BCK's Thread of Stuff: Symphony of Destruction

[ranulf the revenant]

"...you merely adopted the putty. But I was born in it, molded by it."

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

With the hose and respirator bits at the collar I just had to try this. 

 

[theNublet]

With the hose and respirator bits at the collar I just had to try this. 

 

Nice. Even better that it reminds me of Endless Legend, specifically the heads of some of the Mykara faction of mushroom people.

[Majkhel]

Congratulations on the new job, Kage!
And I love your works on the Tyfen. He's indeed turning out to into a beast :D

Delaques are fantastic sculpts and it's nice to see how you work with them. Not a fan of the bulbous helmet really (although it's nice you added some extra shapin' to the sides), but it's still a pleasure to observe how your thoughts are meandering 

[Augustus b'Raass]

Lovely work on the Goliath.... stimmer? I am really looking forward to seeing that guy finished. 

Congrats on the new lamp - it's nice to have nice things. I've actually been curious about your work setup for ages - would you indulge me and make a picture of your desk? 

The Delaque kit is glorious for sinister looking fellas for sure. I'll be using two to act as Dark Disciples for a World Eater Dark Apostle conversion I have in mind. :) Your first guy looks great - I also like the domed visor but that really takes away the opportunity to give the entire figure some character. Bare headed dudes always have more character than helmeted ones, and the dome is the least characterful helmet there is, if you ask me.

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

I wanted a 'hooded ronin' feel to the this hired gun. Male or female? Human or xenos? Is it looking at me right now? Dunno. 

 

As for my hobby desk, I'll get a pic later tonight but don't get your hopes up because it's not terribly interesting. 

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Here ya go, Augs, my hobby desk in all its cluttered glory (and this is after I cleaned it up a fair bit last week). 

 

[Augustus b'Raass]

Nois! Cluttered as it should be. Looks sufficient enough, man! Is that a place you can leave like that or does it need protection from kids, partners and/or pets?

I get what you're saying about 'hooded ronin' but I'd try to go for something that makes it clear whether or not he's looking at you  -so that you can at least make out where his attention is. That's part of a 'stance' or composure of a miniature, no?

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

@Augs I specifically wanted the identity of it to be anonymous. Is it male or female? Human or xenos? Something else entirely? Is it looking at me right now? Dunno. 

 

The rest of this post is going to be about me trying to commit to a project of those foul, perfidious eldar. Specifically a corsair group of my own making calling themselves The Blades of Vaul. I've had the idea in my head for a long time and for the last several weeks it simply will not get out of my head. 

 

To hopefully strengthen my resolve to stay on track with this, I've made some purchases recently! From Artel W I've got a squad of a not-Warp Spiders and not-Striking Scorpions, as well as a Tantalus (oh yes!) and Reaper from the foul dark kin and a corsair jetbike upgrade kit on the way. I've recently been painting fantasy miniatures for my brother's D&D group to try to shake some of the rust off the painting muscles and actively trying to not be such a perfectionist concerning the tiny details and just finishing the damn paint job. 

 

I have a paint scheme in mind, and for giggles, I cobbled something together out of bits from both lines to see how such a mishmash might look. 

 

 

Some time ago I also came up with some background on these corsairs, seen from the eyes of some imperials. It's 2800 words so I'll drop it in a spoiler tag. 

 

Professor Solomon Argyle had just finished packing up his bag and was pulling on his overcoat when he noticed the man standing at the back of the auditorium. He mistook it for a lingering student, but as the man approached, he had the bearing and confident gait of someone with years in the military. He was dressed in a tailored black suit and brazenly wore a slender sidearm holstered on his right hip. His hair was shaved clean on the sides and slicked back on top, close to his skull. "I think you have the wrong room, sir, this is-"

"You are Professor Argyle?" the man asked, his voice tinged with an odd accent.

"I bloody well hope so since my name is on the door." He chuckled at his own joke. The other man did not. His eyes moved to the holstered gun.

"I am not here to harm you, professor. My name is Hyvjiu and I am to take you to my employer." The man took what looked like a leather wallet out of his inside coat pocket. He held it up and let it fall open, revealing an Inquisitorial Rosette set into one side. "I have a lifter waiting outside."

