BCK's Thread of Stuff: Symphony of Destruction

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

I'm going to put links to any of my tutorials at the start of this thread for easy navigation. Below this will be the original first post. 

 

Greenstuff Smoothing Video 

 

Greenstuff Smoothing Video 2

 

Making capes from tissue

 

Changing model colors in Photoshop

 

A better paint stripper than Simple Green. 

 

 

 

Let's get this going again.
 
Starting off with the 4 Iron Warriors Chaos Lords I'll be trying to complete for Grotsmasha's Captain Conversion Challenge, one for each chaos god.
 
First up, Maesteros, follower of Slaanesh and the path of martial perfection.
 
http://i.imgur.com/v8JToIv.jpg
 
Parts list so far is finecast legs from the beaky Sternguard, Khorne Berzerker torso with the lower beltbuckle area cut away and replaced with a length of plastic tubing to elongate the abdomen, Mark IV Maximus helm from Red Scorpions veteran upgrade pack, and a chaos marine left arm. The crest has been removed from the helm and armor studs added to differentiate it somewhat from the loyalist version. Unlike what the fluff tells us about Chaos Marines, I think they would all be scavenging any loyalists they killed, and there will be parts from all over the various marine kits that I own used in these conversions to reflect that.
 
http://i.imgur.com/dbUXWpA.jpg
 
More GS work on the legs and foot, and I removed the studs from the leg because they looked like crap and replaced them with the same .05 rivets I used on the helm. I like the bigger armor studs anyway.
 
I tried to modify the face plate of the helmet to bulk it up a bit make the eye area look more sinister, but after a few days of looking at it now, I'm not sure if I like it.
 
http://i.imgur.com/WDEpdpQ.jpg
 
Finally getting around to decorating the chest. Small cuts from a strip of plastic half-round for the anchor points of the tubes, which will be covered up later with GS. Hooray for the tube making tool! Also, tip of the hat to Darth Potato for showing me the picture that inspired the chest decorations:
 
http://i.imgur.com/hsDcdWU.jpg
 
Evolution of the polearm he's using:
 
http://i.imgur.com/IMyQpjP.jpg   http://i.imgur.com/oBU0K0k.jpg
 
It was originally way too long, so I shortened it up and changed the angle that it sits at, but it might still be a bit too long. Still have no idea what to do for the right arm.
 
 
Next up is Borgestus, follower of Nurgle, and a few shots of trial poses for him:
 
http://i.imgur.com/kuwvKnw.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/nIJcvRa.jpg
 
I really wanted a two-handed pose, but it's proving to be a lot more difficult than I thought it would be, thanks to the bulkiness of the terminator armor, so it will probably be the second pose or maybe another variation. I've also done a lot of work on building a new torso for this guy, and I'll try to have progress pictures of that posted later today.
 
Parts list as shown is loyalist termie legs (because the chaos termie legs all look HORRIBLE), chaos termie toso, and GK head and arms. As of now, the torso front is from a GK and has been chopped up and modified quite a lot.
 
 
Last, is Varko, follower of the Blood God. I originally thought of giving him a very still and static pose to contrast the raging fury most Khorne marines are modeled with, but most of the Four are already going to be posed like that, and what can I say? I love action poses. So, going way back to the hallowed antiquity of 40k for the inspiration:
 
http://i.imgur.com/ppc34uB.jpg
 
I've always liked that art for the sense of frenetic motion it imparts, and I think GW tried to capture that feel with their plastic berzerkers and failed miserably. Instead of this, we got marines with ork hands that looked like they're ice skating.
 
My rough sketch of Varko:
 
http://i.imgur.com/E1eNPL9.jpg
 
The right arm has no hand on it because I'm going to have to do a lot of work on it to get the pose I'm wanting, but I stuck it on there to check the overall balance of the figure. My first idea was to give him twin lightning claws, but, I gotta be honest, it's a real pain in the butt trying to get a pose with those things that doesn't look goofy, aside from the Wolverine pose with the hands out to the side, of which there have already been several figures from GW with that pose and I didn't want to replicate it. Instead, he'll be hefting two power axes and my bits order for the second one should be here in a few days.
 
Parts list is loyalist assault legs (because the khorne berzerker ones suck and they've never made a good replacement for chaos), chaos torso that may or may not change, right arm from BA Death Company, left arm from FW Red Scorpion veteran upgrade pack, and head from FW Khorne Berzerker upgrade pack with the Ears of Khorne™ removed, and the axe is from a one of the Chosen in the Dark Vengeance box set.
 
As always, thanks for looking.
 
-BCK

Edited Monday at 07:02 AM by Brother-Chaplain Kage
Tags edited

[deathspectersgt7]

They are cool ,But my favorite has to be Maesteros.

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Yeah, he's becoming one of my favorite personal conversions. I'm hoping the other three turn out as well as he is.

