Thursday 10 January 2013

Wolf Lord Rikkard Threadcutter, Jarl of Fyf



I always plan to hold off a while on painting fun HQs, but inevitably temptation gets the better of me and I found myself painting up my Wolf Lord of the holiday period. It was a great way to spend the free time as I had a blast doing him.

Several months ago I wrote a WIP post about this guy, so go ahead and take a look. In the meantime, I'd better introduce you to the big man himself, but be sure to check out the four-part Saga of Rikkard Threadcutter. The first part may be found by clicking on the link below. A new part will appear every day.



Rikkard is Jarl of Fyf and has been for many decades having been elected to the position after the death of the previous Jarl, Egberd Greywolf. It was Greywolf himself who gave him the names Threadcutter and The White Wolf.


Mounted upon the back of his ancient suit of terminator armour, Rikkard wears a great red cape, red like the blood he has shed to earn the name Threadcutter.


The pelt of a great wolf, surely slain in a hunt from long ago, decorates the cape.


In battle Rikkard wields weapons favoured by the men of the tribe from which he was taken, the Godi, of which he is likely the last survivor. These venerable weapons have served him very well indeed over the years.


Rikkard's mighty frost axe, Morkai's Smile, is always by his side. Even in the Aett when not in his armour, Morkai's Smile is strapped to his back. It is said that this blade was once wielded by Russ himself, though the story is likely apocryphal. Other supposed wielders of the blade include such heroes as Bulveye and Bjorn the Fell-Handed, but it is likely the axe has a far more humble history. When asked about this during one his his awakenings, Bjorn himself merely said "I've wielded many things, and I'll wield you in a minute if you ask another stupid question".

Well named, Morkai's Smile has brought death to countless enemies, it's two deadly smiles as terrible as the two-headed beast's own.


Rikkard's shield bears the sigil of the White Wolf, the legendary creature from which one of Rikkard's many names derives. In Fenrisian mythology, the White Wolf is a stalwart and loyal defender, protecting against and slaying great and terrible beasts. The name White Wolf therefore fits Rikkard character perfectly, as well as his snow-white hair which he developed during his time in Egberd Greywolf's Wolf Guard.


On his right shoulder, Rikkard displays his personal sigil, that of the Wolf that Hunts the Sun. This mythological beast chases away the sun that brings the boiling summers of Fenris and brings the snow-white cold of death to the land. Rikkard's sigil is a classical depiction: a snarling wolf displayed in front of a stylised sun over a white background. Like his cape, Rikkard's other shoulder is coloured red to symbolise the colour of cut threads. Upon his election as Jarl, red became Fyf's colour and is worn by all it's warriors.


As this venerable old wolf has aged, Rikkard has forged the impetuousness of this youth into an implacable determination. A giant and intimidating figure, Rikkard commands respect in the Aett and even amongst other Space Marine chapters with which Fyf has had dealings. Rikkard always leads from the front, as a true Jarl should, and his brothers' hearts sing load with the spirit of the warrrior. Each of them would follow this peerless warrior into the very mouth of Hel.

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Hope you enjoyed this post and be sure to check out The Saga of Rikkard Threadcutter, which will be going out in four parts. The first part may be found here.

4 comments:

  1. How do you paint his armour? It looks much darker than your fast space wolf armour tutorial.

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    1. It's the exact same technique: the photos on that tutorial are badly over exposed. I should update them.

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  2. The power weapon glow on Morkai's Smile is really nice. We thought that it might be NMN at first. It's gives it a subtle effect of slow moving waves of energy. Cool stuff.

    Did you end up doing much greenstuffing on him?

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    1. Thanks :) Thought I might have gone a bit over the top on the blue glazing.

      The only green stuffing was to repair the bad casting on the armour above his head and to fill in fur where I had to reposition the leg of the pelt over the left shoulder. There was also a little bit of neatening up after I raised the height with plasticard spacers under his feet. You can see the green stuff in the WIP post, which is linked at the top of the page; it's a bit easier to see than describe.

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