Wood Elf Waywatcher (Gary Morley, 2007) #Fembruary 2022

Citadel Wood Elf Waywatcher (Gary Morley, 2007)

My last Fembruary model today (though not quite my last February model to share) – a Wood Elf Waywatcher, released alongside the Warhammer Armies: Wood Elf sourcebook in 2007. A Gary Morley sculpt, the technique is competent, but the sculpt itself is a bit of an overdetailed but indistinct mess – full of “wait.. what is THAT supposed to be?”-type details, which frankly make the model notsomuch fun to paint. As you can see, it’s a complete mess of “visual noise” up close, but given the four-foot test, it looks fine. So I’ll call that a “good enough” win.

Citadel Wood Elf Waywatcher (Gary Morley, 2007)

Just one Waywatcher, you ask? Yep. This one was a model selected to represent Marouda’s Elven archer in a long-gone, lightweight but decent fun but, low-effort, kill-and-loot pathfinder “campaign”. We didn’t get all that far, and the “long-gone part is probably the biggest reason why the model never got completed – and Fembruary is the reason that it now finally did get completed. I’ve got a few more of these somewhere, but they’re not likely to see the painting desk until we get back into the swing of something like Kings of War or AoS again. I’d like to do so this year, but there’s a lot of cleaning and clearing and culling to do first…

Realm of Chaos – Citadel Beastman Bray Shaman, Brayherd Beastmen Gors (Michael Perry, 1995-6)

Citadel Beastman Bray Shaman, Brayherd Beastmen Gors (Michael Perry, 1995-6)

Funny how some models look dated quickly, and some sculpts endure, isn’t it? My models today were sitting here half-painted for several years, got restarted recently in a failed attempt to complete more models for Roger from Under the Wargames Table‘s recent “Mo’vember” painting challenge and then re-restarted after playing a bit of Vermintide II over the Christmassy break. I’ve always loved Michael Perry’s line of goat-headed beastman/beastmen models, initially sculpted and released in the mid-1990’s. That Bray Shaman still holds up really well today, I think – all the more for the fact that he’s not balancing on one leg on a tactical rock, thrusting a staff towards the heavens with sculpted flames coming out of his …nose.

Citadel Beastman Bray Shaman, Brayherd Beastmen Gors (Michael Perry, 1995-6)

I can only say it’s both a shame and a wonder that I haven’t painted more of these models, whether it’s the old-school metals, the more recent plastics (a pair of “eBay rescue repaints” seen here), or the newset Age of Sigmar versions that have come out alongside releases for things Like Warhammer Underpants: Beastgrave and the like. Something I’ll really have to rectify in 2022, I reckon. Oh, I also forgot to paint in the eyeball gems on the staff-hand-skull. I’ve since fixed that! These models are also submitted within the window for Dave Stone’sPaint What You Got challenge. Something definitely worth checking out and participating in if you’re interested in giving the extra motivation of a low-stress painting challenge a go!

Finally, I’d also like to take the opportunity to dedicate this post to Rodor and, um D’Rodor Jr, of the blog Rodorhammer, as they are both fans of the Beastmans and their recent post on Christmas Beastmen (or Beastmen for Christmas?) combined with the whole Vermintide II thing and helped motiovate me to get these three completed in the days following Christmas! Saluti, compagni!