[Tyrannicide]

Jesus, that Slaanesh Champion is gorgeous. Very nice, man. I like how you took the idea of that torso and melded it into your own. Are these three part of a larger Chaos force or are they one-offs? 

 

Some excellent green stuff work on display.

Edited August 4, 2013 by Darth Potato

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Jesus, that Slaanesh Champion is gorgeous. Very nice, man. I like how you took the idea of that torso and melded it into your own. Are these three part of a larger Chaos force or are they one-offs? 

 

Some excellent green stuff work on display.

 

Thanks, man, and I'm glad you posted that pic! Since I just cannot seem to ever focus on an army long enough to get one done, I've given up on ever playing again and these will basically be display models. Iron Warriors were an early love right as 3rd ed came out because of the ease of painting them, and I still have most of the test figure I did all those years ago, but I haven't been happy with a chaos codex in a LONG time so most of my chaos stuff remains unbuilt in my closet.

 

When I saw the Chosen of Abaddon artwork and accompanying story in a previous chaos codex, I thought it would be neat to do something similar for my XIX Great Company of the IV Legion, so a lot of these ideas have been kicking around in my head for years. I had a friend over yesterday and when he was checking out the figures, he said I should call the four of them the Counsel of Iron. I think that has a nice ring to it.

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Update on the Borgestus:

http://i.imgur.com/yyhedRH.jpg

I don't plan on keeping the GK thunder hammer, but I needed something there to check the placement and feel of what I'll eventually replace it with. It doesn't look like it now, but there's actually a stupid amount of work in getting that GK chest piece on the front and I probably could have used a regular marine chest and saved a lot of trouble. Oh well. There's still more GS work to do on the chest and you can see where I've trimmed off the hip armor and the braces or reinforcing struts or whatever they are from the upper legs and have already bulked out one of the thighs.

I know it doesn't look a whole lot like Chaos or Nurgle, but bear with me. :D

 

-BCK

[Midnightmare]

Right I think I am just going to withdraw from the challenge now lol

 

These are all excellent Kage, hard to pick a fave but I am going for Maesteros, although I am always a sucker for action poses like Varko, and with two axes he is going to look badass

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Naw, don't do that! You do some great work on your Flesh Eaters, man. Just keep trying to push yourself with each new project.

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

A little more work on Maesteros:

 

http://i.imgur.com/bo3e5Su.jpg

 

I'm not entirely happy with the position of the right arm, but I like the feel of it. Once I get that finalized, I can really start in on the tattered trophies he's torn away from vanquished foes. The shoulder pads are also not finalized, as I'm considering making one of them like the MK V type, with no trim and the armor studs.

 

I don't remember if I mentioned it in the original thread, but the fluff idea I have for this guy is that he only ever uses his sword against exceptional opponents - everyone else gets the spear. I can imagine him sizing up his next target, wondering if they're entitled to the spear or the sword.

[Firepower]

Your talent for sculpting impresses and infuriates me.

 

Well done, ya jerk.*

 

*Obviously joking.

[Grizzly_bear]

A little more work on Maesteros:

 

http://i.imgur.com/bo3e5Su.jpg

 

I'm not entirely happy with the position of the right arm, but I like the feel of it. Once I get that finalized, I can really start in on the tattered trophies he's torn away from vanquished foes. The shoulder pads are also not finalized, as I'm considering making one of them like the MK V type, with no trim and the armor studs.

 

I don't remember if I mentioned it in the original thread, but the fluff idea I have for this guy is that he only ever uses his sword against exceptional opponents - everyone else gets the spear. I can imagine him sizing up his next target, wondering if they're entitled to the spear or the sword.

Awese conversion skills and GS'ing fella. Awesome Again

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Thanks, Firepower. It's been a very bumpy road on my love-hate relationship with greenstuff, and I like that I'm finally getting decent with it, but there's still plenty of stuff I've attempted and failed miserably at. I keep meaning to try some of the other two part putties that are supposed to be much easier to work with, but I never seem to get around to it.

 

Also, Kelly's Heroes was one of my favorite Eastwood movies and I've always read your posts in Oddball's voice.

 

Edit: Thanks, Dorns_Fist! Wish me luck on finishing at least two of these guys on time.

Edited August 6, 2013 by Brother Chaplain Kage

[Hyaenidae]

A little more work on Maesteros:

 

http://i.imgur.com/bo3e5Su.jpg

 

Glory to the IV. Can't wait to see this guy painted.

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

 

A little more work on Maesteros:

 

http://i.imgur.com/bo3e5Su.jpg

 

Glory to the IV. Can't wait to see this guy painted.

 

That might be a ways off, but I feel the same way.

 

Btw, I sculpted the segmented abdominal armor like that intending to paint it as yellow/black warning chevrons.

