Vox Stellarum: The Worlds-Wide Webway

[Ryltar Thamior]

 

Alright, so - like I mentioned in my AdMech thread ... I happened to start putting together a few *decidedly different* concepts and miniatures from my usual (almost strictly Imperial) faire. 

 

One 'common thread' between a number of the proposed games and forces that Umbral and I have cooked up over the past two years or so, has been the potential for the inclusion of forces that might make use of the Webway. Whether it's the Eldar who've turned up in our Heresy era stuff, or for that matter the Agents of the Sigillite warband that's appeared in same; the "Webway Wolves" Space Wolves force we did up towards the start of our re-entry "proper" into 40k inspired by the old Nordic myth of Hermod's Ride to Hel [and the Amon Amarth track of the same name]; the addition of Custodes warbands traipsing around the place potentially caught in some form of time-lapse from the heady days of the Crusade; or particular Inquisition and AdMech bands scouring the Hidden Paths for secret ways and means to intriguing esoteric ends (and that's without getting into the Dark Eldar you may be seeing shortly in *yet another* of our projects that's largely gone under-wraps thus far; and some further-down-the-line stuff for InquisiNecronMunda) ... it's been quite clear that we're going to be making quite a bit of mileage out of the Webway and its various assorted denizens in our imagining of Narrative Warfare in the 41st/42nd/38th/31st Millennium. 

 

SO I uh ... I guess I started putting together ideas for forces, one-off miniatures, interesting locales, and intriguing challenges for some or all of these with a 'unifying thread' of the Webway as an environ and habitat/encounter-source. 

 

These will range from Dark Eldar and Eldar guardians of particular sites [i see the Webway being almost like an 'enchanted forest' in parts - replete with sacred relics of bygone ages warded over by beings of immense power & genius loci], through to AdMech Explorator teams continuing the Emperor's Great Work [wehther they know about it or not], Custodes who're doing likewise and a little more 'knowingly], various Inquisition bands up to (no) good [and 'no gunsmoke], expansions to the Webway Wolves - and maybe some Thousand Sons to oppose them, and all the rest of it.

 

Now, to do this ... I'm going to need a bit of help in terms of 'realizing' the Webway [well, our scattered parts of it] and its inhabitants; so if people have ideas , quotes, excerpts from relevant texts, etc. I'm quite keen for them to chuck them up here or elsewehre [and draw my attention to it] so that i've got more material/inspiration to work with! [stuff around Planescape's rendering of the Astral Plane will also be making an appearane no doubt]

 

But anyway, on with the show.

 

The Dark Eldar I opened the thread with was borne out of me experimenting around to see how i could potentially make a converted Incubi-style miniature - a 'heavy hitter' with some kind of soul-rending Axe [hence he's being *quite* cavalierly disregardeous of his own safety by handling the blade like that... maybe he enjoys the rough feeling of its razor-sharp edge slicing along the outer surface of his being...? ]. Now, I know that theoretically there should be far heavier armour if he's to be a 'proper' Incubi analogue ... but I felt that we'd start with the relatively more 'simple' action of transplanting a hand onto a Dark Eldar wrist and getting the posing right before doing anything more 'complex'.

 

Next up, another 'experiment' - this time in seeing how a Dark Elf Executioner body could be appropriately Eldar-ified to bring it into the 41st Millenium. I initially wanted to do something a little more complex with the swords from the Kabalite Warriors & Scourges kits in a rather more 'dramatic' posing .. but like i say - 'start small' ; particularly given how "unforgiving" the Eldar/Elven ranges are in comparison to the much more 'blunt' AdMech/Medieval bitz and pieces i've been playing around with over the past week or so. [this is uh .. I didn't really do much converting before this, either so new skillz all around!] 

 

 

The 'rationale' here is that the heavier armour of the warrior in question is somewaht mitigated by the grav-harness on his back - enabling all the usual Eldr acrobaticness [well, much of it - at any rate ] despite the much heavier protection. I also intend on 'future' iterations of this kind of miniature to owrk out a way of representing a small-scale portable shield-generator mounted in a similar location; as well as robotic wraith-bone arms [probably raxx 'em from the wraithguard/wraithblades kit] holding heavier weapons a la Warp Spiders Exarchs. 

 

In my head, he's one of those aforementioned Custodians of a 'place of power' of some kind inteh Webway - hence the heavier equipment, on grounds that he probably doesn't have to range *too* far from his appointed place of vigilance [kinda like the Knight from Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade] in striking down foes. 

 

Anyway, that about covers what I've don so far .... tune back soon  to see more Dark/Eldar and the starts of the Imperials ranging through their territory. When I'm next proximate to my Webway Wolves [they're presently at Umbral's place for gaming purposes], I may yet do a shot of them [and/or some repainting possiby .. my skills have advanced quite some distance since first getting my hands on them!] to add here as well. 

 

In the mean-time ... if you've got any cool ideas for Webway related / inhabitants/interlopers stuffs  .. please don't hesitate to chuck 'em in here !

[Ahistorian]

They both look great!

 

I was planning to use spare Eternal Guard bodies to scratchbuild Rangers, though I've also seen great results from Shadow Warriors.

[Ryltar Thamior]

They both look great!

