Ranking lowest in the nobility of the Black Grail,
these great armoured warriors were once
truly depraved worshippers of Beelzebub.
I hope you had a fun Hallowe'en last week, we had a blast (I'm sure, it actually hasn't happened yet at time of writing). Regardless, I love Hallowe'en!
Today we're looking at the most recent model that I've painted for my Cult of the Black Grail warband for Trench Crusade, the Folly of Nudd: it's Celwuc, my Plague Knight.
He's not the last member of the band, that's the big boss, Nudd himself, but I thought it made sense to save him for last. Today's model is very very different from all the rest of my warband, but I did try to use some strategies to tie him in.
I'm not a huge fan of the official Plague Knight - it's one of the few official Trench Crusade models that I don't love. I do like the mix between plague doctor and insect, but I just think the model is very static and unimposing given it is a leader model.
I found this kitbash of Bestiarium's Razorwing and I thought it looked a lot more interesting and dynamic while still keeping the insectile theme. I also loved the contrast between this slim, lithe model with a big, robust round-shield.
I wanted to retain the iridescence of a beetle's shell so I used a paint that I've owned for years but have never really had the opportunity to use: AK's Emerald Metallic. I started by mixing it with Vallejo's Dark Gunmetal and dry-brushed it ll over the model - avoiding the shield and base.
Next, I dry brushed on straight Emerald Metallic.
After these simple steps I was really happy with how things were going!
I wanted to give a bit of separation between the armour plates and tie the model in a bit with the rest of the warband, so I painted the fleshy bits between the chitinous armour plates with Ushabti Bone.
Next, I started on the shield. I painted the wooden planks Banshee Brown (from the John Blanche set)...
...and the metal parts with The Darkness (from the same paint set).
I shaded the wood with Contrast Garaghak's Sewer (a paint that I've just purchased for a different future project).
I mixed a bit of Ushabti Bone into the original Banshee Brown to give some streaky highlights.
Next, I turned my attentions back to the metal edge bindings of the shield, I painted them all over with AK Decay Deposits.
The final step of my now trademarked corroded bronze recipe, that I've used for all the metal of this warband, is to drybrush Vallejo's Tinny Tin.
The model is flying along. I still had bits to go back to, but wanted to start in on the base - painting it the same way as my other Black Grail bases.
I drybrushed the black base with Bugman's Glow...
...then Cadian Fleshtone...
...then Ushabti Bone...
...and finally coated with Agrax Earthshade.
From the base, I moved back to the face. I painted the antennae first with Ushabti Bone...
Which I then coated with Skeleton Horde.
Time to move on to the eyes...many many eyes. I painted them all white.
Which I then coated with Contrast Bad Moon Yellow
Isn't he looking CREEPY!!??
I finished off the face by highlighting the Antennae with Rakarth Flesh.
I decided that I wasn't quite happy with the wooden slats of the shield yet - they were a little too stark, so I coated them with Seraphim Sepia to warm it up a little.
Meanwhile, I painted all of the maggots on the base with Ushabti Bone and then Wraithbone.
I didn't really know what to do with his left metal arm, so I started painted it with Gunmetal Grey, but it was just a bit blah, so I tried re-painting it a mix of Gunmetal and Abaddon Black. I also painted the beetles on the base with this mix.
Finally, to give it a bit more definition, I coated it in Nuln Oil and then highlighted some of the edges with Gunmetal Grey.
To finish the skin, I painted all of it with a mix of Athonian Camoshade and Lahmian Medium (to give it a similar hue to the rest of the warband) and then highlighted the ankles and heels and elbow with Ushabti Bone.
And that was him pretty much done! I put my glossy black goop (Nuln Oil + gloss varnish) into the crevices on the base.
Aaaannd done! I'm really proud of this guy! He's a real departure from how I usually paint, and I was a good bit out of my comfort zone for the carapace, but I think it turned out really well.
Thanks for joining me this, and every Friday right here on The Art of Caesura!
Reading: Nothing Has Happened to You - Rory Say
Watching: Strange Darlings (2024)
Next Week:
Chittering in the dark...
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