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In midnight clad the strike cruiser Hadal Veil crept toward Schindelheist, cloaked in a raiment of pure warpstuff, an inky skin of absolute dark and utter silence. Crept toward battle. Toward spoils. Toward prey.

The ship sensed it all drawing within reach. Her ancient hunger awakening, she strained at the psychic reins that lashed her to their course. She yearned to surge forward, lunge, snap. EkyreH’se, Talon Lord of the VIII Legion, Third Company, could feel her frustration.

He ignored it. Whatever daemon-thing she had once been, she had been brought to heel and slaved to hull. Stealth was what the hunt required now. Stealth and snare. The stuff of timing. The stuff of killing.

Denied release, the ship’s malefic appetites bled internally, leaking through her chambers and corridors. Picking up the scent, raptors hanging chiropteran from the vaulted ceiling of the assault bay they had claimed for their aerie stirred into readiness, unfolding their wing-packs. They itched. Soon they would molt, beginning to arm themselves for battle.

From the Bridge, Ekyre felt that too.

For his part, the Talon Lord stilled his rising battle passion.

“Tell me again the name of the outermost planet,” he ordered.

“Varre, my Lord,” one of the thralls replied.

“Varre. We will start there. Alert the extraction teams. And inform N’yl’t he can take a team to the surface to establish an advance position.”

It was very nearly time to hunt.

I’ve begun assembling a Night Lords army.

I've wanted to do this project for awhile, but held off, given the utter inadequacy of the current Chaos Space Marines codex to support characterful armies “In Midnight Clad.” Ideally I’d wait on this until the new CSM codex came out.

But my gaming club is starting up a narrative league campaign that’s too fun and fluffy to sit out, so for the time being I’ll use the Space Marines codex and build around Shrike and Telion. Or in my case, Ekyr T’se, Talon Lord of Legion VII, Third Company, and N’yl’t, Murder Maker and Claw Master of the Company’s Sheathed Claw [scout squad]. [Backwards names are fun!]

To test some concepts and conversion techniques out, I’m starting with a raptor squad [assault marines].

I’ll be using Chapterhouse jump-packs…

… but I’m playing with them a bit, converting/grafting in some chaos disfiguration. Here are some early experiments:

and…


The idea is to fuse desecrated jump-packs with chaos marine and berzerker parts…

Here’s an early prototype:

and from another angle:


I’m still working out details, but I do like the feel of the piece:


Comments and feedback are welcome.

I’m still wondering how I’m going to represent Ekyre H’se [Shrike], N’yl’t [Telion], scouts….

Thanks for looking.

Looks good, consider me subscribed

As to representing Shrike, I could see your lord still wearing his pre-heresy gear. What with the fact that in your lore, your force still holds some reasonable degree of organization, since he refers to his command as the VII Legion, Third Company.

So perhaps, a mixture of MKV armour (The helmet and chest) mixed with the current era marine armour like the berzerker legs and Night Lord shoulder pads from the namesake conversion pack that can be located on the Games Workshop website. You could also get the wings from the possessed boxset to suggest he's been in the warp for so long that he's begining to show signs of mutation or rather "ascension" and mount him in a raised figure - rocks and such, so that he stands out from the rest of your regular marines.

Afraid I dont know where you could aquire lightning claws suitable for normal power armour though.

As to a chaotic Telion, i'll have to get back to you on that, since I honestly have no idea currently as to how you could work that out.

Great to see you're starting a new project,Tinfoil!

I like the position of your test Raptor. You might be interested in checking Tipios' raptor models. He did a great job and I think you could improve his ideas. http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/323770.page

Cheers!

Joe

Banahir wrote:You could also get the wings from the possessed boxset to suggest he's been in the warp for so long that he's begining to show signs of mutation or rather "ascension" and mount him in a raised figure - rocks and such, so that he stands out from the rest of your regular marines.

Ha! Great minds think alike! (see below...)

