"The Search for the Omnicopaeia" - Delphan Gruss Painting

It is my great regret that we live in an age that is proud of machines that think,

and suspicious of people who try to.

Mechanicum - Graham McNeill

Thank God it's Friday, and welcome to the Art of Caesura!

I had a lot of fun with last week's post. It was nice to stroll down memory lane with this old and beloved miniature. I also enjoy doing the instructional posts and hope that some of you found the guide on pinning useful. Through writing the post, I also stumbled across the Inquisitor facebook group - filled with incredibly inspiring miniatures - if you found your way here from there, welcome! I'm always so impressed to see such a loyal fan-base for games even when it's been 10-15 years since they've received official support. As a side note, this was the case with Blood Bowl up until the new edition was released last year...So, will there be a new edition of Inquisitor in our futures? Perhaps not, but that doesn't stop us from enjoying these fantastic miniatures. 

Today is a follow-on from last week, so I'd suggest you head over there if you haven't already. 

Delphan Gruss was a joy to paint, just as he was fun to build (minus the mecha-dendrites, there was nothing fun about them - and even though I tried to pin them, one has already snapped in half!)

Because I don't do it very often, I always have to remind myself of some of the differences with painting models in larger scales, like Inquisitor's 54mm. I think you have to push the highlights a bit more than you would on a 28-32mm scale model to cover the larger swaths of skin / fabric. 

If I was to get into 40K again, I think I would probably start a Mechanicus army. Don't get me wrong, I love my Black Templars, but the Mechanicus have that nice blend of organic robes and metal appendages, along with a whole kind of Victorian Horror / Baroque feel that really speaks to me. All of these elements are present in this model. 

I inverted his colour scheme from the box art (giving him predominantly red robes with cream detailing rather than the other way around). I felt like the white robes made him look a bit too "medical". 

Influenced by the Blanchitsu style that really suits Inquisitor models, I kept the metals dull and the robes grimy. I did, however want to impart the idea that his Breacher drill arm is well maintained, so didn't use any verdigris or rust there. 

I really love the one little area of flesh on his left bicep that you can see. I tried to make it a nice blend of organic (to contrast all the metal) and slightly necrotic with diluted brown, purple and green washes.

To move the eye around the model a little (and to break up the reds and creams), I used blue as a spot colour. You can see a triangle on his front (the blue liquid in the vial hanging from his waist, the blue book on his left hip and the blue spotlight on his right shoulder). The other spot colour I used was green (the toxic sludge coming out of the pipe on his base). I made this sludge, by first glooping PVA glue into the broken piece of ball-point pen that made up the pipe, then painting it with Nurgle's Rot mixed with Agrax Earthshade, and adding another layer of gloss varnish on top. 

I hope you enjoyed that look at Delphan Gruss. I have a few more Inquisitor models that recently emerged from the warp (of the basement), so stay tuned to The Art of Caesura!

Listening:Here Comes Your Man - Pixies

Watching: American Vandal

Next Week:

No Fear! No Pity! No Remorse!