Johann...nuff said!

Well I had wanted to wait a couple of days before posting this up....but I just can't!  this figure is just TOO good! This Chaos Dwarf which has been named Johann by Clam and the Sculptor, John Pickford, is a special one.  John Sculpted this figure on his own, just for fun, when Clam was just starting to contemplate the range which would become know as the Ewal Dvergar.  It didn't really fit with the multi-part Core Warrior range that Clam was interested in creating but when John shared the sculpt with him Clam couldn't pass up the chance to have it cast up....

...and I'm Glad he did. This is one of those figures that I fall in love with when I first hold it in my hands...figures like this are few and far between...the Ratnik Dwarf Minstrel...MM15 Dwarf with Arquebus...MM90 Mage and Skull face...are a few of the others that have stirred such feelings.  While this feeling can be great motivation...it can also create some anxiety for the painter.  I was intimidated by the figure...the level of detail is quite impressive...and I didn't want to FUCK it up!

...in fact, with Johann, this anxiety began even before that...with the Johann figure you have choices to make..before you paint!  The figure is cast as one piece and looks like this...

Note: Picture blatantly stolen from Clam's Blog (I hope you don't mind man!)

 Its very cool like this...look at that Breast Plate!  But since it is a dwarf, John felt obligated to include an option for the figure to have a beard...so he sculpted up this add-on piece...

Again...thanks Clam for the pic

Again...he looks very cool with that stylish beard...a beard which any self respecting dwarf...chaos or no...could appreciate.  But it covers up the exquisite sculpting on the breast plate...what to do...what to do?!



Well I couldn't decide....I wanted it both ways...so I took a risk and attempted to sculpt a GS beard onto the first figure that would look like a beard...but that could also be believable as hair for the face on the Chest too.

Here is what I ended up with...

This is actually my own picture....

Ok...hurdle one passed...now to figure out a color scheme for this figure....again I was paralyzed by the options...so much detail..particularly on the Shield, which we haven't even discussed yet, as well as the breast plate, and shoulder pads. What colors would suit them best?!  In the end I fell back on colors that I know well and love.  My typical blue and a nice medium gray for the highly detailed parts.  I felt that these colors  highlighted the best of the model without loosing any of its character with a motley of colors.  I tried to let the quality of the sculpt shine through.

Alright enough yammering from me...here are the detail shots...

Front...."You talkin to me?"

...Here comes the Shield!

There it is! So Sweet!

Alright that shield demands a special mention...it is like a complete sculpture of it own...just a remarkably expressive face...and the depth of the detail made it a joy to paint.  I tried to carry the Red eye theme through the shield, shoulder pads and Dwarf. 

There is a good teaser of the shoulder pads...

And a Detail of the Right Shoulder pad.

So there he his...Johann in all his glory.  You will notice that I based him on a 30mm Round lipped base...Thats because I don't see Johann joining a CD unit like the others...he is stand alone...in fact I might just find a pedestal I can put him on...so he can oversee work on my painting table.

Next up...something a little different...

Cheers,

Blue