I have assembled one of the sphinxes with rider, minus some green stuffing and some little details (she needs her cleavage and her sepent tail, he needs some kind of manacles on his ankles). Click for larger images;
Some details; the banner design is
shamelessly stolen copied inspired by a picture I saw on here (I cannot remember who it was; I want to say it was the fellow who had the cork basing for his demigryphs? If I find the name I will put it here with a link) EDIT :
Here it is. Obviously, it is the banner from the General kit. I have modified it by using the lance to make a spear (complete with the ubiquitous laurel wreath) and I have modified the shield to have my army's motif on it. I have also drilled the eyes out of a female head and sliced the face off to make a "mask" which is being held in the skeleton's hand; the imagery is that the "mask is off" and "the truth is revealed".
While the DGK weapons and shields were nice, I wanted something different (they match the barding of the Demigryphons, and - paradoxically - I wanted them to look different). So, I have used Bretonian pieces to make weapons and shields; the weapons are a sort of half-way house between a lance and a halberd. I will put a Melite cross on the shield, of course. The number is because I was test-fitting models in place, test-fitting the demigryphons on the different bases, and so forth - I wanted to know what was what.
Yes, I know - I finished the last one first
I used hairy heads for the knights, and green-stuffed bandages around the eyes. The Greek Sphinx is part of the story of Oedipus, who blinds himself on learning the truth (of his incest and fratricide). I am going to paint these models as blinded - with blood trickling from the bandages - and rather rough and unkempt. I will also - in keeping with the Oedipus legend - have manacles of some sort on the Knight's ankles. The Knights' laurel wreaths will be painted to be withered and brown, their armour battered and rusty etc. The Sphinxes themselves will be rich golden lionesses with bright wings and glossy black armour with golden details.
The "fluff" for these models is that these knights have learned "the truth" and have been driven half-mad by the riddling intelligence of the Sphinxes, and have blinded themselves out of desperation in an attempt to avoid the madness. In terms of rules, it is the Demigryphs which do all the damage, and so a blinded Knight is not too much of a stretch in terms of fluff!
Anyway, that is where we are so far! I'm pretty excited by them - I think the model has come together well, although they could be a nightmare to paint. The other two will have different wing positions, making a bit of interest in the unit.
Comments welcome!
