Thursday 13 August 2009

Battle Damaged Berserker

This miniature began life as a test for modelling battle damage. Somehow it seemed appropriate that it become a Berserker - you can imagine them continuing to fight, being at the forefront of an assault as the enemy desperately blaze away! I've tried to model him in a fairly relaxed pose; The battle is over, he's got his prize and his neural implants have deactivated. Are his wounds finally catching up with him, or is it instead a moment of reflection?




I've attempted to model a mix of different types of damage: There is projectile damage, which was done by drilling a small hole and then shaving outwards from the rim with a craft knife, and I also carved some runnels to represent glancing shots or even melee damage. Finally, I added some GS to his chest plate and left knee to make it look like the armour had been hit by some kind of energy or heat weapon and melted! Iacton over at the Greatcrusade offered some great advice on painting armour damage, starting with a darker grey colour and then using lighter shades on the bottom of the hollow to make it look like its catching the light, and I've attempted to use that here.

I added a single arterial blood splatter accross his chest, perhaps from the final and killing blow on the poor unfortunate who's head he now carries in his hand! The head is from the WFB zombie sprue (which has a great selection of gormless looking heads for things like this!) with GS used for the hair.

7 comments:

  1. Excellent work again. Still sorting out how I am going to get started but this is inspiring stuff.

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  2. Really great! Perhaps a little overdone (even space marines might have a hard time living through that) but than again especially in 3rd ed artwork there were marines missing the back of their heads! The bloodsplatter looks good, and the way you painted the battledamage looks excellent.

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  3. Excellent work, friend. Everything is high quality.

    I am anxious to see your world eaters in action.

    Give us a battle report with pictures or video, please!!

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  4. That's some well-done brutality.

    I'm not 100% sold on the whole 'leather glove' look he's sporting on the right hand. The only other critique I'd offer is that he might be a bit overdone on the battle damage. Then again, as a practice for battle damage, that's fine.

    To me, it looks more reflective. I cannot imagine what it'd be like to have a switch go 'bing' and you go from your normal self to ARRRGH! KILLLLLLL! I'm sure that does some stuff to you over the long run. It just reminds me of the contrast in the Horus Heresy bit. We see Kharn who's Mr. Diplomatic (especially compared to Angron, who is Mr. Seething-with-barely-contained-rage) in some of the council meetings prior to Isstvan. Then, we meet Kharn the Berserker on the field, where he's hellaciously unreasoning and persistent.

    I cannot help but think that does something to a person, even a Space Marine.

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  5. Very nice! I can see any of those techniques, applied with judgement, really setting the mood on a model. I think the Iacton method came out really well on the left greave.

    I'm not sure about the melta/plasma damage though - surely it would have taken the paint off before it started melting the armour?

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  6. Many thanks for the comments guys, and sorry for the late reply!

    I have to be honest and say the leather glove was simply lazy modelling on my part - if the rest of his armour is so shredded, then I think it very unlikely that his hand would still be holding that axe or perhaps even there at all (even if it were vulcanised!) Aleksi thanks for the astute observation, the 3rd ed. and around marine artwork (there was a great one of an Ultra holding a banner) is the kind of effect I was looking for! Very OTT, the rest of the squad has damage, but of a far more subtle nature :)

    Raptor, thanks for your notes about the implants! I agree with you completely - as I have said previously the issue of implants is one of those that occupies the vacuum of background information, certainly in pre-heresy terms, and one which has left us at least for the time being with a bit of room for manouver.

    Personally I can imagine them as having a kind of 'combat drug' effect on the marines. One that empowers them with a monumental savagery and bloodlust (with a little space for rational thought). You can imagine what they might feel: Lightning bolts through their bodies and to their fingertips, their heart feeling like it will explode from their chest, their teeth gnashing and would surely splinter if it were not for their reinforced bone structure etc. But, when the red haze has left them, it is like the world has returned to a shade of grey that can never feel as good as that previous high. Whether the marine is feeling regret from this loss of sensation, or else some tiny part of his humanity which might still remain feels guilt through his acts of barbarism, is perhaps up to the viewer to decide.

    I'm toying around with a short story surrounding this subject, and if it ever approaches a readable level I will make sure I post it :)

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