INQ28 Desktop roundup II: The good, the bad and the ugly

It is very clearly a great time for being an INQ28 aficionado: More and more people are trying their hand at converting their own Inquisitorial retinues, and with John Blanche’s column in WD regularly dedicated to INQ28 models, and with the work of exceptionally talented artists like PDH and migsula indeed being published in WD proper, it seems like a second spring for a game that was pretty much abandoned by GW years ago.

Looking at so many great models has given me a new hunger for building more INQ28 models and tweaking some of the existing ones. So I would like to show you a small gallery of my latest WIPs. Some of these are models I already posted some time ago I chose to revisit and touch up. Some are recent additions to my collection. I usually enjoy working on several of these at the same time, different as they may turn out in the end. But all of them have one thing in common: They are either good, bad or ugly* — or a combination of the above. Let’s take a look:

 

1.) Inquisitor Gotthardt’s Retinue:

The first few models will end up as retainers to Inquisitor Erasmus Gotthardt, of the Ordo Hereticus. All of these were previously posted in the first INQ28 desktop roundup, yet I have worked on them some more since then, hammering out the last kinks and rough edges, dealing with unfinished stuff and taking to heart the feedback I received on forums.

Former Guard Captain Esteban Revas

Since I designed Revas to decidedly look like a fencer, I thought it would be interesting if his fencing style incorporated a longer and shorter blade at the same time, so I added a Sanguinary Guard dagger at his hip. It’s only a very minor detail, to be sure, but one I am very pleased with nonetheless, because it serves to further define the character. All in all, I am very pleased with this model, and will paint it up as soon as I have managed to stop obsessing over the colour combination…

Drill Abbot

I followed the advice of my fellow forumites and slightly shortened this fellow’s neck, to make him look like a bulldog of a man. And I added a couple of additional items to his belt to bulk him out even more and to show that he carries some additional equipment (and quite a few items of worship, like the small reliquary and a cask of holy water at his side):

Painting wise, I imagine a combination of rich reds and browns would be the best way to go for this character, along with a healthy complexion and a grey beard. We’ll see…

Retired Arbites Judge/Security Agent

I wanted this guy to look like a tough-as-nails ex-hive-cop who knows every trick in the book and is quite used to walking the beat on the wrong side of the monorail tracks, and the pilot model from the “Battle for Maccrage” boxed set nicely fit the bill. Since we last saw this guy, I replaced the clunky DA power maul with a more fitting stun baton, spliced together from the grip of the aforementioned maul and a WFB Marauder weapon. Again, it’s a small but important change.

 

2.) Inquisitor Fiegmund’s retinue

As an addition to Inquisitor Antrecht’s collection of carnival freaks and Inquisitor Gotthardt’s more middle-of-the-road approach, Inquisitor Fiegmund’s retinue will be as gothic and scary as they come. You see, Holm Fiegmund is a puritan member of the Ordo Hereticus whose hunt for Antrecht has driven him over the edge (and horribly scarred him for life, causing others to refer to him behind his back as the “Maimed Man”). In short, I want Fiegmund’s retinue to be a pretty dark and uncompromising looking bunch. Here are the first models:

Preacher/Redemptionist Priest

Well, you cannot have a puritan Hereticus warband without one of these. The model is a pretty straightforward kitbash, using parts of the Empire flagellants, a Guard laspistol and a Khorne Berzerker chainsword to make a suitably imposing eviscerator.

The Dancer

This bonny lass, codenamed “The Dancer” is a (death cult) assassin in the employ of Inquisitor Fiegmund. I have this idea about several members of Fiegmund’s retinue being female, which should be an interesting way of setting off the dark, gothic look.
In this case, the model was built using mainly Wych parts from the Dark Eldar Venom kit. I then added a couple of more Imperial looking bitz, including a servo skull for a head. I want to leave the Dancer’s actual nature deliciously ambiguous: Is she a cultist, a servitor or something altogether different? Only Inquisitor Fiegmund would know, and he certainly isn’t telling…

Expect more pretty fethed up models for this particular retinue in the future…

 

3.) Yet another retinue — Xenos this time?

I’ll be honest with you: Building Inquisitorial retinues is a pasttime I simply cannot get enough of. I can get quite a kick creating new Inquisitors pondering their relations to their retainers and all the stories behind that, even withhout ever actually having to use the characters in a game. And I recently realised that I had not yet managed to come up with an Inquisitor belonging to the Ordo Xenos…

Oh, and by the way: Some of the following conversions were only made possible because my buddy Biohazard was awesome enough to let me have his batch of Dark Vengeance cultists, so I am free to use them for all kinds of INQ28 goodness (and for several other projects as well).