 

I was planning to use spare Eternal Guard bodies to scratchbuild Rangers, though I've also seen great results from Shadow Warriors.

Churr for positive feedback :D I definitely need to look more into the Wood Elves range for base-miniatures, that's for sure - and I suppose their sniper rifles shouldn't be *too* hard ot replace with other weaponry from a fluff perspective. Also a good call on the shadow warriors! 

 

 

Anyway, i finally got around to finishing off the miniature, taking up Umbral's suggestion as to head [from the Raider crew/helmsman parts of the sprue, trimmed down at the neck to fit a Warrior torso], and sorting out what to mount upon his back. I'd considered going with the flag, or maybe even the grenade-launchers .. but in the end, the Incubi-style trophy-pole *had* to be it. Collecting heads and suchlike :P 

 

 

Now, part-way through teh drying process, the head *shifted* unbeknowst to me. And by the time i noticed this, the glue had already well set. I gave a *brief* attempt at breaking it back off so as to position it more in-line wiht how i initially intended it [slightly less leaning] - but after realizing that exerting the requisite force to do this would *also* quite possibly lead to me accidentally breaking several toher rather delicate joins that are integral to the posing .. I decided to just leave it as-is. 

 

 

At the moment, he's just been basecoated and then had Warplock Bronze over the armoured areas. I'm going to give a colour-scheme based around that with gold highlighting a shot and see how it comes out. 

 

 

Although now i'm having second thoughts :S Drat, KNEW I should have done a test-mini first! [although that woul require assemblign one ... and despite having sat down to do a few more Dark Eldar earlier this evening, i couldn't *quite* muster the impetus to finalize them]. 

 

 

Am quite liking how a few of the 'little details' will play into his characteriation - the anklet/shackle, for instance, helping to repreent how he's 'tied' to a particular Webway location, perhaps.

 

Have also *almost* finished a Raider - however am still pondering how to make it into a Charon-esque psychopomp vessel, so to speak [because, as we know, Every Model Must Be Converted!] [possibly starting with the Helmsman I guess]. 

 

Also had a few other ideas with regard to Dark Eldar bitz and peices - one being a 'musician' of sorts using the serpent-horn from the Dark Elves Corsairs kit ... sort of like a horn-blower for the Wild Hunt [in the real-world mythological sense, kinda - which also play out with the Old World WOod Elves] barrelling down the corridors of the Webway after interlopers; and further playing upon the 'serpent' symbolism already found in Eldar mythology. 

 

And, in addition to that, a 'banner-bearer' for much the same purpose - although that's bein rather frustrated by the lack of Kabalite arms that do what I want them to do. 

 

I might also make some fellows for the Axe-Eldar in a manner similar to how Aspect Warriors carry related/diminished iterations of their Exarch's armament - using axes from the Empire Free Company sprues perhaps, with some creative carving to make them appear more 'Eldary'. 

 

In terms of other warbands - ve also almost finished the first two Conquistador style Inquisitorial troops - just awaiting the next foray to the FLGS to grab a box of Greatswords for helmeted heads for them, and maaaybe some back-packery from Skitarii or something. A third, a plasma-gunner has been disassembled until I can work out a satisfactory way to get the Cadian HQ special weapons arms to fit on a Scion torso. In addition to this, the chap running that outfit is about half-done; and have also put together [and then partially disassembled] a psychic type to read Webway maps and such (there's another 'guide' i need to keep reminding myself of so I finish it), so we'll see how those go.

[Ryltar Thamior]

Now, a few WIPs for the Imperials - the 'Conquistador' style Inquisitorial retinue chaps, and I'm thinking the rather tall chap in the middle might be the Inquisitor himself. 

 

 

I basically have quite a few Greatswords legs, Scions torsos, and a semi-decent number of Cadian HQ arms due to using .. .well ... the greatsword torsos, scion legs & arms, and Cadian legs on other projects. So I kinda wanted to see if I could do something productive with these mishmash stocks of parts [and that's what lead to various Guard Kill-Team miniatures taht i'm yet to post around these parts]. And at the same time, was kicking around concepts for how to realize 'Conquistador' style Imperials for this bold new realm of exploration [maybe it's the Lizardman subconscious connection? Who knows. It's definitely an underutilized vibe for the Imperium at any rate]. 

 

Now, the Scion torsos have always seemed to have some of that vibe to them - as do the Greatsword helmeted heads ... which, true to form, i don't seem to have more than one or two of, due tothem going into a slew of other projects :P 

 

I was 50/50 about using Greatsword legs as i wasn't sure they were 'explorator-ready' looking, in terms of maybe having large and rough boots or whatever; however this is the Webway [except, presumably, when they pop out planetside], and i'm sure they can be painted up reasonably hard-wearing [also they seemed a lot more 'period-piece' than the Cadian HQ legs i also assembled some 'drafts' using]. The sense of 'motion' to them without being hte frantic run of some of the Scion legs was also a plus. 

 

I *did* contemplate using Scion arms simply for ease of attachment - it turns out that the Scion chestpieces don't *quite* play nicely with regular human-sized arms [from, say, the Neophyte Hybrids kit, or many of the Cadian HQ options] ... much to my consternation and the carving of spacers and torn-off arms. However, that would have made them look *far* too much like Scions who've simply been to their local tailor for a flashy set of trousers, and in any case didn't have the weapon variety that I wanted [them sprues have been quite solidly raided for other projects]. 

