Monday, December 12, 2016

Chad 'Ironhand' Gardenier, A. Martin Hood, A combat exorcist.

Seasons Greetings!

With Monster Hunter: Memoirs, SINNERS hitting the shelves last week, I decided to work on the main character from the books.

Oliver Chadwick Gardenier, retired Marine, friend of Sasquatches, zombie killer, and victim of an Elf Curse.  He goes by Chad in the books, and has picked up the nickname Ironhand.

Mono Ken takes center stage.

Watch your step!

Spider!!


Honestly, he's kinda an annoying character, but has enough likable traits to make me want to keep reading about him.  I'm only part way into SINNERS, where the action changes from the Seattle area to the Big Easy of New Orleans.  I am liking his character more in this second book.  However, all and all, it's all still incredibly fun because the world of MHI is so enjoyable.

One thing I have learned from the new book is that I'm going to need more werewolf models...or as they call them in Nawleans "Loup Garous".

I used a Hasslefree figure for the basis, and added a katana strapped on his back.  His Katana, known as Mono Ken (Sword Of Mourning) actually plays a big part in the series, and I'm glad I had one floating around the bits box.  The spider was a leftover from an old GW sprue, and works well with the first book of Grunge.  The base was a scrap piece of plastic, also in that bits box that I thought looked like a sewer grate or drain.

Next up is A Martin Hood, the big bad from MHI:Vendetta.  He's such a great bad guy, which has become a real hallmark of all the Corriea written MHI books.  A Martin Hood is a Necromancer as well as some sort of Shadow Elemental/Demon.  If he is in shadow, he can take an ethereal form at will.  That makes him rather hard to hit.  However, if a light is on him, he's as vulnerable as any other human.

Another Hasslefree mini fits the bill!

I don't really like the transitions from light to dark on the side profile..I'll have to rework them.


 So, to represent this ability, I tried to paint him as if he's got a light on him, and he's caught a bit off guard by it.  I also plan on a few other versions of him, one as the complete shadow demon, one as his 'former' self, and one as a decked out cult leader.

Hood commands all kinds of dead and undead things, and only wants to make a deal with the old ones, until that mean MHI team keeps trying to thwart him.  So, I'm going to have to make him a small zombie army as well...

Lastly, is a character that really only gets a mention in Monster Hunter International: Nemesis.  During the finale of that book, there is a big battle with a shedload of demons.  The 'good guys, led by Agent Franks' also employ help from the Vatican's own Swiss Guard, Demon fighters, and Combat Exorcists.
So, taking a cue from the idea of "Combat Exorcists, I slightly converted an Artizan Priest by adding a small machine gun.



I like the dichotomy it sets up.  He's trying his faith first, but has the gun at the ready, just in case.  The Combat Exorcists weren't really described in the story, but my take on it is what makes this project fun for me.  I think a squad of Vatican Monster Hunters will be a must do at some point into this project...

With Christmas coming up, I'll probably have to put my minis aside for a little bit.  I also have some other painting to attend to (painting the family room).  That's not nearly as fun, but at least I can use a big brush for that!

Thanks for reading, and I'd love to hear comments or any feedback.

You can also 'like' my facebook page, if you'd want.

https://www.facebook.com/supervike/

I post most all my minis there as well, but I like to give a more detailed rundown here on the old bloggy blog!

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!!

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