Ash Plains Drifter

He can turn himself into a stranger

Well they broke a lot of canes on his hide

he was born away in a cornfield

 When the moon was a cold chiseled dagger

Sharp enough to draw blood from a stone

A fever beats in his head like a drum inside

Some say they fear him

Others admire him

Because he steals his promise

One look in his eye

Everyone denies

Ever having met him

Ever having met him

******

The conceptual inspiration for this one was one of those fabulous Clint Eastwood movies that have haunted my imagination since childhood; in this case, the supernatural tinge of this little beauty:

Long ago, I built a set of Cold One Knights mixing and matching different versions of lizards and knights. I had one left over and so the idea took form.

The body was made from some Dark Eldar legs, genestealer cult body, mechanicus legs... he's a real Frankenstein style creation. The final touch was a ragged, torn cloak to help sell the drifter look. 

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Painting was using the palette I've developed with the accent colours of red and blue. Lots of washes and glazes again. 

I am very proud of this; again, he's come out looking the way I wanted. He also fits in well with the other half of the Drift. As I mentioned in the last post, the project is evolving into two distinct strands. We have the semi-official remnants of Imperial culture and then the Ash Waste wanderers. I think these hang together very well indeed. 

And here's the whole set of characters so far: 

A slight digression for Dragon Rampant

this very evening, the Good Lady 'Er Indoors presented me with a wee gift. It turns out that the chap I bought all those Lord of the Rings miniatures off had something else at the back if his cupboard and it's a miniature I'd always coveted: the old metal carnosaur.

Now, as it happens, I've been thinking about Dragon Rampant, Dan Mersey's upcoming re-jig of the Lion Ramoant rules for Fantasy, and working out what I can field. As part of my 'evil' force I'll be bringing my old Dark Elf Cold One riders out of retirement.

In keeping with the lizard theme, then, the Carnosaur will make a fine steed for my general.

As it turns out, this one was also painted with a trowel. Before I begin stripping and painting it, I thought I'd share the pictures of this poor creature in its current, slathered state. It really is a lovely model and deserves better - I hope I can do a good job.

This last one really shows how thick the paint is. Sheesh.