The void knight is amazing. And I know I'm being pedantic, but please fill the gaps in the large front toes, I'd hate for it to detract from the completeness once painted.
Respecting and adore all of your work but this walker is fantastic (note: I am not mecha lover), such a great piece. I dont like thrusters but that is more personal preference, they are built fantastically.
Thanks so much! Sheep; the gaps in the toes are intentional gaps on the original stealth suit models so I had been planning on leaving them there, but I went ahead and filled them in and they do look much better now.
I was out of town visiting family for the holidays so haven't had much time for models, and work deadlines will keep progress slow over the next few weeks, but I have managed to prime a bunch of models (and bases), so I plan to start painting very soon.
In the meantime, it's always nice to see complicated conversions brought together by primer:
Now to work out some color schemes! I have no idea how to paint the Terminators. Mustardy ochre like the armor on some of my henchmen? Rich turquoise with silver edge chipping? Orange? Plum? Flat medium grey with lots of weathering, or maybe a dirty chipped white? Too many options ...
It's very exciting seeing all the infantry together. I'll probably try to build another Beacon Priest (Nurgle Lord or Blightking based) to lead the close combat squad, and finish a second psyker, but this should be enough for my Adepticon army (along with the vehicles of course). I also forgot to include the partially painted 2nd Exo-suit Navigator in this tableau, and he will need a base as well.
The first set of bases I painted went through so many different colors and stages of dry brushing and washing that I've never quite been able to match them, but this newest set is pretty close. I think when I'm done I'll go back over all the bases with some dusty pigments to tie them together.
Thanks! A group of models this size is such a long-term project, it's a fun challenge to make a cohesive whole that still has a lot of variety, and seeing them lined up together really helps.
I've the started painting the metallics, black weapon casings, and the beginnings of skin tones:
Along with the painted bases this should give me a better canvas to figure out color schemes.
And here are some rough photoshop mockups, trying to figure out a color scheme for the terminators. I want them to fit in with the rest of the army but still have a bit of their own feel, and so will paint them pretty uniformly I think. Any of these look promising? They look quite garish all together but try to look past that (and imagine weathering and staining bringing everything together of course)!
I'm kinda partial to top right (the one that's got white accents on, um, I think it's teal?) but I have crappy color sense. I'm just goggling that you casually tossed out alternative color schemes in Photoshop, a program that I have no fething idea how to use.
This is art of the highest order - my compliments! You've done wonders bringing together the technogothic aspect of 40K. I like your painting style with these figures too - the use of lighter washes makes them look like an abstract painting, which is great. I think painting terminators to fit in the same style may be rough because of the large flat surfaces. I'd consider metallics if I was you, mostly to emphasize wealth and power. Love just about every figure here, I think the gal with the shield and power weapon on-a-pole is particularly excellent - nice Joan of Arc in space vibe. Keep up the great work and I hope to see more!
Thanks everybody! Very helpful. There is no clear consensus (both here and at the ammobunker) but now I'm thinking of painting each marine with unique heraldry. The idea is that they are renegade individuals who have turned their back on their chapters, so that would make sense. I may try painting each marine with different combinations of 3 colors; greenish grey, burnt orange, and white. Some could be all one color with the other two used as accents, some more evenly divided, etc, while hopefully making sense as a group. And of course all surfaces will be suitably grimy, chipped, and dingy, with metal showing through.
Here is an early shot of Beacon Priest Gagarin. The Hasegawa Gold chrome foil was tricky to use. It took me four attempts before I got a nice smooth finish, and I had to stretch it so hard I popped the helmet off the model's body! But that was easy enough to repair.
Not bad, right? Maybe that's an impressive NMM chrome effect? Esper, enhance:
(portrait of the artist behind an iPhone with twin desk lights and paint pot)
The chrome finish really does look like a polarized spacesuit visor. It's shockingly bright and reflective in real life, and I worry a little that it doesn't fit with the simulated highlights and shadows on the rest of the miniatures, not to mention the metallic pigments. Kind of like cheating. But I think I'll keep at it and see if I can get used to it. One option is staining the foil with some ink to tone it down and tie it into the painted miniature. Maybe just a subtle hit of brown ink at the edges would do the trick.
And the grayish robe is only the start. I'll probably make it darker with blue and/or brown washes.
I think it looks sweet. I do see where you would think it doesnt really match anything though. Some dullness or grime on it might help that. Very impressive effect though.
I'm loving the effect of the mirrored helmet. I think when the rest of the miniature is fully painted the effect won't be quite as jarring because it will naturally reflect the colours of the miniature below it. It may need just the tiniest of washes around the join to blend it in, but I don't think you'll be able to judge how much that is needed until the rest of the mini is painted.
Been lurking here for a while, but absolutely LOVE your work on these guys!
That gold is absolutely exceptional! I would definitely hold off on doing anything to it until the rest of the mini is painted up. That should give you a much better idea what it'll need.
I've busy with visiting family and freelance jobs but have found some time for quick painting sessions. Forgive the rushed and poor quality photos (I'm really looking forward to Iron Sleet's promised photo tutorial!).
The golden dome is much more at home with a dark and grimy robe and white helmet:
Since taking this photo I've reattached the hose running out of the side of the helmet which should allow for a nice color accent.
And I've made a lot of progress on the marines:
I will probably add more markers and heraldic type symbols (including some in black) but I'm happy that the paint accents feel kind of like aaron beck / neil blomkamp style sci-fi in contrast to the baroque details on the models. I'm also planning on lots of weathering, and plan to do dark grayish sponge chipping in addition to my standard silver edge chipping, and of course rusty inky buildup too.
The reflective helmet is one of the most impressive things I've seen done on a model in a long while. Despite it being much more in-line with a modern day astronaut's gold visor I think it makes the model look much more antiquated and ancient; something that would be lost with a 'futuristic' helmet I think, ironically.
Are there any rules out there for a "household?" I am absolutely facinated with running something like this but would want get a look at some rules so I could start to write a list and then get to work trying to put together some modles(probably won't look nearly this good but I'll try). Amazing job by the way. Truly an inspiration to those of us who don't do much converting/sculpting.
Gogsnik, you're right; it's so nice that gold can be both antiquated and in this case suitably hi-tech.
Epartalis: The army just counts as Inquisition with Grey Knight allies. I started the project when they were in a single codex, but luckily if I run one of the Exo Suit Navigators as a GK Librarian instead of an Inquisitor, everything works out fine.
More painting updates. First off, the Beaconite has gotten many passes of thinned washes, and is now sporting a darker, even grimier robe (good suggestion PDH). I will probably make the tube striped like the ones on many of my other models, but that may spoil the simplicity so we'll see. And you'll notice I've also started on the female henchmen. It's been a struggle working out their color schemes but I'm getting close and can now start being more definitive.
And then the marines! I weathered them (probably too heavily) and was pretty sad at first. But after working on their faces and defining more details I'm actually really happy with them, and think they're going to work out nicely.
I've been wanting to add symbolic markings to their armor, and thought of a new technique that I haven't seen used on miniatures before (perhaps for good reason) and figured it would be a fun experiemnt. As a graphic design student I started collecting letraset dry transfer letters and have a big stash of them that I used to use on collages and art projects but that I haven't touched in a while. They sit on a clear backing and are applied by burnishing, which transfers the pigment to the surface without any surrounding medium (like a regular miniatures transfer). So I cut out a bunch of promising symbols and letters, including some from my precious gold and white sheets (black is much more common):
Unfortunately they proved extremely difficult to apply to curved surfaces. I also think a few of the sheets had failed (most of these are probably 30-40 years old) which was frustrating. But I managed to get a couple of fun details on the armor (mostly arrows) and I think they'll blend in nicely once toned down with some matte medium and color glazes. And this technique would probably be much more useful on vehicles.
Almost there! After I finish painting these the responsible thing to do would be to finish a vehicle or robot, but I'm so happy with the way the chromed Beacon Priest is turning out I might have to build another one first ...
Lovely stuff. The gold mirrored visor looks great on the finished mini, there's no way you could get that effect with paint. Personally, I wouldn't add stripes to his tube. I think it would draw attention away from his helmet, which has to be the focal point.
The two female henchmen are wonderful. I love your use of colour on these two and in fact the way your entire force comes together as a whole through their shared colour scheme.
Tell me more! Sounds very interesting. Any idea of something like that can be found in printable form?
I've been designing and printing my own decals since a few years (also a throwback to my Graphic Design years), but they can be tricky when printing larger decals.
Thanks guys. I've been mixing colors pretty haphazardly throughout the whole project, and building things up with lots of layers of washes and glazes, so it's difficult to keep thing consistent so it's nice to hear they still look coherent.
Meph, Letraset letters are also commonly called Chartpak letters or rub-on letters and were the cheap alternative to photoset type back in the day. Long-standing art supply shops tend to have stacks of them hidden away in back corners available for low prices, but they are a dwindling resource so are probably harder to find these days. I haven't heard about printable dry transfer sheets but it looks like they exist, although are very expensive:
I know there are ways you can print your own water slide transfers, right? It would be very fun to draw up custom symbols in illustrator and print them out, not to mention custom fonts (drawing typefaces is my other hobby) ...
Awesome paint skills as usual, those females are fantastic!
Something seems off about the marines however. I think it is the fact that they blend in with the colour scheme of the rest of the army so well. I think I was expecting a little more brightness to them. It could also be the fact that none of them are wearing helmets? Anyway, I can't really complain, I could never paint that well myself...
I've been very busy with real life and haven't had time to take photos until last night, but I did manage to squeeze in a few late night painting sessions, adding little touches to many different models. But a few of them are now more-or-less done, barring base cleanup and possible little tweaks when I have more time.
First off, Condottiere Jean Tsaul Giotto and the Forgotten Brethren, Indentured Astartes in service of Household Merz-Itano (names as always are subject to change):
I've always struggled with painting eyes but had some luck with Giotto; instead of painting a white eye, then adding a pupil, I instead just darkened the entire eye sockets with ink, and added two tiny dots of white on either side of an unpainted pupil. This worked much better for me.
And I've also finished Lt. Brahe and the female plasma gunner:
While painting her I realized she reminded me of my favorite rifleman (the old man), so I gave her a similar striped sleeve and color scheme (and red sleeves, thanks KrautScientist!), and now I think that they are father and daughter (with their family long in service to the household), making a second set of parent-child pairs in my warband:
(I'm better at freehand now so painted narrower chevrons but maybe the wider stripes were less busy? I'm still trying to figure out how to paint the Crusaderess' shield in a way that will look good next to the Head Novator/)
And High Beacon Priest Gagarin and the Failed Challenger are also now done:
The Failed Challenger's Aetheric Wave Condenser is now gilded with the japanese foil (this time dulled with ink) and I've added lots of gross and sad injuries to his flesh: not only are his void-chamber ports leaking all manner of fluids, but the battle-program that governs his servitorized brain gives little care to protecting his body from harm, hence the scraped knees.
God, this stuff is just gorgeous. (Except the failed challenger, who's beautifully gross). And I love the thought put into the interplay of narrative and painting: the way the parent and child pairs share subtle touches, the way the indentured Astartes all come from different chapters with different paint schemes yet all tie together...
hjkfuiper: there's a pics of most of the army (in a less painted state) on the previous page. But when I get time and finish a few more models I'll definitely get some group shouts of the various units; Novator w/ his personal guard, one Navigator with close combat henchmen, and one Navigator with shooting henchmen. Stay tuned!
SisteSydney: Obviously a lot of narrative ideas come up during converting, but there is something about painting that leads me to come up more with narrative details. It sounds cheesy but I guess it's when you really bring the models to life so it kind of makes sense.
I'm unhappy with how the color scheme on the Crusaderess has been developing and keep repainting her so I've set her aside for now and started painting my second Navigator wearing a void-proof exosuit. I built this one ages ago and have been putting off deciding on a color scheme, but in the end decided to have some fun and went full on orange.
