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Harlan is a sublime conversion. I like that it clearly shows influence from Preacher Josef, but does not come across as a copy. Instead you can see that he has his own character and background.

Looks good. I really dig the personality of each omdel

Cheers, guys!

Here's another round of updates to show you what I am working on at the moment:

I've been adding some bitz and bobs to the mutant overlord I already posted on this thread earlier. I think the model is finished and ready for paint now:







I have to say that I am really rather fond of this model, especially since it came together fairly spontaneously.

Then there's this Redemptionist conversion I put together earlier this week:









This conversion basically consists of ideas I've nicked from elswhere Migsula once built a Redemptionist using a fairly similar recipe, and the head-splice is a fantabulous idea by plessiez that I just had to steal.

And finally, there's also something new on the painting front: I am currently working on the next (and penultimate) member of Inquisitor Gotthardt's retinue: Trooper Koltz, formerly of the 126th Haaruthian Dragoons and personal retainer to Cpt. Esteban Revas:











Possibly my favourite part of the model so far is that I'be been able to paint a five o' clock shadow on its face, something I had never tried before

As always, let me know what you think!

Nice and simple. It's good to see well executed clean and simple occasionally!

Cheers, mate!

In spite of being a fairly straightforward conversion, Trooper Koltz has been quite a challenge to get right, however, mostly because I really wanted to invoke a certain look and feel with the character: In fact, Koltz started mainly as a bit of a joke character to accompany my conversion for Cpt- Esteban Revas. The latter seemed like the foppish and noble officer who would have a personal retainer to lug around all his gear and equipment, and the pile of stuff on Koltz' back was supposed to communicate that fact, with the small Bretonnian chest on top as a somewhat absurd little touch. But then Koltz really grew beyond his humble origins.

I also wanted to have the two characters work as a pair, with Koltz serving as a straight man to his, ultimately decent yet also fairly foppish, superior, and they also embody the class distinctions in the Haaruthian military, with commoners serving as the rank and file, while the nobles (with their very romantic concept of warfare) get handed the command, with little to no regard to their actual suitability for such positions.

Anyway, here are some pictures of the finished model. They aren't great, for which I apologise, but the gloomy weather outside turns taking proper pictures into quite an adventure...

I've added some finishing touches to the model, including the base and a subtle woodgrain pattern to his rifle casing. Anyway, here goes:







Being a former member of the 126th Haaruthian Dragoons, he still bears the colours and markings of his former regiment (such as a "126" that I had to splice together from two Cadian decals and a small heraldic plaque on his belt with a "H" standing for Haaruthia):



And here's a closer look at all the gear on his back:






And here are Revas and Koltz together: I really wanted to invoke the impression that they are (or rather, were) part of the same regiment, with Koltz's livery seeming like a less grandiose version of Esteban's uniform to a certain degree:



There's actually a ton of backstory there, which you can check out here, in case you are interested.

Nothing to say, eh? Oh well...

Anyway, here's another small (literally!) project that I've been working on: A while ago, I built a chapter serf to accompany my true scale Marine, Praetor Janus Auriga, and now I have finally managed to paint him:







Finding the right colours and hies for the model proved to be quite an interesting challenge: I wanted the model to invoke a somewhat medieval feel, in order to underline the Astartes' nature as monastic crusaders, so to speak. At the same time, I didn't want the serf to appear to dirty or frayed around the edges, since that would have felt somewhat unsuitable for a Space Marine chapter, even a rather archaic one. What's more, while he may be a mere menial for the chapter, his task is still an important one, and he takes pride in it (I actually kept thinking of the Bright Carvers from Ghormenghast, if that makes any sense). In the end, I realised when painting him that the trick to make him work as a model was to slavishly stick to subdued, earthy tones, except for the chapter relics he carries. That way he really seems like a caretaker of that helmet without becoming toon important, if that makes any sense.

I also added a backpack, because I wanted to invoke the impression that, in addition to carrying that helmet in a suitably dramatic fashion, the Chapter serf also serves Praetor Janus Auriga as a personal artificer. Something I really like about the finished model is the combination of fairly mundane tools (like the hammer and wrench with the more esoteric gear underneath (small caskets of what I imagine to be holy oils and unguents, and a small book containing the correct rites of maintenance for the Astartes warplate):







Here's a side by side picture of the Chapter Serf and his master:



As always, let me know what you think!

