Field Marshal Cosca Zukas is my first painted figure of 2013. I'm terrible for painting the "fun" models first. It means that many of my abandoned army projects consist of a couple heavily converted HQ or glam units and the term "army" ends up being a misnomer. This time around I thought it was important to tackle the character first. I have a general vision of what my "grunts" will look like but they are a radical departure from Zukas. The infantry in the army are a fusion of cadian components and Perry plastics that overall suggest an early 2oth century model soldier. The character was an opportunity to explore a more colourful uniform suggestive of the Napoleonic Wars. By creating my character I was building my regiment's history. That is my justification and I'm sticking to it.
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| A nice model but just too Cadian |
Zukas is converted from a Castellan Creed model. The stock model has so many characterful features but his utilitarian crew and clean shave marked him as inflexibly Cadian. I looked to Otto von Bismarck to for inspiration for a means to reinvent him. The craggy, heavy face was begging for a heavy moustache and glorious helmet. With such a perfect face a Perry calvary helm and a tiny bit of green stuff were enough to suit the Napoleonic feel I wanted to instill in him and by extension the Pohlesian army.
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| Cosca's idea board |
- Zukas is a fairly common Lithuaniuan surname. When I was playing around with the origins of the Pohlesians they provided a flavour suggesting the Soviet Army of the Second World War but of military traditions that were much older than commuinisim.
- Cosca is a nod to a reprehensible but equally likeable condottiero created by Joe Abercrombie. It flowed quite easily into the surname when used a first name and it's nice to have a Cosca around to blame all your troubles on.
- The Marshal's headdress is a symbol of his office. I have a piece of statuary on the go that has a similar helmet. The statue is of a saint revered by the Pohlesians. Possibly the helmet is the relic or facsimile of the holy item.
- Like Creed he wears cam pattern fatigues beneath his ceremonial finery. I have a few models in the command squad in "traditional" uniforms and wanted a bridge between them and the "modern" elements in the army.
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| I was midway through the paint when I cut a piece of the helm out and added an aquila pommel from a chainsword |
I still have to flock the base with snow scatter, neaten the brushwork a bit, and I'm considering adding some freehand to back of the great coat but overall I had fun with the model and like how he turned out. I started hammering out a history for Cosca but it needs refinement and elaboration before I share it. I'm uncertain if I've found an engaging format to share my models with you the reader. I opted to try a "road less taken" and focus on design considerations and inspiration for the project rather than technique. If you found this interesting or horribly boring please let me know.
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