Dreaming of Lock and Load – Spriggan – First steps

A bunch of the Vancouver folks are heading down to Privateer Press’ Lock and Load in June and I eagerly signed up with them. I have always regretted not participating in gaming conventions, so this year I decided I’d seize the opportunities rather then hem and haw until it was too late. I got this idea in my head when I was staring at the events schedule months ago that I would participate in the hardcore event. I believe, at the time, I had a grand total of two painted Khador models… But since that crazy thought ran through my mind, I haven’t been able to shake it. I make no claims to being a good player, but I do know something about myself as a gamer (or in general, even). I can make clear and sound decisions under time pressure and I also feel like I learn much more when I’m under the gun and make a mistake. I like playing games where time is a consideration – Blood Bowl, for example.

The idea of a strictly timed event pleases me greatly. And hey, some stupid sucker has to enter these hardcore events and get slam-bang-ssassinated in under 4 minutes, vaulting yet another player into internet stardom on the Privateer Press forum. That stupid sucker might as well be me. And as an added bonus, I will have a strong incentive to paint my models, and keep painting! And in that vein, I have a small painting update.After work today, I pulled out my Spriggan, who still rests in two pieces. I have played most of my games at the helm of my Khador with a Spriggan on the table, and each game it has proven its worth. Also, as there are some deep recesses that would be impossible to paint otherwise, it is only partially assembled. It will be a much easier to use in one piece, so to the top of the painting queue it goes!

I slathered a P3 bootstrap leather wash on the sand, then set the legs aside for it to dry. I put a base coat of GW Liche purple on the tail and waistband of the body, mirroring what I have on my Man-o-war Shocktroopers. I then got the red base of GW Mechrite red foundation on the leg armour plates, and P3 pig iron on the legs. As the sand was still a bit damp, I put a few thin coats on the shocktrooper shoulder pads to try and even out the streaking, touched out their base with the bootstrap leather wash and considered the void inside us all.

Soon the sand was good to go, so I slathered on some GW Devlan mud wash to get the darker shade underneath. Here’s what I finished with:

 

The model leans pretty heavily forward – I was playing with the body positioning when I put the two pieces together (unglued still). I think I’d like the body more upright, but the most upright position I can find leaves the legs out of alignment with the shoulders, so it looks off. The tail section might be in the way, interfering with the back leg. The pose in the picture above leaves the lance flat against the ground and gives the impression of a lot of momentum behind the oncoming ‘jack, so it might turn out looking pretty sweet. The jack’s head and body details will be difficult to see during normal play though, leaning the way it is. We’ll see what I think when there’s colour in more places.

At some point, I’ll need to name this bad boy. Maybe Sir Stompalot? He’s got a lance and shield, that’s pretty knightly of him. Pipe up if you have any suggestions.

Cheers!

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