Not done yet (lots of details, cleanup, and chipping and weathering to go) but I'm happy so far. I present:
Cousin Otam and Cousin Giraud, Navigators of House Merz-Itano
Navis Aethertwister Otam Junet Merz-Itano and her retainers: House Magister Mr. Gilyam, House Guardians Rauthus and son, five Cultists of the Holy Countenance, and chem-mendicant N7RH-530
This collection just gets cooler every time I pop in to have a look! And the colours tie together so well even though they a total mix. really impressive.
Halone; that hovertank is great. That same guy (Luca Zamparolli / Kallamity) builds some amazing mecha, and his stuff was part of what inspired me do my own scratchbuilding: http://www.kallamity.com
The army is getting there! I plan to paint like a madman all weekend and hope that will be enough to get things mostly finished.
I've been spending many late nights over the past week adding final details to the grav-craft, dropship, and void-knight. I can't believe how much work it takes to make scratch-built vehicles! You'd think building and designing the basic structure would be the hard part, but it's actually finishing them that is the challenge. I kept thinking I was done and then seeing another gap to fill or another surface to be detailed. I will probably take a break from large models for a while after this.! Still, the results are very satisfying, and should make nice counterpoints to the human-size figures.
Last night I put the finishing touches on the dropship and should have photos to share tomorrow. Hopefully I'll get to prime all 3 models tonight and won't ruin them with bad spraying.
And I also want to mention that a while back Curtis of Ramshackle Games was kind enough to send me a box of his wonderful vehicle gubbins! They are really great and a big help to scratch-building. All the parts were well cast and easy to clean up. I've used some of the vents and various bits on the grav-craft (most notably the front exhaust grates), and a lot more of them on the dropship. I think they will really be ideal for scenery making where the industrial chunkiness and rivets will look great -- just glue a few hatches, exhausts, and engine parts to any old household junk and you've got a ready made research station. I’ve got an old art deco style light-fixture that is begging for that treatment.
OK, photos!
First off, here is Viscountess Mori Fosscobb Merz-Itano, aka Gradmother Mori:
Grandmother Mori pilots a treasured family heirloom, one of the few remaining Voidrunner pattern Knights. Mechano-archivists believe they were originally ad hoc creations from the Age of the Strife; open-void shipyard construction exo-suits that were converted to fight in open space, walking the hulls of frigates and acting as mobile point defense units to deter boarding actions and fighter craft, as well as using their powerful rocket thrusters to leap from ship to ship, gliding beneath void-shields and tearing open enemy hulls.
Mori's Knightsuit has been rebuilt over the ages and bears many of the hallmark household motifs. The suit is armed with a power-claw capable of piercing the thickest hulls, a variable directed energy cannon (that draws power from the suit's main reactor), and an optional multiple missile launcher (not pictured here unfortunately! You'll see it soon enough). These homing missile are laced with spent fuel from warp-drives, and glimmer with a signature aetheric glow that allows Mori to psychically guide them with her Warpeye so that they can strike precise weak-points. (aka a gatling psilencer in 40k) When not in use, the shoulder hardpoint is used to mount a variable sensor pod, seen in these photos.
And now the Kirin class grav-craft. The Kirin is a rare pattern of STC vehicle that is not widely produced due to difficult manufacturing protocols and need for constant repair and maintenance, and has been deemed not worth the expense by most forgeworlds. House Merz-Itano uses a variety of craft for ground-transport, and this Kirin is the personal transport of Cousin Giraud and his Huntsmen.
The Kirin's most noteworthy feature are the two large forward-mounted grav-pontoons. Each pontoon contains a line of repulsor rings, that both generate the craft's ground effect suspensor field, and when fired in the proper rhythms, forward thrust as well. The left and right pontoon can be fired at different rates, allowing for pivoting and turning just like a tracked vehicle. Towards the rear of the craft conventional thrusters provide additional stabilization control.
This Kirin is crewed by a single thrall pilot, while the turret Heavy Bolter is controlled by an integrated servo-skull (fashioned from the skull and brain of the previous pilot, carrying on a long tradition).
The Household's gun-thralls and hired armsmen, like most of the galaxy's common-folk, are deeply superstitious, and have built a shrine at the back of the craft. Dedicated to the machine spirit of the Kirin, the shrine holds assorted offerings and precious totems. It has been placed next to the craft's rear main hatch so that armsmen may touch the shrine and whisper a prayer every time they embark and disembark the craft, thanking the machine spirit for protecting them one more time. (when painting this area I want to make the surface polished smooth by years of hands -- there's a tree in the Alhambra palace that has been polished by countless touches in a similar way)
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If all goes well you should be seeing painted versions of these 3 vehicles by early next week. Right now I am thinking of painting the dropship a pale green (somewhere on the icecream continuum between pistachio and mint, but I'm not sure where) or a more classic star-wars light grey, and the Knight a mix of white and dark greenish grey. The Kirin will either be a weathered turquoise like the Novator's throne and armor, or a rusty mustard/ochre like some of the armor the armsmen wear. I liked the idea of the ochre because it seems a bit less fancy and would be a good contrast with a lot of the greenish infantry, but I know i can nail the turqoise color and it would allow for more contrast with orangey rust and shadows. Hmm . . .
i love them both the knight is so crazy looking its awesome so is the background for it
the kirin has come out so good i love the idea of the shrine n the way it looks only thing i would suggest is a little rail around the shelf or a clear plastic cover if you could make it for a glass case look so everything doesn't fall off when it moves
Kencotter; very good point. I may try to add some string wrapped around the totems.
Today was apparently the first day of spring in Chicago so it was warm enough to spray prime in the backyard without fear of that horrible furry finish. Luckily the primer went on great and I didn't ruin everything.
It's crazy how much primer unifies a conversion, and scratch-built models are no different. I fear I went overboard with the detailing and I don't have enough flat expanses to both balance out the composition and give me room for paint details, but probably better to have too much detail than too little.
I primed with grey followed by a zenithal white spray, which I probably applied way too heavily. But the grey still shows a bit and adds a some subtle depth which should help with the painting.
And now, Dropship Pentiment, in freshly primed glory. I've done a lot of work on this since last sharing it and I think it's really helped. Things are still wonky and not in proper alignment but I think the detail helps distract from that. One of my goals was to try to meld some disparate aesthetics: classic star wars style kit bashing, the crystalline asymmetrical forms of Lebbeus Woods, a touch of Art Deco / Dieselpunk brutal grace, and of course the requisite baroquely gothic grim darkness.
Seriously they are truly amazing pieces, the mech is just I have no words to even describe it but the dropship is just amazing the detail and balance of its design just looks perfect great job.
I really do not know the words to express my astonishment and admiration at all of your work... The grav-craft, dropship and void-knight are jaw droppingly awesome
I don't think there is anything I don't like in this log, I love the pallet and the imagination that has spawned these crazy creations. The female plasma gunner is particularly successful. Can't wait to see how the gunship turns out
Fantastic looking creations with extremely well done detail and that's what gives these models such a professional finish. They almost look like GW kits strait out of the box, except for, you know, actually looking good!!!
Thanks so much everyone. The praise is much appreciated! I can't believe how many hours I spent on these vehicles. And how difficult it is to paint them!
Things are not going great so far I'm afraid. I really wish I had had enough time to get an airbrush and elarn how to use it, or at least get into oil weathering. I've got my techniques down for normal size miniatures but the surface tension and evaporation dynamics and everything are just so different on these bigatures that I've got to relearn how my paints and inks work. And I keep changing my mind on color schemes, which isn't a bit deal with a small model, but very time consuming at this scale!
I'll just take solace in the fact that I generally hate the way my paintjobs look until I'm almost done with them and tell myself that layers of failed washes and messy filters and color changes will only add to the painterly, weather look I'm going for
Lonedirtydog: the curved head-dome is built from the curved shoulder armor of the original Dreadknight kit, connected with a series of semicircular plastic card ribs that I covered in a very thin bent plastic card sheet. Lots of gap filling with squeeze-tube modelling putty and tons of sanding did the rest:
Automatically Appended Next Post: ... and here is the Kirin in a more-or-less finished state, barring detail work. Sorry about the bad photos! In real life the color is somewhere between the two shots (and is brighter than I intended, but will certainly pop on the table):
I've spent the most time on it and it's worked out the best although I may have gone too far with the grime. I may unify and desaturate everything a bit with a glaze or two of grey.
The first picture it looks pretty damn good the second makes it seem really grimy so hard what to say, maybe a wash or two might work to clean it up a little.
Either way the conversion work is amazing and the paint work ties it all together perfectly, thanks for the how to as well as I wondered how you achieved that angle on it.
The second photo does make it look awfully grimy but... that seems to flow pretty well with the whole grim dark aesthetic and everything else. Just looks like nasty rain and rust spots so I think it works pretty well
The colours are amazing on the Kirin, it looks really awesome, only point I'd make is to work on your washes and streaks get a wash medium or try using a small amount of washing up liquid, anything to break the surface tension.
Your dropship is a thing of beauty, well done sir!
I've been adding some soap and lahmian medium to the washes and using distilled water which seems to help some, but I still get the occasional ring. My washes are pretty old and I don't remember them doing this before so that may be part of the problem. In any case I think I'll just go back and paint/dab in some turqoise to turn the blotchiest ares into streaks as suggested.
I stayed up way too late last night painting the dropship and I'm finally happy with it. I ended up going in a a colorful Chris Foss direction. Tonight I get to do the fun stuff and add sponge chipping, rust buildup, oil streaking, engine soot, and orbital reentry burning, which should really bring everything together.
Damn that looks several types of awesome I actually wish that was a kit, it actually looks like what I think or hope a dropship should look like.
The paint work so far is looking great I like the almost military tone but some how screams bounty hunter to me, and all the angles just keeps your interest, also I especially like the hazard stripes on the door.
I got a lot more done last night and managed to take a few quick shots this morning on the kitchen table. The dropship is more or less finished except for a final pass of rusty staining that will go mostly on the underside.
And I'm finally happy with the Voidknight! The base color has changed a lot and has a really nice richness and lustre to it in person. It started as a pale turquoise and I've tinted it down with brown washes and red and orange glazes. Next up will be some dark orange stripes and accents (I'm thinking of making the hip plates orange), shading the white, and lost of small details.
Very nice, and seeing that knight thing next to the drop ship really gives a better sense of the ship's scale. What is the forward mounted gun, a multi-multimelta?
You know, I was skeptical about that hovertank when I saw the bare plastic, but painted it looks amazing.
Your work has a sense of controlled anarchy to it. Like everything is a chaotic riot of details and gubbins, and yet it all flows well, and the hyperdetail looks very deliberate, if I'm making sense. Your more destaurated colours compliment that nicely too.
Thanks! The kitbashed scale models used in scifi movies of the 70s and 80s were my inspiration for the ship so I'm glad it shows.
Stormwall: yes, it counts as a twin linked multi-melta, so a multi-multimelta indeed! It's actually the exhaust and engine pieces from the Dreadknight kit.
I ended up adding a lot of finishing touches to the walker (and some more rust to the flyer) late the night before Adepticon. The tournament was a lot of fun! My first opponent was a very nice guy with a beautiful Badmoon Ork army who happens to live in a neighboring town and also happened to recognize my name from the WH40K mailing list I posted to back in the mid to late 90s! I think the household may be launching an incursion into Orkish territory at some point.
I'm afraid I was too over-whelmed trying to remember weapon profiles to take any good game photos. I have to say the scale of contemporary 40k is insane; such tiny tables crammed with way too many models moving way too quickly.
I'll try to do a proper photo shoot later this week and share the completed household army (I don't think this will be the entire household; I still have too many ideas to explore ... first off perhaps a giant vertical transport rocket tower and then a nurgle lord Beacon Priests with mirrored a helm and maybe something inspired by the classic Rogue Trader landspeeder / flying couch), but for now, here's some quick shots of Viscountess Mori Fosscobb Merz-Itano. I used some of the great tips on shooting with an iphone from Iron Sleet.