 

SO with that in mind ... Cadian arms it was. And provided that one restricts one's self to the single-handed bits and pieces, it's largely alright [the shoulderpads help considerably as compared to the neophyte hybrid arms and such - both forming a natural join and hiding some of the 'spaceyness' of the wrong kind]. 

 

Now as for the chap-in-charge [CIC?], i've never liked the Empire General's on-foot body - the duality between his pretty massive legs and his rather small chestpiece, even though possibly historically accurate, just looks almost comically mismatched to me; so i've never really found cause to use him. 

 

However, it turns out that a Scion torso - whilst still being *slightly* undersized for human proportionality [in my view, anyway] on those massive legs, actually fits quite well - whilst also meaning that he'll be standing at least a half a head taller than most of his men. Because 40k, as ever, runs on "LARGE AND IN CHARGE". 

 

If [or, knowing me .. "whenn"] I do something like this again, i might wind up using a larger torso still - maybe even a Primaris one or something - bcause apart from the proportions still subtly bothering me, I noticed that the chest is too small for, say, arms from the Blood Angels Sanguinary Guard kit [which i was contemplating using coz wrist-mounted firepower] to look 'in proportion' on. 

 

Still attempting to work out which head to go with; and at the same time, what to put in his left arm - was initially thinking a Webway map or aethometer style gadjet, but that idea has migrated onto another miniature ... 

 

 

 

This was initiallly a sanctioned psyker concept - with the idea being that i build up a 'psychic hood' around the top of the miniature, although we'll see how that squares ith the head i want to use. In any case, his psykerness is arguably represented by the fact he's managed to set his sword on fire; and as a psychic, he's also been given the important task of reading the Webway Map [in his left hand], which in my head would require a certain amount of psychic sensitivity and ability to activate, let alone [semi-intelligibly] operate. 

 

I put a nicely Imperial-looking book on a chain to cover up the Genestealer cult icon [one of my few critiques of the Neophyte Hybrid kit is that GW seem to have almost deliberately placed those in places that're rather hard to excise], as well as to underscore the Officially Imperial-ness of him [since the STC exo-suit doesn't exactly have a bevvy of aquilas or skulls on it elsewehre]; and maybe serve as some form of apocalyptic log/journal, instruction manual or devotional materials.

 

I'm still attempting to work out what else to put on him, particularly on the rear-side of the miniature. And, for that matter, what else to add to the warband. 

[Ryltar Thamior]

 

Right, so as i mentioned upthread, i thought about putting together a standard bearer for the Dark Eldar from Dark Elf Corsair parts. Although this posed *quite* the conundrum in term of technical execution, because I *really* don't like attempting to do hand-swaps and such on the uber-fine Dark Eldar plastics; I'm also not entirely wild about including unchanged Dark Elf arms iwth the chainmail and such; and in any case, the relevant Corsair arm wouldn't really have fit underneath a Kabalite shoulderpad *anyway*. 

 

 

So I hummed and I haah'd about what to do in this situation. I quite liked the Corsair banner for its sense of motion [not the rather 'staid' simply hanging-down banner of the Executioners/Black Guard], as well as some of the banner-capital options [leaning towards the Serpent for reasons previously explicated .. but haven't attached it and may yet go for something else entirely]; and eventually, in conjunction with what might be a Scourge shard-carbine supporting arm, this eventually suggested a potential pose to me that would still "work" with both the Warrior shoulder-pads [there's something Eighties a.f about over-powered suit-shoulder paddery imo :P Which is *exactly* hwo Dark Eldar *should* be .. ] and my general opposition to having to rebuild Dark Eldar anatomy where possible. 

 

 

Now, the figure was initially going to be male ... but about an hour or so ago, while i was contemplating what to do with the right arm-space and realized the potential for the outstretched Scourge blaster-pistol , an idea - a 'visualization' if you like, i guess - popped into my head near fully formed featuring either the head she presently has or possibly one of the Wych ones [i forget .. this is the trouble with me and my 'ideas' - they rarely stay iin one place for long and often morph into something else without me having had time to properly capture what it was to begin with!] of a very similar aspect/visage.

 

 

So naturallly, she had to be female [although somethig i've always found rather interesting is just how well the GW designers [LOOKIN' AT YOU, MISTER GOODWIN] managed to render most if not all of the Dark Eldar heads in such a way that they're pretty close to androgyny - you can use more overtly 'male' DE heads on female bodies and they won't look out of place, and vice versa; without hte heads themselves loooking any more 'unnatural' than they should as Eldar [who're subtly 'off' Human proportions as a matter of course]. Must be the cheekbones :P ]

 

Anyway, I think i've done a fairly decent job of capturing a 'mid-action' shot/pose - so rather than the more 'static'-y standard bearers you often see particularly in Fantasy armies, there's a certain sense of 'motion' [kinda looks like a Confederate standard bearer from some art that I see every now and then in my travels, come to think of it], with the banner oobvouiuosly fluttering as it is due to being brought down and forward from its previous positioning by the wielder as she snaps off a face-melting shot at the enemy; while the outstretched arm and the sneering head really bring the whole thing together and help convey *Exactly* what's going on here. 