Hyenajoe wrote:Great to see you're starting a new project,Tinfoil!

I like the position of your test Raptor. You might be interested in checking Tipios' raptor models. He did a great job and I think you could improve his ideas. http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/323770.page

Cheers!

Joe

Thanks Joe, and thanks for the link to Tipios' stuff. I should have known he'd have great ideas along these lines. (In particular, I wonder if genestealer claws will solve my "feet" questions.)

Inspired by a conversion Campbell (CRM to you Dakka-types) posted on our club board, I’ve been working on a concept for Ekyre H’se – my Night Lords Shrike. I bought the Astaroth figure a month or so ago, thinking he’d make a good Night Lords lord. But he wields an axe, of course, and Shrike wields lightning claws. Doesn’t feel right. So I’ve tried meshing in some daemonette claws:

The work is still rough – joins and so on will need cleaning up. But it does suggest something along the lines of chaotic master-crafted lightening claws. And then the ribbed armor could be described as an attempt to WYSIWYG the 4+ invul.


And then for wings, I cut and repositioned that winged-backpack from the Chaos Possessed kit:


I like how this part of the figure gives him an unmistakably Night Lords vibe, picking up on the bat wings motif.


I’m going to tinker a bit more with this. But I find the general composition kind of striking. It feels in character to me.

Thoughts?

Wow. Glad I just stumbled across this thread. That take on Astorath looks awesome. "Character" is just the right word. Maybe file down the BA symbol on his belt, but he looks great.


Edit: Too busy at work to see it's TINFOIL!!! Welcome back dude! Your minis have been missed.

Tinfoil!!! Sup dude! First off, lemme say I LOVE the fact that you are doing Night Lords. Not enough of them out there. And they were badasses! None o' that worshipping Chaos gods nonsense, they were just deliciously sadistic & didn't care. Can't wait to see how this pans out.
Now I'm sure you're aware that Shrike is Ravenguard so are we talking NL Lord with Shrike stats here?
P.S. +1 on the Raptors. Great job with the jump packs

I'm not a fan of Ekyre H’se in his current state. I think it's the positioning of his arms, it seems a bit... off. I can envision someone jumping in that pose, to land a crushing blow upon something with two great fists, but not with those claws. Maybe a bit late in the game to say this, but have you thought perhaps instead of the lightning claws on the arms, what about the feet? You'll have to bear with me on this, but let me explain. Raptors, especially yours, have clawed feet, whereas your boss man seems to have decided to rock the standard space marine booties. That's all fine and all, but could you not envision him with a pair of horrifying clawed feet? If they were suitably menacing, I don't think anyone would have any notion of denying that they were lightning claws. In addition, they'd really suit the whole bat silhouette you said you were trying to achieve; much more so than a big old pair of pincers raised above his head. Imagine a kind of 'Boss Zagstruk' pose, with his clawed feet grasping out, like a bird of prey dropping down on it's dinner. The upper arms could be spread eagled, or fused into his wings, whatever you'd prefer. Understand I'm not trying to put you down or anything, but I really think, especially from your previous daemon army which was a huge inspiration to me, that you have the skill to pull off a much more complex idea, to really get the most out of your lord, and make him the centerpiece that he really should be.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Kind of the pose of said artwork?

Thanks for the feedback, guys.

@ Moltar: Thanks, it's good to be back to modeling and fun to be starting a new project. And good call on shaving off the Blood Angels belt buckle.

@SickSick6: Thanks. Yeah, I do love the unique feel and character of the Night Lords. And yes, in its current form I'm using the C:SM codex and Shrike to try to approximate a Night Lordly-feel to the army. (Damn Chaos codex! mutter mutter mutter)

@ghosty: Thanks for the feedback. I appreciate your candor. And yeah, frankly I'm not sure whether or not this project will get as twisted or as satisfying as the Harrowed did. I have to admit, I really miss playing and working on that army. But I'm feeling the need to try some new things. (And then, I think my gaming buddies were getting a little sick of facing daemons every time they played me!) I consider this new project to be a learning experience, and hopefully one that will improve some of my skills. I love your ideas about daemonic talon razor claws and feet-first strikes, by the way. I think at this point I'll be working on my version, and later on try something along the lines you suggest.

