Iron Sleet Invitation: For the Emperor's Soul

Everything you have been told is a lie!

I find it hard to believe, but after the most intense two hobbying months of my life, the first Iron Sleet Invitational is complete! To corroborate this, my entry and a host of fantastic entries are displayed in all their glory on Iron Sleet’s website, including an evocative entry by none other than John Blanche himself! For me, the whole process was a great learning experience, particularly encouraging me to pick up a paint brush after many long years of absence, as well as to try some more ambitious green stuff work.  It also got me to revisit Inq28, which I had been meaning to do for many months.  Now, with the two inquisitors done, I can start to explore some of the more eccentric members of their retinues (the new Adeptus Mechanicus models will work wonderfully for Molnar’s crew)!  To round out all of our Invitational posts, I figured that I would do one last entry focusing on the completed Molnár, and to show some pictures of the three models together.


=] Lucanus Molnár [=
Inquisitor (Ordo Machinum)
40mm

It was exciting to explore one of the lesser know Ordos of the Inquisition (and create non-Astarte power armor!).

For the final model of the Invitational, I wanted to go in the opposite direction of the first inquisitor. I wanted him to be less cautious about his identity as an inquisitor. Instead of wearing run-of-the-mill fatigues and an overcoat, he would be wearing a custom suit of power armor.  Despite a more brazen appearance, I still wanted to ensure that the model had a reserved quality, giving no indication towards his placement along the thin line of radicalism.

After so many years of not painting, it was fun to revisit my favorite color to work with, red!

My main concern with the model was distancing him from a Space Marine.  I did this by removing the characteristic backpack and shoulder pads of an Astartes’ power armor. I also made his leg and arm armor much thinner than normal power armor, giving the model more finesse rather than simply brute force.

I really had fun creating and painting the bases for all of the Invitational models; I was particularly happy with how the oil stain came out on Molnár’s base. 

When it came to painting Inquisitor Molnár, I had many ideas swirling around in my head about potential color schemes. Eventually, I decided that I wanted to experiment with the color red. Additionally, with Molnár’s close association with the Adeptus Mechanicus, a deep red color seemed a natural fit. Years ago it had been one of my favorite colors to paint. My only Golden Daemon award, a bronze in the Open Category, made heavy use of Vallejo reds (A Norse Blood Bowl model). Fortunately, after rummaging around through all of my old hobby supplies I found all those old Vallejo paints (Black Red, Burnt Cadmium Red, Dark Red). With my old Vallejo paints in hand, I went about mixing and blending the colors together to create a subtle transition of color on Molnár’s armor.

The subtle sense of motion in each of the models in the vignette is more evident when viewed from above. 

There are still several small details that I have not finished on Molnár’s paintjob. I want to do some freehand work on his left shoulder guard, but am currently unsure what should go there (maybe a personal crest or emblem). Additionally, I am unsure of what to do with the blank screens on his armored bracers (simple text?, an =I= to represent a kind of screensaver while not in use?). Finally, his armor might benefit with some form of battle damage and scarring. The exhaust system of his powerpack could also be scorched and blackened. Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome (I also need to go back and paint an =I= on Soljic)!

I have to admit, it is hard for me to believe that all three of these models are done and the scene I envisioned months ago is a reality! 

Even though the Invitational is over, I feel it is only the beginning of me exploring these two inquisitors.  Soljic already has a few other compatriots, a few converted Scions that I featured here a few months back, so I think I am going to focus on Molnár’s associates. I can’t really think of a better time for it, seeing that GW just released a bunch of fantastic Skitarii models, perfect to begin exploring the shadowed depths of the Mechanicum.

-Adam Wier