From NicolasC: Ronin #30 (20 points)

From Nicolas:

Here is Ronin #30. I didn't have a samuraï in stock when the Challenge popped up, so I had to browse a few manufacturers on the web to find a figure that would suite both the purpose and my taste. Yet, I didn't hesitate very long to pick this Reaper Miniatures interpretation of a Ronin. Okay, this is a 32 mm model, but I thought it would do the job. Let say this ronin will be the tall guy among the crowd. And Curt, we both know what it feels to be the tall guy…

Now, the way I would paint this figure was not very clear to me until I received it. But, once I had it in hand, the propinquity of this model with the two prominent characters that have shaped my understanding of the concept of ronin really stroke my mind. In fact, this figure proved to be the perfect illustration for both Ronin Kogaretsu, the hero of a rather fascinating Franco-Belgian Comics (13 episodes so far), and the nontheless fascinating (and Rock n’ Roll) villain of the movie Samuraï Fiction: Ronin Kazamatsuri. I don’t think that the adventures of Kogaretsu have been transalted to English, although… But I am pretty confident you can find the movie quite easily. I actually advise anyone who has interest for the Chambara movie style to watch it: it's a quite cool reassessment of the genre.

So, it has suddenly become all clear that Ronin # 30 would dress in black. What wasn’t so clear to me though, was how I would paint a nice black dress, since, as we all know, black is among the hardest tone to render… After a deep breathe, I went with the option of experimenting new things, and tried to see how well my brush could respond to John de Terre-Neuve’s approach. Well, not clearly his technic, rather what I understood of it: some sort of semi grey-scale chiorusco slowly darkend by layers of a very diluted mix of dark-grey and orange, and washes of GW blue ink after washes of AP Dark Tone.

To be honest, I am not so pleased with the result. But I thought that I would mess it up if I would try anything more to make it better. Also, I had never painted asian skin tone before. Therefor, I went with what Army Painter recommends, i.e. a mix of AP Desert Yellow and AP Skeleton Bone. Here again, you might feel he looks a little sick… Not to mention that each time I give a Matt Varnish coat with the brush it ends up looking shiny… Well… Hell is paved with good intentions. I Hope you’ll like this ronin anyway.

I dunno Nicolas, he looks pretty darn awesome to me. I really like your choice of muted tones for the figure - its seems appropos. (I've not heard of 'Samurai Fiction' but will definitely try to track it down as it sounds quite interesting.)

Ronin #30 will give Nicolas 20 points. Well done Nico and thank you very much!