The State of the Hunt, Week 7/2017

As it turns out, last week’s decision to force myself to actually sit down and paint something was really for the best: Not only did it result in a model I am really, really happy with — I’ve also managed to keep the creative spark alive until now. So even though I am currently suffering from a rather nasty case of the flu, I have still finished some more hobby related stuff. So let’s take about some of the recent developments today:

 

I. A Chaotic Tome

One of the more frustrating parts of the 2016 Christmas season was my attempt to get hold of a) the Traitor Legions Codex Supplement, b) Canoness Veridyan and c) the Index Chaotica book. The Canoness, in particular, sold out about three or four times, and once the model was finally back in stock, the Index Chaotica was gone for good — or at least that’s what it looked like then.

Enter fellow hobbyist Augustus b’Raass (whose fantastic work you might want to check out here, by the way): Auggs was nice enough to swing by the Amsterdam GW store, pick up a spare copy of the book and send it my way — that was really awesome and yet another proof that this hobby of ours is full of wonderfully generous and thoughtful people!

As for the book itself, while I am writing this, it seems to be back in stock, so is it worth it? I’d say so, yes. The cynic in me wants to poke fun at the fact that it’s basically a – ever so slightly haphazard – collection of pre-published content, but then the stuff from Realm of Chaos, for instance, is only really available in the original books, and you’ll be paying through the nose if you want to obtain one of those. Plus the vintage chaos content is simply that good: sinister, evil, spiky and occasionally darkly humorous. And some of the classic artwork is still spectacular.

For instance, I was elated to find within the book a wonderfully vibrant reproduction of Geoff Taylor’s iconic World Eaters illustration. In spite of being decidedly old skool, it has also managed to age incredibly well, if you ask me:

There’s also this WFB-chaos centric piece from the same artist that actually almost seems like a companion piece of the World Eaters picture:

I still remember when this image appeared on the box of the Chaotic paints set (Tentacle Pink FTW!), and I was spellbound and tried to figure out what I was actually seeing — the lumbering war machine in the back was especially fascinating, as it subtly hinted at a WFB/40k connection. From a modern standpoint, I’d say it’s actually a depiction of a Lord of War, a Khornate daemon engine from Epic 40k that eventually grew into the modern Lord of Skulls. It also serves as living proof of how much more awesome GW artwork was when it didn’t limit itself to picturing available models — but that’s a subject for another time.

Speaking of Khorne, the Khornate content alone is basically worth the price of admission and should provide me with lots and lots of new ideas. And while the internet will provide you with lots and lots of fuzzy scans of vintage GW artwork, there are still some surprises to be had here, among them an elusive Jes Goodwin sketch for a dedicated heavy support World Eater:

Actually, Jes Goodwin’s design sketches are yet another reason to pick up the book: I cannot help marveling at the quality of his concepts for the four cult legions and the original 2nd edition CSM special characters –incredible stuff!
Oh, and let me just state for the record that the book obviously wouldn’t have been complete without the wonderful berzerker on the right courtesy of Mark Gibbons! 🙂

So anyway, I’ve spent some very enjoyable weeks going back and forth through the book and immersing myself in the rich background for the chaos powers. I am ever so thankful to Augustus b’Raass for getting me a copy, and I suppose I’ll have to come up with something special in order to make it up to him — cheers, buddy! 🙂

 

II. A Merry Band of Misfits

I didn’t merely spend my time browsing through iconic chaos content from the yesteryear, though: Some of you might remember this little project here from last year: The Road Crew:

Now this little warband project was basically started as a fun diversion (and as a way to channel some of the influences from the Mad Max universe), but before I realised it, it had already started to take on a life of its own, coagulating into a little retinue.

The basic idea here was to start with some of the pit slave tropes introduced by Necromunda, but move beyond those character archetypes to include mutants, gunmen or even former Imperial adepts and shape them into a gang of malcontents that have disappeared between the cracks of the 41st millennium.

