WARMACHINE: Galleon and Company

Armed with chest-mounted cannons, an industrial cargo claw capable of rending steel, and an armor-piercing harpoon designed to reel in lesser warjacks like speared fish, the Galleon is the largest engine of war available on the open market, and a combination of status symbol and selling point for the few mercenaries that can afford them.

To the kingdom of Cygnar's chagrin and frustration, one of those men is its most wanted criminal, Asheth Magnus, a former officer and warcaster in the Royal Army turned outlaw and insurrectionist. Despite the best efforts of King Leto's agents, the man known as "The Traitor" has raided a Cygnaran gold shipment, located the heir to the deposed tyrant Vinter IV, and now spearheads one of the largest armies-for-hire in Immoren. Bolstered by ranks of Steelhead halberdiers and riflemen, backed by the walking arsenal of the Galleon, Magnus is ready to strike a deadly blow at the heart of Cygnar.

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The Galleon here is the biggest model I've ever worked on. It is so big, in fact, that simply assembling it involved logistical decisions and new techniques, such as pinning various pieces to dowel rods, rather than using the toothpicks that I normally reach for when keeping models in separate components. To keep myself sane, I worked on it in segments, as opposed to my usual assembly-line technique: first I completely painted the legs and hips, including washes and highlights; then, I did the upper torso; and, finally, I did the arms. Fortunately, I used green spray primer to basecoat the model, so that a good chunk of my initial coloring was done.

A few lessons I learned when doing a model this huge: it is much easier to stay within the lines, but your paint runs out much faster. Even though most of the painting involved silvers and brasses, those colors still took a long time to do, simply because I was dealing with parts that were three times or more the size of models I am usually used to working with. Likewise, cleaning up the base colors prior to washing was a real chore, not because I had necessarily strayed outside the lines terribly often, but because there was always another nook or cranny that I had to get my brush to. In all, this monstrosity took around three weeks of steady work to complete. I believe I listened to the entire BBC radio production of The Lord of the Rings while painting it. But the results are worth it, IMHO. A model like this one is a real centerpiece of one's army, and attracts all kinds of oohs and aahs from onlookers. It doesn't hurt that it's a phenomenal game piece, and will be instrumental to a number of future wins.

Pictured with the Galleon are Steelhead Riflemen (left and right), Steelhead Halberdiers (foreground), and Magnus the Traitor (mid-ground, center). All models are (C) Privateer Press. The Galleon's scenic base is (C) Secret Weapon Miniatures. All paint jobs and other basing work are done by yours truly.