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I've taken a long break from doing actual physical hobby work with about a year's worth of pure house rules on my blog is testament to that. While I'm not keen on the way the Primaris marines were introduced in the background, I rather do like the basic Intercessor figs themselves. I've made numerous truescale attempts here in the past from deathwatch to space wolves to even primarchs so it didn't come as a suprise to me that I liked the IMO better proportioned primaris models. At first I thought of restarting my old Space Wolf truescale project with the new primaris models but there are folks that I've found that are doing that much better than I'd ever be able to (like this and this). Additionally, I wanted to try something new as well which only cemented my decision. Instead, I decided to revisit an idea that I ten years ago regarding making a custom chapter of Winged Hussar space marines. Winged Hussars were a Renaissance era heavy cavalry unit for the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth named after the prominent feathers attached to frames on their back. They wore suits of plate armor and were equipped with lances and sabres.



When I came up with the idea years ago, the only readily available bits in 28mm 40k scale were the Dark Angel Ravenwing bits which were too large for infantry figures (but were a good size for the 54mm Inquisitor Artemis figure that was also a brief resurrection of the idea for me a few years ago). Since then, 3rd party bits makers like Maxmini and Puppetswar have produced compatible "wings" and other accessories (especially Puppetwar as they're based in Poland) but they were a bit too scifi for the asthetic I was going for. Recently, I found some smaller scale historical kits from European manufactures that might fit better both asthetically and sizewise. I picked up two of the sword wielding Primaris Lieutenants with the goal of making a Winged Hussar character. Working from that basic figure, I swapped out the power sword for a custom built sabre made from a heat curved Grey Knight sword with an old chainsword pommel. Additionally, I trimmed down a small tabard and added it to the figure. Regarding the actual wings, the Zvezda kit that I got comes with two types, one straight and one curved. I blu-tac test fitted both as picture below as I'm not sure which one I'll choose (although I'm leaning towards the straight variety).



The plastic on the wings is definitely different that GW style polystyrene as it is glossy and more brittle and reminds me a bit more of the Robotech RPG Tactics plastic. I'm test fitting some of the sprue bits with my Testors plastic glue to make sure them work. Some other (expensive for one fig!) ideas I'm thinking about is getting some of the Puppetwars Hussar sabres and Cossack heads to give the model even more of a customized look.



They do have hussar specific helmets but I'm not sure of the size and not frankly particular to their look either. Thanks for reading and if anyone has any comments or advice then feel free to share.

Nice work. I think you're right about the straight wings. From a fluff perspective will these be White Scars descendants?

Thanks! And I haven't decided yet although that would be a perfect choice for Cossack themed marines. White Scars are still an obvious contender but Polish knights (albeit the ones prior to the Hussars) fought against the mongol hordes that the White Scars are patterned after. That said... with Poland being at the crossroads of so many invasions... lots of things were borrowed from neighboring forces that contributed to the overall unique look. You have Turkish, Russian, and European influences mixed together. The traditional feudal European arrangement of the Hussars (nobility who provided their own equipment and came when the king called) puts them a bit closer to Knights than steppe hordes which opens up other possibilities like Templars or even Dark Angels (and ravenwing). At the moment, this is only a small modelling project and not a full army and probably at most will only have a single bike if any so the bike theme isn't a must.

Hell yeah! Hussars are kickass, and it's great seeing people bring other feudal cultures into the grimdark of the 41st millennium

Also, I'm with you on the disappointing fluff but excellent modelling opportunities of Primaris.

very neat. the only thing that i am not sure of personally is that since the wings(?) are attached to the backpack they are pushed awfully far back. it kind of throws the model balance off.

unfortunately i dont see an alternative other than removing the backpack and i dont think that is really an option.

I agree with usernamesareannoying. You may want to see if there's a more imaginative, better balanced way of attaching the wings to the back that accommodates the pack more naturally.

R.

Thanks for the feedback!

It's a good point and something that I noticed on with the 54mm Inquisitor figure I tested out a few years before this. In that case, I was able to use the Dark Angel Ravenwing bits and test attach them in the gap between the backpack and the model. Given the sizes here, just pushing them in the top isn't an option and they're mounted as close as possible pressed up to the exhaust nozzles from the back.

What I might try is to cut off the exhaust nozels on a normal back pack (I only have two of the primaris kind) and put the wings a bit closer to the torso with the exhausts trimmed down a bit and glued back coming "through" the feathers. I'm not a good or even passable sculptor as my skills are limited to gap filling (both flat and out of the way crevice wolf pelt, lol) so I won't be sculpting the feathers organically flowing around it but rather just straight through.

