Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Stryderre, Stalker In The Shadows

+ Stryderre +

Once a young man,
eager to serve
mankind with purpose,
enlist he did.
In proud he gave his vow
to die for the Emperor
or live in shame.

On a rebellious planet
summoned he was,
to do his bidding,
the first of them all.

Brothers of blood on his side,
armed with sword with biting teeth,
he landed down in a metal flying beast,
rushed to front with bloodlust
and wanted to feast.

Follow his orders he did.
Killed hundreds,
mangled without hesitation.
Swallowing every scream,
until there was no more left to slay.

Horrors he did,
filled his deed.
But scars very deep
It did bit.

Nightmares made him ill.
Cold sweat tearing his skin.
Insanity came, wanting to fill.
Murder he did, killed all of his kin.

He took their heads,
heard them whisper.
Tried to mute them,
sew their mouths and eyes,
but their dark thoughts
would not stop poisoning his mind.

Years passed,
thousands of them.
Nights became endless,
darkness over washed.

No longer young nor man,
he wanders between realms,
hunting careless,
Using shadow as his hide.

With blood he has to feed
his splintered soul
filled with murder and greed.
Mother, he is still there,
amusing your insatiable hunger
that can never be met
by satisfaction...

+++

44 comments:

  1. Great model and great paint job too! One thing I always love about your work is the quality of your photographs - a tutorial some time would be great! :)

    Cheers,

    Dante

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    1. Thanks Andrew! I have actually thought of writing a tutorial for my way of photoshooting minis. This will push my thoughts forward and I promise to make a coverage the next time I'll put up my shooting spot.

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  2. Lovely, and creepy! The face in particular is very atmospheric.

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    1. Thanks Steve! I wish you strength in your task photographing Mr. Ansell's collection of Citadel Miniature!

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  3. Fantastic work, Kari! While it's really hard to pick favourites in a game so rich with fantastic models, your Stryderre is clearly one of mine! Fantastic proof that a model need not be huge to be spectacular ;-)

    Maybe my favourite photo from the game so far shows the Stryderre facing some enemies in the dark corridors of the Arrke, his pale skin eerily luminescent in the gloom. Simply marvelous!

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    1. Man, your Legion is surely one of the best thing you've done so far! They are like hand puppets diving from the depths of the Arrke, twitching in pain from the eternal short circuit. It scares me to even wonder what will follow this madness!

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  4. hello everybody - its the face of this thats the real killer in real life - kari has bionic eyes methinks .....

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    1. It is the head of the character where I start my conversions and painting. Sometimes it takes hours to find a perfect face to fit my plans.

      Thanks John!

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  5. well obviously not " just " art but you get what i mean.. stunning

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  6. It seems strange to use our usual adjectives of "lovely" or "beautiful" to describe this model, so when I say that it is "hideous" and "wretched", please understand that I mean that it is really well done, and excellent.

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    1. Thanks Lasgunpacker! Judging by the adjectives you decided to you use to describe this thing, I guess I succeed in my plans ;)

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  7. You continue to make stellar models! This one just breathes bestial furiosity! His bloody eyes and fresh scars are truly troubling (in the best possible way).

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    1. Thank you, Godwyn! There can never be too much blood shed in the 40k universe, can there?

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  8. Brilliant stuff. I always love how creepy your minis are.

    Eve

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    1. Cheers Eve! That's where I usually aim at with these things - creepiness. Even though if they are ordinary men, if there even is such a thing in the 40k...

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  9. Love the movement conveyed in this one. A rabid one.

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    1. That's pretty unusual in what I usually do, movement I mean ;) Thanks Dai!

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  10. A truly uncompromising look at one of the Lost and the Damned.

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    1. Cheers Nathan! The thing is pretty lost in the wast Space Hulk... and pretty much damned too.

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  11. I do miss having this model on my painting table (along with Mikko's, Tammy's, Kraut Scientist)

    The face is incredible, the best face I have seen on a miniature and a shame that while the photo is lovely it does not do the face justice.

    But the best feature of the mini is the stump arm and chain forearm weapon, great idea. Nice diamond pattern on there too.

    Thank you for making this guy and sending him over.

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    1. Cheers mate! Ah, the face... It is one of the best I've painted so far. The stump and the chainsword came in my mind just moments after I had sawed the hand off...

      It was truely my pleasure to be part of this incredible happening. Thank you very much for organizing, keeping us up-to-date and handling everything so well!

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    2. Your scythe wielding red-head gaffer was one hell-of-a-fantastic piece too! I can see some similarities to one of John's artwork, one that can also be found in the Emperor's will... Did that work as the basis for the mini?

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  12. Absolutely amazing, Kari!
    Such a great model and the paint job is just outstanding. Love the way the chainblade is attached. Had a similar idea just a couple of days ago.

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    1. Many thanks, Christian! I've started visiting your blog on daily basis to get my fix of inspiration.

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  13. Kari - you're a genius. A dark twisted genius, but a genius none the less.

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    1. It's alive! Muhahaha! Thanks Jeff!

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    2. You're welcome! By the way - is that Uriens head there? Just trying to make out the different pieces...

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    3. The head is actually from Vampire Counts Necromancer kit. I shaved the head with a hobby knife and drilled his mouth a bit larger so that I could sculpt gums and lower teeth.

      Urien's head looks pretty creepy! I might get that mini for some of my incoming project... Thanks for the hint :)

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  14. Brilliantly, beautifully creepy.

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  15. That's another lovely fella from your imagination. Grimy and gory - that's the thing for my taste.

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    1. Kiitos! I admire your grimy and gory style very much! Sorry for not posting any comments on your blog for quite some time. I'm still following it with great interest though! The Xenos you've been doing are amazing!

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  16. wonderfully strange! Great idea using the ur-ghoul body. The whole Arkke has been an incredible project to follow from the stands, so much creativity and camraderie. Bravo!

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    1. Thanks Alexander!

      It is, it is. When I first read about the Arkke campaign in Neil's ex-blog I was very excited. Now it feels like the project is living in its own dark corner of the grim universe, swallowing art and hobby spirit in it as it passes through the reality, giving us followers the inspiration never felt before....

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    2. Oh you are definitely right. The Arrke casts an enormous shadow. To be inspired by but making it your own. It can be difficult at times to find ones own path through the warp

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  17. Wonderful model mate - just stunning :)

    It has got so much soul and grit about it :)

    Your work is a great inspiration!

    /Janushedemann

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  18. This is awesome! Love the red eyes!

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  19. My "english" (an injure to Shakespeare) is not enough to express my totally admiration...Neil is right, you re a genius. A little deperate to see what you can do...but I am a standing man :)
    I should like to know if I can participate to this event the next time with a figure, I ll surpass my capacity to not be ridiculous...

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    1. Thank you very much, Stéphane. Your words are too kind! By ridiculous you must be meaning bloody awesome? :)

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    2. At this moment, I am trying to reanimate myself because I saw for the first time your Epherion Gang...bip....bip....bip....

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