Sometimes things go right, and you end up painting a model of which you are really satisfied. Sometimes is today: the last model painted in 2017 and the first model finished in 2018.
I got this on ebay, and I am not 100% sure of its origins. Unlike most Citadel miniatures of its time, this had no slotta and the base had been filed smooth: it probably came from the cast with a simple metal spike to be fitted within the base, a disk of Tzeentch. Now, I wasn't able to date exactly this model, which was commercialized both as Disc Rider and with a regular base as Champion of Tzeentch: I would guess somewhere between 1988 and 1991, the first year I find this in a Catalogue. But at least I can be sure the hand which sculpted it is the excellent Jes Goodwin.
What do we have here, then? A true Champion of the God of Change with all the lovely attributes: bird head; hunch; three arms, each hand holding a curved dagger, a scroll and a wand; one foot covered by plate or carapace armour; long robes with feathered collar.
I decided to go full chaotic and do some experimentation with colours: namely try to blend azure into blue into violet. I first painted the spots of three colours, lihtly blended them by mixing colours in strategic spots, then washed them and finally blended again with the highlights. It was astonishingly simple, although a bit time consuming.
I broke the coldness of colours with details in bright pink and yellow. It took me about four months to do this, from August to October, and most of the time was spent looking at the figure and trying to decide which colour to use. When it was finished, I didn't like it: I couldn't come up with a proper base. Until December, when I casually acquired the missing piece, from a spare sprue of AoS Sylvaneth. And everything fit into place.
The hunched position of the figure suits well the curved tree, and it seems almost like he is hiding or emerging from hiding. It adds a secrecy to the scene that goes very well with the general mood of the miniature. I painted the tree with surreal colours - bluish wood, pink leaves except for one, bright yellow.
Fluff, you say? Still in development. Working name is Vos'hark, nome de plume of Heinrich Vogler, a Tzeentch cultist with a passion for gambling and taking risks. He acquired a lot of power, several gifts from his God but also a binding to a Lord of Change, Flartassh, the Timegazer. From him he learned certain scrying skills to be used across time, so that when he meets somebody he usually is able to tell their past and their likely future. His main task, as servant of Flartassh, is to find certain special people and prevent them from eventually becoming trouble for his master. Most of his victims have actually no idea about who he is, nor any connection to him: their only fault is to have a high chance to become enemies of Tzeentch.
Of course Vos'hark has a darker side, too. He hates his master and tries constantly to escape his servitude but weaving his own patterns in time, so that somebody may turn out to be his saviour: and thus he may even be a help for PCs. And Vos'hark has a number of enemies, too, especially Champions of other Gods, so that he must always take careful precautions when walking the world of mortals. There are many eyes on him and, naturally, on those who associate with him, whether knowingly or not this does not matter.
That's all folks, as they say. I am very, very happy about this piece, which I regard as my best so far. I wish you all a great 2018 of painting and gaming!
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