Now if you take a look at the image above, you’ll realise that there are already quite a few beefy warrior types — but this outfit still needed some brains. That’s why I built this guy last year:

Where the more gladiatorial types are muscular and crudely augmented, I wanted a gaunt and more delicate look for the brainy guy, and a combination of AdMech parts led to an outcome that was pretty close to my vision. The interesting task was to make a model that is so different from a structural standpoint look like it still belonged with the group. I tried to achieve that via a suitably strong paintjob, and here’s the result of that little endeavour:

This is Solon Antonov, nicknamed “The Doktor”, formerly a low to mid-tier member of the Adeptus Mechanicus who stationed on St. Sabasto’s Reach to select suitable slaves to undergo augmetic modification and be transported off-world, to spend the rest of their sad lives toiling away in one of the mines or forges of the Velsian Adeptus Mechanicus. But, surprising enough for a man mostly made from metal by this point, Antonov discovered he still had a heart after all, and absconded with a group of slaves. Ever since, he has been the brains behind the “Road Crew”, tasked both with planning their activities and with the “maintenance” of its various members.

As you can see, I used the exact same colours on Antonov and the gladiators, with the scratched and damaged yellow armour serving as the element that really pulls the models together. I was actually happy enough with the outcome that I started to work on the next model right away. This little guy here:

I thought a mutant witch doctor type would nicely expand the character of the warband beyond a mere gang of pitslaves, even if this guy may initally seem a bit far out. Anyway, he’s still a little rough around the edges and needs some finishing touches, but here are some photos of the nearly finished model:

All in all, this project is a lot of fun, because it allows for some very organic kitbashing and painting. It’s also a nice vehicle for telling a somewhat more intimate story: These guys aren’t part of the fight for the Emperor’s soul, they just want to get by. That being said, it’s kinda interesting to explore the contrast between their humanity and their somewhat distressed, grotesque outer appearances.

So here’s the entire gang so far. Meet the Road Crew:

From left to right: Crusher Vexx, Tiny (the Road Crew’s battle captain), Doktor Antonov, Grimspyke, Chopper and the PIP twist witch doctor (if anyone has a cool idea for a name, I’d love to hear it).

So what’s in store for the Road Crew? I think there’ll be one or two additional members, and a suitable ramshackle ride for them — I already have a plan on that account. Keep your eyes peeled! 😉

 

III. A Squig-shaped Surprise

And last but definitely not least, imagine my surprise when I visited my friend Annie last week for one of our semi-regular painting sessions, only to present me with two wonderfully characterful squig-shaped dice for my Blood Bowl team, the Orkheim Ultraz:

These lovely little models can be picked up at Comixininos, and they should make for excellent turn/reroll counters for my team! And I really love how Annie painted them to perfectly match the colours of the Orkheim Ultraz:

Thanks so much for the amazing gift, Annie! 🙂

By the way, we’ll be taking a closer look at one of Annie’s Blood Bowl teams in the near future, if only to show you her fairly different approach as well as her balls-to-the-wall crazy and creative ideas for the team. You should definitely look forward to that!
So yeah, as you can see, I am finally back into the swing of things! And I would love to hear any feedback you might have — just drop me a comment or two! And, as always, thanks for looking and stay tuned for more!

Greetings from the pit…

So, yet another round of fresh INQ28 models this week — I just cannot help myself, and I know far better than to second guess any motivation I might have for painting stuff. Next week, we’ll finally be taking a closer look at the models from Deathwatch:Overkill, in case you were wondering, but such review posts take a lot of time and work to complete, and at least for the time being, I would rather use this energy to actually create something new and not to merely write about models 😉

So anyway, one thing that I have wanted to do ever since I saw Bruticus’ brilliant pit slave gang last year was to build a pit slave or two of my own. A recent conversion by Legatho taught me that the combination of an Age of Sigmar Bloodreaver and a Skitarii Vanguard head would be a terrific mix to start the project, so I grabbed a Bloodreaver body, carefully shaved off all the chaotic and Khornate runes (HERESY!) and tried my best. But the model just refused to come together for some reason, and so the parts landed on my desktop, glowering at me accusingly every now and then — at least that’s what it felt like.

The project wasn’t kickstarted back into life until I started messing around with some of the – brilliantly crude – bionic limbs from the Ork Nobz kit, but when I discovered a brutal looking bionic harpoon arm among those bitz, I knew I had found the missing piece for that pit slave gladiator. And just a short while later, I had a finished conversion. Take a look:

The crude bionic arm really sells the model, if you ask me. And the Skitarii Vanguard helmet adds a sinister, quasi-robotic look that seems really fitting for a heavily augmented killing machine. For the pit slave’s right hand, I chose a standard CSM chainsword that was made quite a bit more spiky and hideous by making a few small tweaks. I also added some of the Ork armour plate and some tech-y bitz that I had shaved off from some Skitarii backpacks. Those latter parts were used to disguise the areas where I had had to shave off chaotic detailing from the original Bloodreaver model.

