Warzone Dark Legion: Warlord Stahler, Reaper of Souls

Two more minis down; as I said, Stahler's second form was my next project, which I can now mark off the list.

Warzone - Dark Legion

Stahler in Carcass Armor

As I mentioned in my previous post, Warlord Stahler is a turncoat Bauhaus traitor now loyal to the Dark Legion. In the game, when Stahler gets wounded, there's a chance he loses control, causing him to flip out and kill people. Wait, no, that's what the next guy does. Stahler goes berserk and pops into his Carcass Armor (don't ask me how you get into a meat suit) to go on a murderous rampage.

I thought painting this mini was going to be fairly easy, since it's basically just meat and bones. Surprisingly, it gave me more grief than I was expecting. I used Bonewhite for the majority of it, and Gory Red for the meaty bits. Stahler's hair was done as before (base of Wolf Grey with heavy Dead White drybrushing). I used the standard Bronze Fleshtone for his skin. The wounds on his head (one is visible in the third picture) are painted with Bloody Red, to make them look a little more fresh. I also painted his eyes Bloody Red, as there is obviously an element of the supernatural about the Carcass Armor (and it emphasizes his berserk state). The bone areas got a liberal does of brown ink wash (I use Didi's Magic Ink, from TheWarStore.com), and a slightly lighter wash on the muscular areas. Despite being relatively bright & warm colors, I wanted it to have a darker effect, since the Carcass Armor is anything but natural. The bone areas were finished off with a drybrushing of Dead White, especially on the claws and spikes.

Warzone - Dark Legion

Reaper of Souls

 

As I mentioned above, the Reaper of Souls is an assassin for the Dark Legion Cultists. Their Soulscythe can do considerable damage to mortal foes. There's obviously a "Grim Reaper" aspect going on here.

I originally wanted to keep his color scheme in line with my other Cultists, to tie them together visually. However, the crimson stood out horribly when I tried it for his torso (I hesitate to say "shirt"). The cloak & shoes are Coal Black, and the pants are Royal Purple. However, due to the crimson not working well, I chose Night Blue for his top & the lining of the hood. I tried another (darker) blue, but it was too close to black and did not work well. The Soulscythe was painted Gunmetal and Glorious Gold (which was also used on the pendant). The haft was given a Black Ink wash (GW paints), and the whole thing given a wash of Didi's Brown Ink. The edge of the blade was lined with Silver. The mask was painted Gunmetal, and given a Black Ink wash, then highlighted, as well.

The tattoos were an afterthought, as the miniature was done and looking pretty good. However, I thought the large areas of exposed skin were kind of... odd. I can see the Reaper having tattoos (whether mystical or symbolic), as they are high-ranking members of the Dark Legion Cult. I chose to go with Gory Red, to keep them from being too bright. In the second picture above, you can see the runes of Ilian and Semai, and on the back of the arm are Demnogonis and Algeroth. Mixed in are some random markings, some of which were attempts at the alchemical signs for the planets (listed in the 2nd Ed. Warzone book, "Chronicles of War"). On his right arm, I was originally going to paint kill hash-marks, but instead decided to try the Arashikage Clan symbol (as a nod to G.I. Joe). I've never tried freehanding designs, and despite their being somewhat sloppy, I'm reasonably pleased with them.

I haven't decided what's next on the list. After all the characters lately, I think I should take a break and work on some grunts. I've got a batch of freshly-primed Screaming Legionnaires ready, and Muawijhe has yet to be represented here!

- M:M