"Crouched at the head of each of the Clans Skryre is a master of lethal science known as an 'Arch-Warlock'. Their minds are things of whirring brass gears, constantly creating new schematics of destruction. It is at their bidding that the temperamental, though utterly deadly, superweapons of the Skaven are manufactured and thus is the survival of Skryre ensured; for there are few Warlords of the other clans who would embark upon a campaign without at least some of the bounty of their diabolical forges among their forces.."
Ars Militaris Exercitus Aqshy
I think it's safe to say that the children of the horned rat have well and truly got their claws into me as I've spent another really enjoyable couple of weeks painting up a third character from the Skaven range. With a Galvaneer and Engineer under my belt, I thought I'd have a go at the Arch-Warlock to 'complete the set' as it were. Technically, there's the Warlock Bombardier as well, but the sculpt isn't really calling out to me at the moment and the Bombardier doesn't quite fit in with the loose plan that's been forming - more on that later - for now, let's focus on the Arch-Warlock.
I was initially a bit unsure about this mini, but looking back, I think it's because the main photo of the mini doesn't capture the 'golden angle', instead trying to show off as many details as possible. As a result, it doesn't give a very good sense of the model, but after a little time playing with the 360° viewer on the GW website it was clear that not only is it a fantastic update of the older sculpts but it also draws inspiration from elements of the classic Ikit Claw kit from the 2010s.
Much of the paint palatte for the Arch-Warlock was already planned in advance so as to tie in with the other two Warlocks, but after I perusing a few more recipes on 'Eavy Archive, I decided to try something different on the insulative coating of the hoses connecting the crushing piston claw and stormcage halberd to their power supply.
Beginning with a basecoat of Abaddon Black, I used thinned Incubi Darkness to start to sketch in some faint highlights to the uppermost third of both cable, applying repeated layers until I was happy with how it looked. From there, I refined the highlights with first Dark Reaper and then Thunderhawk Blue, before using Ionrach Skin to pick out the edges of the torn patches as well as to add a wee dot where the insulation meets the couplings at either end.
The finished effect is subtly different enough from the other cabling that it doesn't all look the same, while still being sufficiently greenish in tone to tie in with the cables elsewhere.
Something else that was quite a fun experiment was adding the sickening green glow thats emanating from behind the grilles of two of the spherical casings atop the Arch-Warlock's back. Having finished up the metals, I diluted both Warpstone Glow and Moot Green with Lahmian Medium and then glazed the grilles with both until I was happy with them. A quick reapplication of the final layer and highlights for the metals helped to tidy things up and make sure the glow was definitely coming from the right direction.
Painting globes of swirling, noxious vapours brings me nicely back to the plan I mentioned previously as I picked up a box of Acolyte Globadiers to paint up to accompany the Arch-Warlock and am considering some Warplock Jezzails (which tie well with the Warlock Engineer) and Warpvolt Scourgers (which pair nicely with the Galvaneer). All together I'd have then have a nice wee mob of some of Clan Skryre's nastiest toys... but I'll start with the Acolyte Globadiers and go from there because I know what I'm like for getting distracted. Before I get to them though, a duardin slayer of some notoriety has barged into the painting queue, so I'd better get cracking as duardin and skaven do not make for particularly happy bedfellows.
Until next time, as always, thanks for reading and happy hobbying!
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