Archduke Runewood
Archduke Alain Runewood, Lord of Fharin
Having just wrapped up the max unit of Sword Knights I needed to switch back and do a solo. So naturally I chose the master of Sword Knights: Runewood. I really like this model but the studio paint scheme is surprisingly boring. I spent some time altering the default scheme to match both the Sword Knights I just finished as well as blending in with the rest of the army. I spent as much or more time on him than I do on a typical warcaster. This time really shows as I believe this is my best model to date. The face came out perfect. Fantastic definition and contrast, the eyes came out sharp and shapely. The hair and mustache also pop nicely.
This model also has my first attempt at painting a gem, place in the cross on his chest. For the uninitiated, gems are unique in that the shadow is at the top, highlight on the bottom, then a white dot of reflection on the top. I like how it came out.
Helmet mohawk has a yellow stripe down the center
When doing the Sword Knight unit I gave the unit leader a yellow strip down the center of the blue pony tail that extends from his helmet. For Runewood I adapted that theme and gave his helmet mohawk a yellow stripe. Again it came out just as I envisioned, and helps break up the blue.
Color capes, give a bit of superman feel
The studio model’s capes are so boring you might fall asleep if you look at it for too long. It’s a mottled blue with drab golds, on top of a second mottled glue/drab gold cape. I wanted something a bit more dynamic, even dare I say, heroic. So I took my Jack Bone/MWH color for the bottom cape, edged with Cygnar blue, then the top cap is Cygnar Blue with Cygnus Yellow. It’s really great, and gives the model the blast of blue you expect from a Cygnar model.
Vindicator, Runewood’s magical sword, with which he is a weapon master
Runewood’s shoulders, helmet and sword all have inlaid gold within silver background. This was less challenging that I anticipated. After basing in Pig Iron as usual, I thinned down some Brassy Brass to be very thin, and delicately washed it into the inlays. Then I repeated with Glorious Gold a couple of times to make sure it was well-defined. Then I took Pig Iron and gently touched up any overflows, which were minimal. Shading and highlighting of the silvers continued as normal after that, just avoiding the gold inlays.
The basing here was pretty standard, very similar to the Sword Knight unit leader. I debated for some time doing something fancier or raising him up or a variety of other techniques. But lastly I decided that the interesting part of Runewood is that he’s a Lord, but he’s still out on the battlefield fighting amidst the Sword Knights. He is, by birth, elevated above the average soldier and could be retired on his estate after years of service. But instead he’s stays with the soldiers, so I put him right on the battlefield, same as the men he’s leading into battle. The rock was again made from a left over ball of green stuff. The tall grass is Woodland Scenics field grass. The rest of the basing is the same as nearly all my models.