Our Soldier of Fortune figures are always a highlight of each month, particularly for our Studio Painters who get to really go to town on these awesome models. I sat down with the award-winning Kirsten Williams to get the low-down on how she painted this month’s miniature – Bodhmall the Druidess!
What is Soldier of Fortune?
Each month, a different, unique special figure is available to purchase exclusively through The Warlord Games Webstore, for that month only. At the end of the month, a new special figure takes its place. Once gone, those figures will be unavailable for a minimum of two years thereafter, by any means.
Numbered sequentially, it’s easy to keep track of your whole collection of these Warlord Webstore-exclusive figures. Remember that each figure will only be around for a month; don’t miss out on getting hold of the complete collection of Soldiers of Fortune!
How did you feel when Bodhmall came across your desk?
Excited! This was a figure that straddles the line between fantasy and history, and I didn’t have a set brief for her other than to ‘make her look druid-y’! She has very clean lines, and the fine detail is well defined so everything would be very crisp on the finished piece. Her layers of clothes are well separated visually, and matching lower layers to upper layers is easy.
As this is a figure with no specific reference image, how did you decide on a colour scheme?
The druids were very nature-based historically, and from a gaming perspective there are many visual resources for fantasy nature priests. It also helped that I’ve just finished making my daughter a full wood elf costume, so layering different greens, reds and browns is something I’ve had recent physical experience with!
It’s a distinct trope that wild Celtic women have fiery red hair. The figure has a lot of hair, so doing that red gives a good contrast to the green/brown earthier colours. The red bodice and lower layer also accentuate that. Having the main layer be green gives the branch something to stand out against, so it doesn’t get lost within the hair.
I chose the feathers to be a spot colour, as they are something that can almost literally be any colour I liked, to stand out and add an extra interesting visual touch. I went with a nice turquoise blue, akin to those from a UK Common Kingfisher – a bird that would have been around in the right time period. They stand out just enough, without being garish or detracting from the main figure.
What were you most excited about to work on Bodhmall?
She has masses of hair, and getting the long flowing portions of it right is something I love doing. Long clean organic lines are a challenge, and I enjoy doing them.
What part of the painting process challenged you the most?
There are a lot more layers on Bodhmall than on the average figure, and to avoid accidents you need to start on the under-layers first. This meant that the more raised a layer I was doing, the chances of spilling on to something I’d already painted got higher and higher. Specifically with the hair, the chances of slipping when doing so many lines was somewhat nerve-wracking.
What advice would you give to someone about to paint Bodhmall?
Plan out the layer colours in advance! Spend a while just looking at the figure and work out where the layer delineations are, and what colours you want on each layer so it makes visual sense.
That’s not all, though! Now you’re prepared to paint Bodhmall with Kirsten’s expert advice, we thought you might like to know how to field her in your games of Hail Caesar. For this, we turn to the pages of the Britannia PDF supplement, which details Rome’s invasion of Britain. On page 25, we find the following rules allowing you to field Druids as part of your British force:
Druids are permanently attached to a Celtic unit, and share the fate of that unit. An enemy unit must take a hand-to-hand combat break test, adding 2 to the dice roll, before charging a Celtic unit to which a druid is attached, and apply the results. A ‘Hold Your Ground’ result allows the unit to charge normally.
Druids may add up to 3 to a Celtic unit in hand-to-hand combat, just like a division commander. Using the rules for commanders joining units, roll 2D6 to see if the Druid is killed or wounded in combat.
Want to know more about fielding Druids, scaring Romans, and generally having a lovely day out in the British countryside? Pick up Bodhmall and your copy of Britannia, and get ready to get mystical! Remember, Bodhmall is only available during February, so make sure you…
