Wælheim pattern Defiler

[Warsmith Aznable]

Plasticard? Check. Greenstuff? Check. Expensive kit to cut apart? Check. At least two other kits to raid for parts? Check. Berzerker models posed in strange places? Check. Accidentally stabbing myself with an Exacto? Blood for the blood god. All night awake in a superglue fume induced mania? Yea, verily. Spikes, skulls and chains? Check, check and check.

 

Ladies and Gentlemen, the "Wælheim pattern" Defiler, constructed to serve in my DIY Chaos Marine warband, the 4th Wælheim Free Company. It was originally conceived as a counts-as Daemon Prince, back when I thought that the Daemon Prince model was twice as big as it actually is. Now I think I'm going to use the Defiler entry and do it as an "upgrade" or summat.

 

The front view, with an Ultramarine for size comparison:

 

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j91/montismo/view-front.jpg

 

Other views:

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j91/montismo/view-left.jpg

 

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j91/montismo/view-rear.jpg

 

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j91/montismo/view-right.jpg

 

Close-up of the cockpit, with the plasma cannon and the Berzerker pilot:

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j91/montismo/pilot-compartment-and-plasmacannon.jpg

 

Now showing it with the optional twin-linked bolters mounted:

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j91/montismo/twinlinkedbolter-option.jpg

 

The Dirge Caster crotch:

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j91/montismo/dirgecaster.jpg

 

I originally was going to have this be a counts-as Daemon Prince, and I wanted the "wings" to be jet thrusters. I was disappointed to find out that the actual Daemon Prince model is only half the size of what I was planning, but I went ahead and assembled the jet-thrusters anyway, just to do it:

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j91/montismo/with-thrusters-positioned.jpg

 

They came from a "Terminator" movie tie-in toy I got on clearance at the toy store:

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j91/montismo/thrusters-close-up.jpg

 

A couple of more size comparisons, this one with the Daemon Prince it was originally supposed to be:

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j91/montismo/dp-comparison.jpg

 

And this one with a Defiler, which it ended up being:

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j91/montismo/defiler-comparison.jpg

 

My concept is that my warband has three HQ units, one a Chaos Lord, one an actual Daemon Prince, and one a counts-as Daemon Prince that is actually a Chaos Champion piloting a hulking great War Engine. The "4th Wælheim Free Company" is a mechanized Chaos Marine company built around Khorne Berzerkers supported by fast moving units and armor, so I thought one of the HQ choices being equivalent to a Knight-class Titan would be a flavorful concept.

[Firepower]

*baby voice* Does the defiwer wanna banana? Yes it does, yes it does!

 

Hehe sorry, the gorilla arm pose made me giggle. Wicked little beasty you've whipped up there man, bravo.

[Nomus Sardauk]

Are those... Bionicle legs? Sweet baby Sanguinius, I used build those when I was little...

[Warsmith Aznable]

Those are indeed Bionicle legs. I looked all over for some Gundam models to raid for legs, but I couldn't find any in-stock in the local hobby stores. I didn't want to order anything without being able to see it first. The Bionicle legs I got from digging through the broken toys of two generations of children at my parents' house, and they were the right size so I went for it. My other option was to use another set of Defiler claw-arms, which is something I've seen turned into digi-grade legs for Knight-class Titans, but I didn't want to have to do that if I didn't have to for cost reasons.

[Jeffy.Gee]

Sorry dude I like the concept of a two legged defiler but it has the pose of a Mr.Potato head. Sorry.

 

JG

[Warsmith Aznable]

The legs are pretty static, I admit, and I went ahead and glued them that way. I tried a couple of more "dynamic" configurations for the legs, but they ended up making the model too tall for my taste, so I put them back in a regular standing pose. The arms I've left unglued until I can figure out exactly how I want them to be. Or maybe I'll leave them unglued indefinitely, I don't know.

[Retributis]

Easiest way to make something look dynamic is to have the torso face a different direction from the legs. Maybe bend of the legs up and put a rock or something underneath one foot (making the leg on the rock shorter rather than the other leg longer, thus keeping it the same height). If you did both of these it would do wonders for making it look a bit more dynamic (you can see the same technique used in millions of standing space marine models and pictures)

[Mithril hound]

The legs ruin it. Tracks would be boss.

[Warsmith Aznable]

Easiest way to make something look dynamic is to have the torso face a different direction from the legs. Maybe bend of the legs up and put a rock or something underneath one foot

 

Thanks for that, I'll remember it next time I do something like this. I should have thought of it myself, since I put so much thought into where the pilot's head was going to be looking...

 

I've got the foundation done for the orange, and I've also added the numeral IV to the other leg. I like the legs with this one, I don't think tracks would look good with the torso and head the way I've got them arranged. Tracks are cool, though, and I might make some other war engine with some when I get this one done.

