With all those skeletons shambling onto the streets of Ulfenkarn on Friday the people of the Cursed City are going to need a hero if they hope to survive for long. Step forward the first of the game’s champions – Emelda Braskov.
Once a warrior fighting to defend the city from hostile invaders she now finds herself a victim of that old phrase “it is the duty of every true patriot to take up arms against their country”. In the ruins of her former home, she finds herself surrounded only by the hungry dead.
To save her from having to make a heroic last stand I’ll need to get to work on painting up some allies for her. That however will have to wait a little longer as I’ve got a few other things on the painting desk that I’d like the tackle first.
Convert or Die 
December 6th, 2021 at 8:01 am
This figure really does have that hero look. Clealry a ladies man too. Don’t you just hate guys like that? Love that shade of blue. 🙂
December 6th, 2021 at 8:41 am
Cheers – I’m really pleased with the way that blue has come out. However I think you’ll find that with a name like Emelda that’s not a ladies man but rather a manly lady! 😉
December 6th, 2021 at 10:46 am
EDITED: In my opinion this was a completely innocent and inoffensive comment but I’ve removed it (after much soul searching) because I don’t want either TIM or I to attract any unnecessary unpleasantness or harassment. 😦
Wudugast
December 6th, 2021 at 12:11 pm
I know it’s a bit silly, and it’s certainly not a case of me being “woke” or anything like that (I’m sure you can guess my feelings on that kind of thing by now!). However I’ve decided to play it safe and edited your comment. It feels like an overreaction and utterly unnecessary but sadly that’s where things are here at the moment.
I hate censorship with a real passion so it’s not something I do lightly, however there are already court cases going on up here over remarks which appear even more innocuous than what you said, but which may still lead to people spending up to 7 years in jail. Could I end up behind bars just because I left your comment on my blog? Realistically I very much doubt it (so far they’ve preferred to arrest single mums…). Sadly though there are people out there who have already told me that’s exactly where I deserve to be and wading through the harassment this might lead to isn’t worth the grief. Fear not, I continue to regard bullies with the contempt they deserve but on this occasion there’s really no point in giving them the excuse. I might argue that once we start censoring ourselves the bullies have won but apparently thinking this means I’m the bad guy…
December 6th, 2021 at 12:51 pm
Your blog Wudu old chap and you must rightly do as you see fit. No offence meant and certainly none taken. 🙂
December 6th, 2021 at 1:22 pm
Much appreciated mate, we live in a crazy world sometimes. 🙂
December 6th, 2021 at 8:53 am
Great work, I really love the cold look of the armour
December 6th, 2021 at 9:02 am
Cheers! I’m pleased with the armour, it was a bit of an experiment but I think it turned out well, will see if I can find any other models to practice it on now. 🙂
December 6th, 2021 at 11:53 am
Nice figure. I could see her as a female paladin in old school D&D. Just not sure if the bird on her shoulder is alive or dead.
December 6th, 2021 at 12:22 pm
Thanks Bruce! There’s a definite paladin appearance to her isn’t there? It’s really nice to see GW do something straightforward like this, I really admire their creativity but sometimes they seem so determined to come up with something original that they loose sight of what makes classic concepts so enduringly good. As for the bird I wondered that myself. I presume it’s dead because it’s been turned into a cloak but it’s face is quite expressive (for a bird!) and her back story has her living in a place steeped in death magic so who knows? I put a little gleam in it’s eye just to play up the ambiguity.
December 6th, 2021 at 12:47 pm
Beautifully done mate, that blue cloak is a trip, and I’m loving the cool tones used throughout… honestly not the direction I expected you to take, but I really like it 👍👍
December 6th, 2021 at 1:21 pm
Cheers! I thought it was a fine chance to stretch my wings and do something a bit different. 🙂
December 6th, 2021 at 6:09 pm
Nice work here, Wudu – a very cold palette inded!
December 7th, 2021 at 7:11 pm
Cheers! Aye, I really wanted to push the cold colours on this one, and I think it contrasts nicely with the red robes of the skeletons. Not sure if I’ll stick to the theme with the other heroes but I reckon it works well here.
December 6th, 2021 at 6:18 pm
I’m going to change my approach to comments on your blog and from now on I’ll just write “Brilliant! 🙂 The best figure you’ve painted so far!” and that way I just need to cut and paste that comment each time! Of course, that won’t quite work if you decide to paint some complete rubbish but I think I’m on a safe bet there! I really do like this figure, very, very nice indeed! 🙂
December 7th, 2021 at 7:18 pm
Haha! Thank you! I’ll see what I can manage in the way of painting complete rubbish then, watch this space! 😉
December 7th, 2021 at 12:57 am
Very nice- I like the bird head shoulder pad.
Cheers,
Pete.
December 8th, 2021 at 7:41 am
Cheers! So do I, it gives her a lot of character. 🙂
December 7th, 2021 at 5:54 am
Simple but exquisite mate. I really like it.
December 8th, 2021 at 7:42 am
Thanks very much dude. 🙂
December 8th, 2021 at 5:51 pm
She looks really great mate. Its a great sculpt with a lot of classic fantasy vibes. For me, the painting on the cloak is the best part. Many people botch cloaks because they require more time and patience than most people want to put into them but you did a great job achieving plenty of contrast on this one 🙂
December 10th, 2021 at 11:48 am
Thank you!
Really? I always find cloaks relaxing but I guess they do call for a lot of careful layers. I generally find I can become quite “meditative” with cloaks. It’s always interesting to me what parts of painting people find relaxing and which they don’t, I was talking to IRO about this the other day and he was saying he enjoys edge highlighting (whereas I often find it never wracking). That said I do find cloaks easier if they have lots of deep folds like this one does, if they’re only gently curved they’re a lot more challenging as there’s not so much you can do to push the highlights. Anyway, glad you like her, she’s a lovely miniature. 🙂
December 11th, 2021 at 12:10 am
I’m with you! I prefer cloaks to serious edge highlighting. Some edge highlighting is easy but in display painting it is always nerve wracking because fixing mistakes is really hard and it feels like it could cost you hours of work!
December 8th, 2021 at 7:06 pm
I do like the colour palette you have chosen, it gives the hero a very bleak look, almost as if its a hopeless situation. Which sort of also adds to their hero standing, it may be impossible but they will still protect their home as fallen as it is.
You really hit the nail on the head with this one! (Even if it was not the ogre!)
December 10th, 2021 at 11:55 am
Thank you! The bleakness of the cold scheme didn’t start out as my intention but I see what you mean, and now you’ve drawn my attention to it I really like it and will probably soon be boasting to people that it’s what I intended all along. I don’t know if this is accurate to the background or not but I’ve always had it in mind that the Cursed City is a cold place (even the undead ogres are wearing warm coats after all!) and I wanted that to come through with the colour scheme. In my mind she’s wearing the old uniform of the city’s armies, and the skeletons are wearing the new uniform of the vampires (presumably having changed over to the new colours before being killed and raised as skeletons). As for the ogre hero he’s moved from the box he was stored in to pride of place in the middle of the painting desk. This doesn’t mean he’s actually got any more paint on him yet, but hopefully the process has begun!
December 11th, 2021 at 9:18 am
I also think it’s a cold setting, but like you just from looking at the models rather than any info.
And I’m glad the ogre is getting closer to paint!