When it came to painting the model, I went for a main colour that I don’t use all that often: a very strong industrial yellow for the various armour plates and bionics. My reasons for choosing the approach was that I wanted the armour and augmetics to slightly recall heavy duty construction machines. Plus I thought that the gladiators in the fighting pits would go for bold colours to serve as some kind of “stage outfit”, so to speak. I did add several layers of scratches and sponge weathering, though, to make the yellow parts look suitably grimy and damaged.

So here’s the finished pit slave model. I give you Grimspyke “the Impaler”, former champion in the fighting pits of St. Sabasto’s Reach:

All in all, I am really rather happy with the finished model: Grimspyke looks suitably gladiatorial, but there’s also an Imperial underhive angle about him that removes him from his roots as a Khornate model.  In fact, I was so happy with the model that I almost instantly started converting another gladiator. Go figure…

This time, the inspiration I chose was one of my favourite classic Inquisitor models: Arco-flagellant Gryx from Phil Kelly’s seminal warband for Inquisitor Lichtenstein:

warband built and painted by Phil Kelly

Back when Phil wrote about this warband in White Dwarf, he said that Gryx had been inspired by Judge Dredd’s Mean Machine — and even though I actually experimented with several different versions of my own conversion, I wasn’t happy until I had decided to recreate the one-armed look. Here’s the conversion I came up with:

As you can see, a Bloodreaver from the AoS starter box forms the base of the conversion once again. I chose a massive Ork power claw for the right arm and cut off most of the left arm so it ended up looking like an augmetic stump where a bionic arm may once have existed. I wanted this model to explore the slightly grotesque – and ultimately rather sad – angle about pit slaves: that they are crudely augmented to serve as tools or fighting machines, divorced from their humanity and turned into misshapen creatures. This is also the reason I chose a more human head (originally from the Space Marine Scout Bikers, I believe). All in all, the model looks lumbering and lopsided, with an overmuscled look to its right side — exactly the effect I had intended.

I chose the same recipe for painting this guy that I had already used on my first pit slaves — these guys might actually end up in a warband together at some point…

So here’s the second pit slave: “Crusher” Vex, also known as “Old Man Claw”:

Something that doesn’t show well in most of the pictures is that I have added some greying fuzz to Crusher’s head:

I wanted to show that he’s a rather old guy, and definitely well past his prime as a pitfighter.

And here are the two gladiators together:

“The championship match between Grimspyke and Crusher Vex? One for the ages, that was! I’ll never forget when Grimspyke took Crusher’s arm clean off during the fifth bout!”

“Shug” Holn, Sector 2 Habber

 

For now, these are mostly a fun little diversion. But I do like the idea of spinning these off into their won little warband at some point. I don’t even see these as members of a simple pit slave gang, either, but rather as a crew of former pit slaves, mutants, workers and other malcontents. In fact, they would work great asa warband hailing from the world of St. Sabasto’s Reach that DexterKong and I invented for the Velsen Sector. Here’s the outline for the planet that I wrote a while ago:

St. Sabasto’s Reach

An extremely rich hive world grown fat and depraved through slave trade and the exploitation of its mutant lower class.

The world originally earned its name when the Imperial Saint Sabasto rested here after his great victory on the fields of Belzifer, before engaging in the last stage of his holy crusade for the defense of Velsen against the forces of the Arch-enemy. While Sabasto’s crusade army was still magnificent at this point, it had also suffered heavy losses (a fact, it is argued by some contemporary Velsian historians, that contributed to Sabasto’s eventual defeat within the Veil of Impurity).

When the Saint contemplated the price in blood paid for the reclamation of Velsen, he decreed that the entire world of St. Sabasto’s Reach would be given to the orphans of the slain and that the Imperium would see to it that the children of martyrs would never need to go hungry. This spurred the planetary populace into religious fervor, and countless orphanages and scholae were opened in the saint’s name, earning the world bynames like “The Planet of Orphans” or “The Orphans’ Cradle”.

