With the AK Interactive Ultra Matt Varnish test successful on the Terror and Anguish expansion I took that as a sign to dive head first into the other expansions for Village Attacks. Doom and Suffering caught my eye so I dug out the models before cleaning up the mould lines and primed them with Colour Forge Standard Grey. Once the primer had cured I then gave each of the models an even coat of the aforementioned AK Interactive Ultra Matt Varnish. I then gave each model a zenithal highlight with Liquitex Titanium White acrylic ink through my airbrush. 

Jack of the Lantern

Being about ninety percent hair the Jack of the Lantern seemed a good place to start. I got things rolling by painting the lantern, which looks more like a turnip than a pumpkin to be honest, with Gryph-Hound Orange and the leaves with Warp Lightning.  I chose the bright colours so that the lantern would be the focal point of the model. I wasn’t sure what colour to paint the smoke coming out of the lantern but in the end I settled on Basilicanum Grey as it wasn’t too conspicuous. 

In hindsight, it probably is a turnip as the model seems to be based on the legend of Stingy Jack; a character from Irish folklore. He manages to spurn both Heaven and Hell, and thus is cursed to roam the Earth forever with nothing but an ember in a turnip to light his way. 

Next I washed the skin areas with Reikland Fleshshade, over the grey undercoat this produced a washed out not-quite-alive but not-quite-dead look to it.  For the few rags of clothes that they are wearing I painted them with Snakebite Leather, a dirty yellow-brown colour that makes it look like said rags have not been washed in a while. For a bit of variety I painted their wrist bracer with Gore Grunta Fur. Lastly, for the hair itself I thinned some Army Painter Dark Tone with Lahmian Medium in a fifty-fifty ratio. I wanted to add some definition to the hair but I didn’t want to obscure the zenithal highlight too much. 

For the I base I started with a layer of Stirland Mud which once dry I washed with Army Painter Strong Tone before drybrushing with Tyrant Skull. I then dabbed on some PVA glue and sprinkled on some static grass. 

Wode of the Wild Hunt

Wild Hunts are a recurring folktale in many European cultures, in which a mythological figure and their ghastly cohort lead a hunt across the mortal realms. In Germanic traditions these hunts are typically led by Odin, or Woden as they may have called him. 

For my one Wode of the Wild Hunt I started by painting the skin with Guilliman Flesh, it’s a stronger colour than Reikland Fleshshade but I wanted to show off those bulging muscles. The hide skirt I painted with Snakebite Leather and any leather details such as the belt I painted with Gore Grunta Fur.  The metallic details such as the chains, axe and greaves I picked out with Army Painter Broadsword Silver. Then to make the armour look a bit more aged, I dabbed on successive layers of Greenstuff World Liquid Pigment Dark Rust, Medium Rust and finally small amounts of Light Rust onto the armour and weapon. 

In the game, each monster and town hero is associated with a particular type: Mythic, Undead, Arcane, Cursed and Demon. And each of these types is associated with a colour. The Wode of the Wild Hunt is a Mythic type monster which is red. So with that in mind I painted their cloak with Blood Angels Red. To keep with the red theme I painted the fur trim on the cloak and the hounds with Army Painter Speedpaint Burnished Red. 

For the base I started by painting the rock with Basilicanum Grey with a bit of Army Painter Speedpaint Desolate Brown wet blended in for a slightly green tone. I then did a basecoat of Two Thin Coats Scorched Earth over the rest of the base. Once that I was dry I slathered PVA all over the base and sprinkled on some Geek Gaming Scenics Base Ready Patchy Plains. I then sealed the base ready down with some Geek Gaming Scenics Matt Sealant spray. Lastly, for the dogs I painted their base rims black as they don’t have the coloured rims that clip onto the bases.

Druid

It took me a little while to realise this model’s arm had snapped off in the distant past. There was nothing I could do about it so I soldiered on. I also should have consulted the artwork for this hero as I went in a wildly different direction. For some reason I had it in my head that this character had dark skin, so I painted their skin with Wyldwood. In hindsight a mistake given the obvious European influences on the rest of the models in this box. The Celts rather famously had druids.  Oh well, it is what it is. 

I continued on by painting the hair with Black Templar and the horned decorations with Skeleton Horde. The tassels and shirt I painted with Snakebite Leather, and the leather details such as the belt and boots I painted with the usual Gore Grunta Fur. The staff I painted with Garaghak’s Sewer as I had already used my usual colour for wood, Wyldwood, on the skin. The magic orb at the end of the staff I painted with Army Painter Speedpaint Raging Sea, the turquoise colour nicely contrasting with the rest of the model. 

The Druid is supposed to be a counterpart to the Wode of the Wild Hunt and as such is the same type: Mythic. So with that in mind I painted their collar and skirt with Blood Angels Red. Admittedly red isn’t exactly the earthy colour one normally associates with Druids but I was already off the rails with this hero. 

To further this association I did the base in the same way that I did for the Wode of the Wild Hunt. 

Paladin

As this model has no skin to paint I jumped right to the metallics, such as the armour and helmet, giving them a coat of Army Painter Speedpaint Broadsword Silver. To differentiate the sword blade from the armour I instead basecoated it with Scale75 Thrash Metal. As I don’t currently own a gold Speedpaint I then picked out the crosses and other decorations with Scale75 Dwarven Gold. As the metallics are more standout on this miniature I then gave them a wash of Army Painter Dark Tone to give them a bit more depth.

As opposed to the Druid and Wode’s type Mythic, the Paladin (and Jack) are the Undead type, which is green. So with that in mind I painted the robes of the Paladin with Militarum Green, a drabbish green that wasn’t too punchy and fit the dark muted colour scheme of Village Attacks. The tassels on the robe I painted with Snakebite Leather and the strap on the sword I painted with Gore Grunta Fur. 

Like the Druid, I did the base of the Paladin in the same way that I did for Jack of the Lantern.