Here’s my take on the new Nighthaunt Lord Vitriolic. Once a charlatan who peddled miracle cures, medicines, and tinctures, he is now cursed to serve Nagash for all eternity as a master of poisons. In this showcase post, I share detailed pictures from every angle and explain how I painted the smoke effect.
The Lord Vitriolic – the lore
The Lord Vitriolic is a twisted alchemist turned spectre, perhaps once a charlatan peddling false cures until Nagash claimed their soul for some unspeakable crime. Now a many-armed horror drifting across the battlefield, it carries a rack of noxious brews. Fear-laced gases, spiteful acids, and soul-blighting elixirs, each hurled into the fray to explode in clouds and sprays of corruption, crippling foes by stripping away Wards or searing them with mortal wounds.
My inspiration
When this model was first announced, I knew straight away that I wanted to add it to my Nighthaunt collection. I really liked the composition, the expressive silhouette, and the sculpted smoke effect promised plenty of painting fun. So right after reviewing the miniature for Tale of Painters (see here), I got to work. There were a few seams to fill – for which I used Vallejo Plastic Putty and Tamiya White Putty – but then I was ready to start painting.
How I painted the Lord Vitriolic
For the paint job, I stuck to my purple-grey-white Nighthaunt scheme, which I explain in a free tutorial here. I kept the rack and the larger part of the smoke separate for painting. The smoke was primed with P3 Arcane Blue applied through the airbrush, then I sprayed Pro Acryl Blue Black zenithal highlights from above. With a brush, I glazed thinned P3 Arcane Blue into the recesses between the raised smoke plumes to give them an eerie glow. The droplets were shaded with Aethermatic Blue Contrast, then I layered back up with P3 Arcane Blue, gradually mixing in Vallejo Game Color Verdigris. The droplets received a final highlight of pure Verdigris, plus a few spot highlights with VGC Dead White.
Final thoughts
Painting the Lord Vitriolic was a real joy and has left me wanting to expand my Nighthaunt further. Up to now, I’ve only painted single models like the Guardian of Souls or Underworlds warbands such as The Headman’s Curse and the Myrmourn Banshees. I’d love to grow this loose collection into a proper army – maybe I’ll even manage to paint at least a Spearhead of Nighthaunt before the year is out. You’ll see it here on Tale of Painters, so bookmark the blog and don’t miss out.
Feel free to leave a reaction, or drop a comment below, I’m also happy to answer any questions on our friendly hobby Discord server. Thanks a lot, and happy hobbying!