Meanwhile, please keep the comments coming.

The Night Lords continue to take form...


I’m still experimenting with the raptor conversion ideas…


Taking Aaron Dembski-Bowden’s lead, I see the raptors as being more devolved, more warp-tainted and chaotically corrupted than other parts of the company. So I’ll be taking grotesque liberties with these models.
At least for this first batch, I think I’ve found a quick solution for the creatures’ feet/talons: daemonette claws. (I still plan on greenstuffing in some sort of “ankle” join.)


Meanwhile, My Talon Lord (who I’ll play as Shrike) has come further along:


Here’s another angle:


… and from behind:


He still looks rough. I have a lot of cleaning up to do on the figure. And I’m still not sure on that mid-section cod piece idea (which I cut and shaved from a powerfist on the Possessed sprue). I may well slice that off and try something else. Meanwhile, though, I like the lines of the figure:


Thanks for looking. Feedback and input would be very welcome.

Love the raptors

Capitansolstice wrote:Love the raptors

Thanks!

I’ve been chipping and snipping and splicing and carving and greenstuffing my way along, making bits and pieces of progress on the raptors:


With a bit of experimentation, I found that carving the greenstuff limb/wing vestiges on the backpacks created an effect that looks something like exposed bone, which is a suggestion I like:


That, coupled with the Possessed heads and arm/weapons grafts, and the clawed feet suggest something as vicious, scarred, feral and fierce as I imagine raptors to be:


and…



and…


This one’s waiting for Thunderhammer arms:


Thanks for looking. Feedback is welcome (although to be honest, it will be applied to the next batch. I primer-ed these guys right after I took the pictures. I really have to move on. )

Nice to see that you are back at it man. The stuff you are building looks really neat as always.

I really like the look of these! Subbed. The greenstuff work looks most promising =)

one of my favorite CSM chapters + amazing conversion work? yes, please! subscribed

Great job on the jump packs!

May I ask what tools you use to work on GS? the result is so clean!

I really like the change in direction for the feet. This looks like a great blog to get some influence from for when I start Night Lords myself

Man all that Blood angel belt needed doing was clipping away the blood drop and finding a skull to take its place. Is there no way of repositioning Astoraths arms? I like the look of the clawed feet.

varl wrote:one of my favorite CSM chapters + amazing conversion work? yes, please! subscribed

Well thank you!

Hyenajoe wrote:Great job on the jump packs!

May I ask what tools you use to work on GS? the result is so clean!

Nothing too fancy. Just some stainless steel sculpting tools. One has a curved, somewhat sharp blade, the other a rounded little nub.

Dez wrote:I really like the change in direction for the feet. This looks like a great blog to get some influence from for when I start Night Lords myself

Yeah, for being such a quick and simple fix, the daemonette claws look pretty good as feet/talons.

Biohazard wrote:Man all that Blood angel belt needed doing was clipping away the blood drop and finding a skull to take its place. Is there no way of repositioning Astoraths arms? I like the look of the clawed feet.

I kind of liked the position of his arms.

Here’s a group shot of the raptors, pinned to bases.

Everyone’s done except for Thunderhammer guy (who has no arms).


I’ve started to play around with color schemes. The guy in the back, with the most paint on him, represents a first try, employing traditional Night Lords colors. I’m not happy with him, so I’ll be trying some other versions.

In the meantime…

Thanks…

…for…

… looking!

Wow...just wow...

wow! subed, i love your version of counts as shrike, and your raptors are totaly awesome, as for scouts you could make a kind of half scout half, daemonette thingy

kudos to you

The raptors and shrike are looking very nice, I like the way you've posed them so they are not actually standing on the ground.

