Hi all! This blog has been running for quite a while, and I like to think that my skills have improved significantly since the first few pages. I've posted below a few more recent images that I'm proud of in terms of both painting and sculpting, but after these please feel free to skip to the latest page.
Thanks so much for the kind words and the welcome! Solid sly was fun to make, and I thought the magic stealth box fitted Marbo's 'appear from nowhere' style quite well. At the moment, he's just a stand in, but I'm happy to use him in a game if noone complains
I've made a strap for the sentinel pilot's lasgun now, and am soon to paint up his ML, so hopefully you'll see the finished article pretty soon.
warpcrafter wrote:So, are you going to name every one of your guardsmen? That's gonna get tiresome after awhile.
I'm planning on it! I tend to take a while over single minis and like them to be at least a little individual, and I think naming helps with that. Some of the names are from people who asked for particular models, and some are from movies / books / imagination! I quite like naming the base when a model's done - it's a nice sense of finality, even if a mini's never really finished...
Next up on my to do list is another demo charge veteran, but I'm using the 'crew' model that GW released this year. Will get it up as soon as it's done!
EDIT 6/7/17 Original first post, removed from above:
Hey everyone! This is a showcase blog for my campaign setting and Necromunda gangs. I've got some fairly extensive fluff, but I appreciate that a lot of people aren't really interested in that kind of thing, so I've spoilered anything too long, and you can feel free to scan over the pictures. I'd absolutely love to hear what you think, so please fire away.
TL;DR campaign fluff - Caitiff is a planet recently returned to Imperial control. It’s economy boomed on the offworld export of a mineral known as rusinate. As supplies dwindled, unrest developed, and Easthollow hive eventually fell during a civil war, triggering an environmental disaster. An evacuation was planned, but only a miniscule proportion of the planet's population were able to reach evacuation points. The planet now has no system of government and conditions are anarchic outside of several larger settlements. Much of the air on the surface is poisonous, though settlements have sprung up in pockets of clearer air, and hive cities with their own air filtration systems remain. Major factions include Ridgeway's Remnants - a small community originating from civilian and PDF remnants; the Quadring Accord - a group originating from prisons and penal legions; the Hollows – a community of oppressed survivors of Easthollow, many of whom are twisted by the effects of rusinate runoff; and a few others. The two main gangs at the moment are the 21st Jackals (the first gang), affiliated with the Remnants; and a scavenging cell of the QA (the second). Hope you enjoy!
Info on the planet setting: (I reckon this one is pretty important, but spoilered anyway for those who aren't really interested )
Spoiler:
Caitiff is a medium-small temperate world on the outer southern fringe of Imperial-controlled space. Its population once stood at around 15bn, with several small hive cities containing the vast majority of the population. Its income and value to the Imperium came from a rich supply of rusinate below its surface, a material essential in the production of, among other things, bolter cartridges, temperature regulation cells and in the refinement of various mineral ores. For several hundred years after its reintegration, Caitiff prospered – a bolstered economy, protection and trade with newly contacted Imperial fleets produced a new upper class of self-made industrialists and traders.
As stocks of rusinate dwindled, however, so too did Caitiff’s value to the Imperium. With a relatively small population and little other minerals of value, the off-world contact and trade that had been the life blood of the new Caitiff slowly ebbed away. The economy suffered, and rising food prices and increasingly squalid living conditions kicked off a process of grumbling unrest among the working classes of Caitiff’s larger cities. The planetary governor at the time, Dyran Lavenne, was a corrupt bureaucrat widely recognised to be in the pocket of various industry moguls, and little to no relief effort occurred. Food riots in Skew Hive and The Point were met with live fire from PDF forces, and an increasingly brutal arbite force enforced draconian ‘austerity laws’, leading to the disappearance of many dissenters. Civil war seemed a certainty. A number of popular resistance groups arose, and a pattern of ‘liberated’ population centres being mercilessly retaken by government forces began to emerge. Civilian casualties numbered in the hundreds of thousands, but it was only when several companies of the PDF defected to the rebel cause that the rebellion became a real and credible threat. Reports of executions and massacres on both sides could not be verified.
The downfall of the government of Caitiff didn’t come through military action, however, but through accident, poor construction and bad luck. The last hive city to spring up on Caitiff was different from the others. Over thousands of years as the previous cities had grown, councils had been elected to ensure adequate ventilation, constant power and water supply, and structural integrity of the spire itself. Most of these councils were hereditary positions, chosen from the educated and wealthy elite. Some were benevolent, some self-interested, but all ensured the safe growth of their cities, both in height and spread. Easthollow, however, was in essence a vertical shantytown, a swaying and ever-expanding structure that sprang up over less than two hundred years. It was composed entirely of the dwellings, both official and makeshift, of workers employed at the hundreds of vast rusinate refineries that made up the hive city’s base, and whilst an Easthollow council did exist, its members were hand-picked by the plant owners. At every turn, the council made concessions in the name of ‘austerity’, pocketing the funds that went unspent. A looming tower of plasteel, corrugated metal and scavenged building materials, housing a workforce of labourers widely considered disposable, run and maintained by a panel of corrupt and uninterested industrialists. It was a miracle that the hive stood as long as it did.
It’s unclear exactly what happened on the day that Easthollow collapsed, and survivor’s accounts are few and far between. It’s known that the ventilation system for one area of the hive was damaged in a wilful act of sabotage by a small rebel cell, though it’s unlikely that they were fully aware of what kind of chain reaction they were setting into motion. As their bomb, fashioned from stolen mining and factory equipment, exploded, Sector 12, location of one of the largest reactors powering the spire, lost both atmosphere and temperature regulation. The fires that started in the sector should have been stopped by auto-regulated flooding systems put in place to protect the lives of the inhabitants in such an emergency, but these never engaged, even as the fires spread into the power plant itself. Immense explosions ripped through the facility, containment domes failing and contingency measures overcome. It is likely that the colossal supporting beams housed in the area collapsed or melted in the intense heat, bringing entire layers of the hive down with them. The sudden and immense pressure on a single quadrant of a structure already weakened by cheap materials and years of poor maintenance proved too much to bear, and in less than an hour, the hive tore itself apart.
Refinement of rusinate is not a clean process. Several of the by-products produced are toxic to both plant and animal life even in miniscule amounts, and many of the radioactive elements have a half-life of thousands of years. Official policy required all waste from the process to be shipped off-world as soon as it was produced, and conveyed to planets designated ‘dead’ for long-term storage. This course of action was, of course, highly expensive, and many unscrupulous plant owners had taken to storing waste on site until such a quantity had been produced for a more efficient round trip. This efficiency measure proved disastrous with the collapse of Easthollow hive, and millions of tons of untreated industrial waste escaped into the atmosphere.
In the weeks following the incident at Easthollow, it became quickly apparent as the death toll rose that there was no containing the environmental pollutants, even if the various warring factions could put aside their differences long enough to enact a plan. Evacuation of ‘loyal citizens’ of the planet was organised by the planetary government, but woefully few evacuation centres were arranged, and rebel blockades, rioting, and bandit roadblocks made travel all but impossible. It is estimated that of the entire population, less than 1 million people were on board when the evacuation ships left for good.
The current story on Caitiff takes place fifteen years after the ‘evacuation’, and the planet is a very different place. The air on the surface itself is in many areas poisonous, though microclimate and uneven spread of the toxins from Easthollow results in wide variation - small pockets of more hospitable land exist, whereas the radiation in some areas would kill a man within hours. The atmosphere has thinned, and water vapour is scarce, resulting in sweltering days and freezing nights. Plant life, too, has been all but extinguished on the surface, and sprawling cities stand empty and abandoned – almost all surviving humans live in the vast hives, where filtration systems ensure relatively clean air to breathe. Humanity still thrives, adapting as it always has, and small, self-governing settlements exist throughout the world. Supply leads to wealth, and the settlements near clean water or functioning manufactorums quickly grew in power. With no central government, though, war and conflict are constant. Manufacture still takes place, though with no off-world interest raw materials are scarce. Scavengers pick through the corpses of the old world for technology that can no longer be reproduced, or simply materials or product that would be useful to surviving communities. This work is lucrative, but dangerous – many a team of fully equipped soldiers has failed to return from relatively simple pick-ups. Hardier creatures still stalk the surface – wiry, venomous nightmares that occasionally find their way into the deeper depths of the towering cities. Outside of the rudimentary justice system of the settlements, anarchy reigns, and gangs of murderous outlaws and bandits control vast swathes of the surface. Dark rumours persist of cannibalistic or mutated sects sweeping the land (always one continent over, or in an uncontactable hive); or of hive cities on the other side of the planet unaffected by the toxins, where crops still grow, the air is clear and clean water flows. The sensible take these stories for what they are. Life is hard on Caitiff, but, for better or worse, humanity prevails.
Area map and some important settlements:
Spoiler:
Pinepoint: A large settlement run by Ridgeway's Remnants in the mountains North East of the Skew, Pinepoint used to be a Mechanicus centre for research on hydroponics. It was founded by Lukas Ridgeway, a Captain of the loyalist PDF who had once served in a company defending the facility. Unlike many of the other settlements outside of the hive that unfortunate survivors flocked to for shelter after Easthollow fell, Pinepoint's high altitude kept it mainly clear of toxins, and the air remained relatively safe to breathe. As the air throughout the surface cleared in the months following the crisis and residents of the Skew ventured back onto the surface, Pinepoint rose to be a centre of trade. The mechanicus equipment provided a unique ability to grow various fresh crops and foodstuffs, enough even to sell to outsiders for vital equipment - it was not long before Pinepoint became a waypoint on every travelling merchant caravan's route. Many of the settlers are previous members of the PDF, and a military training program keeps Pinepoint relatively safe from raiders. Leader: Lukas Ridgeway
Quadring: A former penitentiary overtaken by it's denizens in the days shortly before the evac. It's residents were sheltered during the months of toxic air by retreating into a network of underground cells and the extensive mines where the convicts worked. Originally, Quadring survived as a settlement by providing manpower for the construction and protection of the new settlements that sprang up around it, though with changes in leadership the citizens of Quadring have a history of raiding and enslaving the nearby populace. Most residents of Quadring are vilified by the citizens of the local wasteland, and with rumours that their supplies of food are dwindling, many are hoping that the settlement will not stand for much longer. Leader: The Warden
Roth: A settlement found right on the border of The Skew, 3 domes below the surface. A centuries-old leak from high on the spire has run off the outer dome throughout living memory, providing a filter for the poisonous air. With the effluent come spoils from the hive above, and the water erodes deep into the underhive, bringing many treasure hunters to the area. The constant flow of water and sewage has cracked many older domes around Roth, and though the risk of flash floods and hivequakes is high, the lure of archeotech draws many. Surrounded on most sides by water, Roth provides a safe, though expensive route into and out of the Hive, and relative shelter from the foul climate of the surface above. Leader: Rena Crane
The Hulks: Formerly an offshore fuel derrick, attached to the Skew only by a walkway of pipes several miles long. In the days that followed the Easthollow disaster, many ships docked at the derrick, their contact with the anarchic mainland lost. Over time, the crew of the ships began to intermingle, developing their own roles and jobs within the group. Eventually, the vessels were bolted together, and a complex system of walkways, gantries and platforms was formed. Over the years that followed, the settlement of The Hulks grew, with vast structures springing up on the floating city. The water that surrounds them protects the Hulks from both bandits and toxins, and many crave the relative safety of a home there. The residents of the Hulk survive by selling prometheum siphoned from the derrick and food caught from the sea, as well as charging toll for entry to thier boats. Active Hulk wagon trains sell their produce in the hive. Leader: Tharan Locke
Info on Jackal cells:
Spoiler:
Among the residents of Pinepoint, service is required for citizenship. Outsiders, paid in credits, alcohol or food, are hired for work, but military service is a requirement to stay within the relatively safe and desirable Remnant settlements. Ridgeway was criticised harshly for the introduction of this system, but he called for realism among his people – there simply were not the resources or room to shelter everyone who came begging. Despite this, he relented, saying that those too weak or ill to serve could also be sheltered provided another within their group would serve double time to take their place.
Newcomers wishing for full citizenship in Pinepoint or one of the smaller Remnant settlements had two options – work with Ridgeway’s Remnants themselves, or service in a Jackal team. The Remnants were a form of defence force and military police. Once given brief training, they would carry out local patrols outside the settlement, settle disputes between citizens, and form the only line of defence should the settlement be attacked. They were reasonably well equipped, with each ‘volunteer’ issued a rifle and armour from the remaining PDF stockpile, to be returned at the end of their service. Whether this equipment was still functional was another question. The minimum service within a Remnant squad is one year, though many stay longer than this. With steady (though meagre) pay, free equipment, and a relatively stable lifestyle, service in the Remnants is seen by many as a great way to live.
For those wishing to finish their service sooner, give something back to the community, or simply the poor misguided souls bored with life in the settlement and seeking adventure, joining a Jackal cell is an alternative option. Usually led by a veteran of the PDF, Jackals receive no training, no equipment and have no official instructions. There is no fixed term on service within a Jackal cell, but the cell is dissolved once it is judged to have acquired a resource of “significant value” to the settlement itself. The Jackal cells are usually a ragtag group with scavenged or homemade weapons and armour, and many have not returned after leaving the safety of Pinepoint. Others have forged trade routes with other settlements, discovered large caches of fuel or medical equipment in the wastes, or travelled to old military bases to pick through the broken equipment left behind. Some have been rumoured to have sacked other settlements for the resources they own. No questions are asked as to how the gain was made, but those proven to have stolen or murdered face the full force of Remnant justice. Any weapons and equipment that a Jackal may come across during their service are theirs to keep. Service with a Jackal cell is seen as a quicker way to gain citizenship in Pinepoint itself, but few are fully aware of the dangers that they face when they sign up.
THE 21st JACKALS
Murdock
Leader of the 21st Jackal cell. Claims to have been a sergeant in the PDF, but carries a lot of ‘non-standard’ equipment. He has spent many years on the scavenger teams training and living with Jackals, far more than his required service. If asked, he tells people that it’s because he upset a high ranking officer in the Remnant forces themselves, but other stories have been suggested. Some believe that he hates Pinepoint, and will do anything to leave it. Others have suggested that he is fighting to his death, his only means to reunite with a family killed in the rebellion. Others, perhaps more realistically, have wondered if he simply enjoys the work. Whatever the suggestion, put forward to Murdock it results in scorn and hard labour. Often brusque and unfriendly, he will nonetheless go out of his way to protect those under him. Reports of personal trinkets or new equipment discovered in their packs by Jackals who have been struggling to cope have never been linked to Murdock, though many have their suspicions. Murdock recently suffered a serious head wound after a blast knocked him from a window during a skirmish with some local outlaws. He recovered well, but on recent occasions his reactions and instructions have occasionally seemed slower during combat situations.
Farrell
Medic and plasma gunner. Farrell was found in the wastes a mile outside of Rukob by a different jackal cell. He was bleeding badly from embedded buckshot and a (clumsily stitched) stab wound to the stomach. He was carrying an infant girl, unharmed, but with a strange symmetrical birthmark on her back. Both were carried back to Pinepoint, the largest Remnant settlement. His wounds were infected, and the fever almost killed him as he raved about mutants and monsters. As he recovered, he first asked about the girl, then about other wounded who may have been brought in from the same area. The medical staff became concerned that he may have a bounty on his head. Many of the Remnants don’t trust him, and from his strange arrival to his refusal to explain where he came from, he hasn’t helped himself. The plasma weapon he carried was also a rare find, unusual to see outside the slaver camps to the North. Leaving the girl in the safety of the camp, he joined a Jackal team to pay back the kindness he was given, believing that his skill with medicae, and especially his work with bionics (an especially unusual skill in Skew State) would prove invaluable. Friendly and jovial when spoken to, Farrell was nonetheless rather quiet, with a tendency to stare into space and tune out of conversations. He was most vocal when discussing his frustration at the lack of medical equipment available – there was nothing on the planet, he said, more heartbreaking than knowing exactly what was wrong with a man and being able to do nothing to fix it. He regularly wrote notes in a small book, telling any who asked that it was a diary. Convinced that that he was a spy for the QA, Twitch stole his book and handed it to Murdock. Whilst he did write detailed notes of his own activities, almost the entirety of Farrell’s book was filled with letters to a woman, none of which it appeared had actually been sent. Murdock spoke to him about it, but saw no reason for concern. Farrell went missing following a series of engagements with an offworld private security company, and is presumed dead or captured.
Completely unrelated vox-file:
Spoiler:
+++ Case file 6134:49C4 +++
+++ Caitiff Enforcers Automated Service +++
+++ Security-level gamma+++
NOTE: 4235 DAYS HAVE PASSED SINCE VALIDATION OF FILE SYSTEM. PLEASE INITIATE SYSTEM REBOOT TO STABILISE.
begin vox feed
male voice. Slow, laboured
Malaena,
heavy breathing
it’s me.
I’m sorry I haven’t sent word in a few weeks now – I wasn’t sure anything was getting through. It’s been tough.
I’m not –
I’m not going to be coming home, Malaena.
It’s all gone to hell. Everything out here, just – I don’t know what happened to the others. Eli, Pirren, Clara. I think they might be dead. I took her with me, the girl. It was stupid. Throne, it was stupid.
But she was so desperate...
pause, heavy breathing
I’ve been missing you, Malaena. I wanted to come back to you. I tried to tell them we should go, that we should have left when the guards did, when he moved in – but... Crucien wouldn’t let us. He said it was humanitarian, but it – it wasn’t humanitarian anymore.
I don’t know how far I can –
Rustling. Subject grunts with pain
I’m going to keep moving. If I leave her here, she’ll die. If she dies, it was for nothing. I’m leaving the transmitter, I- I won’t contact you again. Crucien will look for you. Play him this. He’ll know.
I love you, Malaena. Always will. I’m sorry.
Stay safe.
file ends
Skragg
Heavy weapons enthusiast and inventor. Apparently mute, but adept at rigging technology from scrap, Murdock considers Skragg an idiot savant. Many of the others in the team think his silence is not a result of lack of intelligence, but rather a conscious choice. He had a close relationship with a younger Jackal named Scout, who was killed early in the campaign while the pair of them rescued a mercenary from rising floodwaters. Extended fluff story in the spoiler below. Skragg’s hearing has suffered as a result of his fondness for loud weaponry.
