Tuesday 7 January 2014

Nemesis. As In 'My...'

It has taken months.

Orlygg has raised this question before. Curiously, it was also a chariot for him.

Month upon month I would gaze at the Ironclow chariot sitting on my desk. I would stubbornly refuse to complete it on the grounds of its unwordly hideousness, and it would stubbornly defend all of the figures behind it, refusing to let me move on to them.

And so we were trapped in this loveless relationship. It refused to let me see the children and I refused to give it the love it needed.

Why is it so ugly? Where do the influences come from? What sort of oriental, viking precision goblin box was this thing? I know Ironclaw models are generally like marmite, but with this one glaring exception, I've always found Ironclaw fascinating.

So, I've plumbed new lows in my painting standard (which is what happens when one closes ones eyes and thinks of England) and completed the revolting thing - enough to get it off my desk and free up all the beautiful, patient wonders hid behind it.

Even the camera struggled with this one - unsure of its focus - not wanting to emphasise any part of the thing, lest the operator lose an eye or a mind.

Anyway, heres what I've got:







The thing shrieks of compromise and is littered with clumsiness that I just can't bring myself to fix.

Still - we must look for silver linings. Simply put, I have another chariot, which has in it a goblin wizard, and the thing is complete and off the table. Mustn't grumble.

I'm sorry.

13 comments:

  1. Nice job though I must confess its not how I would imagine a goblin chariot... it seems to grandiose...

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  2. Hi!

    It looks rather decent to be honest. I must confess I can't understand everyones hate of the sculpt. Its totally over the top and would suit a goblin chief or magic user with an inferiority complex or ideas above his station!

    All the best!

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  3. I agree the yoke is somehow disturbing and the chariot is a bit too "square" for my taste. That said Bob Olley model paint well and once I painted my first, I realised why some swear by them.
    Maybe the fact thta they are very characterfull alos turns people down because they don't blend with other models. I you consider this one like a gobline chieftain who has stoeln a chariot form a very ancient tomb from a long forgotten civilisatin, you start to have something else and you can appreciate it. I tend to use my Iron claw references as individuals rather than trying to make them rank and file...
    Did I mention your paintjob is really great and that the colour scheme you used emphasises the natural qualities of th emode?, oh, maybe I should because it's what I think ^^

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  4. If you hate it so much I probably have a citadel or marauder goblin chariot I'd gladly swap you. I think this one is the bee's knees.

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  5. It is an odd sculpt, even for Bob Olley, but I like it although I don't actually own one (yet!).
    Like a lot of the Iron Claw stuff it reminds me of Ian Miller's artwork, so perhaps the monster carving on the yoke is inspired by that. The Iron Claw catapult has a big face on it too, so it might also be the similar idea that Kev Adams had about Goblinoids putting faces on things. It always reminded me of the idea of a figurehead on the prow of a ship, especially Norse ships, there as both art and to scare the enemy.

    It's a great paint job, looks really good. Always good to see Goblins :)

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  6. There is a "so bad it's good" line, and I think this crosses it. Especially with the rather fetching paintjob you've given it.

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  7. When I first assembled it, I thought it was awesome and I couldn't wait to get involved. It was only as I started painting it and getting more and more confused as to what I should do with it that the hatred started setting in.

    I think the thing that really threw me is that there is so much detail on the model, but because of where the detail is, it ends up being all the same colour, which somehow feels wasteful and unimaginative. I think its this feeling that I really hated - like I wasn't doing well enough with the figure. Somehow the citadel sculpts are much more forgiving on this front.

    Ultimately, now that the damn thing has been painted, I imagine I'll start falling in love with it again (or, at the very least, the things it enables me to do).

    I do have the ironclaw stone thrower, which is something I'm quite excited about. I have a much better feeling as to what I want to do with it than I had with the chariot.

    Anyway, thanks all for the positive comments!

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  8. You've done an excellent paint job on the wolves.

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  9. Oh I dunno. It's a gobbo innit? They don't much care what they look like so why should you" : )

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  10. Really like the paint job on this, really a classic look to wonderful models. Kudos to you sir!

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  11. I kinda like it. It's got sort of a carnival air to it, like the gobbos are reaaaaally enjoying themselves...

    Call it sloppy if you like, but I say that you're right, there *is* a silver lining, and that's that it's fun!

    Best,
    -Zack
    Zack Cart | Custom Miniatures

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  12. Hi chaps - my sincerest apologies! I didn't realise more comments had been made - some from quite some time ago! Still, a belated thanks for the positives!

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  13. Here's another belated comment - never got round to it at the time!

    I've got a bit of a soft spot for this chariot, even if it is a bit OTT. I stripped my original paint job of the model I own which is a shame as my younger self had no such trouble with all the fine and confusing detail - I just lathered it with bestial brown, chainmail and gold!

    I must get round to reassembling it and having a go at painting it again to see if it has a similar effect on my levels of sanity. My wizard has lost a leg somewhere along the way - he'll have to become a peg-leg as there's no way I can sculpt a convincing Goblin leg...

    Oh and nice job by the way - blue wouldn't have been my first choice but it works really well. Suitably gaudy!

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