling smoothed over any rough blends and added texture to areas like the stone saddle and banner.
“The gold and rope details got the traditional layer and wash treatment, and my intention was to also do a highlight – this is where I found myself having to cut back a bit to make sure I finished. I used Steel Legion Drab on the base rims with a nice mixed flock for a forest floor. With that, my Seraphon were done, and now I’m excited to play some Spearhead!”
Also slithering into battle are the Daughters of Khaine of Joshua Hill, who went one step further and painted his force in a single day.
Joshua: “With so little time, I knew the challenge would be to know when to stop! I’ve spent the last few years developing a style which revolves around Contrast and Shade paints coupled with highlights and metallics. Daughters of Khaine may seem like a tough choice for speedily painting up 21 miniatures, but there are a lot of natural details here that can be done in almost record time with Contrast paints.
“Starting with a White Scar primer gives you a lot of space to make use of Shades instead of Contrast paints as base layers – such as Reikland Fleshshade for all of the skin – and by layering these instead of mixing you can quickly make the tones you’re after. Using Magos Purple over the top of the skin is a lovely base coat for the snake bellies on the Blood Stalkers and Melusai. Terradon Turquoise and then Black Templar over the top bring a greenish black to the cloth and bows. Equally, Black Legion followed by a shade of Nuln Oil makes for one of the deepest richest blacks you can achieve with Contrast.
Another favourite trick of mine for making metallics look incredible in a really fast way is by relayering them and avoiding the recesses. I used Retributor Armour as my base paint and shaded it with Carroburg Crimson thinned with a little Lahmian Medium. Then I relayered Liberator Gold over the top and now they're bright and shiny – and look more finished than they actually are!
Hair is one of the largest areas on the models and I've found that bright paints like Briar Queen Chill or shades like Berserker Bloodshade or Druchii Violet work very well with Corax White as a layer over the top. It can make a crucial detail look like you’ve spent hours on it when in reality it's been about 10 minutes!”
Next up are a heap of Spearheads from the people over at Goonhammer, who have banded together with five forces ready to hit the table. Conner has painted three – the Bleak Host, the Bitterbark Copse, and the Castelite Company – because it’s always good to have options.
Campbell’s bronze and red version of Yndrasta’s Spearhead is set off wonderfully by patches of bright verdigris.
The Kharadron Overlords Spearhead chugs in with a massive Arkanaut Frigate, and Zach’s Skyhammer Task Force is ready to weigh anchor and soar into battle.
From the deep comes the Soulraid Hunt by Matthew, contrasting punchy oranges and reds with blue ocean-themed bases and weathered ruins to great effect.
May has finished the whole Vigilant Brotherhood from Skaventide, ready for Spearhead – it’s a sombre scheme matching the direction of the new miniatures.
Chris presents two forces, a green-hued Castelite Company and a vibrant Blades of the Lurid Dream to act as their opposition – those Slickblade Seekers hit hard, but our money is on the Ironweld Great Cannon…
Chrissie has also gone for the Cities of Sigmar Castelite Company in eye-popping yellow and black – the Sigmarites are definitely proving quite popular among the Spearhead aficionados.
Martin has crafted his Glittering Phalanx from his extensively converted Lumineth Realm-lords collection, with an attention to detail which really shines in this smaller game format.
Finally, Pete has put together a creepy Bitterbark Copse, mixing Nurgle elements with Sylvaneth to create an unnerving fusion of rot and wood. Both of these projects show that such a small collection of miniatures is the ideal place to experiment with expansive conversions, both beautiful and disturbing.
You can pre-order Skaventide which contains a Skaven and Stormcast Eternal Spearhead, as well as the board, cards, and terrain needed to play, or wait until tomorrow to pre-order the Spearhead: Fire and Jade gaming pack, which contains everything you need to start playing – just grab the Spearhead box you want and you’re ready to go.