Balrog, AKA The Greater Demon Prince!

[roninjr]

This is The Balrog, AKA The Greater Demon Prince. It was a commission. As such, I had some limitations and constraints to stay within. The client wanted it for use in his 40K Army and he wanted it done his way. I always work well within the limitations or constraints of the client. It is after all his. It started off with the client handing me the model he had incorrectly built. He wanted it fixed and painted to a high display quality. I had to cut off parts, trim, repair and reassemble them. I then filled in the many gaps. Once that was cured I began the actual sculpting. The two "Chaos Brands", the loin cloth with chain, and the flames at the feet I sculpted with Green Stuff. Here's a few photos showing the details of my sculpting prior to painting.

Cassar this is up because you demanded it. You big bully!

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Finally done! This is the first photo I took of it. It's way too big for my tiny photo set up. I diffinitly need to invest in a good light box for some better pictures. Does anyone have some suggestions? I'd like one large enough to accommodate a Reaver the Phantom Titans but small enough to still use with a single space marine. Oh, yeah; I'm not rich so economic is good too.

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I looked on line for photos of fire and how it actually burns then I tried to emulate that on the flames here. I also looked at how charcoal burns and reflects light. To me charcoal looks as though it absorbs light plus it has a very dark dry appearance to it. I tried to capture that look using different dark gray and black paints and blending them. I used at least eight different brands and shades of black and gray.

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This top view is the last one I have that shows anything not already seen. I did fail to take one of the loin cloth but you can still tell it's an Ultramarine Banner.

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That's it. If anyone has questions or constructive criticism please let me know. I have a long way to go but I'm eager to get there.

Enjoy and Stay Frosty everyone.:beerwave:

 

[cassar]

hey matey nice to see the sculpting work you did on this, you have some green stuff skills there, i have one question however, your sculpting is obviously of a high standard, why are you asking me to do sculpts for you lol. seriously im very impressed by the greenstuff flames etc (dont think i have a power tool small enough to do that lol).
as for the finished paint job again the flames are the mutts nutts:good: and the brands on the hip and shoulder again, bravo. have a beer on me :beerwave:

looking forward to seeing more like this from ya.

 

[xaeromancer]

Really, really like the matte "charcoal" effect on the skin.

I miss the old Blood Thirster. He was clearly a Balrog with Snaggletooth's head. Skarbrand and Anngrath look bad ass, but they just don't have the authenticity of a Tolkein-Motorhead hybrid.

 

[roninjr]

Thanks, it's always nice to feel your efforts are appreciated. The "Charcoal" effect on the skin was actually one of the most difficult effects to paint on this little monster. There's so much skin and I wanted it to become a bit more black and less dry as it got further away from the core of the beast. You may notice a richer black more towards the wing tips. I too like the old Blood Thirster. He's just a cool and scary monster.

 

[SkelettetS]

solid work. :good:
i think you should add some white at the hottest parts of the flames, on the back/spline. would make it look much hotter
also some osl, especially on the base, had been nice.

 

[roninjr]

OSL, would be a great idea but I couldn't. Client didn't want it. If you notice the teeth, claws and wing spurs are not colored either. Again, client gets what he wants. I also would have preferred a different base. But no, he wanted skulls.