Mine's A Djinn

Heavens above! For a moment there, I was afraid I wouldn't get all these wizards finished before the fighting started. But this rotund Celestial Wizard puffs in to belatedly join the others, like the chubby kid at the tail-end of cross-country run (ahhh ... school memories).

Shazam!

It's another Dogs of War model, fittingly enough. There was a special character Paymaster - Midas the Mean - who came with a cart-mounted money chest and this model - Sheikh Yadosh - as a sidekick moneylender riding tailgate. I only ever had this model, as Midas was a fairly uninspiring all-armoured hero, whereas this one deserved far better than to be stuck at the back.

He's been in my leadpile for a very long time (waiting to be the seed of my long-dreamt-of, and never to be realised, Araby army). My hesitation to paint him was not because I didn't like the miniature, but because I couldn't face having to sculpt him a flying carpet (obviously, he had to have a flying carpet).

Actually, my lethargy paid-off, as it gave me a better option for his right hand. In the original model, the hand is just outstretched, and grasping nothing (I think it's meant to be holding open the paychest lid). I was planning to stick in a rod of power (banner top with snake curling around), but a kindly donation from Leofa's wizard kit gave me the awesome genie-in-a-bottle piece to replace as his hand.

Gotta rub me the right way

I used a lot of inks, applied straight onto the primer, with this model, as I've found it's a good way of adding depth and colour, but without losing subtlety.

The bottle and genie were all ink, just applying layer after layer until I reached the desired depth. A mix of Green and Black Ink for the bottle, then given a gloss varnish to bring out the glass effect. The genie as Blue and Black Ink (with some extra Black Ink daubs for the eye and nose sockets), then successive drybrushes of Shadow Grey, Dawnstone, Space Wolves Grey and Scar White.

 My favourite part of the model (and one I really wasn't sure would work) is the sash. Being a celestial wizard, I though I would try and replicate a night-sky (but a purpley-indigo one, rather than pitch black). I started with a wash of Blue/Red Ink, then highlighted with Worm Purple and an Emperor's Children hot pink. It was looking good so far (which made me really nervous about adding detail - my fear was that the stars would look like polka dots). For the smaller stars. I 'spattered' White Scar (a little wet paint on a small drybrush, then applied by flicking it across a knife edge), for the larger ones, a dot of Ice Blue, then a dot of Scar White on top.

My belly is the size of a galaxy. Good luck at Weightwatchers.

I'm really happy with how it turned out. I was tempted to do the same with the cloak too, but though that might detract from the sash (and too many white spatters all over the model might just look like a spray varnish mishap).

Straightforward enough for the rest of the model: Bleached Bone and Agrax Earthshade underrobe; Regal Blue and Ice Blue highlights for cloak; Ice Blue and Blue Ink for the turban; Mithril Silver and thinned-Black Ink for knife and turban spike. The slippers were originally Silver and Ice Blue, but they somehow contrived to make the whole model look rubbish (drawing the gaze away from the good stuff, I guess). Some nice Rhinox Hide slippers and the distraction was gone.

Slippers: while you be trippin', I be slippin'.

The skin was mix of Steel Legion Drab and Scar White, with Agrax Earthshade and Tarren Sand highlights. The moustaches were White Scar with some carefully-applied Black Ink. The eyes have improved, but remain at a steady ratio of 1 good : 1 crazy.

Now for the part I was dreading: turning my rudimentary greenstuff skills (sufficient to fill in an arm joint) to carpet-making. I started off with a goblin banner as my base, because it had the required wavy-flappy shape, and I wanted to have *something* solid to work with.

Carpet-making looms large over me.

That metal bit in the middle is holding down the pin on the other side. The fringe on either end of the carpet was added later, by the process of sticking on a strip of greenstuff and going to town on it with a craft knife.

The thumbprints and various greenstuff errors were covered up with a nice layer of superglue, which left everything smooth. Too smooth, as it happened, and I was afraid I'd have nothing for the paint to work with. I resorted to papier-mâché - an oblong of kitchen towel dipped in thinned-PVA glue. I had an outside hope that the pattern of the paper would show through, but at least it gave it some texture.

I painted the entire thing while humming 'A Whole New World'.

I kept the design fairly simple, as I didn't think it merited (or would accomodate) anything more complicated. Painted the entire thing in Auric Armour Gold-Bronze Flesh-Auric Armour highlights, then painted in the pattern with Regal Blue and Ultramarine Blue.

Attached to a flying stand, and we're good to go!

The character is named Sheikh Envac.
I'm hilarious like that.

He's on a cavalry base, as I plan to proxy the model as mounted on a horse. Although there is a Flying Carpet magic item, you'd have to be mad, even in the friendliest and fluffiest of games, to give it to a wizard at 50pts. I did toy with the idea of a Pegasus proxy (the monster attacks coming from the genie, or something), but I think a horse is going to get the most use.

It would be nice to throw in a few house rules, though. I was thinking: same cost as a horse, but it loses its attack, is immune to Dangerous Terrain tests and is unaffected by Lore of Beasts. We're actually using these in the upcoming Wizard's Cup - which coincidentally rolled Beasts-Heavens as a tie, so we'll see how that goes.

Curse of Anraheir, my arse.

Speaking of the Wizard's Cup, since his promotion to Gold Wizard, my old engineer model treated himself to a new cloak, more befitting of his status.

Cloak of gold, tunic of lead, balls of steel.

And we're ready to rumble!

There Can Be Only One!