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Oh My Goodness!!!

The torso is amazing!!!! I can totally see a whole company in this armor! Way to go!

The shoulder pad is awesome! As is the Backpack and the sword!

For the sword, I would do more of the swirly or blocky patterns.

Do you have plans for new heads as well?

Thx Merlin and Jake!

A bit of Intel on this model - my friend Ish is going to participate in a painting contest held by one local hobby store, but the rules are quite strict; the model must be a first company veteran. And while he's got his own Blood Ravens this aztec guy can really give him an edge. So I finally decided to make him a veteran librarian for the Sacrificers 1st company. Not sure about the name of this company, was thinking about the Sunbound or something 'coz they gonna bear a tablet with an aztec symbol of the sun on their right shoulder. I'll do my best to finish this project by the end of september to allow Ish some time to give it a proper paintjob.

And yes, Jake, I'm going to sculpt a unique head for this guy

Personally I think It turned out not as perfect as I'd like but much better than I thought it would.

feel suitably gibbsslapped for this totally needless self-mutilation ...

the torso is simply stunning... no need again to explain what we see on the belt... you totally nailed the look with that aszek god shown there... straight from the history books! and i like the sides of the belt... those ornaments i woould use for the detailwork of the sword too...! and the backpack looks very promising... i think some sort of faces on those "heads" you did and you are on awesome ground with that piece too!

thx Vik! Nice to see you back, I was a bit worried by your absence

That's not self-mutilation, I'm only critical 'coz I wish to sculpt as flawlessly as Scibor or Brother Vinni... =|

The "horns" on the backpack will be open-mouthed serpent/dragon heads. Working on them now and quite happy with the progress so far. As for the blades ornament, I've been thinking about how to make it look like "power" weapon without adding any type of attached generator that just doesn't fit in my opinion and I think that I found a way to mix the ornament with the generic to 40k powered weapons power lines. You know, this small lines with dots on the end along the blade?

Btw, how did you like the shoulder logo?

the shoulder pad logo is purely awesome... i was quite a big skrptik to say the least if you could pull that one off on that small a scale... and you certainly did... to the fullest! that is definatly scibor or other third party worthy!!! so no critical thoughts needed there...

those power nodes sound like a good idea... ornamental and functionality mix is bound to be the best solution in every way^^

and in my opinion... brother vinnie sure has some nice models... but i think his style lacks soul... but that´s just personal taste.. tho of course he spoiled us with those not-fallout stuff

and yep... i was the last coupla days out due work and feeling empty... i hope i can fix that soon to my needs again... wouldn´t be fun anymore if worklife has too much effect on my other priorities...

 storag wrote:



Not sure what ornament to do for the blade...

Any suggestions?

This is the part that really sells the concept! Love it

What about some teeny tiny pictograms? I don't think there is an Aztec script, but you could look that up, too...

Vik, your words are most inspiring, thank you

Rawson, I'm glad that you liked it but I'll have to keep your advice for some future piece 'coz I almost finished this blade.

As far as I'm aware Aztecs used glyphs and I'm doing the sun glyph onthe second shoulder. Hope to show them soon!

yeah i hope so too (the seeing part )

Wow. Ive never seen an Aztec theme before, and your doing an awesome job so far with it

I hate space marines with a passion but this is way to dam cool not to like Shame GW never made these I would most defiantly bought a set of them

Love the sculpting detail is sharp very impressive work the motif is one of the best things by far style and design.

I cant wait to see this expand

KingCracker, lone dirty dog - welcome to da thread guys!

I hate space marines with a passion but this is way to dam cool not to like

Almost same thing on my end, to be honest I can't explain why the hell I'm doing this For the sake of pure creativity I think. What else could probably drive such a greenskin herder as myself to waste so much time on something I'm not going to play

Here I'm back with a bunch of pics for ya!

First is the right shoulder pad.



As I said before, such pads are only for chapter veterans. And here is a little intel to explain what this symbol is and why I used it for vets instead of usual Crux Terminatus.
This symbol is based on a south-american natives glyph known as "Kin" or "Sun Flower". Kin were actually a number of glyphs representing sun cycle. This one meant the begining of the cycle - the dawn. Also "Kin" used to resemble five possible directions: North, South, West, East and Center much like a modern Wind Rose and was considered a symbol of the "Great Sun" - a title beared by head-chief of local community who performed a dayly morning ritual.
Considering this, I think that its more than fitting to use it as an officer honour sign.

