Nihang Warrior

[PaulinKendal]

Next up, this chap.


Now you might think that this is a 'Fantasy' bust, but no, Nihang Warriors, complete with improbably enormous turbans really are a thing - this is not wicked Uncle Abanazar.

Nihang Warriors were brave, ruthless irregulars who formed guerilla squads for the Sikh Empire - these guys were seriously bad-ass. And they still exist.

Their weaponry included swords, daggers - and chakram, or war-quoits: sharpened steel rings that could be flung at opponents, to a distance of up to 100m - yikes!

Their impressive turbans were steel-reinforced, and nowadays carry miniature versions of some of their weaponry.

And this sculpt is based on a modern-day Nihang, pictured here:

Nihang Warriors always wear electric blue and orange, so my colour scheme is pre-ordained.

And Nihang were users of intoxicants, primarily cannabis. As recently as 2001, Nihang sects rejected the ban on the use of shaheedi deg (an infusion of cannabis) by the sikh clergy, as they consider its use intrinsic to the Nihang tradition.

If it works for them...

 

[PaulinKendal]

Here's the component parts, ready to be primed.


Those chakram are very flimsy, I've already managed to break a couple, but not so you'd notice.

Here he is, without all the bits and bobs:



And primed in black:

 

[rtfoe]

Hi Paul, this looks the bisnezz to paint. Colors being very rich, would you be using fantasy paints that are more vibrant for this? For us military painters always end up with drabby paintwork.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[Jim R]

This makes me think of The Quangle Wangle's Hat by Edward Lear
They sound a fearsome bunch. A wonderful canvas for your painting talents.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Well, I wouldn’t have guessed he was based on an actual figure. Great subject to have fun with though.

 

[PaulinKendal]

Hi Paul, this looks the bisnezz to paint. Colors being very rich, would you be using fantasy paints that are more vibrant for this? For us military painters always end up with drabby paintwork.

Cheers,
Richard

Not sure what you mean by fantasy paints, but I certainly tend to use the brighter colours, including plenty of the Vallejo Game Color range. You certainly won't find olive drab on my paint rack!

 

[Tim Marlow]

Not sure what you mean by fantasy paints, but I certainly tend to use the brighter colours, including plenty of the Vallejo Game Color range. You certainly won't find olive drab on my paint rack!

Game colour is the Vallejo equivalent of a fantasy range Paul. The colours are noticeable brighter than the model colour range. Olive drab can come in pretty handy for desaturating and shading other colours, by the way. You can also paint tanks with it

 

[PaulinKendal]

This makes me think of The Quangle Wangle's Hat by Edward Lear
They sound a fearsome bunch. A wonderful canvas for your painting talents.

Thanks for that. We had "A Nonsense Omnibus" by Edward Lear when I was a child, and I dearly loved it. He was a very clever chap - I knew of his quick line drawings that illustrated the Omnibus, but how about this painting of Masada on the Dead Sea, from 1858:

 

[PaulinKendal]

Game colour is the Vallejo equivalent of a fantasy range Paul. The colours are noticeable brighter than the model colour range. Olive drab can come in pretty handy for desaturating and shading other colours, by the way. You can also paint tanks with it

I do have German Camouflage Black Brown in my paint collection, so I'm not totally opposed to military colours!

 

[Steve Brodie]

Wow, Wow and WOW

 

[Ian M]

He looks a bundle of fun.

 

[Mickc1440]

What a superb bust, very interesting Paul

 

[JayCee]

Very nice bust, Paul. Rather you than me though. .
John.

 

[PaulinKendal]

Zenithal primed - amazing how much more readable the figure is with this. Unfortunately it highlights - literally - all the blemishes I've missed. Some of he junk on his turban is where the embellishments are mounted, so I'm leaving them for the moment.

 

[PaulinKendal]

I'm now agonising over whether or not to glue the turban in place before painting. The obvious answer would be to paint first, glue after, for maximum accessibility. But I'm so used to painting the completely assembled figures from CMON, with all the access constraints that that brings, that I'm not so sure. The advantage of assembling first is that the shadowed areas are much easier to read (and paint) correctly when they're in place, rather than separated out.

 

[Andy the Sheep]

Paul, If I may, a silly suggestion from a non figure painter : some blue tac to remove the turban whenever it's needed?
Anyway, that's a real painting challenge and I'm fascinated by the complexity of that attire. Looking forward to see the first drop of paint.

Andrea

 

[PaulinKendal]

Thanks Andrea. I used blutack for the zenithal priming, and I could continue like that, I guess. It is the obvious solution, really.

That first drop of paint - always a bit of hesitation prior to actually starting, I find. The desk is cleared, the wet palette fresh and clean. Dunno what it is that stops me actually beginning, but this often seems to happen.

 

[Tim Marlow]

I would definitely paint with the turban separate Paul. Access to the underside of the turban and top surfaces of the face will be almost impossible otherwise. Andy’s suggestion is a good one.

 

[PaulinKendal]

Good to get some unequivocal advice, Tim. I'll follow Andrea's advice unless and until I really feel not gluing them together is detrimental.

Eyes done, he's alive.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Great choice of eye colour. Rare amongst south Asians, but then, so are the Nihang. Does this mean you are going with a lighter Asian skin palette?