Oh hell yes. Watching.

Thanks! Hopefully this project consisting only of a single model at the moment won't be too boring with these micro updates, lol. One thing I forgot to mention above regarding precinct's and username's comment about model balance is that the model wasn't just seemingly but also *literally* was unbalanced and you can see it in the pics; I had to attach the foot of the model to the photo stand with some blutac in order to keep him from falling over.

I tried cutting off the exhaust nozzles on an old space marine backpack and test fitting the wings directly to the side sandwiched between the pack and the nozzle but it frankly looked horrible and wasn't even worth going upstairs to get the camera. I then though about revisiting the old idea that I came up with for my 54mm Artemis model of jamming it in between the pack and the torso. The curved wing had an odd number of wings in the kit I bought so I sacrificed the odd man out by clipping the bottom quarter of feathers and thinning out the frame they were attached to. Since I only have the one piece that I was willing at the moment to carve up, I took two pics with the same wing in both positions and then digitally combined them in MSPaint (no Photoshop in this budget build!). I definitely prefer this to the back mounting at least for the curved wings.

Yep nailed it

Agreed.... much better

Looks good to me.

Thanks for the positive feedback. In the weeks since, I picked up the other more practical Primaris Lieutenant off of ebay and set about converting him as well in a similar fashion. The wings plastic didn't respond at all to Testors plastic glue (don't have any of the stronger MEK glue that I've heard is more popular in Europe) so used superglue instead. The taller, straighter wings fit better physically on the first lieutenant so I switched those to him.





I'm wasn't particularly happy with the sabres so I ordered some charnabal sabres from the Forgeworld Mk IV power weapon set from a bits seller. They're in the second row in the picture below.



It's hard to find actual full sized pictures of them in use unfortunately as it seems like every one of the images I found were on photobucket and subject to their recent 3rd party hosting terms of service change. Here's a link to a thumbnail gallery though with the swords used on some HH Sons of Horus figs.

http://s49.photobucket.com/user/wowbocephus/library/Sons%20of%20Horus/Praetorians%20and%20Centurions?sort=3&page=1

I'm waiting obviously until I get them but I expect to change out my existing converted sabre on the original Lt and the bolt pistol on the new Lt to the forgeworld sabres. That was always the plan for the second figure but in the time since my first post the codex came out and the primaris options for Lts are unfortunately and unexpectedly (at least for me) quite limited. I may have to use them as normal Lts but in that case I'd have to add a boltrifle to the original fig. I'm hoping that the shoulder slung rifle from the upcoming multipart plastic kit will do the job nicely for me but in the meantime I blutac'ed some temporary bits just to see overall how it would look.



Initially I was worried that it might seem too crowded on that side but (at least with the smaller deathwatch bolter I tested) that doesn't seem IMO to be the case. I initially planned for this to be a small modelling project but with the hopes that it would also at some point be a tiny ally force that I could play as well alongside another army. With the breakup and limited customizability of the new primaris squads and models, I'm not sure what to do. My initial idea of possibly running a command squad has now turned into an Lt, a champion, an ancient and then either two honor guard or company veterans depending on the loadout I choose which really messed up the idea of using the smaller detachment that I had planned on using from looking at various online reviews.

edit: from looking at the pics close up, I've definitely got some mold line removal to do that I missed initially!

Cool stuff. The Winged Hussar inspired spaced marines are really cool. They fir tge 40k aesthetic perfectly and are a pretty unique concept.

Looking forward to seeing how this develops.

EDC

Subbed! The wings sit nicely on the backpack there. Eager to see where this project goes

Yeah these are shaping up very nicely indeed

Thanks to you both. I have to admit that I was surprised that I couldn't find anyone who attempted a Winged Hussar/Lancer marine force online when researching this recently. There have been a few folks that I found that attached the ravenwing bike "wing" to a few figs but nothing more expansive than that. Perhaps it's my Polish bias (since that's my heritage) but with all the folks out there and especially all the 3rd party bits makers and painters in Poland specifically I would have thought someone more talented than me would have nailed it long ago.

In any case, I'm waiting for my bits order to arrive from a European seller so I can test out my charnabal sabres. I'm not sure yet but in the I may additionally pick up either a easy build set to make the honor guard lancers (counts as axes) or the primaris ancient.

