A long Overdue Update on my Lizardmen Escalation

So way back in August of last year, I wrote about joining in on an escalation challenge over at Wargaming for Fun.

The plan was to be doing monthly updates as things progressed but life and High Elves got in the way.

In the coming months, there is an escalation league being run locally in Hobart, starting with 500 points and increasing by 250 points per month up to 1500 points. Another neat little incentive is that painted models gain the “Hatred (Unpainted Models)” special rule which means that when rolling to hit unpainted models, you get to re-roll missed attacks. Hopefully a reason to keep the painting speed up!

Here’s an update, complete with photographs!

July 2013 – $120

Skink Priest

As you’ll see throughout the rest of the post, most of the Skinks are in a similar state of completion, irrespective of whether they’re characters, mounted or just in a big block. I’m excited to see how this guy turns out once I’ve brightened him up and done the detailing. This is an incredibly beautiful sculpt and I hope I can do it justice! The other one pictured here is my “test model” which represents what the rest of them will look like once I’ve done.

24 Skinks

Skinks! Skinks Everywhere! I’ve still got a lot to do on these but I have completed my test model, save for a bit more work on the bases. The shields were glued on to see if I could rank them up as I plan to run them in a Skink Cohort with Tetto’Eko or some Kroxigors at various stages.

3 Terradons

I’m super happy with how these guys look at the moment, even though they’re barely finished. The bases are coming along really well and I think the purple and yellow looks awesome together.

August 2014 – $55

Tetto’eko

As you can see, I’ve not popped him in his palanquin yet, pending completion of painting of both components. Here’s as good a time as any to talk about NMM or non-metallic metals. As I really haven’t enjoyed painting with the Citadel metallic paints range, I’ve decided to try out this technique of painting metallics using matte tones and doing some clever highlighting. I’m anxious to see how it turns out and all the edging along the palanquin here will be one of the places in particular that I hope I execute it well.

September – $35

24 Skinks

More Skinks! The second half I managed to save about $20 on by picking up a kit from eBay. None of the models were painted and a few were par assembled but easy for me to clean up. I’ve also done some subtle conversion work to give me a additional character model using the helm from the Tiktaq’to model, a standard bearer and a musician. The standard is from the Ancient Stegadon kit and the horn (instrument) was a combination of a blow pipe and a horn (bone) from the Stegadon kit also. There is also a Skinks Chief character here from the Stegadon kit.

October – $83

Ancient StegadonThis is a really cool kit. It can be built as a Stegadon with a Bolt Thrower on the back, an Ancient Stegadon with Giant Blowpipes and possibly with a Skink Chief or an Ancient Stegadon with a Skink Priest and an Engine of the Gods. I went for the Giant Blowpipes because I believe it’s one of the better options but I think if I were to buy another I’d build up the Engine because it looks awesome. As you can see, I’ve bought a cool base for it but not painted it at all (or even fully glued it together or cleaned up the mould lines etc.)

November – $50 (Actually January)

Salamander Hunting PackI took a couple of months off from Warhammer purchases which was good for my bank balance and I managed to liquidate some Warhammer 40K models I was gifted after they were found at a garage sale. With the proceeds I purchased models for this month and next. Neither has arrived yet. Salamander Hunting Packs are awesome. They’re mobile flame throwers basically and they look sweet. Against certain armies they are a destructive force like no other but against others, they’re a wet blanket. I really like how they play and am excited to paint one up and might buy another later.

December – $83 (Actually February)

3 Kroxigors

Also not yet arrived, the Kroxigors will add some much needed punch to the list. The Stegadon does a reasonable amount of damage but Kroxigors surround by Skinks are an awesome looking and capable unit. Arguably weaker than in previous editions due to some changes, they are still quite a powerhouse and a nice way to spend points on Core choices.

So where to from here?

Here’s my 500 point list for the first month of the event. I’ve given the Priest the Ruby Ring because it’s cheaper than making him a level 2 and will likely serve a similar function, giving me a way to try and shoot things or blast them off the board. If I ever get into combats, I’ll get completely wrecked but hopefully I can outmanoeuvre people and rain poisoned javelins down on them!

Skink Priest: Ruby Ring of Ruin; Talisman of Protection; Lore of Heavens. 105

10 Skink Skirmishers 70
10 Skink Skirmishers 70
10 Skink Skirmishers 70

3 Terradon Riders 105

1 Salamander Hunting Pack 80

500 points

As the event goes on, I’ll post my updated lists and how I’m doing. To be honest, I’ve written the lists but I want to see if knowing the field changes my plans drastically. I’ve got my eyes on another Salamander Hunting Pack and a Bastiladon. You’ll see from here that over the 6 months worth of purchases I spent $426 which is $76 more than I’d planned but buying Warhammer models in Australia isn’t for the faint of pocket book.