* * * * *

Inquisitor Wilsev Donynus was keeping temporary accommodations at the Cressida in a suite normally reserved for the likes of sub-sector governors, the highest echelons of the ecclesiarchy or military, and the wealthiest rogue traders. Hyvjiu accompanied the professor through the massive mahogany doors of the receiving room and he was surprised to find the Inquisitor dressed in a silk robe of auburn hue, a tumbler filled with a few fingers of a dark liquid in each hand. He was short but in incredible physical condition with a compact frame like that of boxer or other martial artist. His hair was cropped short and was just starting to go grey at the temples. With the exception of his pale green eyes, his face was completely unremarkable and you'd forget it the instant your eyes moved away from it.

"My lord, Professor Solomon Argyle, as requested," Hyvjiu announced. Once the professor stepped into the room, he retreated into the hallway and closed the doors behind him.

Donynus held out one of the tumblers. "Please excuse my casual attire, Professor, but I've gone through extreme effort to speak with you as quickly as possible and I've had a very long day navigating red tape without alerting anyone to who I am. I'm told you're rather fond of Glacien amasec, aged twenty years."

“I do prefer Glacien, but the most I can normally afford is only aged four years,” the professor said, taking the offered glass. "And please, call me Sol, my lord."

"None of that stuff," Donynus said, waving a hand dismissively in the air. "Call me Wil. I'm no Lord Inquisitor by a long road and can't really stand on formality in a silk robe, now can I? I only let Hyvjiu get away with it because he makes too much of a fuss if I try to make him stop. Please, sit," he said, dropping into an ornate high-backed lounger made of deeply stained tyghe wood and gesturing at an identical one across from him.

Sol looked round at the door he had just come through and then back to the inquisitor. “Are you or your man not going to search me? Check me for weapons?”

Donynus grinned. “My dear Professor, you have already been searched and scanned a number of times without ever knowing it. Firstly, Hyvjiu has an almost sixth sense for spotting secreted weapons, not to mention that the lifter seat you rode on and the doorway you just walked through had integrated sniffers and scanners that could detect the most minute traces of fyceline, the anti-corrosion oils commonly used on blades or firearms, and a las battery or plasma coil even completely powered down. If you made it this far and still have a weapon on your person it's time for me to retire.”

“Ah, I see,” Sol said, taking his seat. He took a sip of the amasec to ease his nerves and it was so incredible he forgot where he was for a moment. “Yes, well, Inquisitor, um, Wil... what is it that you needed of me? I am happy to serve the Throne in any way that I can.”

“I'm pleased to hear that, Professor, and it is your knowledge of the eldar I need.”

Sol blanched and prepared himself to feign anger and ignorance but quickly remembered who was sitting in front of him.

“That was a very wise choice you just made,” Donynus said. “We know about your early archaeological studies of their ruins and your time in captivity with them. I am not here to persecute you for that, but rather to make use of it.”

“But my lord-”

“Wil.”

“Sorry, Wil, there are many more qualified experts on eldar lore who work with your institution and-”

“None of which I'm able to contact in time before I must leave on my new assignment. Now that we've gotten all that out of the way let's crack on, shall we? I'm going to ask you some questions regarding their myths and I want you to answer me as if I'm some waster student with a brain half-gone from spike and obscura.”

Sol took another sip of his Glacia. “Let's have it then.”

Donynus nodded in approval. “Good man. Tell me of the swords of Vaul.”

“Right. Well, shall I assume you already know of Isha and Kurnous being taken by Khaine or do I need to backtrack to that first?”

“Isha disobeyed Asuryan's command to break off contact with the mortals when he separated them from the immaterium and was given to Khaine for punishment.”

“Essentially, yes. Vaul was the uncle of both Isha and Kurnous and could not bear their torture at the hands of Khaine and made an offer to the war god to make one hundred enchanted swords in exchange for their release. Now, like the myths of most civilizations, there is a great amount of variation depending on the source and the deadline for the completion of these weapons was set at a year in the majority of the tales, but I've heard both that Khaine set the time to be perilously short in the belief that Vaul could not possibly finish and that Vaul did the same to entice Khaine and get him to agree to the terms.”

“Interesting. Were these swords of Vaul to be taken literally as edged weapons?”

“Again, there is some variance in the details,” Sol said. “Some believe that it was so early in the history of the Eldar that there were no firearms and they had to be melee weapons, though that is contradicted by others who say that there were firearms and many of Vaul's weapons were just that. Either way, Vaul couldn't finish the final weapon in time and substituted a normal one its place, hoping Khaine wouldn't notice before Isha and Kurnous were released.”

Donynus leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his knees. “What did Khaine do with these weapons?”

Sol took another drink before answering. “That's a particularly sticky subject.”

“Lots of variations I imagine?”

