Sunday, February 7, 2021

Ghost Archipelago 3 - The Old Man of the Sea


Joining the crew of the Kraken today we have the crew's mysterious guide, the Old Man of the Sea. 

The old man appeared to the Kraken as she traversed the deepest oceans, forming out of the sea mists that crept over the gunwale. An ancient, fleshless skull rose out of the coalescing fog, tiny albino crab scuttling from it's dripping eyesockets. The flickering wraiths of long dead sea creatures darted about its form. A gnarled driftwood staff thudded into the deck. 

The crew owed their souls to the sea, and in thier dead hearts they knew it had sent it's herald to collect. 

The Old Man spoke with the authority of the crushing deep, and his will was as relentless as the waves upon the shore. There was no denying the tasks he set the crew. But there is no malice in the sea, and so the crew were offered some small hope of redemption should they succeed in their quest. Whether the Kraken sails to eventual salvation, or yet deeper damnation, none can say.


The Old Man of the Sea is from Warploque Miniatures, from their undead raiders range. I picked him up some years back, and upon starting this project he immediately jumped to mind as the warden for my crew for Ghost Archipelago.

As to painting, I wanted him to have the look of a ragged old sail or perhaps thick sea mist. I used a light grey as the basecoat, over which I applied several washes of GW Contrast paint thinned with medium. Apothecary White, Plaguebearer Flesh and then some Nihilakh Oxide. Some of these, such as the Plaguebearer, were recess washed. I highlighted this with light grey and finally white. 

The wee fish and clam are from the Games Workshop Idoneth Deepkin range. I managed to get a pile of wee fish and such from a pal. They add a lot to the bases, though some are big enough to be based up as familiars or somesuch. 


Here we have the crew to date. A ways to go yet! Next up is some rusty gunpowder-based firepower.

16 comments:

  1. Lovely paint job. I should really dig out my Warploque stuff!

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    1. Thanks! I'm very fond of the Warploque range. I'm looking forward to painting the undead ogre in particular.

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  2. Wow - this ticks a lot of boxes for me! Beautiful painting bud with all the barnacles and bleached skulls reminiscent of those albino deep sea crustaceans, but your narrative is what really does it - great bit of writing. I also have a real nostalgic kick for the old audio-book of the Old Man of the Sea as narrated by Charlton Heston - still got it on cassette somewhere!
    Not everyone's favourite skeletal, right wing gun nut I know, but I do love the way he tells the story, kind of like how you describe - with the authority of the crushing deep.

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    1. Cheers Thantsants. Background is a very enjoyable part of the hobby for me. The story is a big element of the pleasure of gaming and a mojo boost to me personally.

      I do enjoy Heston's work, shame about his political views. Sometimes you can separate the art from the artist, sometimes not.

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  3. A really interesting miniature, beautifully painted. I love the colours on the sail/sea mist/ cloak thingy!

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    1. Many thanks Preacher. I am quite happy with how his misty rags came out I must say.

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  4. That's impressive! I didn't know of this mini and I have to say it looks imposing. Great work, I like the cloak too, it looks fantastic!

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    1. Cheers Suber! It's a smaller mini company, but they do nice stuff.

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  5. Great miniature concept and you painted it by a very nice way, especially the spectral effect. Bravo David :)

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  6. Every single miniature of your undead / pirat band is a pleasure to look at. Keep on doing the same!

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  7. I particularly like this guys funky teeth.

    The crew if the Kraken are racking up, slowly but surely and the sum of the parts is already better than the individually gorgeous elements.

    Keep the... uh... mainsail braced and your poop deck swabbed!

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    1. Cheers Cheetor! He's got some scraggly gnashers.

      Slowly indeed, but glacial progress is still progress I guess. I'll row my little hobby boat inexorably to shore.

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