"O Captain, My Captain" - Captain Warlock - Part 1

“Foul creatures! Filthy abominations! 

I strike at thee in the name of 

freedom for all peoples!”

- CMON

Hello one and all and welcome back to The Art of Caesura!

After learning about my Space Station Zero crew in my short story, we've spent the past few months getting to know them up close and personal. And today, at long last, we have the big kahuna himself, the captain of the crew, Captain Haarlock Varn. 

Like all of the other models that I'm using for my crew, Varn contains a multitude of sources for his inspiration. When I chose this model I basically wanted a stand-in for Janus Draik - my previous captain from Blackstone Fortress. I actually pulled Draik's model out of my display cabinet, but he didn't quite fit the scale of the other crew members. Then I found this guy - perfect!

The model is Captain Warlock from Zombicide: Invaders, but I was heavily inspired by my model of Janus Draik when I was painting this model, I basically lifted the great coat off Draik and lent it to this Haarlock - painting it blue on the outside and a nice saturated red on the inner lining. I also painted Draik and Haarlock's hair the same way with a streak of grey through it. 

The piratical model is based on Captain Hook from Peter Pan (right down to the mechanical left hand as a stand in for the eponymous hook). But I believe the name, Captain Warlock, is a reference to a different pirate captain: Captain Harlock from the Manga of the same name. There are other connections to Captain Harlock - the style of eye patch, and the long-necked avian creature on his shoulder.

So then, wherever did I get the inspiration for the name Captain Haarlock Varn - the captain of my crew from my short story? Well, yes...I just threw another "A" into "Harlock". It was initially a typo, but I thought it looked good and made it more my own. I did, however, just make up "Varn". Like Janus Draik, I wanted a mono-syllabic name that had a subtle air of Dandyism about it. 

So there you have it, a character of my own making, inspired by another fictional leader from Blackstone Fortress using a model which is based on a Manga space pirate and a villain from a children's classic. Quite the hodge podge!

In terms of painting this guy, I hope you've been following along with the photos thus far, because I was so caught up explaining the origins of his name that I haven't even mentioned the painting process yet. So let's recap:

From a zenithal undercoat, I used Red Oxide and then The Red (both from Kimera Kolors) for the red bits.

I used Phthalo Blue Green Shade for his great Great coat, and then Skeleton Horde for his swashbuckler's shirt. 

His pants are Snakebite Leather and his boots and other leather elements are Wyldwood diluted with Contrast Medium. 

Then I painted his face and neck with Guilliman Flesh, and then the elements that would end up either black or metallic, I painted with Black Templar.

The final basecoat was to paint his "bird-dragon" a mix of Phthalo Blue Green Shade and Phthalo Green. 

All of the steps up to that point were very quick, either using Contrast Paints or diluted conventional acrylic paints over a zenithal undercoat. Then I moved on to the highlighting and details.

I mixed a bit of Wraithbone into my previous paints that I'd used to paint his coat and painted highlights as scratchy lines to add visual texture. 

The metals were the last bit and they came together quickly with a bit of Lead Belcher and Nuln Oil. 

And thar he be! Captain Warlock / Harlock / Haarlock ready to lead the crew of The Relentless Asteryx!

See you next week for more, right here, on The Art of Caesura!

Watching: Outlast - Jungle (2026) 

Reading: Red Rising - Pierce Brown

Next Week:

Haarlock Varn returns...