Valkia the Bloody
This was a small project that ended up being what should have been an army centerpiece.
When GW released the new army book for WoC they provided models for the most, but not all, of the units in the book. The severity of the omission was in direct correlation to it's in-game effectiveness. No one cared that the forsaken were left out but many questioned the lack of warshrines.
There are two major camps of thought: one saying model omission is a problem and another saying it is an opportunity. I fit in the latter category.
I checked around the net to see what other players were doing, and most of them were basing the model on Saint Celestine from 40k. They were good conversions, but she just didn't have the feel I was looking for.
The classic range Lelith Hesperax from Warhammer 40,000 had a dynamic pose and well sculpted features. The trident she held was swapped for a lance head from the knights of chaos. A shield with the demon head on it fit the fluff from Valkia's entry. I realized the new spear blade was entirely too long to have her standing on solid ground, but as a flying model that wasn't an issue.
The wings came from a 40k chaos possessed backpack. Once trimmed from the pack though, it was plain to see the supporting arms were entirely too muscular for Valkia's slender frame. I slowly and carefully whittled the arms down to a more appropriate proportion. I had a pleasent surprise when I went to fit the wings into her back, as there was already a gap on the armor for a piece from Lelith's sprue. At times it was as though this model had always been intended to be converted.
For the skin, I chose to use a dark shade of slate grey, as Valkia has already been slain and pulled back from oblivion. To contrast the earthy tone of her skin, I went for the classic colors of khorne, a bright blood red and a glittering gold. The bleached bone stood out nicely against the red, and the overall look was tied together by the blacks and silvers.
