XXIII. Trees

Just some works in progress this time.

 

TERRAIN

I'm working on some forest terrain. First there's this Citadel Wood set I bought years ago but I'm painting now:

An this is my latest acquisition: the Malifaux Hanging Trees. They are a limited edition plastic set from last year's Gencon. When you look at the biggest one you can't help but think of the Tree of the Dead from Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow:

THE NIGHTGAUNTS

The newest type of Countess' minions, inspired by Lovecraft's sonnet Night-Gaunts. These are the first two out of four in their early WIP stage of converting. I used Bloodletter bodies, VC skulls, the same wings as on the Crimson Sphynxes, and the soaring one has Ghoul hands for feet. They still need some sort of horns and tails added, as well as gap filling:

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The second issue of Figure Painter Magazine is here!

"Figure Painter Magazine Issue 2 is a whopping 72 page miniature bonanza! In this issue we have a fantastic insight interview with Chris Clayton, aka GiganticDark! We also have tutorials from Barry Ford and Jaroslaw "Camelson" Drabek. Part 2 of the Malifaux Gameboard build. We also have reviews, show reports, Whats on the market and much, much more."

XXII. The Countess Battle-Ready

The Countess has got her warpaint on and is ready for action:

Her tall dark minion too. Now I need to search the bits stores for matherial to make more. A pair of them would look neat standing behind the Countess like silent and sinister bodyguards:

XXI. The Countess WIP

Now that the Doctor's crew is finished (for the time being), it's time the Countess gets some attention. I wasn't sure exactly what she is supposed to look like. In my search for inspiration I turned to artwork. Santiago Caruso's Bloody Countess illustrations, John Blanche's arwork, portraits of 17th century ladies...

Artwork by Santiago CARUSO. Used without permission.

Artwork by Santiago CARUSO. Used without permission.

Artwork by Santiago CARUSO. Used without permission.

Artwork by Santiago CARUSO. Used without permission.

Portrait of Krystyna Lubomirska, artist unknown, cca 1600.

Portrait of Queen Constance of Austria, unknown artist, around 1610.

My idea of her is that she is a monster in pretty clothes, much like the Countess in Caruso's depictions. Her quest in the Gardens fluff is finding a way to stay alive and beautiful (to her own twisted self) for ever. No matter the cost. She hangs out with spirits, but she really wouldn't like to join them in their realm.
Anyways, the base for the conversion was the Weaver Widow from Malifaux. Didn't have to cut anything since her arms and the head both come as separate pieces. Convenient. :-)
I put a Chaos Daemonette head on that. At first I intended to give her some sort of headgear, but I decided that a pale bald head would look nice and disturbing. Also, it reminds me of skulls and of Lord Voldemort- he also had that "I want to be immortal and I'm making that happen, whatever it takes" scheme.

Her clothing didn't look fancy enough, so I added a ruff. This was my first attempt at sculpting one; it came out ok but I'll get better at it with practice I guess.   
Her hands come from the Master Assassin, a Freebooter's Fate miniature. They're man's hands, but Freebooter's Fate minis are a bit smaller scale so they fit my Countess perfectly. She's holding a sharp dagger, and a mask to cover her bestial face. When painted, she'll be mostly white.

And this is one of the Countess' Spirit friends. A creepy tall robed figure. There will be at least another one just like it, possibly up to four of them. In Malifaux they would represent the Onryo.
It's the "corpsemaster" from the VC Mortis Engine kit, with his staff and head removed. I built up a long neck and put a skull on top. Finished it off with a ruff, which links it visually with its mistress, and makes it look more interesting.

The Countess with her minion.