Skragg and Scout part 1:
Spoiler:
The guy with the...? Oh, you mean Skragg! Big guy, spiked hair, doesn’t talk much, carries a gun that looks like you couldn’t lift it? Yeah, that’ll be him. Don’t take offence or anything, he doesn’t talk to anyone. He’ll smile at you, laughs at jokes and that, but he’s been with us for years and I never heard him say a word. Nothing wrong with his head though - You know he built that gun himself? Parts from two autoguns, a couple of chips and springs out of an old transit cart we found out near Saltash, some rings out of a piston, Throne, I don’t know. Put it all together with that welding gun on his hip. Makes his own bullets, too! Keep an eye on him next time we’re out in the wastes. He stops every now and again, picks stuff up and pockets it. Trash, utter junk. The kind of thing you don’t look twice at, but give it a week and it’s part of a firing mechanism, or he’s fitting an autoloader on your rifle. Murdock reckons he’s some kind of idiot savant, but I’m sure he’s all there. Just keeps himself to himself, y’know? Just cause someone don’t talk, doesn’t mean they don’t know how to.
His story isn’t the happiest though – you sure you want to hear it? Well, take a smoke, it’s kind of an epic. Nah, don’t worry bout it, got packs of them back at camp. Factory uphive was run by some friends of ours from Roth for a while, Coop worked security for them. Perks, y’know?
Right, well I can’t tell you about Skragg without telling you about Scout, the kid we met him through. First time I saw either of em, they were in this drinking pit together in Hole, some kind of sewer water between them. This was maybe two years back, I think. We’d been following these rumours of some kind of tech stash that had been uncovered near Lent (turned out to be bunk, before you get your hopes up), and Murdock had us out hunting for someone who knew the area. We’d had a fair few choices, loud mouths proclaiming themselves the best around, wanting paid upfront. Crow’s a good judge of these kind of things though, wasn’t having any of it. We’d heard mention of Scout from a few different people, this kid who’d been in town for a few years, supposed to be the go-to guy. He wasn’t like the others – he was calm, relaxed. We’d heard his name and he knew that. He was 16, maybe 17, no older. Sitting at the table with Skragg, this giant of a man, just talking away at him. Told us he’d learnt his way around scavenging for tech to sell for as long as he could remember, and if we wanted a guide in the badlands, he said, he knew routes and domes that few others did. He knew where the local gangs holed up, and where the local wildlife hunted and nested. If that sounded useful to us, he said, we could hire him and his associate for a 10% stake of whatever was found. No questions about what we were looking for, who he’d be working with. He was good to his word, too. While he was with us, raids went smoother, we didn’t get ambushed once, not even a cave in.
He was a great guy, too. Generous with what he had, great sense of humour. Laughed at himself – not many men around who’ll do that, a real rare quality. He was always with Skragg though, just talking to him. The guy never replied, of course, but he always listened, and listened intent – had that look, you know what I mean? Complete concentration. Always together, too. They were more than just friends – maybe that way, maybe not. Never felt it was my business to ask.
He told me they’d been partners in the scavenging business since they were kids – they’d been slaves together, working a chem pit in the Northern Wastes. Do you remember Derrick? No? Ah, well, little settlement to the North West, got overrun by the QA maybe 10 years ago. Everyone killed or captured, Scout and Skragg included. Reckoned he was 6 years old at the time. Second night they were in the mines, a friend of his dad’s, a barkeep named Garret, caved in the skull of their guard and made a run for it with four of the neighbourhood kids in tow. You ever met the QA? They’re pretty soulless, even by badlands standards. One of the kids was shot in the head as they ran, and Garret took a bullet to the gut, bled out in a basement a few miles from Hope. Sounded like a real fighter – apparently he didn’t even let on to the kids that he’d been hit ‘til he couldn’t run anymore. That left three of them. Skragg, aged maybe 7, Scout, and an older kid named Relleck. They did what any kids would do in the situation – panic. Scout wanted to go South, keep running until they found another settlement. He’d heard horror stories of what happened to kids who tried to pass through the wastes on their own, but he knew it had to be better than the fate that waited for them in the mines. Relleck wanted to go back, thought that if they returned, hands in the air, they’d let them rejoin the chain gang as if nothing had happened. They’d have been crucified, for sure – the QA don’t forgive the killing of one of their own. Skragg, as always, said nothing. They argued for a few minutes before Relleck pulled the pistol off Garret’s belt and pointed it straight at Scout. For a few minutes, no one did anything. No one knew what to do. Scout cried. He told me that - no bravado, you see? Didn’t take long for Relleck to realise the position he was in. He broke into a smile, and told them to walk. He could at least save himself, he told em, if he bought the escapees back. He'd tell the guards he’d been dragged along, that he’d killed Garret himself, thought he'd be a hero. He told em he wouldn't care if they got boiled alive. Skragg elbowed the kid in the face, put him flat on his back before he could say another word. He broke his wrist and took the pistol, shot him three times before calmly handing it to Scout. Just like that. No simpleton, right? I’m sure he knows what he’s doing.
With just a few bullets and a single pistol, they headed South, into Ruckarnlan
Crow
Before finding the Remnants, Crow scavenged the rocky and mountainous wastes North-East of the hive with her brother, who had raised her since they became separated from their parents during the Evac. After serving several months as a construction worker in the compound, Crow volunteered to join a Jackal team to rediscover the adventure and excitement of living rough. She may or may not regret her decision. Agile and sure-footed, Crow tends to stay high above the hive floor, shooting from vantage points wherever possible. She is good humoured and friendly, though with rather a dark sense of humour. She rarely takes off her rebreather, pointing out the very real danger that surface pollutants pose to the lungs. When pressed (or after a little too much wildsnake), she may relate the fate of her brother, who suffered worsening breathing problems on the surface. A few days prior to Crow’s discovery by a Remnant patrol, he left their camp in the middle of the night and shot himself without a word. He had complained over their campfire that his laboured breathing was slowing them both down, and one day waiting for him might get her killed. She had brushed him off, joking about carrying him. To this day, she resents his choice to make the decision without her, forcing her to carry on alone.
Ferret
Joined the Remnants after being caught attempting to steal food from the Pinepoint stores with her teenage son. Both agreed to serve in Jackal teams and eventually join defensive patrols if it meant access to the compound. Before the evacuation, Ferret worked as a teacher, educating the upper classes in Caitiff history, and the value of their contact with the Imperium. She was forcibly conscripted by the Eurata Separatist Front once the rebellion began, and served several years in a guerrilla unit, fighting hit and run engagements with government forces in Crockfall. Ferret is very fast and a reasonable shot, but has been injured several times whilst in the 21st. Keen to return to base, Ferret rarely socialises, but will scavenge during her own time, hoping to find some archeotech valuable enough to merit a return to Pinepoint, and the peaceful existence that she craves.
Riggs
Friendly and affable, Riggs was born inside the Remnant compound. Initially charged with farm-work and looking after the animals, he joined a Jackal team as soon as he could, and acts as a friendly second-in-command to Murdock. Despite his affable demeanour, Riggs has a natural gift for negotiation and persuasion, and often accompanies Murdock to trading posts or to form treaties with rival groups. He tends to know a lot of residents in the settlements they regularly visit, and takes care of the team’s dogs, Loki and Cass. Riggs was badly wounded and one of his dogs killed by an unknown animal during a scavenging excursion on the surface. Farrell fitted him with a bionic replacement taken from the remaining PDF supplies.
Coop and RiffRaff
An ex-penal legionnaire with a history of forced service with the QA, and a once-wealthy runaway who served with a trade caravan specialising in electronics. Coop and Riff sold their services as caravan guards together for several years before meeting Murdock with his previous Jackal cell. Tired of life on the roads, they planned to complete their time in the Jackals and acquire citizenship in Pinepoint, where they could live peacefully. RiffRaff knits (badly), and Coop has been known to decorate buildings where the Jackals camp with vast, spray-painted murals. The two were inseparable, and a few fluff stories are under the cut. During the campaign, RiffRaff drowned in an engagement with the QA. Coop continues to serve with the Jackals, acting as a kind of carer to Twitch. He has struggled to cope with the loss of Riff, however, and has developed several self-destructive tendencies. He fights with a jerry-rigged flame-thrower created by Skragg, and tends to throw himself into close quarters fighting whenever the Jackals are engaged by rival groups.
RiffRaff origin:
Spoiler:
Ah, Riff and Coop. A great pair, those two – funniest bastards I’ve ever met who weren’t trying to get me to buy something. You’ve got to get them started on something, there’s – you won’t have heard nothing like it. No one else gets a word in, once they’re going at it – It’s always a competition. Just got to outdo eachother’s stories, you know? Has Coop told you how he ended up in the Penals yet? Oh, he will. I don’t want to spoil ‘em, but there’s one for every occasion – last I heard he got busted impersonating a Commissar to get at the Amsec rations in his PDF conscription. As to what he actually did? Pshh, who knows. Something small, I’d bet. Can’t imagine him hurting a rat if it wasn’t looking funny at Riff. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t cross him; he wouldn’t think twice if he had to, you know? Just - not one of those men who gets enjoyment from it.
They’re good people, basically. Twitch too, though he’s not right any more. The fact that they stick by him, what with his new mindset and all – kind of thing that says a lot about a character, I’d say. They’ve been through a lot together, and I wouldn’t believe how they tell it neither – the real story’s a lot less cheery. Less bear-wrestling, too.
So RiffRaff first, right? From what I’ve heard, she really did live in Haverbrook, and she did leave of her own accord before the Evac. I know! It’s not the ‘coming of age’, swashbuckling adventurer type exit she likes to spin though; it was a little more sordid; a little more sad. She wasn’t the same girl back then. There was a man involved – I know, I know – but this wasn’t a romantic story. Not through his eyes, anyway. He was some real scum from Skew, some gangbanger from deep in the Underhive. His settlement kicked him out and he found his way to Haverbrook. He was living rough, stealing whatever he could to survive. Got cornered by the enforcers, of course – they didn’t used to put up with the underclasses there. By then, though, he’d met Riff, and Riff’s parents were in the guild – real important people. She wasn’t so smart back then, too trusting, too naive. Typical surfacer. He span her a story about false accusations, an evil associate setting him up to steal his business or some such, saving orphans from landmines, I don’t know. But she bought it, and begged the watchmen who came for him to let his crimes slide, for her. Promised to make him her personal project. Considering how upset her parents would be if their daughter didn’t get her way, they actually listened. You believe that? Bastard probably couldn’t believe his luck either.
The guy kept in touch, of course. Wasn’t going to lose a mark like RiffRaff. Over the course of a few months, he started giving her a taste of underhive life – spun it as a way of thanking her. He had some old contacts who sold him ghost, kalma, spur, whatever they’d scraped out of the chem pits, and she took it all; she’d never seen anything close. Thought she was doing something spiritual, some kind of cultural vibe, and you can guess where it led her. There’s no place for addicts outside of the hive, no tolerance for them. She needed her hits, and he was the only place she could get them. He knew it, too. When her parents began to suspect that she was spending their credits on something other than booze and clothes, he suggested they run away together, live on the road and follow the rebels. He talked her into stealing nearly ten thousand credits from her parents – after all, what had they done for her? They would never understand. If she took what she could, they would have all they needed to live the good life, away from their meddling. The good life for Riff, of course, began with multiple stab wounds in a ditch barely three miles from Haverbrook.
Amazingly, that’s not where her story ended, though no doubt been the end of many other lives these days.
A trade caravan ran from Skew city (that’s the polite name for the sprawling expanse of corrugated plasteel and concrete that surrounds Skew proper) to Easthollow, run by a young guy named McCaughey. They dealt mainly in reconditioned electronics, buying and fixing mining and industrial equipment – junk that others considered beyond repair. The caravan stopped at some of the smaller shanty towns along the way to sell their wares - an old-fashioned way to do business, at the time, but they made good money in the places that the bigger conglomerates didn’t consider quite profitable enough to cater for. McCaughey and his partners made a comfortable living, and Skew state was fairly secure in governmental territory, meaning that the route was also ‘safe’, as far as trade routes went. Course, the rebellion had been underway for a fair bit of time, and bodies turned up on quiet stretches of every highway. No one asked questions anymore; it didn’t matter who they were. Some were dissenters, killed by governmental forces; some were soldiers – men and women who had fought on either side. Some, no doubt, were the poor bastards killed by bandits: desperate men feeding their families in any way they could, or simply those that had come to enjoy the anarchy. It’s hard to judge a man who couldn’t watch his children fade away, you know? Whoever they were, they all carried equipment and goods, and McCaughey quickly realised that a corroded autogun or repainted flak armour could fetch a decent price on the black market. It was in this capacity that one of his men discovered that RiffRaff was still breathing.
McCaughey was a businessman, and mercenary as all get out, but he wasn’t a monster. Riff rode in the back of one of their trucks as their expedition medic, an old PDF dog named Kew, looked her over. He gave her as much medication as they could spare. She had lost a lot of blood, gone septic from the dirt in her wounds, and was going through one hell of a comedown from the drug withdrawal. She would have been raving, seeing things; fighting and lashing out. Wouldn’t have been easy to deal with, even with the ReBound they pumped her full of. They took her anyway. Good people. McCaughey planned to offload her in one of the last few free clinics that the sisters were running once they got to Easthollow – keep her safe, but no longer his problem.
Over the few weeks they travelled, Riff recovered. Physically, at least. Her temperature dropped, the demons left her vision, and though the shakes came back with every missed dose, the gnawing pain in her gut was much more short lived. The pain in her chest, though, was there to stay. She had betrayed her parents, left her home, burdened and attacked strangers, and nearly died, all for the sake of protecting a man who then tried to kill her. She’d thrown away everything – everything she had ever known, you understand? – and she was only realising now how well she’d been played. The man she’d saved had stolen her life, and she would probably never see him again. Riff knew that she would never return to Haverbrook. How could she? She begged McCaughey to take her on for work, anything that he might have going. She had no skills (who the hell does, growing up in a palace?), but was desperate to repay the debt that she felt she owed. McCaughey turned her down though. He wasn’t one to refuse free labour, but the girl was a liability. Since she wouldn’t tell him where she was from, he would leave her in Easthollow, and that was that. Only, they never got that far.
Before the haze, you could see Easthollow for days. A crooked spear jutting into the sky, mottled orange and brown, like rotten wood. There was no getting lost, it was just there – on a clear day, you could almost make it out on the horizon from the Skew. Which is why, despite being a few days travel away, the men and women working for McCaughey saw Easthollow fall.
RiffRaff’s never really told anyone what happened next. Doesn’t like to talk about it, you understand. You ever see someone that’s been burned with rusinate runoff? Nah, I suppose you wouldn’t have. No one goes near the dumping sites anymore – most of ‘em are wired off and signposted by now. But this stuff, the stuff they used to ship off world? It’s – I can’t really properly get across the horror this gak provokes in anyone who survived Easthollow. It’s corrosive, it burns you, right? But that ain’t always what kills you. Sometimes it’s slower, more painful, inevitable. Get contaminated, and it burns you fierce on the contact site, sometimes through to the bone. Some people died then and there – I don’t know if it was the burn, don’t know if their blood carries the poison around their bodies, burns ‘em up from the inside. Just a splash, though, step in something out scavenging, stray too close to a restricted site, that won’t kill you by itself. I’ve got no idea how it works (Farrell’s your man for that, if he’s in a talking mood), but those who die outright are maybe the lucky ones. The survivors - they got the burns, sure, but there’s something else in there too, something that stays in your body once the burning’s stopped. Over a couple of weeks, they just started to swell up. Cancers, tumours, I don’t know. Some kind of growth that just starts out and don’t stop. Didn’t hit them evenly either: might just affect one arm, might be your face; could be your liver, might be in the brain. Some people went crazy – turned violent and aggressive, beat someone to death just for staring. Farrell says it must have been compression – in the skull, you know? Others just went vacant, staring into space or just walking into gunfire. A lot of people killed themselves. Barely looked human anymore, guess they didn’t feel it either.
You’ll still see them around, sometimes. You probably have, just wouldn’t recognise them. People don’t take too kindly to those who got burned. After the hive fell, a lot of people saw the crazy ones, saw what they’d do if they got close to you – There are still people around who’ll shoot a hollow on sight. I’ve only met one or two, but they keep wrapped up, no skin on show. I don’t think there’s many left now. It’s - just no way for a man to live.
Ah, Throne, you’re right. Sorry, where was I? Poor bastards always throw me off. Right! Easthollow. And the aftermath, I guess. Rumour is, it rained runoff in parts of Shantytown. Literally poured from the sky. Think of the worst acid shower you’ve seen out on the wastes, kind of thing that strips paint from your truck, and imagine it doing the same to people. Reduction compounds got thrown up into the air too – you know the stuff that gives you blight throat? This is where all of it came from. ALL of it. Hard to imagine, isn’t it? There were rebreathers and gas masks around, of course, industrial protection for workers and the like, but nothing like as many as we’ve got today. More people back then, too, so less to go around. McCaughey’s train had masks – reconditioning gear like that was what they did, but the general public had nothing to protect themselves. Riff would have seen it all – the burned, the people whose lungs were slowly dissolving, the hollow crazies, hell, starvation and regular disease will have taken thousands. At first, they sold to the crowds, but Kew eventually talked McCaughey into giving out the spare masks they had left for free to any who would take them. It was already too late, really. All I know for sure is that once it was clear that there were more refugees than there were resources, people got desperate. Once the shooting started, McCaughey made the wise decision to get the hell back to Skew.
Their flight took them past Haverbrook, of course, though they didn’t slow down. Riff still wakes up sometimes convinced that the glow off the generator is the fires of her home. She had no idea if her parents had reached an evac, fled to safety, been killed in the fighting. Who knew? She had the realisation, then and there, that she didn’t really care. She felt nothing when she thought of them, of all her old friends and neighbours. It was like a different reality. Numbed.
