Aestred Thurga, Reliquant at Arms

A pair of my favourite models in the Sisters of Battle, Aestred Thurga and Agathae Dolan. I love the focus on an inspirational figure for the Sororitas who has been entrusted with an ancient and sacred relic. It’s also refreshing to have a Agathae present, an older woman who records the deeds of Aestred instead of taking part in the fighting. It’s a great change of pace from the rest of the Imperial range.

The main focus of the model is, of course, the large and detailed banner, the Auto-Tapestry of the Emperor’s Judgment. It’s a fantastic piece, I love the iconography here, the Emperor portrayed as a robbed figure of death and the flaming sword and golden throne. I’m ever thankful that a lot of these new banners have had sculpted details on them, it makes the process much easier than freehand.

Aestred herself has a really strong pose that works perfectly for her battlefield role. It focuses on her as an inspirational figure, her sword raised as if leading her sisters-in-arms. I went for a NMM gold on the banner, something I’ve been practising a fair bit recently. I’m pretty happy with the result, especially with the Emperors halo.