Scion of Ehecatl / Kobold Coatl-Born (2)

 

These Colorful heroes are my entry for this months Printed Encounter paint club. The modular packs are a fun concept, and I was keen on requesting a new part for the kobold kit, so I charged it. 

For a concept I really wanted something that would leverage the unique modularity of these kits, something very different from my normal subjects or from the kobolds already in my collection. I'm not exactly sure how the inspiration struck, but somehow my brain connected the dots that this style of kobold head had an uncanny resemblance to the Aztec god Ehecatl:

 

Notably, the toothy snout  was a good fit. plus an neckbeard, and a brow that looked a bit like a horn! Perfect. Ehecatl is a god of the winds and an aspect of Quetzalcoatl - It doesn't get much cooler than that! In D&D lore the Kobold is often associated with dragons, and they manefest their characteristics from time to time. Following that logic, why not a Coatl? It seemed like an amazing convergence of concept, inspiration, art, and opportunity. I dug around on the web and found some good coatl art, as well as as many images of Ehecatl as I could. A full body image is below:

A few themes were clear: A dark body, either blue or green, a red face (and often hands and feet), here he is shown with a warclub and a round shield. Great reference material.

PE has a very nice set of modular wings that were perfect for the concept, so those were an easy choice. I had the idea early on that I would use the D&D coatl color palate for the wings to join the modern gaming interpretation with the mythology. The gear was tougher, as the current offerings were far more western in theme. Fortunately, I have a Mesoamerican frogfolk pack from PE and I am pretty handy in Meshmixer and Blender. A pair of quick weapon swaps onto the hand bits and I was in business with a macuahuitl and chimalli. The bases were also kitbashed from various free bits and bobs I had in my collection. Easter-egg: the statue on the base of the model on the right is none other than Ehecatl himself! It is a scan of an actual statue (in his human form, it would seem). All of the parts were assembled virtually, and they were printed, bases and all, in a single piece. (note to self: next time use at least two points of contact to the base!).

For the colors I wanted to keep it very colorful, and dang, those wings came out bright! They really pop. For the full buy in, I decided to freehand the chimalli (round shields) using known shield patterns (from codex Mendoza): 

  

I took some liberties with the designs, but I really enjoyed it. I almost never do freehand these days because of the time consuming nature of it, but it was really satisfying.

The bold palate was such a fun change from my normal subjects that I'm tempted to paint a coatl next time I need a palate cleanser.

In summary, a great project! I was able to flex my modeling printing and painting skill, all under a deadline, and I really had fun with it. Heck, I learned a bunch! the research was really interesting, and I'm eager to do more. I hope Ehecatl approves.

 

Night's Cult Captain / Cultist Duelist

 

 A quick speed-paint that fills a critical role: an elite cultist. Legend Builds cultists are perfect models to fill the shoes of most of my cultist needs -  they come in tons of flavors and they are properly anonymous without any overly specific iconography. This guy acts as a champion type for a small squad of these guys I have already completed. My thinking was that they could be stand-ins for the dragon cultists in LMoP, as well as play part of the Cult of the Reptile God for module N1, among other things.

 I printed them slightly enlarged to scale with the rest of my collection. The paint palate was kept very simple so that I could easily reproduce it (or something similar) quickly as I add to the ranks - I expect I'll need quite a few! I used muted grey-purple and green-purple to play off the inherent contrast of that palate (as well as with a touch of green on the base,) to add some visual interest to an otherwise very dark and monotone approach. Simple can be good!

Hordling Demon / Mxomycetes, Duke of the Mire

 

From one Grenadier line to another. I'm feeling that old school charm, I guess. This is another model I dug out of my childhood toybox, stripped, and repainted. That was sometime prior to 2013 when I started keeping records. Once upon a time (ahem 1984), this model was fearsome and imposing enough to be a named demon - a duke no less! These days he is much less threatening and I use him as a lowly (but unique) hordling.  

Despite the age of the model (and the paintjob), I still like it. Being the creature of habit that I am, this piece laid the groundwork for most of the demons I have painted since (at least those who serve a certain lord).

RA-7 protocol droid

 

Continuing on the theme of yesterdays bonus Star Wars post, here is another miniature from the Imperial Forces box set by Grenadier Models and West End Games. It is now known as an RA-7 protocol droid, but the "Death Star Droid" is only referred to as an "Imperial Droid" in the box insert (model SW17). These guys make good weak antagonists in the SW universe, and are appropriately sinister looking with their insectoid like heads.

The paint work here is super simple, just shaded metallics. For an idea of the 25mm "scale" from that era, it is mounted on a 25mm base - a small model by modern standards.

Keepin' it old school. 

Stormtrooper (2)

 

 

In celebration of May 4th I have been binging some star wars and have decided to post some additional models from my star wars collection. These are some *old school* stormtroopers in the truest sense - from Grenadier Miniatures 25mm West End Games' line dating back to 1988! These  two are from the same set as the Vader model I posted previously (Imperial Forces box, numbers SW14, SW15, for those of you interested in the WEG line). Apparently I was working my way through the set when these were completed  in 2015. 

Like many other models I have painted from WEG, these were speed-painted, so not my best work. Notably, though, these were my first real attempt at painting large areas of white using off-whites and greys. I think it turned out well, considering, and I still use similar formulas for painting white today (though I still avoid it - white is a tough paint palate to work with!). In retrospect, these retro models have been important learning tools in my painting journey.

For the SW geeks out there, it looks like these guys are packing the classic E-11 blaster rifle and a DLT-20A blaster rifle (without scope). 

May the 4th be with you & "Long live the Empire!"