Over the course of the next few months, McCaughey let Riff work. She’d told him she was from Easthollow, and as far as he knew, she had just watched every person she had ever met burn. In a way, she had. Bresnan, one of the younger lads working for his team, showed her how to make repairs as he fixed up the few things they had left, and slowly but surely she began to pick it up. They stayed in Skew Hive, for a few months, same as everyone else on the continent. Too dangerous to head out, back when the air was still poison. That’s when Riff learned to fight – the hive was crowded before, now there was scarcely space to move. You fought for what you had, or you lost it. They were one of the first caravans to head back into the wastes, though, among the first to re-establish contact with all the new settlements that had sprung up in the carcass of the old ones. Over the course of the next five years, they helped more than thirty settlements start up in the wastes – mostly for profit, of course, though I understand McCaughey was known to sell below cost if he could see that people were dying. Once again, though, he was making himself a tidy living. They had a pretty high turnover of caravan guards: riding shotgun was dangerous in the early days. Lot of desperate people.
The last day that Riff saw her friends from the caravan route, they were travelling from Pallain to Ruckett. A pretty safe route, usually – through the bones of the old world city of Newhall. Lots of stories were told in the camps of sinewy monsters eating travellers there, or gangs of cannibals, creatures that used to be human. Nonsense, of course, but it made for a quiet route. They were a small convoy – a couple of smaller buggies up front, heavy stubbers and flamers on pivots, to keep the road clear. Riff and Bresnan were in the back of the first merch truck along with a couple of guards. One more truck ran behind them, a single buggy following up from the rear. Safe, but manoeuvrable. She was chatting with Bresnan, she remembered. Joking about vampires ambushing their route.
The first explosion, the one that killed her driver, knocked Riff to the wooden floor and threw boxes from the flatbed, spilling scavenged circuit-boards behind the truck. Shots rang out as the truck skidded to a stop. The caravan guards, kids McCaughey had hired from a local settlement, began firing wildly into the buildings along the side of the street. The leading cars were on fire – Parin and Holt, the men who had built Riff a shelter back in The Skew, already dead. Bullets ripped through the canvas around her, killing one of the mercenary guards and catching Bresnan in the shoulder. He screamed, and fell from the truck. More shots echoed out, and his screaming stopped. The other guard jumped from the back, dropping his rifle as he ran. Poor kid had probably never been shot at before. Riff saw him collapse. Before she had even taken it in, the shooting had stopped. She could hear men laughing, two voices arguing over the stimms in Kew’s medical pack. A louder man with an Easthollow accent barked orders. Shaking, Riff pulled a pistol off the belt of the man lying dead alongside her, trying not to meet the empty stare of his wide eyes. When a face appeared at the foot of the truck, a young man in a penal collar, she pulled the trigger. Nothing happened – a faint, repeating click revealing the jam in the firing mechanism. The butt of a rifle met her temple, and the world slipped away.
And though she didn’t know it yet, this was how she met Coop.
Coop on the planet surface:
Spoiler:
The surface – the true surface – now had a strange kind of beauty to it, Coop thought to himself. The emptiness, the silence, had a unique sensation, a feeling all of its own. Between the settlements, in the mainly intact ruins of the old world, it still felt like trespassing, like sneaking out as a teenager. The truck growled through the silent city, echoing back and forth in the empty buildings. He felt as though he were walking through Greenmile City again, footsteps echoing impossibly loud in the early hours of the morning when the streets were dead. You could be the only person in the world. It would be easy to ignore the signs of what had happened, if you kept your gaze high enough. Facing skyward, the pockmarked walls and burnt out vehicles would slip out of view, the upper levels of what used to be Ruckarnlan jutting dark and silhouetted against the yellow-hued sky, looking now as he imagined they always had. He’d never come here before the evacuation – the empty streets of the old city were all he’d ever seen of it, a passing blur thrown up and down from the back of Carson’s caravan. The city told stories, like every place on the surface. He’d learned to read the environment as they drove, hear the history it whispered, just below your hearing, through the tedium of the long ride. Here a former shop-front was boarded up with scrap scavenged from nearby buildings, corrugated iron and rotten wood. Empty food cans littered the ground, a rainwater collection duct rigged to the front of the building. A scavenger, maybe a family, had lived there once, maybe died there. Picked the area clean before moving on, or succumbing to the poisonous air. Conditions on the surface were harsh, and few survived up here for long.
Here, a faded mural. Scorpions, a gas mask, crossed rifles. A gang? Perhaps just a lone waster? Might even have been prior to the rebellion – images of warfare and revolution were nothing new on Caitiff. There were others around Ruckarnlan, less warlike, less violent – things of beauty. Real artworks, sprawling growths of painted plants, painstakingly etched representations of women, surrealist blooms of colour. Multi-storey buildings covered in swathes of pigment - hours upon hours of work in the deadly conditions of the wastes. He’d often wondered about who could produce such things: could they be the work of a single man? Some crazed artist lost in the wilderness? Coop had seen shadows moving through the buildings, all of them had – ghosts of the old world, they called them. Killed so quickly when the violence began that they’d never realised that they were dead. Stories were common in the hive of people taken by these shadowy spectres, vanishing silently from the back of vehicles in dust storms, not a trace of their passing, only to be seen in the painted walls of the surface. Coop didn’t believe them, but he still shuddered as the wind picked up.
There were still signs of the life that had once thrived here, if you looked high enough – tattered rags hung on what had once been washing lines, faded curtains still blew from open windows. The signs were always there, though. Windows, shattered. Paintwork peeling and torn. With time came decay, and decay was all that was left in the wastes.
Pulling at his uncomfortable mask, Coop nudged Riff awake. It was her watch, and he’d seen enough.
Coop and Riff join the Remnants (written a waaaay back, and not very good ):
Spoiler:
Riggs moved through the shattered entranceway, following the glow of the fire. He could hear them talking - low and cautious, still unsure of themselves. He smiled. It would be good to get some new company. The dog growled, leaning into the rope around her neck as the campfire came into view. Riggs bent down, pulled her in and patted her side as her hackles rose.
"Easy, Cass. Calm down, girl. They're friends, ok? No one's trying to kill me today."
The strangers by the campfire turned towards him, the male half rising. His hand was at the holster hanging off his belt. The girl spoke first.
"Uhh... hey. You okay, man? We're new. Murdock's cleared us, so... no need for the dog, alright?"
Riggs laughed, raising his arms in what he hoped was a disarming gesture. "She's not that bad, honest - just talks a big game. She'll be fine once she's used to you." He tied her off against a door frame and patted her muzzle once more. "You mind if I join you?"
The man sitting opposite the fire still hadn't lowered his hand. The girl turned to him, and he nodded, sitting back where he had been. He smiled, and appeared to relax. Riggs pulled a bottle optimistically labelled "Wildsnake" from his bag and offered it to his new companions. With a muttered ‘thanks’, the girl took it and drank deep before spluttering a few times and passing it back.
"Not the best, huh? Got it in Jento - should have been warning enough, I guess." He took a sup of the spirit and passed it on to the man opposite him. In the light of the fire, the thick gouges in the newcomer's arms were thrown into relief. "Name's Levin Grigg, though the folks round here tend to call me Riggs." He sighed. "Guess two syllables was a little much to ask. The girl growling at you on then end of that rope is Cass. I know the welcome Murdock gives to strangers can be... a little less than friendly, so I figured I'd stop by and say hi. What're your names?"
"Coop." It was the man who had spoken first. He was tall and heavy set, but probably no more than 25 or 30 years. Fresh cuts lined his features, and fresh bruises covered much of his face. His nose was set at an awkward angle - a look that seemed recently acquired, based on the crusted blood underneath it. Riggs could make out the profile of a penal collar beneath the man's coat - an interesting one, no doubt. "My friend here is Riff Raff." He paused for second, and grinned a smile with more than a little wince in it as he extended his hand. "Nice to meet you."
"Riff Raff?" The girl laughed. She was about Riggs' age, with dark eyes and bright green hair cropped short to her head. Slung at her side was a heavy backpack, filled with what looked like computer equipment.
"It stuck! I grew up in Haverbrook – you know it?" Riggs looked blank. "Haverbrook! Oh, come on. Big, fancy, posh oppressive arsehole community, couple miles outside the hive? Lots of trees? Back when there were still trees, that is. You'll know it if you see it." She paused for a second. "You know what a tree is, right?" Riggs smiled wanly, took the proffered bottle from Coop.
"So it's an ironic thing?"
"Sort of. fething hated that place, ran away the second the factories blew up. I like it - burning out my roots, y'know?” She paused, taking a sup of the alcohol and grimacing. “Guess my family got evacced though – maybe I shoulda stayed." She laughed.
Riggs thought for a second. "So how did you guys end up in Rukob?"
"Series of coincidences, I guess." RiffRaff grinned. "Coop, me and Twitch - have you met Twitch? You'd uh... You'd remember if you had." She chuckled quietly to herself. "We’ve been working as caravan guards. Good work. Couple of different employers, of course, and a few disputes over pay, but there’s plenty of opportunity around Skew. This latest donkey-cave though -"
Coop, who had been valiantly swigging at the bottle, cut her off with a smile. "Aw, come on Riff. He wasn't that bad. For a guilder." RiffRaff glared at him, turned back to Riggs.
"This latest donkey-cave –“ A pointed glare at coop. “– was a solid gold prick, even for a trader. He ripped off everyone he met."
"It was his job." Coop shot back.
RiffRaff ignored him. "He charged more for drugs if people were sick."
"Demand was up."
A smile hung on the corner of her mouth, but she beat it back. "What about the maps he kept selling after the QA took Derrick? People died."
"He had to make his money back."
"He shot that trader in Saltash!"
"The one who tried to stab him?"
"I’d have stabbed him too!" RiffRaff was laughing now.
Coop broke into a playful smile, which was apparently a little too wide as he grunted and rubbed his bruised jaw. He turned to Riggs. "Carson was an underhanded, backstabbing con artist, but that just meant that he was good at his job. With us though, he was a good guy. Mostly. We sat shotgun on his caravan between settlements. Easy money. There were the odd raiders or waster lads, but between me, Twitch and this one, they didn't really have a chance."
"So what happened?" Riggs took another swig of the 'wildsnake' Coop had passed him, gagging a little as the aftertaste hit him. It really was foul stuff.
"Well," RiffRaff muttered. "like he said, we covered his ass between settlements. If Carson wants to shoot his mouth off to every guy in every drinking hole in Skillett, we can't be there to stop the guy who... well, shot his mouth off." Coop laughed and put his arm around her shoulder, but stopped when she threw him a look. "Turned out he insulted one of the local mercs, some real badass apparently. And apparently he wasn't in the mood for Carson's gak talk." A look of sadness spread momentarily across her face, before her features quickly hardened. "Either way, we found ourselves between employments." She passed a bacc-stick to Coop, lighting her own off the campfire. "You want one?" Riggs shook his head."Eh, your loss, they're good."
Riggs smiled, patting his shirt sleeve. "Got my own. From uphive." RiffRaff looked briefly impressed, but pulled it into a good natured sneer, rocking her head from side to side. "So how'd you find yourself here? Skillet's what, like, 10, 15 miles East?"
"Business venture." Coop replied. "Whatever we think of Carson," a glance to RiffRaff, "he went out owing us a fair few creds in backpay. He also left behind a fair few crates of spirits, munitions and condensor parts that he was no longer using. We heard of a trader who didn't ask many questions out at this end, but unfortunately didn't quite make it all the way here. The guide we hired was the same guy who gave us the tip, and said he knew the fastest way from Skillet to Rukob - yeah, yeah, I can see in your face that you know where this is going. It was stupid as hell, I know." Riggs raised his hands and shook his head, trying to repress a grin. "There were 20-odd armed men - thugs hired by the local guild interest - waiting for us in a pass about 5 miles out. We did what any sane people would do in that situation - gave em everything." He paused for a moment. "Twitch was – having a bad day. He was raging, practically frothing at the mouth, couldn’t stand to think that we were just going to let them walk away. We managed to calm him down before he shot anyone though, or I'm guessing we wouldn't be here." He spat in the fire and watched it hiss. "Still, I'd love to meet that 'guide' again. Just the once." RiffRaff cracked her knuckles.
"They let us live, which was an unexpected courtesy. Took everything, of course, but let us go. Not before their boss had given me a "lesson about trade rights"." RiffRaff put her hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it off and smiled at her. "We made it though. It's almost hard to hate them, they played it so well."
The dog had been whimpering for a few minutes. Riggs pulled another bottle from his pack, set it on the rubble he'd been sitting on.
"Well, you’re welcome here. We could always use another couple of experienced eyes, and you’re one hell of a lot friendlier than the last batch. Look, I need to move, or Cass here'll never forgive me." He gestured at the bottle. "That's yours, if you think you can stomach it. Sounds like you guys could use it." He untied the dog from the post, pushing her back as she licked his face. He stood upright, turning again to the two newcomers. "Welcome to the Jackals. Hope it treats you better than your last post."
Twitch
A close friend of RiffRaff and Coop, Twitch worked with them for several years as a caravan guard. Somewhat of a heavy drinker with a talent with cards and a fast mouth, he was known widely as a story-teller and writer. Around a year before the three came into contact with Murdock, though, he was thrown from his truck in a collision with some local wildlife, striking his head against the road. Whilst he survived, he has been wildly unpredictable since, breaking down into tears with no provocation or attacking strangers over imagined slights. Despite this, he still experiences periods of lucidity, and can for days at a time seem the man he used to be. Whilst most men in such situations would not have lasted long, Riff and Coop stuck by their old friend, even though his outbursts cost them several contracts. Murdock was not happy with his inclusion in the Jackals, but allowed him to remain, as long as the others accepted responsibility for his behaviour.
Scratch
At 19, Scratch is the youngest member of the 21st Jackals. Optimistic and adventurous, she spends as much time on the surface as she can, and adores the ruins. Scratch had no real experience of the world before the Easthollow disaster, and was carried to Pinepoint shortly after the evac by her parents, both of whom have since passed (her father of rusinate lung, her mother of radiation sickness while serving with the Remnants). She was raised mostly by Elara, another orphan girl discovered by Remnant patrols shortly before her arrival. The two are very close. Scratch revels in finding what she can of life before, and has developed a penchant for old world luxuries – she has spent many an evening with a begrudging Elara combing ruined stores in Crockfall for lho sticks, soda and sour candy. She also delights in finding gifts for others, hunting out undamaged spray-paints for Coop and Riff, or interesting mechanical parts and wiring for Skragg.
Originally from the poorer quarters around The Skew Spire, Scratch’s parents had little money for medical care, and her birth was complicated. She suffered a nerve injury to her right leg, resulting in a complete loss of sensation that led to multiple fractures and injuries as she grew. Though it does little to slow her down, pain and fatigue quickly set in if walking longer distances and Scratch is loathe to admit this, pressing through the pain for as long as she can. She learned to drive at a young age and has developed some skill, often being entrusted with the truck by Murdock on their expeditions outside of the hive.
Elara
A few years older than Scratch, but willing to put up with her, Elara served as her begrudging big sister as they grew up together in Pinepoint. She looked out for Scratch, keeping her out of trouble with the local gangs and ensuring she had food and water, but mostly allowing her to find her own way. Elara taught her what she could about the world before Easthollow fell, and what to avoid in the world since. Elara has a boundless interest in seemingly everything, and her shack in Pinepoint is a treasure trove of books and holodisks – acquisitions from years of scavenging and trading. The darker side of this voracious interest is the obsessive hoarding tendencies that she has developed, building collections of seemingly useless trinkets that she will trade anything to obtain. Whilst she understands that her ‘collections’ often defy logic, Elara has difficulty controlling her compulsion, and has developed some kleptomaniacal tendencies, kept in check mainly by Scratch. Through badgering Farrell and some instructional data drives, Elara has taught herself basic first aid, and will happily sit watching Skragg repair equipment for hours.
THE QUADRING ACCORD
Background on the QA:
Spoiler:
The QA, or Quadring Accord, are a loose band of ex-convicts, penal legionnaires, miners and manufactorum workers, working under a vague common goal. They emerged from, and are still based in, the Quadring Penitentiary, a detention camp North of Skew Spire where prisoners were held before their assignment to a legion or labour duty. The exact details of how the group came to be are unclear, though their founder, a man calling himself “The Warden”, was widely believed to be Colonel Lockwood, an officer of the PDF awaiting sentencing for insubordination at the time of the evacuation. Not all of the inmates in such facilities were dangerous, or even guilty – as the Revolution dragged on and governmental forces found their numbers dwindling, penal legions proved invaluable as disposable assets to take entrenched positions or provide a distraction. When numbers fell low, governmental forces were known to arrest large numbers of citizens for arbitrary crimes, filling out their ranks once again. Colonel Lockwood was rumoured to have been imprisoned for refusing to carry out such arrests.
Many loyalist penitentiaries were found to have massacred their inmates as the shuttles left the planet, but the denizens of Quadring had overthrown their guards in an armed uprising a few days previously, leaving them in control of the facility when the PDF arrived to dispose of them. It is more than likely that a bloody power struggle took place within the walls of the detention centre, but no one outside of the complex will ever really know how The Warden took control.
It was several months before anyone emerged from the complex, and the extensive underground network of cell blocks is understood to have protected the inmates from the worst of the rusinate storms and radiation that plagued the surface in the months following the Easthollow event. To the surprise of the surrounding settlements, who had been dreading the day that the prison doors would open, the initial emissaries from the penitentiary were friendly, and keen to establish trade. The ‘Quadring Accord’, they told them, had been created as a place for the downtrodden – the jumpsuits that had marked out poorer manual labourers and prisoners were now a badge of honour. For several years, peaceful contact existed between those in the prison and the outside world, and many flocked to Quadring itself as a sheltered and safe settlement. Small contingents of QA soldiers, armed with the weapons of their former guards and whatever could be manufactured within the facility, were eventually hired to protect the smaller satellite settlements around the prison. The Warden himself even introduced a rudimentary system of law – any who stole or killed were forced into labour for a set term, constructing new housing around Quadring, or working the nearby mines to provide Quadring with a resource for trade.
