I have started the challenge with a clear idea of who would lead this army (Lady Margritte), but no miniature to play the role. I have considered a number of female models (Lucrezzia Belladonna, several lahmias and sisters of Sigmar, some Frostgrave magicians, and even the legendary Lady McDeath), but nothing really convincing. The light came last month through a comment, pointing towards a modest lady in the
medieval pack
MED209 by Wargames Foundry. The
miniature is fine, but I wanted something closer to the scenario illustrations, with a more menacing look or... a hood. Perfect match with Samantha
Phox, a sorceress model designed by Aly Morrison in the eighties. I gave her a staff to show her use of electricity to animate cadavers. She also received an undead familiar, probably one of the mutant cats cherished by her mother, Lady baronette Ingrid von Wittgenstein. Finally, since the miniature was a little bit small compared to more recent models, I have fixed Lady Margritte on a small stone stairway. In terms of painting, the final result is not at all what I had in mind: Mrs. Santa Claus and her zombie pet...
Well, too late for changing plans 😑.
Among many horrors, Lady Margritte has created the Wittgentsein Monster, a composite being made up from various body parts and internal organs gently provided by the villagers and beggars of Wittgendorf.
Regarding the miniature, the quest was easy, and (unexpectedly) cheap: the exact model was proposed with the original scenario. Regarding the painting job, we can read the following details: "deathly white
skin with green discolorations on the cheeks and lower jaw". I really tried... then followed another path.
The next inhabitant of the castle is Slurd, an old (and senile) retainer of the Wittgensteins, whose left hand has muted into a bird's talon. The original miniature is actually quite pleasant to paint, and the illustration by Martin McKenna helped me to figure out how to paint his claw. With an additional month, I would have probably given to Slurd a few beggars and muted servants, and built another unit of useless fighters. For the moment, he'll be on his own on the battlefield.
Back to Wittgendorf, and the good doctor Jean Rousseaux. Poisoned by the very warp dust he's pouring in the booze distributed to the villagers and the beggars, his skin has started to flake, and he's hiding his affliction by plastering his face with white powder. The miniature is a previously unreleased Marauder Miniatures wizard, now sold by Wargames Foundry (referenced
TWW-07). I have removed the beard with a modelling knife, and tried to keep the chubby face of Martin McKenna's illustration in the first release of Death on the Reik. The flask and the rapier are small additions echoing the equipment of the NPC in the scenario. In terms of painting, the powdered face was an interesting challenge. Not sure it's understandable without the background explained above though...
Lovely characters...
Using Wargames Foundry models (referenced GPR066), I have created another double-headed sheep, used as a mascot for the regiment of peasants. With the time left, I have added a few Wittgendorfers to the band.
They either come from the C46 villagers, or from the F4 Mercenaries. Except a fixed spearhead, there was absolutely no modification on these models.
That's it for the 6th month of OWAC VI!
