LXXVIII. The Assistant Mk II

Happy New Year, everyone!

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I'll open 2015 with a new version of the Plague Doctor's Assistant. The old mini is not bad and I'm fond of it, but the modern-looking bone saw he wields is a tad too high-tech to belong in the setting. Besides giving the new version a more suitable weapon, I wanted to achieve a more outdoor look, with garments and equipment the Assistant would wear if he were sent to fetch a fresh corpse from the cemetery for one of the Doctor's experiments. When developing the concept, I drew reference from Jeremiah Crow (one of my favourite Smog 1888 minis) and old Space Skaven concept art by Jess Goodwin.

Here is the final concept sketch.

Like a proper resurrectionist, the Assistant carries his trusty shovel and a lamp for lighting his way around dark graveyards. There's also a pistol and a knife, as means of defence from anyone or anything that might interrupt his morbid midnight work. 

Although he first sketches had him wearing a plague doctor's mask like the original Assistant, he ended up with just a pair of goggles. I saw Nordic's Nomad over at Ammobunker, and really liked the way he turned the Empire Wizard's tall pointy cap into a hat by adding a plasticard brim. I wanted to incorporate that detail, but in the end left the cap as it was - as you will see on the mini itself. 

The bits used come from lots of sources. The torso comes from an Empire Huntsman. The robe underneath that, as well as his upper arms are green stuff. The gloved hands came from a 40K Chaos Cultist and the lamp from the WHFB Dwarf Miner kit (though modified to a certin extent). The head is that of a plastic Empire Wizard, but with added goggles, green stuff moustache and extra chins (the wizard's face was way too skinny). The pouches, goggles and shovel come from Victoria Miniatures. The pistol is from Freebooter Miniatures...

Now I just need to slap some paint on the fellow. I expect his clothing will mostly be in different shades of brown, but I'll work it out as I go along.

 

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Also, last week I more-or-less finished all the 13s of the second Fate Deck. These have the most elaborate artwork, and I even covered their shields in shiny gold foil. Now I'm just a pair of Jokers away from a finished deck.

Bone.

Flesh.

Spirit.

Blood.