"Let history mark my words well, for I care nothing about who sits proud on the Throne of Terra when the last day dawns. Horus is a fine commander, but that’s the limit of my admiration for that arrogant, preening bastard. I joined his rebellion because I can tolerate him easier than I can endure the abomination that names himself Master of Mankind. You want the truth of my life and death? I am Angron, the Eater of Worlds, and I am already dead. I died over a hundred years ago, in the mountains north of the city that enslaved me. I died after Desh’elika."
- —Primarch Angron.
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This was the first of the Primarch models to be released and I instantly snapped him up. The problem then being that I felt inadequate to the task of painting such a sublime model. And the model really is sublime. I could wax lyrical about the movement of the piece, how Angron is bunched like a hunting cat, or concentrate of the details...but these observations are contrite - you can see all of these things for yourselves.
This is certainly a miniature with presence.
So I kept the kit under the proverbial bed and waited until the day to arrive where I felt I was equal to the task. As other artists took on the beast the feeling of inadequacy only grew. I think this is quite a common phenomenon in our circle of hobbyists. We all have one model squirreled away waiting for the dayu for our skill to catch up with our creativity. Aaron Debski' Bowden's masterful "Betrayer" gave me the kick in the balls I needed to clean and prime him.
The model was painted with a basecoat of Ubral Umber from Privateer Press and given successive thin highlights of Vallejo Liquid Metallic Gold. I wanted to give the impression that the nails were singing in his skull, so I mixed a little red into the base colour of his skin. I also painted a few scars into his face. I'd love to try and paint an Angron with his 'face blasted to the bone' (Butcher's Nails audio drama). I added a little spittle to his teeth for the extra layer of interest.
The red was painted with a base layer of blood red from reaper master paints and shaded with ultra marine blue from the same company. By shading a colour with a colour, instead of say black, you add visual interest that is appetizing to the eye.
The gore was created with Tamiya red with a touch of black ink added.
I'm not sure why but this Primarch feels the most personal to me. It's the one that I've struggled with the most and one that has left the deepest impression on me. Perhaps a post for another time. I'd like to leave you with my favourite quote from Betrayer:
"You kept that mule Kor Phaeron. Russ kept his kin-friends. The Lion kept Luther. Humans - brothers and foster fathers - saved and raised into Legion ranks. But not me. Not Angron, no. Did the Emperor teleport his gold-wrapped Custodians down to help me and my army? No. Did he free the War Hounds and order them to battle, fight alongside me? No. Did he save my brothers and sisters the way he spared and honoured the Lion's closest kin? The way he honoured Kor Phaeron? No, no and no. No mercy for Angron. Angron the Oathbreaker. Angron the Betrayer,"
-Angron
-Angron
