Saturday 18 March 2017

Painted Nuln Spearman by Javi Torrijo

He is a nice figure and drips that '80s warhammer character, so I cannot fathom why he never saw wider release. Until I saw this painted version I had no idea that the figure sported a manly beard! 

Last post I brought you a unique insight to the Marauder version of the Bloodthirster, and to follow that up I can share this with you, the first fully painted version of the Nuln Spearman outside of the WD image from the 1980s. Now, if you are not aware of this particular figure's story let me enlighten you a little. 


The Nuln Spearman was for a long time one of those mysteries for the early days of Warhammer. He appeared in White Dwarf 90 in an advert for a range of Citadel Fighters but never seems to have hit the shops. So scarce was he, some collectors and enthusiasts even doubted his existence and predicted that a copy would never be found, especially after the majority of Bryan Ansell's collection had been explored and Nulny didn't turn up. 

Then in 2014 a casting of the miniature appeared on eBay (along with the similarly rare, Guard Captain) for a short while before vanishing in confusing circumstances. Many collectors inferred that the seller was approached with an offer he couldn't refuse and that was very much that. As you can imagine, this set the collecting world alight with discussion and the Spearman has appeared for sale several times since. Sadly, the winning bidders were usually the Citadel Collecting sort and squirrelled the model away in a cupboard somewhere instead of using the figure for gaming or display. 

Not so with Javi Torrijo, who posted this painted version on Facebook last week. Seeing an opportunity not to be missed I asked if it would okay to share his work here on Realm of Chaos 80s - and as you can see, Javi agreed! 

So big thanks to him. 

Before I pop off again, I'll leave you with something I had never seen before until I spoke to Javi. The Nuln Spearman's rear end!! I wonder what he keeps in that pouch?


Orlygg

13 comments:

  1. I'm certain there is a Dwarf eating hamburger in this pouch:)

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  2. Excellent post.
    Great to finally see him close up and front/rear as well.
    Thank you, and to Javi Torrijo. :)

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    1. I am glad you appreciated this now more familiar model, Mr. Lee.

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  3. Big round of applause for Javi Torrijo, good to see it painted and potentially to be used as it was intended, for playing games

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  4. Fantastic work with these classic one!

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  5. Thanks for your post. Cheers

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  6. Great post! I'm not into the general citadel collecting. I usually only buy/stalk a figure if its gonna, theoretically, hit the table. But I was curious, as I've seen references to this particular piece, and I really appreciate the info and Javi sharing his painting skills.

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    1. I am glad you found the post worthwhile and learnt something new.

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  7. Thank you for your enlightenment, sometimes I wonder what sort of story are behind these rare figures.
    Questions: if this is unreleased why they can be found on eBay for these rare figures?

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