XCIII. Mór Vérzőfarkas

Rotten Harvest 2015 results are in and now I am allowed to break the silence about my entry. It ended up taking third place; thanks to all who voted. :)

I present to you Mór the Armour. A huge suit of plate armour possessed by the spirit of long dead lord Mór Vérzőfarkas, ancestor of our Countess:

The feathers are real jay feathers, added when the paintjob was done. Both heraldic shields and the wolf fur on the back are removable (mostly because I couldn't decide whether he was better with or without them).

Lord Mór was killed fighting off the Hassanag invasion. His red suit of armour, decorated with the family colours and crest - the bleeding wolf, was brought back to his province along with his remains. Mór was not buried in it, however, but it was kept on display at the seat of the Vérzőfarkas' to inspire his noble descendants. Now the Countess summoned his spirit to wear it once more...

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The goal was to make a "European" version of Malifaux's Izamu the Armor for the Countess. I like the idea of spirit-possessed plate mail walking around. 

Now that I look at it the miniature would easily fit into a Vampire Counts army...

An old sketch predicted a ruff and a helmet, and I even considered Kingdom Death Gold Smoke Knight for the base of the conversion rather than a Blightking. The design mutated with time.

The latest sketch looks a lot like the final product.

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The first mockup of the conversion from a year ago, when I first got the Blightkings kit.

Nurgle insignia removed, severed head replaced by wolf tail. I decided to give him a fur cap, so I picked a suitable head to use.

Conversion WiP.

The starting model was a Blightking, but I used bits from a number of different Citadel kits: Empire Huntsmen, State Troops, Free Company, Pistoliers; Vampire Counts Skeletons and Mortis Engine; Bretonnian Knights; Space Wolves, Chaos Marauders... This is the finished conversion (minus the wolf skin cape).

Late painting WiP.

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On an unrelated note, I've recently started feeling the need to paint in 2D again. This is the result of several evenings of maniacal painting:

Radogost, a knight.

The boots might need a bit more work. And if the urge to paint does not abandon me, I'll be making a series of similar paintings in an A6 format Moleskine. In case you were wondering, the character depicted comes from another setting I'm developing, separate from Gardens. 

XCII. November and Other Matters

On November 1^st, a week ago exactly, this blog became three years old. This last year was very terrain-dominated here at the Gardens. The Cemetery Project resulted in a nice little collection of scenery, with more yet to come. A few miniatures got painted, too. Not bad, I dare say. Again, thanks to all of you who read the blog and take the time to comment. Your interest helps my motivation, and more than once you've given me new ideas and directed me to amazing sources of inspiration.

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This year I once again entered Wyrd's Halloween painting competition, which resulted in a very silent October here on the blog. According to the rules I am not allowed to tell you what I painted until the winners are announced, nor could I possibly show any sketches or WIP pictures while I was preparing it. Apparently the idea is that this way voters can't know who painted what and that stops them from voting for their friends or favourite painters instead of the best entry. I really don't think this is working, since some painters have very recognisable style or preferred subject matter; I'm sure anyone familiar with my work could identify my entry as soon as they saw the category gallery. 

If you feel like it take a look at all the galleries and possibly cast your votes (you need to be registered on the forum, though). The polls will remain open until midnight EST (MGT -5) on November 11^th. Who knows, maybe you end up voting for my entry and help me win something. As soon I'm allowed, and that will be some time next week, I'll dedicate a blog post to my entry.

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 I do have a little something to show now after all. A new unit type for the Plague Doctor's crew: an Anthroparion. This is the first of three, and I got him done from start to finish in two evenings last week. The conversion is based on a Skaven Clanrat minus a tail, with the Hobbit Goblin arms and a new, bemasked head. To complete the conversion I added a few pouches on its belt. The other two will get a similar treatment.

Just like the Morbid Homunculus, the Anthroparions are alchemical creatures diminutive in size - results of Plague Doctor's experimentation. They are, however, rather more successful - with all their limbs in place and way more brains than the Homunculus. When properly trained and equipped they can prove to be useful minions.

Two more graveyard walls got done. To be honest, they are getting increasingly more tedious to make. But the result is worth it.