I realized I never posted finished shots of the second exo suit, the Maid of Orleans type crusader (Maid of Aurelius I suppose), and the servo-spheres:
Thanks! I'm afraid I haven't touched the crawler, although I'd like to. I'm starting to wonder if I should give it hover pontoons like on the Kirin ...
No new modeling but I have a few more photos to share.
While building and painting the dropship I made sure to give the underside equal care because I thought it could double as terrain, either representing a crashed ship or just a big hunk of underhive machinery.
And while I had the camera out I had some fun with magnets. Turns out I can manage a crude version of Thistle's glorious walking shrine:
Or a simple gun robot:
And Greg of Feedyournerd posted a bunch of photos of one of my Adepticon games! He was very nice and helped us out with rules help because we were both a bit rusty (me especially), and also took tons of great photos (scroll down for the battle shots):
Man, this stuff reminds me of Steampunk England. It screams Baroque period/lovecraft and reminds me of Blanche paintings. (Probably not the best comparisons as most of those don't entirely match up to this quality work.) I'm going to try to make a Navigator suit now for my Inquisitor's retinue. I wonder how hard it is?
So much good stuff. The dropship in particular very much makes me think of Alien and Aliens: the old pre-CGI kitbashed special effects models, as you said. I just get nervous someone is going to pick it up by one of the wings and break it -- please reassure me there's some kind of reinforcing rod in there.
The H.R. Giger feel is *strong* with this one. I must say, I'm equally inspired. This is some serious motivation to start working on that Genestealer Cult I've been thinking about for a few weeks now. As posted above, I'd really like to see a full army shot, when you've got the chance.
Thanks so much guys! Pre-cgi movie models and concept art were obviously a big inspiration for the dropship.
I really want to take a full army shot but so far haven't been able to get a good photo set up for more than a unit at a time. I will definitely try again soon but I have to say I'm a bit distracted by the new Skitarii kits and lots of new ideas I want to try out! It's overwhelming having so many new bits to work with.
This was my first tournament so I didn't really understand importance of the display base. Next to all the fancy terrain filled bases I felt like I had shown up for a formal event in jeans and a sweatshirt. That white board they're haphazardly set out on (and the convention lighting) certainly isn't ideal!
Stormwall: Please let me know if you make a Navigator suit! I'd love to see it. There used to be a good video (in Japanese) showing someone applying the gold film on a mecha kit but I can't find it anywhere. The scale is a bit different but this looks surprisingly similar! Basically you cut off a piece of film, remove it from the backing, and then stretch it over the thing you are covering, pressing down to get it to stick and stretching farther than you'd think it could go — this stuff is very stretchy and wraps around detail better when fully stretched: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WE-mb71LRw http://www.hlj.com/product/hsgtf5/Sup
pantherlegionnaire: I tried larger fingers, and claws, but kept coming back to the diver suit hand. I think of most of the damge being done by the club-like hand itself (and surrounding power field) with the fingers only really used for manipulation. Maybe they close up in a tiny pyramid-shaped fist before punches?
youidiotkid: I'd love to see what you end up doing with the genestealer cult. Such a great opportunity for modeling. When getting back into 40k I was torn between a genestealer cult and this navigator idea and I still am tempted to do a cult one day. I've got some unorthodox ideas (and lots of sketches) that I think would be very fun but I'm afraid they'd be too thematically and visually close to the Navigators so for now I'll stick with the single project. I think ...
OneManNoodles: I definitely want to return to the Crawler! After diligently finishing models for so long I'm indulging myself in starting new things (like a retro rocket ship that could function as a bastion or a piece of terrain, or the new admec stuff). The bases have been painted in a few different ways. The earliest ones were the most complicated because I first painted them rusty red, then drybrushed and washed them to ochre, then pushed them to the current ashy grey beige color (something like blasted war-torn moon was my goal). Each subsequent batch has gotten simpler. Now I spray them grey, dust with white from above, then wash with a color mixed from cheap tube acrylics and some leftover house paint sample pots (Benjamin Moore French buttercream and English chamois or somethign like that). Then a few passes of lighter dryrbushes, haphazard washes with a very thin mix of half bronze / half silver paint, some very thin brown ink washes, and then if needed some glazey washes of the highlight color made with acrylic medium. That light wash flattens out the shading and gives a nice powdery, realistic feel. But I think I may go back and add some weathering powder to all the bases to add a bit more variation and realism.
SisterSydney: no brass rod in the wings but they are surprisingly sturdy! Weld enough plastic tubes, triangles, and boxes together with copious plastic glue and you get a pretty solid model.
You could make some Xeno allies for your Navigators in the shape of some (not, but actually) Genestealers, using your concepts and sketches. I'm excited to see what you'll be doing with the Skitarii kits. I think that there's some great potential for conversions in that box.
I ran the army as Inquisition with a Grey Knight Nemesis detachment (Novator as Karamazov, Exosuited Navigators as Inquisitors or Librarians in Terminator armor, etc).
I've been messing around with the new Skitarii infantry kit. I'm not sure where I'm going with it yet. For a while I've been thinking about adding a small Mechanicus element to my household; somebody has to be taking care of their technology, and I like the idea of a rogue Genetor trading his services (creating servitors, caring for the Novator’s ideosyncratic medical needs, perhaps researching means of weaponizing the navigator gene) in exchange for access to the household’s unique genetic code. But if I ever get to it I don't think any Mechanicus elements will look like standard Skitarii, and would probably lean heavily on body horror motifs.
So what do with these wonderful Skitarii troops? They are beautiful models but a bit challenging to convert. They are smaller than most other human models, closer in scale to fantasy archers and witch elves than fantasy flagellants or Scions and Cadians. And the way the cloaks are sculpted to match specific pairs of legs makes simple upper-body / lower body swaps very challenging.
I don't normally share such early WIPs but I thought it could be helpful for other people planning their Skitarii based projects.
First off, I've used one of the amazing radium carbines on the Scout conversion I started a while ago. The gun is so cool looking and the bionic arms are perfect for this survivor of the Tyrannic Wars. The Tyranids took most of his species as well two arms, a leg, and an eye. Some greenstuff and then techy bits taken from the Skitarii backpacks should finish him off nicely.
You can also see two early experiments with up-scaling the Skitarii so they can be mixed with other bits, and work better in combination with my other henchmen, mostly made from flagellants and empire hand gunners. I've sliced their upper bodies in half and widened them, and added spacers at the wastes and below the knees. This will require greenstuff rebuilding but that’s a good chance to give them some type of new breastplate, while keeping the great chest details. Which BTW are very similar to the old Confrontation tech ganger torsos, for anybody working on Confrontation revivals. If I use these as regular household henchmen I will probably greenstuff boots over their bionic feet. I was going to swap them for regular human feet but they are so nicely posed that I think it will actually be simpler to greenstuff them.
And here you can see one of the Vanguard helmets on top of a crusader conversion I made a while ago. It uses a Blood Angel torso and Empire archer legs with Cadian boots and Flagellant arms. I love the combination but feel like the Vanguard head is just too tiny and narrow in this context. The hooded heads fit much better with Marine torsos FYI.
And I'm also considering running them as Beaconite Guards for my Novator; the Dome helmets work OK with the up-scaled Skitarii bodies, and all the tubes and ports give it a great space suit feel:
So many options ... and I haven't really gotten started with the Dragoon/Ironstrider box yet.
I disagree with your assessment of the Vanguard helmet. I think the looks just the right size, but only if it is at that elevation. It's nice to see the new skitarii parts and to hear their uses/limitations. All good stuff.
Things have certainly gone on leaps and bounds since I last had a chance to looking. Some beautiful work in here. I need to spend some time absorbing it all.
Thanks for the wip shots using the skittari too, that is very useful to know the scale difference
I think I spoke too soon about the scale of the kits being what makes converting a challenge. They're not really that small, just delicate, with more realistic proportions than a lot of other kits (small hands in particular). What was holding me up was the cloaks. They are obviously very cool, and pretty much what everyone has been waiting for forever (plastic greatcoat guard like Jes Goodwin's old ashwaste trooper sketch), and they are ingeniously engineered. But they get in the way of converting!
So I chopped the cloaks off of a bunch of torsos and had a lot of fun playing around last night. I think I will be able to use the cloaks on other figures with enough greenstuff to blend them together.
First off, if you want a more ragged Skitarii (closer to the Blanche end of the Goodwin-Blanche continuum), I think flagellant legs work surprisingly well!
Swap out the feet for bionic ones and you're good to go.
But I was excited about how much the chests of the Skitarii reminded me of Confrontation tech gangers and decided to bash together some Tech Gangers of mine own. I figure I can use them if I ever want to play Necromunda (counts-as Van Saar) and they can be a fun new unit of hired mercenaries for my Household, or serve in the retinue of any Mechanicus group I may build in the future.
I got a little carried away thinking about things while working on them and came up with some fluff for tying them into my project and inadvertently making me want to play a version of Necromunda in the bowels of an Imperial battleship (Confrontation meets space hulk basically):
Spoiler:
The lower decks of an Imperial battle ship can be surprisingly similar to the underhive of a Hive city. Every ship relies on huge populations of menial laborers and serfs to operate their enormous and complex infrastructures. Some ships are crewed almost entirely by mind-wiped servitors and their Mechanicus overseers, some by prison slave populations whose every movement is controlled. But most Ships take the classic Imperial approach to the management of populations; a strange mix of total control and complete indifference. The Naval and Mechanicous operators are only concerned that the engines are fed, bolts are tightened, and systems maintained -- how it is done is of little concern to them. Workers are given their workgelt and left to organize their own societies, and only disciplined by the Naval armsmen when productivity is slowed or Inquisitorial agents detect strange warp activity.
Theoretically every worker's need is automatically provided by the ship itself. Tiny but warm and rad-shielded hab-coffins are plentiful in the labyrinthine lower decks. Autoserv Hubs are regularly distributed, each one able to dispense enough potable recycled water, corpse-paste, fungal gruel, and stim patches to sustain a huge population, so long as they are fed with the requisite workgelt.
But just as in hive cities, undership populations inevitably are trapped in behavioral sinks, devolving into dysfunctional and violent struggles for access to the theoretically plentiful resources. Whole tribes of marauding bandits arise, ambushing menials leaving engine rooms and stealing their workgelt. Family gangs claim Autoserv Hubs for themselves, fortifying access tunnels and tubes and hoarding food and water. And so the typical life of the ship-menial is one of mind-numbing and body-poisoning labor in the engine rooms for 18 Sol hours, followed by a desperate 6 hour search for safety and sustenance.
Gangs arise as a natural response to this environment; each gang can send a portion of their members into the work pits to earn workgelt, while the rest of the gangers defend their hab-tubes and resources, or attack other gangs to take theirs. And when workshifts switch over gangs escort their members and their precious gelt to and from the habs. Other gangs maintain their own crew of slaves who they force to work above-ship for gelt, and instead spend all their time fighting. This violent equilibrium is mostly maintained, but can often simmer over into outright gang war, with whole hab-blocks changing hands and countless menials and gangers losing their lives.
As in the underhive, diverse gang cultures frequently emerge. Physios, Rust-drinkers, Spooks, Acidheels, Cannibal Dukes, Wyrm Fingers, Lumpers, Slicers, Coil Heads, Gnarlslicks, Axe Men, etc. But always present are the so called Tech Gangers. When the natural habitat is the ship itself, it pays to understand technology. Instead of devoting themselves exclusively to the arts of combat, ambush, and murder, Tech Gangers are obsessed with learning the secrets of the Ship and whatever machinery they can find. Tech mechanics use the skills they learn while working above decks to repair and build new guns, rebreathers, dark-vision goggles, and electro-vests. A Tech Infochopper can even hack into the noosphere of the ship and perform all sorts of miracles, from suspending a block's gravity for surprise airtube attacks or venting lethal doses of Rads into an enemy gang's territories.