Eventually, however, the Warden changed. Those within the inner workings of the QA would swear blind that the man leading them was their founder, but it was fairly clear to all that the reins of power had changed hands. The new Warden’s policies were rather different than his forebear’s, and it became quickly apparent that those who had not served within a legion or labour team were second class citizens. Murder and theft by the ‘protection’ teams became commonplace in the surrounding settlements, and crimes committed by the former prisoners went unpunished. As there was never any substantial proof, QA teams would often drag away individual citizens and travellers for crimes that they themselves had committed, and few survived the labour sentences they received.
As the profit from mining increased, so too did the number of ‘arrests’. Eventually, the soldiers of the QA dropped the pretence and dragged away any remaining citizens of the surrounding wasteland at gunpoint, killing those too weak or old to work. The shanties that had formed around the complex were put to the torch. Discipline among the newly captured slaves was by brutal example, and the QA developed a vicious reputation for sadism and cruelty among the settlers of Skew State. Whilst not all members of the QA were involved in the atrocities committed in its name, it is rare for an outsider to greet them with anything but fear and hostility. Most denizens of the wastelands will shoot a man dressed in blue fatigues on sight.
The title of ‘Warden’ changes hands regularly in a society of cut-throats and thieves. Whilst the face of their leader changed regularly and the uniform that marked him out acquired more holes, the attitude of the QA remained relatively stable for many years. Settlements further and further from Quadring were raided and enslaved, and it was only with a drying up of resources that the hostile advances of the former convicts seemed to slow. Those trading on the surface have little opportunity for making moral judgements on their customers, but even the most amoral trade caravan will consider their own safety first. Attacks on caravan routes through QA territory became more and more commonplace as The Warden’s influence over his hungry citizens waned, leaving very few settlements willing to trade. The area surrounding Quadring itself was hit hard by toxic runoff, leaving very little arable land – the penitentiary was dependent on outside trade for supplies of food and clean water. It seemed that the QA had burned itself out. For several years, the compound has been quiet, while ex-QA defectors have become a more and more common sight.
The man holding the title of ‘Warden’ today is attempting to move away from his group’s violent past. QA envoys dressed in civilian clothes have made contact with settlements throughout Skew State, offering protection for trade routes and free shelter and work for any who come to Quadring. Many such envoys were lynched by the settlements before they could get their message across. QA scavenger teams have been sighted – groups of men out salvaging the old cities, interacting (relatively) peacefully with other prospectors. Cynics would say that the new behaviour of the QA is a desperation measure – a forced civility with nowhere else to turn. Others, perhaps naively, believe this may represent a change in the group, a rise in influence of the less violent political prisoners held within the prison walls. The new Warden himself is somewhat of an unknown. He is not a wicked man, in wasteland terms. His hands are not clean, by any means - Perhaps some innocents have died under his orders. Perhaps he has killed a man for the equipment he carried. There are few on the surface who could plead innocent to such claims.
It will take a lot to erase the legacy of the years of murder and violence, but new caravans have been sighted within QA territory, and Quadring-produced munitions have begun to appear in the stocks of merchants as far afield as Roth. Whether this marks a new chapter in the history of Quadring, or simply a blip before the inevitable assassination and rise of another Warden remains to be seen.
The Warden ///datatagsearch drive C:// “Warden”
searching… #ERROR 7C##: no results found.
///datatagsearch drive D:// “Warden”
searching… #ERROR 7C##: No results found.
Lodge Lodge was an engineer. Course, he hadn’t always been. Fought with the Desert Rats before, a ‘revolutionary group’ that quickly went the way of most revolutionary groups – vying with others for territory. Killed a fair few people, but not one of those bastards didn’t deserve it. Among the best up close and personal, Lodge led his own squad. Tried to lead by example, show his lads how to do it in person. No patience for weakness or cowardice. He was wounded when the slave caravan he was leading was ambushed by governmental forces – cowardly bastards couldn’t face them head on. His squadmates abandoned him, even as he shouted curses after them and tried to drag himself upright with the good chunk of thigh he had left. Treacherous scum left him to his fate the first time he’d ever really needed them. He learned a lesson then. Not a quick one, and not an easy conclusion to come to, but as the beatings went from hours to days he realised where he had made his mistake.
Didn’t matter who he had been anyway, he was QA now. Engineering is what he did.
He had served in the penal mines near the Quadring Penitentiary for two years, far longer than most survived. Hard time. He’d seen then how engineers were valued, how vital they were to everyone in the mines. Makeshift respirators and scratch-built structural columns saved lives, and with this salvation came privilege. The engineers, or even anyone who knew a little about the trade, could work shorter shifts, get better food, and get fewer beatings. Even the guards had respect for those who made the place safer: The convicts were manual labour, and the guards little better – as many of them were killed in mine collapses as the inmates. Lodge learned the trade from Borth, another man who had served with the Rats – he traded hard-earned lho sticks and smuggled alcohol for the knowledge he would need. Lodge had learned to make himself essential. Even if that involved ‘engineering’ an industrial accident for Borth.
Magpie ///datatagsearch drive C:// “Magpie”
searching… #ERROR 7C##: no results found
///datatagsearch drive D:// “Magpie”
///searching… 2 files found. ///locating files… ///downloading… complete.
///displaying pictoral feed 1 of 1
///displaying data fragment 1 of 1
Ah, this one. Apparently known locally as ‘Magpie’ – doubtless due to a predilection for shiny objects belonging to others. A ‘vagrant’, I understand? Charged with assault, participation in a riot, and public inebriation. Oh, and I do love this defence entered here – no memory of events, “not a violent man”? Moving. You’ll be right at home in the mines then. No violent men there. 30 years! Next! A factory worker from Hollow State, Silon had tried to flee with his family to the relative safety of the Skew in the final weeks before the Evac. The PDF were closing on pockets of resistance around Easthollow, and civilian casualties and reports of atrocities had caused panic in the local populace. The refugee column they were travelling in was attacked by slavers near the border, and Silon panicked, losing track of his wife and daughter in his flight. He escaped alone, but had witnessed the brutal deaths of many of the others who had tried to run. Eventually finding his way to Crockfall, he lived there for several months, begging and stealing whenever he could to stay alive. Though he found other refugees who had made it through the mountains around Crater Lake, he never heard word of his family again. His years of living rough have made ‘Magpie’ a useful asset in the QA scavenger teams – he has developed a reputation for making valuable finds, though much of his share is known to be spent on liquor.
And here's the original OP - please don't judge by this as I like to think I've improved a bit since! Hope you enjoy the blog.
OP:
Spoiler:
Hey everyone! First post on Dakkadakka, so greetings all around and that
This is going to be a project log for 'Ridgeway's Remnants' - a scavenger force made up of the remains of various guard forces and civilians abandoned during an evacuation from a planet ravaged by civil war. Once a relatively rich planet, when the veins of ore beneath Caitiff's surface was exhausted, so was its use to the Imperium. Offworld contact came less and less often, and eventually rebellion over rising poverty and terrible conditions threw the planet into civil war. Conflict ravaged the planet, and after the destruction of several processing planets released huge quantities of toxins into the atmosphere, it was decided that an evacuation of loyal citizens was the best solution. With a callous government and little interest from offworlders, woefully few evac points were arranged as bandits and rebel forces blockaded the roads. Large numbers of the population were left stranded on the wartorn and anarchic planet. Ridgeway's forces themselves are mostly the remains of the PDF, along with any civilians who joined and trained. The current timeline of my forces is about 15 years after the botched evac. Most of the Remnant's opponents are other opportunistic survivors and gangs, and they use a lot of improvised gear, tending to be pretty battered and weathered. The Caitiff Jackals (a name Ridgeway could never get to stick, even among his own men) favour sneaky tactics, fighting light and fast but using no wheeled / tracked vehicles or heavy weapons at all.
I also requested on another forum (I would link, but I'm not sure of Dakka's rules ) for people to personalise soldiers within my army, and I would model and name them according to the requests. The models below are all altered to fit these requests. I have only started modelling / painting for about 8 months, so be nice, though constructive criticism is always appreciated
Anyhoo, onto the photos (and please rate if you get a chance!). Apologies for the image dump -
A few shots of a WIP sentinel (the lasgun will be recieving a GS strap, still to do the ML):
A couple of troops and vets:
Some rough riders I'm considering using:
And just a joke I made a while back to stand in for Sly Marbo 'til I come up with a proper model:
Hope you like, and please let me know what you think! Will post more as I make it
Hey again! Not much of an update, but would any of you object if this guy was used as a veteran with a demo charge and a shotgun in a game against you?
I was trying to keep the 'bodged and improvised' equipment feel going, and they look suitably heavy to represent an item that blows up the user as often as not
Thanks for the reply, Rose! I really like the fuel can look - screams "underequipped"
Bit of a rubbish update again, but here's a stealthy veteran I'm working on. It's a only a mockup and obviously there's a fair bit of clean up and GS gapfilling to be done, but what do you reckon?
It's the last thing I'll be making before some exams in a few days, just put it together to keep sane! Would love to hear your thoughts, good or bad
Love the fuel cannister demo charge, it absolutely fits in with your under equipped, surviving on what can be found theme.
Also, i think its great you're naming your guardsmen, fluff is always welcome. Plus, if you go veteran squads then you won't have tooo many names to make =]
I do a little 40k writing in my spare time or when class gets boring. Nothing special or professional by any means but I've amassed about 45 pages of writing. You can use some of my character names if you like =p
These guys are all part of my Inquisitorial Task force but portray them however you like =]
Sergeant Grere (Missing arm from the elbow down, laspistol)
Major Lebedev (P.Fist and Boltgun)
Trooper Helln (Hellgun)
Trooper Marius (Hellgun)
Commissar Allaster Rousseau (Laspistol and Sword)
You could even include a tattered looking Commissar, who's left his commisarial duties behind and has simply become another dog soldier after his regiment was either destroyed or left him stranded.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Oh and welcome to Dakka!
These guys look great. I like the gas cans as demo-explosives, very improvised. Where did you get the bike, tho? I'mm looking for some good bikes that are smaller than the SM or Ork bikes.
Thanks again everyone! You're all being way way too kind
Lasfiredoesn'thurt wrote:
These guys are all part of my Inquisitorial Task force but portray them however you like =]
Sergeant Grere (Missing arm from the elbow down, laspistol)
Major Lebedev (P.Fist and Boltgun)
Trooper Helln (Hellgun)
Trooper Marius (Hellgun)
Commissar Allaster Rousseau (Laspistol and Sword)
You could even include a tattered looking Commissar, who's left his commisarial duties behind and has simply become another dog soldier after his regiment was either destroyed or left him stranded.
Cheers! Will do my absolute best to get your troops in somewhere, and I really like the idea of the commissar actually - I've being looking for a use for the beaten up looking officer out of the last chancers, and that sounds like as good as any! Have never used a proper commissar in my army - way too attached to my squaddies to have them shot by my own side!
The Good Green wrote:These guys look great. I like the gas cans as demo-explosives, very improvised. Where did you get the bike, tho? I'mm looking for some good bikes that are smaller than the SM or Ork bikes.
Thanks Good Green! The bikes are from ramshackle games. I absolutely love the models, but be warned that if you order from them the casts are among the worst I've ever seen - leaked resin everywhere, unremovable release agent, pockmarked with holes and just generally godawful. If you're prepared to do a LOT of filing and filling, I feel like they're worth it!
Vlad-X7 wrote:These look great - especially Snake as Marbo.
just wondered what you're using to get the brown camo on the desert clothes - is it a sepia/devlan wash?
keep it up!
Thanks Vlad! The fatigues are bleached bone with graveyard earth camo, followed by quite a heavy badab black wash and devlan mud on areas that would get dirty.
Next up is another vet, or possibly the finished chimera. Keep an eye out, and thanks again!
Thanks for the warning. I'm planning a mercenary unit for my big mek, so the lousy casting might work out ok... that release agent sounds like another story.
Thanks a lot Anung Un Rama! I'm a big fan of the modelling aspect, so I'm hoping I won't lose interest - guess I'll just have to see how my first 500pts go! And Hej to you too, I guess Avach?
GG, they're not overly expensive, and it's possible I just got a bad batch or something - I don't want to put you off completely! Why not order one and see how it works out? If you like it you can order more
Oh yeah. I found Ramshackle a while back. I must have lost the link shortly after...
I love their Dungers too. Perfect for the Snakebite orks... Thanks again for the tip on their casting quality. It's good to know what I'm in for. They cover a few of my modeling needs, so I will be ordering from them... I just wish they were in the states.
Actually, if you like the dungers, I have a couple that they sent me for free with a big order of the bikes - would you like them? It'll give you an idea of the casting quality, and you're bound to have more use for them than I do
I kid you not mate, I thought about exactly same idea and already started collecting IG for that purpose (plus some em4 models, which are really suited for that). Hope you dont mind if somebody else will have something similar? (my idea is more along ad hoc regiment constructed from remaints of battered forces after campaign that was lost..).
And hey- excellent cobnversions. Can I have my opwn personalized guy?
Of course that's ok! I'm sure a lot of other people have had similar ideas already anyway. Thanks for the compliment! You're welcome to customise someone - all I ask is that it sticks vaguely within the constraints of my army style Might take me a while to get to you now, my list is getting pretty extensive If you see anyone on there that hasn't been filled and you like the look of, give me a shout and I'll add you in!
(p.s. I hope it's ok to link things, nice Dakka mods! Please don't delete me!)
The Marbo stand-in is simply genius. I love how his feet stick out from the bottom of the box, it adds that extra comic effect. Great work on the rest of them as well, I love it when the armies are personalized like this.
Awesome! If you PM me your address, I'll see if I can dig em out and send them off in the next couple of days
I can't remember where I found the horse rider - I've had it for aaages! It's down as 'awesomehorse' on my computer, so maybe that's what it was originally called? I love it though! Do you know if there's a way to get it to be animated in my avatar? :/
I just painted up this sentinel ML, and I can't decide whether it needs some more detail. Maybe a different colour for the two raised sections? What do you lot reckon?
Scarper wrote:I just painted up this sentinel ML, and I can't decide whether it needs some more detail. Maybe a different colour for the two raised sections? What do you lot reckon?
i think if you paint the raised sections, it may stand out from your army a bit too much - how about the same technique you used to get the brown camo on your infantry's fatigues, but a bit larger + a bit more weathering (maybe it's the angle, but it looks kinda factory fresh to me )
looks good atm tho, so don't let my ideas ruin it...
I'm definitely impressed with the effort you put into all of your models; IG armies are interesting in that putting that extra bit of time into the models really makes them stand out in a way that I don't think reposed SM's do. It's also much more rare to see the grunts given their due since you have to have soooo many of them, plus they just end up dieing very quickly!
I LOVE that "Snake" Marbo, I wouldn't mind that dude popping up and blowing something up. His appearance would just elicit a "SNNNAAAKKKEEE!!!". Personally, I think he's perfectly fine as-is and doesn't need a replacement!
Top notch stuff here. I've been umming and ahhing for a while now about IG as I still have a load of CSM to paint up. Looking at your modelling here means I'm being pushed more to grabbing myself a few IG kits and doing some bashing.
Wow, thank you thank you thank you, you're all being way too nice I'll try out some of the weathering and stuff you've suggested here on my sent, though it might be a few days - exams tend to get in the way of things...
In place of revision, I've been putting a bit of work into some more rough riders, though I had a little bit of a disaster with a few of them. The resin they're made from is incredibly brittle, and they had a brief encounter with some stone steps courtesy of my dog Have done my best repair wise, can you see where the (multitude of) breaks were? They're both missing a front support, but I'll repair that once my plasticard tubing arrives...
This is going to be the sarge - he has a bit of a shinier paint job on his bikes than the others do...
I'd love to know what you think, I'm planning on modelling up a full unit of these if I get the time. Thanks so much for all the feedback so far!
Thanks a lot guys! Just received a box of Valhallans and a few Tallarns that should fit in really nicely with the raggedy look, as well some escher gangers to decapitate for female heads - thank god for eBay
Updates hopefully tomorrow, after my exam. Wish me luck!
Love the lot of them, great posing,nice paint jobs. like the bikes, but the characters are fantastic, you've totally got the feel right for the fluff.
get some more pics up!
Thanks again everyone, way more response than I expected, as ever
Lasfiredoesn'thurt wrote:Good luck on that test, anxiously awaiting some new developments from you man.
Cheers! It went pretty well actually, and I've got some results back now too! Should have a bit more time for painting now I'm at the start of a new rotation, anyway...
brother_zach wrote:I love your stuff! alot of it looks ace, the only think I'm not crazy about is that first rought rider with the lance. Just looks kinda funny is all.
I love your snake in a box though
Thank you! The first rider was a bit or a test model, and he's actually kind of out of proportion (his arms are almost as long as his legs! ). Still, I put in some work, so I figured I'd keep him in, and hopefully it won't be so noticeable once I paint up a few more. I know to lean the body part forward now, anyway!
Bit of a rubbish update, but this is a scavenged model I've repainted and remodelled a little after I dropped missile launchers from my army list.
Sorry he's got no hellgun, Lasfiredoesn'thurt, but there's none in my list! Next up is some green stuff work I'm doing, hopefully in the next few days.
Would love to hear what you think, and thanks again for all the input so far
Thanks a lot, LFDH and Deadly Chicken! And thank you maybe Lewismio? I'm not really sure whether that was a compliment or criticism
Here's the first of my Valhallans - I'm trying to keep them cohesive with everyone else, and still keep the scavenger kind of feel. It looks loads better outside of the photos, but I think you get the idea
I do like how you're using a similar paint scheme to tie together a really eclectic group of models. It works, and allows one to relax and enjoy the details of the army. (like the gauges on the back of the fuel canisters- nice work there!)
Thanks so much Savnock, I really appreciate that Do you think the Valhallans fit in then? I was worried they'd have too much gear, but I thought with the "wasteland" kind of theme you'd get some pretty cold nights to go with hot days
Sorry for the delay on this - work got in the way of stuff a little bit
Finn, below, was a test model - I was trying to clip the head off an Escher ganger to make a female guardsman, but ended up failing miserably and completely mashing her face. A bit of clumsy GS work later, I think I fixed it ok, anyway In terms of painting, I've been working on improving my battle damage - what do you reckon?
