Tuesday 2 December 2014

Enter Inquisitor Dirske

Inquisitor Dirske is the result of last night's painting session. He's an unmodified Ordo Malleus Inquisitor, originally released in 1989:

 

I'm not 100% happy with the paint job - there are a few areas I probably need to touch up (eyes, some of the armour plates), and I really struggled with some of the details on the sculpt (the pattern on the scabbard isn't defined well enough to properly paint it), but overall, he has the right kind of look I think.

I deliberately ramped up the gold and jade to give him a high-ranking feel. I was going to paint traditional Blanchian flames on his robe, right up until the point where I saw a Samurai in the 1988 Fantasy Miniatures book (as I was looking for a Blanche figure to use as reference). I googled some Japanese cloth prints and went for a simple, but hopefully striking pattern. I think it gives Dirske a slightly different tone (more serene and considered?) than black flames would have done.


Dirske and his retinue

I've also done a bit of preliminary work on some more figures for the same setting:


The psyker is made from a classic Rogue Trader psyker, with the addition of some arms from a Foundry figure. The strange oddity is a Citadel fighter / flegler, with a plastic horse skull and a sword from my bits box. I still need to do more work on them both - expect to see completed versions in due course!

19 comments:

  1. I really like th ecolourscheme on this one, it's not too flamboyant and yet it really gives the impression of power and wealth, the gold touches are just what was needed to put him a level highr than te hrets of the crew without making him over the top. He realy is perfectly balanced for me.
    You made the rght call with the graphic patterns, it really adds depth to the character.

    The strange oddity sure is creepy and I cannot wait to see it painted, do you already have ideas about a colourscheme?

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    1. Thanks JB :)

      No idea about the oddity - I haven't decided whether he's part of Dirske's retinue, or the start of something else ;)

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  2. Im really enjoying the new magpieandoldlead output on Tuesdays, you seem to really have a rhythm going at the moment, its cool to see.

    The painting is great (I love that armour colour in particular) and the warband is just brilliant. None of my gaming buddies have painted up any Inquisitorial bands and I am itching to get Inq. Verhoeven or Inq, Jodorowsky into a game against/alongside some other Ordo members, particularly warbands of this calibre.

    Its too early for me to commit, but a tentative Inquisitorial mandate for BOYL 2015 maybe? Heres hoping :)

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    1. It's all about routine, right?! The rhythm is really helped by having a regular evening when I know I'll be painting, plus a decent variety of figures to stop me getting bored (should I want to, I could pick up a genestealer hybrid, Adeptus Arbites or half a dozen other nice figures for a change). Anyway, really glad you like them...I think the band has come together nicely.

      I'm very much up for something Inquisitorial at BOYL 2015, should the stars align nicely ;)

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  3. I think you've done well with it to be honest, Jon. As much as I like this sculpt are some flaws with it and it's put me off painting it; eg his eyes and that scabbard.
    I think you chose well with the pattern rather than something more obvious.

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    1. Thanks Ed. The scabbard was the area that I found trickiest - neither truly flat or sculpted detail - a bit like the sculptor (who?) gave up before finishing it off. That said, I really like the model overall - perfect arrogant pose!

      Glad the pattern is going down well...I half think I should have done something finer.

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  4. Nicely done indeed. I look forward to seeing what you do with Mr. Horse and the psyker.

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    1. Mr Horse! Does that sound too cute or disturbingly sinister? I can't decide ;)

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  5. Nice paint job on a ... er.. characterful miniature!

    The next two look quite interesting, particularly the horse skull headed guy. I have plans for an inquisitor with a simlar head, although a bit more flamboyant.

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    1. I think flamboyance is the way to go with Inquisitors - it kind of goes with the job description I think. After all, you need to have a certain style to strut around dispensing the Emperor's justice on a daily basis :)

      Looking forward to seeing the results.

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  6. He turned out great, Jon! No need to worry bout touching up, its fine as is. I never liked the malleus models but this one is alright. Its cool to see one painted, they dont pop up often! :-)

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    1. To be honest, I don't like either of the other two malleus figures. I'm not entirely sure how common they are - released in 1989 but not included in the 1991 catalogue.

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  7. Nice work, the palette looks great to me, and the conversions look cool!

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  8. It's interesting to see an Inquisitor and retinue out together using mainly old-school miniatures. I'm glad you went with this pattern for the Inquisitor's robe rather than 'Blanchian flames'- this gives the character more life somehow. Nice job on the whole retinue. :) The next two additions look promising; especially the 'strange oddity'.

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    1. I guess the concept of an Inquisitor and his personal companions is relatively modern? Glad you like the robe - I think its maybe a more contemporary look which offsets the old sculpt perhaps?

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    2. Well, I don't know about the concept (I don't claim to know much about these things, and the miniatures you've just displayed are older than I am - your Inquisitor is two years my senior). But I do keep track of the current Inq28 scene, where, in my experience, people largely use modern miniatures and bits for their projects.

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    3. * Looks like my fist sentence is missing a bit, it should read: "Well, I don't know about the concept being modern (..."

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  9. The horse head is brilliant.

    The Psyker idea of using other arms is over the top absolutely brilliant! I have old Psyker models I've never painted because I didn't really like the poses with the Imperial Army arm sprues. Consider your idea stolen!

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