Second is the Macuahuitl,

Side A



Side B



The weapon itself is quite massive and I wanted it to remain more of a blade than a club so I tried to make the details as subtle and functional as possible to prevent the "overweight".
I thought it'll make sense to adorn the hilt in-build generator with an image of the sun for obvious reasons And then I used the usual power supply lines to create a geometrical ornament which, I hope, is lite and geometrical enough at the same time to create a distinctive Aztec look. The leather wrapped handle and the ring apple imo add to overal tribal look.

Thats all for now. Looking forward to your feedback as usual, cheers!

Most impressive!

Totally crazy but loving all of it wish there was more marine armies like this maybe I would like the fethers LOL

the sun on the hilt of the "sword" is looking simply awesome... and the power cord/node is looking as crisp as can be...you definatly created something new for marines with this one! i really like this... makes me see SM in a new perspective...

the shoulderpad however is not that good looking to me... the trim of the pad looks very good and is true to the theme but i fear the inner symbol is not really my style... i just tell you how i see it and your mileage may vary on that one... tho i can see that this is meant to be a sun...

that sword is really cool storag, your aztec marine is going to turn out sooo cool!

Thx guys!

Vik, I agree that the symbol is rather boring compared to all other things around it, but it's authentic and it's not meant to look like the sun, it's a hieroglyph, a meaning in a pictogram. And it's simplicity has a bright side in it - the whole figure is going to be pretty much ornate and if I don't add some "dull" points to it I risk on running in to the same problem as Kabuki Models with their awesomely detailed models looking overburdened and awkward.

BTW, the REAL Aztec stuff looks mostly suprisingly ugly and dull :( As if it was done by some little kids with crippled hands...

Loving the sword, great job with the power nodes (or whatever they're called)

 storag wrote:
As if it was done by some little kids with crippled hands...

Holy lol

storag... i really like your thoughts about the model... this makes me agree now... and i can understand your point... and to be fair... the hieroglyph is not THAT dull

by the way... what have you planned for the head... iirc the aztec had some interesting hairdo´s and facial hair to be proud off... or will you do a bald head with interesting tatoo´s?

Vik I think you need to take into the fact that he has used real life references for that, if it is a bit plain ( although I do disagree ) thats because life can be at times.

I like the fact it is a little simple to balance with the other shoulder pad, this is turning out to be a very cool and interesting project

I only wish you would cast me up a couple, they would be rather fun to paint all those crazy colours and detail

Great work

@ Vik
I'm really investing much thought in this one, more than I ever did before. My other projects got about 3-4 major elements that make the mini but here every small detail got some back to it, no random stuff. And I can see how it really making a difference

For the head I plan to sculpt a face like in some Disney animations but with 40k grim feel to it. And he gonna wear the Aztec version of a psychic hood based on priest's ritual headgear. The tattoos I'll leave for Ish to decide, after all he also needs some space to show his free hand skills

@LDD
You completely got my point!
Seems like I'm bound to cast every part of this guy

@ storag
Well the miniature needs to look balanced, I have done it myself before over detailed a model goes from cool to ridiculous very easily

I love the idea of the head design although if you have a pic that would be cool, I gather you are basing it on actual artefacts

hey i have just found this and can safely so your sculpting is jaw dropping, especially for someone who hasn't had alot of practice as such. loving everything

@ LDD
More on modern replicas, but I'm pretty sure they have much in common with the original stuff. I'm thinking about something like this:



But less baroque. Going to replace the feathers with geometrically similar forms 'coz I want him to look more like a stone-carved idol than a man of flesh plus this headgear should be a psychic hood after all and realistic feathers just won't fit imo.

@ jammy
Welcome to my humble blog mate! And thank you! You just made me realise that this is like my 18th model or something...

well storag... if you and ish are at this again together than i expect a major eyecandy job all together ...as if there would be any doubt ^^

and yeah... the head concept sounds very cool already!

I like the idea of the head wear, however I have to say I am not sold on the ….. what the hell is that head of LOL

The hyena head is what looks odd but the rest I like I still think this is going to be a cool looking kit.

By the way your earlier work is impressive as well, those WOW elves were some nifty work love how they got 40 Kade

*coughs-hyenas-live-in-afrika-coughs*

Cough it looks like a hyena cough smart arse ……..

hyena




leopard...

just for your information

Firstly I am sure a Hyena does not look like that (picture not working mate)

I get your point but it still looks like a hyena head, not the markings but the shape

Guys, hate to spoil your fun, but I afraid you're both wrong... Leopards don't inhabit the Western Hemisphere. Most likely this is a jaguar, as all other South American cats have lines on the muzzle instead of spots... A rather small and ugly jaguar I must say