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Excellent! Happy late birthday, by the way. Fantastic start to another epic thread.

Thanks

Check out the photo John sent me:

http://legionofplastic.blogspot.com/2014/09/vlka-fenryka-inspiration-and-another.html

I had a good few nights and the 1st model is more than half way done. These days the most painting I get done at the time is one or 2 hours, and the only way to get anything finished is to be disciplined and do something every almost every night.

I applied an oil wash and an enamel filter last night. Since some folks asked about the filter, it's a product, by www.migproductionswebshop.com . This particular hue is called "panzer grey blue filter"or something similar. A great way to add a little variation to the grey. I also use their Abteilung oils.

The thing with the oils is that they need a long time to dry and it so happens I had to leave on a business trip and the paint should be conveniently cured when I get back on Friday. Then a few more nights and I should finally be ready to show you some pictures.

Fantastic to see you back on the horse, Migs; your blogs are always a treat. It's very cool to see so early on the ambition here will match (if not exceed) the Alpha Legion. This is nicely summed up in the difference in style between your and JB's Horus; really shows how you can push the potential of a model once you strip it of an preconceptions of in-universe identity.

The theme of a warp blizzard is an evocative one; uniquely 40k and perfectly suited to your approach. The confusion and limited vision inherent to a blizzard nicely reflect on the contradictory nature of the Space Wolves – especially the 13th Company. Waiting with baited breath on the first of the Vlka Fenryka! Any plans for Abnett-style leather masks etc.? I always thought that was a great touch and would provide a great opportunity for freehand knotwork.

Hmm, this means there's a free talon left...you know that now somebody has to pick up FW's version of Abaddon and add that left over Talon of Horus to him to make an 'update' on that 2nd edition era model....

JB's Horus conversion is outstanding.

It's great how even although it's the same base model the touches that you've both taken lead to very different outcomes.

It really makes me want to pick up one of the Primarchs and try my hand at it.

 Apologist wrote:
Fantastic to see you back on the horse,
...

Waiting with baited breath on the first of the Vlka Fenryka! Any plans for Abnett-style leather masks etc.? I always thought that was a great touch and would provide a great opportunity for freehand knotwork.

Thanks Mate!

Yes, there are plans for leather masks in places It's an interesting detail to balance as there hasn't been a miniature or artwork representation really. I've been sketching and thinking about it though. At least the human models in the project will get leather masks of some kind. At least some of them..

 migsula wrote:

 Apologist wrote:
Fantastic to see you back on the horse,
...

Waiting with baited breath on the first of the Vlka Fenryka! Any plans for Abnett-style leather masks etc.? I always thought that was a great touch and would provide a great opportunity for freehand knotwork.

Thanks Mate!

Yes, there are plans for leather masks in places It's an interesting detail to balance as there hasn't been a miniature or artwork representation really. I've been sketching and thinking about it though. At least the human models in the project will get leather masks of some kind. At least some of them..

I am excited to hear this. I really liked Abnett's idea of the leather masks and also the laquered hair, thus:

“By then, Aun Helwintr had felt the terrible forces that had been released in the temple precinct. Ominous in his pelt and his long black cloak, his white hair twisted and lacquered into horns, he stepped into the crystal hall behind us, forming with his hands the warding gestures that all rune priests are taught, the gestures of banishment and aversion. ”

Excerpt From: Dan Abnett. “Prospero Burns.” iBooks.

Any thoughts of attempting this? I guess it might look cheesy, but could contribute to the intimidating "war visage" effect.

Further, given the prophesy you have quoted at the beginning, might you look to create a Heresy-era "Bear" (Bjorn) either one-handed, or "fell handed"? That would be exciting to behold.

I've been re-reading Prosper Burns on my trip and making notes from iBooks like you. It's a brilliant book and a very convenient tool. I have so many ideas born out of reading it again. As always, taking inspiration, but going to slightly different places too

Cannot wait to be back on the project tomorrow night with all of this bottled up energy to spend on Hjarkor Rödmoon, called Lord Hjar, Jarl.

