This model is being painted for the 2012 Clean-Slate Challenge, an attempt to paint all the forgotten models accrued over the years by an enthusiastic hobbyist.
This Priest of Ulrik was acquired from a friend's bitzbox. I believe he originally got the model thrown randomly into an ebay auction lot. It passed to me, mercifully in one piece, and spent a year in my bitzbox. Time to finally give this poor guy some recognition for so many years spent in neglect!
The first challenge in painting this model was simply identifying it. It's been a long time since GW has formally acknowledged the followers of Ulrik; something that will hopefully change with the rumored Empire updates.
Once I found out what this guy was, I was able to find some good examples of similar models in old empire army books and the outstanding GW publication: Uniforms and Heraldry of the Empire. This book is a must for any hobbyist, irrespective of whether or not they play the empire. The same goes for the Skaven equivalent book.
Micro-Lesson: White Fur
GW fur is a pain. Trying to paint that fur white is an even bigger pain.
I started with a coat of Astronomican Grey, washed down with a 1:1 mix of Asurman Blue and Badab Black. The issue with this is that the fur is modeled too deep, which means there's too much wash and the finish is too dark. It took two drybrush passes with Astronomican and a half dozen drybrush passes with Skull White to get the fur where I needed it.
The fact is that when you're painting fur, it should look a little flat, because fur is flat in many instances. It sits tightly packed against the skin, forming a protective barrier against the cold. The texturing is nice, but it's a little too much for real fur. I'd be interested to see what GW fur would look like after a light wash of the new liquid green stuff to even things out a little.
Another model for the 2012 CS Challenge is finished. Next up, a little action with the Imperial Guard.