WIP Inquisitor

Well, this guy is turning out to be a bit of a toughie: When I got my hands on Biohazard’s cultist, I planned to transform one of the champions (the chap looking like a Commissar) into an Inquisitor. My original plan was to simply make a more ostentatious looking version of Inquisitor Antrecht, but that really didn’t work all that well. So I was left trying different combinations of parts. Here’s what I ended up with after a while:

You’ll probably agree that this guy will need quite a bit more work: I love the pistol and overall pose, but the head is clearly too big. And while I like the thought of giving him a tie or cravat of some kind, it was pointed out to me by fellow forumites over at the Ammobunker that the one in the picture above makes him look like a Western character — and we certainly can’t have that!

So I tried a new tie, as well as a couple of different heads. Here’s a composite for you:

As you’ll probably agree, some of these would lead to wildly different outcomes. While I am personally rather fond of options A and B for some reason, I haven’t decided yet, so you are very welcome to put in your own two cents on the matter!

Kroot Shaper/Pathfinder

While getting the Inquisitor in fighting shape may yet take some doing, I am fortunately quite a bit further along when it comes to some of his tentative servants. First in line is this Kroot shaper/pathfinder inspired by a fantastic Mike Anderson GD model which also appears in the 40k rulebook. I posted an early mockup of him quite some time ago, but it has taken quite a while for the model to reach a point where I am actually really happy with it. The model received a hunting bow (spliced together from a Kroot rifle and High Elf bow) and a machete (a shaved down Ork choppa), and I added a couple of details to make this guy look like a “noble savage”. I actually have quite an interesting/tragic backstory for the character, floating around half-formed at the back of my head, and painting him should be a nice change of pace. I also think he might have an interesting, if grudgingly amicable, relationship with the next character…

Imperial Guard Veteran/former Hive Ganger

I had always suspected that the heavy weapon cultists would make great base models for IG veterans, and indeed, all it took was a couple of bitz! The Space Wolves scout head gives the model some punk attitude, so this guy could conceivably have been a ganger before being drafted into the guard.

In any case, the Xenos retinue will need a bit more work, but I am definitely getting there…

 

4.) Servants of the Dark Gods

Well, you know what they say: Evil never sleeps. So it was clear I also needed to build some more villains.
Some of these will end up doing double duty for both INQ28 and my Traitor Guard, but they’ll probably feel right at home in either…

Eyeless Crawler

Quite a long time ago, I built some crawler troglodytes to serve as the genetically enhanced brood of one rogue Genetor Amnon Helix, a recurring nemesis to Inquisitor Antrecht. The models were posted ages ago on Molotov’s blog. Now I didn’t do a whole lot with these for some time, but when the new model for chaos champion Vilitch the Curseling was released, I started wondering whether those crawlers wouldn’t be even more disturbing with a near featureless face, not unlike Vilitch’s.

The original model used a regular WFB Crypt Ghoul head, and now I shaved off the model’s eyes and nose and smoothed out the whole are with Liquid GS, opting for a horrible, mostly featureless face. This makes the creature look quite a bit more revolting (and far less like Gollum, which is also a plus).

Chainsaw maniac

This guy was a conversion I had been wanting to do for ages! It was really simple too: Just clip off the barrels of the flamer, add the blade from an Ork choppa and presto: Industrial saw! I also added a disturbing, patched together hood from one of the other cultist models for that certain “Leatherface” look. This guy will definitely be used in my Traitor Guard, but I can easily see him putting in the odd cameo in INQ28 or Necromunda, as a “miniboss” or some kind of “environmental hazard”  😉

Father Pain

Having already built champions of Khorne, Nurgle and Tzeentch for my Traitor Guard, “Urash’s Marauders”, I needed a model to represent a mighty follower od Slaanesh. The solution to this particular problem arrived when Biohazard sent me the chaos priest from the WFB Warshrine of Chaos. Since the guy was quite the beefcake, I thought his immaculate physique would make him a nice fit for a follower of the dark prince:

Two new hands, a new head and some GS later, Father Pain was born. I realise the greenstuffed area will need quite a bit more work, but I think you can see where this is going. The glaive came from the new WFB plastic Chaos Lord, by the way:

All in all, I think the model makes for a quite convincing champion of Slaanesh, and he would also work as a cult leader in games of INQ28.

 

As you can, see, I have got lots and lots on my plate regarding INQ28 models. Lord knows when I am actually going to get around painting these, but I just can’t stop kitbashing them — it’s just too much fun… 😉

In any case, C&C are always welcome! And, as always, thanks for looking and stay tuned for more!

 

* I do of course realise that the idea of arranging INQ28 models by their respective goodness, badness or ugliness was very much migsula’s idea to begin with. So let’s just say I was inspired by his work (which is totally true) and didn’t just steal this particular idea 😉