Mordrak - (Other projects coming soon!)

[Argyle]

So I happen to really enjoy the fluff behind Mordrak and his ghost knights and am at this very moment sitting at my desk working on him and his squad. However I find myself in need of advice. I wanted to represent his MC Daemon Hammer as something more than what was provided on the sprue...here's what I came up with.

Anyway my questions are as followes:

1. I wanted the hammer to be BIG...but is it to big? I wanted him to look like he could fell a Greater Daemon with a single blow, but not like he was about to fall over from the weight of it.

2. I want to 'Grey Knight' him up a bit more, any useful advice on how to do so without going overboard would be appreciated.

3. If the hammer does look ok, Im kind of iffy on the three skulls on the front. I was considering shaving them flush to the "I" and putting a piece of plasticard over it with some rivets or studs to have a flat striking surface rather than skulls.

So...keep the skulls or make it flat?

As a side note, for anyone who appreciates irony...that is indeed the Lugft Huron model being used as the base =). The head is from Korvydae - I wanted Mordrak to look pissed off and few heads do it better than this one in my opinion.

Thanks in advance for any responses.

[Bewlay]

I haven't had a huge read from the GK codex.

But whoever did this guy is, he looks awesome. The bitz you used are totally justified because they fit so well.

 

And I love the hammer

just looks awesome :lol:

[GooseDaMoose]

Is this the guy who swore to bring down the Tyrant of Badab at all costs?

 

Anyway, his hammer looks fine, and I say keep the skulls.

[Lorenzen]

generally i think it looks pretty good.. unfortunatley the regular (as far as hurons can be called) terminator armour is what makes him not look as grey knighty as he could.. which is a shame because its a really nice use of the model & head etc..

 

as far as the hammer head goes, it could do with being a tiny bit smaller.. id suggest cutting off the outer edge of the icon, itll make it look more like a blunt instrument of death imho.

 

finally add some guitar string to the head to give it a more power weapony look, possibly from behind the face of the hammer to the haft.

 

hopefully thats all understandable and i dont seem like im just vomiting words at you. :(

[rifter72]

I like the look of the hammer, and just think it will leave a nice impression when he hits any daemons. :(

[Argyle]

Is this the guy who swore to bring down the Tyrant of Badab at all costs?

 

Anyway, his hammer looks fine, and I say keep the skulls.

 

 

This is indeed the Mordrak who's arch nemesis is the Tyrant of Badab...which is why I get a chuckle every time I consider the fact that the base model is infact...the Tyrant of Badab. hehe

 

Thanks for the comments so far, I'm going to make a few changes and respost a couple pics.

[Schultzhoffen]

Looks good but I have to chime in for the "too big" side. The hammer does seem a tad unweildy.

[phairsto]

I think it looks great. Unwieldy, yes, but no more so than many other Grey Knight weapons.

 

Can't wait to see it painted with some ghostly knights at his side!

[subtlebrush]

I haven't gotten my grubby claws on the new codex yet but this looks awesome! I'd say to maybe trim the edge of the head of the hammer a bit so its not so wide then it'll look a bit better but I am loving it.

 

Mr.Malevolent

[Argyle]

Thanks a lot for all the replies guys! Made a few adjustments to the hammer. Trimmed that outer lip off so it's about a milimeter smaller all the way around. Added two cables. Plan to add a long purity seal wrapping around the handle a couple times for a bit more flavor.

How does it look now?

[AlexCrute]

*crickets chirping for a while as words have failed me*

 

In the name of the Emperor of Mankind, keep the head of the hammer precisely as-is! If you remove the skulls, I will hunt you down across the continents of this world and...

 

...put them back on

 

If the size comes to bug you (it does not bug me at all, can you tell?), you could alter the handle so Mordrak's right hand is right up around the 'neck' of the hammer (hopefully without shortening the handle at all).

 

Pick up a sledgehammer and you'll see what I mean. When you're not in the act of swinging the hammer, you're choking it. It feels more comfortable (and looks more natural).

[Argyle]

Thanks Alex =)!

 

I think I'm fairly comfortable now with the hammer. One MAJOR thing I am considering right now is a body switch though. I just put a pair of Grey Knight legs with the upper body of Marneus Calgar and it looked pretty solid and more 'grey knight' than this model. I was just really fond of the idea of utilizing Huron to create his Nemesis.

[Lorenzen]

looks much better now mate ;)

 

be carefull with the purity seal as i think it could make the hammer look a bit too cluttered.

 

the newer images have brought up something i think you should consider working on.. which is the joins for the arms, the one shoulder looks a little messy, and whilst the other is fine in the process of cutting his arms off it looks like you've cut part of his little badge off (thing attatched to the rope on his neck) id consider either hiding it with a heraldry shield (small one as to not get in the way of the rest of the model) or carve it out and add a purity seal.

 

keep up the good work though and make his base as epic as the rest of the model ;)

 

*edit* dont change the base model to marneus.. as far as normal armour goes hurons is cooler and has a bit more of a brutal efficiency vibe than calgars.. plus the irony is fun. the only way you could alter the armour is for normal grey knight armour.. and i think that would be a waste of what you've done already. *edit*

[NightHunters]

Reaaly nice!

