Having temporarily finished playing with pirates, I decided to start on some potential opposition for the Black Pi-rat and the crew of the good ship "Blackberry".
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I give you the darker side of the "Burrows & Badgers" world, at least in my head, with the completion of Rufus Hopkins, Witch Hunter, aka "Ruthless Rufus". In my little piece of whimsy, there exists a military order known as the Knights of the Order of the Lavender Garden, their badge a purple lily/ fleur-de-lys on a white ground. They represent the noble defenders of the faith, the right hand of the ruling classes and protector of the masses. But, it has been recognised that clanking around in armour performing feats of derring-do is all well and good, but you can hear them coming a mile off!
Enter the Secret Police/ MI6/ Stasi/ NKVD/ Gestapo/ Mossad/ CIA/ Lord Walsingham arm of the Lavender Order - the Witch Hunters.
Rufus is an English Cocker Spaniel Witch Hunter (I know this because it said so on his packaging). His leather coat, leather waistcoat and leather hat either A) mark him out as a heavy metal fan-cum-cowboy or B) provide a modicum of protection from blades and elements as he roams the wilds of Northymbra seeking ne'er-do-wells, traitors, dark magicians and undesirables.
As befits someone who frequents the darker, scarier places of the pseudo-English countryside, he and his band do not tread soft, sandy beaches like the pirates I have done so far, but will have "graveyard" as their basing mantra, so Rufus himself treads a flagstone path almost overgrown with grass and weeds, with skulls, grave furniture and the like appearing as I get on with his companions. As members of the wider Lavender Order, they will have some sort of reference to the purple and white colours of the Order in their clothing, be it a tabard, an edge to their tunic, a hood halved in the two colours or whatever. Rufus' coat is lined in purple silk, his hat band of the same material, his neckerchief a flash of purple cotton amongst the weathered leather of his main clothing.
His companions will join him once I work out exactly who they will be!
G
 |
| Rufus treads solidly along the overgrown path, his twin blades ready for the foes he knows are close by, his keen senses alert to the danger... |
 |
| I attempted weathered leather for his clothing, using an edge highlight of GW "Fenrisian Grey", a technique I saw in a recent "White Dwarf". I like the effect, as it gives a sheen that in my mind illustrates him treading his path on a windy night under a full moon. |
 |
| Has he seen something out of the corner of his eye? |
So cute, and very nicely done!
ReplyDelete