However, with a slow decline in piety and a general economic recession, many of the world’s orphanages have had to close over the centuries, while others have turned to a far darker trade, giving the world’s epithet a new, sinister meaning. It is true that Imperial organisations like the Schola Progenium, the Ecclesiarchy and even the Inquisition still maintain a presence on St. Sabasto’s Reach and recruit from the ranks of the homeless orphans, choosing the most talented or devout to serve in their respective organisations. And in the deeper levels of the world’s hives, missions and orphanages still offer a real, if meagre, chance for survival to this day. Yet that is only one face of St. Sabasto’s Reach. For at the same time, the world has also become the biggest fleshmarket in the entire Velsen Sector, providing human resources in a very literal sense, from mutant workers to household servants. Moreover, it is rumoured that there exists a slave for every kind of service in the almshouses and slave pits of St. Sabasto’s Reach, and the masters of the world have long prided themselves on being able to cater to every taste and desire, no matter how “eccentric” it may be.

Another mainstay of the world’s culture, the countless circuses and fighting arenas, are also fueled by a constant influx of “material” from the slave pits. At one point, the world’s renowned Circus Imperialis served as a front for a cult of chaos worshippers and was purged by the hand of Inquisitor Antrecht. But even after this upheaval, the remaining slavelords and ringmasters of St. Sabasto’s Reach quickly regained their step, slightly realigning themselves in the resulting power struggle and carving out a new pecking order among themselves. Because the Inquisition’s issue was never with the slave trade itself, but with the presence of heretics, and so the House of Blossoms, the Angelflesh Lodge and countless other establishments like them continue to ply their dark trade to this day…

 

I think a group of former slaves would be an interesting concept, plus it would allow for all kinds of different character types, including pitslaves, mutants, workers and some more exotic members. I don’t consider this a high priority project at the moment, but it’s still a fun diversion. In fact, this mutant overlord that I built recently, using the Bloodstoker from the AoS starter box would also make for a great member of that particular warband:

As it happens, the Ork Nobz kit provided the final missing piece for this model as well: a crude trophy pole that looks great on the mutant’s back:

I am normally *very* reluctant about adding back banners or trophy poles to models, because they end up looking very silly more often than not, messing up the model’s silhouette. But I thought this guy needed that precise pole ever since I started building him, and I like it a lot. It also has the added benefit of adding another layer to the model, so to speak, as the base model is surprisingly two-dimensional.

Anyway, I think this could become a rather interesting project somewhere down the line! Keep your eyes peeled! 😉

For now, I am happy enough with my first two pit slaves, though:

Let me know what you think! And, as always, thanks for looking and stay tuned for more!

Inquisitor 28: Decius Freeman, twist bounty hunter

It’s been quite a while since I was last able to show you a finished INQ28 model, but now my – mostly – rediscovered painting motivation has allowed me to finally put the finishing touches of another character for this particular side of the hobby.

In fact, the model I would like to show you today really shouldn’t be a stranger, at least not to regular readers of this fine blog: It’s a model I already showed you twice: Once as an unpainted WIP and once during the later painting stages.

The original plan, as I might have mentioned before, was to build a model inspired by the original Quovandius artwork from the Inquisitor rulebook:

Quovandius artwork from the original Inquisitor rulebook. Image owned by GW, obviously.

While the actual 54mm model for Quovandius is faithful to the artwork in many ways, the model itself ends up looking somewhat pitiful and sickly, while the guy pictured in the artwork above seems like he really means business. I also really wanted to incorporate the shotgun used as a crutch, since that has to be one of my favourite parts of the artwork!

Anyway, using an old Ork boy as a base model, here’s the model I came up with:

Not a perfect match, surely, but you should still be able to recognise where the inspiration came from, I believe. And, true to the artwork, this twist really looks like one mean mother, if I do say so myself.

And while painting him may have taken ages – he had been mostly finished for a long time, but I only went back for the finishing touches now – the model is now finally finished, and I am also quite pleased with the result. Take a look:

You might think I am crazy, but making the loincloth look more vibrant on the finished model may have been my best decision while painting. I also gave some extra care to parts of his equipment, like his knife, to make them look well used but deadly:

And finally, the model’s face received an extra layer of highlights, making the scars and seams slightly more noticeable. I really think he’s a bit of a character, to tell you the truth:

All in all, the model looks scarred and malformed, but this twist is also clearly his own man: You may find him horrifying, but you certainly wouldn’t pity him like you do pity the awkward and sickly looking Quovandius, right? Even though he has a bad leg…

But what about the model’s backstory? How did he end up even more ugly than your average twist? And why does he look so angry? As is my usual approach, finishing the model also entailed coming up with a bit of background for it…

Decius Freeman, twist bounty hunter

“Say, you ever heard of Decius Freeman?”

