Bert's Bionic Workshop - threads merged here

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**BertBert**

I've been assembling my own Ordo Xenos Inquisitorial retinue and looking for suitable single miniatures to include. Please feel free to share your comments, ideas and suggestions both in terms of modeling opportunities and lore, because there are still some pieces missing, most notably the Inquisitor

This is what I've got so far:

Kroot tracker with hound
I'm also building the farstalker band, so this was a no-brainer. I love kroot and the ability to trace people and events by feeding on DNA seems like a skill an Inquisitor would be able to use to his advantage.

Delaque Nacht-Ghul
The assassin/saboteur of the group. I like the sculpt quite a bit and the delaque are tied to the pisceans, which explains the connection to the Ordo Xenos.

Suppressed GSC Locus
This one is probably one of the more unorthodox choices, but the sculpt is just too good to not use it in some capacity. I've stripped all the GSC iconography but left his alien features intact. The seals fit the theme quite well and all that's left to do is add a nice

to his hood.

The idea behind this character is that he survived the tyranid assault he himself helped to prepare. When things went bad and his charge, the local cult magos, turned on him, he had a sliver of self-preservation left and fought his way out of immediate danger, only to be captured, studied and eventually requisitioned by an Inquisitor who was tasked with investigating the local GSC infestation at the time. His genetically induced delusion is constantly suppressed by the surgical and mental interventions of ordo xenos scientists, but the procedure has not been entirely successful.
His body remains in this altered state and he is walking a fine line between regression and redemption. He is now serving in the retinue of his captor and appears to be loyal to his cause, but he will always remain an element of uncertainty that has to be managed carefully.

**PaddyMick**

Great stuff so far. You've certainly inspired me to start thinking about doing one myself, and if I have any ideas or come across any minis that might suit you i'll shout. Looking forward to seeing your progress. One thing that might be cool is a xenos transport/gunship - like a tau devilfish or something.

**BertBert**

PaddyMick wrote:
Great stuff so far. You've certainly inspired me to start thinking about doing one myself, and if I have any ideas or come across any minis that might suit you i'll shout. Looking forward to seeing your progress. One thing that might be cool is a xenos transport/gunship - like a tau devilfish or something.

I'm glad to have passed on some of my excitement, looking forward to what you will cook up! A transport is a great addition that had not crossed my mind and the Devilfish is a fantastic kit with lots of potential for customization and conversions. I've built a couple before and with two side doors, a back ramp and the option to fit a recon drone into the top slot it has a lot to work with.

On the other hand I'm not sure if using a full-on xenocraft might be a step too far towards the radical end of the spectrum. I'd have to "Imperialize" it to some extent to make it work for me. Like there probably wouldn't be any drones attached because they are functionally AI driven IIRC, so I'd probably add some visual clues that they have been cognitively restrained in some way (maybe by integrating a servo-skull?) or replace them with regular gun mounts altogether.

The idea is very intriguing though, I have to admit.

**El Torro**

Inquistorial retinues are always fun to see, and yours is no exception.

Regarding other models, are you sticking to GW or are other sculpts fair game too? There are plenty of models out there that look sci fi and xenos. Even the more exotic D&D / fantasy models out there could work, with some repurposing of weapons.

If you're looking for new recruits then a Jokaero Weaponsmith wouldn't go amiss

Either the current model or a kitbash / alternative model.

Looking forward to see what else you cook up.

**BertBert**

Quick update on the GSC Locus:

I wasn't quite happy with the way the hood covered his face, so I took him apart and used the other options instead. I also fixed the head at an angle that alters the pose to be slightly less two-dimensional and gives the miniature a more sinister character. I have another GSC head in the mail that I liked a bit better because it has both scars and the nose tube, so that one is hopefully coming next week. For now I just have to decide whether to attache the blade(s) to his back or leave him as is.

**youwashock**

I like the new direction for the Locus. Cool looking group. I wouldn't worry about adding weapons to him. It could be more menacing to not have anything obvious.

