Refurbed: The Black Coach

With my first post on Sam’s blog, I’m going with the Black Coach from the Vampire Counts. I don’t have any “before” pictures as this blog post was an afterthought. Originally, I was just going to replace the base as it was mounted on sturdy artist’s canvas board and it did the job for 25 years. However, as I’m sprucing up my army to a slightly better standard, I wanted the Coach to have the same base and look as the other units. Then I went a bit further and thought I could improve it a bit with more highlights and a repaint of wheels etc. When I lifted it out of the box, it fell apart…. a sign that it must be redone!!!

 

Due to lack of space and mental prices, I’ve drawn a line under my purchasing and want to get what I have built and painted. This will be a race against failing eyesight and/or death to achieve this though. I’m still a fan of the older Warhammer stuff, especially when its sugar coated with nostalgia. Like a lot of people, I’ve dipped in and out of the hobby for over thirty years. In recent times, over seven or eight years I guess, I’ve added to my collection of Middlehammer armies. Currently standing at Vampire Counts/Undead, Dwarfs, Orc & Goblin, Empire, and Ogre Kingdoms. 

 

Oh, Space Marines, I forgot, I’ve got Space Marines too… who doesn’t.

 

A good chunk of it was bought at the time in the nineties and noughties. Unfortunately, I seem drawn to horde armies. Combine that with being a hellishly slow painter and a bit time poor and you can’t crank them out at a good pace. I’ve tried to redress this in the last two years and have decided to go back to my first love of the Undead and refurb what I did back then and get “new” stuff painted.

I’m pleased with how this has turned out, it’s had new curtain colours (originally green), highlights, and new, more detailed wheels. The original base has been replaced with a resin one that fitted the size of the mini just right. It’s still a tidy, tabletop standard of a paintjob but I have managed to improve it. A lick of varnish and its ready to go…. back into storage…. 

 

Next up on the bench is a pair of movement trays for my skirmishing ghouls that are in need of a bit of gardening to give them a bit of visual interest.