Cool name scheme – pseudo-Scandinavian enough to be Fenrisian, different enough to be far future, and with some nice English associations.

A book that sprang to mind when I read your plans for this project was Neil Gaiman's American Gods. It's a very readable book that blends various mythologies together in a very convincing and realistic mode; and besides that, it's beautifully written. If you get a spare day or two, I think you'll get a lot out of it.

In addition, you might appreciate the Mabinogion, a collection of traditional Welsh mythology/folklore – some of the stories it contains have some wonderfully evocative touches that could tie in with the dreamlike quality of the Eye of Terror – particularly The Dream of Rhonabwy and The Dream of Macsin Wledig.

Hope that's useful; on tenterhooks to see the paintwork for the Vlka!

Subbed, so I can live vicariously through your spectacularly extravagant work.

Gentlemen,

Lord Hjar has been painted and I am ready to face the photographic hardship of trying to get a hundred subtle shades of grey blues and grey browns to show. Hopefully with some success tonight.

I already took a long glance at the bits box. Pure, raw, Warhammer gothic waiting to be hacked and built in unimaginable ways and I already have ideas for a dozen very characterful models to follow Lord Hjar. One by one.

migs

 migsula wrote:
Gentlemen,

Lord Hjar has been painted and I am ready to face the photographic hardship of trying to get a hundred subtle shades of grey blues and grey browns to show. Hopefully with some success tonight.

I already took a long glance at the bits box. Pure, raw, Warhammer gothic waiting to be hacked and built in unimaginable ways and I already have ideas for a dozen very characterful models to follow Lord Hjar. One by one.

migs

Hooray!

The first moment of truth. Lord of the Wulfen. A hundred subtle shades of Grey. Eyes of burning black mercury prey from a sun-starved skin of scar tissue and a ten millennia of winter.

Very very hard to photograph the grey hues, and to get the wide range of gloss effect, from the sparkle of the metal, to the sheen of the frosted areas, to the matt of the wolf pelt and armor, to the glow of the runes (which fails the most, and show I need to go back, add oomph and apply a thin ink glade for satin reflectivity)






and full photo dump:

http://legionofplastic.blogspot.com/2014/10/vlka-fenryka-hjarkor-rodmoon-called.html

Will add to Flickr (has the best compression) later today.

I also updated the first post to kick of this blog properly

Looking forward to your comments!

W00f! W00f!

Beautiful! That face is amazing. So smooth and yet so much depth.

Thanks guys!

He is an interesting starting point. There is very little flat armor to show off how well I can weather and add interest to it. This will obviously be sorted with many of the following models.

I've really combined everything I've learned and put it in a new context that hopefully pushes the results even further. Going back to black undercoat was really refreshing and a nice challenge after years and years. And overall working on something new is just so healthy.

I can barely contain the excitement of the stuff I am working on. A wulfen, a wolf priest, a wolf guard, and an iron priest are accumulating parts and forming in my head. I also have 4 more wulfen in sights and giant wolves without riders that will rep thunder-wolf cavalry...

I obviously also need to give you some size comparison shots. The sheer size of him, married to the tiny amazing detail that Eagan is such a master sculpting, makes a world of difference. He really is starting to feel more like a GW painting taking three dimensional form.

M

Fantastic man, thanks for the photos! I understand what you are saying about the photograph not capturing the difference in texture properly, but it's impressive nonetheless. With the cracks in the massive battle axe, there isn't a "glow" effect--did you do that intentionally? It might detract from the realistic overall appearance, but might add a different type of highlight to draw the eye.

I really like the spots of color too, especially the detail on the power claws--they really contrast to the 100 Shades of Grey....nice tie in to your Inquisition unit too, unintentional or not. Wolf Lord indeed, though--a scale shot (even with your Alpharius models?) would be awesome.

Thanks mate! Much appreciated.

Axe is intentional, what isn't captured very well, is I've used a tamiya snow weathering powder to gently frost the metal, and the see the black cracks as veins of darkness and ice that make the blade so lethal.

