I'm a big fan of Dan Abnett's writing as I find that his treatment of the 40K universe being the best aligned to that of Priestly and Blanche's original dystopian vision.
Of Abnett's many characters, my favourite is Inquisitor Gregor Eisenhorn. (Spoiler alert: The next few paragraphs give away some of the core bits of the novels, so you've been forewarned!)
Over the arc of the Eisenhorn books, the nature of Gregor's character, with his no-holds barred struggle with the enemies of Mankind, becomes irrevocably compromised as he slowly shifts from being a puritanical and dogmatic posterboy of the Inquisition, to something that is far more dark, ruthless and morally questionable.
Probably one of the most damning things that Eisenhorn does is his binding of the powerful daemon 'Cherubael' to an unwilling human host. He rationalises this act as a foul means to an end, a repugnant-but-necessary tool to assist him in his fight against the forces of Chaos.
This decision ultimately results in him being excommunicated by the Inquisition, hunted as a fugitive by his former colleagues and forever haunted by his uncompromising decisions.
Eisenhorn is a wonderfully complex, compelling antihero - a breath of fresh air in a setting which is often portrayed as a simplistic, binary struggle between good and evil. A rollicking good read, I recommend it to anyone who has a passing interest with things GrimDark.
The middle-aged Eisenhorn I have here is a 'Finecast' miniature from Games Workshop. While the Finecast 'recipe' has greatly improved over the years, it still has a hard time standing up to some of the resin offerings you can get from other manufacturers. Case in point is the model of the Daemonhost, 'Cherubael', which is from Artel W Miniatures. This model (essentially a 10-part minikit) is absolutely exquisite, with the resin needing virtually no preparation before assembly. While I typically prefer working with metal figures, I can see how the complex posing and intricate detail of this figure necessitates it being done in lightweight resin - like Eisenhorn's decision, it was a necessary evil. :)
Gregor and Cherubael will give me 10 points, putting me at 90 overall.
Thanks for dropping in to take a peek!
Curt
Gorgeous Eisenhorn and demon! It's an excellent series of books and you've definitely done them justice with these two!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Thanks Iain, I thought you might like them.
DeleteGreat job.. I have the Eisenhorn model around here somewhere. One of these days I may actually paint him!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'd like to see your rendition of him.
DeleteWhile I am a big Abnett fan as well, I was rather new to the Eisenhorn Trilogy and I must say I am more of a Ravenor man myself! Apart from that: your painting as usual is imaculate and represents the man (and the monster) precisely. I have the same figure lying here (as well as "The Chair" and his mob) but need to work up my courage before being able to start them. Your excellent painting doesn't help in that regard...
ReplyDeleteYeah, Ravenor is awesome as well. I'm not surprised you prefer him as he's bit more of a straight arrow - Boy Scout! :)
DeleteBrilliant figures, Curt - I have to get myself a set of those!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ev!
DeleteSmashing painting on those figures 👍
ReplyDeleteCheers Ken!
DeleteThese are lovely! The daemonhost is brilliant.
ReplyDeleteI agree wholeheartedly on Abnett. Gaunt's Ghosts, Eisenhorn and Revenor are probaby the best mini series they've done. Have you tried Aaron Dembski Bowden? He's arguably my favourite of the bunch and I think his stuff is even better than Abnett now.
Thanks Jamie, much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteYes, Dembski-Bowden is great - perhaps a bit too chaos focused for my liking, but I really enjoyed 'Master of Mankind' and 'Helsreach'. Since you mentioned him, I'm adding Dembski-Bowden's 'The First Heretic' to my next Audible Listen. :) If you haven't tried him yet, John French is another from the Black Library stable that both Greg and I find to be really solid.
Not really my thing, Curt - though my eldest son would be drooling over them! Splendiferous work, however. I love the clarity and definition you always so excellently achieve.
ReplyDeleteI know these are not for every one, but thanks for the thumbs up Noel.
DeleteWell done my friend! Really reminds me of those beautiful but gigantic (and rather heavy) Inquisitor miniatures GW produced for a short period. The painting is spot on I'd say and Cherubael really gives me the creeps. I generally agree about Abnett but somehow couldn’t really warm to the Eisenhorn story.
ReplyDeleteThanks Nick. Yes! I always wanted to try one of those metal 'Inquisitor' models, but they seemed so fiddly and niche at the time.
DeleteDelightfully creepy!
ReplyDeleteThanks! :)
DeleteGreat work bringing these two fantastic characters to life.
ReplyDeleteCheers Stuart. Funny, the daemonhost looks a bit too lively but I have a hard time doing pallid flesh to my liking.
DeleteNo idea what the characters represent as I am not familiar with the story but wow, that is some fine painting Curt!
ReplyDeleteHaha, no worries but thanks for the thumbs up Mike.
DeleteWhat Mike said! Great work.
ReplyDeleteCheers Pete!
DeleteGreat stuff dude - Eisenhorn is a classic, just excellent, and I was glad to see GW do a figure for him (finally). And this was Abnett's finest work, in my view. Just great stories.
ReplyDeleteCheers dude. It's a great little mini, even with it being in execrable Finecast. They even have rules for him for Kill Team, which might be fun to try out. I have a few more of Abnett's Inquisitor-themed characters, but that will be for another time.
DeleteAbnett’s stuff is just great. I listened to an audiobook with Cherubael saying ‘Gregor’ in this creepy way, and I can’t un-hear that.
ReplyDeleteHaha! Yes, I listened to the same audiobook and agree, the narrator totally nailed Cherubael's creepy, silky voice.
DeleteThese are both superb (standard!) but the demon really is outstanding. The cast may be high quality but your paint job really elevates further! Good job we are on lockdown, so resisting the temptation to rush out and order one is just a bit easier to resist. Cracking stuff!
ReplyDeleteThanks Peter, you're very kind.
DeleteNo idea about the background of these but the painting is awesome!
ReplyDeleteNo worries, but thanks for the thumbs up on the painting, Martijn.
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