The most successful of Tech Gangs will manage to get their workers promoted above decks, moving beyond pure menial ash-shovelling and doing actual mechanical repair. Techpriests are suspicious of their pagan approach to technology, but recognize kindred spirits in their love of knowledge and hard-earned understanding of the ship. Some gangers parlay this relationship into a ticket out of the lower-decks, serving as personal bodyguards and mercenaries for Tech-adepts.
This small Tech Gang has fought it's way out of the bowels of their ship and into the employ of an eccentric Naval Tech Priest, who their venerate for his unimaginable knowledge. He has led them from ship to ship as he plies his trade, and now they and their master find themselves in the service of House Merz-Itano. The old man proudly supports bionic legs and an unnaturally muscled body, the results of glandular and bionic surgery he received as a youth to allow him to better load munitions. The Infochopper sports a custom built noospheric helmet he can use to hack into the systems around him, both friendly and foe.
Very rough but I haven't had this much fun in a while, converting with no clear plan and stumbling across fun things. They will get a lot of greenstuff straps and webbing, and tons of pouches. The guy on the right needs the most work, perhaps a waste spacer, and will definitely get a gasmask or a visor or both. Still not sure if they will get fancy Skitarii guns or bolt pistols and knives. I will probably make one the leader with the pointing bionic hand from the Skitarii and he should really then have a combiweapon in the other arm like the classic Confrontation Tech Leader.
Oh and I'm very proud of my newest spliced head on the guy with the cyclops-visor. I love that cyberpunk visor but could never get past his enormous chin. So I chopped up my favorite flagellant head (the one in the stocks) and that did the trick. The top half of his face survived and will get a bionic lower half soon enough ...
i think necromunda on space hulk tiles would be a cool game or a really built up board of gangways and tight corridors between big impassable terrain to mimic an engine room
I love the new conversions! They are so gritty, and the combination (as you point out) of the Flagellant parts fits right into that grimdark feel. I like how the bionic elements fit into that as well, making the "lost eye" cybernetic enhancement part of the feel of that scout model. The narrative of the Tyrannic wars really sings in that regard, and it's not hard to imagine his motivation, or see his desire for revenge in his determined expression.
Way to go taking on the new kit and immediately using it to bash together some new models.
Love what you are doing here, do you ever plan to make ancient navigators in one of Ragnar's space wolf novels he is on ancient Terra and some of the ancient navigators are housed in the catacombs and become strangely alien.
I've gotten some more work done on the tech gang, including some preliminary arms and a new addition, a female ganger. I'm really happy with the pose on the hacker and the old man; I want these guys to feel more like cyberpunk sneaks than front-line soldiers.
OK, I've gotten some more work done on the tech gang, including some preliminary arms and a new addition, a female ganger. I'm really happy with the pose on the hacker and the old man; I want these guys to feel more like cyberpunk sneaks than front-line soldiers.
I've got two potential heads for the female model; a daemonette head (which I think would need greenstuff work around the eyes to humanize it) or the grizzled flagellant head for a Blanche-style Crone:
Which head do you guys prefer? Both would be painted with stubbled close-shaved heads. The flagellant head may be a bit big, but I will be at least partially covering her torso with greenstuff, which could bulk her up. She probably won't get a full armored chest-plate but some type of utilitarian shirt with straps and pouches on top, and a big armored shoulder on one side.
Great stuff here! I've just gotten a box of Skitarii myself I really love you're idea of using two halves of heads to acheive a new effect. I might try that myself soon
I think the daemonette head works much better if you're up for the extra GS work. Also, the wood ax seems a bit out of place in the tech gang to me.
The daemonette head has quite a cool post-human look to it in this context, maybe give her a trendy haircut and some painted on eyebrows and that would be sufficient.
Not a bad idea. I had been thinking they'd be bald like the Confrontation Techs but maybe punkier haircuts would be more fun. As long as I have room for skull implants. Maybe a version of the Irish Glib, which could feel both modern and punky as well as medieval and kind of like a half-tonsure: http://irisharchaeology.ie/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/durer_Irish_warriors.jpg
I did lots of greenstuff work on the tech gang last night but unfortunately my phone died before I could get any pictures. I'm very happy with how they're looking, and I finally managed to incorporate some retro diamond quilting, something I'm unreasonably excited about. I'll get photos tonight.
But in the meantime I finally got some shots of the entire Household! It was tough photographing such a big group and I seem to have forgotten to take a detail of Otam and her murder pack of Abhuman cultists. And I really need to paint the final details on the two combat drones. Seeing the army as a whole I wish I had more yellow/orange/ochre elements so I'm thinking the tech gang will skew in that direction.
Ooooo shiny army shot, everything looks great and despite the diversity, looks like it belongs together. The idea of doing the tech hangers in orange is good. What's the pink construct type in the middle, don't think I've seen that before?
The Tech Gang continues! It's fun doing something a bit different stylistically. I really love rococo weirdness and strange mixes (as seen in the entire Navigator army project!) but wanted this group to be a bit tighter thematically. In addition to the original Confrontation concept art and illustrations, I've been thinking about cyberpunk (not just Neuromancer and Johnny Mnemonic, but also the Max Headroom tv show, Robocop, Shadowrun, Rifts, etc) and some other incluences like the gangers in Akira, and particularly the crew of the Nostromo in Alien. Check out this great concept art Calum Alexander Watt did for the game Alien Isolation, based on the great work of Moebius and John Mollo:
The one second from the right ending up pretty tall and with that spiffy quilted coat is seeming somewhat leader-like. But that head doesn't really work with the gorget, and Robo-visor second from the left also looks a bit too stumpy with that long-faced head. But I think a simple head swap might fix everything:
Now that I like! The Cadian legged ganger will probably be a gunslinger with two fancy pistols. Molly Millions may get a razor claw from the Sicarian kit, or a nice chunky flagellant club I've altered. And the leader will probably get a fancy pistol in one hand and a prosthetic bludgeon/ram on the other arm.
That really is an amazing army. The navigator in the center just is so strange and crazy awesome that is drags the rest of the crazy behind in its wake, making them all seem perfectly in place.
Having mentioned Johnny Mnemonic that explains the strange quality those 'bare' bionic feet have; they make them look like beggars in rags and yet obviously that can't truly be the case because the bionics must be expensive, hard to come by et cetera.
The head swap definitely works better although I like the bald head, reminds me of Riddick when he's the Lord Marshal.
I may turn more of their bionic feet into boots as I go on. Still not sure how completely augmented I want them to be.
Last night my wife (an illustrator who is a master of realistic drawings of humans) took a look at the tech gang and pointed out some proportion problems. I didn't want to remove remove details and carefully sculpted greenstuff, but decided it was worth it and went ahead and performed some surgery last night. I'm very happy with the results:
Now I love the gasmask cadian legged guy! Some waste and knee extensions and a slight contraposto twist made all the difference and he is now my favorite in the group. The woman also got a waist extension and I've rotated the waist-coat guy's legs a bit although I'm still struggling to get his pose just right. Now I'm getting to the point where I am really excited about each model, except for the old man. I'll probably give him a horizontal visor and a cooler gun and start loading him up with bits but he may end up needing a more radical reconstruction.
Looking awesome as always! Really love what you have done with those new kits.
What putty do you use for sculpting? It looks like it cooperates with you much better than my Green Stuff (though that could be my lousy sculpting skills)..
I use a mix of greenstuff and apoxie sculpt. Plain greenstuff is a bit too dense and sticky for me, while plain apoxie is too rough and fluffy, but I really like the feel of the two mixed together. I try to use more apoxie in the mix for rougher undersculpting (its much cheaper) and more greenstuff in the mix for fine organic details. Apoxie also sands much better than greenstuff, so a 50/50 mix lets me sand things smooth and carve easiliy too.
Youidiotkid: I don't have an exact formula, and try to mix it up to end up with lots of different fleshtones. But i generally use mixes of a bone color and grey as a base-coat for lighter skin. Then I add white to the mix and do some highlighting, followed by a series of washes. Brown wash over everything, then light glazes of blue ink in eye sockets and places like that, reddish ink in places too. I'll then do more highlights, maybe more washes. if things get too high contrast I like to glaze with a very thinned out mix of lahmian medium and the original flesh wash which adds a nice depth and pulls things together. Finally, I often add little touches of a mix of the old Ogryn flesh chestnut wash, red paint, and medium to places like lips, cheeks, and the tip of the nose.
I haven't had much time for the hobby lately but managed to rework the old man of the group. He wasn't working and I realized that bearded head would be perfect for another project, so I gave him a radical makeover, and I'm much happier now:
And I realized I haven't shown the backs of these guys, which have some fun details:
Once I get my hands on the Sicaran Ruststalker kit I should be able to really finish these guys off a few more fancy pistol, techno implants, and assorted pouches and canisters.
And I have started on a pretty crazy Magos Biologos who I think will eventually be supplying the household with some heretical flesh-constructs crafted from manipulated Merz-Itano DNA.
Awesome stuff. Thanks to you, I've finally started work on a Genestealer Cult. I'm basing the first plasma/melta-vet squad on the Empire State troops with some Cadian CCS bits, as well.
I'm finally joining the club and have begun a Nurgle Lord conversion! So far he's just been given the start of a Baron Harkonenn style spacesuit:
He was originally going to be a dome-headed Beacon Priest but now I've got a more exciting plan, and it looks like I'll be adding yet another Navis Nobilite to the household. This one is going to be pretty weird and I should have pictures to share next week ...
And I've also got a sneak peek of Genetor Paracelsus Takwin Aleph-359, Novatorial Doctor, Gestalt Mind, Flesh-smith, and Gene Collector:
The many headed one is very cool, never seen anything that looks like that. And the nurgle lord conversion is also tantalizing... as far as conversions go that is extreme! I'm sure the end product will make people look twice then realize it's a nurgle lord.
I have to say the new Mechanicus releases are so exciting, both as sources of bits and as new rules to build counts-as models to represent.
The thought of my Novator being able to lead a unit of bodyguard robots (and their magos handler) is very appealing! The raygun gothic look of the robots is close enough to my own dome-headed mecha that it's tempting to only convert them slightly but I'll probably end up mixing them with Onager and ironstrider parts for something more special.
Not to mention the tracked servitors may be the perfect way of representing another project I've been working on, weaponized navigator clones ...
And I've also got a sneak peek of Genetor Paracelsus Takwin Aleph-359, Novatorial Doctor, Gestalt Mind, Flesh-smith, and Gene Collector:
Spoiler:
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHwhatthefuckisTHAT?
Normally I try to read this thread on a full-sized screen so I can see all the wonderful details better, but I'm so glad I checked it on my iPhone this time....
Thanks everybody! I just got back from a big amazingly fun trip to Japan and haven't had time to do any modeling for a while now, but I can share what I was working on in the weeks leading up to my trip.
A couple of months ago I was thinking a lot about Genestealer cults. I always loved their concept, and with rumors flying about GW bringing them back I started to think about how I would update them if given the chance. One of the ideas that I had was that the gene hybridization process shouldn't be so orderly, always resulting in perfect blends of human alien along prescribed generational lines. This is hostile genetic takeover, mixing things that shouldn't be able to be mixed, so maybe the results should be more unpredictable. That idea lead to a few sketches including this random drawing a brood-brother mounted on a monstrous Hybrid:
I really liked the peaceful human baby face contrasted with the alien body. I was tempted to start converting up a genestealer cult, but decided to shelve the rest of my ideas for now in case GW does redo them, and focus my energies on the Navigator household and their allies.
