Over the last six months I feel like I have finally gotten back to a hobby I missed very much. I have always had a fascination with toy soldiers, army men, and history since I was a young boy. Star Wars opened my young eyes to the world of sci fi and Lord of Rings introduced me to the world of fantasy. When I first heard of the original Warhammer, with its square bases and fantasy setting, it never quite peaked my interest.

When I discovered Warhammer 40k, I was immediately hooked on the world, the lore, the armies and the models. I fell in love with space marines and the imperial guard. Not having the money to play both my first army was space marines which I got in the Battle for Macragge starter set (which was recently re-released). I painted them as classic blue space marines just like on the box art. After playing games, meeting more people and seeing their armies I realized that you could paint up your armies however you wanted. Eager to do something that was entirely my own, and after watching The Empire Strikes back for the millionth time, I painted over my blue space marines in white. Not knowing how to strip paint or anything I repainted my entire army to be some sort of hybrid space marine snow storm trooper variant that young me thought was the bees knees. 

Thankfully no pictures exist so I can somewhat hide my embarrassment but that pivotal moment set me on a fateful path of trying to create a good looking white painted army. As I got older and got more money to make bad decisions, I would later find myself playing Tau in 40k. I wanted so badly to create a cool and clean white armored army, filled with white tanks and battle suits. I tried and tried and could never quite get the army to look how I wanted. I would regrettably end up selling the army to fund another. Years later, me and my friend Andrew invested in the Star Wars Legion tabletop game. Again I was excited to try and bring my army of clones to life in their white coloured armor and again I found myself frustrated in my inability to paint white.

I have finally after 10 years of playing and painting miniatures selected and started painting an army that is mostly coloured white. But before I go any further I feel I must provide some context.

Age of Sigmar was released in 2015 after Games Workshop decided to end the old Warhammer fantasy game by blowing up the world and rebirthing it under a new title. I still remember hearing the news that old Warhammer was going away. It had been around for so long it seemed crazy to replace such an old and beloved game. I had never got the chance to personally play it but I had seen games and pictures a plenty and always thought one day I’d dive in and play a fun fantasy game that wasn’t specifically Lord of the Rings. Age of Sigmar’s release came and went, and I remember sticking up my nose in disgust. It was so funny the hate Age of Sigmar got from my hobby circle. I think the thought of diving into a new game without the fleshed out lore that Warhammer or 40k had seemed crazy to us.

Several years later, Age of Sigmar had improved a lot, the army offerings had tripled and the rules and lore had people talking. Me and Andrew finally gave it a shot. He had a cool Cities of Sigmar list with handgunners and I had chosen the Kharadron Overlords, which had flying airships driven by dwarfs with guns. It was so crazy to me to come from 40k with its futuristic guns to a fantasy game with pikes and shot, and airships with cannons. Andrew had always had a love for the empire of old Warhammer and with his new updated models and me with my over the top sky dwarfs both had our love of Age of Sigmar awakened.

The funny thing about life is it always seems to get in the way of your hobbies. Well life happened and thought me and Andrew both had to come to realize that Age of Sigmar wasn’t as bad as we thought. He would end up moving a few hours away and I got very busy with work. Age of Sigmar would end up getting shelved and put on the back burner as we focused on other games and armies like 40k. After being dormant for a few years, it was mid 2023 that Age of Sigmar would be back on the table top menu. With this reawakening came the idea for a new army. I still have my sky dwarfs but I decided that with everyone getting back into Age of Sigmar again that I wanted to start fresh with a proper fantasy army. It was then I started collecting the Lumeneth Realm Lords.

I was drawn to the army’s clean white aesthetic almost immediately. The idea of a line of elves with huge pike walls supported by elven bows felt like a proper fantasy army. Lord of the Rings first introduced me to the concept of fantasy elves and dwarfs which perfectly explained why my two Age of Sigmar armies are exactly that, elves and dwarfs. The clean white, blue, gold and silver paint scheme of the Lumeneth Realm Lords was something I was eager to get right. So many times has painting a white army kicked my butt that I was determined to get it right this time. Slightly older and wiser I knew If I was going to get this right I was going to need the best paint and brushes. After dusting off my Winsor & Newton Series 7, building my new models, and getting a chance to play them a couple of times (and winning), I knew it was imperative I give them the paint job they deserved.

I have never had the time to get most of my armies fully painted before playing, so I got into the habit of painting units that I have played with on the table top that did really well first. In my first big game that was a 2v2, my Vanari Bladelords put in the work on the table, cementing their claim to be painted first on my hobby bench.

I had done weeks of research watching painting videos, trying to figure out the best way to tackle this army. After taking the time to gather supplies and knowledge, I think I have finally discovered a technique that works and turned out very nice! Using a combination of contrast paints, fine detail brushes, and an unwavering mindset, I finally was able to break my curse and paint white models. They came out with the right amount of crispness, detail, and best of all, without looking “dirty”, as I have struggled with in the past. Without further or do I present my Vanari Bladelords:

With the Citadel Wraithbone white paint pot in the background, it feels so nice to show case pictures of models I am proud of. Not bad for several weeks of painting after being away from the painting aspect of the hobby for the last 2 years, I am very proud of my work and I am excited to paint more. I plan finish the models proper by doing the bases in grass once the whole rest of the army is painted. I can honestly say this project has reinvigorated the hobby fire in my heart and I am hoping to try to get my 1000 points Lumeneth Realm Lords list fully painted this year.

Stay tuned for Part 2 where I break down in detail what worked well and things I learned working with the new Citadel contract paints. I will also be showcasing my newly painted Vanari Auralan-Wardens which I think turned out better than my Bladelords. See you next time!