Archangel Fails

 When a regular angel isn't enough, it's time for an upgrade.

Starting out as one of the original X-Men, by the 1980s, writers were clearly struggling to make a character fluffy wings and a trust fund into a credible threat, so Warren Worthington III acquired metallic razor wings, blue skin and an emo attitude.

The techno-style of the suit reminded me of picking out filigree armour, so it wasn't too difficult (if a  pleasant change to be doing it in pink). Clearly this model is all about the wings. I decided against practicing my non-metallic metal techniques, as his wings just screamed to be metal. 

I did try and suggest light and dark with blue and black washes, and a 50/50 mix of Nuln Oil/Black contrast on the tips of the wings.

As with other models, this one came with a choice of heads. I went with the full cowl, as that's the Archangel I first knew, and Warren's curly blonde mullet didn't really seem like an Angel of Death.

In both character and design, I prefer the original Angel (he's coming soon). One thing I do like about this model (and only noticed when I photographed him), is the perfect circle suggested by the wings. So that's a very cool touch.

But for everything else, it's a miss I'm afraid. The pose of the body is decent, but he's just too small for a full-grown adult. It's masked by him being mid-flight; but standing on the ground, Archangel would look very skinny against a 'normal human' build like Zemo or Wong.

And I'm not sure what's going on with that small obelisk he's flying past (or smashing into?). Clearly, it's a device to get him in the air, but I'm not sure what it's doing (exploding maybe?) or why it's on a New York street (if we're going for the Apocalypse theme, let's have the full thematic base).

But to end on a positive note, he can do some fun things in the game: team-ups with Psylocke; replacing Angel mid-game; getting recruited for Apocalypse's horsemen (it seems everyone's into that nowadays, but he was the first).

Up, up and away!