(The lighting on these is pretty terrible - she looks better in real life, honest!)
Last but not least, here's a teaser shot of a WIP sergeant I've been making whilst learning some more about green stuff:
Thanks so much for all your input so far, and I'd love to hear any feedback, good or bad
BONUS EDIT -
Just an idea I had, and will stop if you don't like it I'm going to try writing a sort of microfluff story for each guardsman I paint, as a way of getting some background to my army out without a big boring chunk of text. I'm not exactly a proficient writer, but this is the first one I just knocked up in 15 minutes or so. It's about Finn (above!). Let me know if you like the idea, and I'll do a little more
"Finn eyed the hatch carefully, considered hiding spots around it. The threadbare rug still covering the thing had only been slightly askew, probably knocked aside by a jackal rather than left intentionally exposed. Not enough was showing for an ambush - it was too subtle. She looked to Loki beside her, sniffing the air. She didn’t seem phased, and as far as Finn was concerned, that meant she needn’t be either. Drawing her blade, she inched towards the trapdoor.
With a little effort, the hatch came free, a thick layer of dust clouding up with it. If anyone was down there, they hadn’t left in a while. She laid the hatch silently beside her, cursing under her breath again the rat bastard who‘d stolen her gas mask - could never trust the dust on Caitiff anymore. Took real scum to steal from the Remnant’s barracks - they were all in the same state, and were supposed to be in it together. Pulling her mask tighter, she stepped gingerly into the hole, her bionic instantly adjusting to the darkness. The room was empty - an old basement with a bedroll, assorted trash, and a corpse.
This one was fresher than the rest, the flesh clinging to the bones less leathery, and the stench of death still permeating his shelter. Glancing at his desiccated face, Finn put him at 17, maybe 18 - just a child when the war started. Poor kid had probably gone to starvation - Emperor knew, everyone else had. He’d set himself up a nice little bunker though, before he’d gone, and judging by the empty food cans scattered around, he’d managed to stay safe here for a while.
She was always equal parts awed and terrified by those who survived alone in the wasteland - what with the bandits, murderers and crazies, local wildlife and a landscape picked clean, it was a feat of endurance; but one that took its toll on sanity. It had been years since she’d met a waster who hadn’t attacked her on sight. Still, Ridgeway took in new recruits occasionally, so maybe she just had bad luck. Muttering a quick prayer for the boy’s ghost, she went through his things.
Boots - worn through to the sole, but still good for repairs. Dragging them off his skeletal feet, she placed them in her pack. His clothes were rags, nothing useful, but in his belt she found a worn auto pistol; empty and eroded, but good for parts. The rest of his things were useless - charms and talismans, a few sentimental items. She left the hatch the way she’d came, patting Loki as she guarded the door. She replaced the lid across the hatch, marked it in red with a crude depiction of a jackal, and stepped out the door. One more room searched, one less place to see on the dead planet. God, she hated scavenger duty."
Can't help but suggest a Tallarn called East a Cadian called West and maybe a Catachan called South to go with North there. Some lovely charismatic work here can't wait to see some squad shots!
Thanks guys! No real model update, but I've got a first picture of my 500 pt force, in many stages of WIP.
I'll have been painting models for a year in a week or two, and if you click the image you can zoom in a little and see my painting progress from 'abysmal' to 'abysmal to terrible'
Next up is Ridgeway himself, the aged leader of this dog and pony show. Stay tuned!
Thanks so much guys! Apologies for the delay, but here's a command squad member I've just painted up Tried out a bunch of new techniques in terms of weathering and stubble, plus a new base that I feel needs some work. Do you like him?
Would love any feedback you might have!
Lasfire - I'll get right on that! Sorry, I'm pretty terrible at checking messages
Automatically Appended Next Post: Oooh, also, I'll get some fluff up for him tomorrow - It's pretty late where I am right now
You're doing an outstanding job. Most of your minis are really full of personality.
I had a hard time figuring out what Fin's head was supposed to look like. Even when I zoomed in, I couldn't make out her features. The neckerchief over the lower half of her face didn't help.
JB - Thanks so much, that's a wonderful compliment! I know what you mean about Finn, but her face was actually a complete bodge - The head's from a Necromunda Escher model, and I absolutely mashed it trying to get it off. The bionic eye and neckerchief were damage limitatiion more that anything! I'd like to say it looks better in person, buuuuuut... y'know. Thanks for the feedback though!
Vlad-X7 - Great to hear from you again! Thank you, and yeah, I'm thinking I will keep that camo pattern for the cloaks - It's easy to do, and really fun too, though paint does tend to go everywhere
Alarmingrick - Thank you so much! I hope I can keep that going with new stuff!
As promised, here's a little fluff for Farnham, and a little more background on Caitiff, the home planet of the Remnants. It could use some work, but it's gone 2am and I need to revise tomorrow, so meh
Hope you like it!
" Farnham smiled. Flannigan’s boys could hold their own on the open field, but they really ought to leave ambushes to the experts. A lone waster stood in the centre of the ruins of the general store, stock still. There were no weapons on his person, not even a blade or a pipe, and every few seconds he would glance nervously side to side, presumably looking to his captors. No one on the planet would leave their shelters unarmed of their own volition, and no one who’d survived this long would be stupid enough to stand in the open in the middle of Pinewood. Poor bastard had probably been caught scavenging for food.
Flannigan must have caught wind of the new recruits Ridgeway had taken in last week - a younger lad and his mother who had been caught trying to break into the armoury back in Old Oswick. They were willing and capable, and both would be wielding a rifle with a few weeks of care, training and half decent nutrition. Didn’t mean he was stupid enough to fall for a stammering vox call offering six months of supplies for shelter. Wanted to meet them alone. In an unsheltered building in the middle of the city. Even if it had been real he‘d have been killed for his gear long before they got there.
Farnham and Jeep had come in from the South, looping well around the building and approaching from behind. Their cameleoline shimmered through browns and greys, rippling gently in the dustwind, and concealing them nicely in the office ruins a block down from the store. Farnham clicked his comm bead twice, whispered to Jeep.
“Just like you said, mate. Scope ‘em out.” He looked again through his binos, scanning the buildings around the grocer. A flash of light caught his eye, and he zoomed in on a collapsed wall just off the road. Two kids crouched behind the rubble, some kind of launcher tube on the ground between them. Their stolen PDF armour was crudely daubed with a blue cross front and back - Flannigan’s men. One of them was smoking, still thinking himself concealed. Clearly not the best recruits. A voice in his ear whispered.
“Three hostiles at the windows, building east of the road, might be more inside. You got anything?”
“Launcher team. South West, by the entrance.” Movement caught his eye. “Two more of them, look like autoguns, in the store itself.” He considered. “Too many for us. Shall we call it?”
“Yeah,” Jeep replied. “Let Stoat bring his lot, come in from the South. They can breach, take ‘em all down before they even realise how stupid they’ve been.”
Farnham chuckled. “Alright, sounds good. Let’s move.” He crawled away from the floor edge, hefting the pack he‘d collected as he went. A bedroll and a couple of tins of peaches - hopefully swollen little enough to be botulism-free. Nothing to be sniffed at, anyway. Walking towards Jeep, he thought again of the scavver in the shop - no way the guy would survive the operation, however it went. It scared him how little effect the senselessness of such deaths had on him anymore. Moving at a crouch, he joined Jeep in the dusk light outside."
Thanks Las, though I think that's going a little far I realise my writing isn't amazing, but it's fun to dom and hopefully a few people might enjoy reading it!
This is Captain Ridgeway, the leader of my motley group, along with his faithful mutt, Lobo. I've been working loads on armour weathering - I hope it shows up!
I was going for more of a 'sit back and plan' style of command than the seemingly more popular 'run screaming at the enemy with a big glowy sword' technique. Hope that comes across!
Would love any criticism you might have - I'm really trying to improve my painting
p.s. Ignore the book! My gran sent me it, as apparently rural GPs are thrilling to her and hence must be for me too It happened to be the nearest flat surface to hand, so no snarky comments
This is actually an older HW trooper I had to ditch after I removed them from my list. I've modified him and then touched up the paint on a bit after my friend introduced me to gears of war, but the painting is still a bit bodged
Still, makes me wish sergeants could still have lasguns...
Would love to know what you think! Apparently people were pretty indifferent to Ridgeway...
You painted Ridgeway really nice. I also like his dog. Morrigan has a much better face though. He seems more dynamic than Ridgeway.
I did get a Julius Caesar flashback when I first saw Morrigan. He has that strong nose and the do-rag on his head looked like a laurel wreath at first glance.
Farnham is dripping with character! I love it! The first thought that came to mind was Snake from Metal Gear Solid 3. Excellent work and nice photographic skills!
Thanks again for all the compliments, folks, you're way too kind to me!
I've painted up a lieutenant now (he's on the far right of the picture), which completes my company command squad for 500pt games (though I've still got a dog to paint up and tag on!). The pics aren't the best, but it's dark and I'm lazy, so no retakes! The pics are small on this forum, but if you click them, you can zoom in (and rate them too!)
I've ordered them in the order I painted them - Harkness was the 5th model I ever painted, just over a year ago now. Hopefully you can see an improvement!
Wow man, looks awesome. Your theme is really coming along.
And contrary to what you thought, i liked your captain even though he seemed to be less popular than you may have liked. However, i think that comes with the territory of the character you've given him.
Everyone loves a charismatic, gung ho commander willing to throw his life aside in a glorious hand to hand duel but your character, seemingly cold, methodical, and meticulous has nothing of this macho bravado people like to see.
...People other than myself that is ;] I think this is an awesome character, unique and well thought out.
Since you're writing background info for all of your men you should definitely let this factor shine through. Real people, the dakkaites, have been turned off by this man's cold, well-thought out demeanor...so too should the men he commands be turned off by his character.
You should then make his second in command the gung-ho, gunslingin' junior officer that everyone loves to see and hear about. The kind of soldier, war hero, everyone loves to envision... pit them against one another in a silent power struggle? The young buck constantly trying to out do his methodical superior.
Apologies for the model delay - just finished another set of exams (if you like exams, study medicine - seriously!), so going's been a little slow. Almost didn't post this next guy, as he was more greenstuff practice than a show model. Still, hope you like
I was thinking 'civilian soldier' when I made him - a survivor who was never part of the PDF, handed a gun when he fell in with the Remnants and told to scavenge whatever else he can. The GS work is pretty clumsy, but I'm working at it!
Anyone got any tips on how I could make my GSing smoother? I can never get it flush with the model... Ooh, and I have some fluff in mind for Donovan! You might see it in a day or so
Wait until the greenstuff is setting, take some lubricant on your finger (water works in a pinch, saliva works better than water) and rub it over the join, mostly from the greenstuff side to the plastic. It's not perfect but it works okay. Sanding down protruding greenstuff works too. I tend to do both.
Thanks a lot for the tip Morgrim, I really appreciate the input! Hopefully the GS work on this guy is smoother - here's another member of Ridgeway's command squad.
I'd love some criticism - please post, even if it's just to say it's crap or something! Be brutal - I really want to know how I can improve
Can't belive your blog got more comments! IMO this is awesome, every single model got an own personality and an own history. The smal conversions on some models also work to tell a tale about the models personality.
Your painting is also very nice, lot's of earthy colors that work well with the bases.
So the only thing I got to say is keep up the good work mate
Automatically Appended Next Post: "Can't belive your blog not* got more comments" **
Have you tried using Clay shapers? I find them easier to manipulate into smaller spaces than my fat fingers.
I like the worn dirty look of the clothing and armour you're doing, however, to me the flesh looks too clean in comparison (this is only a minor niggle) otherwise they look great!
FM Ninja 048 wrote:but gotta ask where did the dog come from,
I second this. I've a plan brewing in my mind for using dogs for something. This particular one would work well as it looks somewhat feral, and is in an alerted "pointing" stance.
I have to say, i really like some of your subtle conversions, particularly the commander and dog, just looks right. for something a little extra on the Hetlan character, i would recommend some arm hair, its quite easy to do with a nice fine detail brush and looks great. The splash effect on the camo capes is a nice touch too. If you are looking to progress painting wise, my big recommendations would be practice on a variety of minis (this does slow down army building, if thats what your into) and have a little read up, there are some great books around - http://www.scribd.com/doc/23270615/THE-ULTIMATE-MINIATURE-PAINTING-GUIDE and http://www.scribd.com/doc/20569867/How-to-Paint-Citadel-Miniatures are good places to start. All in all, nice work keep it up.
Wow, thank you thank you thank you guys, was never expecting this kind of response!
@LordBoJangles - Thanks! The catachan arms are pretty ridiculous I know, I guess Hetlan just really really likes working out? It's less obvious on the tabletop anyway
@Rose_Mountainz - Thank you so much, that was exactly what I was going for! I like the Cadian models a lot, but they can look pretty 'cookie-cutter' if you line a bunch of them up
@hungryp - Cheers! Lobo is a giant wolf from the 10mm range at Copplestone Castings. There are 3 or 4 variations, and the scale is dead on for a regular-sized wolf in 40k. They come on a moulded base, which I cut off, and I've reposed the legs a little to fit better. I gave him some (rubbishly moulded) bionics too, but you can't really see so well in the photo! I'll see if i can get a few more pictures of the others with the next update.
@Vlad-X7 - Thank you! I've been working on my metal weathering, so I'm really chuffed you noticed that At the moment I'm using a GW sculpting tool, but I'll be sure to look into the clay shapers - sounds like a great idea. I had thought about the cleanness of the skin - do you think weathering powder would help?
Especially thanks for the interest in the stories, wasn't sure if anyone liked 'em I'll be sure to get another one up soon!
@FM Ninja - Thank you! The dog is from copplestone castings. I'll see if I can get some pictures of the others.
@Nowlan - See above
@Hits_the_spot - Thank you so much, that is a wonderful, wonderful compliment Thanks for the link as well, I've been looking it over, and I'll be sure to try some things out! (I love your guard by the way - been following your threads for a while, but didn't feel I had much meaningful to contribute than another "these are mind blowing" comment - great work!)
@Maliceinthelookingglass - Thanks a lot! I've nearly got a 500pt force now, probably a month or three away at the rate I seem to be working I feel mean, but I've already got a kind of 'casualty order' in my head for squads I've finished - the ones I'm proudest of will definitely be living longest!
@Blackhand - Thanks loads, man, loved your Tervigon
Thank you all so much again! I'm off to see family for a week or two tomorrow, but I'll try to get up some pics of what I'm working on before I go, as well as those dogs. And some fluff I'm working on too!
Thank you! Here's what I'm currently working on - My master of ordnance (in charge of booby traps, defusal and ambushes in my army fluff) and a standard bearer.
Both are obvs very WIP!
Hope you like, and I'd love to hear what you think
Really like the cloak and banner on the standard bearer they have a lot of realism in the way they hang and catch the light (?) wind , like how you have sculpted the hair to move the same way as the cloak. Where did you get it from btw?
Thanks a lot guys! The cloak is from one of the wood elf sprues, with a little modification - I'll check up on which one it was.
Just a quick one today 'cause I'm late meeting someone. Here's the completed MoO (in charge of booby traps etc.). I tried a bunch of new techniques. Not too sure bout the burn on his face, might get rid of it depending on what you guys think. I know the photos aren't the best, couldn't seem to get the light right today :(
I'm really sorry, i don't mean to be offensive but this makes me think of the Wombles!! Anyone that hasn't lived in Britain for a period of time in the past 15 years may not get this idea...
Imperial Monkey - that's fantastic! I think the wombles were a teeny bit before my time, but I can totally see the resemblence. Might have to pick a differen colour for the mask next time - maybe I could just say he's a big fan of them?
@Alarmingrick and Murdog - Thank you so much, those are both wonderful compliments! No model updates today (I'm visiting family for Easter - boo) but I've written this little fluff piece, which maybe someone might like?
"Jirik glanced briefly from behind the counter he'd upturned, saw the second soldier enter through the smoking remains of the doorway at the opposite end of the room. If he was incredibly lucky, he wouldn't have been spotted yet. This one seemed more cautious, edging over the body of his comrade and scanning the room for more traps. He called something out and brought his rifle to his shoulder. With a sharp intake of breath and a prayer to whomever would listen, Jirik threw the counter over again and fired four shots towards the soldier. By some divine providence, the third caught him square in his unarmoured shoulder in an explosion of red.
The man screamed, the sound ripping through the morning air even through his gas mask. He stumbled back, tripping over an uprooted beam and into the wall as his rifle clattered to the ground. He pulled himself upright, cursing as he lunged for the door, arm hanging useless at his side. Jirik shot again, spinning the man right round and to the floor as the stub round found purchase in the meat of his hip. He limped towards him, deliberately slowly, pausing briefly to pick up the discarded rifle. It was an autogun, probably once in the hands of one of the PDF. He checked the moving parts - a nice acquisition. He advanced on the soldier.
The first soldier had doomed his buddy - Scope could improve your reflexes, but it ate away at your sanity. It wasn't Kerin's screams that had woken Jirik, but the excited, animal yelps of the raider as he knifed him again and again in the next room. Tears filled his eyes as he trapped the door with his last grenade; Laren soundlessly dragged Brianna away to hide.
The survivor was begging now, a string of platitudes and apologies tumbling out of his treacherous, murdering mouth as he desperately tried to drag himself over the body of his friend with his one good arm. Jirik answered his pleas with a boot to his gut. The bastard's flak armour was marked with a blue cross, but scratched all over with crude markers - a tally of the men and women he had killed on the wastes. Kerin's knife, with the embroidered pouch, hung from this butcher's belt. Jirik brought his boot down again, as hard as he could on the soldier's wounded hip. The man's scream was sustained. Jirik smiled - a cold grin of malice. He leaned in and pulled off his mask, crudely daubed with grinning fangs.