Great stuff, as always! Revas and Koltz look great together, I'm somehow reminded of Commissar Cain and Jurgen

The Chapter serf looks great as well, I especially like the small shield hanging from his belt

Cheers, mate!

Regarding the shield, I realised that I wanted another element (that wasn't the helmet) on the model to reflect the chapter colours, and golden armour was out of the question for fairly obvious reasons, so I thought that a small heraldic plate with the black and white checkerboard pattern might do the trick.

I love the story Koltz model tells. The absurd and silly chest is great.

I love the dynamic between him and his superior. The model's poses play off each other.

Cheers, man!

I finished the final member for this "mini-warband": a bolter-cherub, originally from back when Codex: Witchhunters was released:







The sculpt is not without its problems (and I realised once again that I am basically through with painting metal models at this point), but the little guy made such a beautiful retainer for Janus Auriga that I gritted my teeth together and persevered.

So here's the Praetor with both his retainers:



As always, let me know what you think!

I love that cherub. Rally awesome model and a perfect paint job for it to boot

Whenever someone asks me what warhammer is, I show them this thread in all of its grimdark, medieval, esoteric glory. You just do all of 40k's weirdness so well. Bravo sir.

That cherub is great. I'm also a huge fan of the chapter serf.

I really like the Redemptionist. Would you consider trying to make the flamer and chainsword into one weapon like the older Necromunda figure?

Thanks a lot for the feedback, everyone!

@ Januine & Warboss_Waaazag: Cheers! Like I said, the sculpt is a little clunky in places, but the model is still good fun and fits rather well here.

@ AUGmaniac: That's an incredible compliment, mate! Thank you very much!

@ Dreadclaw69: I did actually consider splicing together a weapon like that for quite a while, but in the end the danger of it ending up far too goofy put me off the idea. Plus I actually like the idea of the character having both a flamer and a chainblade as separate weapons.


So, a short update: PDH's recent concept for the Ordo Scriptorum has somehow kicked my mind into overdrive -- especially his suggestion that this illustration by the late and great Wayne England would make for an excellent Ordo Scriptorum Inquisitor:



This has been one of my favourite pieces of artwork by Mr. England for quite a while, and I have wanted to build a model based on it more than once. But I could never seem to find the right approach, until Peter suddenly supplied the right angle, and then there was no stopping me.

So I started trying out some bitz and shapes. One thing I really wanted to get right was the stunning silhouette and pose from the original artwork. So this is what I ended up with after a bit of messing around:







Not quite there yet, obviously, but it felt like the results warranted some further experimentation, So I didn't stop until I had this:









And then I added the missing left hand, complete with a scroll from the 54mm Eisenhorn model, no less



As always, let me know what you think!

As always, let me know what you think!

very very cool!!! So full of character!

Wonderful! What head is that from?

Dynamic posing! Love the way you have him put together.

Looking already really cool! Can you give a breakdown of the parts you used?

Really nice use of the dreamforge bits . also the Cherub and serf are great additions as well.

Cheers for the feedback, guys!

The bitz breakdown on the latest Ordo Scriptorum Inquisitor is as follow:

- legs from the WFB plastic Chaos Sorcerer
- torso, arms, hands and shoulder pads from the Dreamforge Games Eisenkern Stormtroopers, as those were the only bitz I had that allowed me to produce the slender look I needed.
- servitor head from the Space Marine Stormraven kit
- books from the WFB Empire flagellants
- a long purity seal from the power armoured Grey Knights (IIRC)
- a hood from the WFB Empire Wizard
- the cane was originally a Chaos Marauder spear
- the scroll in the left hand came from the 54mm Eisenhorn model, I believe
- the chest emblem is a shaved-down Crux Terminatus from some Space Marine Dreadnought kit.

Hope this helps!


