When drawing new models for the Forces of HORDES books, I knew one book was going to be easy: Trollbloods. I love to draw me some Trollbloods. Every Trollblood model is a chance to create something unique, a chance to give each model its own sense of individuality. There’s just so much to choose from: pygs, whelps, armor and weapons, beer kegs, etc. The Trollbloods have a sense of whimsy balanced with a hard-as-nails attitude. It’s a fine line to walk but always rewarding at the end.

New warlocks are always very demanding. They need to easily convey character, and the Trollbloods are no exception. However, new warlocks offer a chance to really cut loose and do something over-the-top and awesome. At least that’s what I wanted to do with the newest Trollblood warlock, Captain Gunnbjorn.

From his inception, we knew Gunnbjorn was going to be a trollkin with ex-military service. I had the image of a gung-ho US Marine drill sergeant who was out to kick ass and chew bubble gum. Since bubble gum doesn’t exist in the Iron Kingdoms, it left Gunnbjorn with only one thing to do. A lot of his look flowed from there.

It was a little tough at the beginning. I didn’t just want to create a trollkin version of Cygnar’s Maxwell Finn, but there were a lot of parallels between the two when we started. After a few initial takes on his design, I nailed down a look that gave a good sense of what Captain Gunnbjorn is all about. At least, everything except, well, his gun! With a name like “Gunnbjorn,” his weapon had to be something totally new. Something unique. While we were batting around ideas, I got a wacky thought stuck in my head. “How about we give him a huge bazooka only he’s strong enough to lift?” I ventured, my voice tinged with the “crazy.”

Matt Wilson gave me a long, hard look. The silence stretched.

“Make that happen,” said Matt.

This is the result. I think even before reading his back-story, you’ve already formed a clear idea of what Captain Gunnbjorn is all about. If so, I’ve done my job.