So with all the Mechanicus stuff coming out I thought maybe I could repurpose the baby-head idea and use it for Vat-grown servitor steeds ridden by a Genetor or his shock-troopers:
So I jumped into sculpting some heads. This time I worked flat on a plasti-card sheet, and found it much easier than when I sculpted the giant headed Novator in the round. At least it was easier on the larger head; the small one has been quite a challenge! I don't know how any one sculpts regular 28mm size heads. As I worked on them they slowly became less literal baby heads and more neotenic adult faces:
I did a little more sculpting after that trying to get things more symmetrical but that's pretty close to the final versions. One of the reasons I was sculpting flat like this was I always wanted to have multiples of these, and I've regretted not trying to make a cast of my Novator before painting him. So I started playing around with Oyomaru / Instamold to push-mold a bunch of clones of these heads:
It's been harder than I expected to get good results, despite watching many demos, but I actually like the variation the imperfect molds give. I pulled some out of the molds while still a little bit soft which let me squish and squeeze them, as well as give that one guy nice skeletal nostrils where his nose failed to grow/fill-the-mold. With some cleanup and detail sculpting I think they'll work nicely, and give them the feeling of imperfectly grown artificial constructs.
Somewhere along the line I got less excited by the cavalry idea and turned to a new way of using these. I wanted to tie them more directly into my Navigator project, and decided that they could represent a new project conducted by the House's radical Mago Biologis ally; an attempt to weaponize the Navigator gene, producing mindless biological batteries powering warp-eyes turned into powerful aetheric cannons, etc. They could be quite nicely represented in 40k by the new tracked servitor units.
So I did these sketches:
And some very preliminary bits combinations (you can see that the new tracked servitors would be very helpful here!):
But along the way I got attached to these sculpts and decided they might be best used on an actual Navigator. I never intended to make another non-armored Navigator besides Novator Lebbeus, but I'm pretty happy with how this bicephalous Buddha is coming together:
Although I'm a big uncomfortable with just how much of a Buddha he is turning into! It wasn't a conscious attempt, although I did put this together right before leaving for the trip to Japan so clearly those images were on my mind. After visiting so many temples and seeing so many Buddha statues it's feeling like it may be a bit too sacrilegious but maybe I'll get over that. The hobby has a whole certainly has a field day with christian iconography.
The next step would be re-sculpting the nose and other details that didn't fill out in the mold, as well as giving both heads cosmonaut hoods like the Novator. But I do like the scale of him in combination with some of other freaks:
Oh, one more thing. While scanning sketches I found this which I think was the origin of the Hive-minded Paracelsus magos idea:
And strangely enough after working on him I read Peter Watt's novel Echopraxia, which features a type of metahuman that use loosely networked hive-minds to achieve incredible intelligence. There's a nice detail that these "bicamerals" always stand with their backs to each other when joined in network, forming triangles or circles with their eyes facing outward in all directions for maximum a field-of-vision. So now I want to add more heads to Paracesus looking behind him. And I have to say all of Peter Watts books (Blindsight is the best one) have great stuff about altered metahumans and some truly alien aliens that could definitely provide good ideas for Inq28.
Awww... I got a little bit excited there when I saw the words "Genestealer Cult," because your stuff here inspired me to finally start my own. Just picked up a pack of Genestealers last night, as a matter of fact. (please notice the link in my sig? pretty please?)
Your process of concepts and sculpts is intriguing. There's a lot of potential directions to take on the baby face design. The way you're going now, it could make an interesting (if unsettling) motif throughout part of your army. I think that the larger you make the faces, the more otherworldly they'll begin to look, if that's what you're trying to accomplish. Jeez, can you imagine a dreadnaught-sized vehicle with a massive baby face front armor panel?
Brazil was the first thing that came to mind when I saw the sketches and I see you've listed it, great film for inspiration on any 40K project but especially one like this with such inhuman and grotesque characters. The sketches look absolutely fantastic. I definitely think you'll need to get some drool onto a model though; I can very clearly picture one of these two-headed things with one head stuffing its mouth with torn off limbs while the others constantly cries and wails. Brilliant! I think I've said it before in this thread but, again, this is 40K; and at its most demented, grotesque and baroque which is even better. More please
baby faces are awesome... even before Brazil... there were the brothers Quay...
Very weird I was planning to do something very similar! Which was a giant winged baby head servitor. Of course, I went the lazy route and got some baby face molds from the art store...
Although I'm sad you won't be tackling the Genestealer Cult now, I have hope you will sometime in the future. And in the meantime, thank you for sharing all of your crazy sketches and playing with bits! It's a real treat to be able to see your thought processes as you play around with ideas. I look forward to whatever you come up with.
Gogsnik: drool is a great idea!
Bottle: for the mindless clone-servitor-constructs, I'll probably go for a range of unhealthy translucent skintones with bruising and sores around the implants.
Meade: Of course, forgot about the Bros. Quay. I'd love to see you do a flying baby head servitor, and using a baby-doll as the base makes a whole lot more sense.
Jehan-Reznor: all over; we went to Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, Wajima, Koyasan, Osaka, and Hida Takayama! Such a wonderful trip.
OK, I had a lot of fun finishing up the Tech gang. I think they're pretty much done now, except for basing. I'm tempted to magnetize them so I can use them on both blasted moon-space type bases like the rest of the army and on full-on rusted metal Hivewolrd / Spacehulk bases. And then I could make a counts-as Landspeeder storm that they could magnetize on to as well ...
I can't wait to paint these guys. So many details, so I think I may go semi-monochromatic, inspired by Kaneda's outfit:
So pretty much everything varying shades of orange, salmon, red, with yellow accents.
Although I don't think Confrontation had them, no Necromunda gang is complete without a heavy. So I started doodling some ideas yesterday:
which lead to some quick kit-bashing last night:
The only really big muscley torsos and arms I had on hand were some Gorkamorka ones and the dead Orc from the Empire bowmen kit. Not quite the proportions I was originally envisioning but I think he actually looks pretty cool! At the very least I don't think I've seen this combination of bits before (the boots are from some very static WHFB Empire troop I got in loose bits bin). I'll probably add some more space between the torso and the hips and angle the upper body more upright. I'll also cover the groin area with a quilted apron/loin-cloth and of course cover him with pouches and bits and bobs.
That head (a spare one I made a while ago) combined with his huge arms make him look a lot like Bane. A Geordie LaForge visor would make him look like the mutant leader from TDKR, so I guess I can't avoid Batman references no matter! If i keep the respirator head I think I need to remove the mouth-grille because it's too much an iconic marine element.
Who would have thought that terminator thighs could ever be made to look normal! I like him, and I was just thinking to myself after viewing another thread, that ork torsos are ironically some of the better made ones that GW does; I know GW do a lot of very nifty kits these days but I really enjoy seeing some of the much older models used in conversions. If you did keep the marine mouth grille, then that could always be part of the purpose of the thing, to try and imitate the Astartes for that bit of intimidation factor; a bit like the outlander girl in Titanicus who had a warhound style mask - could be an idea for a future model there, Epic Titan heads as helmets, shoulder mounted guns et cetera, I think I might have to give that a try myself.
Really liking the claw hand on the female model and the oversized bolter in the sketch you've drawn, maybe an incredibly rare Kai Gun style bolter, that would be pretty awesome.
@ Slaanesh-Devotee: it wasn't a conscious choice but of course I saw and loved Fury Road and realized part way through building him that I was in fact making a Bane-Rictus mashup!
@ Gogsnik: Terminator proportions are so insane, but oddly enough they do have pretty slender thighs. I like your titan-mask head idea. I wish I still had my titan bits from long ago. That being said I did rework the marine grille respirator.
The heavy is almost done. Just greenstuff work now to fill gaps and add a few more straps and details, and most likely a diamond-quilted loincloth. I'm really happy with how he turned out and have started on a handful of more basic gangers, instead of what I "should" be working on (painting the first set, finishing the buddha-headed navigator, etc).
I was very much inspired by PDH's wonderful overladen mercenaries.You'll notice his chem-bulked muscles are supported by some subdermal bionics (the drill marks at his elbow joints will get little rivets inset, and will be painted as bruised skin around metal implants), and both of his hands are bionic as well. Looking at these photos I may turn his head more to his right like on my first WIP photo.
And I reworked the gunfighter with the flintlock. I tried a few claw hands but they didn't work so great in that pose (it looked like "hey look over here! check out my cool claw hand") but will find their way onto other gangers. Instead I gave him a cut-down version of the Phospor Serpenta from the Dragoon kit with a new barrel made from one of the censers attached to the Skitarii backpacks.
In Necromunda terms I think I'd count the fancy rotary pistol as a bolt pistol which makes the stub-gun a great counterpoint; I seem to remember bolt pistols are brutally effective but always running out of ammo so a reliable cheap backup pistol is invaluable.
Hah, I like the modified marine respirator, effective and simple, especially with that particular helmet. I like the sledgehammer too, really emphasises what a brutal character he must be but it's so subtle.
I'm really liking the entire respirator/half helmet look as well, really evocative.
I like the gunfighter both mechanically and aesthetically. I think bolt pistols need a 6 for their ammo check or... something like that. Never really played just read the rules once through out of interest
I will say this again: this thread is absolutely disgusting. And in every possible good meaning of the term. The way that you can take a simple idea and bring it to life cobbled together from a dozen different kits is quite inspiring to say the least. And your painting is amazing. Every time I check this thread I am blown away by what you do.
The only thing I can possibly say is keep up the great work man. And maybe paint a model or two when you get a chance
I love making bases. Instead of going for the same blasted moonscape thing I've done on the rest of my bases, I decided to try something new. I love the idea of hive worlds so much and used to love making Necromunda terrain so here's an excuse for some small scale terrain building:
Next I'll unify them and fill in some gaps with an overall pass of bicarbonite of soda. The big question is should I leave the rubble overhanging the base edges or trim them flush?
And I've been making some upgrades to the gang's weaponry. I realized I couldn't really have a Confrontation/Necromunda gang without a shotgun, so did some surgery on this guy's autopistol/gun thing:
Does that look enough like it could be a shotgun of some sort? And should I get rid of the banana/sickle magazine sticking out of the other side of the gun (from one of the Sicarian guns). I'm not sure if shotguns ever use magazines like that but it looks cool. And as inefficient as it may be I like the idea of a Necromunda ganger using both frag grenades (see his belt) and a shotgun.
I also decided my leader needed an upgrade. So he's going to get a magnetized shoulder mount to give me a lot of options. So here is a custom plasma pistol (or gun) and meltagun:
I've got an order of magnets, grey primer, (and Kataphron destroyers!) on the way so I should be able to start painting the gang soon. I do want to paint something, I promise! It's just so distracting having a big pile of bits waiting to be combined in unknown combinations ...
I like what you've done with the bases. I'm not much of an expert on basing, but I would definitely trim the edges flush. That way, you can keep the focus primarily on the model, rather than on some overhanging details around its feet. That shotgun conversion is pretty clever. Your eye for parts selection is keen as ever. The magazine itself looks fine, but the case ejector seems to be facing in the wrong direction. As it stands now, it looks like he would get a mouthful of searing-hot shells every time he fires, since the opening is facing inward (to the left). You could just shave off the box around it or cover it up with something, but it looks aesthetically great already if you aren't going to change it.
youidiotkid wrote: I'm not much of an expert on basing, but I would definitely trim the edges flush. That way, you can keep the focus primarily on the model, rather than on some overhanging details around its feet.
I disagree. So long as it's not overdone, a few details overhanging the edges here and there can be great for breaking up the uniformity of the bases. Helps make the model look like a 'snapshot' of a scene rather than a guy on a deliberately crafted circle of detail, if that makes any sense.
Thanks! I think I'll keep the overhanging bits and be as careful as I can.
I've got two new gang members to share! I had so much fun making the first batch and realized I had more ideas and more bits that could go together, so why not make a full size Necromunda gang? In 40k I could run it as two scout squads (or just Inquisitorial henchmen).