“Nah, couldn’t say I have. Wait, you mean that twist revolutiory riling up them workers on Silon Minor? The one sold out his fellow conspirators in the end, trying to save his hide before the cartels brought in the heavy hitters?”

“That’s the one, although that’s not the way I hear it told. Ask the right people, and they’ll say he was actually the one being sold out, only that, once that rebellion had been quelled and the dust had settled, no one was that all intent on finding out the truth of it.”

“What’s it to you, though? You turnin’ into some kind of historical expert on the matter of the twist freedom movement, or what?”

“Feth, I was getting to that, right? So, just the other day, a twist hunter came by the Virgo, down in sector eleven. One big fether, I tell you. Ugly too. All muscle and scars and gristle, and with a gammy leg. And I gak you not, he was using a mean looking shotgun as a crutch.”

“So?”

“Said he was looking for Reuban Nonus. Said the two of them go way back. That he owed him. Only thing is, he got that look in that one good eye of his when he said it, made you feel like old Reuban wouldn’t be all too pleased to be paid back what he was owed, if you get my meaning.”

“And did you tell him?”

“Me? Throne, no. I reckon if someone needs to find me, they ought to know where to look. And if they have to ask others for my location, well, maybe I don’t want to see them all that badly. That twist didn’t get a word out of me, and he was putting on his best scowl too, by the look of it. Told me to come find him if I remembered. Told me he goes by the name of Decius.”

“But you didn’t remember anything?”

“Nah, course not. But you know how it goes in the hollows: Some Asher down on his luck musta told him where to find his old friend, because next thing you know, Old Reuban’s floating face down in one of them culture tanks, down at the hydroponics.”

“Gak! I hadn’t heard that! Say, didn’t Reuban used to work on Silon hisself?”

“That he did. Never did want to talk about his time in the mines, though. I figured it must have been terrible on that world during the riots.”

“And you think that twist did him in? The one with the gammy leg?”

“I’d bet my last cred on it. And you know what? If there are any more guys in the sector being owed by that Decius fellow, they had best keep out of sight. Throne, all that talking is giving me a sore throat. You still drinkin’ that?”

 

As always, thanks for looking and stay tuned for more!

INQ28 Desktop Roundup III: Equal opportunities

Today, let’s take another look at my desk, where a rather eclectic collection of INQ28 characters is currently being built. Apart from the usual mix of fanatics, mutants and Inquisitorial operatives, it is my very great pleasure to actually be able to add some female characters to my various retinues. But all in good time! Let us take a look at all the different retinues in characters:

 

1.) Inquisitor Gotthardt’s retinue

Even though only the good Inquisitor himself has been painted so far, Gotthardt’s retinue is pretty far along from a composition standpoint: With Rogue Trader Iskander Gagarin, former Guard officer Esteban Revas as well as a Drill Abbot and retired Arbites Judge (which will both need some additional background), the warband already comprised an interesting collection of archetypes and narrative hooks. But then, inspiration struck yet again and made me build two more members for the warband:

Trooper Koltz

First up, looking at Cpt. Esteban Revas’ military background and upbringing, I thought it would be interesting for him to have a retainer of his own: One Trooper Salvador “Sal” Koltz, sworn to serve the Revas family because his life was saved by Esteban’s late father. I imagine Koltz as both a experienced veteran and a sly and deceptively clever person, always hiding his smarts behind a veneer of lower class joviality. Here’s a WIP shot of the model:

In addition to being Revas’ personal retainer, Koltz also serves as his master’s “packing mule”, so I gave him all kinds of baggage to lug around — I imagine him to be carrying all kinds of stuff, ranging from sensible military grade equipment to Revas’ personal smoking utensils, shoeshine, etc.

It was actually a delicate balance to maintain, since adding any more stuff would have made the model look over-encumbered and silly. Anyway, I am quite pleased with Koltz. The only thing I might change is to exchange his head with one from the WFB Empire free company. Apart from that, though, he really looks the part!