 

Now, at this point I customarily reach for my bitzbox to look for things to add for additional 'personalization' - and I *did* consider chain across the back from teh shoulder-blade [hah] down to the back [ironically, perhaps, near where her *actual* shoulder-blades would be] in order to cover over a join and 'space' between the arm-shoulder and its socket [this happened because the Scourge arm had to be trimmed down somewhat in order to get it at the outstretched angle it is atm rather htan somewhre closer to 45 degrees from frontwards] [there's a similar gap in the front, but i'm not so worried about that, as a dakr paint-job will hide a multitude of sins]. 

 

HOwever, Flagellant chain would almost certainly be too thick. although I suppose I *could* take a look at some of the Raider accessories? 

 

Still, "less is more" on Dark/Eldar a lot of the time, so maybe it won't be too noticeable.

 

I may also have to work out a way of counter-weighting the banner-weight ; allthough perhaps surprisingly, once she was fully glued, and maybe due to the outstretched arm, the miniature's center of gravity isn't actually as high nor as perilous as I previously thought [slash accidentally knocked over part-way through assembly .. ]. And glue on the lower thigh helps to provide additional affixture for the banner-pole - as I was rather concerned about leaving it with *just* the hand for support - so the posing works out even more usefully than expected :D [previous iterations had a longer banner-pole in mind steadied with her foot - however tht wouldn't have been *nearly* as D/Y/N/A/M/I/C]. 

 

I'm starting to get a bit of a 'feel' for the Dark Eldar plastics now. I wonder what to do next ... that Musician/Horn-blower, perhaps. Or maybe the corresponding Imperial banner-bearer [i mean ... how can you have Conquistadors without flags, right?] 

[Ryltar Thamior]

 I popped over at a five to five in the morning local time to post this WIP pic - 

Now, it's not "perfect" in a number of ways [if I had the inclination, i'd have rebuilt an inside armpit so as to have a far more 'wide' stance with the banner-bearing - I may yet still do so!], but it's a bit of a 'proof of concept', incorporating a suggestion from another forum about 'anchoring' the banner-pole on the base. 

I'll still probably have to come up with some mechanism for strengthening the banner-shaft itself [it's presently comprised of three parts and may yet wind up with more at hand dependent upon the legnth of the Greatswords banner and waht i wind up using for a capital]; but for the moment, it seems alright.

As for *why* this miniature .. like I said above, I was attempting to use parts I had spare. Now, some of the Greatswords legs work *Great* with either Cadian torsos or Scions. Others, like this one ... not *quite8 so mch - wit hthe angle of the hips and such being quite 'awkward' for fitting a Scion toros onto 'em - as you can see by the chestpiece facing at a thirty degree angle away from where the right leading foot's pointing. 

Still, ever a man for a bit of a spur-of-the-moment-inspiration-turned-into-hobby-challenge ... it instantly occurred to me that i could well be looking at a standard bearer - thus helping to explain why there was a bit of a dysjunction betewen the otherwise awkward posing of the chest and legs. 

Next step will be working out what to put in his right hand [ the pointing arm from the Greatswords kit is on a decent angle for this and lines up pretty exactly with the leading foot - meaning i just have to work out whether ot keep the hand, or swap it for a bolt-pistol or something. ]; whether he [and by extension the other Conquistadores] get backpacks [the Chap In Charge has a cut-down SKitarii one ... although he's in *far* bulkier armour]; and how high to build the pole to accomodate teh Greatswords banner. 

Oh, and a head of course ... 

[Ahistorian]

If you want to avoid backpacks the Scions come with little books/boxes that fit perfectly in the hole in their back.

[Ryltar Thamior]

If you want to avoid backpacks the Scions come with little books/boxes that fit perfectly in the hole in their back.

Now THERE'S a nifty idea! Thanks!

 

Personally, my reasoning for backpacks or no backpacks is going to probablly boil down to whether the miniatures in question need extra power for on-board systems and such, mounting space for additional equipment [augur-probes, larger auspex gear, aethometers etc.]; although come to think of it, dependent upon baggage-train, perhaps they don't need as much extra stowage as the Scion backpacks seem to imply. Or maybe they do. Haven't thought that far ahead. 

 

Although i suppose some dangly cables and such might also make for a worthwhile use of the aperature. 

 

In the mean-time ... an uber-quick WIP update on two of the minis i've been working on.

 

First up ... what started as the sanctioned psyker, and has now taken on a rather more 'rarified' - dare I say "Inquisitorial" vibe.

 

 

Now, this is still rather WIP - as I kinda feel that he needs a few more elements to really 'bring him to live' and tie him to his purpose. But looking good so far. A *liiitle* bit annoyed that the head moved during gluing/drying away form his previous slightl ymore looking down [maybe towards the Map] pose ... but it's still decent. 

 

Abandoned the notion of building a psychic hood around the upper parts of the explorator-suit and wiring his head to it on the hairless parts of the scalp along each temple ... but I don't think it's a huge loss. The laurel-wreath i decided to add somewaht on a whim more than makes up for it, as well as changing the characterization imo.

