Sunday 4 June 2023

The Return of Don Clawleone, Genestealer Patriarch

 I've been feeling a bit rough the last couple of days - nothing serious, just enough to keep me indoors and generally get in the way of the small holiday I'd booked off work (typical!). So I got out the old Genestealer Patriarch model and had a go at improving him a bit.

This miniature really is one of the great moments of Oldhammer. Yes, he's completely out of style with more recent models, but the sculpting is superb (the sheer detail is amazing, considering that this thing was sculpted by hand) and the sense of character is great. He's 40k's equivalent of Jabba the Hutt, a bloated, wily crime lord sitting on his excessive throne. You can imagine what he'd be like just from the way he looks. Together with his seedy magus advisor, he's almost a diorama in itself.

Anyhow, I added two resin plinths to the back of the model (thanks Ruth). One of the plinths had a burning brazier on it. After a lot of thinking I decided that Don Clawleone the Patriarch would display one of his favourite trophies on the other plinth. A skull, perhaps? How about the helmet of a Blood Angels Terminator, the old enemy from Space Hulk?

I also put a Mantic scenery bit, representing some documents and a knife, next to the magus. I painted a little Imperial Eagle on the papers. In the UK, it's traditional for lawyers to bind documents with pink ribbon (God knows why, this country makes the Imperium look logical), so I painted a pink string tying them together.

I tried to add a bit more highlighting and to tidy up a bit of the old painting. In a move that surprised even me, I added a bit of weathering powder to the sculpted base, which is meant to represent rusted metal plates (I've no idea where it came from). There's a nice bloodstain along the floor, and the Don is cleaning blood off his claws, so I suspect that he just made someone an offer they couldn't refuse (because they're now dead).





8 comments:

  1. This is so incredibly, massively, absolutely awesome! You got my heart (figuratively speaking) with this one.
    PS: I didn't know about the pink ribbon thing, and now I'm curious!

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    1. Thanks very much! I first painted this model a few years back and it seemed like a good time to try to improve him a bit. The pink ribbon thing is really weird - I've no idea why but then the law here is full of bizarre traditions!

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  2. Amazing job! Absolutely love the execution on this setup, and the paintwork is outstanding. The magus looks so good in the black coat; I may need to steal that...

    As a lonnnnnnnnnnnnng time genestealer fan, this has always been a model I wanted to acquire. Prices online are... dumb. Fortunately I've picked up bits and pieces over time. It won't be as complete as yours, but you gave me some ideas on how to use what I have. I also have a fan sculpt version. Now I just need to get back to my cult.

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    1. Thanks Hobbs! I love this model, but it's the sort of thing that my younger self probably wouldn't have "got" as much. Fan sculpts are a good idea, especially in this 3D printed era. I briefly considered the new Stealer Cult army, but you just need too many guys. I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

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    2. If you are looking to expand your cult check out the Hybrid Miniatures Facebook group if you aren't already in there. Lots of cool fan sculpts for the cult.

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    3. Cheers, I'll check it out. I think I once bought a model "protonid" off them.

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  3. What a great piece. Less "useful" for the game as such, but great for 1001 other uses (and just looks cool on the shelf).

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    1. Thanks! He certainly makes a solid paperweight! He's one of my favourite models: there's a lot of character there!

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