The gang was lacking in long-range fire support so I've put together a haughty lasgunner and a second heavy:
The lasguner came to be when I discovered the pilot from the Taurox kit has a great jumpsuit torso, and my gang needs more jumpsuits. The hairy head doesn't really fit with the rest of the gang but now I kind of like that; he seems like a bit of a loner, who eschews gang orthodoxy when it comes to fashion. He'll be painted in matching colors though. And be given lots of straps and pouches and some diamond quilting of course.
My first heavy embodied the big muscled brute side of the heavy archetype, but in Necromunda they are also the gang's technicians, responsible for maintaining equipment, inventing new items, etc. So I decided to make the 2nd heavy embody that. I see him as part way along the path to true machine cult indoctrination -- kind of a bootstrapped tech-priest in the self-making. He too will get lots of bulking out and details, and his servo arm will be magnetized to take a variety of weapons. In Necromunda the autogun (which may not look like it but was painfully spliced together from a bunch of different pieces!) / plasma gun combo seems prudent, and in 40k he can be the Sergeant of the second scout squad, equipped with a combi-plasma.
It's hard to tell without other models for scale, but both of these guys are quite tall and lanky. Some of the gang is similarly stretched out, so they fit right in, and make for a range of body-types. I keep finding myself doing a bit of "truescaling" on regular human models. I'm liking these slightly less exaggerated proportions, and it's a lot easier lengthening limbs than making hands, heads, and feet smaller!
I really like what you've done with all of these, especially the guy with the large back pack mounted weapon,
reminds of the suit mounted weapons from The Edge of Tomorrow (live die repeat).
@inmygravenimage: both legs will get covered in lots of detail, both sculpted and bits. Or does the angle itself seem off?
The lasgunner's haircut and long rifle kind of remind me of Daniel Day lewis in the Last of the Mohicans movie, which got me thinking maybe he could be a turn-coat ratskin exiled for a sacrilegious approach to archeotechnology ... In any case, he got a lot of detail work done. Now he's looking much more like an underhive survivalist ready for anything:
He has a clamp-hand now, which I'm not sure about. Not that you can see it there, but it may be replaced with a human hand of some sort if I can find one in the right size range.
And some very, very preliminary heavy detailing. His legs will eventually get lots of green stuff work:
I'd be in favor of replacing his hand with a more humanoid grasper, because, as it is, I don't know if the rifle's barrel would even fit in his clamp-hand. Then again, it's possible that he could just rest the gun in the crook of his arm while he fires, like so:
youidiotkid wrote: I'd be in favor of replacing his hand with a more humanoid grasper, because, as it is, I don't know if the rifle's barrel would even fit in his clamp-hand. Then again, it's possible that he could just rest the gun in the crook of his arm while he fires, like so:
I'll either add more fingers to the bionic hand (more Imperator Furiosa, less Clamps from Futurama) or find a nice human hand instead.
So the real question is should this guy be a full on rat-skin and have a ratskin cloak? It does give him a nice desperado look and works with the angle of his hair:
(the panther face could be easily turned more ratlike I think). It's funny how models have a life of their own. It was never my inention to make a ratskin or former ratskin, but one thing leads to another and here we are!
Jesus H Christ... This is some of the best, maybe THE best, conversion work I've ever seen. You're clearly an artist, and your imagination, plasticraft and creative use of bits is insane. I wish I had some of that talent... Are you a member of the Inquisimunda/Inq28 Facebook group? Would be honored if you would join us
And have you heard about the Inquisimunda 2.0 project? If you don't know Inquisimunda, it's an expansion to the Necromunda rules introducing new rules and many warbands such as Inquisitorial warbands, gene stealer cults, Xenos strike forces, chaos covens etc etc. the project has sadly been in limbo since version 1.3, but some of us fans haven recently been hard at work updating it to 2.0 (sadly the original creator didn't have time to participate much). It's very closed to finished, most lists are done and the deadline is set at August 31st. Feel free to take a look around, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hoping you'd be inspired to take a shot at a warband yourself...
The project is happening at http://gaming.yaktribe.org/community/forums/inquisimunda.41/
Thanks! I've moved onto tweaking other figures while I decide what to do with the cloak. I should get to green-stuffing soon but real life stuff is taking a lot of my time these days.
@Mymearan: wow thank you! I love the whole idea of Inquisimunda and if i had a gaming group it would definitely be my ideal game. I actually have a Yaktribe account but have only lurked so far.
The gang is getting pretty close to being ready for primer. I've been side-tracked by a 10th ganger, who is shaping up to be one of my favorites. But she's not ready to share yet. In the meantime, assorted updates:
First off, I gave the sharpshooter a poncho type thing. I'm not sure what I think about it yet and it would be very easy to rremove. This was my first time working with procreate and I am a big fan. Really nice texture and easy to sculpt. Next I may try it mixed with green stuff. And fluffwise I'm liking the idea of him being more mysterious. Maybe once a ratskin, maybe just a loner.
I'm finally getting happier with the Squat, and now that his scaven cowl is cut down and padded with quilting he feels more like part of the gang. He may get more stuff on his backpack. And maybe bacpack straps? No one in 40k ever seems to have straps on their packs. Maybe because of multi-part casting, maybe because it would make them look like school children ...
And I was always planning on giving the heavy a loincloth/apron, but maybe it was a mistake and should be ripped off as well.
Now that I've bulked up the second heavy I think he looks really cool. He'll get thigh straps and pouches which will hide some of my dodgy sculpting, and maybe a rectangular eye-piece over one eye. And a fully integrated magnetized plasma gun of course.
My poor leader was looking a little stumpy next to the newer models, so he's had some leg-lengthening surgery (as well a bigger backpack and some kneepads taken from a space marine's elbows). I think these proportions work much better, although his shoes could do with some more bulking and detailing. And his new backpack will of course be magnetized to work with the shoulder guns I made before.
And finally, a family photo showing the various sizes of fighters:
I really like that now there are two noticeably smaller and more hesitant looking members (molly millions, who will probably get back her original razor hand, and the hacker guy) who will work great as juves.
Excellent builds. My only criticism is that they all look a bit too ragged, but then maybe I have a different mental image of a Navigator household. These guys are tattered, kind of battered, and I get that that's your own creative slant, but I would have gone the opposite direction and made the Navigator House's militia more regal, parade-ready. Very cool stuff, though.
I like the quilted padded armor theme that runs throughout the gang. What will the color scheme be like? Will it be similar to the one you used on the Navigator household?
That... is a kick-ass gang. So much awesome here. I get inspired to try but I don't have the converting skills so I'll just vicariously enjoy your work
@KernelTerror: yes, I need to fix the way the poncho meets the right shoulder for sure. At the very least cover it up with some bits!
@youidiotkid: still planning to go with a Kaneda inspired color scheme of oranges, reds, salmons, rusts, with some accents in yellow, grey, and black.
@bossfearless: these tech gangers aren't really properly part of the house, but really more for ideal Confrontation or Necromunda, but will probably also serve as mercenaries hired by the house, not true house staff. Although the house itself is quite ragged for sure! partially that's the style I like, partially the bits I had on hand, but I've gone with the idea that this is a splinter-house, operating outside the sanction of the Paternova, led by their insane Novator. Sometimes I think it would be fun to make an opposing Navigator house, all high-polish and pomp, with uniformly equipped fancy armsmen and all the works. But no time for that!
OK, so on to the 10th member of the gang. I wanted to add another female model, and didn't want to end up with a second small juve, but a properly intimidating and mature ganger. A model that reads clearly as a woman while avoiding chain mail bikini and valkyrie chest plate tropes, fitting in aesthetically with her male compatriots.
I've had a few leftover Witch Elf parts I've wanted to use, and decided I'd try cutting them up and extending them to make for a larger over-all frame (the witch elf models are pretty tiny). I also had the Kataphron kit to play with and totally love all the great repeating cylinder motifs and the cool details they are covered with. Then I happened to see a picture of Miyazaki's Nausicaa and decided I had to use the Kataphrone backpack cylinders as chunky Nausicaa style shin pieces:
My first attempt used a Skitarri torso with cut down shoulders. I was hoping that would give me the narrow shoulder / wider hip ratio that woudl sell the model as a woman, but even with the widened pelvis, it felt too boxy. But I really wanted to use the skitarii chest piece for the great details that would tie into the rest of the gang, and managed to carve out a type of corset / stomach armor piece. This allowed for a better shoulder/hip ratio and gives here a kind of Imperator Furiosa vibe which I like. After that photo I disassembled the pieces and got the armor piece to sit much closer to her hips.
And now with putty to bulk everything up, I'm really happy with how she's coming together!
You can see I made her a custom stubgun. I've also got a fancy gun for her other arm that I forgot to tack on for the photo. And of course she'll get more detailing and some sculpting as well as a bulky backpack rig. The big question is should I give her human feet sticking out of the shin-pieces, making them read as armor, or give her robot feet or claws implying that she has below the knee implants?
Looks good! I'm gonna have to come here and take notes for any time I want to convert a model, surely you're awesome skills will help my feeble efforts
I could see it going either way with her feet. Knowing imperial tech though... those shinguards would be pretty heavy and would probably make her regular feet liable to get broken.
I would almost be inclined towards cyborg feet. It may dehumanize her more than you want though, so you may have to dry fit both cases.
weirdingway wrote: And finally, a family photo showing the various sizes of fighters:
I really like that now there are two noticeably smaller and more hesitant looking members (molly millions, who will probably get back her original razor hand, and the hacker guy) who will work great as juves.
I just stumbled across this tread and your work... Pretty damn nice family you have there.
Can't wait to see the transition from grayscale to technicolor!
Thanks for the kind comments guys. I'm still here, just very busy. I just started teaching an intro to graphic design class in addition to my day job so I've got a lot less time for modeling.
I did make progress on the gang, found a different witch head in my bits box for the club-footed bolter ganger that seems to work better, and added lots more fussy detail bits to the rest of the gang. All that remains is a final pass of greenstuff — I'll try to add trim to some of the quilted padding. Photos soon.
In the meantime, instead of finishing the gang (which feels like work at this point) I've been rewarding myself with some fun relaxing terrain building. It started because I thought it would be nice to have a simple platform to use as a backdrop for photographing the gang but once I started gluing scraps together I got carried away.
I've tried to build modular, flexible pieces that can be combined in a few different ways. What started off as a big platform and a smaller wall section may both be able to do double duty as walls and platforms. Building terrain is so much fun!
In addition I've now got a few of these smaller modules that can go on top of bigger pieces or sit right on the table on their own:
Some type of machine protuberance, a gravity powered chemical tank, and maybe a system control node or noosphere hub (good objective; get an info-hacker into contact with the dials side for D3 turns, etc).
/ / / Yutani Crisis takes cover behind a small barricade / / /
Everything so far. The Lebbeus Woods shanty tower in the top was so fun to make. I've been saving plastic card off-cuts and scraps leftover from building my drop ship and hover-sledge and I basically just threw them together with a few larger pieces. Trying to balance moments of detail and more open expanse and get some unusual angles. Most depictions of the underhive seem too planned and rectilinear and up-right to me. I imagine thousands of years of compression and decay and rebuilding would result in crazy geometries. But of course flat surfaces are useful for placing models so I've built it with a flat top.
The gang in their natural habitat.
You can see some new details if you look carefully; the plasma gunner has a rectangular bionic eye, Molly Millions (oh how I wish I had thought of Molly Millenia first!) got some longer legs and a new bionic arm, the leader has a new meltagun, a snub-nose on his pistol, and much fancier boots, and the gunfighter now has a (magnetized) hand-flamer instead of the off-the-rack skitarrii pistol. I need a better picture of the flamer; it's tiny and made from a lot of bits.
And finally, should I name them The Oxide Volts or The Volt Oxides?
The Volt Oxides recalls The Panther Moderns, which I like.
Your tech gang and navigator household has been a big inspiration for me as I've been trying to figure out my Wraekan Dreor slavers for 30k. How did you go about creating a consistant visual theme to the army? Was it driven by bits or was it thought out beforehand?