 

I've considered adding a book-and-grenade form the Grey Knights terminators sprue, or one of the chain dangly bits from the Flagellants [like a key, or maybe an hourglass]; but will wait til i've slept before making a hard determination about any further additions [i'm in the phase of my cycle wherein I still have the energy to do a whole lotta stuff ... but due to fatigue, it's not guided by exceptionally strong judgement, so all that energy seems to wind up going into stuff that later needs to be *un-done* or covered over post-facto... So we down tools on the complex fiddly stuff and other assembly :P ]. 

 

Next up, here's how the Conquistador banner-bearer's looking atm with the addition of a Greatsword pointing arm and teh Greatsword banner. Now need to work out what to put on the capital, what head o use, and what armament to give him.

 

 

Hilariously, he's quite overbalanced on his left side due to the sheer weight of hte banner and pole assembly. Might attempt to couner-balance with a servo-skull or something. We'll see. 

[Tallarn Commander]

Some great conversions--very dynamic. You could also glue a washer to the bottom of the standard bearer's base.

[Ryltar Thamior]

Some great conversions--very dynamic. You could also glue a washer to the bottom of the standard bearer's base.

Churr :D And yeah, it looks like the washer'll be the way to go - i'm finding it a bit hard to soure metal bitz that'll fit under a base. I'm presuming that lowering the center of gravity of hte miniature rather htan just counter-weighting it is the prinicple there.

 

 

In other news ... I might try doing some Corsairs at some point using something like Guardian bodies or somesuch and cutting off the shoulderpads to affix the puffy Empire Greatswords sleeves and such. 

 

I also started kicking around pieces and ideas for another one of my 'proto-Aspects' based around the scythe-staff-topper in the Empire Wizard kit , and wondering if i could do a sort of proto-Dark Reaper out of it - running on the theory that the 'Destroyer' aspect of Khaine is quite probably the one that is strongly resembling the Nightbringer whom we know Khaine took on a bit of an imprinting of as a result of hteir combat. Hence, scythe, and such. Although I'm not entirley sure [beyond a reference to a 'Jade Scythe' Dark Reaper shrine] whether it's an appropriate weapon to be linked to that particular aspect of Khaine. Or, for that matter, whether i'm remmbering properly how the fluff works about the outcome of Kaelis Ra and Khaine's combat.

 

Ah well, RULE OF COOL and all that. 

 

Anyway ... on to New Things.

 

I said awhile back that i'd been thinking about doing a 'horn-blower', a huntsman's horn kinda thing for these Dark Eldar. 

 

Voice:

 

 

 

 

Now as it happens, my variuos plans to use a 'neck-spacer' [since hte Corsair head doesn't acutally have the 'outie' con-vex neck the Dark Eldar plastics do :S ] didn't really pan out as i just couldn't get things to sit right. So in a fit of impatience, once i managed to have hte head in the roughly rihgt posing, i just glued it down.

 

I then looked at it some more, and I now can't help but see the lack of neck in his head being closer to his torso than would otherwise be the case on a 'standard' Dark Eldar. But maybe as with the axe-elf that's just me seeing things coz vague elements of unsatisfiable perfectionism in my work.

 

Thoughts?

[Ahistorian]

It doesn't look wrong given his pose - if he was standing up straight it would be more noticeable.

[Ryltar Thamior]

Lol, perhaps i should learn not to make a big deal out of neckery - people always seem to say they wouldn't notice if I hadn't pointed it out :P 
 

In the mean-time ... i'm really glad with hwo the 'explorator' has come together. I'm still playing around with some paint-job bits and pieces ; because i want at the same time to have a series of 'greys' [coz Webway, morality, and all the rest of it] - but complete grey's difficult to distinguish unless you're looking cosely [the raised rims on the shoulders, for instance, and i might have to darken things beyond the Eshin grey on the main-armour as compared to what it is at the moment].

 

Oh, whoops, I haven't put in the photos :P 

 

As I've said before, i hate posting unfinished / painting-in-progress work. 

 

But i'm making an exception here because this is the first time I've ever done flame-effects myself; and i'm seeing how it works. Thechnically, it still needs a tidy-up and possibly some deepening of red in various places. But I don't think it's done too badly! Any thoughts? 

 

 

[Beren]

This sounds interesting. Reminds me of the Dr Norrell and Mr Strange book.

[Ryltar Thamior]

 

This sounds interesting. Reminds me of the Dr Norrell and Mr Strange book.

Haven't read it, so you'll perhaps have to explain what you mean - but i'm always on the lookout for inspiration for stuff like this, so i might give hte wiki-summary a glance over to see if there's osmething useful for me :) 

But in the mean-time ... 

 

 

This is another miniature i've been working on for awhile; an which has gone through several potential iterations in my head. I put together hte legs and torso meaning it to be one thing [in this case, a sort of Explorator/Guide - pistol pointing in left hand and a blade in the right , heading forward with it ready to fire shots off as he advanced across the 'mirabilis' terrain ], and then somehow winding up with it working out rather differently after I tried an arm from the Empire Free Company kit and noted how 'right' it felt. 

 

Trouble with the down-facing blade with arm oustretched like that was how to make it seem 'real' rather htan 'artificial'. I mean, one optoin was to just imagine that he was snapped mid-action having just taken a pretty big slash at somebody - but that seemed a little 'lazy' and could appear 'forced'. 