Elisha Gorgo

Finding decent bitz to build female characters is always a bit of a challenge, and especially so with GW’s range. The female models available are few and far between, and those that actually exist usually sport a very distinct look (Wood Elves, High Elves,…). So it was by a brilliant stroke of luck that I managed to pick up the three female vampires from the Vampire Counts Coven Throne during an ebay auction. Granted, these ladies also have a pretty special look, but not only does it match the strange and eclectic design of the 40k universe rather well, but I also think these models are among the best female models ever released by GW — unfortunately, the normal way of picking them up is to buy a kit that comes at 50 Euros a pop…

Anyway, thanks to the lucky coincidence outlined above, I found myself in the possession of the three models (along with some more very nice bitz from the same kit). So I immediately started to build the first female member for Inquisitor Gotthardt’s retinue: Elisha Gorgo…

…or, actually, Countess Elisha Haxta di Colasante Mordina Gorgo. My rough background idea for her is that she is the daughter of a powerful Imperial noble. She started displaying psychic powers at a very young age. Normally, that would have meant a dreary and possibly short life aboard one of the Blackships, although her influential father pulled all kinds of strings in order to keep her “affliction” a secret. Due to her powers, she has been sequestered away from other people for most of her life and grew up very shy and demure as a consequence. Her secret was only uncovered when Inquisitor Gotthardt visited her homeworld as part of an investigation. And for some reason (which will need to be pretty good, I suppose), he chose to make her a member of his retinue.

While the warband can definitely use a psyker from a rules perspective, I mainly think that she could serve to introduce some interesting character dynamics into the retinue: Esteban Revas is feeling immensely protective of her for several reasons: They both come from a noble background. They both lost their standing and home. And there’s also the fact that she reminds him of Archduchess Cyrine, the young ruler of his homeworld. I could also see the Rogue Trader Iskander Gagarin constantly trying to woo her. In any case, she could be interesting from a narrative point of view.

The model itself is a relatively easy kitbash, using my favourite upper body from the Coven Throne kit and combining it with some High Elf archer legs. I also replaced both hands with hands from the Dreamforge Games Eisenkern Stormtroopers (yes, really!), because the original hands were far too claw-like — befitting an ancient vampiress, but certainly not an Imperial debutante…

Anyway, the hands from the Stormtrooper kit (which is fantastic, by the way — I’ll absolutely need to do a detailed writeup on it, one of these days) were a perfect fit. All in all, I am really happy with how Elisha turned out, and I think she makes for a stunning addition to Inquisitor Gotthardt’s retinue!

With the addition of these two characters, I believe we can call Gotthardt’s warband completed from a conceptional standpoint. Here are all the models together:

So all that remains now is for the characters to be painted (and receive their respective backgrounds).

 

2.) Inquisitor Fiegmund’s retinue

Where Gotthardt is fundamentally a rational and levelheaded Inquisitor, especially for a member of the Ordo Hereticus, the maimed Inquisitor Fiegmund is a man possessed and driven over the edge by his hatred for heretics in general and Inquisitor Antrecht in particular. His fragile mental state carries over to his warband, which comprises all kinds of highly dubious and sinister individuals: the Skull Collector, for one. There are also men who revel in the ability to vent their religious zeal and desire for violence while serving the Inquisitor, among them…

Practicals Pask and Gretsch

I begun work on these guys fairly recently, so they’ll still need some smoothing out. Pask and Gretsch are religious nutjobs who would be dead or behind bars if it weren’t for Fiegmund’s intervention: Pask is a former guardsmen whose religious zeal set him at odds with his fellow soldiers. Gretsch is just a madman and killer, selected by Fiegmund for his unquestioning loyalty and religious fervour. Both are pretty easy conversions of Dark Vengeance cultist models. But I think that, even at this early stage, both models already exude an air of gothic menace that’s a great match for Inquisitor Fiegmund’s retinue…

Death Cultist

This bonnie lass is basically a Dark Eldar Wych, transformed into a Death Cultist through the addition of a couple of bitz. The head is a Dark Vengeance cultist head, and while it may seem slightly clunky, I imagine the mask hides some horrible bionic augmentations, so it still works. I also added a flintlock pistol and tilt plate for a more gothic, medieval feel — maybe the Fleur de Lys icon on her shoulderpad even hints towards her cult having served as a recruitment center for the Adepta Sororitas at one point?

Anyway, I am rather happy with the model: She almost manages to convey a certain Blanchian vibe, and what more could I ask?