**BertBert**

youwashock wrote:
I like the new direction for the Locus. Cool looking group. I wouldn't worry about adding weapons to him. It could be more menacing to not have anything obvious.

Thanks, I guess you are right. The kit comes with two sword options and both attach very weirdly to his back, so they'd probably detract more than add to the model.

**Pariah Press**

Very cool start to a warband! I agree that the locus looks better in the second version.

**StudentOfEtherium**

oh, I adore this idea. I've been planning to get some henchmen units to go along with the inquisitors for my custodes army— the main units are going to be cawdor guys, because this fits the aesthetic I want, but this has me thinking about what else i could use to spice them up...

but getting back on topic! I think a wayward ork could be fun. something like, he's happy to stick around since he keeps finding new and interesting things to fight when he's around them. not sure if eldar rangers would be redundant with the kroot, but it could fit the locus and nacht-ghul visually. a haemonculus, too, as the group's "doctor"

**BertBert**

StudentOfEtherium wrote:
... a haemonculus, too, as the group's "doctor"

The doctor is already being worked on. It's not going to be a haemonculus, but I hope I can show the first pictures this weekend

**Shadow Walker**

That new Locus is much better. Great job!

**KidCthulhu**

This is some great work and it makes me want to work on my Inquisition groups again.

Must... resist... posting... pics.... in.... someone... else's... post...

**BertBert**

Small update!

The good doctor still has not arrived, but I've managed to make some progress on another member.

After thinking a lot about what my inquisitor should look like, and not finding a satisfying answer, I decided to start at the lower ranks and build an interrogator instead. He's a bit of a loose cannon, bounty hunter sort of character, who spends a lot of time in space ports tracking down xenos targets, sourcing artifacts and technology, mingling with xenos and xenarites alike. He's the man for the every day dirty work the Inquisitor would be to busy to deal with in person.

My inspiration was my very own RT gunslinger main character:

Spoiler:

I still had a single unbuit arbites model around providing all the armored body parts, which I had to rearrange to achieve this pose.
The shuriken pistols are from the KT corsair kit, the cape is from the Admech Infitrators and the head is one of the navy breachers.

He's still very much WIP but I'm quite happy with how he's turning out so far. Needs a few more bits and bobs here and there, and some GS work for the eye lenses or another head altogether. The delaque gang kit has a few that come with lenses, so I might have to check eBay for those.

Suggestions are always welcome, of course!

**KidCthulhu**

Great kitbash!

**youwashock**

Sweet mini. Nice gunslingin' vibes.

**BertBert**

And on we go, this time with the Ordo Xenos Inquisitor:

Kyria Draxus never really worked for me out of the box, because there was just too much weirdness going on, but I was sure there was a great sculpt hidden somewhere underneath. I really like the general setup with shuriken catapult + power fist and the exotic xenotech-enhanced power armour, so I kept those elements, separating only the strange head, the cogwheel magazine on the shuriken catapult and the little dragon familiar. This was done to break the model down to its basic components that now needed to be re-arranged and expanded upon gradually.

Then I pinned the left leg to extend it outwards at the hip joint. This was useful to open the pose a bit and change it from a foward march to stationary and pointing. I also carfully bent the plastic at the left ankle, so she'd be standing upright. To accommodate this change, I made a small cut at the right ankle and bent that foot downwards, so it would be flush with the floor.

Next step was to alter the angle on the gun arm. I wanted to have the gun extend to her right side, to visually counter balance the pointing power fist. So I cut the arm at the elbow, pinned the shoulder to the torso and the forearm to the shoulder. Then I played around a bit and, when I had decided on the final position, I glued the pins into place.

The overall very rounded armor design does have a female quality to it, so I wanted to keep her female. Luckily, I still had a spare head from the navy breacher kill team around which fit perfectly (inquisitors need eye lenses). She is surprisingly small, so I decided to replace her familiar with something else and increase her overall silhouette that way. The servo skull, taken from the phobos captain sprue, turned out to be a nice fit.