 

 

But what i had in my head, and what took so incredibly long to acutally get round to doing .. was a pose kinda like the classic [i.e. 54mm] Inquisitor Eisenhorn figure - just having drawn his sword from its scabbard, in other words. Whcih left me looking for a hand and a scabbard to fit in it; and eventually concluding that the parst available to me meant a Marine hand [even though a little large, we'll say it's bionics - and paint it accordingly] was the best for the former ... while a Tomb Kings cartoonishly oversized skeleton sword separated from its hilt and with a top-piece added made from sprue, handily provided the latter in a size large enough that the sword can fit into same [wanted to avoid the thing on the new AoS Death character where this clearly isn't the case :P ]. 

 

 

That left the final question of what to do with his back - and an array of options were considered, ranging from a Kasrkin backpack through to the Skitarii one he would originallly have come with, a Scion one, or even something based off a Sanguinary Guard jump-pack. Eventually, i went with something else entirely [having discounted all teh others for various reasons], and made a backpack-ish out of a Cadian HQ med-pack ; although I may yet add more stowage etc. *under* the backpack if i can find appropriately sized/shaped pouches and suchlike in my bitzbox. [there's a few i've dry-fitted, but they don't look *quite* right for some reason, so the search continues .. appropriately enough]. 

 

 

I have considered adding additional armament and eqiupment to him, whether a pistol [would have to be a splinter pistol since that's all i've got left atm - which would fit with the Webway vibe and help to display that he has had some dealings with Dark/Eldar in the past], or a knife [likely a Dark Eldar one for the same reason], or even two of either/both .. and i'm still on the hunt to see if i can find some sort of techy gadget with a screen to help him do his navigation ... but those things aren't so urgent. I may even leave him as he is! [i don't necessarily see him as a hugely militarized character - hene why he's running around with a sword rather than some sort of plasma pistol , heavier armour, grenades, and other usual 'works' materials]. 

[Beren]

 

This sounds interesting. Reminds me of the Dr Norrell and Mr Strange book.

Haven't read it, so you'll perhaps have to explain what you mean - but i'm always on the lookout for inspiration for stuff like this, so i might give hte wiki-summary a glance over to see if there's osmething useful for me :) 

In the book, there are a set of mystical passageways viable as a method of transportation known as the King's road, so known due to reputedly being constructed by the King Uskglass. Decades after his disappearance and the decline of magic it is rediscovered by Strange and described to be in a state of darkness and decay, with various halls flooded and collapsed. At one point he spots a traveller in the distance, but doesn't make contact. Later, as the book continues, the barriers between reality and the faerie begin to breakdown, others discover a path leading to a high tower, with a figure in a window and a human guard that stands outside, surrounded by trees hung with corpses. The human describes himself as the Champion of the Castle of the Plucked Eye and Heart and states that he is sworn to challenge anyone who approaches and threatens the Lady of the Tower to a duel. However, he does not state that if you succeed in killing him you yourself take his place.

[Ryltar Thamior]

 

In the book, there are a set of mystical passageways viable as a method of transportation known as the King's road, so known due to reputedly being constructed by the King Uskglass. Decades after his disappearance and the decline of magic it is rediscovered by Strange and described to be in a state of darkness and decay, with various halls flooded and collapsed. At one point he spots a traveller in the distance, but doesn't make contact. Later, as the book continues, the barriers between reality and the faerie begin to breakdown, others discover a path leading to a high tower, with a figure in a window and a human guard that stands outside, surrounded by trees hung with corpses. The human describes himself as the Champion of the Castle of the Plucked Eye and Heart and states that he is sworn to challenge anyone who approaches and threatens the Lady of the Tower to a duel. However, he does not state that if you succeed in killing him you yourself take his place.

 

 

Oh wow! Yeah that sounds excellent for what i'm going for! Thanks for sharing! My mind's already starting to churn with possibilities in connection to it,a nd building off various bits of Eldar lore. 

[Ryltar Thamior]

Finally managed to get these two to a state i'm pretty alright with, thanks to a sudden influx of parts the other day. The first two Carolean Guard.

 

 

Partsmix is Greatsword legs and heads, Cadian Command arms, Scions torsos, Cadian Veterans (FW) backpacks, and stowage from a variety of places [scion canteens, Cadian Command and Cadian Veteran pouches, and another pouch i believe from a Tallarn heavy weapon kit from FW]. 

 

 

I wanted to convey an idea of a veteran, somewaht ornate but still functional, and vaguely baroque, edging towards 1700s sort of formation; comprised of hard men who knew what they were doing, and kitted out for extended periods traipsing around the Webway without hope of easy resupply. I could have added a few more bits and pieces here and there, but I think they're probably about done in terms of sensible additoins at this stage. Although if anyone's got any thoughts, i'm all ears? 

 

 

There's another two of these in partial stages of completion at the moment [awaiting me sorting out some arm-spacers for the plasma-gunner and trimming down a hat and picking out some weapons for the banner-bearer]; as well as their lord whom i may have put up a photo of before [that's the empire general legs, scion torso, empire general sword-arm effort i have going]. 

