Kveld-Ulf, Jarl of the 13th, Vlka Fenryka – Invitational

by Migs

Some projects, for some people at least, define an era and become irreplaceable imagery, forever tied to those days and timeless at the same time. In the early 2000s, several Space Wolves Golden Demon entries from my good friend Stefan ended up defining some very central and novel imagery for the Vlka Fenryka for a decade. It’s an utmost joy to hear Stefan and a few other legends think I’m doing the same currently with my new take on the Vlka Fenryka and an absolute thrill to be able to feature Stefan’s come back. We’ve known each other for 15 years, and this model has been more than decade in the making.

Enjoy!

Kveld-Ulf, called Modi, 13th Wulfen Lord

This threesome belongs to a body of work more than a decade old. They are metal. Old school. They take as their point of departure my deep fascination with Nordic mythology grounded as it is in Nordic landscapes and weather. This, I think, makes it a fitting entry in the Invitational – Iron Sleet itself initiated by a group of mad Norsemen working with weather and atmosphere more than anything else.

I began working on the Wulfen Lord after returning home from UK Golden Demon in 2003. He was intended for the UK Golden Demon in 2004 but I never got around to finish him. Since then he has been lost for almost a decade, probably in the Æther. But a recent spark of imagination and new inspiration from Migsulas mind-blowing Vlka Fenryka on this very blog have resulted in the Wulfen Lord and his two Fenrisian wolves being finally found and finished.

In 2003 I had built my Space Wolf Lord and his personal entourage of Space Wolf Valkyries in true scale, dwarfing the normal size of standard marines, so I decided to go all in on scale on the Wulfen Lord. As such, he was built around a Demon Prince sculpted at the turn of the millennium by Juan Diaz. The original (metal!) model has been heavily converted by changing its pose and adding a large variety of sculpted elements like jewellery, totems, banners, cables, chains and drilled-out skulls. The areas where armour and fur have merged together were all sculpted to show that he, marked as he is by a flaw in his gene-seed and exposed to the perils of the warp for millennia, has mutated into a giant wolfman fused with his Astartes armour.

Apart from the remains of his personal belongings, like his out-of-use backpack, shields, family emblems and a selection of important battle trophies, he is also covered in wolf totems, tributes and seals marking him as the true warrior god he has become: One of the few who have fought alongside Russ himself.

In his right hand Kveld-Ulf holds aloof Urðr the wyrdstaff of his Primarch adorned as it is with pledges and seals of faith honouring the Alfather. Here he also carries the shield Svalinn, which depicts two wolves devouring each other – a symbol very fitting for a Space Wolf Astartes who has succumbed to the Mark of the Wulfen. Svalinn appear in some of the oldest legends of Fenris, dating back to the period before the coming of Russ, and it is said to be able to block out and devour even the sun:

Svalinn heitir,

hann stendr sólu fyrir,

skjöldr, skínanda goði;

björg ok brim,

ek veit, at brenna skulu,

ef hann fellr í frá.

In his left hand he wields the Lightning Claw Skofnung. It is told to be one of the sharpest weapons in the northern fells of Fenris, but also that the sun must never shine upon its blades or they will loose their sharpness. Despite having merged with his body Skofnung is one of the few parts of his original Astartes armour still fully recognisable.

Skrig, called Roaring Wolf, Wolf & Skygge, Seeker in the shadows, Servo Skull

Kveld-Ulf is accompanied by his two trusted wolves, which have loyally served their master for millennia in his hunt for the Alfather.

I decided to make the wolves emphasize the size of Kveld-Ulf by using different base sizes and thus utilize the idea behind the Invitational. While Skrig has been outfitted with a longrange Multi-Melta weapon (inspired in part by Neil101s excellent Envoys of Russ over at Opus Maius) all that remains of Skygge is its skull and wyrd, fixed in a handcrafted Servo Skull still heeding the call of its master. One wolf is loud and deadly, the other wolf silent and hidden.

WULFEN_collage_001 WULFEN_collage_002 WULFEN_group_002 WULFEN_group_003 WULFEN_group_odin_001WULFEN_007_detail

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Migs

31 thoughts on “Kveld-Ulf, Jarl of the 13th, Vlka Fenryka – Invitational”

    1. Good to hear Chuck! I thought his nick name was lost in time, but suddenly it appeared. Modi! Consider Magni on his way…maybe in 10 more years 😉

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    1. Indeed the oop metal prince Bigboss. Thank you for you comment. The blue tones combined with gold were an attempt to make him look a bit more regal hailed as a Fenris king as he is.

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    1. Thank you Vader! Much appreciated from a talented git like you – the servoskull saved my *ss and made me able to finish the Invitational (almost) in time. A joy to work on.

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  8. Just stumbled on this blog and spent too much time pouring over it… couldn’t find a ‘like everything ever’ button :-/

    Suffice to say, this is all right up my street dudes – weird, disturbing, inspirational and humbling. Just wow… This is everything I love about the hobby, and I don’t know whether to laugh or cry right now – it’s all soooo beautiful!

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      1. Indeed welcome to this brilliant corner in the Æther, carved out by the good Iron Sleet-guys Migsula, Kari and Mikko.

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    1. Worth the wait and the sleeters definitely left the best until last!

      Stefan that is stunning work I love the colour choices on the wulfen. Maybe a 10 year gestation period should be a standard part of your modelling process. Hmmmm no maybe not because I’m actually loving this productive FPOA

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      1. Thx a lot Peter 🙂

        I have never painted this fast and really enjoy beeing able to finish pieces like this. With the help of Iron Sleet and the Invitational deadline, which I almost managed to stick to…

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    1. I have had that happen too, but found that the link in the article above takes you to the blog (which is definately worth it for the Blanche conversions)

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      1. Opus is one of those brilliant places that sometimes appear from the depths of the Æther to blow our minds with talent and inspiration!

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  13. I’ve always been a fan of anything wolves in miniatures. It’s watching things like these that make me want to keep at converting my own minis. Sometimes it’s the lack of patience, sometimes a lack of faith, but I’ve always been avoiding cutting too much into a model out of fear that I won’t be able to go back if I do it wrong and ruin a mini.

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  14. As a space wolves player I totally love all three of them! Did you sculpt the teeth on that wolf servo-skull and all of the head for the Jarl too or you used some other model parts for that? Thanks!

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