Great to see that you're finally back, weirdingway! We've all missed your updates. I would go for 'The Oxide Volts,' personally. It's got a nice iambic rhythm to it.
Rhesusforbreakfast: basically I hadn't done any 40k modeling for something like 10-14 years while I went to college, got married, established a career as a graphic designer, etc. So when I started again it was both bit driven (so many new possibilities with the amazing new plastic kits compared to the old days of monopose plastics) and by a real drive to just make the craziest, coolest models I could, incorporating all of my favorite reference points and inspirations, and using my much improved design and craft skills I had learned in art school.
I can't stop making terrain! What started as a simple photo backdrop has turned into what's looking like almost enough terrain for a small skirmish game or just a fancy display base. Oh well!
I built a simple free-standing bridge from assorted junk:
And I put the finishing touches on the Lebbeus Shack:
And returned to a tower type thing I started building months ago and set aside. It was originally going to be a space ship for the Navigator Household -- some type of vertical take off rocket ship palace tower lander (aka a drop pod or bastion). But maybe it would make a better underhive dome spire stump ...
And here is the terrain so far along with some preliminary albuterol pumping tubes and a building I've been wanting to make out of an old fluorescent light fixture we removed from our kitchen:
I've also worked on the miniatures too.
New head and some more greystuff on Yutani Crisis:
And a better view of Weylan Glytch's modular hand-flamer / bolt pistol:
I'm proud of the handflamer because it was so fiddly. It's made from the barrel of one of the pistols that comes with the Sicarian Ruststalkers, the flamer nozzle from the Kataphrones, and a little vial/tube from god knows where (dark eldar? mechanicus?).
Inspired by Nordic's facial surgery on his newest female warriors, I tried humanizing the Daemonette head on Molly by adding some eyelids and brows:
I'm afraid I've turned her into Nosferatu. It's not as easy as it looks! I'll probably try to smooth down her brows with some fine grit sandpaper and fix the rest in post.
And finally, I actually worked on a proper member of House Merz-Itano! Finally returned to the as-of-yet un-named Bicephalous Buddha:
Very happy with how he's coming together, although I think I'm going to add lots more mechanical greeble to his back, perhaps including a heraldic shield on a servo-arm that is protecting a bunch of vital aetheric vanes and soul antennae.
You may also notice he's also acquired a new staff that incorporates the slaved head of a mostly alive psyker. The Navigator uses the staff as a psychic anchor when plotting his most complex astroaugury.
I love where this new Buddha-navigator is 'headed' (hehe... please kill me now). I agree that it'll benefit from some extra mechanical details. Right now, there's a fair bit of negative space on the back of the bigger cranium, but you might be able to resolve that with a couple of seams in his little cosmonaut hood and perhaps some small ports to connect it with the contraption on his back.
I think Yutani Crisis could use some toes just on the back of her elephant feet as stabilisers for when she is firing and to prevent tipping backwards generally.
I'll try some toes on Yutani. I like the idea of rear racing ones for sure.
Greeble time! Things are coming together nicely and quickly. I haven't had this much fun detailing a model in a long time. The Mechanicus parts are such a godsend for conversions. I think he/they will make a great counterpoint to the Novator.
More detail will follow, including lots of purity seals above the staff arm, a built-up left shoulder pad, and pipes and antennae on the back (can't decide if they should go behind the big or the little head). My questions for the forum are:
Should I keep the nose-tube? It was always my plan to add one and haven't been able to pull them off on 28mm size human heads so this is a good chance. But maybe it looks wierd, with shades of Nien Nunb
Should I keep the chainmail or cover it with tattered cloth? It looks great but is of course very medieval. But maybe the rest of the suit is so astronaut / baron harkonenn a little more medieval in the mix is a good thing.
I like the chainmail, even if it doesn't make a lot of sense. You might paint it up as a brass, suggesting it is partially decorative as well as moderately functional.
Excellent progress, weirdingway. Your eye for detail is inspirational as ever. I'm also a fan of the chain mail. This 40k -when was practicality ever a factor? The nose tube is a great touch, too. It adds a sense of age to the Navigator.
Brilliant work! that Navigator is creepy as hell man! but in a good way :-) the details are excellent and the ideas behind the builds are the window into a very creative soul!
I also vote to keep the chainmail. It fits the aesthetic of creepy, weird, and not very practical 40k. As for the nose tube, I can take it or leave it. It fits the model, but its not as vital as some of the other bits.
I'll try some toes on Yutani. I like the idea of rear racing ones for sure.
Greeble time! Things are coming together nicely and quickly. I haven't had this much fun detailing a model in a long time. The Mechanicus parts are such a godsend for conversions. I think he/they will make a great counterpoint to the Novator.
More detail will follow, including lots of purity seals above the staff arm, a built-up left shoulder pad, and pipes and antennae on the back (can't decide if they should go behind the big or the little head). My questions for the forum are:
Should I keep the nose-tube? It was always my plan to add one and haven't been able to pull them off on 28mm size human heads so this is a good chance. But maybe it looks wierd, with shades of Nien Nunb
Should I keep the chainmail or cover it with tattered cloth? It looks great but is of course very medieval. But maybe the rest of the suit is so astronaut / baron harkonenn a little more medieval in the mix is a good thing.
To quote Peep Show
"Tube up his nose! Tube up his nose! He's got a tube up his nose!"
But honestly that such a great little detail that adds to the overall wow factor of the model. I'd keep it and in fact encourage MORE nose tubes.
Thanks so much everyone! I had forgotten about that Peep Show clip. I hope they do another season/series eventually ...
I've kept the nose tube and added quite a bit more detail. I decided to keep the chainmail because I like that at least part of the figure is recognizable as the original Nurgle Lord, and I like the anachronistic mix with the space suit. Next up I need to break out the putty and fine-tune the eyelids on the warp eyes and bulk up the back of their heads, and add some more purity seals. But I think I'm getting close. Paint-wise I'm considering giving him an all white suit (with accents in gold, verdigris, black and reddish orange) and fairly dark skin for contrast.
Consider me Subscribed. You're work is just mind blowing. I am so intrigued, just incredible work. You are such an artist and a sculptor. Just remarkable and words cannot describe the awe.
fantastic looking terrain (and everything else) how long do you think it's going to take to paint all that? I remember you said that you were having trouble/hadn't learned to air brush yet
Thanks guys! If I ever get to painting the terrain I think I'll paint it by hand. It should be fun and I don't think take all that long — I'll do something loose, expressionistic, and using built up layers of washing, drybrushing, sponging, experimental mark making etc.
Anyway, I just can't help myself. I'm supposed to prime the tech gang and the terrain and start painting. Or at least prime the two headed navigator. But there are tiny green stuff fixes I still have to do to a few gangers and the navigator, and that's not very exciting.
My hobby time has been in short supply lately so instead I've been doing what I love best and bashing together new ideas.
You may recall my first baby-headed sketch was actually of a quadrupedal genestealer hybrid, which led to the more general idea of a genetically altered human used as a beast of burden / steed. I sculpted a rough torso and some arms that I was going to try push-casting but eventually dropped the baby-head steed idea in favor or using the baby heads for Navigators or Navigator-derived clone weapons.
Well I decided to mix the two ideas, and created this new guy, using some assorted bits and the best push-mold cast of my original baby-face sculpt:
It will need lots more sculpting and bits of course, but I'm really excited. I see it as a weaponized Navigator Clone grafted to a bio engineered transport body (abhuman derived? or just atavistic genes unlocked and twisted). Another take on the Sphinx archetype, and a kind of biological parallel to Novator Lebbeus on his robot throne. I'm not sure yet if the body will be left naked and animalistic / medical experiment, or clothed in something like a space-suit, ritual robes, or some combination of the 3.
Here you can see the growing family of new Navigators. These guys could almost be from a rival house to my original set of Navigators (Dark or Chaotic Navigators even?) but I'll probably just fold them into the main project. You may notice the Little Man From Another Place has been given a new head (which I may yet sculpt into a more human visage, or not).
And the start of another Clone-construct, maybe even weirder. Should make a nice connection with my many headed Magos Biologis:
the miscast faces look almost injured or mis-grown. With some additional sculpting and the right paint job I think they could look great. If I continue this guy I'll probably give him longer mechanical legs from the knees down.
These guys are looking progressively more creepy, I love it! I can see the sphinx navigator looking good with a big container of some kind strapped to its back, maybe a big oxygen tank or barrel of acid that it can spray around?
Again, brilliant update, if you were to tell me you live in the Giger museum in switzerland, next to the wall of creepy baby faces I would not be surprise.
That last quadrupedal guy is already especially creepy, there is something silent hill about it.
weirdingway wrote: I see it as a weaponized Navigator Clone grafted to a bio engineered transport body (abhuman derived? or just atavistic genes unlocked and twisted). Another take on the Sphinx archetype, and a kind of biological parallel to Novator Lebbeus on his robot throne. I'm not sure yet if the body will be left naked and animalistic / medical experiment, or clothed in something like a space-suit, ritual robes, or some combination of the 3.
*feels giddy and a little weak at the knees after reading all this sci-fi deliciousness*
Thanks so much everyone! Glad the weirder and creepier stuff is being well received.
My wife is out of town for the week so I should be able to make a lot of progress on the minis, probably mostly painting terrain and tech gangers, but maybe some other cybernetic/robotic kitbashing will happen as well, so stay tuned.
I also wanted to let everyone know that my Navigator army is featured in the current issue of Warhammer Visions! That's issue 22 / November, in the Blanchitsu column. This is a real dream come true and the photographs all came out really cool. It's so strange seeing the models that I hacked together in my attic on the familiar studio terrain and under professional lights and cameras. I wish I could tell my 15 year old self.
First off, I finally got my hands on Warhammer Visions, and I'm thrilled. It's so wonderful seeing my models photographed professionally. And in addition to some fun orange lights in some shots (which work very nicely with all the orange accents on the models) they've kind of cranked the saturation across the board, which actually looks great. I originally intended the army to be colorful and crazy (thinking along the lines of the color palettes in Lynch movies, City of Lost Children/Delicatessen, as well as Chris Foss, Moebius, and Rogue Trader) but somehow everything ended up a bit neutral and drab. They look good up close and under bright painting lights, but when I played with them at Adepticon I was disappointed by how grey they looked at arms length in flat lighting.
So in a way the Blanchitsu photos kind of capture how I always intended the models to look, which is a great and unexpected outcome. I also love how they included bits of my fluff and the ridiculous names (only one mistake; the drop ship is meant to be Pentiment as in "pentimento/i", not Penitent).
The whole experience is really inspiring, and I've got big exciting plans for the Household. I just put in an order for the parts I need to build a squad or two of new henchmen, who will a more uniform and professional group of warriors than my current rag-tag groups of misfits (don't worry, they will still be very much in the style of the army).
And I've already started on another brand new Navigator, who I think will nicely embody another facet of the Navigator concept that I haven't properly explored yet, the type of Navigator who would be more easily imagined working with Imperial Naval Commanders and negotiating deals in the chambers of Holy Terra. I think eventually I'll have a whole group of Navigators who each embody one of the aspects of the concept as I see it:
The God King (Lebbeus)
The Enlightened Dreamer (the twins)
The Veiled Children (the exo-suits)
The Living Relic (the exo-knight)
The Holy Abomination (coming soon!)
The Courtly Envoy (coming soon!)
The Armored Prince (coming soon!)
They will be joined by their most trusted retainers and servants:
The Fool (the lobotomized fat navigator)
The Priest (Beaconite with the astronaut helmet)
The Doctor (see below)
Maybe the Armored Prince will be demoted from a Navigator and become a new Master of Arms instead. We'll see.
