Tuesday 18 August 2015

Dean Viesel - Imperial Clerk - Previously unreleased Rogue trader model



Hey there, after posting you some plastic non sense I though you guys would expect some good ol' lead. Well that's just the kind of guy I am : I deliver.

As you can see the model above is quite an old one. In fact it dates back from the old days of Rogue trader and it's part of a series of models that the Wargames Foundry has had the brilliant idea to unearth. Go check around all the other wonders from the golden age you can get from them without getting your paypal red hot on ebay.
I warmly welcome you to read more (and better) about this particular series on Jason's blog HERE.

The excellent thing about this model is that it is directly connected to the Rogue Trader Rulebook, though I have to admit I have no clue if in this case the model inspired the illustration or if it's the other way round...

EDIT : Thanks to Brian Roe on the Oldhammer FB page, I've actually learnt that the illustration is from Pete Knifton and it seems Pete never saw a miniature of that fellow which would tend to say the illustration was first.
Illustration by Pete Knifton


The thing you'll notice is that this model is quite muscular for a clerk or administrative kind of guy. I'll be honest, while most of the sculpt is nice (really liked the face which reminds me of Bob Naismith's style) the left arm is massively badly sculpted, massively awkward and massively too massive (did I mention it's too big). But hey, let's not that kind of huge details get in our way ok?


You might wonder why I chose that model since the arm seems such a problem, well I was eager to paint some of what I had brought back from BOYL 2015 and I needed a pacific model to paint for a little challenge organised over the emporium of rogue dreams, a friendly page for whoever loves retro sci-fi, wargames and models at once.


Painting wise, I was kind of puzzled about what to do with this model, first of all, the details are not really helping so I had to pick something easy. Second thing was that not much says "sci-fi" on this model and though the illustration is a clearer about the setting the model could easily be painted for fantasy.
That's why I opted for a clear robe on which to get some "elaborate" patterns. I also tried to limit leather to the max (only the dagger scabbard has some). I also painted the head protection in some form of synthetic see-through material (maybe it's some kind of Head up display calculator or something).
I wish I could have painted a big imperial eagle on his chest but I didn't have the courage and no decal either so I just went with a cheap trick using a chaos decal (and reversing it upside down).


Dean Viesel has never had much in life but he's always known how to make the best with what he had. Life in the underhive is an unforgiving one but Dean quickly understood that being a little taller and a little stronger than average could make all the difference...
He quickly became an agent to retrieve debts for the many influent gangs that had some to collect and it's thanks to his talent to doing so he came upon Pierce Gavestone who recognized his skill. Thanks to some personal favors and hard work, Dean got from Pierce and his many influential contacts to be included in the administratum agency for tax collection.
From that point, his life has been one heaven of tax collecting, muscled law enforcement and working out at the imperial gym where he spends most of his evenings, keeping a sane body and helping the younger agents to do just the same...

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Now if you'll excuse me, I'd just like to show you what I had teh immense pleasure to grab while at my cousin's the other week end :


And that lot of beauties, all so shiny and chrome !


What do I have next ? Good people, if only I knew myself...

23 comments:

  1. Nice to see him painted JB. The neutral robe with the red trim looks really nice...not something that would have occurred to me.

    As for the massive arm - that's retro unreleased sculpts for you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. yeah, honestly at tabletop distance, noone will give a damn about that detail really. The only thing is the texture was quite annoying to work with and made the end result rather poor. But a painted model is a good one in my book and I'm overall quite happy with it !

      Delete
  2. Excellent figure, paint job, and backstory. Oh and what a haul from your cousins! Way to keep it Oldhammer. ;)

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    1. Those are the very same cousins that got me into the hobby when I was 9, I have more to say about what I found there but that'll be all for now...

      Cheers buddy !

      Delete
  3. Nice job mate, I see what you mean about that arm though... ��

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well as someone pointed out justly, there was a reason why these were unreleased in the first place ^^.
      Thanks !

      Delete
  4. Great painting, I like the decoration on the robe and the backstory. :)

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    1. Cheers, I thought he would look a little too fantasy without fancy patterns to fancy that potato sack up !
      The backstory is jus twhat it is, I don't decide, the models do...
      Thanks Lee !

      Delete
  5. That's a catachan arm alright. Maybe he dropped out of basic training to become a clerk! Nice paint job though.

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    Replies
    1. Don't know the reason behind that huge arm but I bet this was ot what was intended at first...

      Delete
  6. Its nice to see that guy painted JB, nice work. My version of the same model should be finished before Monday I hope.

    The left arm really is massive, and far larger than the right one. But y'know, it really doesnt matter that much on the table and I get a kick out of seeing that Pete Knifton artwork becoming game-ready all these years after I first saw it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Exactly, maybe he's just a left handed cyber-tennis player or maybe he's a windjammer...
      At tabletop distance all those consideration vanish though and the fun remains.

      I'm eager to see your version though I already have a hint about how it may come out !

      Delete
  7. Good job! I like the red trim and the decal.

    Do you know who the sculptor is? The figure's Pointy Index Finger of Death looks a bit like Copplestone to me, I have noticed some of his figures pointing with grossly oversized index fingers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'd put my money on Copplestone or Naismith though some elements would point one and some another...
      The left arm is clearly an addition (as for all the models from that blister) so it may be a bit of both !

      Delete
    2. I hadn't thought of there being two different sculptors really. That would explain the different arm.

      Delete
  8. Wow, that was a quick paint! And it turned out cool! According to the RT manual, it's supposed to be an Administratum Clerk in black robes, the knife showing the mark of his department and office ;)
    You did an outstanding work there. About his arm... well, let's assume he does a lot of one-handed push-ups. Yeeees, that would be the better explanation... :P

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. One handed pushups is good too ! Damn I always suck at fluff ! Wish I had known about that black robe thing, it would have looked cool actually !

      Cheers Suber !

      Delete
  9. Lovely job JB. The robe pattern has come out well; nothing wrong with using a decal here and there! I always like your fluff so keep it going.

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    1. Cheers, I'm not a fan of decals but once in a while it is true it can help whe you can't be arsed to freenhand something and you need the extra something to make things spark.

      Delete
  10. Beautiful work. I love the Grecean border of Dean's robe. I am going to shamelessly copy that sometime soon. I am so happy that Foundary is digging out and releasing all these old Citadel sculpts. If only they had the molds for McDeath...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well releasing unreleased is one thing but releasing some models that have already been used commercially is another I think but I'm no expert at this sort of thing. I'm just not putting money on that bet though I'd be one of those jumping with joy !

      thanks a lot !

      Delete
  11. Excellent paintjob! Sounds like there will be some cool figures coming out by Foundry soon then :)

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    Replies
    1. The pack is a nice one really and the price is very cool too, it was a no brainer for me !

      Thanks !

      Delete

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