The Gamekeeper - Citadel Ranger C07 (1985)

 

In late 1985 Citadel issued one of the nicest series ever, the C07 Rangers. What was special about this range was that all the figures had been sculpted - by none other than the Perry twins - on the base of Tony Ackland's Ranger careers illustrations from the upcoming Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, published the following year.

If you have played WFRP and, as a teenager, spent whole afternoons pondering your PC's future career path while looking at Tony Ackland's drawings, you may well understand why this post is tagged #iconic.

 

This is the description of the Gamekeeper career from the rulebook:

Most Old World landowners employ Game­keepers to look after their estates, woodlands or hunting parks. Gamekeepers look on trespassers with deep and sometimes fatal suspicion. The arch­enemy of the Gamekeeper is the Poacher, who seeks to make a living by trapping or shooting animals or birds. Every Game­keeper likes to boast of his victories over these elusive and devious opponents. Poachers and Gamekeepers can be thought of as opposite sides of the same coin, and players with Gamekeeper characters of a Neutral, Evil or Chaotic Alignment may choose to be Poachers instead. Gamekeepers or Poachers may take this career a second time, taking the 'op­posite' career, following the normal pro­cedures for changing careers.

This was the true spirit of the Old World setting that, unfortunately, has largely been lost over the years to grimdark tones. Nowadays the archenemy of Gamekeepers are probably Chaos Beastmen (or Gors, as the fluff goes) and these professional are seldom seen without a trusty gunblade and a number of skulls attached to their belt. But enough of grumbling, as this post is not tagged as #grognard.

No grim trophies or fancy firearms for our Gamekeeper, but rather a bow, a quiver slung over the shoulder, a pouch, a dagger and a sword hung at the belt. He wears shoes and gaiters, breeches, a cape with lobed edges over a long tunic, and a hat with folded edges. Looking at him we know he cares about practicality and comfort, but at the same time he or his master are able to afford good quality clothes. He's fully equipped for adventure and he seems to be moving a branch aside to spy on something or someone.

In case you didn't notice, I used a different approach at painting this time. Since I had used practically all my dull greens for the different layers of clothing, my only option was to highlight with the original colour of each layer mixed with white. The final effect is less realistic but more like a painting, I find. I am not totally displeased with this approach and I might use it again in the future, especially for monochromatic colour schemes. Of course in this case the figure is not only green, but has been balanced with a range of warm browns.
 
Looking back at it, if I had to paint it again I would break the dark greens with some lighter ones to create more contrast. But this time I'll just be happy with this!