The bits arrived from Europe alot quicker then I expected and I did my best impersonation of an Iron Hand apothecary tonight with some amputations. I personally like the sharper, thinner look to the weapons as I think they look definitely less kitbashy and more like the sabres that inspired them. I had to admit though that they are extremely thin resin pieces so both models should definitely be labeled as fragile/handle with care. I already had to reglue last night a wing just holding a bit too tight while removing the previous mould lines.



I'm taking my time with this to not make any rash decisions in modeling (something that happened in my previous truescale attempt as I rapidly went from step to step in the same night) but I have to admit I'm still second guessing myself a bit. I chose the curved wings for the more serious Lt because their shape was sturdier on that model and vice versa but I think I prefer the wings the other way around. Also, I'm considering adding on a Rondel (or Besagew) to each axilla of the champion Lt (the other model won't accommodate them due to the shape). I had to look up the name but they're the circular discs that protect the vulnerable armpit in plate armor.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rondel_(armour)





Just like before, these are just quick mockups made from slicing off the tips of left over sprue pegs and not the final bits.

Yeah I definitely like the sharper sabres. Much better looking

I think the wings look better this way around, but at the end of the day it's up to you!

Then the winged hussars arrived!

Looking great, I'm hoping any future bikers have lances?

 Matthew wrote:
Then the winged hussars arrived!

Looking great, I'm hoping any future bikers have lances?

Lol, I wasn't aware of the YouTube meme until I started doing research for this project. It's a catchy song though! Thanks. I'm not sure yet on the lances. My initial thought was to do the above mentioned honor guard with GK halberds (counts as a power lance in the rules) but they don't have bike or jump pack options. An alternative was to do them as jump pack lancers via the Sanguinary Guard with axe rules but that would lock me into Blood Angels when I'm still undecided on their primarch. Luckily for me, the bits seller I want to use for the landed is out of stock on other items I need so I have a bit of time yet. My default though is to add an ancient and two honor guard lancers to make it a battleforged tiny detachment.

Just jumped on this thread, and am intrigued to see how it will end up. My 2 cents on the sabres, the converted one you made are my favorite as they look like a power weapon while the others seem a bit small for the model. All your work on the wings has paid off they look like they are part of the model and fit the aesthetic of the Hussars.
Any idea what paint scheme you will be using?

Subbed!

 warboss wrote:

 Matthew wrote:
Then the winged hussars arrived!

Looking great, I'm hoping any future bikers have lances?

Lol, I wasn't aware of the YouTube meme until I started doing research for this project. It's a catchy song though! Thanks. I'm not sure yet on the lances. My initial thought was to do the above mentioned honor guard with GK halberds (counts as a power lance in the rules) but they don't have bike or jump pack options. An alternative was to do them as jump pack lancers via the Sanguinary Guard with axe rules but that would lock me into Blood Angels when I'm still undecided on their primarch. Luckily for me, the bits seller I want to use for the landed is out of stock on other items I need so I have a bit of time yet. My default though is to add an ancient and two honor guard lancers to make it a battleforged tiny detachment.

Chalk up one vote for Sang Guard winged jump-pack Lancers. Sounds like an awesome idea

No reason that would tie them into Blood Angels fluff-wise. You could just use the rules to represent models that are White Scars or something (although attributing a Slavic culture as close to Mongolian is probably a textbook example of lack of knowledge about eastern europe). The idea's sound though all rules are is numbers. Use them to represent whatever you like

Yorkright wrote:
Just jumped on this thread, and am intrigued to see how it will end up. My 2 cents on the sabres, the converted one you made are my favorite as they look like a power weapon while the others seem a bit small for the model. All your work on the wings has paid off they look like they are part of the model and fit the aesthetic of the Hussars.
Any idea what paint scheme you will be using?

Subbed!

Thanks. You have a keen eye regarding the swords! The charnabal blade from what I've read isn't technically a power sword in the Horus Heresy rules but rather a grimdark katana-esque blade that grants an initiative bonus and the old rending (ignores armor on a 6 to wound) rule instead.

http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Charnabal_Sabre

For my purposes though in potentially a 40k environment, it'll count as a power weapon. I had thought about adding the little wires with the bulbous tip to the sabre's blade I'm not sure I have the skill or parts to do it.

As for the paint scheme, I do have it mostly worked out unlike the chapter markings/decals. The chapter paint scheme will be based on the actual Hussar's colors with a base color of silver with gold embellishments for details. The joints and other exposed underarmor will be a darker iron/gunmetal similar to the darker color of the chainmail under the plate armor in the first picture of actual Hussar armor. The shoulder pads and knees where decals will go will be either red or white as will the short tabard while the various pouches and holsters will be brown. I had thought about doing the shins in brown as well to simulate the boots hussars wore but I think that would be too much and ruin the armor's effect. The feathers on the wings will obviously be white although I'm not sure if I'll make the aquilla on the chest in white to go with the wings or gold to go with the other armor embellisments (I'll leaning towards gold though). The end result will likely resemble grey knights significantly.

