Byron Maiden is too old for this shiiiiddddd.
A group of us are planning to play Rangers of Shadowdeep soon, and the plan is to go for a Witch Hunter theme. Byron here will be my hard drinking, jaded example of the trope. He will always, without fail, refer to priests as “padre”.
The Witch Hunter figure that I got my hands on is the Gary Morley Warhammer Quest Witch Hunter miniature from the mid 1990s. His cutlass is huge and very chunky (and at some stage I seem to have forgotten how to paint steel), so that is my least favourite part of the finished product.
Im glad that I avoided the yellowish leather colour in the classic paint job/illustration. I primarily went for a range of dark browns and greys, for a darker look, a little bit more like Vincent Price’s look in “Witchfinder General (1968)“.
Byron will be my avatar in the planned Rangers of Shadowdeep games. In time he will have a few hangers on to help him in rooting out corruption, like the flagellants below.
Glastonbury Festival, 1645
Part of our planned RoSD theme is to include a lot of Nurgle themed villains, such as the Circus of Corruption. Witch hunters versus bloated, pagan circus weirdoes sounds like *exactly* the way that I want to spend my time.
The Flying Flatulosos didnt live up to the hype.
Filed under: Miniatures | Tagged: 2020, Empire, Fantasy, Rangers of Shadow Deep, Warhammer Quest, Witch Hunter |
sho3box 
Without wanting to repeat myself, I never really liked this figure, but this sinister colour scheme has completely altered my view. He looks like a grim free-swearing bastard and has gained a whole heap of desirability to my eyes as a result. I count that a success!
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The figure is not one that I ever felt particularly drawn to before Captain Crooks hooked me up with one, but the clean, clearly defined aspects of the Morley sculpting made it very pleasant to base, spray and paint over the course of a lazy Sunday.
A bit of stubble in the paint job would have made him look less prim and proper, but the Salem style, (mostly) austere puritan look did work out well I think.
Being able to force people to re-examine previously dismissed models via a paint job is fun, I’m glad that you like it 🙂
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I like Byron a lot and I think the cutlas looks just fine mate
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Thanks IRO 🙂
Byron has a nice Hollywood anti-hero thing going on I think, which suits me just fine!
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That looks very cool; the change in colour scheme does this figure a favour.
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I’m glad that you like it Barks.
The yellow leather look isn’t something that appeals to me much, either in cowboys or witch hunters, so I was happy to go with the darker look. It works pretty well I think.
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The issues with the model’s pose and cutlass non withstanding, your fantastic dark colourscheme definitely brought out the best of it.
I also like your gang of flagellants and his Nurgle opponents, it’s a great alternative take on the RoSD world.
Personally I don’t like the idea of having a bunch of fantasy creatures thrown together to create a common enemy and your idea circumvents this nicely.
The miniatures could also be great for the upcoming Witchin’ hour game.
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The random “dungeon inhabitants” or “random encounter table” style line up for RoSD is intended to cater for people who have substantial collections of small numbers of antagonists. This in itself is perfectly ok, and practical.
But for hobbyists that have access to entire armies of themed models, it is straightforward to reskin the game to make a more uniform group of adversaries if desired. Paradoxically, this approach might help me to get some models for larger forces painted too.
As for the weaknesses of the sculpt, I have warmed to it. It is clear and easy to read visually, plus it was very pleasant to paint. I’m glad that you like the darker scheme: I do too 🙂
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My inhabitants of the Shadow Deep are almost exclusively made up of undead, from regular skeletons to larger undead constructs representing trolls and such, and death cultists (gnolls in the game).
Though I gathered a good selection of heroes I can use in roleplaying games since I started the game as well.
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That sounds just perfect really.
There is an appeal in getting a variety on the table, but fighting against a coherent set of villains is more satisfying thematically.
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I’ll join the chorus: that is a wonderful paint scheme for the model, and looks really nice. I’ve always had a bit of a thing for witch hunters and the puritan aesthetic, so this is pure gold.
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I watched the “Salem” tv show on your recommendation Mikko, and the costume design in that show was the biggest influence on this paint scheme, so your approval carries extra weight this time 😍
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Awesome! What did you think of the show, any good?
