So I couldn't wait to parade out my creepy doll crew in a Malifaux game. But my buddy and I ended up using just Henchman so we could get used to the rules more. That meant no Collodi, just Vasilisa, going up against the Ortegas. For those of you not familiar with the game, here's the crib notes: after Teddy died, I hid a lot.
I started looking at some Malifaux models who would fair better on their own and came across the enormously freaky Widow Weaver. After getting my butt handed to me last game, I started assembling her. She has a teeny tiny jaw piece that bounced out of my hands and I spent 45 minutes crawling around on the floor looking for it.
A little green stuff to fill the gaps and I got her together.
Yes, that's a spider faced woman in an 1800's dress. The style (I think) is 1870's England. She has a bit of drapery on the back, which I found out was called the bustle. It's funny to think of today's obsessions with the female rear end and see it all the way back in Victorian fashion. Still, Widow Weaver doesn't have the Seurat Sunday-in-the-Park, 1890's style, "I'm actually a snail in a dress" bustle. And thank God for that, because who wants to see a insect lady bounce the junk in her trunk?
A little white paint, a little black wash...
As to color scheme, I liked a light pastel colors on the clothes, XV Legion (and a nice muddy train to boot) did a great job, though I would like her skin to be a deeper purply-black to provide some contrast.
Accents are always a challenge for me. They can make the figure pop or confuse them. On Widow Weaver its the fan bits, umbrella trim, and the back flower decoration. Some painters made the accent color a bright red, but for me that was too garish. Eventually, I decided on a cool turquoise.
Color Scheme:
- Skin - Reaper Twilight Purple with black washes
- Eyes - Reaper Bright Red
- Lower Dress and Umbrella Canopy - Reaper Pink Entrails
- Upper Dress - FolkArt Bayberry
- Wig - Reaper Concrete Grey with Ceramcoat Purple Smoke wash, FolkArt Dove Grey higlights
- Trim and Umbrella Fringe - FolkArt Camel & Parchment
- Umbrella Shaft - FolkArt Coffee Bean
- Accents - FolkArt Aqua
Satisfied mostly with the first coat, there were a few things I noticed. The eyes didn't pop enough. And the skin tone was flat out purple - not purply-black. So she looked more "alien" than "spider lady".
This was one of the first time I use my inks (Privateer Press P3 line). Inks do make a softer transition between the colors, but it's very subtle and unlike a wash, it can't go just everywhere. I got a look I was pleased with and added her to a base.
I couldn't resist adding the black widow marking on back of the neck like the box. A little freehand work - I had to paint the shape in white first. Ceramcoat Cinnamon, and then outlined in Reaper Mustard Yellow. A little Reaper Bright Red to make the certain bits pop, and then a black wash to blend back into the skin.
Then there was the matter of her base details. I knew I was going to do my Terraclips Cities theme again, but like Sonnia, I wanted to do something different than stray rocks or weeds. One of Widow Weaver's abilities in the lore (and as an upgrade) is to create a Wicked Doll or a Teddy. So I got an idea from some of the smoke ideas I've read about and decided to create a spell effect - like a little doll was being conjured.
I made a little Teddy out of green stuff using a mold I made from an orphanage base. Then I sprayed some cotton pieces with a mixture of PVA glue and water. The cotton gets really wet so it's important to play with it and get a little separation between the fibers.
I thought I got the wisps to curl up enough like a magic spell smoke had just gone off. After affixing the both pieces to the base, I gently applied some Superglue on the cotton-smoke to harden it more.
I showed my wife what I'd done and she looked at the white smoke cloud and said, "Is that supposed to be a cradle?" So I decided the cloud needed some more "wispy bits" going on.
Every time I take a picture of what I thought was final, I'd find some bit that was off. On this model, it was the beaded hem. Freakin' beads, they were so tiny black wash just made everything black, and white drybrushing made everything a stream of white. But I wouldn't see it until I took a picture. I'd get the lighting right take a snap, and find a spot that had too much wash. Or too little. Or no definition. Or plain ole sloppy. GAH!
So I think these are the final shots.
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