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.

XX. The Three-Headed Devil Dog

 "I have proven the head transplant is possible. 
My inital experiments involved living black rats (Rattus rattus) as subjects, and were more or less successful. My next step was the attempt to apply the procedure on a dog. For the subject I picked the largest hound cadavre I had available - hecatian hound (Canis lupus hecatiensis) of the hairless breed, and successfully reanimated it as per usual procedure. After that I severed the heads of two more animals of the same kind and surgically grafted them on either side of the original head. They are connected to the body's circulatory, digestive and respiratory systems. Each head contains its own working brain, but only the original one has any power over the body as, of course, it is the only one connected to the body's nervous system. The subject is still functional now, 46 hours after the transplant. I named it Cerberus, after the three- headed monster from the gates of Hades.
I strongly believe head transplant is possible on humans as well, but that I have yet to prove." 

-The Plague Doctor

 

THE MODEL

 

Basically, it's an oop Rackham Cerberus of Acheron. I've done some minor conversion work on the heads (modified ears and muzzle, bolts on the neck from the reanimation process, empty eye-sockets), and I added the red cross shield on its chest. I initially painted all the skin dark grey, but it looked hideously monotonous, so I went and repainted the grafted heads sickly greenish colour they are now.  :)

When the Plague Doctor is played as McMourning in Malifaux, this puppy represents the Rogue Necromancy. 

THEMES 

Kerberos in Greek mythology is a three headed watchdog of Hades; his job is to stop shades from returning to the world of the living. He is son of Typhon and Echidna, and brother to Hydra, Chimaera and Orthrus. Capturing Cerberus with his bare hands was the final labour of Heracles. The hound is often described as having a mane of serpents and a serpent tail. Cerberus is mentioned in Dante's Inferno and Milton's Paradise Lost. Norse mythology has a similar watchdog at the gates of Hel, albeit single-headed; his name is Garmr.

Head transplant, the surgical operation involving grafting the head of one organism onto the body of another, has so far been performed successfully on rats, dogs and monkeys. They die pretty soon though, and they are paralysed neck down because science hasn't yet figured out how to properly attach the spinal cord of the head to the spinal cord of the body.

There's an interesting video on the subject in The Midnight Archive. I recommend checking out the rest of the series; it deals with all manner of curiosities and the episodes are just five minutes long (this one about head transplant is an exception):

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The first issue of  Figure Painter Magazine is now available for download!  It's a new independent magazine dedicated to sculpting, painting, displaying, collecting and gaming with miniatures of all genres. The magazine contains details on new releases, reviews, interviews with the industry's top painters and sculptors, show reports, tutorials and a user gallery. The magazine will also feature a series of articles following the design and construction of a modular Malifaux gaming board - the combined efforts of two of my clubmates and me.

XIX. Hound, Fiend, Cavalry

A couple of new additions to my slowly growing collection of finished minions. This update increases the number of my Hounds to four and my Bloodfiends to five. I don't think I'll be making any more of either of them any time soon.

Hecatian Hound IV. - another one based on an old Chaos Hound; swapped the head and resculpted the neck.

Bloodfiend V. - it looks pretty cool from this angle; gave this one an open mouth to add variety.

On to my latest acquisition, OOP Confrontation Scavengers of Acheron. I've always wanted to have those guys; their mounts are the best looking undead horses out there. I intend to turn them into the other three Horse-men of Hades:

...but not just yet. This is what's next on the list:

(illustration by William Blake)

XVIII. From the Sketchbook

I've been thinking a lot about the backstory lately. I haven't yet completely figured it out, but here's a short introductory text I came up with:

Gardens of Hecate... A most desolate place. Nothing to see but dark, grey earth, the heavy sky above it and the vast forests and plains in between. Nothing to hear but the rustle of leaves and silent whispers of fading apparitions, haunting the ruins of their towns and villages long ago destroyed. This is where I stroll when I awant to be alone with my thoughts.

But I wish to tell you of the old days: on the brink of the events that brought an end to every beast, bird and man. The years of war and of plague. When fire rained down from the Heavens, and the dead crawled out from inside the Earth to take the living back with them...

Also, here's a peek into my sketchbook, where I put down ideas for characters, conversions, rules and scenarios which might some day be played:

XVII. Some New Photos of Some Old Stuff

Nothing new I'm afraid. Other projects and life getting in the way. But I took some better pictures of my Dead Rider, whom I now call The Reaper Horseman - the greatest among the Four Horsemen of Hades.

And for the first time, a groupshot of the entire Plague Doctor's crew as it currently stands:

XVI. An Abomination and an Agram Arena Announcement

FLESH ABOMINATION II

 

I've finished the second big lad:

This one walks on three legs and wields a huge spiked club. The fellow was based on one of the big mutants from the GW Chaos Shrine kit, and his club hand is from Beastmen Minotaurs.
Here he is with his friend:

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AGRAM ARENA SUMMER TOURNAMENT

My local club's annual summer tournament is slowly drawing near, so I'm helping spread the word. I'll be there both weekends, since I'm entering the Black Queen painting comp and the Malifaux tournament. The one last year was tons of fun and I expect nothing less for this year. Here's the official announcement:

Dear friends!

It is time for another (11th annual) Agram Arena Summer Tournament!

We are in the second decade of organising Arena events and this year's Agram Arena Summer is going to be held over two weekends:

13-14^th of July 2013 - Malifaux International tournament + Demo Games / Open play (Infinity and LOTR SBG on Saturday 13^th; Flames of War and Warmachine on Sunday 14^th)

20-21^th of July 2013 - 40K International tournament + Black Queen International painting competition


Location: MS "Cvjetni trg", Miskecov prolaz 3, Zagreb, Croatia.

Entry: FREE!

Refreshing drinks for all players will be free during the tournaments.

Accommodation for Saturday night is also free for the 1st-time-comers (read more in the rules)!

Lunch is available at the price of 75 Kn (around 10 Euro) for both days (= 5 Euro/day)!

Check out the tournament rules & other info:

Combo rules (40K, BQ & Malifaux)
with background: http://www.ums-agram.hr/app/webroot/...ti/AAS2013.pdf

w/o background (printer friendly): http://www.ums-agram.hr/app/webroot/...2013_print.pdf

Official languages of the tournament will be English and Croatian.
Registration:
40K - from 1^st of June to 15^th of July
Black Queen: from 18^th of June to 15^th of July (not necessary - see the rulespack)
Malifaux - from 1^st of June to 7^th of July
Demo Games / Open Play - from 7th of July to 12th of July
(you can find guidelines on registration in the rules (check out the above link))!

If you need any other information please contact us at ums.agram@gmail.com or GSM +385 91 7620584.

XV. The Nurse

Another human member of the Doctor's retinue. My Nurse is a stern lady in her late fifties. She was the wife of a country doctor, who died not long after the War had begun. As she is a widow she wears a black dress under her protective clothing. The Nurse is much devoted to her husband even after his death; when she left her home to join the Plague Doctor's staff she took with her his skull (the miniature shows her holding the skull).
 

The Nurse

The base for the conversion is Wyrd's Molly Squidpiddge. I guillotined her and sculpted a whole new head. I also put an apron over her dress. To make the base more interesting I built a small section of deteriorating wooden fence out of balsa. The choice of colours and the red cross on her hat tie her in with the rest of the gang.

The human part of the crew.

XIV. The Assistant

Converted yesterday evening and painted this morning - the Assistant:

It started as Wyrd's Sebastian, Morgue Assistant. He just needed an anti-miasmic mask and a red cross armband. The fellow sure makes one hell of a mess with that bone saw...