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It’s ok, not perfect by any means but a lot to recommend it. The sets were great, the town felt real. The costumes also looked good.
The dialogue could have done with a little more pizzazz. It wasn’t awful, but it was a but pedestrian. Most of the performances were good too.
I got through all three seasons which, considering the competition for viewing these days, is a recommendation in itself.
And Byron wouldn’t look the way he does without “Salem”, so that’s the best result from my perspective.
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That’s a good assessment, I agree! The show was definitely inspiring, as in it made me want to do a mini project with witches and puritans in New England…
Have you watched Kingdom yet? Talk about inspiring, with zombies in a period setting in Korea.
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I havent seen Kingdom. I tend to watch TV shows like these while I paint, and IIRC Kingdom was subtitled, which rules it out for those purposes. Maybe it is dubbed, I must check.
I did rewatch “Solomon Kane” last night though. I had barely any recollection of seeing it the first time, but I enjoyed it quite a bit on rewatch, and it is obviously squarely on trend at Chateau Sho3box.
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I can’t recall whether Kingdom has a dubbed version available – anyway, I strongly suggest watching it, should be right up your alley!
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Great painting on this… and great name!
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“Tom Screw” didn’t give the right vibe 😉 I’m glad that you like the model though mikeland82!
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Great stuff. I am a bit interested in RoSD but I have a lot of competing projects so I haven’t taken the plunge yet. Interested to see how you get on. I like the model too, the paint scheme is great, I generally like most of Gary Morley’s work. Despite a few questionable figures I don’t really understand why he has not got a great reputation. His figures are all simple and easy to paint whilst still generally capturing (what I assume was) the brief he was given and looking good within their own universe.
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I’m folding existing miniatures projects into my Rangers of Shadowdeep plans, rather than treating it as a new project in its own right. A Warcry warband is very easily made to fit a set of adversaries in RoSD for example. Similarly, terrain that I planned to work on – Mordheim pieces for example or again Warcry pieces – can easily be incorporated into the RoSD plans. Although I did buy a couple of individual miniatures for the game, I prepared a table of adversaries based on those that appear in the first few scenarios, and mapped them onto miniatures that I already own and want to paint anyway, and I am using that as a way to guide the process. TLDR: the game is designed to worj with miniatures that you already own, if you like the idea of that.
Gary Morley gets a lot of grief, mostly unjustified. I invariably enjoy painting his sculpts and I am particularly fond of many of them. I believe that gary is also a pretty rapid sculptor, as you say, working to briefs in short timeframes. He certainly sculpted a LOT of models for Citadel during his time there. I have got a lot of fun out of Morley sculpts, and plan to get a lot more. As for what big-mouths on the internet think… who cares? Monkey see, monkey do.
Thanks for the feedback Warburton!
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Thanks for that. Time to pick up a new game is the main issue rather than my ability to acquire and paint new miniatures and scenery. Dr Matthias (if you follow his Miniature Extravaganza blog) was playing it with his kids which I was thinking of doing the same. Interested to see some battle reports / after game reflections from you if you get time.
PS Gary Morley fans forever 💕💕💕
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My RoSD playing plans are, as you might expect, up in the air at the moment for pandemic reasons. But I plan to take a few photos when I do play, and to report back.
#justiceforgary 💕
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Modèles bien représentés ! J’adore l’atmophère produit par vos scènes. Bravo 🙂
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Merci Nico!
L’atmosphère est la chose la plus importante dans le hobby que je pense.
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Just brilliant mate – tricky mini to make a looker, but you’ve absolutely nailed it! Oh, and Byron Maiden is a delicious geek-onion of a name 🙂
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Geek onion, heh. I enjoy coming up with loaded names for my tiny characters, in the pulp and comic book tradition.
The figure was, like most of Morley’s sculpts that I have painted, very clean and well defined and pleasantly straightforward to paint. I did it in a single sitting, which is a rarity for me, and tends to mean that I am finding the process a simple and enjoyable one.
Thanks for the feedback Alex!
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Super painting, but I especially enjoyed the punning name.
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I do enjoy coming up with names for these guys. It makes the games with them more enjoyable, and they take on lives of their own to an extent.
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