I'm a big fan of including a large model or two to break up the silhouette of a warband or army (previous waffle on the subject here) and, looking at the Choleric Order of the Yellow Bile, I realized that I didn't really have anything that fit that description. Dirty Frank is a big boy, but he's really only about twice the height of the average human model... that's not big, right?
Well, let me introduce you to Big Chungus.
Big Chungus is a 'Bloat Giant' from Rocket Pig Games. Covered in sores and wounds, and with a shaggy pelt of back hair, he's a great fit for the Cult. He's also immense.
The model itself was picked up from a retailer on Etsy - I think it's the first 3D-printed model I've ever painted! That process was... a bit of a mixed bag. First off, the model was pretty cleanly printed, with sharp detail and most of the supports cleaned neatly off. It was entirely hollow and, given the size, I thought it needed some more heft - so I mixed up some plaster of Paris and filled the whole thing via the holes in its base (you can't tell from the aftermath of my basing, but it's standing on some sculpted rocky ground). After everything had dried, I had the heft I wanted... but discovered that certain seams on the model (the armpits and an earhole) had allowed the plaster to leak out. I don't know if those sections were perforated or were just thin enough to give way or what, nor if it's a design issue or a printer issue - but I do know that it meant that I had to scrape away a fair bit of plaster from the surface of the model.
And then to basing. I stuck it on a large MDF disc and thought nothing of it. Except, for the first time I can remember, the MDF warped and, when dry, had a distinct 'wobble' to it. I sanded down the base to flatten it off again - no massive job, but by this point I was getting distinctly fed up by the whole thing.
Am I ever glad I persevered, though. After getting the flesh basecoat down (which took three coats for decent coverage!), everything just flew by. Once all the basecoats were on, I gave everything a khaki drybrush - which is the first time I've tried that, but it did give some nice highlights once the classic brown wash went over everything. Before that, however, I threw a variety of washes (red, purple, and green) onto the flesh to create some odd, unhealthy-looking complexions, mixing and blending them on the model itself. Once the all-over brown wash went on it helped bring those more disparate colours together. Really happy with the gruesome effect.
Aside from the inside of the loincloth, the only tricky part of painting was the wraps on the arms - they wind over and through the hair on the forearms and the detail on my model was a little soft. In fact, the only criticism of the design I have is that the back hair stops very abruptly on the back of the neck - I would have preferred a less harsh line and, were I doing it over, I'd probably green-stuff a little more pelt. Still, it's a small criticism - the model is phenomenal, and I'm already looking at Rocket Pig for other centrepiece models that could inspire a collection.
And Big Chungus really is a centrepiece - as I said, he's immense. Dirty Frank may be almost twice the height of a human, but Chungus is almost twice the height of Dirty Frank!