 

3.) Inquisitor Alvar’s retinue

In addition to Gotthardt’s and Fiegmund’s warbands, there is also an Ordo Xenos warband to consider. First up, I put some more work into the conversion of my first Xenos Inquisitor, now named…

Inquisitor Titus Alvar

The body of the Dark Vengeance cultist champ I had used as a base for the conversion was treated with GS to mask his heretical origins. I also replaced the original sword with a Dark Elf sabre: While it’s not too on-the-nose Eldar-ish, it still reads as a possible Xenos artifact. And I got my hands on one of my favourite heads ever (from the Empire Celestial Hurricanum kit), courtesy of my fellow hobbyist Gerner (cheers, mate!).

The addition of the head really transforms the model into a character, if you ask me:

Expect a look at the finished model soon!

And here’s the Xenos warband so far: Inquisitor Alvar, accompanied by his trusted IG veteran and Kroot pathfinder:

I also used some more female parts from the Coven Throne kits to start and assemble another member for Alvar’s retinue, a Sun Cultist:

Sun Cultist

I had had this idea for quite a while, but then I was inspired anew by Bruticus’ fantastic sun cultist character. I knew that I would really have to get my ass in gear to produce a model that would hold up to his fantastic conversion. Here’s my first inital mockup of the cultist:

The legs and arms are from the Dark Eldar Wyches, while the torso once again came from one of the Coven Throne vampires. The mask was painstakingly spliced together from a Sanguinary Guard helmet and a Wych head — I even had to touch the head up after already considering it finished, since some of the guys over at the Ammobunker pointed out to me that the facial proportions were a little off. And they were right, damn them! 😉

Anyway, here’s the finished head:

I won’t go into too much detail about the process of getting this sorted out. Suffice to say you wouldn’t believe how fiddly a conversion it was…

The next step will be to figure out which arms and weapons to use on her. Either a more classical look…

…or a cultist axe picking up the sun motif?

In any case, I’ll take my time with this model. It would be horrible to hurry her along (and thereby messing up the conversion) after having spent such a long time on that masked face…

 

4.) Other Inquisitorial agents, mutants and shady characters

To wind this up, let me show you some additional models and mockups for various characters. I am usually doing several of these at once, which relaxes me. There’s little background in place for most of the following models, and most of them are very WIP — you have been warned…

Sanctioned Psyker

Again, a relatively simple kitbash. I tried to approximate the look of the sanctioned psyker models released by GW some time ago, only somewhat less unhinged. This guy looks like a military man and a professional to me, but there’s little background beyond that…

Mutant Bounty Hunter

I also started painting the twist Bounty Hunter I posted some time ago. Some details are still missing, but the model is mostly complete at this point:

Looks like one mean mother, doesn’t he? 😉

I also salvaged an old Gorkamorka Orc by making him into yet another mutant which I’ll be calling “Old Vicehand” for now…

And, finally, I bought the remains of a Necromunda starter box from ebay a while ago. And while the models were all there, they were mostly in a truly abysmal condition. I started rebuilding one of the Orlock gangers with a couple of new parts, and will probably make him into a Mad Max-like NPC ganger:

Certainly not fantastic yet, but he’ll be getting there in the end.

 

So yeah, as you can see, INQ28 always allows for many different and interesting characters from all walks of life to be worked on at the same time. I, for one, find this extremely relaxing and, indeed, stimulating from a creative point of view!

So, any suggestions for any of those characters? I’d love to hear any C&C you might have in the comments section! And, as always, thanks for looking and stay tuned for more!

A Cranial Connoisseur…

Today’s update brings a character that came out of a recent INQ28 building spree (more on that soon). In this particular case, however, what’s even more interesting than the model itself is how its  background came together thanks to the input from other hobbyists.

But first things first: Everything started when I received a Skaven Packmaster model from the Island of Blood boxed set. The model came as a “bonus”, so to speak, when I picked up the Rat Ogres from that set from ebay. It did not take me long to decide that the model would become some kind of mutant somewhere along the way, but beyond that initial idea, I didn’t really come up with anything more for quite a while, and the model sat in my bitzbox, unused. I had also given away the model’s huge and ornate warpstone staff, and the rest of the sculpt is really not all that spectacular, to be honest.