I then closed all the gaps with modelling putty, and boy are there gaps on this sculpt. Now, I'm only looking for something to fill the smoothed out space on the shuriken catapult. I didn't like the cogwheel, but now there is too much empty space for my taste. I will try to shave off an

somewhere and add it to the gun as a signifier that this particular piece of xenotech has been thoroughly vetted and deemed "acceptable" for use by the Inquisitor. One last idea is to cut off the power fist's finger tips and replace them with blades from the flayed ones' scissor hands, but I'm unsure whether to commit to that or not.

Hope you like it, please feel free leave comments and suggestions!

**Nevelon**

Purity seals also cover a lot of sins, both model gaps/details and heresy. So if you can’t find a good =I= icon, just slap a few around.

**BertBert**

Nevelon wrote:
Purity seals also cover a lot of sins, both model gaps/details and heresy. So if you can’t find a good =I= icon, just slap a few around.

Good call, I'll have to see what I can "requisition" from my bits box...

**KidCthulhu**

The head swap does wonders, but dismantling the RT Shuriken Catapult hurts me as a 2nd Eldar player

But seriously, this is some great work. The best conversions are the ones where you can't tell are conversions.

**StudentOfEtherium**

looks great! definitely a standout inquisitor (wouldn't have realized you were using another inquisitor body without it being pointed out)

**BertBert**

BertBert wrote:
I've decided it's about time to open a dedicated thread and dump all the conversions and projects I've been working on lately, so here we are.
I hope you like some of the stuff and get some inspiration for your own projects. Feel free to comment and ask questions if you're inclined to do so.

1st entry: The Inquisitor

Spoiler:

This guy is a kitbash from the DW Watch master, various Deathwatch bits, a Grey Knight Force Staff and head as well as a random Bolt Pistol I discovered in a bitshop – a nice little detail to give him a personal touch. He's nothing too fancy but I like how he turned out. He's supposed to be a psyker that channels his force into his bolt rounds and whacks heretics with his staff if they get too close. I contemplated giving him a grey knight teleporter back pack at first, but eventually decided that would be a bit over the top.

The DW proportions work well for GW's "modern" human scale, as he is distinctly smaller than primaris and more or less in scale with Necromunda humans. Not sure what ordo he's supposed to belong to, that will have to be determined by the rest of his entourage and the narrative I'm planning to spin around him and other conversion projects. I have an Arco Flagellant lined up already, but the I'm still looking for suitable members. Suggestions are very welcome!

Automatically Appended Next Post:
2nd entry: Exalted Dark Apostle – The Antagonist

Spoiler:

This is a kitbash from the original Dark Apostle, whom I somehow managed to fuse to the legs of a Greater Possessed. The head I'm not too sure about, but I believe it's from the current CSM kit. The mace head was taken from one of the chosen CSM from Dark Vengeance.
Here we have the foil to my Inquisitor – and quite a large one to tackle, as this one is a veritable monster both in size and temperament (about Primaris Scale, maybe a tad bigger). This is basically the final boss for my inquisitorial undertaking.

Automatically Appended Next Post:
3rd entry: The house of Shadows – Piscean Symbiote

Spoiler:

Originally, I was planning to buy this new Necromunda kit only for the Nacht-Ghul and sell the rest off, but oh boy did this kit spark an unexpected late night conversion session. The way the sprues are laid out, you basically get each bit twice. Only some of those, however, are used across different miniatures, so you get a bunch of leftover bits for your bitsbox. A couple of hours later (and deciding to keep the big Psy-Gheist after all for the claws), this abomination is what I had come up with. It's still a bit rough around the edges, but this is basically it.

I named it Piscean Symbiote – a Delaque Psy-Gheist that merged their consciousness with one of the Piscean offerings to create an even more potent psyker. Its body has been reduced to the bare necessities and inserted into a floating vessel, which houses the Pisceans brain and facilitates their symbiosis.
A cunning schemer and a dangerous foe on the battlefield who can match (or even surpass?) my Inquisitor in his psychic prowess and employs Delaque agents to further their own nefarious ends.

**BrookM**

I'll be looking forward to seeing what you create, I am a sucker for a good kitbash / conversion, especially of the =][= sort. 🤘🏻