Sol laughed. “Indeed, but they mostly fall into three broad definitions with the greatest variance in the minutiae. The first is that Khaine discovered the fake immediately as though he detected it somehow and set off to get revenge on Vaul. Second is that he all but tossed them away because they were inferior to his own sword and spear and it was some time before he discovered the fake by accident. The third one is a bit more outlandish and directly contravenes much of the divine mythology of the Eldar.”

“How so?”

“It says that Khaine gave these one hundred swords to the greatest mortal heroes of the eldar, including Eldanesh and possibly his brother, Ulthanesh, to fight against the yngir and their ‘Star God’ masters.”

“Let me stop you there, Professor. Who are the yngir?”

Sol shrugged. “I was witness to a visit from a host of harlequins who put on a show describing this tale and I have never heard or read of it before or since so I'm not sure that it's even true, but the most popular translation of that name is the Silver Host or possibly the Silver Horde. A vast, unending force of metal men or something of the like.”

A dark look passed over the inquisitor's face and there was a flash of recognition in his eyes. “Continue, please.”

“These metal men were said to have encircled Khaine and his hundred heroes, and though they were outnumbered, they held their own for a time. Vaul's treachery was revealed when one of the heroes faltered and fell due to his un-enchanted blade failing against the yngir and opening a weak point in their defense. Khaine was able to rally them and stem the tide until the Death-Bringer, said to be the physical incarnation of Death itself and the most powerful god of the yngir, manifested within their ranks. There was no defense against his scythe which atomized anything in its path and even his eyes setting upon a mortal would turn them to ash. Khaine rushed forward to the defense of his mortal heroes and it was said the Death-Bringer was shocked to see that Khaine's spear wasn't destroyed by the touch of his scythe, but that shock turned to glee at the discovery of a worthy opponent. They continued to duel with neither being able to get the upper hand: Khaine was the stronger fighter, able to deflect or avoid the touch of the scythe but the Death-Bringer's form was composed of the stuff of shadows and Khaine's spear could do no harm to it.”

“Shadow stuff?”

“It was a term that I had never heard from the eldar before and may have been something unique to the harlequins, but it was definitely not the immaterium or the warp. Eventually, Khaine's rage was spent and Death-Bringer made the mistake of underestimating the war god's tactical acumen once he was seeing things rationally, for it was only then that Khaine observed that his foe became wholly corporeal for a brief instant to strike with his scythe. He let the Death-Bringer inside his guard by feigning a missed parry and thrust his spear into the heart of his foe, destroying the form of the star god for a time.”

“Why do you doubt the veracity of this tale?” Donynus asked.

“Considering the only source I'd ever heard it from was a troupe of harlequins immediately made it suspect, but my primary point of contention against it is that it makes Khaine out to be something of a benevolent god who not only equipped mortals with magic weapons to fight at his side, but he also came to their aid when the yngir broke their defensive ring. Every other mention of Khaine shows him to be a vengeful, capricious god who took every opportunity to kill the mortal eldar until Asuryan separated their realms. Worse yet, the original mythology has Vaul's deception with the fake blade initiating the War in Heaven where-” Sol paused. “Do you know of the events of the War in Heaven?”

“Enough to get me by. Continue.”

“While Khaine is rampaging through the eldar pantheon, Vaul finishes his final blade, named Anaris, and hoped it would be enough to allow him to stand against the god of war. Sadly, it wasn't. Khaine crippled Vaul and chained him to his own anvil, and Faolchu – a falcon that had fought with Vaul in the war – stole Anaris and delivered it to Eldanesh, who also tried and failed to stop Khaine with the sword. So brutal was Khaine’s slaying of the greatest mortal eldar that Asuryan finally stepped in and stopped the War in Heaven, while also cursing Khaine’s hands to forever drip blood as a reminder of what he had done.”

“Thus Kaela-Mensha Khaine, the Bloody-Handed god,” Donynus said.

“The very same. My other issue with the yngir tale is that Eldanesh is supposed to have fought for and with Khaine against the yngir only to turn around a short time later and stand against him? No, too much of a departure from the established mythology for my taste.”

“This sword, Anaris, do you know what happened to it after Khaine killed Eldanesh?”

“Again, a number of variations on that point. Some say Khaine’s slaughter of Eldanesh was so complete that Anaris was destroyed at the same instant. Others say it survived the death of Eldanesh and Khaine snapped it in his hands to ensure it would never be wielded against him again. Yet another says he carried it with him like a trophy and it died with him.”