Scale shot is a must! I will do that soon, probably with some WIP stuff to share this weekend.

BTW, do you have any experience of the Ammobunker forums? I've heard great things and as I am looking for an active discussion around the blog, I decide to give it a go:

http://s3.zetaboards.com/The_Ammobunker/topic/7697037/1/

Woh. Somehow more impressive than actual Horus. It would be an honor to lose to an army that beautiful

Thanks. I'm hoping to share a bunch of WIP models this weekend!!

Very well executed Migs, you have to study the photos a bit to make out the different shades and hues but as you say, it's darn tricky to get subtle shifts and textures to come out properly in a picture.
And I do agree that the glowy bits can use a touch-up for a bit more impact, otherwise it is a lovely use of a limited palette. Keep up the wonderful work, it's very inspirational.

 migsula wrote:
Thanks mate! Much appreciated.

Axe is intentional, what isn't captured very well, is I've used a tamiya snow weathering powder to gently frost the metal, and the see the black cracks as veins of darkness and ice that make the blade so lethal.

Scale shot is a must! I will do that soon, probably with some WIP stuff to share this weekend.

BTW, do you have any experience of the Ammobunker forums? I've heard great things and as I am looking for an active discussion around the blog, I decide to give it a go:

http://s3.zetaboards.com/The_Ammobunker/topic/7697037/1/

Thanks Migs, for the clarification. I did go back and stare at the axe some more, and can see some of the "frost" you describe. It does look brutal and very hard, but somehow not very sharp...no criticism but it's not "shiny" like a lot of weapons are. That's cool; just a stylistic observation. Looks like something "The Kurgan" would carry...beaten out of meteoric iron or something. (Sorry for the obscure Highlander reference)

The text on the "oaths of moment" on his chest is amazing, too--great job getting some runes in there to break up the surface.

The famous flow, intriguing state of hobby bliss where ideas turn into beginnings and you feel like hiding in a bunker for a few days to just work on the models.

Ideas can be really fragile, fickle things that need to be exposed to others in the correct order. A WIP picture of a model in a project like this is like seeing a puzzle piece half finished. You can respect the craft and build intrigue, but then what.

And I hope that is part of the charm, enjoyable and a nice tease.

Last night was spent on the holiest of hobby times, sorting out a new brilliant bits box, where a dozen models was already sketched together in their respective compartment. I flirted with the idea of sharing a picture, but then felt like posting the inside of my brain on the inter web and decided to wait. I found a great quality tool box thing, that has little, medium and large yellow compartments inside that can not only be arranged to my liking, but also picked up to work on an individual model.

Today I have pictures of Bone crafting aides for a wolf priest that will be based on the Salamander Primarch, Vulkan. A Kraken slaying warrior god specialized in the arts of healing and death. The surgeons are sinister beings, crafted fro their purpose, wearing different animal skull masks and to be heavily detailed with chapter lore. Also featured is an Iron Priest in terminator armor, with an assault cannon. First of many Mechanicus themed things in the Rout of Terror. It's a simple conversion that strikes a nice balance between recognizable silhouette and novelty. I've thrown a toy space marine in there to show the scale.

It does look brutal and very hard, but somehow not very sharp...no criticism but it's not "shiny" like a lot of weapons are. That's cool; just a stylistic observation. Looks like something "The Kurgan" would carry...beaten out of meteoric iron or something.

Hah! I totally agree with you. It really does not look, and is not sharp. One genuine problem with GW axes that my painting hasn't really helped. The flat at the edge is probably 0.3-.05 wide, centimeters if it was real size... This is a great point you make and something I need to be mindful of with the future models. Sharpen them blades!

Fun times! I love the bone animal masks--very Abnett. And it's awesome to see the "toy" space marine, stacked on top of 3 Terminator bases, and its own base, and still looking ridiculously small. Well done on sticking to your ideology of scale.

Good call on the "real life" thickness of that (and others) axe blade--still it reminds me of medieval weapons I've seen in castles and so on. Smash somebody in the head with that thing, or on the collarbone, and you're going to cleave things. Anyway, it looks brutal, and dangerous, and that fits with the narrative you've written perfectly.