The face beneath it caught his breath in his lungs. The soldier was a teenager, a child. No older than his own son. His face was bloodied, but even with the graze of a new beard, he had seen no more than fifteen summers. Probably hadn't even been born when the evacuation left. He had stopped begging. His eyes, wide around pinpoint pupils, never moved from Jirik's as his breath sawed ragged in and out of his throat. Jirik stepped back, rested against the standing bookcase behind him with his head in his hands. He though of Merin and Lasinia, all the others he had left escaping the compound. He thought of Levin, and what he must be doing now, whether he was still alive. He though of the fate of a lone soldier, wounded and defenceless in the wasteland. He raised his pistol once more and shot the child square in the forehead. He bent down and pulled Kerin's knife from the boy's belt. He had to find Brianna and Laren before more of them came."
I know it's cheesy as anything, but I just wanted to do something 40k-ey. Hope you like it, and I'd really appreciate if you let me know what you think, good or bad
Hahaha, I'll take that as a 'noone cares about rubbish fiction' then Apologies for the delay on new stuff, have been home seeing family for 2 weeks or so.
This guy is part of my command squad at 500pts. I was thinking of chem troopers, as well as civilians gathering up equipment from other fallen guard. He was also yet another exercise in making my GS work less pathetic. Hopefully I'm slowly improving! I'm not too proud of the painting on this guy, but I still think it's ok. Maybe you do too? Maybe you think it's my worst paint job so far? I'd love to know!
Love it! This blog is great! May I suggest for weathering, you find a brush with plastic bristles, let some paint and glue dry on it, and then use the drybrushing technique on the area you want to weather with boltgun metal. The results look suitably battered. Works great for my Orks.
Wow, great work on all of them. There is more character here than in the Space Marine Codex. As for weathering, I've recently started using the Stippling Brush, works quite well.
@Ghost in the Darkness - Thank you! The fluff stuff is fun to write, even if it's also kind of rubbish
@Boss 'eadbreaka - Thanks a lot, and for the tip as well! I've never heard that one before, I'll be sure to try it out, I've got a few knackered old brushes lying around that couldn't do much worse with a glue dip anyway (p.s. Axe Cop is awesome - love your avatar!)
@Rose_mountainz - Thanks a lot! Really appreciate all your feedback, really keeps me motivated.
@Tim the Biovore - Thanks so much! I've been stippling the armour plates with an old brush, didn't realise there was a specialised one for the job - I'll have to hunt one out.
Next model up is nothing special - she has the unenviable role of being a standard trooper in a special weapons squad, so kind of a mule and cannon fodder of the highest order! I've been messing around with GS some more, hopefully you won't be able to tell where
As always, please let me know what you think, good or bad. I'd really appreciate the feedback so I can know how to improve!
I'm liking the models and the background stories, but the eyes just get to me for most of them. I dunno, they just seem too wide open or something. The latest one, your not so special special weapons woman looks like a cat that's just seen something very interesting run across the floor...
@Tim the Biovore - Thanks! Know what you mean about the head though; that's kind of why she's been relegated to a rubbish spot Ah well, live and learn
@Lord Kaesar II - Cheers for the comment! The eyes tend to look better from a bit of a distance, but I see your point. If i make the pupils smaller they all seem to look terrified though! How do you do eyes? I'd love any tips you might have!
@Nightwatch - Hahaha, thank you! I am stretching it a bit for names at the mo - I think Dover got mentioned in the news I was watching when I was almost done painting. Loads to be said for subconscious triggers!
I've been busy again - painted up my standard bearer and dirtied up the rest of them a bit with some FW dried mud weathering powder. I think I can call my command squad for 500pts done now! Had a bit of a mare painting the standard itself, but I'm happy enough with how it turned out. Please let me know what you think - first squad I've finished up in a while!
Ridgeway and his command squad:
Would love to hear from you all - thanks for being so supportive so far!
Scarper wrote:@Lord Kaesar II - Cheers for the comment! The eyes tend to look better from a bit of a distance, but I see your point. If i make the pupils smaller they all seem to look terrified though! How do you do eyes? I'd love any tips you might have!
Well, my eyes aren't much better right now, but I just follow a procedure I heard of where you make the whole eye the color you want the iris to be, then you add white on either side of it for the whites, keeping in mind potential eye turning and how much of the eye is naturally shown, when real people are looking about
Personally I leave them black and use a wash to add creases and shadow around them, In real life if you see someone from more 6 feet away the entire eye socket is in shadow anyway so when looking a model that is 3cm or less it seems a lot of effort to add the whites of the eye and every time i've tried I get the startled look as well. I know its fairly lazy but thats me
No takers on that one then? No probs, I have more This is Fluke, the hound that tags along with Bowman's platoon command squad. I was messing around with interesting basing - hopefully it works?
I've shifted around Bowman's squad too, as I figured some of the poses were too similar. Here's the current (and finished!) lineup. Now remember that there's around a 6 month gap between me painting some of these figures, and I've only been painting for just over a year. So play nice on the crappy ones! p.s. This one's better if you follow the link then zoom in!
As always, would love to hear any opinions. Seriously. Even if it's just one word
I'm liking the general incorporation of the dogs in your force, perhaps as though they're some traditional useful/ used creature with the original force or something. Is there to be any actual use for them in the squads, like, say, a laspistol-less bodyguard in your command, or are they more as decoration too the squad?
Morgrim - Thanks a lot! Fluke is based off a giant wolf from the 10mm range at Copplestone Castings. They come on some metal bases that need clipping away, but the scales not bad and they're easy to repose. Great little company!
Lord Kaesar II - Thank you! There's a lot of booby trapping and ambushing between different groups in my fluff, so I though guard / sniffer dogs would be pretty invaluable to have around. I'd love to give 'em a role, but I'm not sure what to go for at the moment. I think they could end up as just some scenic tag alongs
Rose_Mountainz - Thanks a lot! The fox is a good idea, I might see how I can mix up the colours. My palette is a little limited in terms of oranges though
BLACKHAND - Cheers, that's wonderful to hear coming from someone with your modelling skills! I know people can easily skim read and not leave any comments even if they like something (lord knows, I do it!), so I try to bear that in mind. Half the reason to put stuff up is so I can keep track of my own progress. Always nice to hear if people have any comments or tips though ;D
Doots - Thank you! That's really kind.
alexwars1 - Thanks so much!
Natorum - Wow, really? That's great to hear! Good luck with your new guard; they're brilliant to work with, and have loads of scope for changes. Make sure you post your stuff up so we can all have a look!
Next up is a few vets with molotov cocktails, but I've got an anatomy exam in a few days, so it might be a while. Thanks all for the input, I really appreciate it!
Hey againd Dakka! I was hoping I could steal some opinions off you guys. I've decided to represent melta bombs in my army with molotov cocktails. I know at present they're pretty much useless against vehicles, but I thought I could come up with some rubbish 40ky reason of a different fuel that burns hotter or something like that? Plus, I loved the idea and couldn't ditch it once I'd though of it Would anyone object to facing squads with meltabombs like this as long as I was consistant with them?
This is Moran, my first meltabomber vet. Hope you like him! There's still going to be a shotgun lying against those rocks at the front, as soon as my cast dries. What do you reckon of the helmet? I was trying to add some more cohesive variety, but I'm still in two minds, and might end up repainting it.
Here's a horribly mistake-revealing close up on the molotov. No judging!
As always, really appreciate every comment you give. You've all really helped me out a lot!
I'd be perfectly fine with the use of Molotov cocktails as meltabombs in the force of my opponent, considering I take some leeway here and there myself when it comes to WYSIWYG
I approve of the use of dogs in this force, and I'm intending to use 2 in my army once I get time to start work on it.
Feel free to take this or leave it, but fluke's coat, particularly in his face looks like it could use a little more variation in its color.
Perhaps add a mask to his muzzle. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melanistic_mask). My dog (an irish setter mix) has a black mask and it really adds a lot of character to her face.
Perhaps having the chest/belly fur a lighter tone of the fur on the back would help aswell. This may also help if done to the paws as some breeds' coats may have "boots" or "socks" in their pattern (the paw itself is a different color than the rest of the leg, usually being the coat's secondary color).
Example of Mask Example of Feet You can also see his "tuxedo" pattern where his chest and belly are the secondary color instead of the primary color.
(And yes, both of these pictures are my dogs)
Maybe a little pink tone to the inside of the ears since no fur grows beyond the edges of the ear.
My idea for incorporating the 2 dogs I plan on using is to have them be counts-as bodyguards for my CCS. I plan to modify them slightly by sculpting some flak armor on them and integrating a las-pistol into the armor. (which will be linked into an implant in the dogs head for targeting.) It doesn't seem out of the question for a high ranking Imperial officer to have his prized hounds and most faithful bodyguards bio-technically modified. I mean after all, the imperium does spend resources to alter Ogryn, and they're little more than hairless apes. Besides, a human bodyguard may run or hesitate to do its job when it hits the fan. A well trained german shepherd will never hesitate.
Great minis, great colour-scheme, great background and great attention to detail! And I allways though I put too much time into my "ordinary" troopers, but you've taken that to an art
The post-apocalyptic style really appeals to me and gives you an incredible amount of room to personalize every mini. You've even put a helluva lot of detail in the bases, which is nothing short of inspiring. Almost makes me regret I didn't pay more attention to them myself in my own army The colours work well with the set-up, and the weathering effects subtly come through in a great way.
I'm gonna look forward to you posting your future tanks (which I assume there'll be). I'm guessing you'll be making them look alot scrappier and jury-rigged than standard issue tanks for the Guard? Almost mistakable for Ork vehicles? Oh, now I'm getting ahead of you. I'll just really look forward to them
I also love the idea of motorcyclist Rough Riders. If I'll ever make a squad myself, I think I'll stick with horses, but I've looked at many different options for using motorcycles. Kickass idea and kickass execution from you! Kudos!
@Rose_Mountainz - Thank you! I'd never seen it done before either, which is what had me worried about whether people would be ok with it. Now I'm starting to think noone's done it cause fire is a bitch to sculpt!
@LKII - Thanks a lot! Glad to hear they'd be alright
@Nowlan - Thanks loads for the tips, and especially the photos. The two dogs I've got in the army so far are the first time I've really tried painting fur - seems like a bit of a learning curve! I'll see if I can get them looking better next time with your advice I really like the idea of your armoured mutts - make sure to post em up if you run with it!
@Kung Fu Jim - Thanks a lot, and glad I could help!
@Wolfed - Wow, that's one hell of a compliment there, thank you so much. I've yet to actually play a game, so I'm thinking maybe I'm going to be seriously disappointed in how easily my lovingly made 'regular' guardsmen are massacred... Hopefully you'll like the rest of this post it you're into ramshackle vehicles...
@cadian512 - Thanks a lot, I really appreciate that!
@Las - Cheers man! That's really kind of you to say. And I'm still waiting on those vets you're going to post up, right? It's great to hear from you! Hope work isn't beating you down too much :( Just getting to exam season myself...
Right, you lot won't have seen this monstrosity -
First thing I ever painted, way back when in March last year. Well,, he kind of got in a fight with my stairs, and lost. And pretty badly too! I'm loathe to throw away the first thing that I ever made though...
So here's my solution - the sent is getting the call sign "Limp", and it's going to be a scrapyard acquisition with a rusty-ass paint job. This is a bit of a WIP on the repairs I'm doing, but what do you reckon so far? I'd really love some tips, cause this is the first time I've done anything like this, and I know some of you lot out there are scratchbuilding pros.
The foot is going to be painted like a section of a highway sign - y'know, scavengers and that I'm off to finish writing up a portfolio now - I'd love to see some responses when I emerge from my hole in 48 hours or so! x
Scarper wrote:
@Nowlan - Thanks loads for the tips, and especially the photos. The two dogs I've got in the army so far are the first time I've really tried painting fur - seems like a bit of a learning curve! I'll see if I can get them looking better next time with your advice I really like the idea of your armoured mutts - make sure to post em up if you run with it!
Once this semester ends and I finish the US Navy Skyraider I'm building for my girlfriend's father (retired S.E.A.L., served in country from 70-71) I'll hopefully have time to get started on my army. All I've got done so far is the sentinel that came in the battleforce, and its only assembled and primed.
As for the dogs, wikipedia has a list of all the standard coat colors and patterns that today's domestic purebreds have.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_%28dog%29 If I were you I'd use them as a rough guide, but wouldn't adhere to them too strictly, because after all, there's a lot of room for evolution between 2010 and 40,000.
Thanks BLACKHAND! I've thought about that, but the sentinels are pretty much the only vehicles I'm planning on putting in my list atm (light recon and all that), so it's probably not worth it. It seems like a lot of fun though, so it may end up happening for a different modelling project or something
Cheers again for the links and the tips Nowlan, I'm looking forward to seeing your stuff come together
For now INCREDIBLY MINOR UPDATE!
And with that I'm off to bed.
Would love to hear your thoughts! (In the morning, though )
Very nice. That list little bit really makes it work... that elbow was looking a little stiff, but the new gubbinz do the trick perfectly! I really like the foot too.
It's exam season here, which means PROCRASTINATING MODEL TIME
This is Redfield - my latest veteran. I put more work into the face than I usually do, do you think it shows? (Please say yes! ) I'll hopefully have the last two of those squad members done by the end of the week, and updated the paint on some of the older ones
Hope you like her - let me know if you do / don't!
@Rose_mountainz - Thank you! And thanks loads for commenting, I really appreciate all the feedback and comments you have - you're awesome! @Calgar 2.5 - I'm afraid his past is shrouded in mystery. Rumour is that he's got a bandana on under the box though!
@Commissar Agro - Thanks a lot! I have some trouble staying motivated painting vehicles, but you've inspired me to bash a bit more paint on it. Results next year maybe @Imperial Monkey - Cheers! These guys aren't traitors, but they're not fighting for the Imperium either - There's a blurby type thing in my first post with their background, but they're basically survivors on a wasteland planet. I'm sure some of them would happily rejoin the emperor if he promised to take them off Caitiff @Comisarmilo - Thank you! I'm glad you like them
@Nowlan - A friend on another forum called it a katar. Not sure if that's right though!
Thanks for all the comments guys, really appreciate them!
Just a quickie today. Changed up a vet I made as a request from someone on another forum. I wasn't happy with the proportions - I couldn't really work out why, but for some reason, a catachan head seemed way too big on this body. I've slapped on a pack, repainted most of the armour, used some weathering powders and done a headswap - think he looks way more veterany now ;D
Exams tomorrow - wish me luck! And I've heard comments about models are really good luck too, so I wouldn't mind one or two of them Much appreciated, obvs.
Good Luck with the exam.
I had a bad thought of booth taking off his helmet and becoming a teacher at my school.
ARGH...must...purge...brain
looks good as usual!
Hey guys! Exams are almost over, last one tomorrow. Promise I'll reply to all your comments over the next couple of days, but I'm just going to leave this here, then go to bed - got a lot of work to do tomorrow morning. Appreciate them hugely as always, and I will get back to you!
Just to show I'm not doing absolutely nothing, here's a current project -
The idea is that it's an outpost near the Remnant's home town - an outlying building destroyed a long time ago. It'll be constantly manned by two lookouts, who will live there for a couple of days before being relieved.
A few detail shots - The radio and generator will eventually be wired up, the posts will have a tarpaulin draped across them to cover the sleeping area, and I'm looking to get a heavy stubber set up next to where the sniper rifle is at the moment (if anyone has one to trade, please chck out the trading post!). There will be some posters around the walls, and hopefully you can see the landmines out front.
Hopefully it'll make an interesting bit of terrain, and a few house rules could make it worth taking ;D I'd love to hear any suggestions people might have to make it more interesting / improve the modelling. THis is the first bit of terrain I've ever done, so I'd really appreciate any advice! Love you all
Wow, dude, great work! I'm insanely jealous of how realistic you've managed to make this army! Keep it up, for real! Oh, and Good luck on exams, I feel your pain. D:
lovely job as ever dude, I hope all the exams turn out well. Also, I send my sympathies to your liver... I imagine it might need it in the next few days.
Thanks loads for the comments and compliments, everyone, I really appreciate them
I can't believe it's been nearly a month since I posted anything - I've just been really swamped lately. Exams are over now (my liver did indeed take a bit of a beating), I'm all moved into a new flat, and ready to get some more painting done! Year 4 of my course starts in a week though, so that's almost a holiday over already. Looks like I'll have to work quickly...
First model from my new improved work station (the whole thing folds away - it's awesome!) is this vet flamer. I'm still struggling to get the lighting right for photos here, but I'd love to know what you reckon! I've been playing around with rust effects and skin tones
Really appreciate all your support so far, everyone. Dakka is an amazing community! I'd love any tips you might have, and critique, even if it's bad
@Rose_Mountainz - Thank you! I find varying the gear between models can make them seem more personalised, like they've scavenged their own stuff. I hope that comes through
@Ghosty - I am! And thanks for the compliment, much appreciated.
@Morgrim - I hope it's the photography, as I've been working on my highlighting of faces. I'm still trying to find the spot with decent light in my new apartment - I'll see if I can get some better pictures up soon. Thanks for the comment!
@Calgar 2.5 - Cheers! The game was a little bit of an inspiration, I'm not gonna lie I took a few things from lots of places though - you can find inspiration for post-apocalyptic stuff from all over the place! I'm reading Cormac McArthy's 'The Road' at the mo, which is absolutely incredible (and really moving too). Can't wait for New Vegas though!
@Azekio - Thanks so much, thats an amazing compliment! I'm currently working on a 500pt force (about 10 models to go til it's done ), but I'd love to get into inquisimunda - noone seems to play it round my end though :(
Today's update is more about upgrades than new stuff. First up is a model I was never really happy with - the female head was too small with the huge catachan hands and the cadian shoulder pad. One head swap (and a sex change) later, I was left with this. Do you think the GS hair works? It's the one I'm most pleased with so far, but I'd love some criticism. I've also tried out a new technique for the scar, and the same rust effects were added as for Stoke.
This next model is one of the first I ever painted around March last year (you can see him on the left in the first picture), and I thought I'd experiment to see if I could make a few really quick changes to get him more in line with my current models. Hopefully it works!
before:
after:
As always, I really appreciate any comments and criticism, so hit me!
@indiana1000 - thanks! And for the friending as well
@ordo13 - Good idea! I've been thinking of doing a few scavenged vehicles - real mad max style done up trucks and oil tankers and the like - but i'm trying to power through some troops first. Thanks for the idea, though, I'll keep it in mind!