Decals are still completely up in the air. My initial thought was to use historical WW2 Polish 1st Armoured Hussars Tank division logo as the chapter marking



which convienently has decals made in both 1/72 and 15mm by Plastic Soldier Company. The problem is that I'm not sure which ones would actually fit on a space marine shoulder pad and my multiple attempts to contact the company (email, facebook post and private message) have been completely ignored. Alternately, I was thinking about using the ravenwing symbol as a base instead.



The benefits to using the ravenwing markings is that I know they'll fit and I've got a bunch already so they're free as well. I would just with a paint brush change the sword to a sabre instead. I've got some other markings including a polish eagle and the cross hatched red and white Polish air force symbol that I was going to use for squad/company/campaign markings as well.



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 Ynneadwraith wrote:

Chalk up one vote for Sang Guard winged jump-pack Lancers. Sounds like an awesome idea

No reason that would tie them into Blood Angels fluff-wise. You could just use the rules to represent models that are White Scars or something (although attributing a Slavic culture as close to Mongolian is probably a textbook example of lack of knowledge about eastern europe). The idea's sound though all rules are is numbers. Use them to represent whatever you like

Thanks for the upvote. I'm still not sure how far I want to go down the bike specialization rabbit hole with them as cavalry as opposed to renaissance knights and am hesitant to lock it in as I want to make sure I can model things the way that looks the best (at least within the limits of my own ability that is!). Without seeing the rules for both Dark Angels and Blood Angels and comparing them to vanilla marines, it's hard to see what will be possible. I'd never have suspected that GW would limit character customization as much as they did with the Space Marine codex so I'm not taking anything for granted whereas Blood Angels don't have normal honor guard which locks you into jump packers via Sanguinary Guard. For now, I'll be making these two test models which already run into rules issues (neither my Lt models will be legal as primaris LTs).

I agree on the White Scars not being an autochoice thematically either. I think they'd be a good fit for a russian steppe Cossack themed force though but it's a bit of a historical disconnect to use clearly mongolian themed rules for polish knights when the poles were key in keeping the mongolians out of Europe in the first place, lol. That granted predated the hussars by several hundred years though and the hussars instead were instrumental in keeping the ottomans out instead. In any case, because of the cross roads and clashes in central and eastern Europe, many slavic armies incorporated styles from both the east and west. The structure of Winged Hussars were clearly based in western european knightly orders but incorporated middle eastern and steppe influences asthetically (the sabres being an obvious example).

The project is really piquing my interest now. I'm not sure if I'd call the White Scars rules "clearly Mongolian themed" though. The fluff by all means, but the actual rules themselves are pretty much simple game rules for elite mounted troops rather than something that makes you look at them and think "Ah yes, the Golden Horde!"

The Ravenwing transfers over the top of the Polish quartered design would look good, except that (obviously) the transfers are white. I think incorporating the quartering in some way would look great, though.

 Azazelx wrote:
The project is really piquing my interest now. I'm not sure if I'd call the White Scars rules "clearly Mongolian themed" though. The fluff by all means, but the actual rules themselves are pretty much simple game rules for elite mounted troops rather than something that makes you look at them and think "Ah yes, the Golden Horde!"

The Ravenwing transfers over the top of the Polish quartered design would look good, except that (obviously) the transfers are white. I think incorporating the quartering in some way would look great, though.

Yeah, I see your point in that I was conflating their background somewhat with the rules. Their rules for me are pretty spot on for specifically raiding light cavalry as opposed to heavy cavalry for which the Ravenwing rules I think overall fit better (although the background may be slipping in that determination again). I don't plan on using a quartered paint scheme although I'm not sure if that is what you're referring to. I have a set of troublesome to work with Polish airforce decals though that I hope to incorporate as a squad or campaign badge.



Additionally, I hope to sort of quarter (if you can call it that) the pennants that I'll be attaching to the power lances on the honor similar to those shown on the left in this pic



or at the blog here: http://wabcorner.blogspot.com/2013/02/54mm-polish-winged-hussar.html

Initially, I had thought to use the polish white eagle more prominently but I'm slowly starting to think that it's a bit too much on the nose and might also conflict a bit with the inevitable aquilla you find on marines. As for my models, I'm still waiting on a bits seller to get more primaris models in stock (I want to order from one place and only one dealer has the particular armor bit I need... don't want to pay $4 in shipping for $1-2 in bits). In the meantime, I primed the model with the autoboltgun since he won't be using any of the bits and am finding out just how many of my paints have dried up in the past two years from disuse.