 

Now, I'm not the best with a brush, and I know this is all sorts of sloppy right now, but I have all kinds of confidence that it will be OK when it's done:

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j91/montismo/foundation-front.jpg

 

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j91/montismo/foundation-rearwardoblique.jpg

 

The primary colors are going to be "blazing orange" and "boltgun metal", with "burnished gold" and "chaos black" for trimming it out, and then various fiddly details colored in whatever colors contrast with the background.

 

I may get this done tonight, but I may give up and finish it tomorrow.

[Loken86]

Any chance of a tutorial brother? i like what you've done here welldone

[Warsmith Aznable]

I hadn't thought to take pictures of the individual steps, but I can cook something up to illustrate it. It wasn't overly complicated, really, the hardest part was bringing myself to make the initial cuts on the Defiler kit. Or, after thinking about it a minute, probably fitting the Khorne Berzerker in the cockpit required the most fiddling.

 

Somewhere between now and my last post my fall allergies kicked in and I feel absolutely miserable. I've only got the right leg painted in the primary colors, and I feel so cruddy I doubt I'll finish the whole thing tonight like I originally intended.

 

But yeah, I'll post some pictures showing where I made the cuts using the other Defiler kit I have here. After I eat lunch and fetch some medicine, because I feel terrible.

[Brother Nihm]

Oooh my,

 

That must have taken ages to build..

 

The legs make it look a tad wonky but it is still a work of art. :)

[Retributis]

Also I would try and bulk out the hip pivot where the legs meet the body, as that is what I feel is making it look flimsy. Lots of armour plating would be good.

[Warsmith Aznable]

Oooh my,

 

That must have taken ages to build..

 

The legs make it look a tad wonky but it is still a work of art. :rolleyes:

 

Thanks! I started working on it Friday about 7:30pm, and finished the assembly at just past 5:00 am Saturday morning. It's the painting that's going to take much longer than I first thought.

 

Also I would try and bulk out the hip pivot where the legs meet the body, as that is what I feel is making it look flimsy. Lots of armour plating would be good.

 

That's a good suggestion. I'm going to see if it's feasible to go back and add some of the spare armor plating from the Defiler kit to hide the fragile hip joint connection.

 

So, here are some pictures I took to show how I assembled it. I used a Defiler kit for the base, an IG Sentinel kit for the head, spare Chaos vehicle sprues for extra bits.

 

For anybody who doesn't know what a Bionicle is, they're a sort of Lego like toy robot thing:

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j91/montismo/bionicles.jpg

 

I used them for the legs, turning them around to make them digitigrade:

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j91/montismo/legandaxle.jpg

 

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j91/montismo/legcloseup.jpg

 

Here are some comparisons to show where I cut up the Defiler chassis:

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j91/montismo/cutvuncutcomparison.jpg

 

After you cut off the front ball-joint brackets (to use to mount the arms on the torso), there should be a little channel that you can widen to run the axle for the Bionicle legs through:

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j91/montismo/axle-channel.jpg

 

For the big hole that's left in the rear after you cut up the chassis, I packed in green stuff to both hold the axle in place (to keep the torso from spinning down) and to mash the exhaust stacks into to cover up the green stuff:

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j91/montismo/rearstacksandaxledetail.jpg

 

I plugged up the holes on the torso with plasticard, then mounted the head and shoulder ball-joints:

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j91/montismo/shoulderdetail.jpg

 

To attach the Sentinal torso to the Defiler torso as a head, I used a vehicle cupola ring, highlighted here:

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j91/montismo/neckringunderneath.jpg

 

I shaved off bits here and there to make things flush, and then I mounted some searchlights. You can also see the top of the cupola ring in this picture:

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j91/montismo/searchightsandneckring.jpg

 

Cutting up the Sentinel driver to fit the Berzerker in there was a lot of trouble. Unless you're dedicated to the idea of having Berzerkers or regular Marines as drivers (it's a thematic issue for me) then I would recommend using the Armored Sentinel variant so you don't have to fool with the little man in the cockpit. Marine arms and torsos are too big for the compartment, so I had to do a lot of cutting, filing and fudging to make him fit, and unfortunately the bunny ears didn't look right popping up through the roll cage so in the end I had to shave them off. If you're wondering about the big Khorne symbol on the front of the Sentinal cockpit, I cut a V-shaped channel in the back so that it would bend over the angled front armor plating and just held it down while the glue dried.

 

It wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be. The hard part was that I was basically making it up as I went along. I think if I do another one like this it will be much easier since I now know where to cut and what parts I'm using. The hip joint thing I hope to be able to work out so if doesn't look as wonky, and if I do another one I will work on a more dynamic pose, but since this is my first major conversion I'm pretty jazzed about it turning out as well as it has.

