Empire - Sigmar Twelve

Empire - 12th Post

Averland Halberdiers & Ostermark Swordsmen

I’m beginning to think my hobby desk has its own gravitational pull. Here we are at post number twelve, and the "Grand Imperial Army" is finally looking like a force capable of defending the Old World. With two units to show off this week, the display cabinet is starting to get crowded! If you’re just joining this madness, you can find some full army pictures below.

This week was a marathon session. To stay on track with my goal of representing every province, I decided to tackle two of the most visually striking liveries in the Empire simultaneously: the bold yellow and black of Averland and the pink-purple and pale yellow of Ostermark.



The "Yellow" Challenge: For the Averland Halberdiers, yellow can be a nightmare. However, by drybrushing Vallejo Lemon Yellow over a black primer before applying any base colors, I created a bright foundation. I then used a very thin glaze of Vallejo Sun Yellow. The black portions were kept interesting with a highlight of dark sea blue to prevent them from looking flat.

The Ostermark Palette: The yellow was not so much of an issue here, as I painted up to a pale Lemon Yellow which makes the palette feel less translucent. I used a deep, regal purple thinned with glaze medium. Over the yellow drybrush, this created a rich, bruised tone in the recesses, which I then highlighted up to a Sunset Red. It looks fantastic next to the pale yellow.

Banners of the Empire

For the freehand banners, I pulled out the Japanese calligraphy paper again. The Averland banner features the iconic "Sun of Averheim." Getting those radial sunbeams straight on paper that thin is a challenge, but the PVA glue trick allowed me to "set" the wind-swept ripples once the paint was dry.

The Ostermark banner features simple iconography of the comet on a quartered field. It’s amazing how much character these add throughout the army, and I am really happy with how they have turned out

Geography and Culture

These two units represent the sheer geographic and cultural diversity of the Empire:

The Averland Halberdiers: Hailing from the wealthy, sun-drenched plains and the slopes of the Black Mountains, Averlanders are known for being as boisterous as their uniforms. Their halberdiers are the backbone of the province’s defense, often tasked with holding the narrow mountain passes against Orc incursions. This 'Mountainguard' fight with a flamboyant bravery that borders on the reckless.

The Ostermark Swordsmen: In stark contrast, the men of Ostermark are a somber, superstitious lot. Living in the shadow of the Worlds Edge Mountains and the cursed lands of the Vampire Counts, they have a "grim-and-bear-it" attitude. Their swordsmen are renowned for their defensive prowess, trained to stand firm against the horrors that emerge from the fog-shrouded forests of the east.

What's Next

Batch painting these State Troops back-to-back over the last few weeks has been a test of discipline, but it has really allowed me to clear the backlog.

This will allow me to take a much-needed break from painting while I decide what I want to do next. I’ve started to find that I am not currently enjoying painting or the hobby in general at the moment, and with these two finished, I have successfully covered a huge portion of the Imperial map. The colors on the tabletop are becoming a riot of heraldry, which was always the dream for this project.