 

 

Next step'll be trying out the colour-scheme :) 

[Ryltar Thamior]

 

Completed two more Carolean Guard this evening. These've actually been an incredibly [even achingly] slow work-in-progress, with the bodies and main assembly being largely done maaaaaaaaany weeks ago, and just waiting on me actually summoning up the wherewithal to make some comparatively minor additions to finalize them. In specia, getting the Free Company head to sit right with the Scions torso in light of the former's hat and the latter's back-mounted lense and such while also finding a decent banner-capital; and picking out an appropriate head to go on the plasmagunner. Oh, and as per usual, loading up their belts with stowage. 

 

 

I wanted a 'veteran' feel for this chap; and with his lack of depth perception, that presumably helps to explain why he's holding the standard, and is equipped for close-assault. 

 

 

Might not quite be visible in this picture, but the standard-capital i went with was a shield from the Manann's Blades kit - due to the anchor looking rather like the Crown that in triplicate appears on the crest of Sweden. It'll look pretty legit painted up similarly. Oh and, as you can see, blades.

 

 

You can also see i've added two grenades in behind the shield - as a "just in case" kinda thing :P

 

 

Next up..

 

 

I couldn't decide on what to do  head-wise for the longest time. Considered one of the Pistolier heads, but it just didn't quite sit right. Eventually while playing around i guess, on a whim i decided to see what a Flagellant head that'd detached itself from a sprue might look like ... and something just "clicked". It seemed exactly the right sort of "aged" look with the balding and the beard [which also hopefully communicates a sort of piety] , and once i'd worked out how to build up something resembling a neck and how to positio nthe hair around hte back-mounted antenna and lense [good grief those get intrusive!], he was set. 

 

 

He's got a slightly 'hunched' look because i opted for the head and hair going 'ahead' rather than 'behind' the aforementioned back-mounted gear - and that's actually rather deliberate, to help convey the idea of him being pretty aged [having seen 'a lifetime of war'], and actually a rather old man inside that large and imposing seeming Carolean armour. 

 

 

He's also still carrying everything he might need..

 

 

..and i really like the way in which the combination of fantasy and 40k bitz have come together to give it this gothic feel. The bandaged forearm is also pretty legit for conveying his 'dedication to the cause' - clearly plasma overheats do not phase him!

 

I think i've got one more of teh Hardened Veteran backpacks sitting around, so that'll probably be mostly it for the rank-and-file Caroleans for awhile; however, I do need to do a few more specialized miniatures for them [a priest, for example, and there's their leader to sort out, inter alia]; and I also have a few miniatures 'in progress' for the other factions. 

[Ryltar Thamior]

 

Alright, so this'll require a bit of explanation ...

 

I've always been rather intrigued by the Afriel Strain which first turned up maaany years ago now in a Chapter Approved article; yet I've never *quite* worked out how to incorporate one into any of my projects. Til now, at any rate. 

 

The genesis of this idea was sprung from a concept kicking around in my head for a radical Xenos-Hybris Inquisitor who basically winds up in an ... unhealthy relationship with a Khaine-ite sword. Eldar construction of mighty weapons being what it is, whether due to the psychic imprinting upon the Sword of its very nature or a spirit-stone attached to same or something even more potent [like being forged out of an Avatar shard perhaps], she basically winds up under its influence - and progressively acting more 'Eldar' [of a sort] as a result.

 

 

Now, amidst her retinue are some Afriels ... and in them, the Sword senses, after a sort, "kindred spirits" - as they are literally created and crafted exclusively for war, knowing no other purpose and finding it basically impossible to exist outside of same due to their disconcerting effect on other people. 

 

Rather like the relationship between an Aspect Warrior Exarch and the rest of his community. 

 

 

The psychic resonance-ing therefore continues, and leads to the Afriels in question semi-subconsciously taking on 'Aspects' directly connected to those of Khaine; adopting wargear, ways of war, and personal affectations much more in-line with these than what they were before. 

 

It is arguable as to whether the full convocation of these plus the Inquisitor might wind up mirroring a court of the young king in a way - with the Inquisitor herself, interestingly enough, filling the role of the Avatar of Khaine. 

 

 

While I've had a 'Striking Scorpion' Afriel on the cook for some time now [mainly delayed by my indecisiveness with wargear options and posing to go with the rather 'stiff' stance from the Catachan HQ he's based off], a few days ago I had a sudden flash of momentspiration that allowed me to do a 'Fire Dragon' Afriel which was completed earlier this evening.

 

As you can see from the images above, he's kitted out in a manner not entirely dissimilar to a conventional [i.e. Eldar] member of the Aspect - with a meltagun in place of a 'real' Fire Dragon's fusion gun, a hand-flamer due to both considerations of flexibility and arguable pyromania, and several meltabombs for good measure, alongside a rather large combat blade that's possibly of Xenos origin .. and a rather smaller knife in a quick-release binding on his upper left forearm [thus enabling him to play "you call that a knife?" with himself during off-hours, presumably - and no doubt making it easier to affix charges to the aperatures thus created with either tool]. 