[Warsmith Aznable]

Also, this experiment has proven to me the feasibility of doing the Dark Mechanicus army that I've been mulling.

 

But first I've got to do my Genestealer Cult and Sisters of Battle.

 

Either that or start snorting cocaine. I have a price/addictiveness study in the works...

 

EDIT - I've got a thread in the homegrown section where I'm trying to sort out costing this thing. It's here. Any input would be appreciated.

[Warsmith Aznable]

After listening to the criticisms, I've added some armor plating to the hip joints to "bulk it out". If it's this didn't make them bulky enough, at least it hides the Lego joints and adds some Chaos spikes to the model...

 

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j91/montismo/hipadditionsfront.jpg

 

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j91/montismo/hipadditionsrear.jpg

[nurglez]

heh, this has been bugging me for ages, looked like something from mechwarrior, but was trying to remember what...

 

http://wiki.mechlivinglegends.net/images/thumb/e/e9/Uller.jpg/300px-Uller.jpg

 

I quite like this take on the defiler, similar to the knight variants, but not heh. and the use of bionicle legs is top notch :lol:

[The Normish]

Nice concept, and I can't wait to see it upon completion...

It looks a bit front-heavy though, know what I mean? Like it's about to fall forward. Perhaps it just has strong legs, or it's about to jump or something.

[Warsmith Aznable]

Nice concept, and I can't wait to see it upon completion...

It looks a bit front-heavy though, know what I mean? Like it's about to fall forward. Perhaps it just has strong legs, or it's about to jump or something.

 

The answer is "or something"

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j91/montismo/volundrincc.jpg

 

He's not done, but I couldn't resist using him in a game last night. He's leaning forward to grab some loyalist terminators is what he's doing. Last night was a bit of a traffic jam on the table, and unfortunately the enemy Terminators (with their stupid, stupid thunderhammers and ridiculous saves...) got him into CC before the other Defilers could arrive to stage a mass charge of their own. It was good to game with him to work out the bugs in his special rules, though. He brings crazy firepower to bear but he died way too easy for an HQ unit.

[WingsOfTheFalcon]

Wow, that is rilliant mate, I've always fancied making a knight titan and those Bionicle parts are absolutely spot on! Keep up the painting mate, it's a grind but will be well worth it!

[The Normish]

Ha! No amount of foul treachery will save you, heretic!

I think perhaps the balance between survivability and firepower is a good thing. A glass cannon, so to speak. But if it's an HQ unit, are there any other vehicle-based HQ units that you could base it off of?

[Retributis]

I now desperately want to make a Timber Wolf :)

[Warsmith Aznable]

But if it's an HQ unit, are there any other vehicle-based HQ units that you could base it off of?

 

I have no idea, truthfully. The only codex I own is CSM, and there aren't any in that. Tentatively I'm opting to upgrade his armor to try and make it equivalent to a Chaos Lord's 3 wounds, so 14/14/12? He needs a high rear armor value to not die like a dog in CC, and close combat is what he's designed for. Also, just to balance out the crazy hitting power, I gave him an equivalent of Khârne's "the betrayer" rule and am calling it "blind rage" until I can think of something better. So he's got brutal attack power, but he may just tear up his own support in a dust up as well. That way he's not just a big wheel of death spitting cheese.

[The Normish]

But if it's an HQ unit, are there any other vehicle-based HQ units that you could base it off of?

 

I have no idea, truthfully. The only codex I own is CSM, and there aren't any in that. Tentatively I'm opting to upgrade his armor to try and make it equivalent to a Chaos Lord's 3 wounds, so 14/14/12? He needs a high rear armor value to not die like a dog in CC, and close combat is what he's designed for. Also, just to balance out the crazy hitting power, I gave him an equivalent of Khârne's "the betrayer" rule and am calling it "blind rage" until I can think of something better. So he's got brutal attack power, but he may just tear up his own support in a dust up as well. That way he's not just a big wheel of death spitting cheese.

Would that be the cheese that is spitting death, or would it be cheesy and death-spitting?

Obviously the important thing is to limit it. But why not just count it as a regular Defiler?

[Warsmith Aznable]

But why not just count it as a regular Defiler?

 

The whole reason I built it was for fluff reasons. I originally didn't want a Daemon Prince as part of my DIY warband, so I thought I would build a war engine for a counts-as Daemon Prince. The finished model transcended that idea, I think, and so I wanted to make a rule set that matched the model more closely. I'm still working it out, but I'll get there eventually.

 

I'm kicking around the idea of also limiting fielding him as an HQ choice to games of a certain point limit, like "only in 2000+ point games" or summat. And also adding other requirements, such as "choosing this HQ you cannot choose that HQ to fight alongside him" and "if you pick him as an HQ you also have to take a unit of X".

 

I think if I can just figure out an appropriate amount of points to cost him at then all the nasty stuff he's got will be OK.