Again, I'm sorry for the slow drip fed pace on the blog but I'm still treading slowly in order to not screw up on relatively costly models ($50 so far for all the variant kits, bits, and decals for two models so far although I'll be able to use them for more).



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Some days you just can't win... the models I've been waiting on for a week came in stock today.. and late last night the half dozen copies of the unique bits that no one has bought any of in several weeks all got bought by the same guy and are now out of stock... ughh...

I guess just have a good look at the rules forgetting the background entirely and then go with the ones that you feel fit your force best. I didn't mean a quartered scheme - I did mean the specific design that you've added in there as a shoulder pad design, hence the Ravenwing decal being difficult to pull off over the top of it. Unless you replaced the white in the quartered design with a cream or bone or something.

You could always use the White Eagle as the chapter's own take on the Aquila. That's what I'd do myself if I were doing a Polish-themed force.

 Azazelx wrote:
I guess just have a good look at the rules forgetting the background entirely and then go with the ones that you feel fit your force best. I didn't mean a quartered scheme - I did mean the specific design that you've added in there as a shoulder pad design, hence the Ravenwing decal being difficult to pull off over the top of it. Unless you replaced the white in the quartered design with a cream or bone or something.

You could always use the White Eagle as the chapter's own take on the Aquila. That's what I'd do myself if I were doing a Polish-themed force.

That would be a great idea!... but way beyond my gap filling and simple geometric shape sculpting capability. I'll probably just do the white ravenwing decal over a red background instead as the chapter symbol (or test out the opposite if I find any red ravenwing symbols in my collection to see what works best). I'll use my small quartered decals on the knee pad as a company or squad marking though (also over a red or white background to match the shoulder pads).



I lucked out in that I contacted the bits seller and he had a few extra of the rondel bits I needed in backstock so got them along with the rest of my order yesterday and did some hobby work finally. Yay! I was able to cut off the Blood Angel specific bits and I think they fit sizewise well over the axillae. Since this model will likely be a champion, I added on a relic bolter along with a 1mm craft jewelry chain as a shoulder strap. I'm curious to know if anyone thinks the model looks a bit too busy with all that added on. Finally, I did end up switching the wings on my two test models and definitely prefer this combo even if they're slightly less durable overall. I primed the earlier model already and, at least on that model, my reglues don't look too bad (I tried scraping off any residue) nor does my gap filling attempt with the putty look too bad once painted over.





Next up I'll finally be painting the first model as well as test fitting parts to my two lance armed honor guard models.

So far so good, the champion doesnt look too busy at all. Most leaders would have some bling going on to separate them from line troops. The sabres are growing on me also, can't wait to see some paint on them.

I was hoping you'd come around on the sabres! Hopefully the first test paint job won't turn you off. I've historically been a competent tabletop quality painter and don't have the skill nor the patience to learn the advanced techniques necessary to get to that next tier. In any case, here is the first test model painted up (but not based):



I ended up going with the polish eagle on the tabard as it didn't look like it clashed too much with the aquilla in the end. Additionally, I felt the model needed a bit of white in the center as well. I used decal solvent on most of the decals to mixed results. It worked well enough along with two relief cuts on the shoulder pads although the ravenwing icon kinked a bit on one side (of course facing the front of the model... and I didn't notice it until I was changing the sword on the decal to a sabre!). The solvent practically disolved the first eagle I put on the tabard literally in front of my eyes to a splotchy dull off white so I had to rinse that one off in pieces; I suppose FOW decals aren't compatible with testors decal solvent although GW ones are. The air force symbol wouldn't fit properly on the knee cap and was too small to put relief cuts into so I put it diagonally as a diamond instead of the historical square.

I don't expect to change the overall scheme much on the second model although I think I will change the order of painting operations significantly the second time around. Washing and highlighting the base armor was a PITA after the rest of the models was done so I think I'll do all the steps involved in the silver/chainmail armor itself (base coat, lighter top coat, two washes, cleanup and occasional edge highlighting) before I touch the rest of the parts/colors. Decalwise, I might switch to the slightly larger sized ravenwing decal for the chapter symbol as there is alot of blank red space on that side as well.

Keeping in mind my slightly better than tabletop quality skill level, I'd love to hear other possible tips that I could use.