I'll be keeping my eye on this blog

oooooooooooh I like

Malika2 wrote:Wow...just wow...

Thanks! (I think. )

mingus89 wrote:wow! subed, i love your version of counts as shrike, and your raptors are totaly awesome, as for scouts you could make a kind of half scout half, daemonette thingy

kudos to you

Cheers. Your scout idea sounds intriguing.

GiraffeX wrote:The raptors and shrike are looking very nice, I like the way you've posed them so they are not actually standing on the ground.

I'll be keeping my eye on this blog

Miss Dee wrote:oooooooooooh I like

Thanks. I realized after I started the thread that I kind of stole your title! Sorry....

At the suggestion of several friernds who saw the models, I've re-based some of them to give them more elevation.


and


This will lend the pack some variation. And then, it helps give some of the figures more of a swooping, diving, rising, banking energy.


Thanks for looking. Assault terminator conversions come next, I think....

yay! termies! the raptors look great on bases by the way, the swoopy killyness of them is exactly how i imagined them, also the daemonette stuff really ties them together

yet more kudos

@ Tin np sweeties

Those look bestial scary dynamic and intimidating just like a Chaos Marine should be. Not quite sure of using a Shrike list though wouldn't Blood Angels be a better fit? Might be worth mucking about with options for both....
For the Telion squad could a ragtag band of chaos cultists fit?

By the way, that Raptor with the possessed chainsword and plasma pistol...is it just me or does his left arm have a right hand (with plasma pistol) on it?

Malika2 wrote:By the way, that Raptor with the possessed chainsword and plasma pistol...is it just me or does his left arm have a right hand (with plasma pistol) on it?

It is. Not entirely intended, but what the hell, right? It's chaos!

I’ve started work on the next phase of my Night Lords project, namely, converting up a set of space marine assault terminators “In Midnight Clad.”

The first squad will be running three pairs of lightning claws and a pair of thunder hammer/storm shield terminators. (For those arriving recently at the thread, I'm running the army as a counts-as Shrike list.)

I’m starting with a box of Space Marine assault terminators, and a deep box of bitz – including a small pile of sprues from what may be my all-time favorite kit: the possessed marines. These limbs, torsos, backpacks, heads and shoulder pads just reek of chaos, writhing with hideous and horrifying mutations. And they're scaled conveniently, feet and limbs running a bit bigger and thicker than regular space marine dimensions. My plan is to try to graft some of this twistedness and desecration into the very clean lines of the Space Marine figures.

As a preliminary experiment, I started literally, by splicing half of a pair of possessed legs into the terminator legs:


Not bad. Though I do want to try my own hand at this stuff too. I decided to see what I could do working directly more off of the space marine terminator frames.

To create a set of core platforms to build from, I grafted possessed torsos onto the terminator backs and "collars":

I do like that look. It works with the (regular space marine terminator) legs attached, too:

Playing around a bit, I also discovered that the teeth-lined back of one of the possessed torsos worked well as a “front collar” kind of effect:

Back to the legs. If I wanted to use the space marine terminator legs, they were going to need some work. I decided to try my own hand at sculpting in some of that possessed vibe. And came up with:


and:


These look pretty crude. But crude might work well enough. After all, the effect is chaotic. And I think I may get better as I get more familiar with possible techniques. I’ll spend the next week or two tinkering away at limbs here and there, trying things out.

So that’s where I am now. Thanks for looking.

Termies are looking awesome, Tinfoil. I really dig that toothy collar you have going on and the overall use of other possessed bits works very well.

That's one of the best chaos terminator conversion idea I've seen! I'll probably steal it for a termie lord.

What heads will you use?

Definitely some of the best CSM conversion concepts I've seen. I can imagine the Raptors constantly floating around, since their feet are totally unsuited for walking, making metallic scratching noises on the deck.