A Knight's Tale: Perseus Intrepidus

Hi folks,

Today I received news that the Imperial Knight has arrived! I will be picking it up tomorrow and taking a selfie as confirmation of delivery, but in the meantime, I have been busy planning.

I decided pretty quickly that this Knight will be a part of my Iron Snakes force. I enjoy the distinct paint scheme that I have developed for them, which includes weathering and corrosion, as well as contrast between light and dark/metallic and chromatic. I am interested to see how I can extend all of this to something larger. Obviously, Imperial Knights aren't Space Marines and I want this to be clear in what ever I do with the Knight. I don't just want it to be an exact copy of the Iron Snakes scheme; but there should be some visual cues that harken back to them.  For people new to the blog, here's a picture of my Contemptor Dreadnought, to give you an idea of the kind of look I'll be aiming for (at least in parts).

Ancient Nestor

All of my Iron Snakes characters have been inspired by Homeric characters. When I thought about the impact of an Imperial Knight wading into combat next to a squad of Space Marines, I knew I would have to go beyond ideas gleaned from the Odyssey and the Iliad. I had to go beyond Ajax and Achilles, or even Odysseus (my Master of the Forge is called "Odyssean"). So I started re-reading this old chestnut:

 

Perseus is celebrated as a slayer of monsters in Greek mythology. The translation I have of his legend, tells of how he protected his mother from a dishonourable suitor, who eventually feigned defeat. Relieved that the man had chosen another women to pursue, Perseus was asked to provide a horse to act as a gift to impress the suitors new conquest. With no horse to give, Perseus said “..I will even bring you the head of the Medusa if that is your desire.” Apparently this was a common saying at the time, similar to “I would give you the moon and the stars.” The suitor seized the opportunity, however, and said “Great! Just what I wanted.” 

To aid him in his quest, Perseus received a sack for carrying Medusa's head safely. Zeus gave him a sword, which had the ability to cut through anything, as well as Hades' helm of darkness, which rendered Perseus invisible. Hermes lent Perseus winged sandals that allowed him to fly, whilst Athena gave him a polished shield. He used this wargear to cut off the Medusa's head, then returned to the suitor and turned him to stone for being such a jerk.

Obviously, there are a lot of ideas there for me to plunder. At the moment I am considering which aspects of Perseus’ story I can incorporate into the construction of the Knight, which parts will help me decide on the weapon load-out and which parts can be depicted on the armour as free-hand art or decals. 

I haven't sketched something for... something like... 15 years. I need more practice!

Of course, quick sketches on a page are a long way from the reality of painting images onto curved surfaces. The Medusa head on the shield, which will be this Freeblade's personal emblem, will be particularly hard. But that's tomorrow Marc's problem ;-)

See you across the table,

M4cr0