The inquisitor took a moment to digest the information and when he turned his eyes on Sol again, the kind host was gone, replaced by a terrifying man of vast power and determination. “Sol, I'm going to ask you a question that may sound silly but I need you to answer it as though lives depend on it, do you understand.”

“Of course. What is it?”

“First, I need to give you a few details of my mission. You're a smart man, Sol, and I trust that you understand the gravity of this and what it would mean if you were to divulge any of this to anyone.”

“I understand both and you have my word that it doesn't leave this room. I've always felt like this knowledge was a weight on me that could get me killed if people of a certain temperament learned of it and if I can finally put it to use to serve mankind, I do it willingly.”

“Good. Two months ago, my predecessor was tracking the formation of a new eldar corsair fleet that's calling themselves the Blades of Vaul, and at first, it seemed they were randomly attacking distant outposts and installations while they slowly swelled their numbers. It quickly became apparent that they were searching for something, and they've recently been getting assistance from two Phoenix Lords: Jain Zar and Karandras. My predecessor lost his life and the men under his command to these corsairs when they discovered his surveillance. Now, my question is could these Blades of Vaul from the mythology be real? Is it possible that's what they're searching for?”

“They wouldn't be the first to believe the blades were real and I did hear stories while I was captive that a number of powerful eldar possessed weapons made by Vaul before the -”

“Do not speak the name,” Donynus warned.

“I wasn't. Before the Fall is what I was going to say, and most of the eldar believe that when Vaul was killed, his one hundred blades shattered because each had a tiny portion of his divinity within it. Their destruction is refuted by Jain Zar herself who claims that her spear is one of Vaul's blades and no one is willing to argue with a Phoenix Lord.”

“I was unaware of that, Sol. I'm glad my instincts about you were right. Do you believe that these blades are real?”

“Possibly? I can't imagine why someone the likes of a Phoenix Lord would lie about such a thing, but I would be surprised if all one hundred of them have survived this long. I mean, even conservative estimates by scholars more renowned than myself place their creation by Vaul and the following War in Heaven as hundreds of thousands of years ago if not millions.”

“Fair enough, but for the sake of argument, let's say that they are real and some of them survived. Why would a corsair band want them? If their primary goal is attacking ships in the void of space, even taking the odd boarding action into consideration, what practical use could they have other than the prestige of owning one?”

 

Now it Sol’s turn to ponder and his brows knitted, remaining quiet for almost a whole minute before finally giving a shrug. “I honestly can’t say, Wil, but from what I know of the eldar it cannot possibly be good for the Imperium.”

 

“As I expected,” Donynus said with a resigned nod. “We leave in two days, Sol. You have that time to get your affairs in order. Hyvjiu has already arranged for your departure from the university and will assist you in any other matters you need to expedite. Welcome to the service of the Ordo Xenos of the Inquisition. I’m happy to have you on my team.”

 

Sol nearly choked on the amasec he was sipping. “Um, thank you, my lord. I mean, Wil.”

 

[deathspectersgt7]

Groovy Read. You must do them . The Corsairs of course.

[Heraclite]

that was a nice read.

 

I'd love to see what you come up with model-wise, but going by your record of amazing sculpts/conversions, it sure is going to be sweet on the eye!

Edited May 27, 2021 by Heraclite

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Groovy Read. You must do them . The Corsairs of course.

 

that was a nice read.

 

I'd love to see what you come up with model-wise, but going by your record of amazing sculpts/conversions, it sure is going to be sweet on the eye!

 

Thanks, brothers. Part of me writing that a couple years ago when I first hade the idea for the Blades was getting reacquainted with the Eldar mythology, and then poking fun at how new lore and retcons with each subsequent codex come out and de-Ward-ing the changed lore with the necrons as some play the Harlequins put on for a laugh. I'd also wanted to write something where a person is sort of politely joined to an Inquisitor's team without their knowing it was going to happen. 

 

Wil: "Nice chat, and you work for me now."

 

Sol: "What?"

 

Wil: "What?"

 

Concerning the model I did a little more work last night, adding a sash to cover the gap at the waist and started to do something to fill in the join of the crest to the helmet and after trying a few things that I didn't like I just smoothed out the greenstuff before it got too cured. I'll think on it some more and try again. 

 

 

While I did like the sideways sword, it really only works when seen from above. 

[Augustus b'Raass]

Great read. Man, I want to make that Inquisitor and his retinue now. 

 

 

 

While I did like the sideways sword, it really only works when seen from above. 

