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My latest nonsense idea...an army of skeleton Pancho Villa-type banditos.

I try to make up a test model before I start a unit for any new project. My weakest skill is sculpting, so I figured this would give me some practice with some of that. Anyways, here is the test model:




It was a pretty simple conversion. Just added an old auto-pistol, grenades + pouches, and a sculpted poncho and hat. I stuck the guy on a magnetized base I got from GF9. I am thinking the bases will be desert-y.

I like the concept. Now we just need to see that test model primed, painted and based!

I like it. Maybe improves with a "mariachi style" hat =D

I figure a variety of sombreros and other assorted headgear will be necessary.

I got the guy primed white now. I never, ever use white...but i think with the color scheme I have in mind it will actually help me save time.

To save time a good idea is to use black primer and apply the "dry brush" technique with a beige color and finally illuminate it in white.
It's perfect for a good quality gaming standard paint level, looks great and it's easy and fast to paint.

...and painted:



Not my best work, but a decent test model. Overall I think he looks pretty cool. I may go with more black on the next round, and as I learn to sculpt a bit better, I think the paint job will improve.


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Plus four:

And painted:





The sculpting improved with these, but i am still pretty far from making mariachi hats. I have to go where the material takes me at this point...but i am getting there.

these are cool, are you gonna play with em? if so, what rules?

I really, really love the idea behind this.

Where are the bandannas?

Ouze wrote:I really, really love the idea behind this.

Where are the bandannas?

Bandannas are coming. They will be way easier to make than the hats. I hope to play them, although I have no idea which rules I will use. Probably IG because I want to paint some russes up.

Son I like what you've done here.

cool

I like it ! these will make a cool characterful army .

If you go with IG I'd use them as penal legion troops - it would fit better with the random mix of wargear.

Looking good, though - loving the concept.

Those are looking REALLY cool. Best part is, the smallish sculpts are a brilliant way to get your sculpting skills up. Keep it up man

Thanks all for the comments and support! I will try to get some more guys done this weekend (maybe some bandanna guys).

I also got a couple extra bucks from the job, so I may invest in some skeleton cav to make rough riders...

Needs little bottles of tequila

love em

Wow those are totally awesome. The cactus base rocks! Way to go with such an original idea. To expand theres a little skul that hangs off of chaos space marine shoulder pads you could line a hat brim with those.

god! i just love em

So I sat down and put some more guys together. I was surprised to discover that the box o' skeletons only had 16 guys worth. I thought it came with 20. I made 25 bases in anticipation... so now i have 3 extra bases to use (and one of them has a huge cactus!)...the math works, trust me.

Anyways, here are the guys. Some with hats, some with bandannas on their heads, some with bandannas on their faces, and some with hats and bandannas! Once the grey stuff dries, I will cut down the bandannas some more to give it more detail.

I also have six guys coming in from "reserve."

As I was preparing the bits for these guys, I found some old necromunda weapon sprues. I found a revolver-looking stub gun, an uzi-looking gun, and something like a 1911...and a plastic shotgun! One guy has an ammo belt...and one will carry the standard (not exactly sure what type of banner to use).

Here are pics!



aaaaggghghh! the in-progress shot



...from the right...and from the leftish:



I already ordered a bunch more magnetized bases in various sizes (so I can make rough riders, ogryns, more troopers, anything!). I think I will either paint up a russ next or rough riders. might depend on what Asgard has in stock on saturday...

These look great! I may have to steal this idea for my Lost & Damned army (emphasis on Damned, in this case).

One suggestion, why not get some glow-in-the-dark or dayglo paints? That will make them look more Day of the Dead and you can shine a blacklight on them during battle. They look realistic now, but a little dull for such a colorful idea. I say go crazy with the colors and special effects.

Haha!

These guys are fantastic.

For some reason I have a picture in my head of their guns shooting sweets, and their targets exploding like piniatas...

*checks himself into hospital*

Such an awesome idea! I love it. I was trying to think of a cool 'counts as' army to really flex my modelling skills (and patience, I guess, haha)... this is probably one of the most amusing and effective uses of skeletons I've seen yet! I can't wait to see more.

Tres bein! I'm jealous that I didn't think of it.

At first I was like, naw that sounds pretty silly! But, man with all those painted like the first few that would be such a great army to have! Very colorful, unique, and I bet it would be a blast to play and play against. Good job.

alanedomain wrote:These look great! I may have to steal this idea for my Lost & Damned army (emphasis on Damned, in this case).

One suggestion, why not get some glow-in-the-dark or dayglo paints? That will make them look more Day of the Dead and you can shine a blacklight on them during battle. They look realistic now, but a little dull for such a colorful idea. I say go crazy with the colors and special effects.

I really thought about that, but didnt think I could implement it on a large scale. My painting technique really works with this color scheme, and I would never be able to efficiently paint and make progress on something too far from my comfort zone (although painting over a white basecoat is already wayyy out of my comfort zone). Basically, this idea was already too challenging to take it to that level and end up with something I really liked.

But! I was thinking of doing something like that for maybe one unit...once i finally get good enough to make mariachi outfits.

I got these guys touched up, and I hope to paint them this weekend. That way I can justify going out and buying more. I was also thinking about doing a basilisk instead of a russ, but doing it up like this:







I kinda feel like the army should have sort of a hidden/ambushy type feel. Like they just come from the ground when someone trespasses...and a well-camouflaged, tank-hunter looking armored vehicle would kinda fit in. I also just want to do something different. I have like 6 russes in my other guard army, but I have only ever made one chimera-based heavy support option (in the last 15 years!). I could play it as a medusa or something.

I think I could even make it look like it is buried in sand and dirt. I also imagine a fair bit of camo netting...and rust. lots of rust.

Thoughts?

Haha wow! I love it! Awsome job.

So I got them painted. I have to go back and rework them a bit as I really got through them a little too quickly.

You get an A+ for originality.

I started putting together the rough riders, but work is going to demand 80+ hours a week for the next couple weeks so I don't foresee much progress being made in the near future. I am going to try to spend some time assembling guys this weekend, but we will see how far I get.


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Oh! I figured out a really good technique for the hats!