Iron Snakes: Master of the Forge TO-DONE!

Hi folks,

Back in August, when the new hobby season began, I promised everyone that this would be the "Year of the Snake." I hadn't done much with my Iron Snakes the previous season and I was starting to get withdrawal symptoms (verdigris...[mumble-mumble]...must paint verdigris... [mumble]...) . Recently, I dropped everything to take part in Dreadtober, so I haven't had a chance to finish off my first project; until now!

I have always been a fan of Techmarines, so when I began painting Iron Snakes I always wanted to include a Master of the Forge. Dark Angels don't have one that can take to the field, as he is strapped into the heart of The Rock (apparently).

Conceptually, I wanted this character to be different to other Techmarines, which are usually known for strengthening fortifications. When asked why his city lacked walls, Plutarch quotes a Spartan king as saying "Here are Sparta's walls", pointing to his soldiers who all have large shields. Instead of fortifying static defenses, this Master of the Forge fortifies infantry units with siege mantles. He is a maker of shields.

The servo harness includes my first foray into painting lightning bolts: I don't know how the Night Lords players out there stay sane, having to paint them on everything. Perhaps that's the point...

The spear is intended to be a relic weapon. I thought adding it to the servo-harness was a key conversion to making this guy feel like an Iron Snake. The tip was painted with a simple blue to white wet-blend, as I wanted it to be clean and bright.

I stewed over the colour scheme of the servo-harness for a quite a while, not knowing what sequence of colours to use. In the end I just went for it and followed my gut.

It is a real weight off my back to finish this model. I finally have a HQ unit for my Iron Snakes and I feel like I am "back on the road" with them in general. I have many more of them lined up, including some Centurions and a Storm Eagle, but they are tomorrow Marc's problems :-) For now... [where did I put that big purple stamp...]

Come back with your shield... or on it,

M4cr0