In other news, there are a few aspects of the model that I need some help with, so I would love to hear your feedback:

1.) As you can see, the character in the original illustration is wearing a huge tome on either hip. I was a bit afraid that adding a second book would mess with the silhouette too much. At the same time, I also like how the model seems to be wearing those books almost like pistol holsters. Anyway, here's a mockup with the second book added:



Yay or nay?

Second question: Should I get rid of that bionic lens array on the right side of the Inquisitor's head? The illustration doesn't have this element, although I rather like the look of it. Here's a simple Photoshop mockup without the part:




Which version do you people prefer?

Third question: While I am very happy with the front of the model, the back still needs to be sorted out. I have decided to lose the huge "bionic sack of scrolls", as PDH calls it, both because I think it messes up the model's striking silhouette and because it makes more sense for an Inquisitor to have a retainer carrying all those scrolls. However, I am still struggling to find the right collection of bits and bobs to add to the model's back. Here's what I have so far:

Option A:



Option B:



Any feedback would be really welcome!

Option B IMO

I like option A (nothing like splitting the vote out of the gate).

i think keep the bionics on his head and both books but because they are so big i think the need a visual to connect them to his belt like some chain or something, i really think you should mock up the bionic scroll sack it could look so cool

I like option B.

For the head - the version with the side-lense looks more bookish. Without is the more badass warrior head.

The latter looks better, IMO, but the former seems to suit the character better.


Could maybe compromise by chopping it off his head and adding it on a shoulder mount instead?

I personally like option A. Maybe do option B but fit the key in there somewhere? I love the detail of the key

Such a great fig - I wants one now!!!!!!!
imho....
Second book - defintely yes!
I'd lose the lens array - prefer the silhouette without it - makes him look a bit more stoic and hard I think
I prefer option A - olde scroll feel, the key and the purse tell a more varied and interesting story just in themselves.

Did I mention I want one?!!! Great work as per usual KS

Looking good. I really like that the henchmen have loads of bits to carry around. Especially the guy with the little treasure chest.

The Scriptorium Inquisitor looks brilliant.

EDC

Cheers, guys! Getting all this feedback here and on the Ammobunker has been a huge help when making the final adjustments to the model. Speaking of which:



As you can see, I did go with the twin books -- the pistol holster parallel was just to good to pass up, once I had realised it existed I thought about adding some chains fastening the books to the model's hip, but while that might make the books look more plausible, I fear I am but one step away from ovevercluttering the model.

I also moved the key to the front: I like the way it hints at hidden knowledge and mysticism, but I couldn't quite get it to work in its original position. I think it works far better now.

And finally, I couldn't bring myself to cut off the optics: While the idea of attaching them to the shoulder pad, "Eisenhorn-style", is pretty brilliant, I fear the head would lose something in the process.



Regarding the size of the cane and scroll, I am not too bothered: The scroll is a pretty good match for the one in the art, plus it has far nicer detail than the smaller 40k ones, so I think it works. The cane, meanwhile, has a certain brutality that I like, because it hints at a deeper, maybe somewhat less bookish, layer of the Inquisitor's character. Maybe it's a sword cane, by the way, so it would need a certain diametre in order for a blade to fit inside...

I also couldn't help myself and added a small Inquisitorial symbol to one of the books:



And here's the finished back:



As you can see, I have kept one of the scroll bitz, but have swapped in a small Grey Knights doodad. I think it was just too obvious that all the scrolls were basically the same bit. I rather like the finished design, plus it achieves its original aim of masking the very ugly seam between the torso and the robed legs.

So yeah, I think the model's finished now. Any more bitz would run a risk of overcluttering the piece. Thanks again for all the input!

As for a possible retinue, I think it would have to have a very special feel, like the Inquisitor himself. Right now, I am considering at least one menial carrying books and scrolls (similar to a couple of models PDH is building at the moment). And maybe a hulking member of the Guild of Parchment Scroteners, doubling as a bodyguard? This model would probably be based on the Brian Nelson Nurgle Lord and use an approach similar to the conversions by PDH and Jeff Vader. Maybe I'll also have to source those scribes/assistants from the Celestial Hurricaum kit...? Anyway, I am open to suggestions for possible characters, of course!

So what kind of retinue is this guy going to have?