In any case, I've finally figured out how I'm going to complete the households' representative from the Adeptus Mechanicus, colony mind Magos Paracelsus Takwin:
The legs are built from the actuators on the Onager Dunecrawler's big legs, parts of the Skitarii Radium Carbines, and parts of what I think are old IG mortars. The pelvis is a Scout torso. The strangest part is of course the giant muscular arm (which will be better integrated with greenstuff), but I think this Magos is either entirely a Genetor (interested in creating living weapons through genetic manipulation and transplant surgery), or at the very least a mix of Genetors and more conventiional, mechanically minded Magos heads. Paracelsus will also get a few more arms and weapons.
And although I keep coming up with exciting new things to build, don't worry, I have not forgotten about painting. In fact, I actually primed a bunch of stuff and have everything ready to start painting in earnest. Just warming up with some practice on the Underhive terrain before I paint the Volt Oxides and the Buddha headed twins:
Congrats man! Your models look amazing when photographed professionally like that. I really love the direction you are taking exploring the same themes in depth, especially the creepy organic constucts.
@Doombiscuit: they came to me (via the Ammobunker).
I've been working on a few different projects at the same time, and have in fact started painting the tech gang, but don't have any of that ready to share yet.
But I do have some photos of the newest version of the baby-headed Navigator:
Obviously, I finally bought the amazing Techpriest Dominus. Such a beautiful model! I was originally going to do a fairly straightforward conversion and just put a navigator head on it, but ended up with this instead. I think I prefer this combination to the ape-body quadruped. I'm sure I'll find a use for that ape body at some point; maybe it really is meant to be a steed as originally intended.
I like how this combination reduces the Navigator to basically just a floating head, a type of huge servo-skull. It also shares a design space with the Zooanthrope in a way, which makes sense, both engineered psychic constructs. I think of this creature as having a withered, almost vestigial body, supported by suspensors and carried by the robotic leg apparatus hidden beneath the cloak. I think just some greenstuffing around the face and some more tubes and rivets and I'll call it done.
In fluff terms, maybe this baby-head and the twins are siblings, part of a new generation engineed by Lebbeus and his doctor in an attempt to create battle navigators with offensive warp-eye capabilities, with resulting abnormalities both physical and mental ...
Anyway, Bruticus suggested I switch the body the other way around, which I've mocked up very crudely with photoshop here:
I'm not sure which arrangment I prefer. Any opinions?
I think this is one of my favorite starts to your conversions so far! Long time lurker. It is so interesting that you posted this today. Literally earlier today, MIGS on Ironsleet posted his Bonesinger Librarian, which has a insanely similar look.
As far as your question, I think i like the second configuration, but that is just my opinion.
Beautiful work as always. Keep up the inspirational work.
I think the original configuration could work if you have something to fill in the dead space that the crescent shape creates in the original. Perhaps filling it with mechanical arms/tendrils?
With that second configuration, that tube or pipe looks like a little withered leg with the foot replaced, gives the impression that the navigator is riding on whatever contraption is under that robe, just like a toddler on a hobby horse, you know, one of those horse heads on a stick; now I'm thinking about the goblins at the end of the film Labyrinth:
Spoiler:
Also, Brian Froud's artwork shares a certain style with what your making here in a way.
A cyber-hobby horse, that would interesting, reinforce the baby/toddler nature of the thing by giving it a toy, but maybe a living one, makes the navigator creepy but pitiful. And lace, the model is crying out for some lace fills/a ruff; you could probably print out a pattern on paper, place it over some thinly rolled Green Stuff and then use a pin to poke through the paper and that would give the lace impression on the Green Stuff which could be wrapped up to make some lace cuffs and whatnot. Just some ideas anyway. Awesome models as always!
What I like about the first one is the lack of intent to it. The head and pose suggest that the Navigator is an impotent blind thing, and the body is blindly crawling forward. It looks more ethereal and disconnected from its surroundings, like the legs under the robe lead the way and the head follows like a balloon on a string
The second one I like because it makes it seem more malevolent. The sort of knowing crawl forward. This horrific beafic monstrosity inching it's way towards you.
I suppose now that I've laid my thoughts out here, I prefer the first, but I won't mind in the slightest if you go with the second.
Both orientations have positives and negatives, TBH.
The original body orientation looks a bit like it's retreating - I think it could be made to look like it's crawling forward from under him, but then the fabric portions of the cloak would need to be tweaked as the loose ends are flopping the wrong way.
Thanks everybody!
Gogsnik: I love Labirynth and Brian Froud! Hobby horse is a great connection to mate.
I'm still not sure what I'll do with the floating head navigator, but I went ahead and chopped it up so I could really try out the Bruticus pattern arrangement:
It definitely works but I may go back to the original. For now I'm setting it aside and mulling it over but more feedback is of course appreciated.
In the meantime, I've got another new Navigator to share. I like the idea of having a group of Navigators who each represent a different aspect of Navigatorness. I've got Lebbeus on his throne (mutant, god-like, king-like) and the twins (transcendent psychic buddhas), and now the Holy Abomination (ghostly etherial living icon). All 3 also combining spacesuit motifs with Blanchean grim-darkness of course.
But I haven't made anything approaching the classic archetypical Navigator, the type you'd expect to see in the broader Imperium, piloting a Naval ship or negotiating contracts in a palace on Terra. So I thought I should give it a try, and decided to focus especially on the noble, aristocratic side of the archetype.
A few months ago while finishing my Tech gang I started to ask myself how I would similarly update any of the other classic Confrontation forces. Instead of recreating the wonderful old Jes Goodwin designs I doodled some ideas for a new direction for the Brats (or just a subfaction of Brats): Spire-heads, who are so proud of the spires they were born in that they wear miniature fascimilies on their backs and heads.
The imperial spire motif would extend to their arched platform geta shoes, etc. The idea seemed fun (I dearly love early medieval church frescos and mosaics that feature patrons wearing or holding tiny buildings) so I started putting together a spirehead brat:
It just wasn't as good as my sketches and I decided to shelve it and focus on the tech gangers. I actually ended up using the spirehead hat ornament as the warpvane antennae on the Buddha twins. But then I got the Techpriest Dominus model and wanted to find a use for the great cane-arm bit, and before you know it, I had this guy:
(earlier wip shot but with the cane in place)
I've given him elongated limbs as well as a stretched out head (a blood angel head that's been cut in two below the nose and elongated) as his personal mutation.
Pre-greenstuffing head:
And here's an earlier photo that shows both how his legs are built and how he fits in with his cousins:
I'm quite happy with the sculpting on the legs and boots but more detail is to come. I may give him a closed warp-eye if I can pull off the sculpting (seems more appropriate for a diplomat). And I have no idea what I'll do for his left arm. I like the idea of him not holding a weapon but it's an awkward pose for an empty hand, so I will probably end up with a fancy dueling pistol or a big staff.
Here you can see just how tall he is. i like to think he was chosen for his role as a diplomat not only becuase he appears almost human, but because of his imposing, regal frame.
I love the sketches. They are very Blanche IMO. Is there any way to integrate Battlefleet Gothic bits for the Cathedral head? Also I am thinking of the little robot from the Space Hulk set (probably very hard to get). Cant wait to see where it goes!
Your Spire-Head concept is very Jodorowsky's Dune. Such hilarious gothic excess, and yet you pulled it off pretty well. Not to denigrate your current nav, he's pretty spectacular too.
Here are some more random sketches. First, Neil over at ammobunker suggested a visor on the Navigator as a Rogue Trader reference (Navigators back then were depicted with long baseball hat like blast shield visors). Some rough concepts:
And some older sketches including more Necromunda faction ideas (Ant Herders) as well a variant Spyrer idea (Imperalists).
And I found some sketches from months ago that I think where the origin of the current lanky navigator.
And with all this talk of Necromunda coming back, some quick doodles exploring ways to update the designs of Van Saar and Orlocks (two of the house gangs in need of updating in my opinion, especially Orlocks).
I present an early shot of some Beaconite Lodge Warriors. These hulking brutes are selected from the most devout pilgrims of the Beaconite cult*, and given a radical course of experimental treatments by Merz-Itano technicians and Doctor Paracelsus Takwin. Muscles bulked by chem implants, limbs extended with bionics, and faces hidden behind ceremonial void helms, Lodge Warriors present a formidable impression, making them valued not only as shock troops but as ceremonial body guards.
Here one is seen escorting House Emissary Choam Hanza Tairel Merz-Itano:
*As previously outlined in this thread, The Beaconite cult is a lesser known derivation of the Imperial faith which venerates the Astronomicon as the true form of the Emperor, and therefor sees Navigators as especially holy. House Merz-Itano encourages the faith both within their household staff and throughout their trade routes, with Novator Lebbeus proclaimed as a type of Messiah and divine interpreter of the great beacon.
The Beconite Lodge Warriors are looking fantastic! There is something almost poetic about cutting up the AoS Starter set to create beautiful Inq28 models! Both you and Migsula have really made some inspiring pieces with the kit.
Great concept as usual although the legs on the leftmost and rightmost warriors seem a bit too wide for the torsos which doesn't seem to be the case with the middle three. Maybe it's the angle. The whole idea and background though is great, seems so much more 40k-y than the mainstream armies, it's brilliant, love it!
Thanks so much guys! I hadn't seen the AoS figures in person so I wasn't sure the torsos would actually work on the legs. It took a lot of fiddling to make them work at all, even if some are a bit off. I'm hoping when I add arms and more heads and more bits things will come together more.
I think I can safely assume everyone who reads this forum is thinking about Star Wars right now! I have to teach tonight so unfortunately can't see the Force Awakens tonight, but I do have tickets for tomorrow. So in honor of Star Wars, I'd like to share a new space-craft I've been building for House Merz-Itano.
This is what I'm calling The Landing Pavillion. It still has a lot more gap-filling and detailing to go (don't worry, there will be lots of rivets, hoses, and more skulls and wings), and the Krazy Glue tubes you see there will eventually be connected by flying buttress type supports, so the big engine array at the bottom doesn't rest directly on the ground.
You can see this thing is cobbled together from all manner of junk, including some old Apple products (not sure if Migsula would approve or not!), much like an old fashioned movie space ship model. The gw bits are mostly from the Onager Dunwalker and the Taurox. As is usual for me, inspirations include old movie models, Chris Foss, Kurt Schwitters, LebbeusWoods, and Antonio Sant'elia.
The apple-mouse based protuberance is meant to represent a void shield emitter (and to mirror the shapes of the helmets on my void suits of course), because in 40k games I plan to use this as a Void Shield Generator. The idea is this is a specialized landing-craft that deploys wherever important Navigators go, cloaking them in a protective field.
The porthole type windows will be covered with my gold chrome foil, and right now I'm thinking the body will be either a dark teal-grey or maybe be painted all gold, because then I could call it the Golden Pavillion.
When I first saw this, I was thinking, "What is that, some kind of projector? Medical equipment?" Granted, this is only after my first cup of morning coffee, so my eyes weren't quite focusing correctly.
That is going to be a seriously impressive piece of machinery. It'll be a great piece to play "spot the bitz" with.
I actually put a rough iris shutter type hatch at the bottom of the ship, up inside the ring of "engines". Not the safest point of egress after a landing but this is an Imperial vehicle after all. Maybe I'll add a higher up door that would be for use with a gantry on in an airlock on a big ship.
Spot the bitz indeed; with all the pharmaceutical junk I used you can also spot my monthly drug prescriptions.
This thread is pure gold. Glad to see it getting the recognition it deserves. Makes me think there is hope for GW after all. I thought they had turned against all forms of conversion recently. I've gotten a ton of ideas in just two pages... Your creativity is amazing!
When I first saw this, I was thinking, "What is that, some kind of projector? Medical equipment?" Granted, this is only after my first cup of morning coffee, so my eyes weren't quite focusing correctly.
Same!
I can't want to see what you do to this next. Keep up the good work!
I have no words to even describe it but the dropship is just amazing the detail and balance of its design just looks perfect great job.
I will investigate further 
