There are two basic types of “bosses” in games… brawny beefcakes who absorb and deal heavy amounts of damage, and the evil mastermind who is weaker but more tactical in their execution. In HeroQuest, there is a third type of boss… the one that is not only a resurrected Witch Lord, but also a Fire Mage named Balur and a friendly prisoner named Sir Ragnar. This is clearly the most intimidating type of boss imaginable. Or the lamest character that could be conceived. The Chaos Warlock is, without a doubt, the worst thing about HeroQuest.
Throughout the fourteen quests in the Core Box, our intrepid band of heroes encounter several named enemies that could be considered bosses. (***SPOILERS***) There is an Orc Warlord named Ulag (represented by a “large sword” orc miniature), an Orc Wizard named Grak (represented by any orc miniature), and the undead version of a once-friendly wizard named Wardoz (represented by a zombie miniature). (***SPOILERS***) This does not bother me, as they are simply special, beefed-up versions of the regular monsters. This is quite the opposite effect of using the miniature for the final boss of the game to represent random characters as early as the SECOND mission in the game! Quite simply, I was underwhelmed when the Witch Lord finally made his dramatic appearance in the penultimate mission.
This lack of identity is also present in the visual design of the character. There is, of course, an obvious similarity to Skeletor which cannot be ignored. Beyond that, it is really not clear WHAT this character is supposed to be. In some of the art, his skin is gray and desaturated, suggesting that he may be undead (which would explain the exposed skull). In other pictures, he clearly has normal caucasian flesh, so is the skull a mask? Are his robes black? Blue? What’s with the flames at the bottom of his tabard? Are the horns on his helmet real? Are they metal? There are very few details present in this design, and yet they managed to present them all in ambiguous and conflicting ways… in short, an uninspired design.
Although the aesthetic of HeroQuest miniatures is consistently charming, the Chaos Warlock has some minor problems. The “field goal” pose is… confusing? I guess it’s supposed to represent a spell being cast, but it looks more like he is skydiving. This also accentuates the ridiculously misproportioned arms, which appear to be about 50% longer than the legs. The helmet is just off. The horns are neither smoothly tapered or truly cylindrical, and the “Choas ball” is neither round nor centered over his head. Lastly, his musculature is both anatomically muddled and asymmetrical. There is clearly an additional crease/bulge in his left latissimus area and right serratus area. So frustrating!!!
The one benefit of all of this confusion is that I had no qualms about ignoring everything “official” and just create my own look for the character. I chose to keep the skin desaturated and cool, going for an unnatural if not undead tone. The skull was interpreted as real bone, whether it be a mask or his actual face. I kept the clothing simple and cool, with the gold and bone being the only warm accents.
Overall, I’m very satisfied with the look I was able to achieve. I love the pale, unsettling color of the skin and how it plays with the rich purples of his robe. I like the highlighting I accomplished on his gloves and boots, having always found black leather a difficult material to recreate. Considering what I had to work with, I think this guy really shines.
Now, back to more furniture. Only one enemy miniature left for the Core Box, and he’s gonna be a doozy! Stay tuned.
Skin:
The flesh areas were base coated with Vallejo Nocturna Fantasy Pro (VNFP) Malefic Flesh (74.012). Layers were added to the individual muscle groups with progressively lighter mixes of Malefic Flesh and VNFP Pale Flesh (74.015), ending with point highlights of a 1:1 mix of Pale Flesh and VNFP White Flesh (74.016).
Cloth:
For the purple cloth/tabard, I used colors from the Vallejo Fantasy Pro (VFP) Imperial Purple Set, which I highly recommend. The base coat was Violet Vamp (74.032), followed by a layer of Blueberry (74.031), and highlights with Orchid Light (74.032). These colors were all blended with intermediate mixes, and some shade was added to the deepest recesses/shadows with Imperial Purple (74.025).
Boots, Belt, and Gloves:
These black leather areas were base coated with VMC Black Grey (70.862). Pure VMC Black (70.950) was added to areas to deepen the shadows, as well as to outline certain areas (like where the boots meet the similarly colored base). A first highlight layer was applied with an approximately 1:2 mix of the Black Grey and VGC Sombre Grey (72.048). Additional highlights were added with a 1:1 mix of the same colors, followed by small point highlights of pure Sombre Grey.
Dark Metal:
The helmet, ball, shoulder bands, and skull pendant where base coated with VMC Black (70.950). A gradient was created with a 1:1 mix of VMC Black and VMC Dark Sea Blue (70.898), mixed with Schmincke Titanium White. A nonmetallic metal technique was then applied with these tones, stopping well darker than pure white.
Gold:
A standard non metallic metal approach was applied using the following colors: VMC Black (70.950), VGC Scrofulous Brown (72.038), VGC Plague Brown (72.039), and VMC Ivory (70.918). I found the Scrofulous Brown a bit too orange for the base tone, so the Plague Brown was used to desaturate it and add a little more yellow to the mix.
Bone:
The bone areas we’re base coated with VMC Khaki (70.988). Shaded areas were darkened with the addition of VMC German Camo Black Brown (70.822). Layers were added with a 1:1 mix of Khaki and VGC Bonewhite (72.034), followed by pure Bonewhite. Highlights were applied with a 1:1 mix of Bonewhite and VMC Ivory(70.918), and final point highlights with pure Ivory.
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