@Scrazza - Cheers! No more progress on the terrain so far, but I'll get an update up as soon as I do something with it!
@MenOfTanith - Thanks a lot!
@metallifan - The walls are from this site, which has ridiculous amounts of awesome scenery stuff. Be warned that it needs a bit of cleanup before use though - pretty standard for resin moulds though, I guess.
@Commissar Agro - Thanks!
@akira5665 - Cheers for the compliment
This is my Harker stand in, a resin model from studio McVey. I've tried out a few shots with natural light, but I can't decide if it's better than my usual photo technique. Please let me know what you think of both the photos and the painting, and I can hopefully get a shot of the whole vet squad up pretty soon!
Cheers loads, guys, really appreciate the kind words! She is a touch taller than GW's line (~31mm or so instead of 28mm, but that is hunched over), but I'm just putting it down to her being taller than average - seems a little silly to have a planet full of people exactly the same size!
Seeing as Lt. Black herself didn't drum up too much interest, here's a quick shot of the now finished (!) vet squad she leads - I've tried to get shots showing both the front and back lines. As soon as I've painted them up a hound, they're good for the battlefield!
As always, I'd love to know what you reckon. No sealer yet, so it's not too late to make changes!
@indiana1000 - Thanks again, man! The washes are pretty complicated:
- Most of the fabric gets badab black
- Metals get ogryn flesh or badab black depending on how rusty I want them to look
- Devlan mud goes over areas of cloth that would get dirty
- Skin gets washed with black, mud, or flesh depending on the tone I'm going for / how I'm feeling on the day / phase of the moon.
Hope that's helpful!
@GG - Thanks loads! The generator bits are from the same place the walls came from - there's a link somewhere in my last post. They have a TON of awesome scenery stuff, so you should give them a look!
@Yggdrasil - Thank you so much, that's a massive compliment! I can't remember exactly the steps I took on her face, but I'm pretty sure it'll be tallarn flesh, a tallarn flesh/graveyard earth combo for highlighting, a tallarn flesh/mechrite red mix for the lips, and then a wash with devlan mud. Finally, I'd redo the highlights and add some wet mud weathering powder. I'm glad you like it, but it's just luck it came out that way! Really appreciate the comment!
The weapon on this next WIP is heavily influenced by a concept I saw in endtransmission's awesome blog. He has tons of original ideas, and is building an amazing army, so check him out!
I'm still trying to improve my GS-fu, so here's a nearly complete melta gunner with an underslung gun. I've always thought the GW vanilla ones are big enough to look ridiculous on a guardsman, so cutting it down seemed like an awesome plan! I'd love to know how you think I could improve this before I paint it, so thanks in advance for any comments!
Thank you for the compliments These are all looking really great and I'm going to third the motion of "where'd the female heads come from?"
The thing I found with the underslung melta was that it needed a hefty strap to keep it in place, so I took some inspiration from the terminator heavy flamers that have a large wrist brace built into the Melta so that it's securely attached to the arm
All looking good here.
Think you just need to widen the wrist brace a bit, as endtransmission says, and I have to add my name to the list of enquirers about that head
I agree, the wrist strap needs to be wider. I'd say: towards the gun, so that the small gap between the strap and the gun (almost directly under her wrist) goes away. I like the gun a lot.
The backpack is very cool too. Well done, if a bit small. Or maybe it's the body that is too thick, but in the second pic her left arm and head look too small for the rest of her.
I didn't notice it with Redfield, and it's not apparent in the first (new) pic, either. Could just be the shoulder pad, too. *shrug*
The melta chick is awesome. It reminds me of one of the Gaunt's Ghosts novels on the desert shrine world. The local PDF had specialist troops with arm mounted flamers.
@physcosamatic, endtransmission, monkeytroll, the good green and yggdrasil - Thanks so much for the input, and the comments. I've stretched out the strap a bit, and though this is a miniscule update, I thought I'd show that I'm listening!
Bearing in mind that I'll straighten the edges once it has cured a little more, do you think it fits better now? I was a bit loath to mess with the strap before because a lot of the other GS was still curing, and I have a history of mashing decent work with clumsy fingers whilst working on a different part I might add another strap too, if you think it's necessary.
The heads are from micro art studio, a small but awesome Polish company. Buy lots from them, they're awesome
@The Good Green - I really hope it's the angle of the picture (I had the camera really close up to show the handle). Both arms are from the empire archer kit, but it's possible there are some scale differences. It's not a problem I've had before though, so I hope it works out! Thanks for the compliments on the gun and the pack!
Thanks to everyone for the suggestions and comments, I really appreciate them all!
Yeah, that works for me now There's the possibility of merging the strap with the gun to form a solid part, but I don't think that's necessary.
Been hearing good things about nmicro-art heads since hanging on dakka, will definitely try some when my wallet lets me in again
I love that meltagun, it is awsome. nice head as well.
what kind of pistol is that for the meltachick?
I really liked Lt black, that is a mean gun she has.
I'd almost add a little bit of a vertical handle to that melta, coming up into the half open hand. Between that and the strap it'd look much easier to control, sort of able to sweep it from side to side more easily. And you could say it has the trigger in it.
Commissar Agro wrote:what kind of pistol is that for the meltachick?
It seems like a Forge World hand from the Cadians sprues...
Morgrim wrote:I'd almost add a little bit of a vertical handle to that melta, coming up into the half open hand. Between that and the strap it'd look much easier to control, sort of able to sweep it from side to side more easily. And you could say it has the trigger in it.
Morgrim wrote:I'd almost add a little bit of a vertical handle to that melta, coming up into the half open hand. Between that and the strap it'd look much easier to control, sort of able to sweep it from side to side more easily. And you could say it has the trigger in it.
That'd be even better!!! I second his idea!
Funny you should mention that as mine have the handle in for just that reason
Thanks for the suggestions, compliments and the comments everyone! It's hard to see, but I actually already had a handle in her hand - you can see it best in the picture:
It is a little small though, so I'll probably end up switching it out for a bigger one on your recommendations
Been a bit of a slow week or so (work has been CRAZY), but here's a little bit of a sneak peek on what I'm working on at the moment. Obviously it's work in progress, but I feel like I owe you guys an update for all your input!
As always, I'd love to hear what you think, and thanks so much for all the comments so far!
I didn't notice the handle in the first post of that pic, that's fantastic! The strap is looking better, too.
As for any scale issues, I thinks it's just the angle. I've had a few problems like that with the super grots, stick an arm to a body and it looks good, then turn it and it looks a little funny. I've decided to ignore it as much as possible, for my own sanity.
wow, that place really does have some nice minis, I hope they dont get shut down by GW though... those gobbos they had looked kinda familiar...
also, @Monkeytroll, Good to see another Eve Player.
@Monkeytroll - Thanks, I'm glad you like it!
@TGG - I know what you mean. I think a lot of it has to do with some of the scale issues in GW models too - catachan hands, for example, are ridiculous; and I'm starting to wish they would drop the whole 'heroic' thing, and do a proportional human once in a while! Thanks for the compliments!
@indiana1000 - Cheers!
I've done a little more work on the sent now. Still not finished, but it's getting there!
I'd love to know what you reckon, and sorry if the pics are a little dark - it's 1 in the morning where I am. Still getting back into a normal sleep pattern after a few night shifts
Thanks! I thought it conveyed a complicated message in a clear way The road part of the base is actually a product called 'black lava', which is fantastic. Sets in about 45 mins, and can do mud, roads or rust, depending on how thick you layer it on.
The base isn't done yet though, still need something to fill in the big space on the road - probs some papers or trash or something. Soon!
Now finished with the sentinel - kind of a mammoth job! Hope you all like it Please be critical - I'd love any comments, good or (especially!) bad! It's the only way to learn.
Looks great but i think it needs more battle damage, if the leg was damaged I would think there would be more damage arround the area like scorch marks from lasers or rocket explosions or bulet holes?
Thanks, commissar! I was thinking maybe some more battle damage was in order, but I'm kind of in two minds about where to put it. Fluffwise, it's a sentinel that was out of commission with the old PDF, and all the decent parts were scavenged off it. Once Ridgeway's boys got hold of it, it had been derelict for several years, and they had to knock some things together to get it moving again. Hence all the rust and wear, but maybe not so much damage. Still, that might just be me wussing out!
The sign is on the stump of an old tree, yeah. Thanks for the comment!
if we were to draw parallels between contemporary religion and the Mechanicum, somewhere there is a magos crying for every machine because they're *sniff* so beautiful...
Liking limp, actually liking the whole army, one could we have some total army shots as it would be cool to see what they all look like together, and secondly have you played any games with them yet, if so how do they do?
Thanks guys! I'm almost up to 500pts now (around 10 or so guardsmen away!), and I'm really trying to hold off on getting any army shots done til then - It's really helping to keep me motivated! I'm looking forward to playing my first game though, and i promise I'll get some shots and let you lot know how badly I get trounced!
Now this is totally just showing off, but I had to tell you all about this: I just picked up probably the best deal I've ever heard of on eBay! A bunch of poorly painted, mostly damaged models were up with a terrible, pixellated picture on eBay as "mostly guard bits". I zoomed in, and thought I could see a few complete metal models in amongst the bits, so I thought I'd gamble and put in a bid. I got the whole batch for about £5, and promptly forgot about it. It arrived this morning, and I pretty much fainted when I saw what was in the box. For £5, I landed:
3 original stormtroopers and what looks like an original storm trooper vehicle driver
2 oop catachans with special weapons
2 oop cadians
2 tallarns with special weapons
3 damaged 2nd ed (I think!) bounty hunter models with 'GW 1995' stamped on the base tab
Various other bits of old metal models!!!
Now most of these are pretty bashed up, and many will need stripping, but I could still not be happier! I just put together this (very mocked up) platoon commander with a few of the new bits - he was the leader of one of the larger gangs that joined up when Ridgeway sent out the call, but I'll get some real fluff up probably tomorrow. He'll have a scanner of some sort in his left hand, and he's looking over the area. Do you guys like the look, or is it too cheesy? I can't shake the feeling that he looks like he's just flexing! ;D
I love the idea that he's just flexing. He looks like he would be that vain: Surveying his surroundings, looking for scrap and pray, the platoon commander imagined how frightened his soon to be adversaries most be, cowering in their foxholes. Taking in the scene he paused, catching a scent in the air, flexing his muscles to show them how tough he could be.
Great mini! excellent ebay find. I think he would fit in great with the bad guys from Mad Max. I can't wait to see more from this new bits box.
The sentinel looks great too, by the way. I don't think it need any more battle damage. It looks to my like it's been repaired already, so the scars of war might as well have been painted over.
You say you got some original storm troopers? You mean the ones with the berets? I love those models. If so the one that looks like a driver is probably a heavy weapon gunner. You could paint these up in differing camo from your other guardsmen as remnants from one of the other regiments that was left behind. Or maybe a simple black or gray uniform on them and they could be air force personnel or crewman from the planetary defense guns
Brotherjulian wrote: Or maybe a simple black or gray uniform on them and they could be air force personnel or crewman from the planetary defense guns
Now that's an idea I like. Surviving support troops, usually never seen on a battlefield but these are the ones that were tough enough to survive, making them just as good as guardsmen.
I can't believe I've only just seen this thread, your models are superb, every model ooze's character, some very nice painting aswell, keep up the good work, best of luck with our exam results too
@Monkeytroll - It was! I was really happy with it, I'm usually rubbish at getting things for a decent value.
@Captain Roderick - Thanks! I'm really glad the Mad Max vibe comes through - it was kind of what I had in mind when I was building him ;D He's supposed to be an arrogant glory seeker who's kept on because he's popular with the troops, but secretly resented by the other Lts. All will become clear when I actually write the thing! ;D
@The good green - That image actually made me laugh out loud! I'm really tempted to just keep him flexing with nothing in his hand now so that I can tell people that story. Thank you for your kind words, and your comment on the sentinel: it's pretty much what I was trying to get across, but you're more eloquent at phrasing it than I was!
@BrotherJulian and Captain Roderick - It is the beret ones! And thanks for the idea. I've actually been considering doing some troops up in grey jumpsuits (like the ones the sentinel drivers are wearing), but with standard scavenged brown armour and lasguns. The idea being that they are surviving vehicle crews whose vehicles themselves are long gone. I was just a little worried that the grey wouldn't really go with the rest of the squad. What do you reckon? Would it clash too much and kill the cohesive vibe?
@abhorsen950 - Thank you so much for your kind words, that's really flattering! Thanks for watching too
Don't think the grey jumpsuits would be a problem, the sentinel drivers wearing them so it does tie in, and fits fluff-wise with your army. Speaking of which, do keep the fluff coming.
If any gear they're carrying matches the rest of the Remnants then it should be fine.
Keep it coming.
I like the fluff mate, and I'd say as long as they look as 'weathered' as the rest of the squad, they'd look fine. Certainly they're not going to look parade-ground clean, so it's all to the good.
Something I remember from First and Only was elite Headquarters bodyguards for senior officers, maybe some of them got left behind as well? That would explain the berets.
Thanks for the comments and the tips guys, I'll keep them in mind!
Just a really quick update - work has been mad, and tonight's been the first real chance I've had to get something done!
GS work is mostly done now (though wow do close ups make it look horrible!), and unless you lot think anything is totally out of proportion, ugly or missing, I can hopefully start painting tomorrow! I'd really appreciate any feedback before I do though
Hello - love this blog - Lt. Black is my favorite conversion here - but they all have nice little touches - second favourite - the little sign saying "piss off" on the damaged sentinal model. Made me lol
Thanks a lot for the comments and compliments guys! It's been a busy few weeks, but I've finally finished painting up my ganger Lieutenant - now all he needs is a name...
If only somewhere there was a forum full of 40k players who could help me out naming him... I'd love any comments you might have - especially constructive criticism! I'm looking to improve here, so be as mean as you like
Cool, but maybe another colour on the hair? like blond. I think it's a bit to much black on him (if you know how I'm thinking) the black hai and the black vulture just look like they are one part. Either diferet colour or some highlights on the hair at least that's imo.
Hawk, Vulture, or Fabio. Excellent name for him, I think that will make. Elsewise, name him something crazy cool but obscure from the 80s. Like a hair band.
Great mini there! Although I think you should paint his hair blonde and call him Justin, Rhonan or Romeo (those names seem to suit him with blonde hair!)
Thanks for the suggestions, guys! And Rose, I see what you mean looking back at the pictures :/ WHat colour do you reckon I should go with? If I added a deep red, do you think it would work as a final highlight, or would I end up having to redo his whole hair? Decisions!
I think the hair should be more colorful too. A strip of some other color, or something more glamorous at any rate.
I think you should name him D. Snider, from Twisted Sister. You could even paint his hair blond and give him some blue eyeshadow.
Maybe a lite dry-brushing on the vultures black feathers (dark gray or brown, maybe), just to give the feathers a little more... damn, lost that train of thought.
He's looking good, though. I just want his hair to be shinier or bright or something... I want to see that he uses conditioner or something. With that huge mane he has, and how proud he looks, I can't imagine him not taking care of it.
Wow.
I just reviewed all 9 pages of your posts and had a great time doing it.
I was also doing a "seldom-resupplied-often left to salvage what they can " themed army. In fact, you using the word scavenger is what drew me to your post. I will have to reconsider my views on salvaging.
I love some of your conversions. I have the same bounty hunter model you've used, (with the vulture), but never even cosidered cutting him down the way you have. Great work there. As far as a name for him, I think he looks like a "Hemmingway" or a " Poe"....maybe its the eerie bird thats got me thinking.
Those female heads you've been using,....where are they from? I'd love to get my hands on a few.
I still think the best piece of work that has driven the theme of your army home,(for me at least) is the Sentinal with its scartch built leg. I saw that and knew that you you were taking the "salvage" idea and running with it.
I look forward to seeing you tackle a couple of Leman Russes and Chimeras.
I should be Posting my army up here in the next couple of weeks and i hope you'll check it out. I am definately going to be on the look out for more of yours.
Keep up the great work!
I think you deserve to know this. Looking at your first painted models, and now at your latest, I can safely say your painting skill has rocketed to an amazing standard. Feel proud.
Additionally, your slightly sloppy Gs skills have become impressive in a relatively short space of time. Honestly, when I first saw your latest character, I thought it must be a stock model.
Wow, thank you so much for the kind words, guys, I genuinely don't know what to say! I'm glad you like what I'm running with - most of my techniques and stuff are thieved from other online modellers anyway, so I probably owe more than I'm giving! Really appreciate all the support though, nothing quite like it for motivating you to get more done!
@Rose and GG - Thanks for the ideas! I'm going to repaint his hair I think, probably with more of a blonde tone. I was in two minds when I painted it in the first place, and I think you're probably right about the two blacks getting lost in eachother. I'll be sure to post it up when I'm done.
Also - conditioner? Psssh! That's just how he wakes up in the morning! Caring about your hair is for wusses
@worldwarme - Thank you so much, that means a whole lot, honestly. The bounty hunter guy was actually a bit of a salvage job itself - his feet were pretty wrecked, so it just seemed to make sense to knock up some new ones! I've never been much of a fan of the whole 'two huge weapons akimbo' thing either, so the bolt pistol went too. It's only something I've been trying recently, but I've found that trying to salvage damaged stuff forces you to think creatively, and it's super satisfying too! The female heads are from microart studio, who really ought to be giving me a cut by now for the number of people I've directed their way. Thanks for the name suggestions, I really like the sound of them actually! I'll be sure to hunt out your stuff once I'm done posting here
@Captain Roderick - Cheers! Is Yossarian the protagonist out of catch 22? I'm sure I recognise that from somewhere... And whether or not he's got a regal air, I reckon the guy certainly thinks he does!
@Space_potato - Thanks a lot, man! Hope it lives up to your expectations
@Ghosty - Thank you so much! I feel like it's a little undeserved though I'm trying out new techniques and stuff all the time, and trying to keep using the ones that work out. There are bound to be a fair few bum ones still in there though!
Not got much to show you today, except the mockup for a bog standard guardsman :( He's going to get entered into a competition on another site, painted up with lots of mud and wear. I don't think I'll place or anything (there is some serious talent out there!), but I fancied the challenge!
