Celtic Vampire
1/9th scle Resin Bust from Warriors
Painted in 2006
I like vampire models, and I feel I don’t paint enough of them. This one, whilst quite old – released in about 2003 I think, and if memory serves, it was sculpted by John Rosengrandt, is possibly my favourite on a couple of levels.
When I painted it, I didn’t have any idea that an article might be needed, so the WIP photos are minimal to say the least, my apologies.
Photo #1 shows the components, pretty minimal to be honest and the main casting is a testament to someone’s very skilled knowledge of sculpting for eventual casting, and then mould making to get the thing out without major mould part lines.
The surface detail is really great, with a lot of different textures for the painter to play around with.
Photos #2 and #3 show the only “In Progress” shots that I took, and this was an experiment that worked for painting an undead skin. I made use of a very pale undercoat of acrylic, mixing GW Bronzed Flesh, which is pretty pale to start with, with an equal amount of Skull White. over that I added an oil paint mix made from a large amount of Titanium White with some Raw Umber added to give a sickly green / brown colour.
More white was blended in on the surface of the model to create mid-tones and highlights, and after allowing a few days, possibly a week for it all to dry thoroughly, I used Raw Umber, thinned with some White Spirit, as washes to deepen the shadows in specific areas.
The blood spurting out of the chest is Carmine oils with some Burnt Umber added to the deeper recess of the wound to enhance the fact that the extracted stake has gone in a long way, but it’s not slowing Olaf down very much.
The finished shots show how I’ve tried to limit the number of colours used, linking them together where possible. The red / brown of the cloak links to the blood on the chest and the red of the eyes, the pale yellow / green of the hair links to the skin and the gold brooch and even the early tartan pattern follows this limited palette of tones.
Final thoughts.
Oh, a really short article eh ?
Well, yes, it is.
The use of a limited palette, holding to Raw Umber, Burnt Umber, Carmine, Mars Yellow and Titanium White might seem to offer very little latitude for the painter to move with, but because oils can be mixed on the surface of the figure, using them “Wet on Wet” provides quite a lot of variation, whilst giving a cohesive look overall.
I’m still searching ( hoping ) to find a second one of these for me to paint in the future, although I think it’s probably a forlorn hope, as the kit is long out of production as far as I’m aware.
The Sculptor ( John Rosengrandt ? ) has managed to imbue such a threat of violence and retribution in this piece, even though it’s only half a figure, that it’s a real testament to his skill at pushing putty around.
Oh, and the other reason I love this model, it is the only model I’ve been asked to remove from display in the Judges Cabinets at Euro Militaire. I loved being asked to do that, it pleased me no end, because it had caused a reaction, one that I think the sculptor would be pleased with.
So whilst the painting on some areas looks a little dated, I’ve included this on the website for that last little bit of the story. As they say, “Little things please little minds” and my little mind was chuckling for quite some time….. Still is to be honest.
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