My interest in the piece was revitalised, however, while looking at some of the brilliant and sinister kitbashes of fellow hobbyists PDH, Jeff Vader and Ammi. Inspired by their work, I started messing around with the Packmaster model and a cultist head:

I really liked the mysterious and sinister aspect the mask added to the model. I did not yet know what type of character I wanted this guy to be, though: Just a twist from some underhive or other? A Heretek’s twisted lab assistant? At least the model came together fairly quickly now: I added a vestigial Talos/Cronos arm from my Legion project, and for some reason I decided to use a supremely creepy crypt ghoul hand, caressing a skull…

Now when I posted the WIP pictures on Dakka, fellow forumite Dreadclaw69 had this to say regarding a possible background for the model:

Maybe we finally have the answer to the question “Where do servo-skulls come from?” His back story could be;
As a favour to the Inquisitor the Ad-Mech have dispatched this servant of theirs to collect worthy skulls to become servo skulls for his Ad-Mech master the Inquisitor. This individual was captured from a feral world the Ad-Mech were turning into a Forge World, which had a culture of head hunting and collecting the skulls of their enemies. Those indigenous people who were suitable for the purposes of the Ad-Mech became servitors, Skittarri etc. This one was singled out by the Tech Priests. Those skulls deemed unsuitable he keeps for himself, but to what end is unknown.

I loved this idea right away, but it became even more brilliant due to the fact that DexterKong and I had just been having a conversation about one of Inquisitor Antrecht’s recurring enemies, one Inquisitor Fiegmund. My rough background idea for Inquisitor Fiegmund is that he has been horribly injured during a run in with Antrecht’s daemonhost, and I wanted the model to still be showing the scars of that confrontation. I was also looking for a way to have Fiegmund be disabled in some way (blind, for example) due to his injuries. Dexter suggested having him rely on a number of servo-skulls to replace the senses he had lost, and suddenly all the pieces fell into place: The gas masked twist would become a member of Fiegmund’s retinue, tasked with the construction of his servo-skulls. And thus, the Skull Collector was born!

I tried to incorporate this background into the model’s paintjob. A generous helping of Tamiya Clear Red was all it took. Here’s the finished model:

I wanted the model to look like it had just finished “cleaning” a skull by carving off all the flesh. Hence the blood (and the bones strewn across the floor).

I remember being immensely inspired when seeing JRN’s “Servo Skull Collector” some time ago, and after just considering duplicating that idea, I am rather happy I managed to come up with my own take on the whole “Skull Collector” concept in the end. In all fairness, though, this model really only managed into into its own because Dreadclaw69 and Dexter added their brilliant background ideas! And the finished character exactly matches the gothic and sinister atmosphere I will be going for with Inquisitor Fiegmund’s retinue. Here’s a rough sketch of the character’s background so far:

The Skull Collector

Ever since being horribly maimed in a fight against Inquisitor Antrecht’s Daemonhost Zalambur, Inquisitor Fiegmund has been heavily dependent on a coterie of servo-skulls. He now employs the services of a small, masked mutant that was originally found by an Adeptus Mechanicus team doing reconstruction work on the derelict hives of the purged world St. Berthold, preparing the cities for resettlement. The mutant would have been executed under normal circumstances, yet he demonstrated an uncanny talent of constructing extremely advanced and effective servo-skulls for some reason, and it is this capacity in which he now serves the Inquisitor. He also seems to be obsessed with the shapes and intricacies of the human cranium, collecting all the skulls he can for his work. And while he uses some of them to build more auxiliary contraptions for Fiegmund, he is allowed to keep some of his bounty, though no one can say to what purpose…

 

I am actually really happy with the way the character came together! Thanks again to my fellow hobbyists for their suggestions!
As a matter of fact, another small hobby revelation happened, once I posted the model on Dakka. Fellow forumite Two Spartan had this to say:

That gas mask mutant is fantastic, so creepy. Maybe its because his robotic arm looks kind of insectoid, but I think this little guy is the scariest thing I’ve seen you make. Just imagining him focusing on the skull scraping rapidly at it with that claw, turning it round, scraping some more, examining it to see if there’s any meat still left. Then it pauses and lifts its masked head in your direction and drops the skull.

I initially wanted to reply that this guy would never ever drop a skull, seeing how he is absolutely fascinated with them as objets d’art. But then I started asking myself what would have to happen to actually make him drop a skull. Cue Fridge Horror…

In any case, thanks for looking and stay tuned for more!