Anyway, as painting progresses, I do hope to see some more flesh tones--you were very excited about that initially, and there are some cool Space Wolf faces. Going with the Abnett fluff, I would love to see some "snout-like" ones. Exaggerated fangs are a characteristic he describes more than once, and it adds to the bestiality of their appearance.

Those bone crafters are built using the new wrack kit, if I'm not mistaken? Clever idea – they've got a non-Chaotic but still sinister look to the tools, and the skinny but muscular look is fitting for deathworlders. The only detail that looks a bit off to me is the bonesaw on the hooded one, and that's because it's iconic of the original models for me. A nice small axe held near the handle would help rebalance them towards the Wolves for me... but I'm sure you've got plenty more ideas that'll rein 'em in a bit

I was reading about Anglo-Saxon medicine the other day, and this quote jumped out as fitting for the 40k feel:

In our world of healthcare systems in crisis and general reliance on prescription or non-prescription medicines and a variety of alternative therapies, we are not so far from the charms and prayers, the herbal folklore and amulets of the Anglo-Saxons. Their frequent use of the number nine in healing rituals (charms or prayers are directed to be repeated nine times) may have been a way of marking the period of time for a salve to take effect or a mixture to boil, or may have been a ritual. A shadow of the ritualistic element perhaps survives in directions for antibiotics to be taken ‘three times a day for seven days’.

I thought this might spark some ideas for you – perhaps some little bone pouches, leech vials or even the little dead birds from the Bretonnian Men-at-Arms sprue might be a nice way to bulk out and detail the bone crafters?

The Iron Priest looks cool, but I'm most interested in the Grey Slayer(?) with the hammer. Exciting times ahead!

Pantheralegionnaire: Thanks. Totally, much more flesh on the first wulfen already and more on the way.

Apologist: I understand the concern. In the fluff weapons made of death world predator bone are mentioned, and I was going to paint the blade to match the bone elsewhere on the models. A small, mean axe (from Empire kits) would not be a bad alternative though! Hmmm...

I love the medicine quote. It's such a key point to understand that a Wolf Priest is not a chaplain in dogmatic religious purpose, but a shaman apothecarion in a survival context, as religions of hunter gatheres (and Fenris) were about surviving and making meanings.

Thanks for your thoughtful feedback gents!

Evening by evening, an hour or so at a time the work continues. I realize that for the sake of myself and you, finding a good balance/cadence between painted and wip is stuff is quite key. At the same time, I really want to feel free to enjoy what ever feels like the most fun thing to work on at the time. Feel like it's individual models, but with some "factory" style benefits. An example being how airbrushing one model at a time is a little silly really.

So I've got the Iron Priest and the Wulfen ready for Airbrushing and I think I will finish the 3 surgeons for painting before the next airbrush session. I have also worked on the Wolf Priest (Vulcan) who is going to be the most representative model of the ambition so far, and a Wolf Guard leader with the mark of Wulfen (Gorgon) who looks just plain bestial - like Braveheart turned into a Space Marine and cursed by the Wulfen.

Pictures again this weekend. Aiming for a weekly cadence should be neat, with something finished each month.

Will you also be using Mortarion in some way? I can imagine that Lorgar, Angron and Fulgrim would be a bit tricky since their armor doesn't resemble the Astartes Power Armour in any way, but Mortarion could still make a convincing Space Marine, maybe an Iron Priest even (in combination of some parts of Ferrus Manus' backpack).

 migsula wrote:

I always think that people who convert Forgeworld models must have a very strong vision for their project to contemplate altering such an expensive figure. This figure certainly delivers and the grey is very nuanced for such a potentially 'flat' colour.

Very nice conversion. I had trouble finding a good axe for my own version and just kit bashed parts together instead but I like your's better. Also, thanks for the comparison pic of the gal vorbak with him. I plan on eventually getting them and using them as truescale chaos marines for a defunct RPG in which horus is a truescale Space Wolf (amongst other uses) so the side by side pic is helpful.