This blog is Awesome!! I really like the animals that are mixed into your army as well,its really a nice touch. The sentinal with the scratched built leg is just super. Maybe Talon or Ravenguard would be a good name for you Platoon Commander. I cant wait to see more of your pics.
Thanks, talons58! I quite like Talon as a name actually - I'm building up as many as I can before actually picking one though
Oshunai - Thank you so much for the compliment, and sorry for the late reply! The torso is one of the ones from the empire archers kit. With a bit of work, a lot of them can be 40ked up quite nicely.
I'm almost done painting up my current model (with a cool leather effect, no less!), but I've been given a peripheral placement on my medical course in the sticks for a couple of weeks, so work might be a little slow except for weekends :( Stay tuned though, cause there will still be a few updates!
Hoy hoy,
Yes indeedy, Yossarian's the protagonist of Catch-22. Possibly a better name for a more cowardly-looking chap.
I like your trenchy gent - might I enquire, is the greenstuff on the legs just patching, or representing a particular kind of clothing? I think the GS on the shoulder is a very nice bit of work as well.
Also, is that autogun a modded lasgun? looks very good.
Hey all! Been a while, but I'm back from my placement in the arse end of nowhere for the weekend, so I thought I'd finish painting up my guardsman
He's supposed to be skulking forward in a scouty kind of way, or maybe closing in on someone to finish what his autogun started. Once again, the pics aren't the best, but here he is.
I'd love any suggestions for improvements, as I'm actually entering this guy in a footslogger guardsman competition on a different forum! I'm not expecting to place or anything, but I'd love for him not to do embarrassingly badly
@Sageheart - Cheers! Which bit do you like? The trousers are primed white, painted up with bleached bone. The patterning is graveyard earth, and the wash is badab black, followed by a highlight of the original bone colour on the most raised areas. Then I just use some FW weathering powder (wet mud, i think it's called) to dirty them up some. Hope that helps!
@Captain Roderick - That's a name I'll totally be using then, I'll just wait for someone who looks terrified!
The greenstuff hopefully shows up better in the latest pics, but it was partly to bulk out the trousers (the stubby legs on the archer kit are in tights, and I had to extend them a bit anyway to fit the boots), and partly some bandaging round one of the boots. I've just finished reading the Road, and I was trying to emulate some of the improvised shoes they end up needing. I hope it works out, but I know how to work it a bit better for next time
And the autogun is just a catachan lasgun with sights hacked off and the end bit cut short. Really easy to do, and I think it looks really nice!
Thanks for the comments - I really appreciate you taking the time
Hey everyone! Hope you're all doing good I've got some very (very!) early WIP shots of the HW team from the sketches above, and I was hoping you guys might be able to help me out!
I really want a barrel strapped to the gunner's back as a kind of improvised ammo drum (hence his leaning forward under the weight), but I'm struggling to knock one together that doesn't look ridiculously oversized. Obviously the one in the tank kits is out as it's about twice the size of a guardsman. I'd really love any ideas you might have.
Like the gun and the peg-leg Head on the second guy looks a little small though?
For the ammo drum, how about a spacer wheel from one of the tank kits - although I'm not sure if the new ones have them? Possibly a part from an Ork burna or loota? Maybe the gun-mount from a sponsoon, or just grab some plasticard tubing, that's going to be useful for various bits in this project I'd imagine. Cut up an old pen?
Thanks monkeytroll! The head is indeed totally too small - it's one of those things I really knew myself, but was hoping noone would notice
Hopefully this is more in scale?
Thanks for the suggestions on the barrel too - I tried out a couple of your ideas, but couldn't seem to get anything dead on :/ In the end I've shaved down a cadian GL magazine holder thing - you can't see it too well in the picture, but hopefully it'll be clearer as I do more work on it!
Thanks so much SpankHammer! I think some of the patience bit comes from not actually playing the game yet - I've got no drive to get models on the table, so I can take as long as I want over them!
I've got a few exams next week, so progress will (still!) be slow, but hopefully next weekend, I can paint up at least one of the HW team members I've made a few changes, so I'll try to get some pictures up before then.
nice job! I got a load of old 2nd hand catachans from my bro that he played with when he was 12.. not in the best condition but like you said its amazing what you can do when you salvage something!
Have you played that game yet?
Really looking forward to seeing how they turn out in battle.
I'm still alive! Last exam is tomorrow, then I plan to get some serious modelling in. Til then, here's a teaser, all GSed up and partially painted. Don't zoom in though, it's a terrible pic - you can't see any of the highlights or stubble or anything. Still, I think it gets the idea across I can still change stuff if you hate it!
@Kanelom - Thanks a lot! And you should totally post your Catachans (or link me to them if you already have!). I still haven't quite got 500 pts painted yet (pathetic, I know), butI promise I'll post up a BP for my first game @Kastellan - Thank you! Most of them are really easy to do - just chopping and changing bits on the lasguns in the cadian and catachan kits.
Thanks guys, I always really appreciate your comments
I'm really looking forward to painting these two up - it's been a rough couple of weeks, and I've just been sculpting the odd bit when I get a chance. Should be amazing to actually be able to sit down and devote some time to em!
hope you kicked ass in your exam Scarper - out of curiosity, you ever played Necromunda? That's a game that loves the level of care you give to converting your minis.
And as ever, they're all tasty and impressive. Looking forward to the next update mate!
I really like the ammo band on your last scavenger to.. how did you make it? If you are still looking for names, maybe Kilroy... My uncle told me when they were waiting for D-day you could see "Kilroy was here". It was written ever where. Great work I cant wait to see whats next.
@Yggdrasil - Thanks! It's really easy to make, Just a strip of paper from the instruction leaflet in a box of painkillers (though I'm sure any other paper would also work! ) and some plasticard rod. I'm trying to make counts-as heavy bolters that don't look too heavy so that I can keep my light infantry theme going - I thought the ammo strips would help to differentiate them!
@Captain Roderick - Thank you so much for the nice wishes, and the compliment! The exams went ok, I think. It was MCQs and an oral exam, so it's kinda hard to tell though. I didn't want to kill myself or anyone else afterwards though, which is usually a good sign Funny you should mention necromunda actually - After being inspired by a fewamazingthreads here on dakkadakka, I talked my flatmates (who have never played any wargamey type stuff before!) into playing a campaign with me! I'll need to make up some figures for them, but they're picking out their own gangs and giving me some thematic ideas, so hopefully it'll be a really exciting modelling project! Just got to get my head round the rules now...
@Monkeytroll - Thank you! And hopefully you will - I've got a taster today, but I wouldn't call it good just yet
@talons 58 - Thanks to you too! The band is just a strip of paper and plasticard rod - really easy to make! And thanks for the name and the story - I'll be sure to use it somewhere
Here's the first half of my (very slow work) HW team - Hope the GS work isn't too obvious!
As always, I really appreciate any comments you might have, good or bad. It's how I learn!
Scarp
Very nice. You have actually made a catachan who looks like his arms are actually joined to the rest of him! Very cool gun too. I have made a pile of gun types if you want to check them out on my blog (in my sig).
@Rose_Mountainz and Yggdrasil - Thanks guys! I've actually played (and loved) Borderlands, so that's a pretty massive compliment I wasn't directly going for that look, but I guess you could say I was inspired
@Commander_Cain - Thanks so much! And I know what you mean, catachans do seem to have kind of an arm attachment issue... I've been following your blog for a while - I love your crashed valks!
@origarmi chicken - Thanks a lot mate, really appreciate it
The guy up above is now going to be the heavy in a necromunda gang I'm making, so I'm still looking for a few decent names! I'm currently working on the leader of the gang (working with GS is so much fun!), but hopefully I'll get some fluff up over the next few days. Thanks for staying interested!
Not much progress today I'm afraid, but I just wanted to show something getting done to prove I'm not slacking off completely I've been working on a leader for my Necromunda gang (I've hopefully talked my flatmates into playing!), and it's maybe the most ambitious GSing type thing I've done so far. He's got a shotgun and frag grenades, and I rolled INFILTRATION, so I wanted to make him look sneaky too. Once I've got a scenic base set up, he'll be peeking around a corner. The arms are currently blu-tacked for ease of painting!
(Apologies for the shoddy photos!)
And here's another ganger in a VERY early stage of WIP. She'll be crouched behind a window, with a few empty magazines at her feet.
Also proof that you shouldn't buy a new box set and a razor saw on the same day!
I'll have fluff for the whole gang up pretty soon, but please please please could you let me know anything I could change - I'd love to get painting soon! ;D
I like the gang leader conversion. I play Necrmunda too, it's been a while though. Good luck with your new gang, and 'tutoring' your flat mates in the arts of gang warfare, extortion, etc
The leader looks very cool. I can't wait to see him on the base.
I'm going to wait to comment on the new ganger until she is further along, but I like the concept a lot.
And congrats on the "new" playmates! That IS impressive. (not to imply that your work is not impressive. The leaders comlink and hair look super natural and discreet which I find very difficult to pull off.)
I really think your HW guy at the top of the page would be perfect for a Heavy with.... er well heavy stubber.
Your gang leader is looking real good. I like the fact he looks military but isn't armed with a lasgun. I know he is WIP but as Rose_Mountainz suggests he needs a thicker neck.
I look forward to hearing how the gaming gets on too.
Thanks for all the comments everyone! I'll respond to them all in my next picture update
Nothing new today, but I was hoping one of you sculptorgod type dakkaites (you know who you are ) could help me out! If I'm going for a woolen texture using GS - think thick fisherman jumper type clothing - is there something I could press into it before it cured to get that across? I was thinking of sandpaper, but I don't want to ruin what I've done so far.
I'd really appreciate any advice, and picture update and replies tomorrow!
Scarp
Automatically Appended Next Post: Actually, sod it, I'll reply now. Who needs sleep?
@Scrazza - thanks a lot, mate! I'm really looking forward to it. Maybe a bit too much...
@Rose_mountainz - Thank you, and thanks for the tip! I've thickened his neck out now (seriously, thanks - I don't know how I missed that!), so hopefully you'll be pleased when I get some photos up!
@Commissar Agro - Cheers! The shotgun is from maxmini. Sorry I couldn't get a direct link, there store is down for updates! They're pretty easy to find though.
@TGG - Thanks so much! I'm really looking forward to basing them too. I've got three gangers all hiding in cover that I'm working on at the mo who have a special role in the fluff. Can't wait to show you them, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how they look together!
@Neil101 - Thanks so much, that's really kind. And thanks for all the picture comments too!
@PDH - I really appreciate that, PDH, as your scavvy thread pretty much gave me the necromunda bug in the first place! The heavy stubber guy is totally going to wind up as a heavy - It wasn't my original intention, but he wound up fitting the role pretty well, I reckon I've thickened up my leader's neck too, so hopefully you'll see some difference in the pics tomorrow.
Alright guys, thank you so much for all the tips and comments. I've tried to follow a few suggestions, so hopefully you'll be pleased with the changes! First up is the commander again - his neck is a little thicker now, and I tried to sculpt on some tendons. I also added some specialist shells on a bicep bandolier after a suggestion from a friend on another forum. I think he's pretty much done now, but I'd love any more tips or suggestions you might have - hey, he can only improve, right?
In fluff terms, [insert name] is part of a group of three scouts sent to Rookport Spire - the largest city (i.e. a small hive, complete with underhive) on Caitiff. Their role was to gather survivors interested in joining Ridgeway's cause, but also to hunt out archeotech, fuel and ammo dumps, and anything else that might be useful to a scavenger army. They are not there to start open conflict, and will hide, set ambushes, and avoid contact if necessary. Hence, I'm running with Delaque rules The first three models are pretty militiary in appearance, but the final ganger, heavy and juves will be recruited locals, and have more of a gangland / post-apocalyptic vibe. I'm planning fluff for each character eventually!
A fair few people have said that my female ganger's legs may be too big, and that the general hourglass shape is OTT - I kind of agree with this. I'm planning on bulking out her top extensively though (think thick woolen jumper), and if necessary, I can file down the legs too (though I'm trying to avoid this if I can!). I've got some updated WIPs, that hopefully show this a little better. If you still think she's out of proportion, please feel free to say so - I'm kinda new at this sculpting lark, and I really appreciate all the advice you've given me so far!
The final ganger is just a mocked together pic (complete with mad MS Paint skillz!) and more a display of concept than anything good! The idea is that he's scrambling down some wreckage like you'd move down a scree slope. He has +1 attack in his profile, and I thought one of Ridgeway's hounds would be a good representation of that. Do you like the pose? I'm just asking at this stage so I can change it before any extensive green stuffing!
So what do you think, Dakka? Is the theme alright? How are the poses? Thanks so much for all your input so far - you've really helped me out, and are generally a bunch of super cool people.
I think she looks fine. The US Army fits all their females in mens pants,and in a post-apocalyptic world it would be easier to find mens pants then female. You could bulk out her top a little more but she looks like she could take care of herself in a fight now.You could lie a knife in her lap and it would draw everyones eye away form her pants. With the final ganger I like the pose but he should be looking the same way as the hound. We have alot of pets (Dogs and Cats) and when they turn to look some where It like everyone in the room turns to look the same way.I cant wait to see them painted. Keep up The great work!
The transition from her stomach to her hips seems lumpy, but if you are going for a frumpy suit, that works great. It's might end up resting on the paint job to pull it off for everyone's sake.
The new guy looks very cool, but with the dog that far away they would make for a larger base, I think.
If you said she was sitting down further up the page I may have missed it and her legs make much more sense now! I like the idea of a massive knife of her lap. It will just scream "Hello boys there are lots of sexy ladies like myself in the remnants.... But if you mess with us we'll you up."
Your main man's neck is looking much better. I've just had a look at the maximini website and I want some of their shotguns and sniper rifles now.
I like the idea of the scree slope and the dog, the pose with photoshop lead looks really good, spot on.
@PDH - I really appreciate that, PDH, as your scavvy thread pretty much gave me the necromunda bug in the first place!
They loog great only critic is thugh that you drop the dog, it looks great but it will be very veery hard to play with. It's not any problems with rules it's just that it'll be hard to place him in cover, show when he's down etc, know what I mean? Except if you plan to be able to move around the dog on it's base own base and connecting it to the ganger with a magnet maybe? Meh, I'm not so sure about it though :O but it certanly looks cool
I like the new development, especially with the dog guiding the man down the slope and the girl looking a lot less baggy pants and thin up topside.
But, I must inquire, why have you so few bald guys screaming for no good reason! Every force needs one or more unhelmeted guys screaming without good reason, preferably without any hair left! Maybe they screamed it off! And then who else will use all those extra exclamation marks you have lying around!!!
Apologies for the absence all! It totally had nothing to do with a recent video game release or anything like that.
@Talons 58 - Thanks! And for the tips on the dog too. Come to think of it, my dog pretty much follows my gaze too, so I guess it fits loads better that way @The Good Green - Thanks a lot! I'm thinking thick woolen jumper for her, so hopefully it'll look ok. I've cleaned her up a bit since the picture too! All my necromunda gangers are going to go on what I think are the termie sized bases - more space to try and make them look dynamic!
@PDH - Thank you, and for the suggestions too. I love maxmini - they have absolutely loads of awesome things, and noone seems to have heard of them, so your stuff can look that little bit fancier @Rose_Mountainz - Thanks for the compliment! I'm thinking of having the two of em together on a termi sized base, which has a little bit more space for them. I understand what you mean about the problems with gaming, but the guys I'm hoping to play with arent all that competitive, so I'm hoping they won't mind if he's a little exposed when he wouldn't otherwise be! And maybe we could use counters to show he's down or something? Thanks for the warning though - if it does prove a problem, I guess he'll be relegated to display :(
@Neil 101 - Thanks a lot, buddy @Lord Kaesar II - Thanks! And I know what you mean about lacking the bald screamy heads, it's just missing that little bit of grimdark, isn't it? I do have pretty much an entire section of my bits box devoted to unused bald screaming heads (seriously GW, there's more haircuts available than 'bald' and 'buzzcut'!), and they howl mournfully at me whenever I open it. I'm bound to use one eventually
Just a small update today, more to motivate myself not to let New Vegas take over my life than anything else! This is the base my female ganger (working name: Twitch) will have, and I tried out a bunch of new techniques to make it look old and decrepid, which hopefully you'll like! No prizes for guessing where she'll be sitting. Hopefully you'll get the full model tomorrow or the day after!
(p.s. I say this a lot, but goddamn the camera makes things look worse than in real life!)
Very nice base.....I hope you're getting lots of inspiration from New Vegas.
I'm not really into Video games (I still play on my Sega Mega Drive occasionally but anything 3d confuses me ) but from the TV advert New Vegas looks pretty and interesting.
Now I'm intrigued as to how you painted the plaster on the inside of that wall?
Thanks a lot guys! The base is what I think is termi-sized - the next one actually has some models on it, so it might give a better idea of scale
PDH - I don't play too many myself actually, but the Fallout games are just awesome, especially for inspiration for stuff like this! Plus they have a really dark humour throughout, which is always fun The wall technique is actually a technique you told me about in your own thread! I used a very well-watered Vallejo smoke ink and let it run down a wall painted with graveyard earth of its own accord. A bit of patterning with a very old and splayed small drybrush, and that was all there was to it!
Time for another update probably interesting to noone but me, but here's another base!
and some progress on the ganger with the dog who'll eventually be glued to it
As always, I'd love to know what you all reckon, and thanks to everyone who commented!
Thanks a lot TR! The dog is one of the "giant wolves" from copplestone castings. I think they're supposed to be for 15mm scale, but they're pretty dead on for large dogs in 28mm
I've changed the angle of the ganger's head since taking the picture, btw. Looking at it, it just seemed wrong, and now he's focussing more downwardly, and in the direction of the dog. Hopefully it's more natural! I'll try to get a pic up after dinner
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Have done my best repair wise, can you see where the (multitude of) breaks were? They're both missing a front support, but I'll repair that once my plasticard tubing arrives...
). Still, I put in some work, so I figured I'd keep him in, and hopefully it won't be so noticeable once I paint up a few more. I know to lean the body part forward now, anyway!
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you up."
