Latest project: Hordes Skorne Supreme Aptimus Zaal & Kovaas

[Hobby Services]

Newest fig off the paint bench, Privateer Press' Supreme Aptimus Zaal, Skorne warlock, along with his personal horror, the Kovaas.



Pretty much a "high priest" kind of guy who intercedes between ancestral spirits and the living, in part by directing the souls of the dead into sacral stones that are then used to animate various combat automatons.  Pretty much "combat statues" ala terracotta warriors.



The Kovaas is a "lost soul" sort of thing that pops into play when one of the aforementioned automatons is destroyed and the sacral stone powering it is broken.  You can see fragments of the broken statue and the empty stone sockets in that swirling mess of ectoplasm there.



The magic that makes a Kovaas is apparently pretty much taboo, but Zaal's the Supreme Aptimus and can get away with it where lesser ones can't.  It's good to be the Skorne version of the Pope.



Of course, it says something about the Skorne that their religious leader is basically a creepy necromancer who magically bonds with dead spirits and insanely dangerous warbeasts.  Fun guys, those Skorne.

[Devoted of Slaanesh]

Nice job mate, I like them.

[Hobby Services]

Thanks, I was pretty happy with the way they came out, especially the colors on Zaal's robes (which are a bit more rich and nuanced in person than my dodgy photography skills can portray).  Not the most interesting painting project ever, but I tried to do my best.  They're both kind of static poses and surprisingly dull for what should be an army leader/centerpiece set, but I feel that way about a lot of the leaders from Privateer.  There are certainly exceptions, but many do tend to blend in with the crowd.  There's even a podcast somewhere that discusses the merits of using a 'caster or 'lock whose mini doesn't stand out from your army, simply to help complicate assassination runs.  They may have a point - Denny 3 on her 120mm based undead dragon of doom is a lot easier to keep track of than her 30mm based Denny 1 incarnation.