[Midnightmare]

RE-Maesteros; Naw I would stick with these shoulder pads, the kind of make him look more 'bulky' across his shoulders and obviously they are much more 'chaos-y'. You don't want him looking too heroic!  Have you decided what you are going to do with his back pack yet?

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

The Dark Vengeance set has some cool backpacks and I was thinking about using one from that.

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Update on Borgestus:

 

http://i.imgur.com/9TFppcW.jpg

 

He's starting to take shape, slowly but surely. I intentionally made the armor on the left thigh a little larger than the right to see how it would look. I like the shape, but I'm not sure if I want to keep that size and beef up the right some more, or just scrape it down until it matches the right.

 

The torso shape is going well, kind of inspired by the cataphract terminator armor.

 

Update on Varko:

 

http://i.imgur.com/7BkptcU.jpg

 

Trying the look of a different chest and also gave him a cybernetic foot, or it might be his entire lower leg. I was going to bits order some lightning claws for this guy originally, but they were kinda pricey and I couldn't find a pose I liked, but I decided I'd go ahead and buy the Raptors/Warp Talons box since just buying the claws from the set was like 60% of the price of the whole thing. Might as well buy the damn thing and get more conversion parts, right?

 

And the Dark Vengeance bits I ordered were supposed to be here today, but they didn't show up, so he's still just hefting that one axe for now. Grrr.

 

-BCK

 

[ephrael]

Your sculpting skills are inspiring to say the least.  I was a fan of the larger "cheek" area on Maestros but he looks good this way as well.  The others are shaping up nicely too.  Where did Darth Potato get those SoH parts so soon, I didn't think that they were released yet?  I would like to add that I like the bigger thigh on Borgestus so I would recommend bulking up the other to match.  Have you considered turning Maestros' right arm away from his hip and bringing the bottom of his scabbard towards his body?  It seems strange to me that it would be sheathed and sticking out so far.  It might just be me though.

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Your sculpting skills are inspiring to say the least.  I was a fan of the larger "cheek" area on Maestros but he looks good this way as well.  The others are shaping up nicely too.  Where did Darth Potato get those SoH parts so soon, I didn't think that they were released yet?  I would like to add that I like the bigger thigh on Borgestus so I would recommend bulking up the other to match.  Have you considered turning Maestros' right arm away from his hip and bringing the bottom of his scabbard towards his body?  It seems strange to me that it would be sheathed and sticking out so far.  It might just be me though.

 

Thanks, Mikhail. I know I keep harping on the new clay shapers, but they really have made a huge difference and for the first time ever, I'm actually excited about using greenstuff instead of trying to find ways to do a conversion to minimize the use of it.

 

The SoH pic was from a Forge World display at some event, I'm not sure which, but you're right, they haven't been released yet. Darth Potato just mentioned the chest piece he had seen in a preview wasn't among the new set, and he directed me to that image.

 

I liked the enlarged cheeks on Maesteros as well, but I didn't like the area around the eyes so I do plan on giving that another try. As for the arm, I've cut it away from the "shoulder" piece at the top to make it fit a little better against his side - the pic was just me trying it out to see if it was even going to be close to what I was wanting. I also like the larger thigh armor on Borgestus, so I'll be going over the other one soon.

[Brother Ambroz]

Like the others, I really dig the Slanneshi lord. I really like the Nurgle one too though, he's shaping up pretty well too. I prefer the second pose (the one I think you went with) to the first. What sort of modifications are you going to give him? Pus/sores and horns? Too soon to comment yet on the Khornate fella. What about the Tzeentchian lord?

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

The nurgle lord isn't going to be look like one of the FW pieces, completely "plagued out" and stuff. The idea I have for the Iron Warriors is that they use the warp as a tool or weapon, but try not to give themselves over to it completely, and except for a few exceptions (like mutations), there are going to be no horns on my IWs. That being said, I do think I'm going to have a horn sprouting from the forehead of Borgestus.

 

The Tzeentchian lord, I'm still not sure about. I can't decide if I want to make him a sorceror or go against type and give him a bolter or something. I do have a head picked out for him, but not much else in the way of progress so far.

[Firepower]

Hmm, an IW nurgle lord that isn't all nurgled out...

 

The first thing that came to mind is an IW lord with a Nurgling Launcher.  Which, the more I think about it, sounds like a lovely mix of silly and devious :D  

Edited August 7, 2013 by Firepower

[Brother Ambroz]

I vote you go against the grain and do a Tzeentchian lord. They don't have to be a psykers, they can be those who love plots and making puppets out of people from behind the scenes. What's your plan to set him aside as a Nurgle lord then?

[GodEmperorOfMankind]

Love this stuff, great work!

[Drunes]

Great stuffs brother ! my favorite is definitly the Slaneshi lord, very inspired work.