Inquisitor 28: Cold logic and crude augmetics

And now, as the old adage goes, for something completely different: In between all the enthusiasm for plastic 30k, I found myself itching for a bit of INQ28 related painting. And since my muse is such a fickle creature, I know better than to second-guess her, once she deigns to show herself.

So INQ28 it was, and my gaze fell on some of the models for a possible Adeptus Mechanicus warband I had converted a while ago. I managed to paint two of them and would like to share the finished models with you today, so here goes:

First up is my Chimeric Servitor conversion, aldready shown in a previous post:

The idea behind this model was to create the kind of hideous fusion of organic and mechanical parts that we used to see in many pieces of AdMech artwork. As it happens, the model was actually inspired by a particular piece of art from the Inquisitor rulebook:

Combat-servitors can be glimpsed in the background, and a closer look hints at the extent of their augmetics — which is the kind of look I definitely wanted to capture with my own model (hence the insectile lower legs and the addition of a third leg, in order to achive a less human silhouette).

When painting, I tried to make the organic parts of the creature look as hideous and distressed as possible. Meanwhile, it fell to the various implants and augmetics to create a kind of common visual heritage with the rest of the warband. In the end, the model actually took quite a bit longer to come together than I had expected, but I am happy enough with the result. Take a look:

I originally painted the Kastelan gauntlets in a darker shade of red, but that led to the model looking like it simply didn’t belong when placed next to the other models in the warband. So I used a colour closer to that of the priests’ robes, and suddenly it worked. Some of the decals from the Skitarii decal sheets were also instrumental in giving the model the “official” AdMech look.

In a moment of spontaneous inspiration, I tried to use one of the new oval bases on the model, and it worked far better than a Terminator or monster base might have: In fact, it seems like the perfect canvas for the creature, if you ask me!

So all that remains is to share the short background vignette on Chimeric Servitors that I have come up with:

Chimeric Servitors

Where most of the Tech-Priests of Korhold favour fashioning their automata according to well-established and streamlined design templates, Genetor Grendel’s servants are invariably more artistic – and also far more grotesque – creations . For the Genetor is fascinated with the fusion of the organic and the mechanical, and so most of his so-called “Chimeric Servitors” are a seemingly haphazard exploration of those two materials, influenced by nothing more than the Genetor’s own aesthetic sensibilities. Most of them are lumbering brutes, their heavily muscled bodies crudely augmented with tools and weapons crafted from Mechanicum ingenuity. Beneath the multitude of implants and bionics, the provenience of the organic bodies used in these experiments is impossible to ascertain: Were they vat-grown for this purpose, or did they once belong to abhuman thralls or even to unfortunate humans? With the organic tissue grotesquely swollen and often covered in patches of bristly hair due to extensive genesplicing and hormone therapy, the organic parts of the Chimeric Servitors have grown so far removed from their origins that nobody can really tell where the Genetor procures his most valued specimens.

Some of these creations are quickly abandoned, their aesthetic qualities incapable of holding the Genetor’s attention for long, while others may serve their master for years or even decades, repaired and reshaped time and time again to their creator’s needs. Karras Grendel is a true artist, and even among his colleagues, there are few who can understand his mercurial moods.

 

The other model I want to share with you today was similarly kitbashed, albeit with a slightly different aim: If there is one thing about the  – brilliant – AdMech release, it’s the lack of even more types of robed Tech-Priests: I really think GW could have – should have – explored that angle more, but the good news is that the enterprising hobbyist can always work around oversights like these, right?

So I wanted to create a character that serves as a mix between scribe, hacker and, given the Adeptus Mechanicus’ relegious overtones, supernatural seer: I imagine that the mere act of collecting and maintaining data will already be interpreted as sacred observance by the Tech-Priests, and so I wanted to create a model to reflect that. So without further ado, here’s my Datascryer:

At the heart of it all lies a fairly straighforward kitbash achieved by combining legs from the WFB Empire flagellants and a torso from the Skaven Stormvermin. A very useful combination that will work for all kinds of hunched-over robed acolytes and servants! In fact, I’ve used it before for a traitor psyker, and I am not really sure about whether or not I’ve shown you the model yet:

While the basic recipe is similar, the Datascryer also received a healthy dose of AdMech bitz, of course. These mostly came from the Sicarian Ruststalkers and Skitarii, with the most important addition being the secondary set of (mechanical) arms. I also added a leftover servo-skull to show how the Datascryer’s equipment is really geared towards the collection of, well, data.

The model was painted with a recipe matching the one I had used on my prior Tech-Priest models, and once again, some decals were used to add a bit of oomph to the model.

So here’s the finished Datascryer:

One small effect that was important was to show lines of scrolling code on the portable cogitator’s display, but since I had learned a pretty solid recipe for that while painting the cockpit of my Chaos Knight, I was able to re-use the effect here:

Datascryers

At first glance, the Datascryers seem like mere menials to the priesthood of Korhold, yet in truth they play a far more pivotal role in the hierarchy of the Forgeworld.

The gathering of knowledge has ever been one of the chief pursuits of the Adeptus Mechanicus, yet the Datascryers’ task reaches far beyond the mere accumulation and archiving of data: Their task is to delve deeper into the datastreams, to cross-reference and spot hidden patterns or singularities. And to coax hidden meaning from the memory banks of ancient artefacts. Towards this end, they are often equipped with sophisticated auspex and cogitator arrays as well as powerful noospheric uplink capabilities and accompanied by coteries of servo-skulls and sensor-seraphim.

The Machine Lords of Korhold have made it their business to know things, even beyond the usual remit of their order, and none of them could possibly afford to forego the Datascyers’ service, as their ancient memory vaults are said to house both unimaginable repositories of ancient knowledge as well as vast amounts of information that, if only revealed or suppressed at the right time, might be forged into raw political power…

 

And with that, I can add two more models to the collection of INQ28 characters I have managed to paint this year. And what’s more, my AdMech warband is finally starting to resemble an actual warband! Here are the two Magi and the Datascryer:

And here’s the entire gang so far:

Only four models, but the Chimeric Servitor is definitely adding some presence to the warband, don’t you think? In any case, I am very happy with this project finally coming together at long last — although there’s still a bunch of models I will have to paint before I can call the warband finished:

And it’s pretty likely, of course, that I’ll let myself get sidetracked at the very first occasion in order to build something totally different again. Oh well, such is life 😉

Anyway, I’d love to hear any feedback you might have about the new models! And, as always, thanks for looking and stay tuned for more!