Heresy & Heroes

I don’t get much done these days (hoping to change that btw) but when I do, I like to think afterwards that I’ve given it my all. My Mortifactors Chapter Master is possibly the best thing I’ve ever done for the ol’ black n’ bone brigade, so I’m here to show off some images of my latest creation. And before we dive in, regarding the images themselves, I’m experimenting a little bit to try and bring you images that pick up the true colours of the models and resemble a bit of the ol’ White Dwarf/Visions style. The photography is a bit of a WIP, but the model is most certainly done. So let’s take a look!

As I’m going on my non-Mortifactors summer holiday where I’ll be avoiding the Chapter for three months or so to reignite my love for them, this is a great way to (temporarily) leave the project. This is based on one of Forge World’s Legion Praetors (hence its inclusion into the painting comp at the FW open day), with a head from the CSM tactical squad box, a Grey Knight sword, and a shield from Forge World’s Boarding Assault Upgrade set. And speaking of the shield…

That is possibly the best skull I have ever painted (though there have been quite a few now so I might be forgetting one) and I’m thrilled with how the shield came out. I was initially worried about what I’d be able to fit in there and how I would make it work, but that’s such a lovely blank canvas to work with, with so much space, that it actually just came together really naturally.

I’ve nicknamed this guy ‘Sassy’ after Sasebo Tezuka, and if this isn’t the man himself, then this Chapter Master is wearing his suit of armour. I wanted to call back to the Chapter’s origins as a company within the Ultramarines, and so I included a single blue plate of armour on his right arm with ‘XIII’ on it which refers to the Ultramarines being the 13th Legion Astartes. Happily, XIII is also the number of the Death Card in a Tarot deck, and according to his fluff, Tezuka used the Emperor’s Tarot to guide him to Posul, and the name ‘Mortifactors’ means ‘Agents of Death’. It also appears on the shield too. Can serendipity be unlucky for some?

I won’t bore you too much about the paint scheme. Regular readers will know my methods and not a great deal was done differently here. Lots of bone, lots of black, that moody gold, a bit of bronze… same paints, different shiny space hero in space.

Regarding the pose, I wanted him to look like he was fending off a giant Ork Warmachine or a Greater Daemon perhaps, parrying a blow with the shield before striking forward with that immense sword. I think I captured it well, though occasionally, I’ll have to strike the pose myself just to make sure that it feels relatively natural.

And that’s about it. Happy to answer any questions if you want to stick them in the comments section, and any comments re the photography too. This is a great way to leave it with the Mortifactors for a little while before I go on to try some new things. I’ll be back to work on them in Autumn, but for now, I’m going to leave them under the strong leadership of this guy and go have some fun. I hope you like him too. Onwards!