SHOWCASE: Ragnar Blackmane (conversion)

Warhammer 40,000: Wolf Lord 'Ragnar Blackmane' (conversion)

So I managed to get this piece finished at last. I can't say it's the best paint job I've ever done, but it's passable. The pictures haven't come out very well, unfortunately. My smart phone and my photography 'skills' are showing their limitations. I think I need to study Garfy's guide on Tale of Painters again. The model does look a little better in the flesh.

WIP: Ragnar Blackmane (conversion) #3

It's starting to come together...

Since my last post, I've finished off the metal work (gold and 'silver') and started work on some of the flat colours. The yellow areas and skin have been basecoated and are now ready for glazing. They're the next sections I'll be working on. There is a lot of yellow. The Eavy Metal team's rendition of the old Ragnar model used to have lots of it, so I'm trying to emulate that to keep with the character. At the moment, it's quite dominant and this isn't even the final hue. I may decide to temper some of it with black stripes or dags in places but I'd like to complete the shading first to see if that helps. I hope to have him finished soon, but in the meantime, work continues...

WIP: Ragnar Blackmane (conversion) #2

Making progress

Work on my Ragnar Blackmane conversion is coming along. I've begun the slow and steady process of adding paint to the model. After undercoating, I painted the base to get the messy dry-brushing out of the way. Some of this will have static grass on it, so it doesn't need to be too neat, but it's important that it's presentable. A few shades applied the rocks, including some green to represent moss growth, should be enough for that. Next I painted the cloak. That and the armour are the two biggest areas of the model, but the cloak would require lots of thin layers and included some areas that would be difficult to reach with the brush I would be using. As the armour is more intricate, I could afford to do that afterwards with a smaller brush.

WIP: Ragnar Blackmane (conversion) #1

The conversion so far

The original Ragnar Blackmane miniature was released in 1992. That same year, a friend of mine introduced me to the Games Workshop hobby, starting with the 'Epic' range. It was almost a year before I started to explore Warhammer 40,000. At the time, my friend had just started to collect Space Wolves. (I started with Ultramarines.) He bought Ragnar quite early on. One of the few models from that era that is still on sale (albeit now in Finecast instead of its original lead and later 'white metal' versions), it's fair to say it's a classic. It is, however, looking a little dated when compared to more recent releases. So when an opportunity to create an alternative version of this model came along, I couldn't resist...