 

Love the hammer, know what you mean about the skulls, I like them but could fill in the gaps around/behind them flush to the outside edge making it a little more durable looking but looks great as is.

 

FTE

[Argyle]

the newer images have brought up something i think you should consider working on.. which is the joins for the arms, the one shoulder looks a little messy, and whilst the other is fine in the process of cutting his arms off it looks like you've cut part of his little badge off (thing attatched to the rope on his neck) id consider either hiding it with a heraldry shield (small one as to not get in the way of the rest of the model) or carve it out and add a purity seal.

 

Thanks! The arms for the model actually came separate and the sloppiness come from the fact they slipped down while taking the picture lol. They aren't actually glued in place right now, the greenstuff you see was just to fill a slight gap due to awkward positioning. Final assembly will be much cleaner. The 'missing' item on his rope was actually due to bad casting. It was never there heh. This works to my advantage though as their is a small "I" symbol attacked to a grenade in the grey knights troop box that has a little loop on the end and should fit very nicely in the missing spot.

 

Whats everyone's opinion on the Marneus Calgar body, should I keep this one or go with actual Grey Knight Terminator legs and MC's upper body. I'm thinking it would definately pull off the grey knight look this one might be a bit lacking in, but at the same time I'm super reluctant to give up the irony of this model. heh...decisions, decisions.

[Terrible_Trygon]

I actually think you should swap out just the back of the torso with a Grey Knight termie's one. It would help the model look more like a Grey Knight character.

[Hicks]

That model looks gorgeous, but I would say loose the skulls. It make the hammer look fragile and not as hard hitting as something that big should be. Who would sculpt fancy skulls on there anyway? I say better make it a flat surface and add fancy stuff elsewhere on the hammer.

[AlexCrute]

I would engourage you too keep the Huron base of the model. Just make this guy promise not to hit himself with that hammer in zealous confusion. That would suck for him.

 

The arms, hammer, wristbolter, shoulderpads and banner stub bit all clearly evoke grey knights. The paintjob will no doubt do the same. For this reason I would say changing (removing) the upper rear torso armour is unnecessary, not that that would stop me from sawing up that resin with glee though. You should have the GK psychic-hood-looking thing lying around from the same sprue, so go for it.

 

Make certain your cuts are straight.

 

Unnecessarily complex, difficult and extravagant (expensive) conversions all the more clearly mark the model as yours.

 

Calgar as a GKGM has been done before, this hasn't.

[DarKHaZZ13]

sculpt the Book and sword thing on one of his shins

It shouldn't be too hard

 

A few more purity seals here and there

 

maybe try and make the halo look a bit more like a psychic hood

 

Should be enough

[verpine]

MC Daemon Hammer

 

:P

 

Hammer looks great, but the whole handle is really plain. What you should do is get a long strip of thin plasticard and heat it, then bend it in spirals until it looks like one long scroll wrapping all around the shaft. Or use GS is you have real skillz.

 

Apologies is this has already been brought up, I haven't has the time to read all the posts.

[RamrodMC]

Only thing I'd suggest to Grey Knight the model up more is to make a little Liber Daemonicum on his chest. File away the skull and leave the wings (as if the little case that holds the Liber Daemonicum had wings or whatever). The GK Termie sprue has these little coffin-type things that you could use as the base of your Liber. I think it's pretty essential, since it is explicitly states that every Grey Knight has one.

 

Maybe make three little panels sticking out of his Iron Halo, one at the top and one at each side, surrounding his head, to represent the psychic hood of his suit.

 

Otherwise, the model is ornate and baroque enough that it can pass for a GK with a suitable paint scheme. The legs, for example, are spot-on perfect and require no modification.

[Dave the Twisted]

Keep the skulls, definitely. To the argument of "who would sculpt an ornate detail on the head of a hammer?" I'd say just look at half of the other hammers that 40k gives us. I've seen even Raven Guard with details on the whacky bits of the hammer.

[grimtuff]

Wonderful.... Except for the head. Mordrak to me has the whole "Mad Monk of Titan" thing about him and I see him as looking somewhat scruffy WRT his hair and beard. I reckon a Flagellant head wouldn't go amiss.

[Argyle]

So, this is a small update but a lot of work went into it.

I decided to take the advice of a few people here and get far more ambitious than I intended to with a Forgeworld model. I cut off the back of the torso and replaced it with a GK one. The only problem this presented really was figuring out how to include the book I originally had on top and fit in Mordrak's Iron Halo also. Ultimately I couldnt do it in a way that I felt looked good, so I spotted me a new Iron Halo and slapped it on sans book.

I also carved off the small skull on the chest and cut/filed away at a Liber Daemonica to put in its place. I need to do a little gs'ing around it to blend it with the armor and also replace the rope necklace that was cut off in the process.

Also slapped a GS cloak on him because everyone knows Grand Masters have to have cloaks!

Ultimately pretty happy with the way its coming along now. Ty for all the input you guys have provided.

Let me know what you guys think. Next update will be more substantial!

[DarKHaZZ13]

I like, thought I reckon the cape should be draped a bit higher...it looks a bit werid that low down...