I bet that you didn't expect to see a new Second Government character, and guess what? Neither did I!
In the last times, I deeply thought about what I'm doing, what I've done, and what I want to do in the next future. There are many things that I'm really proud of, and so many things that I can't wait to design and add to my collection of miniatures. But there are also a few things that I'm not totally happy with, and I had to decide how to handle the matter.
I wouldn't say that I don't like the Second Government range, but I can't say that I'm in love with it. This is not easy to say, because after all I invested a lot in this project and I'm not talking only about money: time, effort, expectations and...pride!
Despite the kits still looking good, I think that they don't completely reflect the uniqueness of the Second Government: they came out a bit too "generic", and I want to improve the range by adding that flavor that I think they need.
So, with this in mind, a month ago I simply woke up and said to myself: you know what? I want to design a Second Government character.
It's been refreshing because I didn't realize how much I felt to be engaged in a kind of self-imposed creative fence, and I was forgetting the raw pleasure of just doing what I wanted to do!
Don't get me wrong: I love what we are doing with the Orcs of Inneath range, but sometimes I think it's important to just let that creative sparkle come out and pause for a while on the schedule.
Thanks for reading this long, it's time now to share with you the first step of the Second Government renaissance: Ofelia Altieri, Admiral of the first fleet!
Firstborn of one of the richest families in Venice, Ofelia is well known for her childish temperament and her incomparable genius. For sure, being part of such a wealthy and powerful dinasty had a relevant weigth in her career, but she didn't become the Admiral of the Second Government's first fleet, at the age of only 21, just because of her parent's political influence or money: since she was a little child, in fact, her talent shone bright as a divine blessing.
Her skills and knowledge at navigation are unmatched: she knows by heart any route of the Open Sea and her ability to interpretate and predict winds and currents is so sharp and accurate to the point of pure foresight. It's like the sea keeps no secrets to her, to the point that her subordinates use to call the young Admiral "the witch", despite carefully out of earshot.
Probably, her nickname is not due only to Ofelia's uncanny talent, but also to her difficult character, which makes extremely stressful to deal with her. Childish, whimsical, fickle and bossy: this youngling confirms all the prejudices against rich people, or at least she shares a lot of traits in common with her gruff father, the pompous Lorenzo Altieri, who once bought and demolished a bakery just because they were all out of raisin fritters, his favorite treat!
Her temperament may change as the wind itself, especially when she is away from Valentino, her beloved pug (and possibly the only creature able to keep her in a good mood for a while!).
However, despite her troubling character, the high ranks of the Bluecoat Navy are more than willing to turn a blind eye to Ofelia's behavious, so precious is her genius to the Second Government: for a nation claiming to tame the seas of Inneath, Ofelia is an essential resource!
I do care a lot about this first Second Government named character, because she represents the first step towards a renaissance of this range, a side project that I want to develop in the next years. As you can see, it's not a remake of the Second Government aesthetic: I still like the ideas behind this range and I think there is a lot of potentials to explore!
Ofelia's look is coherent with the current minis of the Second Government range, but I tried to add more personality and to show with her concept a more specific side of the Bluecoat lore: the first fleet!
If you've read the volume II of Peoples of Inneath, you already know that the Bluecoat organisation is based on many individual fleets, each of them led by an Admiral. The size and strategic role of each fleet is extremely various: some of them are very small and consist only in half of a dozen of ships, some others are composed by hundreds of vessels and galleons and represent a medal of honor for the whole Second Government.
Needless to say, the first fleet of the Navy, stationed in Venice, is the most prestigious one: an enormous fleet that still deploys ancient boats dating to the period before the unification!
Known as "the Spear" and "the Lions of Venice", the first fleet is one of the sharpest weapons in the Second Government arsenal and it is a huge honor to serve under its banners.
I decided to start from this little piece of lore to renew my Bluecoat/Redcoat characters, I decided to focus some of the next kits on the first fleet of Venice.
I wanted Ofelia to be dramatically different from the Redcoat Admiral, and catch her unique and frivolous personality in sharp contrast with the grim and serious vibe of the Redcoat colleague.
There are some evident details that show her rank, like the lion shaped pauldrons (a symbol of the first fleet city, Venice), the heavy overcoat similar to that of the Bluecoat Admiral and the little winged shield pinned to her chest, the symbol of the Bluecoat organisation.
However, I wanted to focus more on her attitude so I spent a lot of time searching for the right pose and vibe to perfectly catch her character, and I think that this sculpt doesn't fail to deliver it!
With this sculpt I focused not only on the mere aesthetic of the character, but also on some technical details that were a bit off in the other SG kits: for example, the hair texture is more stylized and the features of the face (like the eyes e mouth) are more defined. This should makes the sculpt easier to paint, allowing you to enjoy the process without being too intimidated and confused by extra subtle and complex details.
Overall, I'm pretty enthusiastic and excited about this new character, because it breaks the delay of a matter that I was keeping on my shoulder for a long time, It's an important step that allows me to improve a range that I really care about.
Ofelia Altieri will go on preorder soon, at a special price, so please keep an eye on this blog or, even better, subscribe to our newsletter so you're sure to not miss the chance to be the first to join this new chapter of the Second Government story!
In the meantime, I will take advantage of this new kit to try for the first time my brand new Phrozen Mighty 8k (I know that the phrozen mini is great and cheaper, but 'cmon...it's MIGHTY!), my newborn 3d printer that I hope will help to improve all our pipeline and future projects, allowing me to pre-test the new kits, find any issue in advance and paint the boxarts of my future releases, which is crucial!
Thanks for all those that take part to "Adventurers of Inneath" campaign (tomorrow I'll write an update about that, don't worry), because it's only because of you if I could afford such an investment for my company.
I hope you like the new Second Government character!