 

 

Although he's a bit 'different' from most troops running around with on-fire and explosives, as he's pretty much bare-chested and bare-armed ... partially because it'll show off the albinism and allow for the addition of tattoos and war-paint that'l lfurther tie him to the Eldar side of things [the FIre Dragon Aspect Rune, for instance - which he's found turned up in his subconscious with a powerful force..], but also because he'll presumably enjoy the feel of the heat on his skin as he carries out his chosen & appointed task(s) on the field of combat. 

 

The head's a bit of an exception to this, due to the rebreather-grille and eyepieces; as inhalation of all the resultant particulates from his activities would be *most* impairing, not to mention the difficulties to one's retinas of bright things and searing [literally] after-images. The eyepieces might have a HUD effect to help with spotting weak-points and predicting diffusion patterns from his sidearm, as well. 

 

 

Now while i did wonder whether the posing might be a bit OTT - insofar as ordinarily a Guardsman or even a Scion holding a meltagun single-handedly would look a bit ridiculous, i) he's not actually firing his main weapon here, but rather carrying it; and ii) given the *sheer size of those biceps* and the no doubt superhuman genehancement that's gone into them, i've got no doubt he'd be capable of at least temporarily holding a meltagun in one hand while he *flames* with the other. 

 

On a further modelling note ... the Marauder pieces are arguably showing their age a bit. I mean, there's some pretty nice touches on htem, particularly for a kit that came out in what ... 2002? But at the same time, I realize now just how spoiled we are by GW when it comes to bare-chested and shouldered miniatures due to the advances in sculpting since making it look a lot more 'natural' when you come to the join between shoulder and torso [eg. Skaven storm-fiends]. 

 

Still, with a certain amount of superglue put in as gap-filler, it hopefully won't be toooooo noticeable once he's painted up. 

 

Further Afriel 'Aspect Warriors' i've got sitting around as piles of bitz atm include the aforementioned 'Striking Scorpion', a 'Dark Reaper', and a 'Shadow Specter'. I also have some conceptual ideas for a 'Howling Banshee', and a 'Dire Avenger' ; and had additionally given some thought to a 'Warp Spider' and a 'Star Eagle'. 

 

On top of that, after some conversation with an associate, some rather interesting metaphysical implications turned up for how this might affect the Afriels' habitual drawback. But more on that some other time. 

[deathspectersgt7]

The buckel(?) screams WWE!!!

[Ryltar Thamior]

The buckel(?) screams WWE!!!

lol; well, it didn't look *quite* right leaving it as the uh ... gut-plate? I'm not sure what one would call what was tehre previously. I *did* contemplate attempting to turn it into some sort of artificial life-support/stimm-dispenser gadgetry, but it's too little surface area to work with, and rather obscured in any case. I felt he needed more to tie him to the Imperium, so a Cadian Command banner-topper seemed pretty much the right size to slide in there - with teh added bonus of also supporting the 'elite' and 'batttle-hardened' nature of the character in question. 

[Ryltar Thamior]

 

Finally got around to finishing off a truescale Space Wolf, likely for my ongoing Webway Wolves project that started all of this [sort-of], that's been sitting on my shelf for many moons now. 

 

 

Attempted a different partsmix than the usual for these; not just in terms of the grave-warden legs, but also by using cut-down tyrant siege terminator chestpiece. (the most annoying part of which is, other htan the cutting, getting a stable head-mount going] 

 

 

Armament-wise, a runic (frost?) axe [from the old Games Day Rune Priest model], and one of them flashy seeker bolters - because a) true grit [i.e. a nod to the glorious old 3rd Ed Codex Wolves], b) it adds to the 'hunter'/'tracker' vibe, c) in line with a), a regularly sized bolter in the hands of a truescale isn't *that* much larger than a proportionately sized pistol [or, i suppose, machine-pistol/smg] anyway. 

 

 

It's also a rather more .. dynamic effort as applies posing. I've gotten more experience with this now, as can be seen from my Black Dragon and Fire Hawks over in the Thorians log. But I suspect this might have been one of the first efforts at it I made. 

 

 

In terms of armour-mk, while the grave-warden legs have kneepads [and therefore presumably represent III, IV, V, or perhaps a rather ornate VII] .. betwen the bonding studs on the shins, and the ones on the torso, it seemed natural to go for a studded Mk.VI pad on the left shoulder; wehreas the right has a Crusade/Heresy era VIth Legion pad iirc from the Wolves character from Prospero. 

 

Another deliberate choice - as it potentially broadens out this chap's backstory to have him as one of the Legion who somehow wound up in the Webway (wherein time flows ... differently) at some point during or just prior to (or maybe not long after) the Heresy. 

 

Also, there aren't many - if any - Space Wolves icons on the right shoulder [Deathwatch excepted]. Mk.III was good for the more 'heavily armoured' vibe also. 

 

Anyway, now that i'v worked out hte major 'kink' in the use of Siege Terminator torsos of the head-mounting ... this may re-accelerate my own production of Truescales for a number of our projects. Which has hit a bit of a slump/funk in terms of anything not at least largely Primaris based of late (partially because need moar partz). 

 

Of cousre you can never just have *one* .. [unless, he's quite literally a Lone WOlf, i suppose] ... so we'll see where this particular expansion takes us.

 

It's possible I might get around to doing some of the ideas for truescale Wulfen which we've had on the drawing-board for awhile...