I disagree. It looked great from the sides as well and made the pose more dynamic. Don't get me wrong, the new pose looks wicked and I love where this is going, but maybe you could do something in between? Like a 45^o angle?

[Monstra Sumus]

I'm in agreement with Raass about the sword. The original pose had a phenomenal image and lent to the grace of the models stance. It also alludes to greater control of the blade.

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Great read. Man, I want to make that Inquisitor and his retinue now. 

 

 

 

While I did like the sideways sword, it really only works when seen from above. 

I disagree. It looked great from the sides as well and made the pose more dynamic. Don't get me wrong, the new pose looks wicked and I love where this is going, but maybe you could do something in between? Like a 45^o angle?

 

 

I'm in agreement with Raass about the sword. The original pose had a phenomenal image and lent to the grace of the models stance. It also alludes to greater control of the blade.

 

Yeah, I think you're both right about the sword and appreciate the feedback on it.

 

@Augs, I only have those 3 members written up so far but if you want to have a go at them I'm all for it. 

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

I know I'm sometimes bad with the incremental updates, but I'm figuring out the aesthetic I want for these corsairs as I go and it's often easier for me to scroll back through the thread on my phone to see what I've tried vs having a bunch of images pulled up on my computer behind me. So, apologies if this seems excessive and I hope it's not annoying. 

 

Good new is, I think that asymmetry is going to be the keyword for these guys. Had a go at some shoulder armor changes on this test model. 

 

[Augustus b'Raass]

Sorry: two negative points of feedback:

1. The shoulder guard looks a bit too massive - especially since he's an aeldari...

 

2. there seems to be something wrong with his proportions now that I've taken a longer look at him - I think the abdomen section is a tad too long. It's a subtle thing, and it may be that I noticed because of the new, increased bulk of his left new shoulder pad. Of course, it might be that aeldari have slightly differently proortioned bodies (I am not well versed in the range - at all!) (and maybe that would esxplain those weird 1st edition Bloodletter bodies :D ).   

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

I always appreciate your feedback, Augs, but this time I'm sticking to my guns. 

 

Eldar are described as looking like vertically stretched humans - tall, thin bodies with long limbs and while some models represent that but most don't simply due to how the proportions have to be at that scale. The Eldar guardians and Dire Avengers which both use the same base kit have a torso that can look pretty long but is usually covered up by the guns they're holding across their bodies. 

 

For my converted model I think the issue is probably a combination of me using a DE torso on Eldar legs and the two are scaled a little differently, but also the legs are in the traditional squatty potty position and the pic from the front angle foreshortens the legs making the abdomen look longer in proportion to the rest of the body than it really is. To my eyes anyway. The pic from the side where you see the full length of the legs, even bent as they are, looks more proportionally correct. 

 

Regarding the larger should pad, I like it and I'm keeping it. Plus, there are some examples in the whole of the space elf line that have some pretty large shoulder pads. The current Autarch model has both the long abdomen and large shoulder pads. 

 

 

Visarch. 

 

 

Jain Zar, the DE Incubi, Drazhar, the new chubby Lelith Hesperax, and the DE Archon are all also part of the big shoulder pad club. 

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Good job.

[Elzender]

The Eldar is looking good, and it's true that the front angle makes the legs seems short compared to the torso, but the side one makes them look alright! About the shoulder pad, I feel the "issue" is more about the thickness than the surface size? It does look a bit thicker than I'd expect on an eldar, but I understand perfectly if it is a matter of structural integrity for the greenstuff. Maybe giving it a thinner edge or some pointy end(s) might give it a more eldar look. At any rate, it still looks perfectly fine, just trying to see Augustus point of view and offering some of my own! Edited June 1, 2021 by Elzender

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Seeing what I can do with some Delaque bodies and deldar bits. 

 

 

I'm digging it. 

[DaBoiKyknos]

Reminds me of Cenobites.  

[jaxom]

Those are really good for giving a hint of being on the way to super-obsessive Dark Eldar, but actually being solidly in the middle of Corsair'dom.

[Bryan Blaire]

Those are really wicked looking!  Very nice BCK!

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Thanks!

 

Here's the other two with the one in the middle being the guy on the right in the first picture. His pose and chain weapon just seemed bland the next day and made use of a miscast head on the sprue that didn't have its nose or mouth.

 

 

Guy on the left might get some more work as well as he's already looking a bit bland to me while adjusting the pic in PhotoShop, but the wyche arms are a lot more similar in their poses than I initially thought.