The ‘start to collect’ box comes with plethora of ghouls, which would be a waste if I were not to plan on using many of them for another game – Frostgrave. I will document my adaptation of these miniatures to my Frostgrave table in another post, but consider this tutorial as valid for either game, save for the bases which I will detail in a future Frostgrave post.
First of, the ghouls are not exactly beginner’s models ( a trend for the Flesh-Eater Court if you have already red my Arch Regent entry). The models come together easily enough and each one of them has 5 parts (bottom – top – head – both arms) and i may suggest one uses fast drying glue to assemble them so as to avoid mishapping the limbs as they shift in the drying process. Also, and I am ware this is more of an advanced concern, the multipart build creates assembly lines which I was compelled to mask with plastic putty.
The kit allows you to build ghouls but also a ghast (or ghast courtier). BTW, the only difference between a ghast courtier and a ghast seems to be the base size, so i suggest not giving GW any more money and agreeing with your fellow players to have both occupy the same base space and play either in a warband, as long as it is clear before the game begins.Quite a bit of plastic putty work is necessary to hide the arms and waist lines. I use Vallejo Plastic Putty which I apply with a fine sculpting tool and wet down to smooth it.Finally, I wanted an earthy aspect to the bases, such as freshly reopened grave, and uses Vallejo earth texture to cover the bases, including that of the Arch Regent (shown on the right).I chose to prime all miniatures with Wraith Bone from GW and not zenital prime them as I intend on creating shadows on the skin with straight dry brushing.The skin is then painted with Rakarth Flesh from GW. Use a large brush as accuracy is not the goal here.The flesh is then shaded with Reikland Fleshshade. I decided to break my usual pattern and finish the skin firsts as it occupies the majority of the miniatures’ surface.Using a makeup brush (for the smoothness of the strokes), apply two highlights, one with Pallid Wych Flesh and the second with pure white (using it very sparingly). Apply these dry brushed highlights in areas hit by the zenithal light.Hair is now given a layer of contrast Black TemplarThe Flayer’s wings are painted Khorne Red, trying not to paint over the spinny areas (although you can easily go back over these afterward). Bones, skeletons and spines are given a layer of Ushabti Bone and shaded with Agrax Earthshade. Do not use too big a brush as you do not want to affect the skin paint job. You may also use Ushabti bone for the ropes/ties or an alternate light brown color.Metallic parts are given a coat of Leadbelcher from GW.Scars (be thorough in finding them as they are numerous) are painted Screamer Pink with a fine brush. Bones meat and the inside of corpses are painted Mephiston Red for a first gruesome addition to the miniatures. These are ghouls after all!Scars are then washed with a thin application of Druchii Violet. Once the wash is dry, apply a thin line of Pallid Wych FLesh on the scar line.Metallic parts are given a wash of Nuln Oil Gloss, to reserve the shine of the metal (regular Nuln Oil dulls the shine).Bone meat and other exposed subdermal layers are given a wash of Carroburg Crimson.Teeth are painted with Averland Sunset ot give them a nice yellow tone and then washed with Agrax Earthshade. They will be soon covered in gore!Hair is highlighted with Administratum Grey or any light grey.Then a final highlight is applied with white only at the tip or areas most exposed to zenithal light. I also chose to dot the eyes with white (when sculpted) for a quick and efficient look.Finally, use Blood for the Blood God to add gore to the mouth, clawed hands, chewed flesh and to the wounds created by the bone piercings. Remember less is more!The back muscles and flesh are based in GW Pink Horror, washed with GW Blood for the Blood God and highlighted in GW Emperor ChildrenThe Crypt Flayer’s wings are highlighted in GW Wazdakka Red and Wild Rider Red. I suggest using a medium dry-brush.Crypt Flayer’s wings details.Basing is based in craft paint Raw Umber, washed with GW Agrax Earthshade. Leave the wash dry for a good 1/2 hour before applying the final dry-brush. Finally highlight the base in GW Ushabti Bones and paint the side of the base with GW Dryad Bark. I decided to not have a clean coat of paint to match the dirty aspect of the base.I chose to decorate the base further by using some of GW skull box (an excellent investment if you decide you will need a lot of bases with skulls and bones. Skulls and bones are applied a layer of Ushabti Bones BEFORE applying them to the base.Once on the base, apply a wash of GW Agrax Earthshade, followed by a dry-brush of GW Flayed One Flesh (applied with a small dry-brush).Final aspect of the Crypt Flayer base.
